Visit to "Bentleyville - Tour of Lights"

The 120 foot Christmas Tree is located in the center of the 
fantasy Christmas Village of Bentleyville in Duluth, Minnesota

We visited "Bentleyville" Tour of Lights at Bayfront Festival Park, Bayfront, Duluth, MN on Wednesday evening.  It was a perfect warm night to enjoy all the lighting displays without getting too cold!  Our Granddaughter, and Sarah's niece, really enjoyed it!  So did we!

for more information:  http://www.bentleyvilleusa.org/
                                             

Black Friday - Not for Me!!

No....I did not participate in Black Friday shopping.  I didn't even shop during the day on Friday, or Saturday or today!  I really think it's sad that the stores open earlier each year, and this year opened at midnight!  It's sad that those that work these retail places have to work such hours.  I'm afraid that next year, they will be open all day during Thanksgiving, as a few of the stores this year were.  The hassle with the crowds is just too much for me.  I looked at the ads, and didn't even see anything that I thought was a "good deal".

Our daughter in law and her Mother go out every Black Friday and I think they do it more for the "fun and the adrelein rush that they get.  They went out at Midnight and shopped all night, coming back at 6:30 or 7 am.  Our daughter and granddaughter went out about 11 am and shopped most of the day.  There's a difference though, between the four of them and me.  They all  "enjoy shopping", or I should say they "Love shopping".  I'm really not much of a shopper.  Never have been... I never feel I have the money to really shop, and so it makes me more "nervous" than "happy".   I don't get the high that some get.

I'm glad they enjoyed their night (and their day) I'm happy for all those that did shop, and I hope it helped our economy - I'm just happy I wasn't along!

Great Thanksgiving!

THANKSGIVING 2011 - the best Thanksgiving gathering our family has had in many years.  All of our children were together with us.  We were only missing our Grandson and our Son-in-law because they both had to work.  We gathered together at our son and daughter-in-law's home.  Her side of the family was also there, and so we had a big gathering, which I always love.  Reminded me of when I lived at home growing up, and when Bob's Mother and all his Aunts were with us in the younger days of our marriage.  We even had a baby to enjoy, darling 8 month old baby girl. (Sarah and Scott's niece) Babies and children always add to the family gatherings.  Sarah and her Mother made a most delicious meal, with many side dishes and not just turkey, but also ham.  I personal favorite of the two is ham, so that was really great!

We counted our many blessings as a family.  I am truly blessed to have a wonderful family!  I hope your Thanksgiving meal and day was as good as ours!!!  

My Maternal Great Grandfather

                                                      This is the home of Jacob Wiley - where my

                                                         Maternal Grandmother grew up.  She

                                                      married George B. Livingston and had

                                                      three children.  Arthur, Gilbert, Romaine

                                                                    (my Mother) and John. 

My Grandma Elizabeth was widowed with three young children when my Mother was very young.  So, I never knew my Grandfather Livingston, and I have seen very few photos of him.  As you will read in my posts below, I received a great CD in the mail today, that was made by one of my Livingston cousins of old photos he gathered together from his Dad and from Grandma.  It's so great to have these, and many of them I have never seen!

My Grandfather Livingston was killed when he stepped on a live electric wire accidentally, as he was helping his brother to get his car out of the ditch during a bad storm.  Apparently wind brought wires down and they didn't know.  I have posted a copy of what was in the newspaper, that was on the CD.
I guess he and his family were well known and loved because it says over 1500 were at the funeral.  My Mother says she only remembers part of it, as she was so young.

The George on this picture was my Grandfather's Dad.  Until her Grandfather died, my Mom and two brothers shown here (Gilbert, John and Arthur) lived on this farm.  After he died, they had to move.  Life was very hard for my Grandmother.  She survived by cleaning houses for people.  Uncle Gilbert told us kids recently that there were times when she didn't know where their next meal was coming from, and then some kind neighbor would bring them something.  She always trusted in The Lord that they would be taken care of and they were.  It made her faith very strong, and my Mother's and her brothers faith also.

                                                     
                                                   The third from the left man is my Grandfather
                                                                George B. Livingston

                                               The couple on the right is my Grandma and
                                                                    Grandpa Livingston  
                                                         He looks to be a very handsome man

                                                            I cropped from the photo above

In later years Grandma married Maurice, who was a local farmer who Grandma always knew.  He became a widower...and the two of them got together and got married...I'm not sure when...but they were married before I was born.  He is the one I knew as Grandpa, although we never called him Grandpa, we called him Maurice.  Here is a cropped photo of them, taken at my wedding in 1969.
I loved Maurice...he was always quiet and never had much to say, but he would take me with him when he went to the pig pen and I would help feed the pigs, and things like that.  He was a wonderful man.

