Life's an Adventure -- Wear It!

Wintergreen Northern Wear
Wintergreen Northern Wear handcrafts the finest outdoor clothing. The outdoors is their way of life. They live, design, sew and sell our gear in Minnesota's Canadian border wilderness.

We are delighted to welcome our new member from Ely, Minnesota - Wintergreen Northern Wear. Made in the USA (in Minnesota to be exact) tested in the coldest climates on earth, WNW handcrafts the finest in outdoor clothing. The outdoors in their way of life.

A little history...
Susan Schurke developed her design talents by crafting Eskimo-style apparel from new synthetic fabrics, to be used on numerous expeditions which then became known as Wintergreen Northern Wear. In the late 70s and early 80s, Paul Shurkey and Greg Laid founded Wilderness Inquiry, a non-profit endeavor group, providing Boundary Waters canoe trips for disabled persons and Paul along with his wife, Susan teamed up with Will Steger to help run the Lynx Track Winter School, teaching dog sledding and wilderness skills to college and community groups. In 1986, Paul and Will, along with Ann Brancof and their team dogsled to the North Pole in the the first confirmed trek to the top of the world without resupply. Wintergreen clothing became a success, keeping the explorers warm throughout the 1,000-mile, 2-month journey, even as temperatures dipped to -70 degrees!

In 1990, Paul Schurke and Russian colleague Dmitry Shparo lead the Bering Bridge Expedition from Siberia to Alaska to help reconnect arctic cultures long separated by the Cold War. The US-Soviet border in the Bering Strait firmly closed and known as the "Ice Curtain" for most of this century is reopened. Presidents Bush and Gorbachev congratulate the Bering Bridge team for its role in the process. In 1997 Paul led a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to the North Pole. Two years later he headed that
way again with a team that includes Admiral Robert Peary's great grandsons.

The Wintergreen Northern Wear company was formed in 1985 and they grew to include manufacturing facilities, a retail store and catalog, on Ely’s main street.

Wintergreen has been featured on the Today Show, Dateline and in Outside magazine. In 2005, Wintergreen opened it's second store in Duluth.

Wintergreen Northern Wear continues their efforts for ‘being Green’ and commits to mailing only one catalog per year.

In 2009, Wintergreen Northern Wear rolled out Group Sales division, offering a variety of clothing options for organizations and teams, along with a new website, which allowed connectivity into on-line communities.

Wintergreen has since introduced New Kids line of clothes and Wool Vest for Men and V-Neck Windshirts for Golfing. New owners, Curt and Becky Stacey, say their goal is to maintain Wintergreen’s integral role in the community while growing the business. And production will stay right were it is.

Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge is now a business entity separate from the Staceys’ Wintergreen Northern Wear, but the store and lodge will continue to be associated through cooperative marketing efforts. Wintergreen Northern Wear currently has about two dozen employees and independent contractors.

Now:
Wintergreen Northern Wear opened a new store, Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Stone Harbor will be the exclusive reseller of Wintergreen Northern Wear clothing in Northeastern Minnesota.

In short, these people know what works. They test it, they use it. They live, design, sew and sell their gear in Minnesota's northern border wilderness.

Wintergreen Northern Wear continues to proudly make clothing in Ely, Minnesota, making it among a few remaining clothing manufacturers in America.

As for me, my hands get cold easily and I am going online to buy some gloves right now!

Indianapolis Bead & Jewelry Store

Judy & Edward Champa purchased a bead store earlier tihs year and in March of 2010 opened for business as Heirloom Classics - Jewelry and Beads. This cute little store sells beads,bead related products and finished jewelry - necklaces, bracelets and earrings and they are all handcrafted and one of a kind. Judy is the featured artist and you can be assured that whichver items you purchase, they will be unique. Classes are also offered and all are granted a warm welcome. The new business is located in the historic Fountain Square area just south of downtown Indianapolis.

545 People

I got this forwarded to me for the umpteenth time the other day from someone I admire and although I had received it before, I really read it this time. Of course that was after I went to Snopes.com, Googled it and checked Wikipedia to make sure it was legit and it was… sort of. It seems that people have added some of their own editing, but as far as I can find out, below is the author’s 1995 updated version.

Charley Reese was a syndicated columnist and wrote this while working in Florida for the Orlando Sentinel newspaper and according to Snopes.com, he wrote this originally in 1985 and updated it throughout the years. It’s amazing how on point it still is. Will we ever learn??

