Deaths in the Family

Two cousins passed away this week.  I guess that shows how old we are getting. 

Arne Karlsson, a 3rd cousin of my Dad lived in Skee Sweden, very close to the Sweden - Norway border not so far from Oslo Norway. 

We got to know Arne from our genealogical research started in the late 1990s.  At the 1999 Millennial Hanson family reunion, cousin Albert brought the naturalization paper of one of the Swedish brothers who came to Wisconsin.  It gave the name of Hjalmstad Sweden as the "from" location and Red Wing MN as the "too."

After a several kindnesses of volunteers we managed to find Arne still living on the farm and in the house my GG grandfather Olaus Hansson built.  Arne was my father's generation, great grandson of Olaus. His grandmother and Dad's grandfather were sister and brother, the sister staying in Sweden. 

A neighbor, Stefan, sent us some photos of Arne by email.  It was the first connection anyone in our family knew about in 100+ years. 

Arne, his wife Lillian, his sister Mary and son Raymon, and Stefan all visited us in 2002 in MN.  We drove out to western MN where our common ancestor, Olaus is buried.  In 2003, Margo and I returned and visited them in Sweden.  In the 4 weeks of visiting over two years, we became friends as well as reestablishing cousinship.  

Arne was, as far as I can tell, the very last of the family who actually milked cows, and kept cattle and ran his own farm.  He was 82 years old.  He was a modern farmer with tractors and combines, but loved horses.  He had a wonderful collection of old buggies, wagons, carriages, and carts.  He had been a farrier in his early days before taking over the farm his great grandfather Olaus had started.  

 The family home in Sweden with around the table entertaining the American branch. 

Arne with the cane walking one of the farm paths that have been walked by our family since at least 1850 or more.  

The Skee, Sweden, church where generations of our family lie. 

Bronze age burial mounds along the Church Walk -- the path that generations of our family walked to church.  I asked Arne, "Do you think they might contain our relatives?"  "There is no reason to think are relatives are not buried here."  

Arne and his grandson Anton filling a bag with soil from the Olaus Hansson farm for his cousin to bring back to America and sprinkle on the graves of the three Swedish brothers and their father who came to America, leaving the daugher to continue the family farm here.  Anton and my son Scott are both 6th generation descendants of Olaus Hansson. 

Dad and Mom at the end of the table with our Swedish visitors at the Wisconsin Hanson farm 2002.  Everyone in the photo for Stephan on the left has passed away.  Dad and Arne were 3rd cousins -- American and Swedish branches. Each of their farms were about the same size and the two likely could have traded farms and felt at home farming in each other's country.  

******

  Cousin Marlys Haselhuhn Bergeron

Dad was one of 8 children of Pearl and Hannah Hanson.  He was number 7 and Esther was number 8.  Both are gone and their children are moving into the mature years too.  

Esther married Ralph Haselhuhn and they lived in the Centuria/Milltown area.  They had two children, Mike and Marlys, twins.  Mike called me this afternoon to let me know Marlys Haselhuhn Bergeron had passed away and the funeral was Tuesday.  
I had many first cousins through my Dad's side.  Sadly, many of them have passed away leaving a small and scattered group left.  We see each other mostly at funerals.  Tuesday will be the next gathering at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in St Croix Falls, visitation at 10am, services at 11.  

The front right girl smiling broadly is Marlys at the Wolf Creek School sitting by her friend Sharon Harris.  Next row back is brother Marv and our cousin Mike -- Marlys' twin brother.  Behind them is Jerry Jansen.  Alphabetical with the H's and a J.  

I will add the obituary when I get it.  

In reviewing my 1st cousin generation from Dad's side,  still left are:  Glenn, Ardyce, Brad, Harvey, Mike, Pat, Norman, and brothers Ev, Marv and me.  Gone are Allen, Deloris, Betty, Vernon, Marley, and brother Byron. Several others died at birth or as babies, as we are still of that generation where birth too often took away babies and sometimes mothers.  

  Tuesday will be another gathering of the cousins to say goodbye to the group of kids I remember so well. 

Visitation 10:00 AM  Funeral 11:00 AM Jan 27th
Redeemer Lutheran Church
200 North Adams, St. Croix Falls, WI 54024, United States

Obituary for Marlys P Bergeron
Marlys P. Bergeron, age 73 of Centuria died on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at the St. Croix Falls Regional Medical Center in St. Croix Falls.

Marlys was born on November 25, 1941 in Rice Lake to parents, Ralph and Esther (Hanson) Haselhuhn. She attended Wolf Creek School through the 7th grade and then attended Centuria High School graduating in 1960. She married Carlos Bergeron on May 4, 1961and they soon started their family with the birth of their first child, Carmen. Marlys worked doing child care and elderly care before taking a job at the St. Croix Falls Hospital in the housekeeping department where she worked for 25 years retiring in 2003. Marlys loved doing crossword puzzles, reading, playing cribbage, gardening and canning. She especially loved her Turtle Sundae’s at Dairy Queen! She will be remembered as a happy and joyful person who always had a smile.

