Made by Janet Rader

Janet gifted me with her artwork so I have had it several years and I have had it displayed many times but not for the last 4 or 5 years. This Spring when we returned from Texas I placed it in this current location. I was surprised to hear of her passing because I thought she was doing well. When Butch and I celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary we took a cruise up the Mississippi so in getting there we came close to where she and Jim lived and stopped to see them. She was not well at that time, in fact, we thought perhaps she did not have much longer. That was 4 years ago as we will be celebrating our 64th anniversary this summer. We are all unique individuals but Janet was more unique than most of us. She will be remembered.

 

Janet Rader Obituary

I was told of Janet's passing this morning and since then have heard from so many people letting me know. I remember Janet well, she and Jim were an active part of Magnolia Park for many years and I always enjoyed shooting a game of pool with her. She had many friends and from the number of people who have already contacted me I know she will be greatly missed. I know many of you share with Jim and me in sending our condolences to Jim and his family. If you wish to send cards I believe Jim's address to be 3840 W 4th Street S, Newton IA 50208

Janet Marie Rader, 67, of Newton died on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at Grinnell Regional Medical Center. A private family graveside service will be held. The family will greet friends from 2-4 p.m., Friday, June 2, at the Izaak Walton League in Newton. 

Janet, the daughter of Fred and Pat (Clemens) Harrison, was born on November 16, 1955 in Newton. She lived most of her life in Newton except for a short time spent in Mississippi while she was growing up.  Janet graduated from Newton High School in 1974. After graduation Janet served her country in the U.S. Army.  On March 21, 1983, Janet was united in marriage with Jim Rader in Las Vegas, Nevada.  For over 20 years, she worked for the U.S. Post Office, retiring as head of maintenance. Janet and Jim enjoyed wintering in Texas. She also loved to golf and had two holes in ones in her lifetime. Janet also spent time doing craft projects and visiting with friends.

Janet is survived by her husband, Jim Rader of Newton; daughter, Roxanne (Terry) Roll of Kellogg; grandsons, Jason (Tasha) Nida and Michael Nida (Carissa Gail); and 12 great-grandchildren.  She is preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Michael Harrison and Rick Harrison

This and That

A sure sign of spring, our crab apple tree is finally blooming along with our regular apple trees. The flowering crabs are late this year but they finally are blooming everywhere. Some of the white ones, and white flowers really aren't one of my favorites,  are so full of blossoms that they are quite spectacular. The flowers don't last long and a good wind will scatter them far and wide.

Our spring in Wisconsin, and I believe in a lot of the mid-west, has been a long time in coming and we will have a few warm sunshiny days and then it's back to cloudy, chilly and rain. This week is the first that the farmers are really out working in some of the fields and it is getting quite late. Hopefully we will have a very late frost this year.

Three years ago we had a mound system put in and we have received a notice that it is time for it to be inspected and/or pumped. That happens every three years. The only problem is the tank is a very long way from the driveway so the pumper truck will need to go through the field to get to it and so far it has been way too wet. For those of you who don't know what a mound system is they are becoming very common here in Wisconsin and replace a conventional septic tank and drainage field which we had ever since 1973 when we built this house. Our soil is heavy clay and now days does not pass the perc test needed for the conventional system. Our neighbors, except for our Amish neighbors, have these systems too and so far ours has worked flawlessly and so far as I know, everyone else's has too.

Jim got his three colonies of bees last week so will spend the summer looking after them. Quite different from when he had 200 colonies and worked a full time job. Just the right amount, something to take care and when the season is over we end up with a supply of honey, actually if it's a good honey year, we should have enough honey to sell. Last season we took two cartons to the valley with us and sold it all.

We are looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend when we will get together with Chet and Irma and also Jim's younger sister Rita and Mort Morehouse who lived at 11 lime in Magnolia for a few years. It's always fun to get together, share good food and good conversation.

Once again, if you have news you would like to share, please do let me know and I will be happy to put it on the blog. We do wonder about many former Magnolia residents who we don't hear from  who were good friends with all of us. Those were special years when we were all one big family.