What comes to mind is that old saying "A swarm of bees is May is worth a load of hay,
A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon,
A swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly.
Lately, I’ve noticed the hay and started to think how few people are still in dairy farming. How times change. Seeing the land that once was "pasture" seems to be lost acres now. There are however quite a few horses, sheep and goats.
June is full of activities and June Dairy Days in Geneva have been in vogue for a good many years. Don Gries and Warren Wayne, as I remember, started handing out free ice cream cones by the door of the store they occupied on Main Street.
It was a popular event that has continued on over the years, but has now been taken over by the businessmen and women in Geneva. Most often, it has a food fundraiser in connection with it to help pay the expenses on "whatever" the need was at the time.
Money raised has also been used to help defray the cost of keeping the city pool "afloat," which has been a cool retreat and a place for swimming lessons for the last thirty-some years.
June has always been the wedding month. Brittni Hagen and Thomas Camerer, as well as Amy Viktora and Brady Jensen have all picked early June for their weddings this year.
My grandpa and grandma Hanson, my mom and dad, and my daughter, Kimberly, also chose the month of June for their weddings. I actually recently received an envelope in the mail, and inside, was a copy of the wedding announcement that had appeared in the Albert Lea Tribune for my mom and dad’s wedding. It was really a treat to read it, especially because this year they will celebrate their 60th anniversary on the 24th of June.
One of the local Vacation Bible School programs took place the first week in June. This year five of our local churches, Community Lutheran, First Lutheran, St. Aidens, United Methodist of Ellendale and Geneva and Vibrant Life Assembly of God, "Teamed up with Jesus to Go For The Goal" for the children in the area. Projects such as this involves a great bunch of volunteers to teach and play and feed and baby sit to get the message out. It is nice to know that the various churches know that God is there for everyone. Our God is an awesome God and the children know that Jesus Loves them And though the children haven't been out of school that long it seemed like it was more fun to get together again now than later.
June is also strawberry picking time. What a difference in the taste of home-grown strawberries as opposed to those shipped in to the stores. Either way it’s nice to know that strawberries can be so good for you.
I remember when my Grandmother Hanson had a huge patch and we could pick the nicest, juiciest ones right off the vine. My mother, sister and I also had a large patch of strawberries in our garden, which was out in the backyard of where I live now. I can remember how much time we spent picking strawberries when I was growing up.
Lawrence Petersen, of the Beaver Lake area, used to have acres of strawberries. When the season was over, he would go through the patch with a drag. It didn't make for good rows, but it sure put a lot of strawberries on the new plants in the spring. My mother said that she thinks he could have well been crowned the king of the strawberry patch.
June was always the month most kids looked forward to, as they could go "to the lake" and swim. I can remember many years ago when the little hillside at the beach area on Beaver Lake was packed full of people. It seemed like you could not get one more body in that area, the lake full of people swimming and enjoying the water.
It was always a big event to be able to prove that you were a good enough swimmer, to swim out to the raft. Many of the kids brought "inner tubes" to the lake too.
My sister and I also enjoyed water skiing, and we even skied behind the motor boat on a canoe paddle. We also went behind the boat on a round, wood surf board. We liked to take a wood, collapsible camp stool with us.
Once we got up on the surf board, we would open up the camp stool and sit down on it and go around the lake. We even tried a few tricks, turning completely around on it and also put the end of the ski rope over our toes to go "no handed".
June also brings out the ticks we hate. I guess they might even start a little earlier than that. Growing up, we didn't think so much about the tiny, potent critters. But, the big ones could cause a few hysterics, especially if they had moved in deep enough to swell with one’s blood.
There were many remedies - like smothering them with Vaseline and burning them with a burnt farmers match. The method recommended was to remove them with a tweezers, patiently, so that they didn't leave body parts behind that could cause infection.
For many - a bed time ritual was – “check for ticks.” Those ingenious, pesky bugs drop from trees, hide in bushes and long grass and silently select their victim.
Not to be forgotten is the army of mosquitoes that make their presence known this time of year. Avon "Skin So Soft" could be lathered on, and dryer papers can be tucked around the neck and sleeves. Citronella, smudges, tiki torches, switches broken from the trees; so much artillery for such a tiny insect, but it’s hard to win the battle.
