The VIP Club constitution states: "The Club shall provide an opportunity for
social interaction of its members." Events are
planned at board meetings
on the 1st Wednesday of even numbered months. If
you have suggestions for future events, please contact any board
member as listed at
Contacts &
Research Links. If you are willing to help at any event;
please email or call the coordinator with "what I can help with?".
Most social activities require registration so we can assure adequate food, print name
tags, etc. Some venues also require pre-payment or guarantee
of attendee count thus sign-up deadlines are a week before
the event.
Since the fall of 2019, Evite
is being used for notifications/registration supplemented with newsletter,
web site, or email announcements.
Evite use advisory is in the right sidebar.
Please contact the event coordinator if you need to cancel
a previous YES registration or to
ascertain if a late 'drop-in' can be accomodated.
November: The annual Old Timers event at Lost Spur Event Center was attended by 100+ Old Timers. A $13 sandwich bar was available for all who chose to eat as well as drink. A short business meeting was held to hold election of club officers. All current board members were re-elected along with Dean Nelson. Photos from the event can be seen here or in the gallery: Photos from the 2024 OldTimersEvent.
September: Unisys RGOD reunion was a great time! We missed seeing you at the 2024 Roseville Good Old Days Reunion this year! Hope to see you at the event next year, mark your calendar for September 11, 2025. There were more than 120 folks in attendance this year. David Wilhelm took photos of the event, thanks to him for continual snapshots - https://photos.app.goo.gl/kc8tF8TniyUgaRiw7. Prior event history is hereunder, https://vipclubmn.org/activities.html#RGOD.
June: The annual picnic was held on June 19th at the Eagan Central Park Pavillion. The weather was nice and around 125 people attended the event. Thanks to John Westergren for organizing all the food and Bob Pagac for the beer. It was noted that as we get older we don't eat and drink as much beer as we formerly did. We will have to order at little less next year. It was also noted that to event ends sooner than in past years. The prime time seemed to be 12 to 3. By 3:30 most everyone was gone. Photos from the picnic can be found in the gallery.
Three decades before the VIP Club was formed, employees and former employees began getting together outside of work for personal communications. The first of these is called the 'First Friday' or respectively, 'Original Geek Squad'. The Club Board is not directly involved with some of these 'Ad hoc' gatherings; however, we do include information about them in this table and in our newsletter. COVID has impacted these,check with coordinator.
When | What | Where | Coordinator |
First Tuesday | Drafting and Engineering Meeting @ 11:00AM | Casper's in Eagan (Nicols Rd and Cliff Rd.) | Keith Behnke, 651-587-2591 |
First Thursday | Breakfast @ 8:00 AM | Capitol View Cafe, 637 Smith Ave. St. Paul. (Corner of Smith and Baker). | 651 222-2435 |
Second Tuesday | Lunch @ 11:30 AM (UNISYS/Burroughs group) | Mall of America, 3rd Floor North Food Court | Paul Wennerstrom, 952 854-7855 |
Second Wednesday* | Plant 4 engineers & manufacturers - Breakfast & Program @ 9:00 AM | New Brighton Eagles Club, 563 Old Highway 8 | Paul Dickson, 651-482-9934 |
*this is now quarterly: March, June, September and December.
• Volunteer Recognition Luncheon -
The Volunteer Luncheon at Joseph's Grill in St. Paul was attended by
30+ club members to recognize their volunteer activities this past
year. The Club provided a FREE lunch
buffet of ham and turkey with all the fixings. Everyone got
plenty to eat and a few went home with a "doggie bag" of leftovers
for another meal. The program after lunch, emceed by Past President
Harvey Taipale. He honored Keith Behnke with the Member
Emeritus award for his many years of service to the
club and presented two "Volunteer Extraordinaire" awards to Les
Nelson and Bob
Pagac recognizing the decade+ of hours they have
spent at Lawshe Museum documenting the history of our company.
