BRAINERD — I’ve met some unique and interesting people during my lifetime.

Especially, the last 26 years while covering lakes area sports at The Brainerd Dispatch. This job forces me, an introvert, to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t.

One of the first people I met when I started here in the spring of 1999 was Staples-Motley golf coach Glen Hasselberg. His girls’ golf teams dominated the state, which forced our paths to cross often in my early career. As the years went by his boys’ teams would rise to state fame and then his girls’ teams regained state stature and back and forth. Long story short, Hasselberg and I enjoyed a lot of conversations while trekking through the woods looking for abandoned golf balls. We talked about life, his much more advanced than mine, the Minnesota State High School League, family and golf.

I was honored to watch Hasselberg be inducted into the Staples-Motley Athletic Hall of Fame this past fall. His honor was shared with amazing talents like Jessica (Beachy) Rahman and John Riewer along with impressive wrestling and cross-country teams.

S-M’s Hall of Fame Committee produces an impressive show to honor the greatness that came from the school district. It’s a program others should emulate. Honoring the past is important. It swells pride in communities when often we need to be reminded of greatness.

I’m a member of the Crosby-Ironton Rangers Athletic Hall of Fame committee. We inducted a class last winter and again this fall because there are many great athletes to honor. A small group of us gather to discuss the past and create a list of worthy names. It’s not an easy job because you try to harken back to days when you weren’t even around. You recall stories talked about like mythical lore and rely on the older population for verification. As I said, it’s not easy, but it is necessary. For those school districts that don’t have an athletic hall of fame, I urge you to start now and stay on top of it every year because you will find impressive accomplishments you either forgot or never knew that should be remembered.

Brainerd High School’s athletic department does an excellent job recognizing its past and has been doing so for a long time. Its most recent class was an all-star cast that included former NFL player Joe Haeg, former NHL player Josh Archibald, former Red Bull diver Katy Etterman and two long-time swimming coaches who, again, I had the pleasure of meeting early in my career.

The going remark when attending a swimming and diving meet was “Ah, so you drew the short straw.” In other words, why are you here? Dan Anderson and John Zemke are two coaches whose talents and personalities I admire. Anderson’s knowledge of the sport hit an all-time high this fall when he coached his first Class 2A state champion, Mya Tautges. The past three seasons have seen the Warrior girls win two section titles and this year they won the Central Lakes Conference and had five podium finishes at state. It’s as if Anderson is getting better with age.

Zemke retired after last season’s section title run — one of many for that program. He coached his state champion, Jared Anderson, a decade ago. He enjoyed another spectacular run two and three years ago with Mason Kuepers, Cade Rosenwald, Cayden Sumption, Micahel Ruhl and Parker Tatge.

Zemke and I still exchange weekly text messages about swimming, but he enjoys a good restaurant recommendation.

It’s important to remember the past, but also not to get stuck in it and go find and build quality relationships.

About six years back, Hasselberg invited me to join a group of guys, mostly from the Staples area, on an annual golf outing. As someone in no rush to meet new people and whose golf game isn’t worth writing about it was a reluctant yes for me. It turned into a yes that would enhance my life and the number of contacts in my cell phone.

It started with about 40 guys, but since I joined the group has shrunk. (Writer pauses typing and ponders). Some players have come once and never again. People will come for one year and take a break for a few years. But there’s a solid, returning group of 20 or so. One of those is the oldest in the group, Dr. John Gorton. Here is a man who I would never have met if not for Hasselberg’s invitation. Each fall I get to reconnect with him and the others usually during a time in my work schedule when a guy could use a break. This past fall we visited Giants Ridge’s The Quarry and The Wilderness at Fortune Bay. Doc, as he’s referred to, Roger Houselog, Ryan Rengstorf and I traveled the three hours north together to meet with the rest. You get to know a guy in a six-hour round trip and a four-hour golf outing

Contributed photo

After returning from our golf trip this past fall, Doc received some unfortunate health. I don’t know the specifics nor is it my place to say, but after listening to Doc during that six-hour road trip, it was clear he was living and had lived a good life and had a big, strong family. He had built a lot of strong bonds in his life. It seems like a life worth emulating.

As Christmas comes and we’re all enjoying family and friends, I’ll whisper a thank you to Hasselberg for being a friend and say a prayer for Doc who is one of a handful of those unique and interesting people I’ve met.

JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.