Class of 1986 Online!

If you went to school in Glenville, MN, and graduated in the year 1986, here's a website for you!!!
Check it out at www.glenville86.com.

Using my cousin Brad's ingenious invention, classcreator.com, we easily created a website for Joel's classmates to re-connect with one another. This website will make reunion planning for their 25th in 2011 a breeze as well.

There are so many different components to this website builder--it's the yearbook of the future--reconnecting the past to the present.

Dressed to Thrill

Everywhere they went this year, Ross and Marlee made a grand entrance. From Prom to Homecoming, their fancy attire and stunning looks were envied by all.

Happy Doppa i Gryta

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 24th! Can't wait to sample Janet's cakes, Cindy's potatoes, and Mom's butterscotch pecan bars (just to name a few of the outstanding goodies!)

Sweet Times at Sugar Lake

A very well choreographed trip to Grandma Arline's took place the weekend of July 26th. After several emails circulated first trying to find a weekend everyone could make it and then coordinating who would bring what for food, all the grandkids and great-grandchildren assembled at her home in Annandale for fun in the sun, water play, and plenty of delicious victuals.

In late September, Joel and Mary and I made another trip north to visit with grandma one beautiful fall weekend.

Out on the dock, Joel gave Mary some pointers on her fishing techniques. Casting, setting the line, hooking the fish when the bobber starts to dance—and Mary’s favorite part—naming the fish before Daddy threw it back in. Bill, Stripes, Stripes Jr., and a host of other names were given as Mary caught one fish after another. She would no sooner get her line in the water and a fish would begin to nibble. When Mary came up from the lake to report her progress, she exclaimed, “I caught some sunnies, a ‘purse’, a crappie, and a bass!”

Exhibits, Dinner Theatre, and Concerts--Oh, my!

The Force was strong with us this summer when we visited the Science Museum of Minnesota. On June 23, we met Joel's brother Bruce and friends, Jon and Kristine, to experience the Star Wars Exhibit on display during a limited time. A special effects film in the Omnitheater and a simulated ride in the Millenium Falcon was a great way to add to the Empirical day. Joel-B-Wan even stopped to pose for a picture with a couple of storm troopers.

The Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's production of "Married Alive!" was hilariously funny with parts that were almost too true to be funny but we laughed anyway. It was fun to attend this dinner and show with friends Alden and Sheila on September 20th. We're also looking forward to seeing "Spam-A-Lot" in late December in Des Moines at the Civic Center.

Lorie Line has been bringing her piano concert tour to Mason City every year for 19 years. I've talked about going to see this concert for several years, but never purchased tickets. This year, we finally experienced this holiday concert. With the costume changes, Lorie's talented pop chamber orchestra, and audience participation, it's definitely a seasonal event that we will have to make an annual tradition!

Focusing on the Family

I resigned from my job at the casino in July to concentrate on some family issues. My dad had experienced a lengthy illness followed by an extended hospital and recovery period. Thankfully he is doing fine now. Prior to that, my mom's basement had fallen victim to the many flooded basements this overly wet spring, so there was quite a bit of clean up to do there. Mary was glad to have me all to herself since daycare was no longer needed!

I've been glad to have the opportunity to be able to devote more time to family. Additionally, the extra time has provided me with a chance to spread my creative wings and soar a bit more than the eight-hour-a-day job had allowed.

Consequently, I've been working on a line of jewelry that has been in the back of mind as well as colorizing the "Bedtime For Mary" book for re-publication. My creative writing time is split between a book of short stories I'm putting together and various submissions to magazine publications. I submitted a 9/11 story to CAPPER's that was published in their November issue.

This time next year, I hope to be busy selling my jewelry at craft fairs and appearing on the Oprah show with my new book. (A girl can dream, right??).

I Pledge My Head, Heart, Hands, and Health...

Mary finished her third year as a 4-H Clover Kid during the Worth County fair in June. Each Clover Kid member made a tie-dye shirt to be displayed in their booth at the fair. Mary also exhibited a ceramic horse she had painted and a couple drawings she had done at school which earned her participation ribbons.

In October during the "Fire Up for 4-H" Sunday, we enrolled Mary in one of the many active 4-H clubs here in Worth County. She is now a junior member in the Green Shamrocks 4-H club. Entries she takes to the fair next year will be judged and awarded a ribbon and premium. The Green Shamrocks have an annual spaghetti dinner as their club fundraiser in the fall. She's looking forward to participating in the Share-the-Fun variety show which is held every April.

Splish Splash We Had a Birthday Bash!

For Mary's 9th birthday, we rented the local pool one evening so she and six friends could soak up some water-ful fun.

