Summer Begins!

Caity's 9th birthday at the water park
Jeanette Evavold, left, & Caity cool off at the waterpark.

Updates -

UPDATE -- Father's Day
by The Matriarch
Alexandria, MN

Donna gathered up some guests and the two fathers who were available and took us all out to dinner Sunday evening. We ate at Rudy's Grill in Alexandria. Lovely steak dinner I had, along with Donna and the fathers who were involved. We enjoyed it a lot. Thanks, Donna! I am sure most of you know the guests: Caity, Becky, Beaver, the Matriarch, Jayce, and Don.


Caity, Becky, Beaver, Dorothy, Jayce & Don.



Photo by Kim Feist, sent to The Bulletin by Bridget Larson; used with permission.
Toronado (waterspout) crossing Lake Miltona June 13, 2005.

UPDATE -- Severe weather, western Minnesota
by Donna Johnson
Ashby, MN

Scary stuff that night! We had nine kids in our master bath and were very thankful for the thick concrete walls and for the fact it was cleaner than when it used to be a cistern. :-) There were several reports of various tornadic activity, not sure of any touchdowns. I know that they were talking anywhere from 100 plus MPH winds in many areas.

One of my daycare fathers works for Battle Lake Marine. They have spent the entire time working on Ottertail Lake, cleaning boats out of the water that were submerged and damaged. He told about one fancy A-frame home that the owner's boat had gone up across the lawn and into the large windows, destroying everything in its path.

Barb Dewey's husband, Russ, has a brother, Mike, that has a cabin near Ottertail; they had two trees down, spent $2400 for a couple professional tree people to cut them down, as everyone is so busy. Barb said all the damage is really amazing, said we should take a ride up there. Trees were still on top of powerlines several days later.

Bridget Larson said Doug sold some furniture to a gal who had a cabin on Ottertail Lake and she was going to pick up her furniture today. She called to tell Doug that she would pick it up next weekend because her cabin was totally destroyed by the storm. I guess two trees fell on top of the cabin plus many other ones around that.

There are a few pictures at: http://www.in-forum.com/photography/

Photo Editor's Note: Click here and scroll down for more Ottertail wind storm photos.


UPDATE -- Fargo Floods
by Wyatt Johnson
Moorhead, MN

It seems that all we hear about right now in Fargo-Moorhead is flooding. Living in the bottom of an old dried up lake bed, with land as flat as the kitchen table, I guess we have to expect an occasional flood. (An aside: click here for a history lesson on ancient glacial Lake Agassiz.)

May was a rainy month, and as June began a rainy month, we began to hear that the Red River was rising. As I rode my bicycle to work late last week, I saw the water creeping up near Elm Street by El Zagel golf course, one of the lowest spots in the city. As you can see from this link, that means the river has risen to about 17 feet.

Normal for Fargo is probably around 10 feet, and 17 feet is offically considered "flood stage," though that bike path near Elm Street is about the only thing flooded at that point.

As the rain continued through last weekend and into the early part of this week, we began hearing of crests nearing 27 feet. The river was then around 24 feet, and as Jolene worked on Monday, I packed the girls in the bike trailer and we went for a ride to see how things looked. We crossed the 12th Avenue North toll bridge, and headed north up the bike path. We made it about 300 feet, but decided it was time to stop when the path disappeared into the swollen river. We headed south, but didn't even get 100 feet before there was more water. Below, left, is a picture of one of the bridges that we usually cross. The picture was taken 6/17/05.

I'm standing on the Moorhead side, looking toward Oak Grove Park in Fargo. You can only see the top of the bridge here, which normally stands around 15 feet over the top of the river. At least this bridge is still standing. One in south Fargo-Moorhead, crossing from Fargo's Lindenwood Park to Moorhead's Gooseberry Park, crumpled under the pressure of the debris and water, and is now on the bottom of the river. (A picture of the Sertoma Freedom Bridge accompanies this Fargo Forum article.)

