Bulletin 426 August 15, 2010

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Sunday, August 15, 2010

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Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Congratulations, Dorothy & Don, on your 60th anniversary!

UPDATE -- Weston celebrates birthday with friends
by Weston Johnson
Maple Grove, MN

I had a great birthday weekend hanging out with the family in Moorhead. Earlier in the summer we had all planned to have a family weekend at Wyatt and Jolene's, and it just so happened that my birthday weekend fit everyone's busy calendars.

I took Friday off and picked Eric up at his house that morning before heading up I-94. We made a stop in Ashby to pick up Ben and made it to Wyatt's before noon. Wyatt, Eric, Ben and I immediately set out for downtown Fargo, where Chris joined us for lunch at Bertrossa's, home of the Italian beef and sausage (a sandwich with a sausage hidden beneath a pile of beef). Delicious!

By the time we finished our lunch and returned to Wyatt's, Donna, Caity and Jayce had arrived. All of us, along with Jolene, Rylie, Brooklynn and Camryn spent the afternoon at Thunder Road, an amusement park with mini-golf, go carts and bumper cars. In a desperate attempt to cling to my waning youth, I even took some swings in the batting cage, the first time in several years I had attempted to hit a baseball (with predictable results).

Our group continued to grow over the rest of the day, as Jessy and Grady came over to Wyatt's that afternoon, and Dad and Ashley made the drive from Ashby that evening. We all enjoyed the barbequed pork loins Wyatt made on the grill. The rest of the night was spent visiting around a campfire on the backyard patio.

On Saturday (my birthday), I awoke to the sound of a light rain falling outside of the open window in my room. I looked outside and saw a huge rainbow stretching across the southern Moorhead sky, which I thought may be a positive omen for the next year. It was still early though, so I went back to sleep, and soon had a strange dream in which I was supposed to drive my stepdad's semi-truck to Minneapolis, only to have it stolen from under my nose at a gas station. This struck me as a less optimistic omen for the coming year. A good omen and a bad omen, and I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Good thing I don't believe in omens or I would have been confused!

That morning, Shawn, Lori, McKenna and Kierra joined the party. We all enjoyed lunch at Paradiso's, which is my favorite restaurant in Fargo, and happens to offer a free meal on your birthday!

Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch -- I had to earn my complimentary chimichanga by standing up, donning a sombrero and shaking maracas as our table and some members of the wait staff serenaded me with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Photos © Donna Johnson
Brooklynn's treat, left; birthday boy Weston with sombrero & maracas, right.

After lunch, we all went shopping, with the gals heading to the mall while the guys opted for the huge Scheel's sporting goods store.

That evening, we rounded up the whole troop and went to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks baseball game. Wyatt had bought tickets for the group, and he ended up picking great seats near home plate and directly behind the Redhawks' dugout. Fortunately, the seats were in the shade, as the weather was hot and muggy, made worse by the fact that this was the first non-windy day in Fargo in recorded history. Despite the heat, we had a great time at the game.

Photo © Ashley Johnson, left; photo © Donna Johnson, right.
View from our seats, left; Caity caught Aflac duck tossed into the crowd, right.

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a great breakfast before Eric and I headed back to the Cities. All in all, it was great birthday weekend! Thanks to Wyatt and Jolene for their hospitality, and for everyone else who was there to celebrate with me!

Photo © Don & Patty Anderson
Hannah, the St. Bernard, with burgeoning "Great Pumpkin" on pallet.

I posted this photo on Facebook but thought I'd share with you, too. We have been entrusted with a seedling from last year's Nowthen Fall Tractor Pull winning monster pumpkin. After weeks of watching and a few fumbling attempts at artificial insemination (early pollenization), we finally have a viable baby.

The first several fruits that set unexplainably withered up at the golf ball to grapefruit size. This one seems to be well on its way and gets visibly bigger each day. We're told it will gain up to 25 lbs. a day between now and harvest. (The weigh-in is September 25th, so I guess that will be harvest, frost or not!)

Don put it on a pallet so we will be able to move it with the skidsteer when it gets really big. We took this photo with Hannah for some perspective -- she is 126-lb. St. Bernard but looks more like a Beagle in this photo!

Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
The Steinhauers go hiking with friends in Itasca State Park.