This was followed with various club members telling of their unique
volunteer activities. Lowell Benson informed the attendees
that "Unisys is planning to move from its current location on
Pilot Knob Road in Eagan. They have recently signed a contract with
a data center hosting provider, in Woodbury, where they will be
relocating the computing systems currently located in the Unisys
Eagan facility. The new facility will host 16 workspaces for people
who look after the day-to-day servicing of those systems. Unisys has
also begun a search for an appropriate office facility to host the
remaining Unisys Twin Cities associates. The goal is to find a
suitable office within 15 minutes of the data center location, to
make it easy to move back and forth when needed. They expect to
complete both the office move and data center move by mid-2025. For
those of you who have visited Unisys facilities in Roseville or
Eagan, you are aware we have some very extensive technology display
cases on their walls. Unisysis actively working with the Ramsey
County Historical Society to donate them to that organization so
that they may preserve them in their facility.
• VIP Club Holiday Dinner at Lost Spur Event Center - The VIP Club kicked off 2024 with an entertaining club subsidized Sunday afternoon dinner party on Sunday, January 7th. Forty-six people enjoyed this social event which included a social hour, a sit down dinner and a holiday concert by the Eagan Men's Chorus. A good time was had by all!
After Lockheed Martin announced the closing of their Eagan, MN plant
by 2013, several of the LMCO sponsored leagues wanted to continue their
play and social interactions. Members of these leagues include a fair
number of retirees who approached the VIP Club for help.
Keith Behnke joined the Board in 2011 to facilitate communications
with these various employee/retiree recreation leagues. The VIP Club
Board also agreed to add league information to our Club's web site. The results going forward are now a combined retiree and employee
golf league.
Sadly, many other employee 'recreation' groups have faded
away over the decades, i.e. Basketball Leagues, Bowling, Camera Club, Skeet &
Trap, Ski Club, Softball Leagues,
etc.
We have entered the 2023 golf season! The Unified Legacy Golf League (the combined Unisys and Lockheed Martin leagues) has about 260 members that play in 4 different afternoon leagues, each at a different course and each on a different day. Nine tournaments are scheduled each year, every 3 weeks at different courses and utilizing different formats. We averaged 118 golfers per tournament in 2022. New individual members are invited to join us for 2025. We started with a tournament in April, and league play begins the first week of May. Please contact Keith Behnke at keithbhnk@comcast.net to join or for more information. Webmaster Ron Shursen has built an incredible web site that provides up-to-date statistics on tournaments, leagues, teams, and individuals. The League web site is found at http://www.ulglmn.org/umgl/. The weekly leagues are at Bunker Hills, Phalen, Emerald Greens and Southern Hills. A season ending awards banquet is held in October at Mancini's to recognize the winners and conduct a short business meeting. Usually each attendee goes home with a door prize. Visit the golf league website (shown above) to view pictures from the banquet. New teams or individual golfers are always welcome to join the ULGL. Contact Keith Behnke - keithbhnk@comcast.net for more information.
The Bowling League is a mixed league started by employees and former employees of Univac/Unisys/Lockheed but now open to anyone. The league season is from September through April on Wednesdays at Cedarvale Lanes in Eagan with warm-ups starting at 4:40PM. Three bowlers per team bowl each night. The league is looking for individuals and/or new teams for the upcoming seasons. Contact Kevin Schwarzbauer, - kschwar@hotmail.com if you are interested in joining or want additional information.
In ERA days; Dr. Sid Ruben, Don Nemanic, Jim Nikitas, and Dr. Arnold Cohan began meeting for lunch the first Friday of every month. Several years later a fifth person, Warren Burrell, was 'allowed' to join with the first four. Gradually others were invited: Leon Findley, George Hardenbergh, Fred Hargesheimer, Jack Hill, Chuck Homan, Bernie Jansen, Carl Knorr, Byron Smith, Leroy Strutzman, Don Weidenbach, Gerry Williams, Harry Wise, Jim Wright, et al.
The group originally met at TGI Friday's restaurant in Roseville. From there it transferred to the Manor on West 7th close to Plant 1 as the group grew to a dozen people. When St. Paul re-development efforts eliminated The Manor, Sid Rubens suggested Parish's Restaurant on West 7th. Luncheon members who passed away before the Manor to Parish move were Arnie Cohen, Leon Findley, Carl Korr, Don Nemanic, Jim Nickitas, Byron Smith, and Leroy Strutzman. Some attendees were working at CDC or elsewhere but still met as these were friendships, not just co-workers.
