Bulletin 417 June 13, 2010

The Bulletin
Sunday, June 13, 2010

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Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
Anemones (windflowers) blowing in the wind.

Photo © Whitney Johnson
Whitney Johnson graduates from online high school.

UPDATE -- Whitney graduates
by Marlene Johnson
Meridian, ID

I just got back from Whitney's high school graduation. They did a really nice job of putting on the day for the graduates. The Superintendent of all the Idaho school districts gave a wonderful speech. There were 12 graduates who were able to be there. So ... Whitney met her classmates for the first time.

Just thought I'd let you know that she graduated from Inspire Connections Academy on Saturday, June 5th, in the class of 2010...

UPDATE -- Jaxon Hill casts his body cast aside and walks!
by Brenda Anderson Hill
Dwight, ND

Yesterday was cast-off day for Jaxon! I took Jazmine and Jonathan to daycare after lunch and then Jaxon and I headed to Fargo.

Upon registering, we were notified that he didn't have an appointment but they would "work him in"! (They are blaming that on a computer glitch because they did have record of him getting the cast on five weeks ago!)

We went for X-rays right away then back to orthopedics where we met with Dr. Henry. He said the cast could come off, so he sent Cora, the cast remover, in. Jaxon wore headphones, as the cast saw is quite loud. It also vibrates quite a bit! We had told Jaxon what to expect and he laid very still the whole time -- what a trouper!

She left the bottom piece of the "broken" leg on while we went back to X-ray for another picture. Still good! Then we went back to Dr. Henry's office and he removed the last piece! Jaxon lay "frozen" to begin with, while Dr. Henry carefully moved his legs a little. Jaxon kept saying his knee hurt (muscles, I'm sure!) and held his body very rigid.

I loaded him back into the double stroller, made another appointment to be seen in a month, and was out the door with our "free" little boy! We made stops at Target and at West Acres (including a haircut!) before coming home. When we got home, Jaxon wanted to sit in "his" rocker again and Jonathan immediately joined him!

Jazmine sat in the chair next to him. We are glad everything went well. Dr. Henry said a lot of his not being able to do things now is psychological, because he has had the cast on for five weeks, but that he also has to build some muscle; his legs are so skinny! Hopefully, we'll be able to put the stroller away by the end of the week!

Photos ©Brenda Hill
Jaxon stands on skinny legs, left, shares rocking chair with Jonathan, right.

Photo © Richard Johnson
Oregon weather was sunnier in March when these goat kids were born.

UPDATE -- Oregon rainstorms encourage peonies and weeds
by Richard Johnson
Lowell, OR

We planted peonies next to our house because they remind me of Mom's peonies in the beds around the house when I was growing up on the the farm. There were a lot of them of different colors and they were quite a glorious affirmation for me that it was summertime. We are already well past our monthly average rainfall for June this year, but the peonies don't seem to mind. The weeds seem happy, too.

Photo © Richard Johnson
Peonies like Mom (& Grandma) grew at the Ashby farm.

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
This was one of those happy pieces. :)
Click here to see what's up on Ginny McCorkell's Bitzidoodles blog.

Photos © Sarah Steinhauer
Whole wheat bagels simmer, left, & bake on a pizza stone, right.

UPDATE -- whole wheat bagels with cinnamon and raisins...
by Sarah Dake Steinhauer
Wannaska, MN

I occasionally have spurts where I eat a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast in the morning. I never knew how bagels were made, so when I saw the recipe in the book called Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, I had to give it a try. Click here for the rest of the story, more pictures, the recipe and Sarah's video on making bagels.

Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
A volunteer delivers a truckload of red & pink geraniums to plant.

