The Bulletin
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Home About Archive Recipes Stories Galleries Who's Who Where


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Autumn leaves cast a golden glow.

Updates -


Photo © Shawn Ostendorf

Ostenforf summer home will soon be year around residence.

UPDATE -- Ostendorfs will move to Lobster Lake
by Shawn Ostendorf
Rogers, MN

As many of you already know, Lori and I have a lake home on Lobster Lake in Alexandria, Minnesota. We built on that property last November and have made it our weekend place for most weekends since then. While owning the property for five years, we often thought (dreamed) of living there but could never imagine that we would actually be able to do it.

From the time we first bought the property, many things have changed. Our family has grown from just Lori and me to include our two children, McKenna and Kierra. Our positions with our respective companies have also changed some over time. I have been able to work from home for roughly 2.5 years and Lori has been able to work from home two days a week for almost three years now. This really got our juices flowing for a potential move. Over the course of the last three months, Lori asked for and was granted permission to work from home on a full time basis. With this exciting news, it was a "no-brainer" for us to move.

We have plans in place to rent our house in Rogers to a nice family, starting in January. This will allow us to wait out the mortgage crisis for a year at a time and hopefully sell when the time is right. Things have definitely fallen into place for us and we are quite excited about our future.

If you're ever by Lobster Lake, feel free to stop on by and visit. We have a lot of little projects we can put you to work on! :)


Photo © Shawn Ostendorf

Lobster Lake view from Alexandria home
.



Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Dovetail log cabin on the grounds of the Swedish museum in Scandia, Minnesota. I don't know anything about it except that it appeared to be a home.

UPDATE -- McCorkells take a mini-trip to enjoy Fall
by Ginny McCorkell
Blaine, MN

We took a mini trip east ... to Scandia, Minnesota, and Osceola, Wisconsin. Most of our time was spent walking around the grounds of the Swedish Museum in Scandia. We never did go inside the museum as my goal was to enjoy the weather and get some photos.

History and Museums

Nestled among rolling hills and many beautiful lakes, the City of Scandia is the site of the first Swedish settlement in Minnesota. In October of 1850, the first log cabin was built on the shores of Hay Lake. Residents of Scandia have done little to alter the character of the community, and visitors will find reminders of mid-19th century pioneer days and the rural town atmosphere.

Swedish Settler's Monument:

A monument now stands near the site of this first log house, located 1.5 miles south of Highway 97 on Olinda Trail. The monument is inscribed with the names of the first Swedish settlers in Minnesota.

Gammelgården Museum:

Dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Swedish immigrant life, the 11-acre site owned by Elim Lutheran Church, contains six buildings. GammelKyrkan (1856), Immigrant Hus (1855), Prast Hus (1868), barn (1879), stuga (1930), and WorkShed Gifts. The museum is open seasonally, May through October, with regular weekend hours. Tour groups are welcome and meals are available with advance reservations. For more information, call 651-433-5053, or visit the Gammelgården Museum web site.


Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Dovetail detail
.


Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Stone foundation.


Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Stonewall detail.


Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Window detail
.


Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Window detail
#2.


Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Clasp detail
.



Photo © Patty Anderson
Hannah, the St. Bernard, & the giant pumpkin.

UPDATE -- giant pumpkin -- bigger than Hannah anyway
by Patty Anderson
Isanti, MN

The Great Pumpkin didn't get as large as we thought it might. To grow the giant ones, you need to prepare the soil really well up to a year ahead. Ours was an unplanned seedling so it got plunked into the meadow late in the season where we had space. We figure it weighs about 175-200 lbs. (It genetically would have been capable of weight close to 1,000 lbs. in the right growing conditions!) Just as well ours didn't get that big. It was all Don and I could do to roll it onto a tarp and drag it across the yard to set in front of the shop with all of our other home grown pumpkins.

We also had a nice selection of gourds -- hen's eggs, apple and Jack-Be-Little pumpkins in baskets to go along with the larger pumpkins. They sold well at the shop so we'll be planting several varieties again next spring. No one bought the big pumpkin ... can't imagine trying to lift it into someone's vehicle anyway!

We have been asked to join a later fall tour of shops "Brenda's Log Cabin Boutique & Friends" opening November 4-6 and 11-13. We plan on putting several things on clearance to thin out the inventory so we can shop all winter and have fresh new items for the spring tour. Our little hobby is turning into a second full time job!


Photo © Patty Anderson
Pumpkins & gourds for sale at Red Chair Antiques.



Photo © Mavis Morgan
Ding (or is it Dong?) eats lunch by the purple asters.

