Judy LaCroix McGuire (’59) passed away: DHS Class of 59 Valedictorian
Caring Bridge Journal entry by Janel Kess — Aug 12, 2018
Judy is with Jesus! She left this earth at 10:38pm on August 11, 2018. We will sure miss her! Details regarding a celebration of Judy’s life will be shared once things are finalized.
The Visitation and Celebration of Judy’s Life will both be held at Cornerstone Church in Litchfield, MN. Visitation will be 5 – 7pm Friday, August 17 Celebration of Judy’s life will be 2pm on Saturday, August 18 We’d love to celebrate and remember with all of you! Cornerstone Church 205 County Road 34 Litchfield, MN 55355
Gary’s comments.
How well I remember Judy when the Ernest LaCroix family lived on the Johnny Hiatt farm north of us. I was only 5 when they moved from there, but I remember them well. Our families were together a lot. While living there both Judy and Donna attended Summer school at the Ackworth country school. Judy has commented on the blog several times about her experience live there and attending Ackworth. In 2013 I saw Judy at Stubby Fauske’s 90th birthday celebration. It had been probably 55 or more years since I had seen her too. At the age of 16 Judy was the Valedictorian of the DHS class of 1959. She got a good start in Ackworth. I believe Charlotte Lang was the teacher.
We extend our condolences to all of Judy’s family. She will be missed.
Joe Peloe
Question from Ron Peltier (70): Dunseith, ND
Hi Gary, I was wondering if you or anyone who reads your blog remembers a “Joe Peloe”? He used to own a building just north of Dunseith where he did some trucking out of. Was he married? his wife’s name? did he have children? and if so, where would his children be today? Any information would be appreciated.
Reply to Bill Hosmer and Don Conroy postings
From Sharron Gottbreht Shen (’59): Watertown, NJ
Thank you Gary! Seeing Bill Hosmer among TAF pilots made my day. I may have been a protestor back in the day but can feel only pride in recognition of their service. This of course includes my dear brother Ernest J Gottbreht USN.
Don Conroy sent a flawless account of the “springs” property in Gilbert Twp. I would dearly love to have that article to include with a report on Gottbrecht history in Rolette County. John Sebastian Gottbrecht wanted to enhance the waterfall at that site, place turbines, and give electricity to Dunseith in 1910. His children had John declared incompetent and locked up in an old soldier’s! He was a dreamer and doer; the father of William Gottbreht.
Thank you for your faithful service! Sharron Gottbreht Shen
Reply to computer issues and lost email addresses
From Cheryl Larson Dakin (’71): Bedford, TX
Hi Gary
What a pain in the neck when we have computer issues. Is there anything any of us can do to help recreate your email list? Let us know…
Cheryl Larson Dakin
Gary’s reply
Actually I have back-up files from 2014 from when I upgraded my computer. I will merge those files with the email addresses I was able to capture from recent postings and delete the dupes. It just takes time is all. For now I will just continue to copy and paste the email addresses I have without names for these postings.
Ramblings of Summer memories, circa ’61
From Vickie Metcalfe (’70 Bottineau, ND
Wholly Cow Gary, that’s so many names to copy and paste!
Thank you.
Friends of Dunseith,
It’s to be another hot day here, in the Turtle Mountain HEARTlands !
I went out early, watering the Carlson Apple Tree again today.
Yesterday, I touched the drying August leaves while watering flowers.
I feared they would soon be brittle, quickly put the water on slow tickle to the apple trees for hours.
(Don A. Carroll’s nephew told me to plant something in my yard. in memory of Carroll, the Harlson apple a.k.a Carlson tree)
Years ago back at the farm, water was not wasted it was saved.
Dishwater, laundry water, cream separator discs water, and soapy dishwater.
Every meal was followed by constant chores for us dishwashers. One chore was to carry out dishwater mom’s flowers.
There was something about dishwater which made the colorful sweet peas flourish smelling delightful.
In her first small gardens, mom emptied rain barrels then pumped well water into buckets and carried up hill to her garden.
In the spring of 1961, Dad contracted Duane Sorbin from Bottineau to dig in lines for running water and sewer to the house.
Water was piped uphill N. into the house. Also, Duane dug a waterline from the old Seim East-well to Mom’s new acre garden.
That summer, I recall getting to know Dad’s friend, Walter DuBois.
The DuBois’ were long time friend’s of the Metcalfe family on Rabbit City Lake.
Walter came everyday for weeks.
Down deep, many feet into the earth next to the main well each day Walter crawled twenty feet down a ladder into earths cool depth.
Laying concrete blocks was hard manual work first completing digging by hand, mixing mud, carrying block and mortar down, climb back up over and over.
When that was complete, Walter built, the covered shingled well house, which he painted.
Electricity began to power the pump which pushed fresh cool spring water to the house.
( prior to that, my folks used lots of muscle power & elbow grease pumping by hand and carrying)
On a farm, dinner and supper was always, potatoes, meat, vegetable, dessert.
There would also be coffee breaks. People, like Duane and Walter who came daily or helped, sat down at the table and ate with our family.
We kids learned alot about how to converse. We learned mutual respect, and how to listen.
recognize friendly teasing and enjoy laughing. We girls washed the dishes, pots and pans.
And continued using the water for outdoor plants.
Walter hailed us of his 3 children who were mostly grown. He spoke proudly of Loren, Cookie, and Dennis.
One supper meal he said to my younger sister,”Would you like a kitten?
