Caryn
My grandniece, Katy Herr is an amazing woman. She is an athlete, marathon runner, exercise enthusiast, but above all that, she is a wife and mother. Her husband, Dylan Herr and her son, Max Herr. They are Katy’s world. She loves then more than life itself, and she works very hard to bring happiness to their lives, to create the best home and life she can for them. Katy has a kind and loving heart, and it shows in everything she does for everyone she knows. Her smile lights up a room and makes everyone’s day better. It’s no wonder she is loved and respected by everyone who knows her.
I don’t recall when exactly Katy started her training for and running marathons, but I over the years, she has won several races both individual and as part of a team. I do a lot of walking, but running is just not something I could ever get into. I am in awe of anyone who can, and in awe of all the work and training it takes to get there. As her husband says, she “pushes herself at the gym to chase her goals and become the best version of herself.” You can tell that she works very hard, she looks great, and she is very healthy. I know that Max is glad she does too, because his mama can get out there and play with him as if she were a kid too. Not every mom can do that. He really is the recipient of her hard work.
Katy is also a great help to Dylan in all the charity work and business obligations he has. Dylan is one of the owners, along with his family of Red Wing Shoes, but he is also community minded, as is Katy. Their contributions to the community have been a welcome help to many people, and Katy has been a big part of that. Sometimes, I think she must be part “Superwoman” with all she does. On top of all that, add keeping her house up and baking…both things she also does very well. I just don’t know how she does it!! Katy has a heart of gold, and a sweet spirit to match!! Katy is a wonderful person, and a joy to know. Today is Katy’s birthday. Happy birthday Katy!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Coxey’s Army was a protest march in 1894, led by Jacob Coxey, made up of unemployed workers calling for government-funded public works and legal-tender currency. It arose during the Panic of 1893, a harsh economic depression that left over four million Americans jobless and created widespread struggles for both industrial laborers and farming families. Ohio businessman Jacob S Coxey organized the march to urge Congress to support a federally funded road-building program that would create jobs and boost the money supply through issuing legal-tender Treasury notes.
Coxey described the march as a “petition in boots,” a symbolic way to directly appeal to the government by taking to the streets. It kicked off on March 25, 1894, in Massillon, Ohio, with around 100 men. As they moved east, they passed through cities like Pittsburgh, Becks Run, and Homestead, Pennsylvania. Other groups, like Kelley’s Army from California and Fry’s Army from Los Angeles, tried similar marches but mostly fell apart before reaching Washington. By the time Coxey’s Army arrived in the capital on April 30, 1894, it had grown to about 500 people, with others from across the country joining along the route. They camped on a 260-acre site in Colmar Manor, Maryland, before attempting to present their demands to Congress.
When Coxey and his followers reached Washington DC, they tried to speak from the Capitol steps but were arrested for trespassing on the Capitol lawns. While the event drew plenty of attention, it didn’t lead to immediate policy changes. However, it did shine a light on the growing frustration among unemployed Americans and went on to inspire future protest movements.
Coxey’s Army was the first major protest march on Washington DC, introducing the concept of organized, mass demonstrations to push for changes in federal policy and inspiring the phrase “Enough food to feed 
Coxey’s Army.” Although the march didn’t meet its legislative aims, it represented the struggles of the unemployed in the 1890s, as well as showing the people’s readiness to take direct action for economic relief. It also highlighted the broader social tensions, like debates over currency, labor rights, and the government’s major role in ensuring economic security. The men must have felt better for having at least tried.
On May 15, 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act, setting out where and how British soldiers would be housed in the American colonies. The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to provide housing for British soldiers in barracks supplied by the colonies. If the barracks were too small, local communities had to lodge soldiers in inns, stables, alehouses, food establishments, and wine sellers’ homes. If there were still soldiers without a place to stay after all these public houses were full, the act stated that the colonies must take or rent vacant houses, outbuildings, barns, or other suitable structures to 
accommodate His Majesty’s forces. All of this was to be free of charge to the British troops and funded by the colonies alone.
