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Sunday, April 26, 2009
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Photo © Donna Johnson
Kierra Ostendorf in spring bonnet...

Updates -


Robert Morgan

UPDATE -- Robert Morgan has passed away

Robert Henry "Bob" Morgan, 91, of Astoria, died Thursday, April 16, 2009, in Astoria, Oregon.

He was born June 4, 1917, in Pillsbury, North Dakota, to Samuel William and Elizabeth (Burchill) Morgan.

When he was 17 years old, he ran the family farm for a number of years after his father's death. In April 1941, he went to work for Greyhound Bus Lines.

On Sept. 6, 1941, he married Eloise Dorothy Ward in Glendive, Montana. She survives, residing in Astoria.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps and worked as an airplane mechanic. He was shipped overseas to Australia during World War II.

In April 1951, Mr. Morgan moved the family to Sheldon, North Dakota, to purchase a farm that was owned by his wife's parents. In 1968, they sold the farm and moved to Astoria. He worked at the Astoria Plywood Mill until his retirement.

Family members said that at the age of 50, he became a pilot and owned his own plane. His other hobbies included reading several newspapers a day and talking politics and current events with family and friends. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Coreen Bergholm and Janice and Jim Coughlin, all of Astoria; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Larry and Colleen Morgan of Astoria and Les Morgan of Warrenton; 10 grandchildren, Lynnette Shaw of Everett, Wash., Amy Coughlin and Leah Johnson of Seattle, Lori Hundhausen of Shoreline, Washington, Shelly and Robert Morgan of Astoria, Charity Morgan of Portland, Sarah Frederickson of Warrenton, Ronnie Crank of Vancouver, Washington, and Michael Morgan of Pensacola, Florida; a brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Mavis Morgan of Hope, North Dakota; 20 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a son, Gary Morgan; three sisters, Marian Morgan, Betty Warren and Violet Burchill; a brother, Lester Morgan; and a son-in-law, Ed Bergholm.

Editor's Note: Tom and Mavis Morgan wrote about their recent visit with Tom's brother and his family in Bulletin 352.



Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
View from the top of the Slot Canyon hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks.

In Bulletin 350, Kjirsten Swenson mentioned interviewing for her upcoming emergency medicine residency in various cities across the country. In January she visited Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico.



Mitzi & Sheri, left; Mitzi & Kara, right.

UPDATE -- a school board conference and a visit
by Mitzi Johnson Swenson
Dickinson, ND

The National School Board annual conference was recently held in San Diego and I attended it as a member of the Dickinson Public school board. I flew in a day early, in case of flight delays, and met my dear childhood friend Sheri (Schraw) Hwang. Her daughter Kara (married to Brandon Leen) lives in the area.

We stayed with them, visited Kara's unique workplace at the Lux Art Institute, and took a couple of photos of birdhouses surrounded by native plants in the garden there. Interestingly, it is a LEED-certified "green" building, a program which I learned about at the conference the next day.

My favorite speaker at the conference was Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, One School At A Time.

https://www.ikat.org/ ... www.penniesforpeace.org ... www.threecupsoftea.com

Here's a copy of my comments from my school board report:

In Pakistan and Afghanistan, real hope for peace will only happen through education of their children. An African proverb says if you educate a boy you educate an individual but if you educate a girl you educate a community, plus she will educate her mother. Unless girls are educated, a society will never change.

Fighting terrorism is based on fear; promoting peace is based on hope. People need permission from their mothers to go on jihad. Educated mothers are much less likely to grant permission.

Illiterate, impoverished children are targeted for jihad. Last year the Taliban bombed 720 schools, many of them girls' schools, because they are trying to disrupt their education. Most women say they want two things: first, for their babies not to die, and then for their children to get an education.

Sheri and I met at Eagle Bend convention in 1970 and became great friends through adventures ranging from her visits to Ashby, where she enjoyed the unlimited ice cream, to shopping at West Acres Mall in Fargo. We lived together in college at UND, where she introduced me to Sheldon and tried to play matchmaker. (Her services were not needed.) Her husband, Harvey, and Sheldon went to med school together and the rest is history. Many of our kids are similar ages and we both enjoy traveling, reading, cooking and eating.


