Naoma Pratt Obituary

Naoma R. Pratt, age 75, of Rapid River, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 20, 2022 at U.P. Health Systems Hospital in Marquette.

Naoma was born August 10, 1946, in Grayling, MI, the daughter of Lyle and Zelda (Bond) Corbin. Naoma was raised in Hulbert and attended Newberry schools through graduation. On October 3, 1964, Naoma was united in marriage to Eugene Pratt. Together they spent 57 wonderful years making memories.

Naoma was a devoted member of the Rapid River Congregational Church, where she also was a part of the women’s fellowship club. She also was the bookkeeper for her family business for 20 years. Naoma loved walking, going camping, traveling, and playing cards. Naoma and Eugene enjoyed going to Texas, where they wintered for 16 years and also made many special friends. She especially loved spending time with her family. She will be deeply missed by many.

Naoma is survived by her loving husband, Eugene, daughter Sherri (Mike) Parrett, son-in-law Robert Maplesden, brother Robert (Brenda) Corbin, sister Mary (Brian) Leazier, sister-in-law Marilyn Pratt, grandchildren Taylor (AJ) Miller and Joshua (Randi Paul) Parrett, great-granddaughter Adalyn Miller, as well as several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She is preceded in death by her parents, brother James Corbin, daughter Debra Maplesden, brothers-in-law Harold Pratt and Ray (Karen) Pratt, and sister-in-law Virginia Pratt.

Memorials honoring Naoma may be directed to UP Home Health and Hospice or the Rapid River Congregational Church.

Family will receive friends on Thursday, May 26, 2022 from 1 PM to 3:30 PM at the Skradski Funeral Home in Gladstone. Services will follow at 3:30 PM with Pastor Bill Rafuse officiating. Naoma will be laid to rest in the Rapid River Cemetery. A luncheon will follow at 5 PM at the Rapid River Congregational Church.

Happy News

 I am so pleased that I can share this good news. I really meant to put it on last week but got caught up in our Texas project and it didn't get done.

Friday, May 6 is going to be a very special day for two very special people. Duane Ergen and Reggie Holland will be celebrating as that is the day they have chosen to be their wedding day. It couldn't happen to any two nicer people and I for one wish both of them much happiness on this day and in the years to come. I think it would be really nice if we all sent them cards with our congratulations and best wishes. I am going to give you the last address I have for them and if it isn't right, I will post a correction.

1155 Porter Street, Clearwater MN 55320 is the last address I have for them and it is the address I found on line so hopefully it is still correct. Shower them with your blessings and best wishes!!

Thank you from Carmen

 Hi. This is me Carman.

I’ve asked Deon to post this on magnolia blog. I would like to say thank you to all the people that attended my birthday celebration at Trails End. It made my day very special. I was surprised and glad to see all of  you.

Love you all
Carman

This and That

 Another dreary, damp day here in Central Wisconsin although this afternoon the sun did peak out for about two minutes before it once again retreated behind the thick cloud cover.

I have a couple of things to share and I have already put this on my Facebook Page but for those of you who are not on Facebook I am also putting it here. I read that there is a very simple way to add the degrees symbol when typing on your Android smart phone and that is simply holding down the zero, release and you will have the degrees symbol after the number. Try it, it does work and is kind of fun and it eliminates having to type out the word degrees every time you are saying what the temperature is.

