Bulletin 428 August 29, 2010

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Sunday, August 29, 2010

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Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
Water Lily

UPDATE -- Freesemann sisters visit their grandparents
by Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND

Alyssa and Angel Freesemann from Burnsville, Minnesota, spent 10 days recently visiting the North Dakota relatives. They had time with their grandparents, Tom and Mavis Morgan, and their uncles and aunts, Tim and Char Myron and Ken and Merna Hellevang.

Camille Meyer invited them to cool off in their pool and use the trampoline. One day was spent at the lake with Camille's family.

While they were at the Morgans', the neighbor girls brought their mules over for Angel and Alyssa to ride.

And then we needed to stop and see the neighbor girls' chickens and kittens, as well.

Photos © Mavis Morgan, left; © Char Myron, right
Angel & Alyssa with orange & white kitten, left; Alyssa Freesemann, Ty Myron, Linnea Grotte, Collin Grotte, & Angel Freesemann at "Splosher's" water park in Grand Forks, right.

As usual, the golf cart is a big entertainer to the girls and their dolls, as is their mom's play house.

Grandma appreciated their help in baking cookies and making potato salad for our guests one evening.

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photo by Sonja Dake
Greg & Sonja's little William Dake is WAAAAYYYY cute!

UPDATE -- Jim Miller celebrates 88th birthday
by Shari Miller Larson
Palm Harbor, FL

Here is a picture of Dad, taken at his home during his 88th birthday week. Wes and I visited Dad, took him out to dinner, and enjoyed a carrot cake together.

The guys wondered how I was going to fit 88 candles on this little cake, so were amused to see the two "eight" candles. How would Grandma Miller have said it ... "There is more than one way to skin a cat." Now I wonder, where did that saying originate?

We sure enjoy living in Florida and being able to spend more time with Dad.

Photo Editor's comment: the origin of the old "skin a cat" saying is obscure. Miss Kitty's preferred version is that it refers to skinning catfish, sometimes called "cats," for short. My dad, Donald B. Johnson, loved fried bullhead catfish and he was expert at skinning them, with a special pair of pincers that could easily grip the skin at the edge of incision right behind the head and pull it off, right to the tail. While the rest of us scaled sunfish and crappies, he preferred to skin the "cats."

Photo © Shari Larson
Jim Miller with carrot cake for his 88th birthday dessert.

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Click here to see what's new on Ginny McCorkell's Bitzidoodles blog.

"Have you ever made Gak? Well, if you haven't, it's fun -- especially if you have kids! It is a cool science experiment involving a chemical reaction that results in a stretchy, squishy, bouncy blob that is irresistible to play with. If you keep it in an air-tight plastic bag it lasts pretty much indefinitely, so you can play with it more than once."

Click here for Sarah's story about making Gooey Gak on her blog, Where The Wild Ferns Grow.

Photo © Caity Chap
Tula grooms Jasper. Caity & Jayce have been playing with some barn kittens & they have become very tame in a very short period of time. Caity named this little orange & white kitten Jasper & introduced Jasper to Tula. Tula has great mothering instincts & cleaned the little one thoroughly.

Caity and her friend Amber planned a school shopping trip to the Albertville Mall. Jayce and I were along, but didn't do any shopping.

We spent the night with Weston, which is so handy, as it was so close to continue with the morning shopping at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove. I was very proud of the girls; they shopped hard and spent their money wisely. Good to see!

Afterwards, we headed down to Valleyfair for the afternoon and early evening. Nice hot day, for the enjoyment of those in the waterpark area. I enjoyed the breeze under an umbella poolside, while Jayce took full advantage of the water rides for two hours.

We all enjoyed The Coral Reef show at the Imax theatre. Very interesting! And cool in there, a bonus!

On the way home, we stopped for them to check out a fun park in Waconia. Probably would have stayed longer, if it hadn't been getting dark and the bugs were starting to bite. It made for an enjoyable little "mini trip."

Photo © Donna Johnson
Amber & Caity at fun park in Waconia as night falls.

Let's play a guessing game: 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.

Last week's Guess picture

Mavis Anderson Morgan supplied last week's mystery photo.
Send us some mystery photos; we will line them up in our staging area to take their turn.

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.

Guessing this morning..... The little guy driving Grandpa's Ford is Jonathan Hill, grandson of Dwight Anderson.

A series of recollections, of the five years when Bill and Lois Dake and their family lived in Minnesota, began with the episode in Bulletin 343. It's too soon to tell just how many parts there will be in this series, just after World War II. In Bulletin 349, I told more about polio (once called Infantile Paralysis) via two links, Polio and Sister Kenny, to minimize disruption of the narrative flow. Both documents are posted as a series of scanned images. We can't edit them or correct typos and they will not respond to font changes or printer settings as regular Bulletin pages do.

