"Church Basement Ladies" Field Trip

In the 1950's and 60's, there was a column in our local paper--"Up and Down the Street with Lila." Each week she would tell about various people in the communities who were doing special things and those that had "motored" to Duluth or to the Cities for entertainment or shopping. In that spirit, we give you . . .

"Down to the Cities and Back on I-35 with the WT's"

On April 19, a group of ten women from our communities made an excursion to Plymouth (a Minneapolis suburb) to attend the production of The Church Basement Ladies at the Plymouth Playhouse. They left in two vehicles and stopped at Tobie's in Hinckley for lunch (which was great). When they were leaving the parking lot, Jodie offered a box of candy to Jo to share with the women in Tee's car. Much to the amazement of everyone, she took the box of candy to Tee's car and off they drove! Fortunately, through the technology of cell 'phones, Jodie called Tee and had the scofflaws return the box of chocolates which was meant for "sharing" and not "keeping." Obviously, that got the rest of the trip off to a light-hearted approach for these women.

The group arrived at the Best Western Kelly Inn without further problems and checked into their rooms. Since it was still early and there was plenty of time before dinner, they did what only a group of Lutherans, Catholics, and Methodists from a small town would do when turned loose in "The Cities"--they went to the bar for a drink! Clockwise Below: Laurie (in red), Mary, Jo, Tee, Pat, Naomi, Sharon and Elsie.

The group had decided to wear aprons to the performance of the play, just to get in the spirit of it. Mary had plenty of her aprons for us to wear--in fact, she ironed them in her room after we arrived (See the link on the right for Mary's Productions)! The women had the nerve (perhaps it was because of the drinks in the bar beforehand) to move the sign for the play and have their photos taken with it. Below, they are all in their "apron finery" before eating dinner at the Green Mill, part of the complex where they attended the play. There was a group of Red Hat women in the restaurant and the WT's decided that they didn't need a group like that since they have each other! Below:
Front (L to R): Mary, Sharon and Jodie. Back: Laurie, Jo, Tee, Pat, Naomi, Helen and Elsie. The tour guide had arranged for very good seats for this performance of the play. Below: Sharon, Naomi, Elsie and Laurie (back) and Helen, Mary, Pat and Tee (front) read the program as they wait for the production to start.
Below: Jo, Sharon, Naomi, Elsie and Laurie (back) and Jodie, Helen, Mary and Pat (front). The group made quite a "hit" in their aprons. Before the play, some people thought they were part of the cast and others wondered if they should have been wearing aprons also.
The play was fantastic! The story takes place in the kitchen of a church basement. There are five characters: the minister, the organist, three women who prepare the meals/refreshments for church events, and the college-age daughter of one of the women. In the first scene, they prepare for the December, 1964, lutefisk dinner during a blizzard and during which the minister keeps coming down to the basement to tell them that the number of people who will be attending keeps on growing. The three older women are hilarious as they explain the food and how things work to the younger woman. A funny song is "The Pale Food Polka." In the second scene the longtime church custodian has died and they are preparing the food for after the funeral. The minister keeps coming down to say that the sanctuary keeps getting colder and colder. Finally, Mavis, one of the cooks goes to try to fix the furnace. The upshot is that it cannot be fixed that day but she discovers a wood heater and a pile of wood. It turns out that Willie (the deceased custodian) had it piled and saved for just such an emergency. The funniest song in this scene is the "Dead Spread" about the food for the event (and a discussion of the lasagna--and how inappropriate it is--that the minister's "new" wife had prepared for it). The third act takes place at Easter--a Hawaiian Easter dinner. The costumes and the placement of the coconuts for the "sagging" women is a riot. There is much discussion about the younger woman and "The Cities" and how young people change when they leave home. Their concern is that she might be falling for a Catholic young man. The final scene takes place three years later as they prepare for the wedding of the younger woman and her "cold feet" that day. One of the songs in this scene, "For Good," was near and dear to Mary's heart. The older woman sings a song to the young bride about using things and not saving them "for good." Mary is always telling us and her seminar attendees that they should use their linen and silver often and not to let it sit in drawers and cupboards waiting for the appropriate moment--any event is a "for good" time to use it! Obviously, we loved seeing the various aprons that they wore for each of the scenes. After the curtain call, the characters ran up the aisle and out the door. As they passed us, one of the women tapped Jodie on the shoulder and said, "Love your aprons!" So we were noticed!
Above: After the curtain call, the actors formed a reception line so that we could greet them. Left to right: Mrs. Lars Snustad (who had us all rolling in the aisles with her facial expressions and comments), Mrs. Elroy Engelson (mother of the bride), Pastor Gunderson, Signe, and Mavis (who was hilarious with her kitchen solutions to her hot flashes).
Naomi and Sharon greet the actors who mentioned the aprons once again.
Helen and Jo share a laugh with "Vivian Snustad."
After the play the group stood around as people came up to ask questions about the aprons. One group of women from Wisconsin wanted the information sheets that Mary had prepared. They commented that they liked the aprons better than "certain colored hats!" And what did these Walkie Talkies think about the play? "It was outstanding! Any woman who has worked on lunches after church events can identify with these 'Church Basement Ladies'."

After a great night of sleep and probably some laughter about remembered scenes and lines, the women enjoyed a continental breakfast at the hotel and left around 9:00 a.m. They stopped for about an hour of shopping at an outlet mall and then ate at Applebee's in Cloquet on the way home. The one group shared the chocolates with the members in the other vehicle (this time they were sure to get the box back!). Mary entertained the group in Jodie's van by reading the Personals from the City Pages. One area that was particularly interesting had to do with speed dating; the group decided that it might be worthwhile to set up a speed dating event in town when they return!

What is their next plan? Jo wants them to set up a trip to Chicago to get on the Oprah Show! We'll have to follow the Walkie Talkies to see what they will do next! One never knows with this group of crazy and active women!

End of Article.

Trip Trivia

1. Which two women (who just happened to share a room) forgot their nightgowns? Better yet--what did they do?

2. Who sleeps with her head wrapped in something very interesting?

Our lips are sealed--we will never tell--because "What happens in Plymouth, stays in Plymouth!"

While We're Getting "Culture"

We thought we would leave you some things to think about while we are at The Church Basement Ladies play. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services. While many of you have heard some of these before, we thought they might get us "in the mood" for the play which we will be seeing tonight. Also--in our local churches, there are often some pretty incredible and hilarious announcements.

Enjoy:

The Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals.

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday evening in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

Ladies, don't forget the Rummage Sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

Don't let worry kill you off--let the Church help.

Miss Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Father Jack's sermons.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Hopefully, we will come back with some winners also!

