Credit Sue for this one. ….
Credit Sue for this one. She always came up with something special about the year. Twenty-two was cool and ‘23 is all about me.
The weather has finally turned a bit more mild and it looks like maybe we can go a few days without any more snow. It is so pretty to look at, but getting around in it is another. I think my walker would have a few choicer things to say.
It was no real surprise to see on the news that this past December was the third heaviest in history. I recall another many years ago when my brother Carl had a can milk route. Even with a snowplow on his truck he still had problems. I finished work one afternoon and went looking for him. It wasn’t a problem; I knew his route and simply backtracked. He was having problems, even with the plow. Then when I did find him he had a request. Could I go find him some gasoline? This was one of those routes a long distance from Turtle Lake.
Like a good helpful brother I drove down the road to one of the closest neighbors. As I mentioned, the snow was deep, so I walked through the snow to get to the house. By that time of the afternoon it was already getting dark. As it turned out this was an older farm couple and he said, gee, he was sorry but he didn’t use his tractor in the winter, so he didn’t have any.
I don’t remember how he got out or got some gas, but we must have as I am here today.
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Speaking of bad weather, I stopped at the TRG office just to meet Valorie and get acquainted. She was telling me about looking back at some of the old issues and ran across my column. It had the same heading Florence drew for me shortly after I started writing it, with her initials “FJB” carefully tucked away.
The story she read was not about a snowstorm, but freezing cold weather, like 20 below. The water tower had frozen over and Bob Langfeldt climbed the tower, got in it and chopped a hole in the ice. I don’t think the story mentioned if he was wearing a pair of mittens that day.
ÓÓÓÓÓ Not everything is planned here. I was watching a football game on television one night just before Christmas. Suddenly I heard Christmas music in the hall and had to step out to see how it was. There had to be a couple dozen Mennonites of all ages, all singing Christmas carols to their hearts’ content. Just wonderful to have real live music.
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I promised to tell you about my diploma from Holy Toledo University last week. It all started after I’d been writing my column for a number of years. People kept asking where I had gone to school, referring to some college or university.
I have to confess I only attended the two-room Pipe Lake Grade School for my first eight years and then graduated from Turtle Lake High School in 1948. I have to confess spelling and English were not my strong subjects. Math, American history, typing and shorthand pulled me through. I confessed to my friend Otto Becker about this one time and he said I was writing at a level my readers enjoy, so don’t worry about it.
The diploma reads, ------------------------------------------------------------------- Holy Toledo University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Trustees of the University, upon the recommendation of the University Faculty and by virtue of the Authority in them vested, have conferred on Robert E. Berglund Who has satisfactorily pursued the studies and passed the examination required therefor, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Adorableness With all the rights and honors hereunto appertain appertaining.
Given at Shut my Mouth, Alaska, on the 25th day of December in the year of our Lord 1979.
Romaine C. Brandt, President Alfred Almond, Chairman Mortimer Macadamia, Secretary Charles Cashew, Academic Dean ------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks like a bunch of nuts to me. Romaine Brandt is from our newspaper association and I suspect Florence was somehow involved.