Marlys is survived by her husband, Carlos; children, Charles (Angie) Bergeron of Fall Creek; Carmen (Steve) Holten of Centuria and Julie (David) Thaemert of Centuria; grandchildren, Michael, Josh, Ashley, Nathan, Jamie, Josh, Brooke, Luke, CJ, Alex, Evelyn and Katie as well as her 11 great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Michael (LouAnn) Haselhuhn of Turtle Lake. She is preceded in death by her parents, son, James in 2002 and an infant daughter in 1964.

Lagoo Family

In thinking about Memorial Day 2015 at the Wolf Creek Cemetery, some of the SELHS members suggested we take the 5 Lagoo brothers who were World War II veterans from Wolf Creek.  Back in 2005, one of the family wrote up a history for the River Road Ramblings Newspaper column.  

The photos and information about the Lagoo family from Marlys Swanson Sacia.   

Orvil Widvey's painting of the Lagoo House at Wolf Creek

Joe Lagoo -- father.  He was, according to his daughter, 1/4 Chippewa.

Mother -- Scandinavian Amanda Peterson Fors 

The Lagoo sons were Albin, Eldie, Edwin, Andy and John.  Daughter Alice was one of the original members of the Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical society.  Her daughter Marlys has done much family history and provided me with the photos and a writeup of the family back in 2005.  

Here is part of it
Lagoo Family History -- Marlys Sacia
 My mother, Alice Lagoo Swanson (1921-2003) was a charter member of the Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society.  She had always been interested in local and family history.    Much of the following information is from her memories of stories told to her by her father, Joe Lagoo (1877-1951).  More recently I have filled in some bits and pieces by doing a little Internet research.  

  Decedents of the Lagoo (Lego, Legault Deslauriers, Deloria) have lived in northwestern Wisconsin since the mid 1800s.  Oliver (Levi) Legault Dit Deslauriers was born in Montreal, Canada in 1818.  His wife, Charlotte, was born in 1822 and we believe was from the Cadotte family of Chippewa’s from Madeline Island, Wisconsin.  Church records indicate that they were married by Father Barage on Jan 6, 1839 at La Pointe, WI.   Oliver was a hunter and trapper and some sources say that he was a party to the treaty at La Pointe.  

The name Lagoo is probably a phonetic spelling of the French name Legault.  The many variations of the last name make tracing family history confusing.  Each generation  used many of the same first names.  This adds to the confusion of keeping track of who was in which generation or branch of the family.  I think that Oliver and Charlotte had at least six children.   Benjamin (Sophia Cadott,), Levi (Sarah Martin), John (Mary Shambo), Mary (Jack Arbuckle), Vitaline (Joe Powers), and Elizabeth (John Mitchell).  Elizabeth (Lizzie) was a baby when they traveled to this area.  Her daughter, Hattie Mitchell Nelson, told the story that her mother was riding in the back of the wagon and bounced off.  Fortunately they had not gone too far before noticing that she was missing.  

We assume that Oliver (Levi) and Charlotte lived in this area for a while since most of their children originally had some ties to this area.  However, we do not know where Oliver and Charlotte were living in later years or where they are buried.  A Levi Lagoo is listed on the tax rolls at St. Croix Falls in 1849.  His property was valued at $50 and he paid a tax of thirty-five cents.    Son, Benjamin once lived in the Town of Sterling probably around the area now known as Lego Creek.  His son, Levi, lived near Cushing but moved to Federal Dam, MN.  Daughters Mary and Vitaline married and lived in the area of the Clam River.  Lizzie raised her family in the Taylors Falls area.  John (Joe Lagoo’s father) married Mary Shambo on December 1866 in Polk County.  

It is interesting to note that John’s last name is listed on the Polk county marriage records as Deloria while his brother Benjamin who was married that same year uses the name Lego when he married Sophia Cadotte.  By 1879 when John homestead 160 acres in Eureka Township (North West quarter of Section twelve in Township thirty five, north of Range nineteen West in the District of lands subject to sale at Falls St Croix, Wisconsin, containing one hundred and sixty acres), we know that John was using the name Lego because that is what is on the homestead certificate.  John’s three children who died at a young age are buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery and the name Deloria is on their stone. We believe that Mary is also buried at Pleasant Hill but there is no marker.  Mary’s Mother Charlotte and Charlotte’s second husband, John Rice, are buried in the Wolf Creek Cemetery.  John Rice and his son Tusang were Civil war Veterans.  

John and Mary had seven other children.  Benjamin, Frank, Joseph, Albert, Nira, Lottie (Charlotte), & Maude.   John and Mary and four of their children are listed in the 1880 United States census as living in Eureka, Polk, Wisconsin.  

