Current Gaul News Page 5

1-12-2007

SENIOR CITIZEN REPORT BY BARNEY ZIMMERMAN

I am 92 1/2 years old - when you get that old, no need to try to
hide your age, it's now something to brag about - see! I'm still here. But I decided that I needed to give up some things, like singing in the choir. But since I was almost the only bass singer I needed a replacement to complete a four voice choir. So my grandson, David, who has a deep bass voice agreed to take my place, and his dad, Paul also a bass, would
help at times. So I was free to go, no more stairs to climb to the choir loft - that was getting rather iffy anyway.

Maribeth, my daughter, asked me to go with her to the Westphalia Club House on Wednesday night at 7:30 when she got off work as it was taco night there. That was a simple enough request, so I agreed. When Wednesday night came she took me to the "Club", and I was astounded at the crowd that was there - every table was full. My daughter had saved a
seat for me at a table and I still didn't think anything was out of the ordinary. Then she told me to look at the people on our table which was actually three tables end to end - and they were all choir members and family members.

That table was a surprise party for my retirement from the choir - I never thought that my retirement was a big deal but the choir did. One cannot express the deep feelings such an outpouring of appreciation brings.
Thank you all!

I joined our church choir after my voice changed in high school in Westphalia. At that time we had about forty members singing polyphonic music. After graduation I attended a seminary at St. Mary's Mission House at Techny, Illinois for five years. At Christmas we used to walk through the dormitory corridors at midnight awaking the community with songs to
come to celebrate the Midnight Mass.

After I returned to Westphalia the St. Boniface Choir was glad to have me back. But that changed some years later when Valerie and I decided that marriage was for us. We found a farm at Shelby where we lived nine years - we also raised five kids. We went to Mass at St. Mary's church at Avoca and we joined their choir. Once as I held Rae in my arms, I started to sing with the others, but Rae also started to bawl.

It was in January of 1948 that Valerie and I moved to the Mikmak farm in Shelby, married just four months. We were overwhelmed by the good neighbors we were fortunate to have, Nels Andersen and family just west of us, Tubby Goshorn southwest, Carl Mortensen north, Delbert Pingle east, Bill Miller further east and others. I think they all have gone to their reward.

After nine years at our farm at Shelby we had an opportunity to rent a farm from my Uncle Charlie near the place where I was born, which we did. We lived on that farm from 1957 until 1979 when we retired and moved to Westphalia. In the meantime the St. Boniface's Choir occupied much of my spare time until this Christmas, 2006.

Dear Readers,

Since the fall of 1995, I have been writing this column. I am now
over 92 years of age and my wits are not as agile as they once were. It always made me happy to meet you folks and hear you urge me to continue writing. I appreciate this, but circumstances have not been kind to me with my dear wife in the Earling Little Flower Haven for nearly two years now. I want to thank you all for the gifts given me at Christmas time and your kind words when we meet. So this is my last column, at least for now. God bless us all.

Barney.

p.s.: A story or joke - whatever:

The parish had a pipe organ that was activated by a lever that was needed to pump air into the bellows. Once a professional organist was asked to play at an event and he used much more air than ordinary and suddenly the janitor, who did the pumping, quit. The organist rushed back to tell the janitor - "Get back to pumping, what's the matter?" "Listen, I know how much air goes into the "Credo."

For those of you unfamiliar with the old fashioned pump organs some explanation may be necessary. The janitor was used to how much air was required for the "Credo" when played by the regular organist. However the professional organist needed more air as he played more keys.

Bernard P. Zimmerman