Tallitha Reese

Marilyn was interviewed by her granddaughter: Alison Leathers

My Grandma Marilyn is a strong person of faith and has lived a life in service to others; she has an impeccable memory, recalling special memories and family and friends’ birthdays at the drop of a hat; she is a musician and shared her music with thousands of people; she is the queen of card writing, helping to keep the USPS funded; and she has spunk – ready to gracefully stand up for herself and others or share her opinion. To think of Grandma Marilyn is to also think of the Sound of Music playing on her record player; enjoying her julekake, pickled beets, freezer jam, and fruit soup; and enjoying hot summer days tending the vegetable garden and picking strawberries. Marilyn Annette (Myrah) Bunge is a Spring Grove native who grew up on the family farm with three younger brothers. Marilyn enjoyed playing timpani and drums in the Luther College band and played church organ for over 50 years. She married fellow Spring Grove native Waldo Bunge in 1954, and together they raised three children, Andrew, Mary, and Eric. Her commitment to service included leadership roles in the American Lutheran Church Women and in the ELCA Southeastern MN Synod. She also served with a mission team to support Lutheran churches and their work in Bogota, Colombia, and travelled there three times and still keeps in contact with her Colombian friends. Marilyn is always proud that her three children grew up to know and love their grandparents, and she is proud that her seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren have gotten to grow up to love and know their grandparents as well. She keeps busy corresponding with her family and friends via email, mail, and phone calls and streams church services and concerts on her computer. Marilyn keeps her family on their toes with her continued spunk and gratitude for each new day.  

What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?  Be kind to one another is the best advice I have received and try to live by. I know my parents taught me this, and my faith taught me about being kind to everyone. 

Tell us about your life’s path: I attended Luther College beginning in 1948, the same year famed choir director Weston Nobel came to Luther and graduated in 1951 with a Bible and Social Science degree with a minor in Norwegian. Next, I was a parish worker at Grace Lutheran in Fairmont, MN, managing programs for the church parishioners and completing office tasks. I worked for the Dean at Luther College and in the Registrar’s office after getting married, and continued after we had our first child, Andrew. When we moved to Rochester in 1956, I was a stay-at-home mother and welcomed our second child, Mary. We moved to Preston in 1959 and welcomed our third child, Eric, in 1961. I continued to be a stay-at-home mother. There was a need in Preston for someone to teach piano, so I gave it a try and taught for a few years. The only time my kids could watch cartoons was when I was giving a lesson. A few different summers, my family and I worked at Minnewaaken Bible Camp in Cass Lake, MN. Christ Lutheran Church in Preston was in need of an organist, and I was asked to play organ, which I played for 50 years until my eyesight gave out. When my husband retired from teaching, I became the church secretary for Christ Lutheran Church in Preston. In 1992, my husband, three children, and I started our family business, the Cottage House Inn, in Lanesboro, MN. My husband and I were innkeepers until the early 2000s, and it brought us a lot of joy to host others and provide them with a place to relax and enjoy beautiful bluff country.  

Try to describe yourself in one sentence: Marilyn Bunge is a card-writing correspondent, music-lover, grateful for my family – children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and is living a life of faith in service to others.

If you could eat anything every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?  I grew up with my mom making oyster stew on Christmas Eve. I carried on that tradition with my family and grandchildren. That is a favorite meal of mine.

Name one thing you couldn’t live without: I grew up in a world without many things we have today –  electricity, family car, indoor plumbing, running water (we had a pump in the kitchen), and no TV. But the one thing I wouldn’t want to live without is a radio – to hear music, sports, and more.

Tell us about your…Wedding day: Waldo Bunge and I got married on 1/1/54, which everyone thought was crazy, but it turned out to be a wonderful day with a temperature of close to 60 degrees and no snow. We had a fabulous time with our family and friends at Trinity Lutheran Church in Spring Grove, with a reception that included my Grandma Melinda Glasrud’s sandbakkels. My wedding dress was meant to be because the last few weeks I was in Fairmont, our organist had surgery and was unable to play. I played the organ for 8-10 weeks, and my dress cost $100, which was exactly the money I made from playing the organ. My mother Sigrid Glasrud came to Fairmont to help me choose a dress, and that bridal shop redid my mother’s veil for me. The flowers for the wedding were two huge pink poinsettias, and it was the first time I had ever seen a pink poinsettia. My organist friend from Fairmont came to play the organ, and my cousin Helen Vaaler was the soloist who sang “O Perfect Love” and “The Lord’s Prayer.” 

