Wetzstein retires after 50 years on Ellington Township Board

For 50 years Ellington Township resident David Wetzstein attended every meeting of the township as a supervisor. This past March 11, Township Day throughout Minnesota, he retired and attended his final meeting.
He recently moved from his life-long home in the township to an assisted living apartment in Hayfield.
Wetzstein said that until his recent move, he was living on the same farm he grew up on. The first school he attended, he said, was a one room school near West Concord. Later he attended school in West Concord and finished his education at the Waseca ag school where he had the same classes as in West Concord but with additional agriculture classes.
So how do you get on the town board? Wetzstein said in his case, one of the board members moved and they asked if he would be a supervisor.
Township meetings have changed over the years, he said, but they are still the most basic level of government. At first, he said, the meetings were at 10 a.m. so he would finish his morning chores on the farm and head to the meetings. In those early days, he said, there was always a deputy or constable at the monthly meetings. That was because at that time every township had their own constable.
Some of the meetings could become a bit heated, he said, especially with the zoning issues of the late 80s and the hog barns drawing big crowds.
Still, he said, he enjoyed his years as a township supervisor.
“It’s a good township, very good people,” he said.
Over the years, Wetzstein took his turns as not only a supervisor but as an officer. He has been the chair, the clerk and treasurer more than once.
Farming, serving on the town board, and raising his family were not Wetzstein’s only interests as the family has been involved in auto racing for many years. His son, Steve Wetzstein, is the one doing the racing now, he said.
March 11 this year was the date when all townships in Minnesota held their annual meetings. This is the time when residents vote on township officers and supervisors and after the election is held they have a business meeting where they vote on what they want the township to do in the coming year, including setting the budget. The township meeting is where residents have the most direct say in what happens.
But in Ellington Township this year, they took a break between the election and the business meeting to thank Wetzstein for his many years of service and share a celebratory cake.