Comments for What's It Like [ ... ]

Comment on To be a Member of the Genealogy Society by Alice Smuda

Alice Smuda — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:05:22 +0000

Way to go Anne.
Ali

Comment on To Make Ashtrays by Alice Smuda

Alice Smuda — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:37:54 +0000

Got a chuckle when I read your story Mary. Went through this with my dad, but I never had the ash tray project when I attended school. I’m sure my dad would have used it if I had though, probably on the porch, as he smoked everywhere in and out of the house.

Ali

Comment on To Move to Morrison County by Alice Smuda

Alice Smuda — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:27:02 +0000

I know the feeling of moving after so many years in one place Marlene. I also agree with you wholeheartedly that moving to M.C. was truly a good thing.

Ali

Comment on Selling to Lutherans by Alice Smuda

Alice Smuda — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:20:43 +0000

Fun story. Enjoyed.
Ali

Comment on Getting Started by Marlene Olesch

Marlene Olesch — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:05:13 +0000

What’s it is like to move to Morrison County
I lived in St. Paul and Hastings almost 45 years. That is until I met my future husband. He was a blind date from Royalton. We dated long distance for all most 3 months. Phone bills added up and the drive on Friday and back home on Sunday became very tireing for us.
We decided one of us had to make the move. Since I lived in an apartment and he had his own home, I was the one.
What was it going to be like? I am leaving 45 years worth of friends,, and relatives. My son just graduated from college and he decided to make the move with me. He left for the small town of Royalton one monthth before I did, because he found a job. Something I would need to to do. I found a job at the local bank in Little Falls. One Friday on my return to work after my lunch hour I decided to buy myself some flowers. I stopped in at the Flower Dell. As I entered the store I went directly to the flower case. This lady came up to me and ask if she could help. When I looked at her she commented on how much I looked like her old 8th grade school friend from Hastings. And when I looked up I realized she was Pat Quinn (Anderson) back then.
My move to Morrison County truely was a good thing.

Comment on Growing Up in Bygone Days by Alice Smuda

Alice Smuda — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:51:48 +0000

“Freda S.”
Enjoyed reading your story and had a few chuckles over it. I went through some of what you wrote…the outhouse , but our drinking water came from a pump in the center of our small community.

Alice smuda

Comment on To Find the Elusive Job by mchs

mchs — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:37:30 +0000

Here’s an article from Minnesota Public Radio by Annie Baxter about the effects of long-term unemployment due to this Great Recession:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/05/10/longterm-unemployment/

Comment on To Be a Volunteer in a Small Town by Wanda

Wanda — Tue, 03 May 2011 22:16:50 +0000

Dan is one of the best parts of Upsala, one who serves his/her community and uses the talents God has given to him. While he serves others in Jordan, we miss him in Upsala. Marlene and Dan raised a good family and those values will live on.

Comment on To Be a New Dog Owner by A. A. Madden

A. A. Madden — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:21:10 +0000

I have a ten year old terrier and a one year old terrier. The first was trained the old-fashioned way (punishment/reward), the second was trained according to Paul Owen’s method in his dvd and book. I achieved faster and more reliable results with Paul’s method than with the traditional way, while retaining more of my terrier’s happy-go-lucky nature. Though my first dog is well behaved, the traditional method was a longer, more stressful road for both of us.

Paul’s method involves giving a command to the dog, then rewarding that behaviour. So, in the case where the dog is doing something you don’t want, like jumping on a guest, instead of saying “No Jumping!” and scolding, you say “Come!”, then “Down”, and bring the dog to your side. The theory is, instead of telling your dog what you DON’T want, have them do what you DO want, thus eliminating the undesirable behaviour. This way, the dog chooses to “be good”, instead of being forced or threatened to “be good”.

I recommend it very highly if you are a looking for quick results while maintaining a close and equitable relationship with your dog. If you enjoy a more stern and severe approach involving domination-based punishment, and you are a very controlling person, then don’t waste your time. If you are a dog lover willing to put in some time and patience at the beginning in exchange for an obedient dog for the long term, then this method is for you. Paul’s dogs obey because they CHOOSE and WANT to, not because they fear punishment.

One handy aspect to Paul Owen’s DVD is that you can select from different commands “Sit”, “Stay”, etc, without having to go throught the whole DVD. This was especially helpful because my terrier learned certain behaviours quickly while others took more time, so it was very effective to be able to access only the command we needed to work on.

Also, to address the Cesar Millan issue, Cesar has never professed to being a dog trainer. He says many times on his show “I am a dog psychologist, not a trainer”, and his dog rehab program in LA is called the “Dog Psychology Center”, not a “training school”. Cesar rehabilitates dogs that have chronic, compulsive behaviour problems, he does NOT teach them to “Sit”, “Stay”, “Come”, etc. So comparing Cesar’s Way to Paul’s Way is silly, they perform entirely different functions and I appreciate both.

Comment on To Find the Elusive Job by Alice Smuda

Alice Smuda — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:33:25 +0000

Hi Greg,

Thank you for writing your much needed story. I hope it will give others in the same position you were in some hope for their future. Congratulations and best of luck in your new job.

Ali