Sunday, July 17, 2005
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Branding time on the ranch in South Dakota this spring.
UPDATE -- Grandkids
by Carol Printz
Sydney, NE
I can't resist sharing pictures our daughter-in-law took at branding time on the ranch in South Dakota this spring. As you can see, the kids really "get into it." :>)
This is our son Justin on the horse at the far left, then his kids Wade, Callie, and another of their "ranch kid" friends, Clayton Williams, and the other adult is Darin Hanson, who also works on the ranch.
Then our youngest grandchild wanted to get in on the action with Daddy, too, below at left.
Here is our "city grandkid" Austin (blonde on the right in back, below) and his brothers Brandon (dark hair) and Ryan (in front) who went to Mt. Rushmore with us over Memorial Day weekend. Thought I'd better do "equal coverage" since I sent pictures of the "ranch grandkids"! :>) Carol
Amy rides with Daddy Justin, left; Brandon, Ryan & Austin, right.
The Tom and Mavis (Anderson) Morgan family.
UPDATE -- Morgan Family Annual Lake Retreat
by Merna Hellevang
Fargo, ND
The family of Tom and Mavis (Anderson) Morgan successfully carried out the plans for their third annual retreat at the lake. This year's location was on Leech Lake near Longville, Minnesota, at the Pikedale Lodge. Accommodations consisted of a three bedroom cabin with a full-size kitchen and large living area, three tents and Tom and Mavis's 5th wheel trailer.
This was no ordinary get-together, as most of the family was meeting the newest member for the first time. Baby Jettison Freesemann (age 4 weeks) made his debut appearance, and his maternal grandparents, aunt Char, uncles Tim and Ken, and several cousins were delighted to see this little charmer for the first time. Jettison was the main attraction for those four days.
The other highlights were boating, water skiing, wakeboarding, Scrabble game on the pontoon, a "pet" turtle, singing by the campfire, meals together in the cabin, Sunday meeting in Bemidji and a fantastic fireworks display in Walker.
Fourth of July Family Celebration at Leech Lake
Standing: Jessica Nelson (Ryan's girlfriend), Ryan, Merna, Ken, Lindsay and Brandon Hellevang, Tim, Char, Zach and Jessica Myron, Jeff Gauderman (Jessica Myron's boyfriend). Seated: Tom and Mavis Morgan, Marlee (holding 4 week-old Jettison) and Troy Freesemann. Front: Ty Myron, Sam (the Myron's 2 month-old German Shepherd puppy), Alyssa and Angel Freesemann.
The Matriarch Speaks W
by Dorothy (Dake) Anderson
Alexandria, MN
Eric & Alexis "Lexie" Anderson in 1988, left; "Lexie" in 1994, right.
Alexis Kristine Anderson
by Grandma Dorothy Anderson
Alexis was born to Donald and Kristin (Working) Anderson on June 18, 1984. She became part of the family that already included her brother Eric, who was four years older. She was soon known to one and all as Lexie. The first thing everyone noticed about Lexie was her beautiful blue eyes, lovely with a fringe of long eyelashes. The next thing was her energy level. She was never one to sit around much. Activity was the name of the game for her!
It was nice for Lexie and brother Eric that they lived in a very suitable home in Maple Grove. It was in a newly built and organized community. The swimming pool adjoined their property on the south side of their yard, the playing field was immediately to the west, and a nice little brook lay down a path to the east. This was all lovely for Lexie! She loved to swim, play good, active games, and go fishing ... especially if she could coax her Dad to go along fishing with her.
The school she attended did individual tracking of the children who were enrolled. This was great for helping with whatever special needs a child might have. Both Kristin and Donald were involved in helping their children's progress. I do not think that Lexie was terribly interested in much of the "sit around" activity of going to school -- but she was a very cooperative child and progressed towards independence.
Lexie was a part of a large and active extended family. She loved it when their family would go camping with her Grandpa and Grandma, Everett and Phyllis Working. And she had a cousin Rosa who was a farm girl and could teach her all about horses. That led to her horse collection. (When I offered to paint by number a picture for each of my grandchildren, Lexie chose matching pictures of beautiful horses.) She usually ignored indoor games. At one Anderson family get together I remember noticing that she and Danny Henderson went out and shot baskets when most of the rest of the kids were reading and playing board games.
