Cloudy today with no meatballs

Spring brings a new brighter look to the old "Pudding Blog" and though the day is cloudy there is a feeling that the darkness of the past year is passing.  As a signal I will try to write in this blog more frequently.  There is more to catch up on from our Danube cruise late last summer,  from the growth of our two lovely granddaughters, and from the busy days that seem to fill even though our schedule is far less crowded with Jan's medical appointments.

Our little garden has been planted and looks considerably more professional due to the efforts of our lovely neighbors Kirk and Marie.  We have contracted to get the homestead painted this summer and to do some needed minor repairs to its 110 year old fabric.

No trips scheduled firmly yet, but the thought is there just waiting for commitment.  Lots of places still to go. The bucket just seems to have a permanent hole in it. You cross things off but new things run in to fill it up again. 

Join the crowd to celebrate the re-opening of the Warren County History Museum on Sunday, May 1st from 1-4 in the afternoon.  You can meet our new Pattee Executive Director.

Here he is.  That's Kellen Hinrichsen, newly appointed Pattee Executive Director of the Warren County Historical Society and Museum posing with an advertisement for the Pattee Tongueless Cultivator, one of the patented farm implements that helped make the Pattee fortune, put Warren County on the map, and made it possible for us to hire our first employee.
You can also renew or obtain your 2016 membership,  and enjoy some complimentary refreshments.


 Below are two pictures from our Christmas Open House.

 

  

If It's Tuesday It's Ethiopia

Riffing on my comments from yesterday about not having trouble finding things to do even in a small town, I'd like to amplify my sense that anyone who wishes to retire and remain alive while retaining an aspect of rural or small town living should seriously considering retirement in a town with a college.  I am of course partial to Monmouth College, but any college will do.

Learning is lifelong and the programs offered to students and townspeople alike at a college are like a filled cornucopia spilling out with a variety of pleasures.   If you like sports it is there, if you like the arts it is there, if you like history or science it is there too.  

For instance we had two visitors to campus this week.  They were both Monmouth College Alums and their parents were graduates of the college as well.  The parents spent several years in the Mission field in Ethiopia and their two daughters grew up there. One of the daughters has become a nationally recognized author of childrens' books (Jane Kurtz). The other, Caroline Kurtz,  has dedicated a large portion of her life to various projects geared to Ethiopian education and economic development.  That's Caroline on the left and Jane on the right at the Warren County Library.

My wife has had a close connection with Jane as a result of their shared love for primary education, reading, and libraries. I knew Caroline when she was a student and actually directed her in a play while she was here.  In the last two days we have shared meals and conversation about their days as students and about their latest projects.  What a joy! And what a gift from them to return to their alma mater to nurture current students and show them what can be achieved.

One project that occupies Caroline now is developing economically viable agricultural projects that can provide potential income and development for the many subsistence farmers who populate the rural areas of Africa.  A Business and Marketing class at the college was integrated into this goal by working on projects this semester dealing with Apple Orchard growth. The students and their professor researched the country and offered ideas for products that could be delivered within a low technology and transportation deprived environment.  The Kurtz sisters were able to offer response and commentary to the students from their own experience of living in Ethiopia. My wife and  I saw genuine learning taking place and learned a great deal about a country that we knew only vaguely as a place somewhere in Africa. 

Jane also took time to speak with former teachers and community members at the Warren County Library.  She showed some of her books and described a project she is working on with a current Monmouth student that will help young ready to read Ethiopian children see both English words and cognates in their own language on the same page.   Here she is showing her enthusiasm and love for books.

Thanks again to Monmouth College for offering these opportunities to their students and to the  community at large.  Lesson for the day. Retire in a college town and you too can continue to be a student.  




 

Busy Week In and Out of Town

One often hears folks bemoaning the lack of things to do in small towns. Maybe our small town is different or maybe the folks who are doing the complaining are simply not looking very hard for stimulation. We started the week with a day trip to Chicago on the train. From Galesburg to downtown is three hours and by 10:45 AM we were walking down to the Art Institute to see the Van Gogh's Bedroom exhibit. A lovely lunch in the patio at the museum and then a stroll over to the Cultural Center to partake of a fascinating exhibit of traveling beasties titled "The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen" Then a little State Street shopping before heading back to Union Station to catch the 6:00 PM Illinois Zephyr back to Galesburg where wonder of all wonders the parking is free.

Worked at our local history museum on Tuesday morning. Then an Archaeology Lecture at the college that evening. We learned that Rome burned far more times than just when Nero fiddled.

Wednesday played eighteen holes of golf. Enough for one day.