Thursday, I took my normal route to work across the toll bridge, and noticed a tiny amount of water in the south lane of the street at the end of the bridge. By the end of my work day, the bridge was closed, and I had to take my normal route. Going back to the river height web page, that means the river was up to about 25 feet. Below at right is what the toll bridge looked like earlier today, looking from the Moorhead side west towards Fargo.

We're currently sitting just over 28 feet, with an expected crest of 29 feet on Sunday. There isn't much difference from 28 to 29 feet, but 30 feet is another big impact, as the bridge north of Fargo-Moorhead connects Cass County Road 20 to Clay County Road 22, cutting the number of open bridges in the immediate vicinity of Fargo-Moorhead to three, all of which are on consecutive streets: Main Avenue, Center Avenue, and First Avenue North.

Nothing more than a big nuisance right now, but I'd sure like to have my bike paths back!

Wyatt


Fargo bridges during flooding June 17, 2005.


UPDATE -- Introducing Wesley & Jo Anne Sigman family
by Jo Anne Sigman

We live in Fairhaven, Minnesota, but we have a South Haven address -- because our town is too small to have its own post office. By "we," I mean Wes and I, and our granddaughter Alexis Jo Sigman and her parents, Lucy Farrell and Jaryl Sigman. Wes and I have been together since 1982 -- and believe we are Soul Mates!

I first got acquainted with Wes's Aunt Dorothy (the Matriarch) at the Cousins Reunion last summer. Oh, I knew who she was, but we really got to know each other at the 4th of July picnic that my mother-in-law, Gert Pettit, and her family) had. You can read about it in the Archives, too. (Bulletin #109)

Wes and I moved to our Fairhaven home in 1999; before that we had lived in the Duluth/ Superior area after moving there in 1986. While we lived there I attended the Vo-tech Landscaper Program. I was a certified landscaper for Mac's Landscaping for about 13 years.

During that time Wes worked briefly as a police officer in Superior, then was in the security field for many years. Finally he changed from that and got into the cable business about a year before we moved back here.

Where we live now I have used my experience in landscaping around our trailer home. We have also added a patio door that opens onto an 8'x10' deck. We really keep busy mowing our property -- which is equal to about half a city block.

Wes and I both enjoy fishing, when we have time. Wes likes to tinker with his boat and he does a lot of helping his friends with theirs. Wes also hunts in the fall.

I also enjoy reading, crocheting, cooking, and spending time with my kids and our grandkids. Wes and I like spending time with our old friends as well as our family!

Our extended (immediate) family includes children from my first marriage: Jessie Conway, age 25, works for Herbergers in St. Cloud and is engaged to Dave Pluth. Kory Conway, age 23, works for Arctic Cat in Thief River; his wife, Sandy, works for Digakey (a computer warehouse type place).

Wes has the following children: Jaryl Sigman, 19 years old; Daniel Carriveau, 26; and Ryan Zepplin, age 24, who is marred to Gin and just moved to Mankato. They have three girls: Manda, Caity, and Maggie -- born August 24, 2004.


Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN


Caity celebrates 9th birthday at Valleyfair.

Becky, Jayce, Donna Richards and I helped Caity celebrate her ninth birthday on Saturday with a trip to Valleyfair, bringing along her friend, Jeanette Evavold. It was hot, but not unbearably so, just the right temps for the waterpark and other water rides. We all had a wonderful day -- a whole 12 hours spent enjoying rides, with also an Imax movie, singing groups and good eats.


We all helped Caity celebrate another happy milestone.

Sunday we celebrated again with Lori, Shawn, Jessy, Chris and Jessy's sister and brother-in-law, Marcy and Michael Jorda. Chris had gotten us reservations at Buca, an Italian family style restaurant, with all dishes coming in huge, delicious portions.


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.)


How many can you identify?

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

The mystery pictures this week are my grandfather, Donald Johnson, on the left and my grandmother, Twila Johnson, pictured with Betty (Weiland) Droel on the right.

