Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Bill Olson’s military service started early in life and it continues today in a host of directions and activities.

Two months shy of his 80th birthday, Willard “Bill” Olson continues to make his mark on VFW Post 4210 in Forest Lake. He has served four years as commander and is willing to do his part wherever and whenever needed.

He’s just doing what comes naturally.

On Veteran’s Day, Olson will be one of the many military veterans who will take time to pause and honor those who have served their country. And Olson will also be among those to receive salutes from an appreciative nation and Forest Lake community.

In Forest Lake, Veteran’s Day will be marked on Sunday, Nov. 11 with a 5 p.m. program open to the public at American Legion Post 225, 355 W. Broadway Ave.

Born to serve

In many respects, Olson says he was born to serve. The desire to serve started at an early age for this native of the Balsam Lake, WI, area.

Born on Jan. 4, 1929, Olson was a young kid growing to manhood when World War II erupted. His family was involved in the war effort.

An older brother had joined the Navy and one of his uncles also served in the Navy. The family felt the true pain of war when another of Bill Olson’s uncles, a Navy submariner, was killed in combat.

“I tried to get in at 16, but they wouldn’t take me,” Olson recalled. “I thought the Navy would be a good place.”

Undaunted by his desire to serve his country, he left high school in Balsam Lake and enlisted in the Navy at age 17. His parents signed on to allow the Navy to take their son before his 18th birthday.

“They offered a two-year hitch and I went in,” he said.

That was 1946.

Olson spent the next two years serving on the East Coast with a primary home port of Key West. FL. He was assigned to the USS Howard W. Gilmore, a submarine tender that handled maintenance and repairs for subs.

After completing his two-year enlistment, Olson returned home to Wisconsin and finished his last year and a half of high school.

His time in the Navy was well spent, Olson said, and the military duty reinforced his belief that getting a good education was important.

Returning to school in Balsam Lake also did more than provide a good education, Olson said. It was also during this second tour of high school that he met Verna Strandberg, his future wife to be.

A vet’s vet

The fact that Olson settled in the Forest Lake area is something that has benefitted veterans for years.

He joined the VFW in Forest Lake some 35 years ago and has carved his niche as an advocate for veterans and one who leads by example, and not only by words. He has been a member of American Legion Post 225 the past decade, but devotes most of his hands-on efforts to the VFW.

“We got more and more involved over the years,” Olson said.

When Olson refers to “we,” it for the team of Verna and Bill. Together, they have worked hard for many causes and programs of the VFW.

Verna Olson is a past president of the Post 4210 Women’s Auxiliary and has spent many years on auxiliary projects.

Together, the Olsons have co-chaired the VFW Voice of Democracy contest for the past decade, working in partnerships with school groups to promote the student writing and speech contest on patriotism.

Keith Hegstrom couldn’t be happier. He’s the club manager at Post 4210.

Hegstrom says it is vets like Olson, often working behind the scenes, that enable the club to succeed.

“In the background he’s always doing something positive,” Hegstrom said of Olson. “He’s always been very active.”

Earlier, when the roof at the club was leaking, it was Olson and Bob Ede, a Vietnam vet, who did the grunt work of going up on the roof and repairing the leaks, Hegstrom said.

For the fall booya, Olson uses his tractor and a special bucket to haul the two 125-pound, 60-gallon cooking pots from the Legion Post to the VFW Post, Hegstrom says. Without Olson’s equipment, there would be plenty of tired muscles from wrestling the two huge pots, he adds.

“He’s (Olson) always going out of his way to help,” Hegstrom said.

Business move

It was a business move that brought the Olsons to Forest Lake and their home in Columbus on the border of the two cities.

After the military and high school, Olson spent nine years working in the parts department and as a mechanic for a trailer manufacturer in St. Paul. His family in Balsam Lake had tried its hand at starting a sewer service company that also took care of plumbing and heating work.

“That’s where I got my foot in the door,” Olson said of his early work with the company.

In 1953, Olson started Olson’s Sewer Service near Coon Lake Beach to the west. He worked part-time at the business while continuing with the job in St. Paul.

Olson went full-time with the sewer service work in 1962 and today the business operates as Olson’s Sewer Service and Olson’s Excavation. It is run by the two Olson children, Jon Olson and Lee Weigt.

The business moved to its current location in 1965 and continues its well established marketing brand of pink trucks and equipment.

As he has backed away from his business duties, Olson has poured more time into the VFW volunteer duty and family activities..

He spent last weekend hunting deer with son Jon and grandson Kyle. Come Sunday, however, Olson will likely be taking part in Veteran’s Day activities.

Hegstrom can’t enough of the efforts of men like Olson and what they do for vets.

Olson plays down what he does. If there are vets that need help or a worthy community project that needs a hand, Olson says he is willing to do what he can.

“Because that’s what we do for the community,” he says.

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