Alumni Honored as 2003 “Top Aggies” at NWSA Reunion
Four alumni of the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) were recognized as “Top Aggies" for the year 2003 at the annual reunion held recently at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC).
Receiving the honors were
(below, from left) Rodney Lindstrom ’33 of Lake Park, Minn.;
Johanna Nabben Green ’23 of Grafton, N.D.; Les Nielsen ’55 of Plymouth,
Minn.; and Myrtle Hanson Marti ’38 of St. Paul, Minn.
The Top Aggie Awards were established in 1970 to honor Northwest School of Agriculture alumni, faculty, and staff who, in the eyes of the NWSA Alumni Association, have had a significant impact on the lives of their fellow citizens through professional and service contributions in their occupations, community, church, education, and other service and non-profit organizations.
The NWSA was a residential high school operated by the University of Minnesota from 1905 through 1968 on the campus that is now UMC. There have been a total of 5,433 NWSA alumni.
Johanna Nabben Green ‘23
This reunion marked the eightieth class reunion for Johanna Nabben Green. She is one of 28 students who graduated in the NWSA Class of 1923. She loved her time at the NWSA and recounts that she was never homesick. “The time I spent at the NWSA helped turn a timid country girl into a confident young woman,” says Green, “and the activities fostered lifetime friendships.”
Green was born the third child of ten and was the eldest daughter. At seventeen, she graduated from the NWSA and went to Moorhead State Teacher’s College. While there, she took special intensive courses that prepared her to teach in rural schools. Upon completing the training, she was ready to “write” her teacher’s examination, and that fall she was issued a temporary teaching permit. When she turned eighteen she would receive her official teaching certificate.
She began her teaching career at Mud Lake, east of Holt, Minn., where she taught eight students. She taught at a number of schools in northwestern Minnesota and in North Dakota until 1929, when she married George Green. Many of the teachers in those one-room schools served as officers in local clubs and organizations, and she is grateful and proud to be one of them.
While at the NWSA, Green was involved in Girl’s Glee Club, mixed chorus, class play, and the Sanford Society. She received the Caleb Dorr Scholarship that recognized students making the greatest progress during the 1922-23 school year. She began her leadership role in life by taking on the role of president of the YWCA while a student at the NWSA. One of her jobs was to introduce the Sunday evening speaker for chapel. She says she grew to have many opportunities to use the public speaking skills she gained as a student.
Green has two children, Manvel (’49) and Carol (’52) and 24 grandchildren. She continues to reside in her own apartment in Grafton, N.D., and enjoys her family, embroidery, quilting, and reading.
Rodney Lindstrom ‘33
A member of the NWSA class of 1933, Rodney Lindstrom has been involved in many things. He went to work following his graduation from the NWSA in greenhouses and nurseries in Thief River Falls, Minn., and Storm Lake, Iowa. He served in Europe during WWII from 1944-46. Following the war, Lindstrom farmed with his brother and father and was responsible for the bookkeeping for the farm until 1959, when he joined the Becker County Sheriff’s Department, where he served as chief deputy sheriff for eighteen years.
“Most of my commitments relate back to life at the NWSA,” says Lindstrom. “I appreciate the campus and school instruction and the first-class teachers.”
At the NWSA Lindstrom was president of his class, worked under T.M. McCall in the greenhouse and horticulture department, and was captain of the 1933 basketball team. He also played football and was involved with the Y.M.C.A. He attended law enforcement seminar and short course and later taught G.I. farm training for two years in Becker County.
When the class of 1933 held their 60th class reunion, Lindstrom encouraged his class to attend, and he became a catalyst in keeping his classmates in communication. He has always been concerned about his fellow classmates and is proud to be an Aggie. He is also a true Minnesota Twins fan and listens to all the games. At 90 years of age, he continues to be active in his church, Eksjo Swedish Lutheran, in Lake Park.
Lindstrom has served his community through service on the Land O’ Lakes Creamery Board, secretary of the Lake Park Shopping Association, church boards, choir, and Lion’s Club. His wife of 65 years, Gen, passed away in 2001. He has a son, Vincent, who resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Myrtle Hanson Marti ‘38
Growing up near Twin Valley, Minnesota, Myrtle Hanson Marti rarely traveled as a child. Attending the NWSA exposed her to many new people and experiences. She was an active student during her school years and was captain of the basketball team, played volleyball, and swam. She was also a cheerleader for four years.
Marti learned to value education and to appreciate people’s differences through her time at the NWSA. “My educational and recreational activities at the NWSA in many ways helped me chart my course through life,” she says.
It was at the NWSA that Marti “gained the courage” to attend the University of Minnesota. She loved making friends from all over, and she was involved with the Lutheran Student Association where she helped write and publish the weekly bulletin. During her three years at the University of Minnesota, she majored in home economics and minored in physical education. Unfortunately, she was unable to finish her degree due to the realities brought about by World War II.
Following her husband’s death, Marti took part in several Elderhostel trips to Arizona, China, Australia, and New Zealand. She also became involved in aerobics classes and eventually in another form of exercise—running. Marti was persuaded to run a local 5K race, and after that she says she was hooked. She has run in over 35 races, some with her children and grandchildren. She refers to those as her favorite races.
Marti has four children and considers her job as a mother and homemaker to be the most rewarding of her life. When the children were all in school, she worked as a lab technician at the ammunition plant that had reopened for the Vietnam War. After it closed, she worked at Land O’ Lakes as a lab technician in the analytical lab testing food products.
Marti says she enjoyed volunteering at 3M, where she helped cook and serve many ethnic dinners for their Language Society. She has a life-long love affair with cooking and enjoys passing on her Norwegian heritage to her eight grandchildren and her friends through cooking and baking.
Les Nielsen ‘58
Les Nielsen learned that hard work and determination can give you unlimited opportunities. He says, “All the activities and achievements from the Northwest School gave me the confidence and direction that I have needed these past 45 years.” In addition to his studies at the NWSA Nielsen was involved in swimming and the cross-country track team. He was also on the Aggie yearbook staff and a member of the National Honor Society.
After graduating in 1958, Nielsen moved to Minneapolis, where Clint Bergman, one of his instructors from the NWSA, hired him to work in his silo construction business. Since the work was seasonal, Nielsen was able to attend the University of Minnesota in the off season. He worked and attended classesn for nine years until he completed his degree in business administration. During this time he served eight years with the Minnesota National Guard.
In 1968, he and his childhood neighbor and friend, Gene Ellingson, started a company they named Herc-U-Lift, Inc., a forklift truck and material handling equipment distributorship. Nielsen has served as president of the company for 36 years. It is now the largest material handling dealership in Minnesota and covers western Wisconsin and South Dakota, and it employs 180 workers at five full-service locations.
Nielsen has been active in his church in Plymouth and has served on its council and miscellaneous committees. He has served on the board of the Maple Plain Chamber of Commerce and as its president. He has also served on the board of the MHEDA, the 800-member National Trade Association and was president in 1989. Nielsen currently serves on the board of the “Village Ranch Boys Home,” Bank of Maple Plain, and the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) College Advisory Committee.
Les received the UMC Torch and Shield Award in 2001, and he and June, his wife of 45 years, established the Mitch (Lien) Nielsen Memorial Scholarship Endowment to UMC in memory of their son, who was killed in a traffic accident. They also have a son, Brian, who will continue to lead Herc-U-Lift for another generation.
Posted 06/26/2003
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8435