In the past couple of weeks we have seen the weather go from almost perfect for hard water fishing to unstable at best. The ice we have had for the past couple of weeks had been almost perfect and for the most part the ice was as close to perfect as any ice fisherman could want. Granted, the ice was still a little thin for my liking with a thickness of 3-4 inches in the channel. The fishing seemed to be quite good although the walleye were hungry most of them were only in the 10-inch range. If you were looking for table fare then the jumbo perch would have filled that void until the larger walleye showed interest in biting.

There have been a few houses spotted on Pickerel Lake and I have heard that there have been some northern and perch being caught. Darkhouse spearing is permitted on all area lakes and this might be a good lake to visit if you are into that part of the sport.

The rain that we experienced this past week changed everything in terms of “perfect” ice conditions. With rain and standing water come unstable ice conditions so remember to use caution when venturing out on our area’s lakes and streams.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources warns ice anglers, snowmobilers, skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts to use caution when going onto any lake covered or partially covered with ice, especially those that feature aeration systems.

”Open water areas created by aeration systems can shift or change shapes depending on weather conditions,” said Marilyn Danks, DNR aquatic biologist. “Leaks may develop in air lines creating other areas of weak ice or open water.”

Aeration systems are generally operated from the time lakes freeze until ice break-up in the spring. They help prevent winterkill of fish, but they also create areas of open water and thin ice, which are significant hazards.

A bill passed during the 2013 legislative session has repealed the spearing restrictions on 12 Minnesota lakes including Deer, Moose, North Star and Spider lakes in Itasca County. The lakes were opened to darkhouse spearing effective Dec. 2.

“It was a common practice in the 1960s and early ‘70s to prohibit spearing on waters managed for muskies,” said Chris Kavanaugh, Department of Natural Resources area fisheries supervisor. “At one time there were a number of lakes in Itasca County that had spearing bans, now there are none.”

Spearing of muskellunge is still illegal in Minnesota waters. Those participating in spearing activities are responsible for properly identifying fish before spearing them.

With this being said I have to recall a few years ago when the slot limit on northern pike first went into effect on Spider Lake. There was a sign posted at the access stating that the slot limit for northern was 24-36 inches and that they must be returned to the water immediately. Also on that sign was the language about no spearing on the lake. The sign was riddled with bullet holes and being the astute observer that I am I deducted that it was a message from someone who wasn’t very happy with one or all of the regulations. I do believe that there are better ways to voice your opinion about something than shooting a sign. As far as I know that sign is still there – bullet holes and all.

When it comes to ice fishing; we shouldn’t have to travel far to be treated to some excellent fishing. Even if we can have a repeat of last year it could be a good year. Although the channel didn’t produce a lot of fish last year Fountain Lake provided plenty of action for fishermen. There were plenty of panfish and perch to be had; throw in an occasional walleye or bass and overall it was a pretty good year. I am sure my grandson Trevor will be spending a fair amount of time on the lake and I am hoping that he will take old grandpa along a time or two again this year.

Until next time, be careful when venturing out on the thin ice. It’s always time well spent when you spend it in our great Minnesota outdoors.

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

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

Santa is coming to town Saturday, December 14, in Geneva, for his yearly visit with all the young kids. Those attending will be able to sign up for the afternoon door prizes upon their arrival.

Geneva Bar & Grill and Victory Life Assembly of God Church are helping organize Santa’s yearly visit to Geneva this year. Prior to Santa’s arrival at the Geneva Community Center, bingo will be called, starting at 1 p.m. Warren Torgerson will call 20 games of bingo, and children in attendance will be able to play bingo the old-fashioned way and will use corn kernels to cover the numbers on their bingo cards.

Gifts that come wrapped in love and tied with tradition are by far more precious than anything money can buy. It may sound trite, but in fact we, and I say, we, because I know I am not the only one who looks forward all year to the Hanson family Thanksgiving and reunion hosted by my cousin, Jim, and his wife, Maryalice, Hanson.

Every year is a special occasion, but this year’s event was beyond belief. No less than 58 family members filled the Hanson home, their stomachs, but most of all their minds. How important such an event can be. We may wonder why our hosts would go to all the hard work and planning; it is such an unselfish gesture on their part and it means so much.

