Bulletin 209, June 18, 2006

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is June 18
Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell

Updates -

UPDATE -- Coni explores new treatment options
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

As I mentioned in last week's update, Coni is no longer taking part in the treatment protocol in Maryland and will begin a new treatment regimen soon here in Minnesota. Unfortunately, Dr. Rousey (the oncologist we have been meeting with locally) is on vacation this week and next, so there has been a delay in figuring out exactly what the new treatment regimen will entail.

On the positive side, the delay has allowed us to explore several options. Coni has corresponded with several members of her online support group for Adrenal Cortical cancer patients, who have suggested everything from laser surgery in Peoria to diet tips and supplements that are supposed to boost her immune system.

Next week we will be more active in seeking out treatment options. On Monday, Coni will meet with one of Dr. Rousey's colleagues at Minnesota Oncology and Hematology to get his input. On Wednesday she is going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to meet with Dr. Thompson (her surgeon) and an oncologist who is starting a trial study on another ACC treatment. She is also trying to line up an appointment with Dr. Foley to get advice on nutritional supplements she should be taking.

We feel good about getting opinions from so many different doctors. It's always good to have as much knowledge as possible behind our decisions. But it can be frustrating when each doctor has different opinions as to what to try next. At times we wish we could get them all in the same room at one time and have each of them tell us why their idea is the best and what is wrong with the other doctors' ideas, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

Anyway, this will be a busy week, but hopefully by this time next week we'll have a much better idea of what the next step will be in Coni's treatment.

Please keep Coni in your thoughts and prayers again this week. You can send e-mails and e-cards to her here: c_waltzing@hotmail.com.

Photo © Larry T. Dake, left; photo © Sarah Steinhauer, right.
Moving into new home, left; Chester & Levi read the mail, right.

FAMILY UPDATE -- Steinhauers are settling in
by Sarah (Dake) Steinhauer
Warroad, MN

As reported earlier, we have recently relocated from Breckenridge, Minnesota, to Warroad, Minnesota (which is on Lake of the Woods). Michael's job was transferred by his request to this area (Roseau County), so he is doing pretty much the same thing that he was doing before -- working as a Soil Conservation Technician. His office here seems to be a lot busier and he gets to work on a lot more outdoor projects.

We've been busy unpacking and settling into our new place. We bought a trailer house on 15+ acres that borders Beltrami State Forest (669,000 acres). We are really enjoying this area.

I have been taking Levi on walks down the forestry road that borders our property. We always take along the bug spray (and end up using it liberally) and the 9mm in case of larger intrusions. We should start taking along the camera, too, as we've seen wild orchids blooming, deer, and possibly even wolf tracks.

Last week Michael came home with a 5-week-old puppy in his lunch box. We named him Chester. He is dark brown with caramel colored highlights. He is 1/4 Chesapeake Bay Retriever, 1/4 Golden Retriever, and 1/2 Labrador Retriever (that's right, a three way retriever cross!). He should be able to fetch and swim! Other than the usual annoying puppy habits, he has been a pretty good dog.

We also inherited two mommy cats and four kittens with the place. Levi is thrilled. The cats are so good with Levi and they even tolerate him pulling their hair.

Levi has been growing like a weed -- getting taller and slimmer. He's not overly interested in toys right now, but he loves to play on the porch with the animals and he likes to look at books and play with anything that he sees us using -- like the phone.

One day when my sister Amy was here we took out the canoe. We didn't get far as the river we chose was small and clogged with downed trees and beaver dams, but we got real close to a baby fawn and had fun playing in the water on the sandbars.

Photos © Michael Steinhauer
Chester, the retriever, at 5 weeks, left; concealed fawn, right.

Here is our contact information:

Our new e-mail: mossls@wiktel.com

Our new phone number: (218) 386-1293

Our new address:

Michael, Sarah, and Levi Steinhauer
63172 County Road 2
Warroad, MN 56763

I guess I'll let that be all for now.

Love, Sarah (Dake) Steinhauer and family.

Photo © Amy Dake, left; photo © Michael Steinhauer, right.
Family in river, left; Levi & Sarah in river, right.

Photo © Donna Johnson
Doris & Junior, left; Tom & Mavis at treats buffet, right.

UPDATE -- a visit from Doris & Harry Anderson, Jr.
by Donna Anderson Johnson
Ashby, MN

Beaver and I made a trip to Wahpeton on Sunday, to join several others gathering to spend some time with Junior and Doris, while they were in North Dakota for a visit and also to attend his class reunion.

Thanks to Junior and Doris for the good eats! They supplied the entire group with an array of veggies, dip, fresh fruits, cheese and crackers with a grand finale of choice of pie. Very good!

Meeting at the Frying Pan, in their side room, worked out lovely for all ... especially as the rest of the weekend had not been the warmest and choosing an outdoor location might have had a poor outcome.

Photo © Donna Johnson
The Andersons: Harry Jr., Don and Dwight Anderson in back; DeLoris Anderson, Elaine Anderson Wold and Mavis Anderson Morgan, front.

UPDATE -- anniversary at the zoo
by Kristi Indermark
Portage, WI

My how the time flies by! Jim and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last week. We did this by taking Jordan and Tyler to the zoo in Madison; then we had lunch at Jim's favorite restaurant. We then had a babysitter for the kids and we went to dinner in the Dells and played a round of mini golf after dinner.

Jim and Kristi Indermark

Photo © Donna Johnson
Katie, Jackie, Caity and Jayce splashing in shallow stream.

Click on the picture or the link to read the memorial on the web. If you receive The Bulletin by e-mail, watch for a second Bulletin e-mail with the memorial. It is a very simple memorial to a very unassuming man ... whose word was "as good as gold." He did not like show and ostentation. We would like to invite subscribers to add memories in the form of Letters to the Editors for use in future editions of The Bulletin -- memories of William B. Dake as father, grandfather or friend. And memories of other fathers and grandfathers are equally welcome. We hope you'll also enjoy reading Beaver's and Weston's memories of their fathers in this issue of The Bulletin, as we did.

There are many good (searchable) memory pieces about various fathers in The Bulletin archives. Three examples, on Bill Dake, Jr.:

Dad on the Cletrac "cat," with Iver Hanson making adjustments.

The Johnson Gravel Business
By Beaver
A short history by David S. "Beaver" Johnson
Part 2 of 2

When we were old enough, my brother Richard and I were allowed to hang around the gravel pit when the crushing was being done. We cut a flat disc of rubber out of an old inner tube, and used it like a Frisbee, providing comic relief for the crushing crew, especially the day when the "Frisbee" went through the crusher, coming out into the oversize rock pile slightly worse for wear.

Another diversion was to drag a car tire to the top of one of the big gravel banks, and roll it down. There was a water hole where the sheep that were pastured in the pit went to drink. The tire would make a tremendous splash if we were lucky enough to hit the water hole.

After I had been promoted from entertainment to loader operator, Richard, who was probably nine or ten at the time, spent most of a morning dragging the car tire to the top of the highest gravel bank in the pit, rolling it from the exact place that Glen Dahlen had told him would be ideal. At the bottom of the bank, next to a conveyor, stood a 15-gallon open topped drum filled with waste oil for oiling drag bucket cables. The tire hit it dead center, throwing oil high in the air, soaking the conveyor and the drag bucket operator's platform with a black, sticky mess. We all looked at Dad, expecting the worst. He stopped the loader he was driving, glared at the oil soaked machinery and at Richard, still perched high on the gravel bank -- and burst out laughing.

In later years, a reversed H Farmall with a Farmhand loader fed the crusher. I started running this machine about the time I escaped from grade school, and kept the same job until we quit crushing several years later. The crusher required one man to stand on a platform and clear the screen that separated rocks from the gravel before crushing. Glen Dahlen, Gayle Langlie, John Evavold, David Balgaard, and Dennis Anderson were among those who got to do this dirty, noisy job.

The rock crushing, township graveling, and residential delivery continued through the 1950's and 1960's, with the fleet growing to five Dodge trucks, and the Cletrac "cat" replaced by a Caterpillar D-4 with front-end loader. The draglines fell into disuse, the D-4 being a much better way of moving gravel to the conveyors as well as for direct loading of trucks. As ready mix concrete replaced on site cement mixing, the crushing and cement gravel screening came to an end, replaced by fill, mortar sand, black dirt, and road gravel sales.

Due to ill health, Donald was forced to give up the farming and gravel hauling by 1970. He bought a coin laundry in Ashby and added an antique store called The Treasure Cove in the same building, turning over the farming and gravel business that he loved to my brother and me. When Richard left to seek his fortune in Alaska and California, I had a one-truck gravel business. This truck was our first V-8, a 1957 Dodge that needed a new engine about every ten thousand miles. The business consisted of deliveries to farm, residential and lake cabin customers, as it continues today. The 1957 Dodge gave way to a 1971 International in 1975. This truck served dependably until a 1985 International replaced it in the year 2000.

