That's a Fact Jack!!!

"Jack the Cat" is a new member to our family. He was dropped off by his owners on Sunday, July 16th as they were trying to get rid of a kitten litter and Mona was looking for a cat at the right price (free!). We found we had a mouse problem in our garage last winter when we were storing grass seed and our bird seed in there.

"Jack's" job will be to hunt down and eliminate the unwanted rodents. He just turned 8 weeks old and he got his first mouse that we know of last night (Friday). Mona was in the garage while getting some canning jars because we were canning green beans and heard some noise in the bird seed and decided to get our "attack cat" over there to check it out. The little guy leaped (or fell) into the plastic garbage can where we store the bags of bird seed and took care of business.

Mona said he had the pest in his mouth and he was growling like a Lion. (Well I kind of exaggerated there. But he was growling like a kitten.) I can attest to the fact the little guy has sharp claws because he likes to jump up and grap your pants leg and crawl right up - leaving small holes in your skin as he's coming up your back.

Right now his home is in the garage and he is welcome as long as he is a good mouser. Mona said she gave him his name because if we run into problems in the future, she can always say: "Hit the road - Jack!"

Oh - by the way, after getting home from work after 5:00 pm, we canned 34 pints of green beans and got to bed shortly after midnight when the second pressure cooker full of jars finally got done.

Secchi Testing

Mona and I volunteer to do Secchi Testing on both Washington Lake and Shawano Lake for the WDNR. These photos are from July 15th after we had gone to the Shawano Lake Boat Sinking Contest (below) and then The Sandbar where I got to have my Chili!!!

On the left I raise the Secchi disk out of the water after trying to determine the water clarity on Washington Lake. After I've got the reading of how far down we can see the disk I relay the information to Mona (right) so that she can record the information that will eventually end up on the WDNR Website for those Lakes. We also take note as to if the water level is high, low or normal, if the water is stained, if we see any wildlife, boater activity and water temperature.

Boat Sinking Contest on Shawano Lake

(Shawano, WI.) On Sunday, July 15th, Mona and I took a ride with our boat on the lake to attend the Annual Boat Sinking Contest, held at the old "Bamboo Bar" on the south shore of Shawano Lake. We fished for about an hour or so before the event was to begin. Mona caught about 2 or 3 small Northerns and I didn't get anything in the boat except for some of the famous weeds we have in this Lake. You could say I was just practicing my casting skills?

We ran about 4 miles west on the Lake from where we launched at Swan Acres and were about the 4th or 5th boat to drop anchor in the front row. Some friends of ours from The Sandbar happened to anchor their pontoon boat next to us afterwards. The woman from the pontoon boat is also a cook at The Sandbar and makes excellent soups including "Chili"!!! There were supposed to be 9 boats entered in the contest but only 8 of them participated after a 15 minute delay waiting for number 9.

You'll see in the upper right picture (click on it to enlarge) that this is towards the end of the contest. The one boat is just ready to go down because it is taking in water as the people shift their weight. Eventually the green Mirro Boat on the left will be the winner of the event. Mona and I think they should have been disqualified because all through the contest they sat on the side and hardly participated thus they were able to stay afloat.

Basic rules of the game were that all the boats had to stay in a roped off area. There were three people in each boat. One person steered the boat with oars and the other two had buckets they filled with water as fast as they could and threw it towards the other boats to sink them. One final rule was that you could not bail water out of your boat so you better fill someone elses before they fill yours.

The event lasted for about 45 minutes. I know I would not be able to participate in this event because I cannot imagine filling a 5-gallon bucket with water and continually throwing it as far as I could to fill the other boat. At my age - this is an extreme sport.

Looking at Old Pictures

Ervin Schwoerer, Jacob Durben (Pete's Grandson) and Lisa Schwoerer look through the pictures in one of the Albums that Toni brought.

This Photo was taken by Mona.

Hell's Angels on Wheels!

No, not really. Corey, Tracy and Squirt (Miranda) decided to take advantage of the great weather I ordered for the Reunion. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. There was lots of sunshine and no rain.

Joy, Pete and Dave

Joy and Dave Nienow brought Joy's Father Pete Durben to the Reunion. It was good to spend a little time with them. (That's the only advantage to having a smaller group attend the reunion - it gives you more time to spend with each individual.)

Toni and Cindi

Toni brought her three binders full of Durben information for everyone to look at. She puts a lot of work into her hobby. Cindi broke away from the Camp Grounds for a few hours to attend the Reunion.

Mat, Lisa and Ervin Schwoerer

Mat, Lisa and Ervin represented the Schwoerer Family this year at the Reunion. We learned that Mat and Lisa's daughter will be furthering her education this year at UWGB.

Courtney Wallenfang

Poor Courtney showed up at the 2007 Family Reunion shortly after everyone had left. She made the trip from Green Bay right after work and was unable to make it in time. As mentioned in an earlier posting - we were in the process of cleaning up the shelter at the Park in Valders (about a 40-45 minute drive depending on your driving habits).

Doug Joas and Daughter Vicki

Members of the Joas Family showed up for the Reunion.

I had a good time sitting there talking with them and learning a little for about that side of the relation.

I envy them with there house on Lake Winnibago.

2007 Paul & Nora Durben Family Reunion

The 2007 Paul and Nora Durben Family Reunion was held at the Memorial Park in Valders, Wisconsin on Saturday, July 14th.

The John & Dorothy Durben Family was in charge of hosting and setup of the event this year.

Attendance was quite small with only about 20 relatives in total taking time out to participate in the event.

There was a large assortment of food at the "bring a dish to pass" smorgasbord and no one should have an excuse for leaving hungry.

People started to arrive just past 11:00 am and it started to break-up by 3:00. Poor Courtney Wallenfang arrived just after the last guest had left and we were in the process of cleaning up the shelter. She had to work and made the long trip from Green Bay for nothing. Sorry Courtney.

Pictured above: (front row from left) Our daughter: Tracy Hucek, Granddaughter Miranda Hucek, Mona, Dorothy "Mom" Durben, (back row from left) Son-in-law Corey Hucek, Me, Brother Eugene Durben.

Thanks to all who attended - we had a great time!

Note: This professional looking photo was taken by Cindi Maas.