The little treasures (Volume 18)

A few glimpses of the century past:

Tom Thumb Wedding 1

Tom Thumb wedding 2.jpeg

Contributor: Joan Gallagher of Inver Grove Heights

Date of picture: September 1937

Date of contribution: June 25, 2006

Caption: “Ever since I’ve been seeing pictures of kids with goats, I was thinking about sending in a picture of me, along with my sister Audrey and my two brothers, David and Paul, in a Tom Thumb wedding at Hazel Park playground in September 1937. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the picture of another Tom Thumb wedding in the Sunday morning Bulletin Board.

Continue reading “The little treasures (Volume 18)”

Twenty-five years ago, at 4 in the morning, they were shouting out their simple pleasures! Those were the days . . .

The simple pleasures (revisited)
Or: What this country has been needing (Pandemic Division)

Email from Amanda Olson: “Hello.

Continue reading “Twenty-five years ago, at 4 in the morning, they were shouting out their simple pleasures! Those were the days . . .”

At long last, Grandma K starts to get the respect she deserved!

Then & Now
Gee, Our Old La Salle Ran Great Division

DebK of Rosemount: “While Taxman and I mourn the loss of ‘public worship’ and the closing of our libraries, we count ourselves fortunate in the present crisis. We are, after all, people who prefer to keep to home, as Grandma Bobzien would say. Moreover, the movement of our lives is choreographed by forces that don’t participate in panic.

Continue reading “At long last, Grandma K starts to get the respect she deserved!”

The little treasures (Volume 16)

From those days of yore, when people could stand and sit beside one another, and people could go out to bars.
Big Bents family

Contributor: Anna Magdalena of Oakdale

Date of picture: June 1940

Date of contribution: Unknown

Caption: “This is the Bents family, originally from Canby, Minnesota.

Continue reading “The little treasures (Volume 16)”

How much fabric can one woman possibly use? Well, you never know when it might come in handy . . . or why . . .

What is right with people?
Pandemic Division

The Hastings Crazy Quilter: “Subject: Kick Covid-19 to the Curb!

“My grandmother was born in 1896. She was a young mother when the 1918 flu pandemic hit. I heard her talk about it only once, when she said it was grim living through it and harsh and depressing afterwards because so many families were ripped apart. That and the Great Depression, which came a decade later, affected her the rest of her life, but not in a way which you’d expect.

Continue reading “How much fabric can one woman possibly use? Well, you never know when it might come in handy . . . or why . . .”

How a redbird’s death “brought me down to earth, reminded me how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are right now . . .”

Life (and death) as we know it (Coronavirus Division)
Including: Our birds, ourselves

The Divine Mum of Crocus Hill: “Subject: ‘But when we are ready, we must pick ourselves up so that we can be a light for others to follow.’

“A beautiful essay from a childhood friend. She gave me permission to share”:

“Today we had a female cardinal fly into the window, and she died from her injuries. For at least a half-hour, her mate hopped around her frantically pecking at her, trying to wake her up. After a while, I could no longer watch his desperation. I had to look away for a few minutes to wrap my head around this all too common tragedy. After about an hour, I went back to the window and saw that the male cardinal was no longer there. She was alone in the rain. Nature’s tears were descending, and I could not help touching my face as I wiped away my own.

Continue reading “How a redbird’s death “brought me down to earth, reminded me how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are right now . . .””