Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

New retired residents make Ely their home

Keith Vandervort
Posted 3/21/19

ELY – Ely continues to attract new people. A number of new residents have moved here full-time since last fall, and they told their end-of-the-road relocation stories at a recent Tuesday Group …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

New retired residents make Ely their home

Posted

ELY – Ely continues to attract new people. A number of new residents have moved here full-time since last fall, and they told their end-of-the-road relocation stories at a recent Tuesday Group gathering.

Matter-of-factly, Randy Greiner simply said, “I live in a cabin out on Bear Island River Road and moved here last August. I’m retired, and this isn’t my first retirement home.”

He first retired to a small farming community in southern Wisconsin. “I was either taking trips up north or planning trips up north. So I moved up north,” Greiner said. He looked at properties to call home for the past seven or eight years in northern Wisconsin, northwest Ontario, and northern Minnesota, but the Ely area, which he has visited since the 1960s, was his ultimate choice. “So here I am,” he said.

Greiner was born in Minneapolis and spent part of his youth “on the mean streets of Excelsior. His father was transferred to Chicago and they lived and worked there for the past 50 years. Greiner’s career was in the medical device industry.

“There are a lot of hidden gems in Ely,” he said. “There’s a lot going on up here.” He has been learning how to cook since he’s been here. He has two married daughters and seven granddaughters. “They are really looking forward to coming up here, starting this summer,” he said.

As for hobbies, Greiner enjoys canoeing and kayaking. “I’ve spent the last 15 years kayaking, and now I’m learning to paddle a canoe. “I’m into photography, reading and Gin Rummy, and always looking for another player.”

James and Susan Stone, were introduced to the group by their realtor, Gil Knight. As an information officer for natural disaster response efforts, Knight said he met James Stone, also a disaster response information officer, about 10 years ago. They crossed paths over the years, and each time Knight talked up Ely to him.

Last summer, the Stones showed up in Ely and called Knight to help them look for a house here.

James retired from the U.S. Forest Service after 30 years and worked in many western states. “We retired to Idaho, but kept looking for a place to live,” he said. “Susan noticed that real estate on the east side of the 100th meridian is much cheaper than on the west coast,” James said. “Neither of us had ever been here before.” They bought a place and moved in on Sept. 18, right when the weather turned toward winter. “I’ve been in wool since the second day I got here.”

They love to kayak and enjoy watching waterfowl. “Now I have to learn how to canoe,” he said.

Susan Stone grew up in New Orleans. “Ten years ago, if you told me I would move up here to temperatures like this, I would have said you are sick,” she said. “But I like it here, even with the cold and snow. She is a retired college English teacher. “I’m really into fiber arts and have a big loom that I’m trying to re-assemble,” she said. They also have 15 bookcases and the books to fill them.

“”I’m kind of a stick in the mud,” she admitted. “I’m friendly, and if you talk to me, I’ll be happy to talk to you. I’ve kind of grown into a hermit the last couple of years.”

The Stones participate in historical re-enacting events, mostly from the Colonial era. “James didn’t talk about his hobbies, but his special hobby is starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together. He must have 1,500 combinations on how to do that,” she said.

James once belonged to the American Long Rifle Association, and at re-enactment events would portray a Pennsylvania farmer from the 1780s. Susan portrayed his wife, and was adept at the spinning wheel and fiber arts creation. “I got pretty good at starting fires with flint and steel,” he said.

Look in next week’s Timberjay for more information on new Elyites.