This month, my maternal grandmother will turn 92. I’ve always loved listening to stories from my grandma’s childhood on a farm in Iowa and the one-room schoolhouse she attended, how she met my grandpa while living at a boarding house in Ames, Iowa, and the way she married him the day after she turned 21. (Her parents didn’t want her to get married until she was 21—so she waited until one day after.) And when she got married, she opted for a lavender skirt suit that she could (and would) rewear rather than the typical frilly white gown. Practicality at its finest! These stories offer a glimpse of a girl and young woman who seem both so different from and so similar to the woman I know as grandma.
But I’m sure there are still so many stories I’ve never heard, and in the busyness of life it can be hard to make time to simply sit down, ask questions and listen. (Though, even as I write this I’m thinking, “Just make time for it, Amy!”) So, when I read about Edina resident Dietrich Nissen’s company, Inherited Stories (page 28), I wanted him to create video memories for all my loved ones. What a gift it would be to have both the heard and unheard stories of their lives, immortalized on video!
Speaking of stories—we have some other great ones in this issue. There’s an Edina High School alum who turned a hobby into a passion and is competing in two world championship triathlons this year (page 20); a dog that won several competitions of her own (page 16); a co-working space that offers female business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers a place to gather and connect (page 34) and some fun outdoor events around town!
Inspired by these stories, I hope you’ll take some time this month to sit down with loved ones and listen to their stories, try out a new hobby and enjoy some time outside while connecting with friends or colleagues, old and new!
-Amy Overgaard
