Ah, Cinderella...
Photo © Colette Huseby
Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid

Updates -

UPDATE -- Coni buys a wedding dress
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

Coni returned from her latest chemotherapy cycle in Maryland on Monday and received her dreaded Neulasta injection that night. Fortunately, the side effects of the chemo and the Neulasta did not last very long this week. The treatments she has been receiving to fight off the fatigue and other side effects she had in previous cycles really seem to be having an effect. Yesterday her blood tests showed that her red blood cell count was the highest it has been in many weeks, which is probably a result of the Procrit injections she has received during the last two chemo cycles.

After a tough day on Tuesday, she had already recovered enough to go shopping for wedding dresses with her friend Melissa on Wednesday. She found one she liked, so on Thursday she brought her mom and sister to the dress shop for a second opinion. They both approved, so she bought the dress, which is now hanging in a bag in her closet. She told me I can't look at it until the wedding day, so until then it will just hang there and taunt me.

I am also not to look at the pictures she has on her camera phone, as they include pictures of her modeling the dress. This is the equivalent of telling a child you bought him a wonderful Christmas present, and that it's sitting unwrapped in the upstairs hall closet -- BUT DON'T GO LOOKING AT IT! OK, I'll try not to. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

This weekend we plan to head to Osakis and Ashby. We have a full day on Saturday: looking at reception halls, meeting with a florist, meeting with Coni's priest, then attending a birthday party for two of Coni's nephews. Other than that, our weekend plans are pretty much open, so we will try and enjoy the hot weather we're supposed to be getting!

Please keep Coni in your thoughts and prayers again this week. You can send e-mails and e-cards to her here: c_waltzing@hotmail.com.



Shirley, Shawn's mom, & Lori, left; his sister Tammy & Lori, right.

UPDATE -- Weather report: showers all weekend...
by Lori Chap
Maple Grove, MN

I didn't especially mind the showers this past weekend, as they were bridal showers given by the Ostendorf and Chap families. Shawn's mom, Shirley, his sister, Tammy, and niece, Chassidi, threw me a wonderful shower on Saturday.

When I first arrived, Shirley gave me a beautiful rose as a token of their love. A very touching sentiment and it's in full bloom now! In attendance were many of Shawn's family, who came from near and far, as well as some of the ladies from the neighborhood, my maid and matron of honor, Caity, my mom and Jayce.

Tammy and Chassidi coordinated some fun shower games, including a questionnaire about Shawn (on which I only got 1-1/2 wrong!) and then I opened fabulous gifts and we had a yummy lunch with fresh fruit, salad, rolls, chips and a marvelous strawberry dessert. A special thanks to Shirley for hosting such a great shower and to Tammy and Chassidi for their efforts, as well. I have included pictures of me taken with Shirley, Chassidi, Tammy and also my Maid of Honor, Amy Johnson; Matron of Honor, Kristin Nordling, and Caity.


Chassidi & Lori, left; Amy, Lori, Kristin & Caity (front), right.

On Sunday, my "Chap Aunts" threw me a lively and fun shower complete with the infamous Chap Dice Game (which landed Jayce a fun garden frog and me some wonderful soap!), food beyond belief (my friends now know where I get the potluck mentality -- I'm doomed on both sides of the family!), a stunning white rose corsage and again an abundance of fabulous gifts. Shawn was amazed at all the Crate and Barrel boxes accumulated from two short days! :-)

In attendance were all of my aunts, many of my cousins, including my youngest cousin, Tess, who is soon to turn 4 years old (I am the oldest and she is the youngest -- quite the span, eh?), my personal attendants, Sarah Speer and Patricia Johnsen, my maid and matron of honor, Shirley, my mom, Caity and Jayce! (By the way, Jayce was sure a good sport this past weekend. For a 7-year-old boy, I'm sure this was not the most fun thing for him to do, but he was so well-behaved and great the whole weekend. Thank you Jayce -- I love you, buddy!)

A special thanks to my Aunt Nancy (and Godmother) for hosting the shower at her house (and providing nut-and-raisin-free carrot cake -- yum!) and to my Aunts Mary Lou, Linda, Kathy, and Carrie for putting together such a wonderful spread of food and love! More thanks to my mom, Shirley, Caity, Amy and Kristin for attending more than their fair share of showers on my behalf (oh, and Jayce, too!) and for those driving long distances.

