This house is in our neighborhood. It’s just behind the bank and across the street from the grocery store. It is a sight to beho- ho-ho-hold!
One thing I noticed our first season here was the attention to yards. No really here and Michigan people on the whole tend their yards more than say in Tennessee, South Carolina, or Florida. Why I don’t know, but they do. I suspect it has something to do with the awful winters they generally have here and the Midwest ethos. I throw in the last part because there’s awful winters in upstate New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island (all place I’ve lived) but they don’t pay attention to lawns like Michigan and Wisconsin do.
This lawn attention carries on to holiday decorating. I showed you our neighborhood at Halloween, now let me introduce you to it during the Christmas season. There is a street here in Kenosha called Christmas Lane. It’s known for the over the top Christmas decorations. It all started as a friendly competition between two neighbors. They tried to out do each other every year. It got so competitive that tarps were put up so the other fella couldn’t see what was coming until the great reveal! Eventually the whole street joined in the spirit of lighting up the night.
What follows are highlights of our neighborhood and of Christmas Lane. You can click on any picture to be taken over to my Flickr account and there see even more photos.
We are simple folk who go for a few simple strands of color. T he big bulbs like I remember being on trees of my childhood.The view down our street.Neighboring decorated housesThis one was done in all white lights but I liked it!Santa and his light reindeer!This looks like the Griswald place!This house on Christmas lane has a miniature scene in the window every year.Santa is on his way. I really like how they lit the windows in the background.Some look better a bit out of focus. Reminds me of watching the tree as I fell asleep on the couch as a kid.
An ornament Aaron made for me when he was in elementary school.
Our holiday decorating has scaled back over the last few years. Trust me years ago when Aaron was little we went all OUT! I mean I even changed to Christmas themed dishes and no room in that large house was left undecorated! Today it’s a tree, maybe a bit more in the living room. No dishes are changed. Last year we even down sized our tree.
This year I came home from working the late shift to find the house decorated. I couldn’t lift, I couldn’t stretch so Mike it did all! I was thrilled. The lights were up outside and the tree was tastefully decorated inside with just a few of our most favorite ornaments. Having gone to a smaller tree less is needed to complete it.
So enjoy a tour of a few of our favorite pieces. Some maybe battered from years of use, others may not be perfect but they are to us.
Golden Violin – Aaron played the Violin for years this ornament was purchased to remember those times from elementary through high school.A wreath from preschool – do you see a theme developing here? Yep a gift from my son. He made it while in preschool.This Santa was on one of the presents Aaron got for his first Christmas.Couldn’t find a Wolvie one but Aaron liked Spidy so with great decorations comes great responsibility – Spidy guards our treeWhat Navy family’s tree isn’t complete witout a three masted schooner?I’ve not had a tuxedo kitty in my adult life but this one of several of my kitty ornaments. It’s a hand painted egg one from Russia. I like it very much and gives me hope that if the Cold War came to an end so can many other horrid things.
That’s it for this year’s tour. Next year I’ll highlight a few more. Until next time!
It’s hard to cook a 20lb turkey when you can only lift 10lbs. Also time on my feet was limited. I started by making the Broccoli Salad. It’s a layered salad that marinates for twenty-four hours in the fridge. After that my guys lived up to their promise and joined me in the kitchen. They were a great help in all the chopping to make the stuffing (I do stuffing with apples, veggies, sausage, nuts…). They were also the heavy pan lifters. Mike was the official Turkey Baker of the house. He did as well as I could.
There was a mix up about Thanksgiving dinner time so we didn’t conflict with Aaron’s obligations at Sara’s family. It was okay we went over for dessert at Sara’s house then came home to have our dinner. It all worked out just fine.
I liked having help so much that I’m going to make family preparation of the dinner a NEW family tradition. I’m all excited for it and gung-ho for next year. The guys don’t seem to be embracing it so much. I can’t see why they wouldn’t love it too instead of sleeping in while I cook or watching football while I cook they get to get up and be a part of the holiday preparations!
