Happy Holidays!
Visions of sugarplums...
Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photo by Jennie Horne.
Carrie Horne checks out a cool ride.

Updates -


Photo illustration © Kimberly Johnson
Brilliant sunset, crashing surf along the Washington coast.

UPDATE -- catching up with the Johnsons
by Marlene Johnson
Tacoma, WA -- for now

This update finds us in Tacoma, Washington, by way of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a one week stop in Burlington, Washington. Oh yes, there was also a "layover" in Rogue River, Oregon. We're getting around and that means we often wake up in the morning wondering where we are.

We, being the Minnesotans that we are, had to take a trip to the beach on the Washington coast this last Saturday. We sure didn't have to jockey for space in the sand, though we were surprised that there were other people there watching the beautiful waves. I'm sure if we had asked them they would have told us that they were visiting from Iowa or Minnesota or something like that.

We arrived on the coast at sunset and, as you can see from the pictures, it was beautiful. The waves were furious, which was probably the remnant of the storm that had recently pounded Seattle and the surrounding area. It surely wasn't a very good day for swimming. Maybe another time.

On another side trip we got to see Eric Printz in Tenino, which is about an hour south of where we're living in Tacoma. I noticed that, aside from looking very much like both his mom and dad, he also reminded me a lot of our cousin Steve in looks and in his sweet disposition. It was well worth our time to be able to see and hear him.

We were here in Tacoma for three days before the clouds lifted enough for us to see Mount Rainier. That tells you a little bit about how un-sunny it is here in the Pacific Northwest in the winter time. As we were leaving Burlington, Whitney and I actually saw a poor sheep with moss growing on its fleece. Moss on the trees, moss on the freeways, moss on roofs. You get the picture. It takes a lot of wet and shade to make that kind of moss. But the sun is out today, as I'm writing this update, and you can be sure that we're appreciating it.

I guess that gets us updated. We sure appreciate The Bulletin. It helps us feel connected. Thanks to everybody who writes in.

Marlene and the rest


Photo illustration © Kimberly Johnson
Beachcombing at sunset after winter storm.



Photo © Richard D. Johnson
A mob of brush-eating goats; no dogs visible in this picture!

UPDATE -- Richard Johnson-Mia Nelson family
by Richard D. Johnson
Lowell, OR

Thanks, Dorothy, and all of you who make The Bulletin happen. I do enjoy reading about what my relatives are up to, even though I don't get around to contributing very often. I also enjoy Larry Dake's stories.

We are still here on our butte in Lowell, Oregon. Our main projects this year are growing our herd of brush-munching goats, and getting new pastures fenced for them, logging and thinning trees on part of the land, and working with Bonneville Power to rebuild the road and remove some of the trees along their transmission line that runs through our property.

Mia's mom, Bonnie Nelson, passed away last April in Victoria, British Columbia. Mia was there with her then, and later to do some needed repairs on a house she owned there so it could be sold.

Wiley is staying in Eugene to go to school there, which he prefers to Lowell. He's here on the weekends helping us build goat fence.

Arbor prefers home school or no school and keeps busy on the land. He especially likes working in the shop with his grandpa Roy, building, modifying, and rebuilding our farm and construction equipment.

Our Sunridge housing development in Lowell is going well. We sold all the lots we wanted to, and we still have a few left on the second phase that we intend to build houses on before selling. We will probably do some work on the third phase in 2007 and finish that the following year.

I tried using my cell phone camera and the pictures were not very good. I have my standards. You have to be able to tell the goats from the dogs without labels. The digital camera I'm using here was selected for its one good feature. It's waterproof.


Photo © Richard D. Johnson
Goat corral constructed from discarded power line poles.

Storm Damage Report

The storm knocked some trees and power lines down here, but nothing too serious. Washington got the worst of it.

I did have to winch a three trunk incense cedar out of a neighbor's yard. We had thinned out the trees around it and the storm broke it off. Fortunately it missed the house. --Richard



Shawn & Lori (Chap) Ostendorf
Rogers, MN

Click here for more Holiday Greetings from The Bulletin subscribers.



Ken Harrison & Amy Dake

UPDATE -- engaged!
by Amy Dake
Brooks, MN

The "newest news" here is that Ken and I are engaged! He popped the question last week, and I said yes (of course)! We haven't picked a date for the wedding yet, but probably sometime this spring or summer.



