Photo © Adriana Brown
The Browns in Texas bluebonnets: Sully, Lelan, Michael & Adriana; Everett is in front.

UPDATE -- Sully Brown honors Mom for Mother's Day
by Adriana Stahlecker Brown
Granbury, TX

Sully did this questionnaire at school for Mother's Day. His answers are in the quotations. I love how little minds think! :)

My mom is special because "she's cool just like my dad."
I like it when my mom "cleans."
My mom can do many things! I think she's best at "being a chef."
My mom has a pretty smile! I like to make her smile by "making hearts."
My mom is as pretty as a "flower."
My mom is smart! She even knows "how to get to the Fort Worth Zoo."

Photo © Adriana Brown
Sully gave me the rose for Mother’s Day when I joined him at school for "Muffins for Mom." It is in one of Grandma (Lois) Dake's glass containers.

Photo from the LeRoy Dake collection
My Great, Great, Great Grandma spins yarn with a walking wheel. On the back of the photo it says: "Amy Dake's Grandma Mellon," so it may have been handed down through the generations like this: Sarah Steinhauer, Larry Dake, LeRoy Dake, Amy Dake, Alonzo Mellon, and then from his mother, Mary Jane Ellis Mellon.

Editor's Note: The picture is lovely to indicate a long ago MOM member of the family, yet the picture is a bit of a mystery. I do not remember ever knowing who that picture is of and, until Sarah reported what was written on the back, I thought it must be Sarah's Great Great Great Grandma Keziah Ann Geer Dake -- grandmother to Bill Dake, not Amy Mellon Dake -- because the background looks like Grandpa Warren Dake's farm. I remember reading that when my Great Grandpa and Grandma Dake were too old to farm anymore they took turns living with their children. I know that my Grandma Dake (Greer) had lots of the pictures and letters from her in-laws. I could not find a picture of any of that generation in my big book that Les Green gathered. Gert and Ardis may know better who it is. If it is a Mellon ancestor, then I think our McKenzie relatives may know ... they would have Grandma Mellon in their lineage, too. If anyone has more information, I would love to know it.

UPDATE -- spinning wheel spans seven generations (or more)
by Sarah Dake Steinhauer
Wannaska, MN

Since I was a teenager, spinning has been one of my favorite hobbies, so I was thrilled when I was lucky enough to inherit this spinning wheel. When I received this wheel I was aware that there were a few pieces missing, but I decided to have a go at putting it together. I found out that all three legs were missing, as well as three important pieces on the head. I was pretty disappointed, but then I had an idea. I went out to the barn, found some wire, and made up what I thought the three missing pieces might have looked like. I was actually able to get it to hold together enough to be able be spin some yarn. That really made my day!

After some research, I found out that two of the missing pieces on the head (they hold the spindle in place) were apparently made out of corn husks or leather. No wonder they are missing! Since I took these pictures, I have cleaned up the spinning wheel and I also gave it a good coat of oil. It is amazing how much better it looks now! I just wish I knew how old the spinning wheel is -- it has to be at least 120 years old, but it is likely quite a bit older than that.

Click here to read more about Sarah's spinning wheel and see more pictures on her blog. There is more here. And here is a YouTube link so you can see the Great Wheel in action.

Photo © Michael Steinhauer
Sarah spinning yarn on a "great wheel" at least 120 years old. The spinning wheel, also known as a "walking wheel," is sitting on the piano bench -- "which works until I am able to get some legs made." (Note a regular sit-down spinning wheel in the background at right for relative size. A spinning wheel from either of LeRoy Dake's grandmothers, passed down to Sarah, who recently crocheted a hat for her daughter Kira, spans seven generations of the Dake family. (Kira is LeRoy's great grandaughter; she turns 3 on May 8th.) --Ed.)

FAMILY UPDATE -- the Printz family
by Carol Dake Printz
Sidney, NE

Spring is up to its usual antics here in western Nebraska. We have warm, sunny days alternating with windy, cold, wet ones. So far we haven't had any of the impressive thunderstorm-hail-tornado alert occasions. But those will be coming too, eventually.