Secondly, there has been a lot of discussion here and there about mail forwarding and how much trouble most people encounter. Here is what we do. About three days before we leave in November I go online to the USPS official site (not any other site) and sign up for the mail forwarding service. It is very simple and I give them the date in November that we are going to leave. At the same time, I put an ending date in and I make it about three weeks before we plan to get home. We are almost always home by the very end of March so I usually make it sometime around the end of the first week in the month. This costs a very minimal charge so they can check your ID and make sure it is you, and requires a credit card. At the same time, I go to the post office take one of those yellow cards that are always available on the counter and fill it out to have our mail held from the day the forwarding is stopped and I check the box that we will pick up the accumulated mail and then our normal mail service will resume. Years ago I was able to fill out a form I picked up at the post office, they discontinued that so then I found the form online, filled it out and took it into the post office. That too disappeared so now I do it on line and it has always worked flawlessly. They will hold your mail for 30 days. One year we got stuck in Amarillo for a week because of the weather so it was held longer than 30 days. I just gave them a call and told them the situation and it was not a problem. I read all kinds of complaints about the trouble people have but honestly, if you do it like this you will be surprised how simple it is and how well it works. I think the key is to put the ending date in when you start having it forwarded. Most people, I think, tend to return home about the same time each year. Years ago we went to auto-pay for our utility bills so we don't have to work about bills in the held mail. For everything else but the utility bills I can do it online at my convenience. 

One other tidbit, we had a credit card hacked two years ago and I do believe it was Barb Brooker who told me that she uses one card for online and a different one in person. I could be wrong about who told me that but it does seem like it was Barb. Ever since then I have done that. The one I use online is the same one I use over the phone for reservations and things like that. At least if your card is hacked you will know it was either someplace where you inserted it or if it's the other one, it was hacked online or over the phone. Of course, you still don't know where but it does narrow it down.

We will be heading back down to the Valley on Monday when we will finally be able to take physical possession of the mobile home that we purchased in Trails End. It will be our first opportunity to really look it over since we purchased it in mid-December. We are hoping for better weather going down than we had coming home. This time we will be in our little fuel efficient car that for its size holds a whole lot of cargo.

I understand the birthday party for Carmen that Darlene organized at Trails End was great and I'm sorry we were already on our way home but I know some of you were able to attend and enjoyed yourselves meeting up with other Magnolia friends and wishing Carmen a Happy Birthday.

Think Spring!!!

" I told you I would be here at 5:40! You just weren't listening!"

This and That

 Those of you long-time Magnolia Park residents of old, will remember how the parrots would come through usually morning and evening. They would quite often land in a tree on Pecos in the vicinity of where Liz and Andrea lived and maybe still do. We haven't driven through Magnolia for quite some time so even though I think they are still there I'm not quite sure.

In any case, tonight, here at Trails End about 5:40 we heard the most raucous noise, as only parrots can make and sure enough there was a huge flock just across the highway on the wires and in the trees by Dollar General. There was obviously something in the trees that they appeared to really be enjoying and they stayed for quite some time. I took 97 pictures!! Here are just a few for you to enjoy.

Old time photos

I know there are some faithful Magnolia people who still check in on the blog and I thought you might enjoy these photos as much as I did.

Barb B. 

Some VERY Interesting Photos

 

 

 

 

 1 The 'Tier Avto', the 1930's version of a GPS. Developed by Touring Club Italiano, this device was more like a “map guidance tool and came with a set of paper maps It was tethered to the car’s speedometer that kept the scrolling of the map in proportion to the speed of the car.

 

 

 

 2 A 'Tasmanian tiger' in captivity circa 1930. Also known as the thylacine, this carnivorous marsupial was native to the Australian mainland and went extinct in 1936.

 

 

 3 Airline reservations before computers, 1945

 

 

 

4 The 1950s '3-in-1 Kitchen Combination.' It came with a stove, a sink, and a fridge - all in one!

 

 

 

5 American photographer James Ricalton posing with two extra tall men, fondly remembered as the 'Giants of Kashmir,' in 1903. 

The photograph was taken in Delhi during 'The Durbar,' a celebration of the British monarch Edward VII’s (the great-grandfather of the current British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II) succession as the Emperor of India.

