senior times winter 2013

— Senior TimeS WinTer 2013

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Ogemaw Commission on Aging’s The Cottage

Adult Day ServicesThe Cottage is a fun, friendly, safe place for a loved one

to take a break from his or her caregiver, to enjoy activities and good food or just rest if they wish.

Open Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday8:00 am - 4:00 pm

By reservation only pleaseFor more information call989-345-3010, Ext. 1810

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

Salena DeBusschere, LPN, ADS Coordinator

PUBLiSHerElizabeth Gorske

managing ediTorEric Young

ediToriaL STaffSherry Barnum

Tim BarnumGreg BucknerKevin BunchJessie Tobias

Thomas Williams

adVerTiSing SaLeSJama Gates

Anthony KachirosCarla Reeves

Tracy Pardue-SmithLisa Saunders

ComPoSiTionSharon Ehlert

Jesse Karbowski

Phone:989-345-0044

Cover photo by Tim Barnum

Cover photo: Tom and marcia Johnson

stand next to the Pinconning Journal.

They have run the business

for 35 years.

Ideas and stories always welcome!

email:[email protected]

Senior

TimeS

New museum brings back memoriesfor West Branch woman

By Tim Barnum

Next year, the house on the corner ofWright and Second streets in West Branchwill be a tribute to the history of OgemawCounty. But for Genevieve Kruch, 92, thebuilding already holds memories of ateenage job and the comings and goings oftravelers.

Kruch worked at the future museum in1935 when she was 15 years old — theoldest of nine children. At that time, thebuilding was home to the Heigl House, arestaurant and boarding house. Sheworked in the kitchen six days a week for$1 a day.

“We had to be there shortly after 7 a.m.,and we would work sometimes until 9p.m. or 10 p.m. at night,” she said.

A German couple owned the HeiglHouse, which sometimes caused some dif-ficulties in communication, Kruch said.

“They were very German, and theytalked a lot of German,” she said. “I feltlike they were talking about us some-times.”

Genevieve got acquainted with the cou-ple through her parents, Donatus andLucinda Zettel — farmers who sold theirgoods to the restaurant.

“My mom and dad used to delivercream, butter, cottage cheese and eggs,”she said. “We delivered here every week.”

She added that her mother’s cottagecheese was a big hit in the West Brancharea.

“The people loved Mother’s cottagecheese,” she said. “She was very fussyabout it. I remember making it with thebutter. Oh geez, we worked so hard on it!”

Working at the restaurant gaveGenevieve an up-close look at theadmirable décor and craftsmanship of theHeigl House.

“It was very, very nice,” she said. “Thedishes were gorgeous. Everything wasbeautiful.”

The upstairs at the Heigl House servedas the boarding house area of the building,and Genevieve said that level was also fullof beauty — especially the bridal suite.

“It was beautiful,” she said. “I lovedthat room. I always thought I would likethat room myself.”

One person lived in the boarding house

extensively, Genevieve said. Others usual-ly would come and go for various reasons.

“They would come whenever they had abig deal, or a big trip,” she said, addingboarders would usually stop in when theywere visiting family in the area or on ahunting trip.

While Genevieve got the chance toadmire the design of the building’s mainfloor and upper level, there was one placeno Heigl House employees were allowed.

“No one could go downstairs,” she said.She added meat was smoked down-

stairs. Ogemaw County Genealogical andHistorical Society President Sally Rea saidthere were also rumors of moonshinemade in the basement.

The job, which only lasted for a coupleof weeks, was how Genevieve planned toearn enough money for a school uniform.She attended St. Joe’s school from firstthrough 12th grade, and while the school

had uniforms, Lucinda Zettel did notapprove of their quality, Genevieve said.

“The ones they sold were $14 or $15and my mother said they weren’t worthit,” she said. “She said she could makebetter ones.”

Lucinda bought blue serge, a high-quali-ty fabric, for $2.95 a yard at Blumenthal’s,according to Genevieve, and made heruniform for her.

“It took all of my money, but it wasworth it,” she said.

With many memories of the restaurant,from both delivering supplies and workingin the kitchen, Genevieve said she ishappy the historical society is preservingthe building and making it a shrine tolocal history.

“I think it’s great,” she said. “It keepsthe history in West Branch. I think it’simportant. I hope people enjoy it, becauseit is important.”

Tim Barnum

Genevieve Kruch, center, poses for a photo with Janet Zettel-Wilkinson and SallyRea of the Ogemaw County Genealogical and Historical Society.