Mitzi with birdhouse at Lux Art Institute.



Kit, Judy, Kelly & Patrick McCalla. They have a brother, Mike, who lives in California and was not present when this picture was taken, in February of 1995.

FAMILY UPDATE -- introducing Patrick McCalla
by Patrick McCalla
Staples, MN

Editor's Note: Now that Judy McCalla has been introduced, my sister, Gert Dake Pettit, has decided that she will have each of our cousin Gilbert McCalla's four sons from his second marriage write us a letter of introduction. She has met all of them since they are adults. I know that I met them all when they were children and lived on a farm up north. This will be the first time they have written for The Bulletin, so I wish to welcome them.

Gert has sent me a letter from Patrick, the oldest of Gilbert's second family. So we will start this series of introductions with that letter. I'd like you to meet Patrick McCalla. Pat has sent us his address and telephone number (if you would like to contact him) but we think it best not to run it in our paper. --Dorothy Dake Anderson)


Patrick and Tracy (Gammon of Little Falls) McCalla, left; Pat, right.

We have our 10th anniversary coming up on May 24, although we have been together since 1991 (18 years). Together, we have five children and two grandchildren.

My boy, Brady Allen McCalla, is 17 and graduates at the end of May this year. Then he plans to go to EMT school in Brainerd this fall.

Tracy's oldest, Trista, is married to Chris Johnson; they have a daughter, Natalie Grace, and she is 1-1/2. They live in North Dakota. Chris is a pilot in the Air Force.

Tracy's second is Adam Vogt; he is in the Air Force and went in when he was just out of high school, two weeks after graduation. He is stationed in Germany now, and has been in for seven years, so far.

Tracy's third is Melanie Vogt, and she is graduating from veterinary technician (two year) school in Willmar, at the end of May. She is engaged to be married in 2010 to Nick, who is also in school in Willmar, and is working towards being a grade school teacher in a few more years. Melanie is at present looking to do her internship around the Staples area or Willmar area for the summer.

Tracy's youngest is Ben Vogt; he is engaged to April Benick. They have a daughter, Olivia Rose, who will be 3 in July. They bought a house two years ago and live in Staples. They are talking about getting married this summer. They both work in assisted living homes for people with various difficulties. Ben manages a couple of the homes.

Tracy and I live in Staples, Minnesota. We bought a small (20-acre) farm in 2003 and have four quarter horses and one Appaloosa, four dogs and a cat.

I work at Charter Communications since 1985 (24 years). I have done everything there to do with cable television and now work in the head end building where all the TV, internet, phone signals come together and then are sent back out to the various towns around the Brainerd, Baxter area.

Tracy is a certified pharmacy technician and is working for St. Joseph's medical center in Brainerd.


Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN


Photos © Lori Ostendorf
Donna with Kierra, McKenna & Caity, left; McKenna & Caity, right.

Twin Cities Twins Weekend

Weston's organizational skills, and his invitations to his friends and their friends, resulted in one huge Minnesota Twins adventure for many. Which also proved to have a good result for Caity and me to have some fun, too. I was invited to watch two darling little girls so their parents could join the crowd.

Off to the Cities I headed; naturally, I opted to find a suitable sidekick, namely, Caity. She is such a great help with kids and a joy to visit with on the ride; finally, after all these years, she stays awake more than she sleeps while riding.

We left Thursday evening, after returning home from Fargo, where Beaver had another successful cardio conversion done. (He thinks they told him it only took two "zaps" to get him kick started into natural rhythm again.)

While he was in with his doctor, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Marlene, catching them before they left town again. I so thoroughly enjoy our time together, it was sad to have to say good-bye again!

Friday found Lori, McKenna, Kierra, Caity and me on our way across the Cities to check out the Como zoo and enjoy the great weather. The thermometer actually reached 79 degrees! Amazing, when we've been looking at snow up until a few days ago!

We wandered around, checking out cages and feeling sorry for animals that were penned inside yet, with signs saying they don't let them out until the evening temperatures were warmer, too. Poor, bored looking animals!

We watched the lucky seals, swimming around in their outdoor pool, as we basked in some sunshine. I got the biggest kick out of McKenna. Each time the seal would swim below where we were standing, she would reprimand him very sternly with, "Naughty!" I'm not sure what she thought he was doing wrong, but listening to her "give him the business," as her daddy describes it, certainly entertained me!