…Favorite Memory: One of my favorite memories is when Waldo and I went to India and Europe during a four-month trip in 1984. We visited a veterinarian who once worked in Lanesboro as a University vet student. He set us up in a guesthouse, and visited schools, a Bible Camp, and friends. Then we went to visit friends in Hungary, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and England. 

Read more awesome probituaries here!

There’s not much of a sibling rivalry for sisters Azia Thelemann and Dani Peterslie, owners of Drift Mercantile in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Okay, there was maybe the occasional disagreement as they worked to open their shop in 2017. But after more than five years of learning and gaining experience, the vibe at Drift Mercantile – “a modern take on the general store” – is all family (even the dogs get to chill).

“Siblings are fun,” Dani says with a smile. “Everything is honestly pretty agreeable at this point. And Drift’s manager, Scout, who has been with us from the start, often feels like a sister as we work very closely with her, attending buying shows and communicating on the daily.”

Drift – as those familiar like to call it – is located at 211 Pearl Street, in the historic John Voegle Building, aka Pearl Street West. It features a curated selection of locally made and inspired goods, selling everything from in-house designed and silk-screen printed apparel to locally crafted gifts and art. It’s a great stop for folks traveling through La Crosse and the Driftless Region looking for souvenirs, or locals looking for some fresh hometown merch.

“We have a team in place that does a really great job in displaying and curating our environment that makes the shopping experience unique,” says Dani. “That alone draws people back to see what’s new and happening!” 

 Daughters of TJ and Michelle Peterslie, founders / owners of The Pearl Ice Cream Parlor, Confectionary, and Coffee House, Azia and Dani joined the family legacy of entrepreneurship at the Pearl Street West building when they opened Drift Mercantile. On the second floor of the building, the Peterslies also operate The Grand Hotel Ballroom event space, and you’ll find TJ’s Cheddarheads gift shop next door. The Peterslie family businesses anchor an iconic and charming section of La Crosse, and Azia and Dani definitely feel honored to see residents and tourists regularly coming in to buy local.

“The love and support we receive from the community, as a whole, is the most rewarding thing about being in business,” Dani says. “Whether it’s seeing some of the same faces time and time again perusing in the shop, or just hearing comments when I walk through that people are happy when in the store and love looking around at everything, it’s those little things that make all the difference.” 

The community is in for another treat – one beyond Pearl Street – this spring as well. Azia and Dani are opening a new shop – Keeper Goods, a “Midwest lifestyle boutique” – at 330 Main Street in downtown Onalaska in April or May this year.

Read more about what inspires these two business-owners in our Sum of Your Business Q&A below, and keep tabs on their shops on Facebook and Instagram: @driftmercantile.

The Basics: 

Azia Thelemann (28 years) and Dani Peterslie (34 years); sisters. 

Business: Drift Mercantile

Year Business Established: 2017 

Business address: 211 Pearl Street, La Crosse WI 54601

Website: www.driftmercantileco.com 

1. Tell us about the “leap” moment. When/how did you decide to jump in and become your own boss?

As sisters growing up in an entrepreneurial household, we always knew that we would follow the same path as our parents in the sense that we really wanted to exercise creative freedom and share our vision with others. The space where Drift Mercantile is located was a former art gallery operated by our parents, which connected TJ’s La Crosse Shop to The Pearl Ice Cream Parlor, also family-owned and operated. In 2017 we were evaluating the businesses and asking ourselves what was missing. Azia had recently graduated from UW-L with a degree in business, and Dani had just finished an entrepreneur training program through The Small Business Development Center. Our business plan for Drift developed through both of these facets coming together. We thought to re-energize the former art gallery space by bringing in a store that offered more of an emphasis on the local La Crosse region – that’s where the concept of Drift was born. We named our store Drift Mercantile after the Driftless region, and because we have a large selection of offerings in the same way that a mercantile does. We sell everything from apparel to art, food to home goods – with an emphasis on locally made or inspired.

