- [Voiceover] The following program is a production of Pioneer Public Television.

- [Voiceover] This program on Pioneer Public Television is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Additional support provided Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a non-profit, rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Windham in southwestern Minnesota.

shalomhillfarm.org The Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center.

Your ideal choice for Minnesota resorts, offering luxury town homes, 18 holes of golf, Darling Reflections Spa, Big Splash Water Park and much more.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a relaxing vacation or great location for an event.

ExploreAlex.com Easy to get to, hard to leave.

(calm music) - Welcome to Postcards, I'm Dana Johnson.

Today we get a taste of local pastries of the Benson Bakery, visit the DNR memorial in New Ulm, and meet a special artist in Chandler, Minnesota.

But first, meet Glen Johnson, founder of the Lake Lillian Crier.

- Patriots, parents, postmasters, we need you to get behind the United States Saving Stamps Program.

The Peace Patrol is for everyone.

- So I start at the beginning?

My name is Glen Johnson from Lake Lillian, Minnesota.

I had to work on the farm from the time I was six years old.

My grandfather used to wake me every morning at a quarter to five.

We worked from daylight til dark, almost every day of the week, winter and summer.

We always raised 300 hogs, we had at least 1000 chickens, we raised turkeys, and we always raised livestock.

For 138 years, it's been managed by members of the family.

My father was chairman of the local school board and in politics he was precinct chairman.

And when he went to the county conventions, I would go along and we'd listen to politics and we were well-stocked with posters.

And my job was to be sure they were properly put up.

And of course played baseball, everybody played baseball.

I played baseball in high school.

I played baseball on the town team.

That's how I met my beautiful wife.

I met her at a basket social, raising money for the baseball team.

After 19 years on the farm, it was very hard times.

Jobs weren't available, and in school I had learned something about journalism, so I decided to start a newspaper in Lake Lillian, Minnesota, population 300, and 30 business places, so I had to teach them that advertising paid.

I married Lavonne and started a newspaper about the same time.

When I was running the newspaper, I had all kinds of other jobs.

During the day I ran the newspaper and three months in the summer time, I was night foreman of the alfalfa plant.

A little later on, I was offered a job building the highway, and I got a job driving a six by truck for $2.75 an hour, 12 hours a day.

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

That was more money than I could ever imagine.

We borrowed $800 to start the paper and after 12 years of running it, we sold it for $9000.

Not a lot of income for all those hard times.

We decided to start a fishing and boating news because there were a lot of lakes in the area and it was a tourist area.

They laughed me out of both banks because they weren't gonna lend any more money to a small town like that.

Given the opportunity, I would start a bank in that town that was gonna be bigger than they were.

As it turned out, I was able to do that.

I put the bank together, I had to find a banker and a contractor so we could build a building.

It was doing very well and then one day, our banker, Leo Persh, said to one of the young ladies working in the bank, "We're not all equal, you know?"

And they actually were on strike for over a year.

And it was called "The Willmar 8".

It didn't seem to hamper our growth, and we eventually sold the bank.

Well, I stayed involved in politics during the years.

I ran Hubert Humphrey's campaign for the Senate, the seventh district in 1960.

Huber Humphrey was in the Senate, and he was Vice President under Lyndon Johnson.

We became fast friends.

He was really my mentor.

I asked him if he could find me a job, and he said there was an area manager's spot in the savings bond division in the US Treasury.

And I took the job thinking it would be at least a stopgap, because I had a young family and I needed to feed them.

When he got sick and died, we were on the plane together coming back from Washington, talking about all the good days.

And they literally had to pull us off the airplane.

When the national director resigned, there were 55 people in line for the job.

I happened to be in Washington with my volunteer chairman who was president of Minneapolis Honeywell.

And Fred Deming, now the undersecretary of the Treasury, we were having dinner and he came over to my table and said, "Tomorrow morning, "you have an appointment with the president."

So that was pretty heady stuff for a farm kid from Minnesota.

Sure enough, the president showed up, and he said, "Hi Glen, I'm Lyndon.

"Tell me why you should have this job."

After about a half an hour, he wiped a tear from his eye and he said, "You know, I had always thought "that I was gonna have this job for my best friend.

