Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Wright News

04/19/2005

Wright News by Jennie K. Hanson 357-2385 April 19, 2005

There has been so much going on in our area, that it’s hard to know where to start.  But, as most of you know, Bob and I were gone for 11 days out East, so there was no news for two weeks.  I thought of sending news in from the trip, but then thought it would be better to just catch up when I got back.  Anyway, we were on vacation, so I needed the R & R.  Sure felt good, too, not to have any worries or demands on my time.

While out East, we went to the top of the Empire State Building, rode in a NY Taxi and the NY Subway, we saw Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Arlington National Cemetery, Faces of the Fallen Exhibit at the Women’s Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The Today Show, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Washington, DC’s Lincoln and Washington Monuments, the FDR and WWII Memorials, the cherry blossoms, which were at their absolute peak, Mt. Vernon, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Philadelphia, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and many, many more sights which were all wonderful to see.  There are so many sights out East and I think we saw most of them, at least the major ones.  We went on a bus trip with 47 passengers.  With a bus that full, I was expecting that some of the passengers would be late, crabby, or just plain not nice, but this was not the case, as this was the best group I have ever traveled with.  We were always back on the bus on time or even early, everyone was polite, patient and kind to each other and the tour guide and her husband the bus driver, Ruby and Arne took very good care of us.  The weather even cooperated as we only had rain part of one day and that was on the way home.  It was hard to say our Good-byes when we got back to Duluth and Cloquet, but now we have some new friends and that is great.  Traveling by bus is a really great way to go.  No Worries and it is also very economical.  You really get your money’s worth.

I even got to use my teaching skills on the trip as I taught Ellen Lane how to make dishrags.  I had been knitting them all the way and she asked if I would show her how to make them, so I did.  By the time we got back home she had made 4 of them and I had made 29.

We weren’t home long when I attended the wedding of Annie Lally and Lee Knutson in Duluth.  They were married at The Holy Family Catholic Church on April 16, 2005.  Annie’s Maid of Honor was her sister Megan, and Lee’s Best Men were his brother Andrew and friend Shawn Olien.  Other attendants were Lindsay Peterson, Harper Harker, Carrie Gervais, Tammy Swartout, Jill Frieremuth Beihn, Krista Fromm, Jake Simma, Alex Todd, Brent Lindus, Eric Brown, and Chad Fehrman.  The flower girl was Erika Kosloski and the Ring Bearers were Gavin and Gabe Bottolfson.  A beautiful reception was held at the Greysolon Plaza in Hotel Duluth following the ceremony.  Annie and Lee are honeymooning in Hawaii and will be making their home near Bayport, MN.

There were many friends and family that attended the wedding.  It was especially great to see Bill and JoLynn Norton, Annie’s kindergarten Teacher, Gayle and Rhea Nieman and Rhea’s daughters, Grace and Trinity and Ed and Gerri Nynas at the wedding.  It is always great to renew the old friendships.

Brent Bushnell, formerly of Wright, was married to Deborah Sandoval on Sunday, April 3rd, 2005 in Minnetonka, MN.  Congratulations to these newly weds.

April 16th was also a very special day in Cromwell as the family of Sally Parviainen, age 90, celebrated her life with a gathering of Family and Friends at the pavilion.  Sally died on January 9, 2005 and was buried at Eagle Lake Cemetery at 11 AM, followed with a wonderful afternoon of Finnish Foods, hugs, tears, smiles and laughter.  Music at the cemetery was provided by Sharon Houck and at the pavilion by the Finn Hall Band.  So to Anita (Floyd) Bertelsen, and Shirley Eichenwald (Duane) Maki and all of Sally’s family we have you all in our thoughts and prayers.

Twenty members of the Carlton County Retired Educators attended the meeting at the Wright Senior Center on April 19th.  They were served a delicious lunch by the Wright Place Café and then were entertained by Angel Pylka and Rod Walli.

Grandparent’s Day will be held at the school on Friday, April 29th starting at 1:30 PM.  If you are a grandparent you are surely welcome to attend even if you don’t have a grandchild in our school.  You will be paired up with a child that is not able to have their grandparents attend.

The Ladies of Bethlehem Lutheran Church invite all area Mothers and Daughters to their annual Mother - Daughter Tea and Luncheon on Saturday May 7th, at the church at 1:30 PM.  This year’s guest speaker will be Rev. Christine Anttila of the Seafarers Ministry in Duluth.  There will also be special readings and musical numbers.

