It was one great birthday celebration from Friday, June 27 through Sunday, July 8. There was a watercraft parade, swimming, fireworks, picnics, fun in the park and other birthday related things at Beaver Lake. 

There were four angel food birthday cakes with 59 red, white and blue candles atop each one. Fifty-nine times four is the number of birthdays celebrated. The birthday celebration concluded with the singing of “Proud To Be an American.”

Ole (“Fer it”) and Swen (“Agin’ it”) are circulating a petition to be on the November ballot. They need 279 signatures to be on the ballot. (10% of eligible voters) The vote will be whether or not you want the current speed bumps at the entryway on South Beaver Lake Road.

The Church Ladies of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church sponsored a bus trip June 24 to “A Mighty Fortress Is Our Basement” at the Plymouth Playhouse Theater in Plymouth. It was a musical comedy presented as a celebration of a Lutheran church basement kitchen and the women who work there.

The cast consisted of three adult ladies, a young lady about to be confirmed and their Lutheran pastor.

Do you have to be Lutheran to enjoy the play? No way, but it sure helps to have roots in Minnesota.

Dianne Elmer, Nancy Anderson, Orville Johnson and Gloria Jensen were bus prize winners (a packet of That Good Old Lutheran Dessert – red Jell-O®).

On the way back to Albert Lea, the bus stopped at KFC in Owatonna for an all-you-can-eat buffet with beverage. Judy and David Kerr, with their excellent employees, treated the bus people like the VIP’s that we are!

Many thanks to Laura in taking care of our mix-up as she refunded two tickets. Laura is a great example of Minnesota Nice.

F.R.O.G. of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church and Grace Lutheran Church in Albert Lea are jointly sponsoring a bus trip Monday, July 30 and Tuesday, July 31 to Lutheran Night at the Twins. Each bus leaves at 4 p.m. from behind Slumberland in Albert Lea. The cost is $45 per person with Home Plate view seats and bus parking one and a half blocks from the ballpark. Call 373-8655 for reserved seats.

Message to illegal ATV drivers: “What part of the ‘No ATV’ sign don’t you understand?”

You should know that crow hunting in Minnesota is legal as of July 12, 2012 (a black bird is not always a crow).

Some Minnesota Inland Waters Fishing Regulations you should know:

Crappie maximum possession limit is 10; sunfish/bluegill maximum possession limit is 20; one walleye over 20” is maximum possession limit (possession is in your care, custody or control).

Thanks to a poor fisherman at cabin 81 for showing me an Austin newspaper clipping of how East Side Lake in Austin came to be named.

It was a log dam, man-made lake, being first created in 1858 and named “Beaver Lake.” With Works Project Administration workers removing soil in 1935, and Highway 16 using soil from the lake bed for fill in 1938, it was renamed East Side Lake. Do you suppose the Austin City Fathers didn’t want any confusion with the Beaver Lake we know?

Like father, like daughter. Father Paul had knee surgery. Daughter Kathy tangled with a lake dock and lost. Both are using a crutch. Both have the same ornery disposition. Luckily for Mamma Paula, they both will recover. Brady and Logan, sons of Kathy, will be most happy.

How hot has it been on those hot days at Beaver Lake? It has been so hot that you couldn’t stand to walk barefoot on the beach sand.

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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 37th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God.