She loved everyone! (But that didn't mean she couldn't have fusses with her brother.) She had pets that brought her joy and chores (that she didn't always remember to do). And she was very thoughtful and loving towards us all. It would have been nice to have had her to enjoy for our lifetime, but that wasn't to be. Lexie and her Mom lost their lives in an accident that happened after an active family vacation in 1996. The accident left her dad with life threatening injuries and her brother Eric with painful bruises, cuts, and scrapes and all of us with deep sadness -- but there is happiness, too, in our memories. We want you to know and remember Lexie as a part of our family.
Kristin, Alexis, Eric & Donnie Anderson, 1985.
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.)
How many can you identify?
Answers to last week's mystery pictures (click here to review them):
Editor's Note: It does seem strange that no one recognized the "weeper" last week! After all, you all must know that "Anty" got tired of trying to catch me smiling but finally gave up and took it of me at my regular occupation -- crying. And it is also strange that none of my children recognized their mother!!
Oh well, better luck with the next group... So then, my dears, that was Dorothy Dake crying her eyes out in the Guess photo in Bulletin 159! After all it was taken only 77 years ago, or so -- you should remember that!!
For the guessing game, I do believe the first one is our California relatives, Lisa, Lori, and Steven Anderson. The second one, I think, is Eric and Lexie Anderson.
Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND
The first picture is of Lisa, Lori and Steven Anderson from California, children of Harry, Jr. and Doris Anderson. The second photo is of Eric and Alexis ... Donnie Anderson, Jr.'s children.
Elaine Anderson Wold
Wahpeton, ND
Editor's Note: Both guesses are almost correct ... but the little girl with Eric Anderson is his second cousin Sarah Dake, Larry Dake's oldest daughter, not Eric's sister, Alexis ("Lexie").
I immediately recognized the left mystery photo this week. That’s us Anderson kids! Lisa is on the left, Steven is on the right, and I [Lori] am in the center. I want to say that it was taken in 1981, close to Lisa’s graduation from high school. It was a lot of fun seeing that picture again. I had just taken out the photo albums to show Keith some old photos of us, and that was one of the shots we looked at. :)
Lori Anderson
La Mirada, CA
LTD Storybrooke 
Travelogue t
The Bolivian Beat
By Kjirsten Swenson
Photo Editor's Note: Kjirsten returned to Bolivia for a second year of independent study, prior to entering medical school at Baylor University in Houston later this summer. She has recently been trekking in Peru with her father, Sheldon, older brother Shane and his friend Marshall, and her younger brother Tyler, and his friend Greg. Kjirsten, Sheldon, Derek and Greg did this final trek.
Resting at scenic campsite, left; glacier tumbles into lake in Peru, right.
Mt. Santa Cruz Trek
by Sheldon Swenson, Guest Columnist
Dickinson, ND
We just got back into Huaraz a couple of hours ago, having completed the Santa Cruz trek that we had originally planned to do first. This trek was much easier but still got us into some very good scenery on the second and third day. I will try summarize.
Day uno: We met Demetrio, as planned, at Cashapampa -- this time with two mules for the four of us, minus Shane and Marshall. We basically climbed along the Santa Cruz river all day, once again going past the first campground to give more time in the high country tomorrow. We managed about 10 miles, climbing about 3,000 feet.
Greg was not impressed with Kjirsten's "health food" on the first trek, so I let him choose the evening meal. His choice was what he and Tyler had enjoyed with his father winter camping in the mountains of Montana last February: spam and chili. Kjirsten refused to cook or eat something that repulsive, so I had the honors. Actually it was quite good, a nice combination of protein, carbs and a little fat for extra energy.
Day dos: Tyler and Greg will go with Demetrio to Camp 2, about four miles up the trail. Kjirsten and I left around 6 a.m. to take advantage of early morning light and hike a side trail up to the south base of Alpamayo. This was the oposite side of what we had seen on the first trek. We arrived about 8 a.m., climbed a ridge above a lake and just enjoyed the outstanding views in all directions.
