Family in Marshfield at the Comfort
Inn
(Brian, Kathy, Angela, Becky, Matt,
Me, Beh, Paul,
Judy, Kaitlyn, Andy--Amy was at
Work)
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Family in Marshfield at the Comfort
Inn
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| 7/7/00 | I drove out past Rozellville to The Eau Pleine
Flowage to see my cousin, Lillian Adamski. She and Lawrence werenít
home--heís retired, but she was probably working.
When we got to Owen, without telling the girls, I diverted to a dirt road to see my cousin, Wesley Marshall. He was on vacation, and joined us in the yard with his son, recently graduated from Midstate Technical Institute. Wesleyís daughter had also just graduated from college. Their house that burned two years ago has been replaced by a beautiful new home with attached above ground pool. I drove through Owen to Withee, past the hospital I was born in, my grade school, and where our home had been beside Highway 29. It was dreary and rainy when we got to Mom and Dadís, so I switched wheelchairs and headed inside. Aunt Phyllis Wenzel arrived for dinner, and we all stayed up late playing Scrabble. |
Beh Basks in Kaitlin's Company |
Beh and I at the Motel Pool |
Leaving Mom and Dad's in the Rain |
Woltmann Family
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| 7/8/00 |
It was cool and dreary when we stopped at the Mennonite store and bought some repackaged snacks. Then, I drove over to Uncle Don Marshallís. At 89, heís as hard working as ever, except macroular degeneration is taking his sight. Keith showed is the shop heís setting up to build wrought iron trellises and fences. He has mowed wide trails throughout the farm, now mostly planted in trees, and planted roses along the trails. In Thorp, my cousin, Dan Hull, sat on his front step and talked with us. I hadnít seen him since he came to Deniseís wedding in Houston. The whole family came out to greet us. Then, we went over to my Uncle Ed and Aunt Marianís house. We had just seen them in Houston. While we had lunch, Jason, Danís son, came over. He reminded me of me in my younger days. Uncle Dave was coming from Eau Claire for a class reunion. We waited until he and Aunt Eleanor arrived. After we left, I turned around to get pictures weíd forgotten. In Eau Claire, my cousin Janice Becker, and her husband, Bill, greeted us. I hadnít seen Bill in many years, since I taught there in 1981. It was a short trip over to see Duane Hull. The late afternoon sun had turned hot, so we took shelter in the shade of his garage to talk to him. Then, we headed for Minneapolis. I had hoped to stay in Menomonie, but a womenís basketball tournament had taken all the rooms. On I-494, I saw what looked like a flooded development. We stopped at the wrong Motel 6--we should have been at the Mall of America--but the one we stopped at took us in. That night, we heard heavy storming in the early morning hours. Later, we learned that South Minneapolis had received seventeen inches of rain and six inches of hail near our arrival time--Iím glad we missed it. |
Dan Hull Family
At Don Marshall's Farm
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| 7/9/00 | I insisted on breakfast before we left.
A half hour later, we called my friend, Howard Thorsheim, psychology professor
at St. Olaf College, on an exit ramp to Northfield. Howard asked
us to join him and his wife, Julie, for breakfast. We drove in to
see a man with car trouble waving us over. It was Howard. He
led us to an old store converted to a restaurant. His Model A was
in storage, but he marveled at my ìtwenty-first centuryî vehicle.
We would see six Model As, five of them on the road, before we got home.
After we left, we encountered some storms but had it easy going all the way to Kansas City. We canceled our KC motel and headed for Joplin. On the way there, Beh passed a small car with a young father and mother, and a small child in the back seat. A short time later, Beh was braking as the car came drifting back across in front of us. He was sideways as he hit the left shoulder, throwing stones on us before he gained control. Beh said he was dozing. He didnít look sleepy when we passed him again later. I finally got some Kentucky Fried Chicken near our Joplin motel. A special was the same price as what I wanted, so I had chicken for my next three meals--I didnít mind--it was good. |
My Aunts and Uncles
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| 7/10/00 | We stopped in Arkansas to buy roadside peaches.
They were hard and a bit sour, but somehow better than store bought.
By this time, the girls were tired of driving, so I took over. An emergency
rest room stop just before Houston helped me too--my bag was full--and
relaxed my tired muscles to bring us on in. Spent the next day wading
through the mail and got the ramp fixed Wednesday morning.
The grinding noise we heard when stopping and the ABS light bothered me, so I took the van to Mac Haik Ford. The rear brakes were wore out, damaging an ABS sensor. A week later, low on gas, my van stalled two houses from my drive. It would start, but my steering wouldnít go out of alarm. I had it towed to Mobility Plus. It was just the battery. Now that the vanís nearly paid for and out of warranty, I can expect to start repairing it. |
With Janice and Bill Becker |
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