My good friend and writing teacher passed away last night. Carolyn was still teaching on Tuesday when she did not feel well and I took her home early from class. Carolyn had been in a major car accident a few years ago and never quite recovered from the injuries and subsequent medical problems. Nevertheless, she was able to return to what she loved best and started teaching her Write Right Now! class again for Frederic Community Education this past winter and was not teaching a summer session. Seldom has there be an educator as beloved as Dr. Wedin. I am enclosing some comments from her students and a few pictures of Carolyn from bygone years. – John
Comments from friends and students:
Jodi McLain
Ohhh, rest in peace. It was an honor to know and write alongside Carolyn. – Jodi
Kathleen Melin
Rest in peace, Carolyn.
I was honored to know Carolyn in a generational way. Growing up, she was the little kid next door to my father’s family in Trade Lake. I’d heard many stories over the years about her and her brilliant family. When she moved back to the area, I felt like a star lived among us. I was honored to be in a writing group with her for a couple years that increased my admiration and respect for her.
Did you know that this petite blue-eyed blond taught at a Shaw University, a black college in North Carolina, early in her career? The clan burned a cross in her front yard. When students there decided to purge white faculty, they kept a few instructors and Carolyn was one of them. I didn’t experience her teaching presence, but know from others that she was generous and supportive to learners. She was a careful researcher and a fine writer. I admired the way she worked in our community, sharing her warmth, gifts, and talents. She was keeper of Swedish heritage, too, and it was another way that she enlivened our area.
Thank You, Carolyn for everything., – Kathleen
Lisa Doerr
Beloved writers & readers – the miraculous, one-of-kind Carolyn Wedin ended our blessed time with her on earth today – Lisa
Lisa Doerr
(Lisa is a good friend of Carolyn. She wrote and read the following beautiful verses almost 12 years ago at Carolyn’s 70th birthday party on October 2, 2009. Lisa did not wait to write what she thought of Carolyn. I think there is a message in her writing here for all of us. I know Carolyn would agree. – John )
Why wait? Does one need to be gripped by grief to take a moment and reflect on the subtle and not so subtle ways that a woman such as Carolyn shapes the world?
Maurice Ravel wrote his light hearted orchestral tombeau for comrades lost but not forgotten in World War I. Michael Daugherty uses polyphonic textures and harmonic layering to create his rhinestone kick step for the great Liberace. Both maestros waited too long.
Why delay until sorrow dilutes our awe for Carolyn’s passionate love of language and people? Why leverage loss and regret to highlight her commitment and immeasurable creative energy? Why let memories define her story when we’ve got Carolyn – larger than life – right here, right now?
There are none quite like this master weaver, pulling people together from the woods and lakes of the St. Croix River watershed for a celebration of life through language. Plays, poems, essays and films plied together in a sparkling river of cultural awareness and revelry.
But, of course, Frederic, Four Corners and The Falls are only a tiny piece of the great world Carolyn embraces. New York, the South, California – nearly the entire nation comes to life in her book on the achievements of Mary White Ovington. Stora Mällösa, Örebro and the Atlantic Crossing are made real as Swedish settlers journey to Trade River in her edition of L.J. Ahlstrom’s memoir. Who else do you know arguing in the New York Times this year about socialist Norway’s lack of funding for immigrant schools?
Carolyn’s unrelenting commitment to nurture fledgling creative spirits embodies the master’s touch. Thousands of aspiring writers have had the honor of hearing her speak about their work as if it matters and is part of a larger literary whole. Memoirs, histories and Hemingway derivatives are equally blessed by a moment of her time and constructive comments. All of this while at the same time imagining and completing her own myriad of projects.
Yes! Carolyn is an incredible woman right here, right now. I will not wait until a visit to her tomb inspires memories and I sadly attempt to capture her spirit. And anyway, with her beauty, brains and blarney Carolyn will long out live an aging baby-boomer such as me! – Lisa
Phil Peterson
How sad I am . . . for Carolyn! I know of no one who enjoyed coaxing words, from those wishing to write, more than the Write Right Now Lady! She gave me her files of WRN stories from years of classes and asked me to manage insertion of the weekly story into the Leader. As John Persico and I slowly walked her to her car last Tuesday, I was holding her hand, thinking, “what a blessing this gifted lady has been to all of us!” Thank you for A Page Turned! – Phil
Mark Hulsether
Carolyn’s enormous and gracious spirit, and her powerful mind, were strong to the end. As you may know, her heart gave out in the immediate context of fighting a badly infected gall bladder that ruptured yesterday morning, on top of various other medical problems of the past few years.
There are very few people who have a deeper and wider legacy of friends and people she mentored. A tremendous hole for us to fill. – Mark
Socorro Galusha
Carolyn
Teacher of words.
Encourager to writers.
Diminutive body tall in character stature.
Courtesy in speaking.
