We just got off the phone with Marlene and thought many of you might be interested in the events discussed...

They had gotten a call at about 3:30 Wednesday afternoon from Rich's sister Sue (Mark's been staying with them) that Mark had just been bucked off a horse and had broken his arms ... yes, plural. The orthopedic surgeon had called and said they'd have to put him under general anesthesia to set his arms and that he hoped there wouldn't be any need for surgery with pins and such.

Good thing he was right. Mark has two temporary casts on at present to allow for swelling. In about a week they'll put different ones on, so he has to stay up there until that is done. It is probable that Mark will return to the Los Angeles area using the return of his airline ticket ... then, when the time comes for the doctor's check-up appointment, the 14-hour trip to Yreka will be part of the trip which Marlene will make to return to Minnesota.

Mark was really enjoying the horses until he got bucked off. Marlene said he sounded pretty good and upbeat on the phone: "Mom, it's just a couple of broken bones." Though Sue said he was about to pass out when he came in the house to tell her.

The horse's name is Snort and it bucked his cousin Bronson off about a month ago and broke his arm, so I guess he was forewarned. Sue has mentioned that he is good on the horses ... but it sounds like he was probably a bit over confident.

Both kids got their school books delivered via UPS this week and school starts the 5th of September. Marlene and the kids head back to Minnesota sometime after that ... depending on doctor appointments. Kim will fly back this Saturday and move into the apartment in Fargo with Rachel August 28th. It sounds like Marlene, Whitney and Mark will stay here in Minnesota for a month or so. No definite plans are made yet.

There was a feeling of exceptional exuberance at the heartwarming annual observance. Again, Cousin Sandy and Larry Thiele were the gracious and generous host and hostess. There were seven cousins and spouses able to attend this year's reunion.

A large canopy covered the tables and chairs on the front lawn. Several more tables overflowed with the abundance of sandwiches, salads, hot dishes, and desserts. The setting was serene and beautiful with the spacious lawn neatly mowed, the buildings all nicely maintained, the blooming flowers in the garden, and the prancing ponies in the pasture fence.

"Delicious eating," a Berndt tradition: Larry Thiele (Sandy's husband), Shirley Berndt (Delwood's wife), DeLoris Anderson (middle daughter of Cleo), Mavis Anderson Morgan (youngest daughter of Cleo).

The entertainment for the afternoon was both serious and humorous as various cousins told of their many memories of the farmsite and of our grandparents and our parents who grew up there. Some cousins brought older pictures to identify. Others brought some photos of their families during the past year. Some updated the Blue Berndt History book, as births and deaths, marriages, and addresses of family members change. Booklets from the past two reunions were shared by all.

The rain and wet grass prevented us walking through Sandy's bounteous garden, or to the dam on the river where we waded and fished. Also we did not tour, but we talked about, the Lubenow Cemetery, east of the farmsite along the Wild Rice River, where the first family members were buried.

It is now over 100 years since our grandparents were married and established this farmsite. They endured many hardships and sorrows, as well as many joys in life.

Photos © Janie Anderson
Delwood & Shirley Berndt, left; hosts Sandy & Larry Thiele, right.

The Thieles again extended an invitation to gather together next August. We hope more are able to attend then. Cousin Carol was remembered, as she passed away during the past year.

After a memorable afternoon, as we left for our own homes, we all sensed again a greater appreciation for those who played such a great part in our lives. Although they are gone, we shall continue the memories and cherish these special days we can have together.

Photo © Janie Anderson
Back row: Dwight & Janie Anderson, Mavis & Tom Morgan, Don Anderson; front row: DeLoris Anderson, Elaine Wold, Dorothy Anderson.

I sorted and directed while the rest did the more physical tasks ... and there were plenty! It took us quite a few hours to get it accomplished and it's wonderful to have one more GIGANTIC job off my check list!

We used the bookshelves I'd thought about selling, but after realizing they were probably too beat up to get much of anything for them, we kept them for our selection of games.

I haven't seen the two little baby girls in the rocker, but will make a guess. Is the one on the right Ardis? She was such a cute baby also.

