by Leilani Freeman
as published in the Chisago County Press
More than 2,000 years ago, the Roman statesman and orator Cicero said, “Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.”
* * * * *
Most people consider themselves fortunate to have one or two truly close friends throughout their lives. Kelly Marquardt of Lindstrom, Minn., has eight. This year, thanks to the kindness and generous spirit of those friends, Kelly has seen her joy multiplied and the weight of her grief divided eight times over.
The close-knit group of women, known simply as “The Tribe,” grew up in the small southern Minnesota town of Slayton. They started their first day of school together and graduated together. Their mothers were neighborhood “coffee ladies,” and their siblings and extended families also were friends.
The women of The Tribe represent nearly one-tenth of the 94-member Slayton High School Class of 1983. Three of them, including Kelly, grew up next door to each other, and five were cheerleaders for the Slayton Wildcats.
That same cheerleading spirit recently filled the Marquardt family garage in Lindstrom as this energetic “garage band” of hard-working elves, clad in holiday sweaters, reindeer antlers and Santa hats, gathered to decorate more than 90 evergreen swags and a trailer-load of evergreen wreaths. They did if for Kelly, and in loving memory of her mom.
Kelly and her husband Brian operate Marquardt Christmas Trees. It’s a seasonal business that Kelly, a registered nurse, and Brian, a middle school science teacher, took over 21 years ago shortly after moving to Lindstrom.
Working at full-time jobs while operating their Christmas tree business and raising three children has been hard and demanding work. Over the years family members, including parents, siblings, and nephews, have often helped Brian and Kelly out.
To read the rest of this article – pick up a copy of this week’s Murray County News or subscribe to our e-edition at http://eedition.murraycountynews.net/sub/account_login.asp.