Colette Huseby
Tracy, CA


Wow! Finally some old pictures that I recognize!! That's my Grandpa Don and my Grandma Twila [Johnson]; not sure who the gal is in the picture with Grandma. Thanks for the pictures, it's been a while since I've seen a picture of either of them. As I mowed my lawn today, I really wished I had some Ocean Spray cranberry juice and 7-Up in the fridge like Grandma Twila always had for us after Weston, Ben, and I finished helping mow her lawn!

Wyatt Johnson
Moorhead, MN


LTD Storybrooke

The Long Ride
Destination: Home
By Larry Dake
Last of a nine part series

From the Oregon town of Sweet Home, to my home town in Minnesota, was more than 2,400 miles by way of Denver and Minneapolis.

At a Christmas tree lot in Denver, I unloaded the trees with help from a group of church volunteers. It was a mild, sunny day.

Then I drove downtown, to the narrow streets of the old warehouse district, and exchanged the empty trailer for a loaded one. When I left Denver, I chucked the log book under the seat and hightailed it for Minneapolis. Speed limits and sleep were out of question -- I was going home!!! In Minneapolis I dropped the trailer in the old Sears store parking lot. From there I had clearance to bobtail it home for the weekend. (To "bobtail" is to drive the tractor without the trailer.)

When I released the air brakes in front of our house a few hours later, I was driving the same cab-over-engine Freightliner I'd started out in just five weeks ago. It was the same truck, but I was a somewhat changed driver. The truck had become an extension of myself; we'd shared a lot of time and experiences together. The two lane roads didn't seem so narrow anymore -- and it seemed like places as distant as Oregon were just a hop-skip-and-jump away.

And home never looked so good! The windows were lit up, even though it was late at night. Sherry was expecting me. She greeted me at the front door with Sarah at her skirt and Amy in her arms.

When Amy saw me, she was frightened and pulled away. She got an extra good hold on "Mom" and wasn't letting go. She eyed me suspiciously; it was clear she didn't know who I was.

At that moment I knew I was quitting my job. I didn't want to be away from my family again.

In the morning I called and gave my two-week notice. My employer said he was getting a brand new, conventional cab, Peterbilt tractor with walk-in bunks and many of the amenities of home. Wouldn't I stay on and drive it? I think the offer was genuine; it was an attractive carrot!

But I wasn't biting. In fact, I hinted, I'd be happy if someone else could take over driving "my" truck -- right away!

He said he guessed that'd be all right.

The next day I cleaned my stuff out of the cab. Then I gave Sarah a ride in it. She rode up on the bunk and we went the two blocks to the filling station and back. Then Sherry and the kids followed and I returned the truck to its owner.

It would be more than fifteen years before I'd climb behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer again.

But our travels were just beginning.


Larry, Sherry, Sarah, Amy, July 1985, left; Sarah & Amy, December 1985, right.

An afterword:

Someone said to me they were glad they didn't have to cross the road back when I was driving trucks. I hope I have not painted the whole trucking industry with a bad image.

I'm absolutely confident there are good, professional truck drivers on the road, and good, responsible trucking companies that hire them. I'm equally confident that there are families who are well adapted to the longhaul trucker's life-style.

However, there is, at present, a critical shortage of drivers. Wages have gone up significantly to attract good drivers, but there remains the temptation to put unqualified people behind the wheel, just to keep the freight moving.

Drive defensively. And beware of the inexperienced or impaired driver.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

LTD


Travelogue t

The Bolivian Beat
By Kjirsten Swenson

Photo Editor's Note: Kjirsten returned to Bolivia for a second year of independent study, prior to entering medical school at Baylor University in Houston later this summer. She has recently been trekking in Peru with her father, Sheldon, older brother Shane and his friend Marshall, and her younger brother Tyler, and his friend Greg.


Camp, Day Three, with a view of snowcapped Mt. Alpamayo, Peru.

Alpamayo
Part Two
by Sheldon Swenson, Guest Columnist

Day Uno: Up at 6, three hour minivan ride to the trailhead where we meet our muleteer, Demetrio, and his three donkeys. We head out about 10:15 -- each carrying a day pack with water, lunch, and extra clothing, but the mules are loaded with the bulk of our food and camping gear.