2. What’s the best thing about being your own boss?

Dani: We really appreciate the fact we are able to bring ideas to life and share them with like-minded people. It’s even better when it resonates with them and brings them joy! We also enjoy bringing our dogs to work. Just saying!

Azia: I love the flexibility of being my own boss. Even though I work more than just about anyone I know, I also have the freedom to set my hours and pace, book a trip without submitting the dates to HR, or be able to take the day off when the sun is shining and I’d rather be hiking. I feel claustrophobic when I know it is nice outside and I am stuck inside working, so I love being able to do bookkeeping from my patio at home, wake up at 4 am and go in early so I can leave early, or work double today while it’s raining so I can take tomorrow off when it’s supposed to be a beautiful day. (My dog Sunny loves this feature of the boss title too!) I thoroughly enjoy the work that I do for my business, so it makes it easier to be accountable/stay on track and work as much as I do even though I have that flexibility. 

3. How about the worst?

Dani: At times it can feel like there is no disconnect from ‘work.’ Even if you want to shut off that part of your brain, there’s always a little part that says: I still have so much to do, or that I should be doing, and so on…

Azia: The never-ending to-do list does it for me. It doesn’t matter how much I get done in a day, there will always be things that spill over or get put on the back burner that I just don’t have the time or energy for. When you are in essence “the one in charge” you generally get stuck doing the things nobody else wants or knows how to do, and also being damage control when something goes wrong. If there is one saying that seems to be on repeat it would have to be: “It’s always somethin.”

4. Was there ever a hurdle where you just thought, “I can’t do this?” How did you overcome it?

Honestly the COVID pandemic, just because there was so much uncertainty and the challenges were ever-changing. There were many times in the beginning where we wondered if we would ever be able to reopen as we were previously. We don’t have an online shop presence yet, as so many of the items we carry are ever-changing. Further, our vision for Drift was always about the experience we wanted to cultivate versus just the items we sell. A lot of what we love about our business is being downtown, in a storefront, with customers in our store shopping around and chatting. When that was not possible during the early stages of the shutdowns, we lost that part of our business that we really valued. Obviously the pandemic was a hurdle that everyone was facing together, and I think that sense of oneness also helped us push through – it wasn’t just a challenge that we were facing alone. It gave us more hope that we would be able to either pivot our business or reopen like we had been operating prior. The support of the community for small business during the pandemic was also instrumental in moving us forward. 

5. Any mentors/role models you look to/have looked to?

Our parents were definitely role models for us growing up. They were always dreaming up new ideas, traveling around for inspiration, and “talking shop” unwaveringly. We always felt included in their projects and businesses, which no doubt set us on the path for our own endeavors. Now that we have transitioned into being small business owners ourselves, we are still baffled on the daily for how they were able to manage all they had on their plates and have the family life that we did growing up. 

6. What’s the one thing you wish you had known before you started?

Since we grew up in a small business family we had a pretty clear idea of the sheer amount of work that goes into it from the beginning. However, what has become clear since starting our business is that it’s easy to underestimate the amount of time and energy things will take. There are so many facets to the day-to-day, and each come with their own strain on those two precious resources. Whether it be creating a social media post, placing an order, or doing a daily deposit, everything takes a minimum amount of time – and usually longer than you think it will. 

7. How do you manage your life/work balance?

Azia: Since 2020 I haven’t felt a whole lot of balance, with my life leaning more heavily in the work category. I still have managed to take time off and travel, but it usually has been under the guise of “work hard first, then play hard.” After a couple years of that, I am inviting more ease into my life. To help manage the balance, I am actively working towards delegating more of my day-to-day responsibilities and employing systems to help with the endless paperwork and such! Oh, and still making time for my bucket-list trips.

8. What keeps you inspired?

A big inspiration comes from the notion that we have created a space that people enjoy visiting. We often hear compliments of our store from visitors who have never been to La Crosse before and happened to stop in, and from locals who have us in their “favorite shop” lineup. It’s a special feeling being out and about and seeing someone wearing one of your custom designed shirts or walking around with a shopping bag. We have so much gratitude for all of the support that we have, which gives us momentum to keep growing, creating, and existing downtown. 