Many of the participants we only see once a year. Sometimes, a couple of years can slip by, but at that rate the children grow up, some into young adults. It is a treat to say the least. We feel honored that they come to see us, their relatives, to allow us to see them, and as they get older, to show us the next generation. It is a reminder of who we are - where we came from - and that memories and traditions will carry on.

We were fortunate enough this year to have the four oldest members of the "tribe" in attendance, remnants of the older generation who gave us reminders of the past: Helyn (Athan) Langlie, Phyllis (Paul) Hanson, Carole (Curt) Schember and Phyllis (Eugene) Hagen. There was time to take family pictures. Pictures say so much and are happy reminders when "pictures that come to mind" are no longer a part of our lives. We tend to forget sometimes. I had hoped to get a picture of the entire Hanson tribe in attendance but we weren't able to get that accomplished. Too many bodies for one picture. In the 22 years we have been doing this at the Hansons’ we have acquired a lot of pictures. It is fun to look back at those old photos, those no longer with us, pictures of babies that now have babies of their own, how we used to look.

There were, of course, thoughts of Grandma and Grandpa Hanson who hosted ever so many holidays for the family. Things were different back then, but the love and enjoyment of being with the family was always there. New generations of families are establishing their own roots, but it is nice to note they still have ties to their ancestors’ roots. There's an urgency to tell things about that older generation, things we were too young to know about or remember. Oh, there are thoughts of the things Grandma always had for holidays and Great Grandma Christensen too and somehow, somebody remembers and tries to duplicate that tradition of great foods. We had "tom-e-toes", lefse, chicken and noodles, Danish red cabbage, two turkeys deep fried in peanut oil, a smoked beef brisket, baked corn, Christmas breads, herring, and Danish delights. We ate until we were uncomfortable, then dished up another plate!

Julie Langlie made egg coffee, something you don't hear of as often anymore, but was the only real coffee as far as her dad, Athan, was concerned. It is made using an egg, which binds the grounds together in the boiling water to bring out the flavor. Tastes differ and are unmatched by even the most expensive brews advertised today.

Though Barbara Mrotz’s stacks of homemade lefse (dressed with Hope butter and brown or white sugar) are definitely the treat of the day. There are great salads and dressing (or stuffing as some call it), two different kinds in fact this year. We also had the traditional pumpkin pie, chocolate cream supreme, chocolate chip cookies along with homemade bread, crackers and cheese, and munchies throughout the day.

Though the Dane blood which once dominated is now mixed with other nationalities through marriage, it is still good and only adds to the quality of the character. Everyone is Danish for this one day.

Our host Jim continues to hold on to the ceremonial tradition of offering a Scandinavian toast of "Bestefar’s" Aquavit, a type of liquor distilled from caraway seeds. Available in almost all cold-weather regions of the world, some are reluctant to partake of its “rich flavor,” but feel it is traditional. For those who can’t handle Aquavit, Jim also does the “Sabreage,” cutting the top off of a Champagne bottle with a cavalry sword, a tradition started in Napoleonic times and carried forward to this day by British Lancers — and Jim Hanson.

No one seemed to be in a hurry to leave this family gathering because there is just so much to talk about and share. All through the house, several knots of people were gathering, conversing, and sharing memories.

It is not that there are always thoughts of family and memories of the past, but getting together always fosters more memories we will look back on in later years. When my Aunt Phyllis put away the childish things that had served their purpose in her home when the grandkids were little tykes, and redid her spare bedroom for adult guests, her children redecorated the room as a gift for her birthday this year, which falls near Thanksgiving. They did it so beautifully it could take your breath away. In part it also portrayed the special connection she and Eugene always had with the big oak tree that was the background for many, many pictures of their family growing up. Not only a picture of wisdom, but a family saying on the wall that says it all: “Like branches of the tree we all branched out and in our own direction but returned to our roots.”

New families mean new roots that grow deep and fill with new memories to add to those from before. That is as it should be. Time makes us subject to change. Again, as it should be, but the memories linger on above what was and what got us this far.

This is only part of the story. Next week I will share more thoughts of those “good old days.”

