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Waldvogel “takes the heat” to help get his grandmother’s ashes to Newfoundland


by Trinity Gruenberg


Many people enjoy spicy food. Maybe you would enjoy some chips and hot salsa or a little Tabasco sauce on your burrito, but would you eat cookies made with scorpion peppers?

Michael Waldvogel, 35, a 2004 Bertha-Hewitt graduate, residing in Little Falls, has taken his love of eating the hottest peppers on the planet to use towards fulfilling his grandmother’s final wish.

His love of the hot stuff began about 15 years ago. Six years ago he purchased hot and sweet pepper seeds with a gift card. His love of peppers grew to the point that he had to build a greenhouse for over 300 pepper plants, including over 20 different varieties.

“I graduated from jalapenos, habaneros and now I am at the stupid hot level,” chuckled Waldvogel. “It’s fun for me.”

He was looking for a challenge to test his limits and maybe raise some funds for a charity when the family suffered a loss.

His grandmother, Barbara Johnson, 75, of Staples, affectionately called Grandma Pixie due to her small 4’10” stature, died from COVID-19.

“It was really crazy. Mom said she was sick with a cold,” said Waldvogel.

The cold worsened and Johnson went to the hospital and found out she was positive for COVID-19. The medications were not working and her condition deteriorated. The family was notified that she would soon pass.

The hospital allowed them to wear personal protective equipment and say their goodbyes.

Waldvogel, the oldest of the grandchildren, stayed for hours visiting with Johnson. He, along with his mother Kim Voge, his youngest brother Kole, uncles Wayne Johnson and Aaron Johnson, and their wives also said their goodbyes as she passed away on November 8. . .



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