Bulletin 427 August 22, 2010

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Sunday, August 22, 2010

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Photo © Lori Ostendorf
Don & Dorothy cut 60th anniversary cake.

UPDATE -- 126 well-wishers make anniversary celebration a success
by Douglas Anderson
St. Cloud, MN

Folks from as far away as Arizona and North Dakota converged on the community room of Don and Dorothy's apartment building in Alexandria on Saturday to celebrate Don and Dorothy's 60th anniversary.

The room was lovingly decorated by daughters, sons and various other relations to reflect the joyousness of the occasion. The combined talents of this group of people were also put to good use in creating a delicious and attractive display of mouth-watering "finger food," including fresh fruit, pickle and ham roulade and BBQ meatballs.

Photos © Lori Ostendorf
Chrysanthemum topped cake, left; fresh fruit, right.

A video tape of 60 years of collective memories rolled throughout the proceedings, creating a pleasant '"ice-breaker" and conversation piece.

The goings-on spilled onto the adjoining patio where guests enjoyed a beautiful, tailor-made mid-August day that was punctuated with only a few brief rain showers and light summer breezes.

A great deal of "catching-up" was done by many as people who hadn't seen each other for years were able to converse and celebrate Don and Dorothy's long-lasting union together in the spirit of unity and love in which it was conceived.

Photo © Lori Ostendorf
Children & spouses -- counter-clockwise from front left: Doug Anderson, Don & Dorothy Anderson. Patty Henderson, Curt Henderson, Patty Anderson, Don Anderson, Donna Johnson, Beaver Johnson. Not pictured: Rich & Marlene Johnson.

Photo © Lori Ostendorf
Cousins -- back: Melinda (Wold) McGeath, Marlee (Morgan) Freesemann, Merna (Morgan) Hellevang, Patty (Anderson) Henderson, Donna (Anderson) Johnson, Muriel (Wold) Rodriguez, Melanie (Anderson) Shockey; front: Don Anderson, Doug Anderson.

UPDATE -- August at the Indermarks'
by Kristi Larson Indermark
Litchfield Park, AZ

The kids are back in school. Jordan is in first grade and Tyler is in kindergarten. They both had a great first week of school. Jordan is enjoying catching up with all of her friends from last year and Tyler is making friends will all the kids in his class.

The Indermark family is expanding again. We have learned we are expecting baby number four in December. It is another boy, so for those who are counting, this will boy number three, leaving Jordan to be the only little princess.

Over the summer, we took a mini-vacation to San Diego, California, and visited Legoland with Jordan and Tyler. Grandma Shari was in town, so she kept Alex for us.

Jordan took her first plane ride by herself to visit her grandparents in Wisconsin. She did great and made a lot of friends on both plane rides.

Photos © Kristi Indermark
Tyler, first day of kindergarten, left; Jordan, first day of first grade, right.

UPDATE -- Jordan Indermark turns 7 years old
by Kristi Larson Indermark
Litchfield Park, AZ

Jordan celebrated her 7th birthday today! She had her party at a place called "Pump It Up," which has tons of inflatable bounce houses and obstacle courses. Jordan invited 25 of her closest friends to join her. Let's say it was loud and fun! Even the grown-ups were racing through the obstacle course and sliding down the slides.

Photo © Kristi Indermark
Seated on throne, Jordan presides over the birthday cake.

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

"I started by ripping up an old sheet into several different sized rectangles. After I ironed them flat, I wrote the kids' names on a few of the flags with washable Elmer's glue. The glue needs to dry for several hours. This gives a Batik effect where the paint won't soak into the area that has been covered with glue. You could draw on anything with the glue -- maybe some leaf shapes for a fall banner would be nice."

Click here for Sarah's story about making art flags on her blog, Where The Wild Ferns Grow.

Photo © Donna Johnson
Lori & Ashley took McKenna out on a very short paddle boat ride,

We had the family get together at Lori and Shawn's lake place over the weekend, which made it handy for all to help out with the anniversary party. Many of the family came out to the lake to make for less congestion getting ready in town, which gave the little ones some time to wear off some energy with outdoor playing.

Friday evening we kicked back by the lovely fire the guys got going, with Don and Patty joining most of our family. It was a gorgeous evening after the previous week of heat! Most all of our group got to spot meteors, some being large enough to leave "tails." Lots of exclaiming going on! (None from me, not so lucky.) :-)

Lori and Ashley took McKenna out on a very short paddle boat ride, I think it took longer to get it cleaned to go, than the actual time spent on the lake!

Photos © Donna Johnson
Camryn was thinking she should "roast" her "corndog," as she'd been watching Brooklynn do with her cattail, left; campfire, middle; Kierra enjoyed having her own little chair, never sitting in it for any extended length of time, but using it to get in & out of many times, right.

