4/30/83 I bought Chris a bird book and he studied it off and on (between bouts with the TV) all day. He is sharp and made good progress. Robin picked the kids up so Layna could prepare for the Einarsons and Caldwells. Byrne and Carole came about 4:30. They had driven from Chicago non-stop. They joined the party, but feebly. Byrne dozed off and on and finally folded about 9:30. Some high class conversation. Francis on UFOs, Bruce on fish and wildlife, Byrne on computers, me on early Rainy Lake.
5/1/83 Lake opened. Took Byrne and Carole on grand tour. I think they were impressed by the development in Island View area.
5/2/83 George Rayman had given us 25 small sunfish fillets last fall. We have held them waiting for the proper occasion. We decided to break into them today. They were eaten with “gusto”. Buck and Dale, Byrne and Carole, Layna, Don, Bern Minter, Karen. Buck cooked fish on grill in yard. The fillets were about size of a silver dollar - delicious! A real feast with some real people - the highlight of the season - FUN.
5/3/83 Byrne did not want to leave before fixing shop lights. We decided on a quick trip to island - all 4 of us. No lunch. It developed into quite a project. He finished at 3:00 p.m. Time not wasted. Carole and Layna raked and raked. Back to #265 by 3:30. Layna made lunch and they were gone by 5:00. A most enjoyable and productive 3 days.
5/4/83 To see Erle and Harriet Thompson at 7:00. They had a great winter in Florida but came home to much work. A rather amazing thing. Before leaving last fall they hid a lot of their valuables too well. They can’t find much of it!
5/5/83 Moine Schwankl here at 1:30 to complete interview for Historical Society. Not bad. To Junior College at 8:15 where Karen gave a “One Woman” 2 hour presentation. She has been working on it for a long time and the results showed it. A good crowd - mostly women, were generous with their applause. We were a couple of proud old coots when we left and heard the compliments.
5/7/83 Karen, the 3 kids, friend John Langdon, Layna and I to island at 11:00 a.m. A full load for 16’ Cadillac. The lake fairly rough. John a good listener - and we were willing to talk. Back to #265 at 4:20. Karen and John took off, leaving kids with us. They were good, stayed all night.
5/8/83 Mothers’ Day. To Ruth Teeters for brunch. 10 guests for a fancy feed. Much good talk. Karen and kids here for supper. Bobby kicked Layna. When he ran past me I tripped him. Much commotion. This is what I wrote on my card to Layna: “To my dear wife Layna, who has so much love that she can lavish it on her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and still have enough left over for a helpless old man. Your grateful husband of 57 years, Don.”
5/9/83 To town where I bought a pair of tennis shoes ($24.00) and a pair of slacks. Same price. We are planning to have Klaus Schumacher help us at island. He has proven himself to be a good little worker. We stopped to see Gina Erickson. She is 90 years old and is all alone. Arden comes home every other weekend. Paul Anderson comes to check every day. “I suppose he will find me lying dead one of these days - and a good thing.” I am full of remorse over the fact that we have not visited her more.
5/10/83 My stomach feeling rotten in a.m. Do you suppose it is those damned pills? Well, if they keep me reasonably happy otherwise, I won’t complain.
5/11/83 Letter from Bill Leopard enclosing a 5 of diamonds. A long story from Mando days. Gerry and I were partners in a cribbage game against Leopard and Sappington. We needed 12 holes to go out - my first count. I proudly laid down a dozen hand, two 10’s and two 5’s. All well till Leopard noticed there were two 5’s of diamonds! No explanation. They never let me forget it and periodically I get a card with the 5 of diamonds on it.
5/12/83 Jim Froehlich, Layna and I to island to hook up plumbing. Not much help from me but Jim didn’t need it. He had the whole system hooked up by 12:30 but hit a snag when he found a broken pipe along main house. By a great deal of ingenuity and using scraps of material, he got it fixed. Another piece of pipe broken near big cabin. He held the pipe with one hand while he cut and threaded it with the other. What a man!
5/13/83 To the bank to straighten out our finances. We keep gaining - that is, our income is greater than our outgo. We have been real proud of the way Karen has taken charge of her life and that of her kids. She has been good with us - never complaining, altho we realize it hasn’t been easy for her. To show our appreciation and support, we gave her a substantial check. It was a heart-warming experience.
5/14/83 Wrote letters to Bill Leopard and the Burrocks. The words don’t come easy and my writing (hand) deteriorates as I go along. Layna says the letters were good. A bit biased, I fear.
5/15/83 Layna had invited Jim Banks and Ruth for duck dinner at 6:00. They called at 5:30 and asked if OK to bring 2 grandchildren. “Bring them along.” In the meantime, Layna had invited Gene Monahan. That meant 7 people to eat 3 small ducks. It was like the loaves and fishes of the Bible. Layna was equal to the task, as usual, and found food for all. The ducks were tough! Good talk between Indians and Gene.
5/17/83 Buck put the Edwards boat in water. Our Larson needs repairs and we need a bigger boat. I would welcome criticism from any of that family. They, like many others, feel free to use any equipment on NWI from boat cushions to laundry and shower. However, they are very possessive about the smallest detail. We will see.
5/20/83 Today I took my guns out and gave them a good treatment with WD40. They should last the summer. I plan to give most of them away. SAD!
5/21/83 Met Lisa and Denny at airport. Buck, Dale, Bern the others in welcome committee. The kids looked great including little Timmy. Layna suggested we go out to eat and I agreed. To Island View. A busy place but we got good service. I never thot I’d live to see the day we would pay $25.75 for a meal. Bought rope for the Edwards boat to replace the rags that were on it. Reminded me of story about Terry. He rescued a stalled boat near Black Point and towed it to marina. When the boatman offered him $20 Terry said “Keep it and buy yourself some rope.”
5/22/83 We went to Mexico by proxy. We read from 1968 and 1972 diaries and between us, we remembered everything. FUN!
5/23/83 To see Dr. Walter. I was concerned about the fluttering in my right ear. He took a look and he got concerned. He checked me with some kind of a gadget. Said, “Oh, Aw,” and gave Layna some medicine to cut the wax in the ear. He refilled our other pills for $31. We are good drug store customers.
5/24/83 Linda F. came to mow lawn. A good job done by a cute girl. She was amazed when we offered her $10 and we settled for $8.00. Karen came at 5:30 bringing Jo Cassidy and sister Susan & her fiancé, also 3 kids who did not behave too well, also most of a fine dinner including champagne.
5/25/83 To Clinic at 10:30. Dr. Walter flushed out my ear and gave me more pills - I wonder where the saturation point is.
5/26/83 Off for the wedding at 9:00 a.m. Stopped in Duluth and picked up the Jernbergs. A good supper for just the family and to bed early. We were given a room at the next door neighbor, the Ottnos.
5/27/83 Mighty were the preparations going on around us but Bert Jernberg and I not in it. Our single contribution was to fold 200 wedding programs. We played a few games of cribbage - I won. Sally found time to feed her expanded family. Back to Ottnos for the night.
