2022 Annual Report Released

The Oberholzter Foundation has released the 2022 Annual Report. To view the report, click here: REPORT

Ober Foundation Awarded Legacy Grants

The Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation was awarded two Legacy grants provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

The grants will fund two different initiatives. One is to hire professionals to assess and write a collections storage plan for a historically significant collection of books, which will allow greater protection and public access to this resource. The collection was housed in a flood prone building on Mallard Island. In a move to be more flood resilient, the board voted to move this special  collection of books to International Falls to the Backus Community Center. We hope to create a Mallard Island Annex Library there.   We are excited about the expanding access to this collection.

The second initiative is to hire a qualified specialist to conduct a conditions assessment of the Oberholtzer Estate’s historic stonework on Mallard Island, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.   This report will help provide a roadmap to restoring the vast amount of stonework surrounding Mallard Island, the former home of Ernest C. Oberholtzer. People boat by Mallard Island throughout the summer season to admire the historic buildings and the stonework. We are hoping to ensure that this can continue for generations to come!

The Foundation is thrilled to be awarded these grants and we are thankful to the people of Minnesota for making this grant possible. We will provide updates on these projects as we move forward.

Welcome Teghan and Eric!

At the December meeting, the Oberholtzer Foundation Board of Directors elected Teghan Grulkowski and Eric Rundell both to three-year terms on the board.

Teghan is a caretaker in training on Mallard Island, an alum of the Stewards of the Wilderness Program and also serves on the Foundation’s Program Committee. She was a keynote speaker at one of our fall gatherings and has served on the fall gathering planning committee. Teghan graduated from Bemidji State University and was an Environmental Studies major with minors in Indigenous Sustainability and Economics. She works in the energy field in energy efficiency. She resides in the Duluth area.

Eric Rundell has been coming to Mallard Island with his family since he was born. The Rundell family opens and closes Mallard Island each year. Eric also leads carpentry work weeks on Mallard Island and serves on the Foundation’s Facilities Committee. He brings a wide variety of skills and a very strong commitment to Mallard Island and its care and upkeep. He works for a utility company as a GIS Technician and Utility Locator. He resides in Grand Rapids.

Teghan and Eric represent the next generation of leadership on the board. They join the board January 1.

Give to the Max Day – Early Giving Has Begun!

Give to the Max Day, November 17 of this year, is a giving holiday in Minnesota! We are participating in the event this year to help us continue to share Ober’s legacy to an even broader audience! After an historic flood, a new initiative was born that will make us more flood resilient in the future! Our goal this year is to raise $5,000 toward our campaign called, “From the Flood to the Falls!” Please make a donation to help us continue to share Ober’s wilderness advocacy legacy with more people.

Please visit our fundraising page by clicking on the campaign title below:

FROM THE FLOOD TO THE FALLS CAMPAIGN

Ober Foundation Annual Fall Gathering and Online Silent Auction!

The annual Ober Foundation Fall Gathering is being held Saturday, October 29 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Central Time at the Wargo Nature Center. You won’t want to miss this year’s gathering! We hope to see you there. If you plan to attend, please register for the fall gathering by clicking on the red button below.

Our second online silent auction has been launched. It is a fun way to support the Ober Foundation and a great opportunity to grab gifts for loved ones – both kids and adults – or get something special just for you. The auction includes:

• A variety of framed artwork
• Signed books by many beloved Minnesota authors (Ober loved books!) including Anton Treuer
• A handcrafted walnut cutting board with maple trim
• A weekend stay at a rustic cabin
• A custom limerick written about a person of your choosing by Garrison Keillor
• A custom limerick written about a person of your choice by Garrison Keillor
• A special collector Mallard Island broadside
• A chance to get some of your special  books professionally appraised
• Two tickets to a Prairie Companion show with back stage passes
• And more…..

To access and participate in this year’s online auction, please click on the following link: SILENT AUCTION LINK

To Register for the Fall Gathering, please click on the following link: REGISTRATION

Silent auction donations are still welcome. Please contact us at info@eober.org.

Wargo Nature Center:

7701 Main St
Lino Lakes, MN  55038

Fall Gathering/Fundraiser

You are invited to the Ober Foundation annual Fall Gathering/Fundraiser on October 29 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm at the Wargo Nature Center. You won’t want to miss this popular gathering!

Some highlights:

• Participate in opening ceremony with our Elder in Residence
• Enjoy live music performed by Prudence Johnson, Dan Chouinard, and Randy Sabien
• Participate in our exciting silent auction that includes books from many well-known Minnesota writers, including Anton Treuer’s “Cultural Toolbox”, signed books by Louise Erdrich, and kids books by Margi Preus. Bid on a weekend get away to a rustic cabin in central Minnesota, or on getting a limerick written about your favorite person by Garrison Keillor! These are only a few of the exciting items to bid on to support the foundation.
• Hear about flood recovery efforts on Mallard Island and an exciting new initiative driven by the foundation’s focus on flood resiliency.
• Enjoy a hike before or after the event on the grounds of the Wargo Nature Center.

