I don’t remember who said, "If you don’t like the weather in Minnesota, wait 15 minutes." No truer words describe our weather this spring. If we had spring, we did not have a nice spring. Winter refused to leave, the rain refused to fall and the temperatures refused to warm up. It has been very difficult to get the fieldwork done and almost impossible to get the gardens planted and take care of the weeds as well. I can hardly believe June will be gone at the middle of this week as it has not been a normal month as far as temperatures are concerned. So, this week we bid farewell to June and welcome July with a warm remembrance of Flag Day on June 14 and the Fourth of July.Sunday evening was scheduled for Steen Reformed Church to hold their annual concert in the park. Sunday morning we awoke to cloudy skies, cold temperatures, wind blowing and yes, even a few drops of rain! Everyone was wondering if they would have to move the concert inside. Fortunately, by late afternoon, the wind went down and the sun began to shine. So — all was well. The Praise Team opened the evening program. Other groups participating in the concert were a quartet from Worthington, the Wassenaar family and Ackerman families who substituted for another group who had a death in the family. They did a wonderful job and was enjoyed by everyone. The DeBoer family and the Grothenhuis family filled the air with music the entire evening which turned out to have the sun shining on the concert. The park was filled with those coming to enjoy the evening. In addition to the music, ice cream and bars, as well as a drink, were also available. I am sure I can say a wonderful time was had by all. Melba Boeve and her son, Brian, Sioux Falls, left on Saturday, June 19, for Coffeen, Ill., to attend the funeral of her sister, Wilda’s husband, Ray Peefsen. Funeral services for him were on Monday, June 21, at the Methodist Church in Fillmore, Ill. Others attending were Melba’s children, Carla and Joel Overlander, Circle Pines, and Julie and John Springman, Forest Lake. They all returned home on Thursday. Dries and Laura May Bosch left on Thursday for Minneapolis where the Bosch "Opener" is to be played. This is a golf tournament for their family only. Good luck to them.Mildred Paulsen joined 10 other women who had served as Southwest District Officers for the Women’s Society of the former Evangelical United Brethren Churches in the District. They met in Blue Earth on Friday for a noon lunch and spent the afternoon remembering things and people they had known while they had been working together in the Southwest District before the uniting with the Methodist Church.Bill and Bertha Bosch, Mildred Keunen and Jo Aykens went to the Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne Tuesday afternoon where they joined others for a Psalm and Hymn sing. Those attending camp this week at Inspiration Hills are Helen Larson, Megan Saarloos, Kathie Sandbulte, Brook Tilstra, Kayla Van Der Weerd, Sierra Wilgenburg, and Whitney Wilgenburg. Next Sunday evening, July 4, Steen Reformed Church will have a special patriotic service at the church. A fellowship hour will follow the service. Following, at approximately 9 p.m., there will be fireworks. Anyone having any fireworks they would like to share would be greatly appreciated. July has always been thought of as a patriotic month. Mainly because of the 4th of July or Independence Day is also remembered. We don’t hear much about Flag Day on June 14, other than to fly your flag. Very few words or quotes have been published about Flag Day. Here are a few remarks that have been made by famous people. Charles Summer said in 1867, "There is the flag. He must be cold indeed, who looks up at the flag, the folds rippling in the breeze, without feeling pride of country."Woodrow Wilson said in 1912, "I cannot look upon the flag without imagining that it consists of alternate stripes of parchment upon which words are written for the fundamental rights of man, with the alternating of the streams of blood by which the rights of man have been vindicated and validated. The things the flag stands for were created experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history." Theodore Roosevelt said in 1917, "We can have no 50-50 allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all. We are a kin by blood and decent to most of the nations of Europe but we are separate from all of them … and we are bound always to give our wholehearted and undivided loyalty to our own flag."Over the years, the flag has continued to have profound meaning for most Americans. When we celebrate Flag Day, let us pay homage to the "Flag of Freedom" with fitting and reverent tributes. Let’s fly it proudly!