The wording of the act makes it clear that the idea of Redcoats kicking colonists out of their bedrooms to move in themselves was neither the law’s intent nor its actual practice. Still, the New York colonial assembly didn’t appreciate being ordered to house British troops. They wanted to be asked and give their consent before having soldiers among them. So, they refused to comply, leading Parliament in 1767 to pass the New York Restraining Act, which barred the royal governor from approving any new legislation until the assembly followed the Quartering Act. This was exactly the kind of totalitarianism that caused the colonies to declare their independence, and it was never going to be tolerated…at least not for long.
In New York, the governor convinced Parliament that the assembly had met its obligations. In Massachusetts, where barracks already stood on an island far from the unrest stirred by the Townshend Revenue Acts, British officers followed the Quartering Act’s rule to house soldiers in public spaces, not private homes. With few options, they set up tents on Boston Common. Living side by side with angry Patriots, the soldiers soon clashed in street fights, leading to the Boston Massacre of 1770, in which five stone-throwing colonists were killed and any remaining trust between Bostonians and Redcoats was shattered. That divide never healed, and the British troops remained in Boston until George Washington and the Continental Army forced them out in 1776.
The San Bernardino train disaster, which was also known as the Duffy Street incident or the 1989 Cajon Pass Runaway, was actually two connected events in San Bernardino, California. First, on May 12, 1989, a runaway train derailed. Then, on May 25, the Calnev Pipeline…a petroleum line next to the tracks…failed after being damaged by earth-moving equipment during the crash cleanup.
On the morning of May 12, 1989, at 7:36am, a Southern Pacific freight train with six locomotives and 69 cars carrying Trona, a non-marine evaporite mineral primarily composed of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and water, widely used to produce soda ash and baking soda, lost control while coming down Cajon Pass. It derailed on an elevated curve and crashed into a neighborhood on Duffy Street, just northeast of where the 210 Foothill Freeway crosses the Lytle Creek wash.
The conductor, head-end brakeman, and two local residents lost their lives in the wreck. Seven houses along the street next to the tracks were destroyed, along with the lead locomotives and all the freight cars. The investigation would later reveal that the clerks in Mojave had miscalculated the train’s weight, and to make matters worse, the crew at the front didn’t know one of the rear helper engines had faulty dynamic brakes. This meant there wasn’t enough braking power to keep the train’s speed in check during the descent. When the helper engineer realized the speed was getting out of control, he made an emergency brake application, which shut off the dynamic brakes entirely, causing the train to run away. It hit about 110 miles per hour before derailing on an elevated curve with a posted limit of 35, near Duffy Street, sending the lead engines and several cars off the high track bed and into nearby houses, completely leveling them.
Data from the locomotives’ black boxes revealed that the third head-end unit’s dynamic brakes weren’t working at all, though the sound of the cooling fans fooled the crew into thinking they were. After the wreck, it was discovered that the helper locomotive engineer knew about the faulty brakes on one of his units but never told the head-end crew. A mix of weight miscalculation, poor communication, and bad brake equipment left the train far too heavy to control on the downhill grade. This was a disaster waiting to happen. Once dynamic 
braking was lost due to the helper engineer’s emergency brake application, the massive weight of the loaded cars caused a rapid acceleration that mechanical brakes alone couldn’t stop. The train flew off the 35 mile per hour curve by Duffy Street at 110 miles per hour, scattering locomotives, cars, and cargo. Leading were Southern Pacific SD40T-2 8278, SD45Rs 7551 and 7549, and SD45T-2 9340, followed by 69 trona-loaded hopper cars, with SD40T-2 8317 and SD45R 7443 pushing from the rear.