Senior TimeS WinTer 2013 —

Standish-Sterling Community EducationActivities Schedule

Standish-Sterling Community PoolMondays Adult Swim 7-8am

Open Swim 6-7pm

Wednesdays Adult Swim 7-8amOpen Swim 6-8pm

Fridays Lap Swim 7-8am Open Swim 6-8pm

Sundays Open Swim 1-4pm

Walkers welcome in Middle SchoolThe Middle School is once again open to adults who want to walk indoors for exercise. The school hallways will be available Monday through Thursday evenings from 5-8 p.m. through the fall and winter months.

Tai Chi class on Wednesdays This 10-week session of Tai-Chi fitness classes will be held on Tuesdays through March 12. The classes focus on the 37-movement Yang Style form of Tai Chi developed by Chen Man Cheng. Course instructor Kim Warren of Sterling will focus on the necessary principles participants need to develop in order to play the form. The emphasis will be on low-impact exercises that help enhance relaxation, balance and stability of the participant. The class will be held once a week on Tuesdays from 7:00-8:00 pm in the Standish-Sterling Community Service Building next to the Middle School. You can “drop-in” at any time for $3.00 per session.

Check the school website for schedule additions and changes.

Daily pricing for pool activities:$3 Adults & Children; $2 Senior Citizens (62 & Over)

Punch Cards good for 10 swims are available: Student $25 Adult $25 Senior Citizen $15 Family $80

Community Ed. Office: 989-846-3644www.standishsterling.org

Zumba for Fitness Mondays and TuesdaysIf you are looking for a high-energy way to dance yourself to total body fitness, Zumba is for you. Zumba is the only Latin-inspired dance fitness program that blends red-hot international music in the form of a “fitness party.” Classes will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Middle School. The cost is $5.00 per class.

Step Aerobics on Tuesdays and ThursdaysStep aerobics continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the S-S Middle School. Cost of the six-week session is $30 for twice a week, $20 for once a week, or $4 for “drop-ins.” Pre-registration is not required, just drop in and join in the fun.

A gathering of snowbirdsBy Sherry Barnum

It happens every year: the snow flies inthe north, and the snowbirds head south towarmer weather and sunny skies. Andthough the South is a big place, there is aspot in Florida where Arenac County resi-dents can see some faces from home.

Betty Kolevar-Shinevar said snowbirdsfrom Arenac County gather every year forfun and fellowship at Woodall’s Park inLakeland, Fla.

“We started the gathering as a way foreveryone from Arenac County and the sur-rounding vicinity to get together and visit,”she said. “It’s a home away from home.”

Kolevar-Shinevar said the gathering wasstarted by Warren and Sue Lader, as wellas herself and her late husband, MikeKolevar, and has been going for 30 years.

“We plan on keeping it going for as longas we come down here,” she said. “And ifsomething happens where we can’t comedown anymore, someone else will take itover and keep it going.”

“There are so many people from aroundthe area that come down here for the win-ter,” Kolevar-Shinevar said. “We’ve had asmany as 150 people come for the gather-ing.”

Kolevar-Shinevar said that the number

has been dwindling over the years, andthey had about 50 people at the last gather-ing.

“We have such a great time,” she said.“And it’s not just for the snowbirds inLakeland, but from all over Florida thatcome to fellowship with us.”

Kolevar-Shinevar said they ask for dona-tions every year in order to purchase thefood for the event.

“When we first started taking up a col-lection, we would get a dollar or two frompeople. Now we hold a blind auction inorder to gain funds each year,” she said.“It’s quite funny what some people get, butsome items go for as much as $50-$60depending on who the auctioneer is andhow high they can get the cost up.”

Kolevar-Shinevar said the auction hasbeen a huge success, raising $300-$400each year.

“We hold a potluck lunch, but using themoney that we raise, we are able to buy themeat, rolls and drinks so no one has tobring it,” she said.

Kolevar-Shinevar said they have some-thing going on every day and night at thepark.

“Monday nights are euchre nights at theclubhouse,” she said. “Tuesdays we havecoffee and visiting with people in and out

of the park, crafts, and a movie at night.”Wednesday, Kolevar-Shinevar said is

bingo night, while Thursday, they all go toGolden Corrall for dinner and come backto gather for bid euchre.

“Fridays we have a dance. Saturday iskaraoke and Sunday is church,” she said.“Then Monday we start it all over again.”

“Today, we are having a fashion showand I am one of the models, showing offclothes from Bon Worth,” she added.“There is something all the time, so wekeep busy here.”

“Once or twice a month we will havesome big entertainment in the park,” shesaid. “With everything going on it’s nice tohave fellowship with the people aroundyou from the same area from back home.”

This year Arenac County and other inter-ested snowbirds will gather for fun and fel-lowship, Tuesday, Feb. 12 at Woodall’sPark, located at 2121 New Tampa Hwy.,Lakeland, Fla., 33815. Contact BettyKolevar-Shinevar at 863-682-4125 for areservation count. The recreation hall willbe open for coffee and visiting at 11 a.m.and a potluck meal will be served at 12p.m., meat, drinks and rolls will be fur-nished. Please remember to bring awrapped item for the white elephant auc-tion.

