Folks, It’s currently 12:30 AM at our house here in the PI. With tomorrow being Bernadette Brothers funeral at noon, I am getting as much of this news letter put together as I can tonight before going to bed. At the moment things are very active at our house. There are many folks visiting and playing cards at this very moment. Bernadette has been serving goodies all night.

It reminds me of an old fashion Christmas program at the Ackworth school sitting here at my desk seeing 200 paper bags, sitting on the floor, filled with goodies that will be pasted out tomorrow at the grave site. Bernadette has hired 2 large vans and 4 jeepneys to transport family from the church to the Cemetery located about 5 miles from the church. She has also hired a motorcycle escort (police) service that will escort us to the cemetery. They will stop all traffic and hurriedly lead us to the cemetery. We will be taking our car too. Following the burial, The escort service will lead us all back to our house for a dinner that Bernadette is having prepared. We went out and purchased all the ingredients for the dinner this afternoon. She has hired a lady that will be assisted by several others to prepare the meal. They are in the outside kitchen chopping up vegetables and cutting up meat at this very moment.

For these folks the loss of a loved one is not totally realized until they go in the ground. That is the hardest part of all funerals here. Gary

Pictures provided by Paula Fassett (71): North Branch, MN

Note: Elaine Haakenson is a relative of mine. Her mother and my dad are first cousins. I will include her with today’s message. Neola, Does this look like Elaine to you? Elaine, is this you in this picture. in this picture, Jeanette Hahn Moe sure looks like her sister Arlene Knutson. Their brother Gordon Hahn was married to my first cousin, Alice Petterson. They are both deceased. Gary

Lutheran Ladies Circle at Jeanette Moe’s house:
Back: Elaine Haakenson (?? – I remember the name), Luella Dion,
Clarice Aus (her husband was a teacher??), Murl Hill

Front: Bernice Johnson, Arla Hiatt, Burnell Moren (wife of the pastor?), Jeanette Moe, Irene Fassett.

Card players in Darrel & Dorothy Fassett’s kitchen – Omeemee (probably spelled wrong), ND – 1954

Crystal Fassett (70) reading to Hans Johnson – Christmas 1954
(that’s Paula Fassett’s (71) head down in the lower right)

I’m a Car-Guy-Wannabe, so had to include this because I remember this Jeep and loving it as a little kid – Bob Hosmer’s Jeep – taken in 1955, so what would be the year of the Jeep??? Taken at Thomas Lake, Manitoba. See the whitecaps on the lake – must have been fun camping…..