Afternoon Out

 While Far Guy was woodcarving and then napping I took off and went to a couple of cemeteries.  

I take photos in two sometimes three cemeteries for Find A Grave.  I also transcribe obituaries if I have them.  I have a backlog of obits to enter ...a good winter project. 

My Aunt Anna's funeral was live streamed on Monday.  I wanted to visit her grave...so I did.   It was a chilly day.

I worked over in the shady snowy spots last summer.  Yesterday I just walked in the non snowy parts. 

Pickerel Lake Cemetery

This is a very familiar spot for me....high on the hill...I have come to this spot since I was a little girl.  The fence used to be right where I was standing to take this photo....now that area has been cleared for a road and more graves. 

I visited a few more graves and then went to a different cemetery close to home.  I made yet another list for that cemetery.  In my leaving no stone un turned I discovered that an old friend's obit was missing ...so I transcribed that for approval. 

The stone gate at Linnell Cemetery

It sounds like the weather is going to be great the rest of the week...I may be able to get a few more photos before winter snows settle in. 

One cemetery they say is 94 % photographed but no one is entering new info...so I just wander around until I find new graves or new headstones...people drive by and honk.:)  The cemetery on the hill is only 47 % photographed...so it is a real work in progress..it is so far out of the way that no one ever shows up while I am there. 

Far Side

Clinic, Groceries, Amazon and Cemeteries

The tourists are here.  In town on Thursday it was just nuts.  Hubbard County has it's first case of Covid -19 and Becker County has 32 or 33 depending on the source.  Far Guy had his infusion appointment and then some lab work that took 3 hours...guess who didn't grab her crochet bag?  Guess who had a nap, walked up and down the street and played games on her phone while she waited... Far Guy kept calling me with updates on why he was waiting so long and what orders had been faxed and what was messed up...guess who had to pee real bad by the time we got back home?

Anyways most of the groceries were there...no ammonia, no lysol wipes, no paper plates, no ice cream...Far Guy could not figure out why there is an ice cream shortage. 

Most of Minnesota is supposed to open back up on Monday May 25. 
We will see how it goes.  We will keep on doing what we are doing.

Far Guy was locked out of his Amazon account.  (When he signed in he had to get a code from his email that never came to his email acct...go figure) I finally had to contact customer support for him, they called him and he had to prove over and over it was really him before they would reset his account.  Who the heck can recall what you have ordered in the past three or four months?  Finally they decided that it was really really really him and unlocked his account.  What a frustrating experience.

We visited some more cemeteries it is a good activity as most people there are dead already.  We trimmed away grass from a number of grave markers.  It was a good reminder for me that I need to spend more time at three or four country cemeteries getting photos of graves for Find A Grave.

A tree in bud at the church where I was baptized in 1952.
Far Side

Rocks and flowers

Visiting the local cemeteries we were wondering what the significance was of rocks/stones?  We saw many headstones that had one or two or small piles of them.  I know the significance of the coins...Military Service related...but the rocks are a new one to me.

There is one large stone on Far Guy's Grandparents headstone.

There has been a solar light cross on Far Guy's parents grave...it stopped working so we took it down and everything looked so bare.

The new solar light is Far Guy's Dads favorite color.  It looks not so bare now.
Far Side

Leaving a stone or pebble is a gesture of appreciation for the strong and lasting impression they have made on your life.

Cemetery Visits and Deaths

We visited three cemeteries over the weekend.  We took flowers and have picked them up from two of the cemeteries.  We don't like to leave them on the graves too long as it is hard for the people that mow and trim.

The Phlox subulata is putting on its annual show at Riverside Cemetery.

Saturday at St Mary's Cemetery. I will go by and get the flowers there soon.

There were two deaths this week...old neighbors and friends.

