Eric Bergeson
In 2011, author, speaker and nurseryman Eric Bergeson was awarded a prestigious two-year Bush Fellowship to study eldercare. During the fellowship, he visited New Zealand to study its eldercare system. He also worked to bring a new assisted living facility to his hometown of Fertile, Minnesota.
As his fellowship experience progressed, he became convinced that the most important components to a successful old age, especially when in the care of others, are not merely buildings and policy, but are the friendships between the generations and relationships beyond immediate family.
To encourage such friendships, Eric wrote A Treasury of Old Souls, a story-based account of his many friendships with elderly folks, ranging from customers at his business to the colorful old souls he met while visiting relatives in the nursing home. From these friendships, Eric learned about life, death and what it takes to face the end of life with equanimity. He also discovered that older people are often misunderstood, and seeks in Treasury to better our knowledge of their perspective.
Eric Bergeson was the third generation owner of Bergeson Nursery until he sold the business to his brother and sister-in-law in January of 2014. He wrote a weekly column for twenty newspapers in northwestern Minnesota for fifteen years. Eric has published six books, including Pirates on the Prairie, which the Minneapolis Tribune called "a Minnesota cultural and historical treasure."
In 2014, Eric received the Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) endorsement for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He ran specifically to address the dire lack of adequate funding for eldercare in Minnesota. He lost, but the issue won: The State Legislature granted Minnesota nursing homes a boost of $120 million dollars in added funding during the 2015 legislative session.
Eric graduated from Fertile-Beltrami High School in 1982. He attended Northwestern College in Roseville, MN, and received his bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Dakota in 1986. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies at Moorhead State University in 1988, he returned to UND where he earned a master's degree in history.
During college, Eric studied at Cambridge University in England, student taught in Wellington, NZ, and studied in Warsaw, Poland.
Over the years, Eric has been a frequent speaker and performer in northwestern Minnesota. When needed, he has taught American history courses at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.
Eric recently finished a five-year tenure as Chairman of the Board of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. He is acting chair of the Fertile-Beltrami Community Fund.
Eric lives in Fertile, MN with his partner Lance Thorn. He is currently working on new writing projects, including a book about his years spent tending his great aunt Olive, a colorful character who passed away at age 103 in February of 2015.
In 2011, author, speaker and nurseryman Eric Bergeson was awarded a prestigious two-year Bush Fellowship to study eldercare. During the fellowship, he visited New Zealand to study its eldercare system. He also worked to bring a new assisted living facility to his hometown of Fertile, Minnesota.
As his fellowship experience progressed, he became convinced that the most important components to a successful old age, especially when in the care of others, are not merely buildings and policy, but are the friendships between the generations and relationships beyond immediate family.
To encourage such friendships, Eric wrote A Treasury of Old Souls, a story-based account of his many friendships with elderly folks, ranging from customers at his business to the colorful old souls he met while visiting relatives in the nursing home. From these friendships, Eric learned about life, death and what it takes to face the end of life with equanimity. He also discovered that older people are often misunderstood, and seeks in Treasury to better our knowledge of their perspective.
Eric Bergeson was the third generation owner of Bergeson Nursery until he sold the business to his brother and sister-in-law in January of 2014. He wrote a weekly column for twenty newspapers in northwestern Minnesota for fifteen years. Eric has published six books, including Pirates on the Prairie, which the Minneapolis Tribune called "a Minnesota cultural and historical treasure."
In 2014, Eric received the Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) endorsement for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He ran specifically to address the dire lack of adequate funding for eldercare in Minnesota. He lost, but the issue won: The State Legislature granted Minnesota nursing homes a boost of $120 million dollars in added funding during the 2015 legislative session.
Eric graduated from Fertile-Beltrami High School in 1982. He attended Northwestern College in Roseville, MN, and received his bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Dakota in 1986. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies at Moorhead State University in 1988, he returned to UND where he earned a master's degree in history.
During college, Eric studied at Cambridge University in England, student taught in Wellington, NZ, and studied in Warsaw, Poland.
Over the years, Eric has been a frequent speaker and performer in northwestern Minnesota. When needed, he has taught American history courses at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.
Eric recently finished a five-year tenure as Chairman of the Board of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation. He is acting chair of the Fertile-Beltrami Community Fund.
Eric lives in Fertile, MN with his partner Lance Thorn. He is currently working on new writing projects, including a book about his years spent tending his great aunt Olive, a colorful character who passed away at age 103 in February of 2015.
