June (Bixby Laivison Davis Eppler) Emmert turned 90 on June 8.
She celebrated her birthday with a beautiful Baked Alaska, a specialty of Marilyn Emmert, the best cook in Jefferson, Iowa.
June grew up on a northern Minnesota farm. Her father was a hard working farmer and a teacher at a one room school house.
Her Grandfather Bixby and Grandfather Davis both served in the Union Army during the Civil War era. Uncle Ike survived the horrors of World War I only to return home, go skating on one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes and fall through the ice. Cousin Glen Bixby was killed on Iwo Jima.
June remembers growing up on the farm with a brother and three sisters. They are all still living; three are now over ninety.
A Seventh Day Adventist grandmother and a Methodist father obligated June to attend church on both Saturday and Sunday. Her strong religious beliefs led to her desire to dedicate her life to studying the Bible and serving God. In 1937, the young high school graduate was sent to Minneapolis with a new Bible in her hands. Her destination was Northwestern Bible School. She worked as a store clerk and house cleaner to support herself.
In was in Minneapolis that June met another Bible student named Glenn. Besides the Bible, Glenn loved June. He also liked cars. He was always available to give June a ride. One day, Glenn gave her a ride to Basswood, Minnesota, where they were married.
Next, he took her to Lone Tree, North Dakota, where she gave birth to her first two children. The church parsonage barely slowed down the bitter winter winds. There was no indoor plumbing. This was the glamorous beginning of over forty years as a "preacher's wife."
Baked Alaska has a beautiful meringue exterior baked at 500 degrees while the ice cream inside stays frozen solid, insulated by the cake and whipped egg whites. It is the perfect metaphor for the celebration of the life of a beautiful survivor of ninety freezing winters.
