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| WAY TO GO, MENARDS! |
Monday, 8:00 AM. 54 degrees, wind N, calm. The sky is lightly overcast and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. Things are really beginning to bloom and to leaf out with a few warmer nights.
The paper birch (Betula papyrifera) catkins are opening and are quite interesting and colorful. The catkins, the structures on which the tiny flowers are arranged, have either male or female flowers, both of which occur on the same tree. The male catkins grow from the branch ends in pendulous pairs, the females grow laterally, back from the males.
I was elated to find a Menards flyer in the local Saturday newspaper, even though the closest Menard’s is ninety miles away in Duluth. Elated, and rather amazed, because it advertised a “made in America” sale, a subject about which I have been harping for some time. Over two hundred items were advertised, each identified with an American flag and noting the community and state in which the product was produced. The sale items were mostly construction materials, or home and garden related, everything from live plants to doors and roofing materials, pavers and fertilizers.
Certainly a strong showing to add to the already recovering automotive and heavy industry sector. But, where are the home appliances, such as refrigerators, stoves and kitchen equipment, which were formally made in the USA? I have complained vociferously in the past about simple appliances like toaster ovens and coffee makers, which I have had to replace on an almost annual basis since they have become Chinese in origin.
Please, let’s regain at least the high end of the market in household items (washers and dryers, stoves and refrigerators, microwaves, TVs and electronics). I would as soon pay twice as much for such items made in America, if they are superior in quality and will last twice as long or longer, which, frankly, is what they used to do. GE, Maytag, Philco, …most American brands have been gone for
so long I can’t even remember most of their iconic names. Make it here, make it now!
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| PAPER BIRCH TREES ARE BLOOMING |
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| PENDULOUS MALE CATKINS |
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| TINY FEMALE CATKIN |
My GE Hotpoint Washer and Dryer are junk. My GM SUV has enough service bulletins and recalls to make a nice book. As much as I'd like to believe we could regain the top spot in the world as a quality producer I really doubt it. Toyota in Ashland has proven that even with their recent recalls. I also own a Honda that just turned 20 years old and have NEVER ever had to fix anything. I just replace tires and oil. That in incredible to me. Even the brakes are still going after 140,000 miles. Nothing has been replaced. That speaks volumes about quality. SADLY, for us....
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