— — –

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, December 12th: Torie Richards, Jean Groth, Addison Gayle Lyman, Bernard Falksen, Allen Paulson, Matthew Butler, Barbara Lageson, Judith Johnson Tetzloff, Kim Seath, Christopher Nelson, Mark & Cheryl Johnson

• Friday, December 13th: Deb Bunn, Dan Carroll, Jake Pence, Eleanor Koster, Spencer Wayne, Maks Robert Edward Hanson, Michael Kelly, Mike & Michelle Peterson, Candy & Darin Baker

  Saturday, December 14th: Makenna Marie Smith, Alexander Jayce Quimby, Keith Bengston, Randy Lehmberg, Elizabeth Falksen Brockoff, Richard Conroy, Wayne Reese, Tina VanRiper, Catherine Lageson, Jim Ladlie, Rich Krikava, Daryl & Peggy Radjenovich

• Sunday, December 15th: Josh Otto, Jolene Sorenson, Brenda Burshem, Dustin Quimby, Maureen Riley, Nancy Kelly, Travis Reichl

• Monday, December 16th: Dorothy Christensen Lund, Allen Larsen, Abraham Groth, Angie Deml, Karen Zicafoose, Laura Rayman, David Brandt, Bev Phillips, Vicky Dobberestein, M. Carol Nelson, Peggy Radjenovich, Paul & Mary Groth

• Tuesday, December 17th: Zachary Tracy, Becky Edwards, Gretta Lageson, Tanya Blouin, Cheryl Cooper, Jack DeRaad, Joel Davis, Alex Edward LaFave, Keith & Leigh Ann Wayne, Lyle & Helen Swearingen, Bruce & Faye Thompson

• Wednesday, December 18th: Mary Torgerson, Catherine Suzanne Olson, Scott Lang, Chris O'Byrne, Margaret (Mugsy) Swearingen, Gavyn Tlamka, Jay & Sheri Crabtree 

• Thursday, December 19th: LaJune Hagen, Kathy Peterson, Jerry Thompson, Sheryl Tracy, Loren Haroldson, Cheryl Utpadel, James & Barb Bremmer, Chris & Jennifer Paulson, Jerry & Bev White

It is your special day; take a break and celebrate!

Surprise somebody. Call someone. Send a card and make their day. Little things mean a lot.

Echoes From the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"Has anyone ever told you that you are incredibly smart?"

"No, but thank you."

"I didn’t think anyone had."

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: it’s back east, out west, down south and up north.

Cafe chronicles

I was having a bowl of lonesome chili. I’d just finished ringing the bells for the Salvation Army and was feeling pretty good about myself. Someone approached my table and asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Al Batt?" There was a short pause before the person added, "No offense."

It was a tie

Evelyn Waugh said, "The human mind is inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors; it is when it tries to invent a Heaven that it shows itself cloddish."

When I was a boy, forced to wear neckties and, shudder, bow ties, I thought Heaven was a place where no one wore ties.

I moved with the line in the manner that I knew all too well. I was at a visitation for a friend. A wake. Family and friends gathered. Every gathering with well wishes is a prayer.

I wore a necktie to the wake. It seemed right. I don’t mind wearing ties.

My son is coaching basketball and has the need to wear neckties. He asked if I could donate some to his cause. I did. Some were a bit colorful, bright and wild. They are the ties that blind.

Classy kids

I spoke to Mr. Domeier’s and Mrs. Rudau’s 8th grade English classes at NRHEG. The classrooms were filled with wonderful students. I appreciated a couple of quotes on the wall of Mark Domeier’s room. "Much to learn, you still have," by Yoda and "An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it," by Orlando A. Battista.

While in the school, I enjoyed a swell meal of chicken fingers, tater tots, mandarin oranges and milk. The tater tots brought back memories of one of my favorite school lunches, the toothsome tater tot hotdish. I also had a taste for beanie weenies, hamburger gravy on mashed potatoes, and Hungarian goulash. Duane Swenson of rural Waseca told me that his favorite food in school was the pizza burger. I had deleted that file from my memory. They were good.

