Funeral services for Harriet Lorraine Rice Myhre of Hartland, MN, were held at 3:00 PM Saturday, November 29, 2014 at the Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Hartland, MN. Reverend Dr. Mark Hillmer  officiating. Interment was in the Hartland Cemetery.

Harriet died Monday morning, November 24, 2014 at St Marys Hospital in Rochester, MN; she was 90 years of age.

Harriet Lorraine was born September 16, 1924, to Henry and Fern Jacobson Rice in Hartland Township. She was a member of Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Hartland where she was baptized and confirmed. She belonged to Ladies Aid, Altar Guild and had been a Sunday school teacher and also taught Bible School. She also was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary. Harriet worked for the New Richland School District in the cafeteria. She also worked at the New Richland Care Center.

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

For Molly Eckhardt, babysitting was her first adventure in working with kids. She loved it and the children she cared for. There was so much influence in the one-on-one time spent working with children on Molly’s life, she felt that teaching was worth exploring.

Different experiences and her personality led her to the teaching field. After gaining some experience with babysitting, Molly later had the opportunity to help children with sports and swimming. 

In her senior class in high school she took part in the Peer Helping program, which was an elective class that gave her the opportunity to work in the elementary school for a semester. She assisted in the kindergarten classroom for one hour, four days a week, and worked in the Title 1 room, where she was able to work one-on-one with a student for 20 minutes a day with reading skills. 

Molly was pleased to see the progress that child made in the time she worked with her. Seeing the difference she could make in that one person’s young life led her into the education field where she will be able to teach and inspire many more children.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.

Tis the season to be thankful; no, extra thankful, for what we have and not worrying about what we haven't.

Sometimes Thanksgiving gets lost. People are already thinking ahead to Christmas, and we forget about the many wonderful things that we have been given and are able to enjoy.

I am most thankful for this newspaper. Because of it I have been able to meet some of the most wonderful and amazing people I could ever know. That might not have happened if there weren't stories to cover and share with all of you. 

To be sure there is laughter and tears that go with every article because these people become like family. I celebrate or hurt over the things that happen in their lives. I am educated every day about things and facts that may or may not be important, but they are fascinating. The richness of one’s life lives in the memories or moments we might have forgotten.

You don't have to go around the world to find people whose lives you can share. They may live next door, around the corner, or across the road. They are there. You may not know them, but maybe you do. It doesn't matter.

I met a stranger. He was having a bad day. Phantom feelings – thought it had been from ages away.  I could sympathize. Sometimes it is enough to talk about it, and we shared a moment together. Sometimes misery needs company.

I saw a little old lady, fragile and stooped. I asked her if I could give her a hug. She gave me a toothless smile and said, "Of course you can." We hugged twice and shared a moment of the day.  She came away happier, and so did I. I saw her later and she smiled. It was priceless and didn't cost a thing.

I was listening to the radio. A lady called in, inquiring if they still make 7-Up candy bars. It began a search for information. The 7-Up candy bar was bought out by the Seven Up bottling company for less confusion years ago, but is still being made in a lesser form and can be bought through an antique candy company.  

A number of men called in eager to share the information they knew, including information about a huge yellow building in the area of Jordon and Belle Plaine. 

What was sweet? They were happy and enthused to share their knowledge and information for others. 

How many people enjoyed the day!

Show others they are loved. Help each other to be thankful. Know you are loved because to love yourself is to love others. Be generous with hugs and kisses. Try new things but relish the old things too. Be happy. Show compassion. Be grateful. Dream big. Respect one another. Laugh out loud. 

It is a proven fact that at least five minutes of genuine laughter a day is crucial to your wellbeing.

I went to get a haircut. My friend Bev had a booklet in the shop that my mother found while she was waiting her turn. The booklet was about interesting facts about 1941. Bev explained that 1941 was the year her husband was born. 

I had a grocery list in mind: Thanksgiving dinner, of course.

Seventy-three years of cost of living. Compare if you dare.

The average income was $1,777 per year. A new house cost $4,075.00, while the average cost to rent a place to live was $32 a month.

A new car cost $850 and tuition to Harvard was $420 per year.

Gasoline was 12 cents a gallon, a movie ticket was 30 cents per person and a United States stamp cost 3 cents.

Ten pounds of sugar cost 59 cents, a gallon of vitamin D milk was 54 cents, a pound of coffee was 45 cents, a pound of bacon was 42 cents, a dozen eggs cost 20 cents, fresh ground hamburger was 20 cents a pound and a pound loaf of bread was 8 cents a loaf.