So here’s our day in photos:
My start on the broccoli salad.The start of a new family tradition or at least my sous chefs of 2012.The meal progresses…The guys goof off at the table. It’s my family tradition to take pictures of holiday table before anyone eats. We have 3 generations of them. However my group no longer does good china nor do we take it seriously any more.The final result – a wonderfully delicious plate!
Until next time! Hopefully the new tradition sticks – I’m sure they will come around to it.
Ahh this mug hits at the core of the truth, I need my coffee. Good thing caffeine is an acceptable addiction.
I love my morning coffee. It’s my joy and comfort. I don’t pollute or dilute it with anything. The darker and richer the better! Ahh, nothing smells better than coffee. I love it. From good old Folgers to the expensive favorite of Jamaican Blue – I adore my coffee.
When I first started building a home of my own I thought I had to have matching coffee cups. Since then I’ve given way to MUGS. They keep the precious fluid hotter longer. I also have given way to mugs that express or remind me of things. Matching is boring. Matching is bland. Matching is so June Cleaver. I want expression and the morning nectar of the gods. So my morning mugs have become a collection of favorites. All give me a bit of cheer in the morning. Here are a few of my favorite mugs.
This mug is from the Chicago’s Untouchables Tour It’s a great historic bus tour of the gangster history in Chicago. Years ago Aaron and I took the tour with my BFF Patricia and her family. When I use this mug I think of history and happy memories two things I always enjoy.I’ve had this travel mug for years. It’s the style and weight I like. Also the map on it is a reproduction of a map showing the first coffee trade routes to Europe. History and functionality – great combo in a coffee mug.My favorite season if Fall. I love the color and the crispiness. I bought three matching fall mugs one year after going to Dubuque to have a girls weekend away. I sent the other ones to my dear friends. I filled the mugs with candy and wrote a note telling each of them what dear friends they are and how much I treasure our visits. Now when I use my mug I smile with warm memories of friends and good times know they have one too.This one is history, crafting and friends. I have taken many classes at the local Kenosha Museum. From pottery to fused glass, from ancient Egypt to local history, from writing (the start of my writers group) to silversmithing. I have taken many classes with friends or alone. All are good times and excellent things to remember over a steamy cup of joe in the morning.This mug came from Aaron’s orthodontist. Dr. Crawford straightened Aaron’s teeth beautifully. Every time I use this mug I think of my son’s beautiful smile. It’s a warm proud Mom feeling even before I get my first sip of coffee in the morning.
My son is now 19 years old, a college sophomore, an E3 in the Army, and rents his own home. Right now he’s in the stand-on-my-own-two-feet time where he doesn’t call regular, doesn’t answer all the texts, and is busy building his life. That’s fine I get it. However we did make an appointment to go up to Madison, see his new house he is renting, and take him and Sara out to lunch.
There’s football on TV women! Mom making his picture and girlfriend trying to make him SMILE!
His new digs were built in 1904. It has narrow staircases, hardwood floors, and exposed stone basement. The bathroom was obviously a converted bedroom but why they choose the largest bedroom in the house is beyond me. As for condition – it’s a typical student slum. LOL! I’m sure he loves it just as much as I loved my student slum apartment.
We drove down to State Street which is the street from campus to the State Capital building. It’s also the center of shopping, dining, and drinking. The main drag if you will of Madison. At University of Tennessee in Knoxville we had Cumberland Avenue. They have State Street. We wound up getting a deep pan Chicago style pizza and watching football at bar.
Below are a few sites of Madison and the trip to see Aaron and Sara.
This is the Red Gym a landmark on campus should you ever visit. I went up to a writer’s seminar years before Aaron went to college. It was in a building near the Red Gym. I drove up early that morning in the snow, parked and made it to the conference. Every direction or lecture referred to this building. It was my first time in Madison, I didn’t pass it when coming in and had NO IDEA what they were talking about.It is a very historical and distinct building Madison. The castle like look is explained by it being built to serve a dual purpose.This one of the many lovely buildings on campus. I don’t remember the name of it but it’s where Aaron would catch the Badger Bus last year to come home and visit Sara.Construction – I’ve never been to a large campus that didn’t always have construction going on some where.A view down State Street to the capital building.