Worked at the Warren County History Museum again on Thursday morning and returned there that evening to hear our new Pattee Executive Director talk about his plans for the future.

Friday night was theatre time with a visit to Monmouth College's Fusion Theatre for a production of Aphra Behn's "The Rover." Interesting thought that this small town has a live production of a play by a seminal female playwright that probably could not be found anywhere else in the country this weekend.

Saturday found us partaking of the annual Classics Day at the college. More fancy costumes--this time Roman rather than Restoration. Grilled some gorgeous lamb chops for dinner and followed it all with a trip to the College Auditorium to listen to Glen Brooks--a local guy and college alum-- who has made a living playing jazz all over the country. "The Very Live Band" rocked the house for two sets. Glenn's brother Chris, a former student of mine, joined the quartet for the opening set and we even had some vocals from a whole group of Brooks bro's. Glenn is here in his home town to spearhead a Vista project to teach music to kids this coming summer.

And here it is Sunday morning. Time to do a bit of gardening before setting out to meet the incoming plane of another friend--college guest alum Jane Kurtz--a nationally known author of childrens' books. She and her sister will be spending two days at the college and the local library promoting their Ethiopia Project to send books to Africa.

Damn damn and double damn, there is just nothing to do in this small town. Seek life and you will find it. Or maybe it will find you if you open your eyes and ears to the world around you.

Warren County Historical Society and Museum Receives Major Endowment Grant to fund Executive Directorship

Check out the following announcement from the Warren County Historical Society. I have been working on the board of this organization for about five years now and the reception of this grant will make a huge difference in what our museum will be able to offer to the community. In the next two weeks we will also be posting our job announcement and details on how to apply. If you have qualifications in history or museum operation, this will be a full time position.

The Board of Directors of the Warren County Historical Society is pleased to announce the fulfillment of a long standing dream that the county would have a thriving history museum. As a result of a major endowment gift from the Pattee Foundation a new “Pattee Executive Director of the Warren County Historical Society” and Museum will be hired this summer. Charles and Norma Kirkpatrick, early supporters of the Society and its Museum, will now be able to see a positive culmination to their long time support. The new employee will take charge of the Museum and help to coordinate all activities and programming for the Historical Society. The Warren County Historical Society was first formed 1938. That organization lapsed during World War II, but was reborn and received its first formal 501 (c) (3) Non Profit certification in 1968. In 1970, the Museum received nominally free quarters in the old Roseville, IL , High School building, which had been ceded to the Roseville Fire Protection District after the construction of a new high school. Over the next thirty years an impressive collection of historical artifacts were acquired, ranging from Civil War memorabilia to period textiles, furniture, and agricultural tools and machinery. The early years of the 21st century, unfortunately, were not kind to the Society. The original core of dedicated volunteers dwindled, opening hours were restricted, the museum building itself deteriorated, and funds were scarce. In 2008 the Warren County Historical Society and Museum merged with the Prairieland Historical Association. The merged group took the WCHS name so that the 501 (c) (3) non-profit certification could continue without alteration. During 2008 it was determined that the Roseville museum was in such ill repair that the valuable artifacts inside were in danger. Repair costs, as well as renovation to meet modern safety standards, were deemed so significant that re-location of the collection had to be explored. The newly combined Board of Directors ultimately found a church property on the outskirts of Monmouth. Financing for leasing and then purchasing and renovating the building was obtained from the Twomey Foundation, the Pattee Foundation, and other private sources. The purchase was completed in the spring of 2009 and renovations continued through the summer. Then, in a massive volunteer effort, The Roseville Museum’s contents were moved to the new location at 238 S. Sunny Lane in September of 2009. Since that date the Society and the Museum have operated successfully, but always within the constraints of a totally volunteer endeavor. The Board now looks forward to a new era that will feature a professional curator, more new exhibits, and regular opening hours. The job description and search details for the new director’s position will be announced shortly. Anyone who wishes to support the Historical Society and its Museum can join the organization by returning the membership form found on the Society’s web site at www.warrencountyhistoricalsociety.net

We Have Run the Table

New Year Slack Time I just did this survey of how many states have you visited and lo and behold Alaska three years ago completed the run. Would love to hear how close you are to a Full Monty or is that a mixed metaphor?
Create Your Own Visited States Map by clicking this link. SMALL Disclaimer: Delaware was just a drive-thru and may be a fudge, but I'm counting it anyway.

