Milton Lindberg was Ed's first cousin. He owned a grocery store and also the cabin, which he lent to Ed and family for never-to-be-forgotten summer vacations. When Ed's children visited the store Milton would make sure they had free ice cream and candy. Milton was very gregarious and a few times visited Ed at the cabin with a supply of beer. Dot wasn't pleased when Milton and Ed became pleasingly happy after hoisting a few -- heaven forbid, in front of Ed's children!

Note Bob Mackall's severe haircut. It wasn't common back then to have weird haircuts, as it is with some young people today (2003). This was a haircut by Gretchen Mackall (Bob's mother), who cut all the Mackall men's hair. One day she was cutting Bob's dad Tom Mackall's hair when Grandpa Mackall came into the kitchen. Tom looked up at Grandpa and asked, "How's she doing?" to which Grandpa replied, "She's doin' fine as long as she don't run out'a hair!" Stories differ on what Tom did at that point, but Tom's haircut episode became part of the Mackall family legend.

Another Grandpa episode concerned his penchant for painting and re-painting everything wood on the house and in the back yard. Color wasn't a big issue with Grandpa Mackall -- he got his paint from partially-filled cans he'd pick up on trips to the dump (Link to Map) and then pour them all together into a gallon can. One day Gretchen was working in the yard and looked up now and then to see one of her chickens walk by with paint on its back. After several chickens appeared in this state she looked around to see what they were rubbing against. There was Grandpa, painting the porch, and every time a chicken walked by he'd reach out and dab it with paint.

The Mackall family definitely broadened the Lindberg children's lives. Those chickens weren't pets. When it was time for a chicken dinner Gretchen would send Tom or Grandpa out to the yard to fetch a chicken. Either one would grab a chicken by its head, twirl it around like a lasso, and then give a quick throw and jerk so the body flew across the yard. The body would run and flap around the yard for a surprisingly long time until it collapsed. This whole procedure stunned any Lindberg children who happened by.

Eventually the Mackalls moved to open country (back then) about 8 miles southwest of 3149 S. Karlov. Bob and Bert continued to stay in contact with their best friends Bob and Bo Mackall and the rest of the Mackall family by making the trek to their "farm" for overnight visits. This was done by riding their bikes the whole way, or by taking public transportation to the end of the line at 63rd street and walking the remaining 3 miles. Gretchen always made them feel at home, served up meals at a big table, and saw them to beds with thick feather-filled comforters.

One day, Ed and Dot felt that our dog Jackie was not fairing well living in the crowded city around 3149, so we put him into the family car and drove him to the Mackalls where he would have the run of the surrounding fields. To contain Jackie while he got used to his new surroundings, Tom rigged up a wire clothesline to which he attached Jackie's leash so he could roam the yard but not the fields. Well, Jackie could think only of breaking away and heading back home to 3149. The next morning the remains of Jackie's leash were dangling from the clothesline and Jackie was gone. Tom immediately called Ed and they got into their cars to look for Jackie. We all waited for days, then weeks, then months, but we never saw Jackie again. We all hoped that he found another home somewhere, but it was only a hope. That dog has been on our minds for as long as we each live.