Cousin Nathan Pepin had just become a U.S. Marine when this photo was taken on May 21, 2008, his 19th birthday. Aunt Flo looks proud, and rightly so!
Celebrating Harry Greason's 88th birthday last month were cousins JoAnne Schmidt, Patty and Steve Pepin, Ben Pepin and David Pepin. In the front row were Aunt Anna, Christine Pepin and Aunt Florence.
The scrapblog editor wrote an innocuous little story in Saturday's Star Tribune about shady places to go at the fair that immediately drew irritated comments, as most online news stories seem to, these from people who know better shady places there. Fair enough. But say, here's something that will really cool you off on a scorching day like today -- a photo from winter 1985 taken at Annette and Hart's cabin in Old Frontenac, Minn. More than 25 inches of snow were on the ground when this photo was taken.
Grandma Sprick held two new grandsons, Chris Miller and Karl Schmidt, in 1958. Note the photos of some of her kids on the parlor wall. This photo was taken in her house in Lake City, Minn.
Dressed in really cool outfits, Aunt Alverna, cousin Leah and Grandma Sprick posed during a July 1950 visit to Aunt Annette and Uncle Hart in Maple Grove, Minn., then largely a rural area.
This outstanding photo, taken in May 1973 in Old Frontenac, Minn., appears in the blog in its early days, but it was too small to make out all the stellar detail. Here's a larger version. Cousin Sam, understandably driven to madness by cousin Chris (not to mention Chris' positively harlequin bell-bottoms), tried to dispatch him as they planted trees on the Brobergs' land. Both cousins survived to become upstanding, and much better-dressed, middle-aged dudes with occasionally misbehaving kids of their own.
In this Easter photo taken in the 1960s, Alverna and the Miller poopies, Chris, Cathy and Pam, wore stellar hats. We miss the age of hats!
Pam, 2, "read" a book to Chris and Janie in November 1958.
As Janie played nearby, Pam and Mr. Pinky communed with cousin Joe in this January 1959 photo.
Cousin Chris was so gaga over lovely Mary Eischen in June 1987 that he actually allowed his face to be painted and played whiffle baseball. They were on vacation at Myrtle Beach, S.C., with relatives from the Miller side of the family. Four months afterward, Mary would become an official cousin.
Jane and Ted Hagberg, Cathy and Dan Broberg, Bridget and Sam Broberg and John "Tuck" Kirkwood prepared to party after the ceremony.
Mary and Chris looked lovely and handsome, respectively. The cake looked real good, too.
Chats and Mary kibbutzed.
Aunt Katie and Uncle John Kirkwood were among the many glamorous guests at the reception, which was held in the ballroom of the former Hotel Duluth.
Chats and Pam danced to the live band and exchanged amazed commentaries on the fact that brother Chris had actually gotten married. Pam and husband Steve came all the way from Anchorage, Alaska, for this party. Wouldn't have missed it!
Cousins Chats and Tuck grooved to the live band. The spectre at left was cousin Dan Broberg, dressed up like a large raisin. Why? Why not?
The Minnesota State Fair always brings back fond memories of Aunt Annette (Annette Sprick Kulseth, Aug. 23, 1914-Jan. 8, 2002), who loved the fair and even got her picture taken there by a Minneapolis Tribune photographer. For many years, she worked at the fair diner operated by St. Olaf Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, making delicious Swedish meatballs and other ethnic delicacies that caused old Norwegians to wobble tearfully and genuflect. (Annette was 100 percent German-American, of course, but embraced Norwegian-ism after marrying Uncle Hart. She could rosemale better than expert Norwegian rosemalers, for instance.)
This photo wasn't taken at the fair, but rather at St. Olaf itself at its centennial celebration on July 4, 1976. St. Olaf, in north Minneapolis, was once a church composed entirely of Norwegian-Americans. Now, under the leadership of the Rev. Dale Hulme, it serves inner-city African-Americans, Liberian immigrants and other core-city folks. Annette loved the church, and stuck with it proudly through all its changes. After she died, your scrapblog editor wrote a newspaper story about the church's Christmas concert, which remains a lovely event. Some things change, but some things do not.
Aunt Vi and cousin Leah Sprick (later Davidson) relaxed under a pretty bush in July 1956. We heard a rumor that Leah will visit Minnesota again in September, and hope we get to see her.
In this 1954 photo, Grandma Sprick enjoyed a Coca-Cola, a pretty modern treat for someone born in the 19th century. Note the hairnet; we never understood why Gramma wore it, since she didn't seem to shed that much. Maybe it's because she baked bread daily? Anyone know?
Cousin Me, that is, cousin Pam, bothered Uncle Ed, who rarely got this dressed up, as he tried to open a gift (braunschweiger, no doubt, or some dry-roasted peanuts) in the late 1960s. Crusty, savvy, shrapnel-laced old Ed was a godsend during that time, watching over the annoying Miller kids while Uncle Bill was in the deadly cauldron of Vietnam. Your scrapblog editor is working on a novel set during that time that has a character loosely based on Uncle Ed. Someday, if she ever gets it done, you-all can read it and buy multiple copies for each other for Christmas.
