THE CROW’S
NEST-----------------June 24,
2010
Have you ever felt like
you’ve been kicked in the
stomach and just cannot
breathe? Well, I think that
is the way the whole
Edinburg community and
beyond feel. I know we felt
that way when we received an
email from brother Dave last
week (we were on vacation)
that Jerry Jonasson had died
in Ontario, Canada due to a
water related accident. The
horrible grief everyone
feels is overwhelming.
Jerry was only 22 years
old. Jerry worked at the
bank and this last year, I
for one got to know him not
as a young high school kid,
but as a young adult who was
so very sweet, generous and
friendly to everyone. I
looked forward going to the
bank and having Jerry help
me with my transactions.
Jerry was an outstanding
athlete in high school
participating in all the
sports programs. It is not
surprising at all that 60 –
70 friends of Jerry’s came
from all over---California,
Chicago, New York and
Colorado---to join in a
pick-up game of flag
football played in honor of
Jerry’s memory. It is
amazing how FACEBOOK and
TWITTER joined all of these
young guys in one goal: To
come to Edinburg. About 150
friends and family were at
the game to watch. What a
wonderful tribute. Jerry
was much loved by everyone.
Over 500 people attended the
funeral last Friday, the 18th
and about the same number of
mourners came to the prayer
service the night before.
Our prayers and sympathy go
out to Duane, Marjie, Mara,
Rachel and all the rest of
the family. You all are
close in our hearts.
We just got back last
Tuesday from a 12 day
vacation to Alaska. We took
a 7 day cruise and then a 3+
day land trip to northern
Alaska. There
is nothing nicer than being
pampered on a cruise ship.
I was a nervous wreck about
having an outside stateroom
with a veranda. (I have
fears of high places and
edges). We were on Deck 6.
Thankfully, when I went out
on the balcony I saw all the
life boats placed just below
us. That was great as I did
not have to look directly
down into the water. I know
this kind of fear is silly,
but to me it is very real.
It is unbelievable all the
wonderful food and
entertainment that is
provided on a cruise ship.
We had the most attentive
stateroom steward. We would
go to dinner every evening
to return to our beds all
turned down with little
candies on the pillows. I
was feeling so guilty over
all this attention that
every morning I made sure
every corner of the
stateroom was in place so
Bernard would not have to
spend too much time
straightening up after us.
The cruise was wonderful,
but the land excursions were
the “icing on the cake”.
Alaska is beautiful. The
quaint villages we visited
were terrific (minus all the
diamond stores). We spent a
day and an evening in
Talkeetna. This is the
village the television
program “Northern Exposure”
was patterned after. This
little hamlet was as off-kiltered
as it was portrayed on TV.
This was a good thing! We
took excursions to the Yukon
in Canada, the Tundra in
Alaska and Denali National
Park. The rugged beauty of
the landscape was
breathtaking. Anchorage is
a beautiful city absolutely
draped in flowers. Every
light post and every inch of
garden areas were jammed
packed with gorgeous
flowers. It was amazing to
see. The highlight of our
trip was a 4 hour white
water rafting excursion on
the Nenana River. We were
on the water for 2 ½ hours.
I spent most of the time
screaming. The first wave
sent me sprawling backwards
in the raft. My glasses
went flying and Brian, the
guide had his hands full
trying to get me upright.
After that I learned how to
“duck” whenever a wave came
my way. I was drenched to
the skin even though I had a
“dry suit” on. What fun
that was! We got back to
the lodge about 10:30 pm and
then went with 2 other
couples to eat dinner. We
finished eating about 11:45
pm, walked outside into
sunshine. You would have
thought it was 11:45 am!
Daylight was 24 hours a
day. It was great, but
don’t know if it would be as
wonderful during the winter
with 24 hours of darkness.
Gardens (both flower and
vegetable) are flourishing
around the Edinburg
community. I understand
there has been plenty of
rainfall this last little
while. Now we need the
sunshine.
We are looking forward to
next Wednesday evening (the
30th) for our
city “Art, Hobby and
Collection Fair”. It will
be great having local people
display their hobbies and/or
crafts. I am urging brother
Dave to show his “Shower
Cap” collection. He has
caps from all over the
world. Maybe he will even
consider wearing a few of
them. The Halls will be
providing food for everyone
in celebration of the 60
years their Edinburg potato
wash plant has been in
operation. It looks to be a
fun night for everyone who
comes.
Vera Brandvold should be
back from Germany any day as
will Harold and Alida Flom.
They went to Arkansas and
the surrounding area for 3
weeks of vacation.
A special hello to our
cruise dinner partners; Rex
and Kathy from Indiana, Van
and Phyllis from
Pennsylvania and Dave and
Rose from British Columbia.
We had great food, great
conversations and great
people to dine with every
evening. Also a hello to
Paul and Barbara in
Ohio---our raft partners in
the white water excursion.
It all was great fun.
A happy 50th
anniversary to Paul and Ina
Sigurdson and also to Ruth
and Greg Hall on their 39th
anniversary this Saturday.
Have a great day and we
will talk later.
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