Helping seniors fight fraud

Seniors are too often victimized by tele-marketing fraud. Studies from the AmericanAssociation of Retired Persons have shownthat many elderly fraud victims simplydon’t suspect the person soliciting moneyon the phone could be a criminal.

The FBI reports that there are as many as14,000 illegal telemarketing operationsgoing on at any given time. These illegaloperations generate as much as $40 billion ayear. Relatives of seniors are understand-ably concerned, particularly if those seniorslive alone and no one is around to monitorhow many calls they’re receiving from tele-marketers. Concerned relatives can sharethe following information with seniors toreduce their loved ones’ risks of being vic-timized by telemarketing fraud.

• Legitimate marketers are not in a rushto sell products or secure donations. A legit-imate marketer or charity will not try topressure prospective buyers into making apurchase over the phone or prospectivedonors into making immediate contribu-tions. Explain to seniors that a legitimatemarketer will accept a person’s desire forwritten information about the products orcharity and will gladly send such informa-tion to a prospective buyer or donor’s home.

• Payments are typically not picked up bya courier service. Telemarketing fraudstersoften employ couriers to pick up payments.This is not the action of a reputable charityor business, and seniors should never agreeto buy a product or donate money to any

See fraUd, page 11

Have a story to tell? Email [email protected]


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Mio summer resident travels with God, dogBy Thomas Williams

Every summer, Mio welcomes back a veryunique summer resident — Sister BethButler, a Dominican nun who is also knownas “the nun with a gun.”

Butler lives and works in Santa Cruz,Calif., but lived in Michigan as a child. Sheearned her nickname working as a chaplainwith the Miami Police Department’sChaplaincy Corps in Florida.

Butler is also known as the “Blue Nun”and “Miami Nice” thanks to her time withthe MPD. She travels cross country everyMay to vacation in Mio, with her faithfulchocolate Labrador for a traveling compan-ion.

Butler, who is in her late 70s, and her dog,Chuck, stay in her family home on CherryCreek Road.

“My family bought the cabin in the 1950sand used it for a deer hunting cabin,” shesaid. “We have made improvements over theyears and it is a very comfortable place tostay. It still does not have indoor plumbing,so I have to go outside for certain things. Ithink we were grandfathered in when theyput in the sewer.”

Butler said Chuck was given to her byOscoda County Sheriff Department Sgt.Chuck Varner.

“When Chuck brought him by, he told mehis name was Chuck, and I thought it was ajoke,” she said. “But he told me to look atthe tag on his collar, and sure enough, hewas right. So he is my traveling partner. The

See reSidenT, page 12

Courtesy photo

Sister Beth Butler, center, poses with Rev. Gene Self and former Miami Police Chief Clarence Dickson at a retire-ment dinner for the two clergy from the Chaplaincy Corps. For her work with law enforcement over the years, Butlerearned the nicknames “Nun with a gun,” “Blue Nun,” and “Miami Nice.”


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‘Grandma Red’ remains a fixture in the communityBy greg Buckner

For lifelong Ogemaw County residentMiriam Rosebrugh, hearing her given birthname is something that doesn’t happen fre-quently.

But chances are, if you’ve lived in thecounty for a while, you’ve either heard of orhad the pleasure of meeting “GrandmaRed.”

“When I was younger, I had bright redhair, and my dad always called me ‘Red,’”Rosebrugh said. “My siblings always calledme ‘Red,’ but it didn’t really start stickinguntil high school. Then as I got older andmy kids starting having kids, everyone start-ing calling me either ‘Aunt Red’ or‘Grandma Red,’ so pretty much everyonestarted calling me Grandma Red.”

After graduating from high school,Rosebrugh made her way to East Lansing toattend Michigan State University in 1947,which she said was then known as theMichigan Agricultural College.

“I went to school for three years, cameback, and married a good farming man,”Rosebrugh said.

That man was her husband, Ike, and thecouple soon started a family, eventuallyhaving a total of 10 children, six girls andfour boys, to help out on the farm.

While she had the help of her family,Rosebrugh said she enjoyed doing some ofthe work herself.

“I enjoyed field work,” Rosebrugh said.“The kids all helped out on the farm, butthere’s nothing that will clear your mindlike riding on a tractor for eight hours in a

field. When I get on the tractor and hit thethrottle –– that takes 30 years off my age.”

But after years of working on the familyfarm, Rosebrugh said as she and Ike gotolder and the kids became adults and wentoff on their own, she got the itch to get outand find a job off the farm.