Please RSVP for the event by clicking here: RSVP

Donations are welcomed! You can donate by clicking here: DONATE

If you have an item to donate to the silent auction, please click here: SILENT AUCTION

If you have questions, please contact us t 651-867-4649. See you soon!

An Evening of Stories, Laughs, and Songs

Historic Flood Impacts Mallard Island and Buildings

June 15, 2022

After heavy snowfall levels late winter followed by a late ice out this spring, the Rainy Lake area experienced flooding levels that exceeded both the 2014 flood and the 1950 flood.  Once the ice was out, the Ober Foundation got volunteers on Mallard right away to begin flood mitigation efforts.

The first family to help were the Rundells. They spent a weekend preparing Cedarbark House and other areas that would be impacted first by the rising waters. The Thrune family came in next and continued mitigation efforts as waters rose. Rebecca Otto, Executive Director, and Mairi Doerr, Summer Program Director joined the Thrunes and continued mitigation efforts. A big focus was saving the foundation’s book collection, which was threatened by the rising waters. We had to shut off the power for about a week and a half. A slimmed down version of our carpentry work week crew continued on flood mitigation. They were able to finish moving the book collection and restore a small amount of power to Mallard.

Mallard’s topography does not make it conducive to sand bagging, so our approach has been mitigation, monitoring, followed by more mitigation. Volunteer and staff safety has been key. We have been taking this flood one-day-at-a-time. Each day brings something new.

It appears lake levels have finally peaked, and we may be on the decline from here on out. At this point, the only dry buildings on Mallard are Big House, Winter House, Bird House and the Tool Shed. Weather has been relatively calm and and we have had some sunshine, but that changed over the last few days. An east wind was blowing today, which is hard on Cedarbark House and Front House. Cedarbark House has taken on so much water that waves can potentially be quite damaging.

Dan Kraker from MPR did a very good story on the flood, the historic significance of Mallard Island, and about Ober’s wilderness legacy. To hear the story, please click MPR story

Jana Hollingsworth from the Star Tribune also did a story on the flooding and Mallard Island. If you have a subscription, please click Star Tribune

Sabrina Ullman from WDIO did a nice job on a story early on about the flooding at Mallard. To view the story, please click: WDIO

What Next?

It will be some time before the water levels return to normal. Once they do, we know there will be substantial clean up work followed by repairs.

How Can You Help?

Mallard Island and the Ober Foundation have survived and thrived over the decades with the help of volunteer labor and financial donations from our supporters. We know we will need both to weather this storm plus some new friends.

If you you are able and willing to volunteer with clean up efforts, when clean up is possible, please let us know by emailing Rebecca at info@eober.org

If you can make a financial donation, or know someone else who may be able to, it would be meaningful for the foundation. Please click on: www.eober.org/donate

We will be seeking grants to help with the work and expenses ahead. If you are a skilled grant writer and are willing to assist the foundation, please let Rebecca know by emailing or calling her.

You can view photos, videos and track the status of Mallard and the lake levels on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ErnOber

Together, we will make it through this!

990PF Report 

The Oberholtzer Foundation 2021 990PF report is now available. You can access the report from Foundation tab on the home page.

A big thank you to Antoinette Hickey at Chapman and Cutler for compiling this important report for the foundation. We are truly grateful!

New Board Members!

At the February meeting, the board elected three new members; Erika Bailey-Johnson, David Harrington, and Jerry Williams. We are so pleased to have them join the Ober Foundation!

Ericka has served as the Sustainability Director at Bemidji State University for 15 years, is the People and the Environment Coordinator on campus, and the Director of the Niizhoo-gwayakochigewin academic program. She lives in Bemidji. Erika has been a big supporter and recruiter for our Stewards of the Wilderness Program, and was responsible for recruiting Teghan, our newest caretaker! Ericka is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe. She will be serving on our Program Committee.

David is a semi-retired judge on the State District Court bench in the 9th District, and serves as a part time judge for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, and does some work as a Court of Appeals Justice for the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. He lives in Bemidji. He comes with much nonprofit board experience. David is also a member of both the Koochiching County and Beltrami County Historical Societies and has an interest the historic aspect of our living museum. He loves recreating in the outdoors, is an active photographer, and skis. He skied over to Mallard a few times this winter to check on things, and took a few photos. He will be serving on the Facilities Committee.

Jerry told us that in the ’60s when he was working at the paper mill, he enjoyed a few pancake breakfasts on Sundays with Ober on Mallard! Jerry lives in Rochester, but spends a good portion of the summer on Rainy Lake. His son and son’s wife own and operate Camp Idlewood, an old family resort up the lake from Mallard. Jerry is retired and is the former Superintendent of the Rochester Public Schools. He has extensive nonprofit board experience. He will serve on the Finance Committee.

Welcome to our newest Ober Foundation Board members!