Photo © Donna Johnson
Jayce had many "finds" in the water, one being a rather water-soaked log, that at first glance appears to be a very skinny alligator!

Photo © Donna Johnson
Kierra, Lori, McKenna & Caity, kicked back and relaxing!

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

Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
We've got mail!

Don and I want to send our grateful thanks for the lovely "happening" held here in our community room at the Hawthorne Estates -- the celebration that was held in honor of our 60th Wedding Anniversary.

Hearty thanks to our family for planning the party, preparing the food, decorating and setting up for the serving of the lovely (and scrumptious) lunch! Fabulous to sit back and enjoy the event without lifting a finger to help!

Thanks, too, for those who did the work babysitting and entertaining in the background to make the party go smoothly. And I do not forget the cleanup crew either ... I have been there, and I also know there is a lot of shopping, preparing, etc. that goes on behind the scenes to make these things go so smoothly. So thank you, dear family, for the very smooth production.

We also want to thank all of you lovely people who celebrated with us, brought or sent cards to help wish us well, and to those who brought gifts of various kinds (even though the rule was supposed to be "your presence is the present we wish to enjoy!") and to all of those of you who were thinking about us and sending us good wishes, even though you couldn't be here -- we thank you, too.

If you took any pictures that you think others would enjoy, we invite you to share them with us.

Photo © Lori Ostendorf
Dorothy examines a picture book of her life with Don and their family, compiled by Lori Ostendorf; the book was an anniversary gift from the whole family.

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

Donna Anderson Johnson 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.

My guess for the mystery picture will be 1/3rd correct -- the beautiful girl on the right is Lori [Chap Ostendorf]. I do not know the identity of the others.

I recognize the "Guess Who?" subjects again this week: Lori and McKenna Ostendorf and Ashley Johnson. My guess is they are taking a break at the Orange Julius in the Fargo mall while waiting for Donna, Jolene and Caity to finish power shopping.

That is McKenna, Ashley and Lori and they are drinking Orange Julius at the Fargo Mall.

(Yes, that would be the former Ashley Torgrimson, now Mrs. Ben Johnson. --Photo Ed.)

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.

My plans have been to try and keep up my grades (I would like to draw another straight A like the one I earned in Educational Psychology), but since we came back from Slottens' and I started to connect with a friend I met there, it seems I do not take a single book home. And, for that matter, I do not keep my mind on my studies much while in school, either. You see, the Don Anderson that I was introduced to appears to be fitting into my time -- a lot.

The girls here at Pinore's could hardly wait to meet him. They tease me about my apparent dropping of plans to remain an "old maid" teacher. They all made sure to be here when he came last Friday to pick me up after school. They were peeking out the window and a couple even dared to wander down "to go up town" while I was greeting him at the door. I have been told since that I am pretty lucky to get the attention of such a "cute guy"...

Last week's plan was for my folks to get to meet Don. (I have a feeling that my dad wanted to make sure that I am not being courted by some hardworking North Dakota farmer who would make a slave out of me -- if it got to marriage.) So they had invited him to our house.

Like I said, Don picked me up at Pinore's Prison, and from there we went to Dassel and stopped off for a visit with the Millers. (Of course, I needed to hold my new nephew!) It was kind of a short visit, as we had several other places to stop and we were invited to supper at home with the folks and Gert, so they asked us to come back another weekend and stay at their house and do some fun winter stuff. I expect that will happen before too many more weeks go by. (There goes some more study time -- oh, well!)

The next stop was not so very far from there. That little farm at the north end of Collinwood Lake was calling. We caught Vonnie before she left for work. The farm is really so much improved. LeRoy and Ivan (Vonnie's dad) have finished remodeling the barn and are almost finished with the house improvement projects. Vonnie was telling us that she is intending to find a new job. The hours and duties at the Cokato hospital are so undependable. She is looking at Hutchinson, Litchfield, or maybe even Glencoe. It will be a little farther ... but better hours and pay, so I guess that is worth a lot. No baby to check out here, so I thought we'd better be on our way and let them get back to their work.

We stopped in at the Metcalf Chevrolet Garage so Don could meet their parts man, my brother Bill Dake. Don told me afterwards that he wouldn't mind having a "cushy job" like that. We didn't stay long, as Bill was busy. We went on over to their little bungalow. I had never noticed it being tiny, but I must say when you get a baby bassinette, a youth crib, and a full-sized bed in the small bedroom, it really does get SMALL. At first, my usually chatty niece was really quiet and wouldn't talk to us. But after Stan finished his dinner, I got to hold him to burp him -- then Carol got acquainted with Don.

Lois had some exciting news. They are in the process of finding a buyer for their lot and home, as there is a family who has offered to sell them a home on a contract for deed ... something I am not quite clear about. It seems you rent it and then, if you decide to buy, the rent you have paid serves as a down payment. It is a much more suitable home for their growing family. It has three bedrooms, with a bath and a half ... and she likes the full basement with laundry and plenty of play room for the kids. (A winter in this little house might get pretty cooped up!)

