• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

High School wrestler learns meaning of ‘family’

by MSR News Online
April 6, 2015
47
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
Source: Murphy News Service
Source: Murphy News Service

Melvin Wilson immigrated to the United States from Liberia when he was 6. His parents were not with him, he lived with a stranger whom he believed to be his grandmother and he called the friends with whom he was closest his “cousins” and older women his “aunts.”

“I had no clue what a family was,” Wilson said. “Nobody showed me what love was when I grew up and I didn’t know what family meant. I was clueless until I met them and they showed me what families do.”

Wilson’s life and his understanding of the concept of family changed when he met the Farrells — John and Tara — after he slipped and hurt his neck during a wrestling match in his sophomore season.

“They tried to call his emergency contact, what they thought was his family, and they didn’t really answer,” John Farrell said. “We had known him for a while, so he asked Tara to go to the hospital with him in the ambulance. They couldn’t get anyone from his family to go to the hospital so we stayed with him for most of the night.”

Wilson first came into contact with the Farrell family when he began wrestling in seventh grade and met the Farrell’s middle son, Tyler. The Farrells began helping Wilson in every way they could.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“He was just a little kid who we didn’t know,” John Farrell said. “He was really polite and just a good all-around kid. We didn’t know much about him, but through the years we followed him and supported him.

“We could tell he didn’t have much of a home life or family support at all, John Farrell added. “We’d help sponsor him and if he needed money for food or whatever, he was such a good kid and so polite that we had no problem just being around him.”

The level of support from the Farrells changed from occasionally giving Wilson food, water and money to something much bigger when Wilson’s emergency contact did not come to pick him up from the hospital after his injury during his sophomore year at Park Center.

“We knew he was in a not-so-good situation for a really long time,” Tara Farrell said. “When the grandma didn’t come and get him from the hospital I knew he was going to be our kid for the rest of his life.”

The time Wilson spent with the Farrells during his trip to the hospital gave him something he had yet to experience in his life: a sense of family.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“I felt safe. They were there and I trusted them and that was the reason I asked them to come on the ambulance with me,” Wilson said. “I had a trustworthy person next to me and if anything happened, she would be there so I felt safe and I just had to worry about being treated and getting better.

Wilson became a member of the Farrell family from that point on.

“We went through the school to see what we could do and then we started looking legally at what we could do,” John Farrell said. “The person who he was living with had no legal custody of him through the state or anything. He had no paperwork, no birth certificate that we could find and he had no immigration paperwork. He had nothing.”

John and Tara Farrell, after talking it through with their three children, invited Wilson to move in with them shortly after his first weekend with the family. For Wilson, the feeling of being a part of a family and being able to rely on other people were concepts he had yet to experience.

“I didn’t have parents to watch over me so I had to do my own thing and I didn’t really care about anything until I met them,” Wilson said. “The biggest challenge for me was to meet the family and fit in. For me, I’ve never had a family so I didn’t really know what a family is.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The Farrells became Wilson’s legal guardians on Dec. 23, 2013 after filling out a lot of paperwork and passing through multiple legal steps.

“It was a nice little Christmas gift for us,” John Farrell said.

Wilson continued to develop as a wrestler for Park Center as he went through the legal process necessary to become a part of the Farrell family. Wilson finished fifth in February’s Class AAA section tournament and finished his senior season with a record of 25-9. Wilson, among other things, credits his wrestling career at Park Center for being one of the main things that helped change his life.

“Without wrestling, I probably would never have met John and Tara,” Wilson said. “Wrestling brought us closer together.”

Two years after the injury that first brought Wilson closer to the Farrell family, he is preparing to graduate from Park Center High School, works part-time at TJ Maxx and is set to join North Hennepin Community College in the fall where he plans to pursue a career in construction management.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

And, most importantly, for the first time in his life Melvin Wilson has finally experienced being part of a family.

Chris Chesky is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota. You can contact him at ches0130@umn.edu. Thanks to the Murphy News Service for sharing this story with us.

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Jazz series part IV: Spotlight on Lou Donaldson

Next Post

Tucker Center report shows need for more women coaches and racial data

MSR News Online

Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.

You Might Also Like

McCarthy’s downfall: Rogue Republicans remove House speaker in unprecedented vote
National

McCarthy’s downfall: Rogue Republicans remove House speaker in unprecedented vote

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area
National

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine
Local

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip
Local

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip

Ampersand Families
Employment

Human Resources Manager, ampersand families

Program Coordinator
Employment

Office Coordinator

Next Post
Tucker Center report shows need for more women coaches and racial data

Tucker Center report shows need for more women coaches and racial data

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Sep 12
September 12 @ 6:30 pm-December 18 @ 9:30 pm Recurring

Vic Volare Presents MUSIC FOR MARTINIS ft: Vic’s Fabulous Nightclub Academy

Oct 3
October 3 @ 8:30 am-October 4 @ 5:30 pm

Insects: Little Body, Big Impact | Nobel Conference 59 | Virtual or In-Person

Oct 4
6:00 pm-8:00 pm

An Evening with Liz Cheney

Oct 5
7:00 pm-9:00 pm

The Bombing of Cubana Flight 455: Why it Matters

View Calendar
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Read our latest e-Edition!

PHOTO: Barbie back-to-school party

A Barbie back to school party.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: