Facetiming With the Grands

Solace and Hawky

Missy's Fundraiser

Debby and I always attended the fancy fundraiser that Missy organized for her children's school.

Teaching Memories

(Add Wheelchair story)

My Mom knew I wanted to be a teacher when she took these pictures of me playing school with my dolls.  I was in Second Grade. When I graduated from undergrad at Winona State, she made a congratulations card for me that included these pictures.

Alexandra

 What a cute, precocious thing Alexandra (barely 5) said today: "Grandma did you know in the winter it gets dark earlier and the nights are longer?" I asked if she learned that in school, and she answered, "Oh no, Grandma. You can notice that just by looking out the window!"

Louie's Pond Accident

Sixteen Miracles

The day Louie almost drowned, November 10, 2012, sixteen things happened without which he would not have survived. To me these were miracles.  

Sixteen Miracles
Louie’s Near Drowning
November 10, 2012

Louie had just finished cutting John (Berg)’s grass with the big zero-turn tractor for the last time of the season and was heading back along the path to the farm.  He had asked John to come with him, to help him with something.  So John was walking behind the tractor, and Louie was cutting along the edge of the pond.  He got too close and one tire went off the edge.  He had only a split second to decide whether to jump off, in which case the tractor would go in the water and possibly be wrecked.  If he jumped off he would avoid going in the water himself.  Or the other idea was what he settled on, which was the slim chance that if he gunned it really hard, he might be able to drive it back up onto the flat part of the bank, saving the tractor.  

So he gunned it, but it was too far over the edge and the tractor flipped over onto Louie, pinning him down in the water.  John ran to help him, and was able to get into the water with him, and hold Louie’s nose above water just a little bit.  Louie later said it was so frustrating because his mouth was just under the surface, and every time a wave came, the water would go in his nose too.  He struggled to get out, but he was trapped with the roll bar pressing on his chest.  He said he felt like he would pass out, even before being completely submerged, because he couldn’t get enough air.

This is a man-made pond, with no beach, and no gradual slant.  It’s just a drop-off.  John was up to his neck as soon as he stepped off the edge.  And within a minute or two the weight of the tractor pulled Louie further down and completely underwater, as it slid down.  Louie remembers how silty and mucky the mud was on the bottom.  There was no way to gain any traction, his leg was caught on part of the tractor, and the roll bar still pressing him down.  John was no longer able to pull Louie’s neck up.

At this time John Schact was out on his deck across the pond.  He had decided to sneak out and smoke a cigarette for the first time since quitting ten years earlier.  John Berg yelled over to him to call 911, which he did.  His wife Joan had worked in the Prairie School office for many years, and during those years, Rescue had been called a number of times.  In her experience she knew that they always had trouble finding the school, and she knew they now might come to the wrong side of the pond, losing precious minutes.  So she ran out into the road and waved her arms when they came, telling the multiple rescuers how to find Louie.  They had to drive around the house and go cross-country to get to the area.  They later told us that this pond hadn’t been on the map.  

The first person to arrive was Police Officer Rob Sides, who was at home just 3 blocks away, having lunch.  When he heard on the scanner about this incident and where it was, he mistakenly believed it was his friend, retired police officer Keith Stannis, who is our neighbor.  So Rob rushed to help, and was first on the scene.  John told Rob that Louie was underwater, and when he stepped into the water, he too was immediately in water up to his neck.  Rob felt around in the murky water, not able to see or feel Louie.  But he swam down and soon got ahold of the hood of Louie’s sweatshirt, and hung on.  He later told us that he worried that they were just doing a body recovery at this point.  There was no ice on the pond yet, but it was very cold water, being November.

Firefighters and EMTs from both Caledonia Fire Stations responded, and got there within 5 minutes of the 911 call.  It took 8 men to rock the tractor off Louie. It’s a 3/4 ton tractor.  And the mud on the bottom was so mushy that none of his ribs were broken, which might have pierced his lungs or broken his back.  The guys later told us that it was truly a miracle that both crews were even in-house when the call came, because they usually have six or seven calls per day EACH.  They needed all the men from both firehouses, as well as the several neighbors who also came to help.

After they hauled Louie out onto the grass, at first they thought he was dead.  He had no pulse, his skin was “as dark as brand-new blue jeans,” and his nostrils were full of mud.  But after a few moments he coughed and woke up.  He coughed up water, but only about 30cc’s (about an ounce).  We were told later that most drowning victims take in much more water than that. The roll bar pressing on his chest prevented him from taking in more.  They rushed him to the hospital, where they warmed him up with heated saline and heated air-blankets.  His temp was 94.6 when he arrived, and they told us that if it had been below 94, that he wouldn’t have survived.  My mom, a PA, also told us that because he is so skinny, he became hypothermic much faster than if he had been heavy.  The rapid onset of the hypothermia saved his brain.

The Miracles

These 16 coincidences (miracles maybe?) were each necessary for the outcome we ended up with.  If any one of these were not present, Louie would have been gone that day.