The best things in life are still 100% free. They are the people we love, the places we've been and the memories we've made along the way.

Make someone happy. Be nice. Try gratitude as an attitude, and you'll have even more blessings to count.

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thursday, November 27th: Jack Kuchenbecker, Kyle Goslee, Olivia Rae Kohn, Paul Kasper, Cyrstal Spurr, Mike Draayer, Lorna Berg, Sandra Tonsing

• Friday, November 28th: Quinn Lauren Wayne, Vicki Peterson, Jackie & Scott Miller

• Saturday, November 29th: Connie Smith, Dean Peterson, Emily Butler, La Vonna Ruhl, Christy & Tim Berry, Pastor Carrie & Dan McElfresh

• Sunday, November 30th: Dan Mrotz, Lindsey Hagen, Lindsey Schlaak, Sophia Jepson, Eric Knudson, Norell Wood, Kellen Utpadel, David & Lizell Swearingen, Andy & Emily Butler

• Monday, December 1st: Ethan Elliot Marzoff, Kyle Anthony Neidermeier, Jim Cornelius, Brian Waage, Laurie Ellis, Teri Horan Finke, Barbara Wangsness

• Tuesday, December 2nd: Maryalice Hanson, Liam William Philip Abbott, Allura Danon Johnson, Leah Wayne, Allura Danon Johnson, Paige Sorenson, Lyle Paulson, Jean Richards Worrell, Helen Sawyer, Heidi Wangsness, Heather Peterson, Dale Schewe

• Wednesday, December 3rd: Eric Degan, Ethan Fletcher Cornelius, Brian Van Ravenhorst

May you find joy and pleasure all around you on your special day. Thanksgiving and every day are days for giving thanks.

Each year when winter first appears and the lakes begin to ice over there are those few who like to be the first ones on the lake. I know the rule of thumb for any avid ice fisherman is the earlier the better, but please don’t throw caution to the wind. The Minnesota DNR urges people to stay off the ice at this early stage.

The guidelines for safe ice as set by the DNR are as follows:

• 2" or less - STAY OFF

• 4" - Ice fishing or other activities on foot

• 5" - Snowmobile or ATV

• 8" - 12" - Car or small pickup

• 12" - 15" - Medium truck

These guidelines are for new, clear solid ice.

Many factors other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe.

White ice or "snow ice" is only about half as strong as new clear ice. Double the above thickness guidelines when traveling on white ice.

Before heading out on ice:

1. Contact a local bait shop or lakeside resort to ask about ice conditions.

2. Check ice thickness once you get there.

Temperature, snow cover, currents, springs and rough fish all affect the relative safety of ice. Ice is seldom the same thickness over a single body of water; it can be two feet thick in one place and one inch thick a few yards away. Check the ice at least every 150 feet.

Check ice thickness using the following: www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.

With the winter kill that we experienced last year on Albert Lea and Pickeral Lakes, I don’t anticipate any fishing villages popping up during this year’s hard water fishing season. I can only assume that Fountain Lake will play host to the village people this year and there will be a lot of traffic on the lake. I also believe that Beaver and St. Olaf Lakes will see an increase in traffic this winter.

Although the Minnesota DNR tells us that a winter kill is good for the environment and makes for a healthy lake, I just don’t like the thought of starting over time and time again. I guess that at my age I don’t want to start over too many more times.

Winter kill is one thing and “reclaiming” a lake is another, but to me both occurrences leave a little void that takes away the unknown factor that is part of why I fish. What if there was a 10-lb. walleye swimming the depths of a lake that nobody envisioned being there? This is what makes fishing fun for me; call it the X factor or just the belief that at any given time fish you’ve been searching for your whole life could be the one nibbling on your hook at that very moment.

As a kid I would read fishing and hunting stories in the old Field and Stream magazines that my cousin Tom had given me and dream of living those experiences someday. While growing up I always had a vivid imagination and would frequently find myself fanaticizing about visiting the many places where those stories took place. My imagination coupled with my love for the outdoors made me feel rich in ways that money couldn’t buy.

Looking back on those days one article sticks out in my mind and that was the one that talked about steelhead fishing in upstate New York. The black and white picture that accompanied the story showed fishermen standing elbow to elbow as they lined the banks of the river in the article. Judging by the landscape I thought this could be anywhere in Minnesota and where were the skyscrapers and concrete? Once I realized that there were indeed forest and streams in New York State I also believed that this kind of fishing looked like an accident waiting to happen and I also vowed to myself that no matter how much I like to fish, this kind of fishing would never work for me.

