MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)

Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 39 – In Book, Page 93

Walking for the Cure in Calgary, Canada, Freak Storm at Pioneer Park, Lake Delton, Wisconsin, Forty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary, Spring Brook Chapel, Jeff, Steph, Trav, Mitch, and Sammy Move to Cheyenne, Wyoming, At Wonewoc, Wisconsin, Andrea’s Visit from South Africa, Billy John Visits Us at Pioneer Park, Mark’s Birthday, Tim’s Call to Wonewoc, Wisconsin, Dick’s Brains (Kiss Irene), Dick’s 69th Birthday

MAY 31, 1998 – WALKING FOR THE CURE IN CALGARY, CANADA

Our Sammy was again involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation “Walk For The Cure”. The Walk raises money for research to find the cure for Diabetes. Many complications can come from the disease (blindness, amputations, kidney failure), and so the goal is to stop the disease as quickly as possible. (Dick, my husband, has Diabetes, Type 2. discovered after we moved up to Wisconsin from Texas). We received a very heart-wrenching printed letter and picture from Sammy, now 5 years old, asking especially for our prayers. Oh, how we wished we could have been with our loved ones in Calgary, too, on that day.

MAY 31, 1998 – FREAK STORM AT PIONEER PARK, LAKE DELTON, WISCONSIN

On that same day a “Freak Wind Storm Wreaks Havoc on Pioneer Park at 1:35 a.m.”), according to the Pioneer Pathways article. Trees were down, RV units, add-a-rooms, decks, sheds, cars, etc. were damaged. Live wires were on the ground, and power was out until 10:00 p.m. that night. Thankfully, no-one was hurt. We were very thankful that we were not there at the time. Many people had fled, coming back to find the devastation which the storm had wreaked on their RV homes. Our neighbor lady’s RV was damaged when a tree fell over it. Her RV is right across the street from us, and she was amazed that none of our many little knick-knacks and plants on the top of our deck railing didn’t fall off or were damaged during the storm. God is with us.

JUNE 7, 1998 – OUR 45TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Our anniversary was celebrated with our family at Sue and Tim’s home (in the garage) in Waupun, Wisconsin. All of our families who lived in Wisconsin were there, including my mother and Glen’s mother, Elaine Wilson. At first I didn’t know where the get-together was held, but then I noticed all of Dick’s baby food jars containing nuts and bolts in Tim’s garage on the album pictures. Tim had inherited them when we moved to Weslaco, Texas. There were beautiful, delicious, cakes; one in honor of our anniversary, and one in honor of Jenny and Mark’s graduations. Ask me how I know. Well, there are pictures of both in our 1998 album. Again, all of us had a very blessed and happy time together.

SPRING BROOK CHAPEL

This beautiful old church building was located south of Waupun (Burnett). Both Dick and our son, Tim, had preached there. It still had an outhouse. It was moved because there weren’t enough people in the congregation anymore. A man had purchased it, renovated it, located it on his farm, and was using it as a wedding chapel. At least it had not been demolished.

JULY – 1998 – STEPH, JEFF, TRAV, MITCH, AND SAMMY MOVE TO CHEYENNE, WY

Jeff, after much deliberation, accepted the Call to be the Pastor of Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church after earlier returning two other Calls.. One was to the Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona (Jeff did his vicar year of schooling there), and the other was to a huge congregation in Nebraska. As Steph writes in her book, “ALWAYS PERFECT’, “Cheyenne is about one and a half hour’s from Denver, Colorado, which is the home of the Barbara Davis Center. The Barbara Davis Center is one of the top Juvenile Diabetes Clinics in the United States”. Please read Steph’s book to read about what a terrible ordeal Sammy and everyone else in their family went through on the way to Cheyenne. Reading it brings tears to my eyes. God answers prayers.

JULY 12, 13, 1998– DICK PREACHES AT ST. PAUL’S, WONEWOC, WISCONSIN

Dick was asked to guest preach. Pastor David D. Rosenow was the pastor at that time. Before we went to Wonewoc, there had been a fire in their school. The members at the voter’s meeting voted to go ahead and remove all the asbestos floors in the school, including the library which had not been damaged in the fire. It was voted to reconstruct the school. As I mentioned what I am writing to Dick, he said that the fire was a blessing in disguise. It reminds me of a book I just read by Eugenia Price. The title is “Beauty From Ashes”. It is fiction, but based on historical facts about the Civil War, the terrible war between the North and the South. There is one statement made by a little six-year old boy to his mother which especially struck me – “maybe when there’s enough light, the shadows just sort of go away.” How true, when we as Christians, have the Light of God’s Word.

