Think high school state basketball tournaments — think snowy weather. At least it seems to hit our area so often we think it will happen during the state tournaments.

I remember when I was growing up some of the piled snow here in our area of Southern Minnesota started to look like mountains. Many still talk about the time the county highway department had to make a tunnel through the big snow drift on the west side of Geneva so the farmers could get their milk to the creamery. That particular area of town was noted for the height, and the hard packed snow drifts that accumulated there.

I learned that there had been pictures taken of a family member standing on top of the telephone poles back in the early years. I guess one could say that many "snow stories" from events back then grew like the snow banks.

Many times we associate major events like snowstorms by what else occurred at the time. Many times we remember them by the age of our children or family relatives. When my cousin, "Pixie," was born in March of 1951, her mother had to walk a quarter mile in the snow so she could get transportation, which helped get her to the hospital. And when it was time for Phyllis and her new baby girl to come home again they had to stay with my grandmother’s sister Ellen in Albert Lea for a few days before they could go home.

When our middle daughter, Kimberly, was born in April of 1973, it required a call for a snowplow so Daryl could get back home to Geneva so he could pick me up and take me to the hospital. Daryl had spent the night before Kimberly was born at the home of my dad’s brother in Albert Lea because he couldn't get home because of a "spring" snowstorm. We didn't think we would have to worry about a snowstorm in April, but we did.

My nephew, Cameron, was born during the Super Bowl Storm in 1975 and that year we had many large snowdrifts that lined the roads like tunnels.

Not all snowstorms have been remembered by the birth of new babies. My aunt and uncle, Phyllis and Eugene Hagen, experienced a snowstorm in New York while Eugene was in the Army serving his country. They laughed about how little the native New Yorkers knew about driving once a small amount of snow had fallen. The people in New York would get out of their cars and leave them in the middle of road. What was a major snowstorm to the people of that area was just another snowfall to a seasoned Minnesotan.

Then there was the year the Blooming Prairie boys’ basketball team advanced on to the state basketball tournament in 1966. The snowstorm didn't keep the local sports fans from attending the state tournament so they could cheer on those Blossoms.

Surprisingly, some of our biggest snowstorms arrived sort of out of season. Our family remembers the Halloween storm of 1991. My Grandmother Hanson was living with my parents at the time and sport that she was, she made it a fun occasion and said it was just like camping out. Daryl’s parents, Jack and Vernetta Paulsen, who lived a couple miles east of Geneva at the time, didn't enjoy their "Halloween treat" as they didn't have electricity on their farm for two weeks following.

This year’s winter weather has affected many corners of our United States that normally don't get snow. It is pretty spectacular to think about the miles and miles of highways that we once drove on while we were on our way through Texas to visit my sister Kaye in Arizona that have been closed this year because of the snowy weather conditions.

When I look at the pictures of the Boston area and see all the snow they have been getting this year I can only feel sorry for them. But then I have to remember how they would make fun of our Midwest area and our crazy weather conditions. The worst is yet to come for them when we think about what will happen when over 90 inches of snow starts to melt!

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Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us.  Also if you have an idea for a story that you think would be of interest to our readers, please contact me. 

If you have birthdays and anniversaries you would like include, or news to share please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thursday, March 5th: Dayna Schember, Nicole Ella Schultz, Tim Toft, Vickie Haberman, Steve Van Ravenhorst, Declan Dean O'Brien, his 4th

• Friday, March 6th: Valerie Schember, Aaron Reese, Larry Reese, Dawn Dulas, Lynda Maddox Norland, Wade Wacholz, Ryan Schimek, Marlene Peterson, Lillian Weaver, Jami Ann & Travis Marzolf

• Saturday, March 7th: Jace John Goslee, his 9th; Marlee Diane Dutton, her 11th; Jake Ortiz, Emily Horan, David Otterson, Chuck Hagen, Lorna Reistad, Kenneth Peterson, Lance Cummins and Peggy Evenson 

• Sunday, March 8th: Derek Alan Lee, Janice Olson Paulson, Greg Nelson, Carla Paulsen Haugen, Melissa Trindad, Kathy & Mike Plunkett, Stephanie & Tom Pulley

• Monday, March 9th: Reese Sharon Glynn, her 8th; Taylor Jensen, Chris Clausen, Peter Dammel, Curtis Langlie, Mark Sawyer, Joel Wacholz, Jacklyn Cromwell Olson, Chris Farr, Joleen Thompson

• Tuesday, March 10th: Julie Stieglbauer Dahl, Sue Misgen, Aaron Callahan, Travis Johnson, Michelle Olson Bedney, Tom Vavra, Heidi Mattson LaFave, Chuck Hanson, Gayle Dummer, Douglas Schmidt, Linda Anderson, DeLynn Johnson Rohrbacher, Hannah Emily Brunsen

• Wednesday, March 11th: Arielle Lynn McClaskey (2011), Elsie Jacobson, her 2nd; Marian Mast, Carolyn Flesche, Leroy Folie, Kari Thostenson, Jon Carlson, Michelle Meyer, Larry Richards, Tim Simon, Joan Ahlstrom Didderich, Tanya Swearingen, Tom Arbogast, David Callahan, Dean Lembke, Spenser Sebastian Sommers, his 11th; Doug Blouin, Wendell Kuehni, Paul & Shirley Nelson

• Thursday, March 12th: Chelsea Hanson, Sadie Jaymelynn Arends, David Paulson, Jason Bowman, Terri Engel, Robert Hall, Harlan Stanley Malz, Spiering Brody Sundbland, Gary & Barb Paulson, Jack & Gloria Jensen

• Friday, March 13th: Joanna VerHey, David Mangskau, Lynda Kruckeberg, Darla Waltz, Jessica Liverseed, Tony Tonsing

• Saturday, March 14th: National Potato Chip Day! Laura Katherine Worrell, Connor Duane Klemmsensen, his 7th; Sierra Christine Krause, her 5th; Brian Cerney, Brent Huber, Marcia Hutchins, Lee Loverink, Mary Finch, Kathy Molenaar, Trevor Titus

Wishing you sunny smiles to warm your heart on your special day!