Sandra Turja:
CLASS OF 1967
Mountain Iron High SchoolClass of 1967
Mountain iron, MN
Sandra's Story
March 2015
Hi Classmates,
A few of you might have thought I was wild back in the day. If I did everything you might have thought I was doing, yes, I would've considered myself wild, too. However, I learned through the years that my "wildness" was a way to keep from boredom, which would explain the variety of jobs and homes I've had since 1967. The boredom can also be shown in recent purchases, a Veloster and then trading for a Tucson within 6 mos. (Got bored with the sports car.) Salesmen even joked and asked how long I planned to keep the SUV.
Do you believe variety is the spice in life? You might think I should cut back on the spices with all the places I've lived and all the jobs I've had.
Places I've lived after graduation: Mt Iron next to Ann & Leos gas station (fun neighbors), Virginia, MN; Grand Rapids, MN; Carlton, MN; Cloquet, MN; Duluth, MN; Lakeland, FL; Tampa, FL; Largo, FL; Clearwater, FL, and finally back to Largo now in a Sr. Community called Down Yonder Village. (Hate the name of the park.)
Jobs: played guitar and sang in many bands (how I put myself through college with a B.S. Degree in English, speech and theater); trained horses; waitressed at the Coates Hotel; taught grades K-12; taught Catechism in Carlton; wrote for two newspapers, The Cloquet Pine Knot and the paper in Carlton, substitute taught in Carlton County, taught English and speech at DBU; administrator at Graybar Electric, which I transferred to FL and then worked at Graybar in Lakeland, FL. Taught Jr. High English at Christ the King in Tampa. Worked as an editor for Ted Nicholas at Indian Rocks Bch until he moved to Switzerland. Hired at McCaughn Mtg and stayed in the mortgage field for 20 years as a processor and loan officer only changing companies for bigger bucks until the crash.
Now a woman of leisure, which is wonderful. The older I get the less boredom gets in my way. I have 7 grandkids ranging in age from 2 to 21. Jordan Savinon, my oldest is a catcher for UCF and hopes to get drafted this year MLB. My 17-yr old granddaughter from Suttons Bay, MI will be here for a week then I'll fly back with her and stay in MI for a week at my son John's f...Expand for more
arm (he has five kids).
I'm still single, never remarried after divorce from Bob. We were married for 18 years and as you may remember started dating in high school (most years very unhappy but I didn't believe in divorce, still don't). Oh yes, one more thing: when we lived in Cloquet we owned the KOA Campground and Bebops. At that time besides working at the bar and campground, I wrote for the Cloquet Pineknot and taught at DBU. (Wasn't bored during that time.)
Probably TMI, but oh well, read and think what you will.
When I was living on the Range, I never dreamed of moving too far away. I've often been jealous of couples that have enjoyed a solid, comfortable relationship. I miss my family and friends in MN and wish I could have married a man that I could've had a wonderful relationship with and stayed on the Range, growing old with you, seeing our grandkids grown up together, and I guess if I had stayed up there, I'd be buried next to my mother in the Gilbert Cemetery.
Let's lighten up here. Getting too morbid. When the opportunity to transfer to Florida came up, I was first in line. Not unusual for me since I've always seemed to go 100 in a 50 mph zone. Still remain a tomboy unafraid of hardly anything and open for new adventures, that part of me has never and will never change. The adventures on the west coast have been awesome: camping in no camping places and on remote islands, fishing in the Gulf, catching some of the biggest sailcats ever, seeing alligators and huge spiders in the wild; wild boar hunting; meeting people from all over the world and feeling like a tourist every time I visit one of the many theme parks. I love the sunshine and do not miss the cold winters. However, I do miss x-country skiing in Jay Cooke State Park.
Enough rambling. If you ever get to west central FL (I'm less than 5 miles from the Gulf and 10 miles from Clearwater Bch, 2 hours from Orlando) call or stop by to catch up on all the MIB stuff and where YOU'VE been.
BTW, please don't look for grammatical errors. There are many. I don't think Lind will be reading this post.
God bless and please take care of yourself,
Sandi Suihkonen/Turja
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