After a couple of unsuccessful tries at screening our sticky mortar sand, I found a rotary screener that would work. After several years of renting a prototype, I bought the screener, and now use it for mortar sand and black dirt. Two 1960's vintage Michigan wheel loaders have long since replaced the D-4 cat. If you are on the road around Ashby and see a little orange dump truck with a white haired, bewhiskered fellow at the wheel, it will probably be me.

Beaver in orange dump truck with Lexie, a dog that loves to ride along.

Thanks, Dad!
By Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

After my parents divorced while I was in junior high school, for several of my teenage years the farm was inhabited only by my dad, Wyatt, Ben and me. This meant we had to learn to do all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry and other household chores that had always been done by my mom (with a little help from her boys from time to time).

This situation presented some challenges. I seem to remember having some pink T-shirts after inadvertently mixing a new red shirt with a load of whites. Probably more than once. But it led to some fun times and good memories, too.

Some of my favorite memories were our regular grocery shopping trips to Fergus Falls. When we only needed a few items, we would pick them up at the grocery store in Ashby. But when it was time to fill the fridge, freezer and cupboards, we jumped in the van and headed to Fergus for some serious shopping!

The usual cast of characters for these excursions included Dad, Ben and me. Wyatt came along once in a while, but was usually busy courting Jolene. So he missed out on most of the shopping trips, but I'd say that worked out pretty well for him in the end.

When we arrived in Fergus, our first stop was usually the library, where we'd pick out a book or two and return the books we had checked out on our previous trip. Next it was off to the bread store to stock up on day-old bread to store in the freezer at home. By then it was supper time, so we'd agree on a restaurant, usually the buffet at the Ponderosa. Where else could we have spaghetti and fried chicken in one meal, not to mention on one plate?

After dinner, we stopped at my dad's personal heaven (known to the rest of us as Fleet Farm), usually to pick up supplies for the fence we would be building or the cattle we'd be vaccinating in the coming days. The next stop was Wal-Mart, the final warm up before the main event.

The grocery store was the culmination of the long evening of shopping. Our first couple of trips to the More-4 supermarket were tentative, as we found our way through endless aisles of every food product known to man (or Fergus Falls area man, anyway). But soon we became a well oiled machine. Ben and I would take turns pushing the cart, as we found the items on our carefully crafted list and added them to the cart. By the time we passed through the last aisle, the cart would be heaping with the day's bounty.

At this point, Dad and Ben would stake out a place in the checkout line while I ran back to pick up the couple of items on the list we missed the first time through (hey, nobody's perfect). We would then break out the coupons we had been saving, and would always check the bottom of the receipt to see how much we had saved.

When the groceries were loaded in the van, we hit the road for home. All that shopping can make a person hungry, so we would usually end up splitting a box of doughnuts and a carton of orange juice on the drive home. When we got back home, we would all chip in to get the groceries put away before heading to bed for the night.

Looking back now, the thing that sticks with me about our grocery shopping trips is the way Dad took a situation that wasn't easy for any of us and turned it into an opportunity for us to make some fun memories together. Sure, grocery shopping may not be a typical father/son bonding activity, but it was easily as effective as a trip to the ballpark or an afternoon of fishing. And the lessons I learned about making the most of a difficult situation have helped make me the person I am today. So on this Father's Day weekend, I'd like to thank my dad for everything he has done and continues to do for his boys.

Greg and Sonja Dake left Durham, North Carolina, for Shanghai, China, on January 6th and returned January 28th. It was a business trip for Greg and Sonja went along. They took extra time for sightseeing while they were there.

Photo © Greg & Sonja Dake
Sonja jade shopping, left; Greg & Sonja by Three Pagodas pool, right.

Traveling to Yunnan Province

Visiting Dali -- Three Pagodas
(posted by Sonja)

Between visiting Butterfly Spring and the Three Pagodas, we visited two factories. These are the kind of shopping stops that are typical on tours in China. You visit a store on your route and mostly likely the tour company and/or tour guide get kickbacks. It wasn't so bad, though. There was only supposed to be one shopping stop in Dali but we ended up choosing to go on a second one.

The first was a jade factory. We walked all around and looked at things as small as pendants and as large as 3 foot tall jade sculptures. There were necklaces and bracelets and earrings and all sorts of things carved from jade. We were told that the jade is imported from Burma and made into things there in the factory. We ended up each buying a small pendant necklace, Buddha for me, Guanyin for Greg. Will explained to us that that was the proper kind to get -- guys all get Guanyin, gals all get Buddha. Not sure why that is, suppose I should Google it. We ended up spending 250rmb on mine and about 350rmb on Greg's, which sounds like a lot of money until you convert it to US dollars. About $79 total for both, for some nice jade.

