John L. GOLOB JR A FAMILY HISTORY

They asked a senior naval cadet how he went four years without a demerit.
He said, “I didn’t try to beat the system, just bend with it.”
(May 9, 1959)

People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what
you nag them to be. (May 10, 1959)


Don’t blow your own horn; it isn’t the whistle that pulls the train.
(May 27, 1959)

“Bright Promise” by “D.B.”

“From graying skies
White snow will fall,
From sombre clouds
Bright rain.
White crocus’ will show their heads
Where last year’s flowers have lain.

An old man dies.
A child is born.
A prayer is not in vain.
For we who look for springtime
Gather smiles from pain.” (June 8, 1959)

In her garden she found a bachelor button in a black-eyed susan’s bed.
(Aug 25, 1959)

We have a fellow here in town that never begins to think until everyone else
is finished. (Sept 2, 1959)

From a note off the bulleting board at the Hibbing Police Department: “Will

the person who took a slice of chocolate cake from the Chief’s office please
return it. It is part of the evidence in a food poisoning case.”
(Sept 17, 1959)


Mrs. Barrett was telling me about a new book on reducing that she had just

bought from Shapiro’s for $5.00. I asked her how much she had lost so far.
She said, "“5.00." (Sept 22, 1959)



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Our northern daughter-in-law Joan: “Men are all alike.”
Our southern daughter-in-law Jane: “Men are all ah like, too.”
(Sept 29, 1959)

Dick, the attorney in the family, tells about the wealthy mine owner’s will
that he was to read to the family. ‘Said he did fine tell he came to the part
that read, “And to my nephew Charles that I promised to remember -- Hi
there, Charles”. (Oct 12, 1959)

There’s a sign at the Cobb Cook School that says, “School – Drive Carefully
-- Don’t Kill a Child.” Beneath some kid had scrawled, “Wait for a
teacher”. (Oct 29, 1959)

From our southern daughter-in-law comes the tale of an aging lady that
hired a girl to help her clean her home. She told the new maid, “At times it
will be necessary for you to help me upstairs.” The girl replied, “I
understand, Ma’am. I drink a bit myself.” (Nov 1, 1959)

Son John tells us about a North Georgia mountain man who on his first visit
to a town of any size was fascinated by the paved streets. Scrapping his feet
on the asphalt he said, “Don’t blame em for building a town here. The
ground’s too hard to plant anyways.” (Nov 2, 1959)

Living in the past or future is a good way to ruin the present.
(Nov 12, 1959)

Heard a good one in Valentini’s the other day. Seems as if a man told the
waiter, “I can’t eat this soup.” The waiter, “I’ll call the manager.”
When the manager arrived the man repeated, “I can’t eat this soup.” The
manager said, “I really regret that; I’ll call Mr. Valentini right away”. The
diner repeated to the owner, “I can’t eat this soup.” Mr. Valentini asked,
“What’s the matter with it?” “Nothing”, replied the customer. “I have no
spoon.” (Nov 20. 1959)










101

Albert O. Carlsen, an old timer from Virginia, Minnesota writes about the
time he saw a farmer walking down the road with a dog and a gun. A
motorist drove over the dog and killed it. The driver stopped and asked,
“Was it a very valuable dog?” “Not too valuable”, replied the farmer. The
motorist took out a $10.00 bill and offered it to the farmer saying, “Would
you accept this as settlement?” The farmer took the ten spot, thanked the
man and started hiking for home. “I’m sorry I spoiled your hunting trip,”
said the motorist. “I was going hunting,” said the farmer. “I was going out
to shoot the dog.” (Nov 21, 1959)

What a way to describe a person: Friendly, yet remote. Interested yet
detached. A withdrawn quality that for all the seeming outwardness and
apparently easy-going ways, he is not an easy person to get to know. But I
guess we all know someone like that. (Jan 2, 1960)

Son John was home on leave from the Air Force and was in the basement
where Znidar was cutting in hair. Znidar said, “Hey, look at this. You’re
getting some gray hair.” Son John replied, “If you don’t hurry up, it will all
be gray.” (Jan 3, 1960)

The ancient axiom is right (?). “Right is right if nobody is right; wrong is
wrong if everybody is wrong.” (Jan 3, 1960)

One of the chief reasons that we are not all saints is that we so often fail to
have pure intentions in the good that we perform. (Jan 4, 1960)


Bernard Baruch said, “The ability to express an idea is as important as the
idea itself”. (Jan 5, 1960)

The best helping hand you can have is at the end of your arm.
(Jan 6, 1960)


Every woman is capable of withstanding deep suffering. That is part of her
vocation. Many married women do not tell their husbands all their trials and
problems so as not to distress them. (Jan 7, 1960)








102

You feed your face three times a day whether you are hungry or not. Why
not throw your soul a bone once a week and go to church.
(Jan 8, 1960)

God will not let us suffer more than we can bear. “He fits the back to the
burden. (Jan 9, 1960)

The excuse people give for excessive drinking is that they drown their
sorrows. Ann Landers says that she has news for them. “Sorrow knows
how to swim”. (Jan 10, 1960)

It seems that in this crazy world today the definition of success is “working
yourself to death to live better”. (Jan 11, 1960)
To leave home is to some extent to die. What emotion there is in that last
look around at familiar rooms and things? (Jan 12, 1960)

Do Not Covet; Detach!!! Riches and poverty have no value in themselves.
It is our reaction toward them that counts. An athlete, to run more freely and
win the race, strips himself of anything that would retard him. This is truly
“de-tach-ment”. We can ascend to the summit by stripping ourselves of
materialism. Do not be possessed by your possessions.
(Jan 14, 1960)

It’s the desire for money that is the root of all evil. What we are is not what
we have. But the lack of goods is not good. It is the inordinate love of
wealth that must be combated. (Jan 15, 1960)

If you deny ourselves a convenience, it is not the denial but the motive for
which we deny ourselves that is important. (Jan 16, 1960)

Holy indifference prepares for unalterable peace. (Jan 17, 1960)

Where there is no love, put love and you will find love. (Jan 18, 1960)


A butterfly is a worm that has won his wings. (Jan 19, 1960)


Lyndon Johnson (who at that time was the Vice President of the United

States) said, “No man’s judgement on a question is any better than the
information that he has on the subject”. (Jan 20, 1960)




103

A wise woman attributes the 35 years of happy marriage that she has had to
the three or four things she has left unsaid every day. (Jan 21, 1960)

When the dawn kills the moon it will be daylight. (Jan 22, 1960)

Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but God who gives
growth. (Jan 23, 1960)

John’s (her husband) psychotherapy is solitaire. He gets kind of hypnotized
and forgets what’s bothering him. (Jan 25, 1960)

The mental cases that are most difficult to cure are those people that are
crazy… about themselves. (Jan 29, 1960)

Time may be a healer but it seldom removes the scars. (Feb 20, 1960)

Our tailor put a sign in his shop window: “Arco, the Tailor: an old sew and
sew.” (Mar 14, 1960)

The drawback to the jet age is that there is no such thing anymore as a
distant relative. (Mar 15, 1960)

No one can make can make a fool out of you without a considerable amount
of cooperation on your part. (Mar 16, 1960)

Some people might become smart if they didn’t think they already were.
(Mar 17, 1960)

Our own Geno Palucci from Hibbing says, “You can’t change the course of
the Mississippi River with a spoon”. (Mar 22, 1960)

As an Air Force fighter pilot, I am so often away from home on temporary
duty or even while at home base locked up in an alert duty complex. I feel
as if my only domestic quality is that I live in a house.
(Mar 29, 1960)


It’s not fair!!!
A woman’s best friend is a diamond.
A man’s best friend is a dog. (Mar 30, 1960)




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Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note.
(April 29, 1960)

To My Son:

Do you know that your soul is of my soul,
such a part that you seem to be fibre and core of my heart?
None other can pain me as you, Son, can do.
None other can please me, or praise me, as you.

Remember the world will be quick with it’s blame
If shadow or stain ever darken your name.

Like mother, like son, is the saying so true.
The world will judge largely of Mother by You.

Be then this your task, if task it shall be,
To force the proud world to do homage to me.

Be sure it will say, when it’s verdict you’ve won,
She reaps as she sowed, this man is her Son. (July 14, 1960)

You must be very smart to be such an outstanding failure at such an early
age. (July 26, 1960)

It goes into one whole in his head and out the other. (July 27, 1960)

No suitor ever suited her. (July 28, 1960)

Grownups are just obsolete children, according to Dr. Seuss.
(July 29, 1960)



Our Hibbing police got a call the other day that there was a young boy lying
unconscious on the sidewalk on Sixth Avenue. The officers raced through
the village streets to find the boy and when they did the raised his head and

asked him what was wrong. “I was sleeping,” he said. “Why on the
sidewalk?” He replied, “That’s where I was when I got tired.”
(July 30, 1960)



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How can I expect to be strong when I’m not strong enough to exercise?
(July 31, 1960)

I’ve learned that if I can’t change my situation I need to change my attitude.
(July 31, 1960)

I think nothing of getting up at five a.m. I don’t think much of it either.
(Aug 1, 1960)

A woman driver pulled up to Laliberti’s service department and told the
garage mechanic, “My husband tells me that there’s a screw loose in the
driver, whatever that is.” (Aug 2, 1960)


At times I feel like a plant that manages to stay upright after the roots have
been cut from underneath. (Nov 1, 1960)

Standing on a busy corner of downtown Minneapolis, we watched people
passing us by, hastily, leisurely, silently, most with large tracts of ego
exposed but unexplored. (Nov 2, 1960)

Bernard Shaw said, “I solemnly swear that I am not a happy man. I may be
triumphant, victorious, successful, the price for which I sold my happiness.”
“Whatever I may be, I am none of your fair weather sailors that’ll do nothing
for their creed, but go to heaven for it.” “I did not let the fear of death
govern my life, and my reward was that I had my life. If you are going to let
the fear of poverty govern your life, your reward will be that you will eat,
but you will not live.” (Nov 3, 1960)

Middle age is when your narrow waist and broad mind start to change
places. (Nov 11, 1960)


