Update -- Ginn Adair breaks hip in Alexandria
by Capt. Jack [Adair]
Alexandria, MN (temporarily)

On Sunday, June 1st, Virginia (Ginn) and I went up to Alexandria (Alex) to assist Amy and Ted while they moved. Ember, the youngest, was already out of school; the other three went to school until Wednesday. Ember stayed with us at a motel and we would go and be at the "old" house when the others came from school. Ginn would make a meal and Amy and Ted would usually be home to put the kids to bed. By Wednesday, everything was moved and we went to the new house to help there.

While I was in the garage cutting up cardboard boxes, and Amy was sorting things in the kitchen, Ginn was getting ready to go with the kids to see the horses -- one theirs, one boarding. As she was coming down the front steps, one foot apparently was a little too far toward the edge of the step, and she lost balance and fell onto the concrete.

Ginn immediately knew something was very wrong. She called for help, and I finally heard her, and then Amy came also, and all the kids. Amy, a nurse, checked her out and was sure something was broken. She made her comfortable and called for an ambulance, and then for someone to come and watch the kids.

We followed the ambulance into Alex and the Douglas County hospital, where it was confirmed she had a broken her hip in two places. Surgery was scheduled for Thursday.

Amy had worked at this hospital when she first moved to Alex, on the very floor Ginn went to. There were even a few of the nurses she had known from before. Jane got there about the same time as Amy and me, and I was very thankful for both of them, as they knew what to do to make Ginn comfortable, and how to move her. Both girls continued to be there most of the time, although Jane was working. She is in charge at a couple of nursing homes -- she's an OTA [Occupational Therapy Assistant] -- and was able to schedule herself somewhat so she could be there.

Surgery went well; she was well cared for by doctors, nurses and children. Jane knew some people at the nursing home and they arranged to hold a bed for Ginn. We don't know right now how long she'll be there, getting both physical and occupational therapy, all I know is it will be six weeks before she can put weight on that leg. She is feeling quite comfortable, emotionally as well as physically, or as best as you can expect with a broken hip.

Jane, Amy and Ted have asked us many times to move up there so the whole family would be near. The biggest drawback for Ginn is her confidence in the medical care here [Minneapolis area], and lack of confidence anywhere else. Things have been handled so well and the situation now makes more sense; we are seriously contemplating a move up there, maybe yet this year.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm not getting any younger, so we are thinking about a townhouse type of arrangement, where an association takes care of the lawn, snow shoveling and basic maintenance. At this point we can't do much in the way of investigation, although I may go and check a few things out, but the wheels will start to turn in that direction.

I'll try and keep folks informed as to how Ginn is doing, and what future plans are as we make them.

The address where Ginn is at the nursing home:

KNUTE NELSON
Room 166
400 12th Ave, E.
Alexandria, MN 56308

Phone: 320-759-3314

Cards appreciated, phone calls in the evening, when she feels the most lonely. Thanks.

Photo © Ardis Quick
Jay, Jean, Penny, John, Rosanna & Abigail in front.

About the time we started talking about this, a good friend at work announced his plans to take a three-year assignment in Mannheim, Germany. He had a 2007 GMC Yukon, which he'd just bought back in May of 2007. Since he couldn't take that to Germany, he had to get rid of it, and was able to give us a pretty good deal. As it turned out, our daycare lady's son was turning 16 and needed a car, so we sold the Sable to him!

As gas prices hover near $4 a gallon, you're probably thinking "Is he crazy, buying a big rig like that?" The short answer is yes, I am. It's actually not as bad as you may think, though. It gets nearly the same mileage as the minivan, through its active cylinder management system that cuts out four of the eight cylinders when it doesn't need them. It's also a flex-fuel vehicle, which means I can use E-85. With the price of E-85 about 80% of the price of regular gas, and the fact that the Yukon gets about 80% of the mileage using E-85 that it does with gas, it's about a cost wash, but I feel a little better supporting our farmers instead of unstable foreign countries.

It's got a lot of fun bells and whistles, perfect for an electronics nerd like me. The GPS navigation system assures I'll never have to pull over and ask for directions. (Like I'd do that anyway!) The rear-view camera displays what's behind me when I'm backing up. Paired with sensors that sense when I'm getting too close to something while backing up, I no longer have to worry about backing over bikes, or trikes, or wagons, or dogs, or kids.

It's got about the same amount of room as the minivan, though it's a bit wider. But the best feature of all? It's not a minivan! OK, OK, so minivans aren't that bad; I've told many people that over the five years that I've driven one. But it's still a fun vehicle, one that I'll enjoy for many years!