The Parish restaurant went out of business in 2003, then immediately reopened as the Casa Vieja. Passing away since the Casa Vieja name change were George Hardenbergh, Fred Hargesheimer, and Harry Wise. In 2011, the Casa Vieja closed their kitchen so the group moved to the St. Paul Pool and Yacht Club in Lilydale - hosted by Jack Ross. Although Jack passed away in 2016, his legacy lets us continue meeting at the Pool & Yacyt club. The attendee reminder list is now maintained by William 'Bill' Roos.
In 2005; this group was honored as "The Original Geek Squad" in a James P. Lenfestey Minnesota Monthly article. Jim Lenfestey has provided us with the draft copy of his article, 'A Gaggle of Geeks,' posted on our web site as an 'Article for the Month.' [This legacy section originally written by Warren Burrell, edited by Lowell.]
Recent joiners are Paul Hove, Dick Lundgren, Larry Debelak, Jim Andrews, and Lowell Benson. Shown here in 2016 were Phil Phipps, Larry Debelak, Don Arnold, Lowell Benson, Jack Ross, Bill Roos, Manny Block, Since this photo was taken in 2016, Phil Phips, Alden Allen, and Paul Hove. Sadley, the originators have all passed away. Since the photo, Phil, Alden, Jack, Manny, and Don have passed away. LAB
The Unihogs/Turkeys tradition started in the mid-60’s with annual dinner meetings coinciding with the February Ground Hog Day. This was an opportunity for engineers and managers who had left UNIVAC to gather with friends. It later changed to include those who had thought about leaving UNIVAC. Fred Vihovde has been Head Hog on the planning committee for over 35 years. Since 2000, he's been assisted by Lowell Benson and Jack Ross [deceased 2016]. New committee members would be heartily welcomed! There is always a somber reading of former employees who have passed away during the year based on VIP Club newsletter listings. This group is now defunct - reports of annual deceased persons are now listed VIP Club Newsletters, the Archives section.
”I do not know if you know the history or not, but a brief history follows:
His chapter 21 includes discussion about the UniHogs start and includes the 1982 program announcement as figure 24. Copied hereunder for your reading pleasure:
"One day I got a phone call from a friend that I had known since my Univac days. He asked if I was going to Unihogs this year. What’s a Unihog?” I asked. He explained that a growing group of ex-Univac employees had for years arranged an informal get-together once a year on Groundhog Day. The combination of Univac and groundhog suggested the name “Unihog.” Unihogs form a loose non-organization. Originally, to participate, one must have left Univac. Returning to Univac does not disqualify a member once qualified. Some attendees have left Univac three and four times! The requirements were later loosened to include anyone who had even thought of leaving Univac. Unihogs have no membership roll, no dues, no elections, no bylaws, no officers, no newsletter, no secret handshake, no funny hats, and no rituals – except for the singing of the “Unihog Drinking Song” at the close of every reunion. Unihogs are governed, if that is not too strong a word, by a self perpetuating, six-member committee of volunteers. Two new members are added to the committee each year, and the two members who have served for three years are dropped. The treasury, consisting of an old envelope with a few dollars in it, is passed along from head hog to head hog. A small surcharge is added onto the cost of the dinners at the annual reunion to provide funds for mailing the meeting notices and for gag gifts. An artist among the membership drew the mascot of the Unihogs, which appears on the meeting notices and banquet tickets: a little black and white spotted pig with a single long horn growing out of its forehead.
The first meeting that I attended was held in the basement private dining room of a nightclub just down the road from the Univac headquarters. About a hundred hogs showed up for cocktails and gossip. Luckily someone had brought a supply of “Univac Visitor” name tags, which everyone wore. I had not seen many of the attendees in fifteen years. At a later reunion my old friend, Dick Karpen, now living in New York, managed to visit the Twin Cities on Groundhog Day. Dick brought me up to date on the whereabouts of some of the Philadelphia hogs.
