This past Saturday the North Star Draft Horse Association hosted a sleigh ride in order to help out the Cook Area Food Shelf.  Considering the roads were bad from the all-day snowstorm and attendance was about half of years’ past, it was  successful in the sense that we raised almost $600 in cash and 125 pounds of food. On top of donating to a great cause, everyone had FUN, and that is what it was all about.
There is one person I want to single out for a huge “Thank You” though.  Tom Musech, owner of the Vermilion Motel, really stepped up to the plate for us on Saturday night.  We had teams of horses from as far away as Bemidji and Clearbrook, Minn.  I felt that after a hard day of driving horses and giving rides, the Teamsters really had to spend the night here in Cook.  I had room for the horses at our farm but ran out of beds so I contacted Tom and asked if he would be interested in donating a couple rooms for Saturday night.  He graciously donated the two rooms and as it turned out this past weekend was the first busy snowmobile weekend of the year.  He not only had a full house, but he could have easily rented those two rooms he donated to us.
Tom has always been one of the most community-spirited businesspersons that I know and I’ve been a loyal customer of his family since Tom was in high school (his mom and dad had the same spirit).  I urge all of you, if you have family, out-of-town guests, or a personal need for a motel room, to go see Tom.  He will treat you right and you will find a clean, well-maintained, motel room.  Thank You Tom!
Mike Hanson
Cook