Saturday, February 13, 2010

Santadenny




Santadenny, Plowman aka Dennis Yepma is one of my full time neighbors here on Oak Point. One look at him tells you how he earned his nick name. He bought property up here in 1997 and move up here in 2003 with his family after he retired early from driving a truck for UPS in the cities. His family is his wife Dawn, two children, Becky and Chris, two fat Labs and a puppy. They have a beautiful log home down the Camper Landing Road and face east over the "big lake".

Dawn still works at UPS in Bemidji. Dennis is still too young for Social Security so he has started a handyman business. He plows snow, mows lawns, picks up leaves and performs all sorts of services to the people up here. I swear that he knows everyone and everyone knows Dennis. He hunts, fishes, shoots trap and skeet and runs a trap line in his spare time. His vehicle is a big green one-ton diesel truck with a snow plow always at the ready. This fall he built an ice boat that will skate on the ice when he figures out his sail. I hope that he gets the boat sailing before the ice melts.

Dennis and Dawn are special people. Both of them always have a generous heart and a willingness to help their neighbors regardless of age or ethnicity. Early to bed and early to rise is Dennis' motto. He makes sure his boy is involved with scouts and his daughter has a part time job. You don't want to call his very late because he is already in bed. In the mornings he is heading to the bus stop with his son and a neighbor boy. He can be seen out walking with his neighbors to get his exercise in. Dawn on the other hand is a late sleeper and I am leery of calling too early and getting her out of bed trying to locate Dennis. Dawn is very friendly and outgoing and would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.

Dennis has been a great help to me over at Oak Point. This summer he helped to organize a number of neighbors to help clear out a number of dead trees along the road. When my wife and I were in Minneapolis for two weeks for her kidney transplant he took care of out home back here. Many of us trust him with our keys for our houses and garages. He can be reached at 218-335-8162 home, or 612-207-9711 cell.

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