The General Store

   In my book "The River Calls" I talk about the general store on the river. What a wonderful place it was. The shelves were stocked with everything from sardines to sewing machines. It was nothing like today's giant stores, it was much better. You not only got what you wanted, but you bought goods worth their price.

   In the 1940's General Stores also carried goods from Sears and Montgomery Ward, making even the most remote stores very good places to shop.

   General Stores had a hard time getting through the Great Depression. People needed goods but didn't have any money. Early in the Depression storekeepers learned that they couldn't give credit and stay in business. Times were pretty hard for them. Women with hungry children were turned away. In the end, almost all stores that granted credit went out of business.

   My book "River of Seasons" is for sale on Amazon.com as  well as peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated often. 

   I invite you to visit "A River of Seasons" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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River Fishing

   Over the years I've heard that the fishing isn't too good on the Bigfork. That tale has been passed around for several years now. In my ornery sort of way, I love hearing it. It just means more fish for me. But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

   As I paddled the Bigfork near Wirt, Mn I noticed that the usual hot spots just weren't producing much. Then I remembered what an old friend told me. He said that when it's hot and still, the big Walleyes go into the shallow water looking for small baitfish. Well, that just doesn't make much sense because as the water warms, the oxygen levels drop off. 

   I paddled for a couple hours and as I got close to the right spot, I started paying close attention to the real shallow areas. I tossed a minnow into an open spot and right away caught a nice three pounder, a real dandy destined for the supper table.

   As I reached down to lift it into the canoe, I got quite a surprise. The fish that should have been warm to the touch was cold, really cold. These fish had found a natural spring that emptied into the river. The cold water held a lot more oxygen and a lot more minnows. The secret will never be told, well maybe just to a few close friends.

   My book "River of Seasons" is for sale on Amazon.com as  well as peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated often. 

   I invite you to visit "A River of Seasons" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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Old Time Radio

   As I write in the book "The River Calls" life was quite a bit different back then. Even the lowly radio was in its infancy. But oh what an infant! 
   News was mostly passed on from one person to the next and even the General Store became a news source. Newspapers rarely made it to the far north of Minnesota and when they did, they were old news.
   With the advent of a family radio, news came in "As it happens". Gabrial Heater, Walter Cronkite, and Edward R. Morrow gave us a clear look into what was happening around the world.
   But there was a lighter side as well. I new of many farmers who would time their lunch so they could hear old "Ma Perkins" on her soap opera. and in the evening Fibber McGee and Molly would entertain for a full half hour. On Saturdays, there were westerns with Broderick Crawford as Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. 
   Radio changed the frontier north of Minnesota but it took a long while to get there.
   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day. 
   I invite you to visit "The River Calls" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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Caribou

   In the book "The River Calls" I write about the caribou herds that once occupied parts of Northern Minnesota. Even as far back as the first lumberjacks, their camp hunters brought in large caribou for the dinner table.
   The Woodland Caribou were creatures of the heavily wooded parts of Canada and Minnesota. The cold weather of these places wasn't much of a problem for the caribou. They had a heavy coat of fine underhair and a deep layer of outer guard hairs. 
   The wolf population didn't make much of a dent in their numbers. One kick of their powerful legs would send a wolf flying and if he got back up, he had little taste for caribou.
   As the hunters of caribou lie in wait, they could hear the loud clicking of their tendons covering the knee joints.
   For the early settlers to kill a caribou meant that there would be meat on the table for several months.   
   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day. 
   I invite you to visit "The River Calls" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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Pickle Plants

   Up on the Bigfork River, gardens are doing some serious growing this time of year. In the book "The River Calls" Wil and Ma put up large quantities of garden produce each summer. But Wil always reserved a quantity of pickle plants for himself. The lowly cucumber was his favorite. He'd take care of this chore all by himself. 
   Off to the garden early on a hot summer morning with a large bowl in his hand. He'd look for cukes that had gotten a bit too big for pickles and put them in his bowl. When it was full, he'd wash them off in the river and head for the cabin. He'd slice them up nice and thin and then cover them with his own concoction of sugar, hot peppers, water, salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar. Then he'd set them in a cool place for a few hours.
   By dinner time, his cukes were ready to eat. Sure! He burped up a storm but it was really worth it. Now don't that sound like a treat?
   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day. 
   I invite you to visit "The River Calls" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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Corn

  All along the Bigfork River at this time of year, the corn is setting on ears and the local coon population is putting a pot of water on the stove in preparation for the big feed. It's always amazed me how you can look at a garden full of almost ripe corn in just the same way a raccoon does. Who wants to eat corn that isn't quite ripe, not even coons.
   So we plot and plan on how we can beat the coons to the corn. Aside from staying awake all night sitting in the garden with a shotgun, there's just not much we can do. Sometimes we'd just like them to take what they want if they'd just save us a little.
   At this time of year on a hot day, you can stand in a corn field and actually hear it growing. It makes a kind of rustling sound and farmers say it sounds like "Money". I guess it does.
  You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day. 
   I invite you to visit "The River Calls" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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Farm Families

   This past weekend I had the rare pleasure of attending a family reunion in southern Minnesota. By the time I returned home, I had been hugged, squeezed, kissed by a sweet older lady and even adopted into a family of truly fine folks.

   Most of this grand group originated in Minnesota’s farming areas and spent many hours playing in the hay mow. What can be more fun than that!

   Some of that bunch migrated out west where the sky seems a lot bigger. One gentleman said that his new combine doesn’t even need a driver. You just sit in the cab and read the newspaper. 

   In case I made it all sound a bit too easy, consider these things. A hail storm can take you from riches to rags in an hour. A good rain can make you a half a million dollars.  The stock market can be pretty tough on farmers.

   So thank you to those fine folks the Habbens and Williams. I had more fun than a man my age is entitled to.

   You can find the EBook Kindle edition of "The River Calls" at Amazon.com and at peaceriverbooks.com. The Peace River Books blog is updated each day. 
   I invite you to visit "The River Calls" blog site each day for a small look into what life was like a long time ago.

Good Reading,
Ron

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