Heading into the indoor area, where it said Sparky the seal lived, we stumbled onto an impromptu sideshow, with Sparky and his trainer. She was giving him "treats" for practicing his tricks. We even ended up being the closest to him. I think the kids might have enjoyed it as much as I did!

And little Kierra showed us she has some mettle and a mind of her own! She refused to be treated like a baby and left lying down in her seat! She strained and fussed until upright; there were things to do, people to see and, she announced, she would prefer to be doing so! In an upright position with either her mom or me carrying her, she was perfectly content! Who can blame her? Not I, for sure. She wasn't about to miss out.

Later in the evening, after dropping Mommy and little ones back at home, Caity and I enjoyed a scrumptious meal at Applebee's, where we shared a salad and entree, plus dessert. We headed out to a good movie and called it a night.

Oh, so I don't forget, Caity did get some shopping in between various excursions, a must for a soon to be teenager!

Saturday, while Caity and I cared for Kierra and McKenna, Bridget Larson came over with her adorable, blue eyed niece, Rylin Palm. Her parents were also at the Twins game. Bridget brought along some delicious brownies for our treat.

Donna Richards showed up a little while later, bearing huge chopped salads from Wildfire; if you ever get the chance, try one! I recommend it. Along with these salads comes fresh whole wheat bread, a perfect side. McKenna had three little helpings; she loved Donna's offering!

Sunday, Shawn and Lori treated Caity and me to one of our favorite places to eat in the Twin Cities area: Maynard's Sunday Brunch Buffet. Yum, is all I can say. Too many good selections to even begin to cover in one paragraph!

A true bonus was Patty and Don joining us! We got to catch up on the many home renovation projects they have been doing; they even brought along some pictures on their phone to give us a little sampling. Hopefully, sometime they will share the finished outcome with all of us. I can hardly wait to be a guest in their new guest suite. It is just that -- SWEET looking!

A truly fun weekend! Thanks, Weston! We had this opportunity because of your invites to the parents. From what I understand, it seems this get together had a few attending -- 99 people, I heard! A decent turnout; you deserve an ovation ... oh yeah, you got one! (They gave a personal "thank you to Weston" on the big screen.)


Photos © Donna Johnson
Bridget Larson with Rylin Palm, left; Rylin, Kierra & McKenna, right.



Photo © Donna Johnson
Beaver called me out to see a newborn calf as he headed out to tag it.


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. Mavis Anderson Morgan supplied last week's mystery photo.


How many can you identify? What's going on?

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

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.

On the guess photo for today's Bulletin, I would like to enter my guess. Marlene Anderson Johnson, Merna Morgan Hellevang, Patty Anderson Henderson, (Patty, you didn't change many letters in your maiden name to your married name.) Donna Anderson Johnson, and Margrete Overland Ramso from Hope, North Dakota, and Norway. I think it was taken at our farm in '63 or '64.

Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND


I think that is my mom (Donna Johnson) in the back and in the front I see Marlene (Johnson), then Patty (Henderson), and I think that is Merna [Hellevang] in the back. I don't know the other girl.

Becky Chap
Ashby, MN


The tall one in the back I believe is Donna. I will guess that the first and third may be Marlene and Patty. I will not attempt a guess on the others.

Earl Stahlecker
Gatesville, TX


Memory Lane

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 about Lois and Bill Dake. 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.


Dorothy Dake, 20, hand tinted portrait, 1946.

Spring 1947 -- Now What?
by Dorothy Dake
Howard Lake, MN

LeRoy graduated, and he plans to stay home and help Dad with the farm work. Dad's eyes get worse each year; he has to be very careful to avoid stumbling and he can surely use some help. I guess for the summer I will go and live with Blanche and Jim for most of the time. We need to prepare for the school year, and she and Jim are doing some decorating that she could use help with.

I would love to buy a car for myself ... but the few new ones available carry a price tag of $1,500 ... at least. When your salary is just $175 a month, for only nine months out of the year, and when they take out teachers' retirement, Social Security, and two types of income tax, it really makes it look pretty impossible to afford any major purchases.

