Friday, December 18, 2020

Bag Balm, Christmas and a token offering ~ December 14, 1998


David Heiller

Several people commented on my column about Bag Balm: Mona Sjoblom, Sharon Zimmer, June Christensen, Edwin Muse, and Fern Heiller, among others.
Here is what they said. I won’t put the names with the comments. I like to protect my sources. But you can have fun guessing.
One person said she uses bag balm on her feet, but doesn’t have a problem with it staining the sheets, because she doesn’t glop it on as thickly as I do. (You don’t know what you’re missing.)
Another person said Bag Balm was good for two other uses: chapped lips and hemorrhoids. Fortunately I can’t verify the latter.
Another person called to thank me for writing about Bag Balm. She said she used it for her dry skin caused by diabetes. She buys it in 4-1/2- pound cans (that’s a lot of hemorrhoids), and likes to give it away to her kids.
Another person wrote in a letter which is printed on this page: “Then we used it for diaper rash. It was better and healed faster than any of the other things we bought and used.”
Another person wrote this in a letter: “I sure laughed at the Bag Balm article. Just the day before, I’d been talking to Goldie about chapped hands, and we mentioned that.”
So the next time you see someone with diabetes, dry skin, cracked feet, chapped hands, chapped lips, dry skin, diaper rash, and hemorrhoids, and if they answer to the name of “Lucky,” do them a favor and buy them a can of Bag Balm, the 4-1/2- pound size.
Α refreshing interview
My interview with the four elderly Askov people about Danish Christmas traditions in this week’s paper was the highlight of my week.
It’s always pleasant to learn more about the old ways of Askov, and to get to know better such fine people as Alvin and Marie Jensen and Louie and Margaret Clausen.
The story they told is far from complete. There are as many memories on Danish Christmases past and present as there are people with Danish blood. The traditions have been passed down to many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. If you are one of these, consider yourself lucky.
Hats off to Askov citizens who are reigniting those old Danish traditions with a community celebration at 2:30 this Sunday at the community center.
The only down side of the interview was having Alvin and Marie confirm that they are indeed going to move to the Twin Cities area as soon as they sell their house. Askov won’t be the same without their birdhouses and birdfeeders and flowers and cinnamon rolls, and most of all their friendship and kindness.
Maybe we can forma group like Crime Stoppers to prevent them from leaving. We could call it Jensen Stoppers. I bet we’d get a lot of volunteers.
Praise the Lord and play the slots
Three weeks ago in church during the offering, I took out four coins to give to each of our two kids to put in the collection plate. I handed them to a friend to pass to the kids.
My friend raised her eyebrows and smiled wryly at me. One of the coins was a casino token. It had gone from an Askov American customer to the broken teapot on top of the fridge, where we keep loose change, to my pocket and to church.
I was embarrassed, because I have never been to a casino in my life, and this was church, after all, so I took the token back and put it in the tea pot, where it is awaiting a happier fate.
The sermon that day had been about the evils of gambling, after which the minister announced that there would be bingo that evening in the parish hall.
Just kidding, Owen.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

From Dutch Jones’ East of Bruno column, December 21, 1995. Dutch was an Askov American favorite for many, many years. She called ‘em as she saw ‘em:
Talk about Dave Heiller’s bag balm. I tell you, if it weren’t for it, my mother’s back sides would of been raw. Not one blemish on her bottom. I couldn’t buy it around Moose Lake so I went to Superior. They sell it in the drug store called udder balm and it’s listed in drug companies as a medicine product. I use it under my nose. When you get a cold and runny nose, it keeps scabs off. Come on now, I bet you have used it.

No comments:

Post a Comment