Car seat treasures

Neal and Karen Lewing recently were surprised and somewhat mystified at what they found under the front seat of their 2000 Pontiac. It was a Jan. 3, 1991, Lake County Leader!

Neal said, “We’ve only had the car for about four years. We found the newspaper after we switched cars with son David in Missoula. He’d had the car all summer and said he knew the paper was there and had been ever since he’d had the car. So he left it there, figuring it was ours and we’d want to keep it.”

Lead story was: “Some Storm — Holiday blast blankets area. Heavy snow, whipped by 30-40 miles per hour wind, reduced visibility to zero, blocked roads, created minor power outages and caused some folks to sleep in strange places.”

Storm pictures included a Julie Young photo of Matthew Howell going head over heels off his sled in Riverside Park. Another photo is one I took showing Dick Christopher shoveling snow from the sidewalk in front of his Harbour Pharmacy.

Another story was headlined “Hometown soldiers head for Gulf,” they included Michael Jungers, Michel Byrnes, Brian Sampson, Kelly Smith, Gerald (Corey) Tougas and Connie Starkel.

A review of 1990 happenings had a Kristi Niemeyer photo of a freight train wreck on Evaro Hill.

Among advertisers were Doreen’s Fashions, Gauthier’s Steak and Seafood, Flowers Carlyle, Harbour Pharmacy, and Don Aadsen Ford.

Dr. Steve Irwin had a column called “House Calls.” My Among Other Things column was ”Uff Da humor spices holiday.” Don’t worry — it’s too long to reprint here (*see below).

Todd and Carmine Mowbray were the owners. Staff members listed were John Schnase, publisher Rich Stripp, editor; Kristi Niemeyer, editor (Ronan office); Susan Bearse, business/production manager; Julie Young, reporter/special sections editor; Frank Solle, sports reporter; Sunni Bradshaw, reporter; Dee Mahle, photographer; Sharon David, Candy Gohl, Chris Strom, Donna Weber, sales; Sylvia Talsma, bookkeeping; Anne Jablonski, Vera Hafley, Colleen Harris, Polson office; Cindy Clairmont, Ronan office; Sandy Farrell, assistant production manager; Mary Lou Fugleberg, Ella Barrick and Cynthia Larson, typesetting/composition.

Holiday greetings

This is my last column for 2008. So, I’ll take this time to wish you all a meaningful, blessed Merry Christmas and a Happy and better New Year! I appreciate your readership and comments and thanks, too, to the Lake County Leader for running these columns. It’s fun to keep in touch.Since my heart attack and retirement May 1, things have sure changed, but I’m feeling well and keeping plenty busy. “Retire” is still a foreign word to me. It just means a “new set of wheels!”

*‘Uff Da humor spices holiday’ column - as appeared in the Jan. 3, 1991 issue of the Leader:

Special gift in my Christmas stocking - hung by the front door with care ‘cuz we have no chimney - was a booklet of “Uff da Jokes” by E.C. (Red) Stangland (F.B.N.) and published by the Norse Press of Sioux Falls, S.D.

And it got me to thinking that having at least partial Norwegian heritage is kind of fun. Norskis and semiScandihoovians don’t seem to get so uptight over ethnic jokes. In fact, as author Stangland (F.B.N.) points out, “Today’s Vikings…are recognized by their peers for honest, hard work, and good humor. You can tell a joke at their expense and they’ll not only laugh with you…they’ll tell you another story to top yours!”

Supporting this ovservation is the story of Ole Olson. Ole was the janitor in the First Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. A new minister decreed that all employees should be able to read and write English. The reasoning was that all emplyees should be able to handle phone calls and write down information for the minister in his absence.

Poor Ole. He had left Norway in his youth and never had learned to read or write. Despite his tearful pleas to the minister, Ole was forced to leave his job as janitor because of his lack of education.

In his butter disappointment Ole hitch-hicked our to Seattle and got a job in a fish cannery. No worry about reading and writing there. He later worked on a fishing boat and in time saved enough to buy his own boat.

As time passed, Ole acquired many more boats . . . in fact a fishing fleet. With pyramiding profits and Ole’s natural thrift, he eventually became owner of a small fish cannery in addition to his fleet of boats.

Then came the opportunity to buy a much larger cannery in Seattle. For the first time in his life, Ole was forced to consider going to a bank because the amount involved was much more than he could handle from his cash reserves.

As Ole recited his list of impressive assets, the banker smiled and assured Ole the loan would be granted, The loan papers were handed to Ole to sign. But Ole said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to read or write.”

The astounded banker looked at Ole in disbelief. “Mr. Olson, it is necessary for you to sign to make this loan legal. I am astounded at your assets. Where would you be today if you read and write?”

“Vell,” said Ole, “I’d probably be a yanitor in the Lutheran Curch in Minneapolis.”

I was reminded of another story that attested to the astuteness of Norskis. It involved a minister and the church council:

The minister wrote a note to the council regarding some of the needs of the church. In a church remodeling project, he wanted to add a new steam boiler for heat.

He explained, “Perhaps this will help me put more steam into my sermons.” And he added there was need for a new bell for the steeple - at the cost of about $600.

Sven, the council chairman, came to see the minister after the council discussed the situation. “Yah, Pastor, ve could use a new steam boiler. But ve think that since the new bell would cost $600, ve should forget the bell and use steam from the boiler and toot a vhistle instead.”