I am a timid Victorian housewife trembling at every frown of my husband’s.
Don’t you believe it! (Dec 27, 1960)


It shouldn’t be so, but the Christmas holiday period is the most trying time
of the year – every year. (Dec 28, 1960)


A sign in a store window: “Antiques and Junque”. (Dec 29, 1960)



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Johnny’s wife, Janie, is from Georgia and her lingo amuses us in Minnesota.
When she speaks of someone great, she says “she hung the moon”. When a
wife is sent home to MaMa, she is said to “have been poured back into the
jug. And I was really dumbfounded when Janie talked about one of her
favorite uncles that steals. I asked her again what her uncle does. Again she
said, “he runs an steal”. It took awhile before I understood that he had a
moonshine still. (Dec 30, 1960)

In 1870, Josh Billings said, “People know so much that just ain’t so.”
(Jan 3, 1961)

A taxi driver took some people on a tour of the Nation’s Capitol. One
tourist read an inscription, “What is past is prologue”. He asked the driver
what it meant. The cabbie replied, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
(Jan 7, 1961)

The only successful substitute for brains is silence. (Jan 15, 1961)

A boy should learn right from wrong at his mother’s knee --- or across his
father’s. (Jan 17, 1961)

Any ship with two captains of equal rank can easily find itself on the rocks --
- and the same goes for marriage. (Jan 18, 1961)

Every home needs a head. A household does not need two separate heads
any more than a human being does. I made up my mind at the beginning
that I was the wife and my husband was the head of the house. So all the
strains that were sure to come took care of themselves. We both have to
carry our own weight; this is a cooperative business.
(Jan 19, 1961)


Even the darkest hour has only sixty minutes.
(Jan 24, 1961)


Probably again today, I’ll have more to learn than to say. (Jan 25, 1961)

Being young is a fault that improves daily.

(Jan 26, 1961)


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Our little town of Hibbing is mighty small but don’t ever believe that we
will leave little effect upon the world. This old world is made up of
hundreds of thousands of little towns that all contribute to the betterment of
mankind. And each of us has a task to do in our little town that makes our
town’s work a success. So let’s pray:
“Father, where should I work today?
And my love flowed warm and free;
Then He pointed out a tiny spot,
And said, “Tend that for me.” (Feb 1, 1961)

An old Swedish saying states, “He who buys what he doesn’t need, steals
from himself”. (Feb 2, 1961)

Also from Swedish lore, “He is a friend to none who is a friend to all”.
(Feb 3, 1961)

Don’t marry for money. You can borrow it cheaper. (Feb 22, 1961)

Tibbie (Thibedeau) Remington told of Ruth Castner who is now a nun and
doing social work in New York City. While visiting a colored woman,
Sister Ruth was trying to remind the lady of the shortness of life and the
final accounting. She said to her, “Hadn’t you better start thinking about
going home (meaning heaven)?”. The colored woman replied, “I ain’t
homesick yet!”. (Mar 10, 1961)

My neighbor, at age 74, is a small fragile old lady with the wispy character
of a pressed flower or an autumn leaf. (Mar 18, 1961)

It’s not comfortable to have too much empathy, that is the projecting of
oneself into the feelings of others. Of such, migraines are made of.
(April 1, 1961)

I’m reminded that until I was eleven I thought my name was “Shuddup”.
(April 13, 1961)


A U.S. immigration officer asking a little old English lady the usual

questions says, “Do you advocate the overthrow of the American
government by force or by violence?” Thinking it over deeply she replied,
“By violence”. (April 19, 1961)



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From Kipling’s “If”: “If you can talk with the crowds and keep your virtue
or walk with the kings and not lose the common touch…yours is the earth
and everything in it.” (May 19, 1961)

Jesus lived in a humble town so tiny and obscure that it turned up in a
proverb: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” It takes a lot of
patience to live where all the neighbors know you too well.

Today, again after the partition of Palestine in 1948, there is discontent,
strong communism and Nazareth serves as a model again for “victims of
circumstance” in whose daily life tense friction seems inescapable and
Christian fortitude is put to trying test. (Aug 13, 1961)

Those who don’t read good books have no advantage over those that can’t
read. (Aug 29, 1961)

It is always possible to see who has just sprung up from nowhere demanding
homage which is not their due.

Most of the great of the earth are not so very great after the get out of office.
They are just about the same as anybody else that has no job.
(Aug 29, 1961)

Let’s play hop scotch… with real scotch. (Sept 20, 1961)

Going home, please don’t drink before driving… you might spill the whole
thing. (Sept 21, 1961)

John says, “Whiskey improves with age. The older I get, the more I like it.”
Thank the Lord, not too much. (Sept 22, 1961)


Satchel Paige said, “Don’t look back! Something may be gaining on us.”
(Sept 28, 1961)


So many leaves fell during the night! This morning was damp, warm and
windy. The wind has increased now and the leaves are running along the
paved streets – running fast and straight ahead almost in formation. A pretty





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sight but the thought comes to mind, “Why are you running so fast? Where
are you going?” So likewise, man today!!!
(Oct 3, 1961)

Just finished a marvelous book, “The Agony and Ecstasy – Michelangelo”
by Irving Stone. It was loaned to me by Joe Monte, the man who puts in our
cement. The following are some quotations and adages from the book.
(This note from the compiler: Only a very few of the many pages of her
notes from this book are presented here.)

“I had a block of marble in which was concealed that statue which you see
there. The only effort involved is to take away the tiny pieces that surround
and prevent this from being seen. For anyone who knows how to do this,
nothing could be easier.”

“It’s freezing up here. What do you use to keep warm?” “Indignation”, said
Michelangelo. “Best fuel I know. Never burn out.”

“He who contends with the worthless achieves no great victory.”

“Great and honest men take more courage in adversities and become
stronger.”

“A teacher is like a cook; give him a stringy piece of chicken or a tough
piece of veal, and not even his most delicious sauce can make it tender.”

“Michelangelo mio!! You do the cleanest work and get dirtier doing it than
anyone I know.”

“God shapes the back to the burden.”

“Troubles, like tomatoes, all come ripe at the same time. Good fortune
comes in bunches as do peaches when the tree turns ripe.”

“Love and a cough cannot be hid.”

“You’re like the gardeners dog that neither eats cabbage himself nor lets
anyone else.”

“Unhappiness is not the climate for love-making.”



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“Nature cures and doctors collect.”

“The farmers died of the incurable malady of old age.”

“Do not stir gratitude into the family soup.”

“At 50, he came into the Autumn of Life, harvesting of Autumn after the
seeding of Spring.” (Oct 14, 1961)

My feelings for writing and books are similar to what Irving Stone writes
here about Michelangelo: “His hand caressed the stone, searched out its’
more intimate contours. During the whole year he hadn’t touched a block of
that statuary marble.
“Why”, he asked himself trembling, “do I feel this way?”
For the milky white marble was a living, breathing substance that felt,
sensed and judged. He could not permit himself to be found wanting. It was
not fear, but reverence. “This is love”, he thought.
Thoughts, feelings, perceptions often came in a flash… but to express these
ideas often took days and weeks. Inside himself he had to grow, as his
sculptures grew and matured. The unfinished block haunted him every hour
of the night and day. His real battle began the moment a muscle became
defined or a structural element began to emerge. Standing out from the
rough block, he felt a thumping in his heart to shed away quickly the rest of
the marble skin to reveal the human form below. The marble was tenacious;
he was equally tenacious to achieve the play of each muscle. Each
completed detail brought peacefulness to all his faculties he had used in its’
creation.

Might God have not asked himself, “Whom have I on earth to speak for Me?
I had best create another species, one apart. I will call him “artist”. His will
be the task to bring meaning and beauty to the world.”
(Oct 26, 1961)


Just as the Madonna and Child was the beginning, the Pieta was the biblical
witness of the pity and sorrow of the end. (Oct 28, 1961)


Loneliness can have an almost physical presence. (Nov 3, 1961)






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“A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears”. This is
from Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592). (Nov 4, 1961)

My neighbor said, “if I knew that you’d stay for lunch, I’d have choked
another chicken”. (Nov 6, 1961)

Politics is getting to be so darned expensive that it’s costing a fortune just to
get beat. (Nov 11, 1961)

The best way to get a woman to drive carefully is to remind her that in case
of an accident the newspaper stories will mention her age.
(Nov 12, 1961)

Maturity is –
To be able to stick with a job until it is finished…
To be able to bear an injustice without wanting to get even…
To be able to carry money without spending it…
To do one’s duty without being supervised. (Nov 23, 1961)

Faults are thick where love is thin. (Dec 21, 1961)

Talking comes by nature; silence by understanding (Dec 22, 1961)

Two things never to be angry at:
What you can help.
What you cannot help. (Dec 23, 1961)

The very best men stand in need of pardon. (Dec 24, 1961)

“Prescription for a Man”, by scientists Goad and Lawson of London:
“Enough water to fill a ten gallon barrel;
Enough fat for seven bars of soap;
Carbon for 9,000 lead pencils;
Phosphorus for 2,200 match heads;
Iron enough for one medium sized nail;
Lime enough to white was a chicken coup;
And small quantities of magnesium and sulfur. (Dec 27, 1961)


I told John that everyone should pay taxes with a smile. He said that he tried
but they wanted cash. (April 15, 1962)



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One of my fondest memories will always be Ma’s round glass rolling pin.
(April 17, 1962)

John went to the barber to get a haircut after a particularly bad day today.
Wally, the barber, asked how he would like his hair cut. John replied. “In
silence.” (May 11, 1962)

Our visitors from the South this week called Keewatin a poke and plum
town. They said that you poke your head out of the window and you’re
plum out of town. (June 14, 1962)

Our visitor had two thick defiantly shaped hair hedges that comprised his
eyebrows. He had a ready humor and an explosive laugh. His drawl was as
smooth as good bourbon with which it was usually enriched.
(June 15, 1962)

We continue to be intrigued by Janie’s Southern talk. Even the names of the
family help are unusual to Minnesota. Shine and Doc are the two black men
that help the Eberhart and Bowden families. Course there’s a Laura. Nice
name. (The author’s name.) And Sarah and Caldonia round out the black
women helpers. (June 16, 1962)

Thanksgiving Day!

