HEART OF STEELE

When I was in eighth grade, the school gave us some tests to help guide our career paths. I was told to steer clear of any career that involved spatial ability.

I still am not sure what that meant, but I suspect it’s why I had so much trouble last week making pressman’s hats at the Minnesota Newspaper Museum.

The museum has for years has shown fairgoers how newspapers were once printed with lead type, then folded into quarters for distribution. Volunteers work throughout the week on those old machines and talk about how the printing process works.

Volunteers also share the importance of a free press and transparency in government, along with the critical role newspapers play in maintaining a healthy community.

I’m fond of the museum for two reasons: First, volunteer coordinator Michelle Leonard worked for me when I managed the Lakeville Life & Times. Second, the editor’s desk installed in a corner of the museum belonged to our publisher Dick Sherman, who passed in 2018.

Spending a shift at the museum was among the things I’ve been looking forward to since I moved back to Minnesota.

Of course, nobody told me about the hats.

The printed instructions might as well have been written in Greek, but Michelle sat patiently and showed me the steps. It still felt like I wasn’t really getting it.

Then I remembered the steps of learning something new: Watch one, do one, teach one. And two delightful little girls gave me an opportunity to complete my education. After that, making the hats seemed fun and–aside from a few errant folds–easy as pie.

I hope learning is like that for all the Steele County kids who are headed into a new school year. From the bottom of my heart, I wish them new adventures and the satisfaction that comes with mastering a new lesson or skill.