FEATURED RESIDENT-NOVEMBER 2009-ANTOINETTE KERN

FEATURED RESIDENT-NOVEMBER 2009-ANTOINETTE KERN

In that charming little home right across from our town hall here in New Dosey Township lives one of the nicest and friendliest people you would ever want to meet.

Antoinette Lucille Kern was born on January 27, 1944, to Doris and Tony Fornengo, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Superior, Wisconsin.  (Years later, Antoinette has occasion to see the hospital bill for her birth and it was only $47.00!)  She was the 3rd oldest of 6 children.  Antoinette was raised right here in Cloverton and went all 8 grades of grade school at our old school.  Back in those days, elementary schools held graduation exercises and Antoinette can recall vividly the ceremony in the beautiful auditorium of that school.  She also fondly remembers former residents Helen and Al Feldt as janitor and school bus driver, respectively.

Antoinette attended high school in Sandstone at the old school building located across from the dentist office today.  She says’ High School was a really happy time in my life.  I had all my friends and dad was the bus driver”.

After high school graduation in 1962, she went to work in the Accounts Receivable Department for Brown & Bigelow in the Twin Cities.  Her older sister Mary Lee was already employed there.  After 2 years with Brown & Bigelow, Antoinette left and went to work for Employers Overload in Minneapolis.

Through mutual friends she met a young man, Ron Kern, from Danbury.  They actually met at a baseball game.  They were married in 1965 and lived in Minneapolis for many years.   Their son Ronnie was born in 1965.  Sadly, Ron died of asthma in 1988 and the family later learned that the inhaler on the market in those days caused heart problems.

Son Todd was born in 1967 and lives in Danbury today.  Daughter Laurie came along in 1970 and she and her family live in Dairyland.   Their 4th and last child Larry was born in 1971 and he lives with his family on the Kingsdale Road in Wisconsin.

Antoinette is exceptionally proud of her 8 grandchildren- Travis (18), Brandon (18), Cody (16), Marissa (15), Meghan (15), Nicholas (11), Dustin (9) and Will (8).

Antoinette and Ron moved back to Cloverton in 1970 when Laurie was born.  Ron continued to work as an operating engineer in the Cities for many years.  Antoinette worked as a “stay at home” mom until their children were in high school.  She went to work for awhile as a Home Health Aide, then as a Teacher’s Aide, and eventually, she and her sister-in-law Robin and 2 women from Sandstone worked on a book about the Sandstone School.  For some reason, the project was dropped after awhile.

In 1999, she started being the substitute mail carrier for Ed Magnuson on a mail route out of the Danbury Post Office.  When Ed passed away, she took over the route herself and still has that job today.  She said she likes it so much, she is finding it hard to retire

Antoinette’s leisure time activities include “following the grandkids around to all of their sports, etc.”, sewing, gardening, and going on her computer.  She has cut back on her computer time, however, because she felt it was becoming too much.  She and Ron have been watching a flock of Hungarian grouse that have been hanging in their yard all autumn.

Antoinette sums her life up as being all about her family and friends.  What a nice way to live!

FEATURED RESIDENT- OCTOBER 2009- TODD ELLIOTT

FEATURED RESIDENT- OCTOBER 2009- TODD ELLIOTT

In a little farmhouse that he purchased from the Moore’s in 1990 lives a very hard-working and industrious young man who always has a friendly way of greeting and talking to all of us.

Todd Timothy Elliott was born to Markville residents Eleanor and Melvin Elliott on May 1, 1965. He attended all 13 years of school in Sandstone, beginning at the old Elementary School and graduating from the old high school in 1983.

Right after high school, Todd took a course at the Hutchinson Technical Institute where he earned a certificate in Non-Destructive Testing and Metallurgy. Using these skills, he hired on with the Met-Chem Laboratory in Utah for one year where his duties consisted of testing oil refineries and pipelines.

