'Twas the Summer of '59

The first and last time that I attended summer camp was in June 1959. I was eleven years old and it was also the first time that I had been away from home for any length of time. The camp was affiliated with the Girl Scouts. Two of my friends, classmates and troop mates, Susan and Joanne, were there too, so it wasn't like I didn't know anyone. It sounds like I had lots of fun. Too bad I don't really remember specific events, though I do remember attending. Hopefully, my spelling and grammar have improved somewhat over the years...



Dear Mom,

I am fine, How are you, Jack, Doug, and Terry. Do you know that you have to pay 15¢ a car, 15¢ for parents, 15¢ for children under 12 years of age.

My consulers are Micky, & Watona. I am having a good time, I'm just a little home sick, not very much.

Do you know what a hopper is it is a person or more that helps set tables and get food on the tables. a hopper doesn't have to do his own dishes but she has to do the tables dishes.

I have written a letter to grandma to.

sincerely yours
Beckie W.



Dear Mom,

I told you about a hopper. I'm a hopper Sat. Lunch.

Can you guess who my cabin mates are? They are Susan Howell and Joann, Suzanne, Pamella, and Diane.

Monday night we had a lot of trouble Susan was crying for her dog, and Dianne triped and hurt her eye, and we made a clothsline and I forgot where we put it and ran thurgh it and got a rope burn, Suzanne was home sick.

I got your letter and was a little home sick. I am going to save $1.00, 5¢ a day for the Mermaid-Festival. Don't tell anybody else.

I lost grandmas address will you send me the address.

Sunday we had hotdogs, potatoe chips, milk, water, Bread & butter.

I am having loads of fun I will write to you & the family almost every day.



There is one letter that Mom sent me. I'm sure she wrote more but this is the only one that got kept...



June 15, 1959

Dear Becky -

Well how is the weather. It's raining here and I've got the furnace turned on - this is always the kind of weather you get when you go to camp. What time did you get to Pottawatamie. I'll bet you were hungry when supper time came - What did you have that was good to eat. Who have you got for a cabin mate. Even if it is raining I'll bet you have fun - We are watching T. V. It's the first its been on in the morning for 2 weeks. I've got some more strawberries that have to be picked. I was over at Pat's yesterday and we are going to have to start picking peas.

Ruth and Gene Stutzman are on vacation this week too - I hope you can read this - I'm trying to get done before the mail man gets here - Terry was looking for you last night & wanted to know when we were going to get you - Bill & Sue were here yesterday and Doug started yelling for you to come & play - He stopped as soon as he got "Bec" out.

= = =

There was one more page in her letter that listed the addresses of people that I was supposed to write to. She signed the letter "Mommy".

Pat is Mom's sister. Pat and her family lived on a farm and always planted a large garden. Bill and Sue are Mom's brother and his wife. Jack, Doug, and Terry were my brothers and sister. It's nice to know that my siblings missed me ;-)

I'm pretty sure that Camp Pottawatamie was located on or near the Tippecanoe River, which was the same river that flowed through the fields less than a mile from our house. I also think the camp is now part of the Tippecanoe River State Park. The town of Winamac is located on State Road 14, in Pulaski County, about a two hour drive from where we lived at the time. Not that far, but I'm sure it seemed further.

This post was written for and contributed to the 76th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy :: How I spent my summer vacation…

Wordless Wednesday - A Hoosier Farm

Washington Township, Noble County, Indiana. August 1983. Digitized ...
Sepia Toned Infrared Photograph.
Copyright © 1983/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Jam Session

I have wanted to do a jam session since we joined Thousand Trails. Austin used to play at them, so he asked us not to come and watch him. This past winter, we kept saying we'd go and one thing after another got in the way. So it was really special to us that we could do it today.



I forgot my camera, but I think I saw Rich and Dee taking some pictures, so if they did then I'll try to get them so I can post a few here.

Huntington Beach State Park

Across the street from Brookgreen Gardens is the Huntington Beach State Park. We had visited one state park this week so I didn't expect this to be much different. As soon as we walked out on the beach area though, I saw it was very different.







I said, ahhhhh....this is more like it.







Notice the lack of tall commercial buildings here? It makes all the difference in the world to me. Here I can simply focus on nature. I can focus on the huge fluffy clouds that so nicely offset the ocean below.







We walked and walked here, snapping pictures along the way.



If we make it back to Myrtle Beach, this is where we want to stay! They have a full service campground that was quite nice. They have a store and they offer wi-fi. That and the beach is all we need!



Living the life in NC!

