Red and white lights twinkle on George and Molly Balzer’s balcony. The holidays are past, but there’s a festive spirit in the air. In just 10 days, the Olympic Winter Games begin.
From their home in North Vancouver, B.C., the Balzers see signs of the crowds to come.
Some roads are blocked. Molly Balzer’s doctor let patients know the office would be closed during the Games. From their townhouse, they see cruise ships that will house Olympics security people and tourists.
“It’s the calm before the storm,” 68-year-old George Balzer said Monday.
Most of us will be home Feb. 12 watching the opening ceremonies on TV. George Balzer won’t just see it, he’ll work it. As an Olympics volunteer in the props crew for the opening and closing ceremonies, he’ll help with flags carried by athletes in Vancouver’s BC Place stadium.
“I might be handing them the flags, or I might be at the other side of the stadium collecting flags,” he said. “The athletes march in with placards identifying their country, following one of their lead athletes. I’ll be watching all that.”
His wife plans to e-mail friends, telling them to watch for a glimpse of George. Many of those friends are here in Snohomish County.
Although she’s been gone from Everett about 15 years, Molly Balzer has grown children and a long history here. When she met her current husband on a trip to Mexico, she was the widow of Earl Torgeson, who died in 1990.
A Snohomish native and former Major League Baseball player, Earl Torgeson was a Snohomish County commissioner before the current system of leadership by a county executive and council. Later, Molly Torgeson worked as a receptionist for the first county executive, Willis Tucker, and for Bob Drewel, who preceded Aaron Reardon as county executive.
She met Earl Torgeson, 16 years her elder, in Florida after his baseball career had ended. A left-handed first baseman, Torgeson played major league ball for 15 years, with the Boston Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. He played his final season with the Yankees in 1961.
“He carried his bat and ball from the time he was 6 years old,” Molly Balzer said. Earl Torgeson died of leukemia. “He was in three World Series, in three different decades — the ’40s, the ’50s and the ’60s,” she said.
In 1994, she married George Balzer. She sold her north Everett home and moved to British Columbia.
“It’s really nice where we are in Canada, if you don’t have to be on the roads at rush hour,” said Molly Balzer, 69. She said she’s a “U.S. citizen landed in Canada” who still votes in the United States. “I cannot vote in Canada, and I can’t run for office,” she said.
With daughters Holly Taylor and Gina Bertoldi in Everett, and son Bradley Torgeson in the Verlot area, Molly Balzer visits Everett often. “I love north Everett, I have the best of both worlds,” she said. She also travels to Florida, where she stays in touch with Earl Torgeson’s adult children from his previous marriage.
With the Olympics starting next week, she’s excited to attend a dress rehearsal of the opening spectacle. The couple tried through a lottery system but didn’t get tickets to skating, skiing or other big athletic events.
For her husband, it’s practice, practice, practice. After applying online for a volunteer position a year ago, George Balzer in late October learned he’d been chosen. The process included a background check, an interview with police and lessons in Olympics etiquette.
Balzer has put in about 200 hours so far. To get to the site, he takes Vancouver’s SeaBus and SkyTrain. He has a uniform — navy blue pants, a light blue jacket, vest and long-sleeve T-shirt — and a few Olympics perks. “Volunteers get free water, granola bars, apples, coffee and tea,” he said.
“The most fun is meeting new people,” he said. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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