I’ve just come across a souvenir booklet for the Circus World Museum that my parents must have bought for me on our trip there in the summer of 1972. I’m not sure why I felt I needed a booklet about the museum because I don’t remember really liking it much. In fact the only thing I remember about it was a clown talking to my dad out of character. I wrote about it on my Snapshots of my Life blog.
Baraboo is even more memorable to me. It was there I began my dislike for clowns. The museum put on a circus show several times daily and we got in late and didn’t have a seat so we stood by the opening to the tent. The clown act ended and one of the clowns came over, stood by my dad and said, “Hell of a way to make a living”. That in itself is not a reason to dislike clowns, but it ruined the magic for me. Clowns were supposed to be happy or tragic, but not dislike their occupation.
While other parents sent their kids to sleep-away camp, mine sent me to my grandparent’s house in Wisconsin. I think I got the better deal.
I would have been 15 and Kevin would have been around 9 when I wrote this.
June 18, 1972
Dear Kevin,
Hi, I told you I would write. How is my bed? I have to open my bed every day (night really). How are the gerbils? Did they have babies yet?
I have not caught any fish yet. Grandma caught four good ones one night and forgot to clean them so they died. Then she caught three that she cleaned right away. (ICK!) I am learning to fish, slowly but surely. It has been too cold to fish though.
Ginny and Jack are coming up today and Jack will be fishing most of the time I bet.
How are you and Billy getting along lately? Is he giving you trouble?
I saw a movie a couple of nights ago. It was called Toy Tiger. It was about a little boy who made up stories about his father (who he never had). Timmy said that his father was a great explorer. This big bully didn’t believe Timmie so he kept teasing him. Timmie found a guy and told the kids that he was his father. It all ended up happy.
We had spinach the other day and I put vinegar on it and ate it! (I nearly puked though)
You should have been up here last Monday. Four trees fell over/down by the dock. Grandma and I were sitting looking out of the window and all of a sudden we heard a loud crack (we thought it was thunder. Then Grandma looked out and said “Holy Cow, look at that, the tree was struck by lightning!” We all looked and a bunch of trees were lying down with the ground sticking up 3½ feet.
Kevin, will you mind if I write in cursive? I’m getting tired of writing like this.
I also wrote a letter to Chad — give it to him (go to his house) and have his mother read it to him. Does he wonder where I am? Or has he forgotten about me?
Oh — ask mom to send my white shorts with the buttons up with Uncle Dick or someone — even the Pasholks if they see you. O.K.?
Is it nice and warm in Elgin? It’s freezing up here. I can hardly get any tan.
I can’t think of anything else to write so I will write more later.
I will have to go pretty soon because we are going to eat. I will try to finish this page though. I will write later (next week or so).
Have you seen Cindy Jordon around? She isn’t in Maine. To be honest I wish I was home but I am having an okay time up here.
Do you sleep with Cinder? If so does she keep you awake? You will have to write and tell me all about everything. Are you taking swimming lessons? All I do is sit around — it’s kind of boring.
Well, I miss you and don’t forget to give Chad his letter. Maybe he will let you read it.
Before my grandparents moved to their cabin in Chetek, Wisconsin, they used it for a vacation home. My grandfather typed up a set of rules for when friends and family visited the cabin. I remember the rules hanging on the wall in the hallway that led from the garage door to the kitchen.
I know for a fact that my grandfather typed this on a big, black, heavy typewriter with round keys — I know that because I learned to type on that very same typewriter by copying poems from my grandfather’s books when I visited them many summers.
I found the framed rules when I was going through things at Mom’s house in February. Here’s the scan so you can read it more easily.
A scan of the reminders
Green’s Point Reminders
We hope your stay will be a pleasant one, and that you catch such a big fish, and so many, that you won’t have to stretch the truth when you go home and tell about them.
Use whatever we have here, but think of the next ones who are going to use the cottage. If you eat it or drink it, replace it so there is at LEAST as much here when you leave as there was when you came.
If you break something, or it goes haywire while you are here, replace it or have it repaired. If there isn’t time to do either before you leave, report it so we can have it taken care of. Don’t take a chance on having someone drive 340 miles expecting to have everything in order, then have to have something repaired that was out of order when you were here.
Before you go: Defrost the refrigerator and leave the refrigerator door open, unless someone else will be up within a week or so.
Shut the gas off at the tank and hang the key with the others.
Pull the plugs on all appliances.
As an added precaution, pull the main fuse in the switch-box and put it where you found it, so if lighting should strike the line outside, it can’t go farther than the box. Disconnect the radio aerial and let it hang outside the cottage.
Bring the motor, oars and other fishing equipment, etc., and put them in the basement. Lock up the boat and put the keys where they belong. Clean up before you leave, especially garbage and refuse, so the next ones won’t have to wade through it. Don’t leave anything edible in the containers that field mice or other rodents can get into and be attracted, unless it is inside a cabinet or can they can’t get into.
It is going to take all of us to get the place the way we want it, so you see anything that needs doing give us a hand.
We believe the foregoing to be only fair to all concerned; and we hope the place will always be ready so we can unlock the door, turn on the lights, and start to enjoy the time we are able to spend here. We hope you have the best vacation ever.
Clutch Cargo Lips 