UPDATE -- the Morgans adopt two orange cats
by Mavis Anderson Morgan
Hope, ND

The Tom Morgans have adopted two beautiful cats from the neighbors in exchange for a little kitten. Meet Ding and Dong. Dong likes to wink when he has his picture taken. They are brothers and one or the other usually goes to get the mail with Tom or me. Pictured also are some of the flowers that are left from the season.


Photo © Mavis Morgan

Ding & Dong ... did you catch the wink?


Photo © Mavis Morgan

Dong (or maybe it's Ding) heads to the mailbox with Tom Morgan.



Photo © Sarah Steinhauer

Jeff Swenson, left, teaches Levi Steinhauer some tricky moves in a Trackchair.

UPDATE -- action traction -- fun with Action Trackchairs
by Sarah Dake Steinhauer
Wannaska, MN

My uncle, Tim Swenson, invented the Action Trackchair and has been manufacturing them for sale for about two years. He brought them with him to the the Swenson family reunion in Oklee, Minnesota, this past July so the family could check them out. My cousin Jeff Swenson, Tim's son, was paralyzed in a car accident several years ago. The track chairs are great for those who are not able to walk. It gives them independence in the great outdoors. They can go hunting, go to the beach, go hiking, or whatever they want! You can lean more about them at: www.actiontrackchair.com/

My Uncle Tim made the motorized couch just for fun out of spare parts he had. It was a great hit with the kids. The older kids drove it all over town, stopping at the gas station, the bank drive up window, and even the Oklee parade. They got plenty of second looks :)


Photo © Sarah Steinhauer

Motorcouch is just for fun -- they even drove it in the Oklee parade.



Photo © Sarah Steinhauer
Onions my mom (Sherry Dake) harvested from her garden & stored for the winter.



Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Pretty 'n pink ... a reminder during breast cancer awareness month.

Click here to see what's new on Ginny McCorkell's Bitzidoodles blog.



Photo © Larry T. Dake
Scout the Ox Reflects on the Changing Seasons.

Click here for the latest news on LTD's Storybrooke Ripples blog.


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

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.

Last week's Guess picture


Last week's mystery photo was sent by Kelly Larson Seaman.
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.

That would be me (Kristi Larson Indermark) and my sister Kelly Larson Seaman petting our horse, Cindy, in Evansville, Minnesota.

Kristi Larson Indermark
Litchfield Park, AZ


Really, I don’t have a clue! But I think the girls look like they could be Kelly and Kristi (Larson), but where or the horse?

Steve Miller
Coral Springs, FL


The GUESS picture must be McKenna and Kierra. But then I've been wrong before.

Betty Weiland Droel
MoundsView, MN


This week's Guess picture


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


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. 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.

Our Wedding Day
by Dorothy Dake
Howard Lake, MN

Donald & Dorothy Anderson
Happily Wed August 15, 1950
60th Anniversary August 15, 2010

One by one each year flew by,
Since you both said "I do!"
60 years of memories,
Shared by the two of you.
From big events and holidays
To simple daily pleasures,
Some tearful times along life's way,
Some joys that can't be measured
One by one each year now gone,
But still they're yours forever
Each and every memory,
Of sixty years together!

Our formal wedding picture, taken about 9 a.m. on the morning of the wedding in Buffalo, Minnesota; the poem is from our 60th anniversary book, a gift from our family.


Here we are saying our vows. Our wedding was conducted by a man I chose because he seemed so right for us. You see, this is Oscar Anderson; he was a classmate of my mom & he was the speaker at my graduation. He is a Wright County judge. Our attendants are: Bridesmaid Gertrude Dake, my sister, and Best Man Roger Slotten. (Yes, that is Lorraine Slotten's brother -- my friend as well as Don's!) The wedding was held in the living room of my growing up home!


I really liked The flowers with our suits. The gardenia in mine was so lovely. The rest were mixed white & yellow roses ... some buds & some full blown. I love roses. Ruth Gilmer of Howard Lake did such a nice job.


I did not worry about the right part of the weather. NO RAIN ... just the hottest day of the summer. Notice Gert & Roger were smart -- they shed their jackets! Don & I just sweltered! The menu for noon dinner was ham with scalloped potatoes with cheese, a tossed salad, homemade rolls with homemade strawberry jam. And for dessert, the wedding cake with squares of ice cream. Clockwise around the bridal table: Gert Dake, Dorothy Anderson (Wow, that sounds nice!), Donald Anderson, Roger Slotten, Cleo Anderson (Don's mom); almost hidden is Harry, her husband (Don's dad), DeLoris Anderson, Grandma Dake Greer, Grandpa Mellon & Grandma Mellon. The young girl, Diana Mellon, (my first cousin) was really sitting with my parents, the aunts & uncle & the rest of the guests at other tables.