I like singing, too, Austin and Aiden, so may I sing along with you?
I will play piano, too, if you want! --Jettison Freesemann


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
How about we play a piano duet, Jettison? --Levi Steinhauer


UPDATE -- holiday "pops" concert -- with popcorn
by Wyatt Johnson
Moorhead, MN

Having won a drawing this week at work, I was faced with a tough choice. I could choose four tickets to a University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey game, four tickets to an North Dakota State University Bison men's basketball game, four tickets to a week's worth of Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons sporting events, or five tickets to the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony's Holiday Pops concert.

Since I'm currently in Weston's "load the kids into the Family Truckster" phase of my life, I, against all odds, chose the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony tickets.

Neither Jolene nor I had been to any kind of concert since we were in college, when we went to a few different concerts as part of a music class we had taken together. It's just something we never think to do! I knew we would probably enjoy it, but had no idea what a treat we were in for.

We loaded Rylie and Brooklynn into the truckster and went to West Fargo to pick up their cousin Hannah. We went to downtown Fargo to the Fargo Theater, where this family-oriented concert would be. Being in the theater, we were able to buy popcorn and pop, which seemed kind of odd for a symphony concert, but fit the festive mood well.

After settling in, they started with "Ukrainian Bell Carol," which wasn"t a particularly familiar tune, but still sent chills up and down my spine. By the second song, "Good King Wenceslas," Rylie and Hannah had about half of the large bag of popcorn down, and Brooklynn had learned that she had a creaky seat. Luckily, we had three cute older ladies behind us who thought the girls were very entertaining.

The girls recognized the third song, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and even did a little bit of dancing. "Fantasia on Greensleeves" and "Waltz of the Flowers from 'The Nutcracker'" followed. The conductor then told us the next selection would be "Frosty, the Snowman," and reminded us that there would be "magic in the air." As soon as the music started, Frosty himself came out from behind the curtain, did a little dance with one of the violinists, then came up the aisle, shaking hands with kids, young and old.

The excitement of Frosty held us through "The Sussex Mummers' Christmas Carol," before my favorite song of the afternoon, "The Toy Trumpet." It was my favorite for two reasons. The first is that I used to play the trumpet, and still absolutely love hearing a good trumpet player. The second is that Brooklynn fell asleep during that song.

"The Skater's Waltz" was followed by a sleigh ride trilogy, composed of "The Sleigh Ride," "Troika from 'Lt. Kiji Suite,'" and "Sleigh Ride," during which Santa made an appearance! Santa took over the conductor's baton for about half of the song, then came to shake hands with the audience. Hannah beamed as she got to shake hands with Santa!

The grand finale was "Auld Lang Syne," which featured an incredible tenor saxophone solo (which I previously thought was an oxymoron), and the audience singing along at the end.

I was extremely happy to have chosen these tickets, as the kids had a good time, and Jolene and I thoroughly enjoyed the great music. We've decided there will be more trips to the symphony for us in the near future!


Rylie, Jolene, Wyatt & Brooklynn Johnson



Photo © Donna Johnson
Mavis Morgan holding Cecilia Nelson.

Tom and Mavis Morgan visited at the Beaver and Donna Johnson home before going to Florida. It was interesting for them to meet Cecilia Nelson, whose grandparents, Ted and Betty Johnson, are friends of the Morgans at Hope, North Dakota.

Mavis Anderson Morgan
Estero, FL


Photo © Mavis Morgan
Donna with Madison Bestul, Cecilia Nelson, David Glocke & Anissa Heinrich.


Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN


Photo © Donna Johnson
Jayce & Caity Chap

Ashby Grade School Christmas Concert

We braved the weather Thursday evening and just returned home from the Ashby Elementary Christmas Concert. (Our weather was MUCH better than they had further to the east of us, so it was not much of an issue, at least tonight.)

Jayce's first grade class did the Holly Jolly Christmas and a very cute song, Take Me Out in a Snowstorm (to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame). They also sang a couple of other songs with the kindergarten class a little later in the program, Jingle, Jingle, Jingle Bells and Super Duper Christmas.

Caity's fifth grade class did Rockin' Reindeer Christmas, Winter Snowflakes and O Whacky Christmas Tree. Caity and two of her classmates, Amber and Meredith, sang a verse during Winter Snowflakes and did a great job! For O Whacky Christmas Tree, they used tuned percussion tubes that they whacked on the floor -- she called them Boomwhackers -- to make "music" with the song. Very fun!

