Stoneage Ramblings

By John R. Stone

It was interesting to watch some of the coverage of the funeral for Queen Elizabeth.

I was about eight I think when she was crowned queen and it was one of the first things I can remember seeing on that then new device, the television. Of course, it was black and white and fuzzy, but the significance of seeing something from a foreign country happening live was probably lost on me at the time.

It is somewhat amazing to me that her reign lasted over 70 years, the longest of any British monarch.

We went to London a number of years ago and stayed about a half mile from Buckingham Palace and visited Westminster Cathedral. To see those places on TV with their roles in ceremonies that were part of the funeral was very interesting. This time it was in color and much higher resolution!

I can remember when we used to think well of our presidents, even if they were not people for whom we had voted. We respected their positions as leaders of our nation even if we didn’t agree with their stands on some issues. Presidents used to not speak ill of their predecessors and they often offered support for those who followed them.

Watching the British line the streets to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s casket shows me we have lost something here with our heated political rhetoric. And I find that sad.

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I hope you read John Bohmer’s obituary last week in the PCT.

Not long after I came to Glenwood there was a drought, and bankers in the area got together and contributed money to seed clouds. Bohmer and other bankers attended meetings in Sauk Centre to raise money for the cloud seeding effort. I don’t recall if it worked, but the drought eventually ended. I covered those meetings, and that was where I first met him.

That was about the same time that Bohmer was pushing for irrigation in the Bonanza Valley around Brooten. Irrigation took those light soils and made them profitable.

Jaycees were big back then, and I remember when we managed to get a tour of his vintage car collection. It was in a quonset building on the edge of town and had two floors of cars. I remember being quite impressed with the collection.

Near the end of his obituary, much of which he wrote himself, was this paragraph, in case you missed it:

“I always knew the party must end eventually and I have always enjoyed my life and believe that life should not be a journey to the grave in an attractive well preserved body, but to skid in sideways, my body thoroughly used up, totally worn out screaming, ‘Woo Hoo, what a ride!’”

Glenn Neilson, a friend of Bohmer’s, once told me about how he and Bohmer flew to Arizona (I think), bought motorcycles, and rode them back on an extended trip through the West. I think this was when they were in their 60s or 70s.

Living to 101 is no small accomplishment, doing so many different and interesting things makes it even more so.

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It looks like we’re getting close on the bridge over the CP Rail tracks north of town. It’s taken a while but it has been interesting to watch. The project had to be designed so it didn’t interrupt train traffic. Now that it is near completion train traffic will no longer interrupt us.

Most of us will not mind the shorter route, the detour adds a little over five miles to a trip to Alexandria and that’s if you take County 15 rather than going all the way into Lowry, which is the official detour.

I look forward to trying it!