Morning ride 30 July 2018

 Box Elder water tower as I get to head downhill for awhile. Across the road is a water tower for Wall, SD which is a mere 45 miles away. In SoDak you get water wherever you can.

 Black Elk Peak in the distance.

 This is as flat as it gets in SoDak. Think climbing the hill on Allentown Road west of Ropp homes. I get to climb three of those to get to this point, the hill just east of our home is a bit steeper.

 Another view of Black Elk Peak. We have had so much rain this year (good thing) that we actually have a humidity haze in the mornings. That said, high humidity for us on a day like this is 50%.

 Looking northwest over the village of Box Elder.

January 26, 1967 Winter Storm

 Uncle Jesse Schurter clearing Route 121 (today it's I-155) after the storm. Dad had to walk home the previous night leaving his truck abandoned on 121 along with numerous others. Probably a 2-3 mile walk in a snowstorm.

 Dad, Rich and Jim getting that driveway cleared so Dad could get a better run at the garage.

Schurter/Adcox Family History 1924

Helen Virginia Adcox

1924

Tremont School History 1949-50 2nd grade

Charles Schurter is furthest right of middle row

Bob Schurter is 4th from the right in the back row I believe (comments welcome if I'm wrong)

Sorry I have no other names to go with faces.

Winter 1964: Yes, Central Illinois used to get snow!

 Yes, the picture says May but that's when they were developed not taken. These are from the winter of 1964.

 Jim is on the left while Rich (me) is on the right.

August 1964: Bemidji, MN

Don't know the name of the Bemidji resort where we stayed but this a view. Our cabin with the McMullins is pictured below. 1964, Donnie Pflederer, Neil McMullin and I slept on the front porch. I distinctly remember Don Pflederer being up and out fishing every morning around 4:00 a.m. or so which is what he was used to as a morning paperboy. Funny how I don't remember being crowded in this small space with 7 people. We were outside all the time.

 Don't know why most older pictures aren't close enough to see our faces. Anyway, Don Pflederer is on the left, Neil McMullin, center and Rich (me) on the right. I believe this was on a day we went to see Red Lake. I always love fashion, notice my blue jeans were bought long enough that I would be able to wear them for length through high school.

 Real purpose of "vacation" in Minnesota, catch as many fish as possible. Henry Schurter on the left and George McMullin on the right. They are holding a stringer of fish between them. Fishing was a nearly 24 hour a day job while staying there. If I remember correctly Uncle Jesse and Aunt Esther and Sally were in another cabin across a small bay from us. There was a road that took you there also. This was my only Minnesota trip in memory. My older siblings remember these as an annual trip.

October 1963: Henry Schurter

 Not sure where these pictures were taken.  They are just prior to my 9th birthday and Dad is operating a 955H CAT. Notice, no cab, no roll-bar, no high-drive. Won't be long before this tractor rolls down a steep incline while grading the hillside for Interstate 74 going into Peoria. Dad jumped off as the tractor started to roll, only damage was the exhaust stack. Tractor was set upright, Dad was given the rest of the day off but the next day it was back to work.

March 1956: Tremont, IL Clearing the lot south of Schurter house

Henry Schurter running the CAT 955. This tractor or another in the series was one of my strongest childhood memories. Dad always ran a CAT dozer. The lot he is preparing was just south of our home. Rayburn Becker, banker, would build a house on that lot. Rayburn's son, Dave, would be an outstanding track star at Tremont High School holding sprint records that would stand for decades.

 House in the background is where Joe Litwiller lived. He operated Litwiller Machine for decades, this business is now carried on by Tim Ropp. The other house in the center background was where Rich Luick lived. Rick Luick and I spent hours playing baseball in each others side yards. The sidewalk in the foreground must have been removed at this time, it was never there in my memory.

 Looking southeast from the James and Elm St. Schurter house was the Robert and Edith Pflederer house. I barely remember the garage to the right of their house and don't remember what happened to it.

Local Hike on the 4th of July

The top two pictures are from our hike in the Canyon Lake area this morning. We have had 14" of rain so far and our normal for the entire year is 16". This means two things that people from SoDak aren't used to dealing with: bugs and humidity! We actually needed to put on insect repellent at the fireworks display last night, a first for us. The top picture was taken of  Spring Creek which is fed by Sheridan Lake. We didn't hike the trail again because so many local people were out for the holiday and we can come any day of the week. We hope everyone is having a blessed day celebrating the freedom we value in this country.

September 1955: Corner of James and Elm Streets, Tremont, IL

 Digging the basement for Henry and Helen Schurter home. Ted Ertmoed built the house.

 Very typical 4 bedroom brick home of the era. Full basement with a cut stone fireplace in the basement. Kitchen was fairly large except the eating area was a bit cramped for the 6 of us. Two car garage you entered from the side street. Dad also owned the lot behind the house where, for years, they had a large garden. House was typical of the booming middle class during the Eisenhower years. In the view living room is to the right of entrance, to the left is the window in Carol's bedroom and beside it was the window into Mom and Dad's bedroom. Jim and I spent a couple of years in the back corner bedroom together while Charles had a bedroom to himself. Bathroom, stairway to attic and the kitchen finished the main floor. Basement had a large room, the "furnace room" where there was a large pantry, bathroom with just a shower and the room with washer (later a washer and dryer), sink and freezer. I remember Dad and Uncle Jesse cleaning a lot of fish in this room. A really nice breezeway connected the house to the garage. The house also had an attic fan for those hot, humid summer nights before everyone had central air conditioning. Side yard to the south (house faced east) was nice and for several years the next door lot was vacant. Next post will have the clearing of that lot.