Harold keeps busy with his co-op petroleum and marketing work. He's one of the "disgusting few" in town who is happy when fuel prices go up! :>) I'm still doing "catch-up" projects around home that didn't get done during the two years I worked with the learning-delayed student at one of our elementary schools. I just completed the last of the crocheted afghans I had promised each grandchild.

We recently drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho, for a few days to visit Eric. It was great to also see a number of our friends from when we lived in Idaho. It was sort of hard to turn south and east when we left Idaho Falls for home ... as the highway west would have taken us over to the Boise area, where we lived for over 22 years! But that will have to wait for another trip. Eric will be coming this direction the middle of May to help get ready for a convention at Chugwater, Wyoming. So we'll have some more time with him then.

Last week, Cody completed the wind energy technology course in Sweetwater, Texas, that he started last summer. Now he's begun the job search process for that kind of work. The "wind farms" seem to be developing in quite a number of places. His schooling was in the maintenance and repair of the wind turbines more than the installation of them.

Cody's son Austin will be graduating from high school in Parker, Colorado, this month. He has joined the Marines and will report to San Diego, California, for training in September.

Justin and Melody are busy, as always, on the ranch. They recently went to visit Eric in Idaho and Melody's brother and wife in Nevada. They also visited one of Justin's former schoolmates, who is in a nursing home in Idaho as the result of a head injury in a horse-related accident a few years ago. A sobering reminder that ranching is a "hazardous occupation."

Calving is just starting, so that will go on for about another month, I think. Melody is hoping for a good garden this year, after working on getting the soil improved recently. Manure from the kids' chicken flock and a few other things are being added to the garden spot.

Amy just went to "kindergarten roundup" and is extremely excited to be starting school this fall. With all three kids in school, Melody may be working with Justin a bit more. She is a great "hand," since she grew up on a ranch herself and enjoys most any ranch work. She is also working on some quilting projects lately.

We enjoy quite a few visitors, as we live near Interstate highway 80. So plan to stop in to see us.

 
Photos © Jerrianne Lowther
Flowers like Mom used to grow: daffodils, left; red tulip, right.

 
Photos © Brenda Hill
Jaxon in his hospital bed, left; with his favorite teddy bear, right.

UPDATE -- Action Jaxon takes a spill
by Brenda Anderson Hill
Dwight, ND

Jaxon, who is 3-1/2, jumped off the couch on Sunday night (May 2) and broke his leg (femur, close to the top). They did X-rays at the hospital in Breckenridge but couldn't do the body cast there, so we stayed at the hospital overnight and then got to ride in the ambulance to Fargo on Monday.

They had to put him to sleep to fix the bone and then put the cast on. The cast starts halfway between his navel and rib cage and goes to his ankle on the left side and right above his knee on the right side. Because of this, he can't bend in the middle, so has to sit and lay in a kind of reclined position.

We have learned how to use a harness seat belt (laying him down in the back seat of the van), a bedpan, urinal, etc. We got home from the hospital in Fargo Tuesday afternoon. I am home with him, as of now. He seems to be taking it quite well, in spite of everything!

Photo © Brenda Hill
Jaxon leaving the hospital in a little red wagon.

Photo © Weston Johnson
Susan, Jim & Eric at Nature Park.

UPDATE -- Florida spring training, Part 5 -- goodbyes
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

After our Saturday afternoon at the Twins game, followed by an enjoyable evening on Pine Island, the remainder of our time in Florida was a bit anti-climactic, as our group gradually shrank in size and our time was filled with less exciting pursuits.

Wyatt left early Sunday morning to make the drive back to Orlando, where he caught a flight to Fargo. Eric would need to be to the Fort Myers airport by early afternoon for his flight back to Minneapolis. We didn't have time for an all-day activity before bringing Eric to the airport, so we chose to visit the Cape Coral Rotary Park, where we'd be able to kill some time and get a bit of exercise.

Despite being located in the heart of Cape Coral, Rotary Park is expansive enough to allow visitors to its nature trails to feel that they are in the middle of nowhere. We figured we would see various tropical plants and trees, and maybe even some wildlife.

However, on our way from the parking lot to the nature trail, we noticed a sign that made us hope we wouldn't encounter too much wildlife. The sign said "NO DOGS," which is not necessarily unusual at a public park. Perhaps they'd had trouble with dogs getting loose, or dog owners failing to clean up after their pets. But the accompanying illustration revealed a more sinister reason why dogs were banned -- to prevent them from becoming alligator food!

