From WWII to playing with Louie Armstrong, "Gerrit's Notes" tells an unforgettable life story

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minnesota man's passion project during the pandemic has turned into a reminder that the story of our lives is worth sharing. Gerrit Lamain knew that when he started jotting down essays about unique moments across his 86 years.

Today, the soundtrack of his life booms in his basement. Each tune brings back memories. The talented musician loves to regale, like one of his favorites, displayed atop his organ -- the one and only Louis Armstrong.

"I mean to sit next to Louis Armstrong for a whole week on the stage and to talk with him every day and to see who he really was," Lamain said.

He met Armstrong in 1967 during his stint as the music director for the Lowell Showboat in Michigan. Years later, the then-high school choir director found himself on the White House's rose garden, to perform for the president.

When he wasn't helping students learn to sing, he was keeping North Stars hockey fans entertained.

Over the course of his unique life, something drew him to want to jot it all down.

"Partially the fact of realizing I was getting older," he said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Lamain's hands and mind went to work, not on his organ but on notepads and computers, writing detailed essays about all those cherished memories to share with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

"Rather than to just do a biography of dates and whatever, why not connect that to stories that actually happened to me and motivated me?" Lamain said.

His wife helps organize and proofread the stories before his family gladly receives them.

"They're in alphabetical order right now," Bette Lamain said, "but I leave the ideas and the words and they're all his."

The stories number at least 40, by his family's reckoning. Carla Laethem appreciated her dad's perspective as a child, specifically when his family -- then living in the Netherlands -- survived the Nazi invasion at the start of World War II.

"I mean the Germans just flat bombed the center of the town, had no military target in mind at all, just the psychological thing," Gerrit Lamain said. "The next five years was just occupation by the Germans."

The idea turned into a gift: "Gerrit's Notes," showcasing his journey from Europe to the U.S., and his colorful life that followed. All family members got a copy for Christmas

"It was all interesting and I thought it would be nice to have these essays collected in one place and have them in a book," Carla Laethem said. "The book was well-received, and then I think he got the bug and said, 'Hey, let's do something bigger. Can we do something else with it?'"

From selling on Amazon sales to readings at assisted living facilities, Gerrit Lamain's stories are now spreading well beyond his loved ones.

"Everybody has opportunities. And it's what you do -- do you say yes or do you say no?" Gerrie Lamain said.

His daughter took a similar message.

"I think the theme I see through the book is take the different path. Don't be afraid to say yes," Carla Laethem said.

Proceeds from book sales will be donated to charity, which is also a huge part of Gerrit Lamain's life. Many of his concerts -- several of which happened in Europe -- raised money or collected food for people in need.