Meet the Holm Family

by Carrie Branovan

When he was fourteen years old, Doran Holm's life changed drastically.

It was then that his father made a mid-life decision to leave his computer engineer position in the Twin Cities and return to a rural life.

"My father was a country boy at heart, and even though my mother didn't agree with his decision, he wouldn't be swayed. He grew up on a farm, and longed to be back in Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley," says Doran.

"Dad bought a bulk milk route, and we packed up and moved."

Doran soon discovered that the only ticket to independence out in the country was work. And the only jobs around were on dairy farms. "I started helping with basic barn chores for Clarence Bjork, then I learned how to milk the cows. Clarence was a great mentor. He taught me the meaning of the word work. After chores at night I would hang around the farmhouse kitchen and just visit with Clarence. He was like a grandfather to me."

When the time came, Doran threw himself into his studies at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. Armed with the work ethic he learned from Clarence and his father, he rose to the academic challenges. When he graduated, he landed a lucrative sales position with Westlaw, a data firm that supplies research database services to law firms.

Meanwhile, his future wife, Mariann, was at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. She was working on her Business Administration degree. The two met at the wedding of a mutual friend.

Doran smiles as he picks up the story. "After a week of knowing Mariann, I couldn't believe how closely aligned our dreams were. Both of us had been raised by single, busy, loving parents that worked outside the home. We were both 'latch-key kids,' and we knew we wanted to raise our families differently."

Mariann was the daughter of two hard-working parents. She grew up showing her horses and attending meetings at her local 4H chapter. She recalls coming home one day and telling her mother, "I'm going to marry a farmer."

Her mother allowed that she'd rather see Mariann become a successful corporate attorney.

But Marianne had already set her course. "I wanted to have a large family, raise lots of kids, and make them triangle shaped peanut butter sandwiches."

Doran and Mariann fell in love. When they married ten months later, Mariann's mother breathed a sign of relief: at least her daughter had married a businessman.

At this point, I knew that her mother's glee would be fleeting.