One of my sister Karen’s favorite memories is playing softball on the 4-H team in Orrock with my brother Roger. “I was the catcher and I couldn’t get a player out. It was close to 100 degrees and the only relief was a slight breeze when the runners crossed home plate as they scored! We got beat really bad, but it was still fun. We also played on the Santiago town team and at Kragero school. Playing softball was a very big part of our lives growing up. Dad always told us you need to make hay when the sun shines; and that meant missing some important events.”

 

The summer solstice happened last week - on June 20th. June 21st was the longest day of 2017 for anyone living north of the equator. The summer solstice occured at 12:24 am Eastern time June 21st.

 

As I was writing this column last night, I was thoroughly enjoying the smell of fresh alfalfa near the farm where I grew up and enjoying one of the longest days of the year.  Being outside is a blessing, whether for work or play. I spent a great deal of time outdoors growing up on a farm baling hay with a plethora of outdoor chores. We rarely got away from the farm, but were able to spend a couple days each summer as teenagers with my sister Gloria and her husband Mike and his family on Woman Lake near Hackensack. We were young and spry and went water skiing and tubing behind the boat. We loved waking up to the view of the lake. We were blessed when we heard loons and birds singing to welcome the summer day. There was a certain  feeling “up north” that I found very therapeutic. It was a much needed respite from milking cows, feeding and bedding cows and other farm chore. Time seemed to stand still each summer on Woman Lake.

 

Mike’s grandfather, Oren Wendt, was usually at Woman Lake when we visited and he would faithfully get up at the break of dawn to go fishing each day. Oren was up in age with silver in his hair, but clearly got such joy from being on the lake. He was an avid fisherman. The rustic Palmer family cabin was so refreshing and was located on a hill. There was a bench placed half-way up from the lake to the cabin. Grandpa Oren would always take a rest on that bench after coming in off the lake. My siblings and I enjoyed visiting with Oren very much. He was clearly blessed during his times out fishing and he was always smiling. 

 

Woman Lake Lodge near the family cabin had photos on the walls of fisherman dating back to the 1940’s displaying their string of fish they caught on Woman Lake (big in numbers and size) with big smiles on their faces. It’s wonderful that fishermen today are still finding the same happiness of a successful catch as their ancestors did by enjoying fishing outings!

 

We also loved playing softball, as did my older siblings. Playing ball is America’s pastime. My, how the venues have changed since I was born in the late 1960’s. A favorite memory with our dad was when he took my twin sister and I to the Met Stadium. After the Met Stadium came the Metrodome and even that has been replaced by Target Field. Regardless of the changes baseball has seen, it’s still as American as apple pie and Chevrolet.

 

My mom grew up on the lake near Palmer and money was tight. Yet, they enjoyed the simple things in life, such as taking the wooden boat on Julia/Rush Lakes.

 

Summer seems to go by too quickly. For the past 20+ years, my family has opened the Kragero one room school (owned by Tom Barthel and his wife Gail Wilkinson). We have the school open for a few days in mid-June through Becker Community Education. It’s a wonderful week, but it always brings a bit of sadness, knowing the summer is well underway and followed up by Becker Freedom Days parade, Foley Fun Days parade earlier this week Spud Fest parade this weekend and 4th of July festivities the following weekend. Sherburne County Fair will be upon us in mid-July. We have a special event this weekend on Sunday, June 25th starting at noon. Please join us for a hog roast as we celebrate the 120th anniversary at the one room school. 

 

Kristi (Gilyard) Kelly of Food Pride and Deli Plus shared these sentiments: “I love reminiscing about summertime growing up! We often went deer hunting on family car rides in the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge after supper and we walked uptown to the Becker Variety Store for one cent candy. We would take a break from Mrs. (Lydia) Heed’s weekly piano lessons ($1 for 1/2 hour) so we could go pick strawberries at Carroll and Grace Johnson’s berry farm. We detasseled corn at Norm Schmidt’s farm and played softball at South Santiago Lutheran. We camped with the Vacation Bible School kids and alleged chaperones Les and Jean Howard, Judy and Karen Erickson and Vernon Brown”.

 

Roxanne (Rose) Henrich of Becker (daughter of longtime Becker residents), recalled summer memories growing up: “My dad made summer so much fun. He would announce with no warning that  we were going on a car ride/vacation. It usually meant going to visit relatives in Iowa and/or South Dakota. Dad did all the driving. Mom always packed great food such as watermelon and peaches on our summer road trips and we would share them with our relatives. We would eat our watermelon wedges outside and see who could spit the seeds the farthest! Summer brings back the best memories.”

 

Julie Jarvi of Becker recalled how much she enjoys summer: “We visit state parks and go exploring. We have been to Cuyuna and Itasca so far this summer. Summer is also a time for mission trips and my husband Curt is headed to Wyoming on a church mission trip next week.”

 

Gail Wilkinson says she loves goint to garage sales in the summer. “It’s one of my favorite things to do with my grandaughter Ella. Today, Ella and I went to a sale that a young woman was having to earn money for her trip to study in Spain next year.” 

No matter what your favorite summer activity may be, soak in God’s beauty all around you during this spectacular short season!