If Shawn and I have a turnout for our wedding as good as my showers, we are sure to have a fun and lively group!

Much love,

Lori


Carrie Chap, Lori, Linda Zitzmann, Nancy Ebert, Kathy Wozniak, Mary Lou Brandel.


UPDATE -- late May, Breezy Point
by Colette Huseby
Breezy Point, MN

Here are some more pictures taken over the last 2-3 weeks. Things are really growing now, kids included.


Photo © Colette Huseby
Hoary Puccoon, left; wild geraniums, right.

Photo Editor's Note: Colette has found a trove of wild flowers in her back yard, including wild sarsaparilla, meadow rue, blue-eyed grass, pussy toes and the blue violets, blueberries, wood anemone and ferns she shared in an earlier Bulletin. Loveliest of all ... the yellow lady's slipper orchid she spied from her kitchen window that graces the top of Bulletin #206. Enjoy!

Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN


Photo © Donna Johnson
Jayce's Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony

Jayce Graduates From Kindergarten

On Wednesday, Beaver and I took five little daycare children and went into the school to attend Jayce's graduation. Becky and five friends and Caity were also in attendance for him. He said he was "embarrassed" because so many people were watching him ... but he managed a huge grin, so we know he was more than happy to have several people there to watch him "graduate."

The class did several songs and each child introduced him/herself. They also came up and said their "favorites." Jayce said his favorites were chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce, the color green, his favorite holiday is Christmas and that he enjoys making snowballs in the winter and throwing them. He did a very good job!

Congratulations, Jayce!


Photos © Donna Johnson
Jayce (at left in striped shirt) proudly graduates from kindergarten.


He's got RHYTHM!

On Thursday, Jayce and little Katie Hoffman and I took Beaver to Fargo for his cardio conversion. The kids got headphones, graham crackers and juice from one of the attendants. (I'd also brought along toys and munchies.) They kept entertained while Beaver was being attended to. After the heart had been shocked back into normal rhythm, we were able to go back and visit him during the time they waited to make sure it was all A.O.K. Jayce and Katie were very impressed with the "turkey balloons" that the nurse made for them.


Photos © Donna Johnson
Katie & Jayce enjoyed headsets, graham crackers & turkey balloons.


The Matriarch Speaks W
by Dorothy (Dake) Anderson
Alexandria, MN

Who Is This?

Let's Play a Guessing Game: Whenever it is handy to do so we will run a picture of someone of the subscribers or staff members of our e-magazine. Tell us who you think it is -- we will let you know who was the first to guess it right -- and the correct guess -- in the following week's Bulletin.
 
(Send us some to run; we will line them up in our staging area to take their turn. Thanks to LeRoy Dake and Ginny Dake McCorkell for sending last week's mystery picture.)


How many can you identify?

Answers to last week's mystery pictures (click here to review them):

Hmmmmm ... I don't think I've seen this picture before. It is my Dad and Mom, Bill (Billie) and Lois Dake with my brothers Stan (Bill) and James and sister Kathleen. I may have already been away in nursing school ... and it would have been taken sometime after Dad had his cancer surgery ... as you can tell from the appearance of the right side of his jaw. But I can't tell if Patricia was born yet or not ... since Mother is hidden behind Kathleen! So it must have been taken sometime 1964-66. I don't recognize the location.

Carol Dake Printz
Sidney, NE


Just read this week's Bulletin and found myself looking at me again, but at a MUCH younger age. The mystery picture is of my family (Bill and Lois Dake, Kathleen, Stanley, James), taken after a 5th Sunday meeting in Waco.

If I can put it all together in the right time frame, I am thinking Mom was expecting Patricia then, and Carol would have been down at Austin in Nurses' Training at the University of Texas. Daddy would have had his cancer surgery at this time already, but looked to have been doing pretty good this day. During this time frame he was still working some at the feed store.

Patricia was only 13 months old, if I am correct, when he passed on. Love, Kathleen

Kathleen Dake Stahlecker
Gatesville, TX


Is the GUESS picture the Bill Dakes from Texas?

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN


The Bill Dake family before Patricia was born ... all but Carol (Bill, Lois, Stanley and in the front Kathleen and James). Dad [LeRoy Dake] said their car broke down on their way up here and he went down to get them.