Certainly, this month of January 1950 in St. Cloud is much more pleasant than January of 1949 in Bemidji. To walk to our classes is a matter of a mere half block cut across the street from where we live. (I must tell you a little episode that occurred in our rooming facility that highlighted our attitude toward living here.) There is also the fact that it seems much warmer here than it did in Bemidji. And, of course, there is Don!

We girls may complain about the strict rules, but we do not want to lose the privilege of living here. It is by far the most convenient place for the second year college girls to live. Most all of our friends wonder how we were lucky enough to get the privilege!

For a month or so, Joanie and I have been grumbling to each other about a condition that exists here. We have three smokers rooming across the hall from us. We all have been told that it is against the rules to smoke in this house. I think I told you that out of the northwest corner of our room a door opens onto a deck on the roof of the garage. It has a couple chairs and a table between them. The rest consider us lucky to have it for relaxing.

Well, two of those smokers have taken up the habit of coming to our door after our lights go out, opening the door and asking if they can go out on our porch. We made the mistake of letting them do it one time -- now they have been coming, without bothering to ask, when they want to sneak a final smoke for the day.

This week our grumbling stopped. On Monday, while we had visitors out on the porch, there came a soft knock on the door. When Joanie opened the door, there stood Mrs. Pinore. She asked our permission to come through. She caught the girls "flat footed"!

They tried to present their case with two arguments. One: it really wasn't in the house, and two: Dorothy and Joanie didn't mind them smoking there.

One thing Mrs. Pinore isn't, is gullible. She made it plain that her house included the porches, and she wanted no smoking on either of them, just the same as the rest of the house, and then she turned and said, "Joan and Dorothy, is it true that you do not mind Doris and Mary Lou coming through your room and smoking on your porch?"

What a brave girl is our Joanie! Her answer went something like this, "No, it is not true; we do not like the smoke drifting in, we do not like being disturbed when we are trying to sleep, and we would rather that no one traipses through our room to be on our porch without an invitation." Bless her! I didn't dare say it, but I did express my agreement with her statement.

The girls apologized to Mrs. Pinore and then to us. You know, everybody may talk about how tough the rules are, BUT nobody wants to be kicked out of this choice location! I think there will be no further trouble with our traffic problem.

Now, to bring up a couple of plans for January. My friend Don Anderson says his mom and dad have invited me to come for a weekend to meet his family. I guess they have lots of snow, so I am to dress for cold -- their driveway fills with drifts very easily. But even if it fills the driveway, Don says they will take us from the main road up their driveway, using their team to pull a sled if it is too deep to get the cars through.

So that is to be one of the next two weekends. I expect to like them fine. I know Elaine is nice, and I am sure the rest are, too. I just hope they like me.

The other plan includes a team of horses, too. At home they (the usual planners) are planning a hayride. We don't have horses but our neighbors, Ervin and Helen Wrobbel, do. Vonnie is one of the planners. She has some nice cousins. (I can't remember their names but I have met them and they are fun.) They are thrilled to think they can come with their children and we can all have an old-fashioned hayride. I hear my Grandma Mellon plans to ride, sitting on a hay bale. She is always right in the middle of such kind of plans. I think my dad will go and so will Grandpa Mellon. But Mom intends to help Helen with preparing the lunch.

The rest of us will fill the hay wagon that Ervin has mounted on runners. We may get cold but we will sing and tease and then have some hot chocolate when we finish and maybe pop up some corn or make some taffy. You never know, but it will be fun!

I guess I am not afraid of getting cold. But one thing I wonder -- where do I fit in my studies?

Photo © Frans de Been
Frans's front flower garden.

Greetings from the Netherlands
by Frans de Been
Oosterhout, The Netherlands

I will send some pictures from the front garden. Yes, the flowers standing nice this year.

Photo © Frans de Been
White fibrous begonias in Frans's front flower garden.

Photo © Frans de Been
Pink & white fibrous begonias in Frans's front flower garden.

This Week's Birthdays
August 30---Jessica Myron Gauderman
August 30---Ethan Wallace Horne (8 years old)
August 31---Devan Alexander Seaman (8 years old)
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
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
August 30---Chris and Jennie Dake Horne (13 years)
September 2---Michael and Sarah Dake Steinhauer (8 years)
September 4---Ernie and Carolyn Miller Dake (39 years)
Congratulations!

