Available exclusively at the Silver Lake Café, Silver Lake, Minnesota
Volume II, Issue 1 January 2006
*****Silver Lake Gazette Contributors
Pat McMahon -- co-proprietor of Jill and Jack’s Quilting and Music Vern Jackson -- owner of Vern’s Quality Feeds Mrs. Trygve Strindberg -- President of the Silver Lake Historical Society Mihael Kamenik -- Ljubljana poet Helen Yost -- my wife, owner of the Silver Lake Café Larry Yost -- Editor (LarryYostSLG@aol.com)
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*****Happy New Year
Life is good here in Silver Lake. Our houses are warm and everyone has enough to eat -- often too much. Sure, there are things that could be improved on. It would be nice if the sports teams were a little better this year, and the local property tax increase has a few people upset. By and large, though, most of us can’t complain too much. There are a few exceptions. Floyd and Marlene Engebretson have a daughter in Iraq, and that worries them. They’re both proud of her, but Marlene wants her home. Floyd, a past VFW president, sees it a bit differently. “She volunteered to serve her country,” he told me, “and now the only honorable thing for her is to do her duty.” Marlene says, “It’s never honorable to do the wrong thing. We’re killing innocent women and children over there. It’s time to stop.” She’s started a prayer ring to end the war and bring Betty back safely. At least their marriage is solid. “We’ve been through worse arguments,” Floyd says. “After all, Marlene is a Cowboy fan.” The McMahon family is having their troubles, too. Pat’s mom Emily went into the hospital just the week before Christmas. She’s been battling cancer for over ten years, so this is nothing new for her. The thing that bothers her most is the fact that she didn’t get her Christmas cards out on time. Pat’s wife Jody, co- proprietor of Jill and Jack’s Quilting and Music, had to go in to the hospital to help her, and the last of the cards weren’t sent out until last week. “At least I beat the postage increase,” Emily said, “and Jody is such a dear.” Pastor Wietzke of Emanuel Lutheran puts it into perspective. “We all have our own crosses to bear,” he says, “but that should only remind us of our obligation to help each other, whether it’s our next-door neighbor or a starving child in Sudan or Pakistan. This is especially true for those of us who are the most fortunate.” Amen, pastor. -- Larry Yost
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*****Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll
Jimmy Ray Jackson was over at the store last evening for his weekly guitar lesson. He’s fourteen and the son of Vern Jackson, who owns the feed mill down the street. Vern’s been playing drums in various jazz, country and old-time bands for thirty years, but his son Jimmy Ray is mostly into classic rock and roll. Jimmy Ray’s a natural, too -- already talking about starting his own band. His repertoire consists of songs by AC/DC, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones. I have to admit that the kid has good taste. After the lesson was over, I played an old REO Speedwagon record (REO II) and we talked. “Tell me about some of the concerts you’ve been to,” he said. “Have you ever seen Zeppelin?” I flashed back to 1978. It was winter and the show was at the old Met Center on a weeknight. Some friends tapped a keg of beer at their house around noon. I went over after work, and there must have been about thirty people there. Everyone was smoking and drinking and generally getting primed. We drove to the concert mildly drunk (no designated drivers in those days) and waited for the show to begin, When the announcement came that the band’s flight had been delayed, we just kept partying. By the time Zep kicked into “Black Dog” ninety minutes late, one of our crew was passed out. A security guard came down to check him out. “Is he OK?” the guard asked. “He’s fine,” I replied. The band rocked on and, despite a weird interlude with Jimmy Page playing his guitar with a violin bow, the show was great. Afterwards, we went back to the house, finished the keg, and got high. At the end of the night I went home with a girl that was at the party. “Yea, I saw them once,” I said. “Tell me about it,” said Jimmy Ray. “They were good,” I said. “Damn good.” -- Pat McMahon
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Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. -- Abraham Lincoln
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*****Staying in Shape