Like I say, marriage is for adults only. (Nov 22, 1962)

Migraine: Christmas Eve and Day. I’ve had a bad three days.
(Dec 28, 1962)

A man we know asked his wife to give him an aspirin after our New Year’s
Eve party. And he said, “Please don’t slam the lid.”
(Jan 1, 1963)


There’s a Navajo Indian saying, “A land where there is time enough – and
room enough.” I want that too. (Jan 2, 1963)


If you growl all day you’ll feel dog-tired at night. (Jan 3, 1963)






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William Bentley said it: “Be sure your brain is engaged before you put your
mouth in gear.” (Jan 5, 1963)

“Democracy”, wrote Dorothy Thompson, “is not to be conceived of as an
invitation to share a common mediocrity, but a system which allows each to
express and live up to the special excellence that is in him.”
(Jan 6, 1963)

I’ve had a migraine for the last two days now. No vomiting this time and
milder headaches. John says, “Uncoil, Dear! I don’t want to have to say
that my wife became unhinged to the point of utter hysteria”.
(Jan 10, 1963)

Dumas says, “The more we love our friends, the less we flatter them.”
(Jan 11, 1963)

We should avoid needless worry! If we feel frequent resentment, anxiety
and/or disappointment, we should modify our standards. We should learn to
be less fussy about minor details. (Jan 12, 1963)

Women inspires men to great things and then prevents men from achieving
them. (Jan 13, 1963)

A spoiled child never loves its’ mother. (Jan 14, 1963)

Goethe says, “Know thyself”. If I knew myself, I’d run away.
(Jan 15, 1963)

Keep your words soft and sweet. They taste better if you have to eat them.
(Jan 16, 1963)

Visited with Marty in Minneapolis and it sure was cold. We went to see the
beautiful St. Olaf’s choir. (Jan 20, 1963)


We’re home from Minneapolis where I bought a new coat and shoes. This is

what we called the old-fashioned winters! 40 below zero and blowing. It’s
hard to keep warm with the snow, wind and cold. Can’t even seem to warm
the house sufficiently. (Jan 21, 1963)


I’ll be old again every winter and young again every spring. (Jan 22, 1963)


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Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you depends on
what you are made of. (Jan 23, 1963)

I think that I will never see
A billboard as lovely as a tree.
And if the billboard doesn’t fall
I think I’ll never see a tree at all. (April 3, 1963)

Seems a fact that men seem to have minor illnesses. (April 5, 1963)

Fists are just your hands when they get mad. (April 6, 1963)

Some I’ve met are educated beyond their intelligence. (April 7, 1963)

Worry is like a rocking chair. It’ll give you something to do, but it won’t get
you anywhere. The one that wrote this is an unknown rocker.
(April 8, 1963)

The extent of some people’s religion is that they know the name of the
church that they stay away from. (April 15, 1963)

A gentleman is a man who can disagree with you without being
disagreeable. (April 27, 1963)

What does it take to feather your nest? Just a little down. (May 9, 1963)

He is a double yolk egg-head. (May 21, 1963)

Poise is the ability to be ill at ease inconspicuously. (May 27, 1963)

Janie tells us from Georgia that the baby is talking up a storm.
(May 29, 1963)
Ode to Mrs. Barrett:
Flowers that blossom in clusters divine,
Peonies so think that you can’t see the vine.
Rows of Susans, dark eyes all dancing,
Delighting my eyes with colors entrancing.
The hedge all aflame with flowering décor,
Everywhere, everywhere, blossoms galore.



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A lovely enchanting reward for hard labor,
Not my own, but that of my neighbor. (June 22, 1963)

A young boy approached a lady in a lounge chair at Surgeon Lake Sunday
and asked her, “Do you believe in God?” Surprised, she said, “Why yes.”
“Well”, the boy asked, “Did you go to Church this morning?” “Of course”,
she said. “Well”, the boy asked, “Will you hold my quarter while I go for a
swim,?” (July 11, 1963)

Fishing has been so bad around here this summer that even the biggest liars
didn’t catch anything. (Aug 1, 1963)

Another “Georgiaese” from Janie. “She hung the moon”, means that she’s
tops. One of the children is “an angel of destruction”.
(Aug 27, 1963)

I was as lonesome for you as a gentile at Miami Beach. (Aug 28, 1963)

Knowledge is power only if a man knows what facts not to bother about.
(Sept 28, 1963)

Mr. Miller in Hibbing died this week. He was pressured by a zealous car
th
salesman on his 100 birthday saying, “After all Mr. Miller, you can’t take
the money with you.” Mr. Miller replied, “Who’s going anywhere?” That
was twelve years ago. (Sept 29, 1963)

When Ma was asked how she raised us 13 kids, she replied that she used the
3 B system: “Bust their behinds with a board”. (Oct 23, 1963)

There was a special orchestra performance at the High School auditorium
this week. An usher asked a lady how far down she would like to seat. She
relied, “All the way down. I’m very tired.” (Oct 24, 1963)

Our school librarian tells me about a girl sent to her to do research for a
topic she failed in class. When she was asked by the teacher to talk on Red
China she said that it looked good against a yellow table cloth.
(Nov 13, 1963)


Today, November 22, 1963, is one of the blackest days in the history of our
nation. Our dear President Kennedy was assassinated while parading in



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Dallas, Texas. A sniper shot him from a tall building along the parade route.
“For the things that are seen are temporary. The things not seen are eternal.”
Oh grief!!!

Lyndon Johnson is taking over. It is a glum day in Washington as it is in the
nation and the world. And the weather is glum there too as the rain is
pouring down.

The Kennedy family has everything… and a full measure of tragedy too. It
makes them a close family.

John Kennedy – 1917 – an active and productive life – 1963.

“The bustle in a house the morning after death
Is solemnest of industries enacted upon the earth –
The sweeping up the heart and putting love away
We shall not want to use again until eternity.”
Emily Dikinson – 1865 (Nov 22, 1963)

Democracy is a hole in a stuff shirt. (Nov 23, 1963)

Thanksgiving Day!
When President Kennedy began the painful chore of telling young John and
Caroline about young Patrick, his new born sons, death, three year young
John wandered off. Caroline at age six paused for a time and then told her
father, “It’s alright. God will take care of it (the new baby) until we get
there.” (Nov 28, 1963)`



th
We learned the truth of this 19 Century poem while in London last month.
“The rule of the road is a paradox quite, in riding or driving along.
If you keep to the left you are sure to go right,
And if you go to the right, you go wrong.” (Sept 11, 1964)


When I got back from the wars of Southeast Asia, half the people I knew
didn’t remember that I left and half didn’t remember me at all.
(Aug 1, 1967)






117

There was no military hero that came out of the Vietnam war, except
President Gerald Ford who ended it.

The only war similar to the Vietnam War in our nation’s history was the
Civil War where again there were real military heroes except Grant and
Lincoln who fought four years to end slavery. (July 4, 1972)
Within one year before John Jr’s retirement from the Air Force is a copy of a
letter we found from John Sr. regarding a fishing trip that he and “some of
his boys” made into the North Woods. Vivian Corbley at this time was the
comptroller for the Disabled American Veteran Association. Harry Truman
was the president of the United States. Millard Rice was a significant power
in the DAV association.

Title: (Fishing as described by John Golob Sr. in 1972)

The Fishing Trip up to Lake of the Woods was productive as usual. At least
I got a fish. The others did little better but we had a right jolly good time. I
had my first ski mobile ride on the big Lake and needless to say we had a
snort (a little bit of northern Minnesota antiphase) or two to get me out there.
But we had a kind of trip that I would like to make again.

(The following is a letter from my father to Mrs. Millard Rice dated
November 8, 1972)

Dear Vera:

Thank you very much for your Christmas and New Year good wishes.
Particularly your memo regarding Millard's (Rice) health and good news that
he is feeling all right.

I'm looking over some pictures of Harry Truman, Millard and others taken
about a quarter of a century ago. It's good to know that some of us are still
fighting.

Last Mid-March while visiting one of my sons in Athens, Georgia I came
down with the flu, plus other ailments. I spent over two months in the
hospital and lost 30 pounds. In mid-June my son accompanied me back

home were I've been under continuous doctor’s care. But I'm snapping out
of it! Only at my age one does not have enough energy to spend but several
hours a day in the office.



118

My very best wishes to both you and Millard and tell him to take it easy.
God bless you both John L (Golob Sr.)


Air Force Retirement. I must know now to be poor today to be comfortable
tomorrow. (Sept 1, 1973)

The beginning of a wonderful week: February 23 – March 1, 1975.

When I moved to Miami I had to learn how to drive all over again. The
increasing population of Spanish speaking immigrants has changed the
South Florida driving conditions. For example:
The fast lane is the right lane.
You do not signal when you change lanes.
A woman with a hand out the window means she is drying her nails.
A man with his hand out the window means he’s checking the weather,
A light changing green to red is a challenge to see if you can make it.
Accidents are a greater spectator sport than a champion soccer match.
A high bridge are places to slow to two mph to sight see.
And accident insurance costs more per year than gas. (Dec 12, 1986)

South Florida! We sure need unity. Not uniformity, but unity.
(Dec 15, 1986)

Today I married Myra Hatton Townsend. Benjamin Franklin said that a
single man has not nearly the value as he would have in a state of union. As
single, he says, a man resembles half of a pair of scissors.
(Sept 16, 1994)

Chances are that no man fully appreciates his name until he gives it to a
woman. (Sept 17, 1994)

The following is an entry from my Mother’s day book, dated February 17,
1952: “A son is a son until he takes a wife; but a daughter’s a daughter all of
her life.” (Sept 18, 1994)

One of the finest joys of life is to listen to the three wonderful tenors today,
Pavarotti, Carreras and Domingo. (April 2, 1995)





119

MY LIFE --- JANUARY 1993 to the PRESENT TIME

1993
Duluth, GA and appraisal work Dec. 31 – May 11, 1993 LeAnn
worked for me in February 1993
By 2/25 Relationship with Joyce on the rocks
Mar. 26 – Joyce and I meet Myra
April 14, told Myra of May 22 wedding date
April 25, came home to find Joyce’s belongings moved
Wedding is off
May 6, Athens to watch Josh play ball
With John Zaic, Frank & Grace, Leann and Pappy
May 11, wired $20,000 to Athens First

