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| New Parade Route for the 49th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Celebration this Saturday, March 18 Web posted March 14, 2023 See the NEW, LONGER PARADE ROUTE above! A full 1/2 mile has been added from the Daggett Channel Bridge to the Log Church. More parking, more parade viewing opportunities, and more fun!  Cindy Myogeto (Crosslake Chamber Director), Karl Skog, Fred Skog, Penny Skog and Bob Heales (St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee Chairman). Karl is Fred’s son, and he and wife Penny operate Crosslake Sheetmetal since Fred’s retirement. Fred was presented with a sculpture plaque designed and crafted by Pequot Manufacturing. Fred and the Skog family will be riding the stagecoach leading the parade on Sat. March 18, 2023. - photo submitted Fred Skog named 2023 Crosslake St. Patrick’s Parade Grand MarshalWeb posted March 14, 2023 Fred Skog has been named as the Grand Marshal of the 2023 Crosslake St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration. Born in Pequot Lakes above the blacksmith shop, Skog recalled the blacksmith’s wife was a midwife, and right upstairs was the birthing room. “I always said I was born over the blacksmith, which is why I ended up in the sheetmetal business,” said Fred. Fred spent his childhood in Pequot Lakes but left for Portland, Oregon at the age of 16 but eventually returned home to be close to family. Skog was set on joining the Navy as a teenager, but his parents would not sign the enlistment papers as he was still underage. In 1945, Fred did join the Navy, living a charmed life while enlisted. Days before he was to be deployed on the USS Indianapolis, his orders were scratched, just one name above his between the “S” and “T”. His friend’s name started with a T and he was on the ship when it was torpedoed and sank in the Pacific Ocean. “[My friend] went on, I stayed, and my friend didn’t make it. I was very lucky to have missed that,” said Skog. Following his Navy experience, Skog returned to Minnesota and enrolled at Dunwoody Institute to learn metalwork through the GI Bill. He worked as a journeyman sheetmetal worker for few years in California before again returning to Minnesota. He spent the next 18 years in Minneapolis working for Olson Sheetmetal. During this time he met and married his wife Beverly in 1950. Skog’s love of the lakes area caused him to purchase land and build a home in Crosslake, eventually moving here full time in 1974 with his wife Beverly. The couple has four girls and, son Karl, who took over Crosslake Sheetmetal when Fred retired in 1992. “I love the lakes, the scenery, and all the golf courses,” said Skog, who was an avid golfer, playing 5 days a week for years, until he was 95. “Six, if there was tournament,” added Fred. “When the parade first started, it wasn’t more than a half a block long,” recalled Skog, “There were more people in it than watching!” “It’s really great now,” said Skog, who for years rode with son Karl in the work truck. Skog loves the Crosslake area and said, “It’s laid back, everybody knows each other by name - except when you forget the names,” he joked. “A very enjoyable place to live, and to be able to do things with people from all different backgrounds.” Skog was an avid volunteer at Camp Knutson and the Crosslake Lutheran Church, attending and ushering the Outdoor Worship Services for 32 years. In September of 2022 Karl and Penny partnered with the Bonfe family of companies. Karl wrote in an email, “We put a lot of time and energy to partner with someone who had the same core values and will maintain the values we have, and agreed to the partnership with the Bonfe team, after seeing how they run their business, like we ran ours. “We wanted our employees, contractors, and customers to receive the same level of commitment they have received from Crosslake Sheetmetal for the past 49 years, and we feel they will get the same commitment with the Bonfe Company. “We are excited to see the Bonfe team bring the business to the next level of excellence,” said Karl. |  Cindy Myogeto (Crosslake Chamber Director),Bonnie and Bob Mudek of Riverside Inn in Crosslake, and Bob Heales (St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee Chairman) - photo submitted Bob & Bonnie Mudek named 2023 Crosslake St. Patrick’s Parade Honorary Grand MarshalsWeb posted March 14, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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