Photos by Wyatt Johnson
Wyatt & Jolene's new SUV baby buggy.

Photo © Donna Johnson
Guess what -- and how old -- his welding rod containers are...

Photo © Donna Johnson
He's using the cart he got from Dad as his grease cart, which comes in very handy! He wheels it to wherever it's needed.

Photo © Donna Johnson
Beaver also is getting great use out of the workbench Dad had in his own garage. I'm guessing it will see many more years of solid use!

Photo © Donna Johnson
When I arrived in the shop, I found Beaver reinforcing a calf-head gate, "so Shawn can enjoy being a cowboy for a day!" ... according to Beaver. The side drops down for the vaccinations in their necks; looks as though it will work very nicely.

Photo © Donna Johnson
I also brought out two different kinds of bars, to add to the freezer in his little side room. Fridge is also thanks to Dad! Beaver also has a coffee pot (a gift from me), a microwave (from Chris) and an old breadbox I had in the house (filled with "goodies" for his coffee breaks). Wow, he's really "roughing it," wouldn't you say? And, yes ... he does have an old La-Z-Boy recliner, but it's in the old shop and I am not sure it gets much use!

Now that is what you call four good-looking young men! Being that at some time in their young lives I held each one of them and sang "Rock-a-bye-Baby" to them while TRYING to put them to sleep, I think I know their names: Beau Birkholz, Travis Quick, Cameron Birkholz and Adam Boltz.

The first young man is Melanie's son Beau Birkholz and the second one is Ardis's son Travis Quick. I do not have an idea on the other two; maybe they are friends of Beau's that we do not know. I suspect that Ardis is testing our memories this time.

Earl Stahlecker
Gatesville, TX

While working as a prosthetic technician in Portland, I'd used rolls of plaster casting material to make molds. I wished I had some of these. But, if I had to use sticks and string, I would. I asked Sherry to go home and call on the two-way radio to see if anyone from the ranch happened to be in town; as it turned out, the wife of a cowboy was.

The main ranch radioed her, and she stopped at the veterinarian's to buy the rolls of plaster casting. They refused to sell them, insisting instead that we bring the dog in. (Under the circumstances, this was hardly an option.)

About the time Sherry received this news, the sister workers called the main ranch saying they were ready to leave town. They wondered if we needed anything. Well, yes, actually we did. The message was relayed at the main ranch, from Sherry on the two-way, to the workers on the telephone: would they stop at the medical doctor's, to see if they could buy several rolls of plaster bandaging to set a dog's broken leg?

Meanwhile, Checker hobbled along behind me on his three good legs. We arrived at camp, not long before Sherry and the girls did. Soon after, the workers came -- bearing plaster bandages!

I needed something to keep the plaster from adhering to Checker's hair. In the prosthetic lab we had used sheer nylon stockings for this purpose. I didn't have any nylons on hand, but one of the sister workers offered up hers.

I tore the rolls of plaster bandages into lengths of about two feet. I put a stick between Checker's teeth and tied his mouth shut with my red bandana. Then I lifted him onto the table. The worker who had provided the nylons restrained Checker while I stretched the stockings over his broken leg; one size fits all.

Sherry prepared a bowl of lukewarm water. This would be the tricky part: the speed at which the plaster set depended on the temperature of the water it was dipped in. It was guess work. Piece by piece I dipped the strips of bandage into the water and wrapped and smoothed them around the leg. I hurried to get it all wrapped and smoothed before it set up. In spite of Checker struggling from the pain, we accomplished this.

Next, I held the broken bones adjacent to each other, and at the proper angle. I had to hold them in position until the plaster hardened; now, it seemed like it wasn't hardening fast enough! But, when it did harden, the leg was held firmly in place. The healing could begin.

I trimmed off the excess nylon with my pocket knife, lifted Checker to the floor, and removed his muzzle. He settled down by the door while the rest of us ate our supper on the "operating table."

After our meal, Checker soaked up everyone's sympathies and then Sherry, the girls, and the workers drove to our house to stay for the night. They would all be back for supper the following evening.

Eventually, my dad blew the stumps and got them out of there, but for many many years there were stump holes and stumps all over. After some years they began to deteriorate a little more. They lasted really well, though. There were so many big stumps you could hardly drive a car between them or a horse and wagon. Those were tremendous big pine trees. The stumps were all fairly good yet then.

My dad used to blow stumps. He dug them out with a stump puller. It was just a big long cable with a block and tackle. You would have a double or triple block and get a team of horses on there. I'll tell you, they pulled out a lot of stumps. You couldn't possibly pull out a pine stump. You usually took and drilled a hole in there and put some dynamite under it to loosen them up.

