"When the Ski Factory closed, Dalles was out of work for only a few months," said Karen.  "We spent that time looking at all kinds of ads and at the business section of the Minneapolis paper.  I know we looked at hardware stores, and then at trailers up in Anoka.  We found this business to sell and service RV's - Recreational Vehicles and they carried all kinds of makes, mainly Fleetwood and also King of the Road.  We bought the business and called it Dalles' RV World.  We went to RV shows for the next twelve years."
Karen, who always traveled with her husband, mentioned how great it was to visit Nashville and stay in the Grand Old Opry Hotel and at fancy hotels in Las Vegas.
Said Dalles, who retired from the RV business in 1998, "There have been a lot of perks in every business we've been in." 
The Notermann's have traveled extensively, and not just to spots related to the perks of Lake Region Skis or Dalles RV World.  Only last year they took their family of children, spouses, and grand-children on a Royal Caribbean Cruise that stopped at the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, and other islands.  It was a trip of a lifetime.
Dalles and Karen also visited Hawaii, Alaska, Aruba a couple of times, Jamaica, Ireland, Cozumel, Cayman Islands, and several interesting locations in the USA including Glacier, San Francisco, Bran-son, Louisville, New Orleans, and a whole map of other cities and fine hotels.
Some of their travel, like to Alaska, has been in the custom-built camper de-signed and built by Dalles for the back of their pickup truck.  Beds and ceiling in the camper accommodate his 6'5" frame.
When the Notermann's are not spreading their wings quite so far from home, they enjoy life at their cabin on Brown's Lake just southwest of St. Cloud.  Some of their kids bring tents and popup campers and fill up all the spaces.  "We have the best time," said Karen, who reported that all of their children and grandchildren learned how to ski.  Waterskiing comes with the territory, of course!
Karen Notermann always has fresh cut flowers on her table.  If they're not picked from their yard, they're from a floral shop.  They speak to the refreshing outlook and obvious care that Karen gives the rest of their home and family evident in many ways including an impressive display of framed photos of each of the grandchildren in their living room.  "We love them all and we love them all equally," said the loving grandmother.
She has made hundreds of baby quilts for those grandchildren.  In earlier days Karen was fond of crewel work.  Now she's into cross-stitch.  She is also an avid reader and often has many books checked out at one time from local libraries.
Over the years Dalles was active on the home-front of Victoria as he stepped forward into public service.  He is
a retired 20-year veteran of the Victoria Fire Department, a former member of the Victoria City Council under Mayor David Kocka, and he served his church as a member of the St. Victoria Parish Council.
The Notermann history in Victoria is long and strong.  The family farm of Dalles' grandparents is now occupied by the Holy Family Catholic High School.  "My dad was Ray and his brothers were Francis, Flori, and Edmund," said Dalles.  "My dad is the only one of the four who did not want to farm so he started a saw-mill and he started a threshing machine crew and then the Lake Region Products and the Ski Factory.  As I said, he was an entrepreneur."
Dalles has carried on his father's entrepreneurial spirit throughout his own life.  Even dealing with the effects that Parkinsons' disease has had on his daily life hasn't diminished his desire and determination to develop new ideas.
Since retiring from the RV business, Dalles has spent countless hours develop-ing and promoting a protruded fiberglass truss framing system.  It's his belief that this system would improve overall building construction.

It was nearly 50 years ago that Karen and Dalles met on the waterfront.  What has she come to appreciate about that tall and handsome man?  "His sense of humor," she replied.  "And he is very calm and very relaxed.  It took years and years to get him to church on time!  He's always pre-planning things and I'm always rushing."
What does Dalles appreciate about Karen?  "She's such a good cook," he re-plied, "better even than her mother.  She can cook just about everything to perfec-tion.  If something happens to not turn out, her philosophy is don't bring it up.  Just swallow a little harder."
What would Karen tell her grand-children about making a successful marriage?  "It's a lot of give and take for both," she said.  "It's not easy for any couple."  Replied Dalles, "You've got to weather the storms."
Thank you, Dalles and Karen Noter-mann, for giving us a glimpse into your lives and also into the life of an old Victoria landmark, the "ski factory."  The heritage of Victoria and its hardworking people lives on through stories and albums in the river of life ... and on the waterfront!