Knoxville and Highlands, NC May 12 – May 21, 1993
Met Myra’s airplane in Knoxville
And drove her to Martha and Bud Hobb’s wedding
Myra rode with me to Lake Seed and Duluth and
then back to meet Vicky at he friend’s wedding

Duluth, GA and appraisal work May 22 – 26, 1993

Notre Dame and Jack & Cynthia May 27 – 31, 1993

Duluth, GA and appraisal work June 1 – June 8, 1993
Pappy & I closed on refinancing of 1135 Devonshire Drive 6/8
Josh went three for three in the playoffs

Miami June 9 – June 14,
1993

Duluth, GA and appraisal work June 15 – July 15, 1993
Jan working with me but appraisal work slacking off
Myra visits June 28 – July 12; her BD is June 11
Daybook says it all, “Moving Nightmare”




120

Minnesota July 16 – July 31, 1993
Davenport than Hibbing for eight days
On 7/24 Myra left FL for Europe

Duluth, GA and appraisal work Aug. 1 – Aug. 17, 1993
Myra back from Europe 8/14

Miami Aug. 18 – Aug. 22.
1993

Duluth, GA and diminishing appraisal work Aug. 23 – Sept. 13, 1993

Miami Sept. 14 – Sept 19,
1993
Canes beat Texas Tech


Duluth, GA and appraisal work Sept. 20 – Nov. 30, 1993
Myra in Athens; fixing 1135 Devonshire
11/30 - Community Bank, Cornelia agreed to finance
my lake construction plan; left to take Myra back to Miami

Miami Nov. 31 – Dec. 14, 1993
Myra bladder cancer surgery again 12/8
Myra asked my help with Tim Rose and her investments

1994
Athens and Lake Seed Dec. 15, 1993 – Feb. 9, 1994
1/23 Guenther came to work and live at Lake Seed
There is still no heat and water at the lake house
Myra visited and left on 1/24
Got water on Feb. 3 and first real work starts
A construction photo album shows details

Fort Worth, TX Feb. 10 – Feb. 15, 1994
Joined Myra at Garland’s house
Gave Myra a Valentine gold & diamond heart







121

Lake Seed Feb. 16 – Feb. 23,
1994
2/23 closed on a mobile home for Peggy

Miami Feb. 24 – Mar. 3,
1994
Took Myra back home from her Mother’s in Kennesaw

Lake Seed Mar. 4 – April 27,
1994
Myra had a bladder procedure in Miami (again)
Many trips after building supplies, often to Athens
th
Mar. 30 Myra called to say goodbye; she’s traveling
Mar. 31, blind in left eye
Apr. 4. Guenther says we’ll finish house by end of Sept.
Bothered bad by rain in March and April
April 21, Gump and Jane Long at the Lake
April 22, Myra arrived
April 23, Dinner at Orchard with Myra, Frank, & Grace
April 26-27, Clinton DesRosier visits

Miami April 28 – May 7,
1994
Taking Myra home
Surprise BD party for Betty at Ft. Jackson O Club
Stopped to see Tom & Jackie & walk the river walk
th
April 30 at Vicky’s
Filled U-haul with Hurricane Andrew cabinets

Lake Seed May 8 – July 10,
1994
th
June 17 Myra came to visit her Mom and stay with me
Stayed mostly in Athens and out to dinner a lot
Pappy bought, delivered and with lots of help, lifted
a new hot tub into the room constructed especially for it

Orange Park and Miami July 11 – July 26
Myra BD at Znidar’s; Jackie fixed a great meal
th
July 18 & 20 , Myra surgery again and all OK
July 22, Frank Sexton prepared a pre-nup



122

th
July 23 – 25, Myra sick; hospital on 25 for
a corrective procedure

Athens & Lake Seed July 27 – Aug. 17,
1994
Aug. 15- 17: Tropical Storm Beryl flooded Rabun
County with as much as fifteen inches of rain in 36
hours. Lake Seed was up 5.8 feet and covered all docks.
Many roads were wash out with a few fatalities.

Pappy/LeAnn’s wedding Aug. 18 – Aug. 31. 1994
First leg on our three part honeymoon
Aug. 18 with Martha and Bud, Highlands, NC
Aug. 23 with Cynthia, Jack, Clay and Harriet
Aug. 26, Notre Dame
Aug. 27, Pappy and Leann wedding
Aug. 28-31 Mary and Jamie’s in Davenport. Left my car



Athens and Lake Seed Sept. 1 – Sept. 19, 1994
Benny Barrs, the owner of a one man saw mill cut
all the siding and much of the paneling used in the house.
Friday, Sept. 16, 1994, Myra and I got married

Davenport and Part II of honeymoon Sept. 20 – Oct. 5, 1994
Minneapolis, Duluth, MN, Hibbing, the Soo
Niagara Falls, and left my car
Oct. Our first married fuss

Athens, Miami, Lake Seed, Miami Oct. 6 – Oct. 31. 1994
Lot of away details and construction to oversee

Niagara Falls to Miami Nov. 1 – Nov. 11, 1994
Saw Canes beat Syracuse in Syracuse
Finger Lakes, Naval Academy, Charleston

Miami Nov. 12 – Nov. 16,
1994
Myra cystiscope was great



123

Athens and Lake Seed Nov. 17 – Dec. 21, 1994
Myra stayed and Vicky gave birth to Conner
Guenther cooked Thanksgiving turkey
th
Nov 19 Chip got his first deer

Miami Dec. 22 – Dec. 26, 1994
Christmas at Vicky’s
Gave Myra a gold Liberty necklace

1995

Athens and Lake Seed Dec. 27, 1994 – Jan. 14, 1995
Dec. 29, visited Myra’s mother
Mary & family visited from Iowa
1/3-5 Myra visited her Mother
1/6 New driveway at Seed but couldn’t go up in sleet
1/7-8 Weekend at Betty’s & JWJ

Davenport Jan. 15 – Mar. 2, 1995
Helped Mary pre-sell subdivision lots
1/24 – 2/21 Myra visited Jim & family and Garland in Texas
Mary and Jamie closed with Sophie on land 2/27
2/2 Myra flew back from Iowa to Miami

Athens and Lake Seed Mar. 3 – Mar. 21, 1995
Irv rode to GA with me and worked at Seed til 3/20 = $950.00



3/8 Myra in Miami and bladder tests are OK

Miami Mar. 22 – Mar. 28,
1995
Did joint income tax
3/24 I took Myra to Vicky’s and she stayed
3/25 I taught an Appraisal Ethics class
3/28 Augie took me to the airport

Davenport Mar. 29 – Apr. 11, 1995



124

Helped with marketing subdivision lots
4/1 Jamie and I worked on the rental house
4/3 Myra back in Miami
4/10 Mailed in our income tax from Iowa

Athens and Lake Seed April 12 – April 26, 1995
Missed connections with Guenther at Atlanta airport
Guenther upset, moved out and left me with no contractor
4/17 Contracted with Boo Menge to work on Seed place
4/24 Canoe stolen from our Seed shore
4/24 Myra arrived in Athens

Davenport April 27 – May 24, 1995
Stopped in Kennesaw to see Myra’s Mother as we left
4/28 Rode Meg to sleep on Jamie’s lawnmower
4/29- 5/22 Prepared and distributed advertising cards
5/3 Mary sold 2 lots, I sold one, 8 reserved today, 19 left
5/5 Myra on local TV regarding makeup
5/8 Atlanta Olympic ticket requests mailed
5/8 Boo cashed checks early that I gave him for “future” work
5/11 Updated Myra’s investments
5/21 Third casino boat day on this trip

Nashville, Athens and Lake Seed May 25 – June 6, 1995
5/25 Opryland Hotel and the Patsy Cline Show
5/27 Very disappointed in what Boo did at Lake Seed
Guest bedroom ceiling must do redone
5/29-6/2 Myra visited her Mother in Kennesaw
6/1 Two graduations, Laura and Margaret in Columbia

California to Washington June 7 – June 28, 1995
Napa and wine country, redwoods
June 9 took Myra to Travis AFB Emergency Room
For a bladder problem. Stayed as she recovered at the BOQ
San Francisco and then a week Elderhostel on Lake Tahoe
Never did see Crater Lake because of deep snow
Saw Cousins Patty and Mitzi and families and Uncle Ed
Last couple of nights on Eric’s houseboat on Puget Sound

Athens and Lake Seed June 29 – Oct, 16, 1995



125

6/30 Tornado hits Jake Hutchins cabin
7/2-3 Myra worked very hard on Seed in construction
7/5-7 Myra visited her Mother
7/17-20 Myra and I painted
7/18 Franz is a no show
7/25 Pappy drove Myra to see a pontoon boat
7/27 Boo (Franz Jr,) charged
7/29 First day for Ed and Mark Johnson
8/1-3 Myra to her Mother’s
8/6 First work by Paul
8/7-14 Myra visits her Mother
8-14 Myra back to Athens and its 100 degrees there
Myra says she wants to cash out of all investments
8/16 Myra back to Seed to ride in her new pontoon boat
8/22 Myra headed back to Athens. The bridge was closed
So she came back to Seed house
8/23 Irv returned to work
8/26-27 Myra and I attended Marriage Encounter weekend
8/28-31 Peggy had surgery
9/10-11 Myra drove back to Miami
9/13 Dr. Soloway said Myra’s bladder is fine
9/13 Irv flew back home to Minnesota
9/21 Hot tub room about complete
9/29 – 10/3 Brother Dave visits
10/5 Hurricane Opal does little damage here
10/9-13 Myra visits Vicky
10/14 Myra comes to Athens for a “pow wow”

Iowa and Minneapolis Oct. 17 – Nov. 5, 1995
I was unsuccessfully working “Excel” a telephone program
10/17-26 Davenport
10/27-31 Minneapolis
11/1-5 Davenport

Athens and Lake Seed Nov. 6 – Nov. 14, 1995

Miami Nov. 15 – Dec. 25, 1995
11/18 Connor first birthday party
Thanksgiving at Vicky’s
11/24 Myra and I took Tom and Jackie to the Rusty Pelican