Saturday, June 5, was planting day on the Pioneer Drive median and in barrels at Chugach Foothills Park. Anemones were already blooming profusely along more than 200 feet of median and blue irises were just beginning to open. Shasta daisies had big buds. Truckloads of geraniums, petunias, chrysanthemums and dusty millers kept the all-volunteer crews busy. We didn't see much of Miss Jerrianne for several days as more and more flowers were tucked into planters, barrels and beds throughout our Scenic Foothills neighborhood. Mai Tai and I didn't get to help plant this year, but we got to see lots of pictures of the fun.

Photos © Jerrianne Lowther
Red geraniums contrast with perennial white anemones & blue irises on the median.

Photo © Jerrianne Lowther
Barrels in the park got geraniums, wave petunias & dusty millers. The dandelions -- a daunting number of them this year -- like the planting crews, were all volunteers.

Let's play a guessing game: we will run a picture of someone of the subscribers or staff members of our e-magazine. Tell us who you think it is -- we will let you know who was the first to guess it right -- and the correct guess -- in the following week's Bulletin.

Last week's Guess picture

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

Editors' Note: Correct guesses appear in bold face type and incorrect guesses in normal type ... generally in the order we receive them, so the first guess received is on top.

Well, I sure know those three wonderful men: Walter Pfingsten, Jim Miller, and Robert Pfingsten.

Of all my brothers, Robert sounds and laughs most like my dad, Henry. Must be the red hair, which isn't so red anymore -- some gray in it now. When he came, I wanted a sister so bad that I went under Dad and Mom's bed and cried. Now I wouldn't exchange them for any sister -- and anyhow, I now have four wonderful sisters.

Wow! Good to see this picture. Looks to me like Walt Pfingsten and Rob Pfingsten flanking their uncle Jim Miller. I am guessing it was at a restaurant. Jim should be a little more careful. Looks like he may have put a little on his shirt. ;)

I enjoyed the last week's guess picture also. I do remember Roger and Wally Slotten from when they used to come and visit in Minneapolis those many years ago. Wow, those were some fish! That picture was too old to be Photoshopped, so they must be real.

The picture has Uncle Jim Miller in the center. I don't know who the other two are.

Three GOOD looking guys! They had been talking about farming or fishing or just talking! I think they all like just talking! Walt Pfingsten, Jim Miller and Rob Pfingsten.

The photo would be Walt, left, and Rob Pfingsten, right and Dad [Jim Miller] in the middle. I don't know when or where it was taken.

The GUESS picture this time was another familiar looking trio with Jim Miller there between his nephews, Walt Pfingsten, and Tom Pfingsten. They are my sister-in-law Anita Weiland's brothers and Uncle Jim. I just saw Walt's son, Ben (and his wife) this afternoon.

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

I surely did not have one extra minute to write in my journal during this week. Last week I ended with sunburned arms -- well, this week I ended up with SORE FEET! I wouldn’t care much to make that my life's work, but this experiment in the life of a waitress left me with a satisfied feeling, a money box a bit heavier, and one broken glass!

Mr. Olson, who has the Sweet Shop where I worked, is dark. He reminds me of our teacher from high school, Mr. Monical. He hired me and he paid me Saturday night at closing, but I only saw him a couple times during the week. He seemed nice enough but the one I enjoyed was Myrtle. She is plump, an excellent cook, friendly, helpful -- and she manages things.

The high point of the week was the business pep meeting put on by the manager and part owner of the home-owned canning factory -- Northland Factory, which is on the west and outside the edge of Cokato. (That is not where I have my job -- I work for Minnesota Valley Canning Company, which is in the city of Cokato.)

Mr. Borg had called and arranged with Myrtle that she would reserve our big table for their group of six field bosses, for Thursday's noon lunch. He wanted them to have chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and coleslaw, all on one heavy, old-fashioned plate. Serve pop, coffee or milk, rolls and butter, and a piece of apple or strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert. And then he wanted to use the table, to have them around it while he gave them a review of the rules of the field boss's job.

