A NIGHT TO REMEMBER IN NORMAL (Actually it was in Bloomington)

Following the Lindblom Reunion (see below), we had the privilege on Sunday morning of attending Marquette Manor church and speaking in the Youth Department Sunday School class. After the morning service we hitched up the trailer and headed for Normal, Illinois, to camp at the Calvary Baptist property and attend the Sunday evening church service. It was fun to attend Calvary and see many friends where we had lived and served from 1966 t0 1970, and then again from 1978 to 1985.

On Monday morning we had to do a mound of laundry. But in the afternoon we enjoyed the beautiful weather and took an 11 mile bike ride on the excellent Constitution Trail. This trail is the former railroad trackbed that ran right behind the house where we lived from '78 to '85. Here is Connie in front of our old house at 22 Broadway Place in Normal.

Here is the Camelback Bridge that is just a block north where we lived. This a good shot of the trail heading north.
We fondly remembered this drainage ditch that was one of Chad's first "fishing holes" back in the 1980s.
But the great blessing was a wonderful dinner gathering that we had that Monday evening at the Olive Garden in neighboring Bloomington. We had asked Dan and Jane Shickle if they could invite some friends to go out for dinner. Bless their hearts -- but 27 of them showed up!
It was a great evening of sharing testimonies, experiences and remembrances. We are hoping to plan a Reunion Singspiration for sometime in 2010 if possible.

50th HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

From Iowa we made our way to Kansas City to exhibit at our third convention. As soon as the convention was over on Friday we dashed toward Illinois so that I could arrive at my 50th High School Reunion that began at 3 pm on Saturday at he Holiday Inn in Hinsdale, Illinois. We drove the 500 miles and made it on time. Actually, we arrived in time to park our trailer at Marquette Manor Baptist in Darien, which was about 10 minutes away from the Holiday Inn where the reunion was held.

What a great experience that evening was! George LaBine and his committee did a superb job planning and organizing a delightful evening of memories. We had 99 class members attend, out of 478 listed in our 1959 yearbook. Back in the day the Chicago Public Schools operated on a semester system and therefore held a January and June graduation each year. Our reunion for the Lindblom High School Class of 1959 included both groups.
It was fun checking the "lanyard photos" around our classmates necks to see who we could remember and identify. I enjoyed immensely the opportunity to reconnect with classmates after so many years.
The program included a delicious dinner, plus a very interesting video and several special features. Of course there was time for lots of pictures and lots of conversation.
Here I am talking with Jack Beasant and Jo Mannino; with Ron Lach on the left in the background. Connie enjoyed herself and did a great job snapping priceless pictures.

STOPPING AT THE AMANA COLONIES

After leaving Madison we headed southwest toward Iowa, on our way to Kansas City for our next convention. Late in the afternoon we pulled into the campground at the Amana Colonies and were informed that water would not be available after 5 pm due to the freezing temperatures. The next morning we had to wait until about 9 am before the thermometer crept to 32 degrees so that we could connect the water hose and take showers.

Then we drove into town and spent a little time in the historic Amana Colony. Here is Connie at the Woolen Mill after she purchased a worm, woolen scarf to fend off the chilly weather.

We enjoyed some shopping and some historic investigating. The woolen mill is still operated and then the products are sold in the same building. Our visit was timely on account of the very early cold temperatures.
We discovered the Brick Haus Restaurant in Amana and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Seated next to our table was delightful group of ladies who belong to the Red Hat Society. We had heard of "Red Hatters" and so we asked if we could take their picture. They obliged -- and that gesture led to the responsibility of being their de facto photographer for awhile. They were a lively bunch!

VISITING KRISTY & KIRK

We've arrived home after 28 days and 4.300 miles on the road. Next is a trip to Lancaster and Gettysburg, PA. Our first two weekends in October were spent in Chattanooga with Kristy and Brian, and then Madison with Kirk. Chad and Jen were off to warm Guatemala, and we endured 25 degree cold in Wisconsin -- but it was worth it!

In Chattanooga we arrived in time to participate in Kristy's neighborhood Garage Sale. Here is the "Sale Lady and Crew" on a beautiful fall morning.

Then before we left town on Monday morning we were able to visit Kristy at her school. Here is Kris and Mom in the classroom. It is in the blood!
We even were able to sit-in on one of Kristy's classes. It was fun to interact with the students and see Kris at work.
The next weekend we were in the cold north with Kirk. It even snowed a little at our campground. We had a great time hanging out with Kirk, which included grilling brats at the KOA.
Before we left the Madison area we were able to visit Kirk's place of employment. Here is Kirk at the front door of the offices of REM Wisconsin. We were very impressed with the quality facilities and friendly staff members of this interesting company. Kirk loves his job and we were pleased to see him doing so well.
Here is Kirk in his office cubicle at the REM headquarters. His work keeps him very busy as he manages the lives of six clients. We even were able to meet one of Kirk's charges. We left Madison on Monday, October 12th and headed for Kansas City by way of the Amana Colonies of Iowa.

A Visit to Uncle Remus

We began our fall convention trip two weeks ago by traveling to the sunny state of Georgia. We just left Madison, Wisconsin where the temperature dipped to 25, and we had snow flurries! What a contrast!

On our way through Georgia we happened to see an interesting place. It was the Uncle Remus Museum in the small Central Georgia town of Eatonton, about 45 miles southeast of Atlanta. This town was the boyhood home of Joel Chandler Harris, who was the author of the Uncle Remus stories.

As a boy my dad would read the stories about Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. These stories were created by Mr. Harris and originally published in the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. A number of years ago Cousin Dave Gunzel gave me a small book containing some of these stories as a gift. I have kept that book in my office as a remembrance. We enjoyed a short visit to the very fascinating museum that is located in a log cabin made from two original slave cabins.

You can learn more about the museum at http://www.uncleremus.com/index.html. Here is Connie being welcomed by Brer Rabbit.

This plaque explains the historical significance of the site.

Connie is standing at the door...it was a neat museum.

Here I am stirrin up trouble!

I got stuck in the "Briar Patch"

From Eatonton we traveled on to Macon for our first convention. We camped at the beautiful Lake Tobesofkee County Park just west of Macon. The only problem was that we did not get an opportunity to enjoy the lake property, except for a very short time in the morning. Here was our view from our trailer's front door.