25 Years Ago - 1985

A tentative agreement has been made for Nordell Graphics to lease the former Staples city hall, with the city and the firm hoping that eventually the lease will turn into a purchase agreement.

This week the Staples Theatre will be showing the next film starring Sally Field in the sens

ational

movie “Places

In The Heart.”

E x - cerpt from Orton News by Mrs. Ollie Oehlenschlager: “We Oehlenschlagers felt we had a special blessing this Christmas Eve when all of the children and grandchildren were present for a supper at the Lester Koskiniemi’s farm home. Very few times in the past many years have we had Christmas together. When Archie was sailing the lakes and oceans he sometimes was gone when the other family members were home and when he was home the boys were gone as they were all in the service at some time and often were stationed far away. We felt Christmas of ‘84 was indeed special for us.”

50 Years Ago - 1960

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hollister announce the birth of their daughter, Patricia Marie, on December 29. She is the sister of Jeffrey, Kathy and Robert, II. Maternal Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Scruppie, Motley.

Mrs. L. M. Dyer and daughters Betty Ann and Patty returned New Year’s eve from Portland, Oregon, where they had spent a week visiting the Jerome Gibney home. Marilee Wilhelmson returned with the Dyers. She left Christmas evening with her aunt Betty Hoemberg to visit in the Gibney home. Miss Hoemberg remained for a longer visit.

REMINISCENCES: I discovered I had gotten old while putting Christmas decorations and ornaments away. The days were less hectic than when the decorations had gone up and there was time to ponder each item.

When my husband and I married, my mother-inlaw gave us decorations for our first tree, they were the ones she had when her kids were growing up in the early ’50’s. A couple of years later we began getting our own when we had babies, they are already 29 and 30 years old. As the boys grew we bought, made, were gifted with many, many more.

When my husband’s maternal grandmother and grandfather went to the nursing home we were given Grandma Sadie’s cookbooks and her and Grandpa George’s old Christmas decorations from way, way back. They were the parents of my mother-in-law Vi. Grandpa George was born in 1902.

In 1989 my mother was diagnosed with a terminal disease and one of the things she quickly did was sort through her belongings and have a garage sale. I bought our childhood ornaments from her sale. She had some from her childhood in the ‘20’s.

So folks, somewhere along the line these decorations became categorized as old, classic, vintage and antique. I realize those are the same stages I’ve gone through and am by now surely reaching the antique stage. Only one item went up this year that had never been up before. It was a crocheted Christmas stocking my mother had given to me before my son John was born nearly 30 years ago. We didn’t use it because it was for a girl. I brought it out as a new item this year to celebrate the upcoming March birth of my granddaughter by son Steve and his wife Emily. Someday I will divide all these precious things and gift them to my grandchildren and they can talk about how old they and the decorations are.

How did everyone and

everything get so old so fast - I should start measuring

moments instead of years.