Typically, after an hour or so of socializing, the hogs sit down to dinner. A short program follows dinner, always something related to the early history of computer development. One year an academic paper was presented on the founders and the original organization of Engineering Research Associates, the predecessor of Univac St. Paul. Another year a member showed slides of the early ERA and Univac computers. At the 1983 reunion, the speaker who introduced himself, consistent with our porcine nomenclature, as the “big boar,” was none other than Willis Drake, the man at whose house I had subscribed for Control Data initial-issue stock back in 1957. Drake, chairman of Data Card, a company that makes magnetic credit card processing equipment, spoke on the need to recapture the engineering creativity of the early days, a topic close to my heart.
The 1984 reunion speaker was the new director of the Charles Babbage Institute for the History of Information Processing, Arthur Norberg. (Charles Babbage was a nineteenth--century British mathematician who attempted to build a mechanical “computing engine.” He is considered by many to be the earliest designer of the programmable computer.) The Institute, a nonprofit foundation at the University of Minnesota, was set up to document and preserve the early history of the electronic computer. The director spoke on his experiences in attempting to document the early growth of technology in Silicon Valley, where he had just completed a project.
Following the program the hogs always stand for the ritual bellowing
of the “Unihog Drink Song” (sung to the tune of “the
Whiffenpoof Song”), with a final chorus:
Managers, programmers, engineers
We’re all Unihogs, and we’ll give three cheers
We’ll program computers to recall past years
Oink, oink, oink.
The number of different companies that have been started by Unihogs
is astonishing. One of the members prepared a genealogy chart listing
seventy-six firms (some have merged or gone out of business), and the
list is still not complete. Five generations of companies from Univac
are shown, and it is only a matter of time before a sixth generation
appears. I suspect that the Philadelphia branch of Univac could show
as many offspring.
In due time I got a call inviting me to join the committee as an apprentice
hog. When elevated by seniority to head hog, I moved the reunion, as
was my prerogative, to a larger banquet facility in the midway district
of St. Paul, near the original ERA plant at 1902 West Minnehaha.
The meeting notice (figure 24) dates from that meeting place. A later
head hog moved the reunion once again to a more luxurious private club
near the new Cray Research building within sight of the Control Data
headquarters tower across the Minnesota River." [end of extract]|
In 1974 six Sperry-UNIVAC employees gathered to gathered to celebrate Norwegian Constitution day. [Ole Olson, Keith Myhre, Larry Bakken, Burt Gunderson, Gary Odegaard, and Joel Christensen.] They sat at a table next to the window on the north side of the Hot Fish Shop restaurant in Mendota for their first luncheon. Attendees increased in subsequent years as Ole promoted the get together. Eventually, the group outgrew the dining room. Especially when Ole would get up and make a speech to the group, inconveniencing neighboring diners. So the luncheon moved across the hall to the Emporium of Jazz. With additional space, the planners began adding formal speakers. When the Emporium of Jazz shutdown, the luncheon was moved to Casper's in Eagan.
By the early 80s, retired employees joined or continued to participate. Most of the featured speakers were of Norwegian heritage, talking about their books or experiences associated with their ancestral land. Participants are reminded of the date via a phone call from the volunteer committee and/or the VIP Club newsletter. Casper's needs a head count of participants ahead of time, so - if you plan to attend, please advise a committee member. Dale Torgerson, Dale Phelps, and Dick Lundgren are current planners & coordinators.
Beginning in 2015, the VIP Club Board decided to replace our May program meeting with promotion of and member participation at this event. {Edited by Lowell A. Benson with data from Keith Myhre.}
The Annual UNIVAC Old Timers' Reunion on the first Thursday of December was was initiated in the early 80’s by Sperry Defense Systems marketer John Markfelder. Typical attendance was about 250 retirees plus many 'UNIVACers' still working in the area. There is no formal program, just an annual opportunity for former co-workers to greet each other and chat over a coke, glass of wine, or beer. The buffet lunch at the Fort Snelling Officer’s club was always good, especially when eating with friends.
For about twenty-five years another Unisys retiree and former Marine officer, Earl Lillestrand, coordinated the invitations – most by a cadre of volunteers making phone calls! His arrangement and invitation cohort for many, many years was Dante (Dan) Maseratti, also a marketing manager and a Marine. Participants are reminded of this event via the monthly VIP Club newsletter, via an e-mail, or via a phone call from volunteers Attendees are asked to register ahead of time and to inform a volunteer if the cafeteria buffet line is in your plans. A donation box to cover facility charges and name tag costs was available at the check in desk - we paid to have an extra bartender on hand.
