Note: Elwood, This message came from England. I got a message from Brenda telling me she and Dave are currently vactioning in England. Gary

Halvor Johnson Info

From Audrey Hanson Aitchison (Stokes/Morinville Cousin): Bottineau, ND

 

Hi,

I have information that Halvor Johnson was born October 16, 1881 and died December 25, 1993 and buried at Salem. I don’t think he had ever been married. Do you know who his folks were? Thanks!

I am helping my sister, Jean Pladson. She is having an auction sale at the fairgrounds in Bottineau on September 11 and selling everything except what she is keeping when she goes into assisted living in Bismarck. We have worked 5 days on the garage. We just got the garage done today. She has 5 little buildings to go through next and clean out, then the basement and the house.. She will be selling her house and a few acres around the house. She wants to have it for sale by September 1. I have helped her 10 hours a day most days since we started. She doesn’t have the energy to do it alone. We hauled a big pickup load of junk to the dump ground by Bottineau yesterday. Darrel (Bud) Stokes works there and helped us unload it. He was so kind. He even sprayed the end gate so we could open it since it was so hard to open. I’d say that was going beyond the call of duty! He said he worked at Frykman’s Ford Garage for 26 years until it folded in February 1998. He got a job at the dump grounds but they let him finish seeding his crop so he didn’t start until June, 1998. He crushes the folded cardboard and makes bundles out it and takes it to Minot.

Audrey Aitchison

Audrey, I knew Jean had long range plans to do what she is doing. I’ll bet she’ll have a lot of good stuff at that auction too.

 

Yes, my brother Darrel (Bud) runs the city transfer station. As you know, all of Bottineau’s garbage is transported out of town to an area SE of Minot. At the moment I have forgotten the name of the town. The Monson Brothers, I believe are contracted to haul all this garbage. They, I believe are Brothers to Sandy (Rick) Gottbreht. Folks (Sandy) please correct me if I am wrong. I know you are related. Gary

 

Larry, this is a beautiful story with a great punch line. Gary

 

THE CATERPILLAR

 

 

 

I have thought about this story for a long time.In fact, ever since someone submitted a story about the cotton dresses, and aprons those women used to wear back in the day.In them days people did not have much and their closets were not bulging with clothes, as they are now.In fact if you go back and look at them old homes, they did not even have clothes closets.The bedrooms were usually big enough for a bed and that was about it.People had little to wear.Usually one set of clothes for company coming to the house and the same set for going to town, or visiting.Another set or two for doing work around the place.So, usually you were either wearing the clothes or they were in the wash.There was no need for dressers, chests, and closets.Everything was being worn or hanging outside on the clothes line.Some had what they called a wardrobe, (a tall cabinet with hangers and sometimes drawers for storing clothes) in which they stored their best clothes, for Sunday going to meeting or church day, and the one wardrobe contained the clothes for the whole family.People did not have much and what they did have they had to make it last.If tore, it was mended and mended again and again until it just fell apart.Clothes got mighty thin from the wear and tear of being worn and washed often.But as long as it held together and resembled what it was suppose to resemble, it was worn again and again.

I remember Dick writing a story about a young lady who only had one set of clothing.When she was ready to wash them, she had to wear something.So she took a burlap bag (potato sack) and cut holes for her head and arms and slipped it on over her body. People had little and had to make do.I bet she did not have to luffa sponge that evening, at bath time.

This story takes place back in the 1930’s and involves my father.In them days there were no TVs or radios, to entertain anyone.They had to find ways to do this on their own.One of the ways was to have a good old fashion barn dance.Usually someone was having one somewhere in the area on almost every Saturday night.I was told by my dad and by his brothers that my dad would not miss a dance.No, matter if it was 40 below zero with a 50 mile per hour wind, he was going to that dance come hell or high water.In fact that was one of dad’s favorite expressions, “come hell or high water”.Which meant he was going or doing, no matter what the consequences, if he couldn’t drive it, he was taking the horse, if the horse didn’t want to go, then he was walking?Hell, we know that horse was going wither he wanted to or not, even if he had to carry the horse, dad was more stubborn then any horse, and he knew after the dance that horse wouldn’t mind carrying him home.Horses always hated going places, but, when you got ready to head home, and after you got on the horse, and turned their nose toward home, and then you better hang on, because that horse was headed for the barn.You did not want to point the horse for home before you got on, or the horse might be headed for home and you still standing there.

No, Dad would not miss a chance of going to a dance and dancing.At this particular barn dance, dad was dancing with this pretty young lady, and as he swung her this way and that way to the lively tune being played, his eye kept going to the dark spot on the front of her well worn faded dress.It looked like someone had cleaned a wad of dark colored hair from a hair brush and somehow she had come in contact with it, and it had clung to the front of her dress.Now dad didn’t want to embarrass the young woman.After all, he liked her and liked dancing with her.So he thought that when the dance was over, rather than tell her about it, that he would accidently bump into her, grab that wad of hair that looked like a dark colored caterpillar crawling across the front of her dress, just a short distance below her waist, and throw it on the floor.The problem would be solved and no one would be the wiser. In his mind he had the problem solved. The dance ended.Dad made his move, bumping into the young lady, saying excuse me, grabbing the caterpillar.There was this loud scream.There was this loud pop.His cheek was burning.He had done an about face without intending to do an about face.He didn’t even remember moving his feet, but he knew he was facing the wrong direction.The young lady had slapped him.He turned back to apologize to the young lady.Why, she was nowhere in sight.She was gone?The guys around him were all laughing.The women had all turned away from him and holding their handkerchiefs up to their faces. They all carried handkerchiefs in them days.Their shoulders were bouncing like they were trying to contain themselves, but they were all laughing.Dad was beside himself, he had tried to do the right thing.He remembered grabbing that caterpillar, the caterpillar did not move.It was stuck fast to her.He thought!Apparently that was no caterpillar crawling across the front of her dress.That caterpillar was attached to her.That dress was so thin that her pubes had apparently found their way through the material.

I wandered if I should submit this story or not to you, Gary, for this blog.I kept thinking that it might hurt someone’s feelings.Then I thought that we are all grownups on this here blog, and we all have been around the block a few times.We have all been in embarrassing situations before.It’s the way we handle them that makes us what we are.Whatever that is?People just always say that.

Why not enjoy the story.Dad was a perfect gentleman.He never did reveal the young ladies name.I don’t think he ever danced with her again.I don’t remember ever asking him that question.I guess that’s purity much understood.Although I remember dad did tell this story on more than one occasion.Maybe he was just trying to make the point that people back in them days did not have closets full of clothes, and accessories to choose from, and that they had to make do with what they had.I bet that’s what he was trying to tell us?

Remember to try and laugh, because if you are laughing the rest of the world is laughing.

Larry