Owatonnan Ed Burzinski walked 25,000 miles across the US in 1927. (Submitted photo)

Owatonnan Ed Burzinski walked 25,000 miles across the US in 1927. (Submitted photo)

This story takes us back to 1927 when Ed Burzinski of Owatonna decided to hike 25,000 miles across America … a trip that took him four years and six pairs of boots to complete. His home town of Owatonna received widespread worldwide publicity in newspapers where his story was printed.

Ed was the son of Mike and Mary Burzinski of Austin Road in Owatonna. Mike was an uncle to Marcie Burzinski who, at age 96, lives on Havana Road in the same house that her father built. She was born in that house in 1926.

Now, back to Ed’s story. After he overcame Rheumatic Fever and other childhood illnesses, he made the decision to hike 25,000 miles across America, which he accomplished.

A story in the Daily People’s Press was written when Ed had arrived in Nova Scotia, which represented 14,000 miles of his contemplated hike. He arrived in Nova Scotia under sweltering heat. He was dressed in khaki breeches, shirt and moccasins and carrying what looked to be a tremendously heavy pack on his back. Written on the pack was “See America First, 25,000 Miles on Foot.” He was approached by a newspaper reporter. Ed said, “Gee, I’m not used to write-ups but I have met a lot of wonderful people down in this country of yours.”

His story in a nutshell

Burzinski started out from his home in Owatonna for the purpose of covering on foot, the continent of North America. His itinerary was to include the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. He was traveling merely for the joy of seeing the world and originally estimated it would take him three years to make the trip, but he later changed his estimate to four years. Burzinski covered 15-20 miles daily when he walked, but he didn’t turn down a lift when offered one. His longest single march was one night in the Mojave Desert, California, when he covered 32 miles on foot, carrying his luggage and drinking water.

Obviously, Marcie doesn’t remember him, however she did say that when he completed his hike across America she could only assume he returned to his home town. Later he had moved to Encino, California.

Wherever he went on his trek, he gave publicity to his home town of Owatonna. I did not learn if he made it to the Hawaiian Islands or Alaska.

Gifts to the public schools

You should know who gives gifts to the Owatonna Public Schools. Here is the latest listing:

• $78.30 from Boys’ Cross-Country Boosters for warmup jackets and pants, school backpacks for students to McKinley Elementary from Costco, box of school supplies from for students from Mississippi Welder’s Supply.

• Also, the following gave from $100 to $300 for the homecoming parade: Cole’s Electric, Wottreng Family Dental, BerkshireHathaway Home Services, TGK Automotive, Fleet Farm, Alexander Lumber, Access Tonna Lock Service, Skjeveland Enterprises, R & K Electric, Bremer Bank, Deml Heating and Air Conditioning, Owatonna Motor Co., Amesbury Truth, Elk’s Lodge, Camping World, Profinium, Owatonna Shoe/Kottke Jewelers, Stoyks Plumbing LLC, Court Sports and More, Owatonna Foundation, Hohestein Agency, The Computer Store, Fernbrook Family Center, The Dentists of Owatonna, Thrivent, Owatonna Bus Co., and Owatonna Education Assn.

The Owatonna Foundation has added two members to its Board of Trustees. Todd Trout, President of U.S. Bank will serve on the fundraising committee and Josh Meillier, president of Alexander Lumber will serve on the grants committee. The Independent School District 761 Foundation has elected Madeleine Haberman to the Board.

History of Central Park Fountain

This past week, during Owatonna Foundation Week, a celebration of the completion of the recent work done on the Central Park fountain was held. The Owatonna Foundation provided a majority of funds for the improvements. Central Park was established in 1855 to be held forever as a public square. Trees were planted and the fountain was added between 1873 and 1875. The original centerpiece was installed in the fountain in 1893. Park improvements were done and drinking fountains were added in 1909. An underground irrigation system was placed in the park in the fall of 1967. A public fund drive helped raise $10,000 for the restoration of the fountain, lighting, a spray ring and a water recirculation system.

A celebration of new downtown

Following two years of construction, Owatonna’s new “living room” is ready to enjoy. A ribbon cutting event celebrating the new Downtown Streetscape will be held this Thursday, October 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Broadway and Cedar Avenues. Everyone is invited to attend this event marking the reopening of North Cedar Avenue and the $4.5 million in improvements that have been completed downtown over the last two years. The City of Owatonna, Owatonna MainStreet and several downtown businesses are planning food, beverages, face painting and outdoor games. Mayor Tom Kuntz said, “We want to pause to mark this historic milestone for Owatonna and thank our downtown merchants and those who patronize them for their patience throughout this project.

