Traveling with a college friend Mary during my junior year at UW-Superior meant miles in a bus and hours of conversation. After hearing the song America by Simon and Garfunkel, I did a headslap and said to myself, we did that. Mary was a buddy, but unlike the S and G song, we weren’t […]
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Who’s with the Baby?
Who’s with the Baby?
The father grunted as he slept, occaionally looking at the football game on the big screen. In and out of sleep, a tiring Monday and football to relax. From the baby monitor near the foot of the couch, he heard Pamela in the nursery upstairs. Always the best parent from day one, she cooed and […]
From Limb to Finished Map
From Limb to Finished Map
Finished product from ordinary limb wood After watching Youtube woodworking videos, I saw that some round limb wood and even firewood size chunks could be sliced into lumber. It is with that idea in mind that I used a limb from a tree in our front yard to make the map above. After cutting a […]
East of Amery, Lutefisk Woods
East of Amery, Lutefisk Woods
Two miles east of Amery, 3/4 mile from Karen Strohbeen’s farm, the area called Lutefisk Woods held mystery and a great deal of uncertainty. The name was rumored to start because early Norwegian settlers in that area of Polk County one December received so much lutefisk that they couldn’t eat and handle it all. A […]
Between the Silos We Found the Remains of the Hired Man
Between the Silos We Found the Remains of the Hired Man
We found him between the silos. Visiting Grandma on a hot summer day, my Cousin Brad and I found the hired man, dead. His body was covered by tarps and scrap wood, and we didn’t know who else knew what we just found. Every summer for a few days, Brad and I spent a few […]
The Swing Designed to Snap Once a Year
The Swing Designed to Snap Once a Year
There’s a swing in a valley near my Norwegian relatives, a long long roped swing that sails out and over the valley. It’s a thrill, it’s a gut grabber, and it’s seldom without someone in the seat. The designers know that the rope is fragile, and they also know that it’s designed to be workable […]
Lester Gets Heckled at the Amery Hotel Cafe
Lester Gets Heckled at the Amery Hotel Cafe
Lester worked at the Amery Hotel Cafe, and Saturday night he was busing tables in the hectic supper time. At one point he dropped a glass and it called attention to him, which of course he truly hates. A group of kids from Clear Lake in the corner, their CL jackets on indicating they were […]
Thanks to You who Read this Blog
Thanks to You who Read this Blog
For those who are still opening posts on this blog and reading them, THANK YOU. I’ll continue to post worthwhile and creative writing pieces because you deserve to read something entertaining and of value. Please sign up on the email on the right. THANK YOU, I’m not going to give up. Why are the number […]
The Mile High Club in 7th Grade–Final
The Mile High Club in 7th Grade–Final
East of Amery a group of pre-7th graders gathered bravely to test weapons. We started a Mile High Club, not knowing that in the world outside of Amery it had a completely different meaning. Ours had nothing to do with airplanes or jets. The summer before our 7th grade year at Amery, a few of us […]
Attention Elkfarm.org Blog Readers
Attention Elkfarm.org Blog Readers
If anyone is interested in more information, and to get on a photo email that I post, please sign up on the right. I must apologize, because those of you who signed up already have signed up in an area that I didn’t know about. It got on Mailchimp but I was lost in space. […]
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Amery Area September Scenes, the Country and the Lakeshore
Amery Area September Scenes, the Country and the Lakeshore

Recently I took a few photos around Amery the week before the Fall Festival. Coming home on the 12th of September, I saw the sun going down about 7:15 and had to drive quickly to a spot to get a clear view. This was taken south of Deer Park, WI. Taking about a dozen photos […]
Strap Down Those Piles of Dirt
Strap Down Those Piles of Dirt

My Cousin Jimmy from Amery dabbles in a variety of odd jobs–hauling dirt, fixing doors, mowing lawns, clearing out varmints of any kind. A week ago State Trooper Julie Jackson stopped Jimmy west of Amery near Deronda. Jimmy had a load of grass and leaves in the back of his truck, but nothing was strapped […]