Killed in the wreck were Conductor Everett Crown (fatally crushed in the nose of unit SP 8278) and Brakeman Allan Riess (fatally crushed in the cab of unit SP 7549), along with two young boys, Jason Thompson (age 10 years), and Tyson White (age 7 years), who were crushed and asphyxiated when the train destroyed one of the houses on Duffy Street. Engineer Frank Holland remained in his seat at the control stand in unit SP 8278 at the head of the train and suffered several cracked ribs and a punctured lung. However, he was able to crawl out of his wrecked locomotive and was helped down by eyewitnesses on the scene. Engineer Lawrence Hill and Brakeman Robert Waterbury, who were in the helper locomotives, received minor injuries.
Six feet underground alongside the track lay a 14-inch high-pressure petroleum pipeline operated by Calnev Pipeline. During cleanup, it was marked with stakes to prevent accidental damage. Pipeline officials stayed on site as safety observers while the rail cars were cleared, but not during the trona material cleanup. Train service on the affected track resumed four days after the derailment. Thirteen days later, on May 25, 1989, at 8:05am, just after witnesses saw a train pass through the site, the pipeline burst at the curve where the derailment occurred, spraying gasoline into the neighborhood. The fuel ignited into a massive fire that burned for nearly seven hours, sending flames 300 feet into the air. By the time it was extinguished, the fire had claimed two lives, destroyed eleven more houses and 21 cars. Five of the destroyed homes stood directly across from those lost in the derailment, while another was the only house on Duffy Street’s track side spared in the crash. Four more homes suffered moderate smoke and fire damage, and three others had only smoke damage. Total property losses reached $14.3 million (more $38 million today), with the fire causing more damage than the derailment, though the derailment had more fatalities.
To this day, the neighborhood located at Duffy Street and Donald Street, has not been rebuilt, much to the 
distaste of the residents who lived there. I’m sure it is mostly because of the continuing danger of a derailment at that corner on the tracks, but I don’t suppose the people would understand that. Perhaps a memorial might be erected on the sight, along with a park or something. While people could hear the train coming, I suppose the danger would still exist.
For years, we all thought my niece, Andrea Beach would be a chef. The culinary arts were always of interest to her, and she had worked as a chef in several restaurants. Andrea liked her culinary jobs, but after a long time in that industry, she decided that it was time for a change. It’s not that she no longer enjoys cooking and baking, but now her family is the group that gets to enjoy her creations. So, she took a job at Wyoming Machinery as a lab technician in the oil lab. Somehow, I had never considered Andrea might find herself in an occupation involving science. Of course, I don’t know how she did in science in school, but Andrea has been working there for a little over a year now, and she is very happy with her decision to make a change of career. In her work, Andrea tests a variety of fluids from semitrucks to cars. She tests hydraulic, differential, and transmission fluids. These come from trucking companies, mine sites Construction companies and such, and they come from Rick Springs, Casper, Cheyenne, Rawlins and even Denver. It is very important work, and I’m very proud of her.
Andrea is a music lover, and while she and her son, Chris usually go with her mom, Caryl Reed to the Black Hills for a week’s vacation every year, she had to forego the trip last year, because she Seattle, Washington for a concert called Chemical Romance. The trip also gave them a chance to visit her dad, Warren Beach and his wife Diane. This year, even though she and Chris are going to Boston to see a Korean Band called BTS in August, they will still get to make the annual Black Hills trip. I’m sure that is because of the better pay with Wyoming Machinery, and more vacation time, now that she has been there over a year. I’m glad they get to go on their annual trip again this year.
Andrea has always loved experimenting with her hair, and she recently got it cut really short. She loves it and 
the freedom it affords her. While I have always had and likely will always have long hair, I can understand the extra work it is, so I understand why she likes it short. It looks very cute on her. Andrea has been a single mom for most of her son’s life, and she has raised him to be a successful and loving man. While her life was not always easy, she has made it successful with hard work and her faith in God. She loves her son dearly, and she wants nothing more than for him to be happy. She has simply kept forging ahead. Today is Andrea’s birthday. Happy birthday Andrea!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
On June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea, my uncle, Larry Byer, was thrown into what would become some of the hardest years of his life. Serving as an Army private during the Korean War, he saw firsthand the turmoil that followed Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule after World War II, which left the nation divided. The United Nations, led primarily by the United States, stepped in to support South Korea, while China, with backing from the Soviet Union, sided with the North. North Korea deeply resented the division imposed after the war, and the growing Cold War tensions only fueled their determination to reclaim what they believed was rightfully theirs. In reality, Korea wasn’t the only country to endure such a split, and had they been willing 
to accept it, the war might have been avoided…but they refused.