Specifically, the drawing on the sign depicted a human with a leashed dog running away from an alligator. The gator's jaws were wide open, which could be interpreted in one of two ways. The first, and probably correct interpretation is that the 'gator is about to have Fido for lunch. However, I thought it was funnier to imagine that the 'gator is merely yelling at the dog: "Hey, get out of here! Didn't you see the sign?"

 
Photos © Weston Johnson
A crazy, cactus-like plant that I thought was interesting, left; funny sign, right.

Either way, it seemed strange that the City would ban dogs due to danger of alligator attack, yet would have no problem with humans putting themselves in that danger! Regardless, we headed for the trails ourselves, making a mental note to keep a sharp eye out for predators.

As it turned out, we didn't see much wildlife (fortunately or unfortunately). We did view various types of foliage, although a dry spring had left the plants and trees browner than one would expect in Florida in March.

After spending some time walking the trails, we were ready for lunch. All that nature walking, with the constant threat of alligator attack, worked up a good appetite! Jim recommended we find a good Cuban restaurant, a much more abundant commodity in Florida than in our home states of Minnesota and Missouri.

We stumbled across a small restaurant and bakery located in a nondescript strip mall. A Cuban flag and a small sign were all that alerted us to its presence. But we were glad to have found it, as we each enjoyed a delicious meal, served by the very friendly family owners. My meal consisted of chunks of seasoned pork, black beans and a side of fried plantains. I definitely did not leave hungry!

Photo © Weston Johnson
Nature trail in Rotary Park.

By the time we finished eating, it was time to head to the airport to drop Eric off, leaving our group with just three members for the remainder of the vacation: Jim, Susan and me.

As we left the airport, we remaining travelers still had most of an afternoon to kill, and decided to drive Fort Myers Beach. While the weather was cool again that day, making swimming and sunbathing out of the question, we still had a good time sightseeing, people watching and visiting the various shops along the beach.

As evening neared and the weather turned rainy, we headed back to Cape Coral, stopping for dinner at a local joint with live music consisting of two guys with guitars playing acoustic covers of popular songs. It was a unique atmosphere, as they played their songs on a large, covered, but only semi-enclosed patio as a mild thunderstorm rolled past.

Being Sunday night, the place was pretty deserted, but we hung around for a while after dinner, listening to the music and trying to prolong our last full day of vacation. By the end of the band's set, we were practically the only customers left. We dropped some money in their tip jar, and they thanked us for hanging out on an otherwise quiet night as we chatted with them while they loaded up their equipment. OK, it's not exactly like meeting the Rolling Stones backstage after a sold out show, but it was a cool way to cap off a unique night.

Despite our protests, Monday morning dawned too soon. Jim, Susan and I would all be flying back that evening. We didn't plan any major activities for the day, as we knew we'd need to spend time doing laundry, making beds and cleaning the house from top to bottom, which was the least we could do to thank Geoff for letting us stay at his place.

Photo © Weston Johnson
Nature trail view.

Finally, we packed our bags and left the house for good. We thought about making a return to the Cuban restaurant we'd so enjoyed the previous day, but instead stopped at a lunch wagon selling gyros in the parking lot of a quick lube oil change joint. It seemed like a strange choice, but Jim had eaten there before and vouched for it. And it really was good!

As it turned out, the best meals we had on the trip were at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and bar on a dock on Pine Island, a Cuban restaurant in a nondescript strip mall, and a gyro stand in a quick lube parking lot. I guess it definitely helps to return to the same vacation spots year after year. It has allowed us to get to know some locals and discover out-of-the way places. In this way, we can avoid the touristy places and find those that stand on their own merits.

After eating our gyros while sitting on a bench on the sidewalk and watching the Monday afternoon traffic go by, we reluctantly made our way to the airport. We turned in the rental car and said our last goodbyes to Claire. When we entered the terminal, we realized our flights left from separate concourses, so soon I said goodbye to Jim and Susan, as well, and made my way to the gate.