Off to Get Some "Culture"

We are off to the Cities to get a little "culture." Ten of us are making the pilgrimage to the Plymouth Playhouse for their "Play and Stay" package--tickets to the play, a night at the Best Western and a coupon for dinner at the Green Mill. We're going to take off in two vehicles around 10:00 on Wednesday morning, April 19th, stop along the way many times to "rest" and stretch our legs, and stop for lunch. The normal trip takes a little over three hours but it will probably take us five hours! Dinner at the Green Mill is at 6:00 p.m. and the play starts at 8:00. Mary has "Church Lady" aprons for all of us to wear, so we should make quite an entrance when we show up in a group. We'll head home on Thursday, stop along the way many times to "rest" and to stretch our legs, stop at the Outlet Mall, and stop for lunch--sounds like about six hours for the return trip.

From the website: "A celebration of the church basement kitchen and the women who work there, CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES, is a new musical comedy featuring four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and solve the problems of a rural Minnesota church about to undergo changes in 1965. From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen to the young bride-to-be learning the proper order of things, we see them handle a record breaking Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter Fund Raiser, and, of course, a steaming hot July wedding. They stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young, and keep the Pastor on due course while thoroughly enjoying, (and tolerating) each other as the true "steel magnolias" of the church. Funny and down to earth, audiences will recognize these ladies as they witness the church year unfold from below the house of God.

CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES uses the renowned Scandinavian Lutheran humor writings of The Lutheran Ladies, Janet Martin and Suzann Nelson, authors of a host of humorous books the most famous being GROWING UP LUTHERAN. The script is by Jessica Zuehlke and Jim Stowell with music and lyrics by composer Drew Jansen, who gave us the music for the popular long-running hit musical, HOW TO TALK MINNESOTAN, THE MUSICAL." Check out the link for the play on the right.

We know that we will recognize many of these women (perhaps as ourselves??) and compare them to women in our own churches. It sounds like a lot of fun and we will be sure to post some photos and a report of our trip when we return!

News from The Shopper

Greetings to everyone after the Easter holiday!

The Shopper has grown by two inches! Printing changes led to the change in size! (Many of the WT's have grown two inches also--but we try not to announce it!)

On Tuesday, April 25th, the Relay For Life Rally will take place in the Community Center. This is the 3rd Relay Rally (try saying that fast three times!).

There is another Spaghetti Dinner. The cause is near and dear to many of the WT's--the Northern Lights Music Festival. The ad has a drawing of Kokopelli playing his flute. We doubt if there will be anyone at the music festival to rival the lure of Kokopelli, but one never knows! The Festival takes place this year from June 28-July 25. The WT's always volunteer in various ways to help out. Check out the Northern Lights website on our links on the right.

The Lions Club is hosting a Pancake Feed next Sunday, April 23rd. That is always a good event. The groups of folks arrive by church denomination--when the services are over, they go to the Pancake Feed. So the Lutherans eat with Lutherans, the Methodists with Methodists, the Catholics with Catholics and so on. Usually, we are quite ecumenical in our towns, but this "Feed" is always a little different when it is held on a Sunday.

On April 27, we will be honoring Ed Modetz as the Citizen of the Year. Ed has done so much for our town. For the school referendum, he completed his usual morning walk carrying a "Vote Yes" sign. He has also been on the Relay For Life Committee; as a cancer survivor himself, he coordinates the Survivors' walk by calling all of the local cancer survivors and setting up the reception for them in the Community Center. He serves on the local cemetery board and volunteers for just about every cause that benefits the city (and he is in his 80's!). He never misses a City Council meeting. He will be presented with a key to the City that day, which he probably won't need since no one here locks their doors anyway!

The award will be presented during a Community Meeting that night. We will get an update on the school, the hospital and the nearby Minnesota Power Energy Park. We hope that many people will attend the meeting to hear the news and to honor Ed.

There is a sign-up for the Summer Sports on April 19th for T-Ball, Little League, Girls' Softball, Babe Ruth Baseball. We've got to keep the kids busy and out of mischief during the summer. And it works!!

Earth Day is April 22 and there are some activities planned: The rural Congregational and Lutheran Churches are having an annual spring clean up at the cemetery. This writer was surprised that there isn't more going on. We're sure the students at the school will be doing something this week.

It is Tornado Awareness Week and they will be testing the sirens at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. We'll all have to pay attention to that. They also test the siren on the first Wednesday in May, June, July, August and September. Sometimes the loud siren catches us by surprise and scares us half to death!

The annual meeting for the Wirtanen Pioneer Farm is on Monday, April 24. Laurie is very involved with it and will have plenty of work to do. The guest speaker will be discussing "Churches in Finland" and there will be a lunch served "in the Finnish tradition." We might have to check that out!

The snow is gone--finally!--so there are not any ads for snow plowing. However, this writer counted three pick-ups with plows still attached last week! Time to get them off, guys!

Interesting Ad: "Diapers for Honduras. If you would like to help, join us at St. Mark's Lutheran Church on Wednesdays at 10 a.m."

There's a pie social and bake sale at a nearby Senior Center on May 6th. More food to help add on those inches!

Getting close to golf season. There is an ad for Cart Repair.

Ready, Set, Grow. The local garden center is now open. Many of us are getting anxious to start scratching in the dirt. We've noticed that they have been busy in the greenhouses for the past month or so, getting everything planted, so we'll have to get our plants early. Then we have to tend to them before we can plant them.

"Failure to Launch" is now playing at the theatre. "The Shaggy Dog" starts on Friday.

More next week . . .

Happy Easter

from all the Walkie Talkies

Happy Birthday, Naomi

Naomi celebrated her milestone birthday in style today. It is a couple of weeks after the fact (Does that mean she gets to subtract a year???), but it was a great occasion. She figured that something was planned because her family asked her if she was going to be home on April 15th and mentioned something about the Community Center. This week there were signs up around town inviting everyone to the party. There were so many people there to celebrate the day and the food was wonderful!
Naomi and Dorothy share the same birthday. Dorothy celebrated with her family in Duluth two weeks ago. One is four hours older than the other. Quite a coincidence!
Most of the WT's attended the event (We always go wherever there is food!). Seated: Lil and Jo (who now live in apartments about 16 miles from us), Jodie, Tee. Standing: Laurie, the Birthday Girl, Sharon, and Helen S. There were other WT's at the party but they missed out on the photo.

Tough "Bird!"

Great news!

Irene had her foot surgery on Monday. The procedulre ended up being less extensive than anticipated with no rods or pins having to be inserted. That means the recovery time will be less and she should be walking with us sooner than expected. She is already up and about with a walker! What a trooper!

We are all so happy to hear that and look forward to seeing her soon!

Saturday Shopper Snippets

With the referendum over (and passed!), The Shopper is once again back to normal--that is, filling us with news of what is going on in our small communities. We are very busy now that spring is here and the snow is gone (hopefully, for good).

Regarding the referendum: There is a full page ad, thanking everyone for helping to pass it. The name of the committee was "United Communities of ME." The last comment in the ad: "And lastly, it is our hope, as it was when we formed the name of our committee, that we will all now stand UNITED as communities for the future" of the school district. The WT's second that!