In addition to Alpamayo and other
mountains surrounding us, there was an alpine lake several hundred feet below us
with a large glacier feeding right into the lake. At one point we heard a
rumble and looked over to see a large avalanche in progress. The peaks
started clouding in around 10, so we hiked back to the trail, reaching the
next camp in early afternoon.
The views here were also quite outstanding, just different mountains in
the high apine valley of Santa Cruz. We are just below a pass we will
climb in the morning to cross into our exit valley. It was great to have
several hours to rest our legs, enjoy the views and afternoon sunshine and
watch the other trekkers arrive or pass by.
Day tres: We climb up to the pass and spend about 45 minutes enjoying the views, knowing it is all downhill from here, both in terms of elevation and scenery. This will be the high point of the trip, about 16,000 feet, but just one high pass this time. We then hike about six miles down the next valley to Camp 3, which surprisingly still has a couple of high peaks visible to the west.
A large treking group moves in to be our neighbors. We notice a propane stove and later get to smell their popcorn, fried chicken, etc. Greg is less impressed than ever with Kjirsten's vegetable soup with potato flakes thrown in for extra carbs, and tofu for extra protein. It probably doesn't help that we have now eaten this about eight of the last 12 days.
Day quatro: We continue hiking out the exit valley and after a couple of hours start running into some people herding sheep up into the valley for a day of grazing. Another hour or so and we start hiking by adobe homes with thatch roofs, small fields, people herding pigs, goats, etc. It was interesting to see pigs tied up, here and there, on ropes so they could feed on stuff along the trail. I never saw Beaver do that with his pigs.
We arrive at the end of the trail early in the afternoon. We had made arrangements for a cab to pick us up around 2 p.m. and fortunately he also arrived early. This enabled us to get back to Hauraz around 6 p.m., over the same mountain pass as before, but with much less approach time and also no flat tires. The showers once again were wonderful after coming in dirty and tired. The trek was good and a lot easier, but still plenty of up and down for the distance covered. Days two and three rivaled the best scenery of the Alpamayo trek.
The weather again was excellent. We did have a slight sprinkle during the first night which turned out to be the only rain we encountered during our entire three weeks in Peru.
We bought bus tickets for Lima and will leave Huaraz at 10 p.m.
tomorrow evening and arrive in Lima 6 a.m. Friday, fly out late Friday p.m.,
arriving in Minneapolis via Dallas on Saturday afternoon, as planned.
We just had dinner at Patrick's, French type food, with crepes a specialty. Greg and Kjirsten had Guinea Pig, quite good. I tried Alpaca; it was OK, but beef is better. Then crepes for dessert -- banana, chocolate, vanilla -- quite delicious after four days of trail food.
Kjirsten has discovered the Bolivians are protesting big time, the
president has resigned, the next two in line are not liked by the
masses. State Department issued a travel restriction today. She is
trying to communicate with her family and Bolivian Air to try figure
out if she will be able to fly in, or more importantly, will she be
able to get out.
Tyler and Greg continue to enjoy Peruvian food. They already have all
of tomorrow's meals planned.
Donkeys carry camping gear, left; mountain lake in crater, right.
Sheldon's photos of this trek: http://community.webshots.com/album/374928676DhgKCO
After leaving Nice, France, we took off for Venice, Italy, by train. We really did not get much sleep; the seats didn't recline and people were getting on and off at a bunch of the stops.
Finally, we arrived in Venice. We loved taking the "water bus" to the island of Lido. It was amazing. We stayed there two nights and took off for Rome.
We hit Pisa on the way to Rome and stopped there for a couple of hours and saw the Leaning Tower. We got to Rome late at night and stayed there two nights also.
While we were there we saw the Vatican, the Colosseum, a famous bath house, and Fonte di Trini, to mention the highlights.
We did not get to go into the Vatican because our shoulders and
knees were showing. They have a dress code that we were not aware of. It
was 90 degrees that day and we were wondering why people were wearing pants
and long sleeves! Oh well, maybe next time!