Photos © Sarah Steinhauer
Backlit fern, left; galls on a leaf contain insect larvae, right.

Photos © Sarah Steinhauer
Two little mushrooms pop up from the moss on the forest floor.

Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
Backlit watermelon berries -- you can see the seeds in the fruits.

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Click here to see what's new on Ginny McCorkell's Bitzidoodles blog.

"When I saw boxes of canning peaches for sale at the grocery store last week, I decided to freeze a little sunshine for us later this winter. Last year when we were at a friend's house for lunch she served us peaches frozen in orange juice concentrate ... over ice cream, I think. They were delicious!"

Click here for Sarah's story about freezing peaches on her blog, Where The Wild Ferns Grow.

Photo © Larry T. Dake
Squeak, the kitten Harry found, examines Harry's molars.

It's official -- rain on Friday tied the Anchorage record for most consecutive rainy days, with at least a trace of precipitation -- 27-days of rain in 1951 -- and it's still raining as I write this. Outdoor people like Miss Jerrianne are fit to be tied. Indoor cats like Mai Tai and me ... not so much. But I digress.

Being trapped indoors leads to more computer time and she suddenly realized that Saturday, August 14, is the 65th anniversary of V-J Day -- which stands for victory over Japan, the official end of World War II.

On a lighter note, when a friend sent Miss Jerrianne an e-mail she thought was funny, she tried it out on Doug and he laughed, too. So she found a web version and said I could make a link for you.

Then she was reading Eric Bergeson's web log, The Country Scribe, and that's where she found a link to a YouTube video of an amazing 3-year-old drummer boy named Howard Wong. Doug was equally impressed and she said I could share that link, too. Little Howard attacking those drums cracks her up every time, but she figured she'd better get one more opinion, so I ran it all past Harlie Mae Harrison....

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell; photos by Amy Dake Harrison
Harlie Mae is not so easily impressed with anything on the Internet....

Beaver, Caity, Jayce and I joined the rest of the family at Wyatt and Jolene's over the weekend. Becky was caring for Logan (a friend's son) and the animals while we were gone.

We appreciate all the good food they provided and the entertainment. Plus, it was good to be able to help Weston celebrate his birthday.

We had a great weekend, although the hot weather was not much to my liking. It did cool off the first night so we could enjoy the fire pit and sitting outdoors.

Photos © Donna Johnson
Grady & Chris Chap, left; McKenna & Kierra Ostendorf, right.

It was enjoyable watching all the grandkids have a fun time; that, to me, is the best! I enjoyed watching them play miniature golf, bumper cars, arcade games and the time at the Redhawks game, including play area. The bigger kids love going to the park nearby and the little ones enjoy one another and the toys. A very enjoyable weekend!

Photos © Ashley Johnson
Rylie playing with stickers, left; McKenna sipping Orange Julius, right.

The Matriarch Speaks W
by Dorothy (Dake) Anderson
Alexandria, MN

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
We've got mail!

How Don and I Met
(Reprinted from Bulletin #30, published March 27, 2003)

After I came home from Sister Kenney's Hospital, I needed a few months to gain back my strength. What would I do about country school teaching? Janitor work and being your own physical education teacher made it pretty hard to go back. The rehabilitation program of Minnesota offered to pay my tuition to go back and get an Associate in Education Degree so I could move into a town school. So in the fall of 1949, I enrolled at St. Cloud Teacher's College (as it was then called). I rented a room (where there were several rooms available -- seven other girls lived there, too). It was across the street from the campus.

When my sister-in-law Vonnie Dake found out my phone number and address, she sent it to a good friend of hers, Lorraine Slotten, from North Dakota. Lorraine was also going to be in St. Cloud for the year, as she was going to become a nurse and was taking her psychiatric training in St. Cloud Veterans' Hospital. (Do you see the plot begin to thicken???)

I met and immediately liked Lorraine. The first weekend after school started, I invited her to hop on the bus and ride to Dassel with me -- someone would pick us up. We had a nice weekend and kept in contact during the weeks that followed. In October she came with me to convention at Hector on the weekend; we were both glad to be free to go.

We spent several other times visiting at Blanche and Jim's or at the folks'. Then came Thanksgiving time and she informed me it was time for her to have me come to visit her family and friends. I thought it would be lots of fun to ride a different bus for a change, so off we went to Wahpeton. That Friday night she invited all the eligible bachelors she thought I might like to meet to come out for the evening. She had a fun evening planned: board games, eating, playing tricks on all of us, etc.

