Dad

[I don't think I have posted much about my  Dad on my 

silly little blog.]

My dad, Ralph Melby,  was born at Silver Creek, MN on

Friday, August 3, 1900.

During threshing time, he would look out the window at school,

watching the steam threshing rig go by.  He was so fascinated by

these huge machines. He  said he would sit and daydream

about them at school!    

Once, he was even allowed to stay home from school during 

threshing so he could watch the threshers!

When my dad was 10 years old, the family moved to a farm

near Kvam Church.  

Years later, my dad, his brother George, and their nephew Kenneth 

held the first threshing show (now the Lake Region

Pioneer Threshermen's Association)

Below is a picture of the founders:   George, Kenneth & Ralph

This photo of Dad was taken circa 1985

He died in 1991.

Dad claimed he was not a good student, that he was more interested in

machinery than books.   But he had good business sense, and he kept

impeccable records - both financial and inventory.  I think he was a

better student than he thought he was.

He was left-hand, but in those days children were forced to

use their right hand when writing.   So while he used his left hand for things

such as hammering, he wrote with his right hand - and his penmanship was not bad!

My Dad worked at the Broom Factory in Fergus Falls, did custom

threshing, co-owned the Skelly Gas Station in Dalton,

was a farmer, owned the lumberyard, and later a hardware

store in Dalton, among other things.

Dad could be stubborn (a family trait he passed on to some of us),

but he had a great sense of humor and was known to

take part in more than one practical joke.

He loved to tease us kids, but was a disciplinarian when necessary.

He gave most of us kids nicknames, and unfortunately (?)

some of them still stick today.

To write everything I know (which maybe isn't that much) about

Dad on this blog would be extremely lengthy, but one thing

is certain:   Christian values, his children and Mom

were the most important things to him.

Oh, yeah - those steam engines were right up near the

top of the list, too!

BABY BIRD

This morning when I was going over to work, a young bird was trying out

its wings on my front steps - trying out one step at a time, I guess!

When I came home, the little bird was still there,

but had made it into my hanging basket of flowers,

which is not very far from the ground.

He sat there and posed for me and he still sits 

out there now, either waiting to work up 

enough nerve to try flying,

or waiting for his mother to help him out.

.Visiting a Little Local History

Shows some of the ornate trim

One of the "cottages"

A view from behind

One of many fire escapes

One of the residences

I wonder who lived here??

 They are talking about destroying this historic site.

It is HUGE!!  We walked around the grounds today,

taking lots of pictures.   I hope they will at least

preserve these three towers and the building portion

that they are attached to.

[For any of you who don't know, these pictures

are from the old State Hospital in Fergus Falls.]

ROCKETTES!

My cousin Frances was a Rockette at the

Radio City Music Hall in New York.

In 1937, the dancers competed

in an International Dance Festival

at the Paris Exposition.

The Rockettes placed first in the competition,

something that Frances was very proud of.

In 1937, Frances was just 25 years old.

She lived to her 90's and I did 

get to meet her when she visited

relatives in Minnesota.

Here are the 46 Rockettes who went to Paris in 1937. 

The photo was part of a program for 

Radio City Music Hall on June 17, 1937.

And was found on e-bay.

I am not positive which one is Frances but when I enlarged the photo

I think she could be in the third row from the top on the left.

A Ghostly Story.....

"Mom, there's something banging over here!"

That was my call to my Mom when I was babysitting

over at the neighbors. I could hear knocking

and I was scared!

Mom didn't come over, she assured me it was just the wind...

But later I learned that when Mom and Dad lived in that very house

in the 1930's....

There were strange sounds occurring.

It went:  "Thump....thump-thump-thump thump"

No logical reason could be found for the noise

and it was strange, indeed.

Mom mentioned this noise to her sister Palma,

who also lived in that house some years before Mom & Dad.

Palma had heard the very same noise!

Then, many years later, in the late 1950's,

Mom mentioned the noise to the person 

living there - her name was Ella.

When Mom told her about the thumping noise,

Ella got the oddest expression on her face

and wouldn't talk about it.

Now there are new owners in the house 

70-some years after my parents lived there.

The new owner says the house is very noisy 

and they are convinced they have a ghost

who they call "Harry."

Besides the noise, they hear the floor creak

as if someone is walking across it...

Their bedroom door does not stay open,

so they put a door stop on it -

the door stop disappeared, so

they got another - that one also disappeared!

The basement door will suddenly open,

and I was told that many odd things happen over there.

Things have been unplugged from the electrical outlets,

and every now and then, they feel

someone sitting on the bed;

But of course no one is there!

Now I'm not saying I believe in ghosts,

but I have to admit some strange 

things happen!

It's not the wind!!

No More School

Today, I heard that the old schoolhouse

just west of Dalton burned down.

This old one-room schoolhouse known

as District #126

had not been used in years.

[Maybe since the 1920's, but that is

just a guess on my part.]

It is kind of sad; this old landmark

was the last remaining building of 

the town once known as Parkdale.

A couple of years ago, I took some

pictures of the school that was

tucked back in the trees,

barely visible from the road.

  District #126

 Inside the school entrance

a shelf was still attached to the wall.  

One can imagine that children put

their lard pails containing

their lunches on here.

It appeared that more shelving,

or possibly a cabinet was on the wall directly

above it at one time.

 A view from the side

 Can't you just hear the old

school bell ringing

when it was time for classes to begin?

On the outside of the building the

stairway leading to the basement was still intact.

The furnace that used to keep the school 

warm was still there.

So glad I took these pictures.

I think Amy maybe took better (& more) of them.