Childhood friends find love, new hobby later in life

Couple first met in elementary, discovered a shared love of geocaching

By Vivian (Makela) Sazama

Betty Jo and Wes Sorenson of Leek Lake near Vergas never thought a friendship that

began while children would return in their later years and spark into love and marriage.

When Wes was in 5th grade he lived in Hawley and Betty Jo, who was in 4th grade,

lived in Dilworth.

“My dad liked to play poker and so my parents would go to a friend’s house in Dilworth to play. Since they couldn’t leave us kids home alone, we went along and would play with the neighborhood kids in Dilworth. Betty Jo was one of them,” said Wes.

Wes was so taken by little Betty Jo that one time he hitchhiked to Dilworth to go see her.

“You wouldn’t want to try to do that nowadays!” said Betty Jo. He also gave her a small silver ring, which she wore for a year.

Betty Jo in about 5th grade. Contributed photos

The following year Wes’ family moved into Dilworth.

“We grew up three houses apart,” said Betty Jo. “We played all kinds of games. King on the Hill, Pump Pump Pullaway, Captain May I were some of them! We would make plans to sneak out at night and raid neighbors’ apples and run around town.”

“My bedroom was in the basement,” said Wes. “One night I was supposed to meet everyone at the water tower but I couldn’t get my window open. The next day I found out my dad had nailed the window shut! He didn’t say anything, but he knew I had been sneaking out, so he nailed my window shut,” he laughed. “That was the end of my sneaking out!”

As the years progressed, the pair moved on to other friends.

“But I remember Wes was a really good drummer. He and some other guys had a band they called Hyperbolic Agnostic and played in his garage. He formed another band called Zachariah, who played for a High School dance!” said Betty Jo.

“That was my only paid gig,” laughed Wes.

After graduation Betty Jo went on to get married and had two daughters. Wes also got married and had two daughters and a son. When Betty Jo’s daughters were 14 and 15, Betty Jo’s husband passed away at the age of just 38.

“I started looking up old friends and classmates,” said Betty Jo. “One day I called Wes and found out he was single again too.”

“I answered the phone,” Wes said, “and heard someone ask, ‘Is this Wes?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Is this Wes Sorenson?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Then she said, ‘Is this Wes Sorenson that played in Hyperbolic Agnostic?’ Then I knew this had to be someone from way back!” he laughed.

The pair agreed to meet up for supper and took up where they left off some many years ago.

“We knew all the same people and it was nice to catch up on everyone,” said Betty Jo. “We started doing things together again without really thinking it was dating. It was just easy.”

In 1999 the pair decided to get married.

"Wes became like a father to my girls. He’s been their dad longer than their own dad could be. He tells them like it is and they listen to him,” said Betty Jo. “With Wes’ son my daughter said once, ‘Now I have the big brother I always wanted!’”

“All our kids get along,” said Betty Jo. “They all really enjoy coming over for Christmas. We play games on the ice and have a big bonfire and fireworks. When they were younger one of our grandkids said about the fireworks, ‘This is like Disney!’”she laughed.

One of the games on the ice that the family plays is called Kubb, a Swedish game that their son-in-law, Markus Krueger, a Historian and Tour Guide at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead gave them.

“We really have fun with it. I made more sets to give away,” said Wes.

Over the last 20 years, one of the activities that Wes and Betty Jo have enjoyed together is geocaching, an activity that has gained popularity all over the country and even the world.

“When our son got married he gave all the guys a GPS geocaching device as a thank you gift. It had only directionals to guide us to a cache. Now it’s all high tech on our phones with a website,” said Wes. “We belong to a geocaching club, www.northstargeoseekers at Park Rapids. We get together with the members for different things like camping. Another thing we do together is ditch cleanup.”

“We all have a name,” said Betty Jo. “Our geocaching name is Onion Pond, because we live on Leek Lake,” she laughed.

Wes Sorenson in about 6th grade. This was about the time that these two met. Later in life, they would start dating, and in 1999, the two were married. Betty Jo and Wes are enjoying their time together at their home on Leek Lake and have found a hobby that they both enjoy... geocaching. Contributed photos

There are different kinds of geocaching, either gadget or puzzle, according to Betty Jo.

“I prefer physically finding the caches, getting the fresh air and walking,” she said. “Some days we’ve found up to 40-50 in one day. We’ve taken our grandchildren a lot when they were younger. Now that they’re teenagers they’re not so interested.”

Wes and Betty Jo have also participated in setting out geocaches for many years. Currently they have ten caches that they maintain in the area. Wes has made different kinds of caches, one which is a locked cooler with a magnetic numbering on the side with instructions on the geocaching site to bring a magnet in order to decipher the code to unlock the cooler. And a note to bring a small toy to exchange. Inside is a bag of toy soldiers and other small toys.

“The young kids really like this one!” said Wes. “One of our grandsons said once, ‘This is like finding treasure!’” The Sorensons said that for all caches the motto is, ‘If you take something, leave something.’

The most unique and largest cache that Wes has made is a Paul Bunyan size ammo box that is set up in North Moorhead across from the Probst Field Farms.

“People really like this one,” said Betty Jo. “They like that this is one they can walk into. Inside is a Paul Bunyan size pencil and a Paul Bunyan size logbook to sign in. We get a lot of favorite points for that one!”

The Sorenson’s have enjoyed geocaching all over the country and even while on vacations.

“We’ve geocached in 27 states, three Canadian provinces and Mexico, and have been to some pretty scary places,” said Betty Jo. “We’ve climbed over lava rocks and some really steep inclines. And we’ve been to some really pretty places too. One time on vacation in Cozumel we were looking for a cache when we saw a military guy with an uzi, and decided we’d better stop looking!” she laughed.

The couple celebrated their 26th anniversary last June. However, the couple have also had difficult times. On the same day of the Pasadena, California fire, Dec. 27, 2024, a fire burned down the couples’ large storage shed/shop.

“Everything we had in there burned up,” said Betty Jo. “All of Wes’ tools and equipment were destroyed, along with a lot of our memorabilia. Wes had just completed a beautiful tensegrity table and that was gone too. Our car was backed up to the shop and the back half of it melted. It was heart wrenching to see, I actually threw up, I was so upset. But there were blessings in it all too as I thought about it later. One is that our kids had just left that morning, and had their cars backed up to the shop too, so it was a good thing the fire happened that night after they left. It was also good that our young grandchildren didn’t have to see it happen!”

Since the fire, the couple spent many hours clearing out all the burned up debris and tearing down the supporting posts. All of their children and spouses helped when they could.

“During this time our daughter was going through chemo for breast cancer. Wes went with her for her treatments during the week. Even she came out on weekends to help us out with the cleanup!” said Betty Jo.

The geocaching has taken a back burner since the fire and cleanup, but the Sorensons now have a new shop and are beginning the process of building back up their tools and equipment.

“Geocaching is one of those hobbies that you can leave for a year, and then get right back into it,” said Wes.

From childhood friends to a lifelong love, the Sorenson’s have many more enjoyable years ahead.