After the guests went home she asked me, "Now which one of those fellows do you think you'd like to get to know better? How about Donnie Anderson!!!"

I seem to remember saying, "He is too young -- do you want me to rob the cradle???"

The next weekend when I again went home, Dad wondered who Don Anderson was as I had a letter from him. He had sent it to the college addressed to Dorothy Doke. They, not knowing anybody by that name, had returned it. He almost threw it away (he tells me) but then redirected it to Howard Lake. (In the Howard Lake post office they knew that would be for the Dake family and sent it on out.) I answered it -- and that is how the relationship that led to 52+ years (so far) of married life began.

Don & Dorothy Anderson
60th Anniversary Celebration
Open House August 14th
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
912 Hawthorne Street, Unit 100
Alexandria, MN 56308
in the Party Room, 1st floor
Please Come!

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

Last week's Guess picture

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

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

Could the guess picture be of Shari Larson's kids? Not sure if I am right or not but maybe Kristi, Kelly and Kurt at Epcot Center in Florida.

Wow, I think I recognize the "Guess Who" photo subjects for a second week in a row! Looks to me like Kurt, Kristi and Kelly Larson enjoying a vacation at the giant golf ball known as Epcot Center. (Yes, I realize two-thirds of them are no longer named "Larson," but you get the idea.)

That picture sure looks like Kurtis Larson and his two sisters, Kristi and Kelly ... might just be at Disneyland in Southern California.

I am so glad for the GUESS section of our Bulletin, as it is always fun to see if we can figure out who is who. I pass on this one this week, although the boy looks like Kurt.

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.

A change of scenery is always pleasant, and to meet new people is always interesting, too. But I do wonder just how many of the people I met this time will still be in my life a year from now. It is hard for me to know and then forget so many people. The kids I went to school with for all of my high school years I see so seldom. And what about all of the people who were my friends in Bemidji?

This has been an interesting four days for meeting new people and visiting new homes. There are the Slottens. Besides Lorraine, she has an older brother they call Wally and a younger one, Roger. They do like to tease, but she knows how to take it. And I had to accept and give insults, as compliments are just too mushy!

Her dad and mom are Andy and Alma. They have a nice place, somewhat like our home. Don't farm homes come mostly built to the same pattern? They have an extra little house (like ours did at my Grandpa Dake's). In that little house live Grandma Slotten and Aunt LuLu.

Other homes I was introduced to when I rode along with Lorraine to visit. There were her friends the Wheelers who lived in Breckenridge. They have some girls and one boy. They all seem to be younger than I am. From there, some of them went with us to see a new baby, born about a month ago -- and what a cutie! She has lots of long hair, as thick as Carol's but perhaps not quite so long. I like her name -- Muriel. That family lived out in the country quite a ways. Earl and Elaine and baby! They live in a really cute new, modern home.

Another group was at the Thanksgiving meal. What fabulous cooks! They had all of the ones from there on their home place and, in addition, they had me. They also had (now I think this is the right name) Aunt and Uncle Nypen -- she is Alma's sister and he is the pastor of a church in a town somewhere kind of close by. I have it in my mind that it was called Abercrombie.

And then the kind of joke between Lorraine and me was that I must introduce her to all the eligibles in my area and now she must do the same for me. She did her part. We had a "young people's get together," and wow, there are lots of them! She wondered if I found anyone who appealed. Then she named some, including Muriel's Uncle Donnie. I accused her of wanting me to rob the cradle, as he looks pretty young to me. I must admit it did make an impression that he was tall and had dark hair and brown eyes! Pretty cute really -- but like I said, he seems kind of young.

The time went fast and now it is back to work for me with my new group of people here in this St. Cloud Teacher's College setting. Those four days are over and I wonder what will come of it all. Will I ever meet any of them again? I will hardly have time to do much running around, with all of the work the teachers have lined up for us. Oh, well, one never knows -- does one?

Wahpeton area young people. In back: Gloria Jacobson, DeLoris Anderson, JoAnn Wheeler, Virginia Jacobson, Marilyn Wheeler, Doris Syverson, Dorothy Anderson; front: Don Spangler, Dean Syverson, Wally Slotten, Don Anderson, Roger Slotten.

