Pretty normal stuff

"May 6, 2002:  A dull day.  Played cards in Party Room in evening.  Dolores came after that and we played Rummikub.
May 7, 2002:  Mary took me for my hairdo.  Talked to Greta after supper.  Asked her to bring some quarters -- need them in the laundry room.
May 8, 2002:  Book Club in evening.  Dolores left yesterday for a week's visit in Kansas.

It is Friday after a long week trying to get back to normal after all the excitement of preparing for and having Anna's party and worrying about the weather cooperating.  So . . . I am short on inspiration at the moment.

I am hoping the weather cooperates so that Mom and I (when she isn't busy being busy) can plant some garden.  With the crazy spring we are having, it will be a late harvest.  I do not know if we will get nice big plants like Grandpa got when he tended his garden.  Nor giant cabbages.

End of an era for me

"May 3, 2002:  Spent the whole day at Randolph School.  Mary took me.  They had Elder Day and Parade of Books.  A wonderful day.
May 4, 2002:  Called Jean today for her birthday. Played lazy -- yesterday was a "big" day.
May 5, 2002:  Nancy brought fried chicken for dinner.  I showered while she ironed three dresses for me.  Then we played Rummikub."

How ironic that Grandma would mention Randolph School.  As of today, I no longer have a child in the Lincoln Public School system.  Anna finished her last final this morning.  I do not know about her, but I am feeling a bit weird about the situation.  I guess now I can recycle my flyer about how to contact the attendance office that I wrote the kids' student identification numbers on.  Like I said, weird.

I do not know if they still do the Parade of Books at Randolph Elementary.  I thought it was fun.  The kids carried a favorite book along a somewhat short neighborhood/school route and we 'elders' were along the route and clapped and oooed and ahhhhed like a real parade.  The kids were encouraged to dress up like a character or in some way illustrate the book.  Unfortunately, most kids did not -- either their parents were not supportive of the project, or more likely, the kids forgot to tell them until too late.  I know I was good at that, as were my children.  And not just with book parades.

Here's a photo of Dale (Master's Degree) and me (B.S. degree) at our co-graduation.  It is somewhat related to today's post.  Kinda.

Chinese food

"April 30, 2002:  Mary took me for my shampoo and set.  In evening she took me to the music program at school.  Mitch played in the 5th grade orchestra.  It was really nice.
May 1, 2002:  A lazy day.  Went to Book Club in the evening.
May 2, 2002:  Myrtle called in a.m.  Tom came in evening.  I had him get "Chinese" but they omitted the cashews on our order!!  Tom put up kitchen plaques and did the laundry.  I showered and then we played Rummikub."

I am sure the concert was nice.  Even though some of those kids were first-year players, Mr. Lu knew how to get great music from kids, inexperienced or no.  His bedside manner was a bit coarse, but he knew his stuff.  Probably still does.

I like how Chinese is in quotes.  Funny!  And the two exclamation points are Grandma's.  She must have been shocked or put out or distressed or entertained.

No particular reason, but here is a photo of me at Nancy's place (I am pretty sure) with Pepper.

Lawrence Welk

"April 27, 2002:  Rained last night and this morning.  No kids here so I watched Lawrence Welk and Guy Lombardo shows.
April 28, 2002:  Talked to Greta in morning.  Nancy came in p.m. and brought our dinner from Boston Market.  I showered and then we played Rummikub.
April 29, 2002:  Played lazy all day.  Cards tonight in Party Room.  Dolores came after the games and we played Scrabble."

The one person I immediately associate with Lawrence Welk is Grandma Anna.  I may be wrong, but as a kid I remembered she was a big, big fan.  She had her other favorite shows, Perry Mason stands out, but I am pretty sure Lawrence Welk was right up there.

Here is some information about him that I found interesting:

     Welk was born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota. He was sixth of the eight children of Ludwig and Christiana (Schwahn) Welk, ethnic Germans who emigrated to America in 1892 from Selz, Kutschurgan District, in the German-speaking area north of Odessa (now Odessa, Ukraine, but then in southwestern Russia).