126

11/27 Day in the Keys
12/8-9 Our Lady of Florida pre-Christmas Retreat
12/13 we took Geoff’s family to see the Christmas lights
12/25 Christmas at Geoff’s

1996
Athens and Lake Seed Dec. 26, 1995 – Jan. 2, 1996 Brother
David attended the Golob family
Christmas at Pappy and Leann’s home.
I gave Olympic tickets to my children.
I gave Myra part of some of expensive new luggage
she bought.
1/1-2 Myra spent an overnight visit with her Mom

Charlotte & Columbia on the way to Miami - Jan. 3 – Mar. 7, 1996
1/3 Dinner with Brother David and Jean, stayed at Jones’
1/4 Dinner at McCoys & stayed at Ft. Jackson BOQ
1/14 Myra’s family at her town house
1/15 I’m miffed because Myra rented a movie that I saw on
Television last night and she’s mad because I’m miffed
1/16 Myra to Vicky’s for an overnight
1/19 Myra and I went to casino for steak & lobster for $4,99
1/20 Fuss and then Myra said, If not happy, leave.”
1/21-25 Myra at Vicky’s. “Close to a break up.”
1/28 205 pounds. Myra upset because I didn’t want dinner.
2/4 I went to 9:30 mass; Myra home from her church at 3 p.m.
2/5 37 degrees with 17 degree chill factor
2/9-11 Two days of fuss; Myra at Kris’ school & party
I’ve been working the Excel telephone program and it has
Not gone well
2/18-19 Kris, Kim and Kelley with us
2/22-28 Cheerie and Brother David with us.
Cheerie made pasties and we had venison
My blood pressure been running 150’s over mid 90’s

Athens and Lake Seed Mar. 8 – Mar. 11, 1996
Reunion in Athens and record cold
3/10 Boar dinner at Pappy’s
3/11 Myra visited her Mother




127

Charlotte, Columbia and then Miami Mar. 12 – Mar. 31, 1996
3/13 Met Cheerie and Brother Dave in Charlotte
3/14 Celebrated Margaret’s birthday at Ft. Jackson
3/16 Vicky’s for dinner
3/19-21 Myra at Vicky’s
3/23 completed the Golob films to disk
3/24 Kim and Kelley with us

Tampa and points west and north Apr. 1 – May 2, 1996
4/1 Toured Tampa and ate at Columbia Restaurant
4/2 Busch Gardens and with Harold & Betty at Burns Steak House
4/3 Myra flew to Ft. Worth to Garland’s
4/4 I visited Clinton and Nora
4/6 I visited Mike and Lynn
4/9 Myra called me. Her Mom is not doing well
Myra and Garland are driving from Ft. Worth to Kennesaw
4/11 I’m in Athens; Myra and Garland are in Kennesaw
I’m back and forth between Seed, Athens and Kennesaw
Moved furniture, fixed a faucet at Edna’s, opening and fixing up
Seed house and DRIVING and write that I’m feeling taking
Advantage of.
4/19 Frank in surgery; I showed 1135 Devonshire to a buyer
My handwriting in the log is very hard to read
4/21 reluctantly loaded the van to drive to Texas
Drove through heavy rain and tornado watches to reach
San Antonio, Randolph AFB BOQ on April 23
4/25 picked up Myra at San Antonio airport
4/27-29 Stayed at Jim and Liza’s home
4/30-5/2 Stayed at Mike and Lynn’s house

Lake Seed May 3 – Sept. 22, 1996
5/5-6 Myra went to stay with her Mom
I tried to summarize the Lake Seed house
5/7 Brought Myra to the airport to fly home to Miami
5/8 Brother David fixed ribs at Uncle Frank’s
5/9 Applied to work the summer Olympics
5/9 after ballgame, Clay tried to teach me how to play chess
5/13 sold the last of my guns
5/20 Moved furniture from 1135 Devonshire to Seed
Lots of help: Ben and his truck, Pappy, Peg, Clay, etc.



128

5/21 Hit deer with my pickup and it destroyed the front end
5/22 Jane and Gump Long took me to Athens
5/22 Visited Sambo at the hospital
5/23 another furniture load, my van and David’s van
6/3 Myra arrives in Athens with Tommy and Jackie
Reunion with Frank and stayed at the Navy BOQ
June 5, 1996 Second marriage (mass)for us with
Daughter Mary, Tommy, Jackie, Frank and Grace
5/7 Tommy and Jackie toured Minnehaha Falls then left
6/10 Sambo’s funeral; sold repaired pickup
Canada trip
6/11 Myra bought a new dishwasher. She went to Mary Burn
Callahan’s tea party.
6/12 Linda Taylor did house work for Myra. Then her husband, Bill,
called and chewed Myra out for paying enough
6/13 Myra mad at me, I guess; she left in a huff to her Mother’s
6/14 Mike Hunt came in his RV and said he couldn’t get it here.
He stayed by the Gorge and worked on my outboard motors
6/15-16 Full Father’s Day weekend. Chip caught a 3# bass
6/17 Day working on pantry shelves, etc.
6/18 Gave and brought the old aluminum Jabekit boat to Ben
Had lunch with Frank and Grace at Rafferty’s
6/19 Had Gump and Jane Long over for cocktails
6/22 Vicky called to tell Myra that Geoff had been robbed
6/23 Lunch with Gum and Jane at the Green Shutters
6/26 BIG headline in day book: “Myra swam”. Than we
Went for a boat ride with Doc and Betty
6/28 Myra came back from Tiger where she had her hair
Done and said she was leaving. She didn’t leave – not then.
7/3 Paul and I installed an icemaker Myra had bought
th
4 of July Myra went to her Mothers; back on 7/5, Peg’s BD
7/11 Myra’s BD Jarrett House, Cherokee and “Unto These Hills”
7/12 Stayed overnight in Gatlinburg and bought $300. Of turquoise
And fudge. Back in an evening rain, first in over one month
7/14 St. Helena picnic
7/16 Boots and Faith came to visit. Cadillac in garage for door
Lock; a fuss. Ended up sleeping on the sofa.
7/17 Ad running for the sale of 1135 Devonshire
7/21 Highlands to see Martha and Bud
7/23 Myra left



129

7/24-25 poured the concrete driveway… and it RAINED
7/27 Myra back. Dinner with Frank, Grace, John Lamosse and
daughter. Showing 1135 Devonshire this weekend
7/31 Day book says, “One of the best days of our married life”.
8/1 Interviewed for a Georgia Power job in Cornelia
8/2 Atlanta for the Olympic Gold medal baseball game
Myra & some family went by Centennial Park after the game and got
back at 2:39 a.m.
8/3 Olympic Gold Medal soccer game and late dinner at Barnacle
Bills
8/6 Mary and her girls came to spend the day at the lake
8/8 Day at No. GA Fair at Hiawassee with ten. Janice had us for
chicken and dumplings
8/10 Written offer on 1135 Devonshire
8/12 Frank sick with chemo
8/14 Ate at Dillard House
8/15 Myra to Marie’s where she was to meet Garland
8/12-16 Boathouse up this week
8/19 Cancelled reservations for an Elderhostel I had made
8/22 signed a sale contract on the Devonshire house
8/23 Myra and Garland here for a boat ride between storms
8/24 Myra and Garland to Highlands to see Martha
8/28 Took Myra and Garland to Gatlinburg
8/30 Myra took Garland back to Marie’s; came back next day
9/1 Myra and I guests of JWJ to Carolina Panthers NFL game;
First game ever in new Ericsson Stadium against Atlanta Falcons
9/5 Brought Myra’s car to be detailed
9/9 Myra painted inside doors
9/9 Hung bell
9/11 Storage carefully built under the ramp, GA Pwr. said remove
9/13 Boat ride with Doc & Betty in the first cool of fall
9/20 Myra nails in Clayton and boat ride, said “a perfect evening”
9/22 Drove Myra up to Glassy Mtn.

Canada Trip 9/23 – 10/9, 1996
9/24 Blue Ridge Parkway; Myra upset at me
D.C. and Hogates with children of John Zaic family
West Point, Montreal, Brother Dave and lobster
9/30 – 10/4 Elderhostel at Lake Winnipesaukee
Philadelphia, Orlou and Fred’s, Roanoke



130

Lake Seed 10/10 – 11/18, 1996
10/15 Myra left; Church pot luck for Fr. Luis
10/16 Myra arrives at Vicky’s
10/21-30 Took Frank to chemo a number of times
10/23 Pheasant fondue at Pappy’s
11/6 Bob Poss funeral
Frank sick a lot
Uncle Ed bad

Miami 11/19 – 12/31, 1997
Bought dry ice in Macon
11/19-20 with Tom and Jackie
Thanksgiving Myra’s family join us
12/1- 6 Put up Christmas decorations
12/11 Gilded Lilies Christmas party
12/12 Christmas labels done on the computer
12/13-15 Our Lady of Florida pre- Christmas Retreat
12/21 Our Christmas Party for about 125 people
12/22- Christmas Party at Vicky’s
12/24 Myra sang at her midnight service/mass
12/25 Christmas at Geoff’s; Myra made venison roast
Kim and Kelley came home with us
12/27-28 Took Myra to Key West, Lil White House, etc.
12/31 Myra’s choir party

1997

Miami 1/1/1997
Lousy start to New Year. Fuss!
1/8-10 Myra at Vicky’s
1/16 Took Myra to the airport to fly to Houston

Lake Seed via Tommy’s Jan. 16 – Feb. 16, 1997
Small reunion at Tom’s with Doug, Matt, Mary Lou
At Lake Seed finishing interior construction
1/22 Frank in hospital with blood clot in legs
1/27 Myra flies from Houston to Ft. Worth
1.29-30 JWJ comes for overnight visit and trout at Unicoi
2/3 To Atlanta to pick up Myra’s order from the Container Store



131

2/6 Pappy in South Carolina wild pig hunting
2/7 Rosalind won All State
2/10 picked up Myra and Cheerie at Atlanta airport
2/11 Myra to her Mothers back on Feb. 15
2/13 Snow, sleet, rain than icing all in one day
2/15 Lake Seed back to full pond covering where I burned
2/16 Stayed at Athens Navy BOQ ready to go south