 

 

 

 6 Television shopping in 1974

 

 

 

 

7 A gas station on Brovarsky Prospect in Kyiv, Ukraine, 1979

 

 

 

 

 8 A woman standing in the doorway of an RV Camper at an exhibition in London, 1927. It was also called the "Road Yacht."

 

 

 

 9 Draft beer being served during a Lufthansa flight in the 1960s

 

 

 

 10. The Esso Hibernia tanker under construction, Wallsend, UK, 1970

 

 

 

 11. Niagara Falls without water, 1969

Here is a link to an article that tells the story of how they pulled it off.

 https://mashable.com/feature/niagara-falls-runs-dry

 

 

 

 12. An Empire State builder hanging on a crane above New York City, 1930

 

 

 

 

 13. An elementary piano class in progress in 1947 (photo by Yale Joel)

 

 

 

 14. Military bomber planes fly past Mount Vesuvius in Italy as lava and ash spurts from the top of the volcano. 

The devastating eruption ravaged the village of San Sebastiano and San Giorg in March 1944 and killed 57 people. Meanwhile, the Allied forces were battling for supremacy in the skies.

 

 

 

 15. The original Moulin Rouge, Paris, 1914

 

 

 

 16. A Phillips fridge from 1956 with a built-in radio!

 

 

 

 17. A horse being rescued from a canal that it fell in - Amsterdam, 1929

 

 

 

 18. Control Room of the German UB-11 Submarine (First World War)

 

 

 

19. Swedish Warship 'Vasa' being recovered from the seafloor in Stockholm, Sweden, on the 24th of April, 1961. It stayed underwater for 333 years and was still astonishingly well-preserved.

 

 

 

 20. A young woman of the Ouled Nail tribe, Algeria, circa 1905 (photo by Lehnert & Landrock)

 

 

 

 21. Philadelphia Electric Co. street light maintenance vehicle, 1910

 

 

 

 22. A tree house of the Koiari people, east of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 1886

 

 

 

 23. A woman using a vacuum cleaner in 1906

 

 

 

 24. The 1958 'Sir Vival.' Designed by Walter C. Jerome of Worcester, this unique two-section vehicle was made to protect its driver and three passengers from death or injury on the highway. 

The designer believed that, in case of a collision, the engine compartment would take most of the brunt and leave the passengers safe. Its standout features included a two-piece engine and cab, along with a driver turret. Unfortunately, only one Sir Vival was ever made, and it remains in the care of Bellingham Auto Sales in Bellingham, Massachusetts, even today!

 

 

 25. A Native American chief at the Canadian Rockies, 1938

 

 

I have been trying to find a way to get these on the blog but not having any luck just yet. 

 

Delores "Dee" Sanford

Delores “Dee” Sanford, 91 of Sioux Falls, South Dakota passed away on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at Dougherty Hospice House, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory. Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Dee was born to Elmer and Martha (DeSmet) Remmerde on February 18, 1931. Dee was a teacher for 32 years, often teaching the second generation of families.

Dee and Dayton loved to travel-they visited all fifty states, fifteen European countries, Canada and Mexico. She was an active member in American Business Women’s Association, the Moose Lodge, Active Generations and the Sioux Falls Retired Teachers Association.  Dee loved dancing, sewing, baking and making wedding cakes.

Dee is survived by her children, Bonnie (Virg) Senescall; Debbie (Randy) Blackburn and Donn (Becky) Bosler; grandchildren, Brad (Gen) Blackburn, Corey (Jasmin) Blackburn,  Kari (Steven) Prichard, Brian (Rosa) Blackburn, Chad Senescall, Jim Wold Jr. and Eric Wold; great-grandchildren, Garon, Corbin, Dawson, Landon, Destiny, Caleb, Chandler, Kaylee and Matthew; sister, Maxine Serck; nieces and nephews.

Dee was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Dayton, grandson, Shane Senescall and sister, Shirley Schemmel.

This and That

 I know I haven't posted much lately but frankly, there isn't much new to post. I finally finished the new park directory for Trails End and it was done in color. I have to say, it does look nice, not too many mistakes thank goodness and the residents have been very appreciative of the new directory. It costs $10 which is lots more than our Magnolia directory which we always priced at $3.00 but color is lots more pricey. It was a huge job but next time it would be ever so much easier.

