I’ve had a fair amount of artwork framed. Not until about a year ago had anyone at a frame shop explained to me the importance of using conservation clear glass (as opposed to regular glass) when framing Mother’s original watercolors.
About a year ago, I began having most of my artwork framed by Mona Majorowicz, owner of Wild Faces Gallery in my hometown of Rolfe, Iowa. I knew that Mona’s gallery in Rolfe existed, but I’d never stepped foot inside the gallery. I’d always had my artwork framed elsewhere, probably thinking that a framer in a little town like Rolfe just couldn’t have as much to offer as one would in a more populated area. WRONG.
Not only does Mona offer quality framing (as do many frame shops); she also provides design expertise coupled with actively listening to her customers’ framing wants/needs (more than at any other frame shop I’ve been to). In addition, she offers lower pricing than most (maybe all?) shops I’ve frequented, and Mona cares about every piece she frames.
With that care, Mona stressed to me the importance of using conservation clear glass on anything that is really important to me (especially if it would be difficult to replace if it fades) and acid-free mats. I’d heard the passing mention of acid-free mats before, but, before Mona did, no framer had ever before explained and expressed to me the importance of selecting nothing but acid-free mats.
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Part II will be posted within a day or two.
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Mother (Marion Gunderson), me (Louise Gunderson Shimon), and our television sometime between November 1955 and February 1956. (Click on photo to magnify the dial.)
After reading Jerry Farlow’s comments (two posts ago) about watching television in 1950 with Gary (or Greg?) Kaiser at Rickards’ store in Rolfe, Iowa, I called Gary Kaiser* and asked him, “Do you remember that?”
Gary: Oh, sure. I visually remember Rickards’ hardware store and that television sitting in the middle of the store. One channel was WOI and then they would try to get Mason City. I don’t remember the name of that station in Mason City. Those were the two stations that would come in. It was Saturday night and we would watch wrestling that was just pathetic. That’s what you watched. They would turn the dial trying to get a better picture. It was snow and then you might see visions of what it was. That‘s about all we got to see.
Gary: Here in Sioux City we have on Channel 4 a Breen. His grandfather, Ed Breen, owned the Fort Dodge TV station. Ed was a very distinguished man. I remember him as having a moustache that would look so debonair. Ed’s grandson is currently a newscaster here for Channel 4 in Sioux City.
Gary: I don’t remember when it came on the air but I remember on the Fort Dodge station they had a Barndance show. It aired on Saturday nights and it was so amateur that it was pathetic.
Louise: I remember Barndance. There was a girl a year older than I am, from Rolfe. Her name was Rania Kuchenreuther. I remember Rania singing “Tiny Bubbles” on Barndance.
Gary: There was also an elderly lady…remember this is live television. She was on on a regular basis. I don’t believe she should have been on television. It was that amateur.
Gary: I do remember Ed Breen as being so distinguished with his moustache and a blazer. And everything was live. Ed owned the station and, of course, when you owned the station I believe you were “on.” I remember him being on most of the time. This was not big production. This was, “I own, it. I’ve got to run it.”
Gary: Barndance was on Saturday nights at I think about 6:30. This would be in about 1955.
Louise: Was the Uncle Dick show on at that time?
Gary: I don’t remember that one. I do remember Jim Henry’s [Canyon Kid**] show coming in from Sioux City. The guy is still alive. He’s about 90 years old and he had cartoons every afternoon.
Louise: Are you meaning Floppy?
Gary: Oh, no. Floppy was on WHO out of Des Moines. That gentleman is no longer living.
Gary: In Sioux City it was all local. Jim Henry’s model was…he had a vest that had every type of button you could think of on it. And that vest is in the museum here in Sioux City. That’s history of television in its earliest days.
Louise: So, when there was that television set in the middle of Rickards’ store, was that the first you had seen television?
Gary: Oh, sure.
Louise: Did you go there repeatedly?
Gary: On Saturday nights we’d go there, or Saturday afternoons. It was one of those things that…I think they had wires hanging in the store to get better reception. They kept moving the antennae trying to get better reception. It would fade in and fade out. I remember about the snow. You’d look at the picture and you could almost see something but you weren’t sure. That’s what it was at that time.
Louise: When did you get a television in your home?
Gary: Oh, I’m trying to think if it was ’53 or ’54. They were round…the picture tube was round when you looked at it.
Louise: Do you mean as round as a circle?
Gary: It was as round as a circle.** That was the picture in the tube.
