love

Bowers Ministry

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

Don and Rosie Bowers have dedicated their entire lives to ensuring God’s loving word stays alive and continues to spread all over this hurting planet. Their lives have included loving people, church planting and he was pastor at several congregations in Southern California. As their 60th wedding anniversary nears, they have no plans to retire from their calling.

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Don is a brother to my wife Rose Marie. At the time we got married I claimed to be a confirmed bachelor, for life. Rose was raising 4 daughters by herself. Why, impaired vision possibly, for some unknown reason those two little words “I do” escaped from my lips.

Don told me one day, I should be nominated for sainthood for marrying his bossy older sister. I had that on my mind when I sent this anniversary greeting to Don and Rosie. Rose left for the big Bowers reunion in heaven last April, we were married 49 years. She shared a lot with me about her brother Don’s youth. Oh my, I always thought he was an angel!

James Graham

When Rosie said “I do” to Don 60 years ago.

I think she immediately became qualified for Sainthood.

I have no regrets, being blind like Saul, now I see. The Marriage Institute works, with Divine intervention.

Featured

The Estensen Family Reunion

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

As a youngster my grandparents Andrew and Minnie Olson attended the Estensen family reunion as often as there was one held in the community. I came across a newspaper clipping from a reunion that was at Lake Campbell near Brookings SD, decided to share this with my blogging friends. I’m sure there are many names for everyone to remember. I recall attending with my grandparents, even as a youngster it was a fun event. My wife and I attended our last Estenson reunion at Renner South Dakota in the early 1970s.

Our Estensen link.

https://www.geni.com/people/Ole-Estensen-Hoel/6000000016774499566



Family reunion were annual events at one time, or as close to annual as you could get. Reunions seem to be out of style in many families today. My wife came from a large family in Michigan and she loved to return to the family reunions in July as often as we could. I realized those reunions were very important to her so we attended often, even though it was a long drive. This year she didn’t want to wait until July so she went to the reunion in April, not to Michigan but that Huge Glorious Reunion where the streets are paved with gold. There is an eternal reunion with friends and family waiting, that is truly out of this world.

Carol, Harlan, Sandy, Elma, Steve, Butch, Karen, Sarah, Luke.
Making ice cream with T-Model; Lee and Lyle.

Rev Don Bowers, Rose’s brother.

David Bowers and family

IMG_0050.JPG Marylin Wittkopf, Lydia & Bob Ruttman, Annebell Dolson at Harrison, Mi
IMG_0053.JPG Rosie Bowers, and her daughter Kari and family.
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IMG_0061.JPG Marilyn and Shirley Bowers at Gaylord, Mi
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Northfield, Mi
Reunion at Wixom, Mi 1970,s Rose with her uncle Norm at lake Brevort UP

Katie, Andrew, Julie, Brian, Carol, Harlan, Lori, Ryan and Jim Hopkins

Clair Jacobson, Carol, Harlan, Rose, Alice Mackey, Arlyce Jacobson at Poinsett cabin.

Seashore

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

The moon was complete, full over warm waters.

The sea became suddenly calm horizon to horizon.

Our long-awaited rendezvous had come to a climax.

The moonlight danced on our spent, bare bodies.

We lay in each other’s arms, there on our blanket, the Seashore,

oblivious to time or space.

My mermaid said, “we must do this again,”soon.

http://www.lelandolson.com/

Let Your Light Shine

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 3 Comments

 

https://ceenphotography.com/2015/07/16/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-older-than-50-years/

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Older than 50 Years

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Let Your Light Shine

We have had this picture “Christ of St. John of the Cross”. Since the 1950s, the artist was Salvador Dali. This was one of his more publicized paintings, he had led a very colorful life. Maybe born a generation to early! He saw himself in a different light when this work of his was finished, possibly. I’m not sure just how this picture speaks to me, it has a light about it. It makes no difference where you hang it, even in darkness the light of the cross is there.

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This lamp is a old cast-iron goose neck table lamp. This was one of the first lamps our family bought when we got the magic of electricity. It has been a very good table lamp plus, a durable utility light to carry to another work area. It has been my favorite lamp for about seventy years now. The designer must have considered that, when it was made with a heavy cast iron base, it does not get knocked over very easy.

