Dean Growing Up

Dean Hanson at 2127 Pioneer Dr, Jackson MI

Dean in Kindergarten, Harrington, '71-'72

Dean 1976

1977

1982

Pearl, Rudy and Dean July 1983

1947 Washington, D.C.

26 Oct 1947

Rudy With His 1st Baby Boy

1947 Valley Forge, PA

2 Nov 1947 Rudy holding David Hanson

This is the original Church used by the soldiers during the battle of Valley Forge 2 Nov 1947
Rudy and David 

Family Photos

Back: Pearl Mieske Hanson, Alma Mieske Kelly, Mom Mieske
Front: David Hanson, Tim Kelly, Rudy Hanson

Rudy, David and Pearl at 555 Hudson Ave

Pearl, Rudy and David

Darrell and Karen's Wedding

Karen Ann Swackhamer, 19 years old

Rudy, Darrell, Karen, Pearl
July 27, 1974

Jackson Citizen - Introducing New Jacksonians

"3 GENERATIONS OF SNAKEBITES"

Submitted by Heather Hanson Jamison

This is about my Grandpa Rudy Hanson. I was recently sitting at a restaurant in Jupiter, Florida with our son Brayden. He was getting bored and being himself. All of a sudden I asked him if he wanted a snake bite. He loved it! I had totally forgotten about it.  A "snake bite" was an opposite twist with both hands on the arm. Where Grandpa got it from I'll never know. Anyway, you weren't in the club til you got a "snake bite" from Grandpa Rudy! (girls too!)

3 GENERATIONS OF "COWBOY DINNER"

WRITTEN BY DAR HANSON

"Auntie" Verle Kellstrom (Rudy Hanson's 1st cousin) called me one day near New Years Eve 2011 and mentioned she was making "COWBOY DINNER" ...a delicious concoction made frequently by her own mother IDA HANSON FREDRICKSON during those cold Skandia winters. Verles grown children still say HOO-RAY when she announces she's making COWBOY DINNER! I tried it and it's absolutley dee-licious....

Here's the recipe:

ALL DIVIDED INTO 2 LAYERS, ENDING WITH TOMATO SOUP

-RUSSET POTATOES, SLICED TO 1/4 INCH
-SLICES OF LEAN BACON, EITHER IN STRIPS OR CUT UP
-CAN DARK KIDNEY BEANS, NOT DRAINED
-ONIONS AND CELERY, CUT UP
-TOMATO SOUP, THINNED WITH ABOUT 1/8 C. WATER
-SALT AND PEPPER OR WHATEVER SEASONING STRIKES YOU!

LAY SOME OF THE BACON ON THE BOTTOM OF CASSEROLE DISH. LAYER SOME POTATOES ON TOP OF THAT, SALT AND PEPPER, SOME ONIONS & CELERY, SOME BEANS, A DRIZZLE OF THE TOMATO SOUP- THEN START THE LAYER AGAIN WITH THE BACON, REPEATING AS ABOVE, ENDING WITH THE TOMATO SOUP MIXTURE. BAKE COVERED W/ FOIL AT 325 TO 350 DEG FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF- THEN REMOVE THE FOIL FOR ABOUT ANOTHER HALF HOUR.

MAKES THE HOUSE SMELL HEAVENLY!

-

" IT'S NOT FOR GIRLS! "

FROM DAR HANSON

(With four brothers, I heard that alot growing up)...
Here is a picture of myself and my brother Dave about 1955 with the infamous "HOT ROD".

 Dad Rudy was an engineer at a midwest company called Yard-Man and eventually became VP of that department during his career there. Consequently, we always had alot of lawnmowers hangin' around to test. Even in the early days he enjoyed knocking around & creating stuff in the garage with his boys. This was an early effort that was the talk of the neighborhood. Note the 1950's 'rocket theme' silver paint, hupcap steering wheel, motor and wheels from a lawn mower and that cool hand gear. The boys can tell you more about the mechanical stuff-- all I remember is that we posed for LOTS of pictures with it... (and by the way, Dad eventually did let me drive it!)

Abt 1966 It is better to have wheels

We grew up with lawn mowers, go carts and mini bikes. My dad took a stingray bicycle frame and mounted a motor on a board with a belt drive and foot operated idler clutch pulley. We started off with small motors, but quickly grew tired of the slow speeds of about 20 miles per hour. We graduated to a 4 HP that was quite a bit heavier and too big to fit under the seat. The larger motor had to hang off to the side. The farther it stuck out, the more out of balance the little bike was. We had to compensate by leaning the other way. Now the bike went about 40 MPH. I imagine the neighbors thought it kind of comical and stupid to see us coming down the road at about a 30deg angle, sometimes barefoot, certainly with shorts on. The tires we had were from a reel type mower that had slip on tires. These tires were made to go about 1 mile per hour. When we would crank it up to full speed, the rubber tires would grow to about 1.5 times the diameter and sometimes slip off the wheel, making our ride quite slippery.

One time I was going full speed down Pioneer Drive headed home in front of Danny King’s house when not only the tires fell off but I lost the entire front wheel. Needless to say, going full speed with only front forks to ride on did not make for a pleasant sudden stop. I dragged myself home and thought I better clean up before anyone saw me. I was rinsing off in the tub when mom came in. I was pretty bloody, but the tub filled with a few inches of water did not help make it look less deadly. My mother (Pearl) about lost it. It took several weeks for all the scabs to stop hurting, then it was back to rebuilding the mini bike again.

Abt 1968 Fire in the Hole

My dad used to burn the grass and trash in the back yard. He used gasoline to help get things started. (These days we just use Boy Scout water to do the same thing) He would splash on some gas, strike a match at a distance and throw it hoping to catch a wet spot and poof, it would be in full flames.

Doug and I became pretty good pyrotechnics at the ripe old age of 13. We cut grass for about 5 neighbors in the summer and one of them, the Gilcrest family had a big pile of brush in the back. As I recall it was about 15’ x 40’ and about 6’ tall. We asked if they would like it burned and we were given permission. If they only knew! We used about a half gallon of gas to get it prepped, then we let it ferment a few minutes, and then we did the match thing. It took about 5 matches being thrown for us to hit a wet spot. Vavoom, the pile took off like a rocket. It lifted about 10’ off the ground and was in a fierce flaming mode when it hit the ground. The fruit trees close by were getting torched and we kept looking at the rear windows to see if they were looking out at us. Phew, they never said anything and we learned not to use so much gas next time.

Abt 1967 Life could not get any better

Dad had an account at the gas station next to his work. It was like a candy store. We would charge cases of pop and buy all the gas we needed. One day he came home from work and was so mad. We ran up a very large bill on his account and he cut it off. Now we had to sign for anything we purchased and it was pretty well over after that.

Abt 1965 Rabbit Trick

We grew up with woods and large fields behind our home. We would go hunting with my dad. He was a much better teacher than we were students. Doug and I would crunch-crunch as we walked and you could hear nothing when my dad walked. I remember one time we were walking ahead and BOOM behind us, my dad shot a rabbit. We did not even see it when we walked by.