The local Floral and Gift shop has a front page ad for blooming plants, cards, corsages, and gift certificates. They have Easter lilies and plush bunnies for the upcoming holiday. One gift that is greatly appreciated in our towns is a gift certificate at this greenhouse--makes a great Easter or Mother's Day gift. That is a not-too-subtle hint for any of our families that might be reading this! Some of the churches make arrangements for us to purchase spring flowering plants for the Easter service in memory or in honor of family members. It certainly brightens up the churches on Easter Sunday.

There are several ads for Easter Sunday Brunches. The prices are pretty good, too. They range from $10.95-15.95. Many of us already have made our reservations. After all, who wants to cook that day??!! There is even a lodging special at the local resort.

It seems as if there is a HUGE number of Birthday ads this week. Gee--I wonder what happened in October all those years before! That would put it just before the beginning of deer hunting season!

There is a Community Easter Egg Hunt on April 15 in one of our towns. Although it is spring, they suggest that we should "Dress for the weather" and it will be held rain or shine. Glad they did not mention the "S-" word!

We can't forget the Salad Luncheon at the American Legion on Thursday, April 13th, for a fund-raiser for the Fourth of July Fireworks and the kids' rides. There will be many such fund-raisers between now and the Fourth. We love these meals and everyone supports them--as much for the meal as the fund-raising.

The Fourth of July Committee is meeting on Tuesday, April 11. For the number of festivities that we have, they really have to get going early.

One of the local paper carriers had to resign because of foot problems. She says farewell to her customers and thanks them all and we wish her well.

The optical shop has reopened at the local hospital. That is a nice convenience for those of us who do not like to drive any distance to have to buy new specs. The hospital is also looking for volunteers to answer the phones in the evenings from 4:00-8:00. Might be something for some of us to do.

Jim must be going on vacation because the local sport shop is closed until April 16th! We hope that he is enjoying himself!

The "Silver Foxes" (single, divorced, or widowed folks from age 60 and up) are getting together for lunch on the 11th. Sounds interesting. We'll have to check to see if any of the WT's are going to attend this. We are all certainly "foxy" and most are over 60!

The local bank is celebrating "A Century of Service." They have been in business for 100 years! Hard to believe! We're sure they'll do something exciting this summer to commemorate this milestone.

We are asked to "Stop and pause . . .before it thaws." That is the Public Works Department warning us to check our sump pumps of the drainage holes in our basements now that the ground is thawing. We certainly do not want any flooded basements.

Our own Naomi was wondering why her kids were so curious as to whether or not she would be home on April 15. Now we know! They have an ad inviting us all to celebrate her 80th BD in the Community Center that day from 1:00-4:00--no gifts, please. All the WT's will be there for sure!

Lots of folks must be cleaning out basements and getting ready after winter as there are so many ads for household items for sale! There are several ads for home and property maintenance from plumbers, painters, roofers, cleaners. And, of course, the Rummage Sales!

The School Library is having a "BOGO" Bookfair--Buy one and get one free--on Wednesday. That is also the day of the 4th grade Science Fair. We're all invited to that. They didn't say anything about refreshments, however. Hmmmm! I wonder. . .


There's a big two-page ad congratulating all the fall and winter school sports teams. That includes hockey, football, basketball, both kinds of skiing, cross country runnin, volleyball and swimming. We might be small but we have had some mighty teams this year!

Holy Week is a big deal in the churches here. There are several Easter ads indicating the times of the services in the various churches for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday plus many of the specials--one of the churches does a Living Last Supper, several are combining on a series on "Witnesses to Christ's Passion," one has an Easter Sunrise Ecumenical Service at 6:00 a.m. on a local lake followed by breakfast. We do some awesome things in our little towns!

Ice Age 2 is still playing at the theatre and Failure to Launch starts on Friday. We have a wonderful movie theatre. They took out the back rows a few years ago and added bistro tables so we can order pizza or subs to eat during the movie. Silver Screen, Dolby Sound and pizza--it doesn't get much better than that!

WHEW! Time to quit. Lots happening in our towns. Until next week . . .

It Passed!!!!

The school referendum passed yesterday by a vote of 2,157 to 1,468!

Laurie, Emily and Dorothy and their husbands worked very hard on the committe to get the job done. On Monday night there was a huge caravan throughout the three towns that are part of the school district and on Tuesday they had groups around each of the towns that were "picketing" to encourage a "yes" vote and to get people out to vote. They also had a telephone campaign, door-to-door campaign, and a system to drive folks to the polls to vote. They really had their act together to get this passed. Many of us were quieter in our support of this referendum, but most of our group was in favor of it.

Two of the towns and the closest tier of the rural area voted for it; however, one of the towns and the outer tiers of the rural area voted against it. Now we are all hoping that the school district and the committee that worked so hard to pass it will have a process for all of us to get back together again.

At any rate, most of the WT's are very happy today.

Also today--we have heard from Joan who is on her tour of Australia and Fiji and New Zealand. She used our WT email address (which has been working well for all of our travelers). She is having a great time. We got a "Lazy Letter" from her today--what a fun idea--she just had to check items about what she was doing.

Laurie and her husband are heading to Las Vegas for a class reunion. It is for the Class of 1959. Neither one graduated that year but it sounded like a fun time, so they went. Actually, they went a couple of years ago also to the same get together.

The Shopper Arriveth!

Well--another week and another Shopper to share.

The big news is the local School Referendum. The election is April 4. About 80% of this week's paper is ads for or against it, so there isn't too much else to report this week. The "yes" folks seem to have more ads than the "no" folks. Most, if not all, of the WT's are hoping it will pass. We will let you know on Wednesday if it passed or not.

Tee won the $50 Community Spirit prize this week, sponsored by the local Lions' Club. We will expect her to buy coffee for all of us. Irene's husband sold her the ticket.

"Ice Age" is playing at the theatre until April 13th. Looks as if we are doing our share to make it the #1 movie at the box office this week. Lots of cars were on the street by the theatre this weekend.

Dorothy's husband put in an ad wishing her a Happy Birthday on April 2 (Today!). There's a good photo of her in her nurse's uniform from years' past. She and Naomi are the same age--just hours apart.

The Fourth of July Committee is looking for donations to help with the costs of our local celebration. Most of us will dig deep and help with our time or money. It's a great celebration in our town. There is also a salad luncheon on Thursday, April 13th, at the American Legion sponsored by the Auxiliary. Proceeds from that will help to fund the Fireworks and the Kids' Rides. Sounds like a reason for a WT outing!

The local hospital is in need of recipes for the cookbook that they are compiling for a fundraiser. The Lutherans did one last year. In a small town, there will be duplication of recipes, but they make great gifts.

There's a reminder for all of us to turn our clocks ahead for DST. We should all have done it by now.

Signs of Spring:
The Rummage Sale season has begun--there are a couple of ads for these sales and garage sales (what's the difference?) this week.
There is one ad looking for bids for mowing.
Easter Brunch ads are springing up.
DST started--whether we are ready for it or not!

Kind of a slow "news" week. Should be better next week. Until then . . .