“I loved the farm, and I had never workedoff the farm after I got married,” Rosebrughsaid. “Eventually, I got tired of fightingover who got to drive the Farmall tractor, soI started looking to get out of the house.”

Rosebrugh eventually landed a job as ahousekeeper and sanitary engineer at the

local hospital, which was then known as theTolfree Memorial Hospital, where sheworked for more than 11 years.

“I had a sister-in-law who worked at thehospital, and they had an emergency downthere, so she said ‘Why don’t you askMiriam to come down and work?”Rosebrugh said. “So I went in for six weeksand kind of liked it. I always wanted a jobwhere I could move around and be active,so it worked out to where I took a jobthere.”

When she retired from the hospital in1994, Rosebrugh said while she was readyto keep busy with work on the farm, shehad the desire to do something good withher newfound free time.

“Growing up and living in the littleneighborhood of farms we lived in, youlearned to volunteer,” Rosebrugh said. “Wehad a barn fire one year, and there wasn’t anight where there wasn’t at least four or fivepeople at our house trying to help us getthat barn back up. So you just learned tovolunteer, and that was something thatinterested me.”

That led Rosebrugh to head back to thehospital in 1994 to volunteer for TheTolfree Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, com-ing in once a week for 15 years to helptransport patients.

“There were a lot of good people whoworked there, and there still are great peo-ple there,” Rosebrugh said. “It was hardseeing people experience hardship, and youfelt for them, but it was a great feeling

Greg Buckner

Miriam “Grandma Red” Rosebrugh poses with a plate of cookies, as bak-ing is one of the many things, including her volunteer work, which shehas become known for in Ogemaw County.

See red, page 12

By Kevin Bunch

When Sandy Proulx went to the ArenacCounty Historical Society years ago on aweekend with her husband, she simplyexpected to have a fun day out, looking atpictures of her family and ancestors wholived in the area.

However, after having a lengthy chatwith Annabelle Goodman, one of thefounders of the historical society, bothProulx and her husband found themselveshooked on history.

“Being a history buff, Annabelle calledme and asked if I wanted to serve on thesociety’s board, so I said sure,” Proulxsaid. “And that’s how I got involved.”

The lifelong Arenac County resident saidthe county has a rich history frequentlyoverlooked by residents, featuring a varietyof people who came to the area to openbusinesses or start farming. In every case,Proulx said those people were simply try-ing to make a better life for their families,and she finds it fascinating to see how thathistory relates to people living here today.

At one time, she said, Arenac Countywas well known for its logging industry,and the advent of the railroad made a hugeimpact in the area during the 1800s and inthe expansion of farming that continues to


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Keeping history aliveIntroducing the members of the Arenac County Historical Society

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JoAnn Gulau looks through archives at the Arenac County Independent.See HiSTory, page 13


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Rifle River Folk Strings share love of music

By Sherry Barnum

Art Burmeister of Sterling has never con-sidered himself a musician.

“It took a long time for me to learn howto play music,” Burmeister said. “It wassomething I had to work at. It didn’t comenaturally.”

Burmeister, 72, said he took a few pianolessons as a child, but really started playingat 50. And in the fall of 1994, he started theRifle River Folk Strings.

“I had built a couple mountain dulcimersand wanted to share the music and playwith others,” Burmeister said. “That’s whyI started the band. I started it to share themusic, play with others who enjoy musicand teach others about playing.”

Burmeister said the Folk Strings playeverything from folk to Civil War era toIrish Celtic and new tunes.

“We meet once a week to practice at theNortheast Arts Center in Standish,” he said.“But we perform various concerts, such as

Depot Days, Pinconning City Park, TawasPointe Celebration Days and senior livinghomes.”

Burmeister said there are approximately12 members in the Rifle River Folk Strings.

“We have been around for 18 years, andthe Folk Strings consists of a mountain dul-cimer, hammer dulcimer, guitar, fiddle,banjo, mandolin, bass and penny whistle,”he said. “What people play varies all thetime. Some may only play the guitar whileothers may play the dulcimer.”

Burmeister said some musicians whojoined the Folk Strings started out underguidance, but others were accomplishedmusicians with a lot of talent, who played avariety of instruments.

“Most of our band is from around thearea, but we have some as far north asPrescott and as far south as Pinconning,” headded.

Roland Harkey, 77, of Prescott has beenplaying with the Rifle River Folk Stringssince the group began.

Harkey has been playing music for morethan 60 years, and used to play for dancesat Logan, Selkirk and Whittemore townshiphalls. He said he saw an ad in the paper tojoin the Rifle River Folk Strings and tookup the offer.

“Our leader, Art, invited anyone andeveryone who wanted to play country andfolk music to join the band,” Harkey said.“There were 22 of us when we started, butthe number has dwindled down over theyears.”

