Koehlers, Seaworth lead rainy Lund Mania Parade

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

As the Lund Mania parade took off on Friday, so did its grand marshals, Duane “Buzzer” and Ruth Koehler, and Dr. Tom Seaworth at the forefront.

“It was quite a surprise to me,” said Duane about being offered the title. “I always wear Lund gear and stuff like that. I go to the Postmaster Convention as a retiree and I always have Lund products to give and they auction them off for scholarships. In fact, both of our granddaughters got scholarships from money that’s been raised from silent auctions or live auctions we’ve held. I’ve kind of always been an ambassador for Lunds.”

Seaworth was also surprised with the offer when he received the news that he’d been asked to be a grand marshal.

“It’s certainly an honor,” said Seaworth. “They said the Koehlers were going to do that—I’ve known them for years, they’re great folks. It’s always been a great celebration, the community comes together. Lund Mania is such a big celebration, not just for New York Mills, but for the surrounding area because of the importance of it being an employer.”

Latham Hetland, president of the NY Mills Civic & Commerce association, saidthat the grand marshals had been selected to recognize their years of dedication to the community.

“The grand marshals are important because we have such a strong history of community leaders in NY Mills. It’s important to give them recognition for their years of dedication to helping grow our community into what it is today.”

All three grand marshals have played important roles in the community during their time in NY Mills.

“Buzzer and Ruth have been members of the NY Mills community for a long time,” said Hetland. “Buzzer’s years of service as the postmaster and Ruth educating our youth (myself included!) along with Buzzer’s years of dedication and service to many community organizations is unmatched.

“Dr. Seaworth has been a crucial asset to our community over the decades as well,” he continued. “We have relied on him as a community over the years in a variety of ways. We were fortunate to use his intelligence and wit when we were traversing through the COVID-19 pandemic in NY Mills. In addition, he has been an active C&C member for many years, and has also worked hard to ensure the health and prosperity of our community.”

Seaworth is closing in on retirement and has enjoyed his time working and being active in the community. He lives north of Detroit Lakes, where he has also served on the school board and been president of the Dollars for Scholars program.

“I’ve always been frustrated when I hear from some of my colleagues in different areas where they think that doctors are too busy to participate and I strongly disagree with that,” said Seaworth. “As a physician you have an obligation to give back and also to learn so much about what’s important to your community and what’s going on in your community. You get to meet people and you find out what’s going on and things that you can participate in.”

Duane and Ruth have also held different community positions over the years. Duane served for several terms as president of the Civic & Commerce and five or six times as president of the local Lions Club. He and Ruth are members of the Civic & Commerce and Ruth also contributes as a board member of Finn Creek Open Air Museum.

“That’s always come natural to me,” said Duane. “I have been on the library board. In fact, I was on the board when we hired our current librarian, Julie Adams. So it’s been important to me to be a part of the community, proud of NY Mills. It comes natural to me I guess.

“We’re proud to be with Dr. Seaworth,” continued Duane. “We’re really looking forward to it.”