Wright-Cromwell News

The Cromwell Area Historical Club will host the Carlton County Historical Society quarterly meeting, Saturday, Sept.15, at 10 a.m. It will be at the Historical Center at the Cardinal Court of Villa Vista. Everyone is welcome. The Cromwell club will also give a short presentation about how the club first started.

Jason and Heather Zoeller hosted the Rally Day/Sunday School Picnic for St. John’s on Sunday, Aug. 26. They had outdoor worship and games. Sunday school for St. John’s will start on Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m.

Sunday school will resume at Bethany in Cromwell and Bethlehem in Wright on Sunday, Sept. 16. Bring the children, stay for the services.

Congratulations to Don and Carol Hutar on their 50th wedding anniversary. They had a celebration at the Cromwell Park Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 1. The food was delicious and the music by the “Keystones” added to the celebration. Carol and Don want to thank you all for coming or sending cards of good wishes. We also want to wish them the best in the future.

Most of you remember reading the Weekly Reader each week in elementary school. It has been a classroom fixture since 1928, but it will not be returning from summer vacation, its new owner, Scholastic, will merge it into its own Scholastic Magazine for schools and will no longer publish it under the WR name. With this news in mind, I asked Zona Lundstrom Turja to share her WR story with my readers. So, here goes:

“I wouldn’t have had a friendship that spanned 6 decades if it weren’t for Weekly Reader. I was 8 years old and in the third grade at Washington Elementary School in Biwabik, a little town on the Iron Range. Our assignment was to take a name from the Weekly Reader of someone who was looking for a pen pal. The whole class had to do it. I wrote to Jean Taylor from Dore, Sheffield, England. I received a prompt answer and so began a friendship that lasted 68 years. We wrote during World War II so I heard of the hardships and blackouts, although her family always seemed safe. I heard about her parents and siblings and aunts and cousins, her friends, schooling, which didn’t last as many years as mine, and the village they all lived in. I felt that I knew them all. We talked of meeting someday, but that hardly seemed a possibility. I became very interested in the monarchy and still read everything about the Royal Family. We both grew up, married and had children and even grieved with each other following the death of a child. Finally, in 1992, I was able to make the trip of a lifetime to meet Jean Taylor Dean, after 51 years of letter writing. It was as if we had known each other forever, like we were sisters. Our letters continued for another 15 years, when she died unexpectedly. I miss her. Thanks to the Weekly Reader for a wonderful experience. I am the only one of my classmates that kept a pen pal.”

Last week I celebrated my 67th birthday with family and friends. This was also a Blue Moon Birthday, probably the only one I have ever had or will have.

That’s all the news from Lake Backtolearningatschool and hello to all the folks who put on Harvest Fest. Your work is very much appreciated!

Tags: local columns, wright-cromwell news