Marilynn Erickson
The third of Marilynn Erickson's three stories about her family history. She wrote each story “to check out the verbal family stories and connect them to documentation and photos.”
This third story is about Scandal in the Graveyard.
While checking out cemeteries where various relatives are buried, my mother, sister and I traveled to Bethlehem Lutheran Church outside Ellsworth, Pierce County, Wisconsin... As we wandered around, taking photos of each relative’s headstone, my mother commented that a row of three markers had reportedly created a scandal among the members of the congregation. It sounded like another fun family story to investigate.
News
For the 2026 grant year, the UMRA PDGR Committee received eight new applications. The PDGR Committee selected six for funding. See the awardees and grant abstracts on the 2026 PDGR Abstracts page.
UMRA’s 2026 grants for retirees will help to support scholarly and creative projects focused on art, architecture, creativity in children, public humanities, understanding human aggression, and volunteerism.
The University Regents’ meeting on February 13 began with heartfelt remarks from Regent Joel Bergstrom regarding the damage inflicted on Minnesota by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violence.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center offers a variety of opportunities to be of help. “We all want to help stressed communities during this difficult time in Minnesota,” says Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers, URVC’s liaison to Neighborhood House, which is providing emergency groceries and other necessities to St. Paul families worried about their safety.
Meet UMRA member and stalwart treasurer Kristy Frost-Griep, a Renaissance woman who learned the value of hard work and the importance of customer service as a young teen, working in the family business.
Planning is already well underway for UMRA to host this year’s annual meeting of the Big Ten Retirees Association in late July on the U of M Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.