The Walkie Talkies
(WWW*)
The Walkie Talkies are a group of women who have been walking together for over 20 years. The group ranges in age from 59 to 86.
We walk and share stories and opinions that stretch for generations. We consider it “inner jogging” because of the belly laughs we enjoy--we feel it leads to good health for all of us. We are/have been teachers, nurses, a stockbroker, a school principal, an author, a flight attendant, a pastor, a pastor’s wife, secretaries, a farmer, a rural mail carrier, home executives and business owners, mostly retired. We have cried with and supported each other through widowhood, divorce, death of a member and Alzheimer’s.
Check out our 'Blog at
http://wonderfulwalkingwomen.blogspot.com
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Summer, 2008: The WT's were honored at the Relay For Life and led the first lap on the trails. Although we hadn't walked for several years, we had been the first team to become a bronze team and the first team to become a silver team, based on the amount of money that we had raised those years. We congratulate ourselves and appreciate that the committee chose to honor us.
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Christmas, 2006: We all gathered for a pre-holiday lunch at a nearby resort. The main purpose was to take our 2006 Christmas photo. We send holiday cards to those who have visited us at our table for coffee throughout the year and we used this photo for a 2007 calendar that we sent to this "list." We had a good-sized group and had a fun time--as usual.
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Spring, 2008: We made another trip to the Twin Cities to see the play, "The Church Basement Ladies--A Second Helptin." Once again, we had a wonderful time, and "Whatever happens in the Cities, stays in the Cities!"
Sitting: Mary, Pat, Naomi, Elsie and Tee. Standing: Jodie, Joan, Janet, Sharon and Jo.
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Ten of the Walkie Talkies took a field trip to the Twin Cities to see the play, "The Church Basement Ladies" in the spring of 2006. Everyone had a wonderful time. Since Mary has designed apron patterns, we all wore aprons, which were quite a hit with the play's cast (who mentioned it as they ran up the aisle after the performance) and with many women in the audience (who commented that they would rather be in a group that wore aprons rather than a certain color hat!).
Front (L to R): Mary, Sharon and Jodie. Back: Laurie, Jo, Tee, Pat, Naomi, Helen and Elsie.
Check out the link above our photo for more information about the trip.
We don't need much of an excuse for a party. We toasted the Autumnal Equinox in 2006 at the crack of dawn at an area lake. We had done the same thing in 2003 and had decided to do the same thing every other year. Now we're back on schedule.
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The scene on the left greeted us as we arrived at our morning breakfast spot. On the right we toast with mimosas--hoping for a long autumn and a short, warm and healthy winter!
The WT's are always up for new adventures. One of the group read an article in the St. Paul paper about Minnesota's Lt. Governor, Carol Molnau, and shared it with the group--she is a politician, wife, mother, grandmother, farmer. We decided that she is just the kind of woman that we would want to meet, no matter our politics (which we try not to discuss anyway). We invited her to join us for coffee; however, her schedule was such that she couldn't meet us at our "Clubhouse" (the Abbie Pub). Instead, she invited us to Tower, Minnesota, for the Governor's Opener. In Minnesota, the Opening of the spring fishing season is a big holiday with a parade and a Community Picnic. The weather on May 13, 2005, was not conducive for a long walk, so part of the group walked with her around the block.
We went to the Presbyterian Church in Tower and enjoyed her company for 90 minutes. We brought coffee, tea and Finnish bread and Yugoslavian potica.
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This is the entire group that was able to make it to this outing: Helen J., Dorothy, Naomi, Joan, Jo, Carol Molnau (Lt. Gov), Mary, Jodie, Laurie, and Tee. After this photo we went to the Tower Community Center for a great meal!
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Our resident author, Mary, presented her with her "Church ladies'" apron from our group.
Since the Lt. Governor is also the Commissioner of Transportation, the apron had a transportation theme on one side. Mary included a photo of the Aurora sign, since she was unable to meet us in Aurora, and a photo of the Walkie Talkies. The opposite side had a farming theme (Mary's "corn" fabric). She seemed to like the apron and told us she would wear it the following week. Since she has to make a cranberry dessert for her local Lutheran church on Syttende Mai (Norwegian celebration on May 17th), she thought she would wear it then. She also said she would wear the one side for the corn feed. We gave her three fishing lures for the Opener and wished her continued good luck in catching more and bigger fish than the Governor.
Check out Mary's website at www.marymulari.com
We walk three miles five mornings a week. We used to walk the whole distance at once, but one year, when it was thirty below zero, we decided to warm up half way at Hank’s Bar and Grill. We continue to have coffee and conversation there for thirty minutes. (It is now the Abbie Pub). Some do not walk, instead choosing to work out before or after coffee at the local Curves for Women where many of us are members.
We pick up money we find on the street and use the money to go out to eat. In one 8-year period, we collected $545.42. The highest honor of finding money went to Dorothy who fished 61¢ out of a toilet!
Two of our members attend several Elderhostels each year. In 2004-05 they did one in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Parade. Part of it was decorating one of the floats. They were allowed to put a vial on the float (which would remain there for years to come) for flowers. They put one with the Walkie Talkie name on it--so now we are immortalized for the Rose Bowl Parade!
We support community and church causes. Our Walkie Talkies have walked in four
local Relays For Life and twice took first place for the amount of money raised.
We raised over $5,000 in the 2004 Relay.
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We have enjoyed a special Northern Lights Music Festival each summer. The Walkie Talkies have served as hostesses for the concerts. This is a wonderful annual affair here in town.
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http://www.northernlightsmusic.org
We are always ready to try new things. A new activity for some is Geocaching and we post our photos on the Web for our children and grandchildren. It keeps us all on our toes and active!
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Here we are at two of the sites where we hid caches ourselves. On the left is the Wirtanen Finnish Farmstead site and the one on the right is at the Longyear Drill Site.
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We hid one at Skibo Lookout (Left) and one at the Leonidas Overlook.
Needless to say, we have a great time hiding caches and have great adventures finding ones that others have hidden. It is a wonderful thing to let our children and grandchildren know that we have discovered something "techie" that they did not know about. Now some of them have gotten into caching also.
We have a few rules for the group: no gossip, minimal grandchildren photos, no recipes (we'd rather go out to eat). We pledge to enjoy life, support the community, and support each other!
*Wonderful Walking Women