We have had a park resident pass from Covid, not vaccinated nor is his wife who also had it and was seriously ill but she has finally recovered. There were quite a few break-through cases here in the park but with the exception of three people who were unvaccinated, no one else was severely ill that I am aware of. Most people in this park have taken great pains to be careful and most up to this point have been masked when in a group setting including us. Things are relaxing a bit now and of course, now the CDC is saying that masks are no longer necessary, at least for the time being or until the next big wave of a variant comes along. Our buildings are all open and have been all season. This park has lots of Canadians and they know that to get back home they must test negative before crossing the border so people in here are very careful.

We have been watching a little bit of the news about Ukraine but I really do find it too painful to watch much of it. As Jim said, it is tragic and that is about as good a way to put it as I've heard. 

Our Magnolia people as they call us over here are becoming more and more involved in various activities in the park and that is good. Chris is leading crafts just like she did in Magnolia. There is a very active quilting group here and I like that a lot. Someone has a "fabric garage" as I call it. Lots of beautiful quilting fabrics in a building that looks like a two car garage but is really her fabric store/quilting studio. How handy is that!!

As I understand it the folks that went to Alamo Rec from Magnolia are now going to have to relocate as part of Alamo Rec was sold. That is what the rumor mill says but I have heard it from several people so suspect it probably is true. The rumor mill says they are moving to Palm Shadows.

We have not been to the Don Wes Flea Market yet this year as it's not quite as handy as it used to be when we could just walk up to it. We will have to check it out before we head for home which will happen sometime in late March.

The weather this winter has not been the best. Here and there a few real hot and humid days and then three or four or more days in a row of cold and either out-and-out rain or drizzle. Neither of these could possibly be called pleasant. We are in a stretch like that right now. The cold front roared in Wednesday afternoon, yesterday was cold and wet, today was cold and wet, tomorrow and Sunday are going to be more of the same. Enough already!!

If you have news you would like to have shared, please let me know. By the way, this park has some empty spots just looking for new residents if anyone is thinking about the Rio Grande Valley for next season.

Joseph Daniel Lapointe

 

Joseph Daniel Lapointe (71 years)

It is with heavy hearts that our family announces the passing of Joe Lapointe on Thursday, February 3, 2022.

Beloved husband of Jeannette Lapointe (nee Piché). Loving father of Kelly Hunt (Ray), Kim St. Michel (Wayne predeceased), Todd (Mel), John (Mona). Proud Papa to Cassie (Jesse), Allie, Lenny (Carly), Liandra (Scott), Carolyn, Victoria (Mathieu), Wyatt, Morgan, Abby, Jeff, and Carter. Four beautiful great-granddaughters Paityn, Paisley, Oaklynn, and Mia.

Son of the late Susan (nee O'Hagan) and Louis Lapointe. Dear brother of Peter (Shirley), Patricia Annett, Maureen Bellerose (Richard), Louis (predeceased). He will be sadly missed by many nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

Joe had a passion for teaching and inspiring others. 'Mr. L' was a beloved teacher for over 30 years in Massey and Espanola.

'Gentlemen start your engines and tie your shoelaces!' In the 70's and 80's Joe organized the highly anticipated annual, Brown Street Soapbox Derby on his childhood street in Sault Ste. Marie.

Joe was an avid sports fan, but the game of Basketball held a special place in his heart. Joe and his brother, Lou, ran summer basketball camps teaching and instilling the love of 'The Game' in others.

A friend to many, Joe will be forever remembered for his love of music (serenading 'Happy Birthday' was the highlight of our family birthdays), youthful nature, charismatic personality, and great story-telling abilities often sharing sport stories and family history. Joe enjoyed reconnecting with his family heritage through fishing and enjoying time on the water.

In memory of Joe's lifework to help children reach their fullest potential donations to NEO Kids Foundation would be appreciated. We will honour Joe with a celebration of Life at a later date.

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

The rain fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

 

Sad News

 It is with sadness that I have to report that Don Schmaltz passed away this morning here in Weslaco at 7:38 AM. He had been in ill health and in the hospital for the last couple of weeks. I don't believe this was at all covid related. Don has had a variety of health issues for the last several years. When I have more particulars I will post it.

