Army Veteran and Local Teacher Continue to Educate Others in Woodworking Classes
Orville “Ollie” Heitkamp decided to join the military following his college graduation from St. Thomas University in 1952. In January 1953, he volunteered for the United States Army. After completing basic training, he attended advanced training and became a radio operator. Ollie reported to Camp Stoneman in California and was assigned to duty overseas in Korea.
“We took a ship for 12 days to cross the Pacific from San Francisco to Japan. From there, I was flown to Seoul,” he explained.
Ollie’s tour in Korea lasted 12 months. The battalion he was assigned to had several radio operators. He was assigned as a troop information and education specialist and his job was to provide and schedule off-duty activities for his fellow soldiers.
After returning to the United States, Ollie was assigned to the Nebraska military headquarters in Omaha. He had not completed his full tour of duty, but he was covered by a provision that allowed soldiers who completed an overseas tour to be released early if they had a job or college acceptance.
Ollie continued his education at Mankato State University where he received a degree in teaching. For 31 years, he taught science courses in the Belle Plaine school district. Today, Ollie and his wife, Luella, reside at Kingsway Retirement Living.
The couple has quite a busy schedule with all the activities available for residents at Kingsway. Even though the couple sold their home, Ollie kept his workshop.
“It’s just up a block from here,” he explained, “I can keep working on my projects. I’m planning on hosting a class to teach other residents basic woodworking.”
Ollie is only one of 80 veterans currently residing in a TLHA care community. In our 120th year of caring for souls, we are honoring both our veteran residents and team members. Our history begins with one family’s loss during the Civil War. A 15-year-old Ernst Boessling from Belle Plaine volunteered to serve with the Minnesota troops. He died in September of 1863 in service to his country at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
His mother, Sophie, had saved the government death benefits she received all the years after Ernst died. Wanting to provide a home for others like herself, she donated the money and her family’s farmland to build das Alten und Waisenheim—the Aged and Orphans’ Home. Now more than a century later, Sophie’s gift continues to benefit countless lives.
TLHA has active senior living, assisted living and memory care communities in Belle Plaine and Mankato, Minnesota, and River Falls, Fountain City, and Watertown, Wisconsin. Looking for a place to call home? Visit www.tlha.org/communities.