When Myrtle told me all about it, my memory clicked onto that name. So I questioned Myrtle and discovered that Mr. Borg was indeed the Father of Loren, the reformed teacher "baiter," who once made a habit of calling me "Mistake." (Pretty cute, really -- after all, Miss Dake sounds pretty similar.) I chuckled and Myrtle had to know what was funny. She said that Loren Borg was now doing very well in high school, and his folks are pretty pleased with his progress!

When those six men in overalls, and their two bosses in suits, came in, we were ready for them (and Myrtle and I had lovely success). We had set the table like you would for a farm meal. I could see that the fellows felt at ease. We had two pitchers of icy drinks (one milk, and one root beer) and a Thermos of fresh, hot, delicious coffee along with the rolls, butter, and condiments on the table when they arrived. The table was covered with a red and white checked oilcloth, and the plates were placed with a knife, fork, spoon, a large paper napkin, a chunky glass and a farm sized cup ... so they were all set to dig in!

As soon as they were all in their places, Myrtle passed me the meat platter, stacked high with white and dark meat and with a serving fork on the side. I started the bowls from the second in command boss who passed them on. After it was well on the way, I sent the potato bowl, then the gravy, and then I took the meat tray from Mr. Borg as I handed the cole slaw to head around the table. By the time I took the last empty serving plates into the kitchen, everyone was busy with their meal. Wow, I don't think all last year I was served that quickly.

Mr. Borg had told us he wanted seconds offered, so that is what we did. We took clean bowls with warmed food to pass a second time when Mr. Borg gave me the signal. I saw him give me a quizzical look. And when I handed the other boss the seconds, Mr. Borg managed to remember who I was ... and thanked me for the service and excellence of the food, using my name in the process.

Well to make a long story short, I was rather thrilled to find that he had left a $10 tip. I tried to share it with Myrtle, but she assured me that it was all mine; her tip came as the boss gave her the leftovers to take home. She says our boss is pretty special!

The other event of the week that proved very fun was on Saturday morning. I was just finished with serving my last "coffee" regular when I saw our Vonnie coming in. She was all fixed for going to work but decided skipping breakfast wasn't so smart ... so she came in and ordered a malted milk. Then Myrtle told me to take my break while Vonnie was there.

She wanted to know what I had heard from Lorraine, so we talked about that and she made sure I knew just how nice a pal I was going to have for the first half of the year. Then she teased me that maybe I would have the second half of the year busy, too. I assured her that I was fine with being an old maid school teacher ... and she smirked.

Then she told me another piece of news. She said Gilbert (McCalla, my first cousin) had stopped by for a visit on his way into the city on business, but because it is so near Jean's due time she wasn't along.

"Where have you been? He and Jean moved to Campbell at least six months ago! And I think he works at the same place her dad does."

"Nobody told me that. What am I -- the family black sheep?" So I learned that my cousin Gilbert was no longer a suburb dweller, but lived in a bitsy farm town called Campbell, near the city of Breckenridge, which is near where my new friend Lorraine Slotten lives.

You see, Lorraine lives near a little town called Dwight that is in North Dakota, near the strangely spelled city of Wahpeton, which is a twin city to Breckenridge. The Red River of the North runs between them.

Always difficult to find a issue for you (US people) to be of interest. As you maybe know, we (Dutch architects) are building a second ground area the be named Maasvlakte No. 2. This is a large ground area at the coastline to become a larger seaport of Rotterdam harbor.

Photo © Frans de Been
... and putting them on the new shore at Maasvlakte No. 2.

What I have is a movie site where you can see how it is done. But I made (of course) a picture of a crane. This crane is pulling up big concrete blocks of 5,000 Kilos (5.5 tons) and putting them on the new shore. There are always people who like this kind of thing (I hope).

I have a picture of my son, Koen. He went to France for fishing, Carp fishing. +/- 800 kilometers (500 miles) away in the South of France. He catch a 1.83 meter (6 feet) fish -- a Sturgeon. He was 45 minutes to get it out of the water.

Photo © Koen de Been
Koen's 6-foot fish is almost as long as Koen is tall.