Following the ribbon cutting, the final open house for parks and trails master planning will be held from 6-8 p.m. in the Central Park bandshell. Community members are invited to ask questions and provide comments on the concept plans being developed bases on feedback received over the summer through focus groups. The feedback will be used to create plans for the Cashman property, Kaplan’s Woods, Kaplan’s Parkway, Lake Kohlmeier and Morehouse Park. The final designs are expected to be presented to the City Council for adoption in early 2023.

A remembrance of Selvik’s Café

I was visiting recently with a former Owatonnan who was back to her home town for a class reunion. She hadn’t been back home for years and was impressed with the new look of Cedar St. In our conversation, she said, “I’ll always remember Selvik’s Café. When our dad said, “Let’s go to Selvik’s”, it was always an exciting time.” I’ll agree. Selvik’s Café was a Cedar Avenue institution. It was a gathering place for most of the family of merchants in the 300 block of Cedar including such merchants as George Olson, George Dawes, Frank Gorman, Ross Robinson, Frank Gorman, Bill and George Ringhofer, Don and Mary Jane Reigel and their Photo News saleslady Ev Slezak, Merle Gasner, Eddie McCarthy, Ray VonRuden, Don Bruzek, Bill Klemmer, Irv Nass, Lloyd Guthier, Ray Johnson, the OTC gang including Bob Barnard, Reub and Ave Kaplan and Butch Hertz, Asa Carpenter and Ruth Thurnau from Owatonna Savings and Loan and Ruth’s husband, Ben Thurnau, who ran his deputy registrar’s office next to Selvik’s Café. The Steele-Waseca Co Op Electric gang including Howard McKee, Curt Bullard and Maggie Frost. Many of these folks also made daily visits to the Kitchen at the corner of Rose and Cedar.

Grandma Selvik was the pie baker. Grandma lived in an apartment above the café and was always the first one on duty in the morning. Ruth and Dick Selvik ran the café from 1949 to 1968. They also took charge of making donuts (Remember the colored frosted donuts?) From 1959 until they closed, Dick and Ruth lived in an apartment behind the restaurant. Before that the Selvik’s lived in an apartment above Owatonna Savings and Loan. Maggie Frost then moved into the Selvik apartment.

Who can forget Elsie McCormick? Dick once told me, “Elsie was our ‘Jack of all Trades’. She cooked, waited on tables and washed dishes. We used to have the North Cedar Wild Game Feed and Elsie cooked the wild game meat. She cooked every kind of animal you could think of”. “When Elsie couldn’t be with us anymore, we decided we had to shut the place down. We just couldn’t do it without her.” Who waited on tables? You’ll remember Madeline Minter, and Leora Grunklee. Roy Jensen was Selvik’s chief cook for seven years. He then went to the Elks Club to be head chef.

Obviously, Selvik’s was a gathering place for daily coffee klatches. I’ll always remember Dick saying, “I’ll always remember Frank Gorman. We counted seventeen Gorman coffee breaks in one day. I always kidded Frank’s wife, Bev. I told her that she ran Gorman Cleaners. Frank was the public relations man.”

Coffee at Selvik’s was a nickel a cup. Dick told me, “You’d be surprised at how many folks screamed when we raised coffee to a dime. Some we never saw again!” Selvik’s Café was indeed a Cedar Avenue institution. It’s one that has never been re-created.

• Two dogs were out for a walk. One dog says to the other, “Wait here a minute. I’ll be right back.” He walks across the street and sniffs a fire hydrant for about a minute, then rejoins his friend. “What was that all about?” the other dog asks. “Just checking my messages.”

• Finally, while watching football on TV, my wife and I got into a conversation about life and death and the need for living wills. I said that I never wanted to exist in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and taking fluids from a bottle. She got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all my beer. Sometimes it’s tough being married to a smart aleck.

Data included is taken from the Minnesota Department of Health Daily reports. Because all data is preliminary, the change in number of cumulative positive cases and deaths from one day to the next may not equal the newly reported cases or deaths.

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