Many also once believed that you shouldn't eat bananas because the female mosquito needs potassium to reproduce. But, people were encouraged to use the banana skin on their bites to take away the itch.
Then there are the picnic bugs. With these little yellow, hard shelled cousins of the lady bug, we learned that you should not set down your beverage without covering it, as those pesky little bugs enjoy the taste and like to swim.
Birthdays and anniversaries:
• Thursday, June 16th: Andren Richard Aaseth, Aven Leo Aaseth, Emily Otto, Bethany Otto Mikesell, Doug Smith, Lorraine Wallace, Vonda Humburg, Kenny Evenson, Kari Ingvaldson, Heather (Crabtree) & Keith Krenke, Rochelle (Butler) & Brent Chapman, Tracy & Paul Marcus, Richard & Becky Axmann, Kim (Anderson) & Rich Schneider and Dale & Marlene Peterson
• Friday, June 17th: Kimberly & Mike Luhring, Jim & Jeanne Worrell, Tiffany (Moon) & Josh Krueger, Natalie Jean Aaseth, Jim Hohansee, Eric Tobiason, Joshua Churchill, Aaron Casterton, Matthew Xavier, Tim Butler, and Anna Kay Hardyman.
• Saturday, June 18th: Keturah Katherine Mae Gassmann, Brett Hagen, Dennis O'Neil, Dave Lieberg, Marie Dobberstein, Marvin Enzenauer, Bonnie Nelson, Krysti Cameron, Margo & Milton Wayne, Wayne & Diane Jensen, Greg & Linda Pavek, Brad & Tammy Thompson, Lucy & Hank Sorenson, Kathy (Barnett) & Chad Peterson, Amy & Brady Jensen, (2011)
• Sunday, June 19th: Julie (Vanden Heuvel) & Dale Horihan, Ellen (Johnson) & Mark Johnson, Al & Carol Schultz, Julie & Chad Cornelius, Guy & Tracy Cromwell, Fred & DeLoyce Schmidt, Melissa & Scott Anderson, Tammy & Jeff Busho, Rich & Susan Hanson, Cesar & Heather Rosas, Ashlie Pence, Johnathan David Schewe, Mary Ann Stone, Jean Pelzl, Theresa Kasper, Monty Spurr, John Hohansee, Erica Van Kampen, Tracy Cromwell, Erica McClaskey, LaVerne Calverly, and Dora Nissen
• Monday, June 20th: Adelyn Grace Quaintance, Jean Ahlstrom, Kari Vanden Heuvel, Christopher Wayne, Patti (Stadheim) Bell, Chris Jensen, Alan Schmidt, Dianne Jensen, Madison Renae DenHerder, Lenard & Everal Lageson, Mike & Kirra Hanson and Rick & Karla Kelly
• Tuesday, June 21st: Shirley & Greg Tennant, Dorothy Kilian, Terry Van Kampen, Robyn Schmidt Beckler, Harmony Mattson Anderson, Greg Ramaker, Jay Ditlevson, Teri Jahnke and Haley Katherine Meiners
• Wednesday, June 22nd: Jessie Cleven, Marilyne Donahue, Travis Broskoff, Bruce Hunter, Barbara Haberman, Cheryl Peterson, Becca Schei, Mark & Sharon Sorenson, Chris & Linda (Harding) Newgard and Dale & Suzanne Boverhuis Jr.
• Thursday, June 23rd: Ralph & Alyce Randall, Carlie (Thompson) & Joseph Sevcik, Greg Bartsch, Ann Farr, Amanda Wacek, Rhonda Reichl, and Rebecca Schei
• Friday, June 24th: Rhyan Rebea Fritz, LuAnn Hanson, Gordon Hanson, Joel Butler, Andy Sommers, Mary Harty, Sheryl Berg, Rick A. Miller, Curt & Carole Schember, thier 6oth, Julie (Krieg) & Brian Hove, Valerie (Tobiason) & Scott Quiring, Stephanie (Morris) & Brad Hendrickson, Jennifer (Pence) & Juan Ortega, and Danielle (Cook) & Travis Johnson
Wishing you a very special day blooming with warm and happy memories!
