11/22/73 Thanksgiving Day and it was a day of food, football and friendship. Tim and Jayme for breakfast at 9:00 a.m. They were here all day. Contributing much to our enjoyment. Bernice and Lisa & Jill along with Gene Monahan for dinner. A kind of a pot luck deal - and good! Karen called and we have feeling that it is going much better in Duluth. Dick & Todd came later for ping pong session. A big day.
11/23/73 Jayme & Timmy here for 9:00 breakfast. An hour later, we were off for deer hunt on Camp Island. They made a short drive for me - unsuccessful. I then ran boat to Mt. Ida. I found a reasonably clear place on ridge. They drove out a big doe and two fawns. I shot twice and didn’t draw a drop of blood. What a goddamn frustrating experience. We could use the meat but what is more important, it looks like I’ll go by my 67th year without a deer. Brace up, old man, it could be worse. You might be too feeble to hunt at all.
11/24/73 Snow. We had planned to go hunting with Robin when he arrived from Duluth but they didn’t get here until 2 p.m. - too late to go anywhere. Roads slippery. No hunting but lots of ping pong.
11/25/73 The four hunters, Robin, Terry, Jayme and I here for breakfast at 8:00. To Deer Island where I saw 2 deer but didn’t get a shot. Jayme had shooting at a doe and fawn and got the fawn. He “shuda” got the doe, he said. Fresh snow on ground, trees beautiful. Temperature about 30o. Good companionship. Fun to be out even if I was skunked again. We took the deer to our island and home about 2:30. Ted Hall dropped in for short visit. A fascinating man.
11/27/73 Robin and I on lake by 9:00. He made drive on east end of Deer Island. No soap. I covered a good piece of island, renewing many old memories. To Emil Johnson’s old homestead. The poplars are 6” in diameter where his garden once was. Not a sign of the old building where we used to visit with first the Johnsons and then the Campbell boys. I even found, back in the woods, a piece of the woven wire fence put there in the 20’s by Hapgood and Oberholtzer. On to Buck’s landing, pulled out Cadillac and off for 265. This very well could be my last trip on lake in 1973. Robin off for Duluth at 5:30. I hope he enjoyed his hunt with his father-in-law as much as I did.
11/28/73 No hunting today - a relief! I have talked myself into believing that it matters not that I broke my string of consecutive years of getting a deer. I have been reading Edwin Way Teal’s North with the Spring. A fascinating book. We have seen many of the places he talks about through the eyes of a layman. As a naturalist he gets much more out of the experience. We got tired of TV and I read aloud while Layna knit on Sally’s afghan, just like the winter evenings up the lake when I read “Gone with the Wind” (and many other books) aloud while Layna knitted.
11/29/73 While in town we stopped at Judys. He is feeling much better. he had made a boot jack for me and another for George Williams. They were of walnut and finished like a fine piece of furniture. What a man! We have new neighbors in Case’s house. Lovelands. Layna to coffee party for Mrs. Said she was young and looked OK. The Porters moved out without saying “goodbye”. Not strange, they hardly said “hello” the year and a half that they were there. I wouldn’t know any one of the kids if I saw him.
11/30/73 To see Swedish picture New Land, a sequel to The Emigrants. Pretty powerful stuff and to us a little too bloody. Some of the points could have been made without it. All in all it was quite an experience.
12/1/73 Drove out to see Buck and Dale. Buck not there but Dale gave a very interesting account of their trip to California. She is a Rainy Lake gal and glad to get home to her lake - and family. We are going to miss Timmy.
12/2/73 George and Adelaide Amidon here for duck feed. We don’t know better people. Good talk, mostly about Voyageurs Park. Also, I brought out old Mando albums. Some 25 years old showing George as a very handsome young man. He still is a very handsome elderly man. Ted Hall referred to him as “Boise Cascade’s senior, local diplomat”. He looks the part.
