The arrival of the Minnetonka barges was a banner day for every b(u)oy and girl!

The Permanent Family Record

The Gram With a Thousand Rules writes: “The ice is out on Lake Minnetonka. That means the barge is out distributing the buoys to mark the channels that connect the 41 bays of Lake Minnetonka. I wonder if this draws as much attention from the lake dwellers today as it did to us when we lived in our little cottage during the mid-’50s.

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Did the kids’ competitions take a break on Easter? Not a chance!

The Permanent Family Record

The Gram With a Thousand Rules: “On Easter afternoon in 1970, we took a posed photo of our two youngest kids looking like sweet little cherubs . . .

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Continue reading “Did the kids’ competitions take a break on Easter? Not a chance!”

It was a strange fortnight in the Twin Cities, when St. Paul springed forward and Minneapolis was left behind . . .

Play ball!
Including: Fun facts to know and tell

The REF in White Bear Lake writes: “Subject: Baseball season’s begun. Frug like frantic!

“I got my hands on an August 23, 1965,. issue of Sports Illustrated — with young Tony Oliva on the cover and a story by William Leggett inside. The author tried to capture the atmosphere of the Upper Midwest as the Twins showed that, this late summer, they weren’t going to fold as they had in years past (going 22-9 in July).

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Of big black cast-iron frying pans, kitchen-heating stoves, mothers and muffins, husbands and sons . . .

This ‘n’ that

Inspired by recent mentions of cast-iron frying pans and oldfangled cook stoves, here’s The Gram With a Thousand Rules: (1) “I have been busy with tax preparation and plumbing problems these past few weeks. Now the taxes are filed, and the refunds should pay the plumbing bills, so I have time to focus on other, pleasanter things, like big black cast-iron frying pans.

Continue reading “Of big black cast-iron frying pans, kitchen-heating stoves, mothers and muffins, husbands and sons . . .”

A funny thing happened on the way to the wedding (x 2) . . .

Our pets, ourselves
And: Accidents of mirth

DebK of Rosemount writes: “In the past month or so, our corner of Rice County has been the scene of rooftop activities not generally advised for 75-year-old pretend farmers. Taxman’s exertions have been calculated, I understand, to encourage calving of the ice dams that have formed at the intersections of the various rooflines on this old farmhouse.

Continue reading “A funny thing happened on the way to the wedding (x 2) . . .”