Detroit Lakes — Brad Bachmann has built a reputation in the Detroit Lakes business community for decades. By spring, he will also be well known at the Tamarack Wildlife Sanctuary.
Brad died of COVID in 2021. In honor of his 57th birthday this year, the family decided to buy a tree for everyone who entered their family business, Lakes Area Processing. The final number was 550 people.
The idea to donate trees in his name started with contacting the Department of Natural Resources, who introduced the family to the Tamarack Wildlife Sanctuary. Brad’s wife Sarah said the idea had been discussed with the shelter’s visitor services manager Kelly Blakeledge.
“She loved it,” Sarah recalled, noting that Blackledge made it easy to donate. If the family brings her trees, she will take care of the rest.
“I’m sure the school kids will help her plant trees next spring,” Sarah said.
Mass tree planting is the right way to celebrate Brad’s life as he works with his children (Baxter, Ellie, Heston, Tanner, Victor and Annie) to plant thousands of trees Seedlings are buried in the ground.
Barbie Potter/Detroit Lakes Tribune
“I wasn’t kidding when I said we planted thousands of trees,” Sarah said. “When the kids were little, we would get 1,500 to 2,500 (seedlings) in the spring and go out with a shovel. Brad would dig holes and we would put the seedlings in the holes.”
In addition to family activities, Sarah said her late husband taught their children the importance of giving back more than taking. As a family full of avid hunters, he told them that planting trees was a way to balance scale with Mother Nature.
The Bachmans were delighted by the positive response to the tree planting program from friends, clients and community members. Join Sarah, Baxter, Heston and Victor in the family business at 18776 Route 59 in Detroit Lakes.
Sarah was able to step back and watch as the visitor chatted with her boys. She saw Brad in the way her children interacted with visitors, the way they stood, and the way they acted.
“It’s like Brad is here,” she said.
While Brad’s favorite trees are evergreens, Sarah said Tamarack Wildlife Sanctuary will decide what trees to buy and plant. The Bachmans hope the students who plant the tree next spring will enjoy this moment, so when they become adults, they can return to the sanctuary and be proud of their contribution to its lasting legacy.