Remember I blogged about the round-about construction in my neighborhood? Well it’s now finished. Boy is it a fancy thing! As soon as the removed all the road closed barricades someone came flying through there like it was the old short cut it used to be. They ignored the new warning signs of the round-about. The ignored the BIG ORANGE FLAGS on the signs. They ignored the large looming mound in the center of the circle surrounded by the smaller but still significant concrete mounds to direct traffic. They ignored the posted speed limit of 25 as well as the new flagged in yellow yield signs. They plowed right into the circle. Yep just crashed over the directional concrete barrier and right into the big circle in the center! Oh well so much for slowing that clueless one down, it down right stopped ’em. Over all I’ll say it seems to be working. Then again I didn’t notice it as much before not living over on the road. Chatting with the people there the amount of traffic is down due to the road being closed off for so long. They aren’t sure if the new roundabout is working or just closing off the street for months broke people of the habit. Only time will tell. Here’s a few photos of the finished product just before they put up the flags and opened it for crashing traffic.
Before the barricades came down and after the road was paved smooth it seems the neighborhood children had fun with chalk on the smooth surface.
Thankfully we weren’t slammed by Sandy like Cuba and the upper East Coast of the US were. However she did get here going against the usually pattern of getting our weather from the West. We got mostly winds from the storm.
One night when it was in the upper 20sF here we got a wonderful ice ring around the moon. Bigger than my house- here’s a few photos of it.
The next day the wind rolled in and we got some great waves. Many people were out at the point and on the beach making pictures of it. I was one of them. Rappy went with me and enjoyed the crowd much more than the waves. The waves scared her. Our usually blue lake was brownish being churned up by the high winds.
Office of the Green Ridge Cemetery in Kenosha. The tent was set up to be a wind free waiting room for the history walk tours.
I want to thank my blog readers. Because of you I’m learning more about the area in which I live. Yes the feed the blog need has me going out to learn about my community. Thank you for giving me the gentle push out the door and opening my world.
One of our historic cemeteries here in Kenosha city is the Green Ridge Cemetery. It is the oldest one holding graves of two and a memorial for one Revolutionary Soldiers. Every October there is a history walk in the cemetery given by the Kenosha History Center. It’s different from the other cemetery history walks in that the guide doesn’t tell you the history but instead takes you designated graves where reenactors portray the person and tell you their life story.
I’ve wanted to do this tour (which changes what historical figures it highlights each year) for years. It seems something always got in the way. Last year I got there about 2pm and all the tickets were given out. Yes 350 tickets for the free tours were GONE! There were crowds waiting for their tour time.
This year I made sure we got there EARLY! We got tickets and were in the first tour. It was the first fall day with a nip in the air. Mike was freezing. Still we enjoyed it very much as the sun was out and the colors (though dull this year compared to previous years) were out.
Naomi Waisman-Zabler portraying Dr. Helen Harbert
Our first stop was Dr. Helen Harbert (1859-1930) portrayed by Naomi Waisman-Zabler. Helen was born Hanson and immigrated to the US from Denmark. She went to medical school and was one of the first licensed female doctors. She lost her first husband and her children in a tragic house fire while she was at her practice. Needing a new start she moved to Kenosha and started the first woman doctor’s practice here. She met and married Hans Harbert. During her life here in Kenosha she was a highly respected member of the community. She served on the Kenosha County Medical Association, active with the Grad Army of the Republic Women’s Relief Corps taking care of Army Vets free of charge, active in the Danish Lodge, was a major Red Cross organizer in the county, and during WWI she actively promoted Liberty Bonds to support the troops. However she became ill. Her diagnosis was terminal and she knew how slow the death was with her aliment. She’d tended patients with the same affliction (I don’t remember what it was but a type of cancer) and knew how they wasted away painfully. After receiving confirmation of her diagnosis while in the Kenosha Hospital for testing she jumped out the window killing herself to avoid the wasting away. She died at the age of 71.