Shiny new bike day is a happy day. 

But sometimes the joy is found in the journey. Restoring a bike – shining up something old and making it new again – can make that two-wheeled reward even sweeter.

Like an old bike, La Crescent, Minnesota, had the framework to build a healthy and active community. It had the support of its citizens, city, and schools. It had natural beauty, visible from its neighborhood streets and scenic byways. And it had growing families looking for ways to spend time outside with their children. 

But to become a truly bike-friendly city, it needed a tune-up. In 2007, a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota set the wheels in motion. With this money, community members created Active Living La Crescent, which worked to build a presence in the school district, add bike racks, and create bicycle-related programming. Active Living La Crescent operated under Healthy Community Partnership (HCP), a local group that serves as an umbrella organization for La Crescent nonprofits. With a mission of impacting the health, wellness, and livability of the city, HCP was the perfect partner, and ultimately, a very qualified predecessor. When the grant money ran out, HCP didn’t want all that work to be lost. 

“We essentially had a bicycle shop in a box,” describes Linda Larson, who at the time was serving on the HCP board. She and other community volunteers looked to examples of other bike-friendly cities like Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Boulder, Colorado, and decided that a community bike shop was feasible given the great groundwork laid by Active Living La Crescent. 

With these other cities in mind, Linda took on the role of Project Manager and worked to develop The Bike Shoppe. “We knew what we needed to do, we just had to do it on a smaller scale,” she explains. And although they started small, they’ve outgrown several locations over the last 10 years, and interest is always increasing. “It just grows and grows and grows. Every year there’s more interest as people learn more about what we do, and then they support us even more.” 

In a nutshell, the Bike Shoppe is a small-scale used bike shop with limited hours and a community-based mission. Continuing to operate under HCP, it offers many services to the community, including bike repair and tune-ups, bike sales, and bike education. And impressively, all of this is completely done by volunteers. In 2022 alone, the Bike Shoppe volunteers put in over 1,000 hours of work. 

Volunteers work to restore used bikes that have been donated by community members – there were 80 in 2022. These bikes are sold at an affordable price on Saturdays during the spring and summer, or are used for things such as donations and giveaways to organizations in the area. 

In addition, the Bike Shoppe volunteers completed 63 service appointments in 2022 – including tune-ups and repairs – for La Crescent riders. Their trained technicians work on all kinds of bicycles, from e-bikes and road bikes, to recumbents and tricycles. Repair and service hours are varied, so it’s best to reach out and schedule an appointment or connect with The Bike Shoppe crew during the Saturday sales.

Replacing tires, greasing chains, tightening brakes, wrapping handlebars, and more – it all takes time and patience, but Scot McCollum enjoys his time volunteering at the shop. An avid cyclist himself, it’s how he returns the favor to those who support the rides and the races he participates in. “I see this as a way to give back to the bicycling community,” says Scot. 

He also sees the empowerment that comes from learning to take care of your own bike, which he often teaches the Bike Shoppe customers. “A bad experience such as a flat tire or squeaky brakes can be off-putting and leave people feeling on the outside. I try to encourage and empower riders through education in maintenance, provide better functioning and fitting bicycles, and help riders get more out of their bicycles,” he says. 

A big part of the Bike Shoppe’s mission is giving back as well. In 2022, they donated 25 bikes to organizations supporting both adults and children in La Crescent and neighboring communities. They also gave out 65 bike helmets at National Night Out in August. 

Michele Coulombe’s son, Yazan, was one recipient of the group’s generosity. Nine-year-old Yazan likes to ride his bike everywhere. But last summer the tires stopped holding air. “I’m a single working mom with no family here and I couldn’t afford a bike for him. The other kids were riding and all he could was watch them,” explains Michele. 

A friend of hers had heard of the Bike Shoppe and shared Michele and Yazan’s story with the staff. Soon after, Yazan had a new set of wheels. “We were given what looks like a brand new bike,” she says. “He was over the moon and even cried. After that he was outside day and night riding.” 