Virginia Dake McCorkell
Blaine, MN


Uncle Billy, Aunt Lois, Stan, Kathleen and James ... love these old pictures -- they bring back lots of fun memories ... even the background items are interesting ... cars, houses etc. Thanks to the editors for all their hard work every week!

Shari Miller Larson
Bradenton, FL


LTD Storybrooke

I need to take a break from my weekly chronological series of articles. I do hope to be back with them after a season. --LTD


Photo © Larry T. Dake
Crew planting hybrid poplar trees for Minnesota biomass project.

A Sea Change...

We live in between two half sections of land. The rest of the whole section is being planted to hybrid poplar trees, today and tomorrow [as part of the Oklee Tree Project]. So our place will one day soon be in the center of a forest of trees rather than a sea of wheat or soybeans. We're looking forward to that! It should stop the snow from drifting into the yard within a few years.

We loaded Sarah and Mike's U-Haul in Breckenridge Friday, and came here to our house. On Saturday we will travel to their new place near Warroad, Minnesota. They're moving closer to Mike's new job at Roseau, Minnesota -- it's a job transfer they've been hoping for.

Larry T. Dake
Brooks-Oklee, MN


Photo © Larry T. Dake
Rambouilet ewe and lambs, the type of sheep we had on the ranch.


Travelogue t

Greg and Sonja Dake left Durham, North Carolina, for Shanghai, China, on January 6th and returned January 28th. It was a business trip for Greg and Sonja went along. They took extra time for sightseeing while they were there.


Photo © Greg & Sonja Dake
Yangtze River in mountains of Yunnan Province near Lijiang.

Traveling to Yunnan Province
The four-star hotel that wasn't
(posted by Sonja)

After returning to Lijiang from Tiger Leaping Gorge, the driver and guide took us to our hotel for the night. Our one worry about the trip was what kind of accommodations we'd have. The outside of the place didn't look so bad, so we were hopeful. Got checked in, were given our key-card, and had our luggage delivered to our room. We were on the fourth floor. The first thing we noticed on entering the room was it was pretty small, but not cramped. The second thing we noticed was that it was freezing cold in the room.

As soon as the bellboy left, we turned the heat on. The thermostat was turned off; we figured that was why it was cold. About 10 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. A hotel employee was there with a space heater that she brought into the room, plugged in and set, and had Greg sign for. She turned off the thermostat on the wall, too. Then she gave us a remote control for it and left. We looked at each other like, "What the heck was that about?"

Another 10 minutes later, the phone rang. Greg picked it up and talked a minute, then hung up. He said it was the front desk asking if our heater had been delivered and was it working. The front desk person told him the heat was broken on our floor, thus the space heater being brought to us.

We decided to go eat in one of the hotel restaurants. (They had two, a Chinese restaurant, and a Western restaurant, we had been told on check-in.) We went to the Western restaurant, only to find out it was Western Chinese cuisine, not Western hemisphere cuisine. That was okay with us; we were hungry and tired and Greg had eaten at a cafeteria with co-workers enough that he could figure out what to order.

I guess here is a good place to recount the way most Chinese meals are eaten. I mentioned that we ate at the restaurant in Shanghai at a big round table with a revolving glass "lazy susan" in the middle. That's the typical way meals are served. Dishes are brought out one at a time, along with a big bowl of rice. Each place setting has a tea cup, a small plate, a small soup bowl, a soup spoon that looks more like a miniature ladle than a Western spoon, and a set of chopsticks.

You get tea in your cup, soup in your bowl, then use your chopsticks to pick up bites of food out of the plates in the middle of the table. You never really serve yourself onto the small plate, you eat out of the serving bowls. You might get some rice on your plate then put a few bites of a dish on that and mix it together, but it seems that generally you eat out of the serving dishes.

That is how the table was set up at the hotel restaurant. We went in and sat down, to the entertainment of the large party of Chinese people who were also eating there. It appeared to be a family group, as there were people there of all ages, from toddlers to senior citizens. The first 10 minutes we were in the room, I don't think any of them took a single bite of food; they were too busy staring at us. They watched as we looked over the menu and told the waitress what we wanted to eat. Finally they went back to their meal and eating and talking, as they had before we walked in.