Blanche and I plan on making some extra cash this summer. We will work with Northrup King Seed Corn company's detasseling crew. We earn almost a hundred dollars each for going over the fields daily from the time the first tassels appear until the last one has been pulled from the field. (It takes about three weeks in all.)

When that is finished, we will both work for the Green Giant corn canning operation in Cokato. The canning company pays a base wage that varies from job to job, with the average pay being about 50 cents an hour. On the cutters where we will work, swiftness of movement counts, as there is a gauge that counts the corn as you put it through and they pay a bonus for ears over the average number expected. I really need some income and she wants to get some new furniture and carpeting, so she wants to work, too.

We have really been enjoying lots of family activities (which, of course, will be on hold when we work in the factory and the field). There are so many things we can do without it costing a bundle ... especially being there are two new cars, and a nice older one, available in the family. Gas is cheap -- usually only 23 cents a gallon, and if a good price war erupts, you can get it cheaper than that.

We love to go for a picnic in the groves next to the Crow River at Albright's Mill. Fishing there is fun but you have to settle on the fact you will probably catch mostly bullheads. We like to spend time exploring, picking some wild strawberries, and visiting the Johnson Store that is located in the old redecorated mill that stands there by the gate. Or visiting the dam is always fun, too. When it is low enough, the daredevils of the crowd walk across the walkway formed across the top of it. It is narrow but nobody of our group has ever fallen in.

Or we can all go over to Washington Lake and visit Bill and Olive Miller and Dick and Tom. They have an area for swimming near there ... though I do not go out more than just wading or floating. I have always been chicken about swimming.

So I tend baby instead -- and that is no punishment. Little Carol Elaine is such a sweetie. I carry her around a lot now that I do not need to use my walking sticks anymore. She is starting to know us apart. It gives my heart a twist when she reaches out her hands for me to take her. Of course, she is friendly to everybody, but she does know me and I think we are friends for good!

And of course, there are parades, and 4th of July fireworks to plan for. So we do have things to fill what extra time we have available. And I do think we may take a few trips to places a little farther away, too. That, however, remains to be seen.

But the big decision is really just what am I going to do with my life? I will try teaching this next year, and then I have to make up my mind! I am beginning to understand that it is not always what we plan that is what happens. So then there is this year -- but after that -- then what?


LeRoy Dake, graduation, left; Dorothy tends Carol, right.


Homesteading Days at Effie, Minnesota, as toldby Bruce McCorkell

Larry McCorkell sent us a manuscript he transcribed from his father's tape recorded memories and made it available to The Bulletin for a series of excerpts. These stories were originally tape recorded by Bruce McCorkell of his growing up days on the homestead near Effie in northern Minnesota. They were recorded from a period of the mid 1980's until the early 2000's. These are Bruce's words of happy, sad, funny, good, and hard times.


Bruce with a truckload of logs.

SAWMILL

My dad worked in that huge sawmill in Deer River as the trimmer. He sat up near the ceiling in the building. After the lumber went through the saws and through the edger to size the width of the board, cut the edges off, it went on what they called the green chain. There was a fellow on each end of that board and they laid it on the green chain. It was just a chain that ran on sprockets and went on an angle up towards the ceiling. He sat above that in a little cage with controls. That's the way they still do it, I suppose.

If they saw a 16-foot board coming and it had a piece of bark showing in the middle, they'd have to cut that out. He just pushed two levers and the saw would come up, sometimes two of them at the same time, and saw that board off and the two good pieces would go on over and drop on over the end onto a conveyor and go on out, and the lumber pilers would sort it.

The piece of wood that wasn't any good, if it was just plain bark, it went into what they called "The Hog." That was just a chute that went down through a grinder and ground it all up and it went into the steam-powered furnace and was used for fuel. If the pile got too big, they'd feed the sawdust in just like you'd feed coal into a furnace. That's what the trimmer saw was for.

So somebody working night shift looked over, and walking on the ledge one floor up from the saws, was this girl. It was the boss's daughter or one of the boss's daughters. She walked in her sleep. So somebody said, "Shut the mill down. Shut the mill down."

Somebody else said, "No, no, don't shut it down, just keep going. We don't want to change anything. We don't want to change the sound, nothing, just keep going." So that prevailed.