My thoughts go back to 1949 when my dad admonished me, "Can't you find a girl closer to home?"

St. Cloud was a mere 140 miles from my home. Dad drove only nine miles when courting my mom. He drove a Model "T" Ford.

I visited Dorothy about two times a month, leaving home Friday at noon, getting there at the time school was out and leaving about 10 and getting home in the wee hours of Saturday. My trusty 1940 Chevrolet never let me down.

When I think back, I don't think I realized the choice awaiting the young fellows in that time. I knew all of the "local beauties." When I think about this local pool of beauties, I think about a commercial: "Shop locally." Well, it doesn't always work out that way. My friend (won't mention a name) chose to go to LaMoure to find his prize.

Photo by Rich Weiland
Doris Syverson (Spangler), Lorraine Slotten (Jacobson), Helen Anderson (Wheeler), JoAnn Wheeler (Peterson), Donna Jacobson (Anderson), Gloria Jacobson (Anderson), Betty Weiland (Droel), Virginia Jacobson (Peterson), Dorothy Spangler (Syverson). Only Betty Weiland, who lived in Minneapolis, was from outside the area surrounding Wahpeton, North Dakota.

Today's Special Day
August 14---Don & Dorothy Anderson 60th Anniversary Celebration
Open House 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
912 Hawthorne Street, Unit 100
Alexandria, MN 56308
in the Party Room, 1st floor

This Week's Birthdays
August 16---Jason Quick
August 16---Rod McNeill
August 16---Darryl McNeill
August 19---Christopher Michael Chap
August 19---Jordan Nicole Indermark (7 years old)
August 21---Jessica Hellevang
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
August 15---Don and Dorothy Dake Anderson (60 years)
August 20--- Shane and Jayna Swenson (5 years)
Congratulations!

More August Birthdays
'
August 5---Austin Patrick Montford (5 years old)
August 5---Jan Smith
August 6---Sully Michael Brown (6 years old)
August 7---Melanie Lehtola
August 7---Weston Johnson
August 7---Sue Wright
August 8---Erik Huseby (9 years old)
August 11---Mitchell Allen Miller
August 13---Jeffrey Todd Aydelotte, Jr.
August 13---Roxanne Mitzel

August 22---Camryn Lucille Johnson (3 years old)
August 24---Becky Chap
August 24---Maggie Zeppelin (6 years old)
August 25---Jeff Aydelotte
August 26---Donna Richards
August 30---Jessica Myron Gauderman
August 30---Ethan Wallace Horne (8 years old)
August 31---Devan Alexander Seaman (8 years old)

More August Anniversaries
Z
August 5---Wesley and JoAnne Sigman (21 years)
August 5---Sheldon and Mitzi Johnson Swenson (33 years)
August 6---Ryan and Heidi Johnson Henderson (5 years)
August 9---Jeff and Twila Aydelotte (19 years)
August 10---Ryan and Jessica Hellevang (3 years)

August 28---Ken and Merna Morgan Hellevang (28 years)
August 30---Chris and Jennie Dake Horne (13 years)

August Special Days
Z
August 14---Don & Dorothy Anderson 60th Anniversary Celebration
Open House 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
912 Hawthorne Street, Unit 100
Alexandria, MN 56308
in the Party Room, 1st floor
August 14---V-J Day, 1945 (65th anniversary of Victory over Japan ends World War II)

Thanks for the e-card you sent for my birthday! I had a great birthday weekend!

Please drop Miss Hetty a line and tell us who, and what, we've missed. And how about a report (photos welcome) of YOUR special celebration?

I'll be thinking of you two on the 14th. Sure wish I could be there with you and remember some of the days that have passed in these 60 years. I plan to be on the way to Oregon and will stop off in Saginaw for four days.

Regarding The Little Beeps, I have two guesses ... my first one reminds me of the style of Pablo Picasso.

My second guess is entitled "Finger Painting" by a Bulletin kindergartener. How's that for humor? I have already won one so I know I am not eligible, but fun to guess.

Very hilarious, Auntie! But most fingerpaintings I have seen are better to look at than that piece of "art." I also think Pablo was a good deal more talented than the shmoe who did this.

You ARE still eligible, I would just have to give you a different CD, so keep on guessing!