And Rian and myself went to Spain, the city of Torreveija, for a short holiday (5 days.) We went to a beach at Benidorm. OK, greetings from Oosterhout to you all and make the best of it. Your Dutch friends.

Photos © Kjirsten Swenson
Wat roof & palm trees, left, lotus mosaic detail at wat, right, Luang Prabang, Laos.

Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Buddhist monk with parasol, Luang Prabang market, Laos.

This Week's Birthdays
June 16---Gina Henderson
June 17---Louise Cloyd
June 18---Caitlynn Mae Chap
June 19---Doris Anderson
June 19---Ashley Meyer
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
June 18---Jason and Tami Anderson Hunt (6 years)
June 19---Curt and Patty Anderson Henderson (28 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 (5 years old)
June 7---Shane Swenson
June 8---Ashley Huseby (7 years old)
June 11---George John Larson
June 11---McKenna Christine Ostendorf (3 years old)
June 12---Andrea Dake Mendez

June 20---Spencer Aydelotte
June 20---Roy Droel
June 20---Julian Montford
June 21---Ary Ommert, Jr.
June 24---Aiden Montford (7 years old)
June 25---Ben Henderson
June 25---Carol Pokornowski
June 26---Greg Wm. Dake
June 26---Judy McCalla
June 26---De Myer
June 27---Sam Mellon
June 29---Tim Huseby
June 29---Trinidy Creede Roberson (4 years)

More June Anniversaries
Z
June 3---Larry and Ginny Dake McCorkell (38 years)
June 5---Art and Roxanne Mitzel (39 years)
June 6---Wyatt and Jolene Johnson (12 years)
June 7---Clark and Susan Miller Smith (19 years)
June 8---Jeff and Jessica Myron Gauderman (3 years)
June 10---Jim and Kristi Larson Indermark (10 years)

June 20---Rich and Marlene Anderson Johnson (29 years)
June 20---Steve and Marian Miller (40 years)

June Special Days
June 6---D Day
June 14---Flag Day
June 20---Father's Day
June 21---First Day of Summer

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?

I laughed out loud at The Little Beeps. I seriously do not remember playing "Watergate." I'm sure we did, because that's no stranger than the things I do remember playing. One thing I remember playing that I don't think most kids played, was the game of "Nazis." That's the kind of stuff you play when you have a brother as imaginative and as well read as we had.

The book on bread, Healthy Bread In Five Minutes A Day, really has sparked my interest. I wonder if Sarah could tell me where to find the book? I watched the video of the two who wrote the book and did the recipes. Sounds like fun to do when you are having company and have it ready just before they come, and can have fresh bread. WOW! Thanks,

I must say, the red hair and the pretty green shirt look very sharp together. None other than our Donna Mae and her two granddaughters, who are being taught the respect for family graves they will be learning more about every year.

For some reason, this Bulletin captured my interest so totally that I could not keep myself from scrolling all the way through it as it was printing. Something I never do. I like to read it page for page and be surprised at what the pages reveal. But this time, I was so impressed with all the various subjects and the pictures that I couldn't quit until I had it all read -- while Roy patiently waited his turn. Usually, I like to let him read it first.

I had expected the Veterans' Memorial picture with the color guard to be the first picture, but as it was, the choice for the first picture was much more "close to home," and meaningful with family by the loved ones' graves. Did we have a picture of Don and Twila's gravestones in a previous issue of The Bulletin? I would really like to see that.

I think I see Beaver in the front on the left in the picture of the color guard arriving.

I felt so impressed and proud of the Ostendorf family at the Memorial with all those beautiful American flags flying. We need to reverence and respect our flag that has been preserved through the lives and deaths of our servicemen. Glad for Memorial Day to keep a fresh reminder before us.

Biking across Minnesota is no small undertaking. I am sure we all have an acquaintance or a family member with MS. Clicking on the links provided in the Quicks' Update helped us to realize what a worthy and outstanding feat this really is.