We played games of Tic, Splash, Toe and Duck, Duck, Splash.

Cupcakes in the shape of flip flops, fruit punch, and pails of favors made this party swimmingly memorable.

Great Scenery and Dining in our Travels

On our way back from Keylime Cove last June we took a little detour to check out Granddad Bluff in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The LaCrosse area is very picturesque and not that far from home. We were hoping to make a fall color run this year, but didn't get it done. I was hoping we'd get a chance to eat at B.A. Burrito Co. again--a great burrito place we discovered after we had been to the bluff.


We did get to see some pretty awesome fall colors when we made a trip up to Brainerd the first part of October to visit Bruce and Christine, though; and going to Rafferty's provided a satisfying repast.

We'll Miss you, Grandma!

March 22, 1909 - October 16, 2008

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday,
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We remember how you look.
Now all we have is memories,
And your pictures in our book.
Your memory is our keepsake,
With which we'll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.

--Unknown

Ross Begins NIACC and Moves to an Apartment

College classes began for Ross on August 25. Enrolled in the Engineering program--Pre-Calc, Chemistry, Speech & Comp, and an Engineering course made him a full-time student.

The 7:40 a.m. Pre-Calculus class was one of the reasons Ross wanted to be closer to campus; so on September 7, we moved Ross and his high school friend, Jake, into an apartment in Mason City.

Ross continues to tend bar at the Diamond Jo Casino, but is hoping to find a job closer to his new home. If you would like to send Christmas greetings to him, his address is 340 S. Yorktown Pike Apt. 14G, Mason City, IA 50401.

Ask him to show you his tattoo sometime.

Lordy, Lordy!! Look Who Turned Forty

This picture appeared in our local newspaper and shopper the week of Joel's birthday. It was quite the conversation starter around town.

And again, despite threats of divorce, I threw Joel another surprise birthday party. Many friends and family turned out for the occasion and wished him well. Thanks to my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, we had great food and fun decorations at the Worth Brewing Company where the event took place. Thanks Peter and Margaret for helping us make his milestone birthday a memorable one.

Mary's Bedroom Gets a Face Lift

Mary's room was the site for an extreme room makeover on February 23.

The plain white walls became the canvas for a bold idea as friend, Gretchen, took Mary's wishes and desires and turned them into a Hannah Montana dream room.

Bright purple and pink walls with a thick baby blue stripe and butterfly silhouettes make her room like no other. It’s fun and unique, and she loves spending time in her new haven. The themed accessories of the Hannah Montana bedspread, curtains, posters, clock, and lamp are envied by all her friends who come to visit.

Thanks, Gretchen!!!

Deb is a Hawk-Eye

Thanks to my efforts as one of the 99 field editors for the Our Iowa magazine, two wonderful cooks from Northwood have been featured on the glossy pages of this new bi-monthly publication with their pictures and recipes. I have submitted various other story ideas and pictures to the magazine since becoming part of the team nearly a year ago, but have yet to see any of my other submissions due to the phenomenal amount of wonderful attributes the great state of Iowa has to offer. The staff has the difficult task of sorting through all the pictures, facts, tidbits, and interesting story ideas from all the field reps for every edition.

June 29, all 99 of us "Hawk-Eyes" (as the field reps are called) were invited to a picnic at the Reiman Gardens in Ames. Roy Reiman and Jerry Wiebel along with the rest of the Our Iowa Magazine staff treated us to a delicious lunch and Barbershop quartet entertainment after we had leisurely strolled through the gardens and the butterfly wing. It was a fun opportunity to meet other field reps as well as the staff and put faces with names.


If you get a chance, definitely check out the website and find out what it's all about. In a nutshell, it's a magazine just about Iowa written by Iowans. And while it has the professional look and feel of all the colorful publications like Country, Country Extra, Taste of Home, Reminisce, Farm & Ranch, and Birds & Blooms, there is actually no relationship. Roy Reiman sold his company a number of years ago, and the company has been sold a couple of times since. In fact, it is no longer known as Reiman Publications, but is now RDA-Milwaukee. Our Iowa is the only current Reiman Publication.

Joel and FRED are No Match for Cyber Crimes

Joel spent the week of February 11-15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in an intensive, unique training experience. Upon completion he became certified to provide forensic evidence related to computer use.

As Worth County's Information Technology Director, Joel was instrumental in bringing this digital forensics effort to the county. When law enforcement agencies have to send computers to be examined to the Department of Criminal Investigation, some cases can take more than a year to process. By performing similar investigations at the local level, catching criminals can be expedited--particularly criminals who commit cyber crimes or who leave digital evidence of their crimes.

