The Heggestad Boys

In Memoriam

Harold

Martin & Marian Heggestad were both long time employees of Hoplin & Nelson Hardware, actually much more than employees to the Hoplin family.  (see my Lowry Hardware post). They had 3 children: Lorraine, who often was my babysitter and now lives in Fergus Falls; Harold & Merlin, known respectively as Bubby & Bumps.  It was pretty clear why Merlin was "bumps" as he always seem to be bandaged.  Bubby is more of a mystery.  One theory is my Uncle Buddy put the tag on him.  Bud's buddy Bubby.

Harold passed away on Aug 13th having suffered from Parkinsons for several years.  [See Bedford, MA obituary]. Merlin died of cancer in 2005.  Harold graduated from Glenwood High and went off to Boston & MIT and worked at Lincoln Labs until his retirement.  On a visit to Lowry in the 80's, he told me he was working on a project in Kwajelein Island to hit a bullet with a bullet. I later learned this was Reagan's ABM system.  Merlin worked for United Hardware in Minneapolis, the wholesale supplier for Hardware Hank.  Hoplin & Nelson was one of the 1st hardwares to sign up for this buyers' consortium in the 50's.

Dahl House apt

When I was still in knee-pants, Bubby & Bumpy let me tag along occasionally on their never-ending adventures. At the time we lived in the apartment above the Dahl House, with its switch-back wooden stairs down to the alley back of Main Street. In the winter, the snow from the alley and environs was plowed into a pile in the vacant lot between Henry Bosek's Grocery and Opheim's Meat Market. The Heggestad boys led me up the back stairs and onto the flat roof of the rear of the Dahl House apartment jumping down to the lower flat roof of Hank's store - tiptoeing as to not arouse the owner - and thence leaping from the roof into the snow pile. A Winter Carnival.

Merlin & David

Other times, there were hours in Martin & Marian's garage disassembling stuff to see how it worked and then reassembling to see if it still would, sometimes successfully.  And inventions: Soap box cars, go carts, clothespins holding baseball cards in bike spokes to make the bike sound like a motorcycle, building Martin houses, tree climbing ... endless mischief.





They were my heroes.


Copyright © 2016 Dave Hoplin