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The Lehners Continued |
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Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
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8661 Deer Run Dr. * Victoria 952-443-2351 |
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So they built their first house in Deer Run in 1990. In 1995 they sold that house and built a second house in Deer Run. During these years the Lehners became noted for, among other things, their annual entries in the neighborhood’s Fourth of July Parade. Louise would dream the theme and then Al concocted elaborate designs that turned their golf cart one year into the Flintstone car and the Lehner family became the Flintstone family. Another year the golf cart became Dorothy’s house that was swept away by a tornado in the Wizard of Oz and the Lehners became the Oz family. Another year the golf cart was resurrected as the Columbia Space Shuttle and they became an astronaut family. Every year the Lehners won the Parade’s Grand Prize, thanks in no small part to a good supply of cardboard and the Liberty Carton Design Man. Declared the CEO in charge of the Deer Run Parade, “That is how you build community and neighborhoods! I learned it from Bill Naegle. He was our neighbor at Minnewashta and one year he drove down the street on the Fourth of July throwing ice cream bars to the children at ten o’clock in the morning. I adopted his ideas when we moved to Victoria. You just go out and meet the people.” *** And then it was 2004 and time to retire from Liberty Carton. Al had been recognized as one of the Magnificent Seven at the company, said Louise, and he received several honors and was inducted into the Silver Torch Club there after 25 years. As for Louise, she wasn’t only the CEO on the homefront. She invested time in her Mary Kay Cosmetics career. Because of her work with the company, Louise is always driving a Mary Kay vehicle which is awarded to their best sales people. Bragging about his bride, Al said, “She’s won seven pink Cadillacs, 19 cars total.” Said Louise, “I’ve been successful because of the women in our team and my fantastic clients. I’ll thank Arlene Lenarz forever for introducing me to Mary Kay." *** It was also time in 2004 for another home relocation. Louise tells the story. “There were 160 acres out by Hutchinson that Al had purchased in 1971 with a hunting buddy, Bob. He loved that land and wanted to build a house out there. Al had given me everything I ever asked for and so I thought we could give it a try.” The rustic, rural, and sparsely populated acreage includes marshes and ponds and is about 45 miles from Victoria. “I bought 40 acres for $35,000,” said Al. “And we built our timberlodge home there,” said the hunter’s wife. Her kids, her customers, and her church were not nearby. “One time Al was in South Dakota hunting and I was stuck out there by myself and this white truck kept driving up and down and around so I literally would leave and go to Victoria to stay with the kids. I was apprehensive about the guy in the white truck.” After ten years of living on hunting land, the Lehners put the large home and property up for sale. “It was on the market for two and a half years!” stated Louise. “I kept saying to Al, ‘Are you sure you buried St. Joseph upside down in the yard? Go check on him!’ But finally it sold. Ironically, the guy that was driving around in the white truck wanted to buy it.”
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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November 2014 |
