Karl John Porisch was born in 1945 in Jackson, Minnesota, the first of four boys born to Imogene Ruth (Richmond) Porisch and Adolphe Henry (A.H.) Porisch. Karl’s brothers are Paul, five years junior to Karl; Mark, who is seven years younger; and Lee, who is 10 years younger. The Porisches lived in Jackson, where Mr. Porisch, a World War II Army veteran, owned an insurance agency.

Karl described how his dad ensured from an early age that he and his brothers understood the value of work.

“Dad instilled in us, by various means, (Karl laughed) the work ethic. We were expected to do a number of things — simple things like carrying out the garbage, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn and that type of thing. He made it very clear to us that you were not going to sit around in the summertime. When you were eligible to work — when you were of age — he expected you to work.”

But the Porisch boys’ developing work ethic did not necessarily diminish their mom’s loving burden of raising four boys.

“My brother, Lee, tells about how Mom would sometimes say, ‘You know what? I’m going to pray to God that I don’t wake up tomorrow morning.’ (Karl laughed) I’m sure we were a challenge for her.”

The Porisch family had originally emigrated from Germany and Karl remembered finding that some German cultural influences persisted in the family.

“My grandfather, who was a Missouri Synod pastor, preached at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Everybody called it the Kimball church because of the township it was in. Dad told us Grandpa came from a little town in Germany, Alfalterfau, just before the turn of the century. They spoke only German in the house and when they went out in the public, they spoke English. So, we picked up some German from Dad’s swearing. (Karl laughed) He would cuss us kids, but do that in German, thinking that we might not know what it was, but we did.”

Karl attended two different elementary schools as he began his public school education.

“Jackson had the old elementary school on the block just south of the courthouse. In 1950 they built Riverside Elementary School, which was on the Des Moines River on the west side of town. I was in the second grade and one day (under our teacher’s supervision) we cleaned out our desks and walked to the new elementary school. (Karl laughed) So, that’s where I went to elementary school through sixth grade.”

Jackson had passenger rail service when Karl was young and he recalled the day he experienced it first-hand.

“There is a railroad that goes through there. I remember one birthday party, there were eight or nine of us for the party, and we rode the train with my folks from Jackson to Alpha, which is about seven miles east. It was a big deal. (Karl chuckled) Ride the train!”

Other town details captured Karl’s imagination as a kid growing up in Jackson.

“There were four different butcher shops. One of them was Makouska’s and he had that big, wooden chopping block in the store. They had a JC Penney store on Main Street. The thing I remember about that is that Mom and I would go buy something. You’d put your money in this glass tube. I don’t know how it would get up those two stories in the back of the store, (Karl chuckled) but that tube would go to wherever the treasurer was, I suppose, and they’d make the change and send it back.”

Jackson’s State Theater made a big impression on Karl.

“Joe Matouska, ran the State Theater. I think it’s on the landmark registry now in Minnesota. It was Art Deco and I found out, after watching movies there, that it had a stage and there was an orchestra pit in front of the thing. I talked with older folks in Jackson and they said they used to do vaudeville there. Of course we kids didn’t care then, but up above and behind the stage were dressing rooms and an office. And that’s where they would dress for the shows, so it had a history.”

Karl moved on to junior high school where new social experiences awaited him and his friends.

“The old Jackson High School, the brick structure on the south end of the block, (was built) back in the 1900s. Then in 1935 they built what was then the senior high school and attached the two buildings. There was a small gymnasium in the old part of the school. We used to have dances there. This was 7th and 8th grade. Well, who’s dancing? The girls are dancing with themselves and the guys are sort of sitting on the sidelines, (Karl laughed) you know, ‘I ain’t going to dance.'”

Karl was still young when a couple experiences shaped his future.

“My dad had a friend, Eddie Sorovy, who had a body shop. He had an Aironca. It was an all metal, side-by-side, two-seater (aircraft). Dad said, ‘Eddie’s got this plane. Would you want a ride in it?’ I said, ‘Absolutely!’ So, Eddie was my first airplane ride and that kind of sealed my fate. There was another time when Dave Hanson, a WWII pilot, had a Stearman trainer he flew. He took me up one day. Oh, man! We did loops and barrel rolls. He was good! I thought, this is what I want to do. So, that’s how I got started with flying.”

©2024 William D. Palmer.

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