This and That

Some of you are wondering who the people are who Barb mentioned in the last post. I do remember them and they owned Magnolia Park at one time. They sold to Mark, the first Canadian who owned Magnolia. They at first lived where Roy and Shirley Benner lived and then back in the doublewide on Cummings. They bought Magnolia from Mary and I believe would have been the last private owners before corporations and investment groups took over. Lots of changes since then that is for sure.

Covid is still going full throttle here in the RGV and there are many people here in Trails End who either have it or had it. Most of them are fully vaccinated and most were not very sick at all. Some presented as a cold with a bad cough. The only ones who I have heard were very sick are the very few who aren't vaccinated. One is still in the hospital with very low oxygen levels. 

We are still on the up and down weather roller coaster. First cold and rain for days on end and yesterday was pleasant as was today. Today the sun was out pretty much all day but it just got up to around 70 degrees. Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be warmer but by Thursday on into the weekend a sharp cold front is supposed to come through and highs on Friday will be in the low to mid 40s. For those of you up north that probably sounds warm but keep in mind you also are living in well-insulated homes which are built for cold weather, unlike the mobiles and RVs down here. 

If you have news to share, please let me know.

News from Sandi Greer

 Sandi Greer <randysandi@gmail.com>

I get some blog & I always thought it was you.  But today I noticed
the person talked about you & Butch being a Trophy Gardens.  She said
you had been sick.  I hope you are better.  And we have been watching
the weather & it sure looks terrible for all of you.  We get cold
weather but I guess we are used to it.  And we are just thankful that
we are not from North Dakota.  haha  Randy had a stroke last April &
it has left him in Afib.  He's taking a lot of medicine & he's had 2
Cardios.  The last one seemed to do better.  Right now our area (we
live in Idaho - our kids are about 60 miles from us; better than it
used to be) has lots of COVID.  Idaho seems to have a lot of
independent thinkers that think they don't need the vaccine.  We have
all our vaccines & boosters.  But we also are careful about being
around a lot of people & we wear masks.  Well, I hope you get this so I
can read your blogs.  Sandi & Randy

My reply to her:

We too are vaccinated and boosted but we both did get covid. However, it was a mild case, lasted about 3 days, and was very much like a mild cold. 

Magnolia as we knew it is no more. It has become a family park and not one a winter Texan would look at twice. We keep the blog going because we like to stay in touch with all of our old friends. The bulk of Magnolia people landed in Trails End. Deon Spangler is one of them and between the two of us we try to keep the Magnolia Blog active. People send us info and we post it. Since she is where most of them are she gets more news than I do. I do not mind at all because I have a number of blogs I keep going.

Our personal blog is www.brooker3.blogspot.com.

Then I now do www.trophygardens.blogspot.com

And then good old Magnolia www.magnolianews.blogspot.com

It used to be that you could sign up to receive each of those in your email but they stopped that for some reason. If you were signed up eons ago it still works but not for new ones.

It is so good to hear from you and I know there are so many old friends who would like to hear from you too. Hoping

 you do not mind I will add our correspondence to the Magnolia blog.

Stay in touch!

Barb Brooker

Not Much to Talk About

 There really isn't a whole lot to talk about right now. It is pretty cold for Texas, lows last night just above freezing but tomorrow is supposed to be just a bit warmer. We are all hoping that there will not be a repeat of last year when we were without power for four full days. It was supposed to be a rolling blackout, but right here, it didn't roll. It went out on Monday and didn't come back until late Thursday or maybe it was Friday, it's hard to remember. There were billions of dollars worth of crops damaged and from what I can see, the orange trees that managed to survive aren't really producing any fruit or if they are, the fruit is small, hard and mostly brown.  We have had our electric fireplace on along with the furnace for the last two days. If the sun shines at all tomorrow it will help. Yesterday it rained off and on and it rained all night and until lunchtime today. Just north of us they had sleet and freezing rain. Yuck! Double yuck because Texans down here so far south don't really know how to navigate slippery roads so it's best to stay home.

This too shall pass and we will once again be enjoying nice weather. If we were home it would be ever so much colder so I think I won't whine too much.

