“My funniest Stillwater story. My wife and I and my partner Glen Sibrandt and my Mother and Father rented the old Youth Center to start an Antique store and Auction House. Glen was a display man for Dayton's. His boss was an older guy that married a woman quite a few years older than him that was a multi- millionaire. One Sunday when we were painting the front of the building Glen's boss and his wife decided to come to Stillwater to see our new endeavor. They were dressed to the nines in all their Sunday finest. As we were all talking, Buster drove by. To paint the picture Buster had traded some scrap metal to Shermy Gordon for a car. Trouble was the car only had reverse so here comes Buster going backwards up the right side of the street but with his arm and head looking out the window and as he went by he let out a typical Buster roar. Glen's boss remarked "what was that we just saw?" Glen jokingly said oh that was just the Mayor of Stillwater. Our visitors were flabbergasted. Not ten or fifteen minutes later Lena comes skipping down across the street by Trinity Church heading towards Myrtle St. Almost immediately along comes Choc Junker in his old pick up piled ten feet in the air with who knows what all. He stopped right in the middle of the street and got out of the truck leaving the door open. He approached Lena and said sometime and Lena started chasing him around the truck trying to hit him with the umbrella she was carrying. This lasted for a few minutes before they left. Glen's boss said what kind of a town is this? and Glen says that guy really is the Mayor of Stillwater. These were three of Stillwater's characters and all dear friends of mine but what would be the chances of seeing them all in a short time on your visit to town? I'm sure they never came back to Stillwater ” Those were three of Stillwaters characters that really made the town feel like home.
This one interaction gives you just a glimpse into the personalities of three people who made incredible lasting impressions on those who grew up in this community. Ask anyone who grew up here about Buster and there will be a guffaw and story to follow. Buster didn’t actually like to be called that, his real name was Stanford Lassen. Stanford grew up to serve our country as a Marine in North Korea, did some boxing after his service and sustained permanent damage from competing. He could be found around town boxing street signs and rescuing golf balls on the green. The ones that weren’t good enough to be rescued were left behind and fondly called “Buster balls” He did many jobs in and around the community and always lent a helping hand. You can see a brick dedicated to Stanford Lassen at the Veterans memorial park across from the Stillwater Courthouse. He deserves to be remembered.
Another strand of growing up in Stillwater was Lena Rumpf. Lena was diminutive but had a giant impact on those who grew up in the area. She had some sort of a neurological issue that gave her a hop in her step and less of a filter on her words. Some fondly referred to her as “Leapin’ Lena”. Lena contributed greatly in her cleaning work, but even more so in teaching an entire generation about showing respect to those who are different. So many people here have memories of the lessons they learned from their parents and grandparents about being kind and loving. Lena descends from a founding family of Stillwater, and I would say that her personality left behind a legacy that shaped the character of those who grew up here- a lesson we ould continue to teach.
The third person here-and the ACTUAL mayor of Stillwater was “Choc”Junker. Choc had a landscaping business, and served as mayor during the late 70’s. David Junker was a hands-on mayor who would use his own truck to sand a road, show up to help remove a tree or plow someone’s driveway. He was an avid collector of many large pieces of memorabilia which could often be found piled in his truck right along with his landscaping equipment. According to residents, Choc knew every inch of Stillwater and was known for his humility as a servant to the community and a champion for the underdog. Friends of Choc would say about him, “If You don’t like Choc, you don’t like people.” Isn’t that just the kind of people that truly make up a community?