Stephen Klein '75 to Receive Alumni Achievement Award
Published Thursday, October 03, 2024
Each year the SMSU Alumni Association seeks to recognize alumni and friends who have made significant contributions of time, talent or financial resources to help advance and bring positive recognition to Southwest Minnesota State University. This year, Stephen Klein is a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, presented to a graduate in recognition of their remarkable professional success and the positive reflection made on the reputation of all graduates of SMSU.
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Stephen Klein was born and raised and spent most of his adult life in Marshall, but his impact reaches far beyond the city limits. And for Steve, life couldn’t be any sweeter.
Klein attended Holy Redeemer School through 9th grade. When he graduated from high school, he had ideas for what he might do other than the family business. Klein’s father, Raymond, caught the bug after taking one beekeeping course at the U of M. He was soon offered one of three beekeeping sites in outstate Minnesota. Raymond Klein chose Marshall and the rest is history.
The elder Klein bought the honey farm and was married in 1951. The Kleins had their first child, Stephen in 1953. To say he grew up in the honey business is an understatement.
“I helped my Dad with the bees. I got stung at least 2,000 times every summer,” said Klein. Klein Honey Farm operated 2,000 hives across five counties: Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine, Chippewa, and Redwood. “My mom had a not-so-secret wish that I would go to Southwest because I could live at home and help Dad with the bees.”
Klein chose Southwest and declared his major in Chemistry but applied to the Education Department after encouragement from an English professor. He was involved in the track team, running as a sprinter under coach Harry Jones. He was in the orchestra with True Sackrison. His many passions are a testament to his wide and varied interests.
Klein graduated in 1975 with chemistry and education degrees. He took his first teaching job in Cold Spring, Minn. in Fall 1975 and would come home in the summers to help with the bees.
“Among the things I learned at Southwest was the confidence in making good judgments and seeing opportunities,” said Klein. “Both of the skills have served me well. On August 22, 1977, I walked into the first-day workshop in my third year of teaching and saw an opportunity. A new teacher on her first day of school at her first teaching job was there too. Before the day was over, I knew I was going to be walking Kay down the aisle one day.”
Three years later, the two were married. Around the time, Steve’s dad was ready to retire. The young couple left teaching in 1980 to move to Marshall and take on the beekeeping business. Bees kept them busy but during the school year, Klein was a substitute science teacher in the Marshall. He would teach in the morning and work honey in the afternoon.
He became involved in the statewide organization and was elected president of the Minnesota State Honey Producers Association, speaking for the honey industry in Washington DC, all while serving as a long-term sub in the Marshall schools.
Klein made an impression and was invited to join the SMSU faculty as a science specialist in the Education Department. He worked there from 1987 to 1993. He is proud of the many students who went on to have successful teaching careers in the state, including two who became faculty at SMSU: Dr. Debbie VanOverbeke and Dr. Kandy Noles Stevens.
“I really enjoyed teaching at the university level. But it all ended when they offered me a full-time job. You mean, I have to choose?” laughed Klein. “So I stuck with beekeeping and left teaching for good.”
He was soon appointed by the United States Secretary of Agriculture to the National Honey Board, serving as the national treasurer, and, thanks to his science background, he chaired their research committee. After two terms with the Honey Board, he worked with USAID, the federal government's foreign aid program, where he put his experience with beekeeping and honey production to work.
“The most memorable place I went was Bosnia in 2007 to help them rebuild their honey industry,” said Klein. “You don’t realize what war does until you see it firsthand. The major cities were in ruins and everything was devastated. But the people were very warm and eager to recover. It was really an interesting experience.”
Klein Honey has been a 16-time National Champion honey, but even with that recognition, faced its own challenges in the 1990s. There was a great shift in agriculture. Farmers abandoned their livestock and converted land to row cropping. No alfalfa fields or pastureland. What does that have to do with beekeeping? It means no flowers for the bees.
But Klein could see this change as he struggled to find land for 2,000 hives to thrive. He knew they needed to find another revenue stream. They had honey so he put his chemistry background to work developing specialty honey products like fruit-flavored honey, soap with beeswax, and barbeque sauce. In total, they developed 75 products that are still on the market.