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My intent is to post by tomorrow night (Sunday) about the next project endorsed by the Rolfe Public Library board.
*This transcript is posted with Gary Kaiser’s permission.
**This Canyon Kid YouTube video was produced by IPTV.
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
In case you didn’t already notice, Jerry Farlow (Rolfe High School, 1955) commented on my most recent post. His comments are about watching television in 1950 with Gary Kaiser at the J.E. Rickard & Sons store in Rolfe, Iowa.
I called Gary Kaiser to ask him about that experience. I’ll include Gary’s comments in the next post. One thing about which Gary commented, which was news to me, was that the picture tubes of that era were round.
The Honeymooners television program shown in the YouTube video below did not air until later in the 1950s. However, according to this YouTube video’s information, the round-picture television sets shown in this video are from 1950.
At this link there is a photo of one of those 1950 “Porthole” televisions with a round picture.
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
These images from the April 3, 1924, issue of The Rolfe Arrow aren’t nearly as juicy as the 1914 Arrow ad I included in the last post. Yet, in this day and age it is hard to believe that once upon a time a brand new automobile could be purchased for $295.
Click on this photo to read who bought new Fords in 1914, and to get a glimpse of how taxes were of concern.
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From the April 3, 1924, Rolfe Arrow. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
This past week I photographed advertisements and articles included in decades-old issues of Rolfe, Iowa, newspapers. The photos aren’t of the greatest quality, but, in my opinion, the content is priceless.
From the November 12, 1914, Plover Patriot, A Department of The Arrow. (Click photo to enlarge.)
As you can tell by the caption, this advertisement is from the Plover Patriot department of The [Rolfe] Arrow. Until recently, I had not realized that TheArrow had “department” space dedicated for news and advertisements of neighboring communities.
Because I’m still working on a project, over the course of the next two weeks I’ll post photos from those old issues of the Rolfe newspapers. Even if you might not have a Rolfe background/heritage, I think the history evidenced in the photos will have universal appeal.
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
I’ve been working on a project. I’ll unveil it within the next three weeks. I want to “go public” with it RIGHT NOW but I need to get a few ducks in a row before I do.
In case you are wondering if the project has to do with prints of Mother’s watercolors…no, it does not. I take that back; indirectly, it does. I’m sure that Mother, having been Marion the Librarian for 35 years for the Rolfe Public Library, would be pleased to know about the project.
I mention all of this because I don’t want the lack of recent posts to make anyone think I’ve been slacking. Quite the contrary.
So far, 75 of the 100 Rolfe, Iowa, 1980-81 oral history tapes have commitments to be sponsored (7 of these yet to be paid).* Of the 25 that have not been sponsored, four of them are recordings of meetings regarding the oral history project. If you subtract those four meetings tapes, that means only 21 of the actual interview tapes are yet to be sponsored. Splendid. What a tribute to those who expended time and energy to interview and be interviewed in 1980 and 1981 to now have their friends and loved ones (and, in some cases, the interviewees, themselves) keep the oral histories alive.
Once all of the 1980-81 oral histories are digitized and cataloged, the oral histories on CDs will be accessible at the Rolfe Public Library.
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* Unsponsored tapes may still be sponsored. Because the project is nearing completion, any sponsorships should now be made payable to the “Rolfe Public Library Trust,” and no longer to Wild Faces Gallery. Any questions about the project may be directed to me at mariongundersonart@gmail.com . Questions may also be asked at the library; however library personnel may not be aware of the most recent ins and outs of the project.
Note added March 29th: CD copies of the oral histories (preferably of oral histories already sponsored) may also be ordered for $10.70 each plus $2.30 shipping, with payment to Wild Faces Gallery. For any questions regarding copies you may contact me at mariongundersonart@gmail.com or the gallery at 712-848-3399. (The $29.96 for a sponsorship payable to the Rolfe Public Library Trust includes one “free” copy of the sponsored tape.)
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
In case you didn’t see already see this article, and in case you remember paying a dime to attend Al Bell assemblies when you were in school, check out this March 21, 2010, Des Moines Sunday Register story.
At some point the article will no longer be available online. When that time comes, and also now, you’ll at least be able to see him in this photo from the Rolfe, Iowa, THE RAM 1964 yearbook.
Do you remember which, if any, of your school years (either as a student, teacher or administrator) Al Bell presented at your school, and do you have any particular memories from his visits? Also, in your yearbook(s) do you see any photo(s) of Al? (If you do and want to email them, I’ll post them. mariongundersonart@gmail.com)
Also, there is a Facebook group called “I Remember Al Bell.”