Walkie Talkies Decide to Disband for Awhile

The Walkie Talkies have decided to disband until further notice. It seems that with all the rain and mud that we have had, a few of them got into quite a fight yesterday. After walking home on Friday, Lorraine threw a clump of mud at Mary and then the fight began. Irene and Laurie found that the mud in one of the fields made for some pretty wild slipping and sliding. Emily and Tee soon joined them and Sharon enjoyed throwing mud at all of them. She thought she was safe until Naomi and Elsie drove by and decided to join the fracas. Pat and Helen S. sat in Pat's car roaring with laughter as they watched and cheered them on! Needless to say she would not drive them home! Naomi had to ditch her SUV, walk home and then pick it up later. Jodie, Helen J. and Dorothy were sorry that they missed this fun event.

All of this would have been fine because everyone was still laughing during this fight and on the muddy walk home. However, about two hours later, the City Public Works Manager called one of the group. It seems that the sewer system just could not take all of the mud that was flowing through the system from all of the washing machines that were running at that time. He was able to detect where it was all coming from and someone had told him about the scene that the WT's had created on Central Avenue on the way home. So--we were "busted!"

We will keep you posted after this as to whether or not the group will reunite for walking and then coffee downtown, but it seems as if we are all too embarrassed at this point to show our faces around town. We have even set up delivery service from the local grocery store until this passes over. We have figured out a way to sneak over to Irene's for coffee--her sun room is in the back of the house and we figure if we leave early in the morning when it is still dark (thanks to Daylight Savings Time starting), we should be able to get together some mornings!

Happy April Fools' Day!!!

Almost at full strength

With Irene and the Belize group now back from their travels, we are almost at full strength. Mary had the Belize photos at coffee today and we could tell that they certainly enjoyed themselves!

Joan is the only one that is gone now. We've gotten several emails from her and it sounds as if she is having a great time. She's seen lots of wildlife--kangaroos, crocodiles, koalas, foxbats. She's also ridden on a camel! She's seen some beautiful sunrises and sunsets and the Great Barrier Reef. We can barely wait for her next emails and to see her photos.

One of our WT's, Lil, has now moved to an apartment in a nearby town. It is the same apartment building as Jo, so they should see each other. We will be planning a lunch outing in the next week or so. She promised to keep drink glasses so that we can enjoy a Margarita in her new place!

Laurie was the Maid to the High Priest at the ecumenical Lenten Service last night and did an outstanding job. With all that she has going on, it's amazing that she got it all done!

Ten of us WT's are taking a "field trip" to the Twin Cities to the Plymouth Playhouse to see the Church Basement Ladies. We're leaving on Wednesday, April 19th, having dinner at the Green Mill, seeing the play that night, and returning the next day. It should be a great trip because everything--the play, dinner, and the hotel--are all in the same place. Mary (see the link for Mary's Productions) has church lady aprons for all of us to wear, so we should really make a splash when we all walk in together!

Lots and lots of rain here today. It's not that good, however, since the ground is still frozen and there is no place for it to go. Everyone at coffee today was worried about sump pumps keeping up with all of it.

Shopper--A Little Late, But . . .

Sorry for the delay to our local Shopper news, but better late than never!

April 2-8 is National Week of the Young Child. The local Early Childhood Coalition has arranged to display artwork in several local businesses to acknowledge this week. Two of the mayors have issued proclamations indicating the support of the local communities for this event. One mayor recognizes the need for early childhood educational opportunities and encourages us all to become advocates for programs that support childhood learning activities. The other mayor encourages us all to make a good investment in early childhood education in the town. Great support!

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is scheduled for June 23-24. There will be a kick-off rally on April 25. We are all encouraged to form a team to Relay to put an end to cancer! The WT's will probably sit out again this year, but we have been very loyal supporters in the past and many of us will still donate to the event.

It looks as if we could pick up some extra income by becoming a school bus driver! Methinks the WT's will skip this one--all kids are raised and out of the house, so why would we need THAT aggravation! There's also an application for a janitorial position at the school. I think NOT! We could also become carriers to deliver one of the regional newspapers. Perhaps NOT! We all think that retirement is the best job that any of us has ever had (except for Mary who is still working).

It must be that some fund-raisers have had it with spaghetti dinners. There is a Swedish Meatball Dinner on Saturday, April 1st. No foolin'!!!

One of the Lutheran churches is having its annual rummage sale on Saturday. We can fill a bag for $2.00. It's hard to believe at those prices, but they will raise a bunch of money. The proceeds will go to finance Day Camp--2006. A very worthy cause. There will be more rummage sales at the churches coming up in May. Once the snow is gone and spring is here we can count on a full page of rummage sale ads in the paper.

The Spring Community Education calendar takes up a full page. We can walk the hallways in the school early in the morning--might not be a bad idea on some of these slippery spring mornings. We could play volleyball in the evenings or participate in low impact aerobics. There are also plenty of after school programs for youth--drivers' training, study hall and computer lab, art club, chess club and swimming lessons. There is always something to do in our small towns!

As we get closer to the May deadline for the Medicare Rx sign-up, there are a heck of a lot of ads from insurance agents encouraging us all to set up an appointment to talk to one of them. They are really wanting to be helpful, I guess.

The menu for the recently opened A&W Drive-In is in the paper for all of us to clip out and put on our fridges so that we can phone in orders to pick up. It is a busy place!

The School referendum is still the hot topic with several ads urging us all to vote "Yes." Those of us who are going to be gone on April 4 can cast absentee ballots early--even on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. One of our own WT's has a small ad indicating that she supports the referendum. Evidently, someone thought that this retired teacher was against it and she took out the ad to be sure that everyone knows she is in favor of it. Good for her!

Back next week!

They're Back!

The Belize group is back! They returned late last night but we could tell they had had a great time. It's great to have them with us again and to have the table full. Now we will wait to see their photos and, hopefully, we'll post some of them on our 'Blog.

We've heard from Irene in Phoenix and we know that she is having a good time--eating too much and not walking enough. We'll be anxious to see her soon also.

Joan is in Australia now. We'll be waiting to hear from her since she was heading to the area where the cyclone hit earlier this week. She should be having a great time on her tour!

Small Group Today

There were only five of us at coffee this morning. Though the group was small, we still had a lively conversation. Hopefully, Lorraine will be feeling better and walking soon. The last time she was with us, she walked alone and said it was very lonely. Perhaps that's why she got sick. The Belize group should be back with us tomorrow a.m. (they get home late tonight). We'll be anxious to hear all of their stories. They emailed us over the weekend and mentioned something about snorkeling with Alfonso. We definitely want to hear about that!

Spring and The Shopper

The calendar indicates that spring will be here on Monday. The ads in this week's Shopper seem to indicate the same thing!

The A&W opened on Friday. It was 4 degrees below zero on Saturday morning, but that did not keep folks away. Folks were sitting in their cars with the windows up and the trays barely hanging on and the vehicle windows were all steamed up (hopefully, from the warm burgers!)--must be that pent-up need for grease and sugar!

