By John S. Mickman
When we were little kids, we called Grandma and Grandpa
Mickman, Grandma/Grandpa Lake because they were the ones that lived on the
lake. They lived quite close to us so we were able to go over there all the
time -swimming, sailing, fishing and water skiing. (There was always some sort
of work to do before the water sports could commence however.)
Grandma Lake, an immigrant from Norway, was an avid
gardener. She built a huge stone wall, one small boulder at a time, had a large
vegetable garden, grew perennials along all the edges, had a bountiful crop of
apples each year and the garage was a veritable mountain of grape vines. Being
‘teetotalers’ they made grape juice; never wine. Good gracious no! She became a
citizen in her ‘30’s and was proud of her work at the New Brighton Arsenal
during WWII to support the troops.
One of my Grandma’s prizes was her ‘Lady of the Lake’ bronze
Garden Sculpture. She and grandpa never had much money, but she prized this
garden sculpture and placed it in a cherished place in her garden. It was near
the apple tree surrounded by daylilies.
Before she passed on to her ‘heavenly reward’ she asked me
if I would like to have her ‘Lady’. My family lived on Coon Lake in East Bethel
at the time and I told her I would be honored to have it. We brought it over to
my house together and picked a good spot for it. She smiled, gave me a hug and
told me that her ‘Lady of the Lake’ was going to be happy there.
We are in our 3rd house since then, but ‘the
Lady’ has followed us to each of these homes. My grandma and I had a special
relationship, one that could never be replaced. But I don’t really need a
replacement; grandma visits me each time I see the ‘Lady on the Lake’ in our
garden. When I pass on to my heavenly reward, I will give ‘The Lady’ to one of
our children. Hopefully they’ll remember me when they pass by her
John Mickman, President
No comments:
Post a Comment