"And now I'm gonna have to tell him "he's not gonna get the job.

"Congratulations, you're my new director."

That was a very happy moment.

I called my wife to tell her and the next day, came home and we celebrated our wedding anniversary a day late.

("We've Got Another Bond to Buy" by Bing Crosby) The purpose of getting Hollywood people involved was they were easy to get publicity for and that helped sell savings bonds all over the country.

In fact, many of them traveled with me around the country and because they were there, we could get on radio, we could get on television.

Of course I met with the head of Warner Brothers to produce movies for us, which he did.

He did the Rowan and Martin movie, although I wrote the movie, but he produced it.

And I had a chance to have a couple hours visiting with Johnny Cash, which was very interesting.

The first year I was national director, we sold over $55 billion worth of savings bonds.

Which was a record for all time.

- You don't think even for one moment I'd force you or anyone to buy savings bonds.

- [Glen] Everything was going great and then Richard Nixon came to my office.

I was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

So he said I had done such a wonderful job.

- I never realized before what a wonderful thing we have here in America.

- The whole time, he had already signed the papers saying I had to go.

And my government career ended two weeks later.

- You're safe because United States Savings Bonds and Stamps.

You're safe because United States Savings Bonds and Stamps.

- The first thing you know, you'll have enough for a savings bond, just like dad buys with the payroll savings at work.

And from then on, the sky is the limit.

Take it from Superman.

- I had a family, I had a mortgage, and I was really in desperate straits.

And I was lucky I got a job with a bank marketing firm in New York.

If I made a sale, I got paid.

And I spent a year there before I had the opportunity to go to federated investors.

Certainly in our lifetime, there have been lots of highs and lots of lows.

Certainly the loss of our children was almost incredible.

Our son, he died waiting for a liver that never came.

And our daughter died of lung cancer at 51 and she never smoked a cigarette in her life.

Our son left three young girls, my daughter left a son and a daughter.

And so, we've been very active in supporting them.

And I now have two great-grandsons and they're the joy of our life.

That's what makes life worthwhile.

She has been the reason I have been able to do all these things.

She's always been supportive and very much behind everything I've ever done.

And she had to raise the kids along the way.

It was my son's dying wish that we start a wetland.

And that's why I insisted we get it done while I was still in control.

One of the rewards of being able to work at these high levels and reach even high income, I was able to put the family farm in an estate.

It's gonna stay in the family for the next 360 years.

So, the wetland is gonna be maintained.

We have endowed the Johnson Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, which has its whole staff and teaches ethics to profts and non-profits and other countries.

I've always had a determination to get better and better jobs in my life, and I think I've been successful in that.

I never take no for an answer if I know that I'm right.

("We've Got Another Bond To Buy" by Bing Crosby) - Now let's see what's in the oven at the Benson Bakery as they celebrate over 80 years of business in small town Minnesota.

(gentle acoustic guitar music) - My name is Toby Johannessen with the Benson Bakery and Coffee Shop.

I am the business owner here.

- Just those two there?

- And we're located here in Benson, Minnesota.

We've been in business for 112 years, going all the way back to when the building was built in 1900.

Been in operation in the family for about 80 years.

In fact, we're celebrating our 80th anniversary this Thursday.

The basic history is that when the building was built, it was originally built as a bakery.

My family got involved in it back in 1932.

Norsk and Irene are my grandparents and they had purchased the business in 1932, and my mom and dad, Jerry and Carol, they purchased the business in 1972.

So, that would be the three generations of our family.

- I was born in Benson and we lived upstairs in the apartment upstairs here for about 17, 18 years before I was married.

And I've been here ever since.

(gentle acoustic guitar music) - I'll get that outta your way.

- I help out a little bit.

I do the book work, and I make a mess of it.

I used to complain about all the work we had.

Dad used to say well, he had a half day's work done before they'd even started with the baking.

We make lefse all year round, mainly since...

I started probably.

We used to make lefse all the time.

Mainly it was for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It's not a big sale, but it's steady, you know?

My granddaughter, Tanya, I'm teacher her how to make lefse.

Not a big deal, except if you're making it, then it is a big deal, you know.