  Al was 93 and we lived next door to him and Erna for about 10 years.  They were good neighbors.  They had a dog named Peaches that I used to dog sit.  One day there was a snake by the front step...I called Far Guy and told him I had the revolver out and I was going to shoot the snake...he said "Call Al"  so I did and Al came over and whopped it with a shovel...then held it up...I slammed the door and locked it...he just grinned at me and laid the snake on his bumper and drove away.  In the winter sometimes the Shelties ( we had four) would follow Al home from ice fishing on the lake...he would call and say "Holler for your dogs."  He was the local skunk trapper too.   He and Erna sold their lake place and moved to town.

Tess would have been 80 years old later this year.  She was a lovely woman who volunteered for me at the Museum.  She was a gem.  I will miss her...I should have stopped and visited her last week when I drove by her home..but I was in a hurry to get home myself.  She used to come into the museum about three days a week and I would get caught up on the local news and she would help me do whatever projects I had in the works or she would greet people!  She volunteered for the museum all three years I was there.  Tess leaves behind her husband Doc...he had Doc's Truckstop and Cafe in Osage for many years.

Far Side

Decoration Day

My grandparents and Far Guy’s grandparents called it Decoration Day.

It was called Decoration Day until 1967 when it was offically declared Memorial Day and became a Federal Holiday.  After World War II many people began to call it Memorial Day it was just not official yet.

At any rate it is a day that we set aside to honor those who died in war.

It has evolved into a day when we remember all those that have died…perhaps the cemeteries should look nice when people come to visit the graves of the war dead.

We only visited two cemeteries this year.  There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to get to all the cemeteries I would like to visit.

Quiet Fall Day

We had a quiet Fall day yesterday, it was a bit cooler 45F or 7C eh!

We walked in the old cemetery on the hill.  We found my Uncle Hugo’s friends grave. It was on the south side of the hill near the top.

 

The flag holder was there and the marker that Veterans get to mark their grave. Mission accomplished!

Perhaps one winter day I will head for the Becker County Historical Museum and search their records so that an obituary can accompany the photos.

Anyone that is looking for a volunteer “job” …let me tell you a cemetery is a good place, it is quiet, no one complains and the graves just keep filling up.  One thing I have noticed is that many of the markers are getting overgrown around the edges. I could spend a day or three at this cemetery just trimming around markers.  In the spring we carry a couple of old butcher knives and a bucket in the car just for that purpose, the knife cuts the sod away and we toss it in the bucket to be disposed of or to fill in a hole here and there.

I started a list of what I don’t have, which obits I need and who I should ask for photos.

My husband who is great support and a good searcher said yesterday “Maybe someday someone will appreciate the effort you put into the cemeteries.”

I wandered alone for a little while yesterday, until I smelled a skunk.  I hurried back to the car, when you smell one you know one is near.  When I opened the car door Far Guy said “Uffda you didn’t get sprayed did ya?”  Thankfully I didn’t and we headed home.

 

Happenings and Hallowen

We went for a drive, I have been wanting to fulfill a few requests for photos at Find A Grave.  We struck out with two names but had good luck with the rest of what we were looking for.  I walked among the graves up and down the hill and got my walk in for the day. We were the only ones there…well the only ones alive.

Most of my Dad’s relatives are buried at this cemetery, and very few of their grave stones are photographed.  I took enough photos to keep me busy for a few days.   If the weather holds I will go back for a few more photographs.

Back at home the lawn mower has been put away for the winter, it is cleaned up and washed off and in the garage.

Let the rest of the leaves fall where they may rest for the winter.  The bird bath is still out because it has been warm enough for the birds to use it…and they have been using it.

It feels good to be done with the yard for the winter.  I will get the snow stick out one day this week.   It is on my list.

Chance was not thrilled to wear the Halloween hat but he wishes you a Happy Halloween anyway!

What a headless dog…NO it is just Chance escaping the dreaded hat. Our treats are all bagged up and we have a lot of extra candy so we hope we have a record year with trick or treaters! There will be photos of costumes tomorrow! Next to May Day… Halloween is my second best liked holiday!

Orphans

Far Guy and I were wandering around in a cemetery, filling some grave photo requests on our way back from Fargo ND.

Far Guy said “Why are all those stones the same?” 

