Family Stories -- written by me

A potpourri of stories about various family members or events

Most recent on top; [yyyy-mm-dd] is date published; {abc; xyz} indicates topic assignments for the story. If you wish to view these stories organized by topics, visit here. If you wish to search for a name or word with any Stories section, use the link in the upper right. If you want to know why I write these stories, read more here.

My Undergraduate Work: This lists the years and locations of my undergraduate work, with a page for each academic year.
[2026-07-29] {Al; lists;}
Scrambled Eggs: This is a short story about four distinct connections to scrambled eggs.
[2026-07-29] {Al; Food or Meals;}
St. John's 1977-1978: This story describes the sixth location where I lived, during the 1977-1978 academic year at SJU. This describes where I was that year, why I chose SJU, and what courses I took that first year (and some explanations for those choices). This is part of Homes Where I Lived. It is also part of My Undergraduate Work.
[2026-07-29] {Al; Education; Home; 1970s}
The Final Beginning of the End: This story describes, in some detail, Marcia's last six days on this earth. A related story, The Beginning of the End, recalls when Marcia and I first started counting the last days.
[2026-07-27] {Marcia; Event; Health; 2010s}
St. John's 1976-1977: This story describes the sixth location where I lived, during the 1976-1977 academic year at SJU. This describes where I was that year, why I chose SJU, and what courses I took that first year (and some explanations for those choices). This is part of Homes Where I Lived. It is also part of My Undergraduate Work.
[2026-07-20] {Al; Home; Education; 1970s}
Fargo Home: This story describes the fifth home where I lived, during the years 1968-1972. This is part of Homes Where I Lived.
[2026-07-20] {Al; Home; 1960s; 1970s}
Haven Township Home: This story describes the fourth (and major) home where I lived. This is part of Homes Where I Lived.
[2026-07-20] {Al; Home; 1960s;}
I Am Not Going to Melt: This describes several years of knowing a fellow church member whom I assisted in getting to church. She was more beneficial to me than I was to her.
[2026-07-20] {Al; faith; 2000s;}
Farm Trailer - J. E. Hibbard Farmyard: This story describes the third home where I lived. This is part of Homes Where I Lived.
[2026-07-20] {Al; Home; 1960s;}
Cloverleaf Trailer - St. Cloud, MN: This story describes the second home where I lived. This is part of Homes Where I Lived.
[2026-07-20] {Al; Home; 1950s;}
My First Home: This story describes the home that became my first home, how and when we got there, and when and why we left. This is part of Homes Where I Lived.
[2026-07-20] {Al; Home; 1950s;}
Early Driving: This describes my early driving experiences up to when I was married.
[2026-07-17] {Al; siblings; 1970s;}
Walking to the Hole: This describes an event that occurred in the summer of 1967 or 1968 involving Bruce, Lou, and me at the duck pond (connected to the story below).
[2026-07-17] {siblings; 1960s; JEH farm}
Keith raising Quacks: Using several newspaper articles, this describes participation in raising some mallards in 1965.
[2026-07-17] {siblings; 1960s; environment; JEH farm}
Fargo to St. Cloud by bike: This describes a day when I biked from (near) my home in Fargo to (near) St. Cloud.
[2026-06-12] {Al; 1970s; biking;}
Sun Reaction: This describes a day when I biked from my home in Fargo to Buffalo State Park (20 miles east, one way) and back. This was within days of my encounter with nettle
[2026-06-10] {Al; 1970s; biking; health}
I Chose Christianity: This describes the backdrop to my choosing to become a Christian, what I knew before that decision, and what's come of it.
[2026-06-08] {Al; 1970s; faith; event}
Don't Meddle with Nettle: In the summer of 1971, while living in Fargo, I went biking with a friend at Lindenwood Park. This park along the Red River had a network of many bike trails that often had many curves, short hills on which one could build speed and more. I learned something that day.
[2026-06-06] {Al; 1970s; health; event; biking}
A Motorcycle Built for One but Carrying Three.: Again, the title likely says enough. Likely set in the fall of 1966 or the spring of 1967.
[2026-06-06] {Al; 1960s; health; event}
My Introduction to Hand Brakes on a Bike: The title likely says enough. Set in the summer of about 1966 (±2).
[2026-06-06] {Al; 1960s; health; biking; event}
Mumps and Me: This is a recollection about my experience with mumps in December 1965 (±1).
[2026-06-06] {Al; 1960s; health}
Biking the Canadian Rockies: This describes a bike ride that I took with 3 other Central professors. We drove to Jasper, Alberta and headed south.
