There are many great memories from those days spent in Oakes. The people were so great. They always supported the teachers in dealing with the children. To this day I still have many of those students who keep in touch with me on a regular basis. Of the many good people I remember, one little fellow, Billy, holds a spot in my heart.. He was small for his age but he had a huge heart and brain. He absorbed learning like a super dried-up sponge. I remember he volunteered to memorize a very lo...

Even though the little town of Oakes, ND was located just 16 miles from where I grew up I knew very little about it. During my childhood, I had been to Oakes a few times to have my teeth tended to by Dr. Lisko. Other than that I knew nothing about the school, the church, the pastor or the people. I thought that I might be allowed to see my parents more often since I would be located so near to them but that was not to be. I was still permitted only one day a year to visit them. I misse...

Today I received word that a dear friend of the family has gone to his reward. Stan Gallus and his wife, Lorraine, were long standing friends of the new family that my son and I gained when I remarried three years after the death of my first husband. My thoughts are with Stan’s family today as I plan to attend his funeral on Friday in St. Cloud. There are so many good memories of the good times we had together when we all lived in the St. Cloud area. Stan and his wife lived on the out...

These last few days I have been feeling several negative feelings: anger, frustration impatience, and disappointment…I have felt the need to research the sources and face them because all of those feelings are negative. And as far as my experience has gone, negative feelings do not do good. There are in direct opposition to each other. Before you get all up in arms…(watch that temper…) I am not trying to say that all anger is wrong. Anger can be a good warning that all is not well in o...

When I approached Mother Provincial with my decision, she shushed me to silence. She reminded me that everyone has doubts from time to time. I wanted to tell her about all the things that had upset and appalled me during the past five years. She would not listen. She told me that when I made my vows in the coming summer, I would be going to France. She told me that she wanted me to see and experience where this community of nuns had its beginning. She assured me that a summer away from coll...

It was no big surprise that at the end of that school year, I knew that I would not be reassigned to teach at St. Cecelia’s again. Was I unhappy about that? Not a chance! I held no grudge against that priest. I had no clue as to what made him act the way he did. It was not my place to judge him. He is now long gone from this world. May he rest in peace. I learned from him to be on my guard against any potential wolf in sheep’s clothing. After the usual two-week catechism session in a neig...

There were several male boarders who were older than I. They flirted with me constantly. One of them was especially obnoxious. One day, after he had made a very explicit pass at me, I lost my temper and slapped him a good one. Immediately, I was sorry and scared. He was a very bright lad and he recognized his chance to hold me hostage. He said that he would be telling his mother about my abuse when she came to pick him up for the weekend. I had learned to bluff like the best of them. I told...

Although I took my temporary vows in September 1947, I stayed in Spring Valley until January of 1948. I went to “finish” high school at Oakwood, ND where the nuns of our order ran a Catholic School. I was allowed to sit in the classroom with the other students but I was never called upon to answer questions or allowed to participate in any discussions. At first, the students thought that I was some kind of supervisor because I was never introduced to them. I just appeared one day. They ...

As awed as I was concerning the spacious surroundings of my new home, there were some pressing anxieties that kept me from fully appreciating its beauty and peacefulness. There were scores of new faces and places that would call for many new adjustments. I was feeling very reticent even though I had two familiar companions that would be going through these introductions with me. The three of us who had just come from ND timidly faced the group of probationary nuns who were waiting for us ...

All points bulletin: Where is Greywar? He does not answer his e-mail. His phone is on the blink the last I heard. I am suffering from withdrawal. Help!

To reach Illinois, we boarded the train from Valley City. (The days of nun-driven cars had not yet evolved as an accepted mode of travel.) Since we arrived in the fall of the year, the soggy, humid days of typical Illinois summers were nearly over. Still for me, Illinois was very foreign. I was just a country bumpkin who had rarely left the boundaries of North Dakota. We were to be housed in a part of a huge building complex (huge--at least to my rural-oriented view) known as St. Marg...

I thought this article has a lot of merit. I am usually a Democrate but lately more often an Independent. I liked this because it seems to bring out the importance of voting with more than just selfish interests. Also the author is from my generation. We have to stick together. From the Wed 06 Oct 2004 issue of the Ellensburg Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington). ...written by Mathew Manweller, Central Washington University political science professor... "Election determines fat...

Here are some quotes and semi quotes from a book I have been reading, a novel by David Baldacci that has a lot of interesting political threads. It was quite a surprise for me to learn that about half of the people on our planet live in hopeless poverty. Now I am not sure that all of Baldacci’s statistics are absolutely correct. Some will say I should not circulate facts that I can’t substantiate except from an unreliable source as a novel. Even if those figures are only half-truths,...

It is surprising to me that while I can recall so vividly, the many memories of my childhood, this period of my life (Jan. 1946 – Sept. 1947) seems barren by comparison. I know that I was much less sure of myself as I was about to face this second probationary period than I had been facing the first. When I had the left the boarding school to enter the convent, I had done so, without a great deal of serious thought. I had consulted no one. With about as much stability as a fluttering bu...

Today I celebrate a lifetime, seventy-five years, of being the recepient of countless blessings. A great-niece sent me this site Link that perfectly expresses how grateful I am for God's constant love in my life and in the lives of all those I know and love. Thanks to everyone who has added so much to my life, all of you bloggers included, especially greywar, one of the great rays of sunshine in my life. I am constantly in awe of the depth of your thoughts on so many subjects. Keep...