We looked at some marble things there that we liked more than the jade, but Will said that if we wanted marble we should go to a marble factory for a better selection. So off we went to the second shopping trip. We saw so many beautiful things at the marble factory it was hard to decide what to get. We finally settled on a framed piece of marble that looked like white snow on a black mountain peak. It was too large to take home in a suitcase so the shop packed it up and arranged for it to be mailed to us. It would take a month or so to get here, we were told. I also bought a small turned marble box, out of red marble with a matching lid, for 20rmb. Afterward I wished I'd bought a dozen or so; for $2.50 each they would have been great gift souvenirs back home.

Greg paid about 3400rmb, or about $415, with shipping and all, for a large piece, about 2' x 3'. It is black and white and will look absolutely gorgeous over our white with black veins marble fireplace in the living room.

Back to the van and we went on to our next site, the Three Pagodas, the icon of Dali. These are three very tall pagodas, two on either side shorter than the middle one. Lots of pictures taken there as well. It was very quiet and peaceful there, as opposed to the crowd that formed at the Butterfly Spring soon after we arrived. The air smelled of spruce trees, and the only sounds were the wind in the trees, the lapping of water later on from the reflecting pool, and the sound of a gong being struck at an altar for the local god.

Will offered to take a picture of Greg and me sitting on the edge of the reflecting pool. He was very good about doing that sort of thing. So we sat there, and he readied our camera. There were several other people there, sitting on nearby steps, watching this whole process. All of them were Chinese. When Will was ready to take the picture, he said "Okay, ready, one, two..." and one wise guy in the crowd said out loud, "Three!" Everyone around had a good laugh at that. It was kind of surprising, because this was a middle-aged guy; most of the people we found to speak English were of a younger generation.

Behind the viewing tower for the pagodas was a huge, active Buddhist monastery. We wanted to go there but the guide said it was too big to see in less than two hours and there wasn't time. He said to remember it and our next trip to Dali make sure it was on our itinerary. We walked through a museum of relics found when the middle pagoda, the tallest one, was rebuilt after being badly damaged in the 1996 Earthquake. There were many small gold and bronze statues of Buddha and the Buddhist goddess of mercy, Guanyin.

From there we went back to the van and on into the old city section of Dali. We walked through it, but by this time I was too tired to notice much. There were lots of shops and restaurants, and people trying to sell us things as we walked by. That's about all I remember of it. We got back to the van and went on to our hotel.

Photo Editor's Note: We are serializing Sonja and Greg's web log and illustrating it with the photos they are posting, but there is far more photo material available than we will be able to fit in The Bulletin, so we also provide the links to the blog, for those who are interested:

Web Log: http://sonjas-travels.blogspot.com/

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

Marloes Passes Her Big Test

Yes, everyone, she did it okay. Marloes has got her secondary education qualifying. She passed the big test of her life and she can study now for her future.

We have here in Holland a ritual (I don't know if you have in the USA) when you have passed a school test you put your school bag and the national banner outside to show the people that you made this test.

Marloes celebrates a Rite of Passage with book bag, flowers & flag.

Editor's Note: I wrote to Frans: "I just took a Google search. It sounds like I have mixed up ideas. It says that you can be in schools run by the government, the church, and anyone who passes the exams can enter any type of school they choose. Do you have to pay for the college education?" I received this very informative answer by his daughter Marloes, who has just passed her graduating test:

Hello Dorothy.

This is Marloes! My dad showed me your e-mail you send. In the Netherlands it's different than in the U.S. I graduated, and I'm going to follow a Design-college/ education.

In the Netherlands you have to pay for it, anyhow. If the parents aren't making enough money to pay the college, the government will pay a bit.

My parents (or me, but my parents do) have to pay for books that I'll need for my education, and other little things I have to use. I hope you understand what I mean.

Greetings, Marloes.

This Week's Special Days
June 18---Father's Day -- Thanks, Dad!

This Week's Birthdays
June 18---Caitlynn Mae Chap (10 years)
June 19---Doris Anderson
June 19---Ashley Meyers
June 20---Spencer Aydelotte (12 years)
June 20---Roy Droel
June 20---Julian Montford
June 21---Ary Ommert Jr.
June 24---Aiden Montford (3 years)
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
June 18---Jason and Tami Anderson Hunt (2 years)
June 19---Curt and Patty Anderson Henderson (24 years)
June 20---Rich and Marlene Anderson Johnson (25 years)
June 20---Steve and Marian Miller (36 years)
Congratulations!