- This is our dinner roll machine, so you just pop them through like that and they come out rolled, and you can adjust it so you can make them longer or shorter, however you wanna do it.

- [Toby] We've been very fortunate with the three times that we've changed ownership that it's been able to be a success.

And so we're looking at possibly having a fourth generation of ownership here.

My daughter is currently working in the business.

- I have only done a little bit of night frying, so but that'll be the next thing I'll do.

Night frying, where we make all the stuff that's out front like the donuts and stuff.

Yeah, so, I haven't done a whole lot of that yet, but otherwise I've done pretty much everything else for the most part.

- [Voiceover] Now what're you working on?

- I'm working on an order for caramel croissants.

- [Voiceover] Caramel croissants?

- Yep.

Would you like to try one?

(laughs) They're really good.

Hey dad.

- [Toby] Yeah?

- [Tanya] What flavor is this?

The other one here.

- That's jelly and lemon.

You don't see, in fact there's not a lot of bakeries in small town Minnesota or outstate.

They become very rare.

Part of it is the labor costs involved in the equipment.

Another is in the training and the skill level of the bakers.

But to have a third generation in a small town is pretty rare.

This is our candy, kiss candy, kiss cookie.

Okay, this is peanut brittle, and we're just in the beginning stages here.

I've got some water, glucose, sugar.

And then from there, I'll be adding the peanuts into the hot glucose.

And we're looking for a hard crack, or a medium to hard crack, which is about 290.

And then I'm gonna take it from there and I'll move it over to the marble bench there where it'll cool.

The recipes we use come from different sources.

And I'll just start scaling here.

Grandpa Norsk had a number of recipes that he came up with as he was learning the business.

And he had worked in a number of bakeries so he had access to formulas.

My dad attended Dunwoody Institute, so he has a number of bakery recipes that he's used down through the years.

(gentle acoustic guitar music) The reason this bakery is successful is because we have customers that are very loyal to the bakery.

We have formulas, recipes, that date back to my grandfather's time.

And so they've been tried and true.

They work.

And we have a number of employees that have been with us for a very long time.

It's that length of time that gives our employees an advantage.

They know the business, they know what the customers want.

- Six to ten of them, and then do the bigger ones also.

And then label them.

I am decorating a cake for somebody at the hospital.

And they want it to be like, something to do with nurse.

She must be retiring.

- [Voiceover] So you do all that freehand?

- [Becky] Yeah, I do.

- [Voiceover] The lettering, that's all freehand?

- Absolutely, yep.

Yes it is.

I usually do... - [Voiceover] You're an artist.

- So they tell me, yes.

Yeah, I am.

- There's a lot of history here and you start to learn some of that when customers come in and they talk about when they were young.

That they used to come in here.

And you realize that people have a connection.

It's not just the building or just the bakery, but it's the whole ambiance of it.

How it kind of worked within them in terms of when they were young.

One of our products, the peanut squares, or some people call them the mocha bars, those are very popular.

We have a lot of customers that come from out of state, even, to get those.

- [Becky] I usually do a big tray of them like that and then I pack the peanuts on it like that and square them off.

And that is a peanut square.

And this is what people love.

They come from all over to buy peanut squares.

- That's one that not a lot of other bakeries have been able to reproduce.

And so we're kinda known for our peanut squares here in town.

You realize that you have an impact on other people's lives and that's kind of a neat thing.

(gentle acoustic guitar music) - At our next stop, we visit the DNR Memorial in New Ulm, and discover some little-known history about a tragic event that happened in the 1940s.

(bagpipe music) More than 60 Department of Natural Resources conservation officers marched into a special memorial dedication ceremony in New Ulm.

It was a ceremony to honor three Minnesota game wardens who were killed by a commercial fisherman on July 12, 1940, in the southern Minnesota town of Waterville.

- The death of these three men in 1940 serve to remind us that there is a cost beyond dollars and cents that goes to preserving our natural resources for future generations.

We remember these wardens as an example of the risks we take but also as a reminder of the value we place on preserving the resources for future citizens of this state.

That we would ask our officers to chance the ultimate sacrifice so that others may enjoy the beauty and bounty of Minnesota's outdoors.