We begin to hike at about 10,000 feet. The trail at first is easy, passing through villages with terraced fields on each side of the valley, interesting rural Peru adobe-type huts, cute children hoping for handouts, (candy or money). I would like to oblige in exchange for cute photos, but Shane and Kjirsten forbid me from this, so as not to reinforce this behavior.

We reach the first campground after a good climb to around 12,000 feet and stop for a quick lunch. The group of three, Shane, Kjirsten and Marshall, talk Demetrio into taking us another few hours up the trail to a higher campground to give more time tomorrow for an optional hike up a side trail for better views of Mt. Santa Cruz.

On the way we marvel at huge condors soaring, climbing the updrafts along the mountain's edge. So after another 1,200 feet and few miles up we reach a "pampa," sort of a grassy knoll with many cows and much cow manure on the ground everywhere, but otherwise a nice campsite with a good view back down the valley. The sun is setting already at about 5:30, so we quickly set up tents and cook in the dark. A cow tries to break into our tent during the night, must think our food is better than grass.

Day Dos: Up about 5:00 so we can do a nine mile side trip to Mt. Santa Cruz, and then have time to make the next campground before dark. Tyler and Greg will forego the side trip and follow the donkeys and Demetrio to the next camp while the rest of us do the side trip. As we prepare to depart, one of the donkeys decides to head back down the trail towards home. Poor Demetrio has to chase the donkey; unfortunately donkeys can run very fast down hill. Tyler and Greg said they returned about an hour later.

Meanwhile, the rest of us hike to the north side of Mt. Santa Cruz, one of the highest mountains in the area, about 21,000 feet. We climb a lot more and arrive around noon, have lunch with great view of the mountain across a turquoise lake. We pass a beautiful waterfall with a rainbow at the bottom, continue climbing and reach the next campground about 5 p.m., glad to see the rest of our party at camp.

It gets dark and cold fast at 15,400 feet! This will be our highest camp. None of us have much appetite, due to the altitude. After a quick supper we crawl into warm sleeping bags. Look at my watch and it is only 6:45 but there is nothing else to do but sleep.

Day Tres: Up about 6, it is freezing cold, 20 degrees or less, for sure. Everything outside the tent is covered in frost and ice, including Tyler and Greg's shoes. After hot oatmeal, we break camp and off we go. Climb our first high pass, 15,950 feet, with outstanding views of surrounding mountains and valleys below. Drop about 1,000 feet, climb 800, drop 1,400 and than another six miles or so to the next camp along a pleasant valley, climbing back to around 14,000 feet. Along the way we see some old pre Inca ruins.

We will camp here the next two nights with a beautiful view of Mt. Alpamayo, a pyramid of rock and ice once voted the most beautiful mountain in the world by some alpine club. We take nice alpine glow pictures, eat and call it a day.

To be continued...


Intrepid trekkers include a chef who cooks up "one pot" meals.

Kjirsten, Shane, Derek, Sheldon & Greg, at left, carry day packs. The donkeys carried the heavy food and camping gear. Kjirsten, right, stirs the contents of her battered cooking pot outside tent.



Weston strikes a pose with Muhammad Ali.

Madame Tussaud's
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

As our time in London neared an end, there was one more place on our list of sites to see that we had not yet visited: Madame Tussaud's, a world famous wax museum. The museum is known for its full-size, incredibly life-like wax statues of a wide variety of celebrities, politicians and historical figures. The first museum was opened in London in 1835 by the original Madame Tussaud, who had learned her craft by making death masks of victims of the French Revolution. The museum has been located at its present site since 1884, and has been continually updated with new figures representing the latest stars and dignitaries.

After purchasing our tickets, we entered the first room of the display, which contained figures of various movie stars and musicians. I was surprised to see that the statues were scattered throughout the room, as opposed to being behind glass or roped off from the viewers, allowing visitors to get an up close look at the figures and even put an arm around them for a photo op.

The room was crowded with statues and viewers, to the point that sometimes it was hard to tell who was made of wax and who was made of flesh and bone. At one point, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a black man apparently waiting patiently for someone from his party to join him. I then did a double take when I realized he was actually a statue of Morgan Freeman. Everything from his skin to his hair to his eyes looked so lifelike, I was temporarily fooled into thinking he was the real thing.

