by Jon Petters
Irene says she is going to slow down. Maybe she was referring to when she switched from roller blading to bicycling at age 84 a decade ago. Other than her mode of transportation, there is no slowing down of her generosity. Several people had told me about this quiet saint. Last week when I stepped onto the street in downtown St. Joseph, I could see her coming. Irene emblazoned in a bright yellow safety vest was a half block away. I put out my thumb to hitch a ride on her three-wheeled bike. That’s how I got her attention, as she was on one of her missions.
As a young child, her family moved many times including living in Watkins, Cold Spring and Richmond. There was no time for schooling beyond eighth grade. Money was needed for the family, and she made the move to St. Joseph working for the Sisters of St. Benedict for $20 a week which was sent home to her mother to care for her family.
While she lived and worked there, the Sisters would invite her to picnic at their lovely cabin in the woods. Apparently, it meant a lot to her. When the City was looking at options for a connector road to I-94, one of the options was to place a road directly through the woods, separating it from the monastery. Irene walked, drove and made her way through town, including on snowy nights, and collected 1,200 signatures on a petition from residents to stop the road from going through the Sisters’ sacred woods. This was the beginning of her involvement in the St. Joseph Action Group, which had taken this on as a cause.
A short time later, downtown St. Joseph was suffering compared to its former bustling days. The last local grocery store had just closed, and there were a number of empty store fronts. As Ellen Wahlstrom, her close friend describes it, “downtown needed to be saved”. They didn’t want people looking through empty windows at vacant spaces. Irene and the group enlisted the Boys and Girls Club to make paintings on white butcher paper, which they hung on the many empty store windows.
Today, this quiet saint’s days are filled with many acts of compassion and care. Of course, there are her famous Morning Glory Muffins which she bakes and delivers, often by bike, to many. An organization in St. Cloud drops off adult diapers. Irene of course knows who is in need of these. A delicate topic and Irene’s kindness saves these individuals any embarrassment by delivering them. Sometimes it’s a walker someone needs for independence, and it is delivered.
Fruit snacks are an item that Irene always has on hand for most any kid. One hot summer day, Irene was working in her garden and a child came by and asked her if she had any, she explained that he’d have to wait as she was full of dirt… the kid replied, “That’s no problem, Irene, Bud always has lots in his van.” Ahh Bud, her beloved husband of 62 years, now deceased.
If you see Irene riding her bike through town, don’t bother trying to hitch a ride, because she is probably on another mission.
Petters initiated this Quiet Saints series of articles because he wishes to honor unsung heroes in our midst. Petters is a St. Joseph businessman, realtor and real estate developer and investor. He and his wife, Colleen, own and manage Collegeville Cos., Collegeville Brokerage, 24 North Lofts and Millstream Shops and Lofts among other business endeavors.
