With summer finally arriving, it is interesting to note the average person eats 60 hot dogs a year. In fact, during the average summer festival in America, five tons of hot dogs, 20 gallons of mustard, 930 pounds of onions, 125 gallons of pickles, 40 gallons of ketchup, and more than 3,000 rolls are consumed.
I really don't think I qualify as average, but maybe I just never thought about it.
Lemonade has become a beverage of choice, summer or winter. Have you noticed how often it is served now? Perhaps this is so because many no longer drink coffee.
Though I assume this is often made a la Country Time mix and is tasty, the real thing from the fruit itself would be a fruitful and healthy drink. I wonder if we really take the time to think about the many good uses derived from lemon juice.
I always heard that the juice of a lemon in a glass of water every morning kept illness at bay. It seems that lemon strips the inner digestion system of the bugs that could make one ill. Of course a glass of water first thing in the morning is always a good wash.
Long before the progressive invention of chemicals and chlorine products, lemon juice was used for cooking and drinking. It was also used for perfume and medical reasons as a cleansing agent.
It is still popular. About one third of the world’s lemons are grown in the United States. California is still the home to most of the lemon trees. A lemon tree bears about 3,000 lemons a year. Now that is a lot of lemonade.
Sitting at the beach recently, I noticed the variety of swimwear and it made me wonder when people started swimming and what they wore back then. Well, it seems the first bathing suit was worn in Greece about 350 BC.
Later, togas were worn when swimming. Bathing suits reached the height of popularity in the ancient world. Now the trend in bathing suits is as little as possible.
Another thought comes to mind. I remember when a hot, or even not so hot day, would bring out swimmers and sun bathers like a plague.
We used to use beach towels to save a place on the shore and every kid took swimming lessons. What happened? I suppose it was a recreation of choice at the time.
A strange thing sticks in mind. My folks always told us to be careful in the water.
The lifeguard/swim instructor always ended our lessons with some roughhousing. His philosophy was that it taught one the benefits of being able to cope with a stressful or frightening situation should it ever occur. Something to think about?
As kids, my sister Kaye and I lived in the water, first at Beaver Lake and later at St. Olaf. I have such fond memories of camping in a renovated old school bus at "Minnie’s" at Beaver Lake. (That was before motorhomes were popular).
I could write a book about "Life in a Swim Suit." Our mother loved it! No laundry.
We just changed from one wet suit to a dry one. We made many of our swimsuits using our sewing machine. I remember my cousin, Mark Christensen, bless his soul, even slept in a swimsuit.
When did Park and Rec quit taking the kids by the busloads to St. Olaf Lake? Lack of interest? Cost? Insurance?
I can still see the park full of kids waiting for the bus that would take them to the lake shore in the summer. That was before parents had dual jobs that prevented the kids from having transportation to get them there.
It was the place you wanted to be with your friends and classmates. Inner tubes were popular inflatables, but now they are pulled behind motor boats.
Life was simpler then. Of course I will always think our time in the sun was the best time, but times weren't so hectic and pressured back then.
It was just "the good old summer time." What are your summer time memories?
My mother remembers going swimming at the beach in the evening to cool and clean off after spending the day "shocking" grain. Bathtubs and showers weren't as plentiful back then.
They were lucky to have a pump for running water in the house and still had to heat water on the cook stove if you were to take a nice hot bath.
In the summer, a double dip ice cream cone was a real treat. Chocolate or vanilla were the flavors.
My, how time has changed. Now an ever growing number of flavors might include anything from "sauerkraut" to "bear tracks." A single dip would reveal a price 10 times that of my day. I still believe ice cream is a popular choice of desserts and a standby in everyone's freezer.
Dolly Madison created a sensation when she served ice cream as a dessert in the White House during an inaugural ball in 1812.
One used to have to go to an ice cream parlor. Incidentally, the first ice cream parlor opened in New York City in 1776. What an event that must have been. The Chinese invented and wore sunglasses more than 2000 years ago, so that makes ice cream a youngster in comparison.
It is the Fourth of July. Summer is half over and it seems like it has just begun. Before we know it, with fairs taking place, the businesses will soon be stocking their shelves in preparation for school to begin.
Oh, summer goes by so fast.
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, July 4th: Happy 4th of July! Bethany Miller, Carlie Sevcik, Pam Nelson, Trina Churchill, Ellie Rose Meiners, Brent Meiners, Brian Meiners, Denise & Scott McGowan.
• Friday, July 5th: Emma Harold, Abby Harold, Jessica Wayne, Brad Tufte, Burt Scripture, Chad Sommer, Russell Thostenson, Rhonda Grunwald, Issac Paulson, Danny Burns.
• Saturday, July 6th: Kylie Titus, Brenlee Knudsen, Austin Nord, Linda Aronson, Scott Briggs, Gary Grosland, Wendy Kammer, Travis Hanson, Paul Richards, Darrin Stadheim, James Van Riper, Kyle & Bethany Miller.
• Sunday, July 7th: Collin Christensen, Elizabeth Eder, Cheryl Boverhuis, Casey Johnson, Chad Quam, Scott Reese, Jon Spatenka, Anna Jacobson, David Anderson, DeAnn Skroch.
• Monday, July 8th: Zaine Augustine Briedenbach, Parker John & Payton Lorraine Bunn will be 8 in 2013, Barb Hagen, Al Lee, Adam Arends, Jacob Terry Phillips, Deacon Thomas Lang, Summer Paulson, Deb Jacobs, Marlene Jensen.
• Tuesday, July 9th: Larry Otto, Corey Pence, Mavis Knudtson, Joni Calderon, Lisa Worke, Dale Peterson, Jenny Bunn, Julie & Dean Hunt, Jennifer & David Lageson.
• Wednesday, July 10th: Kalene Larson, Ethan Green, Brett Dunlap, Sally Hanson Sadden, Suzanne Skroch Larkin, Carley Ray Talamantes, Holly Swearingen, Anna Uetcsh, Todd Borchert, Kym Cameron, Paulette Nelson, Ryan & Amy Crabtree their 7th, Dustin & Jenna Quimby.
Hope you have a day filled with things that make you smile!
