Making glass come to life

DL man has crafted many traditional stained glass pieces of art in retirement

By Vivian (Makela) Sazama

Bruce Stainbrook, who lives with his wife in both Detroit Lakes and Surprise, Ariz., enjoys the process of making stained glass pieces for friends. Photo by Vivian Sazama

Getting bored in retirement hasn’t been a problem for Bruce Stainbrook. After retiring 25 years ago and wintering in Surprise, Ariz., he decided to take a class in stained glass from a woman, Louise, in his Sunflower RV Park community.

“She was tough,” said Bruce. “She’d tell me to tighten up my pieces so they’d solder together better. But, I learned a lot from her!”

Starting out with small pieces such as suncatchers, it wasn’t long before Bruce began on larger and more complicated projects, making pieces for people who requested them. He is just finishing up an elephant for someone.

“I’ll find an example I think they’ll like, show it to them for their OK and then get started,” he said. “I do the traditional stained glass. Not many people do that anymore.”

Bruce estimates he has made around 100 larger pieces over the years. He made a large cross which he placed into a box with a light behind it for his church. His favorite piece so far is a tiger which he has in his home at the Forest Hills RV park near Detroit Lakes, where he and his wife of 62 years, Grace, live during the summer months.

“I finished one side with a gold patina, and the other side with a black patina, which gives it a different look on each side,” he said.

The Stainbrooks both grew up in Fargo, N.D.

“I was born in 1940, and raised on the wrong side of the tracks, in North Fargo,” laughed Bruce, “though I didn’t know it at the time! Dad was a railroad worker and we didn’t have much money. Mom passed away when she was 44. I didn’t have my own room until I started college and we moved into the house next door that had a coal bin, which wasn’t being used anymore, after converting to a gas furnace. We cleaned up the coal bin and that became my bedroom. It was short so I couldn’t stand up in it, but it was my own room!”

Grace grew up on a farm south of Leonard, N.D.

“I’m the fourth of six children and went to a one-room schoolhouse through eighth grade, then attended Oak Grove Lutheran School in Fargo,” she said. “I was 13 when I started at Oak Grove and stayed in the dormitory, going back home on weekends. Growing up on a farm with two younger brothers, I was a tomboy. Outdoor activities were my thing!”

A few of Bruce’s stained glass creations. Photos by Vivian Sazama

Although Bruce grew up in North Fargo he spent a lot of time at his grandparents’ farms south of Fargo, near the Wild Rice River and what is now Oxbow.

“My grandparents had three farms and they gave one to each of their three sons. I did some of everything on the farm. When the power went out I helped hand milk the cows.”

Bruce began his education at Roosevelt Elementary School, then went on to Ben Franklin Middle School, before graduating from Fargo Central in 1958.

“I knew starting in 9th grade that I wanted to be a chemist, after a friend of mine got a chemistry set for Christmas. I worked my way through college at NDSU by working in the biochemistry department for $1 per hour, taking care of their experimental white rats. I cleaned up after them, and fed and watered them. Of the 40 chemistry students that I started with, only 20 remained in the program. We all went on to get our Master’s degrees too at NDSU. Several even went on and got their PhDs.” Bruce credits one of his professors for mentoring him, and who was also his employer. “We remained friends until he died,” said Bruce.

After Grace graduated from Oak Grove she went to Valley City college for two years and got her teaching degree. She then taught school for two years before starting at NDSU, where she transferred in as a Junior for their Home Economics Education program.

“Two weeks after starting at NDSU I met this chemist student and thought, ‘He’s pretty cute!’” she said.

The Stainbrooks grandchildren named this stained glass piece “Frank the Fish.” Photo by Vivian Sazama

“I was a senior when we met. I didn’t have a car until I started grad school,” said Bruce. “So we went out on dates on my 2 hp moped!”

After the couple got married and started having children,  Grace became a stay-at-home mom.

“After the girls started school though, I started subbing at the schools,” said Grace.

After Bruce graduated with his Master’s degree in biochemistry, he secured a job with Green Giant, where he worked for 20 years. He then worked for another 20 years with the Schwan’s company.

“He traveled a lot for his job,” said Grace. “So I was the one taking care of things at home.”

Over the years Bruce enjoyed hobbies that piqued his interest.

“I built a sailboat, and named it ‘The Sandee J’ after our first daughter. I also built two airplanes. We had bought a house in St James, Minn., that came with an airplane that needed work. It was a 1946 Air coup. I got it going, joined a club and learned how to fly. In 1975 I got a pilot’s license. The two planes I had were called homebuilts. For 10 years in a row I flew into Oshkosh, Wis., for their Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) week, where most of the hundreds of planes there were homebuilts. I had no radio to land with, just got in line. There were a lot of military planes too, even a Concord. One year the Voyager was there, an aircraft with a 100-foot wingspan, two engines, and two fuselages that had flown around the world without refueling in 1986. The two pilots were in the air for nine days before landing.”

Other than the stained glass hobby, Bruce also enjoys making wooden bowls. He has a small workshop in Arizona where he has been making bowls out of many various kinds of woods, including myrtle, cedar, maple, cherry, sumac, yew, Arizona pine, walnut, sapele and corkwood.

“The corkwood comes from Spain and is what wine bottle stoppers are made from,” he said. “I do stained glass here in Minnesota and make wood bowls in Arizona.”

Over the years he has given each of his grandchildren a different stained glass item for Christmas.

“Now we’re starting on the great grandchildren!” he said.

Bruce and Grace Stainbrook have been married 62 years. Photo by Vivian Sazama

Grace still enjoys the outdoors and belongs to a hiking club in Arizona, experiencing the trails of the surrounding mountains with the club. She loves to sing and sings in the choir at her church, and is also part of a trio.

Two of Grace’s nephews are ordained pastors. One nephew, Tom Solhjem, became a chaplain in the Army, rising to become a two-star General and the Chief of Chaplains over the entire Army.

Church has always been important in the Stainbrook’s lives. When tragedy struck while they were living in Miami, Fla., it was their church family that helped them through it.

“Our youngest girl passed away when she was just five years old,” said Grace. “We were thousands of miles away from our family, but we survived with the help of our church family.”

Now the Stainbrooks enjoy their retired lives. Their two daughters and their families live in Fargo and Kansas. Both of their daughters love to run and participated in the Fargo Marathon. Bruce likes to give away his stained glass crosses, as a comfort, or an encouragement to others. He has given also his daughters crosses to give away to those they come across who could use some comfort.