An old news clipping written by E.E. Husband in 1953 about Polk county wild game stories relates that  “John Lego, Sterling, sold 19 deer to P.B. Lacy, St Croix Falls merchant, in January 1873.”  Husband also says that  “Wild game was legal tender in pioneer days.   J. N. Johnson of Osceola sold and shipped 5,000 pounds of venison in December 1877.  Markets called for the best of meat and old timers have told about hauling just the saddles or hind quarters, to Stillwater.”  John Lagoo was a farmer, hunter, trapper, and also worked in the woods.  After his wife, Mary, died, John sometimes lived in the area of Cloquet, MN, where he had another daughter, Rose Lagoo Ritchie.  He died there in 1914. 
    Of  John’s children, only Joe Lagoo remained in this immediate area.    Alice thinks that her father attended a school call the Nash School in the Eureka area.  Joe married Amanda Fors (1893-1978) (her parents, Vedick and Wilhelmina, came here from Sweden in the early 1880s and sometimes used the name Peterson) in 1911 in the town of Sterling.  Marriage records show that they were married by George E. Wilson, Justice of the Peace in and for the County of Polk.   
    Joe and Amanda raised seven children in the Town of Sterling.  (Albin, 1911-1977;  Eldie, 1914-1976;  Edwin (nicknamed Dick because he had blue eyes like his Swedish Grandfather, Vedick), 1914-1984;  Andy, (nicknamed Buck because he favored his Indian ancestry) 1916-1985;  Alice, 1921-2003;  John Levi, 1924-1997;  and Mary who was born in 1920 and now resides in the Good Samaritan Home in St Croix Falls.)  They lived in various places around Sterling but lived the longest in the home where daughter Alice and many of her siblings were born.
            As a teenager (early 1930s), neighbor Orlow Widvey painted a picture of the Lagoo Home.   He used a Holly Sugar bag for the canvas of the oil painting.  About 25 years ago Orlow gave the painting to my mother Alice Lagoo Swanson.  Another old neighbor and rural mail carrier, Wally Peterson, made a frame for it from old barn boards.    The home was located at the southwest corner of River Road and Sunny Acres Lane.  Looking at the painting of the small home now, it is hard to imagine nine people living there.  Alice remembers it having a kitchen and living area and a small bedroom downstairs. A screened porch offered some relief in the hot summers of the 1930s. Upstairs there were two small attic rooms, one for the older boys and one for Mary, Alice, and baby brother Levi.

Mandy and Joe didn’t actually farm but always had a big garden and raised a few animals.  Sometimes Mandy sold butter and eggs.  Mandy was often called upon by a neighbors to help deliver a baby and would sometimes receive a pig or lamb for payment Mandy’s mother was also a midwife.    Joe worked at Nevers Dam and also the WPA (Works Project

Administration) in the 1930s. Some of the boys worked for the Civilian Conservation Corp during the depression.  Money that they earned was sent home to help out the family.  Alice also remembers that a couple of her brothers rode the rails out west to try and find work.  All five boys served in the military during World War II.   Joe and Mandy never owned a car.  They used horse and buggy as their transportation around the area until their horse, Babe, died in 1942.

            In the mid 1940s they bought the Hanson place on the corner of G and River Road.  At that time County G did not follow its present path.  There was a road between the house and the creek.   Some history says that this property was once the location of one of Wolf Creek’s two Black Smith shops.  A wooden dam on Wolf Creek was located just south of the property.   Great grandson Brad Swenson and his family now live on the property.  There was an old barn near the location of Brad’s garage.

            Mandy worked hard but always had time to have fun and to be a good neighbor.  She was known in the area for doing monologs at various community functions.  She cooked delicious simple meals.   She was probably happiest working at or sitting in the corner by her old wood cook stove.  There was always a pot of beans, fresh baked biscuits, and snickerdoodle cookies for who ever might stop by. 

             There wasn’t a well on the property so drinking water was hauled from neighbors in cream cans.  A pail and dipper sat on the kitchen counter right next to the cookie jar.  No one seemed to mind that everyone drank from the same dipper.  Milk came from a quart jar from a neighbor’s farm.  A telephone call could be made by going to Roger’s Store where you could also get a huge ice cream cone for a nickel.  Water from the rain barrel was used for washing.  The wringer washing machine that sat on the porch was a

 luxury that was not available until electricity became common place in the 1940s.   The many inconveniences were just an accepted way of life and Mandy made everyone feel comfortable in her humble home.   

*****
1910 US Government Hearings on the NW Wisconsin Indians. From book:  Page 628    
https://books.google.com/books?id=WtQqAAAAYAAJ
   (Mary Lagoo Arbuckle)

STATEMENT OF MARY ARBUCKLE.

Mary Arbuckle, a Bad River Indian, having been first duly sworn by the chairman, testified as follows:

Mrs. Arbuckle. My name was Mary Lague before I was married.

The Chairman. Where were you born?

Mrs. Arbuckle. I was born up to Marion.

The Chairman. In Minnesota.

Mrs. Abbuckle. Yes. sir.

The Chairman. You are of Indian blood?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes; I am a half breed.

