How well do you know New Richland? For the next few weeks, test your knowledge against clues that might lead you to the hidden Farm and City Days medallion and the prize of $50 in New Richland Bucks! Another clue is added each week, right up to the big July 11-14 weekend celebration. Clues will be posted in the Star Eagle, and by 10 a.m. Thursdays at local businesses. Happy hunting!

Clue No. 1:

1, 2, 3s and A, B, Cs, put the clues together and you will find me!

Look low, look high, look forward, look backward, that is the key!

Benefit for Jonathan Cobb Sunday

A benefit for Jonathan Cobb will be held June 23 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Ellendale Community Center. It will consist of a Sloppy Joe and Hot Dog luncheon and buffet. There will also be a silent auction and bake sale at the event.

Farmamerica to again host farm camp

Farmers, farm organizations, local agribusinesses and volunteers have joined together to organize and host the second annual “Farm Camp Minnesota” for youth. This event is open to youth entering grades 3-6. This one-day camp will be held twice, Monday, August 12 and Tuesday, August 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Farmamerica in Waseca. Cost is $10 per camper. Lunch and snacks are provided, and every camper will receive a T-shirt and fun bag. Space is limited. Registration will close July 31 or when full. For more information call 507-835-2052.

If there was ever a "man about town," it had to be Gene Dodge. It is hard to believe one person could achieve so much life in one lifetime. As an area pastor said, "What will you remember and think of when you view the deceased in their coffin?" In other words, what do you leave behind? What will people think of you and why? 

Gene was a good example of what an ordinary citizen can do to be exceptional person. It wasn’t just the many things he did but the manner in which he approached them. He was honest, organized, and exhibited a calm exterior that could be the envy of anyone who knew him. And, he did it so quietly and matter of factly. There was no beating his chest or drums to announce, "I did it," though he had every right to do so. 

Gene wore many hats and filled many pairs of shoes after he graduated from New Richland High School. He went on to serve his country as a United States Army Air Corpsman. Upon his return home, he worked at the local hardware store. 

He later went on to become owner of the hardware store and became a member of the local Commercial Club. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 23 years. He was also a funeral assistant, served on his church council, and was a Sunday School superintendent. 

Many may also remember him as a strong supporter of athletic events. He also served as the time clock manager for high school basketball games for many years. Even after his own kids and grandchildren were through with sports, he continued to attend the school games as New Richland's No. 1 sports fan.

He and his wife, Sylvia, were honored as Grand Marshals of the New Richland Farm & City Days parade. For 63 years, he was an important member of the New Richland American Legion, and he served on the local fire department. 

One wonders how Gene managed to do it all, but he did and he did it favorably. He also still found time for his family, which was the most important thing in his life.

Gene left a strong and beautiful family that he and Sylvia raised together — in the manner they were raised. He would give honor to his wife of 70 years because they seemed to be two people who worked and lived as one.

Home was important and people were important to Gene. God, service and family were highlights of his life. He left a legacy of love and giving that is never ending.

To the children, the grandchildren, and great grandchildren, there is something there to live up to. A distinguished male figure with good morals and sensibility does so much to influence how children grow. Without a model, they must seek out others who may fall short of that characteristic. Great dads make that a difference (just like good mothers). Kids want to be good and respond to positive modeling of character.

It is sad to think of families losing their dad just before Father's Day, but it should also be a reminder to others there is a special day set aside to give proper honor to one's father and to appreciate that fact. However, it should in no way interfere with daily appreciation of what some people still have and others have only in memory. 

Telling your dad how you feel is good. It doesn't matter if they are long distance or who it really benefits most. It is important for you to know what it means in your life.

Dads should be aware that things they say and do to a child are like a branding iron, or an endless tape recorder in their minds. Dads should treat their children, and grandchildren, etc. with respect and never even hint of some careless, negative word that might be used to describe their child.

Once said, a careless reference is like a "zit" that never goes away. It pops up, always at inappropriate times, and undermines the child’s true value. Dads often have high expectations, especially of their male children, to be "all that he wanted to be" and probably didn't achieve.

Happy children are valued for what they are and it shows in their conduct and achievement. They pick up on negativity like second-hand smoke.

When Gene’s great grandchildren were singing, "Jesus Loves Me," at his funeral service, you knew they were not just singing a song. You could tell they knew that yes, Jesus loves them, and Great Grandpa Gene did too!

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, 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 .