We left Rome and took off for an area of Italy called "Cinque Terre." Has anyone heard of this? This was our favorite part of the whole trip and though we hadn't originally planned to go there, we spent five nights there. We talked to some people along the way and they told us they went there and highly suggested it. I had also heard of it from an acquaintance from school who had said to go there for sure, but we didn't think we would get there. We are SO glad we did.
Cinque Terre consists of five little towns that are built on the side of the mountain, right by the sea. This is hard to describe so you'll have to refer to the pictures to see what I mean.
We bought a three day pass to take the train between the five towns or we could walk from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. We stayed in Riomaggiore, which is the first of the five towns.
Monterosso is the last and has the sandy beaches. We walked through each of
the towns on the second day we were there and can hardly tell people how
beautiful it was.
It was actually a difficult hike because we trekked up and down the mountain on a narrow path. It took us four hours. After that we just took the train to Monterosso and beached it the remainder of the time.
We left for Paris on Friday, the 3rd of June, and it was a 10 hour train ride. The
next day we took off for home! We had a blast over there, but we were very
happy to land on U.S.A. soil!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, left; Riomaggiore, looking out to sea, right.
More photos: click here to see Ben & Heather's European Web Gallery.
 |
 Colosseum |
 Roman Bath |
 Sunset |
Click on any enlargement to see the next enlargement.
Wyatt at the jumping rock, left; with eel pout, right.
Canada Works VI -- Hank and the Eel Pout
by Wyatt "Howie" Johnson
Moorhead, MN
Brianna, I still can't top your 13 pound Northern, but I can contribute a more exotic species!
Canada Works began as three guys, Muskie, Mickey, and Chip, decided to take a fishing trip on Lake of the Woods back in June of 2000. The name Canada Works came about because the fishermen are all John Deere employees, and many of the John Deere factories have names like "Waterloo Works." Canada Works became a way to covertly send emails with official sounding subjects, just in case someone was looking over a shoulder when a "Canada Works" email came in or a Canada Works after hours planning meeting was scheduled on our calendars.
The planning for these trips, of course, takes months, as we carefully plan our meals and itinerary. In Canada Works II, "Howie" (that's me, Wyatt!) joined the original three, and in Canada Works III, we added Wishy and Big D.
Every year, a theme for our Canada fishing trip comes to us as we spend our long hours on the water, waiting for the big ones. Canada Works I, which I didn't attend, has a rather pedestrian title of "It All Begins."
Canada Works II, which was my first trip, became "Old Snappy Meets His Match," as my fishing rod broke into two pieces only hours after I talked about how I'd had the rod since I was a kid. Canada Works III quickly became "The Year That Challenged," as flooding rains had flooded our usual Roseau route and washed out bridges on the way to the resort. Luckily for us, temporary bridges were in place by the time we got there.
Canada Works IV also got a rather boring moniker, "Canada Works 2+2," as it was back to the same four guys from Canada Works II, with Wishy out having a baby and Big D on a different vacation. Last year's Canada Works V became known as "The Euro Stinks," after a suddenly politically motivated Big D blurted out "The Euro Stinks" during a conversation.
As you may have noticed from the title, this year's Canada Works VI theme eventually became "Hank and the Eel Pout." Brianna, have you ever caught an eel pout? Neither have I … at least not at this point in the story…
Howie, Mickey and Wishy left Moorhead early in the morning on Monday, June 20th, heading for Bemidji, where we were meeting Muskie and Chip, who were coming from Wadena. Big D sat out this year, as he was traveling for work. We stopped at the Super Wal-Mart to do our grocery shopping. The checkout lady, eyeing our heaping carts, quipped, "It looks like you guys are camping for a month," to which we sheepishly responded, "No, it's only five days."
We continued north to Baudette, crossing the Rainy River before heading east, then north to Buena Vista Resort, along the east side of Lake of the Woods. We put the two boats in the water and took one out for an early evening spin around the lake. After Beaver Burger night (the guys love Dad's nickname, and they love their beef, so we feel the need to name each night's meals, too), we hit the hay, excited for the first day of fishing on the horizon.
