Bulletin 301, March 23, 2008

The Bulletin
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Browse The Bulletin archive index

Happy Easter!

Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
Orange butterfly on white flowers, Living Desert.

Updates -

Update -- Harvey Stucker passes away, funeral to be Monday
by Dorothy Anderson
Alexandria, MN

Harvey Stucker died on Thursday morning at 5 a.m. Gwen was with him and he died very peacefully at their home in Hopkins. And so ends the life of another of our friends. Don knew Harvey (who was 79 in September) when they were 20 or so, and I met him soon after Don and I married. We didn't meet Gwen quite as soon, but have known her for many years. Harvey found he had cancer a few years back and has been coping very well until just recently.

We send our condolences to Gwen and family: their son John and his wife, Juli, and their two children, Josey and Jack; and their daughter, Mary (Upham) and her husband, Bill, and their three daughters: Olivia (14), Lucia (7) and Elinor (4).

The funeral service for Harvey is planned for Monday, March 24th, in the evening at 7 p.m. It will be held at the Bradshaw Mortuary in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. The private burial will be on Monday in Eden Prairie.

Photo © Sharon Paul Nault
Smooth flight.

Tim & Char Myron at the Riu Julisco resort in Mexico.

Update -- catching the sun
by Char Morgan Myron
Thompson, ND

Tim and I celebrated our 25th anniversary in February by taking a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We went with Doug and Sheila Syverson from Bozeman, Montana, who were celebrating their 25th as well.

We stayed at the Riu Julisco, an all-inclusive resort. Needless to say we enjoyed plenty of good food and sunshine. We went on a 1/2 day cruise to an outdoor dinner and theater. The guys also did some fishing and jet skiing.

It was 80 degrees when we left Mexico, and -20 degrees when we got to Fargo -- a 100-degree shock to the system!

Photo © Char Myron
Tim's catch in Mexico.

Tim & Char Myron, Doug & Sheila Syverson at Brazilian restaurant in Mexico.

The end of February we spent a week in Florida with all the kids: Jeff and Jessica (Myron) Gauderman, Zach and Ty.

We enjoyed time with my parents, Tom and Mavis Morgan. There we enjoyed more sunshine, the beach, another fishing excursion, and a Minnesota Twins game in Fort Myers.

My nephew Andrew Grotte and another friend, Nick Riveland, both from North Dakota, joined us for four days, too. I guess it was one big happy family!

Ty Myron caught a grouper in Florida.

Update -- more snow in Minnesota, North Dakota
by Elaine Anderson Wold
Wahpeton, ND

Looking out the window I see the snowflakes falling against the street lights ... pretty ... but, after all -- spring is supposed to be here and we are tired of the snow's beauty!

A lot of snow is gone, mostly in ditches and tree groves is what is left. It really thawed for a few days, so we were glad to see green grass again. I am keeping my eyes open for the first robin!

Muriel came over this afternoon and we drove to the park and we went for a walk out of the wind down there. Good to get out in fresh air. I was glad for what I was able for this first time; will increase it more each day.

The kids have school vacation Thursday, Friday, and Monday that will make the days busy.

I plan to make vegetable-beef soup tomorrow, have the ingredients on hand and will share with the family since they like it and it will be soup weather! Why don't you drop by for a bowl?

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photo by Sarah Steinhauer
I need to practice if I am going to sing as beautifully as my mom does. --Kira

Photo © Ken Carson
Tabasco grooming her fur coat.

Update -- grandkittens are growing up
by Miss Kitty
Anchorage, AK

On Monday, the grandkittens will be one year old. Isn't it amazing how fast kittens grow up? I can hardly believe they will be celebrating their first birthday next week. Actually, I'm wishing Mai Tai would grow up. He keeps pestering me and refuses to act like a grownup at all. He's about the same age as the grandkittens, maybe a little younger, though nobody knows exactly when he was born. We've decided to help him celebrate his first birthday with mine next month, when I turn 5. We're making birthday party plans ... no candles, please ... just lots of whipped cream.

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

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photo by Suzanne McCorkell
Suzanne McCorkell visited Storybrooke Farm in spring of 2005.

Winter's Last Blast (We Hope!)