Judy Riesenberg
Great Falls, MT

I didn't have a problem guessing Sharon Miller in the Guess pictures; in fact, that was when I knew her best, as a very sweet little fun girl. The other two are for sure Don and Dorothy's girls. Marlene and Patty?

I have a suggestion for our Editor. It would be helpful if you would print a very small picture of the previous week's guess picture WITH THE CORRECT NAMES UNDERNEATH for us. I know you can click to review the pictures, but still you are left wondering just who they really were. Or am I missing something here?

The "marking" of lambs would now be central to my daily tasks. An eager-eyed Checker would be the delighted beneficiary, following me around the lambing shed and consuming the procured delicacies as they fell.

The southeast door to the shed flew open. Domingo burst in with a pair of lambs -- suspended, head down -- one in each hand, like chickens on their way to slaughter. As he hurried down the aisle, he mimicked the panicked bleat of a lamb. "Naa-a! Naa-a! Naa-aa!" This was an attempt to decoy the lamb's confused mother into the shed.

José, one of the Mexican cowboys, recruited for the lambing season, grasped the ewe by the wool on her rump and shoulders and shoved her through the doorway.

Neck arched and head held high, a defensive posture, she trotted down between the rows of four-by-four jugs already occupied by captive ewes and their lambs. Not recognizing her inverted babies, whose noses were nearly dragging on the ground, she stomped a front foot at Domingo.

José hissed from behind, "Ssssssss-s! Ssssssss-s! Sssssss-s!"

Panicked, she whirled and bolted for the (now closed) door. Instinctively, she would return to where she had given birth to the lambs. But the door was blocking her path. She busted past José, nearly sending him sprawling in the aisle. At the door she whirled and galloped back down the aisle toward him. As she approached him, she leapt high into the air. He dodged, and stomped after her yelling, "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Domingo tossed the two lambs headfirst into a freshly strawed jug and stepped behind the gate that I had swung open to block the aisle. Domingo and José pushed the ewe into the jug with her lambs, and we shoved the gate shut. I wired it tight with baling wire. She spun around and around on top of her babies before discovering them lying in the straw beneath her feet.

Outside the lambing shed door, seven more ewes and their lambs waited in the gut-wagon. They would be moved indoors in rapid fire succession. Then Domingo and José would return to the field, pulling the compartmentalized gut-wagon behind the tractor, to gather another eight pairs of ewes and lambs. We were now moving about fifty ewe-and-lamb pairs through the shed each day.

I climbed into the first of the eight newly occupied pens. When describing my duties Jack had said to "Strip, Clip, and Dip."

I "stripped" the waxy plugs from the anxious mother's nipples. This was to make it easier for the lambs to start nursing. At the same time, I could make sure each ewe was producing milk.

Next, I picked up a lamb. Stepping out into the isle, I "clipped" off the extra length of umbilical cord. Waiting for the treat, Checker was underfoot, staring up at my every move. After dropping the severed cord into his mouth, I "dipped" the remaining two inches of it (still attached at the navel), into a strong iodine solution. This was to disinfect it and to hasten the drying up and falling off process.

Pressing the wide-mouthed iodine jar tight against the lamb's belly, I then tipped the lamb back so the iodine could saturate the cord and the navel. The vapor from the iodine opened up my nasal passages. As I righted the lamb, it kicked, and the seal of the jar around the navel broke. A slurp of the potent, yellow liquid spilled directly into Checker's eye. Ouch!

He yelped and ran off.

When I caught up with him, he was pawing desperately at his eye. I dragged him to the water hydrant by the nape of his neck and started flushing out the iodine. He struggled to pull away. Even after a long rinse to remove all the burning chemical, the whole eye was stained an opaque yellow.

It appeared he would be blind in one eye. I was very disappointed at the prospect of a one-eyed sheep dog. Much of a sheep dog's work is done with its eyes.

To be continued...

Being born there over 80 years ago brings back many good memories and, of course, bad ones, too. The good memories are always easy to talk about.

