By ALICE BRANDAU
It’s April 14, 2014, and icicles are hanging off our patio roof and we have a white landscape once again after receiving 5 inches of snow Sunday night.
Doris Beier was one person who checked on the eclipse of the moon last night. If you can’t sleep, you may as well check on the progress of the moon as it disappears and reappears. It’s a phenomenon, to be sure, and it’s so exact, so mysterious, and so like our Creator.
The taps, pails and equipment were cleaned and stored again after the completion of the maple syrup industry last week. Steve Collins and Mike Bruley of Black River Falls came to help Frank Martalock gather sap one day. And on Saturday, Jeff and Lynn Martalock of Tomah came by to learn how dad processes the end product. Frank uses a recipe that has been handed down from his ancestors, purifying the syrup before canning it. It calls for five eggs and 2 cups milk, beaten together, and then add 6 gallons of warm syrup. As it cooks, he’s able to take off the foam and impurities. Lynn helped Darlene can the end product. It has been a good year!
David and Cathy Brandau attended church services in Barre Mills, Wis., on Sunday, when grandson Dakota was confirmed. Lunch and fellowship continued at St. John’s in West Salem, where Dakota attended school.
Ron and Kathy Stoikes of Norwalk were visitors at Aaron and Hazel Pasch’s home on Thursday evening.
Hazel attended the visitation for Donna (Weiland) Menn at St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church in Norwalk on Monday. She also visited with Laura Dunwald of rural Ontario and wished her a belated 80th birthday.
Darlene Martalock also attended visitation for her classmate Donna.
When Harry Friedl visited the auction barn, we usually had a conversation, and it almost always ended up on politics and the government. I don’t even know if he was Republican or Democrat, but he seemed well read, and I was interested. Harry passed away last week, and we are remembering his family.
This is Holy Week, and a joint service with St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kendall will be held at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church on South Ridge at 7 p.m. on Maundy Thursday. Good Friday services will be at 10:30 a.m., and Easter will find worshippers gathering at 10:30 a.m., with a continental breakfast served prior to service.
We wish you all a blessed Easter.