Message Forum

Jim

The tornado was at the very top edge of a EF-1. The wind speed was a 110 mph. The path was a 100 yards wide and 4 miles long. The damage estimate is now 70 homes, 3 churches with major damage, 2 commercial buildings completely destroyed, and well over a hundred trees. The Goodwill store was brand new. Most of the houses and trees were over a 100 years old. If you're on Facebook, look up ' City of Portland ' We made the front page of the Lansing newspaper 2 days in a row.

Many years ago, one of my brothers made dandelion wine. The bottle that we found that was aged for 5 years was really good. He has made homebrew, too. You don't save any money making beer and wine at home; but, the bragging rights are worth it.

06/25/15 11:23 AM

#2001

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1626011958?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

I have to put in a plug for my son JP's book just released yesterday, "The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All Time". Okay, I know it's about DODGERS games, but I am really enjoying reading about those games and recalling the old players, who often played the Braves "back in the day". Just finished the chapter about Bobby Thomsen's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" game. You can get it on Amazon in Kindle or paperback editions.

06/25/15 12:22 PM

#2002

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

When the Braves were still in Milwaukee, my best friend and I helped set a Major League record at County Stadium. The lowest paid attendance ever for baseball game, 985. That was after the Braves announced that they were leaving Milwaukee. My friends father was a member of the Lion's Club and he had gotten tickets for the game through the Lions. My 2 oldest daughters were in the movie Major League. When the movie was filming at County Stadium, they answered the ' cattle call ' for extras in the crowd scenes.

06/25/15 01:31 PM

#2003

Nancy--LOVE Argentine and Chilean red wines!

Jim--The cork fits if you turn it upside down. I've had plenty of practice!

06/28/15 05:43 PM

#2004

Lauren, I'll have to tell my son that if he ever writes the 50 Worst Braves Games of All Time, to be sure to include that one!

06/29/15 10:44 AM

#2005

Cedar Creek's Cranberry Blush is really good; but hard to find, out of Wisconsin. I tend to go with a semi-dry wine, which is why I like the Blushes. Although, I do like Blue Nun, which is a fairly dry German white wine.

I've noticed that most corks are some type of plastic, now. And, I've read that a lot of your high priced wineries are using screw caps.

06/29/15 01:17 PM

#2006

Even though it's a day early HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to all who were born in July.

06/29/15 01:23 PM

#2007

So, does that mean that Ripple comes with a screw cap now? Next you're going to tell me you can get a special froo-froo decorator bag for it too, instead of the traditional brown one.

06/30/15 11:56 AM

#2008

Haven't seen Ripple in years; and, I thought that it always had a screw cap. The froo-froo bag, you have to supply your self.

When we first went to Cedarburg for the Wednesday stock car races; you could bring your own in. For us, it was a case of Pabst and a jug of Thunderbird. There usually were 6 of us.

07/01/15 04:55 PM

#2009

Barbara Blair (Brenzel)

Thank you, Garry, for the trip down memory lane to Smith Park on the 4th of July!

Barb

07/03/15 06:33 PM

#2010

Feeling old, episode #1034. Seeing things that I remember me or my family buying when I was a kid now showing up on Antiques Roadshow as valuable antiques. Aaarg.

07/04/15 12:35 PM

#2011

Happy Fourth to everyone! Nice to read your Fourth memories, Garry. I agree that Milwaukee had the best 4th celebrations, ever! As a little kid, my family lived on the near north side, and all the kids gathered at their respective schools, bikes decorated, little flags in hand (if you didn't have one, they gave you one) and marched to the nearest park where the parade ended with a Dixie Cup. Then - the fireworks! I remember several different parks, but at McGovern Park, sometimes they were so close, the ashes fell on our blanket and burned holes in them. Right! Would probably never happen now. But I was so happy that when our neighborhood here was new (15 years ago) and all the kids were little, our neighbors organized a neighborhood parade, complete with decorated bikes, a dad leading the procession with a boom box playing patriotic music blaring from the trunk, and ended with a very potluck brunch. So sad - this year is the first year it hasn't been held. All the kids grown and driving their own cars to who knows where!