On the long flight home, I reflected on all the great times we'd had on our vacation, which had been made especially memorable by the long overdue reunion of Wyatt, Eric, Jim and me. While the four of us stay in touch via e-mail, it had been years since we had all gotten together in the same place. We had so much fun I'm already looking forward to doing it all again next year!

Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
Sarah Steinhauer's Olive Oil Soap, wrapped for gifts.

UPDATE -- like Mother used to do...
by The Bulletin Editors

The notice that Red Chair Antiques, would be opening for the Mother's Day weekend, as part of the Cambridge area "Unique Boutiques and Antiques Tour," and that they would be selling Marlene's hand made soaps, may have been where the the first musings began. We had already noticed Sarah's soap making entry in her blog, Where The Wild Ferns Grow, and photos posted in her online album. Then Dorothy wrote about doing laundry and baking bread on the same day in this week's Memory Lane.

Call it a nostalgia fest, if you will, but it surely called to mind the sort of things that mothers used to do ... and only a few still do ... or do again in a revival of once familiar arts. We enjoy watching Sarah as she blogs about carding and spinning and felting, crocheting and knitting hats and socks and scarves. We enjoy watching her bake artisan breads, too, as everyone's mother, a few generations ago, used to do.

Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
Fresh, homemade artisan bread.

Mother's Day
by Donna M. Johnson

Becoming a mother is an incomparable joy,
A love beyond measure,
Too precious to explain in mere words,
A life changing event that turns you into someone new.

And it only takes the first glance at one's child,
The soft skin and baby's breath,
To totally take us to a new level in life--
Bringing us to a depth of love we’d not even known existed

Our love is not able to be measured,
Its bounds knows no limits,
It is an amazing feeling hard to explain--
But one learns it with an intensity the minute it happens!

Being a mother is a love commitment
That grows along with our children,
And if we are blessed with the next phase--
Becoming a grandparent makes the love grow further!

However, as my dear Grandmother explained to me,
Along with our love comes concerns,
The more our families grow--
The more prayers we have to send to cover them!


Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers and Grandmothers.
It is an honor to be one!

Who Is This?

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.

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.

Looks like Aunt Kathy to me.

Kyra Carson
Mill Valley, CA

When Kristi and Shari Larson came to visit us in Alaska about 1998, we had the best time being tourists, stopping at all the overlooks, doing all the tourist things, enjoying the fresh air and scenery, never leaving our potato chips and other munchies far behind. This is Kristi and me, posing for the camera. We had so much fun together!

Kathlyn Johnson Anderson
Breezy Point, MN

This week's Guess picture is an easy one, if you just look back in last week's Bulletin at the story of the Kathys exploring at the Johnsons'. Or am I all wrong? I know there are no mountains in Ashby, but I am sure that is Kathlyn [Johnson Anderson]. Other than my friend, Kathy, I give up.

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN

This week's Guess picture

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

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.

Dorothy Dake, 20, hand tinted portrait, 1946.

Spring In Howard Lake
by Dorothy Dake
Howard Lake, MN

A Change Of Plans

I heard the telephone ring quite early this morning, then turned over and went to sleep again. It was so pleasant to know that, for this day I did not need to jump up and consider the weather, to see how I needed to dress for work. Instead, I could do another nap before getting up to start the day.

When I smelled bacon mixed with the aroma of coffee, it got me up. The thought of a good, strong cup of my Mom's coffee can do that! I finally came to life enough to roll out, say my prayers, and note that Gert's bed was empty -- so then she was on the bus, heading for school, I would guess. Just one more month until she takes the finals, that I have no doubt she will pass, to reach her last year of high school. Dad was probably doing the milking and would be in for breakfast and then out to get ready for spring planting. So Mom and I had an invitation to keep, and some prime time to spend together, at last.

I dropped by Grandma's room, but it was empty. Aunty and she were going to visit the cemetery to see how the plants had survived the winter, and after that they would do a little shopping so Grandma could do a few personal errands. They were probably both downstairs, helping get the breakfast finished and on the table. I slipped into the bathroom and got myself ready to join everybody. And just as I came out the door, Mom called, "Breakfast, Rise and Shine!" Hey, I just barely made that cut! Now for the food!