They were all graves of children in the early 1900’s.   The large stone in the background told the story “ Orphan’s Home. ”

I did a little research…curiosity got the best of me….imagine that.

In 1895 The Norwegian Lutheran Chirch of America started an Orphanage in Lake Park Minnesota.  Later it would become a Lutheran Social Services Orphanage.

From the 1900 Census I learned that 31 orphans lived in the home, there was also a Superintendent, Teacher, a laborer and four servants.  The children that were in the orphanage were mainly children of Norwegian families but a few parents were born in Minnesota and France.  The children ranged in age from 3 to 14 and were born in Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Norway.

I never knew about an orphanage in this area of Minnesota….I thought they were all down in “The Cities.”

Yes there are some words on this memorial…but they are in Norwegian.

I read some accounts…one mentioned a young Father not having the slightest idea what to do with his children after his wife died…so he dropped them off at the orphanage. 

There was another Orphanage called Wild Rice Orphanage ( near Twin Valley) a little further north….that burned down and many children were sent to Lake Park.

Rainy Days

The past few days we have gotten much needed rain, not sure how much…but enough to made a puddle in the driveway…that usually means an inch of rain.

What do you do on rainy days?

We picked up flowers from most of the cemeteries that we visited last week.  I am always discouraged.  At my Paternal Grandparents my flowers were the only ones there. At my Maternal Grandparents my cousin Vickie always takes a hanging geranium.  BUT wait…two grands out of how many …40 some and only two brought flowers?   Far Guys Maternal Grandparents only had our flowers…his Paternal Grandparents fared a bit better with several visitors…some with real flowers!  I have various other relatives that are ignored too…so I leave flowers.

Perhaps I should plant Iris.

Not sure who will take over for us when we are no longer able…

We used to take real flowers but then you have to haul water…so we take nice bouquets of silk flowers.  They are drying in the woodshop now and will be packed away for next year.  Far Guy likes to get them picked up right after Memorial Day because it makes it easier for the people that mow and trim.

Having a holiday on Monday always messes me up, I am never sure what day of the week I am on…must be an old age thing.

One day we headed to town to do errands and buy a bag of soil for the flower bed out front.  I got the flower garden weeded and the new soil all mixed in…and we have plants to plant when ever I feel like planting in a drizzly rain….maybe today.  So far we have two sunflower seedlings that may survive and a nice bunch of wild violets…Marigolds and Salvia will join them.

Cemeteries

We spent most of the day yesterday at cemeteries.  We visited six yesterday and three the day before.  We took along a bucket and a butcher kife, many of the grave markers needed a good edging.

This marker was  rescued.  I remember one time when I was little and this grave was near the fence  (the fence has been moved back now) and the grave marker was not visible so my Dad hunted for it and cleared it off.  This is my Dad’s brother who died when he was six months old.  Some of these old stones should be raised up.

After wandering around a while we finally found Far Guy’s Great Grandparents on his fathers side of the family.

The Fern-leaf Peony is almost past bloom in the cemetery just down the road. 

The blooms are smaller than a regular Peony.

At the cemetery

Some of the prettiest flowers this time of year are at the cemetery.

Phlox subulata at Riverside.

A beautiful Fern-leaf Peony ( Paeonia tenuifolia) in bud at Linnell.

I was glad to see that this plant was untouched by the frost the other morning.  I enjoy this plant every year.  It marks the grave of a young neighborhood boy who was five when he died.  In a few days the flowers will be open.

Find A Grave

I am finally doing something with my Find A Grave Membership.  I figured it was about time, especially after I found two of my Uncles in the wrong Cemetery.  I now manage their graves online.   I also manage a number of my Mother’s relatives…most of a country cemetery.

If you are not familiar with Find A Grave you should be.  It is used to record locations of graves, with a photo of the grave site, obituaries, and possibly even a photo of the person when they were very much alive.  Thanks to many volunteers the site is growing by the day.  You too can be a volunteer…if you like, it is painless and simple.  At the very least you should check and make sure your deceased family members are in the right cemetery.  Corrections can be left as a message for the person who maintains the graves online…or by email…easy peasy.

