GRAB BAG LADY
For 26 years Shirley Nelson has provided the energy behind something that may not grab the most attention at the Steele County Fair. But hundreds of people have fallen in love with and are quick to grab what she and others in her organization provide.
Nelson has become known as the “Grab Bag Lady” for the Owatonna Hospital Auxiliary, which operates a booth on the north end of the Four Seasons Centre. As volunteers for the nonprofit organization, they sell grab bags for all ages ranging from $1 to as much as $10.
“Kids get so excited over these things,” Nelson said recently as she assembled a box in preparation for this year’s fair. “They open them right there and get so excited. A lot of people come into the fair just for the grab boxes. They just love it.”
Nelson has found herself amazed at how popular the project has become at the fair. “It’s so fun to watch. You have to come and see it to believe it,” she said. “Usually by Saturday there are tears because there is nothing left,” she added.
Prior to the fair, items are cleaned, and jewelry is sanitized, Nelson said.
Volunteers place the gift bags or boxes into barrels at the fair, and they are divided by gender: boys, girls, men and women, Nelson said. The barrels are painted with special designs to make it a fun experience for everyone. Fairgoers get to pick their own mystery package.
After the encouragement of a couple of friends at church, Nelson joined the Auxiliary in 1998. At that time, she had no prior connection to the hospital other than a surgery or two. She became a lifetime member of the Auxiliary 21 years ago.
From the start, Nelson was assigned to take on the grab bag project, and it’s something she has never looked back on.
“It gives you a good feeling,” Nelson says. “I enjoy working with people, and it’s something I look forward to. It’s just fun doing it and knowing you are helping someone else.”
Nelson doesn’t really know how long the grab bag program has been going. And with her being the eldest member of the group at 87, there is really no one to ask. Nelson thinks it began in the late 1960s, and she just knows it’s something that has not only provided her with great enjoyment for many years, but also the rest of the community. The Auxiliary organization itself has been in operations since 1957.
When Nelson started with the grab bags in 1998, the organization put together 500. In recent years, they have done as many as 2,600, though this year is down slightly at 2,000, according to Nelson.
Nelson assembles a group of about 30 volunteers that help with the wrapping of the items that go into the grab bags or boxes. They try to include a variety of stuffed animals, games, puzzles and books. There are also grab packages designed for adults, including items for both men and women. The bags are priced accordingly depending on what’s contained in them.
The Auxiliary, Nelson said, solicits donations of new or “nearly new” items from its own members as well as the public throughout the year. Once the items come floating in, Nelson and her volunteers get to work by preparing and wrapping the items. If they can’t use the donated items, they give them to another charity.
At Nelson’s direction, the volunteers spend two or three times a week starting in spring and leading up to the fair wrapping the items. They utilize the Owatonna Township hall south of Owatonna for prepping all the items. She also spends additional time at home doing some tasks.
The program at the fair has been so successful over the years that the Auxiliary branched off with a similar program for its annual bazaar at St. John Church in Owatonna in November. Holiday items are usually featured at the bazaar. Between the fair and the bazaar, the Auxiliary brings in about $8,000 per year.
Nelson stresses that the Auxiliary is strictly volunteer where nobody gets paid anything. “It all goes back to the hospital in Owatonna,” she said, noting the money raised provides equipment for the hospital and scholarships for students going into the medical field.
For Nelson, the Auxiliary has consumed more than 20,000 hours of her time since she joined the group. With time spent at home doing tasks, Nelson said it’s probably more like 40,000 hours, though she said that’s probably a little exaggeration. “I almost quit counting. What’s the difference,” she said. “This is very labor intensive and a lot of hours, but it doesn’t seem like it.”
Nelson encourages others to consider volunteering with the Auxiliary. And she’s quick to point out it doesn’t need to be the high commitment she gives to the organization. The minimum requirement each year is 24 hours. The group meets monthly.
She knows nobody else will likely come even close to what she volunteers. “They’re not as dumb as I am,” she said. “You get caught up in it and it just keeps snowballing.”
Prior to joining the Auxiliary, Nelson and her husband, Glen, operated Nelson’s Repair south of Owatonna for 30 years. Glen retired from Owatonna Township Board of Supervisors after serving for 53 years.
As for the state’s biggest county fair, Nelson has been involved with it most of her life. In her earlier years, she volunteered at the fair’s flower building for many years. She still enjoys flower gardening as a hobby.
Even though she admittedly says old age is setting in, along with the arthritis in her hand, Nelson is clear about one thing. “I don’t want to give this up,” she said of the gig as Grab Bag Lady. “Otherwise, I would be home all the time. I keep busy. I don’t want to sit around.”
