Down Under Guests Come to Texas

Our friends, whom we met and got to know while on our European river cruise, in 2019, finally came to visit us here, in Texas. Lee and Joanne arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on September 26. They spent a couple nights in Fort Worth so they could go to the Fort Worth Stockyards, where they enjoyed the twice-daily cattle drive and some evening entertainment at Billy Bob's. On Saturday, September 28, Dan and I drove to Fort Worth to pick them up and bring them home to Temple. 

We had lots of fun showing them the area and introducing them to typical Texas-style foods. Lee decided chicken-fried steak was his favorite. He kept comparing it to schnitzel, one of his favorites back home in Australia, but had never seen white gravy. He also had never heard of, or tasted, biscuits and sausage gravy, which he tried a couple times before giving it a thumbs-up. But what he enjoyed most were beef steaks, from a couple different Texas steakhouses. 

Joanne seemed to like my home cooking more than the restaurant foods. New to them both were taco soup, corn chowder and macaroni and cheese. She said mac and cheese from a box/package was available and eaten only by kids as a snack in Australia. But she had never heard of homemade mac and cheese. She wrote down my recipe - along with several others - and has written since she's gotten back home to tell me that she's cooked it for her family.

One of the first things that Joanne asked me to do was to take her to a western wear store so she could buy a cowboy hat. She found a straw hat that she liked; and then fell in love with, and bought, some lovely white boots with rhinestones, which went well with her light-colored hat. Later in her visit her straw cowboy hat began to show signs of wear, so she wanted to get a nicer felt one. I took her back to Cavendar's, where she found a black hat that really looked good on her. But BLACK didn't really go with her white boots. So she bought a second pair of dark boots to go with the new hat. 

She had the opportunity to wear some of her western wear when we all went to Waco, to attend a rodeo at the Heart of Texas Fair. It was a great rodeo, and was a highlight of our outings.

We all enjoyed a visit to the home of our friends, Darin and Stephanie for dinner and some after-dinner fun. They live on a beautiful piece of property, and Darin, who is a hunter, made one of Lee's wishes come true by letting him shoot a couple of his rifles, a shotgun, a pistol and a bow. Joanne took a couple shots, as well, just so she could say she'd done it.

While Lee was ecstatic about his target shooting experience, Joanne probably preferred our evening out at a piano recital by Van Cliburn competition medalist and Grammy-nominated, Joyce Yang. Joanne is a talented pianist, herself, and teaches piano to a select few students. 

Lee and Joanne also took some side-trips on their own. Two of them involved driving in a rental car. They drove to San Antonio to see the Alamo, the River Walk and other sights. Their second road trip was to Galveston with a stop, on their way back, at the NASA Space Center in Houston. Driving through Houston was an experience that Lee hopes never to repeat! Part of that highway boasts 12 main lanes, 8 lanes of access roads, and 6 high-occupancy vehicle lanes! Even with that many lanes, it can get pretty congested during peak hours. Add to that the fact that Lee was, as he put it, having to "drive on the wrong side of the road!" 

Two other trips completed their US travels. First they flew out of Austin to Arizona, where they took a train tour around the Grand Canyon. The ride featured western musicians and cowboy characters on vintage rail cars. A gang of mounted outlaws even showed up and boarded the train, "robbing" the passengers of their spare change. 

Secondly, because Lee is a dedicated Elvis fan, they flew to Memphis and stayed Graceland Guest House Hotel. They purchased the VIP sightseeing package, which gave them some fantastic experiences. 

Our time with them at home was relaxed - resting up between their various outings. We played lots of table games. They both fell in love with Bananagrams, and Joanne and I played Rummikub every chance we got. I got them hooked on a daily dose of Jeopardy on TV. And Lee couldn't keep himself away from the political programming regarding the upcoming presidential election. 

At the end of their visit, Chris and Kelsey came to meet them. We all went out for a farewell dinner at The Commonwealth (a pickleball club). 

Dan drove our friends to Dallas on Sunday afternoon, November 3. They spent the night at a hotel and left on Quantas Airlines the next day for their 17-1/2 hour trip across the US and the Pacific to Sydney, and an additional two hours from Sydney to Adelaide. They spent a total of 5-1/2 weeks in the US. 

We hope someday to visit them in their beautiful country, but no firm plans as of yet.

