Calendar of events:

Location:
Isanti County Beyond the Yellow Ribbon committee meetings are the third Thursday of the month. We meet at the Armed Forces Reserve and Community Center 505 Spirit River Dr. (County Road 70) Cambridge, MN 55008. Meetings run from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
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Invisible Wounds Project – Support Center - Grand Opening

July 11, 2024

First, I want to thank you for your support of our organization in the past, present, and future. Whether it was as a key volunteer, donor, or other support, we could not accomplish our mission, or this great new initiative without you. We are thrilled to be nearing completion of the Invisible Wounds Project Support Center! This facility is a one-of-a-kind space where those we serve can go to connect with others, take part in therapeutic activities such as woodworking, the arts, music, and more. It also provides us with a safe space where we can provide resources to all, including Critical Incident Retreats (CIR), debriefings, and much more.

We are inviting you, your family, and key staff members to join us on Thursday, July 11 from 345 to 7 pm for a ribbon cutting, and Grand Opening Celebration at the IWP Support Center located at 840 Lake St S, Forest Lake, MN 55025. Please be sure to RSVP to admin@iwproject.org by Tuesday, July 9 with the number of attendees so that we can plan food and drink accordingly.

Sincerely,

Russ Hanes

Invisible Wounds Project - Founder/Executive Director

(763) 486-3079

IWProject.org

The Invisible Wounds Project provides access to qualified therapy services and other support resources to military, police, fire, EMS, front-line medical staff, corrections, public safety dispatch, and their families, relating to mental health, PTSD and suicide issues.

Last Union Veteran Ceremony - Cambridge Union Cemetery - July 13 - 1:00 pm honoring the last Union veteran of the Civil War who was from Isanti County. See attached press release.  Veterans, families and general public are welcome

Here is the full press release

NEWS RELEASE

LAST CIVIL WAR SOLDIER BURIED IN ISANTI COUNTY

TO BE HONORED JULY 13th, 2024

June 24th, 2024

Private Benjamin Olof Bong, the last Civil War veteran buried in Isanti County, will be honored in a ceremony at 1:00 PM on Saturday, July 13th, 2024, at Union Cemetery in Cambridge, Minnesota.

The ceremony is open to veterans, those with an interest in Civil War history, and the general public. Wearing Civil War era attire is encouraged. Private Bong’s descendants are most cordially invited to attend as special guests.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is conducting the ceremony with the assistance of the Isanti County Historical Society and the Cambridge American Legion Post 290 Veterans Honor Guard.  

Benjamin Olof Bong was born in Sweden on 2 August 1838.

He enlisted in the 3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment on 13 August 1864. He was mustered into Company D as a Private. He was 25 years old.

He was with the regiment at Little Rock Arkansas for occupation duties until the war’s end.  

Benjamin O. Bong was discharged on 28 July 1865. 

He married Julia Norelius on 3 Dec 1863 in Anoka, Minnesota.

Their first test as a couple was the separation when Benjamin answered the Country’s Call to Arms. He met his first child when he came back home at the war’s end.

 The Bong family settled on a homestead in East Cambridge, Minnesota where they lived and raised a family for over 60 years.

Benjamin and Julia raised eleven children together: Arvid, Hattie, Horace, Elias, Mildred, Josie, Effie, Leslie, Ida, Evelyn and Neva.

Julia passed away on 25 October 1925. Benjamin moved to the Soldiers Home in Minneapolis soon after.

Benjamin Olof Bong died on 6 December 1936. He was 98 years old.

SUVCW William Colvill Camp #56, Department of Wisconsin, will be presiding over the ceremony. The ceremony will feature the Last Soldier dedication ritual of the SUVCW and includes the placing of a Last Soldier Marker on the veteran’s grave.

Camp #56 of the Department of Wisconsin, whose territory is the entire states of Wisconsin and Minnesota supports the national goal of identifying and placing a marker on the grave of the last Union veteran buried in each of Minnesota’s 87 counties. The members of Camp #56 consider the Last Soldier ceremony an honor and a fitting tribute for a Union soldier whose service helped preserve the liberties Americans enjoy as a nation today.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a national veterans organization made up of the descendants of Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War. The SUVCW has more than 6,000 members across the country and is the successor to the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R), the veterans organization formed after the Civil War by soldiers who served in the Union Army. The last member of the G.A.R., Albert Woolson from Duluth, Minnesota died in 1956.

Media inquiries: Jim Johnson Camp #56, Department of Wisconsin Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War jimmyjr245@charter.net; 218 820-5580

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War websites:

https://www.suvcw.org/ Department of Wisconsin: http://www.suvcw-wi.org/index2.html

William Colvill Camp 56: Col. William Colvill Camp 56 Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War | Facebook

Information accurate as of date released.

The Isanti County Fair is July 17th to the 21st. Isanti County BYR will have a booth at the fair all the days. Wednesday the 17th is Military Day, free admission for Veterans.

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Spirit River Community has a food distribution event called "Matthew 25" food distribution. It takes place the fourth Saturday of the month at the Isanti Middle School. Two free bags of food per person.

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Braham VFW holds a pancake breakfast the first Saturday of the month (except June and July) from 7:00 to 11:00 am. The cost is $7.00. They serve pancakes, French Toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, ham, coffee, and juice.