Burmeister said Harkey brings a lot oftalent to the group.

“He is very dedicated to the group andold-time music,” Burmeister said.

Harkey said Burmeister, himself andMarcia Drouse are the only three originalremaining members of the Rifle River FolkStrings. He said he joined the Rifle River

See STringS, page 10

File photo

Roland Harkey plays his guitar dur-ing a concert at the Standish Depot.

Sherry Barnum

Art Burmeister, leader of the Rifle River Folk Strings poses with his dulcimer.


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Pinconning Journal owners dedicate years to delivering news to CheeseTown

By Tim Barnum

A lot has changed in Pinconning over thelast 35 years, but there has been one con-stant — people have been getting theirnews from Tom and Marcia Johnson, theowners of the Pinconning Journal.

Tom worked for the Midland DailyNews for 14 years before he and his wifepurchased the Pinconning newspaper in1977.

“I just figured, you know, it was time todo something different,” Tom, 79, said.“We bought it, and Marcia and I both workhere all the time, and four of our kidsworked here on and off during that time.”

Moving from Midland to Pinconningwas a significant change for the couple,said Marcia, 75.

“It’s so much smaller,” she said. “It wasquite a change, but the main change wasbuying the Journal and learning how towork here and to work in journalism.”

Marcia, a teacher at the time of the pur-chase, had no experience in newspaperreporting when they bought the paper.Over the years, however, she has come toenjoy writing the news, which is herresponsibility at the paper.

“I like talking to people and seeingwhat’s going on,” she said. “People havebeen very friendly with us, and helpful,and just really nice.”

Tom was an ad man in Midland, and

picked up where he left off, selling adver-tisements in Pinconning. He takes picturesat community events, meetings and sports— an area he also covered while workingat the Daily News.

“We used to always get the passes to goto the Michigan, Michigan State and Lionsgames that were home games,” he said. “Igot the field passes and I would take pic-tures at the home games.”

Even though he still does sports photog-raphy, delivering the news to thePinconning area has seen its fair share ofchanges, Tom said.

“It’s changed quite a bit,” he said.“Although, it was eight pages before wecame here, and it’s eight pages now. Sincethe digital cameras and all that stuff cameout, we’ve been able to do more with pic-tures.”

Before digital cameras were available,Tom had to develop photos the old-fash-ioned way.

“We took them on film, and then atnight, –– rather than doing it at daytime, Idid it at night, –– I processed the film,” hesaid. “And some nights I’d have four rolls,or five or six rolls, depending on whatwent on during the week. Then I had to gothrough and select from the negative thepictures I wanted to use for the print.”

From there, Tom would drive them toStandish to have the photos and newspaperprinted at the Arenac County Independent

printing press.“I took them up, usually the day before

so we could put them in the paper Tuesdaynight or really early Wednesday morning,”he said.

While Tom’s duties included photos andads, Marcia handled much of the writing.

She still writes today, and gets a little helpwith stories from others.

“We cover the meetings and sportsevents. That’s pretty much what I do,” shesaid. “One of our employees is doing

Tim Barnum

Tom and Marcia Johnson stand outside at the Pinconning Journal.

See JoUrnaL, page 14

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If you were to walk into Walker’s Bar andRestaurant in Mio, expect to find ownersPaul and Beverly Pasternak working in thekitchen.

“You might find us cooking in the back,or taking orders at the bar,” Paul Pasternaksaid.

Pasternak, 81, of Mio will have been inbusiness for 50 years in March.

“We have been at Walker’s for 36 years,”he said. “But we ran a restaurant and bar inSaginaw for 13 and a half years before mov-ing up here.”

Pasternak said it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to become a businessmanand run a restaurant.

“I was a city fireman before owning arestaurant,” he said. “I had never beeninvolved in the restaurant business as far asworking or helping out, but I don’t regret mydecision at all of running a business.”

Pasternak said he bought the bar fromGeorge and Ida Walker in 1977.

“We looked at several different placesbefore settling on this one, but there wassomething about this place that tickled my

fancy,” Pasternak said. He said taking over the attached bowling

alley was an experience in itself.“I didn’t have any experience in running a

bowling alley or how it worked. The onlyexperience I had was being in a league inSaginaw,” he said. “It was a learning experi-ence, but I had some help from somemechanics from Thunder Bowl in Alpena.”

Pasternak said the bowling crowd hasdeclined throughout the years.

“We used to have bowling seven days aweek when we first opened,” Pasternak said.“Now we have four leagues four days aweek.”

Pasternak said they have a two women’sleagues, one men’s league and one mixedleague.

“There has been a lot of changes through-out the years,” he said. “One of the majorchanges I have seen in my own bar is thesmoking ban.”

“I have lost several regular customersbecause of the ban,” he added. “Of coursethe economy and gas prices affected every-one.”