I have a number of really old obituaries thanks to women before me that saved obituaries…it may seem like an odd thing to save…but what a treasure trove of information they are.  I will have to make a trip into the archives of our county newspaper for some of the really old obituaries.
 

Oak Grove Cemetery  Memorial Day 2013

For my relatives that read the blog, if you have a photo of a loved one that you would like me to scan and put online…send it to me either through snail mail or email or drop it off…I will scan it and return it to you.

I have started to keep a Find A Grave Notebook…so I can keep track of my progress.

On a side note I didn’t know much about my Great Grandmother Amanda who died in 1913.  Through Find A Grave I was able to find out the names of her siblings and her Father.  Interesting stuff.

Follow the flowers

Doncha wanna just say “Follow the Yellow Brick Road?”  I do.  On a side note those Ruby Slippers that were stolen up in Grand Rapids Minnesota a number of years ago have a $1 Million Dollar reward for their safe return along with the names of the thieves.

You can follow the yellow Bird’s Foot Trefoil or Lotus corniculatus (non native) most of the way to Tamarac Refuge Headquarters.   We also saw a Muskrat, a Badger and one lone baby Duck waddling across the road. 

There is a good supply of Common Milkweed or Asclepias syriaca (native).  I only saw two Monarch butterflies along the way.  Not many for the amount of Milkweed.  The Monarchs lay their larvae ( looks like little black turds) on the milkweed and they hatch in a few days, the caterpillar eats milkweed  and grows for about 2 weeks, eventually forming a chrysalis and then hatches into a brand new Monarch.  The sole purpose of any Monarch Butterfly is to mate and reproduce. ( Reminds me of some…never mind.)

Common Milkweed

My husband special ordered a Ambulance to paint for his train set…so we went the back way to Detroit Lakes.  On the return trip we went through Frazee and stopped by my Maternal Grandparents resting place and picked up the silk flowers that we left there before Memorial Day.

Not many flowers for all the grandkids they have.  I visited them many times over my lifetime. I had many good visits.  Someone is caring for a pot of geraniums there…I wonder who?   After I took my two bouquets there wasn’t much left.  Since I am the oldest…I am probably the only one retired…everyone else is too busy working.

Soldiers/Decoration Day

My Dad was in Korea, in fact he was there when I was born.  He found out about me through a Red Cross Telegram.

My Dad and my Mom  in 1950.

Dad was injured by shrapnel and he has photos taken in Korea that substantiates his injury.  All the records burned in St. Louis so he never received his Purple Heart.  I won’t say he came back unscathed, because he has nightmares often especially in the winter.  From what I have heard he didn’t even have an extra pair of socks or winter clothing yet was sleeping in foxholes in sub zero weather.  He survived conditions that are unimaginable to me.  Dad is 88 years old.

*****

These are my father’s brothers, my uncles;

Uncle Hugo was wounded, sent back to the States, endured surgeries and therapy and lived out his days with bullet fragments in his body.

Uncle Hugo and Mia never had any children together.  Mia had children from a former marriage.  They had a Grandson that they raised as their son.  I take flowers here because no one else does…and because I held his hand many days up in the VA Hospital before he died.  He died of Prostate Cancer.

Uncle Andrew

I had not been to Uncle Andrew’s grave in a few years.  Two of his children are dead now…there are a few children left but I wonder if they visit…perhaps a granddaughter visits.  She would have been the apple of his eye.  He was a wonderful man, I still miss him…he lived with us when I was little.  He died of Bone Cancer and Lung Cancer.

Uncle Arnold in Havana Cuba

My Aunt Sharon is still alive and she will take flowers there. Uncle Arnold was another wonderful Uncle taken from us too soon by a swift heart attack in the night time.  He died in the house where he was born.

Uncle Arthur

Died in the Invasion of Italy in 1944.

*********

On a personal note I want to thank my husband for the 26 years he spent in the service.  My baby brother for the time he served in the Navy and my nephew Ben who is currently serving.

Years ago Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day.