Norman Bakke retiring after 40 years in building maintenance – ‘It’s time to do something else’

 

Norman Bakke works on the building maintenance crew at the Clearwater County Courthouse, which he has done for almost 19 years. 

Ending his career comes after his brother Randy got brain cancer, and he's only 66 years old. 

“It made me think it's time to retire, and do some other things in life. It will all work out, and it will give somebody else a good job,” Norm says as he thinks of the good results it will bring.

“It was kind of an accident how I got into this profession,” Norm states. “I was working in Gonvick a couple years for the SEDA work program. My uncle Russel Eck worked at the Gonvick School when he got sick and I applied for that job. It was a custodial job and I did that for ten years, from 1979 to 1989.” 

“When they were going to lay someone off, I took a voluntary layoff expecting to be hired back after a year. But that didn't happen – I wasn't hired back the next year.” 

That was just the way Norm is – being willing to take the layoff so someone else didn't get laid off.

He did odd jobs that year, working for Harold Sabo, and Marvin Windows. Then Norm got hired at the Warroad School where he did maintenance for all three schools there, elementary, middle school, and the high school. He was there for nine years. 

“We were involved in everything. We never called in any contractors and took care of everything that was needed. 

“While I was there my mother began to have Alzheimers disease, and I decided to come home to help take care of her. When I heard about the Courthouse being built here in Bagley, and I applied for the Building Maintenance job, and got the job in 1998. I came right from Warroad to go to work here.” 

Arlen Syverson was his Maintenance Supervisor then, and the only person here, and said he never got a vacation. 

“When I arrived, Arlen said to me, 'See you, Norm,' and took off for two weeks vacation! I was sure surprised when he said that.

“Construction was still going on and we were to make sure that things were done right. There was a lot to learn. I worked in the jail too, which is different from some counties. 

“My favorite part of the job is that there is something different going on everyday. It's been an interesting job, and the people are so good to work with. It's a good job now.” 

When Norm had been on this job for a few years, he said he was inspired to “give a year as a gift” to someone who was having hard times. He worked with Roberta Bratten, and he decided to listen to that voice, and give her a gift for a year. So he told her he was going to do whatever he could do that  needed done for a year. 

Norm shoveled snow in winter, took care of the lawn, painted and cleaned the houses, moved their daughters, and moved Roberta and Speedy, her husband. Norm even helped do the laundry. He helped out at Pat's Cafe part of the time too in Clearbrook. (Roberta is Pat's daughter.)

“I was a busy guy that year. I think I made quite a difference in their life.” 

Norm grew up Gonvick in the middle of six brothers and “a couple of sisters” on a farm there. He graduated from Gonvick High School in 1973 and took off for Georgia with a couple of brothers to help install a golf course irrigation system. The next year he and a friend Frankie Dyrdahl took a trip back there to see it working, then across the states to California and up the coast to Washington. They were gone for three months, he says. 

Norm lives in an apartment in Bagley now, and says he couldn't have it any better. 

“I can walk to work, which I do most everyday, the post office, to restaurants. It's close to everything I want.”

“My philosophy is, I want to be an honest guy, and do an honest day's work. I guess my dad really got that into me. And don't cheat people.”

As to his future plans he'd like to do some more traveling he says. 

“I want to go see one of the guys from Warroad. He retired and moved back to Nebraska.

“I got a metal detector, and I'm going to get into that – I hear that's a good hobby.”