By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Area columnist and book author Alan “Lindy” Linda celebrated his 80th birthday on Saturday, March 30, at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center. He spent this special afternoon with family members, friends and readers from throughout Otter Tail County.

Lindy has been writing his newspaper column, “The Prairie Spy,” for many years. He also is the author of a book, “The Prairie Spy, Who Shot the Dryer and Other Stories from the Home Front.”

Lindy has lived in New York Mills since he moved to Otter Tail County from Iowa in 1973. He operated a plumbing and heating business in New York Mills and was a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) instructor at M State’s Wadena campus.

“Lindy’s stories of small-town life, his three girls during their growing up years, talking appliances and other stories have provided a lot of fun and laughs over the years,” said former area weekly newspaper editor Steve Schulz.

The New York Mills resident also has shared with readers accounts of his time spent in the U.S. military while serving in Vietnam.

Lindy has been growing and developing apples for more than 40 years. His orchard now has more than 50 trees, including his favorites.

Many baby boomers who are now senior citizens especially enjoy Lindy’s weekly newspaper columns. An example of an attention-grabbing column by Lindy appeared in February, with the start of the column written below:

“In the process of apprenticing my way toward geezerdom, I got up early Saturday morning and found my way into town to the GossipBox Café. The GossipBox Café is where made geezers hang out, much the same way that the Mafia hung out in Italian restaurants and bars. 

“I want to be a made geezer someday. You want to be one of them, you got to hang out with them, find out what makes them tick.”

Another attention-grabbing column was one written by Lindy in March 2024, “Slowing down the speed of time.” Lindy researched Einstein who stated that time slows down if one is moving faster.

“Time seemed to progress more slowly when I was younger,” Lindy wrote. “Remember summers when you were a kid? They seemed to last forever. Add that to the fact you could move faster back then, and Einstein’s theories may in fact have some truth to them. 

“You moved faster; time slowed down. Now I’m moving slower, and time seems to be speeding up.”

Lindy provided an invitation to readers to attend his birthday gathering at the end of his column, “Different Ways to Say Yes and No,” that appeared in area newspapers on March 5. (If you read this far, you’re invited to Lindy’s birthday party at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center on the 30th of March. No presents. Time: 1-4 p.m. Snacks served. It’s his 80th so have mercy.)