Dryden, D. (2007, February 21). Valentines by Lakeland. Washburn County Register, p. 6.

Valentines by Lakeland

By Diane Dryden

SHELL LAKE - On a cold, but sunny Wednesday afternoon that also happened to be Valentine's Day, Mary Ellen Ryall hosted a lovely tea for residents, family and friends at 1 in the afternoon.

Tiny sandwiches on homemade bread, heart-shaped cakes, cookies and other treats were served, all with a personal choice of tea for each guest.

What started out as a Valentine's tea ended by being a walk down memory lane through antiques when each guest was to tell about the favorite cup they brought to the tea.

A tiny souvenir cup from Superior was brought, the owner saying it it was very old. There was a beautiful cup and saucer that was somewhere around 80 years old that was paper thin with lots of raised gold looking like dragons and flames. The owner shared that the beautiful cup was one earned from the coffee man who came to the house during the 30s and 40s. Each time you met your coffee-buying goal, you got a cup.

It wasn't long before resident, Lavonne Ottosen, disappeared, only to return with a beautiful carnival-glass pitcher that her mother earned selling garden seeds whe her mom was 8 years old. She said it had also come with six glasses. Another beautiful piece she brought was an egg plate made in Austria that her Grandmother Jacobson gave to her mother the day Lavonne was born.

Even though the room was full of women, one man, Ray Schultz, wandered in and enjoyed a cup of tea and some sweets before he retreated to the hallway sitting area.