I can fully understand why action had to be taken with Korea since they didn’t have a government, but splitting the country up just doesn’t feel right. Still, that’s how it happened, and the region has been unstable ever since. North Korea has tried to take over the South and has made plenty of threats to the rest of the world. Their leaders, first Kim Jong-il and now his son, Kim Jong-un, have shown themselves to be ruthless and even a bit unhinged. It’s like the rest of the world is always debating 
whether to strike or to avoid provoking them. In the end, it all comes down to Kim Jong-un.
My Uncle Larry experienced this world firsthand as a private in the Army. The North Koreans fought their battles using any underhanded tactic they could devise, with the sole aim of winning the war. They were ruthless and willing to do whatever it took to win. Thankfully, they didn’t succeed, and before long, Uncle Larry returned home. I’m sure he was overjoyed to be back. Spending time in a chaotic conflict like the Korean War is never ideal and can easily leave a person traumatized. I’m simply grateful he made it home. Today would have been his 92nd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Larry. We love and miss you very much.
My sister, Cheryl Masterson, the eldest of our parents five daughters has always carried a lot of the responsibilities of helping our mom, Collene Spencer and dad, Allen Spencer in taking care of her younger sisters. So, when they passed away, it was just natural for Cheryl to assume the role of family matriarch. Cheryl is a very strong woman of God, and being the family matriarch, she is really good about passing much of her wisdom on Christian matters down to her sisters, as well as her nieces and nephews. Cheryl truly loves the Lord, and she spends much of her free time in deep study of His Word. I some ways Cheryl reminds me of Anna in the Bible. Anna was a prophetess. She was widowed at a young age, and decided never to marry again, but rather to serve the Lord for the rest of her life. Cheryl was not widowed, but rather divorced when her five children were very young. She too never married again, and raised her kids, Chantel Balcerzak, Toni Chase, Rob Masterson, Elizabeth Masterson, and Jenny Spethman alone and with little help. Anna didn’t have children, but 
like Anna, Cheryl spends all of her free time studying God’s Word, praying and worshipping God, and sharing her wealth of knowledge from her studies with her sisters and anyone else in need. We are all very blessed because of her.
Cheryl worked hard to get an education and became a legal secretary, a position she’s held for many years. She’s excellent at her job, serving as the secretary for the firm’s busiest attorney, and when she retires, they’ll have a tough time replacing her. Still, she’s hoping to retire in the next year or so and has been looking forward to it for quite some time. It will be a big change for her after working most of her life, but retirement will surely feel wonderful, and I know that she will consider it the perfect time to dive even deeper into her Bible study.
While her top priority is her study of God’s Word, Cheryl is also an excellent cook. Anyone who has had the privilege of eating food Cheryl has prepared, can tell you that her skills are amazing. She can make pretty 
much anything you can imagine, and if she doesn’t know how, just had her a recipe, and she will no doubt more that do it justice. Her family all love to come to her house for a family dinner whenever they can. And anytime we have a family “Potluck” dinner, you know Cheryl’s dishes will be one of the big hits. They always are. Today is Cheryl’s birthday. Happy birthday Cheryl!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Aunt Charlys Schulenberg was born Charlys Stull on May 11, 1942, in Glendive, Montana to Edward Stull and Vivian née Heath Stull. She was born the third of seven children. Her siblings were Jackie LeRoy, Carol, Layne, Kellys, Douglas, and Kimberly. Over the years Charlys and her family lived in Montana and North Dakota. I don’t know much about her family really, but Aunt Charlys is so sweet that I wanted to know more about her background, so I did a little research. Of course, knowing her parents’ names and the names of her siblings doesn’t really tell me anything much about her, but it does tell me that the family did a little moving around. While the family moved several times, and some of the kids moved away permanently many returned to Montana, because…well, Montana was home. Charlys was one of the ones for whom Montana would always be home.