Once we had wound our way through the first room, we entered a second room of movie star statues, including John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and several iterations of James Bond. The next room contained just two statues: soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria, better known as one of the Spice Girls. Which Spice Girl? Even if I knew, do you really think I would admit it? Anyway, I was told by my temporarily British cousin that they are England's biggest celebrities, and therefore warrant their very own room at the museum.

The next room was comprised mainly of statues of modern and historical leaders, with a small section of sports stars at one end. The most popular photo op seemed to be the statue of President Bush. Unfortunately, most of the people having their picture taken with GW posed as though they were strangling him or preparing to throw a punch.

The second most photographed statue in the room was Muhammad Ali, as men of all ages posed in the classic clenched-fist boxing pose, as demonstrated by me in the attached picture.

After we had made our way through the various celebrity and world leader displays, we entered a very strange section of the museum displaying various torture and execution devices, complete with wax "victims" demonstrating the appropriate usage of the devices in gory detail. This section of the tour also included wax figures of England's most notorious mass murderers. Given the fun, light-hearted nature of the previous exhibits, this display seemed a little like building a funeral home at Disneyland.

The final room of the museum was a large Spiderman display, which was apparently built to advertise the latest Spiderman movie. I guess the 20 pound ($40) admission charge isn't enough to pay the bills so they found the need to advertise!

Overall, I enjoyed the museum, although the first half was much more fun than the second half. I was glad we had a two-for-one voucher to cover our tickets, since half of the museum was worth seeing!



Duluth and Points North
Another Lutsen Getaway
by Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN

Shall I tell you about our trip over Memorial Day? Darrel and his wife, Johanna, invited us to go up to Lutsen Ski Resort with them for the weekend. We were pretty thrilled, as they would do the driving and the planning.

They arrived by plane from Washington, DC, at 10:30 Saturday morning, and we headed for Duluth and points north. Stopping, of course, at Toby's Restaurant for one of their huge, fresh-baked caramel rolls and delicious coffee. Quite a start -- so forget diets totally from now on.

We made stops along the way, enjoying the beautiful weather, and they wanted to take pictures of the lift bridge in Duluth, as it happened to be up right then. Even coming from their interesting area, they thought this was something very special to see. I won't enclose any pictures -- most Minnesota people have already seen it many times.

Making our way, we had a long stop at the lighthouse, and lots of pictures of another unusual experience for them -- the lighthouse museum and a magnificent look at Lake Superior, which was at its best.

We found our way to our condo that they had found on the internet and had reserved sight unseen. It was almost new. Two units in one building, so we each had our own king size bed, kitchen, fireplace, Jacuzzi, and deck to sit on and watch the lake change by 15 minute intervals. What a relaxing, completely comfortable and accommodating place to settle! Had a huge, expensive dinner in the Lodge -- and soon they were off hiking, but we old folks headed for the condo.

Sunday found us enjoying breakfast again with the cloth tablecloth and napkins, trying to decide whatever to choose. We all four sat on the deck and visited until about noon, and then headed up to Grand Marais for more sightseeing. It rained, so Roy with his weak left side stayed in the car and I opted to stay with him while Darrel and Johanna made every single open store, thoroughly enjoying the Minnesota North Woods offerings.

We decided to go to Bluefin for the dinner meal; it is south of Lutsen. It was the BEST I have ever had, and that is the truth. Almost worth the drive up there to have their Bar B Q Ribs. We decided to stay there if there should be a next time. Actually, it had a better view of the Lake.

Then another wonderful night in the paradise of our condo coupled with the view of pines and the lakeshore and the lake as evening fell. We hated to have to sleep to miss the view of the moon on the water.

The next morning, Monday, it was time to head back to reality. We made a "must" stop at Betty's Pies, and each had a selection from the menu, and I chose Key Lime, and it was wonderful. The coffee was not very good, I didn't think.