After a while the girl turned around and went back, but they were afraid if she woke up she might panic and fall off of there. They just waited to see what happened. She didn't wake up, evidently; she turned around and went back. That's about all I can remember about the sawmill. I don't know long he worked there. I suppose it was probably a year or so.


Travelogue t


Photos © Kjirsten Swenson
Girl waits at Ibo's port for a boat to take her family to their island home.

Mozambique
by Kjirsten Swenson
Houston, TX

This lovely girl was waiting at Ibo's port for a boat to take her and her family to the nearby island where they live. She was very shy but had a beautiful smile. We traded photos: I gave her a North Dakota postcard in exchange for taking her photo. She was absolutely delighted by the sight of her image in my digital camera view screen. I wonder if she'd ever seen a camera before? When their boat arrived, she and her family left the stone bridge where we'd been waiting to load on the beach. But she turned around before they reached the water and ran back to give me the bead necklace she's wearing in these photos. It's my favorite treasure from Mozambique.

To be continued...


Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Notice the preference for carrying the backpack on her head instead of bothering with the arm straps...


Photos © Kjirsten Swenson
Setting sail, leaving Ibo behind.


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


Photo © Frans de Been
Rian de Been at Keukenhof Gardens flower exhibition in Holland, Easter 2009.


Photos © Frans de Been
Spring blossoms ...


Photo © Frans de Been
... at Keukenhof Gardens spring flower show.


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Special Days
May 1---May Day (hanging May baskets day)

This Week's Birthdays
April 26---Heidi Johnson Henderson
April 27---Steve Rodriguez
April 27---Peggy McNeill
April 28---Justin Blackstone
April 29---Kelly Kay Larson Seaman
April 30---Kurtis James Larson
May 1---Frans de Been
Happy Birthday!

More May Birthdays
' 
May 4---Beau Birkholz
May 7---Ben Johnson
May 7---Kim Mellon (Tim's wife)
May 8---Kira Lynn Steinhauer (2 years old)
May 10---Curt Henderson
May 12--James Dake
May 14---Ernie Dake
May 14---Bridget Larson
May 14---Tyler James Indermark (4 years old)
May 16---Angelique Freesemann (10 years old)
May 17---Dwight Anderson
May 19---Ryan Hellevang
May 22---Dan Henderson
May 23---Don Pettit
May 25---Amy Ellen Dake Harrison
May 26---Rick Anderson
May 27---Tracer Scott Roberson (11 years old)
May 28---Jazmine Jane Hill (6 years old)
May 28---Jason Hunt
May 29---Kristi Kay Larson Indermark
May 30---McKenna Blanche Miller (5 years old)
May 31---Mavis Anderson Morgan

May Anniversaries
Z
May 12---Chris and Jessy Chap (2 years)
May 14---Roddy and Alisha McNeill (4 years)
May16---Nathan and Brenda Anderson Hill (13 years)
May 27---Dwight and Janie Anderson (38 years)
May 31---Tom and Mavis Anderson Morgan (52 years)

May Special Days
O
May 1---May Day (hanging May baskets day)
May 8---VE Day
May 10---Mother's Day
May 16---Armed Forces Day
May 25---Memorial Day

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

Yes ... I don't know if I must let you know but it was a big surprise for me from my daughter, Marloes. As you know, we (Rian and I) were on 31st of March 31 years married. Rian has got some nice flowers, and I ... nothing (not so bad). What has Marloes done for me? She has fixed for me a GIFT. A drive with a car of my dreams....

I don't know if it is something worth to tell but it was fantastic!

Frans de Been
Oosterhout, The Netherlands


Photo © Marloes de Been
Frans takes his dream car for a spin, thanks to Marloes!


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

I love this week's Bulletin. All the good news and talk of spring makes my day! Can't wait to read next week's, too!

Bridget Larson
Ashby, MN


I really enjoyed reading about Carol, and I think she must have been a cutie. I like hearing about all the relatives from back when they were growing up ... and I enjoy the pictures, too.

Becky Chap
Ashby, MN


CHUCKLES


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photo by Susie Holman
Hunter Holman demonstrates how he makes pancakes.


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:

The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.
--Edwin Way Teale

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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