GaryOsberg.com

Usually it is hot in August. But not this year. I should have worn a sweater this morning. On really hot days, we used to have to bicycle west of Upsala 3 miles to get to Cedar Lake. To this day, the American Legion owns a beautiful park on the east side of the lake. You can purchase a day pass or a season pass to gain access to one of the nicest swimming beaches in the state. There are also camping sites for rent, but I am sure there is a long waiting list.

There used to be an old store without any signage located west of the park. At one time it was called Cedar Lake Pavilion. The store was owned and run by Emie Hippe. Emie was a real character and for many years she served us with ice cream, candy and pop. The PayDay candy bar was a favorite of mine. Strangely, you could not buy a Coke there and I always wondered why. One day my brother Craig and I went in to have a drink and I finally had the nerve to ask her, “Emie, why don’t you serve Coca Cola?” She slammed her hand on the bar and said “The dirty rascals, my husband Ben used to travel quite a ways with the empty bottles and bring back the full ones. Then during the war, they asked us to simply hold on to the empties and they would pick them up later.” So what happened Emie? “The dirty rascals, they changed their mind and would not pick them up.” “What did you do with them Emie, they would be worth a lot of money?” “You will never find them!” she proclaimed, “We buried them under two ton of rock!” For over 50 years no Coke products were sold from this store, all because someone broke a promise. I am sure that the route driver tried a few times when he would see the Pepsi truck out front, but she never let Coca Cola back on the shelf.

This week APHC show is a rebroadcast of the February show from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Amos Lee sings “Wait Up for Me” and “Tricksters, Hucksters, and Scamps,” Jenny Lewis performs “The Voyager” and “Just One of the Guys,” and Nate Bargatze talks time travel. Plus: Chris Thile debuts “Falsetto, Noam Pikelny joins Chris on banjo for a few songs, Bertrand Falstaff Heine samples the songs of the trucking industry, and there will be a visit from the actors of the Autocorrect Playhouse. Enjoy the show on your radio or your smart phone.

“In the best institutions, promises are kept no matter what the cost in agony and overtime.” David Ogilvy