This is a special post that I am sending out to my dear nephew Steven who appreciates all things "Joe City" & who himself is a great example of what this little town can produce. There have been many a scout brought up in Joe City but none as faithful & hard working as this one!
If you pay any attention to Gale Hansen you have seen this sight many a time. The one thing missing would be his less than excited farm hands.
Oh, here they are! Well by proxy anyway. I recruited the younger generation to fill in for me. I even got them up very early in the morning so I could capture that "I can't believe we are awake & have to go work" look. They do look quite similiar to the originals don't you think? I'm sure the memories aren't as fond for them as they are for me, but I will always remember seeing them early in the morning, while Julie & I were walking, sitting on the tail gate donning they're irrigation boots & long faces as they drove past us on their way to the farm.
Here's the ScoutMaster himself. Here stands the essence of Joe City. A hardworking farmer & his trusty steed, but in Gale's case, "Scout". It is plain to see that this machine has seen better days. On hot days, if you drive fast enough, you can generate the air conditioning through the holes in the floor board, but if you make a sharp turn you may get more air conditioning than you want when the door flies open. Riding in this vehicle is a real "raw" experience. You'd better have some gloves on & be ready to work, otherwise get out! I think that could be our town motto! 
"On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to Gale and his farm and to obey the Joe City Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong and haul as many bales of hay as I possibly can without blowing my transmission, mentally awake and morally straight, as long as the farmer driving me hasn't been awake all night irrigating"
This scout definitely lives up to it's oath. I might have to start saluting when it goes by!
The 4th of July has come & gone & I am finally sitting down to write about it! I love the 4th & I wouldn't want to celebrate it anywhere but here. I had fun playing with my new camera & I took way too many pictures to post on here but here are some of my favorites, hope you enjoy. 
After the parade there was an opening ceremony where Jim & his scout troop raised the colors.
At last count Seth had about 12 otter pops!
Run Chicken Run!!!!
Apparently Julie is not aware of the child labor laws. These poor boys twisted balloons for hours & were made to peddle thier wares around the park until they came back with money in hand.
After all the festivities at the park, Grandpa killed the fatted calf so that Grandma could host a barbeque. Uncle Gale slaved away at the grill making sure his marinated steaks were exactly right & I had the chicken.
Mr. & Mrs. Solomon were there.
Here's Kristi & Cory. Kristi enjoyed showing off the "Love Pole" that Julie made for her.
Jody & Bobby were there to.
After the 
