Larry ‘Leaker’ Standaert and Cheryl Standaert named as 2016 Rustic Lore grand marshals

By Cara L. Dempski

GLENWOOD CITY — If you live in Glenwood City and like to bowl, there is a good chance you have met Larry ‘Leaker’ Standaert or his wife Cheryl.

The couple, owners of “Leaker’s Place” on Main Street, have been selected as the 2016 Rustic Lore grand marshals.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” said Larry. “We always take part in Rustic Lore, but this was something new.”

Larry and Cheryl

Larry is a native of Glenwood City, having graduated from high school in 1967. He went on to college at UW – River Falls, earning a degree in education in 1971. Larry taught for nine years in the New Richmond school district.

It was in his position with New Richmond that Larry met the young woman who would become his wife.

“I had gone to my sister’s parent-teacher conference, that’s how I met him,” Cheryl said.

“She was a senior in high school when I met her,” Larry stated.

“But we didn’t start dating until after I graduated,” Cheryl finished.

The couple has been married since August 1973, and opted to live – and raise their two children – in Glenwood City.

After graduating from high school, Cheryl went to school to study medical assisting, and was working in Baldwin when she and Larry married. Cheryl switched to providing daycare for the next 12 years at the time their first child, Brent, was born.

Larry and Cheryl had two children, both of whom graduated from Glenwood High School. The eldest, Brent, is married to Sally Standaert. The couple have two children, Will, age 10, and Ben, age eight. Brent and Sally work for the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department.

The younger Standaert child was Jessica. She married Brent Hawkins and they live in Owatonna, Minnesota. Jessica teaches fifth grade in Owatonna, while Brent is a guidance counselor in nearby Faribault, Minnesota. They have two sons, Jack, age seven, and Graham, age four.

Cheryl said that after the years she spent working in daycare for her children, she worked at McMillan Electric, starting as a line worker. After several promotions, she became a shift supervisor.

“By then, we had this place and I was working full-time and working here.” Cheryl explained. “Something had to go.”

Cheryl quit her job with McMillan to help Larry make a go of the bar and bowling alley.

“I didn’t own, McMillan,” she said of making her choice. “Most people understood (why she quit), but there were some who didn’t.”

Buying the bar and bowling alley

Larry, after working in education, moved on to selling seed and feed. On Thursday nights, he tended bar at what would become “Leaker’s Place.” He and Cheryl purchased the business from its previous owners, Dean and Rose Marie Richardson, in August 1991.

“When Dean Richardson was ready to sell, that was when the ag business started going down,” Larry said. “He asked me if I wanted to buy the place.”

At first, Cheryl worked several part-time jobs to help make ends meet while she and Larry were getting the business up and running.

“It wasn’t exactly cheap, buying a business,” Cheryl said.

The couple has enjoyed owning the business, even with the stress and worry that it brought.

Participation in the community

Having grown up in Glenwood City, Larry has great familiarity with the Rustic Lore celebration. He said that he and Cheryl were notified they had been selected as grand marshals from the committee.

“I’ve always tried to be a part of the celebration,” Larry said.

For fifteen years, he was one of two people who announced parade floats and bands and provided commentary for the grand parade, held on Sunday afternoon of Rustic Lore weekend.

After his announcing partner Michelle DeGross died, Larry decided to pass the duties on to another community member. Cheryl tried to convince him to keep doing it because of the rapport Larry and DeGross shared.

Cheryl said. “He told me, ‘I just don’t want to do it without her.’”

Larry and Cheryl also sponsor the children’s pedal tractor pull each year. The pull is always held on Sunday immediately after the parade. After the children are done with their tractor pulling fun, the competition turns into the “Battle of the Businesses,” with representatives of local businesses competing on the pedal tractors.

Larry belonged to the Lions Club for many years, and Cheryl participated in Jaycettes. The couple supports local sports for all ages and they do what they can to help out at the school. Each year, the Standaerts also donate a boys bike and a girls bike to the local Easter Egg Hunt.

“Really, we just do what we can for the community,” Cheryl said.

Free time

When asked what she did in her free time, Cheryl answered, “sleep.” She went on to explain that she is the one who closes the bar each night, so she likes the rest. Otherwise, she likes to spend time with her family and friends.

“Really, though, I’m here a lot of the time,” she said.

Larry stated he likes to play golf, hunts in the fall, and enjoys fishing. Usually the couple can be found working at the bar.

During Rustic Lore weekend, the Standaerts will be seen around town at events like Friday’s kick-off picnic. Saturday will find them registering competitors for the beanbag tournament, held on Main Street in front of Leaker’s Place. Sunday will find them leading the grand parade at 1 p.m.

The Standaerts would like to invite everyone to take part in some or all of the events.