The history of the box
I covered this box with fabric to celebrate Garnet and Cliff's 50th anniversary party in Lewiston. They had guests put well wishes and cards in it. Before that, it was the toy box in Bear Creek Valley where I picked it up. It was not wanted by anyone so I loaded it in my car as I did some final clean out. It was always covered with wallpaper as it was also the toy box in Bethany. Before that, it served as Garnet’s Hope Chest. Covered in wallpaper for that also. When I went through Garnet's house on a tour with her before she “emptied the nest”. I said, “Garnet, that box holds a lot of family history. Could I have it?”
“Until the sale everything here is still mine. Take it with you.”
What the wallpaper was covering up was that it has Schmidt Beer stamped on the front of it. Maybe Garnet learned a few creative things from our Mom, like “Work with what God Gives You.”
The Front Garden
At a celebration at the Olson house, one of the neighbor fellas was saying (kiddingly), “Olson, it was your wife’s flower garden that saved you in the neighborhood!” So my daughter, Gretchen and I came over on Memorial Day for several years to clean out and refresh the front yard flower bed when Garnet couldn’t. The last year we did it, we were given a lunch of chicken made in her famous ‘toaster oven’.
(I still talk about that chicken--it was fabulous! -Gretchen)
I’ll Call You Tuesday
After Garnet left Irving Ave, Eileen and Garnet and I went shopping. While lunching afterwards, Garnet was trying to remember a word. It wasn’t coming to her and she said, “I’ll call you Tuesday!”
Huh?
“I should remember it by Tuesday!“
We laughed. And I wrote that down firmly in my memory bank and have to call it up quite often. And I tell the story to friends whenever I catch them searching for that elusive perfect word.
Sheriff
Way long time ago when Garnet was a single girl, she and a friend must have come into Winona either by bus or train. Daddy picked them up. Well, they wanted to go out for the evening and Oscar said they could use his car. But not before he called the Sheriff and talked to him personally. Sheriff George Fort. He told the sheriff that his daughter was visiting from Minneapolis and he wanted them to know that she would be driving his car and had his permission to do so. I wonder how many officers were on the lookout for two young gals out for the evening driving daddy’s car. It really was a different era.
Garnet, I will miss you. Thanks for the memories! And I will miss hearing that name- Garnet!!