The last detour we made before the home stop was to swing by the house that Lois had described. It is a light colored stucco. (I thought it was tan, but Don thinks it's more yellow.) Anyway, it has the looks of making a nice home for their family. It is on a nice, big lot. I noticed it has lots of shrubs and trees and a fair-sized garden. I think it had a breezeway to the garage (with two stalls, I seem to remember). Anyway, I am sure they are anxious to get something with a little more room!

Don was soon acquainted with the other three members of our family. We had a good, home-cooked meal and then played piano and sang a bit (he has a nice voice). He had been invited to stay overnight and then he would not have to drive so far ... so he stayed in the boys' room overnight and Gert and I had the south room. I was interested to find out Gert's opinion of Don. She thinks he fits in just fine and she thinks he is serious about me. I asked her what she thought my attitude was. She answered, "Dorothy, I think you are pretty serious about him, too!" And I told her she had it right.

We had a nice time Saturday and he got started home in the late afternoon. He was really polite to Mom and she likes him fine. I think Dad is OK with the friendship, too.

Photo by Jim Miller
Dorothy with Don, riding in Jim & Blanche's 1950 Chevrolet.

Photo from Frans de Been
We have made a day trip to Volendam; after 17 years, again in costume.

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

I do hope you and Don have had a fantastic day of the 60th anniversary. Thank the Lord that you have that day; many don't have it. My parents and parents of my wife, Rian, have not had that luck.

This week we have a 70th anniversary here in my town. She is 95 and he 97 years young, both clear and in good shape. We have a long way to go (32 years).

We had some plans to go for a week to Austria for a short holiday, but Koen is taken in the hospital this weekend, so ... maybe next year.

I will send some pictures from the front garden. Yes, the flowers standing nice this year.

This Week's Birthdays
August 24---Becky Chap
August 24---Maggie Zeppelin (6 years old)
August 25---Jeff Aydelotte
August 26---Donna Richards
Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
August 28---Ken and Merna Morgan Hellevang (28 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 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
August 22---Camryn Lucille Johnson (3 years old)

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 15---Don and Dorothy Dake Anderson (60 years)
August 20--- Shane and Jayna Swenson (5 years)

August 30---Chris and Jennie Dake Horne (13 years)

August Special Days
Z
August 14---Don & Dorothy Anderson 60th Anniversary Celebration
August 14---V-J Day, 1945 (65th anniversary of Victory over Japan ends World War II)

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?

How glad I am to have shared this auspicious event with you and your wonderful family! A beautiful day for Gladys Preusse and me to drive to Alexandria and see all of you, taste the marvelous foods, and visit with old and new friends. "Glady" was especially happy to see you and and was surprised to meet others who remember her parents (the Endresens) and her siblings from their days in the area.

Your children orchestrated a great, exciting event and are to be commended for everything they did! Thanks for inviting us!

Today I think of you as you celebrate 60 years together! Where has all this time gone and how did it go so fast? I was only 10 years old when you married and now I am an old lady!

It sure was fun to hear of your courtship and see the photos of my siblings along with you when you first met. I can picture it all and do remember those days. Congratulations and how I wish I were there to celebrate with you today! My love to you and yours,

We are home -- ran into some heavy rain on the detour (north and east of here). It was a wonderful afternoon -- and such beautiful tables and delicious food, too!

Congratulations on your 60th wedding anniversary today! What a wonderful milestone! I would have loved to be at your party yesterday, but it just wasn't possible. I'm sure I will hear about it this week. Here is wishing you many more happy years together!

I recently heard from my distant cousin on my Grandma Dake Greer's side. She is a granddaughter of one of Grandma's brothers. She had found me through Google, searching for the Cheney family. (They use Chaney but either spelling works.) --The Matriarch

Somehow I no longer receive The Bulletin and I would like to be renewed. I look forward to being on the mailing list again.

My personal information has changed a bit. I was married to Stephen Morriss on May 28, 2010, here in Denton, Texas.

Also, effective May 31, I shall be officially retired, the renovations on our house continue, and in the fall, Steve will return to Nursing School. This summer, we shall take some time and go someplace we have always wanted to go.

Ultimately, I will deal with the name change situation. You'll see a new signature block on e-mails: Kathy Morriss. And that is spelled with two "R's" and two "S's."

I am discovering that it is almost too much to try to move only to one name quickly. I shall have to maintain both for a time.

I can't express my feelings studying these pictures! It was great seeing all my "old friends" from those years! Very touching!