Sherry Barnum

Paul Pasternak, 81, of Mio stands in front of the bar at Walker’s Restaurantand Bar. He will celebrate 50 years of being in business in March.

See PaSTernaK, page 14

Folk Strings because he wanted a place toplay music.

“I didn’t play for dances anymore like Iused to, so joining the Rifle River FolkStrings gave me a chance to play,” he said.

“I also play in a group in Pinconningcalled ‘Cowboys at Heart,’” Harkey said.“There is a lot more singing and more of afocus on country music.”

Harkey said Cowboys at Heart plays atthe Pinconning fire hall every Thursday.

“There are five members of the RifleRiver Folk Strings that play there too,”Harkey said.

One of those five is Burmeister, andbesides playing with the Rifle River Folk

Strings and Cowboys at Heart, Burmeisterbuilds dulcimers.

“I taught a dulcimer-building class inOhio at Shady Grove Dulcimer Camp aswell as a 4-H class,” Burmeister said. “ButI don’t build large quantities.”

Burmeister said he has taught 10-year-olds all the way up to 92-year-olds how tobuild their own instruments. He said thedulcimers the kids at camp build take fourdays.

“That’s four days of nonstop work andsix people working on them all day, everyday,” he said. “That way, at the end ofcamp, kids take them with them and playthem in the concert at the end of camp.”

“Everyone there is interested in the samething,” Burmeister said. “In the eveningswe had jam sessions to get together and justplay music.”

“When I started building my dulcimer,my wife said I would never play it, but Idid,” Burmeister said. “It wasn’t easy learn-ing since I don’t have a natural talent toplay, and I still have to put the effort in toplay.”

Burmeister said anyone can learn to play,

but some have it easier than others.“My son has more of a natural talent,”

Burmeister said. “He can take a melodyand play.”

“I never thought the Rifle River FolkStrings would have had this kind of suc-cess,” Burmeister said. “Just seeing how ithas brought out talent people might nothave known they had, and to see themdevelop as a musician, including myself,has been a joy.”


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Art Burmeister, right, prepares to play with the Rifle River Folk Strings.


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telemarketer who offers to send a courier totheir home to pick up payment.

• Sweepstakes cannot legally require pay-ment to win a prize. It is not legal for contestsor sweepstakes to require “winners” pay a feebefore they can enter a contest or claim aprize. Seniors should be made aware that thisis the law and that any contest or sweepstakesdemanding payment is bogus.

• Be especially wary of companies offer-ing to recover money paid to fraudulent tele-marketers in the past. Companies offering torecover past money lost to fraud are oftenfraudulent themselves. These companies willoffer their fraudulent services for a fee.

• Money lost to a fraudulent telemarketer is

likely lost forever. Men and women con-cerned about elderly friends or relatives beingvictimized by telemarketing fraud shouldexplain to their loved ones that money lost ina telemarketing scam is not likely to berecovered. This should help highlight theimportance of receiving official documenta-tion from any telemarketers before buying aproduct or making a donation. If seniors areaware their money isn’t likely to be recoveredshould it be given to a criminal, they are muchless likely to make hasty decisions over thephone.

To learn more about fraud, visit theNational Consumer League’s Fraud Center atwww.fraud.org.

FraudContinued from page 2

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In 1967, which was a few years after thelaser was invented, the first studies onlow-level laser therapy were done.

Low-level laser therapy is also known ascold laser therapy. After a person has aninjury the body responds with what iscalled an inflammatory response. This usu-ally presents as pain, swelling, and inflam-mation. The cold laser is effective inreducing symptoms and inflammation bystabilizing the cell membrane. It alsoworks on other parts of the cell for quickerrepair on the cellular level.

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three of us — me, Chuck and God — driveto Mio every summer.”

Butler earned a master’s degree in crimi-nal justice from Michigan State University,and an associate degree in criminology atFlorida State University. She currentlyserves in patient relations at DominicanHospital in Santa Cruz, having steppeddown as manager of public safety and secu-rity.

“I tried to retire, but sisters don’t retire,they rewire,” she said. “We go from one jobto another. You keep working, but your jobchanges. So every time you rewire, your jobgets less difficult.”

Butler said she stays active at St. Mary’sCatholic Church when she is taking her sum-mer vacation in Mio and does not think shewill ever stop staying busy as long as she isphysically able.

“As long as I can walk and talk, I don’tplan on watching the grass grow,” she said.“There is just so much the Lord wants me todo and so many people I can try and help. Ido not see myself slowing down one bit any-time soon.”

Butler said she is definitely not lonelywhen she is in Mio, as people from all over,as well as family members still in the area,come to visit.