• Friday, 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.

• Saturday, 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.

• Sunday, June 23rd: Ralph & Alyce Randall, Carlie (Thompson) & Joseph Sevcik, Greg Bartsch, Ann Farr, Amanda Wacek, Rhonda Reichl, and Rebecca Schei.

• Monday, June 24th: Rhyan Rebea Fritz, LuAnn Hanson, Gordon Hanson, Joel Butler, Andy Sommers, Mary Harty, Sheryl Berg, Rick A. Miller, Julie (Krieg) & Brian Hove, Valerie (Tobiason) & Scott Quiring, Stephanie (Morris) & Brad Hendrickson, Jennifer (Pence) & Juan Ortega, and Danielle (Cook) & Travis Johnson.

• Tuesday, June 25th: Paul & Deb Wallace, Brad & Jannell Tufte, David & Lori Lembke, James & Mardelyn Thompson, Boyd & Jeanene Reese, Brady Nelson, Rachel Lerum, Michael Bell, Hugh O'Byrne, Brady Nelson Heimer, Marilyn Nelson, Boyd Reese and Steve Lunning.

• Wednesday, June 26th: Michelle Marie & Marissa Ann Leeman, Brock Nelson, Tony Muri, Richard Holmes, Michelle Davidson, Tiffany Olson, Ray Jepson, Pennie Ladlie, Tristan & Michael Ingvaldson, Chuck & Ann Southworth and Tom & Wilma Arbogast.

With each passing year, grow stronger, grow wiser, and grow richer in spirit. May the year be filled with new discoveries.

The one thing a person can count on with all of the wet weather we have been experiencing this spring is we will see plenty of our Minnesota state bird – the mosquito. This past week my wife Jean and I headed north to the cabin for a few days. Our Grandson Dylan and his friend Liam went with us. Our Granddaughter Emma also went along on her first extended trip without Mom and Dad, which went about as I had expected for a 4-year-old. She got a little homesick from time to time but was a real little trooper.

The week started out wet and cold but soon gave way to warm and sunny weather. Through it all the one thing that was constant was the overabundance of mosquitoes. This is probably one of the worst seasons that I can remember for those pesky little blood suckers. I do know that if the fish had been biting as good as those little bugs, we would have been arm weary from reeling them all in.

Mosquitoes or not, it was great spending time at the cabin with our grandkids. Dylan took Emma and Grandma fishing on our little lake and I think she enjoyed being in the boat more than fishing. Emma loves being outdoors, and I can see her being a future fisherman. I had bought some leeches for our trip to a nearby lake and she wanted to see them. Of course, just seeing them wasn’t enough for her, she had to touch them. Now I know a lot of adults that refuse to touch a leech, but not Emma, because the next morning I had to get them out of the cooler and take one out so she could touch it. I definitely see a future fisherman in the family. Later that day she found an earthworm and was playing with it like it was a hamster or something; it’s obvious she has no fear of creepy crawly things.

Spending any time at all in the north woods with the grandkids is always a plus and not even those pesky mosquitoes could put a damper on that. We did get to do some fishing and got to enjoy nature and the outdoors. The boys and I got to fish on a few different lakes this week with mixed results. The lakes seem to be at least two weeks behind in vegetation because you still see brown dead pencil reeds where the new ones should be growing and lily pads are just barely starting to appear. This all translated into different fishing patterns than past years. I spoke with a guy at the local store and tackle shop in Talmoon who told me the same lake he had fished successfully for walleyes a year ago at this time produced nothing this year. He asked where I was from and, when I told him, he asked if I knew Chuck Jean because it seems he and Chuck Jean wrestled together while in the Army; guess it really is a small world.

I really do think that the late wet spring has affected the northern part of the state a little differently than the southern part of the state. I believe that the same weather patterns that hurt the farming in the southern part of the state had to have hurt tourism in northern Minnesota

My personal observation is that it seems to be getting harder and harder for the small businesses in Northern Minnesota to make it. You just don’t see the people out and about like you once did when “going up north” was how folks spent their vacations. Years ago folks used to take vacations a week at a time and would usually set aside a week or two for “going up north”. These days most folks can take their vacation a day or two at a time which, along with increasing costs made it more tempting to skip a week-long vacation and stay closer to home. It’s kind of sad to see the family resorts disappearing and being sold off in parcels.

