By Matthew Johnson

Reporter

Robert W. “Luppy” Keranen, Sr., 83, of rural Menahga and a Wolf Lake area native, is planning to round out 60 years of operating a road grader this summer and likely fully retire after that.

His road grading experience began nearly 60 years ago in the summer of 1966 when he was just 22 years old. His brother Elmer Keranen purchased their first used road grader that year and, since Elmer was working in the Cities at the time, Robert used it to grade roads for Wolf Lake Township. It was one of those pioneering Adams models with 75 horsepower.

“There was a bad storm in the spring of 1966,” he recalls, which made the purchase of that first grader good timing.

Robert, who grew up the fifth eldest among 15 children including three sets of twins, also farmed his parents’ land on the Henry and Hilda Keranen farm in Wolf Lake Township. He graded township roads in the summer and plowed snow in the winter, going through about seven used graders over the years, often owning two graders at a time in order to keep up, with eldest son Bob Jr. operating the second one starting about 30 years ago.

“I don’t mind it (the summer work), you know, if I’m in good enough shape to still make a little snuff money,” Robert Sr. said recently, noting that he’s been dealing with more health issues lately. “I haven’t plowed snow for about three years now.”

Bob Jr., Robert and Nancy’s eldest among their “baker’s dozen” 13 children, has taken over that job in the winter plowing for Spruce Grove and Silver Leaf townships. Becker County used to plow snow on the township roads but after the county stopped doing it, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Robert did the honors up until Bob took it over. 

Before purchasing that first of seven used graders all those years ago, the family labored to use a farm tractor with a V-plow.

Robert has been grading about a third of the Spruce Grove Township roads since 1973. The grading is done at least once a week in the summer due to the turkey barns and the high volume of traffic there.

“We actually graded for a little over three townships for years,” said Robert.

Those included, besides Wolf Lake and Spruce Grove townships and at various times throughout the years, Runeberg, Green Valley and Paddock townships.

“I started working with dad in 1996, and then worked for my dad and uncle (Glen),” recalls Bob. 

He said his dad and uncle, Elmer, also started milking cows in 1979.

Robert likes to tell a much more recent story about how he helped to replace several parts on a rescued Army surplus International Harvester (IH) TD-24 Crawler bulldozer rediscovered in 2019 after it had been buried in a swampy/bog area near Island Lake in Becker County since 1975. 

At that time, now over 50 years ago, a snowmobile club was apparently attempting to cut some new trails when the dozer got stuck in the muck. It was rediscovered after being submerged close to 20 feet down for all of those years. Somebody knew Robert had the same model and could provide replacement parts for the rescued unit, which is now being “shown off” at Perham’s Pioneer Village.  

Also, in recent years, his son Bob built an apparatus to make getting into the road grader rig easier for his dad. 

“Before (that) I had to use a step ladder,” Robert recalls. “And he (Bob) has lifted me up there in a backhoe, too.”

Robert and Nancy, a number of years after their 13 children had grown up and moved out, moved from the Wolf Lake area to just north of Menahga in Blueberry Township. Many of their children live relatively close, yet, as well as many of their 82 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren.

Both Robert Sr. and Robert Jr. have the middle initial “W.” Robert Sr.’s middle name is Willard and Jr.’s middle name is Walter, which is his maternal grandfather’s first name.

Robert Sr.’s sisters Carol Waaraniemi and the late Arlene Arvola, along with their friend Dori Bunnell, were the original owners of the Cottage House Cafe (now The Cotty) when it opened in Menahga in June of 2002. Prior to that the three had worked together as cooks at the Menahga School.

One fun fact Robert and Nancy, along with nephew Dave Keranen, enjoy sharing with others is that Robert’s brother, Arnold, married Nancy’s sister, Cindy, and they also have “a baker’s dozen” worth of children. Thirteen, they say, is the family’s “magic number.” Robert and Nancy even got married on March 13, 1971, and they’ll soon celebrate 55 years of marriage.

Their 13 children, three boys and 10 girls, listed in order of birth, are Robert “Bob” Jr., Paul, Joan, Margo, Susan, Robyn, Richard, Patricia “Trisha,” Carolyn, Emily, Beth, Barbara and Kimberly.