OCTOBER 19, 2011 - INTER-COUNTY LEADER - NORTHERN CURRENTS, SECTION B - PAGE 5
We’ve got a problem
Behind the
It rained hard all day. When I went to bed that
night, I thought the bedroom ceiling was sagging and I woke up at 3 a.m. with something heavy on my legs. I turned on the light and saw thick, wet plaster all over the bed. What a mess! A friend recommended a roofing company that had just worked on her house, and she volunteered to contact the man in charge. She said his name was Jerome. The next day, two pickups drove into our yard, three men approached our door, and I opened it before they knocked. The head man said, “I’m Jerome. I understand you have a problem with your roof.” I stared at him. He didn’t look like a roofer. He was all dressed up, hair slicked back, with a stud earring in one ear. He was a very handsome young man. I told him about my upstairs ceiling. One of the men got a long ladder from the pickup, leaned it against our house and scrambled around on our roof. Our house is a big, old-fashioned, five-bedroom building, complete with two dormers and several valleys. The normal life expectancy of a roof is 20 years, 25 if you’re lucky. Our roof was older than that. Jerome wrote down a ball-field estimate and showed it to me. We shook hands. He said, “We have several jobs ahead, but we’ll get back to you.” May and June came and went. So did July and August, and I was getting anxious. I phoned Jerome to ask, “You are coming this year aren’t you?” He promised “soon.” He called back in September and suggested, “Maybe we should wait until next spring.” I protested, “No, we can’t. The roof is leaking all over.” A week later, a crew of four men arrived at 7 a.m. Jerome was dressed in old jeans, an old sweatshirt, and there was no stud earring. Our dogs barked and barked when they heard all that tramping around on the roof. A big dumpster arrived outside our picket fence. My sons removed a section of the fence to make room for the bundles of shingles being unloaded. “Now, for the mess,” said Jerome with a fetching grin. A short while later, Jerome knocked on the door. “We’ve got a problem,” he said. “You’ll need a complete new underlayment. That will cost you more.” “Well, it can’t be helped,” I said, looking at the figure he had written down. “If we have to, we have to.” Big sheets of plywood arrived the next day. Old, worn-out shingles rained down on our back steps. Old shingles covered our front steps. One of my sons loaded them into a wheelbarrow, load after load, to take them to the dumpster. Jerome knocked on the door, “We’ve got a problem,” he said, “We nailed into a couple of bats sleeping in your chimney.” “It can’t be helped,” I said. A few minutes later he knocked on the door. “We’ve got a problem,” he said. “Your chimney is not sturdy enough for us to nail a flashing around the base.” He recommended a chimney liner, and the crew left for the day. My sons and I left messages on answering machines at all the nearby companies handling chimney liners. No one returned our calls. “No one is interested in business,” I said. My two sons decided to rebuild the chimney themselves. They had to hunt all over to find a company handling bricks. I stood on the lawn, looking up as they climbed on
Do you remember?
Signpost
Compiled by Bernice Abrahamzon
Bernice Abrahamzon
50 Years Ago
the roof with bricks and mortar. Slowly and methodically they took off the bricks down to the roofline and slowly and methodically rebuilt it. I telephoned Jerome to tell him, “The chimney is done. Please come back.” The crew returned the next day and the tear-off began in earnest. Jerome knocked on the door. “We’ve got a problem,” he said. “We have to cut off a couple of tree limbs. They’re too close to the roof.” “All right,” I said, as I knew the limbs were hanging over the roof. I kept the dogs inside as the branches crashed to the ground. The TV antenna was lowered to the ground too. All day big sheets of plywood were hauled up on the roof as old shingles and roof boards crashed down on our lawn. September’s nice warm weather was changing into October’s chilly, overcast days. As night approached, the men continued to work. They brought in a huge truck with bright spotlights and worked until 11 p.m. as they couldn’t leave the roof open and exposed to possible rain. I worried that they’d fall off the roof. My heart went out to them, seeing them work so hard. One day I baked an apple pie and called to them to come down for a break. Usually Jerome had a sandwich in one hand and a hammer in the other at lunchtime. Jerome knocked on the door, “We’ve got a problem,” he said. “We opened up a nest of flying squirrels.” I’d never known anyone as conscientious. “That’s OK. We don’t want them in our house. We’ve been trying to get rid of them.” Several other times during the week he told me “We’ve got a problem.” Once it was a chunk of stucco that fell off the outside wall. “We’ll fix it,” I told him. Finally, after two weeks, with the crew off and on again, our new roof was finished. I baked them a batch of oatmeal cookies. Jerome smiled his engaging smile. “Will you tell others what good roofers we are?” I assured him I would. He figured the bill and deducted $100 because my sons cleaned up all the fallen shingles each night. The whole roof cost more than our entire 80acre farm 50 years ago. The crew went around the yard with magnets to pick up all loose nails. I no longer have to get up at 6 a.m. so I won’t be in bed when the roofers arrive. I miss all the activity in the yard, the tap-tap-tap of hammers and staple guns. Even the tromping overhead. But now I’ve got a problem, I have to find a good plasterer to repair upstairs ceilings. Until next week, Bernice