Kathy Cole portraying Gertrude Alford
Next was Kathy Cole who was portraying Gertrude Alford (1881-1964) at Mrs. Alford’s grave. Gertrude and her husband Walter moved to Kenosha from Detroit Michigan. They became highly respected in Kenosha for their philanthropic generosity. They sadly lost their only son when his car was hit by a train during a scavenger hunt. He and his date were killed. After that Gertrude turned her philanthropic tenancies toward helping young men and women. After finding out about the Girls Scouts she founded one of the first troops in the nation here in Kenosha Wisconsin. It is still active today and its original charter bears the signatures of Gertrude and Juliette Gordon Lowe (founder of the movement). To support the new troop and the Boy Scouts Gertrude donated a large parcel of land for the scouts use. Today it is Woodhaven Program Center and is still the hub of scouting for the area today. Gertrude was known for her love of golf. She played well into her senior years and always had clubs in her car in case she could squeeze a few holes in between her appointments.
Julie Burton portraying Jane Pfenning Henkel (my apologies to Ms. Burton she was a WONDERFUL and expressive reenactor! However all my shots seemed to catch her in unflattering expressions. My apologies Ms. Burton)
The next woman on the tour was Jane Pfenning Henkel (1914-2008) portrayed by Julie Burton. Jane is the first native Kenoshian on the tour. Her father was Mayor. Her story intertwines with Gertrude Alford’s above. You see Jane was the first girl Alford’s son had asked to the the scavenger hunt. Jane excited to be asked by the posh Alford said YES! Only there was one problem he wasn’t the first to ask her and she’d already said yes to another young man. When her mother found out she made Jane tell Alford no she couldn’t go and stick to her word in accepting the first boy’s invitation. If she’d gone with Alford she’d been in the car that struck by the train killing Alford, his date, and two more of their friends. Jane lived a long happy life thanks to Mom’s intervention and making Jane hold to her word.
Jean Preston portraying Lauretta A. Dibble
We then moved on to the grave of Lauretta A. Dibble (1893-1952) portrayed by Jean Preston. This was the second native Kenoshian. She was born and died here but lived most of her life outside of Kenosha. Lauretta was a missionary for the Congregational Church. She spent years of her life teaching at a girls school in Africa. She sent letters and journals home to her church here in Kenosha detailing her life in Africa. The church here paid her salary and expenses to be at the school there. She fell in love the people and culture learning many of the native crafts and cuisines She sent back artwork and crafts to her church to show the beautiful work and to sell to raise money to support the school. Unfortunately Lauretta developed cancer and had to come back to the United States for treatment. She received letters regularly from the girls she taught and had taught. These letters were dear to her and kept her spirits up while she was dying. Lauretta died in 1952 here in Kenosha at her family home.
Viki Du Mez portraying the colorful Harriet H. Yule
The final stop was at the memorial for Harriet H. Yule (1861-1932) portrayed by Viki Du Mez. This was the most colorful character of those portrayed. She was the great aunt of Orson Welles (yes he was born here in Kenosha). Her family was very prominent featuring the owner of the first Kenosha newspaper, mayors, attorneys, and owning Bain Wagon Works. However her family wasn’t free from controversy nor was her life. Her sister (Orson’s grandmother) may have been a polygamist. It seems her first husband wandered off never to return so sis married again. That was shocking to the community. She and her new husband tried to gain acceptance back into society by throwing lavish parties, of which Harriet and her husband George were very fond. But seems the rest of Kenosha didn’t like the free wheeling done there nor the cover charge to gain entry. Then Harriett herself became vice-president in the family business with her husband. This was Bain Wagon Works. It was not seemly for a young married woman of her stature to engage in business much less go down to the wagon works and sit in an office working. She even *gasp* conducted business negations with other men not of the community! She had a head for financial matters and George had a head for transportation design together they built a nationwide business in noted wagons. However George died and their son took over the business. Harriet retired and followed her inclinations, which was to enjoy life. It was well known that she and her cronies like to party and would often go out in her chauffeured car to various bars around the area. She would be seen coming home in evening garb when others were starting their day. Finally tiring of being the social pariah in a small mid-west town she decided to follow her niece and great nephew to Hollywood. On moving day when the movers came to pack up her things they found her in a state of undress in her own bedroom enjoying a chilled mixed drink to start her day. It is said none of the muscular young men that had come to move her accepted her invitation to join her in a drink!
