Dear Shirley,
It's been a long time since Ernie and Liz Boucher lived in the house next door to me here on Cottonwood Street, but I still think of them from time to time. I remember the way they so carefully tended their lawn and nourished the flowers alongside the house. Liz died years ago, and Ernie eventually turned his business -- Dakota Sales -- over to his son in-law, Roger Kieffer. And Roger has since turned it over to his three sons, Randy, Rick and Mark.
I am thinking of Ernie because he's 100 years old today. He is just a prince of a person, Shirley. In fact, I think you met him when you were visiting here long ago. Ernie remarried a couple of times after Liz died and now lives out in Fort Benton, Mont. His children, Joan
Kieffer and Bill Ditton, and their mates plus 20 of his grandchildren from Grand Forks planned to be out in Fort Benton today. The big party is at Sunrise Bluffs Retirement Home. If you want to send him a card, his address is Box 249, Fort Benton, MT 59442.
A lot of people know Ernie Boucher and the Kieffers. Grand Forks is that kind of a place. You get to know people and they matter to you. That's what Brenda Ling was saying when she told of the plans for her and her husband, Chuck Kimmerle, to move to Casper, Wyo. She has been with the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center and is transferring within USDA to the Natural Resources Conservation Service out there. Chuck was with the Herald for four years and has been with UND's University Relations for 10 years. He is well-known in the area for his artistic photography.
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Brenda said new opportunities and adventures await, but she and Chuck love Grand Forks. She said it's about knowing your letter carrier and having a café owner scold you for not coming in for a long time. It's about people at the Lawn King who are so kind to their dog named Buster.
Well, Shirley, I was thinking along those same lines Monday when I attended the funeral for a longtime friend, Pat Lander. The full house at First Presbyterian Church was a tribute to Pat and the quiet service she has done in Grand Forks. Along with raising her family, she took part by helping to take home-delivered meals to shut-ins and help with furnishing the Campbell House for the Grand Forks County Historical Society. She was honored as Woman of the Year, and she was president of the YWCA when it was still here.
I know that you have good things going in Tucson, and you have cacti in bloom in the springtime. Here in Grand Forks, the city parks have come into their full glory as September begins. I walked by University Park this week and enjoyed all of the autumn colors of bright red, orange and yellow. These blooms are on rudbeckia plants. And I wouldn't know that unless I visited with Melissa Grafenauer, who is in charge of plantings for the Grand Forks Park District.
She works with a crew of youth who planted 35,000 flowers in parks this year. Melissa is usually out there supervising, but right now she is on maternity leave. She's taking care of Jayce, who has two older brothers -- Kyle, 14, and Max, 2.
Let me know how you are doing in your new house in the desert. I suppose you still have nightmares about the fire in May.
Love from your sister Marilyn, waiting for the radio report from the UND football game tonight in Moscow, Idaho.
P.S. We know it's September because the City Band starts practicing again tonight, and the Thursday Music Club is holding its first meeting of the new year today at United Lutheran Church.
Reach Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or (701) 772-1055