Miami Feb. 17 – Mar. 17,
1997
Stayed overnights at Robbins AFB BOQ and Tommy’s
Visited with Jim Hall, Tom, Jackie, &Nan Znidar ((Ed’s widow)
2-19 “Big down and out regarding money”

Lake Seed …alone Feb. 18 – April 18,
1997
Alone to work on unfinished interior construction
3/21 Met John J. Zaic, Frank and Grace at the Steak House
3/22 John J. stayed an overnight and I returned him to Athens
4/1 – 4/18 working to finish the upstairs
4/1 Myra called to say we are going to Hawaii June 19-26, 1998
4/14 Myra had stomach pains at 3 a.m. at Vicky’s
4//17 Myra stomach pains are not quite as bad
4/18 Mirrors all in now and look good
Miami April 19 – April
27, 1997
Myra to Dr. Christie and he found nothing
Myra to Dr. Soloway again

Lake Seed April 28 – Aug.
17. 1997
4/28 Left Myra at her Mother’s
5/4 picked up Myra

Davenport, Boundary Waters & Zaic Reunion Aug. 18 – Sept. 2, 1997

Lake Seed Sept. 3 – Nov. 19,
1997
9/20-21 Charlotte for Panther/Kansas City NFL game
11/3 Myra left Seed to stay at Vicky’s



132

11/11 Gil picked up Myra’s pontoon
11/12 Myra at Dr. Soloway; I helped pour the concrete driveway
11/17 17 degrees and had frozen pipes

Miami Nov. 20, 1997 – Dec. 31, 1997
11/26 Took Christmas decorations down from the attic
Thanksgiving turkey at Geoff’s; put up the tree
12/15-18 Myra to Vicky’s; she came back sick
12/18 – 12/28 Myra stayed sick
12/28 – 19/31 I got it, like a bad cold
12/31 Took Myra to the LaPaloma Restaurant,
My treat ($160)

1998
Miami Jan. 1, 1998 – Jan. 11, 1998
1/1/1998 picked up Geoff from the airport and he was sick
1/7 I’m still bothered by sinus
At Lee Chastain’s, I found value of the townhouse +/- $115,000
1/9 Met Jan, Julie and another at Monty Trainer’s in the Grove

Lake Seed and Atlanta Jan. 12 – Jan. 31, 1998
1/13 Started to learn how to day trade weekdays at Lenox Square
1/21 Fuss on the phone with Myra

Miami Feb. 1 – Mar. 4, 1998

Lake Seed and Atlanta Mar. 5 – May 15, 1998
3/5 visited with Irv’s sister in Palm Harbor, FL
3/12 first live trading day in Atlanta and made money
3/23 Jake born
3/28 bought a good used Ford pickup
3/30 Worked on the house and screwed up my back and leg again
3/31 Myra in from Texas and we stayed at the Athens Navy BOQ
Met baby Jake
4/2 Irv returns to Minnesota. Myra and I visit Marie
4/4 Danny took us to Paul’s. Paul took us home to Seed.
4/5-11 hurting, at home except to doctors
4/12 Out to be Usher on Easter Sunday
4/13 Stitches out and x-rays, both of us
4/14 Myra flew home to Miami; was supposed to leave 5/6



133

4/14-17 Live trading, little and cautiously
4/20 first live trading 1,000 shares each move

Our phone call of Tuesday, June 23, 2009 interrupted this here!
5/2-3 Alone at the Lake still running a fever
5/13 more glass came out of my elbow
5/15 Wrist fracture aggravated by therapy put in a splint

Jacksonville, Myrtle Beach and Lake Seed May 16 – June 16, 1998
2/16 Air Tran to JAX and Myra picked me up; drove to Myrtle B.
5/17-20 stayed on the beach in front of JWJ condo and healed
5/21 Lake Seed Could not write well cause of my wrist.
6/1-16 Two or three times a week went to therapy in Cleveland

Hawaii June 17 – June 25,
1998
6/18 Nice day with Isabel and Deforest Hayes
6/24 Last glass comes out of my elbow

Lake Seed June 26 – July 13,
1998
6/29-7-1 getting ready for Myra’s family
7/2-7/11 Vicky) and family (4) + Jim and family (4)
7/3 Watched fireworks from Myra’s pontoon on Lake Burton
7/5 Surprise birthday party for Myra, Peggy and Grace

Iowa and Minnesota July 14 – July 30,
1998
7/15-17 Mary’s than Cheerie’s
th
7/18-19 My 50 High School Class Reunion in Hibbing
7/22 Visit with Irv and Myra to the Mega Mall
7/25-26 Girls run in Davenport BIX Marathon
7/26 Took Myra to the President Casino

Lake Seed July 31 – Nov. 4,
1998
8/5 Katherine Hamdy died; funeral August 7, 1998
8/17-18 Assembled and put up weathervane Myra bought
8/26 Myra and I took the blue boat to Rabun and toured the homes
9/18 Attended the Grayson Reunion



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9/22 Put Myra on the Lake Seed Warranty Deed

Palm Beach, then Miami Nov. 5 – Dec. 7, 1998
11/6-8 Married Couples Retreat at Our Lady of FL Retreat House
11/8 Myra shopped at Jacobson’s then we stayed at Raye Wyinn’s
11/9 Myra wanted a townhouse in Eagle’s Landing; I said no
Davenport Dec. 8 – Dec. 14, 1998

Miami Dec. 15 –Dec. 27, 1998
12/16-18 I’m steamed up about the war in Iraq
12/19 Geoff and family visit and are unreasonable about Iraq
12/20-21 Book says “8 days since reconciliation and a fuss”
12/25 At Geoff and Mary’s
12/26 At Vicky’s

Lake Seed Dec. 28, 1998 – Dec. 31. 1998
12/28 Dinner with Tom and Jackie
12/31 Mary and girl’s arrive

1999
Lake Seed Jan. 1, 1999 – Jan. 6, 1999
1/1 Christmas on New Year’s at Peg’s
1/4-6 John and Francoise came to visit (and eat trout)
1/6 Snow flurries

Miami and Melbourne Jan. 7 – Mar. 16, 1999
1/9 Geoff family comes to visit
1/10 Vicky and family comes to visit
1/11 Picked Brother David up at the airport, He borrowed my car
1/12 David returned the car and left
1/13 Three brothers to Miami Beach
1/13-14 Myra sick plus laryngitis
1/15 Took David to the airport; flight cancelled due to ice and snow
1/16 Took David again
1/19 Globe movers picked up furniture; Myra to Vicky’s, me to 1135
1/20 Packer’s demanded cash; Myra and Raye went to the bank. We
paid them $1,200.00 too much. Myra smashed her finger in the door
1/21-24 Unpacked
1/24 Myra found $1,350.00
1/25 Check for $111,000 arrived; townhouse sold for $119,500.00



135

1/28 Garland arrives
1/29 Myra and Garland attend Raye’s bridge party (9 days)
1/31 Myra and Garland bought $3,000.00 of furniture at PX
2/1 Reception for us at Clyde Barnes house
2/2 Excellent show at our club, Air Force Strings
2/4-6 I attended the Orlando Money Show
2/7 after our club Sunday Buffet, watched a space launch
2/10 Paul and Pearl came for couple hour visit
2/11 Took Garland to the airport
2/13-15 Geoff and family came to see the new house
2/16-17 Vicky and family came to see the new house
2/19-21 Tom and Jackie came to see the new house
2/21-25 Johnny and Francoise came to see the new house
2/27 I moved back to the guest bedroom
2/28 Cart Barn dinner and show
Washington D.C. Mar. 17 – Mar. 23, 1999
3/17 950 miles in 14 hours to sit with Uncle John J. Zaic

Charlotte and Lake Seed Mar. 24 – Apr. 2, 1999
3/24 Overnight with JWJ in Charlotte
3/25 On the driveway into Lake Seed found 2 wild turkeys nesting
3/26 Toured Hutchins’ new guest house; almost hit Angela
3/27 Lake Seed Member meeting
3/28 Met Peg and family at St. Helena mass and spent day at lake
4/1 Closed Seed, ate quail dinner at Pap’s and stayed in Athens

Melbourne April 2 – May 2, 1999
4/2 Betty, Peg and their families followed me down to visit…
4/4 …and go to Disney. Myra in bed sick
4/5-8 Doctor said Myra has bronchitis and to stay in bed
4/7 Kids left early, went to Disney again and back home
4/8-29 I worked on the UPS accident report for insurance company
4/9 Myra hair and nails and back to bed
4/12 Myra still coughing
4/13 Mailed tax return
4/14 Myra O.K.
4/15 Coleman and Ludy couples here for quail, dove & venison
4/16 Took Myra to Geoff’s in Miami; Geoff gave me input for UPS
4/18 Brought Myra home from Geoff’s
4/19-20 Big fuss



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4/22 Early bird with Raye
4/24 Thunderbird Air Show
4/29 UPS Insurance report finally done

Lake Seed May 3 – May 19,
1999
5/3 I drove pickup ten hours to the lake house
5/4 Myra drove her car, stayed overnight and arrived before noon
5/7 Attended Laura’s graduation from Clemson
5/8 Myra and I ate at the Spiral Staircase
5/9 Chip came to pick up $7,000 for Jan
5/10 Gil returned Myra’s pontoon and she drove us up into river 5/11-
12 Nice weather and Myra and I cleaned up outside
5/13 Ate restaurant named Henry’s
5/14 Got first call on John Znidar being in the hospital
5/15 put up wood storage shelter
5//16-17 Myra and I bought and planted flowers

Hibbing May 20 – May 25, 1999
5/20 Took Myra to Grace’s and took airport shuttle
5/22 John Znidar’s funeral and after to Bear Lake
5/23 Bass Lake