I guess it’s all about change and a different lifestyle than what we were once accustomed to. Today’s fast paced lifestyle leaves little time for a person to stop and look around at all of the wonderful things the outdoors has to offer.

Looking back at the times that I would go up north and stay in a cabin it seems like you always packed enough food for more than a week.  Going up north also meant packing plenty of clothes for all types of weather. Of course the old Johnson outboard motor and gas can was packed into the trunk, which seemed to hold an endless amount of necessities. The crack of dawn seemed to be the normal time to head out on the trip that was months in the planning stages. The times seemed to be simpler back then but maybe that was because there were not as many entertainment options like there are today.

It may not possible to turn back the clock but I try to do it at least a couple of times a year. Give it a try sometime and you may find out how much fun a family vacation “up north” can really be. Camping at a National Forest or State Park campground can be a fun and inexpensive experience for a family.

Until next time; get out and enjoy some fishing in one of our many lakes and streams of the area.

Please remember our service men and women who serve our country so that we may enjoy the many freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"I bought a book on feng shui."

"Are you making use of it?"

"Not really. I haven’t figured out where to put the book."

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: when and why did we start having derechos?

I’ve learned

Reading Tolkien is Hobbit-forming.

No candle burns longer than another. They all burn shorter.

Parents bear infants and bore teenagers.

The news from Hartland

Anderson's Awnings is a shady business.

Man, who had not eaten meat in 20 years, hit by Veggie’s Meats truck.

Vandals rearrange lawn ornaments during night.

The Third Base Bar & Grill, "Your last stop before home," offers the Heroic Lunch. No sitting allowed. You stand up and take it.

Man wanders aimlessly across the U.S. to call attention to his ADHD. 

Have you ever wondered?

How many NASCAR drivers ever get caught for speeding?

If a man thinks he’s being followed, is he suffering from paranoia or egomania?

Why so many cartoon characters wear shirts, but no pants?

She swears it’s true

Nancy Reinhard of Stow, Ohio said that some of her family members are staunch fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. Ohio State has an intense rivalry with Michigan. So much so, that a list was discovered that had been made by an 8-year old boy in the family. The list was of the words that he should never use. Included in amongst the cusswords was the word "Michigan."

Customer comments

Dave Clausen of Amery, Wis. wrote about my remarks as to the ineffectiveness of deer whistles on vehicles, "I must differ with your view on deer whistles. Years ago I had a run of bad luck and hit four deer in less that six months. My insurance agent gave me a set of deer whistles. Being rather busy that day, I just threw them behind the seat of my vet truck. When I traded trucks I didn't have time to install them on the new truck so I put them behind the seat of that truck. That process was repeated each time I traded for maybe five or six trucks. In all that time I never hit another deer. I don't know how well they perform when placed on the bumper but tossed behind the seat, they are 100% effective."

Rick McArthur of Morpeth, Ontario wrote, "If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy man. He will find an easier way to do it."

Andy Johansen of Old Hickory, Tenn. told me that the person coming into a restroom always has the right-of-way over a person leaving the facility.

Stephen Ingraham of Kennebunk, Maine responded to my comments on the multi-colored plastic sheets that some folks used to stick to the TV screens of old black-and-whites to give the impression of color, "My father bought one of those and wouldn’t let anyone remove it from the TV screen for a year."

Dave Reinhard of Stow, Ohio said that a UCC Church not far from his home has a sign in front of it reading, "We are open between Easter and Christmas."

Mike Cotter of Albert Lea, a lifelong farmer and a storyteller par excellence, said that he knew he was getting older when he sat down in a tractor seat, ready to go to work, and his son told him not to touch any of the controls.

Bill Thompson III of Whipple, Ohio, has a dog named Chet Baker, after the late jazz trumpeter. This year, his family has taken to calling the canine a "tick taxi." Chet picks the ticks up and delivers them indoors.

Nature notes

"A flicker is hammering on the chimney cap of our house. Why is it doing that and how can I make it stop?" The flicker is using the cap as a sounding board to attract a female and to proclaim territory. If you could dull the sound by covering the cap with duct tape or cardboard, the flicker will stop. Flickers have a sticky tongue that extends 2 inches beyond their bill that helps them feed on ants. Nestling flickers produce a unique buzzing sound, an ability that lasts until they are nearly full-feathered. The nestlings make the sound whenever something approaches the nest cavity. Researchers speculate that the noise, which resembles a disturbed swarm of bees, might discourage squirrels and other nest predators.