A few minutes later the waitress came back to say that two of the three dishes we ordered were already gone for the day. So we chose two more. Then she came back and said one of those two was out, also. So we chose one more. Then she came back and asked if we wanted something different because we had ordered one soup and one dish that was a lot like soup, as well. We said okay.

We ended up with a braised meat dish that she brought out on a plate with a metal grate, with alcohol under the grate that she lit with a lighter. The meat and veggies were very good but we didn't have rice with them yet. We also got chicken soup, which looked to be nothing more than a whole chicken stewed in a pot, with a few veggies floating in. There was a preserved ham dish with lots of red peppers (not bell peppers, those little dark red Oriental peppers that pack a wallop).

The ham was good but we left the peppers alone! All in all, it was a decent meal, different but good. I learned a lot more about chopstick skills at that meal, too, as there were no forks offered. When we'd finished our meal and paid the check, we got up to leave. Once again the dinner party beside us went silent and everyone stared at us. I was amused at this, and as we walked past them to the exit just smiled and nodded at them in general. I thought later I should have said "Zijian!" [Goodbye] to them as I went; too bad I didn't think of it at the time!

Back to the fourth floor, to discover as we stepped out of the elevator, the windows at the ends of the halls were all opened about six inches. We closed the one by the elevator and went to our room. Walking in, it was still freezing cold inside, even though the space heater had been running while we were at dinner. I had a thought and went to look at the window. Sure enough, behind the curtains, the window was open six inches or so. Grrrr! I closed it and pulled the curtains as tight as possible.

The next wonderful discovery was the beds. They were about as soft as plywood covered with thin scratchy linens. Each bed (full size, supposedly, but not full size for Americans) had a thick duvet so we ended up taking one duvet to sleep on, on top of the sheet, and covering up with the other for the night. We still never really got warm, though.

The bathroom was tiny, and didn't even have a door on the shower. It was just one pane of glass in the floor and a drain, and some non-slip panels on the floor. The shower floor was the same material as the rest of the bathroom floor. There was a sign on the wall behind the toilet: "Caution -- wet floor." No kidding! Whenever you used the shower the floor was an inch deep in water for the whole bathroom.

There was no bathtub, and only a small sink vanity. There was a sign over the hair dryer that said, "If you use it beyond continous 12 minute you must to pay for your careless."

There was, of course, no internet access available. Which was fine by us, as we were exhausted from the plane rides, twisty van ride, and hiking back down the mountain from the gorge. In spite of the small, hard bed we were asleep pretty fast.

to be continued

Photo Editor's Note: We are serializing Sonja and Greg's web log and illustrating it with the photos they are posting, but there is far more photo material available than we will be able to fit in The Bulletin, so we also provide the links to the blog, for those who are interested:

Web Log: http://sonjas-travels.blogspot.com/


o In Service To Our Nation j
Gert Dake Pettit is compiling information on family members and friends of the Dake family who served in the armed forces during and after World War II.

Leslie Benson

Leslie Benson enlisted in the Army Air Corps, which later became the US Air Force, on November 5, l947. His basic training was at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), San Antonio, Texas.

Leslie's first duty station was Williams AFB, Chandler, Arizona.

From Enid, Oklahoma, he was sent to Celle, Germany, in the British zone. He served in the Berlin Air Lift and then was sent back to Oklahoma.

He was discharged from McConnel AFB, Wichita, Kansas, and was then sent back to Wold Chamberlin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he re-enlisted with no break in service.

The places he was stationed after re-enlistment were: Thule, Greenland 1954; Elgin AFB, Florida; Sioux City, Iowa; Glasgow AFB, Montana; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Mesawa, Japan; Denver, Colorado, four times for verious schools.

He served as Personnel Clerk for nine years and PMEL Technician or Electronics Technician for 11 years. At McCord Field, Tacoma, Washington, on November 30, 1967, Master Sergeant Leslie Benson retired, after serving for 20 years.

Les and his wife, Virginia, have two daughters, Debra and Donna.

Les is a cousin from the Cheney side of the Dake family; his grandfather, Isom Cheney, was a brother of our Grandma Mary Dake Greer. (See "About Dorothy Dake Anderson")


Leslie Benson, Army Air Corps, left; with Virginia Benson, right.


