Happy Birthday Brenda Hoffman (68):
Today, March 3rd is your birthday. Man, has a whole year gone by already? These years are clicking by like weeks. Anyway, “Happy Birthday Brenda” and we wish you many more to come.
Condolence to the Frank (Lum) Azure family
From Alan Poitra (76): Bloomington, MN
Hi Gary, I want to extend my condolences to the ‘Lum’ Azure Family. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Later,
Mr. Poitra
Condolence to the Frank (Lum) Azure family
From Sharon Longie Dana (73): MIssoula MT
My condolences to the Frank Azure Family, went to school with their children and knew a lot of them before I left Dunseith. My cousin Gladys is married to Sylvester and of course Leslie was in my class and Lester the class before us.
Sharon Longie Dana (73)
Posted on our Website
Message from Brandi Stirker
From: Brandi Striker
E-mail:
Message:
I came across my husbands name and a picture of him on your site and the people on the blog were wondering if anyone knew more about him. I think these folks may be relatives as they mentioned a family reunion I know my husbands mother and sister went too. I could not find a place to add a comment to let them know who I was or that I knew who the little boy in the picture was. Anyway, do you think you can help me?
Brandi Striker
Brandi, Is your husband Dustin Striker? I’m not quite sure what picture you are referring too. I know that Dick Johnson questioned whether or not the little boy on the horse with John Awalt Sr. was Dustin. It was later determined that this little boy was a grandson of the Awalt’s.
Brandi, Thank you so much for this posting. We love hearing from everyone. Please share any info, pictures, stories, etc that you have. In what part of the country are you living now?
Gary
PS – Posting comments on our Website as you have done works just fine. They all come to me and I distribute/post accordingly.
Baking Story – Dick’s daughter Jennifer
Memories from Dick Johnson (68): Dunseith, ND
Gary and Friends,
I have to tell a cute one on my daughter. Vickie’s story of the salty cake brought it to mind. First, my daughter Jennifer is as close to a perfectionist as anyone I know. She was always good in school and didn’t like to make any mistakes in anything she did. She is now a toxicologist and DNA profiler for the State Crime Lab in Bismarck. This job fits her well. Anyway, when she was about 10, she and I were home alone one night and she came into the kitchen where I was reading the paper at the table. She asked if she could bake a cake? It kind of took me by surprise and I asked her if she knew how? She said, “I watched Mom and besides, it tells you how right on the box.” What the heck is a cake mix worth. I told her to go ahead then. She got out a cake mix and the mixer and a bowl etc. I was looking up now and then to make sure what she was doing at the counter. She put the mix in the bowl and then cracked an egg and put it in the bowl. As I was watching, she let the last of the raw egg drip and then dropped the egg shell in the bowl. Now I’m curious. She cracked the next one and did the same thing. I asked her why she put the shells in the bowl. She rolled her eyes and said, “Dad—it says right here, two WHOLE eggs.” She did what it said. Exactly what it said! I told the guys at coffee the next day and Gordy Neameyer laughed his head off. He never let her live that down either! Thanks Gary!
Dick
Memories from Wes Schnieder
Posted by Vickie Metcalfe (70): Bottineau, ND
Gary and Friends,
“Hot Water”
It was -1 F at 4:00 at the 1st Natl Bank on my way home today. Arriving at my house, the boys who currently seem to have cabin fever got the idea we should go across the street to see Wes and Ovidia, where they are perfectly at home. I think Buie really misses seeing them. Or he knows Ovidia is his main supplier of “treats” He now knows where she keeps em and today he was in luck because Wes spoiled the dogs by treating them coming and going.
While there, enjoying the comfort of Wes’ gentle strokes and patting, Buie sat right next to Wes. He always lays claim to Wes. Thor then curls up at my feet and we all chatted about the current snow removal on our end of town, and the brown Bottineau water .
This led Wes to recalling. The crusty, heavy snow banks reminded Wes of the “olden days” when his job in the winter was to fill the reservoir on the kitchen stove. He enjoyed going to a coulee to get crusty slabs of snow. He would haul it in and fill the reservoir where it would melt and his mother would have hot water for dishes or for others to wash up.
One day, he hauled the snow in and distributed it in the stove. When he came with more, he discovered the snow was melting. Hot Water? Brown stuff? Then, looking closer he saw something floating. Pellets. Jack Rabbit Pellets. He had to scoop and dip out the melting snow, melting pellets and water then do some major cleaning. He decided it wasn’t a job he wanted to do again.
This past Sunday, Ovidia mentioned that they read the Dunseith blog articles I print and bring over to them, which she keeps in a folder.
Thanks Gary. Vickie M.
Skating Parties
Memories from Dick Johnson (68): Dunseith, ND
Gary and Friends,
In reply to Paula’s question about who remembers the skating parties that Art Rude, Sr. organized, I certainly do. Those were some fun events. He did this for kids for several years and I tried to go every time. I remember how some of the ‘macho’ kids thought you were a sissy if you wore figure skates and not a big pair of clunky hockey skates. The best male skaters at those skating parties were wearing figure skates. I still remember the two best older guys who I tried to take my cue from. Laurel Hiatt and Russell Fauske could turn easily at very high speed by putting one foot over the other on a corner. Even though I had skated for years, I hadn’t tried that until I saw them do it at the rink in Bottineau. They also could stop on a dime by reversing direction and digging their toes into the ice. Another trick I learned from them. Those were good clean fun events, thanks to ‘Mr. Rude.’