Oh, what a lovely farm breakfast: bacon, eggs fried in bacon drippings, homemade bread toasted crisp, oatmeal with raisins, homemade strawberry jam, and in case you were really hungry, there were some homemade doughnuts with a couple left-over cinnamon rolls from last night's goodies. I better get in lots of exercise to use up all the calories waiting to be consumed.

During breakfast, we all got caught up with the thoughts of the morning (like who is going to be doing what and all that). Mom told us that it was LeRoy who called earlier; that is a surprise, as he is not much of a phone user. It appears that our invitation to their house has been changed. You see, Vonnie is the Cokato Hospital's surgery nurse. She had gotten a call at about 3:30 a.m. There was emergency surgery and she was needed -- could she please get there as soon as possible? When he called us, she still hadn't contacted him but he guessed she must have gotten there OK, or they would have called him. So she will call us after she gets home and catches up on her sleep, to re-issue the invitation.

After breakfast, Mom and I decided to do the washing and make a batch of bread. We do those two tasks the same day; most of the time they work out pretty well together. While Mom "set" the bread, I rolled the washing machine in from the back porch. Then I took the two tubs down from where they hung on the (enclosed) back porch's wall. I set them up on their stands so they were ready to double rinse each batch as it came out of the "Speed Queen."

Today was breezy and mild, and Mom said they have already had several nice showers the last week of March and the first week of April, so the cistern holds lots of good, soft water. Mom now built a corncob fire in the range and got down the boiler to put water on to heat. She intends to boil her batch of white cottons. I grabbed a pail, filled it partly with water and went out to prime the pump that is on the cistern. It took a little coaxing, but I did get it to work. I threw out the rest of the hard water and pumped it full of soft water. Now that it was primed, we could get all the water we needed without using water to start it. We took turns hauling in water to fill the boiler and the tubs.

As Mom did her first kneading of the dough, just before she set it to rise, I took the Fels Naphtha soap bar and pared it into the warming water. It would melt and then Mom or I would push the white cottons into the boiler and then take the broom handle Dad had made for us to use to stir them, almost like we were cooking them to make soup (I always think).

Grandma Greer reminded me that she used to make her own soap, but she thinks this is much better -- and I think so, too.

Really, it is nice to do the bread and the washing on the same day; then we don't have to heat up our cookstove as often -- especially in the summer!

Well, the rest of our day went beautifully. We had time to visit between the tasks we did: the sorting, the washing, the rinsing and wringing, Then, as the clothes were hung out and brought in dried, we sprinkled and rolled the ones that needed to be ironed and folded the rest. By the time we got dinner, we had six loaves of lovely, crusty bread, as well as a dozen nice, plump rolls, sitting on the bread board on the table -- and the last of the washing was dried, ironed, and put away. We shared the chores, but even so, we finished up tired -- but proud of all we had gotten done!

We haven’t heard from Vonnie yet, so we do not know quite when we go for our visit there. But more than likely, it will be in the next day or two. We just wonder what kind of mayhem she had to face today. There are lots of accidents among the farm population, so we wonder if that is what it was.

Photo © Dorothy Dake Anderson
The home place, Howard Lake, Minnesota, in 1949.

 
Photo © Kjirsten Swenson
Wat in Luang Prabang, Laos.

Southeast Asia Extravaganza 2009
by Kjirsten Swenson
Albuquerque, NM

This Week's Special Days
May 9---Mother's Day

This Week's Birthdays
May 10---Curt Henderson
May 12--James Dake
May 14---Ernie Dake
May 14---Bridget Larson
May 14---Tyler James Indermark (5 years old)
May 15---Nathan Alexander Smith (2 years old)
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
May 12---Chris and Jessy Chap (3 years)
May 14---Roddy and Alisha McNeill (5 years)
Congratulations!