Later, their class joined the 4th and 6th graders to sing Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Silent Night and Holiday Handjive.


Photo © Donna Johnson
Caity, second from right, & classmates wield "Boomwhackers."


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

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. Thanks to Richard Weiland for sending last week's mystery pictures.


How many can you identify?

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

Well, I was totally astounded to see the Guess picture this week. ENOUGH SAID.

(You aren't giving me the excuse that I can't recognize them this time. Mercy, I try to throw away any pictures of me that are THAT unflattering. I can't thank you -- or can I? Anyway, it was simply thrilling to see my sister [Ruth Weiland Kitto] and me [Betty Weiland Droel] in "the Good Old Days.")

Betty Weiland Droel
MoundsView, MN


This is a Guess that is really a "know." Those are the two beautiful Weiland sisters: Ruth, the one I have never met (who looks like my Mom in this picture, too) and my darling Betty (Droel).

Donna Anderson Johnson
Ashby, MN


Well, that's not too difficult for me. Those are my two beautiful sisters, Ruth and Betty, back in the good ol' days. Taken in the back yard of our home in North Minneapolis.

Rich Weiland
Coon Rapids, MN


Of course, that's Ruth (Weiland, Swanson) Kitto and Betty (Weiland) Droel. How could anyone not know!

Virginia Adair
Coon Rapids, MN


LTD Storybrooke

Editors' Note: LTD Storybrooke will be on hiatus while Larry addresses further eye concerns and gets the next few chapters of his sheep ranching stories written and ready to publish here. "In the meantime," he says, "I have a wonderful grandson to attend to, a brand-new granddaughter on the way, and Amy-and-Ken engaged to be married. A full cup that runneth over!"


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell


Travelogue t


Photo © Weston Johnson
Baseball prospects, Arizona Fall League, Ho Ho Kam Park.

In Pursuit Of The Superfecta
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

During the first half of my week in Phoenix, I had attended an NFL football game and an NBA preseason basketball game, covering half of the major North American sports leagues. On Thursday, I would complete the superfecta. Well, sort of.

As I explained when I wrote about my tour of Chase Field, the Major League Baseball regular season was already over, and the local Diamondbacks had failed to qualify for postseason play. So, while I wasn't exactly able to attend an MLB game in Phoenix, I did find the next best thing: the Arizona Fall League.

The Arizona Fall League consists of six teams, each of which plays about 30 games in October and November. The teams' rosters are made up of minor league prospects who are sent to Arizona by their parent MLB teams to continue to work on their skills after the regular season has ended.

Because there are only six teams in the League, players from several MLB franchises are combined to form each squad. The Twins' contingent, along with players from the Astros, Cubs, Dodgers and Mets, plays for the Mesa Solar Sox. The Solar Sox play at Ho Ho Kam Park, which is also the spring training home of the Cubs.

I made the short drive from my hotel in downtown Phoenix to Mesa for a 1 p.m. game between the Solar Sox and the Scottsdale Scorpions, a collection of players from the Angels, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Giants and White Sox. By the time I reached the ballpark, the temperature was pushing into the 80's, thanks to a cloudless Arizona sky. A perfect day to watch a baseball game!

I bought a ticket and a program and entered the stadium, where the stands were sparsely populated with an announced crowd of about 300. I noticed several empty seats in the first row behind the Solar Sox dugout, which was situated on the first base's side of the infield. From this vantage point, I had a great view of the action, and was also in close proximity to Twins prospects such as third baseman Matt Moses and pitcher Kevin Slowey, the two most prominent Twins players on the Mesa roster. At least I'm assuming they were the most prominent prospects, since they were the only two I had heard of.

Despite not recognizing many of the players, I enjoyed the action on the field. The Mesa pitcher dominated through the early innings. The first baseman, a Mets prospect whose hulking physique looked out of place among the young minor league players, hit a towering fly ball at least 350 feet down the left field line. Unfortunately, it hooked foul. Not to worry -- later in the at bat he hit one even higher and farther, and this time it stayed fair for a home run that looked very much Major League.