Give me a quiet little lake with little or no boat traffic and I am in my element. I have never been one-dimensional when it comes to fishing. Some folks fish strictly walleye while others may hunt muskies or bass but I, on the other hand, will fish for what’s active at the time or for whatever I can entice to bite on the “secret” bait I have on the end of my line.

This year’s ice fishing season will soon be going strong and I am looking forward to spending a little time on the ice with my oldest grandson Trevor. It’s his turn to find the fish and take grandpa along for the ride.

Until next time, have a happy Thanksgiving and remember to always use caution when venturing out on the ice this season.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason that we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

I stepped on my eyeglasses and crushed them. I'm so thankful.

Thankful?

Yes, I'm thankful that I wasn't wearing them at the time.

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: the weather is never to everybody’s liking.

Cafe chronicles

He was a saver of words. He didn't use many. Many men are quiet on a Monday. If you're not a Vikings fan, you don't have much to talk about.

He enjoyed eating cake because it was somebody’s birthday somewhere. It wasn’t so cold that the cake was covered in permafrosting.

"It's good to see that you’re on top of the grass," he greeted me. It was good.

The waitress advised, "Don't let the special know you are afraid."

I’m thankful for her advice, the good company, and for more blessings than I deserve. Happy Thanksgiving.

Coming home

One day, I was working in Haines, Alaska, where the price of gas was $4.33 a gallon and not a flake of fallen snow. The next day, I was flying out of Juneau featuring a temperature of 33 degrees. My flight out of Ketchikan was delayed due to maintenance issues. I was OK with that. I like my airplanes to be able to take off safely and land on the other end. The plane’s problem was in the cargo area and necessitated load reduction. They found room for nearly everything, but a dog needed to be left behind. A fellow passenger said, "If that were my dog, it’d be flying and my husband would be staying here." I arrived in Minnesota to more than enough snow to go around and a temperature of 5 degrees. It was colder in my garage than it was in Alaska. My first duty upon retrieving my vehicle was to jump start a gigantic pickup truck for a fellow from Kansas. I was wearing no hat or gloves because I’m a guy. Some birds grow more feathers for winter. It’d be nice if men could grow long underwear when frigid weather hits.

It wasn’t long before my wife and I were ringing bells for the Salvation Army. While doing that, I saw an electronic sign change the price of gas from $2.72 per gallon to $2.69. I hadn’t seen that before. I’ve seen the price changed manually, one number at a time by use of a long pole. It was hard to miss seeing those. Seeing the price of gas drop is better than seeing the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s.

The game was

football

Coach Johnson was only slightly older than us. We were having a good season on the gridiron, but not a good practice. The coach called us a bunch of sissies and other things. He was showing how to run a play. He’d been a great halfback in college. We didn't tackle him. Why would we? He was our coach. He became frustrated and ordered us to tackle him as if it were a real game. We did. His leg was broken.

Customer comments

Nan Wenner of Haines, Alaska, said that her mother used to say, "Shut your mouth and eat."

Rodney Hatle of Owatonna sent this, "There’s a certain mystery to life, isn’t there. Or is that misery? For instance, I trimmed my fingernails a week ago. I finally got around to cutting my toenails. And now my fingernails need it again."

Keith Kuiters of Clarks Grove once had much more hair than he currently has. Sentimental Keith pulled out his pocket comb and said, "I’ll never part with this."

Barb Brodersen of Skagway, Alaska, was surprised by a bear peering into the window of her house. It was so close, Barb expected it to say, "Could I have fries with that?"

Fred Taylor of Goshen, Indiana, showed me a photo of him holding a dollar bill. It was a picture of his trophy buck.

Winston Evenson of New Richland said, "It’s much easier to borrow something than it is to return it."

Talking with the Holstein

The Holstein is a retired dairy cow, so she has time to talk. I wished her a happy Thanksgiving.

The Holstein chewed her cud thoughtfully before saying, "I’m thankful I’m not a turkey."

Nature notes

Black-oil sunflower seed is the best all-around choice for attracting a wide variety of species to bird feeders.

Meeting adjourned

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." — Henry Van Dyke

If you’ve ever met me or even just read my column over the past couple of years, it’s easy to recognize my love and passion when it comes to basketball. There’s something about that orange sphere that fires me up and can get me talking even more than usual.

I’ll still put baseball on the top of the list of my favorite sports. I can sit down to watch any baseball game at any level and become deeply immersed in what’s going on and thoroughly enjoy all the elements that go into America’s pastime. The same can’t be said about every level of basketball; the NBA is not something I spend a lot of time on anymore due to what I look at as a devolving of the game through too much one-on-one and not enough defense.