That heavy cast iron bottom of that lamp would have made a very lethal weapon. I know my mother grew up around the light from the Cross. She came from a family of believers, or she surely would have used that cast iron lamp base on my dad’s head. He could have met with an early demise on many different occasions. The light of the cross saved him many times. I hope it did the same on his last day.

 

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These last two photos are pictures of my grandfather’s diary from 1935, and my mother’s diary from 1947. My mother’s diary has a wooden cover both front and back and linen paper for the pages. The binding on it is made from Birch Bark. The book was hand made in Finland.. It had a Finish Coat Of Arms on the cover and was given to my mother in 1947 by my grandmother.

My grandfather Andrew faithfully wrote in his diary every day. He was born in Norway and came to this country as a teenager, his penmanship was perfect. I feel both my mother and my grandfather left a little light shining for us in those diaries, for all of the family to read and hopefully be guided by what they have written. What they have done in a way lets their light shine through the memories they wrote in their diaries.

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https://lghoelson.wordpress.com/

Smooth Colleen

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

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DAILY PROMPT
Smooth
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.

Smooth Colleen

Colleen was a beautiful young Irish lass, newly arrived in New York City with her family and other Irish immigrants.Their passage went smoothly on the steamship crossing the Atlantic. Their plans were to stay in New York City and work until they could accumulate enough money to go to Calumet Michigan where they had other relatives. Many had already immigrated to Michigan where rich farmland was waiting for people to come and live. They would find nothing easy or smooth about pioneer life. It was a constant combination of hard work and hardship.

Colleen was very fortunate she landed a job in a fancy restaurant, near Wall Street and the many brokerage companies. She had the most beautiful body with smooth skin, her auburn hair and green eyes flashed at the young men.The young brokerage workers enjoyed coming to lunch there, as they enjoyed the food. They feasted their eyes on pretty young Colleen and her firm breasts, smooth stomach, and her long legs.

She fell in love with a young man named Brian and they started to date each other, to the bitter disappointment of all of the other young men who were having their lunches at that establishment. They made plans for a smooth good life together, not wanting for anything planning to marry in a year. Brian was moving into a big office where he would be capable of making large amounts of money.

The stock market crash of 1929 caught the investors of this world and all of the Wall Street workers by surprise. Many lost fortunes instantly. Colleen was not enough for Brian. After the stock market crash, he took a walk by himself into eternity, off the roof of his office building. Poor Colleen was devastated and heartbroken. She had no idea what she could do now, her life plans for a smooth life of luxury had been destroyed. She knew they could have had a good life but her young banker husband wanted more. She decided she would go to West to Michigan and find some of her other relatives that had already settled there. She was hoping a new environment would help her get over the loss of her beloved Brian.

Colleen took the train to Calumet Michigan where she was met by an elderly uncle and aunt who never had any children of their own. She was going to live with them and be their housekeeper, also earning a small salary. Colleen learned to make homemade bread, she kneaded the dough until it was smooth and like elastic, she smoothed the sheets until there was never a wrinkle on a bed. She ironed and made everyone’s clothes smooth, no wrinkled shirts, pants or dresses walked out of that house. Colleen worked hard and diligently doing her job.

One day her aunt said to her, “Colleen your a beautiful young lady.” “Why don’t you go to the dances, meet yourself a handsome young man working at the Copper Mine, start raising your own family?” Colleen confided in her that she had had a true love at one time but that he had walked out on her. Her aunt was stunned, shocked., I cannot believe that anyone would ever walk out on you for any reason. Something very bad must have happened, Colleen’s mother later told her.They didn’t talk about it again. Colleen continued to happily be their housekeeper and seemed to be very happy with her smooth life, all the old wrinkles were left in the past.aahttps://wordpress.comlghoelson

Weekend-Coffee-Share

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 2 Comments

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/weekend-coffee-share/

MAR 31, 2016 / INSPIRATION
If we were having coffee…
Get personal and make deep connections with other bloggers with the #weekendcoffeeshare community.

I am a newbie here at the weekend coffee share community, I would like to share a story about me and my brother at the local coffee shop. I feel like I got my education out behind the barn, I was not a regular at the local coffee shop. My brother earned his degree there. He was a regular daily visitor. Well known by the whole coffee hour group. He passed away on March 8, 2016 and is missed by many.