12/3/73 Frankie Johnson and Harry Oveson here for supper. Two of the best. They are bachelors who appreciate the good food Layna puts out. Frankie says Owen in bad shape. Gave us the lowdown on Boise Cascade, particularly in regard pulpwood yard. He said “You are lucky not to be there,” and got no argument. Harry has a definite opinion on most subjects and is usually right. A real brain.
12/4/73 Opal Judy called at 9:00 a.m. to say that Wayne woke up virtually blind! What a shocker, altho we all had foreseen it for some time. Layna and I to see him. The same old Wayne outwardly, altho we could sense what was going on in that fine mind. It is not a complete black out - yet. He can’t read, watch TV or go out. He is scheduled to go to his specialist in Madison on Dec. 16. Opal optimistic as to results. Not so Wayne. What a bad hand he has been dealt!
12/5/73 Wrote 4 “thank you” notes to people directly involved in our river trip. Barta, Stone, LeBeouf and O’Daniel. Also a few Xmas cards. Will get in the swing of that soon.
12/6/73 Buck came in a.m. and we hauled our Scorpion to his basement. In no time at all, he had clutch off and found trouble. The winter he worked at Totem Pole has proven valuable to him - and to me. A clear, cold (0 - 10o) and we decided to try using fireplace to help heat house. I doubt if we could keep pipes from freezing, much less keep alive if we had to depend on it. It is a cheerful supplement, however. I got out power saw and cut down a dead poplar back of house. By doing that, I kept home fire burning all day with a surplus for a couple more days. Just like olden days up lake.
12/7/73 Moes and Seegerts here for dinner at 5:30. Since we saw them last, the Moes have been to Florida, the Seegerts to N. Carolina and Johnsons to N. Orleans. For the first 15 minutes it was a matter of “everyone talking and nobody listening” but conversation leveled off. Layna put on a real gourmet treat with our Rainy River walleyes the main dish. Super!
12/9/73 Snow stopped during night after about 4 inches on ground. I think our septic tank is reasonably safe. Jim Froehlich came with his Ranger and plowed us out. Good neighbors. To Rainy Lake Women’s Club Xmas party. We took Jill & Lisa. No great excitement but good food and had a chance to talk to people we hadn’t seen since the last one. Ted Hall came with Gene Monahan and was introduced around. It was very evident that everyone was reading, and enjoying his Rainy Lake Chronicle.
12/10/73 The first real winter day. I climbed up on roof and shoveled off snow. Very exhilarating. My hands freezing as they have for 60 years but I toughed it out. Layna has been plugging away at Sally’s afghan and today finished it. It is a thing of beauty. She accomplishes a lot more in a day than I do.
12/12/73 Jayme and I to island on snowmobiles. Ice about 8” thick in first bay, about 5 inches from Roberts to Susan’s but only about 3 inches by our dock. Not much snow - about 4 inches. Buck has fixed clutch and put new drive belt on our Scorpion. It never worked better. I enjoyed my outing with Jayme.
12/13/73 To Dr. Thompson at 10:30, first visit. He kept me less and did less than even Dr. Milroy! I wonder if I will gain much by changing dentists. At any rate, he is a lot closer, even within walking distance. At 9:00 p.m. Buck said “Let’s go see Oklahoma Crude.” Both he and Layna had read book. The 3 of us went. 10 below. It was worth it. We are trying to abide by energy crises rules. Only one burner going on furnace. Temperature between 60 - 64 in house. We wear lots of clothes!
12/14/73 Xmas cards, Xmas cards, Xmas cards, coming and going. Good. Layna sewing like mad. Made 3 tote bags for Byrne’s girls. Beautiful.
12/15/73 To Gerry Armstrong’s for annual Xmas party. About 20 people there, all Canadians. Good company, good drinks, good food. A little tense situation at bridge when Canadian customs asked me to take package from Bill White to Lillian in for inspection. Good thing they didn’t ask to look in trunk where I had sleeping bag from Bill to Gerry. Home at exactly 3:00. Time flies when we are with my ex-crew.