SSG Brian H. Lehtola

I Joined the Minnesota National Guard 15 Aug 85, age 17 yrs. My mother had to sign for me because I was not of legal age. On 10 Mar 88, I joined active Army and was in until 9 Mar 92. The day after I was released from active duty I re-joined the Guard.

I spent 2 yrs Active Duty in Grafenwohr, Germany. From there I went to Airborne school at Ft. Benning,  GA for 4 weeks. Following Airborne school I was sent to Ft Bragg, NC. While I was serving at Ft. Bragg I was selected Soldier of the Year for two consecutive years.

10 Mar 92, the day after I was released from active duty, I re-joined the Guard.

TOURS OF DUTY:

Operation Desert Shield/Storm, (Saudi Arabia & Iraq 90-91)
Duties: Heavy Equip Operator, built: roads, Ammo Supply Points, Supply routes, fuel points, helio pads, Dugs units in, Prison Camps
  
Operation Otter Tail, (West Virginia Jun 91-Oct 91)
Duties: Built a suspension bridge 30 feet above the river 250 feet long
 
Operation Safe Harbor (Guantanamo Bay Cuba Dec 91- Feb 92)
Duties: I was a generator mechanic, provided lighting for the holding camp for the refugees

Operation Joint Guardian (Kosovo 2003-2004)
Duties: Forward Support Team NCOIC, Motor Pool SGT, Personal Security Guard (body guard), Safety NCO.
 
Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq 2005-2007)
Duties: Customer Service NCOIC and Military Pay NCOIC (Chief of Mil-Pay), Training NCO, Force Protection NCO, Unit Movement Officer

Awards and Decorations:

2 Army Commendation Medals
4 Army Achievement Medals
3 National Defense Service Medals
3 Armed Forces Reservist Medal w 2 "M" devices
2 Global War on Terrorism Service Medals
2 Humanitarian Serve Medals
1 Army Good Conduct Medal
1 State Commendation Medal with Pendent
4 Reserve Component Achievement Medals
1 Southwest Asia Service Medal
1 Kuwait Liberation Medal
1 Kosovo Service Medal
1 NATO Service Medal
1 Iraqi Freedom Service Medal
Parachutist Badge
MN State Service Ribbon w 15yr Device
MN State Active Duty Ribbon
5 MN Good Conduct Medals
2 Overseas Service Ribbons
Army Service Ribbon
Professional Development Ribbon w Numeral 2


SSG Brian Lehtola, left; Brian & Melanie Lehtola in Hawaii, right.


Skinny Recipes  6
from Donnie Anderson
Isanti, MN

I have been working full time and in my spare time I am trying to complete the stone retaining wall I've been building, among other projects we have been working on. I don't have any recipes to share right now, but I hope to do some more soon. (We have been cooking previous recipes for the second time around lately.)

I hope to search out some more prospects for future use. I will submit them as soon as I give them a test run and take the picture. I think I will concentrate on simpler, more mainstream recipes, so maybe somebody will dare to give them a shot. People don't seem to want to get too daring when it comes to cooking.

The people at our Weight Watchers meeting seem to want food that comes right out of a package, ready to eat. So we will perhaps try going a different direction with this.

For now, at least until next winter, my contributions will probably not be as regular as they were.

Donnie Anderson
Isanti, MN

Photo Editor's Note: Building a stone wall is hard work. This situation calls for Stone Soup!

Click here for a story about Stone Soup.

Click here for another version of the story and a recipe for Stone Soup.


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Special Days
May 29---Memorial Day (observed)

This Week's Birthdays
May 28---Jazmine Jane Hill (3 years)
May 28---Jason Hunt
May 29---Kristi Kay Larson Indermark
May 30---Mckenna Blanche Miller (2 years)
May 31---Mavis Anderson Morgan
June 1---Jeremiah Dake

Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
May 31---Tom and Mavis Anderson Morgan (49 years)
June 3---Larry and Ginny Dake McCorkell (34 years)
Congratulations!