1.  John was there and saw the accident, or nobody would have even known.
2.  John was able to grab him before he went under, or they would not have been able to find him.
3.  The roll bar was pressing on his chest, preventing him from inhaling much water (only 30 cc’s).
4.  It was November, so the water was cold, causing hypothermia.
5.  John Schact chose that day to sneak a cigarette, or nobody would have been able to call 911.  
6.  Joan knew she needed to show the rescuers how to get to Louie.
7.  Rob lives close by, or he wouldn’t have gotten there quick enough.
8.  Rob heard it on the scanner.
9.  Rob thought it was Keith, our neighbor, and his friend, which made him rush, skipping lunch.
10. Rob found Louie under the water.
11. Both fire stations responded, or they couldn’t have gotten the tractor off.
12. Several neighbors were home, saw, and joined in to help, or there wouldn’t have been enough guys to rock the tractor off.
13. It was early enough in the winter that the mud at the bottom hadn’t yet hardened, or it might have crushed Louie under the 3/4 ton tractor.
14. He woke up!!!!
15. Because Louie is skinny, he got hypothermic faster than some, or he probably would have had brain damage.  (It ended up that he was actually under water 12 minutes, based on the times from the 911 call to the time the fire department pulled him out.)
16. His temp was above the 94-degree turning point, or he would have died.


I sobbed while writing this, and my heart still pounds when I read it.


These are from the Police Department before Louie coughed and woke up, while they were "photographing the scene."

The police and fire department guys who helped save him were recognized in a ceremony afterward, and then a party at Husher Bar.

 

Dad Passed Away

 Dad passed away on March 7, 2012, and we had his funeral on the 15th, which would have been his 85th birthday.  Here is the slide show Jolie prepared.

 

 

Dad

My Dad, George Milford Christensen (3/15/1927-3/7/2012)

Louie's Sixtieth Birthday

Louie turned 60 on February 27, 2012, and I threw a surprise party for him at Buckets Pub.  I should have designated a photographer, because these aren't very good.  But it was a fun memory!

I used photos of Louie's childhood for the centerpieces.

He was really surprised.

He was very poised and thanked everyone for coming.

This canvas was my gift to him.  It's in the barn now.

Bradley and Ali

 Louie gave Bradley and Ali a ride on one of the garden tractors. They were about 4 and 6, I think.

Mom's 80th Birthday

We had a big surprise birthday party for Mom when she turned 80.  It was at Infusino's Banquet Hall. We sent out "Save the Date" cards about 6 months in advance.

And then the invitations.

Tony sang and played the Happy Birthday song when she walked in. (I had told her we would go out to lunch, but could we please stop in at Infusino's to finalize details for my staff Christmas party.  She fell for it, and it really was a surprise!)

We had centerpieces (yellow roses, her favorite),

Photo collages,

And a lovely lunch, followed by cake and coffee.

Instead of a head table, Mom was seated at the table in the center of 9 tables.  She enjoyed "working the room" and greeted all her friends and relatives.  Some came from as far away as Iowa and Minneapolis! Here are my cousins Terri and Erin.

Mom's 75th Birthday

Jessie and Jolie and I dreamed up a special birthday for Grandma Evie's 75th birthday, based on the idea that she was 3/4 of a century old! We had a big banner, 75 chocolate kisses, and a bouquet of 75 flowers.

We had 3/4 of a pizza, followed by 3/4 of a cake, with 75 candles on it.  It was a lot of fun!

We made this poster to explain all the details, and we did sing just the first 3 lines of the song!

Camping in the 1990's

Here is a link to Mom's blog where there are some cute pictures of various camping trips, here in Wisconsin and at Potato Creek in Indiana with Sandy, and also various family reunions. Click here.

I loved looking at the night sky.  These were not taken by me, but they remind me of all the hours spent outside at night on those many camping trips.

Growing Up in Winona

I have many wonderful memories of growing up in the town of Winona, Minnesota. Many of the photos in this post were not taken by me, but were found online, and I think they are wonderful.  They keep these memories alive. 

I went to school in Winona, Kindergarten through High School, and then after a brief time at the University of Minnesota, I went back to Winona and got my teaching degree at Winona State University.  Here are my schools.

Madison Elementary School (K-6)

Here's a link to my school pictures.  I loved my teachers.  Here also is a link to my mom's photo album of pictures from my childhood.


Winona Junior High was in these two buildings across the street from each other (7-9).

Winona Senior High at that time was a brand new state-of-the-art school with an art wing, theater-in-the-round, music wing, gym, pool, agriculture wing, and huge grounds with tennis courts, football field, and canoeing on the lake.  I wish I had more pictures of the inside, but we didn't have smart phones then, and very few of us had cameras!

This is a picture from the 1970 yearbook that shows the grandeur of the concourse, and the huge floor to ceiling windows looking out over the lake.

The library wall to the right is also glass, so the view was able to be seen from inside the library too.

Here's an aerial view of the back of the High School with its amazing grounds.  The college-prep education I got there was fantastic.

I graduated from WHS in 1973.  Here's my graduation picture.

Here's a link to my High School Yearbook.

Then I graduated from WSU in 1977.

