Updating my kitchen!!

Here is the way my kitchen appeared last week -

blue countertops, yellow walls.

My new countertop!  The walls are painted a

light green and I made new curtains!

I had glass installed in some of the cupboards

so that I could display some of my pretty things.

One more view.

Esther

This is my Aunt Esther. 

She was about 3 years old when this photo was taken,

around 1918 - at the time of World War I.

This past Monday, Esther passed away

at the age of 96.

With Esther's passing,

I do not have any more living aunts or uncles.

That is sad to me,

and of course it makes me realize

that time is passing by way too quickly.

When I was little, we used to think it was

great fun when Esther came around.

She liked us little kids, and she

often brought some little trinket for us.

She always remembered our birthdays.

When we went to visit Esther at

Grandma's place,

it was great fun to go upstairs into her room.

We thought everything was so nice...

her dresser was painted white, her iron bed was painted white,

and everything was neat and clean. 

Sometimes we would go into grandma's store room;

here were old relics, such as hats & shoes,

and boxes that held secrets that we never dared to look at.

The remains of Esther's porcelain doll was in plain

sight for us to see,

but we never dared to touch it.

Esther never married,

so I think she enjoyed the attention

we kids gave her.

And we enjoyed the attention

she gave us.

Esther was in the nursing home for quite a few years.

Her health declined.

Sometimes she seemed to know us

and would even give a little smile.

But the past few months

Esther was not the aunt that we knew as children.

People say that under the circumstances,

her death was a blessing.

Perhaps they are right.

but I am still going to miss Esther

that I knew as a child.

Esther O. Dahlager

April 1, 1915 - May 23, 2011

Sarpsborg Sunday School

Sarpsborg Sunday School - circa  1951-1952

Back row:  Anita Olson, Donna Olson, David Kvernstoen, Wayne Rovang
Third Row:  Gerald Erickson, Gay Langsjoen, James Jorgens, Patricia Langsjoen, Dean Olson, Robert Erickson
Second Row:  Wallace Erickson, Kristie Kvernstoen, Peggy Erickson, Marcia Bergan, Connie Kvernstoen, Linda Erickson
First Row:  Richard Erickson, Joyce Lindley, Connie Lindley, Donald Olson, Steven Kvernstoen, Maureen Olson, Roy Langsjoen.

Zion Sunday School - a LONG time ago!

Click on the photo to enlarge.

We are working on the 100th anniversary for Zion Church
and I got this picture (among others). 

 I thought it was so cute - I'm not on here, but brothers Si & David are on here,

and sisters Margaret & Dodie are also included.   

 I would like to identify all of them.   Can anyone help? 

 (Si, if you read this, maybe you can enlighten me!)

The second picture is taken the same day, but instead of the
top row being cut off, the bottom row came up a little short.
Those of you who are helping identify the kids
may get a little help from the second picture.
Note:  on the second photo:
1.  Another teacher is added
2. Another little girl on the bottom right,
3.  The boys have removed their caps.
I'm sure it wasn't easy getting a picture of a group this size!

Raindrops & Tulips

Even though it's cloudy & gloomy this morning,

the raindrops on the tulips were a beautiful sight! 

Tulips

What a lovely day today!
Had to get some pictures of the tulips

before the wind

scatters the petals.

Call Me Auntie Ann!!

When I was little,

My Aunt Anna was visiting from New York City.

That was pretty impressive to a little midwest girl.

New York City is worlds away from

the small-town, conservative, church-going

community I was raised in.

It was a little intimidating to meet her,

She spoke rather loudly and said what was on her mind.

(I remember her telling my mom, "you've gotten heavy!")

Whenever I spoke to her, she sharply reminded me:
"Call me Auntie Ann!"

(Auntie was pronounced "anty" - this was surely a "New York thing, we

always said it more like "ont" here!)

I was pretty sure she had a fairly glamorous life,

coming from New York and all...

She sewed costumes for dancers,

Her daughters were in "show business."

But she didn't look glamorous,

Her hair was rather wiry and untamed,

She didn't wear fancy clothes.

I guess she was pretty extraordinary

in an ordinary kind of way.

And oh, the fun she had with her siblings!

Anna, Rachel, Joseph, George, Ben & Ralph

spent hours reminiscing and laughing--

laughing so hard they could hardly compose themselves

long enough to get a good photograph of them.

Although she lived at least another 30 years

after that visit,

Anna never returned to Minnesota for a visit.

If I could visit her now, she would not need to

remind me to call her

"Aunty Ann."

And I would even pronounce it "Anty" - just for her.

There are so many things that I would like to

have asked her about--

My grandparents and their life in Minneapolis

Her life in Chicago and New York City;

And I'm sure we would probably have some good laughs, too.

Reminiscing with Auntie Ann would have been fun!

Funny, Funny Family!!