JULY 22, 1998 – ANDREA (DE WET) DAVEL’S VISIT FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Debbie’s best friend in Africa actually came all the way from South Africa to visit us. Andrea had practically lived at our home in Lusaka (Northern Rhodesia), Zambia, Africa – so much that she called Dick and me “Dad and Mom”. Debbie phoned us, so we went to Colgate to be with them. Andrea’s sister, Marcelle (De Wet) Simms, who lives in Round Rock, Texas, also came to visit. What a joyful event that was after not seeing Andrea and Marcelle for many years! The sad part was that Debbie was sick, but what a blessing it was to be with them again!

JULY 25th Dick’s cousin, Bill Laesch, came to visit us. We went on a launch tour of the beautiful Upper Dells on the Wisconsin River. We saw a man jump from one tall rock across a wide space onto another tall rock.

Life goes on. Our home was now Pioneer Park, Lake Delton, Wisconsin, and our dear families came to visit us. We swam with them in the pool, and they went water skiing, tubing, and fishing with our boat at Dutch Hollow Lake. Some of them, of course, went into Wisconsin Dells to Noah’s Ark and other water parks, to the Tommy Bartlett Show, the Robot Show, other shows, shopping, etc. There is so much to do. We celebrated Mark’s 18th birthday on AUGUST 9th on our RV deck with a delicious birthday cake. What happy times we had that summer!

AUGUST 30, 31, 1998 – DICK AGAIN GUEST PREACHES AT ST. PAUL’S, WONEWOC, WI

(Little did we know then that our son, Pastor Timothy Peter Mueller, would be called to St. Paul’s of Wonewoc, Wisconsin. He phoned us on February 10, 2009, to let us know. Today is February 15, 2009. Tim is Director/Pastor of the ROC (Recreational And Outreach Center) for the teens here in Watertown and area. He preached for the services at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church last Wednesday and today. He told the people about many of the blessed experiences he has with many unchurched teens who come to the ROC. He is a very dedicated pastor to the work of the Lord, just as his father is, and his grandfather, Pastor Richard William Mueller, Sr., was. Please keep him in your prayers as he contemplates his divine Call from God.)

DICK’S “BRAINS” ARE LOST

What do I mean? Well, my dear husband makes and carries lists of everything he needs – from measurements for certain things, directions, addresses, telephone numbers, serial and model numbers, etc. – all printed neatly on 4”x5” sheets clipped together. Our family calls them his “brains”. On the way back one evening after Dick had preached at North Freedom, Wisconsin, we decided to stop in at Dairy Queen in Lake Delton where our grandsons, Timmy, and Chris worked (for their tuition) for an ice cream sundae. We enjoyed being there with them and eating our sundae.

But where were Dick’s “brains” after that? We looked and looked in the car, but there was nothing. Where could they have gone? When we saw our grandsons again, they gave their grandfather his “brains”. They had seen some of their fellow workers at the Dairy Queen looking at something and laughing. They were laughing because on every sheet it said “kiss Irene”. After looking through the sheets, they said, “those are our grandfather’s brains”. The biggest clue was “kiss Irene”, their grandmother’s name! I had written on every page “kiss Irene”!!!!! When we had gotten out of the car the night we stopped at the Dairy Queen, they had fallen out of the car onto the parking lot!

SEPTEMBER 7, 1998.

Everybody in the family who could be there came for Dick’s birthday, too. He was 69 years old (hard to believe that this year, 2009, he will be 80 years old). Dave, Nicki’s husband, and Nicki did all the cooking for the great event, and everything was so delicious! Dick’s sister, Helen, and her husband, were there from Renton, Washington, too, to help us celebrate. Of course, everyone oohed and aahed over the beautiful new baby, Cassie. Julie and Becky entertained us with their great hoola-hooping. Also, there was a delicious birthday cake for all to eat. As we were all sitting around the campfire, Dick had a sermonette thanking God for all the blessings He has given us. What precious and blessed memories we have!