Larry has been after me to write a story for his paper for months. Now he says that he’s short on articles for the next issue, so I have to. “What should I write about?” I asked him. “You’re in great shape,” he said. “Why don’t you share some of your secrets with our readers?” “You mean I’m in great shape for a guy who’s sixty,” I said, “but what the hell.” So here goes. In the summer I ride by bicycle almost everyplace I can, but it’s harder to get exercise in the winter. When I was younger I used to play a lot of basketball, men’s league and pick-up games, but I stopped that about ten years ago when I seemed to get injured nearly every time I played. Now I get my workouts by chopping wood. I do my chain-sawing during the spring and fall when there aren’t many mosquitoes. Then I stack woodpiles outside my back door. Once the wood has seasoned for at least a year I can burn it either in my fireplace insert, my free-standing stove, or my sauna. Every day in the winter, regardless of the weather, I go outside and split enough for the day. Before going outside I limber up so that I don’t pull any muscles. When I’m done, I do 100 stomach crunches (sit-ups) and fifty push-ups. Then I fire up the sauna and relax. I suppose that I could get a stationary bike and heat my house with gas, but that seems stupid to me. The right diet is another key to staying in shape. It’s really simple: lots of fruits and vegetables (canned or frozen will work when you can’t get fresh); poultry or fish most days, small portions of red meat once in a while; brown rice, whole-grain bread, granola and oatmeal for fiber. I try to take it easy on the salt, sugar and fat, but every once in a while I like a batch of microwave popcorn with extra butter. Along with exercise and diet, music is crucial for me. I play the drums every day and, I have to admit, I usually work up a better sweat that way than from chopping wood. Sometimes I play along with recorded music. Other times it’s just me. Even when I don’t feel like playing to begin with, I force myself to start. Usually I get so into it that I lose track of time and an hour or two goes by before I’ve had enough. -- Vern Jackson
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*****From The Past -- Historical news items gleaned from the morgue of the defunct Silver Lake Pioneer- Commercial
10 years ago -- January 4, 1996 The Burlington Northern/KSLO (The Silver Train) Radio's "Santa Train" came rolling into town on Saturday, December 16, at the 6th Street crossing in Silver Lake. Santa rode in on a beautifully lighted and decorated train, bringing with him special friends, Elfvira the Spooky Elf and KSLO (The Silver Train) Radio's whacky mascot, Smack. Everyone who visited was asked to bring a non-perishable item or live cattle for donation to the Poplar River Food Shelf.
50 years ago -- December 28, 1955 Blizzard conditions and sub-zero temperatures gave this area another preview of area winter, which was needed because as we all know Minnesotans have trouble relating to cold, snowy weather. R. O. Bridgford, weather observer, reports that this area has received a total of 27 inches of snow thus far this season. Uff da!
30 years ago --December 21, 1976 Shop Silver Lake's Red Owl Sooper Market for Christmas Dinner Specials! (Advertisement) 1/2 gallon Red Owl Ice cream at 69 cents. Pork Roast, Pork Steak, Spare Ribs, Side Pork -- all at 29 cents per pound. Farmdale butter at 59 cents per pound. Spry, 3 pound tin, 69 cents. Festal Pumpkin, 8 cans for $1.00. Ground Beef or Chuck Roast, 25 cents per pound.
90 years ago -- January 17, 1916 The stork brought a bouncing baby boy to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Murphy Wednesday morning. On Tuesday the stork visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Walker where he left a girl. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Thralow were called upon Monday where a girl is reported. N. A. Nilson, retired general merchandiser in this city who knows about every man, woman and child in Silver Lake and is well liked by all, is trying his hand at banking. The new December telephone directories are now out and work of removing the old ones almost finished. Something like 900 names appear in the new directory which shows that the business and popularity of the Poplar River Telephone Company is increasing rapidly. -- Mrs. Trygve Strindberg
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SUPERFLY
Superfly gets high in sky looking down makes her terrified she wants to fly more high than I but her wings often go awry she prays to God when she falls on ground but God is high more high than I so Superfly dies on the ground she never makes it to the other side.
-- Mihael Kamenik (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
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*****Ham and Bean Soup
Winter is the time for soup. Nothing makes a house seem as warm as a fresh pot of soup on the stove. Ham and bean is one of my favorites. Start by soaking your beans in one pot the night before. Great Northern beans, pinto beans, or bean mixtures all work well. The next day, throw a meaty ham bone along with large pieces of carrots, onions and garlic into a second pot. Cover with water. Cook on low until the meat starts falling off the ham bone -- about two hours. Strain the water from the bean pot and discard. Then remove the ham from the second pot and strain the broth into the bean pot. You can discard the vegetable chunks, or eat them if you like. While the ham is cooling, chop more carrots and onions into small pieces. Add these to the soup. Then clean the ham, discarding fat and bone. Dice the meat and add to the soup. Simmer on low until the beans are soft enough to melt in your mouth. -- Helen Yost