My schooling was completed there in 1940; then I began as a farmer, doing general farm duties. We farmed land adjoining the town and we were regarded as "sidewalk farmers." We had a small barn and owned several milk cows, which I took to a pasture in another part of town. In the evening, I herded them back to the "home" pasture and near the little barn in preparation for evening milking.

The fall of 1941, we moved to the farm just north of Dwight. There is another story on that, published several years ago, in Bulletin 42.

Maybe one never knows why a farm boy wants to become a member of a farm labor force. There is something about climbing on a tractor and being in full control. There were long hours of tedious back and forth in the fields for years to come.

Many boys my age were born and raised on farms without running water, hydraulics, tractor cabs, air conditioning and other comforts we take for granted today. Just think how far we have come from those days where drudgery was an everyday accompaniment to most farm tasks.

In early 1941, Dad bought a used 1937 WC, Allis Chalmers tractor and it was to be my tractor. It had a mounted two row cultivator. I did lot of work with it, plowing, cultivating corn, haying and picking corn.

We put up hay with a hay stacker, the hay being "bucked" with a horse drawn sweep rake.

Later, Art Ouren bought the first Allis Chalmers round balers in the country. I was excited when he came to bale for us. No more pitching hay! I wasn't quite so enthusiastic as I looked across a hay field with a few hundred bales waiting for us to pick up. Also, I realized each one of those bales would have to be handled four times before it would be in reach of livestock.

Today's farmers have traded that hard work, manual labor, for the worry and concerns over huge equipment prices, loans and costs of raising crops and livestock.

Earlier, I watched from my window as a farmer here in Alexandria, Minnesota, planted a field of wheat in about two hours. It would have taken me, in my farming days, lots of effort to get it seeded in two days. We would have been bundled up in warm clothing and gloves to sit out in the cold. Now, sitting in a glass enclosed cab with heat and music, it looked like fun.

Here in Alexandria, we are in our second year of drought. The crop on this field was totally destroyed and this year it is well on its way to a total loss, too.

I am satisfied to be out of the farming business. I still have an interest is watching today's farming ventures. Too bad after I know all the answers, no one asks the questions.

This Week's Birthdays
August 26---Donna Richards
August 27---Ashley Torgrimson
August 30---Jessica Myron Gauderman
August 30---Ethan Wallace Horne (5 years)
August 31---Devan Alexander Seaman (5 years)
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
August 28---Ken and Merna Morgan Hellevang (25 years)
August 30---LeRoy and Vonnie Thomas Dake (59 years)
August 30---Chris and Jennie Dake Horne (10 years)
Congratulations!

September Birthdays
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September 2---Patty Anderson
September 2---Vicki Anderson
September 2---Stanley Wm. Dake
September 3---Jacob Mendoza Dake
September 3---Eric Printz
September 3---Charles Quick
September 4---Wiley Nelson
September 4---Harvey Stucker
September 5---Lori Chap Ostendorf
September 5---Genelle Mogck
September 7---Brendan Aydelotte (8 years)
September 12---Lindsay Dawn Hellevang
September 14---Lou Miller
September 15---Carolyn Miller Dake
September 15---Shari Miller Larson
September 19---Nathanial Kurtis Seaman
September 21---Jessica Aydelotte
September 24---Wyatt Johnson
September 25---Keith Mason
September 26---Jaxon Dwight Hill (1 year)
September 28---Donald L. Anderson
September 30---Sheldon Swenson

September Anniversaries
Z
September 2---Michael and Sarah Dake Steinhauer (5 years)
September 4---Ernie and Carolyn Miller Dake (36 years)
September 7---Tim and Colette Anderson Huseby (11 years)
September 18---Jay and Sandy Miller Smith (8 years)

September Special Days
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September 3---Labor Day
September 23---First day of Autumn

Click here to review last week's Bulletin

I have had a great time clicking on the blue links in The Bulletin. I decided to click on the very eventful trip to Spain that Shane and Jayna had suggested we read for further trip news not room for in The Bulletin.