Stearns History Museum’s John Decker; My Life [AUDIO]

History has been his life.  Longtime Stearns History Museum employee and award winning John Decker joined me on WJON for our My Life series.  Decker was born in Richmond and grew up with his 3 siblings and parents in Cold Spring.  John's father, Wally and many of his uncles worked in the granite industry in Cold Spring.  He says his mother, Bernice also worked at Cold Spring Granite as well after his sister, Pat went into grade school.  John is the oldest sibling in the family so he was often tasked with taking care of his 2 bothers and 1 sister.  He described his family as not the wealthiest in town or the poorest.  John says his mother was kind of trail blazer by working at the time he was growing up.  He says she sold encyclopedias before taking a job working in the office at the granite company.

Decker says his 2 brothers and sister were all born within 5 years of each other.  His brothers Jim, Tommy and sister Pat were all good athletes according to Decker.  He says both of his parents were also good athletes.  Decker recalls playing a lot of sports growing up including basketball, football and track.  He says he lived in a very competitive household where there was even competition for food among his siblings.

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John says his interests growing up included sports, scouting and history.  He says he got involved with cub and later boy scouts at a young age.  Decker enjoyed scouting saying things he learned helped shape him as a person.  He credits scouting as preparing him for the military.  John continues to work with local scouting organizations as a volunteer today.  He recalls reading the history of Stearns County in the library in school as a youngster at St. Boniface High School in Cold Spring.

After graduation he joined the Naval Reserve which meant he would be available to serve if needed.  While waiting for a call from the Navy he worked for the granite company, delivered milk and trimmed trees.   Two years after graduation John was called to active duty with the Navy.   He served as a hospital foreman in Japan where they took in wounded service members from the Marines and Navy.  After serving in Japan for 1 year, John was reassigned to Coronado, California at the Naval station there.  He recalls giving immunizations to servicemen going to service in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War.  Decker spend just 1 year in California.  After 2 years of service Decker returned home and returned to reserve status with the Navy for the next 10 years.

After returning to Minnesota Decker enrolled at St. Cloud State University and majored in History and American Studies.  He graduated with a degree in those 2 areas after 4 years of schooling.   Decker met his wife, Jan 3 years prior to graduation at the Bloody Bucket in St. Cloud.  He says they just met by chance that night and hit it off.

After college graduation he painted homes in Central Minnesota with his father before a job opened up at the Stearns History Museum.  Decker recalls being interviewed and later hired for the position in 1977.  He stayed their full time until 2016, became part-time for a few years and is now a 1-day a week volunteer.

In addition to having athletic parents and siblings, Decker's nephew Eric played professional football from 2010-2018 with the Broncos, Jets, Titans and Patriots.

Decker and his wife are still married today after more than 50 years, and they have 3 children who were born within 5 years of each other.  John and Jan also have 5 grandchildren.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with John Decker, it is available below.