The Chairman. Of what tribe?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Well, the La Pointe tribe. That is what we belonged to.

The Chairman. La Pointe band of Chippewa Indians?

Mrs. Arbuckle. My mother was born there. She was raised there and married there.

The Chairman. What was her name?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Charlotte Cadot. Her father was Gus Cadot, and ho used to keep the trading posts all over there—La Pointe and Superior. He used to trade with the Indians all the time. Of course, my mother, she was quite young when her mother died. After her mother died then the old folks took her. Then the old folks died, and they put her in the missionary school. Then she was married from there to a man by the name of Lague.

The Chairman. Where was she married ?

Mrs. Arbuckle. At La Pointe.

The Chairman. And then afterwards they went down to Marion?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes. sir.

The Chairman. Did they live there long?

Mrs. Arbuckle. No, sir; I was not a year old when they moved there. They moved up to the Falls.

The Chairman. St. Croix Falls?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes; St. Croix Falls on the Wisconsin.

The Chairman. On the Wisconsin side?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes; the Wisconsin side.

The Chairman. How long did they live there?

Mrs. Arbuckle. They lived there until I was quite a girl. I guess I must have been about——

The Chairman..Where did you move to then?

Mrs. Arbuckle. From there we—well, we lived there on along until she raised her family, and then we were on a farm a little ways from there.

The Chairman. How long have you lived here at Odanah?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Well, it is going on eight months since we moved up here.

The Chairman. And you moved up from St. Croix Falls?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Moved from Shell Lake; about 11 miles from Shell Lake we had our farm, and we sold our farm.

The Chairman. Is your husband a white man.

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes. sir; he is a white man.

The Chairman. And you have never been put on the rolls here?

Mrs. Arbuckle. No, sir; not here, but in Shell Lake; there was an agent there, and he called up all of the Indians, you know, there that belonged there.

The Chairman. That was Mr. Allen, wasn't it?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes, sir. That belonged up here, and so

The Chairman. Have you ever applied to the council or committee up here?

Mr.s. Arbuckle. No. sir; I did not. 1 was going to. I came downhere when they were holding the council, of course, and I asked about it.

The Chairman. Your name is on the Allen list.

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes; it was down there.

The Chairman. That is all, I guess.

Mrs. Arbuckle. So they didn't have time to bother with me, they were putting down other names, and I have got my two girls I would like to put on.

The Chairman. Aren't they on the Allen list?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes, sir: I think they are. Here is the paper that was made out [producing a paper].

The Chairman. All you .can do here is to give this evidence. If they are on the Allen list then they will follow whatever becomes of the Allen list, probably. We can't do anything except take the evidence.

Mrs. Arbuckle. I think they are.

The Chairman. Are your girls married?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Yes, sir; two girls married. Only one now, and the other one is a widow. She lost her husband.

The Chairman. What was your daughter's husband's name?

Mrs. Arbuckle. Ferguson, and one is named Nell Powers. That is the oldest girl. I didn't have them all on. I don't think. One was John Arbuckle, one Matty Arbuckle, the other one was Joe, the other Lizzie, one Ledy Arbuckle. and Mary Arbuckle. I don't know whether he put them all on or not.

The Chairman. Was Ben Lague a member of your family?

Mrs. Arbuckle. He is a brother of mine.

The Chairman. Do you know where he is enrolled?

Mrs. Abbuckle. Well, I know he was at White Earth, but I haven't heard since. I don't know what he is doing there. I haven't heard from him for years, only what I get from other people that goes over there.

The Chairman. That is all, I think.

Mr. Beaulieu. Well, with regard to the Mille Lac Indians; I represented them about twelve years. I looked after their interests, and I wanted to ascertain where they were living, but during the last twelve years I had a great deal to do with (heir removal; that is, I assisted them to select allotments after they removed to White Earth. In fact, up to this week I gave an estimate to the Chippewa Commission, just before I left—and I arrived in Mille Lac on Tuesday night, where I have been to look after the interests of those Indians, and. of course. T inquired where the Indians were. I knew them. I knew most of the families. ;ind I have a list that is an original list, an enrollment list, and I inquired where they were—and I will say that this is this family allotment—and the Indians would tell me, that they were living at Tamarack or at Sandstone. They called the St. Croix River 'Kechesebe.’ and they say they live on both sides of the river.

SenatorPage. Did you ascertain where they lived, how they existed fifty or sixty years ago, or did you make our investigation to cover the present time ?

Mr. Beaulieu. No, sir; there were a good many Indians who claimed to belong to Mille Lac. and in 1902 there was $40,000 paid to them for their improvements, and at that time those St. Croix Indians claimed that some of their relatives and parents lived there and that they were heirs to the improvements that had been made there, and at that time I looked it up and found out that those Indians lived all along Snake River and the St. Croix. 

SELHS Christmas Party

The 2014 Christmas Party for the Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society was held at President Mark's home.   We had a potluck lunch and a lot of visiting.  