More May Birthdays
'
May 1---Frans de Been
May 4---Beau Birkholz
May 7---Ben Johnson
May 7---Kim Mellon (Tim's wife)
May 8---Kira Lynn Steinhauer (3 years old)

May 16---Angelique Freesemann (11 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 (12 years old)
May 28---Jazmine Jane Hill (7 years old)
May 28---Jason Hunt
May 29---Kristi Kay Larson Indermark
May 30---McKenna Blanche Miller (6 years old)
May 31---Mavis Anderson Morgan
May 31---Braden Mitchell Miller (3 years old)

More May Anniversaries
Z
May 2---John and Penny Pesta (2 years)

May16---Nathan and Brenda Anderson Hill (14 years)
May 27---Dwight and Janie Anderson (39 years)
May 31---Tom and Mavis Anderson Morgan (53 years)

May Special Days
May 1---May Day (hanging May baskets day)
May 8---VE Day
May 9---Mother's Day
May 15---Armed Forces Day
May 30---Memorial Day

Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

I have just one little activity to report to you, Miss Hetty. It was special enough to think you might be interested.

The other evening we had the opportunity and privilege to have Shalana and Krista Weiland come over to visit us. They brought and served the supper, which was take-out from the Pink Flower Oriental restaurant right here in MoundsView.

Then, they made cookies. We ended up having fresh warm cookies and ice cream for a dessert after playing a game that Krista won twice.

Here is the proof.

Betty Droel
MoundsView, MN

Photo © Betty Droel
Shalana & Krista make cookies for dessert.

Thank you for the celebration card. I was away the May 1. Rian and me and two of our good friends went for a short visit to the Belgium Ardennes. A short break out (small holiday).

We have celebrated my 58th birthday.

Frans de Been
Oosterhout, The Netherlands

Photo © Frans de Been
Frans de Been, right, celebrates 58th birthday with his wife, Rian & friends.

You are up and got The Bulletin out early today. It was interesting to see it all quickly and will go back again when more time is available. Nice to see your old home place on a picture again, too.

Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND

Loved your quotation for this week ... speaking of that, do you have a spare room handy?

Douglas Anderson
St. Cloud, MN

The editor says: I am so sorry Doug, but Dad and I just decided to store our hockey equipment in our spare room! Too bad, you should have asked last month.

Looking at the pictures of Kristi Indermark (I haven't seen her since she was a little girl), I kept thinking she looked so familiar ... in another way than her resemblance to her mother, Shari Larson. Then I realized it's because she also has a family resemblance to my niece Adriana Stahlecker Brown and my granddaughter Callie Printz! Amazing how these things come out in various "branches" of the family tree!

Carol Dake Printz
Sidney, NE

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

We have had a very big day today, but when there are a few hours left of the day I want to send you my thank you for The Bulletin, as I can't foresee any time to do it before I sorta forget my impressions as I read it. The sooner I can send you an LTTE, the better, as I enjoy it so much, but soon my brain gets cluttered with "stuff," and then it is hard to express that first reaction.

Actually, the first reaction was "more blossom pictures?" but then I realized that it is Spring, and to see all the new blossoms is really cheery and helps us to get into the mood of the beautiful season to come.

This time it was red crab apple blossoms. Thanks, Larry, for taking time to smell (and photograph) the flowers. I loved the Maple Lace photo. Isn't that quite a lovely kind of flower and seed and blossom? Hardly looks real, but then we walk through a layer of that "Lace" all too soon. I remember our lawn full of the Birch and Elm seeds, but Roy cut down the Birch tree a year ago. He said it had just worn out with old age.

We do not know all the work and background planning and labor and shopping and hours and hours of arranging of an antique store to get it presentable for picky browsers that just may end up being buyers.

That Coca-Cola sign might be very valuable. At least it is a genuine antique.

I knew you were needing some material for The Bulletin, and was anxious to see this issue, but it was full again, and thanks to Larry and Bitzi, we have flower pictures and a long time ahead of us exploring all the Blogs.

I talked to some folks from Isanti/Cambridge today, and they mentioned the antiques tour. What a temptation! It was very interesting to see the link to the tour with all the pictures of each antique shop and their wares.

I think I will have to keep The Bulletin as new mail, so I can be sure to follow all the links for this week. It's for sure I can't do it all in one sitting. I don't want to hurry through it.

Oh my -- the bright, cheery, happy, open-faced smile of both the second cousins was truly outstanding. What a cute baby! I only know one other "Mazie." She lived in Willmar/New London and has passed away now. When I saw that glowing expression on Kimberly, the word "youth" came to my mind. Oh, to forever be so youthful and lovely. But time brings some changes.

