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This message forum is an ongoing discussion about anything and just about everything ... within reason.  One thing our class was good at was having opinions.  Almost 70 years of life experience certainly qualifies us as experts on most everything!   Ask a question ... give an opinion ... share some insights ... it's our web site, it's our forum.  That said, it's probably not a good idea to get into arguments about politics, religion, and the like.  While we're experts on everything, we also have a wide range of values and beliefs. This site belongs to all of us ... the whole range ... and we are not here to isolate, alienate, or subjugate anybody.  Of course insults, humiliation, sophomoric barraggadocio, and demented humor is expected behavior among some of us less mature people.
 

Garry Sellers

Cough ... 9/11/2020 ... Milwaukee air quality index 18, cough, Green Bay air quality index 27 ... San Francisco air quality index 280,  cough, cough ... San Jose (Silicon Valley) air quality index much better, 274.  gasp, cough, gasp!  At least the smoke got rid of the 110 degree temperatures ... cough, cough, cough,  Melody ... you couldn't have gotten out of here at any better time with your health issues. And Jim,  we're happy that you got out of here too but for entirely different reasons!

Karsten Boerger

Gary, are you  ready to move back to MKE or to our beautifull lakes in Michigan?

Karsten

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

If you want to understand how bad the air quality is (274??) up in Garry's territory, wrap your mind around this: LA has had the worst smog in 30 years for the past two days, and the air quality index is 114! We have two fires east of us, but we are not personally in danger of burning. It is my friends and family in the Bay Area who have really suffered: 3 families were evacuated, and two were under warning to evacuate. Of those 3, my ex-sister-in-law's house in Boulder Creek burned to the ground, and the car she left behind melted. I can't even begin to imagine how she's coping. I do appreciate the quarantine material on the Home Page. I need those laughs a LOT!

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Oh, Terri, it hurt me to read this. It's impossible to imagine how it would feel to lose everything - every photo of the first birthday, the first day of school, prom, graduation - all the postcards from summer camp and the carefully crayoned Mothers' Day cards, the hand-crafted clay pumpkins that grace the Thanksgiving table every year, the cookbooks with dates and comments on well-splattered pages, the faithful old dog's collar and ID tags. And now you, who have lost your dear mate - the worst loss of all - will be the strength to turn to. 

  We wish we could send some strength, some hope, and maybe even some fresh air to all our fellow citizens in the west. And for us all, a wish for good health and the good sense to be grateful for every day.

Jim Cejka

My daughter-in-law's brother is a deputy sheriff in one of those counties around the fires north of Sacramento. He and his wife had their first baby a couple weeks ago, just when all the fires were starting. He's only been home about three days since then to see that baby. 

Lauren Dieterich

We are in Arizona, a 100 miles South of Las Vegas. There aren't any fires to speak of, by us. But, we are getting a lot of smoke from the California fires. For the last 3 days the sun has been an orange disc; and, we can't see the mountains around us that are only 15 miles away. My odest daughter is stationed at Camp Pendleton. She has said that there are no fires near them. I don't know if the fires have anything to do with it; but, the last 3 days, our highs were in the upper 80's. It's the first time that our highs have been below a 105 degrees since the beginning of June. We haven't broken any records for individual days; but, we've broken the record for the most 120+ degrees for a summer. The old record was 15 days. We're at 23 days and counting. Although, I doubt if we will have any more 120 degree days. The extended forecast calls for a 104 to 109 degrees thru the end of the month.

Prayers for everyone affected by the fires.

Melody Jones (Parker)

Garry,

Yes, I am glad to be here in North Carolina instead of CA at this time.  If in CA, I would be on portable Oxygen!

Here, I only have to worry about 5 tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean forming into hurricanes!

Garry Sellers

The last day of summer ... guess that means Fall.  It's the one season I really miss since leaving Wisconsin in '72.  I know it's only a week or two but the colors are so fabulous ... before the onslaught of 6 months of a gray, dark, cold endless winter.  How about some of you deciduous-land inhabitants taking a couple of colorful photos and posting them here?  And tell us where/what we're looking at ... your yard or a photo you found on the internet!  We'd love to see your neighborhood.   (Ooo, do you remember raking leaves and burning them in the street?  We did in Granville with no sidewalks.)  We have a few trees here in California that turn colors too, unfortunately they're mostly the color of charcoal at this point.

Jim Cejka

Here ya go Garry, hope it helps - 

Melody Jones (Parker)

How's this one...Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina!

Karsten Boerger

Gary

I commend you for your efforts and dedication to keep us informed and entertained with this connection.

Great Job

Karsten

Garry Sellers

Karsten - Karen Krause told me to say this to you, " Dank dir habe ich meinen Appetit verloren."  She swears it means "thanks for your kind words" ... but you know Karen.  Hard telling what might come out of her mouth.  I am expecting a photo of the lake in full Fall colors from you and Nan to be posted here!

Karsten Boerger

Gary

Will do once all the colors are alive.

Today took the pontoon boat out today. Cold weather coming next week.

Daughter and grand child returning to Boulder tomorrow.