If you are willing to help with 2024 notifications and check-in table staffing, contact VP Boni Westberg and/or Treasurer Paul Hove.
April is National volunteer recognition month. After Burroughs bought Sperry to form UNISYS in 1986, UNISYS hosted a recognition breakfast in the plant 4 cafeteria. In 2009, UNISYS Roseville closed their cafeteria. The VIP Club board decided that volunteer recognition was important thus took over sponsorship of the annual event - The venue selected was the American Legion Club in New Brighton. In 2010 we decided to not have a 'guest speaker', rather just to have the a few attending volunteers talk about his/her volunteerism. The Legion lost its 'food license' in 2011 so we moved the breakfast to the Eagles club in New Brighton. Then, in 2013 we moved the breakfast to the VFW in Roseville. In 2015, the Club decided to have a recognition luncheon instead of a breakfast; the venue chosen was Joseph's in St. Paul where sandwiches were served. Then for 2016 & 2017 we decided to have a hot lunch buffet. Due to Covid-19, the 2020 and 2021 volunteer recognition luncheons were cancelled. In 2022, resumed having a hot lunch buffet at Joseph's in St. Paul.
Report Issue* | Respondees | Total Hours | Recognition Function | Attended |
Enews0405.pdf | 110 | 22,487 | Breakfast at Unisys | 25 |
Enews0505.pdf | 108 | 23,455 | Breakfast at Unisys | 70 |
Enews0606.pdf | 115 | 18,624 | Breakfast at Unisys | 57 |
Enews0705.pdf | 122 | 22,998 | Breakfast at Unisys | 64 |
Enews0805.pdf | 121 | 24,532 | Breakfast at Unisys | 65 |
Enews0905.pdf | 108 | 23,455 | Breakfast at Unisys | 70 |
Enews0906.pdf | 146 | 27,576 | Breakfast at Tri-City Legion Post | 70 |
Enews1006.pdf | 136 | 24,692 | Breakfast at Tri-City Legion Post | 58 |
Enews1106.pdf | 123 | 26,587 | Breakfast at New Brighton Eagle's Club | 46 |
Enews1206.pdf | 111 | 26,029 | Breakfast at New Brighton Eagle's Club | 45 |
Enews1305.pdf | 101 | 21,181 | Breakfast at Roseville VFW Club | 47 |
Enews1406.pdf | 98 | 21,681 | Breakfast at Roseville VFW Club | 36 |
Enews1506.pdf | 106 | 25,968 | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | 50 |
Enews1606.pdf | 98 | 24,275 | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | 45 |
Enews1705.pdf | 46 | 26,810 | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | ~35 |
Enews1805.pdf | 61 | 22,561 | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | ~32 |
Enews1905.pdf | 73 | 20,179 | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | 30 |
Enews2005.pdf | 60 | 21,565 | cancelled | x |
Enews2207.pdf | 32 | NA | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | 30 |
Enews2305.pdf | n/a | n/a | Luncheon at Joseph's in St. Paul | ~30 |
*see the Newsletter's page, Archive section.
Before the 2015 luncheon; former board member Bernie Jansen suggested
that we should do something to recogonize an individual who had gone
above and beyond the normal. The VIP board created the Annual Bernie & Kathy Jansen Volunteer Extraordinaire Award in honor of Member Emeritous Bernie Jansen and wife Kathy
Bernie led our volunteer breakfast/lunch recognition planning for over a decade and
while a DCHS Trustee was instrumental in getting the ball rolling for a
permanent exhibit of our Legacy Artifacts at the Lawshe Memorial Museum. Kathy has staffed the check-in table at almost every event that I (Lowell) can recall.
Nominate someone to receive the Volunteer Extraordinaire Award at the next April luncheon. Please send her/his name and your reason(s) why before March 15th to board@vipclubmn.org.
