Whiteley Creek Homestead

rick

My brother Rick was born on September 29, 1958. It is his birthday today.

 
 
Sadly, after exhausting every resource and valiantly enduring much suffering attempting to overcome his cancer, he passed away on August 24, 2011 at the age of 52 years 10 months and 26 days. Here he stands next to his farmall tractor on his beloved farm near Isanti, Minnesota where he called home. 

 

His wife, Julie, wrote the most touching, comforting poem that was included in the funeral program.

When my journey is done
and my time here is at end
I hope you recall the good that I've done
and remember me as your friend

The sickness I bore
It ravaged me
The pain is no more
I have been set free

Just remember my love
that I am watching over you
Looking down from above
So do not be blue

The pain is all gone
My body is strong
I know people here
and I am getting along

Can't wait till I see you again
It will be soon
But only God
knows when

Until I reach out that day
To take your hand
Continue to live out
God's perfect plan

Rick, my brother David (who died  in 1990 at age 45 from lung cancer contracted from handling Agent Orange during the Vietnam War), and I share a special bond. Our birthdays are one day after the other... Rick Sept. 29, me Sept. 30, and David Oct.1. Happy birthday, Rick! Happy birthday, David! I'll bake a cake and light candles for us.  

welcome home vietnam veterans

Even though implementation of the draft forced men into active duty, Vietnam antiwar protesters directed their misguided bitterness toward those soldiers and labeled them as traitors. Our government did not have transition programs in place for the soldiers returning home after experiencing the trauma of war zones. Vietnam War soldiers were not welcomed home and thanked for their service upon their return from deployment as present day soldiers are. However, it takes just one. One person can right a wrong. More than forty years after serving in Vietnam, Dick, along with over 250 other Vietnam Veterans, were honored with a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Ceremony at Camp Ripley south of Brainerd. It was the brainchild of Minnesota Army National Guard Col. Scott St. Sauver, Camp Ripley post commander. 

 

At 12:30 p.m., the veterans began boarding buses that drove around the block then returned to their starting point. They descended the buses steps to be greeted by a cheering, flag waving crowd lining both sides of the procession's pathway that lead to rows of chairs facing a stage. After opening the ceremony with the National Anthem, various speakers expressed their appreciation for the veterans' service. Despite the passing of years, the emotion felt by the aging veterans was evident. It was only right, afterall, that the Vietnam War soldiers be welcomed home... finally.

In the Camp Ripley Museum, each war is featured in a display of photos and memorabilia. Dick stood at the Vietnam War display holding the flag of his country... a symbol of the United States of America that he valiantly represented. 

 

He explained to me the shortcomings of the vest that was designed to protect him from enemy fire. Because of the lack of extremity coverage, he took a hit to the upper arm earning him a Purple Heart*. It caused destruction to a major artery nearly taking his life. He was 22 years old... just a kid. Nerve damage affected a hand and foot and shrapnel still remains in various parts of his body. Throughout the years, I have eased him through recurring nightmares that he continues to experience yet today at 63 years old. Make it a point to thank a veteran for his or her service whether you know them or not. Let them know you care. *The Purple Heart signifies one thing...SACRIFICE. It represents either a combat death or a combat wound. It represents the blood that has been shed in defense of liberty.               

farmhouse renovation and farmstead layout

We all have dreams. Over the years, I have concluded that, no matter what generation, we are more alike than not. We dream of where we'd like to live, the house we'd like to build, the interior furnishings, and the layout of our gardens and farm buildings. My parents, I recently tangibly discovered, were no different. While sorting through their personal belongings upon their deaths (my mother on April 22, 2011 at age 93 and my father on January 26, 2005 at age 94), an assortment of house plans from various sources surfaced. The before and after house plans shown below from The Business of Farming J.F. Anderson Lumber Co. Copyright 1945,  show how a "typical L-shaped farmhouse lends itself ideally to modernization inside and out."  The farmhouse style is practically identical to the one I love so much at the Rollag Farm Show! (See yesterday's post.)        

In 1946, my parents purchased acreage ten miles southeast of Brainerd that increased to its present 160 acres through acquisition of adjoining land. The original property included an early 1900s house that had a kitchen, living room, and one bedroom. A family that was rapidly increasing in size, to eventually total twelve children, required the addition of two bedrooms and a "backroom" for a chest freezer to store garden produce and meat, a wringer washing machine, a wood stove to heat water in a copper boiler for laundry, a cupboard to set a water pail and dipper for drinking and cooking use, and a combination wood bin/wash basin unit. My father and mother may have referenced some of the house plans, that had so carefully been filed away in the top shelf of my father's bedroom closet, for their house's additions. I am not sure.  