More June Birthdays
'
June 1---Jeremiah Dake
June 4---Merna Hellevang
June 5---Rian de Been-van Gageldonk
June 6---Jettison Quaid Freesemann (1 year)
June 7---Shane Swenson
June 8---Ashley Huseby (3 years)
June 16---Gina Henderson
June 17---Louise Cloyd

June 25---Ben Henderson
June 26---Greg Wm. Dake
June 26---De Myer
June 27---Sam Mellon
June 29---Tim Huseby

More June Anniversaries
Z
June 3---Larry and Ginny Dake McCorkell (34 years)
June 6---Wyatt and Jolene Johnson (8 years)
June 7---Clark and Susan Miller Smith (15 years)
June 10---Jim and Kristi Larson Indermark (6 years)

June Special Days
O
June 6---D Day
June 14---Flag Day
June 18---Father's Day
June 21---First Day of Summer

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

Here is Jazmine's 3-year old picture. (Her birthday was May 28th).

Jazmine started swimming lessons last week. She seems to love them! Jonathan and I take her every day and then stay to watch her.

Brenda Anderson Hill
Wahpeton, ND

Jazmine Hill, left, and Ashley Huseby, right, celebrated birthday #3.

Thank you for the birthday card for Ashley; she enjoyed it a lot. We celebrated her third birthday with her Grandma and Grandpa Huseby, Aunt Cindy (Tim's sister) and cousin Trevor. [Her birthday was June 8th.] We also had some friends from Cross Lake over with the youngest four of their children. The kids followed our tradition of decorating cupcakes and in all had a grand time playing together.

Colette Huseby
Breezy Point, MN

Let's see what happens when I sit at this computer with Bulletin #208 in front of me.

I was pretty sure that was Suzie McCorkell on that first picture, but I'm afraid I don't know Sarah and Amy well enough to recognize them.

Coni is still patiently taking treatments. Now we wait for an update on Diana. I hope she knows we think of her, too.

You would have to live in Arizona to submit a picture of that beautiful cactus like my sister did. It looks like it had quite an effect on our Jerrianne. Almost opposite ends of the poles -- Arizona to Alaska -- but Jerrianne remembers the cactus from her days in Arizona.

It wouldn't have been funny to have children in the play yard when that storm split the tree. Less leaves to rake, but it's not easy to lose an old tree that's like a friend. You get to just expect that tree to be there, and you appreciate the shade it gives.

Krista finally made it to her graduation from kindergarten, and now first grade looms ahead. She will do well; she is so bubbly and cute and smart!

It's always fun to read about Donna Mae's busy days with her family and company and activities. It makes me weary thinking of all she does, but then there are many years between us, too, and old age brings lots of slowing down changes.

To say I was surprised and shocked to see the GUESS picture is putting it mildly. That's what I call the good old days. I didn't submit that picture, and I didn't know anyone else that had one until Jerrianne explained it came from Mavis. It had been in the Reminisce magazine and was taken when I was about 26. Now I'm 76!

The Johnson Gravel Business was very interesting to me, having seen it myself. It is wonderful Beaver could remember and relate all the details that made the story so interesting. We will be anxious for Part 2 now: The Rest of the Story.

I was glad we had the story of the Butterfly Spring. I hadn't heard that before, and it probably is a famous tourist attraction we will never get to see. The customs in China are far from what I would ever want to fit into. I think Greg and Sonja are to be admired for all their willingness to be such good sports. Especially with the food and the restrooms. A once in a lifetime experience, unless Greg's work requires another foreign trip.

I am glad we can be getting acquainted with the service men from The Bulletin "family." Those who know them would be glad for the pictures and stories, and anyone who has put time in the service is to be appreciated and respected. Many things they would rather forget, I'm sure.

I am totally astounded that picture was Don Anderson, Jr. Is that the same person who has topped all the rest in the weight records Donna Mae is sponsoring? Or is it an earlier picture? [The filename indicated it was from 1986. -Ed.]

Doug, we are thrilled to have Foto-funnies back. Jazmine's eyes tell volumes.

Thanks again to our editors and helpers and contributors for another very special BULLETIN. Jerrianne mentioned something about it being 4 a.m. before she finished working on The Bulletin -- I hope we appreciate that.

Betty Droel

Quotation for the day: Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is a very important stage in their development. --David Gottesman