After lunch, the men and women separated and visited, and talked about local history as well as who was back from the hospital and who had passed away and so on.  

Mark had some items out on the table for us to identify 

No one knew what this was.  It is about 6-8 inches long and the spindles rotate and the dual spindle part rotates with a staple-like lock in position hook at the bottom. 

 A finger leather tool for cutting narrow strips of leather -- like shoestrings. 

 A portable harness riveter. 

Partially shown hand clipper, and another harness too for punching or riveting leather. 

The men's discussion centered around North Dakota as George Laier told us his father, Mike, homesteaded near Williston in 1908 and stayed a few years before returning to WI.  George Williamson said his grandfather, John Nelson, homesteaded in North Dakota and was out there for a few years too about the same time.  Mark's relatives lived in ND for a time too.  All of us had connections to folks who had tried it out and sold out long before the oil boom, or we probably would all be millionaires now. 

George Laier mentioned that he and Lloyd Westlund started the Cushing Rifle Club in the back of the north bar his Dad owned. He thought it was in the 1950s.  We decided that would be a good topic for a newsletter for SELHS. 

We discussed which veteran in the Wolf Creek Cemetery should be singled out for Memorial Day special research.   We decided the 5 Lagoo Boys, who all served in World War II would be a good project and we think that one of the relatives, Marlys, may already have done our research work for us.  Russ H will contact her and see about this.    Each year we do a booklet on a soldier in Wolf Creek Cemetery for Memorial Day and try to get relatives to come and help us remember their service. 

In trying to remember the Lagoo names, we came up with 
Buck, Dick, Levi, Eldie, and Andy, but were not quite sure if we got this right, and of course these are nicknames.  I will make my next post about the Lagoo Family and we can check on the information there. 

A Deep Subject

Finally broke down and had Brad Swanson, a neighbor at Eureka Well Repair out to consult on my pump problems.  

The immediate fix was pretty easy--turn the pressure back to 40/20, re-fuse the whole works and let the well pump under less stress.  I had turned it up to 45/25 hoping to get a spray from the shower instead of a drizzle.  

The water tank should be replaced as it gets "waterlogged" with the air leak and soon fills up totally with water and messes up the pressure and pump starting up.  The old large tank needed for a farm could be replaced by a 20 gallon one with a rubber bladder inside to keep from getting waterlogged. 

The leaking seals in the top are, as he explained to me, some leathers in an above the pipe pressure chamber that is leaking, and could be replaced.  Then we would have a working system.  

I told him that I though the well system was pulled up about 15 years ago by a Brust.  "Well, I took over Brust's business.  He died in 1988, so it was likely sometime before that--maybe 20 years ago." 

The whole system is not up to any modern code, but could all be repaired.  I asked him about the replacement options to get a more modern system. 

"The cylinder at the bottom of the 90 foot well has leathers that wear out.  The rod inside the pipe can wear holes in the pipe. 20 years on a system like this is pretty good, and  you should think about an upgrade when the weather improves."

"Well," he said thinking about it for a while, "we would need to pull the old well pipes, extend the 4-inch well casing higher above ground and test the water drawing capacity in the current casing."   If it pumped enough with a submersible pump, we could just hook that up with a new tank, pump, tubing, power, etc.   Probably looking at $2500 for a full new setup."   

He went on to say, "As the well has a 4 inch casing rather than a 6 inch one, we can't deepen it if that would be needed, and a new well would need to be drilled -- about a day's effort here at 100 feet deep.  That costs $32/foot.  You would need to run an underground power line to the house and put the tank in the basement."  Probably around $6000."    

The current fix will get us through until summer, and then we will see if Margo scrimps on her hair cuts, medications, and gadding about, if we can scrape up the money. 

I asked Brad who his father was -- as it appeared his father might be about my age.  Reuben Swanson.   Turns out we know him from a couple of years of the Eureka Farmer's Market where he sold birdhouses and we sold maple syrup.  

I took a drizzle shower this morning after he left, and it was OK but not great.   I suppose I might go to drycleaning fluid instead.  

There is no end to the lurking problems on an old farm.  Problem is that unless Margo goes back to work, a few thousand here and a few thousand there (roofs, furnaces, pumps...) and pretty soon we will be down the drain too.   

Brad Swanson of Eureka Pump Repair came exactly at 8:00 AM on the day he promised and spent the time I wanted getting me functional and discussing the possibilities for the future.  The cost for the service call was $75 and well worth it.  I can think about the next step not under pressure.  Water is an ignored utility until something goes wrong. 

Cat, the Other White Meat

Cat: The Other White Meat (Written as a letter to the editor in the local newspaper December 2009 when WI hunters were discussing Cat Hunting)

Wisconsin is proposing a controversial hunting season on wild cats to save trillions of songbirds now eaten each year. We need to examine this issue rationally and calmly and debate the merits.   I don't have a pet cat but understand this issue emotionally too.  I love my goldfish Judy, but understand the need to ruthlessly destroy her cousins, the flying carp, now threatening the Mississippi.

