Kettle River news

The next Ma & Pa Kettle meeting is 1 p.m. Sunday, April 2. We need people to come to the meetings if the Ma & Pa Kettle Days is going to continue happening.

The next city council meeting is 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13, a change in the day from the usual council meetings.

The first Finnish Luncheon is at noon Wednesday, April 19 at the Kettle River Senior Center. We want to welcome all the snowbirds back. Join us for a good meal and a chance to visit with friends.

With Easter approaching, here are the local services. Everyone is invited.

Maundy Thursday Service, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6 at Holy Trinity Lutheran at Kettle River. Communion Service with the reading of the Mandatum and the Stripping of the Altar.

Good Friday Tenebrae Service, 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 7 at Holy Trinity Lutheran. Candlelight Service with Meditation of Solemn Reproaches and the Story of the Passion in Word and Song.

Easter Service, 9 a.m. Sunday, April 9 at Holy Trinity Lutheran. Celebrate the Resurrection.

During my third year of nursing school, three of my friends and I rented an apartment about a mile from the hospital. We lived on the second floor and a doctor’s office was on the first floor. A mother with five children, ages roughly 3 to 8, lived across the hall from us.

The children really liked to visit with us. Eventually, the time came when we would start working afternoon and night shifts. When that happened, we would put a “baby’s sleeping” sign on our door so the children would know that we were sleeping and that we couldn’t play with them.

One of my roommates came back from visiting her parents and brought a baby duck back with her. The children really loved that duck.

One day, while a roommate was washing clothes with a wringer washing machine in the kitchen, she slipped on some spilled water and landed on the duck. The children were really upset, so we had to have a funeral for the duck. They found a box to put it in and then we had to find a place for the burial.

That was a little hard to find in our Chicago neighborhood, but we did find some dirt near the outside stairway to our apartment. With a little work, we were able to dig a hole big enough for the box and then held the service for the duck.

This did seem to help the children accept the death of the duck.