Lake Seed May 26 – Sept.
14, 1999
5/30 Big crowd here, Pap, Peg and families, Sandra, Kella plus…
5/31 Day book says, “Last night Myra was 20’s, girls talked like
70’s…. Myra 3 times again said because she loaned me money she
doesn’t have what she could have”. I now reference the statements
that show that I paid her ten percent on anything that I ever borrowed
from her without her having to pay any fees or taxes. Further please
reference her financial statements since we married
6/1 Saw Ron Schofield, first time in 28 years and not since
6/2 took another of the ComUSA computer courses; I’ve taken ten

6/3 Reworked Myra’s financial statement, day book says, “for the last
time”. Not true. As I type this, I’ve done them thru 12/31/08
Day book says “Very cool around the house.”
6/6 Day book says, “Lost afternoon”
6/9 I took Myra to Atlanta (at least 160 miles) to buy booze at the
Tower Liquor Store and go to the Delta Air



137

6/14 John J. Zaic died in Silver Springs. Myra and I went to dinner
and a concert at Tallulah Falls
6/16 Myra in Athens
6/18 on the way to a computer class in Atlanta, I hit metal on the
highway and had to buy two tires in Cornelia. Missed class.
6/19 Painted rails on the boathouse
6/20-26 Geoff’s family visits
6/21 Charlie and Helen visit
6/23 Myra rafted in Helen with Geoff and family and me
6/26 Myra and I met Alma Cathcart
6/30 Took Myra to Toccoa to a dermatologist
7/1 Went to Atlanta airport to pick up Garland and Robert
7/2 Myra fell and bruised her ribs. Jim, Vicky and families arrived
7/3 Twelve at our house. Lake Seed Boat Regatta. Brought Myra’s
pontoon to Burton and we all watched Lake Burton fireworks off the
boat
7/4 Fireworks by Jim. Had to take Christopher to Cashier’s for
surgery for ruptured appendix
7/5 Gave Jim a half hour ride on the pontoon on Lake Burton than
took him to Athens, we sang Happy Birthday to Peg and brought Jim
to the Athens airport to fly back to Houston
7/7 Christopher home from the hospital
7/8 Took Myra to the doctor for bronchitis
7/9 Most to Cherokee for “Unto these Hills”. Back at 3 a.m.
7/10 All but Lisa and hers left. Josh and I took Garland and Robert to
the Atlanta airport. Hard rain and very close lightning.
7/11 Lisa, Maggie and Chris left early. Josh and I went to town and
brought cake and ice cream for Myra’s birthday. Peg and five came
for the day
7/12 Myra shouting because I insisted that she get a confirmation of
my money tied up in reservations that I made for a trip west. It being
cancelled because of her ribs. I say, “I quit.”
7/14 Myra well enough to drive into town for her hair and nails

7/14-16 I cleaned and repaired. Myra basically “laid around”. “Very
strained and quiet week’.
7/17 Peggy and Ben’s family arrived for the Lake Seed picnic.
7/19 Evatt’s to Helen, Myra to get her nails done
7/21 Myra, Ben’s Mother and I go for a pontoon ride
7/22 Gang gone for the day. “Myra and I talked – first time in eleven
days”.



138

7/24 Ben’s mother and sister leave. Peg’s family is joined by Pap’s
7/26 Myra and I in the lake for the second time in two days
7/27 Betty, Margaret, Tripp and a friend arrive at the lake. Margaret
asked Myra if they could go in her pontoon and she said “NO”.
7/28 I pulled Margaret and Betty in the blue boat
7/29 I spent day at the Lake with Betty, Margaret, Tripp and Aron, a
dental lab assistant

7/29-30 I really don’t understand the notes in the day book. This is
what I wrote. 7/29 “I went upstairs and said Peg called. Myra shouted
“Where’s Jan?” Jan not home. 7/30 Slept downstairs. Called Jan
twice and second time Myra talked to Jan. Jan recalls a lunch with
Myra at Bennigan’s when Myra told her not to depend on her Dad.
Myra reportedly told Peg “We could get a divorce over this”. Again a
Very strained relationship”. End.
7/31 Diarrhea about 10 or 12 times, splitting headache, temp 99
something; Chip an friend Evan her but I slept. Myra left me alone.
8/1 Missed mass. Temp 100.4 to 101.8. Head and diarrhea better.
Myra and I talked. Confused notes
8/2 Temp normal
8/4 Morning on Myra’s investments; afternoon pontoon ride
8/7 Cut trees at Paul’s for our firewood
8/9-10 Myra to her doctor than to Carolina Shores to see Johnny and
Francoise’s new home
8/11-13 Stomach pain; Saw Drs. Findley & Davis. Had CAT scan
8/14 No company this weekend???
8/15 Liz, Andee and Meg arrive
8/16 Day with the O’Sell’s; they are here fpr four days
8/17 Saw eye doctor (Payne) in Gainesville; got other glasses
8/19 O’Sell’s left
8/20 Dr. Davis said (again) that I have diverticulosis
8/23 Fred and Barbara Johanson here to grill out
8/26 Bob and Joan Fowler for an afternoon visit
8/28 we picked up Alma and bought her dinner
9/1 Doc and Betty here and grilled chicken
9/7 Myra and Betty Colley went in to the Hanes factory

9/8 half dozen trips to Atlanta and Dr. Fordyce doesn’t have enough
information an x-rays to write up the injury to my wrist
That is required for the UPS accident report
9/8 Doc, Betty, Myra and I toured the Waterfalls



139

9/9 Day in Athens; lunch with Peg and Grace at Rafferty’s
9/12 Mass and then to Hiawassee with Paul and Pearl for lunch.

Minneapolis and Connecticut Sept. 15 – Sept. 20, 1999
Celebrated a belated birthday with Cheerie
Celebrated an away fifth anniversary without Myra
Attended a fifty year anniversary party for Irv and Aud
Attended a real reunion with Anne St. Claire and John Zaic family
Attended a wonderful sixtieth anniversary of Tony and Maria
Myra was in Georgia with Garland

Lake Seed Sept. 21 – Oct. 24, 1999
9/21-22 attended a writer’s class in Atlanta
9/23 Myra tried to get to why the 1135 water bill was so high
9/24 I put up the winter vent covers on the house; it’s cold
9/25 picked up Myra’s Mother’s furniture from Edna’s
9/26-29 Worked on UPS accident report +/- 25 hours; mailed 9/29
9/30 first work ever on converted Mom’s day book writings to legible
typed computer pages
9/30 cut out a log that fell across our road in yesterday’s storm
10/1 Myra hair and nails and met Martha in Clayton
10/3 TV out; Myra and I painted porch side trim
10/4-8 Myra screwed up hair color appointment so went in town four
times this week anyway
10/9 Feeling bad and blamed medications so stopped them all
10/10 Attended the mass the Archbishop said at St. Helena
Met Charlie and Helen for Sunday buffet then to their home
Power out again
10/11 First sun in days
10/13 We walked to Al and Cindy Bullock’s, Howard and Lee
McWhorter’s and Beckie and Jin Hodge’s
10/14 Still painting the spindles on the boathouse railings
10/20 Athens for lunch at Rafferty’s with Peg, Ben and Grace
10/22 “First fuss since early July…almost four months
10/23 Fuss, then took Myra to Gil’s about washing her boat
10/24 Clear and cold and we packed

10/29 “One week now since I apologized for telling her she was a
pain---she is---to let this go a week”
10/30 Clay got his first deer in Georgia. We packed




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Melbourne, Florida Oct, 25 – Oct. 31, 1999
10/25 Left as they were starting to pave Crow Creek Road
10/26 Gar met us as we drove in and was a great help unpacking
10/27-28 These days “doing things Myra NEEDED done”;
went with Myra to buy TV stand; trimmed hedges, reset timers;
hung drapes; got keys made; worked on doorbell, patio estimates.

10/29 and 10/30 is missing


Lake Seed Nov. 1 – Nov. 18, 1999
11/1 Crow Creek road almost paved
11/1-5 Leaves are at their peak color
11/2 Josh got his first deer
11/6-7 “Golob Guy Gathering” All guys… about 15 of us
11/8 Smoke filled house
11/10 Hunted with Larry Harwood
11/12 Larry was the last to leave
11/13-14 In Atlanta for a very worthwhile Vector Vest seminar
11/15-17 Ben came and hunted and missed a bear
11/16 Pot luck and meeting on land for the new church
11/18 Plumbers shut off water for the winter


Melbourne, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Nov. 19 – Jan. 16, 2000
11/19 Stopped in Milledgeville for a Thai meal by Nit Smith
11/20 Raye’s party
11/21 Vicky’s for Mexican dinner
11/22 Drove Myra to Dr. Soloway; not good; back Feb. 16th












141

From Johnny in Georgia comes the story of a lady who was given a baby
alligator from a friend with a warped sense of humor. Not knowing what to
do with the creature, she put it in her bathtub and rushed off to a bridge
game. When she returned home she found the colored cleaning lady’s
dignified farewell notice. “I can’t work in no house with an alligator in the
bathtub. I would have told you this before but I did not think that the subject
would ever come up.”


I dread that in my demise I will leave behind the number of computer disks
and files on the hard drive that are unfinished stories and manuscripts. My
Mom was a librarian and a writer. I’m been trying to compile her work in a
book for years now. So anyone that leaves unfinished letters in the “lost”
notebooks should not feel too bad. If for heaven’s sake, that happens to you,
when you “find” them, keep them. Store them away in a “hidden” place so
that one day years from now you can review some of your earlier thoughts.
It’s loads of fun. I wish I had more reminders of “the old days”.

Terrorist Tuesday, September 11, 2001, has had a dramatic effect on all
Americans. Out of all bad does come some good. Our national unity, the
display of our flag and patriotism may be at an all-time high, certainly not
matched in almost fifty years since World War II.

