WeRelate Contest: Florence Storch

Feisty Alberta centenarian Florence Storch is this week's contest.

De-stress: Adult Coloring

My favorite adult coloring books: 1. The Liberty Colouring Book 2. Bollywood 3. Posh Coloring Book 4. Secret Garden 5. Fantastic Cities 6. Adult Coloring Book: Stress Relieving Patterns

My favorite good old fashioned crayons, colored pencils and colored pens:

Old-fashioned Crayola Crayons

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils

Sharpie Ultra-Fine-Point Permanent Markers

Rest in Peace: Harriet Klausner Amazon Reviewer Hall of Fame

I just read about Harriet Klausner, an Amazon Reviews Hall of Famer. It was said she read 4 or 5 books every day. And that she only gave good reviews. That made some people skeptical of her opinion but I agree that a good policy is to only give reviews when you like something. You can read more about Harriet at The Wall Street Journal.

WeRelate Contest: Arminta Spears

This week's WeRelate Contest is Arminta Spears.

WeRelate Contest: María Elena Lucena Arcuri

This week's WeRelate Contest is María Elena Lucena Arcuri, Argentine actress.

Currently Reading: A Story of the Swanson Family, "Montana Pioneers"

The Swanson Family "Montana Pioneers" at Amazon.com

Currently reading: a book I picked up (signed copy!) at the Elmira Store. It follows members of the Swanson family, Ruby, Myrtle, Florence and William as they travel the world teaching in Sweden, Japan, Hawaii and then return home to Troy, Montana to run a family lodge. Together they wrote the book about their adventures. Florence became a prominent child psychologist in New Jersey and when she passed she donated 100 acres adjacent to their lodge to the YMCA to be used for  recreational purposes. In 1940, Myrtle lived at the Barbizon Hotel for Women while teaching in New York City. (Read more about the hotel)

The Barbizon Hotel for Women in 1927 -- photo Library of Congress

The original lodge, built in 1947 has been for sale on and off but is currently off the market. You can see it at Zillow.

The Swanson Lodge in Troy, Montana

In 1955 Ruby wrote a cookbook of their lodge recipes. (Favorite Recipes From Swansons Mountain View Lodge at Amazon.com) Some of the recipes included were:

Home Baked Beans

Corn Fritters

Superb Swedish Meat Balls

Smothered Chicken

Salmon Loaf

Potato Souffle

Onion Shortcake

Macaroni Salad

Swedish Bread

Mrs. Truman’s Ozark Pudding

Cantaloupe Sauce for Ice Cream

Cinnamon Cookies

Swedish Spice Cookies

Chocolate Pie

Frozen Lemon Chiffon Pie

more recipes online:

Food with Man Appeal: Montana Hostess Reveals Secrets

   

Ruby Swanson's Peanut Butter Cookies

Have you ever been to the lodge? Do you have a favorite Scandinavian recipe? Please share in the comments!

Link List: Environmental Inspirations

I created a link list of TV shows and sites with videos with inspiring environmental themes. (also some links with resources but no videos) We watch with our morning coffee to get inspired for the day. Subjects include renewable energy, organic gardening and agriculture, recycling. Enjoy!

This is a list of resources for environmentalism. Some have TV shows or videos on their sites. Those are listed in green.

ENVIRONMENTALISM

Eco-Company is a show about environmentalism by young people

http://eco-company.tv

Real Green - "advice for living a greener, more sustainable life"

http://www.realgreentv.net/

AGRICULTURE & LAND USE

Washington Grown - segments about agriculture in Washington State - covers some innovative farmers

http://wagrown.com

Growing a Greener World - Joe Lamp'l - organic gardening, green living and farm-to-table food

http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/

This American Land - leading conservation news magazine program on public television

http://thisamericanland.org

Home Orchard Society - assisting both novice and expert fruit growers, preserving heirloom fruit varieties

http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/

RENEWABLE ENERGY, SOLAR

Backwoods Solar

http://www.backwoodssolar.com/

GREEN HOMES & TINY HOMES

Tiny Homes by deeAuvil - my Pinterest board for tiny homes

https://www.pinterest.com/deeauvil/tiny-house-pins-by-deeauvil/

Tumbleweed

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

Tiny House Blog

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

COMMUNITIES

Mother Earth News -longest-running sustainable-lifestyle magazine - has videos 

http://www.motherearthnews.com/

Mary Jane's Farm - 29 year organic farmer - site has videos

http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/

Organic Gardening

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden

GW Planet Forward identifies, celebrates and rewards ideas to solve global environmental challenges - has videos

http://www.planetforward.org/

this list produced by http://deeAuvil.com

WeRelate Contest: Sheriff Stephen Brown & Photographer Miss Solberg

c.1910 Cheyenne (Sheyenne) North Dakota Indian Sherriff eBay seller apple13

Found this image on eBay. I love vintage images with a juxtaposition of cultures - this man with his traditional hair pipe vest also has European spectacles and a sheriff's badge. He is the subject of our WeRelate contest this week. He has been identified by the eBay seller as Stephen Brown of Sheyenne, North Dakota. Can you find any information about Stephen?

I'm also interested in the photographer. A single woman photographer in the wild west?! I can only think of one other right now (Wrensted).  So this is a very important photograph in the history of women photographers. Can you find any information about Miss Solberg of Sheyenne, North Dakota?

Good Luck!

*Image used with permission of eBay seller.

WeRelate Contest: Miss Pansy Jarnagin

This weeks WeRelate contest is from a postcard I saw at eBay. It is a photo of Evan Enoch home in Deer Park, Washington. But the subject is Miss Pansy Jarnagin - the recipient of the postcard. Can you find her in records? Does she have a connection to Evan Enoch? Good Luck!