Juneau Moments

My recent trip to Juneau was very brief. I was there for my uncle's memorial service, but got to see a few long-time, special friends while there, as well. I was blessed to stay with Louise, in her Fritz Cove home. She was such a hospitable hostess! We had a number of meals together, and took some scenic drives. Louise, who was my third grade teacher, in 1957, is now 94 years old, but she can out-do me on trails, sidewalks and stairs! I had brunch with Cindy and JoLynn one day; brunch with Kathy on another day; and enjoyed a nice visit with Janet in Louise's lovely living room. I also saw and spoke with several other friends at church, on Sunday morning. 

Uncle Bud's memorial service was nice. And the next day I gathered with family for the burial of his ashes in Evergreen Cemetery, near the graves of his mother and father. I'm grateful that I was able to be there to say a final "good bye" to my favorite uncle.

The first three or four days I was there, Juneau was dressed in sunshine and blue skies, so I was able to take some pictures. The last couple of days the clouds and rain moved in, quite typical of Southeast Alaska's weather, and the reason it for its gorgeous green forests. 

I'll post, below, just a few of my favorite scenic shots of "home" from this trip. 

Louise, standing on the back porch of the Gruening cabin

Uncle Bud

I returned home on Tuesday of last week from a quick trip to Juneau. My reason for going was to be there for my Uncle Bud's memorial service (on June 30). 

Uncle Bud passed away on March 15, 2024. He was my mom's brother, and the last living person of that generation for either of my parents. Uncle Bud was very special in my life. Although he visited us at various times when I was an infant and toddler, my earliest memories of him were when I was 4 years old, and living in Ketchikan, Alaska. 

Uncle Bud was a quiet man. He loved learning. I remember him sitting in our living room during family gatherings and contentedly reading his way through the volumes of our Encyclopedia Britannica set, while everyone else was engaged in casual chit-chat.

At one point in his life he was an avid model airplane enthusiast. I remember going with him to reclaim one of his RC planes that flew out of range and crashed into the branches of a tall tree. Some kind folks rescued it and called to tell him they had it. 

Uncle Bud was color blind. While he was going to diesel mechanics school, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, he bought a car. On one of his school breaks, he drove the 280 miles from Klamath Falls to Portland, where we lived, to visit and show off his new car. We all went outside to look at it, and were shocked by its toxic chartreuse color. Seeing the look on my Mom and Dad's faces, he asked the question he hadn't thought to ask before buying it:  "What color is it?" 

After both of our boys were grown, Dan and I moved back to Juneau for a few years. Tim followed us up there after a while. I'll always remember how Uncle Bud took to Tim. He befriended him, took him under his wing, and shared common interests. I've always been grateful for that relationship.

In 2022 I took granddaughter, Clara, to Juneau for a vacation. By then Uncle Bud was in an assisted living situation, but we got to visit with him one afternoon. I'm so thankful for that time we shared ... my last time to be with him.

I'll miss you, Uncle Bud. 

Ivan Womack Obituary

Ivan R. Womack, known to most people as Bud, passed away March 15, 2024 at the Juneau Pioneer Home.

Bud was born in Estacada, OR, to Ivan G. and Rose E. Meijer Womack, joining his sister, Margaret. The family moved frequently while his dad worked as a baker and cook in various logging camps. They eventually settled in Sweet Home, OR, when his dad opened a bakery. Bud always wanted to move to Alaska and on the day after graduation, he and his dad moved to Craig, and his mom followed soon after. Bud helped his dad with the bakery in Craig until he got an invitation from the military to join them. He served in the Army for two years at Ladd Airforce Base in Fairbanks. Following his discharge, he used the GI Bill to attend Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, where he got a degree in diesel mechanics.

During summer school breaks, Bud returned to Alaska and helped in the building of the Ketchikan sawmill and the Tunnel of Ketchikan. Following graduation, Bud moved to Juneau to work for Northern Commercial Company, first as a field mechanic traveling to work on equipment in the Southeast communities and remote fish and logging camps and then as service manager of the five shops. In 1964, he met Ardyne Kassner Burns and they married a year later. Bud became an instant dad to Ardyne's daughter, Lisa Marie, whom he soon adopted, and their son Rodney completed the family four years later.

Bud and his friend John (Butch) Hogins started H&W Equipment in Lemon Creek working on all types of construction equipment, trucks, and buses. Following Butch's death in a car accident, Bud continued H&W until selling it in 1973. The next thirteen years he worked for Belardi and Schneider Company. Following their closure, he worked for construction companies in Juneau until he retired in 1985.

He brought his love of tinkering home – there wasn't a piece of equipment he couldn't fix, a skill his family relied on throughout his life. His shop was, and still is, full of every tool imaginable and all the odds and ends he just might need whether it was building or fixing something, building remote-controlled airplanes, or fabricating an airboat for trips up Berners Bay. In later years, he turned his tinkering to taxidermy, filling the walls of their Lemon Creek home with small animals and birds.