I grew up during a great age of the NBA though. While there were usually only games on TV on weekends, I could count on seeing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, or some combination of them. And when Michael Jordan hit the scene, it got even better. I’d spend hours at my basketball hoop, pretending to hit that game-winning shot for the Boston Celtics or dropping a hook shot for the Los Angeles Lakers.

My school had an elementary basketball program called Super Hoopers, which we started when we were in third grade. I don’t think we learned how to run an offensive play that entire first year, but really drilled on fundamentals. By fifth and sixth grade, we were playing games and tournaments, and I really learned to love the game.

One of the strengths I’ve had as a coach over all these years is that I played every spot on the floor at some point in my career. I was the tallest kid in my class in middle school, so I was a post. When I stopped growing in 8th grade, I had to learn to play at a wing and better my ball-handling to even work at point guard for a while. Even when I sat on the bench most of the time on varsity, my enjoyment of the game didn’t diminish.

What makes basketball such a great game? To me, it’s all about the team aspect. The five people on the court, when working together, create such a precision machine that it’s amazing to watch. Instead of just focusing on the ball, I try to see all ten players and how their movements play off each other. There’s nothing better than watching a team run a complex play to perfection and scoring or seeing help defense rotate around to deny a pass and get a steal.

While baseball is so symmetrical in its measurements, basketball has some odd lengths. The court is 94 feet long in the NBA, but only 84 feet in high school, and that’s not even throwing in an international court at 91.86 feet (darn metric system). A three-pointer in high school is shot from 19.75 feet. In the NBA it’s 23.75 feet except in the corners where it’s only 22 feet. College basketball has the line at 20.75 feet. Go watch a high school game on a college or NBA court and the lines can get dizzying! But maybe this is a good thing. While high school pitchers throw from the same distance as MLB players, basketball has clearly defined a need for improvement as you progress to a new level.

While my playing skills (what there was to begin with) have certainly diminished, I’ve found plenty of ways to stay involved with this game I love. I’m in my 20th season of coaching. I’ve officiated from elementary up to JV for almost as long. And I’ve grasped the microphone for announcing games. Unfortunately, the MSHSL has issued guidelines for all PA announcers at high school events, limiting what and how we can announce. So if you come to a game this year and I don’t sound as excited, there’s a reason.

And you should come to some games! I’m on record as thinking this could be one of the best all-around seasons when you take boys and girls both into account. While a state championship will be much more difficult, I think both squads have a legitimate chance to play in a section final this year. The girls have experience, though it will be interesting to watch the dynamics change. The boys had their best season in years and have all their starters back to make a deep run. Please, if you love basketball like I do, come on out and have some fun at the gym!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is luftmensch, which means an impractical dreamer, as in, “Many called the prognosticator a luftmensch for his unrealistic expectations for the local teams, but he was proved right in March.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The new part for the Weather Eye arrived just in the nick of time. The warmer weekend conditions were welcome. Will we see them continue or head back into January again? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the upper single digits. Mostly sunny and much colder for Turkey Day. Highs in the low teens and lows in the upper single digits. Partly sunny and warmer on Friday. Highs in the low 20’s with lows near 10. Saturday, partly sunny with a high near 20 and lows around 10. Mostly sunny with the start of a warming trend on Sunday. Highs in the mid-20’s with lows around 10. Monday, mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper 20’s with lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly sunny Tuesday and much warmer. Highs in the low 40’s and lows in the mid 20’s. The normal high for November 27th is 34 and the normal low is 18, the same as we might expect on March 5th.  The scurs will be keeping a drumstick in reserve so they can gnaw on it while all the Black Friday bargain hunters are out and about.

Cold conditions this past week put a damper on many folks’ activities. It was a good week to stay inside and hunker down by the fire. Cold temperatures this early, while not unheard of, certainly caught many of us off-guard and certainly not ready for it. How rapidly it does change however. The 50-degree high on Sunday at the ranch melted the bulk of the snow off the lawn and surrounding fields. The grass under the snow was just as green as it had been all fall. It even had me considering an attempt to finish mowing the road cut out front. There were still remnants of a few drifts, but I bet I could’ve made it through them. Some tillage could still be accomplished yet in the remaining fields of freshly picked corn. The frost didn’t penetrate deeply there as snow and the insulation from the corn kept it at bay. Moisture in November has been limited as well. Roughly only .65” of liquid equivalent recorded at the ranch thus far for the month.  On bare open ground it’s a little different story as you’ll read below.

