Side Trip Down Memory Lane

Having grown up in Florida (about 1800 miles from my nearest Johnson relatives, probably much longer without the Interstates and their more direct routing…) there was not a lot of time for me to interact with them.

As anyone over thirty will remember, the Internet is a relatively new thing and the almost limitless communication between people at great distance was so futuristic a concept back in the sixties that it isn't even worth mentioning. So, when I got the opportunity to spend a day with my aunt Judy and Uncle Gene in Waite Park yesterday, I jumped at it.

My aunt had a project she wanted to start; to scan a bunch of old family photos and start to organize them so that they could be referenced in the future. This being something I have a little experience with, I brought my scanner, my laptop and my organizational skills to getting the project started.

It is far from completed, but at least we have made a good start at it. And I got the opportunity to spend time looking at old photos of the family and hear some of the stories that I hadn't heard before.

This photo is of my mom with her little sister, Judy, outside their home on James Street in St. Paul. The street is there, but if any of those homes that I saw on Google earth were around in the thirties, I'd be amazed. They all look more modern than this.

What a great way to pass an afternoon and then to round it out with one of my uncle Gene's meals off the grill! I'd do this again; it was well worth it!

Wherever you are today, I hope you'll have a lovely day with your family!

Don Bergquist - June 04, 2010 - Waite Park, Minnesota, USA


Editor's Note:

This article has a bit of the feel of a crotchety old guy piece. The only clichés the author seems to have missed were:

"...back in my day..."
"...when I was your age..."
and
"...you don’t know what hardships is, you young whipper-snapper!"

When I attempted to point this out, the author threatened to 'turn the hose on me' and told me to 'get off his lawn.' The editor hereby disavows himself of all responsibility for the tenor of this article.