Jane Howard
Some of the things we Americans do out of a sense of duty seem pretty tedious, like driving to a Tofte town board meeting in the pitch dark of a 25-degree-below-zero January night. Some of those things, we later realize, transform themselves into things we feel honored to have done.
Don’t get me wrong; even on the worst of nights, I am rewarded for making the trip from Grand Marais to Tofte. Scandinavian hospitality still rules, with cookies and drinks waiting for those who show up to see the township through another month.
This April, during one of the weeks when icy roads didn’t threaten to jeopardize my life and I didn’t feel like it was bedtime when I left for the meeting, business went on as usual despite the fact that Tom Muntean, one of Tofte’s three supervisors, was out of town.
At that meeting, County Assessor Mary Black discussed property taxes, Dave Rude talked about the speed bump in the park that never flattened out like speed bumps are supposed to do because it’s just too cold by the lake, and Jerry Gervais suggested making an entranceway to the lakeside boardwalk out of an arch-shaped piece of cedar that can sometimes be found in the woods.
Thank goodness for Robert’s Rule of Order, which kept the peace as usual as D.C. Olsen and board chair Paul James voted to put taconite aid in its own savings account and granted Sawbill Canoe Outfitters a 3.2 license to sell beer. Annual appointments were made, with Rich Nelson voted in as fire chief and Louise Trachta as rescue chief for yet another year, perhaps because they really want the jobs, perhaps because they feel a sense of duty.
Every vote began with Paul James saying, “Do I have a motion…?” Either DC or Paul would make the motion, to which Paul would ask, “Do I have a second?” One or the other would second the motion, and Paul would call for a vote. “All those in favor say aye.” Two ayes every time. “Nayes, same sign?” No nayes.
America in action.
Toward the end of the meeting, the board had to decide who would have the duty and the honor of being board chair for the next year. Should we make Tom the chair? Paul asked. Oh, what would he say about that when he gets back to town? someone else wondered. He’d never show up at town hall if we did that to him, Jerry said. Laughter. After deciding that Tom would probably be happiest if Paul continued on as chair, the board voted Paul in once again.
Covering local government has helped me understand how America works. Until I covered county board meetings, school board meetings, and West End township meetings, I listened to people’s opinions but didn’t often form my own. Writing the news with integrity requires that I try to understand and communicate both sides of an issue. I sometimes form an opinion, but not always.
State and national politics elude me, however. I have my opinions about national politics but I often feel hesitant to say anything when I’m in a group of people and the subject comes up.
Many people who share their opinions throw out what they presume to be facts without substantiating the information upon which they are basing those “facts.” I am willing to debate principles, but I don’t like debating assumptions. Did they read a quote of their elected official taking a stand on this topic? Did they watch their elected official making a speech? Did they read the bill to which they refer?
The people whose arguments I take most stock in are those who prove to me that they understand both sides of an issue even if they stand firmly on one side of it.
I don’t feel comfortable arguing many of the decisions being made by our Congressmen, Senators, governor, and President because the amount of information I believe I would need to keep up with in order to take a stand is overwhelming.
I see where it all begins, however, when I go to Tofte (or Schroeder or Lutsen) town board meetings. I suspect that things sometimes get done a little better on the small scale. I have seen over 8% of the population of Schroeder attend a town board meeting (11 people in all!). I have seen town supervisors or caring citizens report that a problem that came up sometime during the month (such as, say, a tree falling over the entrance to the cemetery) is no longer a problem because they did the work and took care of it.
I sang with a group of people at a 4th of July program
in Harbor Park this year. I had trouble, though, because I kept getting all choked up singing about my country, “sweet land of liberty,” “land where my fathers died,” “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
To get to where we are today, people sacrificed their comfort, their security, and their lives. Not everyone has had a fair shake in this country. A lot of bad things have been done to people throughout its history. I am better off, and freer, than many people in this world, however, and I am privileged to be here.
The April night I trudged, duty-bound, to the Tofte meeting I was given more than cookies. I saw one of the tiniest sectors of America functioning with fairness and dignity. On my way home, the moon came up right in the middle of the horizon over Lake Superior – red. It was an honor.
Leave a Reply