Then Bitzidoodles -- what can I say? Well, I did have a favorite after looking at the site of all Bitzi's latest:

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
I must be very old fashioned, as this really struck a chord with me. It seemed so serene and beautiful, subdued and yet colorful. The soft touch of a little bird, and the suggestion that flowers had arrived for "me." This is a winner, Bitzi....

I guess the pizza is a winner, too, really, Sarah. As soon as I am finished with this LTTE, Roy and I will have our traditional Sunday evening pizza, but it will be Tombstone, not the whole wheat kind that sounds so healthy and delicious. I clicked on your "rest of the story," and found I could spend such a long time researching all the interesting subjects included in that.

The next time I have need for a lead rope, Larry, I will look up your directions. They sound like a satisfactory control for an ox.

What a very nice tribute to Lou to have her favorite dogwood trees close to the crypt! We have a special tree that Roy's Edith wanted before she died, and it is growing so showy right next to the driveway. We always call that "Edith's tree," and we like the memorial. So, Tom, you would have such a warm, loving feeling to be doing that for Lou, and it is something you can enjoy yourself.

We were glad for the pictures from Buttonwillow, California, Tom, and you surely resemble the Millers. Marlene and Rich look happy.

I wish I could put into words how shocked and thrilled I was to see the Treasure Cove sign still above the Ashby Laundry building. We spent so many unforgettable hours in that building, and even helped to count coins and wash the machines. Also, we won't forget the hamburgers that were always ready. I still have a couple items from The Treasure Cove.

Family Fun was pictured in the next pages of The Bulletin, until we come to the painful, bright red sunburn Caity ended up with.

MEMORY LANE, we just can't get enough of that story of Dorothy in her younger years, and soon we should be getting to the details of this courtship with Don Anderson from North Dakota.

It was fun to read about Dick Miller as a young man. I have never met or known this Les Benson. Lucky for you, Dorothy, that your call to work at the Sweet Shop released you from the tedious, hot, tiring job of pulling weeds for Blanche. Note, I didn't say "boring." Knowing you, and your caring for people, I am sure you earned good tips -- maybe even more than the wages. Funny how some things remain a vivid memory, and Dorothy had no problem recalling all these details to write about.

Well, now we have seen everything! A pedicure right there in the middle of the market. Neither of the ladies look one bit conspicuous, though. If Kjirsten hadn't thought to take a picture of it, we would have questioned it for sure. Those people are not "softies," that is evident. To walk so far with the load dangling from the rope handles would take strength and much practice.

The "snake in every bottle" photo was a shock. Again, a picture proves it. Glad you got home safely, Kjirsten, at long last.

I was glad Judy McCalla took time to express her appreciation for The Bulletin. Sounds like she recognizes how time consuming and how difficult it would be to publish every single week, with such interesting pages. Hope we get to read about her entrance into the world, as she mentioned that may be in the Memory Lane.

So, Doug got a FUNNNIES completed again for us! I noticed Doug uses certain colors that are typical of his cartoons.

The Quotation for the day mentioning a rare day in June, makes me think of all that begins to come to life in the yard and gardens in June. Roy's birthday is in June, so it will be a special month.

I must hurry with this pizza supper for this Sunday evening, so will end this and just say again how much we thank our busy, untiring Editors for another full and captivating Bulletin.

To search a name in Who's Who or Who's Where: click on the link to open the page, then use CONTROL F on a PC or COMMAND F on a Mac. To search for a second occurrence of the name, use CONTROL G on a PC or COMMAND G on a Mac. (This works on ANY web page with text, unless the text is converted to an image. Chances are, it works in your e-mail, too.) HINT: Search by first name only, as most entries list the family name once but do not repeat the last name for each family member. In Who's Where you can search on state or city names, too.

Quotation for the day: People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us. --Iris Murdoch, A Fairly Honourable Defeat

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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