We have had a snowstorm that continued to produce snow for 24 hours, so far. It looks like the people were shoving almost a foot of snow off their vehicles, across the street from us. We have received more snow in this one snowfall than the rest of season. It was much needed here to get the crops started with moisture ... but I really can't say I especially enjoy it. --DMA

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. Kristi Larson Indermark supplied last week's mystery picture.

How many can you identify?

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

Editors' Note: Correct guesses appear in bold face type and incorrect guesses in normal type ... generally in the order we receive them, so the first guess received is on top.

Well, I actually know/recognize everyone in this picture ... so here it goes! Front row (left to right): Great Grandma [Amy] Dake, Justin Printz, Willie Dake, Adriana (Stahlecker -- me), Angela (Stahlecker) Roberson; middle row: Andrea (Dake), Cody Printz, Carol Printz, Grandma (Lois) Dake, Janice Dake, Kathleen Stahlecker, Earl Stahlecker; back row: Stanley Dake.

Adriana Brown
Granbury, TX

Well, since I was there, I feel like it's cheating a bit to play the game, but this picture was taken in Minnesota on a summer trip to visit at the lake. I STILL remember that trip vividly as I was "allowed" to swim out to the floating platform on the lake, and we all had so much fun!

Stanley Dake is in the back. Then, standing, it's Andrea (Stan's daughter), Cody Printz, Carol Printz, Lois Dake, Janice Dake (Stan's wife), Kathleen (Dake) Stahlecker, and Earl Stahlecker. Sitting: Amy Dake (who looks like she is really enjoying herself!), Justin Printz, Willie Dake (James Dake's son), Adriana (Stahlecker) Brown, and me, Angela (Stahlecker) Roberson. Thanks to whoever sent this in! It brought back some fun memories!

Angela (Stahlecker) Roberson
Hico, TX

Thanks for another very interesting Bulletin. The mystery picture has some of the members of the Dake family! Grandma Amy Dake, Carol Dake Printz, Stanley Dake, Lois Dake, Janice (Mrs. Stanley) Dake, Kathleen and Earl Stahlecker. Don't know the children down in front but would think the two teenagers would be Stan and Janice's children.

Tom Miller
Madera, CA

This is very late, but I did want you to know that I know everyone in the mystery photo, before the names are released in the next edition. The picture was taken possibly six years prior to Grandma Dake's death.

Back row: Stanley Dake

Center row: Andria (Dake) Mendez, Cody Printz, Carol Printz, Lois Dake, Janice Dake, Kathleen Stahlecker, Earl Stahlecker

Front row: Grandma Amy Dake, Justin Printz, William Earl Dake, Adriana (Stahlecker) Brown, Angela (Stahlecker) Roberson

Earl Stahlecker
Gatesville, TX

Another mystery picture, which is definitely a MYSTERY, except for two of them that are easily recognized, and the daughter that looks just like her mother. Of course our dear Amy Dake is there. So good to see a picture of her again.

I had to look back at last week's GUESS picture as I wanted to see those little ones again, now that I knew who they were. That was taken a few years before I knew them. Yvonne Henderson always had her pretty, curly hair. That did look like Duane Miller, too, but I had no real clue who they all were.

Betty Weiland Droel
MoundsView, MN

Photos © Jerrianne Lowther
Restored mailbox with parcel bin below.

Special Delivery
by Jerrianne Lowther
Anchorage, AK

On a cold, winter morning last year, I saw a shiny, new silver pickup parked in my driveway with a young woman in the front seat. That's odd, I thought. I opened the front door, stepped out and retrieved the morning paper but she didn't seem to notice me. That's really odd!

Just then, the mailman came by to put mail in the fancy mailbox my husband built with the parcel bin below ... and the young woman got out to talk to the mailman. That really got my attention!

I stepped out the front door to find out just what was going on and she said, "Oh, good ... you ARE home! I've been trying to figure out how to leave you a note and tell you I ran into your mailbox."

That's how I met "Martha," a young neighbor who lives a few streets over ... and her friend ... or maybe it was her sister, who drove up a minute later in another pickup. Martha was pretty upset ... contrite and tearful and worried ... not only had she ripped the doors off my mailbox, but she had done considerable damage to the side of her husband's shiny new pickup truck ... none of which was apparent from my point of view in the house.

"I really wasn't going fast," she said, pleading her case.