The first day of fishing, we hit some of our old favorite spots, where we caught a lot of 14-18 inch walleyes, having enough for some shore lunch and a few to take home. The weather was a lot different from last year's low 60 degree temperatures and rain, with sunny skies and temperatures nearing 90. After a long day in the hot sun, we stopped at the jumping rock, a cliff about 15 feet high with very deep water under it, a great spot for jumping into the water.
We finished Tuesday night with Muskie Drummie night, where five guys consumed a grill full of chicken drummies. Muskie always eats about twice as many drummies as everyone else, so he gets his name attached to the meal.
Wednesday turned out to be the most successful, and disgusting, day of fishing we had this year. We went to a reef that we had never tried, which was out in the middle of a huge area of open water, with no islands near, but water coming up to about 6 feet deep, from the normal depth in the area of about 30 feet. Muskie caught a 24 inch walleye, which ended up the biggest of the week. I also managed to latch onto a monster eel pout (see the picture), which made me contemplate cutting my line before I finally got up the nerve to grab it, quickly extract the hook, and drop it in the water.
Wednesday ended with Beaver Pork night (we also love our pork chops), as I got the honors of manning the grill, relieving Mickey of his usual chef duties.
Thursday, our last day of fishing, started off slow as we tried some other new spots, but as we finally returned to some old stand-bys, we began to have success. The day's total catch didn't have the biggest fish we'd ever seen, but there were plenty of "nice eaters."
After getting the boats out of the water, Chip saw a sign on a bulletin board advertising a boat for sale, for about 2/3 of the price it would sell for in the US (even taking into account Canadian vs. US exchange rate). Since he's been in the market for a boat, he gave ol' Hank, the boat's owner, a call, and after taking the boat for a spin, decided to buy it. Thursday night ended with Jerome Meyer (Muskie's father-in-law)/ Beaver Johnson steak night, with the five of us finally giving up on the 10 T-bones we grilled.
So there you have it, the story of "Hank and the Eel Pout."
Wyatt
From left, Muskie, Wishy, Howie [Wyatt], Mickey, and Chip.
This and That
6
by Elaine Wold
Wahpeton, ND
1. I don't do windows because...
I love birds and don't want one to run into
a clean window and get hurt.
(I am compassionate)
2. I don't wax floors because...
I am terrified a guest will slip and hurt themselves.
I'd feel terrible and they may sue me.
(I am careful and poor)
3. I don't mind the dust bunnies because...
they are very good company,
I have named most of them,
and they agree with everything I say.
(I am imaginative)
4. I don't disturb cobwebs because...
I want every creature to have a home
of their own, and my family loves spiders.
(I am kind)
5. I don't Spring Clean because...
I love all the seasons
and don't want the others to get jealous.
(I am fair minded)
6. I don't plant a garden because...
I don't want to get in God's way,
he is an excellent designer.
(I am courteous)
7. I don't put things away because...
my family would never be able to find them again.
(I am considerate)
8. I don't do gourmet meals when I entertain because...
I don't want my guests to stress out over what to make
when they invite me over for dinner.
(I am thoughtful)
9. I don't iron because...
I choose to believe them when they say
"Permanent Press".
(I am trusting)
10. I don't stress much on anything because...
"Type A" personalities die young, and I want to stick
around and become a wrinkled up crusty ol' woman!!
(I am winning this battle!)
presented by
Melinda (Wold) Miranowski
Wahpeton, ND
Tractors received coats of many colors in the painting grove.
Painting Tractors In The Good Old Days
by Don Anderson
Alexandria, MN
Ben Johnson's article in last week's Bulletin brought back memories. I am sure many of you never knew how I got my start in the implement business.
In July of 1966, our family returned to Howard Lake, Minnesota, from a six week stay at Chadron, Nebraska. We lived at Highland (near Buffalo, Minnesota). I began working for the Allis Chalmers dealer in Buffalo. At this same time I began painting tractors for area farmers. This became a full time job and I gave up the job in Buffalo. As there was not a suitable building, I found a quiet spot in the grove. Here I steamed and prepared tractors for painting and all worked out fine.
