Lester became part of the small town scene, a regular in the real life play that was Amery Wisconsin. He performed jobs for money and praise, ate when diner owners brought him plates of food, and slept at locations known only to a few. As a mute, he understood people talking to him but couldn’t […]
Amery
A Childhood Scene of Misery near Amery
A Childhood Scene of Misery near Amery
When I looked around the living room, I saw the plants had frozen and lay there, an ugly, limpy brown. The wood fire roared in the little, decrepit stove but threw off little heat. Phoebe Munson huddled near it in her winter jacket. Saturday morning, the day before Christmas, and we were delivering eggs to […]
Salute to the Humble, Yet Noble Sandwich
Salute to the Humble, Yet Noble Sandwich
The lucious and ubiquitous sandwich with anything you choose to put between two slices of bread, or on one slice if you enjoy open-faced sandwiches as I saw in Norway: nearly all delicious. Britain‘s “biggest contribution to gastronomy” (did you know that?) Sandwiches have been a basic a part of my life, always easy […]
First Birthday Party at a Ripe Old Age
First Birthday Party at a Ripe Old Age
The man had a good, full life but he never a birthday party, he just didn’t. A loner, a smart man, a storyman, and even a moonshiner. Simon Carlson worked in the Amery City Hall, engineer I believe or head of streets and sewers (let me check on that) who enjoyed his job, worked well […]
The Couple Shared Everything
The Couple Shared Everything
Cousin Brad in Amery stopped at the Uff Da–Youbetcha cafe on Vine Street this past week, ordering his usual liver cooked rare with rare bacon on the side. Across from his table he noticed a wonderful old couple huddled together who just got their order: one large orange juice, one hamburger, and a side of […]
Uff Da Defined and Explained
Uff Da Defined and Explained
Uff da was an expression I heard often growing up. It could apply to a variety of situations, some bad, some good, but it was the Norwegian version of WOW or Holy Mackerel. Internet sites are devoted to it, and post cards can be bought that have 20 occasions in which Uff Da would be […]
A Most Bizarre Elementary Teacher–Updated
A Most Bizarre Elementary Teacher–Updated
At Amery Elementary School, the bizarre Miss Rose Schider taught the other 5th grade class. Miss Schaefer taught ours. Miss Schider was a character who kept student attention and focus, and, shown here, supervised the playground from 20 feet up. On her days, she’d climb out the windwo of her classroom, ease herself onto the […]
Amery Farmer Gets Even with a Trespasser-II
Amery Farmer Gets Even with a Trespasser-II
Another trespasser got on the nerves of a kind, patient farmer southwest of Amery. The man drove along a fence line to get to the Apple River just west of Little Falls. Fishing was his goal, and he spent a few hours casting before taking off. But that was where the guy wasn’t so smart. […]
Farmer Neighbor Encounters a Hippie and His Dog
Farmer Neighbor Encounters a Hippie and His Dog
My farmer neighbor Howard Stindle told me about the time he confronted a hippie and his dog walking across his pasture. The young man stooped to drink from a minor stream, and his dog drank as well. But the guy tried bringing the water to his mouth with one hand. “Hey, you don’t want to […]
Diving into the Badger Den at the Loss of a Bet
Diving into the Badger Den at the Loss of a Bet
The badger den at the VanRuden farm became a test of wills, a chance to pay off a bet. Friends and I had a competitive streak, and losing a major bet meant harsh results. It was often in the $10 range which in the 60s was big money, or there were other ways to pay […]
Amery: Setting for Imagined More than Real. Here it is.
Amery: Setting for Imagined More than Real. Here it is.
Amery has been the center of most of my stories on this blog and on the Elkfarm email I send. A variety of tales has balanced between real and imagined, whichever fits the story being told. For a time I wrote a column for the local newspaper, the Amery Gazette, and found myself writing deliberately […]
Fond Thoughts About a Brown Paper Bag
Fond Thoughts About a Brown Paper Bag
This brown paper bag represents freedom and happiness from my childhood. The painting by Karen Appleton caught my eye, a beautiful rendering of a simple item. Amery Elementary School offered a hot lunch, and it wasn’t that bad, but I’d pester my mom to be allowed to carry my lunch. This would happen about 3 […]
Across the Ice on North Twin, Amery WI
Across the Ice on North Twin, Amery WI
Saturday evening in Amery. Jimmy asks Charmaine if she’d go buy a six pack of beer for him. He had worked that afternoon on a quilt rack and set it up, so she figured she could do something for him. (Jimmy and Charmaine, Amery ‘possibly fictional’ characters are going to be my/ our Ole […]
Fall Festival is Over, Summary of the Day (Long Post)
Fall Festival is Over, Summary of the Day (Long Post)
The annual Fall Festival today, the 16th day of September. Lovely day, hinting of rain last night but it didn’t materialize. Warm, even hot at times, and breezy which felt pretty good but blew items around. The lineup began around 9 or 9:30 on the north end of Amery, up the side streets and back […]
The Amery Fall Festival: Prelude
The Amery Fall Festival: Prelude
Mid-September, it’s got to be time for the Fall Festival in Amery, WI. Sunshine peeks out in the east on the 3rd Saturday in September, first hitting the steeple of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church near Clayton at 6:55. Fall Festival Day. After a few minutes the sun shines on the silos at the Stindle, Lonergan, […]