The non-game wildlife check off (chickadee check off) on tax forms currently provides what little funding is available to support songbirds that cats voraciously gobble down.  Support for most other wildlife comes from licenses and fees paid by hunters.  Cat hunting licenses and cat stamps fees could raise millions of dollars to be shared supporting songbirds, pet shelters and improving wild cat habitat and research.

Hunters need to be persuaded that cats are challenging and rewarding game for this to be successful.  Wild cats put rabbits to shame in their wary elusiveness.  Like deer, after a few close encounters, they become leery of hunters and a great challenge

With proper preparation and marination, feral cats lose their gamey flavor and are truly a delicacy.  One full grown cat provides as much food as 7 mourning doves.

Although there could be a domestic market for cat fur coats, especially kitten coats, it would not be wise to flagrantly offend PETA.  A better market would be bleaching them white and relabeling as Faux Baby Harp Seal and selling them in foreign countries like LA and NYC.  This would take the pressure off of those cute over-clubbed baby seals whose blood is so red on the white snow on the TV news. 

Hunting season would be like that for squirrels and rabbits and other vermin anytime on your own property, but only January-March elsewhere.  This fills a gap now in the hunting year and would thin the cat population when it is most in danger of starving. Pet cats would be safely inside during the winter months.

This letter-to-the-editor from January 2009 by the Rambler was an attempt to try writing in a satirical mode ala Jonathan Swift's  "Modest Proposal"  to solve the baby problem in the 1700s in Ireland by raising babies for the food market.  Most folks picked up the satirical intent.   

Entropic Thoughts: What Need Fixing Today?

Another morning dawned clear and cold -- -11 F here on the farm.  A few inches of snow fell last night and drifted hear and there about the yard, but none quite so deep as to have to be cleared away to get the car out to the road.  

Mom always insisted on having us put up a snow fence on the west side of the driveway "to catch the snow before it drifts over the driveway."   The north-south driveway is open to the west where the winds mostly come from.   Last year, that of the big snows, I had it up but it caught so much snow even set back farther than usual, the driveway was always drifted. 

So, being daring, and not having Mom giving me orders, I didn't put one up this year.   It has been much better that way as the snow that blows through from the west just continues on and ends up filling someone else's driveway over by Luck.  

At our Pine Island home, on the windswept prairies of southern MN, our leaves and snow mostly blows on through too, so we expected this to be the same up here.  

However, the yard did get a few drifts in the lee of the buildings, so decided to start the snow blower when it got up to -1 at noon.  Of course, it didn't start--battery not enough life to turn it over, so put on the charger for a few minutes and it started up and I blew and plowed the yard clean.  The battery has been in the Cub Cadet for two many years (3) but unless it is below zero works fine -- should get through to next fall and then I will re-battery it.  

However, nothing is easy.  The plastic hood on the Cub is connected to a metal spring-loaded lift by four small bolts screwed into 4 flimsy plastic standoffs molded into the hood itself.  Over the years first one, came loose than another, and today the other two gave up.  I could lift the hood right off the garden tractor and, unhooking the wires to the lights, set it aside.  

The whole plastic hood (cowling?) is sort of flimsy, flexible and cheaply made.  The old cub and my regular mower have metal hoods with really bolts into metal hinges, unlike this $3000 plastic model.  My father-in-law bought it new maybe 10 years ago or so and passed it to Margo when he sold his farm.  

Well, after a little time on the charger, hoodless, and almost up to zero, it started up fine and worked fine too.  Although the wind whipped some of the snow back onto the engine where it sizzled and fogged my vision a little.  I brought the hood in the house to warm up and studied the problem. 

On the right are 4 plastic standoffs. Each is supposed to have a molded insert threaded for a bolt on the Cub.  They have pulled out and the stand offs have crumbled, split and loosened 

The hood top has no indication of the standoff underneath.  Thinking about drilling through it--although that doesn't seem very elegant.

Still messing around with the pump system.  Seems to blow the fuse when hooked up normally, so I ran an extension cord from the garage to the pump shed.  I leave the heating lights plugged to it, unless inside the house the pressure drops too low, and then I go out and plug in the pump and run it for a couple of minutes.  I ran cords outside the building as it is a nuisance to lift off the cover and open the insulation to look at the pressure gauge. 

I think the pressure switch may be bad or maybe some other wiring at fault.   It is too cold to mess with it right now, so I am getting by.  Problem is if I run it too long, may put in too much pressure and damage something else.  The pressure gauge inside seems to be off anyway so looking wouldn't help anyway.    A week from today the forecast is back around 30, so I am waiting and being careful for now.

Sometimes I am tempted to sell everything we have, including the houses and land except for the 38 acres on the lake, and then build a completely trouble free house and garage overlooking the lake and buy a completely trouble free tractor with attachments and a completely trouble free automobile.  Of course, one can never get a trouble free wife, so that would gum things up. 