Soon I was getting requests from area dealers to paint for them. My price was $22.50 per tractor. The dealer furnished the paint and decals. My "shop" was a beat up two wheel trailer to house the air compressor and tools. I had a very beat up 1941 Chevrolet pickup to pull tractors in the painting area. I used chains on the rear wheels, as the steam cleaning area was muddy.
This worked out very well and I had tractors lining the driveway waiting to be painted. Only negative thing: sometimes my newly painted tractor was "bombed" by our feathered friends.
I continued this until November 11th, 1967, when winter set in. Later on, a good friend, Paul Eddy from Howard Lake, come out to see me. He wanted to sell me land to build a place where area farmers could get repair work done. He offered to sell me as much land as I wanted, for nothing down and pay it as I could. Not a bad deal; I agreed on four acres.
Ed Bergstrom, Massey dealer in Buffalo, who I painted tractors for and who was also on the board of directors at the Buffalo National Bank, told them of my operation and I was invited to visit them regarding help in setting up a business place. They agreed to do so.
Spring of 1968 plans were in order to go ahead. Having a building put up, a well drilled and starting a new house made for busy times.
President Homes were hired to put up the house, framework only. I finished the roof, sheetrock, electrical, floors, and painting, working past midnight every working day. Getting help from the kids and wife, and some of the other relatives, helped it go up pretty fast..
The shop was a metal pole barn type. It had no insulation or heating system, and just a dirt floor. During the winter I put in the insulation and used an oil fired portable heater for heat. As I remember, it was trying times to keep going in the cold winter months.
The following spring I put in a cement floor and a hot water heating system.
I would steam clean two tractors and paint two every day. I tried to paint tractors of the same color at a time. My employees were Dorothy, steam cleaner expert, and Donnie and Donna, muffler and wheel artists. They were efficient workers.
During that time I had 50 dealers bringing tractors for paint. I did some auto body and paint work, too. I bought and sold farm equipment, hauling it from North Dakota.
As my back problems were not improving, I decided to sell in 1972.
Donna and George were married on my birthday that year and we made a deal to sell to them. They assumed operation and my last day was the day our first granddaughter, Lori, came into the world. (After all, I am now a grandfather; it is time to relax a bit.)
Times have changed a lot since then. I bought my first implement truck for $150 and gas was 45 cents a gallon. A good meal out was $1.75 and land was affordable. I think I lived in the good old days!
Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of 5
Hetty Hooper
This Week's Birthdays:
July 18---Callie Printz (4 years)
July 19---Patricia Dake Meyer
July 19---Marlee Freesemann
July 19---Devon S. Stewart (11 years)
July 20---Michael Miller
July 20---Susie Miller
Happy Birthday!
This Week's Anniversaries
July 19---Dan and Nancy Mellon (36 years)
Congratulations!
More July Birthdays:
'
July 1---Suzanne McCorkell
July 3---Vonnie Dake
July 5---LeRoy Dake
July 5---Jennifer Dake Horne
July 6---James Miller
July 7---Kimberly Johnson
July 8---Trenton Loredo Roberson (2 years)
July 13---Zach Bratten
July 15---Tom Morgan
July 15---William Earl Dake
July 15---Sherry Dake
July 24---Jeni Larson
July 26---Tytus Joshua Myron
July 27---Wyatt Timothy Mellon (8 years)
July 29---Heather Henderson
July 29---Colleen Mellon Scott
July 30---Justin Printz
July 31---Tim Myron
More July Anniversaries
Z
July 27---Larry and Sherry Dake (27 years)
July 29---Charles and Ardis Sigman Quick (33 years)
July Special Days
O
July 4---Independence Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miss Hetty's Mailbox:
Dear Miss Hetty,
Popeye got "tutored," with the help of a "scholarship" from Miss Jerrianne. He got his first round of vaccinations and a microchip with his name and address on it. He is recuperating in our back yard, wearing my outgrown harness with his official tags on it so he won't be mistaken for a stray again. He will be returning to his owners as soon as he's feeling up to it. I'm trying not to be jealous of all the attention he's been getting, but it's hard.
