Stories of the Good Ol' Days

Jared, Seth and Maddie left for home at about 7:30 this morning. Although it opens up some room in the cabin, there is definitely a void without them. We were so bummed when we realized that they had left before we got the traditional "cousins" picture….so sad! We'll just have to figure out how to photo-shop them in, I guess!

Attendance at the Evangelical Free Church of Bemidji was up by about 20 today, as our group descended upon them. We enjoyed an uplifting service of music and the Word, as well as some Highlander Grogg coffee, and then drove back to the resort.

It was time for our big picnic, so Tom and the other guys fired up the grills, and we all worked on final preparations for dinner. Our 20 family members at the picnic this year were: Mom and Dad K, Roy, Deb, Luke, Kara, Leah, Erin, Paul, Melissa, Tommy, Beth, Nicole, William, Elise, Zachary, Tom, Leah, Chloe and me. We had our usual pork chops on the grill, potato casserole, salad (red, white and blue a la Deb), parsley bread, Snickers salad, watermelon and corn. And later we had brownie sundaes for dessert.

During dinner, Dad and Mom K talked about the origins of the Sunday afternoon picnic. The tradition started back in the 1960's, at Sand Bay resort on Battle Lake, with friends Opal and Cecil Myers, and Lucille and Carl Kunkle (affectionately known as "Uncle Kunkle"). It slowly evolved into a family picnic with all the relatives, including Dad's brothers Sam and Roy (with their families) and sister Henrietta. Dad also recalled the first year Uncle Sam brought Aunt Ann along to the lake. She brought her grandsons Bradley and Ryan with her for entertainment, as she thought she might be bored. After a little fishing, however, she was all in..."hook, line and sinker!"

Dad told us the story of how he went bullheading on the Red River with Cecil Myers and his brother Dan one year. It was an all-day affair with lots of eating involved. But the most exciting part of the day was when dad reeled in a four and a half pound walleye from the river! One of his best catches ever, Dad had this fish mounted to hang on his office wall at home (where it still hangs, I believe).

Hearing the old stories and reminiscing was fun, and made me think about sitting down with Mom and Dad to hear and record more stories of the past, while they are still here with us and able to recall them. I'll have to work on that!

The rest of the day was spent visiting, reading, playing games, running, biking and swimming. The day started out very hot and humid, but after a heavy evening rainfall, things really cooled down. It looks like tomorrow could be our coolest day yet, and the ladies are already talking about a Walker shopping day.