Our park has lots of sick people, many with Covid from what I understand. A few really sick ones including at least one who is not vaccinated. We are being as careful as we can be and hope we don't get it. A few park activities have been cancelled because of sickness and also the cold weather.

I am busy doing a new park directory for Trails End. I'm not quite sure how that came about, well that really isn't true. They were looking for someone to do it and I volunteered. It gives me a chance to meet people I haven't come across yet as I am also taking their photos. This first time will be the worst and if they ask me to do it again it will be much easier. There are still people arriving so not quite sure when it will be printed. This one will be in color, which is different from our Magnolia directory. The last one cost $10 which is also different from the $3 we used to charge for the Magnolia one.

I think most Magnolia folks are pretty healthy right now although some have been sick and now days who knows if it was just a bad cold or was it covid. Everyone I know tries to stay home if they suspect they may have it. Barb and Butch, over at Trophy Gardens have made a full recovery and if you follow Barb's blog you know that they weren't really very sick - as I've said many times, thank goodness for vaccines and boosters. Apparently it is the booster which really does help to protect us.

We have been birding several times but it is a strange birding year, kind of like it was back in Neillsville last summer. Not much going on, haven't even seen an Altamira Oriole yet which is odd. They are a beautiful bird and I do have lots of pictures from prior years but always want more.

I was looking back at my Magnolia bird file and came across these two photos. The camera I have now takes slightly better photos than these but the first is a Yellow-headed Parrot and the second is a Pyrrhuloxia, sometimes called a Desert Cardinal. We have never seen these two species anywhere else but Magnolia Park. I think the parrot was perched over in the vicinity of the pool hall on a wire and the Pyrrhuloxia was back by where Sandy Williams once lived. They actually had a nest in one of the shrubs there or at least so it seemed. I'm sure they haven't been back for many years. Once in a great while the Pyrrhuloxia would be on the ground under a bush on our spot on the corner of Center and Magnolia. Good memories! 

If you have news to share, please let me know and I'd be happy to post it.

This and That

 The New Year is well under way down here in deep south Texas and like many years in the past it is quite warm (hot) for a few days and then a cold front comes rolling in and it is cold for a few days, and then back to warm. Yesterday was very pleasant and today it is rather chilly. In any case, it certainly is better than it is up north as it barely got above zero back home today and as I understand it the wind chill last night was 40 below, or at least that is the story I heard! We'll take this warm - cool cycle any time compared to that!

We went over to HEB on Westgate this morning and as long as we were so close we drove by the old park, in fact, three times just to make sure we saw it all. The front gate was closed but the back gate was wide open and we certainly could have gone in and drove around but we really didn't want to do that. It is truly a very sad state of affairs. The fence on the east side is partially down as well as the fence back on Cummings. I really don't know why they bother with the front gate as anyone could get in at any time. Once in a while a former resident will drive through just for old times sake but we are all of us who are not there anymore so glad. I think we have all settled down in our new parks and for the most part I think most are completely satisfied. I know we certainly like it here at Trails End and the others we have run across here and there are also happy with the parks they have chosen. Time moves on and with that change comes along. The older we get change can be difficult but it is inevitable that's for sure. 

Most everyone down here wears masks in the stores and so do we. At this point, I guess one can't be too careful. We have managed to stay healthy thus far and certainly hope it stays that way!

We've been birding a few times but really haven't seen much. It seems to be a rather odd birding year. The other morning though the parrots dropped by and I did get lots of pictures of them. Such fun!! I remember well when they used to land in the tree by Liz and Andrea back on Pecos especially in the spring. They are as noisy as ever!!

If you have news you'd like to share, please let me know.

Happy New Year!! 2022

 

It hardly seems possible but here we are again. Wishing all of you the best of whatever 2022 holds for us.

Butch and I spent the evening at home ...in the MoHo. I went to bed at my usual time-10:00 pm and Butch joined me soon after. One of the joys of old age is a big heavy sigh of satisfaction as we settle in for a long winter's nap. Wishing all of you a healthy and happy new year.