It took about three years to grow larger than the 60-plus-year beekeeping business. With the changing agriculture landscape, they were forced to sell the bees, but the specialty products had grown. In 2000, a new opportunity came knocking. The City of Marshall offered to buy the Klein Honey Farm property to build a new YMCA. Klein started his plans to build a new facility with retail space.
Klein chose the name Walnut Grove Mercantile to reflect their proximity to Walnut Grove and the popularity of Little House on the Prairie television show, knowing it would be recognized worldwide. They also learned many of the gift shops that sold their honey products also sold fudge. They spent the summer learning how to make fudge. They built the entire store around the Walnut Grove Mercantile concept opening in October 2001.
The fudge turned out to be very popular. Three years later, a church group asked about doing a fundraiser with their fudge. Klein was skeptical but decided to give it a try. It turned out completely different than he expected.
“Two weeks after the fundraiser was over, people were calling, ‘I need some more fudge. Where do I go and get that?’” said Klein. And just like that Walnut Grove Mercantile had more customers. They put that model to work and, 20 years later, they support nonprofit customers in 40 states, selling and shipping about 40- 50 tons of fudge a year.
And as always, one good idea inspires another. Their caramel praline fudge, vanilla fudge with a layer of caramel and pecans in the middle was popular. He wondered what would happen if they sold the caramel. Now they make a quarter-of-a-million individually wrapped caramels a year, also part of the fundraising program.
A number of years ago, Klein approached the Admission Office to provide a coupon for a free half pound of fudge to give to every prospective student who visits campus. Many of those visiting students enroll at Southwest. Mom and Dad help them move in and they stop by the store. They ask their kids to bring fudge home for Thanksgiving.
“I really have a great appreciation for the university and I'm very thankful for what Southwest has done for me,” said Klein. “I want to give back as much as we can.”
When people come to the store, Klein loves to chat. He will ask visitors what brings them to Marshall. If they say they were on a campus visit, he’ll give them his sales pitch.
“I go on to tell them that it's my alma mater. I tell them that it's a great school in a safe community because parents want to know those things. I tell them if you apply yourself here, you're going to get a great education,” Klein smiled. “Southwest has great faculty, lots of nurturing staff, and support from the university. Plus, Marshall is this great community. That's the best part.”
Klein is proud of the honey, the fudge, the Walnut Grove Mercantile, and Klein Foods products. He’s delighted by the opportunities he’s been able to realize. He is also very humbled by the award.
Stephen and Kay Klein have been married 44 years. We have four grown children. Caroline, the oldest, lives in Marshall and works as the financial/grants administrator for the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council. Second is Stephanie, director of administration for a pharmaceutical company in the Twin Cities area. Next is their son Nicholas, who worked in museum administration, but after a few years away, he returned home to be Chief Operating Officer and the third-generation Klein in the family business. Christian, the youngest, is a science teacher in Coon Rapids.
“My family business has always been associated with something sweet. Sweet things make people happy,” said Klein. “Turns out if you surround yourself with beauty and sweetness, it ends up being a really good life.”
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Celebrate with Klein and all of this year's Alumni Award Recipients at The Southwest Celebration on Friday, October 11, 2024 starting at 5:30pm in the SMSU Conference Center Upper Level.
The evening begins with a social hour with free drinks. The SMSU faculty and students will be on hand from several academic and support programs to showcase the special projects in their areas. At 6:30pm guests will be invited to be seated for a plated, formal dinner follwed by a short program recognizing this year’s award recipients. The evening will close with a Homecoming mixer that will offer a cash bar. The event will have valet parking outside the Conference Center. Tickets are $50 per person and available online at www.SMSUAlumni.com/celebration.
The 2024 Alumni Award recipients include: Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award presented to Doria Drost ’19/MBA ’21 of Sioux Falls, SD; Alumni Achievement Awards going to Stephen Klein ’75 of Marshall and Deb (Geiver) Norlin ’84 of Brainerd; and Honorary Lifetime Membership in the SMSU Alumni Association being given to Senator Gary Dahms of Redwood Falls.
Articles on each award recipient will be published over the coming days.
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