Thanks, Lucy!! (first in, first published)

Not being a creative writer or great philosopher, don't have 'great expectations' regarding my ramblings. This is Memorial Day and I have been thinking back to when I first moved to Ogema - 1945, almost 61 years ago. Most of the people living on hwy 13 between Ogema and Prentice are gone. The Nelsons, from Warren Carlson's old place, Jim and Dorothy, Jim Bruner's parents, Milton Larsons, Elmer Larson, Laurie Nelson and Myrl, Walter, Herb, Bernice, Oscar Nelsons, etc. But then, on the up side those places are filled with all the wonderful youngster from those families.

On Saturday, Bryn and I drove to Chetek to put plants on my parents grave, Frank and Melva. We visited a cousin of mine in the nursing home there. She is in her late 80's and I don't know if she really remembered me or not. She had never married and lived with her mother east of Chetek. She spent many years growing gladiolas for cut flowers and also sold bulbs in the fall. She kept a huge plot of flowers growing even when she could barely walk up and down the rows. She has no relatives in this north country except me. Her grandmother was a sister to my grandfather, Elwood Hampton.

Thinking back I can't imagine the work involved in building this old house in about 1908. There was no electricity here and they put so much work into the woorwork and floors, and groups of windows. Herb's father, Emil and his brother Victor built the house. They had come over here from Sweden and left the rest of their family there. I think they made two trips back in all the years. But probably the countryside reminded them of Sweden because on one of his trips, Tim had been in Finland and said the country seemed a lot like the trees, etc around Tomahawk.


Hope this is not too morbid, but life is that as well as gay, oops, I mean happy and lovely. I am really upset that one of my favorite words in the English language (gay) has been used for anything other than "showing exuberance or happy excitement: merry----but, I suppose a gay person is all of the above also!!!!!

I think I will stop all this meandering and hope to see a lot of interesting essays on the anniversary blog.

Lucy