Past Volunteer Extraordinaire Award recipients are:
By Marv Brown,
January 17, 2020: During a conversation with my wife, Ruth, I mentioned that it would be nice to be able to keep in touch with the people that I had worked with for over 36 years. She suggested that I should call some of them and arrange to meet them for breakfast someday. So, in December of 1991, I called three individuals (Don Elliot, Clarence Jacobson, and Larry Couture) from the list of over 100 names
who had also taken early retirement on October 31, 1991, and asked them to meet me for breakfast. We met at Marino’s Restaurant in Columbia Heights. Don Elliot now lives on the south shore of Lake Mille Lacs. Clarence Jacobson moved to Brainerd, passed away March 4, 2017 at the hospital in Crosby. Larry Couture passed away on March 29, 2010.
Over a large platter of “SOS” the Unisys Retiree Breakfast Group got its start. We enjoyed the get together
- the chit/chat - and decided that each of us should contact 5 or 6 individuals from the list of 100 retirees, and invite them to a breakfast get together. We decided to meet at the Country Kitchen Restaurant at 35W and Stinson Blvd, on the second Wednesday of the next month. This turned out to be a great success. About 20 individuals showed up. A decision was made that each person present should contact other retirees and tell them about our meeting and that we planned to meet again the second Wednesday of the next month;
problem was that the Country Kitchen Restaurant was not suited for a larger group so now we needed a more suitable place to meet.
I went to the Countryside Restaurant on north Snelling and
County Road C. I talked to the manager of the restaurant, Mike Rhein, and presented him with my request and plans. His reaction was that of surprise. He agreed to open his restaurant 2 hours earlier than his normal operating business hours provided that I could guarantee him at least 25 people would attend. We were offered a menu of three choices for $5.50 including beverage and tip. So, February 13, 1991, we had what could probably be considered the second beginning of the Unisys Retiree Breakfast Group we had 30 people show up for breakfast. I was asked to do everything I could to keep the group going. I agreed, provided I could establish and set my own rules. The only purpose of the Unisys Retiree Breakfast Group would be to get together visit and keep our friendly relationship active with retired fellow employees and to extend a helping hand to our less fortunate friends, should the occasion arise.
1) No dues would be charged. 2) The cost of the breakfast would be the responsibility of each individual.
3) No program would be established nor have to be followed.
4) No salesmen trying to sell stuff to the group. 5) No official minutes or records would be kept of the meetings; however I did establish a roster which each member signed giving me names, addresses etc. This was done for several years until the roster of names reached over 478 members and new members became few. The roster was maintained by Loren and Judy Rogers for several years; I now have this roster on my computer.
The latest count shows that over 149 or about 35% of the original names on the roster have passed away.
This count is probably incorrect because many more probably have passed away that I don’t know about. The communications of those who pass away is very difficult to obtain and confirm. Our group at the Countryside Restaurant grew to 40, 50, 60, and we even reached as high as 90. The manager at Countryside, Mike Rhein, finally had to ask me to put a limit on the number allowed to attend. He said that he did not have enough dishes etc. to handle more than 60 at a time. This I said was not acceptable
- to tell retirees that they could not come - would not work; so we had to look for a different larger place to gather.
One day I visited the factory and was talking to Larry Schwalbe, I mentioned my problem about the need for a new location. Larry had worked for me at Unisys.
He suggested that I move the group over to the New Brighton Legion Post.
Mr. Schwalbe became Commander of the Legion Post. We moved to the New Brighton Legion Post in the fall of 1992.
The number of retirees attending each month ranged from 50 to 150 people. Some of the individuals that attended were not retired but were very welcome……some were the spouse of the retiree. Some were individuals who became the unfortunate and were forced to look for other employment.
I had always been interested in obtaining guest speakers…with no funds to operate with…. it was almost impossible to get a free speaker. One of our members, Glenn Turner, I don’t remember if he was a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor; it didn’t seem that he would have been old enough for that! Glenn passed away in October of 2004. He had an excellent presentation that he showed to the group on the anniversary (I believe it was the 60th anniversary) of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was so good that he was asked to present it several times to accommodate those that missed the first showing.
