Minnesota Valley Action Council will award Denis Warta the Roger J. Wolfe Achievement Award at a special ceremony Monday, July 15 at the Mayor Civic Center in Mankato.

NEW ULM – The Minnesota Valley Action Council (MVAC) is awarding the Roger J. Wolfe Achievement Award to Denis Warta this Monday.

The Award is given to individuals for a lifetime of leadership, volunteerism, and community-related contributions he has offered to New Ulm and Brown County.

Warta was nominated for the award by Brown County County Commissioner and New Ulm Police Chief David Borchert.

“I’ve worked with Denny for several years and he is always helpful and committed to the community,” Borchert said.

Warta served on several committees and organizations; including serving as Brown County commissioner and New Ulm city council member. However, Borchert said he was initially inspired to nominate Warta for his service with the Navy at the end of WWII.

Warta graduated high school in June of 1945. The war in Europe ended in May 1945. The Japanese surrendered in Sept. 1945. The war was technically over by the time Warta joined the service, but there was still an important cleanup needed.

After Nazi Germany’s defeat in Europe, a military contingent planned to regroup and rebuild in South America. A group of U.S. and British forces worked to track, stop and destroy Nazi postwar military operations. Warta was part of this postwar operation.

He worked on a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber, stationed in the back of the plane. Warta said his task was to drop sonar buoys with parachutes out of the aircraft as part of an anti-submarine network. This would create a circular sonar grid to detect enemy submarine movement. Once detected, the submarines were tracked and eliminated.

Warta said it was an exciting time flying on the missions, but it was also sad due to the loss of life. He said the majority of men who served in German U-boats never returned home.

During his time in the service, Warta was stationed on the USS Sicily (CVE-118). Warta said for 40 years, the crew of the Sicily would hold a reunion. Warta was the president of the reunion committee but said he was unfortunately the Sicily’s last surviving member.

After his time in the Navy, Warta returned to New Ulm and began working with the Lindsay Soft Water Company in 1951. In 1954, he bought the company and ran it for the next 41 years until he retired. As the owner of a water softening company, Warta had a significant impact on the regional economy.

The work especially benefits farmers. Warta said a lot of their business was treating water for livestock.

He explained that as farms began to grow in size, with larger flocks and herds, shallow wells were no longer adequate. Farmers were forced to drill deeper wells, but this also brought out elements unhealthy for livestock.

Warta said Lindsay company had developed a water conditioning process that was similar to water softening. The process made it safe for livestock to drink. The company did business across the region and into the Dakotas.

Warta remembered a farmer visiting from Omaha and asking for advice. Warta visited his farm. The company was able to help treat the well water. After that, the business was recommended around Omaha.

“It was exciting to be able to help people like that,” he said. “Some people don’t realize how vital good water is for farming.”

Water conditioning is considered normal today, but in the ’50s it was new. Warta’s company helped normalize it.

In addition to his business, Warta volunteered with economic development groups on the board of the New Ulm Foundation, helping raise funds and administer grants for community arts, education, economic development and historic preservation.

“I’ve made 22 trips to Europe,” Warta said. “Several were for his soft water business, but some were for New Ulm economic development.”

A connection with Ulm, Germany helped solve a water problem in New Ulm. Warta said New Ulm had issues with manganese in water. Though it is similar to iron, manganese was harder to remove from the water.

In 1981, on a visit to Germany, Warta was talking to Dr. Gerhard Stuber, Deputy Mayor in Ulm, Germany about New Ulm’s problem with manganese. New Ulm was trying to use chlorine to treat manganese, but it was not that effective.

Stuber explained Ulm, Germany was using ozone as the oxidizer and it could be used in waste treatment plants as well. After an in-depth study, New Ulm public utilities adapted the ozone treatment model, becoming the first of its kind in the United States.

Warta served as a Brown County Commissioner and a New Ulm City Councilor.

Warta felt his best work as a commissioner was serving on the welfare boards, which some considered controversial. Warta said there was concern that taxes were going to people to not work.

Warta said he felt that not everyone was blessed with the same abilities and not everyone could work a typical job. Through his time working on the welfare boards, Warta saw the earlier expansion of the county’s human service department.

“There were so many who didn’t want anything to do with it,” he said. “They didn’t think it was important but I thought it was fascinating.”

Borchert said in nominating Warta for the Roger J. Wolfe Achievement Award he wanted to honor the wealth of knowledge. Borchert said Warta had a unique historical perspective on the community that continues to be helpful.

Looking back on his lifetime of service, Warta said one of the main rules he lived by was to always think outside the box.

“Too many people think inside the box,” he said. “That results in never looking at what causes things, you just see inside the box.”

Upon learning he would receive the Roger J. Wolfe Achievement Award, Warta was humble, saying “I am quite honored, but I am not sure how deserving I am.”

Warta said he does not like to boast of his accomplishments and he didn’t serve to receive awards.

“I wanted to help my fellow man,” he said.