Happy 4th of July!
Such beautiful smiles!!!
Independence Day
Such beautiful smiles!!!
Tag: Memories
Such beautiful smiles!!!
Norway Ties: Past and Present
Once upon a time, back in the 1800’s, Haktor Kaldestad married Brita Hovland. They were my great grandparents who lived in Norway and had five children. Johannes (born in 1878) and Torkel (born in 1887) were two of their five children.
Torkel, my grandfather, married Elizabeth and they had four children. They immigrated to the United States. Herbert, my father, was one of their sons.
In the 1960’s Herbert began working on his ancestry and started making contact with his family in Norway. Herbert traveled to Norway in 1969 to re-connect with them, and it has been a very good thing as our families continue to connect with each other to this day.
Johannes, Torkel’s brother, married Sella and they had five children. They lived in Norway. Hakon was one of their sons (a first cousin to Herb). Hakon had four children: Jomar, Anund, Heine and Siv.
Last week Jomar and his wife Bente, Heine and his wife Kari, flew to Minnesota from Norway for a vacation in the United States, to visit family and travel to the East Coast. We were grateful we were a part of their itinerary. It was a delight to have them stay with us for a couple of nights. It was not the first time they have been here…they have been to our home in Northfield before, and we have been in their homes in Norway.
We had such a good time filled with lots of laughter and joy. Many more good memories were made to add to our collection of great times together.
The one thing I thought of as we were talking about our ancestors is that my great-grandchildren will probably not know my name, or my husband’s name. Without our ancestry chart I would not have known the names of my grandparent’s parents…how fleeting our lives are.
So I hope to make a difference in the lives of my children and grandchildren.
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.” Psalm 39:4
When I’m Sixty-four
Today I leave the St. Olaf Campus for the last time as an employee of the college. It’s a little surreal to call myself retired but I look forward to the next season of life.
I became curious as to how old my mother was when she retired so I looked back in our photo albums and found pictures from our family retirement party for her. I have such a different perspective now of that time in her life…she was alone (my dad died right before his retirement in 1974) and my mom lived another 22 years after her retirement.
She was 64 years old when she retired and so am I! Somehow it seems to be another confirmation of this step!
Commencement Weekend at St. Olaf College
I surprised myself when tears came to my eyes as I walked through St. Olaf campus very early this morning. I thought to myself this is the last commencement weekend I will work. It was such a beautiful morning, and it was so quiet and peaceful as the sun rose to display a gorgeous blue sky which made it apparent the ceremony would be held outdoors – that is always the preferred plan and the one we hope for.
The outdoor location was moved from the Manitou Field (the football field) up to the Campus Green for the first time this year. Mellby Hall was the wonderful backdrop for the party platform. 5,000 chairs were set up for the graduates, faculty, family, friends and guests and jumbo screens were put in place to offer up close views for the folks in the back.
Later in the day, after I cleaned up the registration area (my responsibility over the weekend) and folks found their seats, I walked away just as the faculty and graduates were walking to take their seats for the commencement ceremony. Such pomp and circumstance. What a wonderful tradition. What an exciting time for the students and their families
Just as I started the morning eight hours earlier, I walked away with tears in my eyes and mixed emotions…this was my last Commencement Weekend “on the hill” as I retire next week.
Frog and Toad and the Circus
I went to the Minneapolis Children’s Theater production of A Year with Frog and Toad last week. It was a delightful rendition of the stories from the Frog and Toad “I can read” book series. We read the books when my guys were young and these sweet stories of Frog and Toad’s friendship and escapades have come alive on the stage. It was very enjoyable.