'Off Label' Use

In pharmacological jargon, there is a term, "off label use," that refers to a treatment being used successfully for something other than it was originally formulated for. That's kind of how I am starting to feel about my Royal H.mixte. When I asked Bryan to build me this bike in the Fall of , I envisioned it as predominantly for light touring. But in practice I mostly use it as a long-distance transportation bike. I think I've only done recreational rides on it a total of maybe three times, whereas I ride it for transportation whenever I need to travel over 7 miles or so one way - which is several times a week.



Using a bike for purposes other than intended can happen for any number of reasons. For instance, our cycling preferences can change, as mine did. For recreational riding, I now prefer to ride a diamond frame bike with drop bars. Also, life circumstances can change. Just a couple of months after I got the mixte, we ended up without a car, and I actually needed a light, easy long-distance transportation bike. When I was ordering the bike, I did not foresee either of these changes.





The good thing about using the mixte "off label," is that most of the things that made it good for light touring also make it work as a long distance transportation bike. The frame allows me to wear a skirt. It can handle hills and distances without me breaking a sweat. Its compact size and maneuverable handling make it good in the sort of suburban stripmall-roadish traffic that I usually encounter out of town. The springy ride quality means that long trips don't tire me out. The 35mm tires are sufficiently wide for bad roads and even off-road. The dynamo lighting system is fantastic and I never have to worry about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere in the dark. The front and rear racks enable me to carry several small loads at a time. Everything that I need for my trips is there. The few times I've tried to use a roadbike for long distance transportation, I arrive to my destination out of breath and with sweaty hair. On the upright mixte I am a bit slower, but am always presentable and fresh.



There are however a few things that are less than ideal about the mixte given how I use it. The short chainstays made it difficult to find panniers that did not give me heelstrike, though I did find several after having made a mission of it (see Philosophy, Cristobal, and the Po-Campo pictured here). But the more irksome issue is that I get a wee bit of toe overlap on this bike, which freaks me out when cycling in traffic. It is a small amount of toe overlap that might even disappear if I wore PowerGrips or removed the fenders - but neither of those is practical on an upright transportation bicycle. Converting the bike to 650B would solve the problem, but would be expensive, considering that I'd have to get new wheels built, and buy a new set of brakes, as well as new tires and fenders. So I am kind of stuck between thinking that the toe overlap is not a big deal and the bike is fine as is, and being irritated with it, since it is the one thing that undermines my enjoyment of an otherwise fantastically versatile bicycle.



Lots of bikes are used off-label round these parts, and the prevalence of this practice made me smile last night when a carbon fiber racing bike flew by with a sizable steel front basket attached to the fork, sort of like this. My re-purposing of the mixte is not nearly as dramatic, but the question of a possible 650B conversion keeps swirling around my mind every time I ride the bike. Would you do it, or leave it be? Any interesting off-label use stories of your own to share?

A Bedroom or a Stable?

We are doing some serious restructuring to our apartment, and in the midst of it our bikes have all been temporarily crowded into the bedroom. So I took this opportunity to get a group shot. Here they all are: His and hers Pashleys, Raleigh DL-1s and Motobecane Mirage / Super Mirage. See? That's a modest three bikes per person. Still within the bounds of sanity, right? The helmet on the bedspread is a lovely Bern. I do own a helmet; I just don't wear it while riding a bicycle.

Hopefully, the restructuring will make bicycle storage and access more convenient. The Pashleys and Raleighs can't be hung on hooks like the Motobecanes (too heavy), so they pose a real design challenge. This is further complicated by the fact that our cats are drawn to the bicycles like magnets, and they tend to be a little destructive in their affections (chewing on the dressguards and cables). Well, we'll figure something out. Or move to a house with a barn, like I have been gently suggesting to the Co-Habitant...

Ice Paradise - Grand Portage Bay

This past weekend we had a nice surprise on Grand Portage Bay. Saturday morning we woke to all these amazing blue ice sheets that had been pushed up along the shoreline in the night. Almost the entire bay was ringed with these sheets of ice. Armed with my ice spikes on my boots I walked along the shore and took in the amazing sight of this icy paradise. Unfortunately the view you see here was short-lived. Sunday night we had a major blizzard combined with high winds. The combination of wind and snow dramatically changed this view. Some of the ice sheets are still there, but the waves broke them up quite a bit and they are now covered in snow. Today there is a fresh layer of ice on the bay and I can hear it crunching as it gets pushed up on shore once again. So, maybe we will have fresh views again similar to this one! One never knows what Lake Superior will do to surprise you in the winter season :-)