He told us, “The mother cat a few weeks ago had a new litter. The cat belongs to, ‘Cookie.’ ”
One morning, Walter came earlier for morning coffee visit with dad while we ate pancakes.
With little claws stuck to close into his shirt, under his chin, Walter held a petite, gray, tiger striped kitten.
He told us, “She is a little girl.” He gently stroked her. She had a little pink tongue, paws were white as was her underbelly,
chin and white on the tip of her tail. Finally,Walter handed her to a delighted fair haired 5 year old, who immediately christened, “Twinkle Toes.”
Because of a gift of a wee grey cat, with cossolal personality……… Walter never forgotten by any of us.
Twinkle Toes lived a long life on the farm. She lived in the warmth of sweet smelling hay mow,
and drank milk twice a day. Before a milk machine was put on any cow, Twinkles would meow talk and we’d respond in kind with warm stream from teats which she caught on her pink tongue.
Twinkles supplimented her milk diet by hunting mice, gophers, and rabbits.
In years there after, whenever she was due with babies she would find follow and meow talk to my mom .
There is something about mothers isn’t there? It is a knowing gentile wisdom of understanding.
The need to keep their babies safe.
Mom would respond by calling and talking to Twinkles, while carrying a plank to the opening in to the basement coal / wood shute slanting incline down.
Mom would fill a box with old rags. Twinkles then would be content that her babies would be born in safety, warm and protected.
After a time, Twinkles would carry one by one down the hill to the haymow in the red barn south of the house. She would usually start under the cover of darkness.
And take them into hiding up somewhere in the haymow.
For days thereafter, at milking time, Cyndy would venture into the haymow, listen for mewing and finally locate kittens in Twinkles concealed ‘lair.’
Time for weaning, Twinkles would start by bringing her kittens a whole (deceased) mouse.
After a time, she would revert to a live .. crippled mouse.
a few days later, she’d bring an energetic frightened mouse in her mouth unhurt. Twinkles would set it free among the kittens.
They slewed a mouse.Her next step? she’d take them on the hunt.
Her kittens all were mousers.
There was a Washington cousin, a.k.a City- girl who was the bane of Twinkle Toes……..
When ever, Twinkles arrived with a mouse, City- girl cousin promptly take it away from her.
City -girl, then would get a shoe box, then arrange a funeral procession for the mouse.
Poor puzzled Twinkles tolerated the stranger behavior.
The farmer- girls politely allowed misguided City-girl’s behaviours about mousers refraining the need to say,
We ‘re country and we don’t buy cat food.
Twinkles lived out 9 lives for many, many years on the farm and was well loved by all.
in old age, Mom found her a warm shelter and fed her raw eggs daily.
Summer of ’61, Mom finally got her wish for a ( Huge) new garden complete with a water hydrant!
Our growing daily chores included, hoeing, pulling weeds, shelling peas, snapping beans, and turning on the water.
While in the garden, mom could often be heard humming song ….usually off key.
I hear her voice clearly in my memory “And the joy we share while we tarry there’……
In the midst of the weeding, beans, peas and carrots were snacked on.
Pull a carrot wipe the dirt off on the jeans and devour. Carrots often taste fresh best with a bit of grit.
After mid-summer, in the cool of the morn mom
gathered the fruits of her labors and began to can….can… can…pickles, beets, beans, placed the jars in root cellar storage.
and, watered her garden.
Finally the garden when at it’s peak height of production. Mom shared.
There were no Farmers markets. ……. Friends neighbors, People shared.
Long time Metcalfe friends of Rabbit city lake’,
Ward and Annie lived miles to the south. They didn’t garden big any more.
Annie and Ward would stop in on warm afternoons after trips to intp Dunseith.
We girls, always knew by smell whenever Anthony’s had been at our house.
The pugent aroma that only could come from Ward and Annie pemeated the house.
“O’wweee. ”
Annie had come to “broad hint” to Mom .
“I hear you have a wonderful garden this year……”
Mom fetched vegetables for Annie and Ward and off they went.
I decided, when I was 10 they were smelly but they knew KINDNESS.
Ward, didn’t tease when I put 4 teaspoons of salt into by first cake from scratch, (it was rhubarb and I 3rd grad going into 4th.
He answered, ‘Yes Please, I’ll have another piece’.
And, Annie? Annie awed me, ”
She dressed like a Hepburn. She wore belted trousers with a shirt neatly tucked into her trim waistline.
Her clothes were not stained. Rich chestnut brown hair in a neat braid wrapped around the crown of her head.
And she’d tell delightful stories of my Grandparents Metcalfe, saying respectfully, “Your grand pa Billy or Your grandmother Rose.”
Yes, my parents were aware, they had the smell.
Dad would say to them “Take a bath”. But he didn’t harp. He’d tell them once. then let it go.
We all knew and felt our Dad tolerance for them. He invited them for the Easter dinner every spring. And every time, we recalcitrant daughters complained,
My parents always welcomed them into their home.
Dad never waivered. His word was final. He let me know I was heard, nod, and never giving into his girls’ ‘snooty’ behavior and invited them and expected to be courteous.
I believe, that was the way with my dad and the people of Rabbit City Lake.
I learned at dad’s hand, unconditional acceptance and understand their are different perceptions. Do the best to treat people humanly with dignity.
Mom’s Garden song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn4dIPkBepk
Until later,
Vickie Leona Metcalfe 8-13-18