In the same publication as the farmhouse renovation article is a farmstead layout. I envision my father, who generated a supplemental income through farming, gleaning ideas for his farm. His dream. 

    

sears-roebuck mail order house kits

We so enjoy the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion (WMSTR) in Rollag, Minnesota near Fargo held every Labor Day Weekend. The sounds of bustling activity coming from the 1800s era town's mainstreet, a train filled to capacity with the show's attendees chugging around the perimeter of the property, the melodic clunk and swoosh of steam engines running huge machinery as well as the smallest models built to scale, the whine of the sawmill blades slicing logs into lumber combined with the peacefulness of the vast farmland makes a perfect setting. It is Dick's and my tradition... our rhythm developed over the years... a way to welcome the impending autumn season... in vast expanses of farmland... in the rolling hills of western Minnesota to witness firsthand the harvest. My favorite at the show has always been the farmstead.

 

The farmhouse...

 

It was interesting to learn that Sears-Roebuck sold mail order houses in kit form between 1908 and 1940 selling more than 100,000 homes during this time period. An entire house was delivered by boxcar along with assembly instructions. Although this house built in 1990 by WMSTR volunteers is not a Sears design, it is a style representative of 1900 to 1925 farmhouses.

This is the cover of the first Sears-Roebuck catalog of house plans. It was published in 1908. Katherine Cole Stevenson and H. Ward Jandl have written a book about the houses entitled Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company that features nearly 450 house models with floor plans. Not to be outdone by Sears, Montgomery Ward had their own line of house kits. Rosemary Thornton has chronicled their offerings in her book, Montgomery Ward's Mail Order Homes. She is also the author of The Houses That Sears Built. 
    

storyhill fest 2011

Years ago, when my daughters were young, I attended a women's retreat at the Presbyterian Clearwater Forest Camp in Deerwood, Minnesota just 20 miles from Brainerd. It had such an impact... a happy memory just as children take with them after attending summer camp. Our days were spent listening to encouraging motivational speakers, singing, praying, crafting, eating healthy meals, canoeing, hiking, and filling ourselves with the solitude of the acres and acres of beauty surrounding us. Today, I returned again after so many years of absence to attend a Storyhill Fest. This time Dick accompanied me. Storyhill, the duo made up of John Hermanson and Chris Cunningham, organized the two-day event that included an impressive lineup of nine additional talented folk artists. 

 

A couple years ago, we had attended an Ellis concert in Pequot Lakes 17 miles north of Brainerd, so we were overjoyed to learn that she would be performing. One of her songs titled "right on time" imparts a powerful message to be content with where you are in life... no regrets over the choices we have made or the niche where we have been planted by our own doing or not. It speaks of contentment no matter what our lot in life. I have found that embracement of this simple, but profoundly life-changing, thought helps develop a peaceful soul.   

 

Other artists offered their own take on life's journey and the events that shape us and cause us to laugh, shed tears, ponder, understand more fully, and become a richer, deeper person. They included:

Peter Mayer and Carrie Elkin (Carrie introduced each musician, but, with the exception of singing backup with other artists, we missed her solo performance as it wasn't until Sunday. Her web site bio describes her as having "ridden a Gypsy breeze of serendipity for the last eleven years, moving from place to place." Also, others performing on Sunday that we missed were A.J. Roach, Grace Pettis, Ray Bonneville, and John Elliot.)  

 

a very pregnant Raina Rose with fiance, bass player Andrew Pressman

 

Anthony Da Costa from New York

 

In such a peaceful setting under the pines...

  

 

 

 

 

 

chicken of the woods mushroom

A sweet, young couple shared this photo of a "chicken of the woods" wild edible (see note below) mushroom that they discovered while walking our property during their stay at our bed and breakfast Labor Day Weekend.

 

I was so excited to learn that it is growing in this second location. Dick and I first stumbled upon one on the opposite end of our acreage a year ago on July 14, 2010. I was saddened when I learned that Dick had unintentionally pushed the decayed log it had been growing on to the side of the wooded path with his big end loader. Happily, it reappeared this summer on that same log.

According to americanmushrooms.com, "The chicken (aka sulphur shelf) mushroom is especially common on large oak trees, logs, and stumps." If they are growing on oak trees, they are safe to eat. However, if they are "growing on any conifer tree (e.g., pine, hemlock, spruce, fir, larch/tamarack), eucalyptus, or locust trees, they should not be eaten." They can be found growing spring through fall. They are best to harvest when they are young before they begin to dry out. When you cut into them, a little liquid should come out. "Often, only the actively-growing edges of the caps are tender enough for the cooking pot… though slow, wet simmering can have a good tenderizing effect on the tougher, more fibrous parts."