Perham begins Memory Cafe, and starts with a full house

PERHAM, Minn. — On Thursday afternoon, April 24, a new program launched in Perham and quickly exceeded expectations. Designed for those living with dementia and their caregivers, the Memory Cafe offers a place of connection, support and understanding.

Inside a church kitchen, volunteers assembled ham and cheese sandwiches ahead of the inaugural gathering. Soon, attendees began arriving. Organizers initially expected about a dozen participants.



“We thought if 12 people came, that would be great, but we just checked registration and we have 32 people coming,” said Mindi Larson, Elevate manager at Perham Health. The Memory Cafe is part of Elevate, a new initiative by Perham Health to support people impacted by dementia and aging-related challenges. The program also features a “navigator” component that helps families access key resources.

“Also, there is going to be an entire table of contents of resources inside your ‘Build Your Team’ folder,” Larson said. Roger Schmitz of Ottertail was hesitant to attend at first. “After the singing program, I couldn't wait to come back,” he said.

Schmitz and his wife, Kathi, have been married for 57 years and recognize the importance of this support. Roger has begun showing signs of dementia. “Some things like, our car battery was dead and he forgot how to disconnect the battery — things he has done forever.

The snowblower. He couldn't remember how to start it. Once I started it, he could work it,” Kathi said.

Marlin Jorgenson also attended. While he is not experiencing dementia himself, he lost his wife Ardell to Alzheimer’s and wanted to help others by sharing his story. Mary Karkela played a key role in starting the group.

Her husband Terry, a former mayor of Perham, lived with dementia for seven years. “Just helping caregivers know where to get help and what I and others have gone through and to be of assistance,” Karkela said. The group has even formed its own choir as part of the Memory Cafe programming.

As one attendee said, dementia may put you on a team nobody wants to be on — but if you are, there’s no better place to be than together. For more information about the Memory Cafe and Elevate, visit www.elevateotc.

org/memory-cafe-perham , email Mindi Larson at [email protected] or call (218) 347-1974.

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