The outdoor ice skating rink is now closed down for the winter! Hard to understand because there is also a notice that the local PTO is having a Family Ski-Skate-Slide night on the hills near the rink. We'll have to investigate that!

The Youth Hockey season is over. The banquet and equipment return is this coming Saturday at the Arena.

The Friends of the Library are having the Spring Fever Mini Book Sale starting on Thursday. Don't know what a "mini book" is but we'll all be there! It's $2 for a bag of books on the first two days and $1 on the last day, but by then the selection will be very limited.

The Kindergarten and Early Fives Registration is coming up on April 6 and 7th. Time to get the little ones prepared for school in the fall.

More fund-raising Spaghetti Feeds: The local baseball team has one this Tuesday. The nice thing is that there will be take-outs for those that want to eat it at home. Our neighboring town is also having a Spring Fling on April 1: It's a fund-raiser by their Volunteer Fire Department for local scholarships. There will be tak-out orders there also. Love that spaghetti!!

The Volunteer Fire Department reminds us about the fund-raiser for the Fourth of July--the basketball game this Thursday pitting the faculty/student team against the fire department.

The local Methodist Church has its contemporary service on Saturday night followed by a free sloppy joe supper. This month's theme is "Bare Bones." The minister has had a series of sermons on nakedness--is this a tie-in to that?? Might not want to miss it. Those Methodists are pretty liberal, but . . . These services have become quite ecumenical and everyone looks forward to them--something different to do on a Saturday night (perhaps it's the free supper!).

The Minnesota Firearms Safety Training for area youths (and some adults) starts this Tuesday. A couple of years ago, one of the WT's took the class as an anniversary surprise for her husband. This is a great class. Many of the parents take the class with the kids and there are as many girls as boys in the class. It's great to see the kids and the parents studying together for the test.

The local Chamber has its Business After Hours coming up on the 27th. It's a great way for business folks to meet and get to share some time and conversation with others who work and do business in our communities.

The movie theatre is open again--"Curious George" is playing. We hope that the owners had a great week off. We missed the place!

The information about the School Referendum is in the ads again. One ad suggests that if each houselhold gave up two bottles of water a week, that would cover the tax increase on a $50,000 house! Not too big a sacrifice when we can fill some bottles with our great tap water.

"Talk to you" again next week! Enjoy the first week of spring!

G'Day!

Joan will be leaving on March 21 for a Grand Circle Tour to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji along with one of her friends from college days at Macalester. Will she return speaking "strine" (the Australian colloquial language) and ask us "owyagoin'?" On the left is a veiw of the Sydney Harbor Bridge--affectionately known as the "coathanger."

We look forward to getting reports from her via email about what she is doing and what she is seeing. She has left her itinerary with us so that we can follow along and keep track on a daily basis (and be envious). Hopefully, we can remember the time/day difference. It sounds like a great trip.

She will be enjoying the views of Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Opera House and . . .

. . . some gorgeous sunsets in the harbor. She will be taking a water taxi at some point which should be beautiful.

the Gold Coast
and the flowers. Although it will be autumn, it might not be tulips that she'll see!

We hope to hear from her during the trip. We know she'll come back with many stories and we hope that she will stay healthy and not get "crook."

Bon Voyage! Have a great trip, Joan!

And The Luck of the Irish Be With You!

Tee, Pat and Laurie are our resident Irish lasses! Tee and Laurie are both in Belize now but we're sure they will be enjoying the day and, certainly, Tee will be telling stories. Pat will have to do her part here locally!

St. Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true--there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been since the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age.

St. Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. It is also a day of spiritual renewal. So--why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that is the day that St. Patrick died.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from all of us who are Irish and those who will be Irish for the day!

St. Urho's Day--Have a Good One!

The Finnish members of the WT's will be celebrating St. Urho's Day on March 16th. St. Urho, the patron saint of local Finns, poised himself for battle with his pitchfork raised high.

Many, many years ago in Finland they say there were wild grapes growing all over. One season, a bunch of grasshoppers with a voracious appetite for grapes happened to hop into Finland. Enter the great Finnish Hero, St. Urho. Waving his pitchfork and chanting "Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiten" (which in English means "Grasshopper, grasshopper--scoot!"), he drove the grasshoppers out of the vineyards. They were so happy and grateful to Urho, they declared him a saint and now celebrate the event on March 16th. The official colors are purple to represent the grapes and green to represent the vines (or dead grasshoppers?).

According to Minnesota tradition, St. Urho's Day began in the town of Virginia, Minnesota, in 1956. The verbal records say that it began at a St. Patrick's Day party where the Irish were bragging about their St. Patrick and how he drove snakes out of Ireland. Getting sick of all this bragging, someone else decided to blow the Irish bravado off by proclaiming that Finland had a wonderful saint who got rid of poisonous frogs (?)! (Coincidentally, in 1956 the Finnish President was Urho Kekkonen and many believe the name was taken from him.) Others say the tradition started in Bemidji, Minnesota. Whatever the source, it really doesn't matter. Some say that it gives the Finns and the Irish (and all others who celebrate) an excuse for a two-day party. With our long, cold Minnesota winters, it works!

The Irish say that the Finns made up St. Urho to get a day's start on the beer in town. They claim that there really is no such person at all--just an attempt to get at the green beer before the Irish do.

Some towns have statues depicting St. Urho clearing out the grasshoppers. One such town, Menahga, Minnesota, has a 12-foot statue of St. Urho (above) and there is another one in Wisconsin (below). There is also one in Finland, MN, which looks more like a totem pole (no photo). The Finnish WT's--Mary, Elsie, and Lorraine-- and those that are Finns "by marriage"--Sharon, Joan and Dorothy--wish everyone a Happy St. Urho's Day. Enjoy the legend and do celebrate!

Beware The Ides of March--15th!

Julius Caesar was given (and ignored) the soothsayer's warning in Shakespeare's play. That has forever imbued this date with a sense of forboding.
But in Roman times the expression the "Ides of March" did not necessarily invoke a dark mood--it was simply the standard way of saying "March 15th." The "Ides" actually refers to the 15th day in March, May, July and October and the 13th in the other months.
At any rate, enjoy the day and don't worry!

Irene Will Be Off to Phoenix!

Irene and her husband leave for the Cities tomorrow and will be off to Phoenix on Wednesday. The Cities had quite a snowstorm today so they will, hopefully, miss all of that--except we're sure it'll be a slushy mess. This is a great time to get out of Minnesota and it sounds as if the weather in Phoenix will be great.

We hope that she and Ralph get some dancing in down there since she will have to take a break from dancing in April when she has some foot surgery! Shake a leg, Irene!!

Thought for the Day

We were looking at an article on ice fishing in Minnesota from the February Smithsonian magazine. There was an interesting comment about our long winters and the fact that they are for the heartiest souls: "When you freeze paradise, it's bound to last a little longer!"

Saturday and The Shopper is here

Once again, The Shopper has arrived and it is full of local news. Somehow it makes it seem as if there is more going on here than we realize!

