Joan Minkler Celusnick
Parents: Melvin & Katherine Minkler
UPDATES:
December 31, 2005: Another year has come to a close. I had a wonderful 12 days with my daughter and her family in Wasilla. My granddaughter is shown above with her favorite Christmas toy, an excavator. Guess she comes by the inclination naturally - her fraternal grampa is an equipment operator and I have worked in the construction industry most of my life. No dolls, except Mickey and Minnie, were appreciated this year....but then she's only 2. Wasilla was very warm by Alaskan standards while I was there. It did snow one day, but most of the previous snow had melted away with freezing rain. By the time I left, most of the snow had disappeared again. This is an extremely warm year for that part of the State. Jeff's parents were up from San Bernardino, CA and we all had a good visit. The kids had just moved into their new house so we all enjoyed "breaking it in" for them.
November 6, 2005: As you can see from the picture above, the kids reported they finally got their first snow today. Not much, just a good dusting. They are lucky to keep bare ground a little longer than here in Fairbanks. We have about 8" on the ground and temps of 20 below zero already. I'm finding I can't take the cold like I used to...may have to rethink the geographic location.
My Life:
Residence: Fairbanks, Alaska
Status: Divorced. One daughter, Karen Lea Mitchell (husband Jeff); one granddaughter, Emma Grace Mitchell. The Mitchell website: The Frozen Nutz Home on the Web
Casey and I divorced in 1968 and after another try from 1972 to 1977, we gave up and parted amicably. Since then we have only been in contact a couple of times. He lives on a little island just East of Puerto Rico called Vieques. Karen has visited several times and says it is beautiful down there. He did come to Fairbanks for her wedding to Jeff and we had a good visit. He hasn't seen his granddaughter yet and I hope he makes the effort before he is too old to do so. I lived in Oregon, California and Arizona for brief periods and then moved back to Fairbanks permanently in 1981.
I have lived in the same house for 20 years now and have enjoyed the country life while being just 6 miles from the city of Fairbanks. I have raised horses on this property and loved riding the many miles of trails behind my house. All kinds of wildlife travel through the area and are frequent visitors to my yard. My daughter won many ribbons showing her 2 horses at the local shows and the State Fair. We both miss the horses very much.
Seven years ago I had a total knee replacement; the final result of moving too many bales of hay around. After that I decided horses were no longer feasible to keep.
I worked most of my adult life in construction offices. The last 20 were for a large electrical contractor here in Fairbanks. I miss the work but love retirement. I still work sometimes doing consulting and computer program management for accounting software....keeps me in the loop.
Since my daughter and her family moved to Wasilla, Alaska in May 2005, I have made several trips down the Parks Highway to see them. It is a five hour drive under good conditions through some of the most beautiful country in the world...and Mt. McKinley. I fly down in the winter to avoid driving under adverse conditions. The mountains between us can be very troublesome with winds and heavy snow. Guess I am getting too old to handle the adventure.
I have made many trips to Reno and Las Vegas for my favorite pastime....slot machines. I have done very well pulling those one-armed bandits. My largest win so far is $50,000 in Reno. That was very exciting. I love being pampered with suites and limos. We don't talk about how much I have given back just to keep playing. Retirement has limited my ability to go often but I will still find a way. My sister Dona has been able to meet me there on several occasions. She also visited me here in Fairbanks for my 60th birthday this past July. We had a good visit and drove to Wasilla to share my cake with the kids.