Bud enjoyed many years of moose hunting in Berners Bay, outside of Haines, on the Taylor Highway, and the Nebesna Road with his friends and occasionally his son-in-law or the whole family, but most often, Ardyne was his sole hunting partner. To pass the winters, the family took their snow machines all over the Juneau area and he and two friends built the first snow machine trail to Spaulding Meadows. Later in life, Bud and Ardyne enjoyed many road trips, going north to visit their old stomping grounds and south to see the country, always visiting friends and family along the way.

Bud was proud of his 50-year membership in the Operating Engineers Local 302 and his lifelong membership with the Juneau Elks Club 420.

Bud is survived by his Juneau family - his wife of 58 years, Ardyne; daughter Lisa Marie and husband, Daniel Tourtellot; and son Rodney Womack. He is also survived by brother-in-law Dan Kassner and wife, Lorinda of Juneau; his sister-in-law Linda and husband, Paul Loos of Nevi, MI; and many Harju, Clark, and Loos nieces and nephews scattered throughout the lower 48 states. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Margaret and husband, Robert Clark; father and mother-in-law, Arthur and Esther Kassner, sister-in-law Joan and husband Leonard Harju and their boys George and John.  

We want to thank our Juneau Pioneer Home "family" and most especially the wonderful staff for making his time there, and our time with him, the best it could be.

There will be a gathering for Bud on Sunday, June 30, from 1:30p to 4:30; at the Juneau Yacht Club. If you knew Bud well, you knew he was a man of many stories and few words so please join us and share some of your favorite stories of him.

Temple Tornado - May 22, 2024

 

Temple Daily Telegram, Saturday, May 25, 2024

I’ve lived through earthquakes in Alaska, sandstorms in New Mexico, and windstorms in Oregon. I’ve lived in Temple for 12-1/2 years now, and I’ve seen lightning storms, hailstorms, ice storms and torrential rainstorms, but until now I’ve never been in the path of a tornado.

That changed a week or so ago, on May 22. It had been a rather ordinary day. The Weather Channel was sending us weather watches and weather warnings, but that’s pretty common for this area. Evening came, and it was about time to head to our Wednesday evening Bible study. The sky got dark – about like it did when we had the total Eclipse back in April. And an angry wind started blowing. The city’s warning sirens were blaring, so we made the decision to tuck our car in the garage and stay home. A half hour later, we were experiencing a storm like never before. A mixture of rain, hail and debris began beating against our windows, and I was sure they would break, but they didn’t. I was watching out our back windows, from as far away as I could get, and there was so much rain, hail and debris in the air that I couldn’t see our backyard tree or the fence. An eerie, roaring sound filled the air, and percussive sounds came from our roof, windows and walls. I prayed my way through those minutes that felt like hours. Soon after the worst of the storm had passed, our electricity went out.

We were without power from Wednesday evening through 2:00 p.m. on Friday. By then we learned that the storm had, indeed, been the result of a tornado that destroyed or severely damaged nearly 500 homes and businesses, many of which were between a mile and two miles from our house. The tornado was rated as an EF-2, with maximum winds of 120 mph.

Residential homes off of West Adams Avenue were destroyed: https://youtu.be/zuzhUllzzB4

A lot of commercial property was also damaged or destroyed: https://youtu.be/dHMe8h4FCP0

Our neighborhood sits in the corner bounded by West Adams and Kegley. The tornado traveled up West Adams and lifted about the time it hit Kegley Road. Thankfully, our personal damage was minimal – parts of our fence are down, our oak tree in the front yard has one large limb and lots of small ones broken. We have someone coming to check out our roof next week, but we don’t have damage that we can see from the ground. We may have broken seals in some of our dual-pane windows - not sure. We lost all the food in our refrigerator and freezer because of the power outage.

We restocked our groceries on Saturday, only to have another wind storm come through and take the power down again on Tuesday, about noon. It came back at 11:30 p.m. We were able to save the food this time.

Even in these difficult times, I’m thankful for God’s providence and care. Here are just a few things that I was very thankful for:

• Although there were injuries, there was no loss of life in this tornado.
• Minimal damage at our house.
• Friends, neighbors and family who checked on us and offered helping hands.
• This little device, a portable power station, that we could charge somewhere else and use to power electric and electronic devices at home. (We charged it, several times, at an outdoor electrical outlet at our church building.)
  
• Toilets! They work even when the power is out!
• Outdoor temperatures that topped out in the high 80s. It meant our non-airconditioned house didn’t get ridiculously hot.