Where are they now?

People do not have to be New Rockford natives to recognize the Romanoski name. Even transplants soon learn about the legendary BR Chevy and Olds dealership that was owned and operated by William (Bill) and Mary Romanoski from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. The next Romanoski generation has been quite successful in the car-selling business, too, both here in New Rockford and in Sheboygan, Wisc. Charmain and Steve Romanoski, local high school graduates, tell their story of a good life before, during and after their BR Chevy and Olds connection. The daughter of Christ and Betty Klein, Charmain has 10 siblings, and her birth order is directly in the middle of the pack. Raised on the family farm 16 miles east of New Rockford, Charmain soon discovered the importance and pleasure of music. Learning to play piano and then the organ at a young age, her talents roused the attention of nuns at St. John's Catholic Church. Charmain started to play the organ at the church when she was only 14. She continued to play for Masses until she and Steve moved to Wisconsin in 1992.  

Because of the distance to town, Charmain was not involved in extracurricular activities in school, but she remembers Mrs. Fahrer, her English teacher, whom Charmain describes as "a wonderful and pleasant teacher." She fondly recalls New Rockford as a thriving town with two grocery stores, two car dealerships, a hospital, Skogmo's department store, and the Busy Bee "dime store." While in high school, Charmain worked at the Chieftain in Carrington, which her parents owned.

Also from a rather large family, Steve has three sisters and three brothers. His parents, Bill and Mary, farmed before starting the dealership. Both Steve and Charmain attended St. James Academy but graduated from the public school, Steve in 1972 and Charmain in 1975. Special friends of the couple in high school were Julie (Gisi) Sinkler, Valerie (Gronos) Weisenburger, Dick Dietz, Steve Weisenburger, Mark Klein and Ralph Purdy.

Following mechanics school in Devils Lake for a year, Steve started farming in 1974 about 5 miles east of New Rockford. Along with planting and harvesting grain crops on 2,000 acres, Steve also raised commercial cattle, his first love on the farm. Eventually, he switched to running 125 head of Tarentaise cows. He was involved in the successful change of the Tarentaise exotic breed from a red-horned animal to a polled black purebred breed. At the time, Steve felt this was his best achievement since he was the only farmer in the country to alter this breed from its natural origin.

Married shortly before her high school graduation, Charmain was a stay-at-home mother who assisted with the farming operation. Steve and Charmain raised their four children Mandy, Gail, Kari and Aaron on the farm. Because of the whopping 19% interest rate on loans, along with several damaging hail storms, Steve subsidized his farming operation by working at his father's car dealership.

Although farming, selling cars, and raising a family took much of their time, Steve and Charmain still pursued other interests. Charmain detailed cars and kept the books at BR Chev, worked in the office at St. James grade school and taught private piano lessons. Steve served on the St. James Parish Council and acted as member and then president of the school's education board.

One of Steve's finest volunteer accomplishments was to devise an idea of capturing water from the James River reservoir to the New Rockford golf course fairways and greens. He and many other community volunteers devoted hundreds of hours to this project. Unfortunately, Steve regrets that he was not involved in the completion of this massive development, as he and his family moved to Kohler, Wisc., in 1992 so that he could accept an opportunity from his brother Randy to manage two locations of Sheboygan Chev & Chrysler Auto. Steve chose family over an offer he had received from General Motors. He says, "I chose to help my brother rather than going to a big corporation. We also wanted our children to be in a similar atmosphere as New Rockford's instead of the big city lifestyle during their high school years."

After starting as a salesman at Sheboygan Chev & Chrysler Auto and then being promoted to General Manager of the Chevy store soon after, Steve eventually oversaw both stores until his retirement in 2016. Charmain began as a receptionist for a real estate office before moving up the ladder as a marketing assistant for the same company for 20 years. Her final four years of employment before also retiring in 2016 was to work as an office manager for a different realtor business. Charmain and Steve lived in Kohler for 11 years before moving to Sheboygan Falls for another 15 years.

Still another move for the couple has been to retire in Hernando, Fla., where they have settled after selling their Sheboygan Falls home last year. Avid golfers, Charmain and Steve spent seven winters in Florida before making the move. They love the sunshine and the golfing community with which they are associated. They miss family and friends in North Dakota and in Wisconsin, but the trade-off is avoiding cold temperatures and high winds.

Charmain and Steve's grown children, who live in Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin, have blessed them with eight grandchildren. The couple's philosophies on life are best summed up with the statements: "In order to have a successful and fulfilled life, always choose your faith and family first. Everything else will follow" and "Live each day as your last for the years go by faster than you think. Be kind to one another and give of yourself to those in need." Having celebrated 44 years of marriage in April, this couple's perceptive viewpoints are as long-standing as their Romanoski name.