   Then I realize that my purpose in life is really to lessen the entropy* in the universe, and get back to fixing something.  

* Entropy:  the gradual decline into disorder (thought to be the natural state of the universe--energy has to be applied to a system to decrease entropy -- so mowing the lawn, cleaning the car, washing dishes, and collecting history and putting it into books are all examples of lessening entropy).   

Can you think of a better goal in life than decreasing entropy? 

Some folks say the original energy that organized the world (God in some folks mind, a big bang in others) put in one massive burst of energy and everything has been in inexorable decline since except for periods when huge inputs of energy (oil, coal...) have given brief respite.  Our sun burning itself gradually into oblivion was the burst of energy that allowed life on earth to temporarily give the appearance that entropy can be defeated. 

  No structure, even an artificial one, enjoys the process of entropy. It is the ultimate fate of everything, and everything resists it.” 

― Philip K. Dick, Galactic Pot-Healer 

Resisting entropy's siren call for another day, I remain steadfast in repairing everything in my own domain ;-)

Water Shortage on the Farm

Update:  5:00 pm, water is running again on the farm after a waterless day.  The heater thawed things out and everything seems to be functional.    A video of the farm water system can be seen at 
Hanson Water Well

Woke up at 6:30 am and took a shower and noticed the water pressure dropped until barely running in the shower and faucets.  Something wrong with the farm water system!  

Since the water ran in the house at first, that means the water line to the house from the outside pump shed 100 feet away was not frozen--just the pump not starting up and pumping new water.

It was not quite as cold as the other morning, only about -12F, so didn't think the well house had frozen.   The well, pump and water tank are in an small separate highly insulated building between the house and the barn.  The walls have a foot of wood shavings between inner and outer walls with removable styrofoam over the top and then a removable roof over that.

The Pump Shed 

Filled a few containers with the last of the water and warned Margo not to flush the toilet (a 4 gallon model) and as it got light -- 8 am, popped the cover on the well house and removed the Styrofoam to look inside.   Nothing obvious:  belt on the motor to the pumpjack still fine.  Didn't seem frozen, but then noticed the two 60 watt "heater" light bulbs were off.

Looking into the pump shed.  Note the temporary heater propped up between motor and pump casing.  I think the rod coming out of the casing (attached to the two pump jack arms) was frozen.

Must be a fuse blown.  So went to the barn fuse box from where the underground wire to the pump originates, removed the blown fuse and plugged it in and heard sort of a pop.  Fuse burned out almost immediately.

Two fuses on the switch on the pump house exterior

Two more fuses and a block of fuses in the barn that lead to the underground wire to the pump.  220 volts sent out on two hot wires and a ground. 

At the well, the lights and the pump are each plugged into their own outlets.  The pump motor outlet is actually controlled by the pressure switch to turn on the motor when the pressure goes to 20lb.  Unplugged it and put in a new fuse and then the lights worked.   Tried plugging in the pump:  the motor started and tried to turn the pulley on the pumpjack, but after just a small attempt to lift the pump rod up, ground to halt and blew the fuse again.

My first guess is that it is frozen up somewhere in the place where the well rod runs into the casing -- the part in an old pump where the handle hooked to the rod through a seal.   In the old days of open pumps, one poured hot water on this packing to get things started in the morning.

As I was gradually freezing up, and couldn't even feel my fingers to screw out the last blown fuse, ran an extension cord from the garage and put a space heater in the well house, turned it on and put the covers back on and decided to let it warm up for the rest of the day before trying it again.

So, I plugged in an electric space heater to the garage cord, put it in the well house and closed everything and went away to spend the next 6 hours at a meeting and let the whole pump area warm up.  

When I got back home, with 5 gallons of water from town and a case of spring water for drinking, I opened the well house.  Then I turned the pulley by hand and everything went smoothly and easily, so backed it up to where the pump jack was near the top and would start by coming down (not much motor effort needed) and then plugged it into the extension cord.  

It started up fine and ran fine.  So I let it run a few minutes to build up the pressure to normal, then unplugged it and checked in the house and sure enough we had water pressure again--a little rusty water though as I had almost emptied the pressure tank before I got the pump running.  

Pump Jack Running Video

I plugged in the light to the cord, removed the heater and ran extension cords outside the shed to plug in the pump and the light and closed it all up with the bulbs on to keep the shed warm.  Tomorrow I will figure out where the wiring is failing or wrong--if the pump blows a fuse, the lights need to stay on to keep it warm.  That didn't happen.  And of course, why did the fuse blow in the first place?  So stay tuned to see if Margo gets a shower this week or not. 

Good news from a different source.  The #1 furnace fuel oil delivery today was $2.64 per gallon versus $3.92 back in September when I last filled it up.  Saved about $400 this fill!
It cost me $930 for heating in September, October, November and December.  We had a cold November otherwise normal or mild months this fall.  This fill should go for about 6 weeks (or about $100/week estimate with the lower price).  A leaky old house that needs some serious tightening up when I get to it!