In true cyclical fashion, Yazan’s old bike went to the shop so they could repair it for another child in need. Michele is so grateful for their assistance. “They were an absolute blessing,” she says. And Yazan is happy to be out riding again. He likes to ride to the store for his mom and is hoping to ride to school this spring. 

A decade of this kind of work has helped to give La Crescent the tune-up it needed. “Riding is contagious,” says Linda. “Families see each other out riding and then they want to go, too.” 

The Bike Shoppe has done its part to get properly working and safely operating bikes in the hands of La Crescent residents. And luckily, they’ve got great partners at city hall that have worked diligently to provide places for folks to ride. 

Until 2022, Highway 14/61 has separated the community with busy traffic and hard-to-cross intersections. Children, living on the side opposite the schools, had to be bussed less than a mile because crossing was too dangerous. The community also had limited access to the Wagon Wheel trail, an old stagecoach road that runs through the Mississippi River marsh next to the city. The new bridge connects to the Wagon Wheel trail, which connects homes in the Shore Acres community to the rest of La Crescent.

It has been a years-long project. With the help of a $2.5 million bonding bill in 2018, and a $1 million grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the city was finally able to complete this phase of the development in 2022 with the construction of a biking and pedestrian bridge across Highway 14/61. 

The bridge has become “an overnight landmark” says City Administrator, Bill Waller. “It has created an energy, an excitement. People gravitate to it. Overnight it just became a focal point in the community.” Linda loves what it represents about the city. “Nothing says ‘this is an active town’ quite like putting a bridge right on the highway,” she laughs. 

Bill heard from downtown La Crescent merchants that upon completion of the bridge, there was an immediate uptick in traffic to their businesses. Allie Benish, owner of Current Clothing Co., gets a first-hand view of the bike and pedestrian traffic. Her store is located within Johnson Livings on Walnut Street, just steps from the bridge. She’s used it herself with her eight-year-old son, Jase, and sees other community members accessing it all the time. “It’s great that it makes downtown more accessible,” she says. It’s also something that homebuyers really value, says Allie, who sells real estate in the La Crosse area as well. “Families want to live in areas that have access to bike routes and trails so this is an excellent value-add for La Crescent.”

Bill has also seen the benefit for La Crescent families. “We’ve got kids safely crossing into downtown and to school. We’re even seeing kids riding their bikes across it with their fishing poles,” he shares, describing how they now have access to the Mississippi River. 

Providing even more trails for families to utilize is still in the works, says Bill. Representatives from the cities of Hokah, La Crescent, and Houston, as well as from Houston County, have entered into a cooperative agreement to work together to connect La Crescent to the Root River State Trailhead in Houston. It’s a big undertaking, but Bill feels confident they’ve got the right people in place to make things happen. “There’s a lot of work to be done,” says Bill, who adds that there is no definitive timeline for the project. “But we’ve got good people on board.” 

Meanwhile, other developments continue. In addition to the bridge, The Wagon Wheel trail got an upgrade from crushed rock to black top last year, and a bike lane was added on Shore Acres Road. This route will extend even further when the City of La Crosse begins construction on a bike and pedestrian bridge near the Sportsman’s Boat Landing that will cross the west channel of the Mississippi. This project is slated for 2025-2026. When it’s completed, bikers will be able to safely ride from La Crescent to La Crosse – despite the major roadway and river. 

“These trails have improved connectivity in our area and offer a greater number of options for local bicyclists,” Scot says. “New and existing riders are not just talking about these amenities, but are getting out there and using them and that momentum is growing.”

Providing this kind of access is why Linda became involved with The Bike Shoppe in the first place. “Until you build the infrastructure to make it easier for your community to be active, there will be barriers,” she explains. Linda raised her own family in La Crescent and strived to be active with them. She knows others want this, too. And luckily for them, La Crescent is well on its way to becoming another of the Driftless Region’s most bikeable cities. 

More about The Bike Shoppe

Shop for a new bike or drop off an old one on Saturdays
(May-August) from 9 am – 12 pm in the Corky’s Pizza parking lot at 25 S Walnut St. La Crescent, MN. Call (608) 790-2580 or email bikeshoppe@lacrescenthcp.org for repair/service inquiries.
See updates and news at facebook.com/lacrescentbikeshoppe