- [Voiceover] The wardens who lost their lives in the line of duty that summer day were Dudley Britey of Windham, A. Nelvin Holt of Worthington, and Marcus Whipps of Kasota.

At the ceremony, a game warden badge and US Flag was presented to the family members of the fallen wardens.

And the event also helped to provide a sense of closure.

- Very nice, a little late, but very nice.

The three wardens that did this, I really appreciate it.

- This obviously showed how much everybody cares by all these officers here today and I think it's very touching.

Very touching moment and I'm so glad I was able to come and that my mom is still alive to see it, you know?

After all these years.

She's 92 and so, I'm so happy I could bring her to see this.

- [Voiceover] The killing of the wardens led to significant changes for the good in the way Minnesota fish and game laws are enforced.

Shortly after their deaths, wardens became uniformed conservation officers and were issued side arms.

Conservation officer Mike Scott helped organize the memorial event.

- If I can make that difference, my life is just that much richer.

And I don't look for anything out of this, I don't want any recognition, but what I get out of this is seeing the smiles on family, seeing the relief that their father was honored for what he did, for the fact that he died.

It's just an emotional thing for me, and it's something that I can take personally.

Look back and say that I did something and I impacted this family and I gave them some of the closure they should have had.

(trumpet music) - [Voiceover] The consevation officers memorial is located at the DNR's regional headquarters in New Ulm.

This is Steve Carol reporting.

- Finally, let's meet with artist Primi Manteiga, an extraordinary talent from Chandler, Minnesota.

(upbeat guitar music) (speaking foreign language) - [Voiceover] My name is Primi Manteiga.

I was born in Spain in Galicia.

(speaking foreign language) I moved from Spain to Venezuela when I was 16 years old and spent my whole life there until four years ago when I decided to move to the United States to be with my kids.

(speaking in a foreign language) I started in art when my daughter was six or seven years old.

(speaking in a foreign language) She liked to paint and I sent her to painting class and the teacher sent her homework.

(speaking in a foreign language) But one day, she said she didn't like the painting she was working on, and she said, "Mom, I want to throw it away because I don't like it."

And I said, "I'm not going to throw it away "because this costs money.

"Leave it there and I'll finish it.

"I'll help you."

This was the beginning of painting for me and I haven't been able to stop ever since.

I began with painting.

After that, I continued with sculpture and stained glass as well.

(speaking in a foreign language) I do all kinds of sculpture including in rock, bronze and wood.

(speaking in a foreign language) And I really like stained glass.

I think it's the most complicated forms of art, and I like the big formats for churches.

(speaking in a foreign language) I've received a lot of awards for my art, the more important being the Order of Andres Beo, and the gold medal from Congress.

(speaking in a foreign language) I made a collection of indigenous Venezuelans with 47 works of art in the time of Christopher Columbus arriving in America.

(speaking in a foreign language) The collection includes painting, sculpture, stained glass, and a book explaining the history.

(speaking in a foreign language) I've also made five stamp collections.

Three were of the indigenous Venezuelans, one of Simon Bolivar, and the last one for Christmas.

(speaking in a foreign language) The stamps are for stamp collectors and I'm proud because it was a small collection that went all around the world.

(speaking in a foreign language) I had an art school in my house in Venezuela.

(speaking in a foreign language) I had a big house there.

I had women's and men's groups and a big group of kids the school sent me to teach.

(speaking in a foreign language) I taught painting, sculpting, and stained glass.

It was a happy group.

We not only worked, but we celebrated birthdays, we danced, and we had fun.

Art is my life, and I'll continue to create until I can't any longer.

- Well that's all for this week.

For more information, go to our website.

See you again next time on Postcards.

- [Voiceover] This program on Pioneer Public Television is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Additional support provided Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a non-profit, rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Windham in southwestern Minnesota.

shalomhillfarm.org The Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center.

Your ideal choice for Minnesota resorts offering luxury town homes, 18 holes of golf, Darling Reflections Spa, Big Splash Water Park and much more.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a relaxing vacation or great location for an event.

ExploreAlex.com Easy to get to, hard to leave.

(calm music)