Miss Kitty
Miss Hetty Says
We have a couple of news items for you, dear readers: The first -- Jim Miller is visiting in Minnesota. He is staying at the Duane Miller home, and has been visiting several friends and relatives. The Matriarch and her husband enjoyed an overnight visit with him. We have a couple of pictures of his great grandkids Jordan and Tyler Indermark that didn't fit in last week's Bulletin, too.
The second -- Caity should now be spared further sore throat bouts as she had her tonsils out this week (was really brave!). She is improving and should soon be eating solids again!
Tyler with Daddy Jim Indermark, left; Jordan Indermark, right.
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?
Everyone!
Miss Hetty
+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. on my tractor update in Bulletin 160:
While the pictures were being taken, the tractor quit on me, but after a few hours of messing around with the wiring I got it going again.
Last Saturday I drove it down to the lake and met up with some more tractors and we went to Evansville for the parade -- and everything works great.
Ben Johnson
Ashby, MN
It was fun to see the old "M" Farmall restored to like new. It looks just like it did when I was logging a lot of hours on it thirty plus years ago, except the paint was pretty well faded to rusty red because it was already an old tractor by then. I guess it never needed to go to the Farmer's Equity shop for major work and a paint job "while they were at it" during that time. Getting big enough to drive the "M," with the heavy push required for the clutch and brake, was a sort of milestone of growing up, after mastering first the little Allis Chalmers "B" and then the "H" Farmall.
Well done, Ben.
Richard Johnson
Lowell, OR
What a treat to open The Bulletin and see Ben on a shiny red tractor that I remember as being not so shiny red when I was a kid! I can't imagine how many hours he spent restoring it. We have a deck that needs restoring, Ben....
Mitzi Swenson
Dickinson, ND
Photo Editor's Note: Hmmm ... it looks just about the way I remember it, when it was new ... or maybe it was just new to us ... when I was a kid. It couldn't have been more than 50-some years ago. --Jerrianne
I am glad to see that edition #160 of your fine publication has real class -- you see, you achieved that status by featuring a farm tractor story in the coveted headline article! Being an old, no, make that, a former farm boy and farmer, I am still very interested in farm "stuff" -- especially the old machinery. You have probably heard the old saying, you can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy.
Congratulations, Ben, on a fine restoration job! One of the disadvantages of living in south Florida is the lack of real farming and related activities -- the nearest farm tractor dealership that I know of is over 100 miles from here and that is a John Deere dealership, which hardly even qualifies. (I just had to put that in for you JD fans.)
When I was growing up, my dad had Allis Chalmers equipment, so I have always had a soft spot in my heart for "orange." However, when we were farming, we did have a couple of "M"s and a "1066" International. If my memory serves me, when I was growing up my dad and Uncle Don spent (and probably still spend) considerable time trading barbs about the wonderful features and advantages of their brand of car or tractor or whatever over the other person's brand. Ben, how many John Deere tractor drivers does it take to change a light bulb? ... None, they prefer to stay in the dark!!!
I was glad to see the little biography of Tom Morgan. We see Tom and Mavis once in a great while at Special Meeting or such here in Florida. To Floridans, they live on the West Coast and we live on the East Coast -- translated, that means they live in the Ft. Myers area (not California) and we live in the Ft. Lauderdale area (not New York or Massachusetts).
I also collect farm toys (on a small scale), again, mostly Allis Chalmers. I have purchased quite a few on e-Bay, which is great for shopping toys since there aren't dealers or toy shows close.
Just one more comment and then I promise I will quit: When my grandson, Alexander, was born 5 years ago, I was going to buy him a tractor. No problem, right? Just go to the toy store and buy him one. Not in south Florida -- you can get thousands of big wheel trucks or Morph Monsters, but not one tractor (not even a John Deere). I know, I tried all the stores: Wal-Mart, Target, TOYS-R-Us, Kaybees! The whole lot of them. I had to get him one from e-Bay.
All now from the hurricane plagued (it missed us) Florida!
Steve Miller
Coral Springs, FL
Wow, two pictures of Stevie in one issue! Ooops... I guess I let the cat out of the bag there for your picture guessing game and I bet no one calls him "Stevie" anymore, either. Looks like he was having fun at the ball game, but I bet the Twins won ... or not. What an engaging issue!
