Love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and hold fast to Him, for the Lord is your life! Deut. 30:20


Thursday, April 4, 2019

Museum of World Treasures


We went to the Museum of World Treasures with the kids.



Part of the Berlin Wall that was torn down.

Not the most beautiful lady now, but perhaps in her day.








Check out the pointed shoes!

Height of fashion, but would make for difficulty in running away from the enemy!


Afterwards, we went to Jimmy's Diner, an old hang out of ours when our kids were younger.

They have the best shakes!
They give you the shake and the container it is made in, so like, double shakes!
You can make up any flavor.
My favorite is chocolate, peanut butter, coffee. 


Monday, April 1, 2019

Nostalgia

After visiting the salt mines,  we headed out west of Hutchinsons for good Amish cooking at the Dutch Kitchen!


Fried mac and cheese!


The fries and pie were to DIE for!

We went on a nostalgia tour -
first past the farm where my Dad grew up.
Whoever lived here made the house into a larger 2-story house.


Dad and his 3 sisters.
His 4th sister was born when Dad was 10.

Looks like Dad had already had his front teeth knocked out by this time.

He always liked to make us laugh by sticking his dentures out!

We drove into Pretty Prairie to see the houses I lived in when on 
furlough in the 8th grade and then when we moved here from Japan
during my last 2 years of high school.


This was the parsonage while my Dad was the pastor at the First Mennonite Church.

Al and I enjoyed swinging on the porch swing.

Next, we drove the kids out to the farm where their Papa grew up.
His brother and wife live there nonw.


They have added on to the house.  They made the kitchen larger and added a living room to the west side of the house.  The old living room became their master bedroom, and his parent's bedroom became the master bathroom!


Al's mother, Kathern.  My dad used to call her Kitty, which was her nick name when they went to school together.           
                                                                                          "Papa" as a little boy.



Grandma Graber with Jill.  How we loved to sit on that front porch!

I had told the kids I used to mow our "lawn" in Japan with a push lawnmower like this when I was growing up!  I don't suppose Al used one like this, but am sure his Dad did, and perhaps this is that very lawn mower.  This one belonged to my sister-in-law's grandfather..


The boys did a little target practice.
Papa teaching Eli.


 We all (including me!) were able to shoot the coffee can!

Emeri preferred reading her book.

Next we stopped by the First Mennonite cemetery to
 see the folks' tomb stones and some of our ancestors' too.



What a fun day of nostalgia!

"Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past."  Deut. 32:7
The Israelites were told to remember the faithfulness of God to the generations past, and Al and I remember our past, and our ancestors and how God faithfully led us through the years.  He has been so very good, even in the difficult times!  He never leaves us nor forsakes us. 



Monday, March 25, 2019

Salt mines

Josh wanted to go to the Salt Mines, called the Strataca, in Hutch.  The kids had never been.  We made reservations which was a good thing, because being spring break, there were quite a few people there.  We rode a double-decker hoist down.  It was pitch black for a while.  This shaft was bored years ago through the frozen aquifer and countless layers of rock and silt.   We went down 650 feet.

The area we were able to see used to be part of the Carey Salt Mines.  It was mined in the '40s and '50s.  We didn't go to the area where they are currently mining salt.  They have been mining around the clock because this has been a hard winter across the nation.  This mine provides salt for the roads.



Because of the perfect temperature and no humidity, it is the perfect environment for preservation, so many Hollywood films, costumes from the movies, a newspaper with the announcement of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln as well as many other newspapers, medical records of hospitals, bank records, etc. are stored here.

We took a little train ride around the mines.  Machinery were brought down years ago, piece by piece and put back together and "what comes down stays down" we were told.  So old salt mining equipment is there to look at.  Even trash from the '40's and '50s, like candy wrappers and cigarette packages.  We got a lesson on how mining evolved over the years.


We also took a tram ride.



They let us pick a piece of salt to take out with us.

Hutchinson, Kansas has many fun places to visit and this is one of them!

A little souvenir.