Living in the Frozen North

The past few days have been very, very cold - by Alabama standards that is. You appreciate the mild winters here if you've ever lived in really cold climates. You will have a few cold days here and then it will warm up again. I think the coldest place we ever lived was in Wayzata, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis on Lake Minnetonka. We moved there in May 1977 and bought a house on a hill overlooking marshes and small lakes, and near Lake Minnetonka and Gray's Bay. The first snow fell in October and I don't think we saw the ground again until the next April, when tulips popped up in the snow. What a sight!


I had not experienced ice fishing and all the equipment needed until one Sunday when we were on our way to church, crossing Gray's Bay. It was a bright sunny day and as we looked across the frozen lake, we saw cars and trucks dragging little portable buildings (which looked like outhouses) out onto the lake. As soon as we arrived at church, I asked about these strange buildings and was told that they keep them on the frozen lake from Dec. to about Feb. They use an auger to drill a hole in the ice inside the little fishing houses and fish all winter.

Fish houses on Lake Minnetonka

Fish houses are like giant playhouses. People decorate them with rugs on the floor. While many houses look like shacks, some fish houses are almost like real houses, complete with armchairs, television, VCR, microwave oven, kitchen stove, and even a bathroom. Those made with wooden boards or metal and look like cabins. Those made with canvas and aluminum poles look like tents. To heat either kind of house, anglers use small stoves. Fish houses have skis or special plates on the bottom so they can be slid across ice. The owner ties a heavy rope to the house and tows it with a truck or all-terrain vehicle. The houses usually stay in the same spot all winter.

You might recallthe movie "Grumpy Old Men", with Walter Matthau sitting on an easy chair in his fishing hut, a six-pack chilling in the ice hole. Our neighbor, the big Swede named John Lindgren, invited us to his ice house. I was afraid to ride in his big pick-up across the ice to his house so I never went inside his fish house.

The bank in the village of Wayzata where we lived had a place where you could guess what day the ice would start "breaking" on the lake and this was called "ice out". The person closest to the date and time of day won the jackpot. Kinda like when we guess when the temperature will reach 100 degrees.

We never went ice fishing the two winters we lived there but did learn to cross country ski and that was a lot of fun. The parks and golf courses became ski trails in the winter. You just bundled up and went outside in the winter and had fun! After all, it never rained for several months and the snow was dry and packed. April and May it started melting and that was a mess!

My voting record

What happened on this day in 1959 (48 years ago) during Eisenhower's administration?
 (see end of article for answer)    I voted for the first time in 1956, during Eisenhower's 2nd term. You had to be 21 to vote then and I was almost 22. We were living in Kansas and toured his birthplace home in Dennison, TX in the summer of 1956. I remember Mamie's bangs (or "fringe" as they call bangs in England).

The next time we voted we were living in our first home on Country Lane in Atlanta, GA (near Decatur). It was cold and snowing election day 1960. We waited in line outside the school building and I remember how cold my feet were. We laughed when we got home and discovered that we had canceled each others vote, voting for different candidates! I was happy that my candidate won.


In subsequent years we voted in elections for LB Johnson, Richard Nixon in 2 elections, (succeeded by Gerald Ford). Then we voted for Jimmy Carter twice but he lost the second time to Ronald Reagan. We voted for Reagan the next election, followed by George Bush. Then we voted for Bill Clinton 2 times and twice for George W. Bush.

James votes

So we have voted in 13 presidential elections. Today Jim and I reminisced about each of these and where we were living, etc. We take voting very serious and have taught our children to do the same. Our son James listens to the candidates and decides who he wants to vote for and he gets up early on voting day to go cast his vote (with assistance from me or his dad). And when his candidate wins he is so excited. He has really been following the candidates the past few weeks and plans to watch the caucus reports from Iowa tonight. He keeps telling us that he is voting for Hillary! We haven't made up our minds yet.
      Answer to question at top of page: Alaska was admitted as a state on Jan. 3, 1956 by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Happy New Year to all in 2008

New Year Promises (Resolutions) 2008 -This year I am going to make “promises for the new year ” instead of resolutions. I got this idea from our church monthly bulletin.


I don’t like to make lists but prefer to do things spontaneously or when the mood strikes. As a result I always have unfinished projects which drives Jim crazy. So I think that if I make some promises I will do better. And I don’t have to “cross them off” when finished.


There were 8 promises in our church bulletin to help us get started. I liked all of them but am including only 5 here:
1) Promise to make all my friends feel that there is something special about them. This will be easy for me since my friends are already special . I look for their good qualities and overlook things about them I don’t like. I have lots of friends, all ages and various backgrounds.


2) Promise to wear a cheerful expression at all times and give every person I meet a smile. I have practiced this for a long time and it’s fun to smile at “grumpy” people and let them wonder why you are so happy! Soon they will be smiling back at you.


3) Promise to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own. To me this is a lot like ‘it is more blessed to give than receive’; let them have the credit.