Spanglers lived in St. Paul and we lived in Minneapolis. We took the streetcar from my home all the way over to St. Paul for an afternoon, etc. -- and then back to North Minneapolis. We had to pay a token to get on -- and then, after we went across the river into St. Paul, we had to pay another token to get OFF! And reverse that going back from St. Paul to North Minneapolis. Not many of us could drive.

And all the memories this gave me for the 60 years! And the memories of Don and Dorothy! Wonderful -- THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

My guess on the tractor is between 1960 and 1963. For a more accurate guess from me, if a year range is not sufficient, then I will make a stab at 1962.

I used to own one of those there green john deere tractors. It must be a 1962 model (about as old as my wife!)

Ouch! So close! 63-68 would have won ... if Richard Weiland hadn't returned the correct answer at noon on Saturday. Thanks for playing! --Douglas

I was so happy, to get Doug's CD! I love it! He is so talented! I am still going to keep trying on The Little Beeps, though! --Muriel

My book says 63-68 ... but that would have been correct, regardless. However, Richard Weiland returned the correct answer at around noon on Saturday. --Douglas

I was totally speechless (quite an accomplishment for ME) to see the most elegant and beautiful and meaningful first picture for our Bulletin #426 this week.

I knew it would be something special for Don and Dorothy on their 60th anniversary, but Bitzi really designed an exquisite remembrance illustration, not to be equaled for color and simplicity and details, plus their wedding picture on it made it a precious keepsake. I found myself spending too much time finding each and every little detail.

The coloring was appropriate for a 60th anniversary, too, with the pinks and the roses, which stand for love. When I printed it, the color did not appear nearly as nice as on the screen. (I better quit eulogizing that first picture.)

So Weston had a birthday! That would be one birthday a lot of people would want to acknowledge, and it looks like they did. Thanks, Weston, for giving us a description of the events as they happened, so we could be following along with the day's fun and celebration.

Of course, we knew there would be a game in there somewhere, and it was the Redhawks baseball game. It was almost too hot and muggy for much outside activity, but it didn't sound like it slowed the party down any.

Wasn't that a cute picture of Lori and Chris with those two, Kierra and Grady? Their expressions were priceless. I think we need a contest for a caption for that picture. Grady is so smug and powerful, being he's in his daddy's arms, and Kierra is mystified, so not getting too close, ha.

I was so glad for the update from Don and Patty. What a great idea to put that huge pumpkin on a skid while they could still handle it!

I was glad for Sarah's photos, which just proves that we have some marvelous beauty and fruits right here at home in Minnesota. I have never heard of watermelon berries, but they were rightly named. (They also taste like watermelon. --Photo Ed.)

Virginia McCorkell has such intricate, colorful designs. I want to take time to research her blog now that our company has left us so we have time. Roy's son Darrel and his wife, Johanna, from Washington, D.C., were here. We loved having them and we wanted to be with them, which left no time for anything but enjoying family.

Thanks for that lovable picture of Sophia and Harry. You wonder if he might realize she was the one he found?

Oh, Miss Kitty ... you always have something so amazingly original, and this time it was about rain in Alaska. We usually picture Alaska in snow.

Oh, no -- I just had a scare right now. I fell asleep while I was sitting here thinking of my next sentence, and when I looked at the screen again it was B L A N K. And one key had printed over and over and over for about a half a page. I just knew I had lost my LTTE, but someone had told me one time to hit "undo" in the Edit menu, which I did, and up popped my LTTE again. Whew. What a relief. Now I am wide awake, for sure, so I will finish it right now.

I was so impressed with that envelope, too, from Ima Subscriber ... I wonder whoever dreamed that up? It says it is by Virginia McCorkell. Bitzi, you are one talented lady.

So nice to have the story of "How Don and I Met." We needed to be refreshed on the details of what has lasted 60 years.

Needless to say, the Memory Lane this time was extremely interesting to me. I knew those people, and could picture it all. I was in my teens, and now I am 80 ... but who could forget?

The photo of Don with his 1940 Chevrolet club coupe would have brought back some happy memories. No wonder Dorothy was so enamored, with such a "catch" visiting her.

I am so glad someone put those two pictures together of the "twins ... Patty and Dorothy. There is a striking resemblance.

The Little Beeps has another mystery question. Roy is so sharp on cars and equipment, but he couldn't guess the year of that John Deere tractor. He said they looked so much alike, with few changes each year.

A well chosen Quotation for the day. The wedding celebration continuing to this day. We had wished and wished to be at the "great 60th" celebration, but it didn't happen. I know Rich and Verlaine had fully planned on being there, after their stop at Eagle Bend, but they got some handicapped company, which changed their travel plans. Am sure there were many guests. I think Don said 125 or so.

Best I end this right here. Thank you for all you included in this Bulletin #426, and even though I am hardly doing it justice, we loved it again and are wondering already what you will find for the next Bulletin, in just a few days.

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 way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. --Morrie Schwartz

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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