Back row: Rob, Travis, Robbie and Kyle Front row: Dawn, AKA Management, Katelyn, Alyssa, Heidi, Erin and Valeri.
July 4, 2008 Photo |
About Rob |
Many of you have been
wondering, "who is
this Rob Crowe?" Since
there is no
one else around, Management graciously volunteered to
interview me. Here
are some pertinent excerpts from the
September 2007 interview: Mgmt:
"Date and place of birth?" Rob: " 3/9/54, San
Diego Naval Hospital." Mgmt: "How'd you get
to Minnesota from there?" Rob: "Long story, told
on a need to know basis only, I don't think the residents of Roseau
County need
to know." Mgmt: (aside) " This
one might be a tough nut to crack..." to Rob, " You've got to do
better than that!" Rob: "OK, Josephine
Burt of Splithand township, Itasca county, MN, was in California, met
Petty
Officer Elmo Crowe of Estill County, KY on a bus to San Francisco,
married six
weeks later, I was the second son born a short 25 months later. Since the girl was from
Minnesota, the couple
later established residence in the Grand Rapids area. " Mgmt: " That's better.
Now, education?" Rob: "Graduated from
Grand Rapids High, ran track my senior year, 1st in districts, half
mile." Mgmt: "Half mile, why
that?" Rob: " Nobody else
would." Mgmt: " That explains
it. Any more
education?" Rob: " Bachelor of
Industrial Engineering, UMD, 1994." Mgmt: " UMD?
Industrial Engineering? Why that? Rob: "Well, I met this
auburned hair gal at church and she was moving to Duluth..." Mgmt: "I don't think
the residents of Roseau County need to know..." Rob: "She was pretty
convincing..." Mgmt: "That's not how
I remember it! Let's
get back on track,
here. Marital
status?" Rob: "Married." Mgmt: "You've got to
do better than that!" Rob:
"OOOOOKAAAYYYY. Happily
married to
the best looking auburn haired woman in the county." Mgmt: I believe you
misspoke, didn't you mean country? Rob: "Isn't that what
I said?" Mgmt: "Much
better. Children?" Rob: "You know how
many kids we got." Mgmt: "We got? What's
this? May I remind you, I'm interviewing you for the Newspaper! Use
proper
language. Now tell
the people about your
kids!" Rob: "OK, Travis, 27,
recently returned from Guard duty in Iraq, senior at Crown College,
Business
Major, plays defense on the soccer team.
Heidi, 25, Schoolteacher in
Elk River, 2nd grade, Soccer Star at Crown.
Erin, 23, UND graduate,
Civil Engineer for U. S. Steel in Mountain Iron.
Alyssa, 10, 5th grade,
inveterate reader and artist, Katelyn, 8, 3rd grade,
loves animals, artist, Valeri, 6, 1st grade,
recently lost two front teeth, artist....anything else?" Mgmt: "I think that
covers the kids...Experience?" Rob: "Yea." Mgmt: "With what? Rob: "Kids!" Mgmt: "You know what I
mean!" Rob: "Well, dad was a
carpenter, so I did that for many years.
I drove semi for a while, had a beef farm, Polled
Herefords crossed to
red Angus, rolled up lots of round bales.
Worked at a foundry, worked at an OSB plant. Own a residential
construction company. Raced
stock cars for a couple of years, seem
to acquire tractors to fix up, occasionally build other mechanical
things in my
spare time. Raise
kids." Mgmt: "That covers
that. How did you
get the job writing
for the Pioneer?" Rob: " Well, I
answered the ad. Must
have been hundreds
of applicants. There
were several tough
interviews with the hard driving editor..." Mgmt: "That's not what
you told me!" Rob: "What did I tell
you?" Mgmt: "You were the
only one that applied." Rob: "I don't think
the residents of Roseau County need to know that!" Mgmt: "Any experience
writing for newspapers before?" Rob: "Token
Conservative columnist for the Aitkin Independent Age for 3 years." Mgmt: " My, my, just a
little satire there!" Rob: "As a matter of
fact, satire works pretty well. Just
last week..." Mgmt: "Just answer the
questions! On to another subject.
There
are two major Snowmobile manufacturers in the area, Polaris and Arctic
Cat. Which one is
your favorite? Rob: "Yea." Mgmt: "Well, which
one?" Rob: "Since I have my
resume in at both plants, I plead the fifth." Mgmt: "Does the
publisher of the paper know that?" Rob: "She does now.
Maybe she'll give me a raise." Mgmt: "I think that's
a good idea. When
you going to ask
her?" Rob: "I thought maybe
you'd do it for me?" Mgmt: "In your dreams!
" The interview went downhill
from there as the new dog and three happily screaming little girls
interrupted
it, see you next week. |
Double-click photo to enlarge. |