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I spent Saturday in the hospital ... some complications in the incision from my recent surgery, and saw the doctor today, and he wants me to see the surgeon tomorrow, as there is a questionable sore spot developing on my upper right side, and they aren't quite sure what it is. I'll hopefully find out soon.

I hope this finds one and all healthy and happy. Hello to all.

Diana

Grandpa has graciously agreed to be our Lawn Maintenance Supervisor (and crew), so he wanted to get a look at the lawn equipment (riding lawn mower) and wouldn't ya know it ... he was able to start it right up! He also gave us some nice lake home gifts: screwdriver, hammer, pliers and a few more things that I'll most likely never use. That's all yours, Shawn! ;-) We were also able to assess the amount of work it will take to get everything else up and running and docks and pontoon in the lake. We plan to do that on April 29th-30th. We are excited beyond belief!

We would like to thank our helpers that day. First and foremost to Grandpa for agreeing to help with yard work and also Shawn's dad, who will be instrumental in helping us get the dock, pontoon and everything else ready for the summer. Caity and Kirsten pulled up plastic from the floor of the trailer that had been put down by the previously owners while they were showing the property and Caity vacuumed up any messes using our new mini Dirt Devil vacuum, which worked slick.

Mom helped me do some clean up and get the place freshened up. We opened all the windows to air it out and used air fresheners on the carpets and set some out to keep it smelling nice. The previous owners took great care of the trailer, so we are lucky to have a nice place to stay while we enjoy the lake. We hope to build at some time in the future. Jayce was also a big help -- he dug right in with Shawn on cleaning up the shoreline!

UPDATE -- new address for the Husebys
by Colette Huseby
Breezy Point, MN

Jim Miller, Kelly Seaman, Devon & Nathan ride "Little Engine That Could."

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"Easter bunnies," left to right: John Thoennes, Shawn Ostendorf, Jolene Johnson, Weston Johnson, Wyatt Johnson, Ben Johnson, Lori Chap.

Easter Egg Hunt

$  A Long Time Ago   !

Ruth (Miller) Collings, one of our father's first cousins, gave me a copy of a 12-page manuscript her father had written in 1960 of his growing up years (1880s-1890s) near Ashby, Minnesota. This is another excerpt. [Words in square brackets were added by me.] --Jerrianne

On November 1, 1960, our great uncle Edward W. Miller wrote:

SCHOOL DAYS
by Edward W. Miller
Ontario, CA

I continued to attend the one-room school during the winter months until I was eighteen years of age. My mother was determined that her children were to have as much of an education as possible, but my father was not concerned about it at all. Mother managed to arrange for my two sisters and myself to continue on to school in Fergus Falls, which was a distance of about twenty-five miles from our farm.

The girls would get to start at the beginning of the term and remain through to the end. I had to remain on the farm until all the fall farm work was done. Then, when spring came, I had to drop out from school in order to help put in the crops. That gave me somewhere from four to five months in the middle of each school term.

I spent a few months in the seventh grade in Fergus Falls and the following year was admitted to the eighth grade. I was eighteen years old by that time, and Amelia, two years younger than I, was well along in high school.

We rented rooms and boarded ourselves. Most of the produce we needed came from the farm. My mother made many long, hard trips to keep us supplied. The only method of transportation was by team and wagon.

In order to earn money to help out with expenses, I used to spend Saturdays sawing wood that was used for fuel. I would saw a cord that came in four-foot lengths into three pieces, for which I was paid from forty to fifty cents. With a hand buck-saw it was an all-day job, beginning at daylight and lasting until dark.

After spending half sessions for two years in the eighth grade, I was pronounced eligible to enter high school, but I never did. My two sisters did and graduated with honors.

A small business college had started up in Fergus Falls, and my father decided that was the place for me. I wanted to go to high school but was compelled to spend two short terms at the business college.

By the time that was over, my sister Amelia had graduated from the high school [in 1904], and with the help of my mother, I was permitted to go with her for a short summer session at the normal school [for teacher training] in Moorhead, Minnesota. We again rented rooms and boarded ourselves. By the skin of my teeth, I did get a credential that permitted me to teach in a one-room, country school similar to the first one I attended.

Sudoku, Anyone?
http://www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/index.shtml

The word Sudoko was touched on in several Bulletins recently, and it caused me to wonder if there are others out there who enjoy doing those puzzles.

My first encounter with one was a book that Muriel had purchased in California, while visiting there at Christmas time. It had just reached a craze there then. The book didn't strike me as something I could learn to do, but after looking at it a few times, I learned how to do them and have found them interesting and challenging.

Sudoko puzzles are time-consuming pastimes, just as crosswords or jigsaw puzzles are. One can find the puzzles in most daily newspapers, or in books in drug, grocery, or discount stores. They all vary from simple to very difficult.