“A lot of my family is there in Mio,” shesaid. “I have a lot of nieces and nephewsstill there. I also get visits from my sisterfriends down in Adrian. Even some of my

Miami cop friends come up to visit. Sobetween friends and family, I’m never lone-ly.”

Butler said her outhouse is definitely aunique feature for a lot of her guests, but shedoesn’t mind it at all. In fact, it is a comfort-ing feature of her home.

“At one point I was going to retire andmove back to Michigan,” she said. “Thepeople out here at the hospital asked if theybuilt me an outhouse at home, would I stay.They built me one here to make sure I cameback.”

While in Mio, in addition to visitingfriends, Butler said she ventures out to enjoythe area. But she enjoys her time relaxing,also.

“I remember so many times coming upthere when I was a kid,” she said. “I try andstay involved in the community when I amthere. I work with the church, and I go outon the river. What else do you do when youget to Mio?”

Butler said she has no regrets about thepath her life has taken and would do every-thing the same if given the choice.

“I think, when people ask me if I woulddo this again, I would live other lifetimes asa Dominican nun. The things I have done forwork have allowed me to do things that ben-efit my life. I have also met people throughmy work who have greatly enriched my life,and I would not want to have missed out onthat.”

ResidentContinued from page 4

when you knew that you could makesomeone’s day better just by talking withthem and transporting them around. Thatwas a great experience.”

At the same time she started volunteer-ing with the auxiliary, Rosebrugh had hersights on volunteering at the OgemawCounty Fair, and she secured a job as thecoordinator of the Antique Village.

“I retired from the hospital and I askedif I could get a job down there, so they letme coordinate the Antique Village, where Ihelped coordinate the hosts and vendorsfor two of the barns in the village,”Rosebrugh said.

She quickly became a fixture at the fair.Rosebrugh said the fair soon became partof her identity, and she felt she was part ofsomething bigger.

“I always feel like the fair isn’t mine,it’s ours,” Rosebrugh said. “You get to seeall the people you worked with, and youknew at least once a year, you’d get to seeeveryone.”

Recently, Rosebrugh said she’s cut backon her work at the fair, but she still helpshost at the Antique Village.

“I turned over my scheduling job last

year, but I still do my fair share of host-ing,” Rosebrugh said. “I still go downthere every day of the fair. One of myfavorite days of the fair is when they honorthe veterans. But, I also like going downthere just because I like talking with peo-ple and making new friends.”

While her life has been dedicated tohard work and her community, Rosebrughsaid when she’s not baking or cooking, herfamily is always her most important priori-ty.

“I’ve been blessed with a great familyand good health,” Rosebrugh said. “A lotof my life, especially the last 10 years, hasalways revolved around my family.”

From “Grandkid Tuesdays,” where shesaid she would have all her grandchildrenstay the night each Tuesday, to the family’stradition of making maple syrup, to plentyof family events throughout the year,Rosebrugh said her time with her family isthe greatest gift she could ever have.

“Both Ike and I, that was our blessing,”Rosebrugh said of her family. “I’ve had agood life and I’ve been fortunate to havemet so many great people in this commu-nity. I’m just so thankful for what I have.”

RedContinued from page 5

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HistoryContinued from page 6

this day.“People are interesting,” Proulx said.

“People have stories to tell.”While Proulx works primarily with the

historical society’s programs in the sum-mer, she said one of the major aspects ofthe group is research.

JoAnn Gulau has been a member of thehistorical society for 10 years and is one ofthe main researchers of the organization.She originally joined after looking for anold photo of Charity Island during aremodel of the museum in Au Gres, andasked Annabelle Goodman if she neededhelp to get everything put away and organ-ized.

Gulau said much of her research getsdone through records at the county court-house and by going through the old news-paper archives at the Arenac CountyIndependent.

“If I need an obituary, I can look throughthe death records at the courthouse and seewhen someone died,” she said. “Then I cango through the papers and hopefully findit.”

“They have birth records, death, andmarriage records,” she added, and saidbirth records can only be looked at if theyare more than 100 years old.

Gulau said another researcher, BrendaMatt, will visit the country’s probate courtto look up information on the next of kinwho would have inherited property. Proulxsaid they have also gotten informationfrom organizations in other counties, suchas Iosco and Ogemaw, for people who mayhave moved to those areas.

“Ancestry.com has some information,and the state has some information online,”Proulx said. “It depends on what peopleare looking for. We may have to contactsomebody else to say ‘Where would I findthis?’ A lot of information also comesthrough the Mormon Church. TheReorganized Church of Latter-Day Saintshas preserved a lot of genealogical infor-mation.”

Genealogical information is helpful for acurrent project Gulau said the society isworking on — identifying the graves ofCivil War-era veterans so they can getproper markers from the government. Toget the markers for free, a living descen-dent must be able to sign off on therequest; and to do that, the society needs totrack one down.