Another childhood entertainment, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus – The Greatest Show on Earth – had its very last performance on Sunday May 21, in New York. Although I didn’t attend the circus much (we took the boys once and I remember going as a little girl) it seems the circus was a very big deal…most people refer to the circus at times and we all seem to understand the lingo… so I “tuned in” to watch the last performance live-stream for a while. Observing the acrobats and contortionists, who are truly athletic, doing their amazing stunts, viewing the animal trainer in the arena with fourteen lions and tigers and getting them to obey his commands, tracking the clowns and their antics all did their job to cheer me up. It’s a little sad to know the greatest show on earth has come to an end of an era.
Happy Mother’s Day
I’m thinking how happy I am to be a mother and a grandmother. And I’m thinking about my own mother, and mother-in-law, who are no longer with us. And my aunt who never had any of her own children but took on a loving role with her nieces and nephews. And of my grandmother’s…one I never met and the other died when I was very young. I am thinking of special women in my life who were not blood relatives but a mom to me in other ways. I am grateful.
Blessings and honor to all moms and extraordinary women role models today.
Fun Solutions
T-shirts are a popular item to create and give away for awards or gift items…It’s a practical gift and if you can get the right fit they are fun to wear.
My boys collected a lot of t-shirts over the years. I did not save all the sport ones – they wore them out I suppose – but I did save the t-shirts they collected as an award for their art projects. Both sons had artwork chosen to participate in the local Children’s Art Fair when they were in elementary school. It was an honor. Grandma came and our family went to see their artwork on display.
As I am slowly going through things I found the t-shirts from the art fairs. I showed them to my son and asked if he had any ideas of what I could do with them…one solution is to take a photo for remembrance and then give it away or discard the item/s. I do that with other things. But as he was looking through these special t-shirts he decided a couple of them would fit (they used to wear t-shirts a lot larger back then) so he kept two to wear! It’s so fun!
I am often amazed at the way things work out sometimes.
Easter Traditions
When our boys were growing up we had a tradition of buying them new Easter shirts to wear to church on Easter Sunday….just like girls getting new a Easter dress I suppose. The shirts would often be the same style but a different color or pattern. That tradition continued into high school (although the shirts no longer matched). Often we would take them to get a picture taken with their new shirts.
One year I made Easter baskets for them. A friend and I were taught how to weave baskets and we would get together after the kids were in bed and to make them. That’s when I could stay up past midnight.
An Easter egg hunt in the house was tradition too, but when the boys were very young we had healthy options like raisins, stickers, and such, instead of candy.
I rarely bought a new Easter outfit for myself. When I was a little girl I don’t remember getting a new dress for Easter but it seems like something my mom would have done. This is the type of question I can no longer ask her or dad since they both have passed away. Therefore, I like recording our own family traditions.
My Father’s Handiwork
My dad was a carpenter by trade. His father, came over from Norway at the age of 17, and took up carpentry then passed the skills onto his son. My dad built several houses, including the one I grew up in.
For my parents 25th wedding anniversary my dad made my mother a beautiful corner cupboard. He passed away a couple years later. In 1982 my mom moved out of her house to a new townhouse and she moved the corner cupboard too. I told her that I would love to have corner cupboard someday.
Over twenty years later when she moved from her townhouse into a senior living apartment she told me I could take the corner cupboard since she really didn’t have room for it, and she said she would love to see it in my house. We had the perfect corner for it and have enjoyed the cupboard for many years. I’m happy to have it.
My dad also made a cradle for me to play with when I was a little girl. It was white with pink hearts. It was stored away for several years and at one point I painted it dark brown (and I don’t have any idea why!) Now that I have a two-and-a- half-year old grand-daughter and another grand-daughter on the way I decided it was time to restore the cradle to it’s original state. I bought primer to cover the dark brown, my husband filled in the nicks with wood filler, sanded it down, put on a coat of primer, then painted it white with pink hearts. I love it!
Glacier National Park
A colleague asked me about our vacations to Glacier National Park because she is planning a trip there this summer. I happily looked through our photos and read through our vacation journals. Glacier National Park left a lasting impression on me and although we have been there only twice it is my favorite national park. It is so majestic and amazingly beautiful. I remember driving away from it after our first visit and felt like I was leaving a part of myself behind.
