Well, fall is leaving us in a real quick hurry. We took every advantage of being out on our patio enjoying the last of the warm sunshine before the snow starts flying.  This month we enjoyed armchair travel to Mexico complete with chips and salsa plus burritos for dinner, and a hot game of things found in Mexico hangman. We played back to school hangman when the kids started back. We enjoyed Braeburn apples with caramel dip while figuring out a hangman game involving varieties of apples. How many varieties of apples can you come up with without consulting your phone? Do you know that playing games where you have to think is good for your brain? Lavona Czaplicki entertained us with piano music  and helped us make pretty fall door decorations. Tom Novotny was here with his one man band which we thoroughly enjoy. Diane Bennett got a surprise visit from her first great grandson Callen Parker Smith.

Celebrations and Passings

Tom Hedstrom and Bev Denyes celebrated their birthday’s this month. Bev has a fun birthday tradition. She splits how old she will be in half and celebrates for that many days on each side of the date. Let’s just say Bev celebrated a good three months and then some. During our monthly birthday party Doug Sanders played piano music while Sharon Brenner served coffee and cupcakes made by Mary Harrelson.

Robert (Bob) Sampson and Rose Hasegawa passed away. Bob was the father of Mike Sampson, one of our local doctors. Bob loved his coffee, chocolate, a good joke, and golf. He didn’t hold back on what he thought about any given situation. He wasn’t with us long, but he will be missed. Rose is the mother of one of our favorite activity volunteers Duane Hasegawa. Rose loved looking nice by getting her nails and hair done. She also was a snappy dresser and participated in almost all the activities for as long as she could. She always had a smile on her face and always offered to help. 

 Pat Backlund

Our Spotlight Resident of the Month

Patricia 'Pat' Backlund was born, grew up and attended school in Superior, Wisconsin along with her sister Barbara. While in first grade Pat discovered a love for reading. She was so thankful the Librarian at the time had a fondness for children as Pat spent a lot of time at the library. Pat wanted to be a Librarian when she grew up. Difficult things going on when Pat was a child was World War II and her mom and dad getting divorced.   Fun times included riding bike, reading, and spending time at a cabin on a lake. One memorable time was when Pat came to Grand Marais with a girlfriend to keep her company as her girlfriend was an only child. 

Pat was 16 when she met her husband John in Grand Marais at Backlund’s Grocery which is where Sven & Ole’s is now.  They got married on May 31, 1947 in Grand Marais at the Baptist pastor’s house. Pat and John didn’t go on a honeymoon as they didn’t have any money at the time. Pat continued to work for Western Union in Duluth for the first year of their marriage taking the bus back and forth from  Grand Marais to Duluth every week. Pat and John have 3 children Mike, Patser and Barbara. Pat didn’t travel much as her husband mostly liked to stay home. Pat did get over to Ireland as that is where her mother was from. They have certain dialects there you know. John passed away in 2008.  Pat has 3 grandchildren and 3 step grand-children and great grandchildren.  Pat doesn’t feel like she has any words of advice for young people as she didn’t do anything really important. I told her she must have done something right as she lived well into her 90’s. She thought about it then decided that people should just be happy and get along with each other. It doesn’t do any good to complain. She said she’s in a really nice place and is enjoying herself and is thankful for her children.

Treats

According to the Perk, September 21 was National Pecan Cookie Day. We learned pecans can provide ten percent of our daily zinc, it would take 11, 624 pecans stacked end to end to reach the top of the Empire State Building and Texas adopted  a  tree as its state tree in 1919. 

Just in case you didn’t know we drink a lot of coffee and we like cookies. If you get an itch to bake we can do the scratching and eat some for you. We like cake and bars, cupcakes, and muffins. Pie, ya, we like pie. 

If you would like to come spend a fun filled hour with our residents give me a call. 218-387-3518. Play a game, roll a ball of yarn, read a book, water flowers, bake a cake. What do you enjoy doing? I bet someone here does as well!

Go out and enjoy the fall leaves, stop by with some cookies for our coffee and remember “Old Age Ain’t For Sissies!”