Winona was built on a sand bar in the Mississippi River, and was originally an island.  But the channel was blocked off at some point, making the town long and narrow, 7 miles long and 16 blocks wide, in between the lake and the river.  Here's a view from Garvin Heights.

  


When I was a very little girl, we lived in an apartment across the street from Saint Teresa's College.  This is the Tea House, which my dad took me to.

Later we moved to a house at 307 W. 8th.  A block away was McVey's Ice Cream Shop, and we went there often.  It was the first place I was allowed to go alone, at age 4.  I learned later that this was prep for the following year when I would walk 4 blocks to Kindergarten alone.  I also learned that my mom followed me and watched to make sure I was safe, crossed the street, found it, etc. The homemade ice cream here was WONDERFUL.  They would let us taste the different flavors on a little flat wooden spoon.  We could get penny candy there too.

My dad and I would often go to Bloedow's Bakery to get sweet rolls.

This town was my stomping ground, and my friends and I knew our way around, and we knew every inch of the buildings, streets, stores, bluffs and trails.  We walked across the interstate bridge to swim at Latch Beach on the other side of the river, we jumped off the old wagon bridge, and played in the boathouses.

These are some of the boathouses, with the wagon bridge in the background.

  

We swam across the lake in the summer, and skated across in the winter.  I couldn't find a good picture of us at the lake, but this postcard looks just like I remember it.

Here it is in the winter, plowed for skating.  The beach house became the warming house.

We knew how thick the ice had to be to hold us up.

At Lake Park there was also a big band shell for concerts.

 

We knew how to avoid rattlesnakes in the bluffs.  We climbed the hills, and on top there were trails,

and caves.

There was often an old steam ship paddle-wheeler docked at the levee downtown, and I went for rides on it a couple times.

Or a tugboat and barge to watch.

Here's an old newspaper clipping from the Winona Daily News about the 1965 flood.  I was in 5th grade.

When I was in Junior High my friends and I would go downtown after school and have a Coke and french fries at Kresge's or Woolworth's lunch counter.  If the waitress wasn't busy, she would pour a little cherry juice into our Cokes, making it a Cherry Coke.  Delicious!

Here's the way our downtown looked back then.  This one was taken in 1965.

The public library was beautiful, and I spent many hours there.

Upstairs in the stacks, there was wonderful iron scrollwork and glass floors.

The movie theater,

The Piggly Wiggly,

The fabric shop,

The old hospital, where my brother was born (I was born in St. Paul),

And the McDonald's, which came around the time I was in 5th or 6th grade.

From the Winona Daily News 1971:

 My high school was in the west end of town, and this beautiful cathedral, St. Stan's (Saint Stanislas) was way over in the east end.

Here's my own church, the First Congregational Church of Winona, and a link to a post about it, which was in the center of town, just a few blocks from my house.

And the Methodist church, also near the center if town, where Mr. Duel played the church bells from 5:00-5:15 every day.  These could be heard all over town, and all the moms had the rule that when we heard the bells we had to stop playing and come home.  We had to be home by the time the bells were done playing.  (In the evening we had to come home when the street lights came on.)

The county courthouse was downtown by the foot of the bridge. It was open to the public (including us kids), and it was just as beautiful on the inside. 

I still go back to Winona periodically to get together with two of my oldest best high school friends, Darla and Lynn.  Here's a link to a post about one of those trips.  We have so much fun!  It's as if no time has passed.

  

Following are some more beautiful pictures of my wonderful home town.  Most of the pictures in this post were taken by other people, not me. But I think they are beautiful, and they bring back so many memories.  There's also a wonderful Winona Daily News article that lists memorable Winona icons.  Here's the link.  I hope this link always works, but if not, search "What Defines Our City? We Take a Crack at Identifying the Icons of Winona," dated December 17, 2019.


The lake bridge.

Winona Sugarloaf sunrise.

 
The interstate bridge at night.

Looking east at sunrise,

and west at sunset.

Another tugboat pushing a barge up the river.

Lake Winona.

Aerial photo of Sugarloaf.

The back side of Sugarloaf.

Another view of my pretty town from Garvin Heights.

 Sunrise with mist

This is the statue of Princess Wenonah, for whom the town was named.  It has been relocated in different parks over the years.

When I was in college, my boyfriend Jim took my picture with her.  He planned the back lighting and set it up just so.

Aerial view

The old Wagon Bridge

Arches in Farmers Community Park, where we had MANY wonderful picnics

and played in the stream where we picked watercress to go on the sandwiches.  We also climbed the exposed sandstone bluff and carved our initials in there.

Sunrise over the fog.

Darla, my best friend from Winona, showing the back side of Sugarloaf, the view from her house growing up.

I moved to Wisconsin to teach after college, and convinced my mom to come here in the 1980's, but my dad stayed in Winona until he passed away in 2012.  He is buried in the beautiful Woodlawn Cemetery.

Here's a cool video that Sean Campbell posted on the Facebook page "You Know You're From Winona If..." site.  https://www.facebook.com/seancmpbl/videos/10219687006067305