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Highlighting Inspiring Women: She checked 'yes'

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Bonnie Pruett

Throughout March, which is Women’s History Month, the North Iowa Times-Clayton County Register is again publishing a series of articles highlighting local women. Whether it’s through their careers, hobbies, volunteer efforts or unique personalities, these women have become an inspiration to others.

 


 

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

 

Bonnie Pruett knows the value of checking the “yes” box. Whether it was taking on a new position as a teacher, agreeing to a side hustle as a cheesecake maker or throwing herself into volunteer activities, the McGregor resident has always been up for a new challenge.

 

“I like to keep busy,” she said.

 

Bonnie grew up in southwest Minnesota, in a community of 250 people, where babysitting and wrangling her brothers primed her for a career in education. She started at the elementary level, teaching third, fourth and fifth grade, before taking a position at the mental health institute in Cherokee. She began adding special education endorsements, and eventually earned a reading specialist degree.

 

“I have taught preschool through graduate level college courses,” she reflected. “When I was first asked to move from elementary up into secondary, I was very apprehensive. But once I started working with older students, I realized I truly enjoyed working with that age group.”

 

Bonnie also found her time in special education rewarding.

 

“That was an area where I was comfortable. I did well with children who had some real issues,” she said.

 

Bonnie and her husband Bob were living in Cedar Rapids when she retired for the first time. The couple, disenchanted with the housing development that had sprung up around them, decided to move to McGregor.

 

“Bob loves to fish, so his idea was he wanted to go somewhere he could enjoy water. One morning, I was getting ready for school and it just popped into my head. We had been up here camping and really enjoyed it, and I had a brother living here,” said Bonnie.

 

They arrived in 2005, but Bonnie couldn’t kick her love of teaching. She worked at Central Community School District in Elkader for several years, before retiring a second time. 

 

Then, she was tasked with filling her open schedule. That’s when a membership invitation from the McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts arrived in the mail.

 

“There was a little line that said ‘check this box if you would like to do volunteer activities.’ I checked it, and a little while later received a phone call from someone asking if I’d serve on the board of directors. I was so shocked I said ‘yes,’” Bonnie recalled. 

 

At the first meeting, she was asked to become board secretary, and gave another “yes.” After filling that role for several years, she transitioned to treasurer, a position she still holds. In all, she’s served on the art center board for 11 years.

 

Checking that box turned out to be a pretty great decision, noted Bonnie.

 

“Because I had continued working, we had not become really well established within the community, which was part of the reason I checked the box,” she said. “When I went to that first meeting, I knew absolutely no one, and none of them knew me. But, now, I know a lot of people because of that and have made some very good friends.”

 

“Over time, I’ve also come to appreciate the value of volunteering for the good of the community,” she added.

 

When the art center first opened to do retail sales, the total was $1,800. Fast forward to this past year, and sales reached $75,000. 

 

“That alone has changed the amount of time it takes to do artist commission checks and financial things,” Bonnie said. “A big part of what I do also includes grant writing. Right now, down in my office, I have five different grants at different stages. And since purchasing the building [in downtown McGregor], we have started on doing some renovations, which have added to the appeal.”

 

The number of artists has grown too, as well as the art center’s educational offerings. Children’s art classes and adult workshops occur annually, and the art center will put on McGregor’s fall arts and crafts festivals this year. 

 

Bonnie puts in 20 to 30 hours each week on art center-related duties, and has enjoyed watching the space in downtown McGregor thrive.

 

“Over time, I have really felt the art center has become an important part of the community. More and more I get feedback from people expressing how much they appreciate it, and, every year, the special gifts the art center receives has grown. We couldn’t do it without the city of McGregor, which supports us financially and has allowed us to be open all year long, seven days a week,” she shared. “When I realize people appreciate the fact the art center is there, that helps me feel good about what I’m doing, because I’m giving to all the people of McGregor.”

 

Bonnie, who’s also been active with the First Congregational Church of McGregor, found another way to get involved through McGregor’s annual Festival of Trees, an event sponsored by the McGregor-Marquette Center for the Arts and other local organizations.

 

She largely focuses on Dessert Among the Trees, a preview to the festival where attendees can check out the beautifully decorated Christmas trees while enjoying delicious cheesecake. Bonnie made 10 cheesecakes for the 2021 event—but that’s nothing for her. While living in Cherokee, she began making cheesecakes commercially for a friend’s coffee shop, in addition to creating them for weddings, graduation parties and other special occasions. 

 

At its height, Bonnie, with help from Bob, was making between 800 and 1,000 cheesecakes each year. 

 

“The largest order we did was a wedding reception that took 36. Over the graduation weekends, sometimes we’d have 50-plus,” she said.

 

That was a significant feat for Bonnie, who didn’t start making cheesecakes until her oldest son was in college.

 

“When it was time for him to come home, I asked if there was anything special he’d like to eat. He said they had cheesecake at the dorm cafeteria,” Bonnie recalled. “Well, guess who’d never made a cheesecake.”

 

The result—a regular New York style with a graham cracker crust and cherries on top—turned out pretty well. So Bonnie continued making cheesecake.

 

“I make the crust from scratch. Flour, sugar, butter, nuts, chocolate if I want,” she shared. “Once you understand proportions, you can do any flavor, any fruit. Over the course of time, I’ve developed around 30 different flavors of cheesecakes.”

 

Surprisingly, Bonnie isn’t that fond of cheesecake herself. But her favorite recipes are white chocolate with raspberry sauce and lemon cheesecake with lemon curd on top and a side of strawberries.

 

Although Bonnie makes cheesecakes just for fun these days, she’s grateful for the opportunity to share her hobby with family and friends. That gratitude is an outlook she projects onto all aspects of her life.

 

“When I worked with behaviorally disordered children, a part of what I told them and taught them was to not think ‘I have to do it, but I get to do it,’” Bonnie said. “One day we watched a movie and this one boy was throwing spit balls around. When it was over, I said, ‘Guess what?’ He looked at me and said, ‘I get to pick them up.’”

 

“When I start a day, instead of thinking, ‘I have to do payroll,’ I consciously do this: ‘I get to do payroll today.’ Sometimes, I’ll even giggle to myself and think of [the student] and away I’ll go,” she continued. “That really helps keep a positive perspective on things. I’ve been blessed with good health and a good mind and I’m almost 80 years old. Really, I do say to myself, ‘I’m grateful I get to do these things.’ Not everyone my age does.”

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