By: Mark Fritsch, General Manager
“The City of Owatonna shuts down during Fair week” It was one of the first things I heard when informed about the Steele County Fair. It implied how much involvement, participation, and excitement occurs for Owatonna during this event. My second year staffing OPU’s booth confirmed this observation as individuals and families continued and started fair traditions by visiting their favorite venues.
I enjoy the interaction with customers as they shared their OPU experiences. This year’s booth topic was on the Power Plant Re-purposing project. It gave us another opportunity to connect with our customers and share our plans for this iconic facility. Overwhelming support and excitement with what we are planning continued throughout the week.
Many visitors to our booth shared memories of the power plant.
Several people asked if we were going to install another steam whistle. They remembered it blowing at noon, curfew and fire calls. A retiree remembered that he was the last one to sound the whistle. He kept in on for thirty seconds longer than normal. Several people would go to lunch at the sound and some children were reminded by the whistle to be home by the curfew call.
One person talked about how fun it was for the Boy Scouts to see the boilers and turbines in operation during special tours. Another stopped by and described one of the best job experiences he had painting the stacks and enjoying the view.
The community of Owatonna really owns this building and company…they are proud of their OPU and the people that work here. It’s been a part of so many people’s families and lives.
It’s an honor to be one of the custodians entrusted to ensure the current and future success of OPU. We should be moved into the facility by fall of 2014. We hope to see many of you during an open house to showcase the re-purposed power plant.
