Another Adventure for Mary!

Mary is off on another adventure. She says that it only seems as if she searches for trips to distant celebrations (We figure that adventures just "find" her). This one sounds like fun: She and another friend from her church are in New York (hopefully, they arrived there with all the airline hassles and power blackouts in New York City!) for the ordination of the new pastor for their local Lutheran church. The bishop from our area will be there to ordain the new pastor (Donna Olsen) on Sunday. Linda is chair of the Call committee and Mary is always up for another adventure, so off they went!

This is a second career for their new pastor. She has been a speech pathologist for many years. She has two grown daughters and she and her husband have lived on Long Island all their lives and have chosen to relocate to our small Minnesota town. We figure it will be a lot quieter than they are used to so the WT's will have to figure something out to liven things up for them! That never seems to be much of a problem for us!

Mary said that the receptionist at the Hampton Inn is anxious to meet the two "old Finnish ladies" as Linda described themselves to her. We will be anxious to hear all the stories when they return from this trip.

A 50 year reunion

Last weekend Joan traveled to the Twin Cities to attend the 50th reunion of her graduating class from Macalester College. While attending Macalester, Joan had lived at home so often didn't feel too involved with all the campus activities at the college. She was fortunate though to join up with a group of other students who lived 'off campus' and they have remained friends through all these years. This group gathers at least once every year for lunch, or dinner and lots of 'catching up'.

None of us had ever attended a rununion at Macalester, but some of us decided that since this was 50 years, it was time to attend the big bash and reconnect with our Alma Mater. So, Marilyn, Ginna, Lorraine, Dorothea and Joan (known at Pete to this crowd) met bright and early on Friday morning and drove over to Macalester to take part in the festivities of the day. After registering, we toured the campus and saw all the new buildings, and tried to envision some of our old haunts which are no longer there. We all hold many good memories from the Off Campus Lounge and the The Grill which were our main meeting places while on campus.

After our self guided tour, we attended the induction ceremony making us members of the Golden Scots Society. This ceremony was held in the college chapel. We were each called individually and received a 'gold' medalion commemorating our 50th reunion. Following a rousing rendition of Dear Old Macalester we posed outside the chapel for our class picture and then moved on to the Kagin Commons where we enjoyed a delicious meal....complete with wine.

Joan also returned to campus on Saturday morning to participate in a panel she was asked to join. The panel included members of the class talking about things they are doing that they are happy about and how Macalester influenced them in their decisions. Joan talked about the volunteer work she is involved in in retirement and how she was encouraged at Macalester to 'give back' to others because she had the privilege of a college education.

The five friends ended their reunion visit feeling happy that we had attended. We were all amazed at how many people we actually had connected with and enjoyed visiting with again. We were also somewhat dismayed at the long list of classmates who are no longer with us.



Five friends at Macalester reunion: Dorothea, Ginna, Joan, Marilyn and Lorraine

A Party for Jodie...June 6

Perhaps you have noticed that we haven't had too many new posts lately. There is a reason for that. Our faithful blogger Jodie is busy relocating to the Twin Cities and the rest of us are very sluggish in getting blog postings done.

It is a Walkie Talkie tradition to host a party for any walker who decides to relocate, so today was Jodie's day! True to form, when there is a party, our Walkers show up in force. Sixteen of us gathered at the Lodge at the Ridge for lunch and a fun visit with Jodie. It was especially nice to have Pastor Ruth join us (she had previously relocated), and to have Pat with us along with her visiting sister Nancy.

Jodie reports that moving has gone well. There are only about 15 boxes left to unpack. They have been busy connecting with family and friends in their new area. They have enjoyed a short reprieve at their cabin up north, but will be returning to the Cities to finish their unpacking and prepare for Sandy's upcoming fishing trips. A return to the cabin is planned for late June and Jodie promises to come for morning coffee while they are there. She said she also hopes to get us out on a geocaching adventure yet this summer.

We will miss Jodie's everyday presence but do hope to see her occasionally when she is in the northland. Of course, we may need to plan a field trip to the Cities to see Jodie's new digs. Here are some photos from todays gathering.


First a group photo: Left side of table: Pat, Helen, Jodie, Elsie, Naomi, Laurie. Lorraine and Mary (Elsie and Naomi are hiding)
Right side: Nancy, Tee, Joan, Ruth, Irene, Sharon, Emily and Dorothy


Jodie opens her gifts....first a frame to hold her favorite Walkie Talkie Picture


Next an apron crafted from Mary's fabrics and put together by Mary and Lorraine


Jodie models the apron!