[2026-06-06] {Al, biking, trips}
How They Met: This is about how various relatives of mine met, currently including my wife and I, my parents, my paternal grandparents, and my maternal grandparents.
[2026-05-31] {event, list}
Haste Makes Waste: The quote in the title foreshadows the cause of the worst bike accident that I have had. I have learned some things from this.
[2026-05-31] {Al, event, biking, health}
Lists: Have you noticed that the three are actually list of events related to the topic of the list. This is now a list of all of the lists in these stories, both complete, started, and just an idea.
[2026-05-30] {Al, list}
Accidents and Medical Situations: This chronological list gives information about accidents that I have had or medical situations that have arisen. It is currently outlined partially, and most details are missing.
[2026-05-30] {Al, event, health, list}
Bike Trips: This is a list of bike trips that I have taken over the years. Eventually, details for each will be added.
[2026-05-30] {Al, biking, trips, list}
A Kick in the Rear: An experience as a 5-year-old comes back to bite me.
[2026-02-21] {Al, parents, children, 1960s, 1990s}
Falling out of a Tree: Here, I describe two times that I fell out of a tree with consequences.
[2026-02-21] {Al, 1960s, health, event}
Sayings From Grandpa: This consists of a (growing) list of sayings that Grandpa Jesse used to tell others.
[2026-02-21] {grandparents}
My State Fair Experiences: This has two main foci: my grandfather taking me to the MN State Fair in about 1963, and a visit about 40 years later to the IA State Fair when I took Christina.
[2026-02-20] {Al, children, grandparents, 1960s, 2000s}
Life in Our Trailer Home: The main focus is on the trailer that we lived in while at my grandfather's farmyard. This also hints at why we built a house in 1963.
[2026-02-19] {Al, home, Parents+Siblings, 1960s}
Can I have some sugar too?: What would you say if your three-year-old asked you if he could have sugar on his cereal, as you had put on yours?
[2026-02-04] {Al; children; health; Food or Meals; 1980s}
An "Easier" Way of Taking Physics: In my first fall at college, I was given two choices of how I could try to learn physics. I chose the "easier" way, I thought.
[2026-02-04] {Al; education; 1970s}
The Price of Avoiding an Elevator: I wanted to visit a friend on the second floor of a building. I also wanted to take the stairs to do so. You know, free exercise, and save energy by not running the elevator. What could go wrong?
[2026-02-04] {Al, health, environment}
Hanging Pasta: An event today made me remember driving past a Barilla pasta plant in Ames, Iowa.
[2026-01-28] {Al's family, 2000s}
Name Continuity: This describes how various people with my family tree "passed down" one or more of their names as another relative used the name when a child was born.
[2026-01-28] {Family history}
First Call Answered: This describes my first time answering a telephone.
[2026-01-26] {Al; 1960s, technology}
Binary Birthday Blast: This describes a recent birthday celebration using candles whose position gave a binary representation of my age. Thanks Tim T.
[2026-01-24] {Al; 2020s}
So Many Flat Tires!: Al recalls his experiences in learning how to patch a flat bike tube
[2026-01-22] {Al; biking; 1960s}
Getting Milk: Karen recalls using a container to retrieve milk from the barn
[2026-01-09] {Karen; JEH farm; 1940s}
A Fender Bender in South Bend: Can you guess what this is about?
[2025-09-01] {Al's family; 1980s}
Memories from grades 1-12: The title suggests what this is about.
[2025-08-30] {Al; education; 1960s; 1970s}
Blow up the Calculator!: How to get your calculator to blow up! How does one do this, and what does this even mean?
[2025-08-25] {Al; education; 1970s}
What does a dying person look like?: Marcia and I had a surprise when she initiated starting home hospice care.
[2025-08-08] {Marcia; health; 2010s}
From dock to dock: During Aug. 6-7, I took out one dock and put in another.
[2025-08-08] {cabin; 2020s}
The Beginning of the End: This describes Marcia's last meeting with her oncologist.
[2025-08-05] {Marcia; health; 2010s}
Marcia and her cannabis experiment: After using morphine to deal with cancer pain, Marcia explored using cannabis. This describes this process and the results.
[2025-08-04] {Marcia; health; 2010s}
Marcia's last major Trip: This describes Marcia's last major trip that covered all of January 2019 and also about 4 days on both sides of January.