All my fellow citizens should read it now and re-read it in November before we cast our ballots.

It's called The 545 People Responsible for All of America's Woes, and I hope you like it too.

Charley Reese was a syndicated columnist and wrote this while working in Florida for the Orlando Sentinel newspaper and according to Snopes.com, he wrote this originally in 1985 and updated it throughout the years. It’s amazing how on point it still is. Will we ever learn??

All my fellow citizens should read it now and re-read it in November before we cast our ballots.

It's called The 545 People Responsible for All of America's Woes, and I hope you like it too.

The 545 People Responsible For All Of America's Woes
By Charley Reese

Politicians, as I have often said, are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Everything on the Republican contract is a problem created by Congress. Too much bureaucracy? Blame Congress. Too many rules?

Blame Congress. Unjust tax laws? Congress wrote them.

Out-of-control bureaucracy? Congress authorizes everything bureaucracies do. Americans dying in Third World rat holes on stupid U.N. missions? Congress allows it. The annual deficits?

Congress votes for them. The $4 trillion plus debt? Congress created it.

To put it into perspective just remember that 100 percent of the power of the federal government comes from the U.S. Constitution. If it's not in the Constitution, it's not authorized.

Then read your Constitution. All 100 percent of the power of the federal government is invested solely in 545 individual human beings. That's all. Of 260 million Americans, only 545 of them wield 100 percent of the power of the federal government.

That's 435 members of the U.S. House, 100 senators, one president and nine Supreme Court justices. Anything involving government that is wrong is 100 percent their fault.

I exclude the vice president because constitutionally he has no power except to preside over the Senate and to vote only in the case of a tie. I exclude the Federal Reserve because Congress created it and all its power is power Congress delegated to it and could withdraw anytime it chooses to do so. In fact, all the power exercised by the 3 million or so other federal employees is power delegated from the 545.

All bureaucracies are created by Congress or by executive order of the president. All are financed and staffed by Congress. All enforce laws passed by Congress. All operate under procedures authorized by Congress. That's why all complaints and protests should be properly directed at Congress, not at the individual agencies.

You don't like the IRS? Go see Congress. You think the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agency is running amok? Go see Congress.

Congress is the originator of all government problems and is also the only remedy available. That's why, of course, politicians go to such extraordinary lengths and employ world-class sophistry to make you think they are not responsible. Anytime a congressman pretends to be outraged by something a federal bureaucrat does, he is in fact engaging in one big massive con job. No federal employee can act at all except to enforce laws passed by Congress and to employ procedures authorized by Congress either explicitly or implicitly.

Partisans on both sides like to blame presidents for deficits, but all deficits are congressional deficits. The president may, by custom, recommend a budget, but it carries no legal weight. Only Congress is authorized by the Constitution to authorize and appropriate and to levy taxes. That's what the federal budget consists of: expenditures authorized, funds appropriated and taxes levied.

Both Democrats and Republicans mislead the public. For 40 years Democrats had majorities and could have at any time balanced the budget if they had chosen to do so. Republicans now have majorities and could, if they choose, pass a balanced budget this year. Every president, Democrat or Republican, could have vetoed appropriations bills that did not make up a balanced budget. Every president could have recommended a balanced budget. None has done either.

We have annual deficits and a huge federal debt because that's what majorities in Congress and presidents in the White House wanted. We have troops in various Third World rat holes because Congress and the president want them there.

Don't be conned. Don't let them escape responsibility. We simply have to sort through 260 million people until we find 545 who will act responsibly.

Hot September Events

Hot concerts for September include Lady Gaga, Roger Waters, Justin Bieber, George Strait, Harry Connick Jr., the Jonas Brothers, Nickelback, Rascal Flatts and Rush. Eminem and Jay-Z will play together on the same bill in concerts at Yankee Stadium and Comerica Park.

The NFL kicks off the 2010-11 regular season September 9th with a rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game featuring the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints taking on the Minnesota Vikings at the Superdome. The New York Giants play the first official regular season game at the New Meadowlands Stadium September 12th versus the Carolina Panthers. The New York Jets host the Baltimore Ravens at the new stadium on September 13th.

The United States Open Championship of Tennis runs until September 12th with the Men's Singles Final. UFC 119 takes place for the first time in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Wicked is playing Boston, Madison(WI), Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco. The Jersey Boys are playing Austin, Philadelphia, San Antonio and New York.