9/21/01 - The materials for the construction of the ice rink pavillion have arrived. The concrete work was finished last week so it looks like the project will be finished before the snow and freezing weather get here.

9/21/01 - Stephenson's Football Team is off to a good start. It took them two days to trounce (do I sound like a sportswriter?) Norway in their first game of the season. It was suspended in the 3rd quarter because of lightning. They finished the game the next morning with a 28-20 win.

They also won their homecoming game against Washburn (near Ashland, WI) last Saturday afternoon by a 47-l2 score. I expected it to be about 88 to 0. I was out pulling weeds in my flower beds and it seemed every ten minutes I could hear the voice on the loudspeaker at the field say "Touchdown!" Horns would blow and there was loud cheering. Of course I guess I have a tendency to exaggerate now and then. I just learned that in my Edison School Reunion report I said there were "16 LeRoys" when it should have been six.

Erica Grinsteiner and Matt Wangerin were named homecoming queen and king.

The first two games were played at Sawbridge Field but future ones should be at the new school Sports Complex, now that lights have been installed there.

9/20/01 - I know everyone is disappointed because I didn't do a horoscope this month. After the horrific attack on the llth I doubt that even the stars have any idea what's ahead for Americans. The ony message I get from them is "Hang in there, no matter what day you were born!"

9/13/0l - Within minutes of the disasters in New York and at the Pentagon I had e-mail from relatives in Hungary saying they were sitting in front of their TV's watching the reports on CNN and in a state of shock. Yesterday I got e-mail from another friend of European origin, now a U.S. citizen, who was sending a mass mailing asking everyone to make today U.S. Pride Day and wear red, white & blue. Those kinds of reactions certainly show that many agree with the reports that this is an attack on the civilized world, not just America.

9/13/01 - Last Friday was a big day for 12 area senior citizens. For the12th year our local Senior Center put on a special bash for people over 90 years old, with plenty of food, prizes for everyone, entertainment, toasts and blessings. Each of the guests of honor was introduced to the nearly 80 family and friends who attended.

Signe Johnson, at 98, was the oldest guest. She probably had the most children, grandchildren, great, and great great grandchildren of the group. Ann Dombrowski, at 96, still loves to dance. Allen Weber, now 95, taught school in Minnesota in his younger days. Stella Raboin admits to enjoying playing Bingo and making trips to our nearby Casino. She's only 93. Herb Wagberg and Harold Gruenstern are both 9l. Herb is a good cook and also has a background in carpentry work. Harold spent 43 years managing the operation of the Palestine Cheese Factory east of Stephenson. He's another Casino goer and also enjoys playing cards.

Of the six who are at the 90-year mark, Eva Allen still does crocheting, Wes Eland enjoys family life with his nine children and their offspring, and Howard Green and his wife just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Mike LaPointe and John Sohr had the most unusual (reported) experiences. Mike spent time exploring the western states as a hobo, travelling by freight train, in his youth. Now he enjoys playing horseshoes. John was born in Hungary and is probably the only person in the U.P. who ever shook hands with Hitler. Of course that was a very long time ago, before he had any idea of how we would all get to know more about Hitler. Now John still enjoys dancing. I recently read somewhere that many years ago Hungarian warriors were led into battle by gypsy musicians. No wonder most Hungarians still love music and dancing!

9/7/01 - Plenty of good food, music, nice weather and a holiday weekend almost guarantees a good turnout. They didn't have the traditional "official" Bridge Walk in Cedar River last weekend, but they still managed to draw a crowd. The Bridge was decorated with lots of flags and many of the visitors walked it, just because it seemed like the right thing to do. While adults were dancing to tunes like the Beer Barrel Polka, Blue Skirt Waltz and Paper Roses at the Lighthouse Inn Pavilion kids like Derek Weber, of Manitowoc, WI, explored the river bank and found sticks and stones to toss in. He and his sister Danielle said they preferred pop music, but I noticed he was picking up the polka beat every once in a while as he walked along. They were there with their parents and relatives from Escanaba.

At Butch & Sue's Restaurant live country music was provided by Willow Ridge. According to Ralph Van Pool, of the Belgiumtown area, the pig roast dinner featured that day started with a 250 pound pig, and by 2:30 there wasn't much of it left. Maybe that's why the people sitting at the tables set up in the parking lot were just listening to the music rather than dancing! Lynette Thonne, one of Ralph's neighbors, took a few minutes to stop and chat. I didn't recognize her but she remembered that her 92-year old mother-in-law, Vera, had attended some of the Hungarian language study get-togethers at my house a couple of years ago, which makes us almost related. And Ralph's daughter-in-law and my daughter were friends in high school. His wife, Helen Orley, rode our school bus and was a childhood friend. If you've lived in the area for any length of time or have relatives here you can almost always find some connection to visiting "strangers," which is why those strangers enjoy coming here.

The Moonwalk was another attraction in the parking lot by Butch & Sue's. There was a steady stream of kids, from the very young to teenagers, enjoying jumping around on the air-filled balloon surface. Rose Janquart of Marinette kept busy trying to keep her kids, a 4-year old, a 3-year old, and 15-month old twins, happy and smiling. When she's not doing that she delivers mail in Marinette. Her brother, James Schmidt, lives in the Cedar River area

If you have any comments or suggestions, please take a minute to write H. Barb Upton.