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Afterword by Judythe Pearson Patberg
Mom and I found the writing process to be difficult, mostly because we were so concerned about accuracy. We checked and rechecked the facts until we were sure they were true to the best of our knowledge.
I think that what was even harder than the writing were the decisions that had to be made about what pictures would be included. It was important to me that everyone in the family be represented in a way that he or she would like. When that task was finished, I was relieved.
Partly Cloudy was over two years in the making, and can only be described as a labor of love.
It is the most important thing I've ever done for my family.
Without hesitation, I would encourage anyone who is the least bit inclined to write a family memoir to do so, even if the task seems insurmountable at the beginning.
 In the process, you will learn about your family's history and the history of the place you call home; you will stir up memories that you thought were gone forever; you will wallow in nostalgia (which will make you laugh and cry); and you will feel blessed for the family of which you are privileged to be a part.
SIMULTANEOUS
PUBLICATION PARTIES
occurred under
Clasen-Pearson-Patberg-Peterson
Christmas trees nationwide
December 24 - 25, 2003
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EDITORS
AND TO ALL CONTRIBUTORS
from SOLEIL LIFESTORY NETWORK
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Partly Cloudy
(Mostly) Minnesota Editions / Soleil Press 2003 | 320 pages
Partly Cloudy features:
- stories of homesteading, life in Northern Minnesota
- 90+ historic photos
- seven genealogy charts
- lifestory contributions from three generations
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY
$19.95 | $25 post paid (Ohioans add $1 sales tax)
419-841-6178 | jpatber2@aol.com
2307 GIBLEY PARK | TOLEDO, OH 43617
Judy writes about how this
family heirloom project
got going...
"It was at our annual family ski trip to Boyne, Michigan that the idea for The Book was conceived.
I remember thinking, as we were telling old and new stories around the fire, that the best legacy I could leave for future generations would be a book about our family, past and present.
As is usually the case with me, once an idea is formulated, it doesn't take long for it to root and then branch out. I made the suggestion and I could tell immediately that, while everyone thought it was a great idea, no one believed that it would happen. The only thing I knew at that point was the title which I thought was an original phrase of my father's.
It was only later that I learned about the source of the title: a television weatherman had used something like it as kind of an apology for making an erroneous forecast. The only person I ever heard use the phrase though was my father, and I always liked it, so The Book was called We Just Shoveled Two Feet of Partly Cloudy from the beginning, and it never changed.
After the ski vacation, I wrote what would turn out to be the first of several family memos explaining the project and encouraging everyone to submit ideas for The Book.
The memos became increasingly insistent until I had extracted a promise from every single member of the family who could write. The stories and descriptions dribbled in and I had to ride some herd, but eventually, I had all of the contributions. "
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"...the idea for this book emerged from the nucleus; yet without really even asking, it was simply assumed that all the electrons would want to contribute. 