07/05/15 12:59 PM

#2012

I lived across 35th St from Smith Park until I was 10. The little house, that's the second one south of Sheridan. Then we moved to the corner house on 36th and Sheridan. I faintly remember the streetcars going by the little house. The whole house shook, Silver Spring was the end of the line. The line was switched to the trolley buses when I was 3. I also remember riding my tricycle in the afternoon kids parade by Smith Park, on the Fourth. There were 3 big tents set up just north of the playground. One was the beer tent, one was the concession stand, and the third was for the Legion band that played Sousa Marches all day. I liked the music as, my Grandfather and Sousa were friends. I was in 5th grade when St. Albert's school and church was split from Holy Redeemer. That cut our walk to school in half. St Albert's fireworks were better than the ones at Smith Park, too.

07/06/15 11:27 AM

#2013

William Nelson

We lived a little over a block from Smith Park, on 36th Street, just north of Rohr. We were seldom home in the summer, but I remember being there a couple of times when the fireworks were going off. Our poor dog was scared to death and would be shaking. He'd stay in Dad's lap in the recliner until it was all over.

Most years, we were at our cottage in Tustin, Wisconsin. We used to go out on Lake Poygan fishing each evening and on the 4th, we could see the fireworks in Poy Sippi and other towns around the lake without hearing them.

Many years later, after Mary and I were married, we'd head to her brother's house on the main street in East Troy. They had a terrific parade. The fire trucks would use low pressure hoses to squirt the crowd, and my brother-in-law would return fire with his garden hose. Her whole big family was there for the day and those were the best 4th of July celebrations in my life.

We now live in a rural area of north Louisiana. There were parades in many towns around, but we just went to the nearest Lowe's and took advantage of my veteran's discount to buy some porch and stair railings. Didn't see any parades or fireworks except for a lightning storm that probably left more rain than California's had this year.

07/06/15 10:52 PM

#2014

Bill, I was commander of the American Legion post in East Troy for a while. Maybe I got to march past you. Ever go to the 4th of July fair there? Eat any of that great roasted corn? That was us. We supported the post for the whole year on the take we made at the fair.

07/07/15 12:15 AM

#2015

Garry Sellers

I just returned from spending the 4th in Milwaukee for all the wrong reasons.

So many things struck me about being there. Fireworks started on the 3rd at Summerfest which seemingly can be seen or heard from Madison, Kenosha and Mequon! On the 4th every place that has a swing set or a sandbox seemed to have a fireworks display and I don't remember sooo many "illegal" fireworks being set off in every backyard or alley! One thing I discovered that Milwaukee has that we don't during fireworks ... mosquitoes!

Kids were catching fireflies in my cousin's backyard! I haven't seen one of those in 50 years! Plus nobody was talking about water. I even let the water run while I was brushing my teeth. The California water police would have me locked up and manually dehydrated for that ... like they did on Arrakis (a.k.a. "Dune"). I didn't realize that lawns are actually suppose to be green!!!

And does the Milwaukee area have the world's largest display of road work barrels? Is there a major road or side street within 75 miles that isn't lined with orange and reflective silver barrels? How many new bridges can they build? And are they sure where they're going? I never saw anybody actually working, although there were many port-a-potties seemingly occupied. Your tax dollars at work! (My 220 pound, 5% body fat, biceps as big as my thighs nephew was telling me how both his supervisor and union stewart make sure he doesn't work too fast and set a pace unacceptable to the other workers ... or they'll find a reason to fire him!)

As mesmerizing as all the green was, I remembered the record setting number of subzero days there during your last winter! "Brown is the new green!", for me!!!

07/07/15 09:58 AM

#2016

John Gilbert

Gary,

Glad to hear that you enjoyed coming back to Wisconsin. You know, you have to take the good (water) with the bad (mosquito's). There was a time when Lake Michigan's water level was down some 3', however, within the last several years we've had enough rain and it's back up again. So you can shower and brush your teeth more than once a week here.

