Margie and I spent a great afternoon together the first day out of third grade. Both of our birthdays were in May, and we were loaded with cash. She had $3 and I had $2. We decided to blow it at the drugstore in Amery. School had just let out for the summer, and on […]
Amery Stories
- Amery Stories
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Final Thoughts for Now About Freya
Final Thoughts for Now About Freya
Meals with Freya were like none anyone could ever imagine. She often caught enough chubs from the brook to make herself a couple meals each day, and the bullheads I brought often lasted a day or two as well. In an iron pot behind her shack she’d heat up the chubs, sometimes with turtle meat, […]
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Freya at Her Bull Brook Stone Home
Freya at Her Bull Brook Stone Home
As I walked those eerie steps to look into her cabin, I had no idea what I’d see. Her door was fully open and she stood inside. In the back of the single room, that large round window you see in the painting above looked out at the field behind. One wall held a […]
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The Lady Hermit by Bull Brook
The Lady Hermit by Bull Brook
The lady down Bull Brook from our house, Freya Ermeline, lived in a stone structure next to the brook. Her diet of chubs, turtles, and an occasional trapped raccoon sounded strange when she told me about it, but this 12-year-old just listened to all she had to tell me. Greens from along the brook and […]
It Happened at the Amery Depot
It Happened at the Amery Depot
Timmy Lindahl hung around the Amery Depot every day, especially in the summer. The father of my Cousin Jimmy, the ten-year-old lived by his wits and grabbed opportunities as they came up. Late in the 1930s, the train from St. Paul braked to a stop at the depot one hot July day. A man in […]
Long Boards Long Time
Long Boards Long Time
Lou walked into Lampert’s Lumberyard in Amery last Thursday and told Mac behind the counter that he wanted lots of boards. “We’re remodeling and adding on,” he bragged, as if he knew what he was doing. Mac asked him how long he wanted them. Lou, confused, asked to use the phone to call Kathleen. After […]
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Ida Mae’s Cafe in Amery; Inquiring Minds
Ida Mae’s Cafe in Amery; Inquiring Minds
A stranger approached Kathleen and Lou as they scarfed down breakfast at Ida Mae’s Café. He introduced himself as traveling through the area and asked if they’d be able to answer a question. “Go ahead,” Lou said with his mouth full of bacon. “I’m headed for Clayton, I think that’s east here.” Kathy and Lou […]
Margie and Me
Margie and Me
She surprised me, alone on her bike by the Amery Beach. Told me she felt like a swim but the water safety class had the beach that July day. “Hi, Loren.” “Margie. Strange to see you here.” She smiled and said little except to ask if I wanted to ride bike together. She straightened my […]
Tribute to a Great Father
Tribute to a Great Father
My dad wasn’t a great communicator, wasn’t outwardly affectionate, and wasn’t a person who did a lot with me as a kid. On that cold dark November evening as I drove to the hospital the night he died, I thought about my relationship with him and what he meant to me. Trite but true. […]
Female Veterinarian in Amery
Female Veterinarian in Amery
Growing up in Amery, we were used to the variety of doctors and other professionals that we saw nearly every day. One veterinarian, Shirley Carver, ran a small and large animal practice, but she had another business on the side. One of her hobbies was taxidermy. She’d make anything from a mouse or rabbit to a dairy cow look as realistic as […]
A Bit of News from Amery
A Bit of News from Amery
Drove to Amery Sunday. On the way through Augusta I stopped to attend a Mennonite service, their church located between Augusta and Cadott. What an eye opener, not exactly what I expected. Quite friendly people (men), and the sexes are separated with men on the left, women on the right. Full house, and it was one […]
Apple River Church Music for March
Apple River Church Music for March
Another wonderful night of music, the March session. Deb is making the list of musicians, angels are practicing in the small classroom, and Ken is looking more distinguished than ever. Last Sunday of each month, an hour or more of gospels and songs of strong feeling. I’ll place the list of songs at the end, at […]
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Finding a Bag of Money in Amery
Finding a Bag of Money in Amery
Steve jammed on his brakes when he saw the bag on the ground, we didn’t see it. Paul and I kept biking down Keller. It looked like a bag holding garbage. Waiting for him at the Amery Depot Park, he yelled but we couldn’t hear him down past Dalley Dale’s Standard Station. “It’s a thousand […]
Accidents on Record 100 Years Ago
Accidents on Record 100 Years Ago
Gunshots, dynamite, fingers and arms cut off, big toe shot, and horse/ railroad mishaps. Polk County accidents from 1910 is a short but painful list to read. While researching deaths in the 1880s in Polk County, I found a record of unfortunate events that happened after 1900. State mandate, county board requirement, intern? For some […]
Kindergarten Kids–Amery
Kindergarten Kids–Amery
The Amery Elementary KG class of 1954. All tossed to the wind now–a retired sewer pumper, a lady of leisure in Arkansas, a retired neurologist, a retired teacher, and others. Several have died including death by cancer, alcoholism, heart problems, suicide. If this information is faulty, it’ll be corrected. This is the early version of […]