Last class ending early.
“I don’t feel well.”
Her body alerted mortality.
Next the shock of her leaving…
Leaves memories of an unforgettable woman’s journey into lives meeting with each other.
I listened to the interactions of Karen and John with Tony and Carolyn over the years. I could only wish I had encountered her. – Socorro Luna Galusha
John Persico (Written in the Fall of 2020)
Who was or is my muse for writing? This past year Dr. Wedin had a series of illnesses and accidents rendering her unable to continue the “Write Right Now” classes that she had started. Some of her students who have attended them for many years volunteered to take over, but it was not the same. It is hard to describe Carolyn’s style of encouragement and critique, but I venture to say it is unique. She inspires without criticizing. She encourages without demoralizing. She suggests without demanding. When you have finished a session with Dr. Wedin, you have new ideas and a renewed motivation to go home and write. – John
Carolyn very young playing with puppy. Carolyn loved animals
Carolyn first wedding photo
Carolyn older playing a trumpet with children
Carolyn loved to walk and hike and often told us about the bears she saw on her walks.
Carolyn on her porch, fall of 2020. She looked so frail then. I could not believe it when I heard she started teaching again only a few weeks later.
Carolyn was an outstanding writer and wrote many books of erudition and substance. The following is from the foreword to her book “Inheritors of the Spirit.”
“In its densely researched, sensitively interpreted, and crisply written evocation of her subject’s career, Professor Wedin’s biography opens a wide window onto much of the inner life of the NAACP as it evolves from a virtual one-person show scripted by the incomparable (and sometimes insufferable) Du Bois through the unflappable stewardship of James Weldon Johnson and the manic operational brilliance of Walter White to become, in classic Weberian progression, a well-honed bureaucracy of lawyers, accountants, field secretaries, and lobbyists–and, overwhelmingly, of African Americans . . . a vibrant, valuable chronicle of an eighty-year dedication to economic, racial, and gender justice.”–from the Foreword by David Levering Lewis
The Catholic Church prescribes celibacy for its nuns and priests. The recent scandals regarding the abuse of power by priests, bishops and cardinals would suggest a serious hypocrisy. More importantly perhaps would be for the church to ask itself if these prohibitions do any good or serve any purpose. Tradition may have a role in life but there is also a time when traditions must be changed.
Now suddenly your partner for one reason or another is gone. She or he passes away. You come back to your home after the funeral and well-wishers have left, and you are now alone. You are more alone than you have ever been in your entire life. You go from room to room and no one else is there. The bedroom is empty. The kitchen is empty. The living room is empty. You notice the picture of you and your spouse at your anniversary party hanging on the wall. It brings back memories and tears. Every day for many days, objects, thoughts, and reflections will bring back good times and bad times that you shared with your lover. You will reflect over and over again about these past times. No doubt you will feel remorse about some things that you did and wish you could undo. You will also miss the fun things that you enjoyed together and the many good times that you had together.
Each evening after dinner, we enjoy food, dancing, and music at the Playa Bonita restaurant. It is right on the beach and while enjoying shrimp cocktails, we watch the most beautiful sunsets I have seen anywhere. As night falls, a band or singer will begin entertaining our group. Evalia loves to dance and will make sure that we all have a spin with her on the dance floor. The dance floor is outside where we eat. Almost always the weather is balmy and comfortable. Infrequently one might need a shawl or a sweater but an active time on the dance floor will mitigate any night chills.
I’d like to think when life is done,
I asked her if she had any idea what she could do. She replied that she did not. I suggested that she take an employment aptitude test to see what kinds of work she might find interesting. It was all very theoretical to me, but I could not imagine what kind of work I could find for her in the local area that would pay enough for her to live on. She did not have any current job experience and no goals for a career. The aptitude test was simply an effort to do something even though I did not believe that I could help her much.
Some of you are already thinking that this description has gone too far. The reality of sexual practices throughout the world would astound most individuals. There are those who believe that some sex is right, and some sex is wrong. If there is a right and wrong when it comes to sex, the question is not easily answered. The seasons of sex, the regions of sex and the individual capabilities all noted above will determine what is considered right and wrong sex.
On the other hand, I read widely. I think a great deal about things and what constitutes right and wrong. I have been to 34 countries. I am old enough to have seen many things that work and many things that do not work. I have had friends from many cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I am not unduly influenced by religious, cultural, or even some legal restrictions governing sex. As for the legal aspects, I believe in the protection of young children from pedophiles and other exploiters. However, I have long believed in the right of people to choose their sex partners regardless of ethnic background.