[2025-08-03] {trip; Marcia; health; 2010s}
Bearly not intersecting: An event at the cabin when kids were young
[2025-07-17] {children; cabin; 1980s}
Riding a bus for 8 years: This describes my school bus years
[2025-06-26] {Al; education; 1960s; 1970s}
Homes where I lived: This gives a brief description of the homes where I have lived (for at least 3 months)
[2025-06-25] {Al; home}
Our Wedding Day: A description of our wedding day
[2025-06-03] {Al; Marcia; 1970s}
Around the Next Curve: A wild goose chase?
[2022-06-17] {Al; cabin; 1960s; biking; cousins; siblings}
Sesquicentennial of the Hibbard-Westurn Arrival: This longer post documents the arrival of the Hibbards and Westurns from NY to MN in 1871. Where were they? Why there? Why did they come?
[2021-06-17] {family history; 1870s}
How NOT to clean a cast iron pan: A third-grader's experience with a cast iron pan
[2021-06-09] {Al; camping; 1960s}
Do you weigh us before and afterwards?: A morning in the fields outside of South Bend, IN
[2021-06-04] {Al family; 1980s; Food or Meals;}
Roadside Treat(s): An encounter in 1977 on my bike around Lake Superior
[2021-06-01] {Al; biking; 1970s; Food or Meals;}
Tim's Birth: Story of Tim's birth
[2021-05-28] {children; 1970s}
Christina's Birth: Story of Christina's birth and naming
[2021-04-13] {children; 1990s}
Hungry?: I share some of the advantages of living near my grandpa
[2021-03-25] {Al; 1960s; 1970s; Grandparents; Food or Meals;}
Need Something To Do?: This relates to a story that my grampa told us several times if he thought we were bored.
[2021-03-25] {1970s; Grandparents}
Babysitting from the Grandparents: This tells the experiences that Marcia and I had in having our parents babysit for our children.
[2021-03-11] {children; parents}
Carrie’s birth: This briefly tells the story when Carrie was born
[2021-03-11 - finished on 2/22 but not officially "posted" until later - Sorry, Carrie] {children; 1980s}
Marcia making the rounds: This briefly tells the story of how a friendship at church turned into Marcia choosing to regularly visit the elderly.
[2021-03-09] {Marcia; 1990s; 2000s}
Thinking outside the box: The title is the punch line
[2021-02-19] {grandchildren}
How Marcia and I Met: It was in the chemistry (class)
[2021-02-14] {1970s; Al; Marcia; Education}
Overview of 1969 Trip East: MI, Ontario, Quebec, VT, MA, DC, PA were all visited
[2021-02-14] {1960s; trip; parents+sibs}
How My Paternal Grandparents Met: Was he courting tennis or Edna?
[2021-02-13] {1910s; Grandparents}
How My Maternal Grandparents Met: If they differed in ages by 7 years, how did they meet at college?
[2021-02-13] {1920s; Grandparents}
How My Parents Met: Connected to the ratio of women to men at SCSC in 1944?
[2021-02-13] {1940s; parents}
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: My hair, yesterday, today, and tomorrow
[2021-02-12] {Al}
Why do you walk everywhere?: My answer to the question posed by a granddaughter
[2021-02-11] {2020s; Al; grandchildren; biking}
From Burlington to Mahnomen: From Burlington, VT, mom was called to return to Mahnomen
[2021-02-06] {1960s; parents, grandparents, trip}
Another Prison Story From Grandpa: Recollections about the Gray Stone College
[2021-02-03] {1970s; grandparents}
A Prison Story From Grandpa: Moving sawdust?
[2021-02-02] {grandparents}
I know which way to go: An experience at Expo 67 (in 1969)
[2021-01-29] {1960s; Al; trip}
Potentially a Last Photo: A family photo before my dad heads back for service
[2021-01-21] {1940s; parents; grandparents; military}
We are Immigrants: Immigrant status of my 8 great-grandparents
[2021-01-19] {family history}
Some of Dad's Photos: the title says it all
[2021-01-18] {parents}
Sometimes Plan B is Better: This explores the consequences of the decision to be in Fargo for 4 years
[2021-01-16] {parents}
Skating: Skating is a MN winter activity
[2021-01-15] {misc}
Rolling over (the odometer): They all coincide: Travelall, 1969, Boston, 100K.
[2021-01-14] {trip; 1960s}
Leaving Michigan: Explores thoughts about why we left Michigan
[2021-01-09] {trip; home; 1950s}
More about the hamster and the bear: Comments about previous post
[2020-06-13] {siblings; trip; 1960s}
The hamster and the bear: An event on a trip to Yellowstone in 1967
[2020-06-12] {siblings; trip; 1960s}