Regional Industry & News

When I invited readers to share their stories of multi-generational work in the Brainerd lakes area, I wasn’t sure of the response I’d get. I wasn’t prepared for so many wonderful historical pieces of information to come from our readers.

From century-old family farms and construction dynasties to hospitality traditions and specialized trades, these accounts reveal the backbone of our community. They serve as a powerful reminder that while industries change and evolve, the values of hard work and dedication remain constant. I hope you find these stories as inspiring as I did.

120 years in the ag industry

Our family has been in the agriculture production industry for about 120 years.

My grandparents started farming south of Brainerd in 1906. They raised corn, oats, sheep, cattle, chickens, horses and 10 children on 160 acres of land.

My parents bought the farm, purchased another 160 acres of land and raised eight children, all of whom used their agriculture background in one way or another.

My husband and I now farm (not on the same land) with our sons and their families. We raise corn, cows, and kids, along with other crops.

So that makes five generations in the ag industry who have and will be providing food, fiber and fuel for people everywhere.

Rosanne Caughey, Brainerd

Rasinski Construction and Rasinski Excavating still hard at work

I am submitting something on behalf of my 90-year-old dad, Ernie Rasinski. He saw your Dispatch article about generations of Brainerd area workers and wrote down a few things about his work history, his son’s work history, and his grandson’s work history; I also added some additional info.

Ernie Rasinski is a lifelong Brainerd lakes area resident currently living in Lake Shore. He was the superintendent for Bor-Son Construction (out of Minneapolis) starting in 1966.

He supervised many building projects in the Brainerd lakes area including the East Brainerd Mall, St. Joseph’s Hospital addition, Northstar Hi Rise apartments, Mississippi Terrace apartments, Staples Hospital and Nursing Home and the Little Falls wastewater treatment plant.

In the later 1970s, Ernie welcomed two of his sons, Ray and Ken, to Bor-Son Construction and they worked with him on the Mississippi Terrace project and other jobs throughout the metro area.

In the early 1980s, Ernie welcomed his youngest son, Dave, to Bor-Son Construction.

Ernie retired from Bor-Son in the late 1990s and went into the excavating business with Dave as Rasinski Excavating Inc. Dave’s son and Ernie’s grandson, Michael, joined the business in the late 2010s.

Ray and Ken left Bor-Son in the early 1980s. Ray started Ray Rasinski Construction and worked as a sole proprietor until Ken joined him in the business in 1985 and it became Rasinski Construction LLC. Ernie’s grandson, Rob (Ray’s son), has been a big part of the business since the later 1990s.

Both Rasinski Construction and Rasinski Excavating are still hard at work in the Brainerd lakes area today.

Angie Rardin

A resort, a move east, hospitality industry, and now, a festival

My parents moved to the area when they bought and ran Sherwood Forest lodge in the ‘70s. Soon thereafter they bought another small resort on the west side of Gull Lake which became known as Lykins Pinehurst Resort — a few cabins and a dock, nothing fancy. The whole family worked it. By the time I was 8 years old, I was stripping beds on Saturday turnovers, sweeping steps and raking the beach, and helping with lawn care of the 7 acre property. I might have complained about it then, but I'm grateful for it now.

In high school, I carried on the tradition of working in the hospitality industry, waiting tables at Madden's Resort and — for many years — Lost Lake Lodge.

Growing up in Brainerd, I started playing cello in the public school program and I went out east for college to study music. I didn't intend to remain connected with my hometown, but I kept finding reasons to come back in the summers, and after a while, it was obvious I wasn't going to be happy anywhere else. A lot of people leave and don't return. I did.

That's where the Lakes Area Music Festival came from. I wanted to bring serious musicians to the town that raised me and make the concerts free so anyone could come. It's not so different from running a resort, honestly. You're still just trying to give people a good reason to show up and have a good time once they do.

So that's the arc: a family resort on the lake, a detour east, years in hospitality here, and now the festival.

Scott Lykins, Founder, Artistic & Executive Director, Lakes Area Music Festival, Brainerd (seasonal)

Family tradition: The Franzens’ plastering and stucco story

The Franzen story began in 1903 when Gustav Sjarp, and his brother, John Sjarp, arrived at Ellis Island from Sweden. Gustav wanted his father’s name, Frances Sjarp, on his entry papers, and so in 1903, Gustav entered the United States of America as Gustav Franzen.

He met and married Martha and the couple went on to have 11 children. They moved to Brainerd where Martha died at the age of 47.

Gustav Franzen joined President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1935 Works Progress Administration program (WPA) and did stonework on the main gate and wall that surrounds Camp Ripley to this day. He worked many odd jobs to support his big family.

Gustav’s oldest son, Johnny, began plastering before 1941 and started contracting commercial work in 1953. His brothers, Herbert, Gus, Hjalmer and Kenneth worked for him before embarking on their own plastering journeys. Johnny’s son, Jack, began working with him in the mid-1950s. Jack’s sons, John and Jason, eventually followed in his footsteps, establishing John Franzen Stucco, LLC and Franzen Brothers Plastering, LLC in the early 1990s. Both are still in business today.

The legacy continues through John's son, AJ, who began working with John in the early 2000s and went on to proudly continue the family craft with AJ Franzen Plastering, LLC, following in the footsteps of his father John, grandfather Jack, great-grandfather Johnny and great-great-grandfather Gustav.

Jack, John, Jason, and AJ Franzen continue to be masters of their trade in the Brainerd lakes area and can often still be seen working side by side helping each other out.

LeAnn (Franzen) Hardy (Jack’s daughter) and Bonnie Franzen, Jack’s wife

Oh, how things have changed

Peter Olsen, my paternal grandfather, came to Brainerd from Lofoten, Norway, early in the 1900s. My paternal grandmother, Rachel Abbot, left Bergen, Norway, at age 16 with one of her brothers. They were never to see their parents or six siblings again.

During a visit here from Illinois, Rachel met Peter. They married shortly afterward and raised seven children: Dorothy, Margaret, Palmer, Connie, Gerhard (my father), Helen and Geraldine in southeast Brainerd by the shops. Grandpa built their family home himself: 1704 Maple.

Peter started working as a baker and sent enough money back to his parents, Peder and Dorthea, to enable passage for them and the rest of his eight siblings who also settled in the area for a while.

My father, born in 1917, told me how he sold papers in his early years to help keep the homestead above water during the depression era of the ‘30s. He remembered selling papers to both Ma Barker and Al Capone. Grandpa Peter eventually went on to work for the city of Brainerd until he passed a few years after WWII ended.

Both of the Olsen boys, Palmer and Gerhard, served in the Navy during WWII. My father, Gerhard, was on the USS Lexington ship when it was bombed and sank during the Battle of the Coral Sea. His working post had been in the basement of the ship's laundry, and he had to climb up to jump overboard where he swam in shark-infested waters for several hours before being rescued. He received a medal of commendation and returned to Brainerd after the war ended. While working at a local establishmen