Mondale finds Selma just right
Mort Modale
Earlier in life, Mort Mondale traveled throughout the United States.
But when it came time to settle down once and for all, he chose to do so in the Illinois Valley community of Selma.
Mondale grew up in Elmore, Minn., and graduated from Fairmont High School. He spent his college years at Hamline University in St. Paul, and then earned graduate credits from Mankato State College at Mankato, Minn.; and the University of Minnesota.
For 16 years, he taught music throughout Minnesota, from tiny towns to St. Paul’s suburbs.
Mondale’s passion for education eventually led him to a position with the National Education Association. He spent 18 years as a professional development specialist and field training organizer for NEA, and worked throughout the country in those duties.
During that period, Mondale lived in Northern Virginia. But the fast pace of that lifestyle prompted him to look elsewhere for a permanent residence.
“I had no inclination at all to live in that kind of setting again,” Mondale said. As a result, he and his wife, Elaine Wood, began looking for an ideal rural atmosphere.
Wood’s family was from Oregon, and she had taught in Gold Beach and the Salem area. The couple had passed through Southwestern Oregon repeatedly during the years, and always marveled at the area’s natural beauty.
After three years of looking, Mort and Elaine found their slice of Heaven.
“It was the very natural kind of property we were looking for,” Mondale said. “It just made a lot of sense.”
They bought their Selma property in 1994 and moved in during fall 1996.
Since arriving in Illinois Valley, Mondale has become actively involved in the community. Aside from establishing a Sierra Club chapter, he served as the first chairman of the Selma Center’s board of directors.
“That was a great effort for the community to come together as a community,” Mondale said.
He added that he has been pleased to see the Selma Center evolve, and enjoys noting that the structure housing the Selma Farmer’s Market has solar panels that provide power to the center.
“The Selma Center has steadily grown with the leadership of good people,” Mondale said. “I’m very, very proud of it.”
Such civic involvement is almost second nature for Mondale, the younger brother of former Vice President Walter Mondale. He credits his dad for emphasizing the importance of community and family.
“My father was a Methodist minister who believed in public service,” explained Mondale.
Mondale is also no stranger to political campaigns. His first stint came during his high school years, when he helped his brother run Hubert Humphrey’s campaign operations in Southwest Minnesota.
These days, Mondale and Wood prefer the quiet life, and spend much of his spare time working on their property. But they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We like stretching out and meeting Nature on its own terms,” Mondale said.
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