Our Family History Mental illness spans at least three generations in our family. After my mother died in 2010, two of my sisters and I rescued a time capsule that had been locked in the chickenhouse on our homestead in northern Minnesota. It had lain …
Read MoreMy New-Found Family Visits Minnesota
My new-found brother, Louis and his wife Patty recently spent time with us her in the Bemidji area. It was a wonderful week not to be forgotten. Visit these links for a great interview Dennis Doeden with the Bemidji Pioneer did: https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/4699087-Finding-his-roots-Bemidji-man-connects-with-half-siblings-through-DNA-testing Malaak Khattab a …
Read MoreMeeting My New Family
Our host family: Patty and Louis at each end; daughter, Elizabeth Rose, Laurel, daughter Camille, and Wendell Back row: Janine, Laurel, Louis, David, Wendell, Laurie Jean. Middle row: Janine’s husband David, Ginger and Larry Grignon and their grandchildren. Three new brothers and baby sister—left to …
Read MoreDNA Miracle: Discovering My Father, 72 Years Later
Tomorrow morning, June 14, 2019, I set off on a journey that began in New York the early winter of 1947. Questions from a lecture by my friend, Professor Mark Christensen haunt me as I pack my suitcase and map my route: What is my …
Read MoreNEW RELEASE: CHICKENHOUSE CHRONICLES, BOOK II, “PAWNS”
A few years before my mother died I began interviewing her and making notes. After her death in January 2010 I discovered a treasure trove; 200 years of our family history locked in the chickenhouse—about seventy feet from where we had visited in the old …
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NEW RELEASE: “PAWNS” (Chickenhouse Chronicles Book II)
A few years before my mother died, I began interviewing her and making notes. After her death in January 2010, I discovered a treasure trove: 200 years of our family history locked in the chickenhouse—about seventy feet from the old farmhouse where she and I …
Read MoreBook Release
This print book includes the first singles catalogue that my stepfather ordered after he returned to his farm from World War Two in October 1945 and began his search for a wife. The $2.99 PDF download includes the compete book plus all the singles publications …
Read MoreLakeland Televison Interview
A few months ago I received the Minnesota Humanity Center “2017 Veteran’s Voices Award.” The following week I was interviewed by our local television station–I guess I forgot to post it on my blog.
Read MoreWhere’s The Beef?
This past week, we reached a milestone. In March, 2014, I visited with my former employer about a vision I had to supply our local food shelf with ground beef. The late Mr. Joe Lueken liked the idea and the program kicked off two months …
Read MoreAngels on Earth
About six months after my friend, Deland, died in 1999, his widow and her family came to our farm, homeless and hungry. Angie is a proud lady and offered to repay our help. I told her that anything we shared with her was a gift. …
Read MoreWWII Veterans and PTSD
I recently read Thomas Childers Soldier From The War Returning (2009) in which he explores the lives of three Second World War veterans and their families. The book documents a part of our collective past—an inconvenient truth—that has been airbrushed from our national memory. Yet …
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