Ben's tractor looks great; sounds like a cool project. I liked Tom's bio ... what a modest, unassuming fellow ... I'm sure there's lots he's leaving out, but not everyone likes to talk about themselves as much as I do, I guess.
I'm glad everything turned out well for Popeye in Anchorage ... those photos were wonderful!
Shari's piece on Grandpa was so sweet it gave me a lump in my throat ... but if I'm not mistaken ... he was MY grandpa!
But my favorite was Betty's letter ... I guess I'm just a sucker for troll sightings! Thanks for another wonderful read!
Doug Anderson-Jordet
St. Cloud, MN
I finally got The Bulletin read in between mowing and cleaning. When I need a rest I sit down at the desk. Another fine output. The pictures with the stories are great. We can travel from HOME with all the adventures people enter.
Keep up the good work.
Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND
Lori sent a nice photo at the Angels-Twins game. I am sure they were rootin' for the Angels, but most on this subscribers list are likely MINNESOTA Twins fans! Nice to hear from others!
Elaine Anderson Wold
Wahpeton, ND
I just pushed aside everything -- made a cup of instant coffee -- sat down at the table with The Bulletin before me. Went into this other world of enjoying every single page and picture and word ...... and it was another very, very interesting and even exciting one.
The first thing that caught my eye was the RED tractor. I was wondering if it was a
story about the rebuilt ones you did, Don. I can still see them along the driveway of
your home in Howard Lake. BUT, it wasn't yours. I was trying to think if I had ever
seen the tractor in the days when it was being used for real work, but can't remember.
I just knew that it would be saying that the paint had gotten into something, and that's why it didn't start -- but thank goodness, I was wrong.
What a prize treasure after all that work and anxiety over getting it done by the deadline. It seemed like there must be a page missing. It ended so abruptly. We never did hear about the Evansville parade or the tractor demonstration. Maybe that will come in the next Bulletin.
Pretty interesting to read about the cowboys right here in Minnesota. Wonder if the cows,
etc. are still free range out in the woods and hills? A lot of work to get them rounded
up; I remember how easily spooked they were.
It hurts your heart to read about the servicemen over there in Iraq -- especially when
it's someone you know, so you know it's all true about the sandstorms, etc. Our
boys are so used to a better living, and then go over there; suffering in so many ways
is hard to understand. How do they keep their sanity? Maybe they don't!
I was thrilled that Miss Kitty finally took the keyboard away from Miss Jerrianne to
send us that exciting letter about the bitter rival that ended up at their house. Thank
goodness it had a happy ending. At least Miss Kitty doesn't have to worry about
sharing anymore -- and let's hope Popeye forgets the way back down the block
to such a lavish living arrangement as it had there with the Lowthers.
The Tom Morgan story was especially interesting to me. My dad professed through
Tom Morgan and Wilfred Edwards in about 1917 in Manfred, North Dakota.
Sounds like Donna Mae had several people pretty worried there for awhile. This
body has a marvelous way of renewing itself, so I hope you are better, Donna.
I was flabbergasted that Larry Dake ended that story where he ended it. Honestly,
it was just disgusting! Roy said he went to a sheep ranch in Montana. Wonder
if he went there instead of Beaverton after the lady sold the shop? Those poor
folks! Can you imagine how they would have felt about then, after that phone call?
Miles from home. Almost broke. Their dream shattered. And then the story ends
right there ....... there had better be a sequel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The traveler stories were exciting, too, but it's beyond my imagination how they could
trek in such a no man's land and keep their directions, etc. Eating, sleeping, hygiene,
sun, bugs ....... oooofffda. Then the contrast of the Paris trip.......
I loved that one about My Grandpa ....... having known Grandpa Dake. We have to
get old to really value the good old days and the dear old folks.
I had to laugh at the Troll story. It was actually believable. Can hardly wait for the
next sighting. Could be he will keep under cover for a long time, who knows!
This is too long, and I feel I neglected some that had written so interestingly, and I
didn't comment. Forgive me. I enjoyed every single page and picture and story.
Thanks for including Roy and me in getting THE BULLETIN again.
Roy and Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN
CHUCKLES
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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.