10/8/80 Indian Summer. Temperature in upper 70’s - light breeze. To Kimballs place in Aitkin where we were joined by the Ryans. Old home week for sure. Off for dinner at “40 Club”, then back to Kimballs for more talk. On to Brainerd. As we pulled into Daveys’ driveway, two deer took off into the woods. The best possible ending for a very fine day.
10/9/80 Indian summer! Harry and I down town to have coffee with his gang. About 14 there. At Harry’s insistence, I told the Finlander bridge story. I firmly believe that I will never tell it again. That means another closed chapter in my life. We visited with our good friends until 3:30 and off for Little Falls. Had no problem finding Jayme and Maggie’s house. They came home shortly and we got tour of the area. Our kids are well settled in a modest, comfortable home, happy in the knowledge that they will be parents in a few months.
10/10/80 We were on road to St. Paul by 9:00. A cold front had moved in during night and temperature dropped to freezing. It was cozy in our little Citation and the 150 miles to Sally’s were covered with no trouble. The amount of reforestation was amazing. Reminded us of Scotland. The Jernbergs all in good health. Karen called to say that Opal Judy had died. No one can feel sorry - what a rough time both physical and mental she has had for the past years.
10/11/80 To farmers’ market with Sally and Jim. A cold day and as shivering gang of farmers sold produce to a shivering gang of customers. On to Surdyks where we bought a total of about $100 worth of booze. A crowded store made one wonder what all the recession talk is about. To the home of Nancy and Bob Walls where the Cabrini bunch - 7 couples - met. Much to eat and drink and some good talk - music too, by Larry. Party broke up at 12:30. Fun!
10/12/80 Calm but a bit chilly. Sally and Jim off for church before we got up. They returned about noon and away we went in our new car with Jim at the wheel - our destination, the LaFave place on the St. Croix. We have known the LaFaves - Goose and Gail, since they were small kids. Great to see them so obviously well off. A very pleasant afternoon. Much reminiscing about our relationship with their families.
10/13/80 We called Sharon at 9:00. We tried to explain our absence from her mother’s funeral. I think that we partially succeeded . To Raymans by 4:00. Had a good chance to talk to them before Williams came at 7:00. George and Maria putting the pressure on for the Johnsons and Raymans to come to San Miguel. We did not commit ourselves but they must have sensed that we are not gung-ho about going.
10/14/80 I was due for Civil Service exam in Falls at 7:00 p.m. We were on our way by 10:30 to Falls by 5:00 - nonstop. Layna to K and R. I to meeting. 41 people (15 females) took test. Bob Fredrickson in charge. Back to K and R and soon after on way to #265. All well there.
10/15/80 Spent most of day catching up on reading week’s accumulation of papers. Layna to town to sit at Republican headquarters. Not a single soul showed up. It looks like Irv Anderson is a shoo-in.
10/16/80 Layna to Effie Hanover’s place in p.m. It was a fund raising lunch for Per Knight. At 6:00 p.m. she came after me and we had supper with committee. The candidate was there. He talked about Irv Anderson’s connection with the park but said nothing startling. The event raised $80. Far short of the $27,000,000 that Reagan and Carter are using to entice the voters. Karen and Robin had engagements so we brought Bobbie and Sarah home with us. A couple of champions with my money on Bobby. What a character! Their mother picked them up at 10:00 p.m.
10/17/80 To town to pick up a few things. Stopped at K and R to baby sit for about ½ hour. No sweat. Made an attempt to figure out mileage with Citation. About 24 mpg. Not good but not bad either. Maybe it will improve when engine gets broken in. Buck to help Jayme in Little Falls.
10/18/80 Vivian Sutch here for lunch. She had her Subaru. We went for a ride and when I said that I thought she had made a wise choice, she said it was God’s will that she buy it! She was dead serious. She went on to tell about her retired father who was an alcoholic and became abusive when drinking. A real problem. I did not have nerve enough to inquire if that was God’s will, too.
10/19/80 What a goddamn wasted day. Started watching TV at 11:30. Saw Vikings lose to Cincinnati 14 - 0. Then watched Philadelphia beat KC 4-3 in 5th game of World Series. Watched “60 Minutes” between bites of supper. Then a bloody picture starring Clint Eastwood. Stayed awake long enough to watch news. That means I was at TV for 11 hours. There wasn’t one damn thing to cheer about in the whole deal.
10/20/80 To see Dr. Walter at 2:45. It took some doing but I got him to use word Parkinson as my problem. He said that we caught it early. Also said that the drugs I am taking will arrest its development. All very reassuring. He was most friendly kissing Layna and shaking my hand. He is a great psychologist and we left feeling very optimistic.
10/21/80 A chilly day but forecast for rain helped make up our minds. We went for “one more trip” to island. Almost forgot to mention visiting with our neighbors, the Arnold Johnsons. Should have done more of that last summer. We picked up Ann Glennie and off to “Sewer Meeting” in Falls. About a hundred people were told that if all goes well we will have a sewer system by 1983 - 4.
10/22/80 To goose feed at Froehlichs. We could plainly see that Barit was very nervous concerning the outcome. She had no reason to be. Everything 100% - including the goose.
10/23/80 Layna to Republican Women’s meeting. Buck came about 2 p.m. We had a good visit for couple of hours. He is good company. He rarely speaks ill of anyone. He, also, had heard that Ted Hall was selling the Chronicle to Pat Bartlett group. SAD!
10/25/80 It is 3 years since I brought the Hvoslef table from Camp Koochiching. I sanded down the top at the time but lost interest. I gave it my best shot for a couple of hours today. I should have it done by Christmas.
10/26/80 TV full of commercials on elections. Tomorrow night the two candidates meet head on in debate. Mondale appeared on “Face the Nation” this a.m. and handled himself very well.
10/27/80 School day for Karen in Superior and Layna had agreed to go with her in our car. I was invited to go along and at the last minute, decided to go. We went shopping at new mall. No major purchases. I went to B. Dalton book store and read up on Parkinsons from 3 different health manuals. They all agreed that it was a slow moving, insidious ailment - Layna and I had a chance to talk it over and agreed it could be worse, and we are prepared to face whatever develops. Supper at Perkins and off for home at 7:45. We are proud of our gal who has taken on such a tremendous work load.