Waitresses for the wedding dinner (at noon): Mavis Anderson, Elaine Anderson Wold, Lorraine Slotten, DeLoris Anderson, Doris Wheelock & Dorothy Heyer.


Here we are after the dinner was completed & the living room was ready. Lots of lovely gifts. Dad had lots of fans blowing, but it surely would have been nice to have air conditioning.


Wedding guests at the gift opening.

 
Left: Elaine Anderson Wold, Grandma Mellon, Dorothy Heyer & DeLoris Anderson were busy putting the finishing touches on the nearly finished decorating -- the car was surely going to tell everybody from here to Alexandria & Bemidji what had happened on August 15, 1950, at the William Dake place near Howard Lake (where Dorothy Dake "could bake a cherry cake," according to the younger Andersons). Right: I surely wouldn’t say the finished product showed any great artistic talent! Of course, the tin cans tied on behind & the chain attached to the tree (which the fathers of the bride & groom insisted the culprits remove for safety's sake!) all made for excitement & something to remember the day by. My friend Lorraine Slotten seems to be in on the decorating, too.


As soon as they were through at the gift opening, Gert & Roger joined the rest where the breezes made it cooler. They grabbed their cameras & headed out to watch (and assist) those decorating the car. It was well on its way as the crowd drifted out of the house. They joined Mavis Anderson in getting pictures of the procedure.


It surely looks like Mildred Wrobbel, Carol, LeRoy & Vonnie Dake & Doris Wheelock did some overseeing. The day was made easier for my mom by Mildred, her mother Emma, & sister-in-law Helen. They are our neighbors, and such good friends. They helped with the cooking & cleaning up. And so we have our wedding over & we shall look on these pictures years from now & it will bring back that time when I changed my name from Dorothy Dake to Dorothy Anderson & my address to Wahpeton, ND, Rte. 3.


Formal photo of the wedding party, tinted by Dorothy: Bridesmaid Gert Dake, newlyweds Dorothy & Don Anderson & Best Man Roger Slotten. White & yellow roses (& my gardenia) looked good with my wine colored suit, Don's light blue one, Gert's green & Roger's tan.


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

This Week's Birthdays
October 18---Lori Anderson
October 18---Adriana Stahlecker Brown
October 18---Dan Mellon
October 20---Wade Morgan Printz (11 years)
October 22---Rich Johnson (from MN)
October 22---Candice Lynn Miller

Happy Birthday!

This Week's Anniversaries
October 17---Troy and Marlee Morgan Freesemann (16 years)
Congratulations!

More October Birthdays
'
October 1---Brooklynn Ann Johnson (6 years)
October 1---Carolyn Amy Horne (6 years)

October 4---Wesley Sigman
October 4---Anita Weiland
October 5---Leona Anderson
October 5---Steven Miller
October 7---Steven Anderson

October 10---Hannah Aydelotte (9 years)
October 10---Greta Veronica Shockey (3 years)
October 10---Cody Printz
October 11---Jay Smith
October 12---Muriel Wold Rodriguez
October 12--- Tami Anderson Hunt
October 14---Douglas Anderson
October 14---Verlaine Weiland


October 24---Grady Michael Chap (1 year)
October 24---Eric Shockey
October 24---Ken Kitto
October 26---Ardis Sigman Quick
October 27---Marlene Anderson Johnson
October 27---Rich Weiland
October 28---Derrick McNeill
October 29---Sami Larson
October 29---Tom Miller
October 30---Anne Mellon Montford


More October Anniversaries
Z
October 1---Keith Mason and Lori Anderson (5 years)
October 4---Don and Patty Bratten Anderson (13 years)

October 27---Don and Gert Dake Pettit (20 years)

October Special Days
O
October 11---Columbus Day (observed)
October 31---Hallowe'en


Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Dear Miss Hetty,

What a beautiful Birthday greeting from The Bulletin! I love that card. As an aside: When I was 10 years old I received a letter from the White House signed by Dwight Eisenhower, who was our president at the time. As a class project I had submitted my picture and greetings on our mutual birthday. Thank you! Thank You! For making my day.

Verlaine Weiland
Coon Rapids, MN


Thank you for the birthday wishes! The Jacquie Lawson Greetings are so special ... and beautiful, too! Thank you for remembering me!

Muriel Rodriguez
Wahpeton, ND



Photo © Virginia McCorkell
Purple flowers at the very end of Summer.

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

Glad to hear Uncle Don is doing well!