Memories of parallel parking

I limped into the building. I’d been on the d.l. after spraining my ankle before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving had passed, so I told her that I limped because the gravy had settled. She told me that she was 92-ish. She was endearing, enduring and early for our meeting. She explained that by saying, "I am old." She told me that she owned and drove a car until her 90th birthday. It was a Chevrolet. She was going to get a Buick, but she thought it might be seen as pretentious. She said she could still parallel park as long as there were no other cars anywhere near. She added that her late husband liked to sit on a bench and judge parallel parking.

I wish everyone good health

I listened to Steve Wilson, a retired forest ecologist from Tower, speak recently. He told the audience not to worry if they heard a sound like that of a ruffed grouse beating its wings. His cardiologist had told Steve that he had the world's loudest artificial heart valve and the microphone tends to pick up the sound. He told us that we should only worry if we stopped hearing the sound.

I was ringing the bells for the Salvation Army when Ardy Madson approached. I enjoy ringing the bells, but Ardy’s presence brightened my day even more. Ardy said that her husband Milo had dropped her off by the front door and had gone to park the car. She said that seven years ago, she developed a health condition serious enough that Milo had begun to baby her. She added, "I haven't told him that I got better."

Miracles do happen

Christmas time is a celebration of miracles. I pulled a container of Cool Whip out of the refrigerator and found a miracle. It had Cool Whip in it. Merry Christmas.

Nature notes

"What is the difference between a wasp and hornet?" There are many answers to this question, but the term "hornet" usually refers to a kind of wasp that builds a papery nest. A prime example is the bald-faced hornet that builds large football-shaped nests made from chewed wood.

Meeting adjourned

Be kind. The world is a small town.

My name is Mark, but I hardly ever hear that. I’m called many things (probably some I don’t want to know about), but rarely by my given name. It’s usually Honey from my wife, Dad from my kids, and Mr. D from my students. In fact, when I do hear someone say Mark, I am usually caught unaware, unsure of what I’ve just heard.

Names have power. It’s why we don’t call teachers, doctors, and priests by just their first names very often; we don’t feel like we should have power over them. We have nicknames from various eras in our lives, some that even stick from youth all the way through.

Last week I wrote about my announcing career. One of the things some people tell me they look forward to is what batch of nicknames I might have for players. Some are blatantly stolen from others (Carlie “The Dagger” Wagner is thanks to the Swami), some are spontaneous (Harlee “Vroom Vroom” Vokoun comes to mind), and others have a good story behind them.

The first nickname I handed out came in my third year here. Paul Johnson was working on a project with Danny Gullickson while they sat on the floor. Danny dared Paul to stick a paper clip in an electric outlet. Who could resist something like that besides 99% of us? Paul took the dare, and the next thing everyone in the class knew, a fuse had been blown, and Paul was sitting in a daze with a paper clip in his hand. He was dubbed Sparky, and that name stuck at least through high school.

One of my favorites dates back to when I coached summer rec baseball in Ellendale and Geneva. Justin Stieglbauer was a good player on what was a very good team. However, Stiggy liked to do more than was necessary: he would dive to make a catch when he didn’t have to or take an extra base when he shouldn’t have tried. One day I told him that he was becoming a legend in his own mind, and that was that. The other boys joined in naming Justin “The Legend,” and that’s how I announced him all the way through his senior year of high school.

Curt Pederson and I didn’t always get along in middle school, so I ironically called him “My good friend,” Curt Pederson. I often joked that that was the way I’d introduce him in a varsity game someday. He said if I did that, he’d come up in the booth and smack me. I did it anyway. He said it fired him up so much for the football game that he played a spectacular game, making a number of good defensive plays.

Some nicknames have stuck even after high school. Taylor Holland is a vivacious person, and his motor was always running in school. Before a wrestling meet in high school, I thought that Taylor needed a nickname to match his personality, and thus was born the longest nickname I’ve ever given: The Mouth of the South, the Master of Disaster. To this day, as he assists as a coach for football, I still introduce him that way.

Not everyone gets a nickname. It has to be something that fits and that the crowd might be able to understand. Earlier this year, Leon Schoenrock approached me and said he had the perfect nickname for Kevin Kalis for basketball season: Big Country. Kevin is a force in the lane at 6’6”, so that seemed appropriate. A week ago, some of his classmates told me I should call him Jif, based on some inside joke. Eh, I’ll go with Leon’s suggestion.