Central Iowa fog on March 8th, 2010. (Click photo to enlarge.)
Although the fog yesterday morning at Perry, Iowa, wasn’t nearly as dense as the fog in northwest Iowa on January 18th and 19th, yesterday’s fog did prevent me from traveling. It also made me think back to my January 20th post. In that post I referred to the theory suggesting that 90 days after a fog there will be precipitation.
I emailed Elwynn Taylor, Professor of Ag Meteorology at Iowa State University, to ask for his explanation of the 90-days-after-fog-precipitation theory. He was kind enough to respond and to give me permission to quote him.
My question to Elwynn: “Is there a correlation between fog and 90-days-later precipitation, and if so, what is the explanation of the correlation? (Many people I’ve talked with say the 90 day theory is bogus/chance since it precipitates frequently anyway. I’d like to respond intelligently to them.)”
Elwynn’s response: “In the summer the 90-day to fog (in some locations it is the 100 day-to fog) concept is not valid. As you say, there could be rain about then anyway and statistically that is about how it turns out.
“In the winter a wide-spread Midwest fog is simply the viewing of the ‘breath of the Gulf of Mexico’ and it is much like seeing your own breath on a cold day. Now if the Gulf air is entering Iowa in January (not a common thing) it may very well indicate that the Gulf air flow will be strong and/or early come spring. (Gulf air begins to dominate much of the Midwest after mid-March each year.) If it is early and strong…. yes, this results in a wet spring some 90-days after the fog was first a major thing.”
Well, the dense fog did enter Iowa in January. So it was early…and strong. It will be interesting to see what our spring will be like “some 90-days after the fog was first a major thing,” which I’m thinking was January 18th and 19th.
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
I’m interjecting a post between Part II and Part III of “Extension Tubes in Macro Photography.” I’ll post Part III by Monday.
Using ooVoo (www.ooVoo.com) we had three-way video chatting tonight. L to R: Jeff and his better half, Jon and Claire, and me. We'll use ooVoo for the remote Internet wedding shower on Sunday. (Click photo to enlarge.)
Jon and Claire (my nephew and his bride) from Michigan are getting married in April. I thought it would be a fun family time to host a shower for them in Iowa. However, schedules didn’t match up. Hmmm…what to do? There must be some outside-the-box way to pull off a shower.
I talked with Jon’s mom, my next older sister, who is always game for fun, and pulled ideas from the guy at the Apple store and Jon’s brother, Josh. Bingo! We decided to have a “remote” Internet shower. I’m sure we aren’t the first ones in the wide world doing this, but in our immediate worlds we are!
What we will do is video chat across the Internet. At each location there will be a computer that, at minimum, can handle one-way live video streaming for watching Jon and Claire open gifts. When an observing location’s computer has a built-in or attached camera so that the remote participants can also be viewed via streaming video…the bonus will be two-way streaming video chatting (or three-way, four-way, or more).
Jon and Claire and their parents will be at Jon’s parents’ home in Michigan. Bill and I will be at our Perry, Iowa, home with at least part of the Gunderson family from Rolfe and Omaha. Additional branches of Jon’s extended family will participate in clusters via cyberspace reaching from Florida to Oregon.
Jeff (Jon’s dad) is the designated IT guy for this shower. Before the shower, Jeff is calling the contact person for each participating location to make sure the contact knows how to connect via the Internet to the shower. When Jeff called me tonight, he led me through the simple steps of two-way video chat using ooVoo (www.oovoo.com…I keep accidentally calling it “Voodoo.”) OoVoo is always free for two-way video chatting. Video chatting via ooVoo with up to six other people simultaneously is available for a fee.
By downloading the ooVoo software, I have more options than if I don’t download the software. However, ooVoo may be used satisfactorily without downloading the software.
While Jeff and I were video chatting tonight as he was leading me through some steps/options, Jeff “invited” Jon (who was at his own home) to video chat with us as well. It just happened that Claire was in the vicinity of Jon, and my sister was in the vicinity of Jeff. Being the silly goons that we are, Jon, Jeff and I each got out a camera and simultaneously took a photo of the computer monitor in front of us (i.e., the photo at the top of this post).
Sometime after the shower I’ll report how it went, either by commenting on this post, or by adding a separate post.
(Click here to go to Louise Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter) 