I especially enjoyed all the lovely fall photos in The Bulletin this week. We are having beautiful fall weather here in western Nebraska, too. However, we don't have the variety of fall colors that some of you do!

Carol Dake Printz
Sidney, NE


Sorry to hear that Don had gone to the hospital, but pleased to hear the procedure went well! And Don, we hope you are up and around in no time!

Dan and Nancy Mellon
Alta Loma, CA


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

Oh, I wish everyone could see the vibrant, colorful, Fall shades as they appear on my screen in the picture that Bitzi took, naming it "Nature's Tapestry." Only the fortunate subscribers to The Bulletin will get to see that.

Of all the photos Virginia sent in, (several hundred she said that she had taken), our Photo Editor sorted through the many, many choices for the first page; this one was the winner, and surely is typical of what we are seeing here in Minnesota these weeks. Truly a winner.

But, another winner was the update that Don Anderson has a stent that is a success, making him feel so much better. Such a caring family to see him through all the appointments, and even the surgery, being his beloved bride of 60 years ago was not able to be with him for that.

Those hand made blocks by a certain young boy would be a treasure, and to bring them out just when they were needed to entertain and fill in moments of concern about the "patient" was ideal. Looks like the whole family was enjoying them.

It was beautiful seeing the bright yellow marigolds against the Shasta daisy -- also, the oak leaves. We have to enjoy each season as it happens here in the upper Midwest.

I almost said that the photo with the white bridge on looked like a professional photo, and then I remembered that our Bitzi, being a graphic artist, knows just which scenes to capture for the most beauty, color and design.

Keith and Lori visiting Disneyland was a happy 5th anniversary outing, that is for sure. What a clever pumpkin likeness of Mickey. Thanks for the California update.

Bridget and Doug being auntie and uncle was exciting. Too bad Doug had to fall. It takes so long to recover from it, even without getting any broken bones. The brand new Ayla will be a joy to overshadow it all, though.

Thanks, Editor, for reminding Vicki Anderson to send in a picture and some more details for us. The Bulletin keeps growing instead of shrinking, it seems. They will be another family sending in California news.

Oh, and Miss Kitty finally got through with her nap long enough to send us an update on the walk in the rain so early in the morning. The mountains in the background, and the beautiful fall colors give you an awesome look at Alaska before the snow happens.

Clicking on the link to the web gallery in the Alaska pictures was very interesting as each one was enlarged and gave a description of the picture. Good to remember to click on the links for the whole story and picture.

Once again, I couldn't resist clicking on Bitzidoodles link. I found our famous Hunter Holman there.

Oh, poor green Harry, the skunk-perfumed dog!

I was especially glad that our Dorothy Dake gave us such a good description of her school. Also, of the home they would be having as newlyweds. So, the transition to Mrs. Donald Anderson would be taking over very soon, and then life can begin in earnest.

I just got a s-c-a-r-e. My LTTE was nearly finished, and suddenly AOL just stood still. I kept clicking on Send Later hoping it would somehow go to that file, but here was a blank page before me. Did I lose it all?

Well, I clicked on Mail Waiting To Be Sent, and there it was. What a relief! Now to hurry and finish this before it happens again.

Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, we were just at the crucial place of finding a nice farm in the rich area of the Red River Valley. It had a lovely white house on it which would be the first HOME for the Andersons.

Now the wedding plans are nearly finalized, but we have to wait for next week to see what is next.

All the birthdays and anniversaries tell me that I have several family that I must remember this month. There are several others I would like to remember, too.

The CHUCKLES has such a fascinating picture this week. Grandpa Earl Swenson, (Sherry Dake's dad) and the track chair his son designed for the use of wheelchair patients. I hope it is a great success, as anyone not able to maneuver would be so grateful for this machine. I think we should have a description and an update on it in a future Bulletin. One of a kind, manufactured right here in Minnesota.

The Quotation for the day suggests October is a special season producing a pleasant effect. I think we all are amazed at the beauty of Fall days.

Thank you for taking time from your extremely busy schedule, Miss Jerrianne, to be the ever-faithful photo editor, and for Miss Dorothy our Matriarch and Editor being on deck, even with so many interruptions, and her husband's recent hospitalization. We are so aware of The Bulletin being a priority to several, and it definitely is to us.

Betty Droel


CHUCKLES


Photo illustration © Virginia McCorkell
Is Harlie May Harrison going to be a gardener? She has green thumbs!


Click here to find out Who's Who in The Bulletin

Click here to find out Who's Where in The Bulletin

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.

Click here for past editions in the searchable web archive



Quotation for the day:

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
--George Cooper, October's Party

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.


Home About Archive Recipes Stories Galleries Who's Who Where