He then took a position of the same type with MQS Inspections in the Twin Cities where his principal responsibility was examining all Nuclear Power Plants in Minnesota. After one year, Todd started with Mo-Tech Engineering in Cambridge.

Todd married DaVonne Greenley of Sandstone in 1984. When the couple moved to Utah, DaVonne was also hired by Met-Chem Labs. The couple had 2 children- Candy born in 1988 and Clint born in 1991. DaVonne died in 1994 after several years of undiagnosed and untreated depression.

Todd met Vicki Simenson at his workplace in Cambridge and they were married in 1997. Vicki brought her son David by a previous ino the Elliott family.

Todd and DaVonne and their children had moved to Cloverton in 1990. He was then hired by Twin-Ports Testing in Superior where he worked for 3 years. In 1993, he went back to work for Mo-Tech and stayed with them for 11 years. After he married Vicki, the family lived in Isanti. Todd enjoyed his work as a chemical tester and the money was good, but the job involved lots of travel and being away from his family. They moved back to Cloverton in 2004. Todd started his own contracting business- Todd Elliott Excavating, and he and Vicki built the Hay Creek Outpost, a gas station, convenience store, bar and café, right there on the intersection of the Cloverton and Dux bury Roads. Beginning October 1 of this year, Todd will be working 4 days/weekly in the Twin Cities.

Sadness struck Todd’s life again this past June when his dear mom Eleanor passed away of cancer.

When asked about his leisure time activites, Todd replied that he used to do a lot of fishing and hunting, but the last 5 years have been devoted to work, work, work.

We appreciate all of the work that Todd does and hope that his load may be lightened enough so that he can once again find time to fish and hunt..

Update January 30, 2012: Todd and Vicki Elliot moved to Cottage Grove, MN.  Todd is continuing as the road contractor for New Dosey Township.

FEATURED RESIDENT-SEPTEMBER 2009-MANDY FORNENGO

FEATURED RESIDENT-SEPTEMBER 2009-MANDY FORNENGO

Most of us who live out here in the township of New Dosey are senior citizens and a lot of our “get up and go” has “got up and gone”.  Therefore, we look with awe and admiration as we watch one young woman with all of the energy, hard work and drive to work 4 days a week, keep up a household with her husband, raise 2 beautiful daughters and still have time to work on a degree in pre-dentistry.

Mandy Jean Fornengo was born on August 19, 1977, in Superior, Wisconsin to Dawn and Dennis Koski.  She is the middle child of three girls- Rachel (35), Mandy (32) and Suzanne(29).  Mandy grew up in the Pattison Park area of Douglas County, Wisconsin.  She attended a local elementary school called Nemadji for a three years,and when that school was closed, she went to the new school at the time known as the Four Corners School.  She graduated from Superior Senior High School in 1995.

Upon graduation, she enrolled in a 2-year program at the Lake Superior College in Duluth, studying for a certificate in dental hygiene.  She worked first for a dentist in Rush City, then in Mora, and has been employed for 6 years now by Dr. Kristie Roberts in Pine City.

Mandy dated Dave Fornengo, the cousin of her best friend in high school, Julie Fornengo,and on February 2, 2001, they were married in the Darrow Road Church in Wisconsin, which she has attended for many years.

They lived in what she describes as a little “shack” while their lovely home was being built.  Mandy and Dave have 2 daughters- Julia was born in 2004 and Lydia arrived in 2007.

Mandy is currently working on a degree in pre-dentistry via Lake Superior College and will probably continue those studies at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Her courses so far have been on-line, but  she will be going to night school beginning this fall of 2009.  After getting a Bachelor’s degree, she plans to apply to dental school at the University of Minnesota.

This extremely busy life leaves little time for hobbies right now, but the family does get in a fair degree of camping, which they all enjoy.

Mandy recently volunteered to serve on the newly formed New Dosey Landscaping Committee and will donate her lawn and garden skills to making the cemetery and town hall lawn look pretty.

Mandy, the entire township wishes you well in all of your plans.