Deb & Jon McTaggart 2021 Update

Dear Family and far-flung Friends,

    December 26, 2021.  We can’t remember the last time we wrote and sent one of these, but it was many years BC (Before Covid).  With an eventful and change-filled 2021 waning and with a hopeful and promising 2022 about to dawn, we figure it’s time for a Deb and Jon McTaggart update.

    Yesterday was Christmas and it was one we will always remember.  Elizabeth (our eldest) married Mark Hilt in a beautiful and intimate ceremony, with personal vows and comments from their five kids – Chloe, Adrianna, Emerson, Camden and Coby.  We gathered in Fargo with immediate family and just a few close friends, and welcomed many more via video stream.  There was so much love in that room!  Sarah (our youngest) presided and blessed the service “By the power vested in me by the State of North Dakota and the Universal Life Church…”  And she was terrific!

    After the unexpected closing of Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota early in 2021, Elizabeth and two co-workers quickly created an LLC to continue Restorative Justice services for the State of North Dakota.  After recovering from major shoulder surgery this summer, Mark made a job change and is now a manager at a local off-sale store.  With five energetic and talented kids all with different school demands and extracurricular activities, Mark and Elizabeth often need to be in three places at once!

    Sarah is making great progress on her Psychology degree at the University of Minnesota in Duluth.  She lives off campus with a roommate named Goose; he’s cross-eyed, cream-colored and she adopted him from Ely, MN.  She’s also becoming quite a hockey fan, watching a lot of Wausau Cyclones (NA3HL) games via video stream with special attention on the team captain (#14).  And she’s playing volleyball again, in a competitive adult coed league (and she has the bruises and floor burns to prove she still hates the ball to touch the floor on her side of the net!).

    Deb continues as a Teaching Artist at MacPhail Center for Music.  With pandemic-related limits on service providers in congregate care settings, Deb has been leading music sessions for groups in several facilities via recorded videos and live streams.  She also logged 1,100 miles running and walking this year and completed the Twin Cities 10-mile with her running group, The Granny Pack!

    After Glenmore Miller (Deb’s dad) passed away unexpectedly in April 2020, and as Covid impacts grew into that summer, we decided it was time to accelerate some long-planned changes.  So, Jon asked his board to begin the succession process and, in August this year, Jon retired from the American Public Media Group after 10 years as CEO.  He is now working to create a new corporate advising portfolio with more flexibility and time for family.

    One of our long-planned changes was to move closer to our families.  So, we sold our home in the Twin Cities and we bought a down-sized home on the south edge of Fargo, ND across the road from the Red River.  We moved to Fargo in May and Jon commuted to St Paul until late August.  We now enjoy going to lots of grandkids’ sporting events and concerts, dropping-in on Elizabeth and Mark (North Fargo), seeing Jac and Shari McTaggart (West Fargo), and making regular visits to Frazee, MN to see Nathlie (Deb’s mom) and to Perham, MN to see Bob and Yvonne (Jon’s parents).

    Just a week after we moved to Fargo, our beloved Lady Gray “crossed the rainbow bridge.”  So Sarah and Jon conspired to get Deb to visit Cats Cradle Shelter Rescue.  After seeing about 70 cats, Deb noticed a shy, little, female, alone in the back of a cage, fresh from rescue off the streets–no tail and no front claws.  We took her home and Sadie immediately bonded to Deb and melted our hearts.

    We’re getting acquainted with our new neighbors and exploring our new community and state.  We found a new church, joined the local fitness center and we’ve even attended a couple grown-up concerts.  Life is full and we are truly blessed and overwhelmed by His amazing grace.

    May the New Year be filled with health, joy and God’s blessings for you and your families. 

Deb & Jon McTaggart

6296 14th Street South

Fargo, ND  58104

McTaggart.Home@gmail.com 

(651) 773-1056 home

Grandpa's Truck: 1954 Ford F100

When my grandpa died a few years ago, I bought his old truck. I didn’t really need it, but I bought it from grandma because I wanted to keep grandpa’s truck in the family and because grandma needed the money (she was determined to keep on living in their home, which she did until she died two years after grandpa did).

Grandpa loved his old truck. He bought it more than 35 years ago – a 1954 Ford F100, with the original 6 cylinder and a 3 speed on tree. He had it painted bright red about 8 years before he died.

Grandpa was very proud of this truck and took great care of it. He drove it lightly in summer and parked it in a garage every winter. He kept it mainly for hauling aluminum cans to the recycler and garden implements around town.

The truck starts and runs pretty well. It may need a brake job next summer, but I drive it to church on sunny Sunday mornings, thinking of my grandpa and waving to my neighbors and the kids who point at the old truck going down their city street.

The truck has not been restored, and there is nothing fancy about it. It’s a basic pickup that was used by a farmer until grandpa bought it. Most of the parts on the truck are original or have been replaced by original parts when repairs were needed. Grandpa did all of the maintenance and most of the repairs, himself. He drained and replaced fluids often, and was meticulous about belts and hoses. One of the turn indicators is not working (probably a shorted wire), and the interior was painted long before Grandpa bought it. The truck has a bit of rust on the running boards and steel bumpers, but the body still looks pretty good and the frame and box are solid.

While he was alive, Grandpa had a number of offers to buy it, but he would not part with it. While grandma was alive, grandpa didn’t feel too far away. But now that they are both gone, I think I’ll keep grandpa’s old truck around for a while. It’s a great way for me to spend a little time with him each week.