                                                                             

My Grandma and I were very, very close.  She did so much for me, and I spent so much time with her.  My Mother and her were very close too.  My Mother used to tell me that "my Mother is my best friend".                                
And this photo above is how I will always remember my Grandma Wiley-Livingston-Gochnauer
                                              I loved her so much and she lives in my heart
                                              always... look at her beautiful smile.  She was
                                               loved by so many.  I know someday I will
                                              be reunited with her and my Mother and all
                                               those I loved that went before me!
                                         

The First Jacob Wiley Reunion

This is a family photo of the Jacob Wiley Family, at their first reunion in the 50's.  These are my Maternal Mother's Aunts and Uncles.  My Grandma's brothers and sisters.  The man seated in the middle of the front row is my Great Grandfather, Jacob Wiley.  Grandma lived on the farm with him, the farm that they grew up on.  Her brothers and sisters would often come up there and visit their Dad and their sister.  Especially on Sundays when I was often with Grandma.  Therefore, I got to know my Great Aunts and Uncles as well as I knew my Aunts and Uncles (and that was well).  I was so delighted when about 5 years ago I found an 8 X 10 of this photo at the house when going through my Mother's photos.  I brought it back and have it framed and hanging in my home.

I am the third oldest grandchild in the family, and we are in the front row, along with the younger cousins.  Great Grandpa and my Grandma are holding the two youngest that were babies then.  I was 10 years old when Great Grandpa died, so I remember him pretty well.  His was the first funeral I ever attended, and everytime I smell carnations, I think of his funeral.  I remember the smell like it was yesterday and I remember that each of us grandchildren were given a carnation in one of those plastic containers holding water.  

The photo below here is the way those Great Aunts and Uncles looked while I was growing up, and I remember when this was taken at one of our reunions (which we had every year, at a local church grove).  We attended the reunion every year, and I really believe these reunions along with reunions that my Mother's Dad's family has every year, and the one my Father's family had every year, is one of the reasons I grew up valuing my family and have continued to value and treasure the memories I have of not only cousins, not only Aunts and Uncles, but also Great Aunts, Uncles and second and third cousins!!  

                                                 My Grandma is on the right in the front row

                                            her brothers and sisters - one brother is missing - he

                                             lived in California and wasn't there that day.

                                           Photo taken the same day as the first photo - First Reunion

                                            that is still being held annually every summer, after

                                           all these years!

Getting to know all of these lovely people as I was growing up, is why family and 

all family connections are very important to me!!!  

Family Treasures

What a treat I got today in our mail.  My brother told me several months ago that one of our Arizona cousins did a CD of old family photos of our Mother's side that he had collected from his Dad.  I asked him to burn a CD of it for me...and he said he would.  FINALLY, today's mail brought me the CD.  I spent a good 2 1/2 hours looking at over 500 old photos!  How exciting it was for me!  I don't know if my sister got one of these CD's, but I am posting two wedding photos of our parents here, that I have never seen, and I don't think any of us kids have ever seen.  Most of my family follows me on facebook, which seems to be taking my time away from blogging...but not my sister.  She is not on, and does not follow facebook, so Julie, these photos are for you.  I know Mom never had these photos. (or I would have them!)   One for sure was taken at Grandma's house.  Julie, Mom always led me to believe that she only had a dress for her wedding...and she never said anything about a veil. They got married at the Parsonage, with no one there.  That is all she ever told me about their weddin.....but look she did have a long wedding dress and a veil.  Wow!  She is so beautiful and Dad is so very handsome!!!

Great Vacation Week!

I am so fortunate.  I was able to take another full week off of work, the first week of October.  I was having such a good week, and every evening thought I would write on my blog but never did.  Last week I went back to work and didn't have a chance to write.  So, here I am two weeks later.

I had a real good balance between relaxing, and getting some extra cleaning done around the house!!!  The weather could not have been more perfect...the temps every day that week was between high 60's and high 70's and some days were sunny, even without a lot of sunshine the days were beautiful!!!!  One morning I was up very early and by 8 am, I had the venetians blinds cleaned and the curtains from the living and dining room windows in the wash!  Every day I did something "extra" around the house as far as cleaning goes, and still spent a few hours each day outside enjoying the great fall days!   When I was out and about enjoying the beauty of the fall leaves and the beauty of our city, I took lots of pictures.  I will be posting those in the next few weeks.  If you follow me on Facebook, I already posted them in albums.  I topped off my week of vacation by going to Hudson (WI) to visit our daughter and family on the weekend.  On the way down, I visited for an hour or so, a friend who was in North Branch visiting her sister, from the Milwaukee area.  Also spent extra time with my husband, in between his golfing.  While he golfed I enjoyed the beauty outside also.  We celebrated both of our Grandchildren's birthdays.