About halfway through the game, I moved to a seat behind the third base dugout, partially because I wanted to see the game from a new vantage point, but primarily because I wanted to ensure an even sunburn on the exposed flesh on both sides of my body, as opposed to leaving the ballpark with one arm, leg and ear glowing fire engine red while the other remained Minnesotan-in-winter white.

After settling into my new seat, and propping my feet on the dugout roof, I struck up a conversation with a 40-something year old man who had skipped out of work to attend the game. He was a transplanted Chicagoan and had come to see the Cubs players on the Solar Sox. I guess it is true what they say about Phoenix -- no one is really from there; everyone just moves there at some point in their life. We spent the rest of the game talking baseball and enjoying the fact that we were at the ballpark while all of our friends were scattered about office buildings in Minneapolis, Chicago and Phoenix.

The game ended all too quickly with a 9-1 win for the Solar Sox. I was a little disappointed that Matt Moses was the only Twins representative to actually play in the game (and he looked incompetent at the plate, at that), but all in all, I don't believe I could have found a better way to spend a beautiful afternoon.

To be continued...


Photo © Weston Johnson
A most relaxing way to spend a sunny Thursday afternoon.


Pearl Harbor Days
In Bulletin 234, Ruth told about her wedding in May of 1947 to Vernon Swanson, a sailor in the US Navy. He had to return to the Naval base in Pearl Harbor after the wedding but she could not accompany him to Honolulu until he was able to get housing for them on base. In this series, Ruth tells of her experiences as a 21-year-old bride in Hawaii just after World War II. She described the voyage from San Diego to Honolulu in Bulletin 235. (Click here to see pictures added later.)

Home, Sweet Home -- in "Hut 67"
by Ruth (Weiland Swanson) Kitto

Apache Junction, AZ

Around and around this dirt road and that one we went -- and all of a sudden we drove up to this Quonset hut. I got out and walked slowly into my new home.

Yipe! This building was very long! It was divided into three sections and we had living quarters at one end. Two other families occupied the other two sections of the "hut," as they were called. Each part had a small bedroom, a kitchen and living room combined -- and a bathroom, of course. The water heater was on the back porch. No windows on one side, just screens, because it only rained from one direction.

After a few good looks around, Vern said, "The Chief and his wife want to come over and meet you!" PANIC! How do I act in the presence of an officer?

So, later on, I made some kind of creamed dish -- I don't even remember what it was, but it didn't thicken. SOUP! I had lived at home till then -- and cooked some, of course -- but ALONE and for company? Strangers! Embarrassed? Right!

Then we had a trip to the PX to get some groceries -- most interesting, can't you guess? And this is only the first few hours!

Whew! I got through the first day! You can guess it was an interesting one -- maybe a bit traumatic -- to this "city" kid.


Photo © Ruth Kitto
Back door of Quonset hut living quarters; window to left of door into kitchen (fire extinguisher below window); window to right into laundry room. The 1939 Chevy coupe, shipped from California, arrived a month or so later.

The only bugs of any consequences we'd had in Minnesota were mosquitoes, and they weren't very big. In Hawaii, we had an abundance of bugs. The worst were the huge cockroaches -- and by huge, I mean probably 2+ inches! They liked to come out at night, so when we would get home at night I made Vern take off his shoe, open the door very carefully, and throw the shoe in to scatter them! It helped!

Once when we were visiting a friend's house on a Sunday afternoon, we were enjoying a visit with several people when here came a huge cockroach ... crawling along on the back of the davenport, right behind my head! I froze and didn't move for quite a while! It didn't stay very long, though I was too scared to look for it for a while. It is hard to believe, but some of the Orientals believe cockroaches are good luck!

To be continued...


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Special Days
December 25---Christmas

This Week's Birthdays
December 24---Ken Hellevang
December 24---Arbor Johnson
December 24---Beaver Johnson
December 25---Angela Stahlecker Roberson
December 26---Koen de Been
December 29---Mitzi Johnson Swenson
December 30---Travis Quick
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
December 27---Earl and Kathleen Dake Stahlecker (32 years)

More December Birthdays
' 
December 3---Twila Aydelotte
December 4---Carol Dake Printz
December 4---Elaine Anderson Wold
December 4---Sonja Dake
December 7---Aunika Swenson
December 10---Ryan Henderson
December 11---Wyatt Wm. Meyer (7 years)
December 12---Sarah Lynn Dake Steinhauer
December 13---Larry Dake
December 13---Derek Swenson
December 14---Kathleen Dake Stahlecker
December 17---Char Morgan Myron
December 17---Austin Printz
December 19---Barb Anderson
December 19---Lisa Boltz
December 20---Jay Pierre Miller
December 21---Melanie Anderson Shockey
December 21---Jonathan Glen Hill (2 years)