2015 Christmas Greetings

Volume XLII                                                                                                                December 25, 2015

Christmas 2015

Although this is only our 42^nd consecutive Christmas letter, we have actually lived in Monmouth for 52 years.  Yogi Berra said it best.  It’s the type of place where, “It gets late early out here.”  Our cure for this in the last few years has been to head to Arizona right after the New Year.  That’s where the time shift makes it late even earlier. Whether early or late our Arizona outings have given us the time to do different things more.  We spent  January, February, and part of March last year happily ensconced in Tucson where we enjoyed the weather and had a great time walking  in Sabino Canyon. This was our second year in the same location and we can now even find our way to the store without getting lost. Besides the weather we have found that Tucson offers marvelous restaurants, a fine library system,  and great access to the arts.  So keeping Yogi Berra in mind, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”  

After our return to Monmouth Jim barely had time to get his golf clubs polished before we left for Europe and a ten day cruise on the Danube.   The Budapest waterfront at night was clearly the most beautiful sight. The most moving experience was the Terezin Concentration Camp where both Christians and Jews perished during WWII. 

Following our river voyage we jetted off to Helsinki for a week with son David and his family. The biggest news from there, as you can see, is that David and his wife Lotta have added another precious jewel to their family.  We were, unfortunately,  gone before the birth,  but hope you will all give a giant welcome to Selma Sofia Elisabeth who arrived on September 25^th at  9 pounds and 20 ½ inches.  

She joins her 3 year old sister, Frida who loves to dress up in princess garb and show her growing independence.  She is now attending an English Language Day Care, which will assure a bi-lingual future.  With Lotta still on maternity leave, David continues to spin computer magic from his high in the sky office at the Kone Elevator Company.

I apologize for not including as much levity in this year’s letter as you might have come to expect, but some years generate dark clouds and this was one of them.  Jan was diagnosed with breast cancer in July and since then we have been devoted to doing what needs to be done to effect the cure. She will finish her six chemo treatments just before Christmas and then start six weeks of radiation in late January.  She has been a trouper and luckily so far has suffered minimal side effects. We are full of hope that her toughness and the recent advances in treatment will stop the disease in its tracks.       

 Returning to the good side of life, we have had the support of many friends and neighbors and especially our daughter Amy and her family who have made several trips from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to help with yard work, food prep, and Christmas decorations.  In between Amy continues her teaching career in Cedar Rapids and Todd continues to work difficult irregular shifts at his job.  They have had a two year double whammy as they spent long hours tending to Todd’s dad during his serious illness last year and are now taking up the slack here.  They get a special salute, for like most caregivers, they often go unsung.

Real joy will kick in this spring when Amy and Todd’s nineteen year old son (TJ) gets his diploma from DMAAC (Des Moines Area Community College) with a degree in Fire Science.  He is already working part time for a Des Moines area Fire Department.  Next fall he plans to continue at DMAAC to complete his Paramedic Certification.  We are so proud to see him walking a path toward service and saving lives.  Second son Mikel is in eighth grade and looking forward to attending High School next year.  He just got his first motorized set of wheels—a moped.  He also must have eaten the same magic beans his brother ate because they now both tower over grandma and grandpa by some inches.     

And, as Walter Cronkite used to say, “That’s the way it is,” this Christmas.  In spite of her illness Jan has continued to serve on the library board and keep up with her American Association of University Women (AAUW) duties.  Jim, meanwhile, has been retrieving his old Howard Johnson cooking skills and learning how to do laundry.  He has found welcome relaxation with good friends at the local golf course and continues his ever expanding duties on the board at the Warren County History Museum.  And he still does like the sardonic not quite PC joke, like the new transgender Chia Barbie. You apply water and she sprouts whiskers.  It comes with a miniature shaver and tiny tweezers for ingrown hairs. With that and a warning that you heed Marianne Moore’s admonition that “You mustn’t be so open-minded that your brains fall out,” we do pray that any storm clouds that entered your lives this year will be erased by a mild winter and warm spring showers.    

Merry Christmas!   

Jim and Jan De Young 

P.S. We have a new e-mail address.  Out with the old and send to the new.  (dramajim@gmail.com)

DISCLAIMER:  This fall it was my intention to fully document our marvelous Danube Cruise, but as this letter indicated, there was a change in priorities as a result of Jan's illness.  Given that we will not be able to make it to Arizona this winter, I will devote some cold weather down time to getting some of the many photos I took up on this blog.  Look for Episode #1 Budapest coming to this space sometime soon.  

jim 

Warren County History Museum Supports Internationalism

This past weekend the Warren County History Museum drew a large crowd to its "Christmas Around the World" holiday event.  Recognizing that the demographics of our own community are changing, the committee secured the assistance of international students and resident immigrants from multiple cultures to build a fulfilling afternoon of food, fun, and education.  Nuff said, as the pictures tell the story. 

This is the America we want to see and be!

 

All photos by Jim