|
|
Friday, October 13, 2006
|
|
'Welcome' Club reaches out to newcomers By SHEILA HELMBERGER Staff Writer Carla Stall probably doesn't know it, but she's one of the reasons I knew Brainerd would feel like my home someday.
Not long after we arrived in town, on a friend's recommendation, I walked into Lord of Life Church in Baxter on a Wednesday morning for coffee with the Newcomers Club. It felt like the first day of school. The room was full of strange faces and I looked around quickly for a place to sit. Alone. That's when Carla noticed me. She was the president at the time. She had her daughter in her arms, a smile on her face and an outstretched hand, "Is this your first time here?" she asked warmly, "Welcome."
And so I was.
When we arrived in Brainerd we were not new to being new. With a husband in retail we relocated six times in eight years. Our mailing addresses included places like the Twin Cities, Grand Rapids, Duluth and Superior, Wis. We loaded semi-trucks and U-Hauls with everything we owned on a regular basis, moving babies and toddlers and all the toys and equipment it takes to accommodate them. Sometimes we didn't even unpack all the boxes before we were re-loading them onto another truck.
"Getting settled" didn't ever mean that we really were. I felt like a liar whenever I filled in the blank asking for a "permanent address." And I never, ever, "stocked-up" during the stock-up sales. Who wants to haul a 50-pound bag of potting soil a couple hundred miles?
Before coming to Brainerd we lived in a small town in southern Wisconsin for two years. It was on the Mississippi River and flooded after both winters that we lived there. It sat nestled between two high bluffs and the autumns were breathtaking, the growing season was long, the weather was mild and the cost of living low. It was a small, close community and we stuck out like sore thumbs.
We never did shed the label of "the new people." Whenever I wrote a check somewhere the cashier would stop punching buttons, look up and say, "Oh, you're the new people." After we'd left I'm sure people probably wondered in coffee shops and church sanctuaries, "Whatever happened to those new people?"
When the opportunity to come to Brainerd presented itself we pursued the transfer with a vengeance. It was time for us to put down some roots, darn it. Give our kids some stability - and this move would bring us closer to our families.
It was definitely easier to get lost in the crowd here. Staying home with a 3-year-old was isolating, though, and after a while I was starved for friendship. I also discovered one of the best-kept secrets in town. The Brainerd Lakes Area Newcomers Club. And I learned that in Brainerd, there are lots of new people to the community.
Betsy Dahlgren-Hoff, current co-president of the organization, lived here for more than a year before someone told her about the club. Co-president Amy Wilson joined almost immediately after arriving in town. Both relocated for their husband's jobs.
Employment is the reason most people relocate. "Both Amy and I had a really hard time moving here," said Dahlgren-Hoff. She was thankful for the chance to meet people and socialize with others in the same situation.
The organization sponsors all kinds of ways to meet people. There are dinner groups for women and for couples. There are book clubs, children's play groups and gourmet-cooking groups. Members receive a monthly newsletter with a listing of events and helpful information. Membership is open to anyone. Lots of activities are planned around the entire family. Yearly dues are $25 and are used to maintain the club and fund the group's major events. Dahlgren-Hoff said there are four: a summer picnic, a fall harvest event, a winter social and spring luncheon. Alumni are invited to both the winter and spring events.
The newcomers' group also offers ways to get out and become active in the community. Members participate in the United Way Chili Cook-off and are responsible for one night a month at the soup kitchen.
The group is an important resource for learning essential information about the area, too, such as: Where can I get a good haircut? Who has the best bakery items in town? Which pizza place makes a killer pizza and offers late-night delivery, and, where is the clinic anyway?
Friendships made in the group are often lifelong.
Jeanette Smith moved to Brainerd after living in Litchfield for 15 years. She and her husband, Vern, have been in Brainerd for six years.
"I didn't have any children left at home when I moved here and it was a hard move," she said.
There had been a newcomers' group in Litchfield and she was pleased to find one here. "I met lots of people," she said. "Some were 25 years old and others were 55. I send everyone I meet to Newcomers."
She also joined a book club that she still belongs to today.
"You know it's kind of interesting É you get in this group with people you didn't know at all and about a year-and-a-half into it, I looked around one day and thought, 'these people are really special to me.'"
Wilson says that is one sentiment they hear over and over again.
"Anyone you talk to, as far as alumni go, say, 'Oh my gosh, all my friends are from Newcomers. I don't know what I would have done without it."
I'm not really sure either.
It's been nine years already since I got up the nerve to walk into a room of strangers for that first morning coffee. Once a month I still gather with women, too, in a Newcomers' book club to discuss the latest literary offerings.
Although we've all found our own places in the community over the years and go in different directions these days, some of the women that I met first when I came to Brainerd are still some of my most special friends.
There are a few key events that happen in our lives that change them entirely.
Relocating to a new community, far from everything that's familiar, is one.
Never underestimate the value of an outstretched hand, a warm greeting and a simple, "Welcome."
For more information on the Brainerd Lakes Newcomers Club, contact Betsy Dahlgren-Hoff at 961-4633, Amy Wilson at 828-4709 or contact the group at brainerdlakesnewcomers@hotmail.com.
SHEILA HELMBERGER can be reached at sheila.helmberger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5886.
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
|
Schools has an opening fo...
|
|
not a
9-5 person,
how about
11-2, 4-...
|
|
CASH!!
Independent Carrier need...
|
|
position plans sales trai...
|
|
is hiring for the following
...
|
|
|
|
Bids Being Accepted
call...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overcast, 61°