More December Anniversaries
Z
December 20---Eric and Melanie Anderson Shockey (4 years)
December 23---Harold and Carol Dake Printz (39 years)

December Special Days
December 7---Pearl Harbor Day
December 21---First Day of Winter
December 25---Christmas

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

Just wanted to let you know that Ryan says "thank you" for the birthday card. We don't have any pictures to share, but we did get to go skiing up at Durango Mountain Resort on the 11th. We had a blast ... literally. Ryan blew up his bindings on his skis when he fell down. Besides that excitement we did have a lot of fun!

Not much else new here. Just getting ready to start school up again.

Ryan and Heidi Henderson
Albuquerque, NM


The picture of Brooklynn was her 2-year picture, though it was taken a month or two late. Of all the times to be shy for the first time EVER, she chose that picture day. It was a huge feat to get her to even LOOK at the camera, much less smile. After a little prodding and patience, we found some smiles and got some really cute pictures. As you can see, everything turned out very nicely after all! So, Miss Hetty, here is the photo you asked for -- even if it is a bit late!


Brooklyn Johnson, age 2.


I was in the middle of writing the Review for Bulletin #235 when the doorbell rang. It was Virginia Adair. She wanted to chat about the dinner planned for Christmas day at their home. Several Bulletin subscribers will be there, so you'll probably have updates about it. After we decided on the salad we were to bring, I thought I would take a picture as she looked so elegant in her matching lilac outfit. Poor Roy was so sick with a head cold that she didn't stay very long.

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN


Photo © Betty Droel
Virginia Adair


Keep Us Posted!

Please drop Miss Hetty a line and tell us who, and what, we've missed. And how about a report (photos welcome) of YOUR special celebration?

'Many Thankse
Everyone!

Miss Hetty


+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click here to review last week's Bulletin

Good job on The Bulletin again. It is so upbeat; good to read how one encourages another in it. I am glad for you, Dorothy, to keep in touch with so many like you do, with your wheels restricting you otherwise.

Elaine Anderson Wold
Wahpeton, ND


I LOVE THE BULLETIN!

Capt. Jack [Adair]
Coon Rapids, MN


I will attach the e-mail I got from Michele today -- interesting to know some of the problems they have and are facing as a result of the storm that hit Seattle on Thursday!

I was interested in seeing the pictures and letter from Kim Johnson about the mudslide that closed the railroad tracks! I went through about the same thing four years ago on the trip to Portland! Trees down across the track and a rock slide closed the tracks and the Interstate. Will send more as the info develops.

Tom Miller
Madera, CA


Still no heat as of 3 p.m. on Saturday. Given that the road below us is still closed due to a power pole being at a 45 degree angle over the road, we are not going to have power anytime soon.

To make matters worse (?) we have no phone service either. Neither do our neighbors, so it may just be that a line is down.

Had an interesting (!) search for more gas for the generator this morning. If you found a station with electricty, they had run out of gas. So, it was a search to find a station with both gas and electricity and a line less than 45 minutes long... It makes me a lot more sympathetic for the folks after a hurricane.

Michele M. Sales
Seattle, WA


Busy week! Thanks again for all your hard work. It is so fun to see what everyone is up to!

We are hoping to get up to Wahpeton sometime over the holidays, so maybe we can get the little cousins together for some more pictures to submit. It was only a little over three years ago that we used to get together with Nathan and Brenda and enjoy a night on the town with no kids. Now there are six of them between us!

Time sure changes things!

Marlee Freesemann
Burnsville, MN


Just a short note to say hello, and wishing everyone near and far a blessed and joyous Christmas. We're having a small gathering here on Christmas day, which we are looking forward to. Love.....

Diana Mellon Martin
Coon Rapids, MN


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

What a sweet picture for that first page! Some unfamiliar faces to me, but so dear. I see they are from California, but the matching sweaters would have fit right into our Minnesota weather.

Thanks for the links so we could follow details of the storm the Johnsons ran into in Washington. That experience will just add some luster to their time in the west. No doubt that was a rare happening for the Washington highway crew to deal with, and the people, as well. So glad all ended well for the Johnsons.

