Maybe I had too many cocktails with Ethel Fiddler at the Polish Day Parade roast last night, but I’m feeling nostalgic. The city seems to change so rapidly at times. In the last month, Joan Borushko resigned from the school board, and Betty Zwolak and Sean Kowalski moved out of town. I attended William Hood’s funeral, drank sliwowica with Dave Puls at Mark Swider’s retirement party, and witnessed the swearing in of two chiefs, Paul Wilk and Max Garbarino, in one 24-hour period. At the same time, there is another rush of people moving in, many just for the short term, and I often find myself on the other end of confusing conversations from 7+ years ago.

Nostalgia leads to looking through old photos, so below are some of our earliest, January through June of 2005.

The old Mother’s bar isn’t quite in the city, but I still tend to use the angel of Alfred E. Neuman as a reference point when giving directions in that area. Conant at Evaline, when Skipper’s was between being Cactus Pete’s and Chill and Mingle, Tri-State Karate was a Bollywood video rental, and the 8-Ball pool hall was a kabob shop.

Seroka Realty before Bengal Spice, Kenora Radio and Television repair before the sari shop, and Swifoto before Aladdin Cafe expanded.
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