We all learned in school that the “Star Spangled Banner” was a poem written
by Frances Scott Key in the War of 1812. I’ll bet that not one in a thousand
Americans can tell us that the War of 1812 was when we obtained our
freedom from the British. That “poem” written in sight of a fort in
Baltimore, Maryland was put to an existing tune of a British ditty. Only
when John Phillip Sossa began having his band play it in the 1880’s did it
really become popular. And it didn’t become our national anthem until the
year I was born, 1931.

th
Regarding the terrible loss of lives on September 11 ,that was the worse
carnage we have ever seen in this country, right? Wrong! I was born in
Minnesota and that made me a Yankee for life. I lived in the South an many
years now but to me, to Southerners, I remain a Yankee. Only one lifetime
before I was born, we had a Yankee fellow by the name of Sherman who set

a torch to Atlanta. It wasn’t a “twin towers” up and down but it was a lot


142

bigger than the Twin Towers if they were laying flat. Still in 2001, about
140 years later, huge Southern mansions still show the charred scars. And
thousands upon thousands of headstones from that carnage grace the
cemeteries of Atlanta. That memory is not popular in the wrong company
and it’s a memory that most Americans don’t want to remember. So our
country has overcome before. And yes, we have been the victims of our
own devilment in the past.

Probably from St. Thomas College, St. Paul, Minnesota, where I studied in
the early 50’s, I remember about a professor in Brussels who studied wars
from about 1500 B.C. to the Civil War, 1861. He found that in those 3,461
years there had been over 3,200 years of wars and less than 300 years of
peace. Those are approximate numbers as I remember them. Less than 300
years of peace, I do remember.

A gem I remember probably from military training is that in the early years
of the League of Nations, the predecessor of the U.N., from about 1920 after
WWI until 1939, the start of WWII, in those 19 years that there were over
4,500 peace treaties signed. Yet we seem to have more wars now than ever
before. There are multiple wars going on seemingly all the time. And the
number of years between the big wars seem to get shorter.

I have been reminded both in print and on the radio recently that peace in the
world begins at home. Well, I figure that there is no conflict happens in the
world that doesn’t happen first inside the human heart. From an old military
fighter pilot this may sound funny, but I believe that the forgetfulness of
God has more to do with war than is commonly believed.

The terrorist attacks in 2001 caused a greater unity not just in our country,
but more importantly in the world. More nations have united in efforts to
thwart terrorists than the greatest unity votes in the United Nations. And
there seems to be an honest effort now in our world to try to understand and
accept a true Islam. It so encouraging to see the return of God in our
Congress, in our schools, and in our lives. Out of all bad comes some good.
And God is All Good!


I write this at our REMOTE summer place. It’s 40 minutes from a
supermarket. I have always contended that it’s a northern Minnesota type
lake without snow to you eyeballs in the winter. When we get an eight to

ten inch snow that stays for a week, it’s a cause for fun and celebration. And


143

we always remember the years when that occurs. The Georgia white pine
looks very much like the Minnesota Norway pine. As I write this, the
maples are in full red and the magnolias are in a flaming pink. And you can
catch a walleye or a rainbow trout in our lake this time of the year.
(October 15, 2001)

My very close friend, Irving J. Anderson, died at four p.m. today in St. Paul,
Minnesota. My kids called him “Uncle Irv”, and many times I called him
“Brother”.
Irv and I met at the offices of the Aetna
Life Insurance Company in St. Paul
in the winter of 1951 and have been fond
friends ever since.
The picture shown here was taken in the
early 1960’s at the cabin that Irv bought
on Moose Lake just northeast of Orr, in
northern Minnesota. In was in that time
frame that I flew a two seat jet trainer into
Wold Chamberlain field in Minneapolis and
invited Irv to take his first jet ride. Armed
with only his World War II navy ID card,
I taxied the aircraft into a remote corner of
the huge airport before getting Irv to crawl into the back seat. Neither of us
ever forgot that ride over his house.
When I went to Southeast Asia, I asked Irv to care for my Rolex watch while
I was gone. When I returned, we took our wives and all thirteen of our kids
to Destin to romp on the beach for a week. During that time we got into a
run of king mackerel so plentiful and big that my daughter Jan pleaded with
me to relieve her saying “Daddy, this is my fifth one and my hand is sore
from cranking.”
Irv build his insurance business into the million dollar class twice but the
good hearted guy that he was, he took partners that were brutal to him. Irv
suffered as many medical problems as anyone that I have known, however
he always remained cheerfully upbeat. His trust and assurance of the
blessings God through the intercession of the Blessed Mother of Jesus was
always an inspiration to me.
Though we talked on the phone regularly up to the time he passed, the last

quality time we had occurred as the result of Irv’s buying a boat for me. Irv
found me a used aluminum boat with an outboard motor on a very nice
trailer all in very good condition for a excellent price. However, the rig was



144

in Minnesota and I had use for it on a north Georgia lake. Thanks to Irv’s
coordination, Between July 6 and July 17, we spent a dandy ten days
together. I drove to his home in St. Paul and once we had rigged up the boat
and trailer, we first drove north to Chisholm where his son Jay gave the new
purchase a complete checkup. From Jay we really became assured that this
was a good deal. We proceeded to drive approximately twelve hundred
miles to my place on Lake Seed where we could really launch that boat.
And truly, we not only enjoyed the four day drive together, but had nice
weather for a few days at the lake. I drove Irv to Atlanta on July 17 for a
direst flight back to the Cities.


Myra and I now live in a subdivision called Indian River Colony Club in a
new town called Viera in Brevard County, Florida. We bought here on
Wednesday November 11, 1998 and moved in on January 20, 1999.

IRCC, as it is called, was developed by retired military officers. The 780
single family homes are owned by predominately retired military officers.
We bought a three bedroom, three bath home with a three car garage at 1135
Mayflower Avenue. It is located on a wooded golf lot between holes twelve
and thirteen with a conservancy view. That may sound good but what sold
Myra is that the garage was reduced to accommodate two cars and a small
golf cart and the remaining space was converted into a large indoor closet.
When she saw that she said “YES!!!
























145

Uncles Frank Zaic, John Znidar and Saint Urho



No one remembers who started it, but one year Frank Zaic and John Znidar

decided that they wouldn’t exchange St. Patty Day cards but rather would

send each other Saint Urho Day cards. This unique practice became well

known in the family and the subject of many curious observers from the

1960’s until Frank’s passing in 1997.



Legend has it that in the 1950’s a Virginia, Minnesota man named Richard

Mattson started the wearing of purple and green on March 16, St. Urho’s

Day. The idea caught on with the Finns in Minnesota that thought that if the

Irish could have St. Patrick, they could celebrate their patron saint too.

What isn’t widely known is that Mattson concocted the story of a St. Urho

who cleared Finland of poisonous frogs. Father Urho purportedly arranged

for the HH & H Shipping Company (Hulda, Hilda and Helmi) to ship the

plant killing frogs to France because the French loved frog legs. For this,

Mattson says, when Father Urho died he was declared a saint.



The ingenuity behind the Frank Zaic and John Znidar St. Urho Day cards

was very creative. These two good Catholic Slovenians could really add

hype to the story of a Finnish boy in Protestant land that was a good enough

candidate to go to a Catholic seminary.



A local newspaper in Eveleth, Minnesota picked up on the story and featured

it in their newspaper. So the story grew and somewhere around the Iron

Ranges of Northern Minnesota one might still hear the legend of Saint Urho.





146

The Gripes of AN IRON RANGER*:



 An “Iron Ranger” is a person who lives in Northern Minnesota on one

of the range of hills that contain a predominance of the mineral iron,

the ore of which is used to make steel. Most commonly an “Iron

Ranger” comes from the Mesabi Iron Range, a group of Minnesota

communities with Grand Rapids on the west, Hibbing and Chisholm

in the center and Virginia on the east.



You guys just don’t understand how much my woman regrets that I didn’t

go to the Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) to get civilized. She doesn’t

understand how hurt we were when the Pulled Pork Piece Prize wasn’t won

by Jessie Ventura and there are no ya buts that Garrison (Keillor) should

have won an Oscar. And now the high of it is that an O’Bama should win a

top job when O”Bronco (Nagurski) could only get a service station. But

let’s these be foregone and have a bump and a beer with a sliver of lime.





Northern Minnesota: The Melting Pot!



Northern Minnesota is one of the latest developed areas in our nation. It is


the land of immigrants. When I was a boy in the 1930’s, it was said that
over 70% of our population was foreign born or had at least one parent

foreign born. Most were from the European nations and came to this

country from the 1890’s through the end of World War I. Until the end of

World War II, most all would read, write and speak their native language in



147

their home, but you almost never heard anything other than English when

they left their house. They were all major competitors with their neighbors

in three significant areas: which could become a United States citizen the

soonest, who would be the first to buy a house, and when those major

hurdles were accomplished, who could produce the first edible vegetables

each spring.



About 65% were Christian; approximately 25% were Roman Catholic.

Almost all were Conservative and Democratic/Farmer Labor in their

politics. Early on, many seemed to have large families. In each of the

World Wars, virtually all males of eligible age went into service. Most

families regarded freedom as necessarily requiring the willingness to fight

for their country and fight for heaven. Therefore, the number of families

with one or more in clergy and ministries was also significant. During

World War II, my grandparent’s home had the small banner in the window

with seven stars on it signifying seven children in the military service. One

star was for Frances who left the convent to go into the Navy Waves.



Voting age when I grew up was 21. Harold E Stassen, a Republican lawyer

from St. Paul, was the governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943.

After a stint in the Navy, he became the President of the University of

Pennsylvania and tried nine times to seek the U.S. Presidential Nomination

coming close only in 1952. Northern Minnesotans were no help to Stassen.



Harry Truman was a Northern Minnesotan kind of guy. His Democratic

politics gathered Minnesotan attention but his railroad train visit to our small


town really endeared him to the “Rangers” His underdog victory over Tom


148

Dewey in 1948 brought overwhelming elation to the Iron Range. History

records that this national election resulted in the greatest surprising upset,

however, Truman did win by over two million votes and carried 28 states to

16 for Dewey. Yet historical records show that many presidential elections

We’re closer than this and that actually three winners did not receive the

popular vote.



MARIJA TOMLJE JANCAR
July 26 1900 – 1992

This photograph was taken when Marija was approximately two or three
years old, about 1902 or 1903, in Lobcek,
in old Yugoslavia.

Marija was the first born to Ursula Tomlje
in 1900, the son of Joze Berlin. She grew
up in her Grandmother’s home in a rural
























area about nineteen nautical
miles south of Ljubijana, the
capital of Slovenia. Ninety
years later Marija had
become the matriarch of an
extended European family
headquartered in Slovenia




149