I have met people who say, “I never eat Mexican food.” They say this as though it were some badge of honor. I want to ask what type of Mexican food do they not eat? Does their exclusion of Mexican food extend to deserts like fried ice cream or drinks like Tequila or is it simply tacos and burritos that they do not eat? I have met people who say, “I never eat fish.” I usually ask them why and I often hear the reply “they taste too fishy.” I want to ask them if they ever eat meat that tastes too meaty, but instead I usually ask them if their antipathy extends to crustaceans, mollusks, and cephalopods. I can see the disapproval in my spouse’s eyes when I pursue this line of questioning.
After exploring the vast variety of Mexican foods, I discovered that the tasty and hearty Menudo soup is chock full of tripe. Many Latinos as well as Gringos in the Southwest will not eat Menudo. Several years ago, after I started dating Karen, I was introduced to Lutefisk. At first I found the texture somewhat off putting. Over time, by adding butter or cream sauce I discovered the joy of eating Lutefisk around the holidays. It is a Scandinavian tradition in homes much like Menudo is in Mexican homes. Paradoxically, many Scandinavians loath Lutefisk. The derivation of such foods leads many to disavow them. I confess to the same attitude towards an Italian dish known as Pasta a Fagioli which my mother loved to make. I left home swearing to never eat any again.
Some of these low-cost and nutritious peasant foods have become quite popular now as people look back to their early roots. An example of such a food dish is the Italian Pasta e Fagioli which I mentioned earlier. This is a dish comprised of beans and macaroni. Beans and macaroni form a “whole protein” which means you get all the amino acids you need without having to eat meat. A protein is considered “complete” when it has the nine essential amino acids in somewhat equal amounts. Almost every country in the world has some staple food items that provide whole protein. In poorer cultures, livestock was valued for its ability to help farm crops and produce milk. In places like India, livestock was made sacred as a way to prevent killing a valuable resource. Cows were more valuable alive than they were dead.
A few years ago, at the annual Gustavus Adolphus Nobel Conference the subject was on food production. A number of experts claimed that the day will come when we will no longer be able to afford a practice so barbaric and wasteful as to slaughter animals for meat eating. There is an abundance of insects on this earth that could provide an almost endless low-cost supply of protein and minerals to our diets. Most people respond to thoughts about eating insects with something like “I could never eat bugs.” My retort is “well you don’t eat bloody chickens or bloody cows do you?” The insects would be processed, and they would provide a grain that could be used in various ways like we use wheat or corn meal. I get blank stares.
I look around me today and I do not understand the world. I do not understand the decisions that our leaders make. It seems we have a moral disease. The symptoms of this disease are short-term thinking and greed. Arizona is suffering from an unprecedented drought and heat wave. The water levels in both the Central Arizona Project and aquifers are dangerously low. Yet when asked to cut back water usage by 3.8 percent, the golf course owners in Phoenix created an association to oppose such a “drastic” cut. Their counter proposal was for a 1.6 percent cut in water usage. The Governor of Arizona was the keynote speaker for the associations kick off meeting. Am I crazy? Do you believe this? Are golf courses more important than drinking water and water for farm crops?
I remembered from many years ago, a leader at a support group that I belonged to advised me that I should have more humor in my life. I asked him “Do you know any good books about getting more humor in one’s life.” He laughed, “You can’t read about humor, you have to do it.” The thought has often struck me over the years that it is one thing to read about things, it is another thing to do them. Could it be, I am just a writer and not a doer? Was it still possible that I needed more humor in my life. Maybe a clown I am not?
A year ago, (June 2020) almost to the day, I had a sharp pain in my chest. I fell to the floor and passed out. I know that this is not very funny but stay with me and I will get to the funny part. I promise. Karen thought I was having a heart attack and she called 911. They came, attached an IV to my arm and I had my first ever ambulance ride to the emergency clinic in St. Croix Falls. After a blood test, an Ultra Sound, an X-Ray, and a CAT Scan, they decided that I had a Gall Bladder problem. Three hours later, I was sent home with an appointment for the next day back at the hospital to see a doctor.
I saw a Physician Assistant at the clinic. He was polite and thoughtful. He gave me some rudimentary tests. A little prodding and touching here and there. He then advised me to go to the Emergency Department at the St. Croix Medical Center. He said the Frederic Clinic was not equipped to do the more complicated tests that I would need and that I should get these tests done immediately.. He suggested that it might be time to get rid of the unneeded and problematic Gall Bladder. I was quite ready to agree. I had managed to keep my Gall Bladder for almost 75 years. It had a good run, and perhaps it was time for it to retire.
After a short wait, I was brought by wheel chair into another room. I laid down on yet another bed. A new nurse (or was it a technician) came into the room. I assumed that she was going to perform the test. Someone else brought the apparatus for conducting the Ultra Sound into the room and left. The nurse or Ultra-Sound Technician started to poke and prod me with a rod connected to the machine. This increased my burping considerably and went on for longer than I had remembered a year ago. I guess they wanted to be really sure this time that I needed my Gall Bladder removed. I was resigned to this eventuality.
Aging Capriciously 