HOT PURSUIT

When it comes to longevity, I think Lyle Bohlman of Owatonna could write a book. I’ll try my best to capture a slice of it in this column.
The 88-year-old has been trapping wildlife for 78 years, been married 68 years, been digging graves for 58 years and served as janitor of his church for only 47 years. You might notice only one in that list is past tense (church janitor). I’m sure there are many other milestones along the way, but I think we have the biggies covered.
Let’s start with the trapping. It’s something his father started with him when he turned 10 years old and he hasn’t given up on it. He only missed a year in 2020 because of COVID-19. He even survived a scare with COVID. “I didn’t have it that bad,” he said.
During a recent interview at Rice Lake State Park, I had to do everything I could to keep up with Bohlman. He is a man on the move and then some. He’s also probably one of the most fit people in Steele County.
I share much more about his trapping adventures in this week’s Hometown Extra on Page A12.
Trapping isn't the only thing that occupies Bohlman’s time. For the past 58 years, he has also been digging graves. For much of that time, the grave digging took place at 14 cemeteries throughout the region. The most he ever dug in a single week was nine graves. He said he’s dug more than 4,000 graves by hand.
In recent years, he has had a machine to assist with the digging, but he still digs by hand the graves for cremation burials, which are typically 19 by 32 inches. “That’s a nice hole,” he said, adding “I love to dig them by hand.”
Bohlman said trapping and grave digging have actually worked hand-in-hand. “I was running a trap line along the way as I would drive to cemeteries to dig graves,” he said. “It was a primetime deal.”
More recently, Bohlman has scaled back his grave digging to two area cemeteries—Memorial Gardens and St. John’s in Owatonna. And, he added, the end may be near as he looks to pass it off to his grandson, Brandon Bohlman. “I may hang it up this year,” Lyle Bohlman said of the grave digging, which has been in the family for four generations.  
One of Lyle’s sons, Leon Bohlman, laughed at that notion. “He’s been saying that for years,” Leon Bohlman told me.
If for some reason, Lyle Bohlman follows through, don’t fret as he already has a new adventure underway — a quail business. He plans to devote more time to selling quail.
Lyle Bohlman also finds himself busy on the home front. He takes care of his wife, Delores, who suffered a stroke a few years ago and utilizes a walker to get around. He does all the cooking and housework, including the laundry, while she handles the finances. He sneaks out of the house to do the trapping and grave digging.
Of marriage, Bohlman said: “Those years fly by so fast.”
Bohlman also logged 47 years as janitor at United Methodist Church in Owatonna. His wife also helped out at the church.
It’s suffice to say Bohlman doesn’t sit around.
“You have to keep busy and keep your mind busy,” he said. “You have to keep moving boy… that’s the name of the game.”
Asked what he does in his spare time, Bohlman chuckled. “I don’t have any spare time. I may sit in my chair and take a nap once in a while.”
But he’s not looking to get too comfortable.
“If you sit in that chair, you won’t be around very long,” Bohlman said. “Moving, working, trapping, digging and having my cold one. We keep moving. That’s why I’m still alive.”
As far as living as long as he has, Bohlman said: “You have to eat good to keep your body going. Stay away from the fast foods.”
Bohlman is definitely in hot pursuit of longevity in all aspects of his life.