Mrs. Emma Overson worked in the St. James School District for 16 years as the “Outreach Worker.” She was a paraprofessional, worked with the ESL programs, and translated in the Butterfield and Madelia school districts as well as here. Not only is she gifted through her work, but upon sitting down and speaking with Emma, I found that she is more than all that. Emma is a beautiful woman, inside and out, and knows how to share that beauty with others. I asked to have this story printed in both English and Spanish because the work Emma has done in our community has been primarily with our Spanish-speaking population and because she is dearly loved by both cultures. The story of her life is one of such love and vibrance that I found myself simply sitting in wonder as she recounted the stories of her life to me.
I will begin her story in a place called Villarrica, Chile. She worked for a Forestry business and one day a young man came into the office. They called him “el gringo,” but he spoke Spanish very well and was with The Peace Corps working with Indian farmers in the region. He came to the office to speak with the boss, however, after more than a few visits with the “boss,” Emma’s co-workers informed her that he was really coming to see her. She didn’t remember this man, but found out that he had seen her at a party to welcome the Peace Corps a few weeks earlier. It was the enchanting phenomenon of “love at first sight,” at least for him anyway. This man was Lanny Overson.
They dated for three years and were married in 1968. Their love and marriage has now extended 40 years. They lived with Emma’s mother for a few years in Chile, but Lanny wanted his family to meet his wife. So, they hitchhiked across South and Central America, sometimes living on only a few crackers for food. They left the trail of their odyssey living a few months in Bolivia, trekking across Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and countless others to meet the in-laws, in little-old, St. James, MN. (And you thought it was a chore visiting your in-laws?)
The year was then, 1973 and they couldn’t return to Chile because of the Revolution taking place there. It was around this time that Emma conceived her first child Sheila. They were living in Minneapolis where Lanny was working as an aeronautic engineer inspecting barges. This took him away from home for extended periods of time and Emma found it hard to adjust to a totally foreign world and also the strains it placed on her marriage. So, she sent for her mother, which took much negotiating with the embassy, but eventually both her mother and brother were able to come back-and-forth as tourists. More of this article in the Sept. 24 Plaindealer.
st. james plaindealer —