Our first visit to the park was in 1989. We drove to the park from Minnesota with our two boys and tent camped in the park for a week. Our young sons, ages 7 and 5 at the time, were troopers…they hiked over 20 miles with us on the beautiful trails.
In 2013 my husband and I went back to Glacier and the highlight from that trip was our experience going up to Sperry Chalet, on horseback, then walking back down the mountain two days later. Here’s what I wrote in our vacation journal.
Giddy up and up and up….Clip-clop goes the steady sound of our horses hoofs climbing 3300’ in 6.7 miles to Sperry Chalet. It promises to be another gorgeous day in Glacier National Park. This is our fourth day in the park. This morning we’ve packed our saddlebags and said our prayers for our two nights stay on the mountain.
The horses are sure footed and they know the trail well – going back and forth up the mountain to the chalet many times a week. We form a line of ten horses with rider’s. My horse, Wyatt, sometimes gets a little too close to Bobbie, the much bigger horse in front of him, so occasionally Bobbie gives Wyatt a kick with his back foot. Although Wyatt deserves it, it can be a little terrifying for the rider on it’s back! That would be me. Gary is on Chester, who behaves nicely.
The scenery is great, the pace is steady and we finally make it up to the hitching rail at the chalet after three and a half hours without a rest stop. We have help getting off our horses and stagger a little to get our hiking legs back, but we’re not sore and we are delighted to be at our destination.
It’s awesome! The smells are divine…mostly pine. The sun is shining on us and the air is fresh. We find our way to the outhouses first, the nicest outhouses we’ve been in, but still outhouses. Next we find the dining room and there are welcoming college-age students ready to take our lunch order which includes fresh, just out-of- the-oven, peach pie.
The chalet was built in 1913 by the railroad (JJ Hill affiliation) to attract visitors to Glacier National Park. The railroad used Italian stonemasons to build the foundation and outside walls, made from the rubble stone at hand. It opened for business in 1914. There are four small buildings: the dining hall, the chalet (building w/ 24 rooms) the old laundry building and the new (10+ years old) outhouses. There is no electricity up here and just two sinks by the outhouses for guests to use for washing up and brushing teeth. No showers. No hot water. Just bedding (1914 era), food, fresh air and mountain goats!
We find our room and take off our backpacks and head outdoors to explore God’s beautiful creation. The chalet overlooks MacDonald Lodge, to the west and down 6.7 miles. I try imaging women in long dresses riding here on horseback, hiking around the grounds, and up to Sperry Glacier, named after Dr. Lyman Sperry, a professor of geology and zoology at Carleton College -in Northfield, our hometown! He was the first to reach the glacier in 1896. Tomorrow we will hike, with a naturalist, to see what’s left of the Sperry Glacier. The hike is 4+ miles up 1500’, to the glacier, crossing over five ice fields and five rock fields (and of course, 4+ miles back down). It’s a little farther to the glacier than it used to be since the glacier is melting.
After a relaxing afternoon sitting on the rocks taking in all the beauty we head back to the dining hall for dinner. Much to our surprise we have a full meal deal: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cranberries, homemade bread, pumpkin dessert. It tastes so good. The staff assigned our seats so we would meet fellow companions on this adventurous journey. We sit around visiting, then get our packs ready for our hike tomorrow, and enjoy a nightcap of delicious cinnamon hot chocolate.
As we crawl into bed we are careful to layout our pants, jackets and shoes so when we get up in the middle of the night we can easily find our clothes. We wake up around 3 a.m. and quietly turn on our headlamps, get dressed and head down the stairs and out the door to a star-studded evening sky! We see a falling star and we stand in awe. We are greeted by a mountain goat that watches us walk to the outhouse. We are grateful for this interruption of our sleep to experience this stunning sight on a mountain!
Glory to God in the Highest!