One visit by us at the Lodge ended up with an invitation to join you & Irene outside where we enjoyed a delicious spaghetti meal after swimming in the lake & riding in your boat. In more recent years, our families visited each other at the Lodge, by Seeley Lake (where you stayed) & in our cabin near Seeley Lake. That was the same trip that Les, about age 7, did a kind of slinky dance as she stood in a muddy part of the creek, ending up spreading mud over a good share of her body as she grinned & danced. All our kids were thrilled! As the deer sauntered calmly off, we have home movies of our kids petting it. The best moment was when a tame deer calmly walked into our tent & laid down. You & Irene & Debbie & Glen were in a camp trailer & Gerald & I & Nona, Leslie & Jeannie (& maybe Janis, who would have been a baby) slept in our ancient umbrella tent, one that my parents had honeymooned in. I'm also remembering a camping trip when both of our families were young, Bob, held at Jumping Creek. Over the years we gradually drifted apart as our families grew. I was "the first of our gang to marry, at 17. Ruth sang & Laverne poured tea (I think) at the reception, held in our back yard. that day was 103 degrees, & members of "our gang" were all there. And of course Irene is in my memory bank because she was Gerald's & my Maid of Honor on Jin the Episcopal Church. Irene's mom took pity on us & brought in their piano bench, with a pillow on top, for those whose legs were dangling. Then there was the time we stayed at Irene's house & 5 of us slept on her bed, only crosswise so our legs were part-way off the bed (except for Laverne, whom we referred to as "Short Stuff". We may also have listened to my favorite 45 record by popular tenor/actor, Mario Lanza, my heart throb at the time. When we met at my house one time, on the lower north side of G.F., Irene played on our old upright piano & the evening may have been enhanced by ghost stories told by my older brother, Bill.
I recall that it was a a very bumpy ride & some of us held flashlights since it was dark out & the car lights didn't work. That may also have been the time we piled onto an old beat-up car & S.'s younger brother, Frankie (age 14, more or less) drove us around on an adjoining field. Yet another memory comes from a slumber party held in Sonya's's home, not far from Laverne's, where we all jammed & danced in her living room with Sonya's mom at the piano, me on a set of drums & someone, maybe S.'s older brother, on the guitar. Another time we stayed in is Ruth's home, & all of us traipsed up & down the stairs to have another helping of yummy lefse that her mom had made. I recall one such time in Laverne's rural home where we each brought something to eat & ended up with an odd assortment that included home-made dill pickles (via her mom), popcorn & Mogan David wine (provided by Yours Truly). They always involved food, very little sleep & lots of laughter & story-telling. One favorite pastime was having delightful "sleepovers" in our various homes. Activities included Roundup Day picnics, high school dances, swimming, roller skating, movies, laughter, listening to record albums, singing etc. Memories abound of celebrating our teen-age years together, along with our fellow "gang members" that included Laverne, Sonya, Marty, Ruth, Emily, Donna & Florence. She & I go back decades, from Whittier School through Paris Gibson Jr.
For Bob, Debbie, Burt & family, My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you, knowing how much Irene was, & will continue to be, loved.
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