Can anyone else remember what Mr. Rude was doing on Dec. 7, 1941? He told us in 8th grade history class and I never forgot. He said he was skating on Willow Creek near his farm and when he came home he heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harhor.
OK–Joke. Did you hear about the guy who was half Japanese and half Norwegian? On December 7, 1941 he went out and attacked Pearl Olson. Thanks Gary!
Dick
Dick, now that you mention it, I remember the talk of Russell Fauske being a champion skater. I don’t ever remember skating with either Russell or Laurel though or going to any of the skating parties in Bottineau. Once we got home from school and milked the cows and did the chores, that pretty much ended our extra curricular school activities. Gary
Anthony family Story – Part Nine
From Vickie Metcalfe (70): Bottineau, ND
“ Ward and Annie”
Every winter Sunday afternoon of my childhood and youth, after Jim Anthony died, our Dad continued his vigil south to see Ward and Annie . In the later years, he went on the yellow bomb-a-dere ski-doo.
He always came home in good humor, telling us of his adventures on the “magical trail” and visits with Ward and Annie. “He had had some of Annie’s special Vinegar Pie ” or, “Her, Mrs. Templeman cake was delicious.” (I always wondered about Vinegar Pie.)
In the early years, Dad had to get around her little house dog, BOOboo snapping and barking. BOOboo was pretty special, Annie’s darling dog, he always enjoyed the last bites of cake keeping the plates. Clean?? Dad started to wonder about the dog hair in the vinegar pie, or the aging Boo-boo, being increasingly growly._ Then wondered? “Was BOOboo really the one who washed aging Annie’s dishes?” They never did have running water or central heat. Just the very basics, which they probably had from Annie’s beginning married life in the little house in the woods somewhere East of Rabbit City Lake..
One Sunday, Annie said to Dad, she made his favorite, vinegar pie.She happily gave him a dish. Dad told mom, “He found dog hairs so he gagged the remaining piece down, managed to quell his distaste., and very politely started to say, “No more for me, it was delicious ” just as as he said it, she, slid another piece on his plate.” He said ,”Thank you and ate it.”
That Christmas, our family got an electric popcorn popper, and dad decided to began to treat Annie and Ward to lunch. He would take the popper, popcorn and butter and off on the ski-doo, he’d go to the Anthony’s. Sometime’s he’d take eggs, or a package of some thing mom made, or fish he’d caught and “happened to have too many”.
Upon arriving home, one Sunday evening, my exasperated mom said, “Why do you like to spend your Sundays’ with those people?” He said simply, “They have so little but are always happy. And,I? I am always so happy to come home where I have so much.” After that, mom was content that he needed to see the Anthony’s because they were so full cheerfully happy when he went there, and he needed to be sure they were ok.
Whenever springtime broke, and dad couldn’t sleigh or skidoo down to the Anthony farm, usually, sooner than later, Ward would appear. My mother would put on the coffee while Ward and dad visited. The summer of ’61 our family finally got indoor plumbing. Then my parents would tell Ward he was welcome to bathe any time. But he said he would continue bathing in the lake. If he didn’t bath, dad would say, “Ward Go shake yourself. and Ward would giggle.”
After a long winter of being “home bound”, Ward’s hair would be quite long. And smell! Coming home from school through the 60’s, we kids always knew the “Anthony smell”, faintly odorous, accompanied by the strong smell of hi-lex and the open windows. Spring time had really come to the Anthony’s! And, we knew on Easter Sunday they’d be our annual dinner guests..
Ward and Annie would arrive in his automobile, but only when the Turtle Mountain Clay dried up and roads were passable. Usually stopping at our farm. As Annie grew older she gave up gardening and relied on the generosity of neighbors. To give the neighbor a clue, She’d say, “I heard, you’ve got a beautiful garden this year”. The neighbor would dutifully fill up a bag of garden vegetables.
There were a few summer nights when dad and mom would wake up in the middle of the night, startled to find Ward in their bedroom. YES, The good old days, when no one locked their doors, or pulled keys from vehicles. Ward was forever going too far over the edge of the road, usually after they’d stopped for a few “swigs somewhere in the neighborhood’.
I think, they finally chose to go to the Smiths, when after one night of too many swigs’ Ward ran their car down a deep, deep incline into the brush N. of our house. Dad who was getting up at 5:00 and on the road working out on construction, pulled them out using the farm hand. Well, finally! Dad who usually was so very tolerant of them, after a few times of pulling them out in one summer, finally had it! He said, “Ward, I got to get up in an hour and go to work.” Then gave them a ride with the loader end of the farmhand, pulling them out of the ravine, which sobered them up considerably when they both ended up in the back seat! After that incident, they never woke dad to pull them out again.
Oh, they got stuck many more times but Ward was respectful of Dad needing his sleep. He, just walked further east down the road to the Smiths or back west to Art and Eva’s, or Carroll’s. and woke someone else up.
Metcalfe Family Tales, Vickie Metcalfe , Winter 2011
