Art display memorializes Waldner

By RACHEL WEDDIG

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Jason Waldner loved music, art, sports and hanging out with friends, but his life ended tragically on Nov. 7, 1999.

When he was killed in a hunting accident, he was 15 years old and a sophomore at New Ulm High School.

Family friends of Waldner, Laurel Gamm and Charles Stephens, purchased a display case to put in the school to serve as a lasting memory of Waldner.

The case houses drawings by Waldner, a profile of him and an acrylic abstract painting done by his friends. The art work will rotate through the years.

"Jason was a very diverse and young person, and his interest in art may have come from us, but his talent didn't," said Waldner's mom, Gail, jokingly. "His music interest did come from us, and his interest in art was fostered by the school and the art programs in the school systems."

Waldner's paintings currently displayed include a drawing of guitars, a testimony to the great amount of spare time he spent playing the guitar. Inscribed on the drawing are the initials F.G., which represent "For Gary."

Waldner's Uncle Gary died in the spring of 1999. All of Waldner's artworks after that time carry the small "F.G." insignia in remembrance of his uncle because they shared a close relationship.

Other artwork displayed of Waldner's include a drawing of a pair of shoes he did in his "Intro to Design" class as a freshman, as well as a "fall harvest" piece he did in "Advanced Drawing."

The last high school picture taken of Waldner as a sophomore is displayed, and it is attached to one of his last drawings, an eagle, which he drew the month before his death.

Gail hangs on to every memory of her son she can. She has gone through the papers he had laying around and listens to tapes he recorded while playing guitar.

"It's very easy to pick out which papers are his because he always doodled on them," Gail said. "He also played piano and was a great guitar player. We still have some recordings he made goofing around on the guitar."

Friends and classmates of Waldner helped put together the art display.

"Jason was an all-around great guy and had a lot of different interests in sports and music," said NUHS senior Charles Ganske. "The art display was something to do to have a memorial for him to show what he liked to do in his spare time."

Some students remember Waldner for his leadership skills.

"One thing I remember the most about Jason happened while we were at Green Lake Bible Camp," said NUHS Student Body President Tyler Janni. "We were out hiking and got lost in the woods, and Jason said 'follow me, and I'll get us back.' Well, a half-hour later he found our way back. That was something I remember about him being a leader."

After that experience, he and Waldner referred to each other as "Lewis and Clark, " Janni said.

Students still talk about Waldner, and some made shirts in an art class in his memory.

Janni made a reference to Waldner in a speech during an assembly at the beginning of the school year. Many students came up and thanked him for remembering Waldner, Janni said.

Some students remember Waldner because of his participation in sports.

"When we were younger, we played hockey together and were in Boy Scouts together and always hung out in the summer," said NUHS senior Jace Marti. "Jason was definitely an individual. He was real original and did what he wanted to do and didn't let people tell him what to do."

When Waldner died, Marti drew a profile of him and gave it to his family. That profile is currently in the NUHS display case.

"I drew the profile a day before Jason's visitation. It was something I really felt I should do," Marti said. "I had taken it pretty hard and that was something I did to help control my feelings. It's my way of giving back something to the family that I knew they would keep."