There are two big stories: the school and the hospital.

The front page has colored photos and a congratulatory ad for the completion of the new emergency room and hospital addition. Next Saturday is the Grand Opening and we are all invited to check out the new rooms and to enjoy refreshments (and, don't forget, the chocolate fountain!).

The school referendum is quite controversial because of the increase in taxes. Of course, if the school closes and we have to consolidate with another district, that district will also have to build a new school, so our taxes will go up anyway. Of course, if there is not a school here in town, our taxes will go down a little because the values of our houses will decrease. After all, who will want to move into a town without a school! (Oops! Your intrepid reporter shouldn't show bias!) There is an informational forum on March 15 to deal with questions and concerns.

The local Lion's Club sells "Community Spirit" tickets. There is a big $250 winner this week. We're sure that everyone will try to get the winner to buy a free cup of coffee. Whenever a Walkie Talkie wins something, we share it with the group--first Social Security check means that you buy coffee for everyone, if you win a cash drawing you buy coffee for the group. Sometimes coffee costs more than the winning cash!

There is a "Pasty Sale"--not the kind that strippers might wear, but the kind that the Cornish lumberjacks developed. It's a meat pie and very tasty. The local Catholic women's group will be selling them with the proceeds to go to the Scholarship fund. This is always a great fundraiser. The Youth Basketball group is also selling pasties as a fundraiser! There will be plenty to go around.

There is also a Charity Basketball game between the faculty/students and the local fire department on March 23. The proceeds will go to the Fourth of July kids' races. After the kids' parade on the Fourth, the guys from the volunteer fire department sponsor the races. There are people that come back to town for these celebrations--many of them remember running in these races themselves and make sure that their own kids participate! The school's pep band will provide the music--should be a fun evening as they do a lot of kidding around and goofing off.

The Interchurch Minitries is sponsoring a Benefit Concert on March 19th at 4:00 p.m. This will benefit the local Food Shelf. One of the members of the entertaining group used to teach music here in town. This concert will be at the local Baptist church and it is always very well-attended.

There will be a potluck lunch on March 18th for the summer dart league players. Might be fun to watch!

The local American Cancer Society Relay For Lifewill be on June 23-24 this year. Folks interested in forming a team are encouraged to sign up now. There will also be a Rally on April 25. The WT's have walked in several Relays--not last year, however. We raised the most money for several years--pretty good for a bunch of "experienced" women (not "old"). Last year the Relay raised over $66,000 from our little towns!

Another American Cancer Society event just ended--the annual Daffodil Days. We do like to volunteer and raise money for worthy causes!

A local author will be speaking at the Catholic Women's group on March 14th and we are all invited to attend.

Prom is April 8 and the attendees are encouraged to order flowers and tuxedos soon!

There's a cute ad for the A&W of the Root Bear with a shovel full of snow. That is a sure sign of spring and we can all barely wait. They also have a note on the signboard that they are taking applications.

That's all for this week--see you again next weekend!

Out of the Cold

This is what we woke up to on Wednesday morning.

Mary, Tee and Laurie from the WT's also received their travel packets that day. They, and Sarah (from Curves) , her husband and Laurie's husband will be leaving

this . . .

for this!

They'll be walking on a beach and swimming and snorkeling while we are still trudging through the snow and ice!

This is the resort that they will be enjoying. We are all jealous but hope that they will have a wonderful time and return with many stories to share!

Perhaps Mary will get a chance to explore the waters in a kayak!
They leave on March 15th and will be gone for a week. They picked a great time to get out of the cold and snow. We are in the "adolescence" of winter--that time of year when we hope the snow will soon leave and things will start to green up!

Enjoy it, ladies, and have a great trip!

Shopper Reporter Returns

After a 7-week hiatus, the intrepid reporter of the news from The Shopper is back!

There are snowflakes falling this morning, quite a bit of snow already on the ground, and spring seems far off, but there is a mandatory meeting on March 13 in the school cafeteria for all athletes that hope to participate in any spring sports.

Well--tonight the Academy Awards will be taking place in sunny California. Here in Minnesota, which is the leading producer of popcorn, we will all be watching to see if the movie North Country, will win an Academy Award for Charlize Theron. There is a big party at a nearby casino for folks willing to make the drive! The rest of us will stay home to watch it on television--and make our own popcorn!

St. Urho's Day will be celebrated with a brunch on March 19 at a church in a Finnish community just south of town. St. Urho chased the grasshoppers out of Finland and saved the grape crop. The actual day is March 16--the day before St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated on March 11 at the local Catholic church. That means we can all make it to two different celebrations.

We are quite ecumenical here in Northeastern Minnesota. During Lent, the Lutherans and Methodists will be getting together for interdenominational midweek Lenten services. The services are at 7:00 p.m. with a soup supper preceding them (except that on Good Friday there will be a soup lunch at noon). Various members of the community and churches will portray different persons from the Easter story. Our own Laurie will portray Rachel, a maid in service to the high priest, on March 29. We will either attend or get a full report the next day from those who will be there.

The local hospital has just completed an addition to the hospital part of the facility and the Emergency Room. The Grand Opening will be on March 18 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. They will serve refreshments which will include a chocolate fountain from a business called Fountains of Passion. Since there are no deliveries of babies in our hospital, this passionate fountain might not be the right thing to have at this time with so many of us suffering from "cabin fever!"

The Basketball Tourney starts here on March 6--it is our way of celebrating March Madness on a local basis for the girls and boys in grades 3-6 with 26 teams scheduled to play. The tournament lasts until March 17 and it is quite a big thing in our communities. The folks of the local Hoop Club do a great job with the youngsters.

Must be getting close to tax time--there are several ads for tax-prep services!
There are also several ads for tanning booths--a time when many are getting ready to take a spring trip to a warmer climate and want to get a headstart on their tans and for the high school girls getting ready for Prom!


The local school is trying to pass a bond referendum. The biggest issue is the impact it will have on everyone's taxes. The election will be on April 4 and many of us are wearing buttons urging folks to vote "Yes" on it. Several in our group have taken an even more expansive role in getting people out to vote on the issue. We don't talk about it at coffee because there are probably some in our group who are opposed to it and we steer clear of those topics.

The local movie theatre will be closed from March 11-18. The owners probably need a vacation but what are we going to do without the entertainment??!!

Spring is coming! The local A&W Drive-In will be opening soon. That is a sure sign of spring! There is hope.

Until next week . . .

Quilters Together

Colorful fabric brought the Lutheran and Catholic quilters together in the Lutheran Church basement this snowy morning. The Catholic quilters inherited boxes of fabric and couldn't use all of it. They generously passed some on to the Lutherans. In gratitude, the Lutherans invited them to view the quilts that are made and to enjoy coffee together. Hot coffee went well with cheese, crackers, lefse, Finnish biscuit, kumkaker, pizzelles and other goodies. The guests thought that the Lutherans have wonderful coffee breaks. Kelly, the Lutheran church secretary, brought her four month old nephew who flirted with all the grandmas, smiling and cooing, charming everyone. Pastor Bob told some jokes and all shared stories of how times have changed so that we can enjoy fellowship together, helping each other. The fellowship was warm, knowing that the quilts that each group sews, with loving stitches, go to people in need around the area and the world.

