While we moan and groan over moving the snow, it does have its fun side, too. For those who have sat on their expensive, impressive snowmobiles all winter with no place to go, it was like a gift from heaven when the snow recently came falling down.
Though times have changed and today’s machines are like comparing a Cadillac to a Model T in my snowmobiling days, it does bring back memories of fun in the snow. We didn't go fast and I won't say we didn't travel far, because we did travel great distances inhaling gas fumes along with the great fresh air. Back in those "good old days" we didn't have snowmobile trails to travel like they do now, either; we made our own.
Our snowmobile suits were pretty much plain old suits, either black or navy blue, but the quilted material was high tech compared to the woolen coats that came before them. They were not a fashion statement, like those worn today that look like something from NASCAR with all the bright colors and designs. Also, we didn't have all the great helmets that are now used to protect one’s head either.
For the young at heart (and body) as they zip across the mounds of snow, it brings back thoughts of the movie Dr. Zhivago when they traveled across the snow-drenched plains with horse and sleigh. Before the days of snowmobiles and water skiing, horses (not horsepower) pulled many a skier behind them on wonder skis on untamed trails. In fact, even horseback riding in the snow was an adventure.
Kids still do love the snow because they can build caves and snow forts, and have a few snowball fights, as well as do a little sliding. Which is correct, sliding or sledding?
Sliding is what you do on a hill — sliding over the snow. Sledding may mean going down a hill on a sled, or it may mean traversing the snow on a sled. It might help to remember to think of horse-drawn sleds.
It is hard to believe in those early years of snowmobiling that we use to go to Clarks Grove on our evening snowmobile jaunts. Interstate 35W was still in the making. Where does time go? It seems like only yesteryear.
Many are the times we used to park on the hill east of St. Olaf Lake to watch the herd of deer that made their appearance with little apparent fear of the bunch of us on our snowmobiles. It’s sad to think that lately we seem to still be watching deer, but as road kill along the highway. There is still something impressive about a deer with its Bambi eyes and distinctive white tail bobbing along the road and across the fields that impresses me.
Wild turkeys were "new on the scene" about the time my girls and my sister Kaye’s boys were small. I believe the New Richland FFA raised and released them in our territory, and others did too, and now they are about as familiar as robins but still fun to see. I can still picture them running down Brian Espe’s hill to my folks’ cabin at St. Olaf Lake when my dad was ready to give them a "handout," though they much preferred acorns to corn. They often pecked on the picture window, much to our enjoyment, ti to let us know they were hungry.
They say turkeys are dumb, and you could believe so if you saw them high in the trees behind where Tom McCrady lives at St. Olaf Lake. It seems the stronger the wind the higher they went, but turkeys are wily and difficult to hunt. They have little sense of smell, but their eyesight is keen.
My folks had a few white turkeys visit them while they lived at St. Olaf Lake. Interesting how they would harvest seeds from weeds and grasses, pressing their beak around the stem and pulling upward, so the seeds went directly into their mouth.
Then there was the time we went to Como Park and the kids spotted vultures that they thought were turkeys. I guess there was some resemblance. Maybe they were turkey vultures; but that is another story.
We often frequented both the Como Park and Minnesota Zoo back in those early days. Kaye would plan those trips on short notice and we'd just go, often taking lunch with us prepared in a hurry as we were practically going out the door. Imagine the surprise when biting into a sandwich to realize some tops and bottoms got mixed up in the rush and we had a sandwich McDonald’s never even thought of: peanut butter and tuna fish!
As a youngster my nephew, Cameron’s, dream was that he would someday work at a zoo. Well, maybe he still does sometimes but not the zoo you think, and his interest and his love of animals has taken him many miles as a guide and a hunter. With our family, reunions probably are the zoo! How did I get from snow to turkeys to the zoo? Easy, I live in Minnesota and you can expect anything, any time here — the same as the name of this column – it’s “whatever comes to mind."
A favorite time for my mom and dad were their jaunts around St. Olaf Lake every night on cross-country skis. It was a stress-free time; quiet, beautiful weather, dark or under a sky sprinkled with stars. We all had cross-country skis. Probably not brave enough to attack the ski slopes. Not your speed skier, it was more fun to go slowly, taking in the sights, identifying tracks, and listening to the birds and animals that lived in the wooded areas.
My dad was always a master of making snow people. He was tall enough to make them tower above our heads and it was always a sport to talk my Grandma Hanson out of accessories to make them stylish.
There have been years without snow; in fact, my mother tells of the war years. There was green grass under Grandma’s evergreen and she had Uncle Paul pose in his swimming suit so she could take a picture of him on New Year’s Day. It got sent to the boys she was so faithful to write to while they were serving our country.
Winters have been both colder and warmer than what we have experienced in the last few years. I guess that’s why they changed the term global warming to climate change - since weather is never static, they can’t be wrong!
I also remember when Daryl and I lived in the old "Olson house" in Geneva. Grandma had given me pansies to plant one summer. Imagine my surprise to have them blossom the next spring in one of our late snowfalls.
Speaking of snowfalls, they say that no two snowflakes are the same. I’ll have to take the word of the experts; how in the world would one know?
Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. If you have news please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.
Birthdays and Anniversaries:
• Thursday, March 7th: Jace John Goslee, his 7th; Marlee Diane Dutton, her 9th; Jake Ortiz, Emily Horan, David Otterson, Chuck Hagen, Lorna Reistad, Kenneth Peterson, Lance Cummins, Peggy Evenson and Rose Myhre
• Friday, March 8th: Derek Alan Lee, Janice Olson Paulson, Greg Nelson, Carla Paulsen Haugen, Melissa Trindad, Kathy & Mike Plunkett, Stephanie & Tom Pulley
• Friday, March 9th: Reese Sharon Glynn, her 6th; Taylor Jensen, Chris Clausen, Peter Dammel, Curtis Langlie, Mark Sawyer, Joel Wacholz, Dean Waltz, Jaclyn Cromwell Olson, Chris Farr, Joleen Thompson
• Saturday, March 10th: Julie Stieglbauer Dahl, Sue Misgen, Aaron Callahan, Travis Johnson, Michelle Olson Bedney, Tom Vavra, Heidi Mattson LaFave, Chuck Hanson, Gayle Dummer, Douglas Schmidt, Linda Anderson, DeLynn Johnson Rohrbacher, Hannah Emily Brunsen
• Sunday, March 11th: Elsie Jacobson, her 1st; Marian Mast, Carolyn Flesche, Leroy Folie, Kari Thostenson, Jon Carlson, Michelle Meyer, Larry Richards, Tim Simon, Joan Ahlstrom Diderrich, Tanya Swearingen, Tom Arbogast, David Callahan, Dean Lembke, Spener Sebastian Sommers, his 10th; Doug Blouin, Wendell Kuehni, Paul & Shirley Nelson
• Monday, March 12th: David Paulson, Jason Bowman, Terri Engel, Robert Hall, Harla Stanley Malz, Spiering Brody Sundbland, Gary & Barb Paulson, Jack & Virginia Jensen
• Tuesday, March 13th: Joanna Ver Hey, David Mangskau, Lynda Kruckeberg, Darla Waltz, Jessica Liverseed, Craig Lunning, Tony Tonsing
• Wednesday, March 14th: National Potato Chip Day! Laura Katherine Worrell, Connor Duane Klemmsensen, his 5th; Sierra Christine Krause, her 4th; Brian Cerney, Brent Huber, Marcia Hutchins, Lee Loverink, Mary Finch, Kathy Molenaar, Trevor Titus
Wishing you sunny smiles to warm your heart on your special day!