I believed her. Sometimes I think I live on the slipperiest street corner in town. After one of Anchorage's freeze, thaw and re-freeze cycles, the street will be coated with glare ice. Overcorrect the steering and a sliding vehicle will slam right into my mailbox. Once before, my next door neighbor had smashed it to smithereens on his way home from work while driving his police cruiser. It can happen, even to the pros.

Martha's friend had a little better perspective: "It's a MAILBOX!" she said ... as opposed to, say, a person or a pet or another vehicle, I suppose.

"Ladies," I said, "suppose we go inside. Let's not try to heat all of Anchorage through my front door when it's 10 below zero outdoors!"

Martha's friend left, but Martha came inside and wrote down her name, address and phone number for me. Then I comforted her, as best I could. The mailbox was old, I told her, and the wood was rotting away. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I knew I would have to do some major repairs, come summer, regardless. She, on the other hand, had to go home and face the music about the disfigured pickup, which was harder. So we talked about neighborhood things, like planting flowers at Pioneer Avenue and Chugach Foothills Park, until she felt ready for that.

"We'll come back in the spring and fix your mailbox," she promised, smiling now. We're engineers. We can do that!"

Sure enough, the first week of May, when spring finally came to Anchorage, Martha and her husband drove up in the shiny, repaired, pickup truck to check out the mailbox. They took note of the rotted wood, the torn off doors, the crunched regulation mailbox inside the cabinet. They decided it would be best to start over. I gave them the unused portion of the original piano hinge and a can of trim paint that matched the house ... just like the original mailbox. They dug the old mailbox out of the ground, to use it for a pattern, hoisted it into the pickup and drove away.

A week later, they were back with an exact replica of the damaged mailbox. Just perfect! They installed it, touched up the paint on the spot and handed me the paint bucket and the paintbrush. "A present for you," Martha said.

Soon after I retrieved a box of Kyra's "Mother's Day cookies" from the new mailbox, Martha stopped by with a carful of kids going to swimming lessons. She handed me the piano hinge remnant "for next time."

"Wait," I said. "How many kids do you have, Martha? I want to give you some cookies."

"Five," she said, "but I haven't done anything to deserve cookies."

"Are you kidding me?" I said. Every time I tell anyone about my new mailbox, the response I get is that you have restored their faith in humanity!"

Martha laughed, with real joy ... and accepted a bag of cookies ... wonderful Kyra cookies for the kids ... and enough for Martha and her husband, too.

When the kids are a little older, Martha wants to join our neighborhood flower tending crew. Do I live in a wonderful neighborhood, or what!

Travelogue t

Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Chefchaouen ... white houses on a green "grass" mountainside.

Chefchaouen
by Kjirsten Swenson
Houston, TX

The following morning, I left early for Chefchaouen, a small city located further north, in the Rif Mountains. Chefchaouen is a stunning city of whitewashed homes, tucked in the mountainsides of the Rif Mountains. The Rif reach lower elevations than the Atlas, but are marvelously green, thanks to the abundant marijuana crop lining the slopes. This emerald background creates a lovely contrast with the striking white Chefchaouen.

From the inside out, Chefchaouen is absolutely dazzling. The town center is a labyrinth of twisting, narrow streets lined with whitewashed buildings that have been painted in various shades of sky blues. The colors are magnificently intense. The intense indigo blue you see when looking straight up at the sky's center, and lighter shades of the same hue, are the colors of Chefchaouen. The effect is beautiful and rather soothing, too. The entire place has a subdued atmosphere, and is a wonderfully tranquil place to visit.

To be continued ...

Photos © Kjirsten Swenson
Blue-washed buildings ... a soothing ambiance.

$ A Long Time Ago !

Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
Mic & Kyra Lowther, Springer Mountain, Georgia, March 21, 1973.

Appalachian Trail Trek: Adventure Of A Lifetime
by Jerrianne Lowther
Anchorage, AK

Thirty-five years ago Friday, on the first full day of spring, our family began the adventure of a lifetime, backpacking more than 2,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. For seven months we hiked the crest of the Appalachian Mountains, through 14 states, finishing on my father's 60th birthday, October 21, 1973. Kyra, 10 years old when we began, celebrated her 11th birthday in Virginia. At the time, she was the youngest hiker ever to backback the entire trail in one continuous hike. Mic Lowther wrote a book, Walking North, about our trek.

Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of 5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Special Days
March 23---Easter Sunday

This Week's Birthdays
March 23---Colette Huseby
March 23---Capt. Jack Adair
March 28---Donna (Anderson) Johnson

This Week's Anniversaries
March 26---Stanley and Janice Dake (38 years)

More March Birthdays
'
March 1---Betty Weiland Droel
March 2---Tom Miller (Doctor)
March 3---Donald Anderson
March 6---Jerrianne Lowther
March 6---Gwen Stucker
March 9---Kylie Grace McNeill (1 year)
March 11---Kjirsten Swenson
March 12---Jolene Johnson
March 17---Ruth Weiland Kitto
March 18---Janie Anderson
March 21---Rachel Henderson

March 30---Mason Henderson (2 years)
March 30---Michael Steinhauer
March 31---Linda Knutson

More March Anniversaries
Z
March 3---Mike and Kelly Seaman (7 years)
March 3---Greg and Sonja Dake (2 years)
March 14---Brian and Melanie Birkholz Lehtola (6 years)
March 15---Dan and Gina Henderson (3 years)
March 22---Ken and Ruth Weiland Swanson Kitto (6 years)

March 31---Frans and Rian de Been (30 years)

March Special Days
O
March 9---Daylight Saving Time Begins
March 17---St. Patrick's Day
March 20---First Day of Spring
March 23---Easter Sunday

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

Bachman's delivered a huge, heavy container to our door for my birthday March 1st. I discovered it was a Spring Garden, which had many, many bulbs buried in the soil, and can you imagine the fun and surprises we had as each one, in turn, sprouted and grew until it was one burst of blooms.

This first picture is day one. The next picture is day 17. Each day we watched another blossom come to life. It will soon be fading away, but what a happy, fun gift it has been.

Betty Weiland Droel
MoundsView, MN

Photos © Betty Droel
Spring garden: ready, set, bloom!

Miss Hetty sent Janie a card featuring doughnuts ... here is her reply:

One Doughnut a Day! I LIKE that sentiment!!! Thanks!

We're not celebrating my birthday until the weekend of the 29th/30th when the Shockeys will come for the weekend. My mom's birthday is the 31st, so she's planning to come, too, so we can have a double celebration!

Janie Anderson
Wahpeton, ND

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?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you mad at us, or busy with a relationship? --Grandma Dorothy Anderson

Nope, no offense and no women involved in my lack of articles. Just a lack of time and energy. I have been in Oklahoma City for the last couple of days. Today was beautiful -- 65 degrees and sunny. My last meeting ended at 3:30 so I re-visited the bombing memorial. I stopped there on my way back from Phoenix a year and a half ago and wrote an article about it. That time, it was a dark, cold, windy evening in late fall. This time it was a bright, sunny spring day. So I think I'll write about that.

I also tried to re-create some of the pictures I took last time -- this time in the daylight. I only had my cell phone camera, so I'll have to see if they turned out OK, once I get home and get them loaded onto the computer. So, long story short, inspiration has struck for a new story idea. At a minimum, I'll write about the differences between my first visit and this visit. Assuming the pictures turned out, I'll include a comparison of night view vs. day view.

That said, it will probably take a couple of weeks for the idea to come to fruition. I have some work-related report writing to do before I leave for Florida. Considering I don't return from Oklahoma until tomorrow night, and I'm planning to be in Ashby this weekend for Easter, I don't know when I'll get my work done, much less spend any time doing extra writing. Then I'm in Florida from Wednesday morning through Sunday night of next week.

Hopefully, that next week things will settle down a little and I'll be able to write up a story about Oklahoma City. Then I'll try to get on a roll and write about Evansville, Keene and the other places I've visited this winter. Don't be afraid to send more reminder e-mails to keep me on task!

Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

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

For some reason I expected bells to ring and sirens to blow as I typed Bulletin #300, but nothing spectacular happened. I guess we just have to keep the number climbing until we reach some sort of other landmark. It does sound like a lot of Bulletins to have been designed and sent out, but we still anticipate the one that we know will arrive the next Saturday morning.

I knew our Photo Editor would pick a unique and beautiful first picture after her trip to California, with her camera busy all the way. I loved the title color matching the flowers. A desert in bloom (which I never expect to see myself) helped me enjoy the picture so very much. Nature is so full of things to cause wonder and amazement, and possibly the desert is one miracle after another at all times of the year.