In January 2011 the New Brighton Legion Post was forced to relocate because the building that they operated out of was sold to an Asian group. In February we were informed that the new Asian management did not have the correct licenses to serve food so we had to relocate our Retiree Breakfast group. Ross Metzger, a member of our Retiree Group, was also a member of the New Brighton Legion Post. Ross was able to keep me informed of the situation with the Legion Post. Ross also had good relations with the Eagles Club which happens to be located across the street from the Legion Post….and was instrumental in arranging a meeting with the management of Gina’s Café…. located in the Eagle Club. This allowed us to move our Group across the street to Gina’s Café and continue our meetings. On January 9, 2013 at our regularly scheduled breakfast meeting, I was notified by the Manager of Gina’s Café that she would have to close her (breakfast catering) business because of insufficient income and that she was actively seeking other employment…She got a job with Cargill.
Again, Ross rose to the occasion and arranged for a meeting with the management of the Eagles Club and was successful in arranging for the Eagles Club cooking staff to take over where Gina left off.
We are currently meeting quarterly at the Eagles Club on the 2nd Wednesday of the Month and have 15 to 40 people attending
- the food is good, served buffet style and priced at $15.00. I would have liked to have more of the retirees attend to expand the friendly relationship
- the group is great - however, over time the attendance kept dropping and it has been very difficult to maintain a large enough group for the business to make it profitable to keep serving us breakfast. After 28 years of hosting the Unisys Retiree Breakfast Group, I am starting to show my age and since last July I have been scheduling more Doctors appointments and consuming more medications. SO, I have decided to call it quits. The time has come that I need to take care of Marv and worry less about other things.
Therefore, I have asked a super retiree named Paul Dickson, who has filled in for me during the past year when I was unable to host the gathering; if he would be interested in taking over the responsibility of hosting the Group. Paul has accepted and will host our future breakfast gatherings starting in June 2020. I hope everyone will keep attending and give Paul all the support needed to keep the group going.
A special thanks to those that have been so faithful each time - rain - sleet - or snow. They seem to always show up and even will laugh at my e/mail stories. I hope to be able to attend a breakfast gathering in the future if my health allows it. Marv! {minor editing by LABenson who started participating in 2008 by invitation of then VIP Club President Tom Turba.}
In
2007, then VP, Tom Turba attended the Annual UNIVAC Old Timers'
Reunion at the Ft. Snelling Officers' Club. Aftwards he noted that the attendees were almost all defense
personnel and that we should do something like that for the commercial
side of the house. He took charge and planned a gathering for 2008 and
wrote:
Memories, Memories - The Good Old Days: Remember the summer picnics
at Bunker Hills, Turtle Lake, and the many other places where they were
held? The kids would have their games, the barbeque was going, the sun
was shining, the eats were great, the drinks flowed freely, and our
friends were all around. It was a fun time that sometimes lasted well
into the night. It was always fun to go to the Christmas Parties at the Bel-Ray Ballroom,
Holiday Inn, Prom Center, and the many other places we had them. They
were always after work. You could just relax, enjoy the atmosphere,
talk with friends, have a dance, enjoy the music, eat the food, and
just have fun.
Remember going out to lunch at Paul’s Place, Nino’s, the
Stone House, the Last Frontier, the Ground Round, the American Legion,
and many other places? Those were the days. Paul’s Place is long
gone – torn down for development. Nino’s was turned into
a retail store. The Stone House, after being saved for many years, finally
met its demise. The Last Frontier, with all its unique paintings, made
way for more retail. And although the building still stands for a little
while yet, the Ground Round is no more and has not been for many years.
Casper's Cherokee House in Eagan: Set your GPS to Eagan MN, 4625 Nicols Road, From I35E, take the Cliff Road exit and go West to Nicols, turn left. From Cedar Ave, take the Cliff Road exit, go East to Nicols, then turn right.
Central Park Pavilion in Eagan: Set your GPS to Eagan MN, 1497 Central Pkwy. This is south of the Unisys MACS building on Pilot Knob Road and north of the former plant 8 area. See photo at right for overflow parking.
Charles Babbage Institute: Set your GPS address to 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455. The walking location is Room #211 in the Andersen Library second floor. For parking, the closest is lot C86/the Law School lot that has shared contract and visitor parking. A parking alternate site is the city parking next to the Marriott Courtyard hotel, formerly Holiday Inn at seven corners. This is about 1.5 blocks to the west of CBI, 1 block east of the I35W Washington Avenue freeway exit.