Charlys met the love of her life, Andrew “Butch” Schulenberg and they were married on June 26, 1966, when he was 25 years old, and she was 24 years old. And that was how she became my future aunt. She married my future husband, Bob Schulenberg’s uncle. Charlys and Butch were so very happy, and over the years they 
added three children to their happy marriage, Andi Kay, Tadd, and Heath. They loved Forsyth, the town of Uncle Butch’s birth, and that was and continues to be where they have made their home. They are both wonderful people who are much loved and respected in Forsyth.
Aunt Charlys has proven herself to be on tough lady. She doesn’t let anything beat her. Because she began suffering with neuropathy, she wasn’t supposed to be cooking…something that was very upsetting to Charlys, who loves to cook and is exceptional at it too. So, Uncle Butch had to start doing the cooking. One night, they were going to have spaghetti, but they needed French bread and other groceries, so he went down to store. When he came back 45 minutes later, Aunt Charlys was laying on the floor. She had decided to start the spaghetti, and as she was boiling the spaghetti, her feet went out from under her. She hit the pan of boiling water as she fell, and the pan fell on her, spilling the boiling water and hot spaghetti in her lap causing 3rd, 4th, and 5th degree burns from her knees to her chest. Uncle Butch called an ambulance, and they got her to the hospital, and then, she was flown to the University of Colorado Burn Center. While her burns must have kept 
her in excruciating pain, Aunt Charlys never lost her sense of humor. She joked with the nurses, even though she was the one in so much pain. She somehow managed to dig deep within herself and become a blessing to those who were supposed to be helping her. That was typical Charlys. Today is Aunt Charlys 84th birthday. Happy birthday Charlys!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When your mom and mother-in-law are in Heaven, Mother’s Day is forever changed. My mom, Collene Spencer went to Heaven on February 22, 2015, and my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg, went to Heaven on January 4, 2018. Last year on April 23, 2025, my sister, Alena Stevens…who was also mom to Michelle Miller, Garrett Stevens, and Lacey Killinger…moved to Heaven too. Mother’s Day is meant to celebrate moms, but when your Mom is in Heaven, it can feel a bit empty. Still, it’s not truly empty, 
because I’m a mom too, as are my sisters, sisters-in-law, daughters, granddaughters-in-law, and nieces. So, to them and to the moms in Heaven, Happy Mother’s Day.
Being a mom is such a blessing, and I’m so honored to have my two beautiful daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. They’ve always been an incredible blessing to me, filling my life with kindness and love that has brought me so much joy over the years. Even when I can’t be with them on special days, I know I am in their thoughts and prayers, just as they are always in mine. I cherish our daily chats, whether by phone or text, and the sweet feeling of being on their minds. Each has given me two wonderful grandchildren, and the blessings just keep growing. My granddaughters-in-law, Karen Petersen, who has blessed me with a great granddaughter and two great grandsons, and Athena Petersen, who has blessed me with four great-grandsons, all of whom I love dearly. As my family grows, so 
does the depth of the blessings I’ve been given. God has been, and continues to be, so good to me. Life is good, and it just keeps getting better.
Some people see days like Mother’s Day as just commercial holidays meant to sell greeting cards, but I couldn’t disagree more. Mother’s Day, like so many other special occasions, is a time to think about our moms and all the blessings they’ve given us. People who still have their mother in their life, really have no idea what it might feel like when their mother is gone from their earthly life. I miss those moms who have gone on before me, and I wish I could be with them on this, their day, but since I can’t, I’ll simply celebrate the joy they’ve brought into my life and always will. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, especially to mine…I love you so much!!
