WINONA, Minn. – When Gene Pelowski was first elected in 1986, he was at a retreat for freshmen state legislators. Among speakers was a veteran Minneapolis Star Tribune political reporter who recommended keeping a daily journal for, if nothing else, helping family see what it’s like being a state tepresentative. Pelowski, age 34, liked the idea. He bought his first pre-bound Stanley journal, the classic product for journaling. Now after 39 years in the Legislature, Pelowski has 7,000 pages in 30 Stanley volumes. He’s carried them into every committee hearing while a state representative from Winona, albeit supplemented in the 21st century by an iPad. The collection has turned into more than a family artifact. The journals have been used as a reliable contemporaneous source for legal research on how legislation was developed, passed or rejected. They’re more, much more, than colorless official minutes. Twice the Legislature’s legal research office has drawn on Pelowski’s record to interpret legislative intent when a bill was first created. What to do with the journals now that he’s retiring? Pelowski is taking pleasure in reviewing his chronicles and reflecting on his record of public service. About what else to do, he’s unsure and in no rush to decide: “There are some things in those journals that people don’t need to read for a while,” he said.”We can let them calm down a little bit before people take a look at it.”
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Reflecting and journaling. In a favorite red golf sweater in one of his favorite settings, a golf course, Pelowski takes a break in 1973 to reflect on the moment in his current Stanley leather journal.
Classic journaling tools. From Levenger. Montblanc fountain pen optional.