Kim Y’s Story

There is this idea out there that if you end up back in your hometown, you’ve somehow failed to “get out.” Like staying – or coming back – means you gave up on something bigger. But for me, making my way back to Princeton wasn’t a step back. It was a very meaningful step forward.

But for me, making my way back to Princeton wasn’t a step back. It was a very meaningful step forward.

Princeton was a great place to grow up – especially in the 80s. We had a large marching band that traveled around the state earning award after award. Summers in Princeton meant hearing the band practicing in the residential roads on the south side of town during the week and hearing the roar of the Princeton Speedway on a Friday night. It was a time before social media, cell phones, and Life360, when your parents had to drive around looking for you if you didn’t arrive home before curfew. If we were caught doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing, it was more likely than not that the local Sheriff or police knew most of our parents and just made sure we all got home safely.

A Friday night for us in Princeton meant attending the local football games in the fall and the boys basketball games in the winter, and then we’d all gather at the Pizza Barn to celebrate the Tigers – win or lose. In 1987, during our senior year in high school, we all gathered at a friend’s house to watch Game 7 of the World Series. When the Minnesota Twins secured the final out, declaring them World Champs, we all piled in the back of a pickup truck and drove back and forth down Rum River Drive (back then it was called La Grande Ave, but that’s a long story for another time), screaming, honking the horn and celebrating.

If we were caught doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing, it was more likely than not that the local Sheriff or police knew most of our parents and just made sure we all got home safely.

My Dad was a commercial loan officer at Princeton State Bank at the time, and I remember when he’d get calls on the weekends from local farmers who were at an auction and wanted to purchase a piece of equipment. My Dad would tell them to go ahead and purchase it and stop in the bank on Monday for the loan. We had a charge account at Freichels Super Value and just had to tell Erma at the checkout to “charge it to Art’s account.” When I participated in Senior Skip Day (without my parent’s knowledge) and slipped and cut myself deep enough to end up at the Emergency Room, guess who was working when I arrived? My mom. Not too happy, she administered my tetanus shot.

But like many teens, I wanted to leave Princeton to explore on my own after college. My friend Caryn and I had already decided that we were going to move out of state together and had decided on Colorado. One afternoon, we sat at her kitchen table looking at a map trying to decide where in Colorado we wanted to live. We knew that one of our classmates, Chad Young, had moved out to Ft. Collins CO with his sister, and we heard they liked it so that’s how are decision was made, and off we went! 

While living in Colorado, I learned how to truly live on my own. Early on, my car broke down and I honestly didn’t know what to do. Back home, I’d just call my Dad, he’d switch cars with me, get my car into the shop and I’d be off. Now I had to figure it all out on my own. I made friends who became like family, especially during the holidays when I wasn’t able to make it home. But no matter what, I always missed Princeton. To help with that, every few months I would meet up with Chad, that classmate from high school who was also living in Ft. Collins and we would have lunch or drinks and catch up on life.

But no matter what, I always missed Princeton.

While in Ft. Collins, I lived in a great house with three other roommates. It was a split-level house with three bedrooms, two baths, a deck and a yard. Most importantly, the rent was reasonable. Eventually my three roommates decided to move, moving in with boyfriends, moving for jobs, etc. but I didn’t want to lose this great house. I heard that Chad’s best friend was moving out to Ft. Collins and they were both looking for a place to live. I contacted them and they agreed to move in, but we still had to find one more. Through the hospital, my mom heard that yet another classmate was moving to the area for work and he was also looking for a place to live, and he became our fourth roommate. So, here I was, 1,000 miles from Princeton, living with three Princeton people from my graduating class. It was great! 

Chad and I hit it off, went on a date and after three years of dating, he proposed. When my parents had dropped me off in Ft. Collins six years earlier, they later told me that they figured I would meet someone from Colorado and live out there for good. No one – including me – ever thought I’d end up with someone from Princeton while I lived in Colorado!

We married in Princeton, and then headed back to Colorado for another year until we decided we wanted to move back to Minnesota to be close to family, especially as we thought about starting a family of our own. Chad was adamant that we would not move back to Princeton, so we ended up in North Branch, halfway between our two jobs. We had all three of our boys while living in North Branch, and one day while we were playing with the kids in the backyard, Chad said, “Just think. One day our kids will be North Branch Vikings.” That’s when it hit me. I said to Chad, “Absolutely not! Our boys are going to be Princeton Tigers!” I could not fathom our boys growing up anywhere but in Princeton, and by this time, Chad was on board too. So, back to Princeton we went.

I said to Chad, ‘Absolutely not! Our boys are going to be Princeton Tigers!’

Chad has said many times over the years that it was the best decision we made to move back to Princeton and raise our boys here. I have three sisters who all live in Princeton, and between the four of us, there are 11 grandchildren. All of them had the privilege to grow up together and are not just cousins – they’re good friends. We have always felt it important to give back to our community. I have served on the local youth basketball board, helped start the track/cross country booster club, and served on the Princeton All Night Senior Party. Chad recently left the Princeton School Board after serving for 12 years. We now both serve beside many of our high school teachers as part of the Princeton Lions Club.  Chad serves on the Friends of the Sherburne County Wildlife Refuge Board of Directors, and I run the scoreboard at the PHS Volleyball games in the same gym where I once played, and I’m also the announcer for PHS Track & Field.

I have the great privilege of being the Executive Director of the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism. My job is to promote the community I love. What could be better! Princeton has changed quite a bit since I grew up here in the 70s and 80s, but it is still a place of “community.” We have our differences like every community does, but when there is a need, this community comes together like no other. And although you might not be able to call your local banker at home on the weekend to get a loan or charge your groceries at the store, it’s still a small community where you’re likely to bump into someone you know while you’re shopping or serving. For example, I serve on the local Community Education Advisory Committee…with my Kindergarten teacher. 

I am so glad I went on that adventure to Colorado, but Princeton, the very place that I once desired to leave, has become the place in which I am most proud to invest. Go Tigers!

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Chris’ note: I, too, grew up in Princeton. And like Kim, I loved (almost) every minute of it! I’m not sure exactly when Kim and I met, but what I do know is that our friendship solidified somewhere in our junior high years and it’s grown closer ever since. I’m so honored to have Kim’s story as part of this project. Thank you Kim!

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