We are getting more details of the Shipwreck Casserole. Photo Editor, if you can get music to play on The Bulletin, how come you can't produce smells to these delicious dishes? It sounds easy enough to make, and we bought some hamburger in the new Isanti meat market Saturday.

At least we get updated pictures of Kristi, Kelly, Alex and Shari with this story.

We followed along with heightened anticipation as the story unfolded of the Twins game in Part 4 and the travels of our Bulletin friends in the Update by Weston again. We sit here in Minnesota reading The Bulletin and seeing what beautiful weather you had for your Saturday to finalize the trip, and we actually felt relieved and happy for you. I'm sure it wouldn't have dampened your spirits had it been stormy, though. Just being there together -- aahh!

We have a great grandson who is thinking he would like to be a professional baseball player. He is good. He just got accepted to be one of 50 playing with professionals observing them. I don't understand it, of course. Maybe some great grandmas might, but I don't.

I got really interested in the Working Cow ice cream shop. That is unique, and I am sure I'd frequent it if it were near. I still remember the fish and chips we had at a waterside café in Sanibel. I forgot the name of it, though.

Well, likely you are all back home with your great days as a great memory. Thanks for sharing it, play by play.

There they are -- Miss Kitty and Mai Tai. How in the world did you ever get such a good picture of the birthday party, Miss Jerrianne? Both cats on one picture, and not even disturbing the cake or the flowers. You must have placed them and then quickly jumped back and snapped the camera. Cute how they are both looking intently at it all at the same time. I don't see any whipped cream or strawberries, but then they need a variety as they age.

Will we soon see a Robin's nest out that same window?

I wonder if it's possible to spoil kitties? They sure have a pile of "goods" there. Will take them the rest of the year to learn how to play with it all. Miss Kathlyn would have loved to be there in person, but am sure her thoughts were there.

Amazing how blue Mai Tai's eyes are. What a pretty cat, and he is getting so big! Cats must really like feathers.

Day to Day by Donna Mae is always something brand new and original, like posing in the old cornstalks, and showing off the new fancy shoes. It looks like everyone, no matter what age group, loves to go to the Johnsons'.

Memory Lane is exciting, with the results of her home- coming and the birthday celebration. I was so surprised that Ruth told the men to just let Dorothy go, and she would pitch in and fill in for her so she could be home for her birthday. I am thinking Ruth really learned to love and value that girl at the shop who worked so diligently and was so honest and loyal.

The home in Bemidji has taken a back seat to the home place in Howard Lake pictured now. We are enjoying every single chapter of Memory Lane, and please don't stop now.

How can the Travelogue still continue? Kjirsten must have taken quite a set of pictures as she traveled, and I am wondering how our photo editor ever kept them straight and in order to publish them as we have been seeing them.

I read a letter from someone who was passing through Laos, with their impression of the food and customs. It made it so much more interesting, having read the accounts in the Travelogue of Laos.

I see a letter to the editor by Carol Printz. I was wishing I could ask Carol how she feels, reading about herself as devoted Aunt Dorothy tells stories, and even in this issue about reading her a storybook. So many years ago, but just like yesterday in our editor’s heart.

I saw Louella Williams today, and would have loved to ask her, too, about her being in the events in Bemidji, but opportunity never presented itself. I did get a chat with Dr. Tom Miller (Minnesota), and he told about how much he enjoyed getting The Bulletin. He is just at the upper edge of the prime of life, but he and Deb look like a lively young couple, happy and handsome.

Was nice to see an LTTE from Gwen Stucker this time. So enjoyable to see new names appearing in the pages of The Bulletin, and reviving old ones.

The CHUCKLES featured Hunter Holman again. It is about time we get to see that Bulletin star. He is truly photogenic and a caption by Bitzi makes this illustration truly eligible for a CHUCKLES.

I had to smile at the Quotation for the day. After reading about Dorothy going back home, it was timely. "Humans are the only creatures that let their children come back home."

Thank you again for another filled to the brim Bulletin, even if you didn't think there would be much to put in this time. It always ends up just fine -- 32 pages on my printer. I, for one, really do like the size of the pictures, which makes it so easy to see and enjoy details.

Betty Droel

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children. --Sam Levenson

Quotation for the day: You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. --William D. Tammeus