More June Birthdays
' 
June 4---Merna Hellevang
June 5---Rian de Been-van Gageldonk
June 6---Jettison Quaid Freesemann (1 year)
June 7---Shane Swenson
June 8---Ashley Huseby (3 years)
June 16---Gina Henderson
June 17---Louise Cloyd
June 18---Caitlynn Mae Chap (10 years)
June 19---Doris Anderson
June 19---Ashley Meyers
June 20---Spencer Aydelotte (12 years)
June 20---Roy Droel
June 20---Julian Montford
June 21---Ary Ommert Jr.
June 24---Aiden Montford (3 years)
June 25---Ben Henderson
June 26---Greg Wm. Dake
June 26---De Myer
June 27---Sam Mellon
June 29---Tim Huseby

More June Anniversaries
Z
June 6---Wyatt and Jolene Johnson (8 years)
June 7---Clark and Susan Miller Smith (15 years)
June 10---Jim and Kristi Larson Indermark (6 years)
June 18---Jason and Tami Anderson Hunt (2 years)
June 19---Curt and Patty Anderson Henderson (24 years)
June 20---Rich and Marlene Anderson Johnson (25 years)
June 20---Steve and Marian Miller (36 years)

June Special Days
O
June 6---D Day
June 14---Flag Day
June 18---Father's Day
June 21---First Day of Summer

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

Here's a picture of Dwight's birthday. With a cherry chip cake, of course!

Elaine, DeLoris, Muriel and Meryl, Melanie and Eric, and Brenda, Nathan, Jazmine, and Jonathan helped him celebrate for the evening.

Dwight and Janie Anderson
Dwight, ND


Dwight with cherry chip birthday cake.


Miss Hetty Says

The indexing spider will be sent on its rounds once this issue is published so that all the May issues, as well as all previous issues, will be fully searchable.

Miss Hetty


Keep Us Posted!

Please drop Miss Hetty a line and tell us who, and what, we've missed. And how about a report (photos welcome) of YOUR special celebration?

'Many Thankse
Everyone!

Miss Hetty


+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click here to review last week's Bulletin

I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful Bulletin you put together in honor of Aunt Amy. Wonderful! And, the pictures were priceless. I cannot possibly save every edition, but that one is definitely a saver. She certainly touched many lives and hearts. Hope this finds you and yours well. Hello to all. Love......Diana

Diana Mellon Martin
Coon Rapids, MN


The Tribute to Amy sure was a nice idea. I sure enjoyed reading everyone's little story. I don't recall the "BARS" and wonder what the recipe really was.

Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND

Editor's Note: It was a rather special Rice Krispies bar. I wonder, does anyone of the family still have that recipe ... and will you share it?


Looks like you and Don had a wonderful Mother's Day. You look real good and healthy, too. Been a while since I've seen any pictures of Don and you. Hope all is going well. It looks, too, like your move there has been good for you two.

Your Bulletin seems to just keep on growing. Bet you never thought it would take off like this.

Donna and Bill Vaughn
Sparta, MO

Editor's Note: No, I did not think The Bulletin would become this "well read" -- but I do remember and appreciate that it was Bill who taught me many of my basic skills in the use of a computer. So glad to hear from you both!


It was so good to see the photo-funny from Doug again. I have missed seeing his contribution to The Bulletin. It's so nice to see photos of the little ones, since they grow and change so fast!

Our group here had a farewell potluck supper for Mike and Sarah and little Levi last week. We will miss them but wish them the best in their move to Northern Minnesota. Little Levi has been termed "the Gerber Baby" by someone here, so you know how cute he is.!

Elaine Anderson Wold
Wahpeton, ND


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Levi, "the Gerber baby," loves his thumb!


I'm wondering if I could put an "ad" in The Bulletin.

I'm wanting old pictures of people farming, baking bread, working in their kitchens or gardens. I would like to use these pictures for my web site that we're building for organic products. If anybody has pictures like these that they could e-mail to me I'd really appreciate it. My address is Kaygens@aol.com.

Thanks a bunch.

Marlene Anderson Johnson
Long Lake, MN


Last Week's Bulletin Review JKL
by Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN

How can the weeks go by so fast? I wrote Bulletin #204, but it really is #205 already!

That first picture on page one was a spectacular view of our graduating Ryan. What a picture of the graduate in front of the pillars! It was very impressive, to say the least. Quite an angle, and it was arranged and sized just perfectly to the best advantage. Thanks to the photographer [Ryan's brother, Brandon Hellevang], it is a photo Ryan will value for all his years.