To do the puzzle, one must put in numbers from 1 to 9 in vertical and horizontal rows so the same number does not appear twice in the same row. One does not guess at which number goes in which space, but rather there is reason why only one number will fit in that particular square. Doing a Sudoku requires logic, skill, and deep thinking, yet it is addictive and challenging.

It is said doing such games and puzzles helps keep one's mind stimulated and actively working.

Are there others of the subscribers of The Bulletin who do them?

I think I will go and do one right now -- if I can remember where I put my book!

Photo © Donald L. Anderson
Chicken Yakitori With Roasted Green Beans
Click here for the Skinny Recipes collection.

Dear Miss Hetty,

Just a little line to tell you about a surprise special visitor to the Droel's yesterday: Virginia Adair. She had stopped in on her way from the dentist, and left off a small platter she found that I had been looking for but never could find. I was thrilled. Of course we chatted Bulletin, and about her friend and shadow, Bitzi. We were talking about Jack and his love for guitars.

She had on a new jacket she had just finished in her quilting world. She spent some days at a quilting retreat with her two daughters. Sounded like a truly special time together.

Seems our conversation always drifts to The Bulletin world! NICE.

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN

+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
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Click here to review last week's Bulletin

Hi Dorothy,

Congratulations on your 200th Bulletin! It’s a joy to read each issue.

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

Imagine! Bulletin #200. Am sure you never thought ahead that far when you were writing Bulletin number 2.... Congratulations for such a thriving growing Bulletin. I am so glad to be a part of The Bulletin world. Thanks for including the Droels.

I spent way too much time just looking and looking at that beautiful White Amaryllis blossom on the first picture. On the screen it shows up so clear and big, with the little details nature put into that unusual, pure flower. Thanks, Jerrianne, for your expertise in taking those pictures and sharing them.

The Update of Coni, and Weston was welcome again. We have gotten very involved in their progress, as The Bulletin keeps us informed to where we feel we know them, too, although we have never met them. Their plight as a young couple with so many prospects is what touches our hearts. Our son, Darrrel and his wife, Johanna, write about the cherry blossoms in DC where they live, so we loved seeing that picture taken of Coni and Weston with them.

Diana must have put forth a lot of effort to write that update for The Bulletin. We know she must not be feeling very well, but somehow The Bulletin draws out our best efforts.

Fun to watch as our little girls become older girls with different interests, etc. The story of the Mall trip and the Victorian pictures will be a treasure in a few years.

I was positive that was DUANE MILLER on the photo by Donna Johnson. He has not changed that much since a young boy, and I was very interested to see his children and to hear about his life's experiences through the years. Rosanna definitely has Miller eyes ... I thought of Jim right away when I saw her.

The Miller family: Duane, Jim, Blanche, Marjorie Olp, Sharon, Steve.

This picture is what I mean ... when I remember him best. Also Sharon and Steve.

Fun to see the picture of Donnie, who has lost so very much weight, and Shari does not change much.

I was extremely interested in what Carol Printz mentioned about Charles Goodnight. He was someone mutual friends knew, and we visited his museum and grave. He became a part of our faith in the years before he died. My mother was so enamored by his life's experiences that she kept everything in reference to him over several years.

And now you have met my sister. My only sister! She lives near Phoenix (Apache Junction), as you read. Ruth Kitto. Her husband is a full fledged cowboy with the cattle and roping and branding, but now is retired, so moved from Montana to Phoenix. Quite a contrast, I'd say.

We loved every single picture of our Matriarch, and I'd say she looked excellent for turning 80, after the struggle of having to put up with the effects of polio through the years. She was very deserving of such a grand celebration. She is loved by us all.

I have to pass on the GUESS pictures this time. (Photo Editor's Note: Look again and you just might find more evidence of those "Miller eyes" in Abigail Kraemer, Duane Miller's young granddaughter!)

Hopefully, Larry is improving from this serious eye condition. We patiently wait for whatever he can share with us again ... we miss the LTD Storybrooke.

The A Long Time Ago by Edward W. Miller was interesting again. I'm glad there were some scribes in that relationship to update us on the Good Old Days, and even the present ones.

Every chapter of the Shanghai experience makes me more thankful for our life in USA. Noise, smell, danger, customs, mobs and mobs of people ... I'm too old for that, but am sure it was a trip of a lifetime for Greg and Sonja.

Skinny Recipes from Donnie are genuine and authentic, when he has accomplished such a fantastic weight loss. Let's hear it for the WINNAH!!

April 23rd is soon here, when we get a detailed update and pictures of Miss Kitty turning 3.

Not everyone has a hand carved sign held by a bear ... Guess you have to reach 80. The Miss Hetty letters let us in on a lot of day by day comments of the readers. It's disappointing if there aren't any.

I love re-reading The Bulletin and being able to express all the feelings I have as I do. But, remember, if this is too long or dull or anything, please feel free to edit it right down to the bare bones.

Betty Droel

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.