Meeting the Past

Seeing friends you haven't seen ages is a blessing. When those friends are good storytellers, you are doubly blessed. Jim and Nedra used to live near Mum out north and are now in ANC. When we were up there last week, we were able to visit with them both of the days we were in the city. 

The first day we stopped by, we met a couple of VERY nice people, Carey and Dawn. Carey (I hope I spelled her name right!) enjoys doing  genealogy research and discovered she is a cousin of some sort to Nedra. The craziest part? Mum may also have connections to her family via Norway and Minnesota. I gave her my contact information and some names which may be ones she'll find on her tree. 

 
 The second day we visited, Nedra was in story mode. She showed us a beautiful photo from ages past. She is pictured with her two brothers. While we sat listening to her, I was frantically typing notes on my phone-Stories should be preserved and I was bound to keep as many bits as I could!

In this photo, Nedra said her hair was like 'dynel' or plastic. She was 7 years old and the top she had on  was yellow with black smocking her mom put on it. She said her brothers were a different kind of trouble (you can see the look in the eyes of the oldest!). Nedra said her parents didn't see what she did, they had to deal with the boys and she often had to sit while those two were dealt with first! She also shared a  photo full of young girls. Nedra's leg had a plaster on the front. She told us she had gotten hit by a truck when on her bike and tossed into a ditch of old leaves. There weren't antibiotics and she almost died since her leg was broken badly. She said she was out of school for a year. She told us of a quarry she grew up near that had goldfish in it. Gold fish that eventually went 'wild'!

Nedra also shared stories about one of the first ministers of the Methodist church in Kenai. They were from California, Bob and Norma. Bob played the organ. The dubious part was Norma wore mini skirts and the couple loved to dance! (this was a long time ago, I forgot to ask when...)

 We stayed with them for lunch and Jim showed us an Evenson original. He had put squiggles on a napkin and wondered what we saw in them.

All the while we heard more stories. Ones of how they moved their family to Spain for a school year on half salary from the school district and some of the experiences they had. Their apartment was luxury, two pools with the Mediterranean right out sliding glass doors~The neighboring place was where one of the most famous bullfighters of the time lived, although, they never did meet him! Later, Nedra told about cherries she had NOT purchased when they were homesteading. They were $5 a pound and just in from the PNW. She said a well dressed man in a suit came into the store and bought a bag full, because 'he liked them'. Lucy then recalled a cantaloupe she priced up in Nome, it was a ridiculous price! This reminded me of our visit. The lunch special was steak Diane, Nedra said that was just a  nice way to say a hamburger with gravy on top. Lucy and I had something from their deli, and it was more than we'd normally have paid. Yet, the food wasn't what we were there for. The soul was fed by the joy of being with these lovely people. As Lucy said, sometimes you pay more for something you truly want. Cherries, cantaloupe, or a lunch with friends. 

Nedra said she felt moving to ANC was a good thing to do and that she felt they were in 'the right place now'. She told  how she was losing weight and her back didn't hurt anymore due to some advice from one of Jim's physical therapists. She also mentioned their new home didn't have a dress code, she had given Jim a pair of her Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and he wore them!

It was good to see them at peace. I'm incredibly grateful for the chance we had to meet  with them once more.

Story Time 1

I am really behind on posts! I took these in the last days of September at Jim and Needra's house (well, not the first one! That was taken by Kari at mom's church.). 

 The home is perched between two lakes. Marie Lake and Bishop Lake. I have heard a family of swans has come out of hiding and I hope to pop over to see them before they migrate. Below is a view of the Nikiski Senior Center. It is available for all kinds of events and hosts games during the week.

 View of Lake Marie

 This bird house is home to a squirrel! It sort of looks like a head mount!!! But, he was very much alive and alert to what I might be doing!

 Bishop Lake in the sun. It is the bigger of the two lakes.

 This is Needra and Jim's cat, Figaro the I can't remember how many. 4 or 5???? It has a sort of continuity to keep the name the same for every cat!

I love to hear Needra tell stories of when they were homesteading on the Kenai. She can always make her listeners laugh and sit amazed at some of the experiences she has had.

Merc Shows Well

 Hodaka Days in Athena, Oregon is a huge thing. The Weston McEwen Booster Club piggy backed on with a car/bike show to help support the sports programs at the HS. Talk was last year's was much larger. It would have been nice to have a few more cars, but I sure enjoyed the experiences I had today! OK-cept for the almost ridiculous sunbroil. I'm going to have to wear blues and blacks for a bit to tone down the bright pink!

We were parked next to some awesome rigs. The blue Firebird won best of show, the black rig below had some incredible suspension things, the red car right next to the Mercury had been fixed up after an encounter with a gal who not only didn't see a red light, but totally missed seeing the red car.

There were so many stories told today. I enjoyed talking to people about the car and the history, as we knew it. One of my favorite comments after a lady looked it over was, "They used to paint kitchens this color." I looked at t he Merc and imagined appliances, tile, and counter tops in this bright blue and white! So many visitors loved seeing what was coined as a 'Survivor'. She's not fancy and that caught a great deal of attention, as well. Her interior was highly praised as we are sure it is still the same one it had when she was purchased in May 1956. One man who sat in the car (I didn't let many, but the ones who did were truly appreciative), said the scent and the colors reminded him of way back when. 

 This pup rode in the side car wearing a helmet to match the bike and car. He also has goggles, but didn't have those on cuz it wasn't a drive where he needed them (just across the field).

This guy had a cool bike with a matching 'car-go' carrier he pulled. The carrier looked like a vintage car. I enjoyed Elvis. I'm not sure it was intentional, but today was windy and the hand on the cardboard image kept waving!! 

 Out in the streets, Hodakas buzzed past. The names are whimsical, the drivers have a camaraderie which binds them together closer than tires hitting the road, and their enjoyment is infectious.

 You can see smoke rising in the sunshine from the revving engines.

 Back in the car lot! Logos gleamed as the sun hit them. Who doesn't love a shiny Mustang????

 I do adore a pretty Ford!!!

The rig below has a varnished stick of wood to help hold the hood open. I liked the idea and suggested something similar for the Merc. We had the hood open today, but you couldn't see the fancy ornament on top. The suggestion was shelved for further consideration.

 Paint jobs on the different vehicles were incredible. One woman shared about a paint job she had seen which looked like lines and an odd blob shape...Until you looked closer. She said the stripes were blue and pink and the odd blobs were a 'boy' chasing a 'girl' around the car! These paint etchings were nothing more than lovely colors and designs. Fun, though!

 This Rat Rod was parked right next to us. The best comment on this rig? 'It's a vehicle with a sense of humor.' Rusted holes were patched with old license plates from anywhere, there were spiderwebs on the windshield, The metal horns on the front had barbed wire wrapped around them. It seemed each time you looked at it, there was something new!

 This car drove past while awards were being given out. I was kind of glad it hadn't been in the show. It is a Buick  from the same year as the Mercury or a bit older. Sweet ride! However, with two  cars in the same category, I'm not sure Steve would have won an award. Especially since the school colors are red/white/black and a lot of people who voted were from Athena!