Monday, February 19, 2007

February 19, 2007 - Monday - Grafton, ND

Todays Gazette is brought to you, in spite of all the crazy things in
the world.
Keith, I hope it was okay to but your trash barrel behind your fence.
(Empty)
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The current temperature is 12 degrees.
Yesterdays H/L temperature was N/A
Normal H/L temp for this date is 24/5
It sure was great seeing "soft water" on the streets again Monday.
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"Profanity makes ignorance audible."
"Smoking makes ignorance visible."
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L O C A L news & stuff,.. mostly stuff.
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Rumor has it, it won't be to long before they start building the
building that they will be building Subways in.
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Wally's question about Grafton's former "poker games" continues
stirring interest.
Jim sent us the following. >>>
Subject: Wally's Poker Game
Price's Barbershop was the scene of an ongoing poker game when I was a
youngster in Grafton. I don't know if it was "high stakes" but it was
played there every day.
Jim Upham, <<< Thanks a million Jim, It sounds like it would have
been a great place to get "clipped",... twice. Once on the head, and
once in the pocket book.
+++++
Bert sent us an even more indepth look at the early days in the city.
>>> Subject: Grafton in the 20's
Hi Gary, My father, Erik Overland, told me about one card room back
in the days of prohibition. It was a "speakeasy" located ina
private backroom of Pollys. You could get a drink of choiceand there
were card gamesof any size along with some betting. Dad said that
one evening a friendand prominentGrafton Lawyer (T. I. Dahl) came
in and he had a heavy fur coat on. It had been raining but sure not cold
enough for a coat like that and they started razzing him about it. When
he removed it and shook it off some lead buckshot pellets bounced off
the floor. Everyone got a big laugh but never asked howtheygot
intothe big coat.
Dad also said that our neighbor Ralph Jackson had an old navy buddie
visit him in Grafton every so often, he said he was from Illinois. The
manstayed at a hotel and would walk by our house every day to visit
with Ralph. Dad said he was a real nice man, very well dressed and would
stop to talk, if dad was in the yard. When hevisited he would
sometimesstay for weeks. Then one day to their surprise he was
featuredon the front page of the paper, shot dead in a gangland fight
in Chicago. Maybe Ralph's son Bruce could shed some more light on the
man if his dad ever told him about this friend.
Best regards. Bert Overland <<< Thanks a million for caring and
sharing Bert. Aren't memories wonderful. It would be fun hearing "the
rest of the story" from Bruce Jackson. Wouldn't it?
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Speaking of memories. Glenn sent this one. >>> Gary..Your Gazette sure
brings back lost memories to life again.
Hugo Kutz was our scoutmaster for 1 or 2 years in the early 1940's. We
would meet in the basement of the City Hall. Every week we saw Henry
Bernard's 1903 Olds. Actually all that I knew at that time was that it
belonged to Henry Bernard....Glenn Paulson <<< Thanks a million for
caring and sharing Glenn. Wouldn't it be interesting to find out why the
"old" Olds was kept in the city hall, and, why it was taken out of
there.
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As I have said so many times in the past. Small town America, Use em,
or lose em.
I am pleased to share the following note from Kelly Dokken proprietor
of Kellys Country Market Grocery Store, in Drayton. >>>>
Hi. Someone I know forwarded me last Wednesdays article about my
grocery store in Drayton. A business owner always loves that kind of
P.R. Since Dennys is closing in Grafton soon I'm going to send my weekly
shopper into Grafton and see what happens. Maybe I'll gain a few more
customers. One never knows. Just thought I'd drop a thank you to whoever
wrote those comments. How does one subscribe to your Gazette? Thanks,
Kelly <<< Thank you for the wonderful note Kelly. You have just
subscribed,.. and, we are pleased to welcome you to the Gazette family.
Also, I would love to be able to take the credit for the following
information about Kelly, his wife Barb and their Drayton grocery
business. Maybe, in a very small way, I can. However, the following
information has been supplied to me by my good friend Lee.
Kelly's Country Market in Drayton has been owned and managed by Kelly
Dokken since July 1996. He also owns the grocery store in Stephen,
Minnesota. Kelly lives in Grand Forks, ND with his wife Barb. Barb is
employed at Valley Health in Grand Forks as an Administrative Manager.
They have four children, one in college and three in high school.
Kelly spends most of his time in the meat department. He hand cuts all
the meat and his steaks and roasts are of the quality you'd expect to
find in a custom meat market. He also makes homemade sausage such as
Breakfast, Potato, Italian, and Maple, and has a smokehouse in the store
which he uses to produce beef jerky and smoked polish sausage.
He caters to hunters who make their own sausage every fall and carries
a full line of seasonings and casings, and also has the cheapest Pork
Butts in the area for those who like to grind their own. For example
last fall I paid $1.27 per pound for Pork Butts, compare that to Grand
Forks, or anywhere else for that matter.
As many small town merchants do, Kelly donates on a regular basis to
many different entities throughout the area. He participates in "Old
Fashioned Christmas" and also "Riverfest Days" in Drayton each year.
He also provides a valuable service to senior citizens in Drayton by
offering delivery of phoned in orders. <<< Thanks Lee, for caring and
sharing. And, thank you Kelly, for helping us keep our small towns,....
communities.
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GOTTA - GO - WORK - ON - MY - DASH
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"Memories, are all of the little things, that didn't seem very
important when they happened." Or so it seems to me.


Write if you can, call if you can't, and, tell your loved ones they are,
before it's too late.

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