Meeting adjourned

William Wordsworth wrote, "The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love."

I hope you remembered Flag Day on June 14. As the song goes, “This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land.” Please honor Old Glory wherever you see our flag flying. If you are a veteran, a click of the heels and a snappy salute is the order of the day.

Father’s Day, ah yes, that great Dad who got help from Mom to get you started in this world. Whether he’s living or deceased, you can honor him at least 365 days (sometimes 366) every year. Blessed be your father.

I was asked by a young dad for equal time for Father’s Day recognition. His reasoning was, I did an article on why and how God made mothers, so I should do the same for fathers.

Once again I went to second-grade Sunday school kids at local churches for their expert answers about Dad.

Why did God make fathers?

1. “He’s the only one who shuts off the lights when we leave the house.”

2. “So Mom doesn’t have to lift the real heavy things.”

How did God make fathers?

1. “I don’t know, but He could have been a little more careful.”

2. “He made them just like mothers, only with less hair and sharp whiskers.”

What ingredients are fathers made of?

1. “Dirty fingernails.”

2. “Knobby knees.”

Who’s the boss at your house?

1. “Dad thinks he is, but Mom really is.”

2. “Mom, because Dad says she spends all the money.”

3. “My Sunday school teacher, because she taught me to obey my father and mother.”

If you could change one thing about your Dad, what would it be?

1. “I would not let him sleep because he snores really loud.”

2. “Make him give me two dollars because I am very good in church.”

3. “Make him shower more because sometimes he really stinks.”

Why did God give you your father and not some other father?

1. “Because God knew that he would like me.”

2. “I’m not sure, but sometimes I think God made a mistake.”

What kind of little boy was your Dad?

1. “My Grandma says he was a rascal.”

2. “I think he played with frogs and snakes.”

Why did your Dad marry your Mom?

1. “To help him be good.”

2. “Grandpa says Dad knows a good thing when he sees it.”

3. “Because Mom slowed down and then Dad got caught.”

What would it take to make your Dad perfect?

1. “Be more like me.”

2. “Remove the tattoo that isn’t Mom’s name.”

3. “I think he is perfect.”

Readers, I was going to let you know who the young father was who requested this column. I decided not to, as some of these answers are from his relatives. Remember, these answers are from boys and girls in area churches, so if you think you know the second-grader, you might be right.

———

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.

While not perfect the scurs were certainly correct on predicting some warmer temps. How will we fare this week? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance for an overnight shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the low 60s. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a slight chance of rain during the day with a good chance in the overnight. Highs near 80 and lows in the mid 60s. Friday, the first day of summer, partly cloudy with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy with good chances for showers and thunderstorms Saturday night and Sunday. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s. Tuesday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of an afternoon shower or thunderstorm. High near 80 and lows in the low 60s. The normal high for June 21st is 81 and the normal low is 60. We will max out on daylight at 15 hours and 28 minutes, with the days beginning to be measurably shorter by one minute on the 26th. The scurs new pool furniture should arrive just in time.

The Full Moon for the month occurs on the 23rd and is known as the Full Strawberry Moon for obvious reasons. Normally by later June the strawberry season is starting to wind down. This year however it will likely coincide with some of the best berries of the season due to the cool spring. The Ojibwe and the Sioux both agreed on this one calling it the Strawberry Moon although they had to settle for the small wild variety. Mighty tasty as well but it would take some time to get enough to put on strawberry shortcake. At the ranch we call it the Full Lawn Mowing Moon as we often seem to finish the mowing well after dark.

June continues to follow the May rainfall pattern with measurable precipitation being recorded on 11 out of the first 18 days. Progress in area fields has continued to be slow as a result. There are still lots of folks trying to get their soybeans planted and getting stuck to boot. There are some who are still planting some corn into blank areas in fields not so much for getting corn as much as it is to have something out there other than weeds that will tolerate some of the herbicides applied. The comment has been made that this will be a spring to be remembered. It will also be one we’d just as soon forget. Early planted corn that was put in before the snow has reached V6 – V7. Many tried to take advantage of the narrow window of nice weather conditions to make their post emerge herbicide applications. These too have come at a price in some fields where wet spots have yet to disappear. Soybeans have begun to emerge and in general stand appear adequate despite some of the seed being lower than usual germinations.