Karsten

Karsten Boerger

Gary It's foggy across the lake, so we have to wait a while for a photo of fall colors. This whole week is suppose to be rotten like this.Karsten

Garry Sellers

In case anybody cares, the German phrase I used to thank Karsten "Dank dir habe ich meinen Appetit verloren " means "Thanks to you I've lost my appetite!"  You didn't think I'd go straight, did you?

Don't Nancy and Karsten live in a beautiful setting in norther Michigan? (Wait 4 months!)

Jim Cejka

Wait 4 months? Up there it's more like next month, or week. 

Lauren Dieterich

I have almost 1,600 years of direct German ancestry, on my Dad's side. The only German that I know is how to say sh*t in German. I really can't say that I miss the Autumn colors. Since I live in the Northern third of Arizona, I only have to drive about 30 miles; and, I'm in forest. As for that dirty white stuff, in 9 years we've had flurries 3 maybe 4 times and one measurable snow. Less than a half inch it melted in less than a hour. I don't do cold anymore, either. Anything under 70 is freezing. In January we will have a few days in the 50's. Right now, we're still in the low 100's. Like I said, I don't do cold; But, almost 30 days above a 120 is a bit excessive, a new record. But, we did not break any single day records. The hottest single day was a 129 degrees. Our only real complaint is the constant wind. We're on the Colorado River, across from Laughin, NV, with mountains on 2 sides of us. the wind comes straight down the river.                                                                                                                                                                                       HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

Jim Cejka

Oh Wow! Sports is back on. Tonight I get to watch some college football - the "Fighting Camels" against some kind of "Demons."

Karsten Boerger

Gary, You requested some photos from our area once the colors turn. Here's the view from our dining room deck. Not the tremendous brilliant colors like some areas, as the lake is surrounded by lots of birch, basswood, and cedar, with occasional aspen clusters. Presque Isle sits on glacial till, and we have almost more rocks than soil, so don't have a lot of oak, elm, or maple trees. Also, situated between two lakes (Grand Lake and Lake Huron), our climate is warmer than inland in winter and cooler than inland in summer. So, our trees will turn later than some even a few miles from us. Karsten

Garry Sellers

YES!!!  Perfect Karsten.  I'm packing my bag now ... except I can't see too far because of Napa Valley is swirling around in the air.

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Gorgeous photo, Karsten!
 

Garry, I'm waiting for Holy Hill to show lots of color. Then I'll take a drive out & take a photo.  It's always gorgeous in Autumn.

Lauren Dieterich

Jeanne, 30 years ago, I lived on Hwy 83 a half mile North of Holy Hill Rd. I worked third shift, on the far North side of Milwaukee. Hwy 41 and Holy Hill Rd was the half way point of my drive home. The second half of my drive, in the Fall, was spectacular. With all of the side roads, I could go for a couple of weeks without taking the same way twice.

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

I haven't had a chance to get to Holy Hill, but a friend of mine shared several photos from his property at Amy Belle Lake. And now I share them with you.

Lauren Dieterich

Jeanne,  Thanks for the pictures, they bring back memories of when I lived in Erin. It's been 30 years. If things had worked out differently, I'd still be living there.

William Nelson

Jeanne,

I grew up hearing about Lake Amy Belle quite often, because my maternal grandfather and some other relatives owned several properties there. Mom seemed to love the place while she was in her teens, but for some reason, we never visited there while she was alive. We made contact with some of her cousins and wound up driving out there a few years ago when we were on our annual Wisconsin visit (as we are now). There isn't much public access to the lake, but I saw a group on a pier and asked them if we could take pictures from their pier. Naturally, they were curious about my motives and I explained that my mom's family had ties there. When I told them the family name was Kufaul, they told us we needed to visit Mrs. Betty Kindem, because she was a local historian and lived in my great-grandfather's home! She was one of the most gracious ladies we've ever met and gave me links to some cousins I didn't know I had! She and her late husband, a retired minister, had added a kitchen that blended well with the rest of the home. It was a small, cozy home and we enjoyed seeing some early pictures of it. The Richfield Historical Society had published a book about the lake and Betty and her husband were instrumental in doing the research. We bought a copy of the book and really enjoyed the chapter about the Kufahl era. Betty also took us to meet the family who bought my grandfather’s home. It was severely damaged in a wind storm, so they tore it down and built a new year-round home on the site. They had a picture of the original house hanging near the fireplace and he showed us the view from the front porch, which is positioned like the original had been.

Eventually, Betty had to move closer to her sons in Washington State. She sold the home to a lady who wanted to preserve it. A few months later, the buyer changed her mind and decided she'd tear it down. The Richfield Historical Society finally convinced her to let them take it and remove it from the property. They’ve moved it to their park not far from Holy Hill. The last time we visited the park, the house was still on a corner of the lot and boarded up. They were already restoring a water-driven mill and didn’t have the funds or time to start on the house restoration. We won’t have time this trip to visit that area, but our daughter and granddaughter have both made visits there in the past couple of weeks.

The trees in the area have been turning beautifully. We entered Wisconsin in Hudson, the home of Mary’s brother. We drove across the state from there, through Wautoma, and down to Waukesha on Sunday. It’s been cool and windy, with a couple of fairly heavy rain events. First hard freeze is due tonight. Our granddaughter will be married on Saturday and the weather will be lousy in their honor. It was in the 80’s at home today and the 50’s here. Heading home on Monday. The Souther, the better!