It's getting closer and closer for the Larsons -- and we are getting anxious for the news as it happens. That couple looks so happy together, and no question but what that baby will be coming home to a very devoted family. Shari Miller Larson being right there in Apache Junction, where my sister Ruth and Ken Kitto live, was interesting. Sorry they didn't happen to run into each other.

Thanks, Diana, for the update on your test results. We will watch for further reports from you. Thoughts go to you so often.

Was great to have The Matriarch speak again, and having family stop in is always news to share. This Bulletin brings us so close. We can follow health, families, and visitors from week to week. We feel we know them, even if we've never met them. I for one, read every single word and study every single picture with great interest. I love getting The Bulletin.

LTD Storybrooke -- we can certainly see that the experience you related was unforgettable. And thanks to considerate editors, we could read it if we chose.

Very good picture of the glasses -- and Bitzi's caption, which fit perfectly.

Beaver seems to have all the excitement, it seems. I have tried to picture those valuable boots with the permanent creases across the toes. Thanks for another episode from your memory of Air Force days. Like this chapter -- you wouldn't forget any of those details in a hundred years.

Right away I looked ahead to see if it said "to be continued" on the Travelogue by Weston, and yes! We can look for another part of the story next week. We love these descriptive visits and meals and travels from Ashby to Phoenix. Tombstone -- a place we will never see, so it was interesting to hear about that part of the trip, Weston. That is so true. Like my dad used to say, "Lovely toys, so desperately sought, have lost their charm once they're bought." To anticipate this famous town and the OK Corral was worth the effort, and unless you had seen it, you would always wish you had. My dad also said "Anticipation is three fourths of the realization." He was German and had so many sayings I'm still thinking of.

Don and Elaine writing about the Pearl Harbor experience was similar. I guess I was too young to have taken it as seriously as it really was. All I knew was that my sister fell in love with a sailor so she left home to be with him in Hawaii. He was in the Naval base in Pearl Harbor.

What an interesting story about Seasick, Stranded, and Scared. That was a first for me to have read about that. Little did I realize my sister had anything but total fairyland travels. She is four years older than I am, so faced a lot of life I hadn't gotten in on yet. I was very happy to see that this story is also to be continued.

Well Jerrianne, your photo of winter must have been taken in YOUR front yard, not ours. We still haven't gotten snow, and it looks like the first day of winter will imitate a beautiful Fall here in Minnesota. At least so far. Someone said that the higher the hornets build a nest the more snow we'll have, and we have a wasp nest in the very peak of the garage. Roy said the nest was as high as it could be -- 15 feet or more above the floor -- but he didn't think we would have much snow, ha. He wasn't too impressed with the saying that the higher the hornet builds a nest the more snow we'll have that winter.

Photo Editor's Note: We took delivery on more than a foot of snow in the last couple of days and finally got plowed out at midnight Thursday ... but we're not complaining. We're glad we weren't among the thousands stranded at the Denver airport and we're glad we don't live in Valdez!

Thank you so much, Editor and Photo Editor, for including the letter to Miss Hetty about Andy and Natalie Droel's brand new first baby girl, Alison Elizabeth Droel, less than 5 lbs. She just came home from the hospital today and two inexperienced, but loving, parents are totally responsible for her care. We will keep you informed, but I'm sure she will thrive.

Donna Mae, if it hadn't been for your LTTE we wouldn't have heard from you at all this time. Also, can't you just imagine the busy days for Ary in the Netherlands at their florist business? No wonder he hasn't sent an update, but we will soon get one with all the news of the season.

Little Carrie Horne's blue eyes will be giving a certain little Sully some competition.

I didn't catch on that CHUCKLES was produced by "McDouglas," until someone mentioned that in their Letter to the Editors last week. Now, is that clever or what? It will take the best of both of them to create the creations those two will dream up. We can always use a day brightener, I say.

This is Tuesday. I suppose Bulletin #236 is in the making. What a detailed work that is done for each and every issue. I wonder if you realize how much we do enjoy The Bulletin? I hope you keep motivated by our simple thanks for the hours and expertise it takes to prepare it for sending on Saturday morning.

Betty Droel


CHUCKLES


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell & Douglas Anderson

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Quotation for the day: The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. --Burton Hillis

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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