Las Vegas Implosion by Jodie

I have always wanted to view an implosion of a casino in Las Vegas. The Cast Aways was imploded just before we arrived. We saw a sign that Flamingo Road would be closed from midnight to 4:00 a.m. on February 14 and then heard a VERY brief mention on television that the Bourbon Street Casino was going to be imploded. That is very near where we are staying right now and our corridor looks over it, so I got very excited that I might finally see one and have a bird's eye view at that! The only problem was that no one else had heard it and no one seemed to be talking about it. Finally, after waiting for several days and not getting an answer from anyone that I had asked, I finally emailed the weatherman, the weekend anchor, and the traffic reporter at that television station. I figured I would hear from one of them. I was shocked to hear from all of them. The actual time of the implosion was secret and was not to be announced, but each of the television folks told me that it would happen around 2:00 a.m. Harrah's now owns the property and they did not want crowds of people because there was really no safe viewing area (The site is one block off the Strip). They did announce approximate times on the 11:00 p.m. news on the 13th--preventing people from getting down to see it at the last minute.

We all (the two of us and our friends from Washington) set our alarms for 1:30 a.m. and put a chair and the camera (of course) in the corridor on the opposite side of our condo to watch it. It was an unbelievable experience and we're glad we had a chance to see it. Our view was spectacular.

Photos: The first three are of Bourbon Street during the day of the 13th. The next one is the daytime view from the corridor beyond our condo. Following that is a photo of the site just before the implosion--testing the camera. Then--"There she goes!" followed by the rubble when daylight came.

Losing A Good Friend

We have lost a very good friend--Sue passed away on Sunday, February 5. She had retired in June from teaching (over 30 years as an elementary teacher) and was subbing for a couple of months when she fell and broke her ankle. She died unexpectedly on Sunday. Although Sue and Ed had no children of their own, they both have many children--nieces and nephews, students from school and athletes from sports and recreation programs. We will miss her very much.

News and Notes

Just some notes about some of the WT's:

Sue--our retired, out-of-retirement, back-to-retirement--teacher is house bound until February 27th. She took a long-term subbing job in the first grade class and fell and broke her ankle. She goes back to the doctor on the 27th, so we hope she'll be back with us soon. We have been to visit her and she is in good spirits.

Laurie and Emily are taking a knitting class with about a dozen other women taught by the owner of our local Curves and by one of the local teachers.

Emily is reading in two first grade classes and also is involved in the reading program in a second grade class.

Our "snowbirds" are gone--Jodie in Las Vegas and Pat in Hawaii. The weather is very balmy here so they are not missing any cold weather this year. Jodie thinks that the cold weather will return in March when she gets home.

Mary has been in Florida for her seminars. Check out her website for other places where she will be.

Tee and Joan had a great time at the Elderhostel in Oklahoma and returned with some Will Rogers humorous stories and some Trail of Tears horror stories.

We will update everyone on other members shortly. Stay in touch and Happy Groundhog's day tomorrow!

Happy (Chinese) New Year

Sunday, January 29, marks the start of Year 4704 on the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Dog.

The Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon fifteen days later. The fifteenth day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival.
There is a twelve-year cycle of animals of the Chinese calendar. According to Chinese folklore, each animal is associated with certain personality traits. People born in the Year of the Dog are supposedly loyal, honest and trustworthy but can also be stubborn and selfish.

Happy Chinese New Year from the Walkie Talkies!

Photos are from the Conservatory at the Belaggio Hotel in Las Vegas where one member of our group is vacationing.

Pepsi Challenge Ski Race

The 22nd annual Pepsi Challenge Ski Cup Race was held at our local ski area on January 21. There were 564 ski racers, nearly double the field of the event last year.

Giants Ridge has a world-class reputation for its race trails. The Ridge has held the World Cup, Olympic Trials, national Collegiate finals and the U.S. National Championships. This race is part of the American Ski Marathon Series.

Matt Weier of Marquette, MI, and Sarah Peters of Navan, Ontario, won the 48K Freestyle event. Joshua Tesch of Superior, WI, and Mary Beth Tuttle of Pine Springs, MN, won the 24k Freestyle event. Evan Pengelly of Plymouth, MN, and Margaret Nelson of St. Paul, MN, won the 24K Classic event.

This event draws Nordic ski racers from all over and brings some positive publicity to our area; we are very proud that the race is held nearby.

Geocaching by Jodie

Geocaching--"Where YOU are the search engine"--is a sport that the WT's have come to enjoy. Geocaching ("Geo" for geography and "cache" for hidden stash) makes use of the multi-billion dollar satellite system that the government has in place. Once the Defense Department stopped scrambling these signals beamed to GPS receivers from the military satellites on May 1 of 2000, owners of a handheld GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) receiver could hide "treasures," post the information on the Internet (see our link at the right), and others would flock to find them. Once they found the cache (pronounced "cash"), the finder would write in the logbook, exchange a trinket in the container, and then later log the find on the cache site. There are now caches in over 220 countries in the world and during a typical week tens of thousands of people log in "finds" on the site.

The WT's have taken advantage of this. Jodie has two of the handhelds now and plans outings for the group. In addition to finding caches, we have also hidden some in our area. We have developed Travel Bugs which travel from cache to cache and are logged on the site. In fact, one travel bug which we started in 2004, the year of the Centennial of our town, is now in New York!

One of the most fun aspects of this is that many of us now have our adult offspring and grandchildren interested in the sport. We love to hear them say, "Our grandmother is the one that first got us interested in it!" We love it when we learn something "techie" before they do!

Photos: Jodie with her GPS on a "find" in Arizona. The group near a cache that we hid at a drill site. The group at a mine viewpoint near another cache that we hid.

Quilting with Sharon

Sharon has been quilting since 1998. Here she is with some of the quilts/wallhangings in her home. Through the years we've enjoyed seeing many of her sewn creations: quilts, wallhangings, jackets, ponchos, and more. She's made quilts for her children and grandchildren, and taught one of her granddaughters how to sew and quilt. When she's not quilting, she might be working on scrapbooking.

Thought for the New Year

"Unless we set up some kind of a schedule, we just aren't going to get around to all the things we should be worrying about." Erma Bombeck

Gail Sheehy's New Book

It appears that Gail Sheehy's new book, despite its title, might be something that the WT's would be interested in. Perhaps there are parts of it that used us as examples. She talks about the "seasoned woman." We are definitely that! A seasoned woman is spicy and has been marinated in life experience, according to Sheehy. The WT's are that--we can be alternately sweet, tart, sparkling, mellow--just like complex wine.