Joseph's Grill in St. Paul: Set your GPS address to St Paul, MN - 140 Wabasha St S 55107. From the Roseville area take 35E South toward St Paul, get into the left lane and exit onto Hwy 52 going south. After crossing the Mississippi river, take the ramp right for Lafayette Rd toward Plato Blvd. Turn right onto Plato (west) for 0.2 mi then turn right onto Wabasha (north). After 1/2 mi, Joseph's will be on the right. From the Eagan area take 35E north to I494 east to Hwy 52 going north. Take the ramp right for Lafayette Road then turn left (west) onto Plato Blvd. After 0.7 mi, turn right (north) onto Wabasha, Joseph's will be on the right after 1/2 mi. Lawshe Museum in South St. Paul: Set your GPS unit to South Saint Paul, 130 Third Avenue. From the Roseville area, take Hwy 36 to I-35E south toward downtown St. Paul. Get into the left lane then take the I-94/Hwy 52 left exit to merge onto Hwy 52 going south. 3.4 miles later, take the Butler Ave exit and turn left. Go 0.7 mi and turn right onto MN156 S. After 1.8 mi, turn right onto Grand Ave. W – Drive up the hill a block and turn left; the parking lot is then 400 ft. on the left. From the Eagan area, take I494 toward the Mississippi river then take exit #65 onto 7th Ave. Turn left and drive a mile to South view Blvd, turn right at the light. After 0.3 mi, turn left onto 3rd Ave – the museum parking lot is then 0.2 mi on the righ
Lawshe
Museum in South St. Paul: Set
your GPS unit to South Saint Paul, 130 Third Avenue.
From the Roseville area, take
Hwy 36 to I-35E south toward downtown St. Paul. Get into the left lane then
take the I-94/Hwy 52 left exit to merge onto Hwy 52 going south. 3.4 miles
later, take the Butler Ave exit and turn left. Go 0.7 mi and turn right onto
MN156 S. After 1.8 mi, turn right onto Grand Ave. W – Drive up the hill a
block and turn left; the parking lot is then 400 ft. on the left. From
the Eagan area, take I494 toward the Mississippi river then take exit
#65 onto 7th Ave. Turn left and drive a mile to South view Blvd,
turn right at the light. After 0.3 mi, turn left onto 3rd Ave –
the museum parking lot is then 0.2 mi on the right.
The museum has small parking lots as illustrated in the diagram to the
right. Able-bodied persons are asked to park in the north City Hall
lot across the street. The lot on the north side of the building is
reserved for those who have a handicap sticker. The great room legacy
exhibits are on the ground level.
Lost Spur in Eagan: Set your GPS to St Paul, 2750 Sibley Memorial Hwy, 55121 or take exit #98 off I-35E onto Lone Oak Road. Go west across Pilot Knob Road and then down the hill to Hwy 13. Turn right and proceed north ~ ½ miles to the Lost Spur (City View) entrance on the right.
Unisys MACS in Eagan: Set your GPS unit to Eagan MN, 3199 Pilot Knob Road. From Hwy 35E take the Pilot Knob Road exit ramp. Then go north on Pilot Knob Road about ½ mile to Tower View Road. We use the Unisys north parking lot and the visitor entrance thereby.
Please note: Reader corrections to this page are always welcome!
Evite use advisory,
Last Event Report
Event Venue Locations,
Volunteer Extraordinaire!
Recreation, i.e. Golf League, bowling, or electronics club.
Traffic Congestion check.
Page 3 edited
11/20/2024.
ABOUT EVITE:. To ensure an Evite isn’t channeled to your “spam”,
please add the email address
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to your e-mail address book.
Please reply to an Evite invitation ASAP to let the host know that you received it. Your timely
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their RSVP to Yes or No as soon as they determine they will attend or not.
Evite also lets you see who else is coming to the event by pressing the “Guests” button. It also will send you an
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who do not want to receive Evite’s can request to “opt out” by
sending their request to
membership@vipclubmn.org
No Email?
IF you do not have email and have recycled your last newsletter issue, you could
go to your local library to review upcoming events on a public PC;
browse to
http://vipclubmn.org/activities.html.
Provided byKeith Behnke
and Gish Devlaminck.
[1/2/20]