Another stop at Toby's in Hinckley for their famous ice cream!


Then we went over to view the cemetery where the victims of the Hinckley fire are buried. Roy's grandfather died in that fire. He had a lumberyard, and stayed behind to try to save the town and any people he could, but didn't make it out himself. He is in the mass grave there. This was especially meaningful to Roy and Darrel -- especially being it was Memorial Day.


Returning home was nice -- there is no place like HOME!

Photo Editor's Note: Here are some interesting links about The Great Hinckley Fire:

http://www.hinckleymn.com/history.htm

http://rhet5662.class.umn.edu/heroes/root.html

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/199909/29_engerl_mural-m/index.shtml


This and That
6
by Elaine Wold
Wahpeton, ND

It is interesting to hear from some of our mid-age readers that they enjoy hearing things of the "good old days"! It reminded me of the fact that I had to reach a certain age before I enjoyed hearing about those "old times."

To the young, life is too interesting with new things to do and so many things to attract one's time and attention, but as we age, we value more hearing of those earlier days of family members. We laugh and remark on the various hair styles, clothing fashions, and even eyeglasses!

One of the pieces of clothing that all of us remember seeing in pictures is the apron our grandmothers wore. They protected their better clothing by covering with an apron. It also had other uses as described in this poem, which I found recently.

GRANDMA'S APRON
by Tina Trivett
The strings were tied, it was freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
For Grandma, it was every day to choose one when she dressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the many things she used it for, that made it look worn out.

She may have used it to hold, some wildflowers that she'd found.
Or to hide a crying child's face, when a stranger came around.
Imagine all the little tears that were wiped with just that cloth.
Or it became a potholder to serve some chicken broth.

She probably carried kindling to stoke the kitchen fire.
To hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire.
When canning all her vegetables, it was used to wipe her brow.
You never know, she might have used it to shoo flies from the cow.

She might have carried eggs in from the chicken coop outside.
Whatever chore she used it for, she did them all with pride.
When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest.
I'm sure the apron that she chose, was her Sunday best.
--------------
I was thinking of other uses also....
Cleaning out dirty ears of children.
Carrying little chicks to the kitchen stove to keep warm.
Covering the shoulders in a cool breeze.
Dusting the furniture quickly when company drove in the yard.
Waving the apron to the men in the field to come for dinner.
Covering the birdcage at night while singing,
"When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day."


Observations
By Don Anderson
Alexandria, MN

Anybody For Golf? Anybody!

Up until now I thought how foolish it was for a grown man to chase a little white ball!

I got to thinking if "golf folks" were in that state of mind, maybe I could capitalize on it by supplying golf equipment to them.

I have yet to be on a golf course and don't intend to start now. But, I don't want to discourage YOU. I would be most happy to sell you what you need.

I have on hand 12 sets of golf clubs -- as of today. They range from beginner sets to professional clubs Also I have on hand several tag along bag carts, of which two are very rare. My prices are in reach of most golf lovers.

Alexandria has several nice golf courses; our town plays host to many professional golf meets, beginning in early April and closing late in September. On June 23 I will take an air tour by plane to see the locations of the courses in this area.

The picture shows me with my "trainer" ... one of our lovely granddaughters, Rachel Henderson.
Rachel will be starting college soon and will make trips through Alexandria from Fargo to her parents' home in Minnetrista, Minnesota.

She said she would stop here to check on my "golf swing." She thought I was a little rusty.

Check my "low overhead" prices. NEVER UNDERSOLD!


Granddaughter Rachel checks on my "golf swing."


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Birthdays:
June 26---Greg Wm. Dake
June 26---De Meyer
June 27---Sam Mellon
June 29---Tim Huseby
July 1---Suzanne McCorkell

Happy Birthday!