In an article in the Sunday magazine section of the paper, she discusses what makes a woman "seasoned." Her answer is "time." Although we only have two Boomers in our group (Mary and Sue--Jodie missed it by 6 months!), we are definitely the passionate, liberated women she mentions--unwilling to settle for the stereotypical roles of middle age! We are definitely part of the Second Adulthood. The Seasoned Woman offers a "what-the-hell-life-is-short" joie de vivre, emotional stability, financial independence, the ability to talk about anything, no ticking biological clock or toddlers underfoot, and a knowledge of what she wants sexually and the appreciation of a good lover. Well, five out of six ain't bad!

The book comes out at the end of this month and I'm sure that someone from our group will get one right away to read and share with everyone! We can barely wait!

Off to Another Elderhostel

Joan and Tee are off to another Elderhostel. This time they head to Poteau, Oklahoma, to discuss Will Rogers and to study contemporary Oklahoma artists and authors, the post-Civil War Frontier and the culture of Native Americans. One of the highlights will be a tour of the Will Rogers Museum. Once again, they will return with many stories to share with those of us who are staying home. We're certain that they will regale us with many Will Rogers' sayings.

Daughters of the American Revolution by Pat

Like many other members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), I joined to please my mother. Membership requires proof of descent from a member of the military or a support group of the Revolutionary War. My plan was to prove that I was her daughter and join on her apron strings. Mother would have none of that. She had proved seven different lines and assigned me to another that she had not been able to prove several years before. It was a good move on her part. As I searched for birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and proof of service, I became fascinated with their social history. I found myself reading about the routes they must have traveled and marveled at thrir courage. It opened a whole new world!

My Chapter of DAR is the Daughters of Liberty Chapter in Duluth. It was organized in 1897 and has been active ever since. Our programs revolve around patriotic, historical and conservational topics. With more people becoming interested in computers and the increased capacity of genealogical research, we have been growing. We have two projects tht we are very proud of. We offer several $200 grants each year to teachers in the Duluth area for special class projects. We also sponsor and serve at a reception for immigrants on the day they become United States citizens. A most rewarding experience--their stories rival my ancestors' stories!

Check out the link for the Liberty Chapter on the right.

Our Sewing Authority Mary is on Television

Our resident author, Mary, appeared on PBS on "Sewing with Nancy." The appearance marked the introduction of Mary's newest collection of apron designs. Mary and host Nance Zieman showed viewers a variety of clever aprons for children, dolls and adults.

"Newfangled Reversible Aprons" is the program topic and the title of Mary's newly released pattern. She presented the steps of easy-to-make aprons in three different reversible styles.

"Sewing with Nancy" has aired on public television for 24 years. In these programs, Nancy specializes in presenting efficient sewing methods that result in professional looking garments and projects. Mary has appeared on the program on numerous occasions and we all try to watch her or tape the program whenever possible. She is our resident celebrity!

Check your local listings for Progam #1920. You can also check out how/where to purchase the apron pattern on the link to the right for Mary's Productions.

Nation's Largest High School Ski Event

The local school hosted a Cross Country Invitational Ski Meet yesterday, the largest high school nordic ski meet in the nation. Out of 58 teams, our local team came in 14th. Several of the local skiers finished in the top 100, including Lorraine's granddaughter.

The weather was perfect--perhaps even a little too warm for these high-energy events--mid 20's, which is still a great deal better than any below zero weather.

Events such as this and just the general business that the ski area brings to our communities make us realize what a gem we have nearby. They help to focus on all that the area offers, including many loyal volunteers who helped to make the event run smoothly.

Another Saturday--Another Shopper

News from the Northland: Well, The Shopper just arrived and it is full once again.

The big news is that the Pepsi Challenge Cup Cross Country Ski Race will be on Saturday, January 21, at Giant's Ridge Ski Area. There will be a Spaghetti Feed in the Pavilion in a neighboring town the night before. There are several different races: a 24K and 48K Classic Race, a 24K and 48K Freestyle race and a 7K Freestyle race. The Awards Banquet will be at 5:00 that evening. This is usually one of the colder weekends of the year with temperatures sometimes below zero and it usually doesn't stop most people. Sometimes the race is postponed until later in the day when it might warm up. They used to truck in snow to our main street and lined the race track with discarded Christmas trees. The racers would ski through town and townsfolk would stand and ring cowbells to cheer them on. Some of us really miss "those good ol' days!"

There are several Snowmobile Safety Training classes coming up, beginning on January 9.

School is back in session (January 3), so the weekly lunch menus are printed. Doesn't look too bad. Don't remember having tacos when we were in school. They still have hamburger gravy on mashed potatoes--some things do not change. You know, that still sounds pretty good! They also have something called a "Grab & Go Bag" Sounds interesting--PB&J sandwich, string cheese, carrots, apple and milk. There are also several athletic events scheduled. In small towns across the country, most of the life centers around what seems to be happening at the school.

The regular newspaper delivery person is having a sub because she is having foot surgery. We appreciate the fact that she gave us a number to call if there are any problems.

Someone had a purse stolen and with it her heart and asthma medicing plus a prescription for her eyedrops. We hope that it will be returned.

The Girl Scouts will be having their cookie sale kick off. Looks as if we have something to look forward to.

Some of the ads: The local floral and gift shop is encouraging high school students to order flowers for their dates for the Snowball Dance which is coming up next Saturday. Sounds like fun.
With the new year, several beauty salon owners are encouraging us to come in to try a new "do" for the new year. That's definitely something to think about! Some of the local "watering holes" are advertising Super Bowl parties already. "King Kong" is playing through Thursday and "Rumor Has It" will start on Friday. That sounds like a field trip.

Until next week . . .

Thought for Today

"Those voices you hear make sense!"

Laurie and the "Friends of the Wirtanen Pioneer Farm"

The serene location of the Wirtanen Farm was thehomestead of the Finnish bachelor, Eli Wirtanen. He filed for a homestad on the land in 1904 and supplemented his farm income by logging during the winters. Eli had chickens and raised a pig; at one time he owned a team of horses but usually kept only one. He sold the hay he raised in his fields. Today this farm stands in proud tribute to the area's early settlers and is maintaines by the Friends of the Wirtanen Pioneer Farm.

The most unique building on the farm is the Finnish style sauna. The firebox is covered with stones without a chimney. The smoke holes were opened after the fire died out to release the smoke. The result was a smoky odor when water was poured over the rocks. A dressing room was provided and a kerosene lamp was used to light both rooms.

The farm is open year round but it is not plowed in the winter. Admission is FREE.


The photos: The Wirtanen Farm, the Walkie Talkies at the Farm (we have hidden a geocache there), and Laurie. Laurie is on the Board of the Friends of the Wirtanen Farm and also serves as the treasurer. She is wearing a Scandinavian outfit in the photo which was taken at one of our Solstice parties.
Check out the link for the Wirtanen Farm on the right.

Thought for today

"Be yourself and you will always be in fashion."

If that's the case, the Walkie Talkies must be VERY fashionable!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and the very best to everyone in 2006 from the Walkie Talkies!