“I’ve been helping a person in Bay Cityinvolved in (identifying Civil War veter-ans), and we’re trying to get tombstones

for all the veterans,” she said. “So I’vebeen working a lot with the ’20s and ’30s,as that’s when I find the obituaries forthem, and that helps us find out when theydied and where they are buried.”

Gulau said the society is also workingon a book about the old Arenac CountyNormal School, so she has been trying toget pictures, articles, and information frompeople who went there or had family whowent there.

She said putting out books about thecounty, which are then sold at the ArenacCounty Museum in Au Gres and Au GresCity Hall, is one of the main sources ofincome for the historical society,

Proulx said they also will take donationsof historical documents and artifacts, pro-vided they have the space –– somethingthat has been in shorter and shorter supplyas time has gone on.

“I’d like to see us having a bigger build-ing to house artifacts,” she said “We ownthe courthouse on US-23, and it’s visible,but the museum is not out on the mainstreet, so that’s one thing we would like tosee. Right now the museum is housed inthe old Methodist church in Au Gres, somaybe we could get a storage building tohold things. We can’t accept large artifacts

because we don’t have room for them.”She said the historical society is always

pursuing grants for preserving artifacts,such as old clothes, that will fall apart ifdisplayed for too long. She noted thatexpansion and preservation money is hard-er to come by, since the society is smalland the economy is not in great shape.

Gulau said she would like to see morepeople volunteering to work with the soci-ety, helping them keep the museum staffedthroughout the week and generally gettinginvolved in their activities.

“Last summer we were just open twoweekends a month, and it looks like it willbe the same thing this year if we don’t findmore people,” Gulau said.

Proulx added she would like to see morearticles and stories from people come intothe museum — whether they be writtenalready or dictated — to preserve thoseexperiences and that slice of the history ofthe county.

Proulx said anyone interested in gettinga tour of the museum is welcome to call989-876-6399 if the building is not open.Gulau added that anyone interested inhelping with the book on the ArenacNormal School can call her at 989-876-6468.

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human interest stories, mainly. And a lot ofthe stories are brought in.”

After 35 years of reporting, Marcia saida few stories stick out in her memory.

“Quite a few years ago there was a recallof several members of the school board,which attracted a lot of attention,” she

said. “When it was over, I think there wasonly three members left, sitting on theboard. That’s been quite a few years ago.”

Successful sports teams are also memo-rable, she added.

“When the football team went to thequarterfinals, that was a really exciting

time and enjoyable,” she said. “And thevolleyball and the softball have both wonstate titles, and that’s always very excit-ing.”

Covering school board, city and town-ship meetings, and sports has not been adifficult burden, Tom said, since he andMarcia would be at them even if theyweren’t running a newspaper.

“Probably if we didn’t have the paper,we would probably be doing the samething anyway,” he said.

Over the years, Tom and Marcia havewatched Pinconning change.

“It’s changed quite a bit,” Tom said.“The biggest change probably that’s visi-ble is the new library, and the renovationof the school and the new gym and thenew industrial arts complex. Those are thebiggest things. Then Schafer’s, they builttheir new building. Some of the buildingswere torn down, and have been replacedand stuff like that.”

One thing that has remained constant,though, is the Johnsons’ love ofPinconning.

“We like it here,” Tom said. “If we eversell it or get out, we’re going to stayhere.”

“They have just been wonderful to us ––very, very friendly,” Marcia added. “Wekeep having people come up to us and allworried that we’re going to leave, thatwe’re going to retire. And they wouldn’tdo that if they didn’t like us.

“We couldn’t have asked for better treat-ment from the people here.”

JournalContinued from page 8

But Walker’s Bar and Restaurant hasremained a constant fixture in Miothroughout all the changes in the industry.

Pasternak said it was hard to choose justone of his favorite moments of being inbusiness, but if he had to choose, it wouldhave to be the mortgage burning party.

“We had dancing, food, drinks, thewhole works,” he said. “We also invitedcustomers, because without them, payingoff the mortgage wouldn’t have been pos-sible.”

“We sure have loved every minute ofworking here,” Pasternak added. “Weenjoy being around the customers and theconversation we have with them. Sure,there has been some heartache along theway, but that’s true in any business.”

Pasternak said they have put Walker’son the market and would like to sell theplace.

“We have had a lot of good times here,but I don’t know how I would handleretirement,” he said. “I’m sure I wouldvolunteer my time to come here and workfor the next owner.”

“I just want to thank the people ofOscoda County for their patronage.Without them, none of this would havebeen possible,” he added.

PasternakContinued from page 9

Sherry Barnum

Tom Johnson gets ready to take pictures at a basketball game.

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senior times winter 2013

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