My brother very rarely wore shorts, knee pants, one steamy, hot, July day he went to coffee hour wearing some cut off shorts. He walked in the front door of the coffee shop after most of the regulars were already seated and busily solving world problems and handling local business and such. As he walked through the front door all the talking stopped. You could have heard a pin drop.They all looked at my brother and One old fellow quietly asked, “Is Harlan walking in, or riding in on a chicken?” The place roared with laughter. His legs were rather skinny, he didn’t ware shorts to coffee after that.

Coffee times can be very enlightening. People get relaxed and share many things about their personal lives and show interest in what other people are doing in their lives. Depending on who makes up the group at the coffee table, it can turn into a gossip session. Everyone knows what happens to a story, if it gets retold a few times, many changes can get made to that original story. It would be like, ‘the Parson was spotted with a strange young lady, riding in his car.’ After that story made the rounds it no doubt had several edited endings.The Parson was called by the young lady after her car would not start and he offered to drive her to work. No news in the original version.

We as individuals all have much to share, about things that have happened recently in our lives or long ago, our jobs, differences in education and training. There is much to share with one another, very constructive and positive, rich, friendship building stuff. Even much better than some of the richest flavored coffees on the market. Coffee and personality flavors make for some great coffee time memories. To care and share over a cup is good for what ails us.

https://lghoelson.wordpress.com/

Prehistoric Objects

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 6 Comments

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/object/
Daily Prompt
Object
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt. Not sure how to participate?

Prehistoric Objects
My brother spent a lifetime collecting prehistoric objects. I was beginning to think He and I were becoming prehistoric objects the way we aged in the past few years. He had a quadruple by-pass operation done close to two months ago. I appealed to all of you for prayer at that time. He was doing well and expecting to go home in about a week. Yesterday March 8, 2016, he had been walking, felt he should sit down and there his life ended at about 3:00 PM. I thank all of you for your prayers and concerns.

In the early 1940’s my brother, Harlan Olson was the object my undivided attention. He was born on December 17, 1939. I was born on December 1,1940. As I said, “he had my attention in those early years”. I looked to him as my Davie Crocket, a guide to what we could do and that we could not do on the farm where we lived. He was very good at showing me early on, what was off limits, we respected off limits areas. We obeyed dad’s laws because he believed strongly that if you spare the rod you will spoil the child. I must say, we were not spoiled and we certinly did not have any problems with attention disorder. Dad had our full attention 24/7/365. If we knew we had crossed the line one look from our dad sent us looking for our running shoes. We soon found out that didn’t work because we had to go home for supper sooner or later.

The good old high school years, my brother Harlan managed to have the best grades in his whole class. Somehow I managed to come up with C-‘s and D+’s.I just did not seem to enjoy learning from books as much as he did. Shop and drawing I got A’s, shocked the teacher. I believe Harlan read every book he got his hands on.

At good old Castlewood, High School he pole vaulted, high jumped and ran the mile run. I played football and made a free wll offering of my front teeth early in the first season. Also ran the half mile run and anchored the medley relay team. His legs were about a foot longer than mine! We were about even on the golf course.

When he graduated from high school he joined the Marine Corps I was very proud of my patriotic big brother. Enlisting in the Marine Corps showed me he had an oversupply of guts. I could not begin to top that, so I quit High School and joined the U.S. Air Force where I could sleep in a barracks with a roof over my head. Sleeping in a tent just did not appeal to me.

Brothers should not be objects of competition in life, unless it is sharing their love for one another.

https://lghoelson.wordpress.com/

My family greatly appreciated all the love and support given to us during dad’s medical problems. Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare to say our final good byes to dad soon. I take comfort in that his health problems are gone and he’s walking with god now, looking for arrowheads no doubt. Thought I’d share the video, linked below, for those have never seen it. It meant a lot to dad when they made it. Love, Brian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTRUtHVUuV8&feature=youtu.be

Longing

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 2 Comments

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/longing/

DAILY PROMPT
Longing
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt

Two people longing for each other on opposite sides of the globe sounds completely absurd!
What is to be gained, sadness, depression, aching hearts?

Longing carries with it, a loss of hope.
It also has a desire of what could be, to help you cope.

Longing holds the clear knowledge of what the past held so dear.
Even a fleeting past but meant to last a lifetime, not just a year.

Two people continue to share in their longing, by watching the moon above.
They both focus on that same heavenly body, the connection to their love

Their longing gaze has one sweet, deep, satisfaction. The night when they both shared that same moon, side-by-side, on that beach, on the other side of the globe.

https://lghoelson.wordpress.com/