When I was a young boy, my parents (Monica Oftel (Myhre) and Roald Oftel) would occasionally vacation in the Northwest corner ofMinnesota spending time in Stephen, Argyle, and Warren. I probably wore out my welcome at Grandpa Joe’s International Harvesterdealership but kids that like machinery and equipment have a way of doing exactly that. We traveled to Warren many times and watched Harold’s family grow and grow.
One fun memory I have was watching Harold participate in a buggy race over at the Warren fairgrounds. Mind you, this wasn’t a typical buggy race; the buggies were pulled with ostriches. Unfortunately, the weather had rained significantly and the strong ostriches were no match for “Gumbo.” In case you don’t recognize the term, gumbo is the local term for sticky mud. The birds were unhitched from the carts and I believe Uncle Harold was able to remain on the back of one huge honking bird for most of the straight away.
Harold liked toys. Soon after Artic Cat began production, Harold purchased a snowmobile called the Panther. Our family left the cities for a Thanksgiving road trip and Uncle Harold was very excited to show me his new toy. It looked really nifty but one of the requirements is snow and the outside ground was very brown. We had a great meal that couldn’t be beat and started relaxing by the fire. What would you expect from Norwegians and Swedes? All of a sudden it started snowing and the snow was coming down very fast. Within a few hours, there was about six inches of that beautiful what stuff. Yep, Uncle Harold motioned me to the garage and that was all it took. I rode through the cemetery, the fair grounds, and anyplace that looked reasonable. Got it stuck and discovered it only went forward. Oh well, it sure was fun getting cold.
I’m positive Uncle Harold had a fulfilled and interesting life. My best wishes to family and friends. May God bless!
Rick Oftel
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