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February 2015 |
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by Sue Orsen It came to pass that in the year 1972, the City of Victoria hired its very first city administrator. Virginia Harris had that job for five years, until she was lured away by Carver County for a zoning and planning position in 1977. A resident at Smithtown at the time, Virginia is today a resident of downtown St. Paul, where she enjoys the amenities of a skyway system, the Opera, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Her apartment is only six outdoor steps to the bus stop where she catches a ride that takes her directly to the Mall of America. And so we met at the Mall of America on Friday morning, January 23rd, 2015, in the coffee shop at Barnes and Noble, to talk about the old days, especially the old days in Victoria. “City office was one room in the rear of the Fire Hall,” she said. “It was one small room with a door.” The rest of the space in the Fire Hall was occupied by at least two fire trucks and, in the midst of things, a bar area used for social events. In 1983 the entire Fire Hall on Rose Street became Victoria City Offices. In January 2015, those city offices were relocated. Petroleum fumes had sent employees home sick and even shut down City Hall. Areas had been cordoned off with plastic wrap. The new Victoria City Hall, constructed throughout 2014, is located only a couple blocks away on Stieger Lake Lane. “The filing system was piles of papers on tables,” stated Virginia about the early days. “I got the whole filing system organized. It was great fun. I took over a lot of Whitey’s work.” Kenneth ‘Whitey’ Wellens was the City Clerk/Treasurer at the time, an elected position. Whitey used to tell people that he worked out of the trunk of his car, which speaks to the size of Victoria, if not the size of the trunk. Continued Virginia, “After the city council meetings we would go to Leo’s Bar or Schmitty’s. Such great fun. I’ll never forget one particular council meeting. Whitey had butchered a couple chickens that day, from the farm I guess, and he fried them up at the Hall for us. The kitchen of the Village Hall was next to the Fire Hall. I never knew what fresh chicken tasted like. Best chicken I ever had.” “I was alone in that city office room for some time,” said Virginia. “I remember I talked the Council into getting an adding machine -- with a tape! -- and eventually a copy machine. Then I decided I’ve got to find someone to do my typing. I was never a clerical person. I was writing ordinances and referring them to Bob Nicklaus to review before they went to the city council. I really got that place going. I got the place organized! It was great fun. Bob Nicklaus was the city attorney, a wonderful guy. I enjoyed working with him.” “Council said I could hire someone to do the typing,” said the former city administrator, “and so when I ran into Germaine Jesberg at the grocery store, I asked her if she’d like the job and she said she’d go home and think about it. She called me the next day and said okay. Germaine was the best. Everybody loved her. When my kids had a question or a problem, they’d call Germaine.” Of course, it was Germaine Jesberg who picked up the phone at the City Office no matter who called. And so it came to pass that there were two desks in that room behind the fire trucks in the Victoria Fire Hall, one for Virginia and one for Germaine, a forever resident related to early Victoria families. *** The elder of two daughters, Virginia was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1932. Her father worked for Greyhound, which had headquarters in Hibbing, Minnesota. Her parents transferred to Cleveland and later Chicago when she was in 6th grade. “My parents found a house in Wilmette,” said Virginia. “With all the moves, I attended three 6th grades. That’s pretty unusual, wouldn’t you say? This was during the War years and housing was at such a premium back then.”
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