Grand marshal Butch Ceglar "just loves living" in Aurora

The St. James and Miller iron ore mine pits, long since idle and now filled with water hundreds of feet deep, are close by their home. “One’s over here and one’s over there,” he said, pointing to their living room window and saying the pits can be seen when leaves are off the trees. “Grandma and Grandpa lived here. My dad was in the process of remodeling it when he was killed in a car accident. My mother died at 42.”

Ceglar grew up with five siblings: Bonnie (John) Jones, Jeanne (John Jamnick), Rudy Ceglar, Mary Jo Koski and John Ceglar, “all raised in this house,” he said.

“Only way I’m moving is when they carry me out of here. I just love living here.” And one day the Ceglars’ son Steve, who works at Northshore Mining in Silver Bay, and his son will have the house.

“Grandpa worked in the mines, they had 11 kids,” he said. Butch Ceglar worked at Erie Mining Company, starting at $2.86 an hour. The Ceglars have been married 53 years. “We’ve been together all our lives,” said Joanne, maiden name Asmund, Ceglar. One was in the seventh grade, the other in ninth grade when they met. They laughed as they remembered living on an Army base when they were first married, and they would call home one weekend to Joanne’s mother and the next weekend to Butch’s mother.

They speculated on the future of the mining industry, wondering if the Polymet project where Erie used to be will ever be in operation, with the protests from those concerned with environmental issues.

Butch Ceglar was surprised to be asked to be grand marshal. The Celebrate Aurora committee felt otherwise. He has served on the Aurora Cemetery Board and as a member of the fire department, is a former police officer, has been active with the Quayle-Shuster-Truman-Muhich American Legion Post 241 and is with the veterans’ honor guard. He served in the Army during the Vietnam era.

“I stop every day at the Legion to visit,” he said. He served as commander, and he talked of the recent death of his friend and fellow honor guard member, Vince Lacer. “Me and Vincy had lots of good times.”

Ceglar said, “I always cared about Aurora -— I’m still here. My brother Rudy used to say, ‘If you can’t buy it in Aurora, you don’t need it.” Sadly, Rudy Ceglar died a year ago, and Ceglar said he thinks of him every day.