A tour heading off to the next reenactor.
I was left wanting more stories from more women of the past. Sadly this year’s historic walk had come to a close. I made some pictures of unique monuments and vowed to come back before next year just to photograph the other unique ones I saw in the distance. Oh and I also vowed that next year we’d get there early again to be sure to meet more people from Kenosha’s past.
As always there are more photos of the day over at my Flickr account. You can get there by clicking any image in the article (not the title image) then look around. Also if you’d like to see an image larger, any image including the title image, then click on it! Until next time!
This is the first community I’ve ever lived in that schedules trick or treating not on the day. It’s the Sunday before (unless it falls on a Saturday) 3pm – 6pm. That means last Sunday was our Trick or Treat day. Never mind Halloween wasn’t until Wednesday. Unfortunately I’d say in our neighborhood only 10% of the homes participate. Many of those who do go all out! We hand out candy and enjoy seeing the ghosties and ghoulies coming to the door. Rappy loves it and Mr. Blue supervises as alpha black cat of the season.
I tend to set on the stoop to hand out candy so the animals can watch from the screened in front porch without rushing the kids at the door when I open it. One little girl looked up at the regal Blue sitting there fluffed against the cold watching the proceedings with half open bright green eyes. She asked “Are you a witch having a black cat like that?” I smiled and whispered “Yes, but not all witches are bad. I’m a good one and I have TWO black cats.” Her eyes got wide and she smiled, “Really?!?” “Oh yes.” The smile got broader “Oh WOW!” She took her candy and went off excited. I can’t wait for the children’s rumors about me to begin! I don’t know why she didn’t ask if I was into gambling since I have a greyhound but guess she’s not old enough to know about that yet.
As far as costumed kids? We get LOTS there are A LOT of kids in the neighborhood being situated within walking distance to four elementary and two middle schools. We started with 15 and half pounds of candy and ended up with less than a quarter pound left. One thing I enjoy is families dress-up and go out together. Often times even the dog is in costume. It’s fun to see.
Enjoy a look at Trick or Treating in my neighborhood.
Rappy anxiously awaits more visitors.Family group trick or treating. Wizard dad was so COOL!Mario drove his Princess from house to house.Two family groups wait their turn at one of my participating neighbors.Clear way to say I AM NOT participating – to which I have to wonder – why decorate?Yes this actually works in my neighborhood. This was take about 5pm consider it had been out since 3pm and that’s what is left.See I told you some REALLY participate!Here the Evil Witch sits on her throne in her graveyard handing out candy. Her husband Freddy Kruger keeps the corn maze.More yard decorations, this is animated at nightNot all decorations are ghoulish and pumpkins…I was not the only one supervised by the feline overlords.The final daisies of fall
Autumn, Fall or whatever you want to call it – it’s my favorite time of the year. I love the colors. I love the smells. I love the crispness in the air. The one thing I miss when I live in my beloved warm climates is fall. Frost on the pumpkin, flaming red trees, lemon yellow leaves making a carpet on the lawn – seeing your breath when the sunset and cool rolls in. Ahh…. these are a few of my favorite things. Our colors here are a bit dull this year. Still they are pretty. Here’s a few shots of my favorite season.
The rose of the year in our garden is still beautiful despite a bit of frost nipping on the petals.
Mary Louise Eklund 