I can't believe that they are 22 and 11 already!!!

When I went back to work last week, I went back knowing my house was in good order, and that I had had a wonderful vacation and was ready to dig into my work week!  I picked a good week to be away from the office too, because I really didn't miss anything, and it was one of our slower weeks, so I didn't come back with a big pile of work to be overwhelmed!

Gooseberry Falls State Park, Minnesota

These photos were taken when our niece Stacie visited us from PA in August.  

I was pleasantly surprised to see the improvements since I hadn't visited the falls since our sons were younger.  There are walking trails much improved and more signage and much easier to get right to the three falls.  

Map is clickable

On Hwy 61 40 miles NE of Duluth/12 miles NE of Two Harbors 218-834-3855 (visitor center)

Gooseberry State Park in Minnesota invites the public to re-visit the recently completed trails, overlook plaza and highway/pedestrian bridge.  from: http://www.northshorestateparks.com/gooseberry.htm

Split Rock Light House on Lake Superior - HWY 61

Historic Split Rock Lighthouse - this just made it on the National Historic List last week. 

It is about 60 miles North of Duluth on Hwy. 61

and it was built before a road was there...to save ships from

crashing against the cliffs. The shipping companies that lost and had damage to their ships lobbied congress for this lighthouse to be built after there were 3 violet storms in November of 1905, killing 116 sailors on one ship and damaging 30 others.

The homes for the Caretakers of the Lighthouse

Above: The Fog house (for the Fog horn)

View from Lighthouse

                                Stacie and Linda at the Lighthouse - August 5, 2011

Background on the Lighthouse:

Shipwrecks from a mighty 1905 November gale prompted this rugged landmark's construction. Completed by the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1910, Split Rock Light Station was soon one of Minnesota's best known landmarks. Restored to its 1920s appearance, the lighthouse offers a glimpse of lighthouse life in this remote and spectacular setting.

- MN Historical Society web site

"The site ultimately selected for the lighthouse and fog signal was 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of the Split Rock River, on Stony Point. There were no roads yet up the North Shore, so all construction materials were brought in by barge and hoisted up the cliff with a derrick and a steam-powered hoist. By midsummer 1910 work was complete on the lighthouse, foghorn building, and three houses for the lighthouse keepers.

The derrick remained the only way to bring supplies up the cliff until the lighthouse staff built a tramway in 1915-16. The station finally became accessible by a road, now Minnesota State Highway 61, completed in 1929. Five years later a crew from the Civilian Conservation Corps built a new access road and lighthouse tenders were provided with a truck to bring in supplies by land, so the tramway was dismantled." - from Wikipedia.org

ENGER PARK TOWER - GIFT TO DULUTH FROM NORWAY

These photos were taken in August when my niece Stacie visited us.  

Enger Tower and Enger Park were deteriorating over the years, and now the grounds have been improved to what they used to be 40 years ago, when I first came here...the tower has been restored to the beautiful tower that it was when the King and Queen of Norway first gifted it to our city! When my parents came to Duluth with my younger siblings the first summer I lived here, my Dad took the kids up to the top of the tower (as you see Stacie did in the photo above) and they still talk about how much fun that was for them as kids. We saw a lot of families there with kids and it's nice to know that it is now safe for them to climb to the top as it was when my brothers and sister went to the top! From the top of the tower you can imagine the views you see...just look at the view in the above photo that I took from the bottom of the tower! If you live in Duluth and you have not been to the tower lately, you should take some time and go up to it...you won't be sorry!!!

More:

From Wikipedia.org

Enger Tower is an 80-foot (24 m), five-story bluestone observation tower atop Enger Hill in Duluth, MN. The tower is at an elevation of 451 feet (137 m) above Lake Superior, providing panoramic views of the Twin Ports. Each of the tower's levels has a lookout that is accessible by stairs. A green beacon mounted on top of the tower can be seen for many miles.

Dedicated by Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha of Norway on June 15, 1939, the tower memorializes Bert Enger, a Norwegian immigrant who found success as a furniture seller and donated the land for Enger Park.

During the recent restoration, the area Rotary Clubs provided lights that shine on each side of the tower, so that it can be seen at night.