Lester Heggerness knows every good sale often starts with a catchy slogan.

It’s why the retired 3M salesman, now age 94, delights in crafting opportunities for people at Boutwells Landing, a retirement community in Oak Park Heights, to donate to Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities in St. Paul.

“I’ll bet you didn’t know the folks at Boutwell are altruistic and benign,” he said, quoting one of his attention-getting lines he places on the display for his new collection center he calls “Boutwell’s Bountiful Bath Baskets.”

He explained that people will read the sign, wonder what those words mean — selfless and kind — look them up and agree with the statement by donating.

July’s slogan is, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Heggerness, whose son Mike Heggerness said he is “always trying to keep people motivated, interested and engaged,” has been bringing a 60-pound load of bath products to the mission every month since February as a way to give back to an organization he credits with rescuing him from a miserable childhood.

A TOUGH CHILDHOOD

“My home life, it was terrible,” he said. “There was no love in that family at all.”

His Catholic mother and Lutheran father fought violently over religion, money and everything else.

His Norwegian father lost his hand after an infection from a cut turned gangrene causing him to lose his carpentry job. His father kept his children at a distance emotionally, like the times he brought Heggerness to the lake, but made him stay in the car while he and his buddy went fishing.

“I never had a ball or a bat or a glove or a bicycle,” he said.

Things worsened when his mother took in boarders, cramming four more people into the small house across the street from the state Capitol.

OBER BOYS CLUB

About that time, he discovered the Ober Boys Club, established in the 1940s by Edgar Ober, the president of 3M. This became Heggerness’ escape and he bonded with a volunteer who he said was like a father to him.

“I was so glad to get out of the house,” he said. “It’s hard to put a measure on how much it benefited me.”

Heggerness, whose wife of 66 years died in 2017, found purpose in helping the mission when he learned that 400-plus residents are required to bathe daily.

“We appreciate Lester’s passion for helping,” said LeNae Williamson, development manager for the mission. “His heart and history have been fun to get to know. With the daily shower, the need for bath items is tremendous.”

‘SENIOR SOAP DAY’

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Staffers at MPR’s music stations The Current and Classical MPR vote to unionize Heggerness is already scheming up new ideas to involve his neighbors, such as “Senior Soap Day” in which he’ll do a fake Guinness World’s Record push for most soap donated in one day, or sports-themed packages dubbed “Grand Slam” and “Round Tripper,” or a two-day bonanza showing the movie “Same Kind of Different as Me” followed by special speakers from the mission.

Giving is easy, he said. People just need to be reminded.

“My goal is that those baskets will never be empty,” he said.