The Burnett Dairy Coop fuel delivery truck is so big it has trouble maneuvering around the yard.  In 5 minutes $500 of fuel goes in my tank.

The Colden Years?

Ventured out a little today before the big freeze that is headed here this evening for the next 4-5 days.  Just a hint of melting on the dark colored roof, and not too bad outside, but the cold weather ahead can give a person anticipatory depression.  

Nothing stirring at the cabin--a few tracks from a feral cat or maybe it is the neighbor's cat, checking out the sap shed for mice.  Very few deer tracks and a single rabbit hopping across the yard.   

The spring is trickling water into the lake as usual, and the culvert under the road where Orr Creek leaves the lake is open and running a normal stream on its way to Wolf Creek, the St Croix, Mississippi, and the gulf of Mexico--hinting that we might as well drift down there too. 

The lake has some tracks from holiday weekend ice fishermen trying it out.  Usually they don't stay as the fishing is slow and the bigger nearby lakes seem to do better. 

The culvert where Orr Creek heads south.  I have never seen it stop running except when the beavers plug the culvert.  

I prefer the green version of the corncrib!  The light spot on the ground to the left is where I shoveled a big pile of oats out onto the ground last winter.  It had been in the granary above the garage for 30 years, mice had chewed probably every kernal--none sprouted, but a nice crop of toad stools came up in it.  Have the second big bin to shovel out this winter.  I could have done it last year, but the mice running up my pant legs got sort of boring after the first few times. 

The wild grape vines were grapeless this fall.  They are attempting to pull down the crib.  Dad filled it with ear corn each fall and shoveled out a trailer load, threw on some oats and took it to Cushing once a week for ground feed for the cows.  Sometimes they got soybeans added, or more likely some linseed or cottonseed meal for extra protein.

The stairs to the granary above the garage (1949) are in need of shoring up again.  Brother Marv did them with treated lumber, but they are a little wobbly.  I think I make an inside stairway and tear down the outside ones.    The 1949 outhouse stands, still mostly sound, but also in need of some work.  Every building had asphalt siding--sort of a roof shingle that was made for covering wood.  Still holding pretty good!  The door on the outhouse has been patched with many shingles--must have been from the cat wanting in for her bathroom break. 

A massive popular of some tame brand stands by the playhouse.  The tree has started to die in the top and branches will soon be falling in the wind.  The tree was small when the playhouse was put up in the 50s.  We boys didn't use it much, but the grandchildren did. 

The white lilac is out of control near the house.  Grandma Hannah Hanson gave Dad and Mom a rooted shoot as a wedding present from her own plant.  They got married in Oct 1942, so it has been there for 72 years.   Do I dare trim it back?

Tried to get enough ambition to do some chainsawing around the youngstock barn, or nailing some more on the end of the barn, or cleaning, but ended up working on the furnace. 

The farm furnace has stopped a few times in the last two months.  One time it flipped the breaker, the other times it had to be unplugged and plugged back in.  Didn't make sense, so when it failed this time I methodically checked things. 

   -- breaker was fine and flipping it anyway did nothing

   -- the trouble light and furnace are plugged into one socket on a single 20 amp breaker circuit, and both were not getting electricity.  

    -- unplugged the trouble light and plugged it into a different circuit and it worked. 

    --unplugged the furnace and plugged it back in and then both the furnace started and the trouble light came on. 

    The lightbulb coming on was the lightbulb moment--Ah HA, I thought, must be a bad outlet or plug.  

    Bought a new outlet, box and turned things off and tore into the old one.  The black (hot) wire had slipped out from under the gold colored screw and was barely touching it on the edge--a leaning connection rather than a secure one.  Maybe the furnace vibration jiggled it away and my unplugging and plugging the cord back in jiggled it together (the furnace has a power cord plug).  

   Rather than leave the old one, replaced it with a new one and secured it tightly and expect this will be the end of that problem!   An earlier call (a few weeks ago) for furnace oil smell was fixed by a new nozzle.   Now I will put on the WIFI thermostat to this furnace (no 24 volts, so bought a door bell transformer to power the device), and can go away and get an email if the house cools down below 45.  

   Scott and I put in new plumbing to the tub including an new faucet and shower setup and then cranked the pressure up on the old pumpjack well two turns (2.5 lbs per turn) and we now have the shower working normally and a nice tub surround that makes the rest of the bathroom look shabby and in need of a refurbishment too.  Soon as I get the outhouse fixed up, can shut down the indoor plumbing and work on the bathroom -- but I might just wait for a few days until the cold spell moves on.  

Will the old pump hold up under pressure to provide showers to the Hansons?  Will the furnace run through the cold spell?  Will Russ get something done this week?   Margo wants to get the exercise bicycle from Pine Island up here, so maybe a trip with the truck down there this week.  She needs to do something to try to get back more functional from the back surgery, and my suggestion of walking to the mailbox in Cushing 3 miles away -10 F just didn't go over at all.