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Committee, and was reminded of the quote by John Wooden, “You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” Over the past 16 campaigns, Nexen and its employees have raised over $600,000 in United Way funds. Most of the funds raised will go to Washburn and Burnett county agencies. Most of the employees live in one of the two counties. Many employees view this as a way to give something back to the community. Nexen would like to encourage other businesses to participate in United Way fundraising efforts. Individuals who are interested in learning more having their own United Way fundraiser can contact John Coughlin at 715-377-0203. — from Nexen
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The Frederic United Fund Drive began Oct. 25.The Frederic District decided to hold 18.6 mill rate and also to hire a part-time aide.–The board approved the bus contract, staff, addition, and 21-mill rate at Siren.-The Polk-Burnett retired teachers decided to organize a club.-Frederic Home Furnishings decided to hold a big closeout sale.-Lawson Green House held open house at its gift gallery Oct. 21, 22, 23 at Frederic with orchids flown in from Hawaii for all the ladies (free).-Students from Polk and Burnett counties, etc., enrolled at River Falls for fall quarter.The Polk County unit achieved 110 percent of fund crusades goal.-Ace Hardware, Siren, advertised 30cup percolators for $10.88, 22 cup for $9.88, etc.-The new Windjammer was open at 5 p.m. daily except Sunday at 2 p.m. next to the House of Cheese, St. Croix Falls, with finest food.-Obituaries included Carl Sather, John Nelson (Star route mail carrier), Paul Zabel, Elnora Thompson, Axel Carlson, William Taylor and Fannie Laakso.-This Do You Remember column was one long single column running the full length of the page with signature “Olsen & Son Drugs, Frederic.”
Jonn B. Dinnies, P.A.C., was at the clinic in Luck.The Clam Falls Lutheran Church served its harvest dinner on Sunday, Aug. 25, at noon (turkey).-The Flaming Diz-Busters’ Traveling Show was given Aug. 27 at the Frederic High School.-Obituaries included Andrew Mortson, Edwin Chelmo, Vivian Schroeder, Katherine Larabee, Aaron Jeffery, Jennie Radke, Linda Piepho, Rose Yessak, Fred Fischer and Harold Parduhn.-A white dove was lost in the Webster area and was very friendly as he was somebody’s pet.-A Frederic fall festival offered an arts and craft fair plus a dance.-A visit to Russia left a favorable impression on a Siren student, Jamie Rivard, junior class.-Archeologists were clearing the way for pipeline at the Narrows.-Workers at the tourist information center satellites received training.-Forts Folle Avoine was open daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and the 18th-annual St. Croix Powwow was held Aug. 24-25.-Siren’s Ben Franklin store moved to a new location.-The Grantsburg Kitchen Band performed at Nordic Fest.-Lack of patients may close Frederic hospital.-A new Luck Fire Hall will be built.-Concerned Unity taxpayers delayed approval of levy.
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40 Years Ago
20 Years Ago
Nexen employees generous in United Way effort WEBSTER — Nexen Group Inc. in Webster just concluded its 17th United Way campaign, and it was another big success. The fundraising campaign ended on Thursday, Oct. 13, and by the time the smoke cleared, Nexen employees had raised over $24,000 in pledges and raffle sales. The company provided a contribution of $24,000 bringing the grand total to over $48,000. A committee of Nexen employees helped orchestrate the United Way campaign. Campaign events included raffles, bake sales, lunch offerings and of course, employee pledges. Representatives from the Spooner Fire Department and the Burnett County Aging Program spoke about how United Way contributions have helped them. Pat Wojak was this year’s chair of the United Way
The Atlas Methodist Church had a chicken supper Thursday night, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. The charge for adults was $1.25.-An old landmark burned at Trade Lake. It was a planned fire of the former Manley Davidson home.-Beautiful fall weather came to Wisconsin.-The call-up of the 32nd Division was felt in this area.-A New Richmond woman drove her car through fences, hit trees and hit a horse. There were no injuries to humans.-Four Red Cross meetings were held in Polk County.-Specials at the Frederic Clover Farm store included 2 lbs. coffee at $1.09, spare ribs 39¢ lb., round steak at 69¢ lb., bananas at 2 lbs. for 29¢, chocolate chips at 39¢ package.-Olsen & Son, Frederic, announced a gigantic 1¢ sale.Routes, Frederic, had a sale of pork hocks at 29¢ lb., pot roast at 39¢ lb. carrots at two cello bags at 19¢, Oreos at 29¢ package, sauerkraut at 15¢ in large tin.The corn silage stack was open for farmers Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting Sept. 20 at Stokely-Van Camp, Inc., Milltown.-The Cumberland Rutabaga Festival was held Sept. 22-23-24.-The 1962 Buick and Pontiac new-car showing was Wednesday, Sept. 27, 1961, serving free coffee and doughnuts at Tretsven Auto Co., Milltown.
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