As part of the training, Joel had to learn the hardware and software used for this kind of evidence collection. The FRED (Forensic Recovery Evidence Device) is a computer workstation that connects to any digital device and reads the information without affecting what is on the hard drive--something that would not be possible by simply turning on and examining a computer.

Entire hard drives are copied onto FRED. From there a special software program is used to search through the information looking for specific types of computer files such as images, web mail, documents and more. These tools also allow for searching digital cameras, mp3 players, memory cards, and cell phones.

Joel has already been called upon to assist in a couple of child pornography cases; and most recently was called in on an area school district case involving a bomb threat sent via email. Joel was able to assist the police in making an arrest by tracking down the computer that was used to send the email as well as identifying the user.

In the near future, as this resource becomes more widely known, Joel expects he and FRED may get involved in other cases such as identity theft and embezzling. In the meantime, Joel was just elected vice president of the Iowa Counties Information Technology (ICIT) group which meets several times a year to discuss technology concerns within the Iowa counties' government offices. This group also organizes events and exercises designed to simulate emergencies and test disaster preparedness plans.

Confessions of a Pre-Teen Drama Queen

Mary began her third year in drama class this fall and continues to enjoy the weekly thespian experience in Mason City. Last May as the nearly nine-month session of her second year was coming to a close, she enjoyed participating in the Stebens Children's Theatre annual variety show, "Stepping Out at Stebens." Along with her other Tier 2 classmates, she performed a fun song and dance routine to the "Happy Working Song" from the movie "Enchanted." The picture here was on the front page of the entertainment section in the Mason City Globe Gazette.



This year's Tier 3 class continues scene study and acting techniques but focuses on the realm of musical theatre; music videos, singing and dancing, and will again end in a variety show performance. At age 9, Mary is now eligible to try out for Stebens' main stage productions and is looking forward to the opportunity.

In addition to drama class, Mary began taking piano lessons this year. This fits right into her long-term plan to become a professional entertainer.

Clay County Fair and the Corbin Bleu Concert

On Saturday, September 13, we drove to Spencer, Iowa, to the Clay County Fair. Corbin Bleu of the Disney's High School Musical movies was scheduled to appear in concert, and we had purchased our tickets two months in advance at Mary's behest.

Mary was absolutely giddy, and we had arrived early to walk around and check out the exhibits. She began asking what the time was shortly after we arrived and continued asking every four to six minutes until concert time. It was all we could do to contain her excitement until we were finally able to enter the grandstand and find our seats.

During the concert, Mary was mesmerized. She danced, screamed, clapped, sang along, cheered and just plain beamed with joy. For Joel and I, it was more fun watching her than the teeny-bopper performing on stage--When did I get old??? The bass was more than I could stand reverberating in my chest like an unwanted pacemaker, and I actually felt my hair being blown back by the sound coming out of the skyscraper-sized speakers directly in front of our section. Joel commented that his vision blurred and jumped with each BLAM of the drum.

Mary, who is usually very sensitive to noise and bothered by high decibels, was oblivious to the fact that her parents' hearing was being irreparably damaged.

After the final encore of the concert, the fireworks commenced. Mary who had not flinched or complained once during the entire deafening concert now huddled into Joel's shoulder...and cupped her hands over her ears.

Ross's Most Excellent Motorcycle Adventure

August 1 - 9 from Northwood, Iowa, to the Sturgis Rally, to Cody, Wyoming--Ross traveled over 2,500 miles of the open road on his 1999 Yamaha V-Star and experienced "freakin' awesome" scenery including Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Deadwood, Needles Highway, and Spearfish Canyon.

The weather cooperated most of the time except for some really scary riding in high winds one day. (I'm glad I didn't know about it at the time.)

Even though Ross lost his debit card early on in the trip and had no extra cash with him, his dad covered his expenses and he had a great time he will not soon forget!

The Big Treehouse Tour Turns into the Big TV News Clip Opportunity

On August 5, Mary and I toured the Big Treehouse located on Shady Oaks Road just north of Highway 30 East in Marshalltown. My friend Chris joined us as we walked through the 12-level, 7,000 square-foot house in a tree.

There is a spiral staircase, electrical wiring, and running water--but Mary's favorite feature was, of course, the television! Since the Treehouse is celebrating its 25th year, Mary and I just happened to be there the day the KDSM Fox News crew was there doing a story, and Mary and I both got our 5 seconds of fame!

On August 31 when we went to the Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, MN, Mary was star struck when we got to actually meet the architect and builder of the Treehouse, Mick Jurgensen. It was a chance meeting as he and his family just happened to be attending the Festival the same day. Mary was ecstatic to meet the brains behind the placement of a TV up a tree!