You'd have to put a ton under it to blow the stumps out, but it would generally blow a hole in the center and loosen up the roots around the outside. Then you could get a hold of a piece of the stump, one at a time, and pull them out. It was a rocky country, too. You could hardly roll the rocks onto the stone boat.

We got familiar with the Metro, the city buses, the suburban trains and the Eurail train system. On our last day of travel, Curt and I were put to a test. We needed to plan a day's journey AND get back safe and sound to our apartment without Owen and Susan. We only had to ask one time where the Metro entrance was! We passed the test. The Metro entrances weren't always as obvious as you'd think ... but we were kind of proud of ourselves!

One day while in Paris, we took the Eurostar to London, passing through the Chunnel ... no leaks or water spots in the train, so we were glad for that! There we again saw all the "famous" spots: Buckingham Palace, #10 Downing Street, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey.

We finished off the day in Mabel's Tavern eating bangers and mash ... a true dish for the British in all of us. It was a heaping plate of mashed potatoes; wonderful bratwurst-type of sausage and onion gravy ... but all of this was in a bread bowl ... Atkins, eat your heart out!

It happened that on that day the "football" (soccer) semi-finals were in progress so we had to place our order at the bar and every TV in the place was tuned in! The weather in London was just as one would expect ... misty, overcast and cool. But who would know we were in London if the sun was out?

We headed back to the states from Paris. Kind of bittersweet, sad to be leaving but glad to be returning! I do believe that we might venture back some day if time and health allow!

"We changed techniques again over the next two days. Jerri mail-ordered lightweight rectangular sleeping bags for delivery to Chester Gap at the far end of Shenandoah. Three of us could sleep in two bags if we zipped them together. That would save six pounds; sending down jackets to the Doerings until fall saved another five.

"She also switched to granola for breakfast and to dinners that could be cooked at noon and eaten cold later on. We could rest during the heat of the day thereby, and walk in cooler evening hours before making camp. Lighter packs, less cooking, and longer hours sounded good to me. Already I could see the twenty-mile days." --from Walking North, by Mic Lowther.

This Week's Special Days
June 15---Father's Day
June 21---First Day of Summer

This Week's Birthdays
June 16---Gina Henderson
June 17---Louise Cloyd
June 18---Caitlynn Mae Chap (12 years)
June 19---Doris Anderson
June 19---Ashley Meyer
June 20---Spencer Aydelotte
June 20---Roy Droel
June 20---Julian Montford
June 21---Ary Ommert, Jr.
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
June 18---Jason and Tami Anderson Hunt (4 years)
June 19---Curt and Patty Anderson Henderson (26 years)
June 20---Rich and Marlene Anderson Johnson (27 years)
June 20---Steve and Marian Miller (38 years)
Congratulations!

More June Birthdays
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June 1---Jeremiah Dake
June 4---Merna Hellevang
June 5---Rian de Been van Gageldonk
June 6---Jettison Quaid Freesemann (3 years)
June 7---Shane Swenson
June 8---Ashley Huseby (5 years)
June 11---George John Larson
June 11---McKenna Christine Ostendorf (1 year)
June 12---Andrea Dake Mendez

June 24---Aiden Montford (5 years)
June 25---Ben Henderson
June 26---Greg Wm. Dake
June 26---De Myer
June 27---Sam Mellon
June29---Tim Huseby
June 29---Trinidy Creede Roberson (2 years)

More June Anniversaries
Z
June 3---Larry and Ginny Dake McCorkell (36 years)
June 6---Wyatt and Jolene Johnson (10 years)
June 7---Clark and Susan Miller Smith (17 years)
June 8---Jeff and Jessica Myron Gauderman (1 year)
June 10---Jim and Kristi Larson Indermark (8 years)

June Special Days
O
June 6---D Day
June 14---Flag Day
June 15---Father's Day
June 21---First Day of Summer

We enjoy The Bulletin and look forward to it every Saturday. Thank you for all you do to produce such a high quality publication every week. We know it's an incredible amount of work and requires technical skills we can't begin to imagine. We'll look forward to reading it on your web site while we're in faraway places with high mountains nearby!

Sheldon & Mitzi Swenson
Dickinson, ND

Editors' comment: You are hereby subscribed to the web edition only. We look forward to being viewed in various exotic places and to full reports with pictures upon your return from each trip.

I had to look to really make sure Bulletin #312 was right. It didn't seem that long ago that we were sending comments about the milestone #300 one. But, it really is #312. One would think you would run out of such interesting things for the pages, but each one is even better than the one before.