More September Birthdays
'
September 5---Genelle Mogck
September 5---Lori Chap Ostendorf
September 5---Gabriella Ruth Boltz (2 years)
September 7---Brendan Aydelotte (11 years)
September 12---Lindsay Dawn Hellevang
September 15---Carolyn Miller Dake
September 15---Shari Miller Larson
September 19---Nathanial Kurtis Seaman
September 21---Jessica Aydelotte
September 23---Abigail Mae Henderson (2 years)
September 24---Wyatt Johnson
September 25---Keith Mason
September 26---Jaxon Dwight Hill (4 years)
September 26---Alexa Ann Gauderman (2 years)
September 28---Donald L. Anderson
September 30---Sheldon Swenson

More September Anniversaries
Z
September 7---Tim and Colette Huseby (14 years)
September 18---Jay and Sandy Miller Smith (11 years)

September Special Days
O
September 6---Labor Day
September 11---Patriot Day
September 12---Grandparents Day
September 22---First Day of Autumn

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?

Mom asked me to send a picture I took at "Splosher's" water park in Grand Forks when Marlee's girls, Alyssa and Angel, stayed with us.

Regarding The Little Beeps, no winner this week! The little dog was a Norwich Terrier. --Douglas

Very close, but no cigar. I don't think you smoke cigars anyway, so nothing lost. Thanks for playing, Auntie! --Douglas

A very educated guess! Unfortunately, it is also incorrect. Thanks for playing! --Douglas

This is about two days longer than I had planned to let pass before I wrote this letter to the editors for Bulletin #427, and may not even get it finished before I lay it aside again. Summer is a busy time, and we want to take advantage of the lovely days here in Minnesota.

Still, when we get a special paper like The Bulletin, we are more than glad to send a thanks for all it takes to put it together and get it sent out to all of us right on time. At least a time we have learned to expect it. Saturday morning is always an anticipation as we know The Bulletin will be there with all brand new pictures and stories IF subscribers have sent them in.

Of course, we knew there would be a great recap of the anniversary. Sixty years. That is a long time, but looking back, it probably doesn't seem very long, and looking ahead we know very well it will be short and go very fast.

Don and Dorothy look so youngish and happy. With such a caring, attentive family, and 126 well-wishers for that celebration, it would be reason for happiness.

Such an unusual, lovely cake with the simple Chrysanthemum topper! The food trays looked so elegant, and we would have so loved to have been there for that special day.

I was so glad for the web gallery to look at, which gave so many details via photos. I preferred the non-Flash version, as it seemed easier to see them than the Adobe Flash page did. I was happy there were so many pictures included, and I spent a lot of time looking closely at each one. Now the grand day is past, but memories remain.

The memorable first day of kindergarten and first day of first grade for the Indermarks tells us the family is growing up, and making changes right along with each day. I wonder which was the happiest day for Jordan -- the birthday or the first day of school?

I can see our Bitzi is enjoying her talents to the fullest when she can produce such a sweet picture like the two little girls. Each of us can decide what it was about. I think it is two sisters bringing flowers home to Mom.

Sarah isn't the only one who has creative ability and makes unusual things. Her little ones are busy making Art Flags under her direction, and who knows what they will dream up next?

I just knew the Day to Day by Donna Mae would include her children and grandchildren. We are glad to follow along in the doings, which give us a peek at their many lake adventures and family times.

I can hardly get over that photo illustration by Virginia McCorkell of the envelope for the anniversary. That is so clever. I have never seen one like that, and the photo on the stamp that says 60 years was the best of all. If that is a sample of how perfect your day went, Don and Dorothy, that could not have been better.

That picture book of the family must have been very special and touching, and a life-long memory to keep and pass on to a next generation. I hope we see that someday.

Memory Lane -- it has been like pulling back the curtain of the past to peek at a time when all this began. Don courting Dorothy. Who could forget those days? Even though they were 60 years ago, they are vivid in memory, so easy to recall and recount for The Bulletin. I don't know who looks happiest in the photo of the couple with Jim and Blanche's car.

It was great to have a Travelogue again. This time from the Netherlands, by Frans de Been. I hope Koen has recovered from whatever took him to the hospital, and postponed the trip to Austria.

WOW, how nice to read all the letters this time, and even one from my sister. Then my brother was a winner of the guess for The Little Beeps. That was all so exciting for me.

I thought the Quotation for the day was thought provoking this time, suggesting being devoted to certain important things in life. Does "devote" mean to give yourself over to it with your time and interest? Well, that's the way I feel about writing my thanks to the editors of The Bulletin. I am devoted to them, with grateful thanks, for once again taking effort and hours to create The Bulletin #427.

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.

Quotation for the day: Obedience is a natural response to effective leadership and this is true whether the people being led are adults or children. --John Rosemond, family psychologist

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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