More July Birthdays:
'
July 3---Vonnie Dake
July 5---LeRoy Dake
July 5---Jennifer Dake Horne
July 6---James Miller
July 7---Kimberly Johnson
July 8---Trenton Loredo Roberson (2 years) 
July 13---Zach Bratten
July 15---Tom Morgan
July 15---William Earl Dake
July 15---Sherry Dake
July 18---Callie Printz (4 years)
July 19---Patricia Dake Meyer
July 19---Marlee Freesemann
July 19---Devon S. Stewart (11 years)
July 20---Michael Miller
July 20---Susie Miller
July 24---Jeni Larson
July 26---Tytus Joshua Myron
July 27---Wyatt Timothy Mellon (8 years)
July 29---Heather Henderson
July 29---Colleen Mellon Scott
July 30---Justin Printz
July 31---Tim Myron

July Anniversaries
Z
July 19---Dan and Nancy Mellon (36 years)
July 27---Larry and Sherry Dake (27 years)
July 29---Charles and Ardis Sigman Quick (33 years)

July Special Days
O
July 4---Independence Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Miss Hetty, here is the picture you asked for. It shows the celebration we had for Roy's birthday. The picture is of Roy and Betty and Roy's brother just younger than he is, Louie, and Joyce Droel.


Roy Droel's 84th birthday celebration.

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?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a thrill to open The Bulletin and see the beautiful photo of Tim and Ashley. The composition was perfect and the color was gorgeous. I think Colette should make a big print for her house!

Every week we look forward to Saturday morning, knowing we'll have "quality" e-mail that day! We have especially enjoyed seeing photos of babies who look so much like their parents. I'll never look at a trucker the same way after reading Larry's stories. I always thought they were the best drivers on the road; now I'm not so sure!

Mitzi Swenson
Dickinson, ND

I really appreciated what Aunt Elaine wrote about what her dad meant to her. I often wish that I would've had the privilege of meeting Grandpa Harry ... it sounds like he was a very thoughtful, caring man. I'm glad that those of you who knew him share your memories with us, because it gives us a glimpse into the past and helps us understand and appreciate our heritage more. It seems like as the years go on, family becomes more and more important because it's such a large part of what makes us who we are!

As always, thanks for all your hard work and time you put in keeping family and friends in touch with The Bulletin. We appreciate it!

Melanie Shockey
Brookings, SD


I just finished reading this week's edition of The Bulletin and loved it! What a fabulous job by all your contributors. I loved Beaver's Cow Tales and also the many different Travelogues! Weston's appearance in this week's Foto-Funnies had me laughing out loud. He looks good in a top hat. ;-) Thanks again to both you and Jerrianne for all your hard work

Lori Chap
Maple Grove, MN

P.S. I would love seeing more pictures of Kim and Rachel's grad party and a description of the event, as I was not able to attend.

Hallo,

For the calendar my birthday is 1-May 1952. My wife is Rian (de Been-van Gageldonk -- so it is on the official name on the marriage certificate); her year is 5-June-1955.

My son KOEN is 26 of December 1984. My daughter MARLOES is 24 January 1989.

How is it at your place? We have summertime now, 30 degrees Celcius and a blue sky (hot at last).

Take care and "Hallo, everyone."

Frans de Been
Oosterhout, Netherlands


Well, I just finished the last word of the last page ... it was really interesting, all the way through it. I loved the pictures illustrating the stories -- always makes it so much more interesting and true. It was great! You are doing a fantastic job every time -- sometimes a project like that has a dud here or there, but not YOURS.

I am getting acquainted with the family ... and even since I started reading, the children have grown a lot in their pictures. I should mention that Roy Droel's birthday is June 20th. Sorry, I forgot to mention that in time for this last Bulletin.

I missed the Holland story this time. Do they know how much we love whatever they would write? It's all new to us, and fascinating being a foreign country and customs. Hope they send something again ... maybe tulip and flower fields, or whatever is typical of Holland.

Larry came through again. I just knew that truck would tip over. Whew!!!!!! He was one very fortunate person on that lonely little road with that huge truck. He can keep you in suspense. His stories are usually too short, but never too long. We need an updated picture of their grandchild again.

Thanks again ... tomorrow is Father's Day and then Monday Roy turns 84 years young. He really is very young and young at heart ... up until his stroke that added years! He does well, but we stay pretty close to home.

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN


CHUCKLES


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