Editorial: Don't judge a book by its cover

Anyone who didn't know Harvey Ordung probably would have dismissed him at first glance.

After all, Luverne attorney Don Klosterbuer's description of him last week painted a portrait of a classic eccentric. The first time Klosterbuer met Ordung, he stood face to face with a man wearing bib overalls six to eight inches off the ground. Apparently, according to Klosterbuer, Ordung also wore bedroom slippers wherever he went.

Ordung, though, was beloved in Luverne, and that love has now been returned in very special fashion nearly two years after the death of the man known as "Allie."

Thanks to the kindness of a man who very well could have been scoffed at by people upon first impression, an entire community will benefit to the tune of nearly $4.6 million. About $2.9 million was given to the Luverne Dollars for Scholars program, while the remainder was bequeathed to nearly a dozen other agencies across Luverne and Rock County.

One of the agencies that received a check -- $292,744.79 -- was the Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne. In speaking of Ordung at the press conference last week that announced the numerous gifts, Mary Jane Brown Administrator Tony Linn said of Ordung: "He was a very unassuming character and a good example of never judge a book by its cover."

A book about Harvey Ordung's life would probably be quite a story. Communities across our area almost certainly have folks similar to him -- and we should always remember to "read" them a bit before rushing to any sort of judgment.