Volume 10 , Issue 37

Rumination

"Don't really know exactly why this has been running in my mind, but there is an Alva event which keeps coming to mind. Haven't been able to resolve it, and possibly you or someone might be able to assist me in putting it to rest.

Way back when, on the southside of Barnes, between 6th and 7th streets about mid-block, was McGill Furniture. I think next was Pitusnick (not sure of the spelling) shoe repair shop, Bill Brands store, and Magnusons Grocery. My most vivid memory of Magnusons was a machine which turned out cake donuts. I still enjoy cake donuts, but they just don't seem to taste quite as good as those did.

Just as there were on the second floor of many of the stores on the square, the upstairs of Magnusons had some apartments. The event which keeps coming to my mind concerns a fire which started upstairs over Magnusons. As I recall the grocery store had a great deal of damage, and Magnusons went on west on the block and built the building which now is the Senior Citizen Center.

Just how the fire started, I have no recollection. I cannot recall the name, but seems there was a youngster who had crawled under the bed to escape the fire and unfortunately did not escape. More details of the cause of the fire escape me, if I ever knew, but the youngster was about my age at the time, and it was a tremendous learning experience for me. Don't know that this is all of any consequence except it would be nice for the lost one to be remembered.

On a bit of a lighter note, Humming birds. While we have quite a number of birds migrating thru our area, and although I don't always know just what they are, and am too lazy to get out my 'bird book' (anyone remember the character on Fibber McGee and Molly who had a 'bird book'?) to look them up, the hummers are the most entertaining. My wife has 6, 30-oz feeders hanging around the house. Haven't a clue as to just how many hummers there are, but all 6 feeders get emptied daily. When they first return in the spring, they are very territorial with the feeders, but as the numbers build, I guess there are so many that they become more 'sharing' of the feeders.

The thing that keeps me the most entertained is the feeder just outside the window where I sit at the computer. When the feeder gets empty and they come to check it out, they will often come to the window and hover as if to say, 'It needs to be filled!' Don't know just how much sugar we have gone thru so far this season, but the current 50# bag is running low.

Have rattled long enough, and while I don't expect an immediate answer to my query, I hope someone will be able to supply some information. At some time I recall reading an ancient Egyptian quote that a person never dies as long as someone speaks their name." -- Marvin Henry - Emails: figment1(at)comcast.net and nmfigment(at)yahoo.com
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