Mare, resplendent in Farrah-hair, opened wedding presents with new hubby Chris Miller on Nov. 1, 1987, the day after their riotous Halloween Day wedding. Which one of you cousins gave them that groovy wok? Mary looks a little peaked, but not nearly as peaked as cousin Chris, who had neglected to comb his stellar mullet.
Mary with her firstborn, little Zacky, in September 1988. Zack still has the same hairdo.
Mary loves to talk on the phone! Here she is in April 1989, talking on an old-fashioned clunky red land line.
It's been suggested by certain people whom we won't name (cousin Chris) that the scrapblog editor sometimes embellishes the 100 percent true stories she makes up with fictional tidbits, mostly because her memory is a dewy and nostalgic veil addled by years of drinking Tab cola and working at newspapers. This next story is not one of those dubious tales, though. This one really happened, and just yesterday!
The scrapblog editor was sitting in a lawn chair in her Robbinsdale yard with her geriatric cat Lucille when she heard someone call out, "Hey!" Sounded like a teenage boy whose voice was changing. She looked around. No boy. "Hey!" she heard again.
Yikes! The greeting was coming from a crow sitting in her ash tree. "Hey! Hey!" It was an absolutely humanlike voice.
Holy schmoly! Pam and Lucille were spooked. They did not return the crow's greeting. (Of course, Lucy can't talk except on Christmas Eve, when the animals talk, right, Noah?)
Then, at work, she saw this story about crows on the news budget for today's paper.
Gadzooks! As Uncle Joe says, "The crows and coyotes will be here when we're gone."
Young cousins Mo, Zachary, Noah and H.B. stood still for a minute. Mo will be a senior this year at Centennial High School, majoring in wonderfulness. Zack will be a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, majoring in engineering. Noah, who lives in Dinkytown, will be a sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (he transferred down from Duluth), majoring in political science. H.B. will be a freshman at Centennial High, majoring in X-treme coolness.
Aunt Chats with nieces Mo and H.B.
Shocking! But no, Aunt Chats was not illegally providing booze to mischievous nephews Noah and Zack -- they were delivering those beers to Chris and Sam in the living room (we made sure they did). Chats, Noah and Zack were, however, all swilling Pam's precious Tab Cola.
Pam and her favorite son, Noah, of whom she is very proud.
Dan with his laughing boys, Nick and Marty.
Cousins Pam and Sam.
Cousin Chris played us a little tune on the piano. Young Z. Broberg, watching in the background, is also a gifted piano player, but was too shy to play this time. We know we'll hear him someday!
Siblings in the sun.
Chats with that giant of the theater, Sir Tyrone Guthrie.
Chats called hubby Michael from the Stone Arch Bridge, one of the coolest places in Minnesota (and we know quite a few of them).
Eldest sister Pam likes this photo because it makes her look smaller than sister Chatsie and brother Chris. A trick of the camera, trust us on that!
In this otherwise excellent photo, cousin Chris appears to have a small child growing out of his head.
What a lovely photo of H.B., Izzbee and Chats -- wait! What is Izzbee eating? Ewww! Time for some PhotoShopping!
Auntie Pam with her lookalike niece H.B. What?? You don't think they look alike??
H.B. and her friend Mandy, whom the Millers decided looked a lot like actress Keira Knightley.
Postscript: We are dismayed to note that Auntie Mary is not in any of our photos, which her image would have improved considerably. But we can't resist telling of a Burnt Wienie-worthy blooper she made. She had made us lovely, healthy snacks as always, and whilst feasting on her homemade hummus, we noted what appeared to be multiple plastic bits. "Hmmmm," said Auntie Mary. "That's where that silicone scraper went!"
Judging by their matching duds, Anna and Chats shop at the same high-end spot.
Also visiting Anna was the large, frightening eye/eyebrow at left.
Part of why Joe is so healthy at 81 is that he doesn't eat much cake. He distributed his Bronk's birthday cake to his relatives.
The Bronk's bunch included cousin Chats, Uncle John, Uncle Joe, Aunt Mavis and Aunt Katie.
Young Elmer, right, with his dad, Claus Sprick, next to him, and some relatives at the L-shaped farmhouse.
Elmer jauntily posed with his kid sister, Katie.
We love any opportunity to reprint this immortal photo of Elmer with his best-ever hairstyle, posing proudly next to his brother Ed. (Middle-aged cousins seeing that outstanding 'do may be reminded of Ed Grimley, the character Martin Short often portrayed on "Saturday Night Live." "I must say!")
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Joe classed up the family considerably by marrying our beloved Aunt Mavis LaMont.
With his kiddos, cousins Cindi and Davy, in the 1960s.
Solemnly presiding over yet another stellar Stump-in in the 1970s at Joe and Mavis' wild land in western Wisconsin, with cousins Davy and Chris "helping." The occasion was the contest to name the place, and voter fraud was a concern. Note Chris trying to get everyone to vote for "Someplace Else" -- oh yeah, man, there's a great idea. "Elmacida," by the way, was Anna's brainchild (ELmerMavisCIndiDAvy, get it?). Grandma Sprick's poetic entry, "Waldesruh" (peace of the woods) won out.