Old Retired Guy Blog
July 14 - 21, 2007
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North of the Tension Line (Page 1/4)
We haven't rented a cottage on the island since 1981 and the withdrawal symptoms were unbearable. This was a great year to return because my sister Mary Ann married Harold Sustachek on July 13, 1957, and they spent their honeymoon on Washington Island. Note that if you add 50 to 1957 you get, let's see ... seven ... zero ... carry the one ... twenty, you get 2007, which is this year! That calls for a celebration and Joann has been working on a surprise party for a year (please don't tell Min and Pudge).
The wind was blowing and the ferry ride was rather rough, but we were soon on the island. After getting beer at Brothers Too and groceries at Mann's we drove off to find our vacation house where Kathy quickly ripped into the beer and the fish, the signal that vacation had officially started. We relaxed and stayed out of sight for the rest of the day because the big surprise party is tomorrow.
Later in the afternoon world infamous singer-songwriter Mike Anderson performed. The audience was captivated by a special 50th anniversary version of the Island classic "Figenschau Bay," which included a special verse written in honor of the anniversary.
The most touching part of the day was just seeing all of the friends and family who came from miles around to congratulate Min and Pudge. Fifty years of marriage is quite a feat, especially in today's day and age.
Congratulations! North of the Tension Line |
There's
a place we used to go to every summer before we moved to Portland. It's
the kind of place where you can do nothin' and not feel guilty about it.
Or, if you're so inclined, you can go fishin' down to Figenschau Bay. The
main problem with this place is that if you're not careful you'll catch Island
Fever. There is no known cure and treatment requires annual visits.
You probably know the place I'm talkin' about already. It's called
[July
14, 2007] We left Madison at about 9 AM. The norther we drove,
the cloudier it got. As is our tradition, we stopped in Gill's Rock for
some smoked fish. They haven't had any chubs in months so
we settled for a couple big chunks of white fish. 
[July 15, 2007] The island was packed with people from all over the
country; all of them hiding in various vacation homes. At 12:30 they
started showing up at Karly's. At about 1 PM the shout went out to be
quiet and, as John Ollie ushered Min and Pudge in under the pretense of taking them out to
lunch, yells of "surprise" clued them in that a party was afoot.
You could tell from the looks on their faces that this was truly a surprise.
One of the
high points of the afternoon was a reenactment of the historical day "When
Minnie Met Pudgie." Dan Sorensen spent months researching this work in the
archives of Klema Feeds and Clem's Barber shop. He didn't find much until
he finally dug into the archives of the Franksville Liquor Store. Dan
captured the essence of the young Harold while Wendy Sustacheck was perfect in
the role of Minnie. Tom Sorensen made a cameo appearance as a waiter.