Some of what you thought were fireworks may very well have been shootings. The night of the fireworks at the lakefront, a 14 year old kid was shot (he died) at North Ave. & Lake Drive with dozens of police standing within 100 yards away . . . . they did arrest the shooter, 15 year old kid.

We're soooo use to the orange barrels because we only have two seaons, construction and Winter. Did you bottle some of our water and take it back with you to California? If so, you may want to make sure no onew see's you with it or they might confiscate it.

07/07/15 04:57 PM

#2017

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

You haven't lived (or really "done" the 4th) until you've experienced a 4th of July parade in Presque Isle. It circles the 1870 lighhouse twice (the "new" lighthouse - the old one is 1 mile away and is 1840) and consists of the local firetruck (volunteer - we're so wet, we don't have a lot of fires) and MAYBE a few vintage cars, several decorated golf carts, and a grand assortment of kids on bikes, scooters, etc. It's over in under 15 minutes. Then it's time to eat brats (free - donations welcome) and play silly games (fishing, or bean bag) while listening to the music. The music was the best part this year. Although I'm a big classical music fan, I loved the band. The fiddler was excellent, and the singer did the best Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison" and John Denver "Country Road" that you could ever ask for! We had a great fourth!

07/16/15 01:17 PM

#2018

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

Garry's last golfing date -

07/16/15 08:30 PM

#2019

Shirley Sherwood has passed away. I would have posted this earlier, but was out of the country when this appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

"Sherwood, Shirley G. Former English teacher and Supervisor in the MPS System. Private services have been held."

(Published in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on June 7)

Apparently, no further details were given.

07/18/15 02:22 AM

#2020

William Nelson

I'm very sorry to hear of the passing of Shirley Sherwood. She was one of a kind -- the very best kind. I bought DVD's of our 50th reunion and my brother's (1959) reunion and was not surprised that she was mentioned more than any other teacher in the reminiscing. I worked with her a lot on the stage crew. She pushed everyone to do their very best, but also had a warm sense of humor. One truly dedicated teacher.

Bill Nelson

07/21/15 05:17 PM

#2021

Watching something on TV last night and they started running a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING line across the bottom.

Huh? . . . Don't we wish.

07/22/15 10:56 AM

#2022

Jim, From what I've seen on the news and weather, here in Portland, MI, you either already have gotten or will get your wish; and, then some. I keep track of the weather in Bullhead City; and, today is the first day in over a week where there hasn't been severe thunderstorm warnings and the accompaning flash flood warnings for most of Northwestern AZ. It's starting to cool down, too. Forecast highs are 105/106 instead of 114/116. Since we arrived in Portland, the temps have been below normal and the rain has been above normal. Last Saturday, we had tornado warnings, here. Since the tornado that missed our house by a quarter mile was only a month ago; that was the last thing that we wanted to hear.

07/22/15 11:31 AM

#2023

I just talked to my daughter-in-law in Los Angeles yesterday and they were DELUGED with rain, lightning and thunder - all very rare occurences there. The rain seems to be avoiding the Bay Area - just a little pitter-patter Sunday afternoon. Now, where can I put a rain barrel, to save up the El Nino's precipitation that is supposed to come?

I remember Shirley Sherwood well - she could make biting remarks sometimes, but after growing up to be a teacher myself, I really admire the work it must have taken her to put on magnificent production after magnificent production every year. A teacher strives to be the best they can be by trying to model the best in their own past teachers, and to avoid the worst they experienced from a teacher. I guess Miss Sherwood taught me a little bit of both; but probably the best lesson she taught me was the importance of "non--academics" to a student; they don't generally enjoy coming to school because "math (English, science, you name it) is so great! but because of sports, art, music, the class play - the areas where there is self-expression.

When you listen to people on that 50th reunion DVD their best memories are football games, "The King and I", band, orchestra, playing sports, talent shows - those are the things that keep 'em coming!

07/27/15 08:34 PM

#2024