Woggles, goggles, snoggles and minus 5. If those words are a part of your vocabulary, then you had Larry “Bear” Carlson as a schoolteacher. A graduate of St. Olaf College and former teacher at Silver Bay and Shattuck Military Schools, Bear came to Cook County with a passion for teaching that he shared with each of the classes he taught. “I am not here to just teach you chemistry or physics, I am here to teach you to think.” And he kept his word.
Born in Duluth to first and second-generation Finnish Immigrants Ruth and Swen Carlson, Bear’s formative years were experienced in the multi-cultural neighborhood on Raleigh Street in West Duluth. It was there that he learned to play hockey on outdoor rinks and delivered papers to the many who scratched out a living in their new country. Weekends were spent at his grandparents’ farms in Cloquet, where he and his cousin Linnea learned lessons from a strong family that encouraged them to explore life. He played hockey, participated in a winning debate team at Denfeld High School, played classical accordion (not to mention the oom pah pah of the Iron Range). He found adventure in the out of doors, canoeing and hiking the Grand Portage Trail from Ely with his brother Sherm, camping with friends and hunting with his father. He developed his fishing skills in the St. Louis River with his best friend, Jack. His love for fishing was nurtured by his father, who took him to Lake Superior’s north shore and Canada.
It was when he was program director at YMCA Camp Miller, that he caught the attention of a young woman who would become his life partner. The lure of the North Shore and the lakes and streams of Cook County enticed the couple to move to Grand Marais, where they were enveloped by the culture of lake, forest and rural living. They brought up their two sons, Jay (Gyro) and Todd, in the area of Colvill, instilling in them their love and respect for nature’s creation. Larry, called “Bear” or “Muckwa” by his students, continued to teach chemistry, physics and sciences and stayed involved in the many aspects of education.
Bear was well suited to rural community life. He played his accordion in a band with Joyce Krueger, Bill Tormandson and a pick-up drummer (often his brother). For several years he sang tenor (really!) in a barbershop quartet. He curled, played softball, hunted moose and deer, and of course, fished. He fished wherever there were fish, so he spent much of his time on most of the North Shore and Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oregon. With his son as first mate (and fish cleaner), he had a summer charter business in the summer months called Teddy Bear Charters until he retired and was able to follow his dreams to Alaska.
Fishing was more than a sport to Bear. It was a part of the core of who he was, a way of life, and a means of connection to creation outside of himself. His closest friends shared in the challenges of the river and the mystique of the Lake. There is a certain sacredness about being in the presence of all of nature… peace, calm, wildness and danger…all present…at one time.
In time he returned full circle to Grand Marais, where he served two terms as mayor of Grand Marais, seeking to preserve the integrity of the woods and lakes that brought him there 50 years before. He reconnected with his wife, EvaLyn, and enjoyed the companionship of traveling together, including the now-infamous “Sammy’s Pizza Crawl,” visiting all the original Sammy’s restaurants from North Dakota to Illinois. He was a master duplicate bridge player and participated weekly in a Thunder Bay Bridge Club as well as taught bridge at the Homestead. Together EvaLyn and Larry settled into the comfort of a life well-lived.
Bear’s life ended suddenly and unexpectedly on November 8, 2020.
He leaves a legacy of love in his family; brother Sherm, sons: Jay (Amy) and Todd (Misty), and his life partner and love EvaLyn. Stories will be retold and shared by his friends, the extended families that were important in his life, and the students who may still be pondering, “What color is the yellow wall?”
A gathering of remembrance will be planned for a later date.
If one day you are hiking along the banks of a nearby stream in the early morning and you see a fisherman tossing a line in the water and disappearing around the bend, or if you get a glimpse of a pea-green boat fading into the horizon on Lake Superior, know that a new day has begun and all is well.
Leave a Reply