4) Promise to look at the sunny side of everything, and make my optimism come true   Jim calls me the “eternal optimist”. I always look on the bright side.


5) And this is a really big one for me to accomplish -     Promise to be too large for worry, to noble for anger, too strong to fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble in my life. I try not to worry too much. Jim has dubbed me “Scarlet” because he says my motto is “I’ll think about that tomorrow!” I can handle anger ok and am not fearful, just careful. But I do have a problem with letting trouble cloud my thoughts. Especially when it’s something I can’t do anything about, i.e., the health problems of our son James.


Sure there are things I want to accomplish in 2008, and will work toward accomplishing them. But if I don’t succeed, I’ll try again another year. I never give up. I just keep trying, and trying, and trying.


My goals for the New Year also include taking care of myself through better nutrition, better physical fitness, and getting plenty of rest.


Last year at the annual Chamber of Commerce banquet, I was given the “Spirit of Elba:” award. I accepted that honor with pleasure as it exemplifies my nature – to make our little town a better place for everybody to live.

James and his Clubhouse

Today's post features James, our middle son, who is 51 and lives at home.   His mental age is around 6 so he is very limited in things he can do. But he has good social skills and is pretty independent and wants to be left alone when he is at home. We have provided him with a place for him to go and enjoy his hobbies. When we moved to Elba in Nov 2003, we bought a storage building and created a "get away" place for him. It is well insulated and easy to heat and cool. He spends a lot of time in his "club house" which is just outside the back door, beside the porch.
Take a look at what's inside.....

This daybed also has a trundle bed. When our son Bill comes for a visit, he likes to sleep here. When we were putting Christmas decorations away recently, James wanted to keep the outdoor Santa in his clubhouse.

On the other side of the room is a table where he sits to work on his baseball collection. The cards are stored in the large plastic tubs underneath the table (usually one or more boxes is emptied on the floor where he likes to look at them). We help him clean up occasionally, so he can get around in the room!

At the end of the room is a book shelf with his vast train and railroad book collection. He has lots of trains and accessories and some are shown here on the top shelves.

There's a media area in one corner of the room. He has cable TV, a stereo system to play his records, radio and tape player & CD player. He has a big collection of LP records.

Rain, Rain, Go Away (for awhile)

Last night I woke up to bright flashes of lightning and the sound of thunder rumbling. I got up and looked outside and it had been raining and we had a "lake" in our back yard. Thunderstorms are uncommon in December, although December is traditionally a wet month in this area. It has been raining now every day for almost a week and I feel like my skin will mildew if the rain doesn't clear up soon.


I've been looking at seed catalogs and alarmed at the price of seeds. I'm glad I saved red and lavendar hibiscus and yellow coreposis seeds, along with Black Eyed Susans, last summer to have a head start. Perinneals will need dividing so I will have enough to keep me busy in February and March.

My Master Gardening classmates from last fall are offering to help me with the landscaping and planting trees, as well as restoring two brick planters left at the site of the old school, and planting perennials in them.
We will fill these with yellow coreopsis and black eyed Susans and some tall zebra cannas in the center - to provide orange and yellow flowers all summer. We have to have 40 hours of volunteer work to complete our Master Gardener course and receive our badge.I can provide my classmates with volunteer hours.
Recently I applied for a grant to get some more trees to plant at the playground and received $700. Wade Wise from Wade's Nursery and I are working on a landscaping plan and will get some more trees early in January. My MG classmates will help with this project. Someday "Tiger Town Park" will be a real showplace in downtown Elba. And I will be happy to have been a part of this.

Tribute to Uncle Marty on his 90th birthday

Tomorrow, Dec. 30, Uncle Martin John Koomen (Marty) will be 90. It seems like yesterday when Aunt Nellie Faye (Smith) brought Uncle Marty to Elba, AL to meet her family in 1947. She and Uncle Marty met in Washington, DC when they were working for the Govt. during WWII. They were married Dec. 6, 1946 in Washington, DC. Uncle Marty's parents emigrated from The Hague, the Netherlands and settled near Rochester, NY. He was born 30 Dec 1917 in Pittsford (Monroe Co) NY. He worked for the Naval Research Lab. in Washington, DC until he retired and then he continued working there until he was in his 80's. After Aunt Nellie Faye died from cancer on Jan. 6, 1985. Later he sold their beautiful home in Fairfax, VA and now resides in Greensprings Retirement Home in Springfield, VA.


Marty and Faye had two sons: Stephen Dane Koomen (16 Feb 1949-12 Oct 1977) and William Neal Koomen (see photo at end of page). Steve went west and settled on Orcas Island, WA. A Christmas card from Aunt Faye with this photo of her and Uncle Marty was taken at Orcas Island in April 1976 when they went to visit Steve, before he died from stomach cancer the next year.