     The family lived on a homestead that today is a tourist attraction. They spent the cold North Dakota winter of their first year under an upturned wagon covered in sod. Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-order accordion for $400 (equivalent to $4,584 as of 2013). He promised his father that he would work on the farm until he was 21, in repayment for the accordion. Any money he made elsewhere during that time, doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family.

     A common misconception is that Welk did not learn English until he was 21. In fact, he began learning English as soon as he started school. The part of North Dakota where he lived had been settled largely by Germans from Russia; even his teachers spoke English as a second language. Welk thus acquired his trademark accent, typical of these Plattdeutsch or Low-German-speaking immigrants who usually spoke the language at home long after they began to learn English at school. He took elocution lessons in the 1950s and could speak almost accent-free, but he realized his public expected to hear him say: "A-one, an-a-two" and "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!" When he was asked about his ancestry, he would always reply "Alsace-Lorraine, Germany," from where his forebears had emigrated to Russia (and which, at the time of Welk's birth in 1903, had become part of the German Empire).  [from Wikipedia]

Later in the same article it said he did fulfill the promise to his father.  And also, even though he was said to be tight with money, he paid his band top scale and that long tenure for his musicians was common.  He was with the times, too -- his license plate read A1ANA2.  In the photo, he is posing with Norma Zimmer.

Plates on the wall

"April 24, 2002:  Rained and hailed a little this afternoon.  Went to Book Club in evening.
April 25, 2002:  Baked sticky rolls.  Nancy here for supper.  Tom here and they put up my Danish Christmas plates.  I showered and then Nancy and I played two games of Rummikub.  Talked to Myrtle in a.m.
April 26, 2002:  Cold, cloudy and windy.  Mitch and Anna here in evening.  We played "Sorry".

Oh, look -- devilled eggs!  Oh, and also Christmas plates on the wall.

River Dance and other stuff

"April 21, 2002:  Tom, Merilyn, Nancy and I went to a restaurant for brunch.  Then to Lied Center to see the River Dance -- a really wonderful program.  Afterward we stopped at Runza and took our lunch back here to eat.  Had a wonderful day.
April 22, 2002:  Called Raymond for his birthday which was last Saturday.  Played SevenUp in the party room tonight.
April 23, 2002:  Mary took me for my shampoo.  Had a new girl -- liked her just fine.  Played Scrabble here tonight with Dolores."

It is funny, but sometimes when I am reading Grandma's words I can distinctly hear her saying some of the phrases.  Other times, not so much.  But with this one, I can definitely hear "liked her just fine." 

I bet they did have a good time watching River Dance.  Me, I get exhausted after watching about two minutes' worth.

I see I have had a lapse in blogging longer than any other lapse so far.  Tsk tsk and shame on me.  I will endeavor to do better.

This very short excerpt from the Winside history book is rather fascinating, I think.  Here are the population numbers from 1890 through 1940:

1890 = 130
1900 = 400
1910 = 450
1920 = 488
1930 = 483
1940 = 451

and from a quick internet search, 2010 = 427.

The green "Winside, pop." sign I remember most growing up said 420.  So, it has had some variances, but has been in the 400's apparently for over 110 years.  My question is, so why do we (I still say "we") not have a  dentist and a hotel like we did in 1940 if the population is relatively the same -- 1940 being the most recent year for which I have history information?  I suppose with automobiles being faster and more efficient, a hotel probably wouldn't make it.  But people still have teeth that need fixing.  The other businesses from 1940 that are no longer in Winside and which are self-explanatory include:  blacksmith, cream station, and harness shop.  The times, they are always a-changin'.

The photo is of two Winside businessmen, William and James Andersen who owned the garage for a time.

Dandelion disappointment

"April 18, 2002:  Talked to Myrtle -- they had strong winds, some hail and rain Tuesday night.  We had some rain and a little hail.  Tom here for supper -- did the washing and we played Rummikub.  Maintenance men here today working on the radiators.  They started yesterday when I was gone.
April 19, 2002:  The men left the davenport in the middle of the  floor yesterday.  They came back today and moved it back.  They said they would be back Monday to finish the job.  Seemed to be a small leak and the carpet was damp.  Mitch and Anna came tonight and we played Yahtzee.
April 20, 2002:  Rained most of the afternoon.  Nancy brought a chicken rice casserole for supper.  I showered and then we played Rummikub." 