I felt such a warm glow as I saw that darling picture of little Trinidy talking to the new horses. It looks like they are listening, too. The horses came from a "horse rescue." I am not familiar with that, but it sounds like a very kind thing to do, and their being such a good addition to your little ranch is a reward in itself. What a nice place to live and keep interested and busy with -- while Scott is away on his business trips. I am trying to imagine four dogs and 11 cats, plus all the other mouths of family and animals to feed! I could not bring up the blog. I kept trying, very carefully.

It is always so nice to share in The Bulletin families' happiness and events. Like the Morgans in Florida having all this company with fun and games.

To visit an old home area would be with mingled feelings, and right now the Indermarks might be right here in Minnesota, unless they are back home again. Lots of memories, and friends and family would love seeing the children growing and changing after being gone such a short time.

Kylie Grace McNeill won't really appreciate that beautiful cake until a few more years pass. That little baby is already one year old. Time does fly.

I remember both the names of Houkom and Burchill. Not of these two, but of other family members from several years back. What an exciting day for you all four to have this once in a lifetime happening: the proposal! So, now we will be expecting a great story of another wedding for The Bulletin.

It was rather exciting to think of Eric finding a job right here in Coon Rapids. We are a next suburb, but Rich and Verlaine Weiland live in Coon Rapids. We wish you well at this new job, Eric. Not a fun commute with the traffic.

Although we do not know you, Muriel Rodriguez, we enter into your happiness to be retiring after 29 years. It sounds like it was a very responsible and critical job. You will be missed, and sometimes it is not easy to find a replacement that is familiar with all the terms and activities and protocols of your position.

I don't know why "to be continued" is always a relief to see at the end of a Travelogue. Just because it is always so interesting. Especially the pictures. We are still visiting Morocco I see, and although we hear of the old city gates, it is hard to visualize just what they would have been like. So, the gates in Meknes merited a concentrated study of all the details.

What a fascinating market place! I thought Cub had a lot of Olives. Think of the time it would take to arrange that display. I suppose they have a lot of time. Could they possibly sell all that candy? To me, it's mind boggling.

Jerrianne, we are so glad you took time to share your birthday excitement with us. We thought about you. You are always remembering the rest of us, and we are so glad you had all that attention when it was your turn. To open that box of treats and sweets, you probably got a lump in your throat to think of your daughter spending all that time preparing it for you. All the links to click on took some time. Especially the pizzelle iron story. I loved reading Kyra's letter of details. That was a gift in itself to you, Mom. Cheerio, Tabasco, and Oreo must have been locked in the closet all this time.

I showed Shalana the little story in The Bulletin of her winning the valentine box contest. She smiled, so pleased. She is such a dear, quiet, sweet girl, but so sharp. Yesterday we went to her class concert at her school. To observe the huge group of 4th and 5th graders, all in unison, is quite a feat for a music director teacher, but it was lovely. My pictures turned out blurry.

Oh dear, I see by the Celebrations and Observances that Cap'n Jack is having a birthday. Also Donna Mae Johnson. Thanks for the reminder!

It has seemed like a long time since Carrie Horne was featured, but this CHUCKLES picture shows how she is growing up. No more little Carrie.

Roy is riding the exercise bike behind me as I type this. He has an 87th birthday this year, but has kept himself young and limber despite the stroke effects. He is an example of the Quotation for the day: Not the years in your life, but the life in your years that count.

It is a beautiful spring-like day here in Mounds View today. After I send this off to the Editors, we had better go for a drive and soak up some sun.

Betty Droel

CHUCKLES

Click here to find out Who's Who in The Bulletin 1

Click here to find out Who's Where in The Bulletin l

To search a name in Who's Who or Who's Where: click on the link to open the page, then use CONTROL F on a PC or COMMAND F on a Mac. To search for a second occurrence of the name, use CONTROL G on a PC or COMMAND G on a Mac. (This works on ANY web page with text, unless the text is converted to an image. Chances are, it works in your e-mail, too.) HINT: Search by first name only, as most entries list the family name once but do not repeat the last name for each family member. In Who's Where you can search on state or city names, too.

Click here for past editions in the searchable web archive

Home About Archive Recipes Stories Galleries Who's Who Where

Quotation for the day: Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life. --S.D. Gordon

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.

Home

About