Gardening activity at the ranch has been limited to Mrs. Cheviot getting all the large planters planted and yours truly scorching off the weeds in the garden with glyphosate. The soil in most of the garden area remains too damp to till and plant. We will be stabbing some things in yet once the tide goes back out. 

The pasture fence was sprayed the same evening as the garden. The mosquitoes were ferocious as has been their wont this June. Luckily I was able to cinch my hooded sweatshirt down and gut it out. Walking through the long grass prompted clouds of the little blood thirsty insects to fly up and greet me. Not so luckily several of them followed me all the way into the garage, looking for any opportunity to get in the house they could find.

The pace of bird activity continues to slow at the feeders. Apparently the female Baltimore oriole must be sitting on the nest as she hasn’t been seen for some time. The female orchard oriole has been visible upon occasion but the main visitors to the jelly and nectar have been the males. The goldfinches have been increasing in number again as evidenced by their thistle seed consumption. Suddenly absent are both the indigo bunting and chickadees. One always hopes nothing happened to them although with the number of stray cats on the prowl one never knows.

We had yet another visiting skunk last week and probably wouldn’t have noticed it if Fudgie hadn’t poked her nose in the granary door. Something was rattling around in the trap as a response to her being nosey and I was hoping it was a cat. Much less danger of getting sprayed out of the deal. Alas such was not the case. It was a skunk all right and another big one at that. It still surprised me that one had suddenly appeared as the bait in the trap was months old and pretty dried out. They just don’t make moldy leftovers like they used to.

Back to the old drill again of pulling the trap out of the building with a long piece of twine attached. Getting the animal out without making a stink (pun intended) is nearly impossible. Shooting them with the blunderbuss is the easy part with removing them from the trap not far behind. This one was playing possum however. When dumped out of the trap, the skunk suddenly sprang back to life although his ability to spray had been largely curtailed. The trusty double barrel was close by so once the skunk was dispatched life was back normal once again. Well, except for the skunk of course.

See you next week…real good then.  

Writing a column last week got me to thinking. I really need to write more columns. I don’t want the Star Eagle to be like the pizza chain that communicates with its customers only when apologizing for shortcomings and promising to do better.

In a way, though, that’s what it’s like running a newspaper.

Garrison Keillor once said, “A good newspaper is never nearly good enough, but a bad newspaper is a joy forever.”

It’s true.

When I worked at a daily for 15 years — a multi-award-winning daily — we used to get a copy of every newspaper published by the company. Some were small-town weeklies from down south and our reporters reaped great joy in perusing the pages.

What did they find?

Items that never should have made their way into print, things that made you laugh and only guess what was really going on. Our reporters — among the best I’ve ever worked with — clipped some of the items and taped them to their desks.

One day, when everyone was gathered around enjoying a chuckle or two with newspaper in hand, the publisher walked by.

“Those things are for editorial ideas, not your personal entertainment,” he said cheerfully.

I guess. But they worked a lot better for entertainment, at least for our staff. Something must have been said to somebody, though, because those papers improved after that.

That’s what we have tried to do since June of 2005 with the Star and since March of 2007 with the Star Eagle, improve with each issue. Have we done it? No way! Who could?

We get enough positive feedback to know we’re not in the “bad” category. Does this mean we never make mistakes and manage to please everybody? Again, who does?

As a family-owned newspaper, the Star Eagle is in a very small minority that’s ever shrinking — a media outlet not owned by a large corporation. I saw something the other day that showed a very large percentage of media owned by like six corporations. That’s a little scary. I like the fact we’re part of the minority.

As I see it, the Star Eagle never has and never will be “owned” by anybody. New Richland has had a newspaper since 1886 and I’m just doing my best to take care of this one during my stint as publisher.

The newspaper belongs to you, the reader, and that’s something we’ll never forget. We’re always open to suggestions, comments, constructive criticism and, yes, we very much appreciate positive feedback.

We’re going to try our best to remain a “good” newspaper, knowing all too well we’ll never be nearly good enough.

It was one of those e-mails where you know you’re in trouble before you open it. You can tell from the tag line. It said, Attention: Jim Lutgens.

I knew it wasn’t good and it definitely got my attention.

It was from Star Eagle columnist and local agronomist Mark Bernard, who was upset — and rightfully so — about his reported comments in last week’s article about weather/crop conditions.

The problem is Mark was interviewed two weeks earlier via e-mail and a lot changed between that time and the time the article was printed.

