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Some things never change. For decades I've tried to correct the incorrect spelling of the name Stieger. Since Victoria has a Stieger Lake and a Stieger Lake Lane and also Stieger Lake Condos (not to mention that Stieger is found in the street address of downtown businesses and City Hall and the Victoria library), opportunities abound to misspell the name! Maybe you've noticed that many people take advantage of those opportunities. A couple weeks ago, Stieger was misspelled every time in an article from Telly Mamayek of the MCWD. I emailed to tell Telly (makes me want to say dell deli and bell belly) that the correct spelling of that family name is Stieger, that it's not Steiger. Telly emailed back to me: "The MCWD has made it a practice to follow the DNR's spelling on lake names. Here's a link to their lakefinder page." I then emailed to tell Telly (jell jelly) that the DNR has it wrong but they're in good company, including the City of Victoria. On one end of the street it's Stieger and on the other end it's Steiger. Strangely enough, despite the identical vowel arrangement of other Deutschland heritage names, I never see Schmieg spelled Schmeig, and I never see Diethelm spelled Deithelm and I never see Schneider spelled Schnieder. And I also don't hear them pronounced incorrectly. Why do you suppose that is? *** At the September 10th city council meeting, there was discussion about finding the balance between clear-cutting trees from a property and the rights of property owners. I understand and agree that clear-cutting isn't a good thing and that trees should be saved as possible and practical. But I am no longer the tree hugger that I used to be. As I mentioned in this space last month there were nearly 100 tall, stately, mighty, and majestic maple trees on our one-acre lot down here by Schutz Lake when we bought the property. We situated our house plans on the lot in a way that would save the most trees. For that very reason, our home looks to be sitting kittywampus in the neighborhood. We once had a huge maple tree just four feet from our front door. I've got pictures of an albino squirrel climbing that tree. We once had a huge maple tree five feet from the peak of our north high-windowed vaulted side. I've got pictures of a raccoon sitting in the 'y' of that tree watching me make supper. We once had a huge maple tree three feet from our back walk, which dictated the construction width of that walk. Not only those trees, but at least a couple dozen others or more have disappeared over the years. You might say their disappearance was due to clear-cutting. Several of our trees were destroyed in the Storm of 1998. Several others were destroyed in the Storm of 2007. So much for a Tree Preservation Policy. Our place is still very wooded, thankfully, but I no longer hug trees. I've learned that Mother Nature doesn't hug them either and that, in fact, her tornadic winds are more destructive than chainsaws and developers. She can twist them like rope and snap them like toothpicks and uproot them like weeds. We once had a giant tree just three feet from our back door that shaded our deck all summer long. That tree determined the angle of our stone wall in that location. However, in 2011 we paid around $5,000 to have it brought down so I could sleep well at night. It was the one tree left that would have greatly damaged our home were another Storm to hit us. It is miraculous that in the two storms cited above, none of the downed trees touched or harmed our home or me when the daytime "train" howled through. Amazing Grace. But I know three strikes and you're out. There's one more large and beautiful tree on our lot that should be taken down. It looms over Allan's office in our detached building. I think it could be the third strike. But in regard to that tree, I am not the decision maker. *** It's hard for me to see the summer turn into fall this year. Harder than usual. I missed a good part of spring because of the Belfast thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed summer. We roasted marshmallows at our firepit several nights a week and it became our default dessert. Allan picked up a fire ring this year at the Storms Shop here in Victoria and so we no longer need to worry about a fire that may not be completely extinguished before we turn in, because there is a large heavy duty cover that gets propped onto the ring and it snuffs out the oxygen and the fire. Since no water is used to ensure campfire safety, the pit stays dry and easy to start the next time. I'm looking forward to our fall colors here in Victoria -- surely the best in Carver County, if not in Minnesota, if not in the whole world. |
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From the Editor |
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Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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Sue’s Album A symphony of photos and fewer than a thousand words at www.VictoriaGazette.com |
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October 2018 |