Alas, there was barn cleaning to do and not a moment too soon. As I get older this activity gets a little less fun and it’s not like there was a lot of fun in it to begin with. The equipment needs to be maintained what with oil changes, hydraulic filter changes, greasing, oiling, adjusting, etc. Then of course there’s putting the forks on the skid loader. Then go grab a couple troughs and plop them over the fence since it’s easier than giving yourself a hernia. And in the main barn, taking gates and panels down consumes a fair amount of time before you get started. Almost seems like more time is spent on getting ready than actually cleaning the barn sometimes. Of course one can look at it from the standpoint that being prepared is one reason once underway, it goes pretty smoothly without a lot of surprises.

The weather was a surprise of sorts though. Warmer temperatures were expected but not to the extent that the fields thawed out entirely. It got to the point on Sunday after the first two loads that I was cutting in 6” – 8”. It was getting so bad that I wasn’t sure I was going to make it back to the yard. It’s kind of hard to hide a red tractor and spreader stuck in the field by the house from the neighbors. With discretion being the better part of valor I opted to back the spreader around by the compost pile and unload the last two loads out back in the pasture. Made for quick unloading and I was able to get the barn cleaned one more time.

Luckily before all this took place we were able to dispense with our lamb crop as well as the cull ewes. The timing couldn’t have been any better. Not only were there fewer critters to deal with during barn cleaning, it makes chores go a lot faster, not to mention using much less feed. What took 45 minutes to an hour was suddenly down to about 15 minutes. Makes one wonder what to do with all that new found free time. Not to worry, I always tell myself. There’s no shortage of people who seem to think you owe them a slice of any free time you might have, especially this time of year. 

Not a lot really in the way of new birds and animals to report at the feeders. On the 20th we had a female cardinal under the feeder. The male was nowhere to be seen and with no snow, it makes him more difficult to pick out. There are several mourning doves that have hung around and some of them have actually been showing up in the barn of all places. A group of grackles (blackbirds) appeared just ahead of the warm up and stuck around most of last weekend. The squirrels just keep munching the ear corn as well as digging in the yard for acorns or other goodies they may have stashed. Probably the most interesting animal though at the ranch is the frog living in the basement. I haven’t found him yet but can hear him croaking away from time to time. Just hope he’s not super large so we don’t smell him after he really does croak.

Ruby and Fudgie have been readying themselves for Thanksgiving. They got all perfumed from the barn although the exercise of following the skid loader and manure spreader back and forth wore them out. Both were down for the count Saturday night. With some of the baking Mrs. Cheviot has been doing lately both dogs noses have been getting a workout. It will reach a crescendo come Thursday. They can’t wait for that turkey to come off the Weber as their beaks will be working overtime.    

See you next week…real good then.

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The NRHEG Panthers were not ranked among the top 10 Class AA boys’ basketball teams to start the 2014-15 season. Redwood Valley was.

That could change.

The Panthers hosted Redwood Valley in the season opener Saturday and prevailed 87-71 in New Richland. It was tied at 33 at halftime.

“This was an up tempo affair tonight that saw both teams trying to push the tempo,” said Panthers coach Pat Churchill “It also saw each team really challenge each other on the offensive end. The first half saw both teams get in early foul trouble with a couple guys. NRHEG pushed the lead out to six, but Redwood Valley came back and to take a four-point lead before we went into the half tied. The Second half saw NRHEG push the lead to double figures five minutes into the second half and played with the lead the rest of the way.”

For the Panthers: Spencer Tollefson 20 points, 8 rebounds; Trevor Tracy 21 points (five threes), Macoy Schwierjohann 8 points, 6 assists, 14 rebounds; Kevin Kalis 10 points, 8 rebounds; Oakley Baker 21 points; John Cole four points; Chad Agrimson four points.

“Redwood is extremely quick and Sam Pendleton is a tremendous player,” said Churchill. “I thought we did a nice job in the second half making his shots a little tougher and we did a good job on the boards. I was really proud of our team tonight. We had a bunch of guys step up and get the job done. Agrimson came in and guarded Pendleton and did a great job when Macoy and Spencer got in foul trouble. Trevor hit some big 3's but also did a nice job on their best outside shooter. Kevin Klis got in foul trouble early but did a nice job inside. It was a solid first game win over a very good team.”

The Panthers play next Thursday, Dec. 4 at home against Bethlehem Academy.

The NRHEG wrestling team opens its season Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Rochester Mayo Tournament.

The NRHEG girls’ basketball team opens Tuesday, Dec. 2 at home against Waseca.

All the Panther teams will be featured in the Winter Sports Preview set to publish in next week’s Star Eagle.