DO DAYS RESUME Submitted by June Torrison
We began Do Days again in June. We will be meeting the SECOND and FOURTH Wednesdays at 1:00 in the church Fellowship Hall. What DO we do there? For now, we will be tying quilts. Sometimes we assemble the tops, filling, and bottoms. What DON’T we do there? We don’t do any actual sewing. The quilt tops are put together at people’s homes, and so is the finishing. There must be some people out there who have some time available to come and help with this. It’s not difficult. Our ELCA has a motto “God’s Work, Our Hands”. In some of our parishes men have been involved in this work. During the summer there could be some teenagers who are looking for a service project. Please consider joining us.
Church and community activities are gradually starting up after being on hold for well over a year. Weddings and even funerals have been delayed. Many of us have not seen family members during this long time, either. I have not seen two of my grandchildren for many months, but we talk on the phone and e-mail so that helps.
We held our first Wildwood Grove service May 27 and were amazed at the number of residents and family members there. It was held in the large dining room rather than in the smaller room where the piano is. That meant that we used recorded music. One gal asked me if I was going to play and I said “my arms aren’t long enough”. One of the residents was celebrating a birthday, so her family provided some delicious refreshments. I hadn’t expected that, but we all enjoyed it and a time to visit. Obviously we missed the people who had passed away during the 15 or so months we were not able to be there.
One of the devotionals in our GATHER magazine that we were not able to share together was titled THE JOURNEY OF GENERATIONS. As I was reading this and reflecting on the questions, I realized that the two farms that my parents grew up on in Iowa have been in the families for GENERATIONS. My great grandfather, Eric Thorson, came first from Norway, then from Wisconsin to land near what became St. Ansgar, Iowa in 1853. It is still owned by my cousin. Merlyn Thorson. Eric later went back to Norway for his elderly parents who were born in about 1784 and 1789. They lived to be 95 and 91 years old and are buried in the cemetery in St. Ansgar. I have been honored to put flowers on their grave for many years. One of the traditions on the Thorson farm was to take pictures in the front of the house sitting on the big stones – they don’t seem as big to me now as they did when I was a child. There was an original log house there, and the present house was built around it. The red barn is also very old. Merlyn’s daughter was married there a few summers ago, so more GENERATIONS gathered for that event.
Great grandfather Fred Tesch was born in Germany. They also lived in Wisconsin for awhile and he fought in the Civil War along with two of his brothers. They came to the Grafton, Iowa area in 1869. That farm was also in the Tesch family for several generations. I wonder what Great Grandpa Fred told my dad about living in Germany, his war experiences, etc. He also lived to be 90. The farm house was sort of like a duplex. When I was a child, my grandparents lived on one end, and my uncle, aunt and cousin on the other. Unfortunately, the house burned a few years ago, so when I drive by it, it doesn’t look the same. I do remember being there a lot as a child on Sunday afternoons, and for holiday gatherings. The men often played horseshoes in the summer, sometimes everyone played ball. It was also a gathering place for many GENERATIONS.
When I watch programs on TV like “Finding Your Roots”, I am amazed that some people know so little about their family histories. Unfortunately, for the blacks, their ancestors weren’t always listed by name in the census counts, and too often the families were split up. And sometimes people just disappeared and they weren’t able to be traced. So I feel very blessed to have had such good connections to all of my ancestors along with the documented family history.
LORD YOU HAVE BEEN OUR DWELLING PLACE IN ALL GENERATIONS. Psalm 90, v 1.
We began Do Days again in June. We will be meeting the SECOND and FOURTH Wednesdays at 1:00 in the church Fellowship Hall. What DO we do there? For now, we will be tying quilts. Sometimes we assemble the tops, filling, and bottoms. What DON’T we do there? We don’t do any actual sewing. The quilt tops are put together at people’s homes, and so is the finishing. There must be some people out there who have some time available to come and help with this. It’s not difficult. Our ELCA has a motto “God’s Work, Our Hands”. In some of our parishes men have been involved in this work. During the summer there could be some teenagers who are looking for a service project. Please consider joining us.
Church and community activities are gradually starting up after being on hold for well over a year. Weddings and even funerals have been delayed. Many of us have not seen family members during this long time, either. I have not seen two of my grandchildren for many months, but we talk on the phone and e-mail so that helps.
We held our first Wildwood Grove service May 27 and were amazed at the number of residents and family members there. It was held in the large dining room rather than in the smaller room where the piano is. That meant that we used recorded music. One gal asked me if I was going to play and I said “my arms aren’t long enough”. One of the residents was celebrating a birthday, so her family provided some delicious refreshments. I hadn’t expected that, but we all enjoyed it and a time to visit. Obviously we missed the people who had passed away during the 15 or so months we were not able to be there.
One of the devotionals in our GATHER magazine that we were not able to share together was titled THE JOURNEY OF GENERATIONS. As I was reading this and reflecting on the questions, I realized that the two farms that my parents grew up on in Iowa have been in the families for GENERATIONS. My great grandfather, Eric Thorson, came first from Norway, then from Wisconsin to land near what became St. Ansgar, Iowa in 1853. It is still owned by my cousin. Merlyn Thorson. Eric later went back to Norway for his elderly parents who were born in about 1784 and 1789. They lived to be 95 and 91 years old and are buried in the cemetery in St. Ansgar. I have been honored to put flowers on their grave for many years. One of the traditions on the Thorson farm was to take pictures in the front of the house sitting on the big stones – they don’t seem as big to me now as they did when I was a child. There was an original log house there, and the present house was built around it. The red barn is also very old. Merlyn’s daughter was married there a few summers ago, so more GENERATIONS gathered for that event.
Great grandfather Fred Tesch was born in Germany. They also lived in Wisconsin for awhile and he fought in the Civil War along with two of his brothers. They came to the Grafton, Iowa area in 1869. That farm was also in the Tesch family for several generations. I wonder what Great Grandpa Fred told my dad about living in Germany, his war experiences, etc. He also lived to be 90. The farm house was sort of like a duplex. When I was a child, my grandparents lived on one end, and my uncle, aunt and cousin on the other. Unfortunately, the house burned a few years ago, so when I drive by it, it doesn’t look the same. I do remember being there a lot as a child on Sunday afternoons, and for holiday gatherings. The men often played horseshoes in the summer, sometimes everyone played ball. It was also a gathering place for many GENERATIONS.
When I watch programs on TV like “Finding Your Roots”, I am amazed that some people know so little about their family histories. Unfortunately, for the blacks, their ancestors weren’t always listed by name in the census counts, and too often the families were split up. And sometimes people just disappeared and they weren’t able to be traced. So I feel very blessed to have had such good connections to all of my ancestors along with the documented family history.
LORD YOU HAVE BEEN OUR DWELLING PLACE IN ALL GENERATIONS. Psalm 90, v 1.
