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Cathy Wurzer

Parting thoughts: Longtime State Fair volunteer to be missed

Dennis Boom made the coffee at the Hamline Church Dining Hall for decades.
Dennis Boom made the coffee at the Hamline Church Dining Hall for decades.
Max Nesterak | MPR News

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The oldest food concession at the fair is the Hamline Church Dining Hall — it's celebrating 120 years this year.

On Thursday, it opened without the familiar smile of Dennis Boom, who passed away earlier this year.

Boom was a mortician by trade. He led the Holcomb-Henry-Boom-Purcell Funeral Home but every year, for decades, he came out to the fair to volunteer at the Hamline Church Dining Hall.

On Wednesday, as the dining hall staff prepped for the start of the fair, they remembered Boom for his warmth.