Even the photographer couldn't keep it together long enough to get a decent picture!

Back row Marie (cut-off), Joe, George, Esther (doubled over with laughter),

Ralph (he probably started it all), Mabel.

Front - Anna, Ben, Rachel (who was also laughing so hard she couldn't sit up straight)

Grandma Mina

My Grandma Mina Melby 

 was born on October 20, 1857

in Toten, Norway.

When she was young, she developed an infection

in her left eye and the eye had to be removed.

She wore a glass eye for many years.

The glass eye would chip and need to be

replaced now and then,

So when she got older, she tired of replacing the glass eye

and put a piece of cotton in her eye instead.

Mina had red hair, so I suppose

Dodie & I can blame thank her for that.

She immigrated to the U.S. in 1885

and got so seasick that she thought she would die.

She eventually settled in Minneapolis

and was a charter member of

St. Olaf Norwegian Lutheran Church.

It was here, where they were both in the choir,

that Mina met Gunerius Melby.

They were married in 1887.

Mina & Gunerius had 8 children:
George #1, Anna, Rachel, Joseph,
George #2, Benjamin, Thora & Ralph

George #1 & Thora died as young children.

Mina was 47 years old

when her youngest, Thora, was born.

Gunerius died in 1929,

and when their son (my dad, Ralph) got married,

Mina lived with them for a time.

How would you like to be a newlywed

with your mother-in-law living with you?

Uff-dah!

[Mom said it wasn't always so easy,

but she really didn't complain much about it.]

When doing my genealogy, I discovered

some interesting things about Mina's family,

including:

Mina's uncle, Herman Hamborg

was a "celebrity" of sorts.

When Herman was 18 he went to London with Sir John Rice Crowe.

They stopped in Sweden and were entertained

in the palace by King Oscar!

Herman mingled with Charles Dickens

and singer Jenny Lind,
known as the "Swedish Nightengale."

He became a citizen of England and lived there

the rest of his life.

Mina was a godly woman, and part of

her obituary reads:

"...since that time she has suffered

greatly and longed to depart to be with her

Lord, whom she loved and served. 

Her prayer was that her friends

and loved ones would find Jesus

and know Him as their Savior."

Mina was 79 years old when she died on October 20, 1936.

Mina Gaarder Melby - In all the pictures we have of her,

they are taken from the side in order to hide the

glass eye or cotton-ball in the eye.

Ghostly stories.

Our family used to live just north of Dalton.

There were some strange things that happened out there.

I don't believe in "Ghosts"

But if I did, I would think they wandered around out there.

One evening there was a loud bang;

It sounded like someone had thrown a baseball on the ceiling

in the basement.

I went downstairs to ask Lee what he was doing.

He was coming up the stairs to see what the noise was all about.

We never did find anything out of place.

More than once it sounded like something

had fallen - but we could not find anything

out of place - ever.

Nearly every morning at just about 5:00 a.m.

there was a noise that sounded like a door closing.

No one was up, and it didn't matter if it was summer or winter.

And the noise didn't go away after remodeling the end of the house

where the noise  was coming from.

But wait, the story doesn't end there!

One night as I lay in bed it sounded like

someone was whispering.

There was no one in the room with me.

I thought to myself,

"If only I could hear better."

The whispering got fainter and fainter,

almost as if the noise was above my head and traveling

out of the room.

After that, I never heard the noise

of a door closing at 5:00 a.m. again.

Then there's the time that the kids and I were

sitting outside on a nice summer evening.

Out of the corner of my eye,

I thought I saw a man up in the rock pile,

behind the granary.

One of the kids saw the same thing.

But on a second look, there was nothing there.

And then there's the time when I was in the kitchen

eating breakfast.

I looked at the phone and the cord

was swaying back & forth fairly vigorously.

And one time when I was watching TV

there was a scent of perfume

that was unexplainable.

We heard there was a couple of infant burials

in the backyard - many, many years ago.

And then we heard that someone came out (without permission)

and scattered their loved one's ashes in the yard

(They had lived there a long time ago)

But I still don't believe in ghosts.

BOO!!!

More blasts from the past!!

This is my Mom - Don't know where it is taken.

I would suspect the picture was taken around 1928-1930 

This is the house I live in - although it is now finished! :)

My dad built this house and he is standing in the picture.

You can see Lorella's house in the background.

These two houses were the last ones on the block at that time.

The Good Old Days!?

I chuckled when I saw this picture.   Pictured are my uncle Orion, my grandma and my aunt Esther. I am guessing the picture was taken around 1930, but I really am not sure of this.

Found this picture today - I don't have a clue who they are or where they are, but it's probably a picnic from the "Young People's Society" at church.

This is Clear Lake, located just south of Dalton.   When my Mom was little, they used to walk across the narrow strip of land that you see.   There is no way to walk there anymore!