It’s unsettling to see your hometown, and a picture of your elementary school, in the national news like this. I can’t imagine how horrifying it would be to see the news if this plot had actually been carried out. By all accounts, it sounds like he was just a week or two away from making this happen.
I suppose I’m more attuned to tragedies than the average person, since Dad was a gravedigger in Waseca. It’s a small town so everyone heard of the accidents and deaths, but I got that kind of news in detail. There’s a chapter in my book where I speculate about the root of evil in this place; was there a certain darkness that covered the town? From Chapter 9: “Quiet spots in and around Waseca belied their dark pasts. Cemeteries were not simply granite and grass, woods were not simply trees, and houses were not simply siding and windows. If you looked deeper, you’d find a story. If you dug, you’d uncover evil.”
I was surrounded by stories of entire families killed in accidents. Two women in the space of two weeks killed by men they knew. A sheriff murdered in the line of duty. Kids my age murdered, or dying in car crashes, or dying of disease.
After I moved away from Waseca, the evil continued unabated. A 12-year-old girl murdered in her own home after school by a stranger. A home invasion in which a father and son were shot and killed. And still so many accidents that claimed the town’s young.
And now this, a plot that could have resulted in the unthinkable. Waseca’s a town of just a few thousand. I still think it has more than its fair share of tragedy. Is it just because I’m close to it, or do you think some places are more susceptible to evil than others? Bodies hold muscle memory. I can not bike for months over the winter yet come spring, my body seems to remember what to do. Can places hold bad memories that than perpetuate?
If You Have Five Seconds to Spare 
In the Waseca community of nearly 10,000 population there are enough people that every one does not know their neighbors. That said, I believe we each do know what is “normal” in our neighborhoods.
Personally I applaud our department of public safety who have educated the
community members to call them if and when there is something or someone that appears suspicious. in their daily life. This is exactly what one young woman did
when she witnessed something odd in her neighborhood. We know the rest of that
story. The community forum/press conference called by Supt Thomas Lee and Captain Kris Masterson was the response one can respect.
At the same time as the news conference, a Variety Show of multi talented youth in the community took place at the Central school district building. Attendees were
“rocked” by the performances, the same took place on Saturday evening. This is
the response of a healthy community to an averted tragedy.
To me, the question remains, what shaped and how did 17 year old John David LaDue become this person whose name no one will forget?
.
That’s a great question. So many influences shape us. Sometimes those influences combine into something overwhelming and sink a person.
My guess is that Waseca doesn’t have more tragedies than average. I think because it’s a small town we’re more connected. Thinking about the idea of six degrees of separation, I am no more than three degrees away from many of the deaths you listed. I still remember those events and the horror surrounding them.
I also think that people assume that horrible deaths won’t happen in a small town. The past few days I’ve seen several statuses in my Facebook feed along the lines of “I stayed in Waseca because I thought that could never happen here”.
Yeah, it’s a logical fallacy to think that you’re protected in a small town or anywhere.
It definitely makes you rethink things. I’very always thought fondly about my life in Waseca, but maybe I was just turning a blind eye to what was truly all around. After reading your post, reliving and remembering some of those tragedies, makes me rethink my position.
Either way, with having family in town with kids in that school (as well as dear friends with children enrolled in the school as well) I am counting our blessings even more than usual and grateful that someone reported what they did and that our town responded instead of waiting.
Maybe you’re right, there might be an evil that consumes our quiet little hamlet….
I agree, Sarah–this is a good time to count blessings and be grateful that a crisis was averted.
I still think very fondly upon Waseca; I loved growing up there. I think this day and age is a scary time to be raising kids no matter where you live.
This situation in Waseca weighs heavy on my heart today for what might have been. My youngest sister teaches at Waseca High School. A niece attends school there.
At times like this, especially when you are so personally impacted (your hometown, your school) and because of your past experiences, perhaps it does seem your community has more than its share of evil.
Tragedy and evil exist everywhere. It’s presence is magnified when it touches us personally. That’s my take, in no way diminishing what has occurred in Waseca in the past and what is happening in your community today. My heart goes out to your community.
I agree that when you are paying attention, you notice every little thing. But I’ve lived in Mankato for almost 20 years now, and you would think for its size there would be more accidents, tragedies, etc. Maybe it is just when they occur, they aren’t as personal so they aren’t as noticeable?
That would be my guess. For example, after my son was struck by a hit-and-run driver eight years ago, I suddenly paid attention to EVERY SINGLE story about pedestrians being struck by vehicles. Prior to that, I heard the stories, but they did not impact me like they did after my boy was struck. Then all of a sudden it seemed like every time I turned around I was hearing such news stories.
When anything affects you personally, you remember.
I am so thankful this planned attack in Waseca was foiled. Thank God for the woman who phoned police with her concerns.