The last day of the After School Program will be May 19th.  There will be no After School Program the week of May 23rd or 30th.  Donations are still needed to keep the ASP going this year and especially for next year.

The Bethlehem Lutheran Sunday school will end on Sunday, May 22nd at the 9AM service.  The children will be singing and serving lunch in church and attendance awards will also be given out at that time.  Prayer Partners are especially encouraged to attend.

The area 4-H members are selling the new 2005 Plat Books at the discounted price of $25.00 if you order before May 15th.  After that they will be $27.50.  Contact an area 4-H member to order yours now.

That’s all the news from Lake Gladtobeback and Hello to our new friends from Traveler’s Choice.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

A Tribute to Vern and Esther Baker

03/20/2005

A Tribute to Vern and Esther Baker
Written by Jennie K. (Dahlman) Hanson
March 20, 2004

As a young person is growing up and getting an education there are many people who are important in their lives and leave a great impression on them.
Your parents, Vern and Esther Baker, were some of those wonderful people in my life.  They were not only the ones who provided me with a wonderful home experience while living with them during my college years, but they became my friends then and for all the years since I graduated and moved on with my life.
They were there at my wedding to Bob Hanson and also made several visits to my classroom in Wright on their way to Brainard to visit Ester’s brother.
As my family grew, we would often stop in to their home on Kenwood Ave for visits and renewing our friendship.  Esther would always have some homemade goodies to serve with coffee and we would have to tour the gardens if it was summer.
I will always be grateful for the things your parents taught me.  First of all, your mom taught me to make my bed, everyday, and keep my room clean. Of course I knew these things, but she made sure I did them.  Clean up a mess as soon as possible, or don’t make that mess in the first place.  I think that was her motto.  She would also do my laundry, which to a college student was really appreciated.  I know she did this so I wouldn’t misuse her washer and dryer, but it sure was nice of her to do it.  When I would come home from classes on Mondays, there would be my clean clothes piled on the steps for me to take up and put away.
In the late 1980’s when I was having my class collect a million pop tabs, Esther would faithfully collect them for me.  She would even pick them up off the street if she saw any of them.  Vern would get a little disgusted with her for this because he thought they had too dirty.  But that didn’t stop her.  She told him that Jennie needed them!  By the way, my class did collect 1,000, 000 tabs by 1989.  It only took us 2 1/2 years with the help of many people like Esther.
The thing I loved about your dad was that he would always have time for a visit or to help me with anything.  I remember that we would watch the Channel 10 News and then the weather with Jack McKenna.  I don’t think your dad ever missed the weather report.  I guess that was because of his love of gardening.  He taught me things about that, too.  I even have a Hawaiian orchid plant that he gave me years ago and it blooms every summer with the most beautiful red blossoms. I also have a stained glass piece he made hanging in my living room window.  These reminders of your parents bring joy to my heart whenever I see them.
I also remember those faces of men and women that hung on the dining room wall.  They always fascinated me also.  It seems like you could look at them forever and still not see everything about them.  I sure hope they stay in the family as a wonderful reminder of your parents.

One of the funniest things that happened when I was living with your parents was the night I was asked to join them and Philip for a spaghetti supper.
Your mom had worked all day making her special spaghetti sauce.  She kept it simmering all during the day so that the flavor would be just right.  Then, around 5 or 6 o’clock, we all sat around that small kitchen table to eat.  Everyone started to eat. Then we all slowed down eating.  There was something so unusual about the flavor of the sauce.  We looked back and forth at each other, but didn’t want to say anything to Esther because she had worked so hard to make such a good meal.  Finally, Philip got brave and yelled out, “ Mom, this tastes like “Top Job” (a floor cleaner)!” Esther looked up and couldn’t believe what she had done.  After browning the hamburger early in the morning for the sauce, she had poured some Top Job in the frying pan to help loosen the stuck on meat.  Later on in the day she had forgotten about the Top Job and poured the juice from the frying pan into the sauce.  I guess she thought the juice from the fried meat would enhance the flavor.  Well, it did the job, only now we had to throw out all the sauce and eat just plain spaghetti noodles for supper.  I don’t think we ever let her forget that “Special Sauce.”
Now that they have both died and are flying with the angels, I only have great memories of your parents.  I am so thankful that I had them for all these past years and will miss them a lot.  I want to thank you all for sharing them with my family and me.
Now may God Bless you at this difficult time and may God always keep them in our hearts.
I loved them very, very much. JKH