September 30th is the day for Weston and Coni! We are wishing them well with their plans. It will be exciting for them to anticipate it, and Coni and Weston likely will enjoy picking out flowers, etc. We are so happy for them, and know whatever the future is, they can face it with courage together.

I remember Kathy had allergies that made her so miserable. Now it sounds like Jessica is inheriting this problem, too. She doesn't need that while trying to recover from her scoliosis surgery at her age.

It doesn't take many Bulletins to notice how the babies are growing. Mason Taylor Henderson was just a newborn, but he looks like a real sharp BIG little boy in his bunny suit.

Seems like a first birthday is one of the highlights of a child's life, as well as for the families. Especially when the "gramma" comes all the way from Florida.

Looks like the family table is getting to be more and more every year. New ones keep adding to it, and I see our Editor was well Mother's Day'd, which she definitely deserved. I'm curious as to what was in your gift bag, Dorothy. Also what Donnie allowed himself to eat. (smile)

Thanks, Donna Mae, for the nostalgic picture of the field in Ashby at Jayce's races.

Chef Douglas!!! What a perfect photo of that plate of food. However, ahem! The Fiddlehead Ferns were a bit much for my taste. Am sure they were delicious, though. That was so thoughtful, Doug, and to be there in person and do such a personal thing for your mother on Mother's Day was a gift any mother would have loved dearly.

That was quite the photos of the Great Grandparents and baby Mason Taylor Henderson. The number of years apart were not mentioned, though, I noticed. [But the photo was taken at Great Grandma Dorothy's 80th birthday party.]

I can't tell you how happy we were to see this next chapter of that story by Larry. His stories are really missed when he isn't feeling like writing one. You are probably a very happy family to have that experience behind you. But, are there several more chapters before the inevitable final one of the Sheep Ranch in Montana? We used to hear that "Larry and Sherry were taking care of sheep on a ranch in Montana" ... but little did we ever know what their life was all about those days!

Interesting how the story of the inlaid tables and articles is getting more complicated as more people come forth, telling of their having some of those handmade treasures.

Sonja knows just when to stop so we can't wait for the next chapter of the China trip. Sort of like Larry -- can't wait for the rest of the story on the fake four star hotel.

Once more the very busy Holland family has taken time to share their flowers with us. Thank you for all the pictures. It is so fascinating to realize the background of the millions of flowers we see here in our own greenhouses. We don't even consider the intense work involved to grow and display the flowers we pick and choose from. We thought of you last night when we shopped for our hanging baskets of geraniums.

By all the comments, you will know all your work to produce the memory issue for Amy Dake was well worth it. The hours the Editor and the Illustrator and the Photo Editor put into that needs all the thanks and appreciation we can send in words on paper, which is not nearly what we have in our hearts. Bill and Amy will live on and on -- at least in my memories.

The baby hat in the Foto-funnies by Douglas was so shiny, even on paper. It was the work of some adoring someone, that's for sure, but won't be fitting Mason Taylor Henderson for too long.

The Quotation for the Day was so very true. If a person does not have something to do, AND something to love, AND something to hope for, they soon lose their zest for life. A sad situation, and it happens to many, but I am thankful for our wonderful home and my wonderful husband and even all the work involved to keep us healthy and fulfilled.

The Bulletin was read word for word, and all the pictures carefully studied. All too soon, we came to the last page. This is Saturday, and now it's going to be days and days before the next Saturday.

Our son Darrel and Johanna from Virginia/ Washington, DC, are coming for over Memorial Day and we are going to be very busy putting out the welcome mat in readiness for their short time with us.

Betty Droel


Darrel and Johanna Droel last Memorial Day at Edith Droel's grave.


CHUCKLES


Photo illustration © Douglas A. Anderson
Doug considers making up his mind about the drums.

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Quotation for the day: Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. --Maya Angelou, American Author and Poet

EDITOR'S POLICY: If you wish to subscribe to The Bulletin, simply send me a statement of that fact. If you wish to keep receiving it I hope you will contribute to one of the columns that are running in this family epistle (at least occasionally!). My e-mail address is dma49261@juno.com


This Bulletin is copyright Dorothy M. Anderson; the contents are also copyrighted by the authors and photographers and used with their permission, and the contents are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the explicit consent of the creators.


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