Wayne and DeEtta Sorenson

In 1946, Wayne and Dee Sorenson moved from Verndale Minnesota to a small farm south-west of Staples. Together, they raised mink, hogs, farmed, and did custom harvesting for surrounding farms. In 1957 they phased out of mink and hogs to begin raising beef cattle. Several years later, they opened Sorenson Fertilizer Service, selling agricultural chemicals, seeds and herbicides. Wayne, an outgoing jovial man, was in charge of sales and delivery. Organized and efficient, Dee was responsible for inventory control, scheduling and the bookkeeper. Their children, Ron, Jane and Robert helped with deliveries, cattle drives or any other work needed. Youngest son, Robert, joined the company in 1972 and continued to run it until 2002.

Wayne was an outdoors-man, who enjoyed fishing, and hunting and was one of the original members of The Staples Sportsmen’s Club. He worked to establish the rifle range and the development of McGivern Memorial Forest. Every fall, Wayne would return from moose, elk, antelope, and deer hunting with jokes and stories from the hunting camps.

Dee was a teacher at the Staples Elementary School for over 20 years. She stressed the value of education to her children and four grandchildren. One of her favorite expressions was, “look it up.” During her vacation time, she enjoyed gardening, bird watching, and listening to the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings games. For many years, Dee would enter her flowers and candies in the Wadena County Fair. One year she caused a stir by exhibiting green gladiolas. Eventually, she put a sign on them saying that they were not a new variety but, simply, white flowers set in water containing green food color. No family event, or potluck dinner, was complete without her baked beans and Divinity candy.

The Sorenson’s enjoyed afternoon drives looking for deer, following the changing seasons, and watching the crop’s mature. Their love of nature and adventure, took them on trips to Alaska, Europe, Africa, The Amazon and Australia.

They passed on their fun loving spirit, and zest for living, to their grandchildren, Brent Sorenson (Staples), Amanda Sorenson-Hinkel (Chicago, Illinois), Chad Ringler (Anchorage, Alaska), and Joel Ringler (Palmer, Alaska). Nicole and Joel Ringler are the sponsors of this scholarship.

DeEtta died in 2006 at age 86. Wayne died in 2011 at age 90.