The next photo was taken in AL in 1980 when they were visiting relatives in the Elba area. We loved for Uncle Marty and Aunt Nellie Faye to come to Ala to visit. It was an occasion for all of my mother's brothers and sisters to get together and Mama and Papa Smith were always so glad to see everybody. I remember the first time they met Marty. In was the summer of 1947, 6 months after they were married. They came by train to Montgomery and then by Greyhound bus to Danley's Cross Roads where Mama and Papa Smith were living (near Liberty Church). We knew the time of their arrival and I remember riding in a wagon down the red clay road about 1/2 mile with my Papa to meet the bus and flag him down so he would stop and let my aunt and uncle get off. She didn't know where her parents were living since they had moved to the country from Elba. It's a good thing we were in the wagon since they had lots of luggage and it was a hot July day. I don't know if this was Uncle Marty's first trip to Ala or to the south. I wonder what he was thinking that day!! I was 12 years old and had gone to help Mama and Papa Smith "get ready" for company. We all like Uncle Marty and he was so handsome. He liked to take pictures and would have them printed and send us some. We didn't have a camera. Later he would make slides and we were introduced to "slide shows" by Uncle Marty on return visits. When I graduated from high school in 1952, I went by Greyhound bus from Elba to Washington, DC and spent the summer with Aunt Faye and Uncle Marty and their little son Steve. I worked that summer at the Navy Hydrographic Office in Suitland, MD and saved all of my checks for college that fall. Uncle Marty and Aunt Faye are very special to me.
This photo of James and Uncle Marty was taken in Washington, DC in December 1983, at the home of Al and Chris. We were living in Winston-Salem and spent Christmas with Al and Chris. Uncle Marty's hair was changing from black to silver by this time.


Uncle Marty has been at many of our family gatherings over the years. The photo at the top, at age 78, is when he was attending my sister Judy's 50th birthday on Jan. 1, 1995 in Fayetteville, NC. I bet he has enjoyed watching all 7 of our family grow up. Judy was only 1 year old when they got married and Alice and Carolyn came along later. Now they are all married and have children and most have grandchildren. Wow! That's a long time.


Here are photos of Uncle Marty's son Bill Koomen and daughters Emily and Elise. The other photo is his wife Germaine. They live in Newburyport, MA.


Uncle Marty's niece Patti (Knudson) and her husband Bob Towsley live in Alexandria, VA and they will have a birthday dinner for Uncle Marty tomorrow at their home. Bob and Patti visit him often and Uncle Marty is lucky to have them around. Wish we could be there to help him celebrate. Bob used to work with Uncle Marty at the Naval Research Laboratory.

Forks, Knives, and Spoons

This Christmas I put stainless steel flatware on my list. We have the most eclectic assortment you've ever seen that we use daily. I am going to change all of that and have everything match from now on! It was fun looking through our assortment and remembering where they came from. Would you believe that we are still using some flatware we bought in Germany in 1953. It was very inexpensive but heavy and we've misplaced a lot of it. Then once I bought some samples at a store in Paris, TX - all good quality and some even had monograms on the handles - but they were not "G". With 3 active boys in and out of the kitchen, borrowing flatware to take camping, furnishing school aparatments, etc. the utensils have been moved around.


 Early in December I started looking for some good quality stainless steel that "matched" and learned a lot in the process. I finally settled on Oneida "Julliard", 18/10. It is expensive so I asked for a couple of 5-piece place settings and ended up with 4 under the tree. It was on sale at Belk's, 50% off, and no shipping charges, so Jim ordered 3 sets and Bill gave me a set. Yesterday I got an email from Macy's and they had this flatware on sale plus a bonus set for each set that you buy. So I ordered 2 more sets immediately . Someday I will have all I need - 8 sets, to use every day, for the 3 of us.


Today I was thinking of the Rogers Bros. silverplate I bought many years ago and have enjoyed using on special occasions. When we got married, I was in college and Jim was in the army, and we didn't pick out silver, china, crystal, etc., back in 1953 like brides do today. So it wasn't until the mid 1960's, when we bought a new home in Atlanta and had a dining room, that I wanted some nice silverware. Our 3 boys were in elementary school and we didn't have a lot of money left over to spend on luxuries such as this. I noticed on a box of Sunshine Krispy crackers (which they loved to eat) an ad about Rogers Bros silverware. You could complete a set by saving coupons from the box tops and sending a check along with the coupons to order individual pieces of the silver. This was quite a project and I kept at it (having friends and family save coupons for me) until I got twelve 5-piece place settings. It is reinforced silverplate International Sterling and heavy and shiny. I have no idea what pattern it is; it's been too long ago to remember that. I did try looking it up on the internet but couldn't find it. I even looked for the 1960's Sunshine Krispy Cracker ad but never did find that either. I read that Rogers Bros made hundreds of designs from 1888 to 1950, so I will probably never learn the name of my pattern. It really doesn't matter that much. I treasure this much more than people do who have all this given to them when they get married. I worked for mine! I polish it often and we take it out and use it on special occasions or when we have company. When the granddaughters visit, they like to set the table and use the pretty china dishes and silver, along with my pretty placemats, tablecloths and cloth napkins.