Mark pointed out, “Two weeks ago there was still viable seed in wet areas which, if they had dried out and the weather cooperated, would probably look much different than what we’re seeing now. Today we have a full-blown disaster on our hands with some fields unable to be planted to corn, cover crop decisions to be made on those acres, some fields that were planted to corn with huge holes in the stands and soybeans that were largely unplanted. We are also woefully short on forage for livestock due to an alfalfa winterkill situation, something that wasn’t mentioned in the article but I addressed in my answers to questions. This has not changed. This entire scenario has the potential to be worse than the disasters of 1991 or 1993 in this area.”

As a result of the delay in publication, Mark was fearful he came off as sounding as if he hadn’t looked at a field recently and had an almost cavalier attitude about the current situation. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mark is one of the best in the business, with more than 32 years of experience, and we sincerely apologize to him.

Responsibility for this stops here. After reading the article, after observing fields in the area, I should have called Mark or sent the article to him to ensure the information was current. I take responsibility for the fiasco, with the promise to be more diligent in the future.

I was ready to face the music when I went down to the Mall for Men last Thursday to talk with Mark. I needn’t have worried. He was out in the fields. When we did meet Friday morning, we calmly discussed what happened, how we could correct it, and how we can prevent it from happening in the future. Thank you Mark, for not only being a top-notch columnist, but a top-notch individual as well.

My mom, Karen, recently celebrated the annual anniversary of her 29th birthday. Even as she approaches an age where many people contemplate retirement, Mom is going as strong as ever.

I often tell my students that they will become like their parents in many ways. I’ve written previously how like my dad I am. I also find many attributes of my mother in the things I do. I’ve thought about that a lot lately as I’ve shifted roles from teacher to chauffeur for the summer.

My kids have pretty busy schedules between sports camps, baseball and softball games, swimming lessons, and numerous appointments I have scheduled for them.  As I’ve been driving across the countryside, I’ve been remembering all the trips into New Ulm and the surrounding communities Mom used to have to make for her four children. When I got my driver’s license, I suddenly became someone who could make those trips instead. It really opened my eyes to what Mom had to deal with in planning a schedule.

I’ve become like that now. I have things planned out as best I can. It’s tough sometimes, and I only have half the kids Mom did!

My mom is still doing this though. She’s as busy as ever, but after all of us left home, she could finally open up to some activities she was interested in instead of just chasing us around. I think her favorite activity is being a member of the Narren, proclaimed as the “group of relatives everyone has, but nobody wants to claim.”

What are the Narren? They’re a frightening group of costumed and masked characters based on New Ulm’s strong German heritage. (Google them. I’m not joking.) They entertain at many events in New Ulm and also around the Midwest.

Mom loves doing this. I think the only thing that ranks higher on her social calendar is time spent with her family, especially grandkids. I never saw this natural outgoing personality growing up and certainly not the “go out in public and do crazy things” part! Still, I’m sure that is a big part of my genetics, and mixed with Dad’s similar gregariousness, has led to a large part of me.

Dad just shakes his head when Mom does her Narren act. But I think she’s wanted to do things like this for a long time. She was just too dedicated to making sure her family got everything we wanted all those years. Now she’s making the most of her free time.

Mom hasn’t talked much about retiring either. She spent many years at home with us, only returning to work when I became a teenager. There had to be a lot of lonely days at home with only young kids to interact with, and I know from experience in the summer that sometimes I just need to go out somewhere to see and talk to adults. Mom will continue to work since she’s making up for lost time in the adult world!

I learned a lot of other things from Mom. She taught me the importance of saving money, which has paid off in many ways over the years. I still clip coupons, just like she did, and we put money away in a rainy day fund every month.

She taught me how to cook, and to this day, I do most of the cooking. (Not because Michelle isn’t capable, but I’m the first one home and enjoy the task.) Mom kept after all of us kids to learn a strong work ethic and present a persona in public that we could be proud of.

There are two things I look back on with which I still disagree with my mom. One is that I buy cereal that I’ll enjoy and not just Cheerios, Wheaties, Corn Flakes, and Rice Krispies. The other is that I don’t always have to make my bed or keep my room clean when company comes over; that’s why we have a door.

Keep doing what you enjoy, Mom! All your kids are proud of you and love you, and we look forward to celebrating many more of those anniversaries!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is gregarious, which means social and companionable, as in, “The gregarious salesman was able to sell his product well since people genuinely liked him.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!