Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers reading this column. Hope you have a great day with family. *** In case you didn’t catch it, the popular Antiques Roadshow is celebrating its 25th season with a four- episode celebrity edition (May 3, 10, 17, and 24 on PBS at 7 PM) featuring Jay Leno, Mo Rocca, former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, and fashion designer Christian Siriano. The series will feature these and other stars telling their stories of favorite keepsakes. Antiques Roadshows have provided around 1.4 million appraisals done in 98 U.S. cities since the show’s first tour. Thanks to our daughter and son-in-law, who got us tickets, we had appraisals done when they visited Madison a few years back. Needless to say, we didn’t come away with an appraisal that made us rich. *** Unfortunately, to wear, or not wear a mask, has been politicized. In every school district there are those who have advocated one way or another. Hopefully, schools are in their last month of mandatory mask wearing. It is interesting to know that in addition to Stanley-Boyd mask wearing is mandatory in many area schools including Granton, Greenwood, Owen-Withee, Marshfield, Auburndale, Marathon, Neillsville, Edgar, Athens, Rib Lake, Prentice and Phillips. ***.

If you have passed the location of the old Stanley High School/ Dodge School you probably have wondered what is going on at this site. On Thursday, April 29, the first activity of the day was the chain saws cutting down the remaining trees on the site. Then there were several gentlemen staking out, what turns out of be four duplexes, that are being built by Travis Krizan. B.T Construction of Stanley is the construction company doing the actual construction. In talking with one of the builders, he indicated the plan is to have the units ready for rental by late fall. If you are interested in pursing more information on the units, you can call Travis at 715-829-0181. I’m sure he is interested in hearing from anyone interested in renting a unit. *** Chapman Park/Lake observations: More people than ever have discovered that the walkways and roadways throughout Chapman Park make for a nice place to take a walk either alone or with a friend or your dog. +++ Chapman Lake is a perfect place for kayaking and it is obvious that a goodly number of people have discovered the wave free waters that the lake provides. +++ I haven’t observed any new fawns yet. I am told they are expected to arrive around mid-May. *** I hope readers appreciate the variety of topics you get in this weekly newspaper. I realize each of us have favorites that perhaps we gravitate to first. Being a local historian, I appreciate the occasional interjection of local history stories that Joe Back pens. I especially was drawn to his writings in the April 22 edition on Mr. and Mrs. C.B.Culbertson. My interest in that story stems from the fact that my mother, Loretta Lauer Jankoski was a maid for the Culbertson’s from shortly after her eighth grade graduation from Maple Hill Country School until the time she married my father. In those days, girls often left home after 8th grade graduation for a variety of jobs in nearby cities and towns, or in the larger cities like Chicago, Milwaukee or the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Being a domestic servant/maid was one of those positions, as there was little value seen in those days of girls getting a high school education. My mother’s job entailed everything from cleaning to cooking. Mother reported that Mrs. Culbertson was a kindly boss and issued the list of jobs to be completed daily until they became routine. She taught mother to do all that was expected of her. The Culbertson’s were indeed in the “upper crust” of the Stanley Community in their day. Their position in the community was established by being occupants of a large home in “Moon Park,” as the upper end of North Broadway was known in those days. The other homes were also occupied by merchants, professionals or managers of local businesses or industries. The Culbertson’s socialized a great deal with the other folks who lived in the neighborhood and mother reported that the third floor of the residence was a dance hall where they gathered when hosted by the Culbertson’s. In 2013, I received an opportunity to see that floor of the home, being invited there by a former classmate of mine Sharon Berseth. She was in town, after her mother’s death, cleaning out the residence of her parents. Al and Irene Berseth, purchased the home from the Culbertson estate. The entire third floor of the large residence was an open space with benches attached to the room’s south, east and north walls. Lots of storage space was created by the enclosure of the under roof area of the west wall. And when I visited the room, some of the Culberson’s artifacts were still in storage there. At the time I wondered if my mother had actually placed any of the items there? Mrs. Culbertson was a benevolent employer and remained a friend of my mother until her death. All I can remember of her was she drove up to our house in a big Chrysler and was always a pleasant lady. The funnest story I remember my mother telling was of Mrs. Culbertson once calling Long’s Meat Market and ordering a beef roast that she wanted for dinner that evening. The clerk asked how big of a roast did she wanted and she answered, “One that fits in my roaster.” The guys at the meat market had a good laugh. ***

Smile time. There are two ways of arguing with a woman. Neither one works. +++ How deep is the mud? Depends on who you ask. We all go through the same stuff differently. +++ If you don’t swear when driving you are not paying enough attention to the road. +++ I thought my DRYER made my clothes shrink. Turns out it was the REFRIGERATOR. +++ Do all fairy tales begin with, Once upon a time…? No, some begin with, “If I get elected…” +++ Grandpa Smith was celebrating his 100th birthday and was still in near perfect health. At his birthday gathering, he was asked how he managed to live so long and stay so fit. He explained, “I put my long life down to spending so much time outdoors. I’ve been in the open air day after day, rain or shine, for the last 75 years.” “How do you manage to keep up such a rigorous fitness regime?” they asked. “It’s simple,” he said. “When I married my wife 75 years ago, we both made a solemn pledge. We agreed that whenever we had a fight, whoever was proved wrong would go outside and take a long walk.” +++ Thank you to all the moms for all the lovely things they have said to us over the years, not the rotten ones like this: If I ever voiced disapproval of a photo of myself, my mother always had a ready reply, “Want a better picture? Get a better face.”