Our Roots

This is Paul's mother's home on Vashon Island, Washington. It is a lovely place which looks out on the Puget Sound across from Seattle and Tacoma. His grandfather, Lauritz Larsen, was a fisherman who sailed around South America to this area. When he saw how beautiful it was and how it reminded him of his native Norway, he went back home for a wife, Jorge (pronounced 'Yorga'.) Whether he had one in mind at that time or not, I am not sure. At any rate he brought her back with him and built this home for her and their growing family which included Lloyd, Lillian, Thelma (Paul's mom), Julia, Grace, Ken and Eleanor. We should do that again: Lillian Marthelda, Thelma Melvina, Julia Camille, just plain Grace, Cornelius Vera! (you didn't call him Uncle Corney more than once, did you, Paul?!) and Eleanor was 'Lolly'. Grandpa fished in his boat, "The Bull Moose," up the coast to Alaska.

We are miles and miles away and cannot get there except for very unusual circumstances.

I am really feeling bad about my blog background right now. It does nothing for the Vashon picture, which is a gorgeous place!

This was my family's cabin on beautiful Lake Nebagamon in northern Wisconsin. The bay is named Maranatha (the Lord is coming!) Bay and was originally populated by preachers back in the late 1940s. At that time, after the war, lumber was expensive so we started with a pre-fab army officer's barrack which was 16 feet square with screened and shuttered windows. Originally there was no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing. We used oil or kerosene lamps, a ice box with ice hauled from near by Lake Minnisuing, a hand pump and an outhouse. Later my dad expanded the cabin, built a porch, added a hardwood floor removed from our church when a new auditorium was built and native knotty popple paneling. (My spell check does not like "popple" and tells me it is poplar, but in N. Wisconsin in those days, anyway, it was "popple".) My mom kept the place for years after my dad went to be with the Lord in 1957. It was a very sad day for my sisters and me when she sold it. Andy, Sara, Kari, Mari, Sean, Becca, Hollie and Kelly (some of the grandchildren) all loved it too, as well as their dads.

We are so thankful for the happy days and wonderful memories of summers in both places. We certainly will have more stories to tell in the future. I will let Paul give his Vashon memories too. However, I will probably write them if I want them any time soon. He dislikes writing as much as I like it.