I have nothing to say to expand and what Grandma wrote this time, but I was reminded of a completely different Grandma story by a different avenue.

This story is from when we lived in the little house in Winside (not the little red house, but the one before the last house -- I know that makes sense to some of you).  There were lots of dandelions in the yard and so Mom told Dale and I she would pay us one cent for each one we pulled.  We set to work and it is nice when there are two working instead of one, especially when you are a kid.  Well, apparently we were very productive and we counted up our "crop" and reported to Grandma our big windfall once Mom came home to pay us.  Grandma said that we should accept a half a cent for each dandelion.  I remember being more than a bit crestfallen.  But, we did not defy Grandma and so I guess we offered our reduced pay proposition to Mom.  The funny thing is, I do not recall presenting the offer nor do I remember if Mom paid us the original price, or the reduced price.  My memory is only have being told by Grandma to do something, and obeying.  I think I was born knowing not to question Grandma on anything of that nature but loved her bunches anyway.

Here's Dale and I in our pre-dandelion days.

Dental fun

"April 15, 2002:  Played lazy today.  Went to party room to play Seven Up.  Dolores came afterward to play Scrabble.
April 16, 2002:  Cancelled my hair appointment since I'm going to Wahoo.
April 17, 2002:  Bill came at 7:00 and we went to the Dental Clinic at the University.  My appointment was at 8:00 and Bill's at 10:00.  Had my mouth open a lot -- took x-rays.  Tentative plans are to have five teeth pulled and have a partial lower plate.  They advised that I get a new upper plate -- will be able to get a better fit with the new lower plate.  Drove to Wahoo and ate at The Wigwam -- good food.  Then to the house -- Jenny gave me a permanent.  Had supper there -- Jayson and family were there, too.  Bill brought be back to Lincoln.  The clinic will contact Bill for my appointments and he will take me there."

Grandma had quite the busy day there.  You would think the entry about playing lazy would have been after that, but I peeked ahead and she had a normal day on the 18th.  Good for her.

I am pretty sure The Wigwam is gone and I do not believe I ever made it there.

I took a small break from Winside's history, but I found a entry that Mom will like.

One of the most able and most successful young business men of the town is E. T. Warnemunde, cashier of the Winside State Bank.  An honor student in Winside High School from which he graduated in 1923, his ability was recognized even in those early days and he was given a position as bookkeeper in the Merchants State Bank.  In those days a job in a bank offered much better opportunities for advancement and Mr. Warnemunde naturally was proud of the assignment and looked forward to bigger things, but the depression came along and like many other good banks, the Merchants State Bank, was forced to close its doors in December, 1931, and that was the end of the dream of another aspiring young man.  At least for the time being.

But Mr. Warnemunde was not idle long and for the next year and a half he found himself working for W. R. Scribner, bank receiver, who had two local banks to look after.  In 1933 and '34 he engaged in the insurance business and then helped organize a co-operative credit bank, receiving the appointment of secretary-treasurer of the new institution.  He was in charge of this bank until January 4, 1936, when it was dissolved and the Winside State Bank organized in its place.  Mr. Warnemunde probably was more responsible than any other one person for the organizing of this bank and he was rewarded for his efforts by being made cashier and placed in charge of the new institution.  Under his able direction, the bank has made fine progress and has grown substantially.

Mr. Warnemunde was born on a farm new Winside on June 16, 1904.  Since that time Winside is the only town he has ever lived in and he is truly devoted to its best interest.  He is a member of the school board, has served as village clerk for 10 years and as secretary-treasurer of the Wayne County Old Settlers Association for several years.

He was married to Irene Render on January 7, 1926.  There are two children:  Bradley 9 and David 3.

The photo isn't of the farm where E. T. was born but it is a farm near Winside nonetheless.  And lots of us have fond memories of that particular place.  By golly, I don't remember a swing set though.