I was so impressed that someone (thanks to Sarah) took such a very lovely close up of our Minnesota state flower, the Showy Lady Slipper, and that it ended up to be our first picture this week. Such sharp, beautiful colors.

I had to get a new monitor, which is not as vivid as the old one, but the flower was still very outstanding. I am sure it is just a matter of adjusting the brilliance, but I don't know how to do that, as yet.

This Bulletin featured Jett, and I am sure he was thrilled to see all those pictures and such a nice update by Mavis. That playhouse would be any little person's dream home, even to a tablecloth and mirror. So thoughtful of someone to take time and interest to make it so cute and inviting. Hope it's air conditioned these days of record heat!

It was especially touching to see that little family that has the newly adopted daughter, Eleora. So many firsts for both family and baby, but love always finds a way. I did find it especially interesting to click on the link from the city in Ethiopia as we have some exceptional neighbors who originated from there.

The Update on painting the barn came just at the time we had a painter working on our house. What a difference a little paint makes, but it turns out that the preparation is much more work than the actual painting.

What a great set of pictures from the camping trip from the house to the backyard for the Steinhauers! Clever fire pit, which would keep the ashes controlled, etc. I loved seeing the background of the house and yard and tents. I had to smile at Kira, barefoot and no coat, but both Mom and Dad are bundled up. I never heard of campfire popcorn, but now I have.

I am not surprised that anyone who would have known Don and Dorothy from Missouri would make a special effort to visit them. Would be very hard to forget or miss them if a trip brought them close. It would be a highlight of the trip for both Kellie and Michael.

Bitzi is busy with her special talents, creating more wondrous illustrations. The brilliant pinks and rosiness, along with the contrasting yellowish rose and butterflies, was stunning. Again, I don't dare let myself click on her blog, lest I not get anything else done for too long.

I thought that was such an exciting story about Harry finding the kitten. So clever to make us click on the link for the story and the actual finding. I never dreamed it would be a kitten. Nice Sherry took over where Harry's search left off.

Oh, Miss Kitty, you are so original in sending us the photos of the orange mushroom. That we hadn't ever seen before. Also, the beautiful weed that is nicer than what we have blooming in our garden right now. Thanks for telling us how Miss Jerrianne keeps so busy. We can understand you had plenty of time at that computer now that the weed season is in full bloom.

Alaska doesn't sound so bad right now as it is unbearably hot in the sun here in Minnesota. We are so thankful we don't have any errands today, and can stay inside.

It seems like every Bulletin shows McKenna and Kierra growing just a little bit more. Kierra is close behind McKenna in her activities, and is learning from her big sister all the things McKenna had to learn on her own.

WOW, a congratulations from the White House was a keepsake that took 60 years of marriage to merit. Sixty is a wonderful accomplishment, which would have meant many episodes of patience and loving care to make it work so well. How we would love to be there at the celebration!

I would think Memory Lane would be a precious keepsake to a few people this week. The mention of the new babies, and little interesting tidbits about their arrival, and the babies themselves will be reading this and smiling broadly now in 2010.

How funny to picture Dorothy sitting at the children's table at the school, but I am sure there was no nonsense as a result. All those funny details about the lunchroom with the children in their innocence and mischief was fun to read.

And then some more of the story about Lorraine Slotten was very special to me. I know Dorothy Heyer, too. Lorraine is still her same sweet self, even after all these years.

The other picture of Carol Dake hardly seems like a little girl who is a grandmother now, AND Eric's mother.

I am not sure just how to feel about The Little Beeps. It is actually too much for me, as hard as I try to guess. I do love the artistry, though, with the colors and expressions, so every week I try in vain to solve the questions. Good work, Doug!

Quotation for the day is short and sweet this time. The cat will mew, and the dog will have his day -- and I wonder what the end of that could be? That would be a question I will ask Doug this time. (Maybe we should ask HARRY! --Photo Ed.)

"Our" son Darrel is here visiting this week from the east, so we aren't spending too much time on the computer. His wife will come on Saturday. But I am happy to write this LTTE while Darrel went to Wisconsin today to visit other family.

Thanks again, for The Bulletin. We know the anniversary will take up all the time and attention of our Editor and Matriarch this next week, but hope there will be a recap of it all for us.

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: Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. --Gene Perret

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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