Happy New Year to Everyone!

Joe Vink (left) and Mel Elliott having a good ole' time together

Duxbury News
Toni Williamson
Toni@DuxburyNews.info

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you rang it in with loved ones and friends.
One thing we notice in our little community is that regardless of which local township you live in, “all roads lead to Duxbury” (I think I just discovered a new bumper sticker!). We may be “itty bitty” but the history reaches far and wide. Just don’t blink!

My husband and I stopped in the Duxbury Store for lunch and to meet with Fran Levings, Clerk for New Dosey Township. She was meeting with him to give information to update their website, NewDoseyTownship.com which he administers for them. After concluding our business with Fran, we went on to have lunch.

While enjoying our meal we chatted with Mel Elliott from Arna Township and Joe and Bev Vink, proprietors of the Duxbury Store. They reminisced about current and past times, showing pictures of the area from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.

Mel is a hearty gentleman and was celebrating his 73rd birthday, enjoying the Duxbury hospitality. He shared that he has lived and farmed just East of Duxbury all his life, except for a brief stint in the military and that he and his wife Eleanor have been married for 53 years. He chuckled that he and Eleanor were recently celebrating their 53rd anniversary, when the female of a young couple that was sitting nearby came up to Eleanor and asked how she could stand being with the same man for so many years! She responded that she was Swedish and he was Irish. A match made in heaven!

Joe, who will be 83 years old in March, grew up in Wisconsin, near Turtle Lake and came to the Duxbury area when he was 16 years old. Bev laughed and shared a story that around that time he asked his mother if he could smoke. Of course, she told him “no”. She said he listened, never asked her again, and has never smoked. Gosh, I wish if children today would listen like that!

Bev got out several photo albums and showed pictures of the roads and other activities from beaver trapping in the 30’s and 40’s to a picture of three small sweet little cherubs, one named Gary Vink when he was about 5 or 6 years old. Bev loves to share stories about the good ‘ole days. She said that back the 40’s and 50’s about ½ mile east of the store used to be under water every spring. Her father had to take a rowboat on the road to meet the mailman so that he could bring him across to deliver the mail.

Joe, Bev and Mel shared so many stories about growing up in the area, that it would take several other articles to share all of them all with you. We all laughed and truly enjoyed hearing their stories as they spoke of the experiences from the past. They talked about the changes they have seen and what is also constant. One thing that I noticed that was constant, was their deep long lasting friendship which has lasted more than half a century. It was a pleasure to be there with them to share the special moments of friends reminiscing about memories growing up together.
Well our baby, our 26 years old son, just got married on January 3, 2009 to a lovely young lady who grew up in the Blue Earth area. About 50 family members from both sides gathered at our home for a beautiful ceremony and wonderful food. It was fun meeting new family members as we danced the night away. Besides our family, children and grandchildren, we now have another daughter!

Outside continues to be cold and like it or not, we are having a good, old fashioned winter. The season is bringing the whir of snowmobiles on their way to various destinations. Please be careful out there. This is the most snow we have had in a long time and the enthusiasm to hit the trails and blaze away is very tempting. Remember to ride careful and have fun.

Got any old photos or stories? Please send them to my email address. I would love to share them with everyone.

Thanks for reading!

Crisp Smell of Winter

Duxbury News
Toni Williamson
Toni@DuxburyNews.info

I love the crisp smell of winter. The clear blue skies on a cold day, the beauty of the snow on the pine trees, and the lovely stars on a winter’s night are indescribable. Living here, enjoying the wonderful snow is only enhanced by the warmth of the wonderful people that you meet.

We love the Holiday Season! Our first highlight was having our two grandsons with us from Thursday through Sunday, one week ago. Warm hugs, homemade muffins and of course our favorite saying to almost any question they ask; “of course you can, you’re at Grandma and Grandpa’s”! Simple pleasures are so much fun!!! Playing games and watching them be happy is priceless. On Sunday, we met our daughter at Amy’s in Sandstone for breakfast. After, they left for home in Brooklyn Park.

So, on we went to the Winter Celebration Party at the home of Stephanie and Dennis Hansen, just west of Duxbury. Have you ever walked into a place with about forty people, most you don’t know, and felt instantly at ease and comfort? That’s how we felt just entering their driveway.

The various foods there were beyond amazing. So many delicious variations and creative tastes, that I found myself circling the table pondering what to try next. One thing that came up in conversation with others was that you can have a gathering with room to spare all over the house with numerous seating, but for some reason the kitchen is where conversation abounds. This happens even when the food is gone! When I was young, my parents had a hanging in our house that said “No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best”. I think it’s because love resonates from the meals enjoyed there.

While chatting with others, I met two lovely little girls, Twigg, age four and her cousin Quinn, age eight, granddaughters of Stephanie and Dennis. I did not get a chance to talk with Twigg, but I did speak with Quinn. She was breath of crisp fresh air on the lovely winter’s day. She spoke about her love of horses and how she has a preference for the feisty ones; that explains her love of her horse called Diablo. When asked what was her favorite animal she replied. “All of them, they’re equal.” There is a beautiful quote from someone whose name I cannot remember who said “Out of the mouths of babes, often come gems”.

As the day turned to night, we enjoyed wonderful music and singing with lovely candlelight, the warmth of the home, atmosphere and people. Enjoying old and new music with guitars, banjos, clarinets, spoons, mandolins, and washtubs basins, made for a lovely melody. Certain songs came complete with stories to introduce particular songs that made you feel like you knew the song even if you never heard it before.

Have you ever seen the sketch of the Duxbury Store? It was done by Dave Lynas. I had a chance to talk with him and his wife Janice (Yani). They reside in Duluth and he is a multi-talented musician and artist playing the banjo, guitar, clarinet and other instruments I can’t pronounce. He also has his artwork displayed in Duluth.

The rich history of this area reaches far and wide. Another enlightening person I was happy to meet was Christine Carlson, who lives in Nickerson. She is doing research about Gary, MN and the western part of Duluth, where African Americans came up from the south in 1915 to work. She has a wealth of knowledge from the research she does to information on growing Orchids to Lisianthus. I have an orchid that sometimes cooperates, and maybe I can get it to bloom again. Does anyone have a secret to getting your orchids to bloom?

Thank you so much for the well wishes for my husband’s father. He continues to do well, so please keep praying for him.

Thanks to Michael Johnson from Mora, MN and to Christine Carlson from Nickerson, MN for sending their yummy deer recipes. These recipes can be found on the website DuxburyNews.info. I welcome your feedback and suggestions of any kind.

Our Christmas was spent with our two children and their family. It’s wonderful when the most you have to worry about is if the turkey is moist enough. Gifts abounded from a sweatshirt with every word representing Grandpa to a book from Michal Powell called Back in the Day. The introduction of the book starts by saying “George Bernard Shaw was wrong when he said that we learn nothing from history. After all, the ancient used to be the modern. It is only the distance of time which separates it”. I am going to enjoy reading this!

I think we could all use some recipes for leftover turkey, so please send them to me at Toni@DuxburyNews.info.

Let’s all pray for a New Year of Peace and happiness for everyone.

Thanks for reading.