Sometimes it’s not even a nickname; some last names are just fun to announce. Joe Moon’s last name was fun to drag out on the vowel sound. Paige Overgaard’s last name lets me go over a hill. Plus, any name that starts with an R can get a growl out of me (think of that for Greg and Geoff Ramaker or even when I can add it to a previous consonant like in Trevor Tracy).

There have been so many fun ones over the years. Alearah “Hello” Neumann, “The Prophet” Eli Bushlack, and Jade “The Blade” Schultz have all been fun, and I look forward to what new ones pop up in the years to come.

Me? I’ll stick to Mr. D, Domeier, Dome Dog, or even Mr. Domeier most days. I expect to hear those much more than Mark… and that’s okay.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is ineluctable, which means impossible to avoid, as in, “It was ineluctable to attend a girls’ basketball game at NRHEG without hearing about a Dagger and a Blade during starting lineups.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Well, the upper teens sounded good for this past Monday. As the scurs pointed out, if you like those temperatures you can keep them. That being the case, what do we have in store for the coming week? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a daytime high in the low single digits below zero. Temperatures rising above zero overnight into the lower single digits above zero. Thursday, partly sunny with a balmy high near 20. Becoming mostly cloudy in the overnight with a low around 10. Mostly cloudy for Friday with highs in the low 20’s. Cloudy for the overnight with a slight chance of a snow shower. Lows near 10. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of a snow shower. Highs in the middle teens and lows in the lower single digits. Sunday brings partly sunny skies with highs again in the middle teens and a low near zero. A slight chance of snow for Monday under mostly cloudy skies with highs near 15 and lows near 5 above. Warmer for Tuesday and mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-20’s and lows near 10 above. The normal high for December 15th is 26 and the normal low is 9. After sliding below 9 hours of daylight on the 10th we’ll slide to 8 hours and 55 minutes worth on the 15th with only one more minute to go before the days get back to that length on the 25th. The scurs are still boycotting Black Friday. Plenty of time to be making a list and checking it twice.

The Full Moon will show itself once again on the 17th, commonly known as the Full Cold Moon or the Full Long Nights Moon. The nights are indeed long as mentioned above and the moon tends to shine brightly off the new fallen snow. The Ojibwe called this the Small Spirits Moon and the Sioux the Moon of Popping Trees. At the ranch we know it as the Moon of Popping Joints when it comes time to roll out of a warm bed and head outside to do morning chores.

Snowfall this past week amounted to perhaps more than what we were expecting. At the ranch we measured roughly 2 ½” and were able to melt about a quarter inch of moisture out of it. With the ground frozen, it won’t move into the soil any time soon. At the SROC under bare soil, the frost depth has reached 11” as of  December 9th. However with freezing and thawing of the rough, tilled black soil, some of the moisture from the snow can make its way into the ground and be held in the upper several inches of soil for use by next year’s crop.

One good thing about feeding the birds thus far this winter: It’s been easy on the pocketbook. As Al Batt pointed out a few weeks ago, there is plenty of food out here for them to eat. Just looking out the windows here we can see all kinds of berries, not to mention the upland portion of the CRP that was full of composite flowers, complete with all the seed they produce. Still, we have lots of downies and hairies, a large contingent of blue jays and a growing number of goldfinches. There were even two big, beautiful rooster pheasants that strolled cautiously across the pasture on the slope just below the house on Monday morning. Was good to see a few of them do still exist. 

The bellering the sheep do during evening chores doesn’t set well with Fudgie and she becomes very agitated, flinging herself at the gates and the ewes when they’re loud. A few buckets of screenings later however, the sheep are quiet again and she calms down. Ruby just runs with reckless abandon the whole time we’re outside so noise really doesn’t matter. Once the sun starts getting low in the sky her chore clock goes off and she pesters us incessantly until we relent and go do chores. It is nice sometimes on the weekend to do chores during daylight hours so we can actually see what kind of condition the sheep are in. So far so good, they’re all active except for those wrapped in white paper in the freezer.

Saturday was brutally cold but still allowed us to accomplish a few things. Rather than leave a thrower rack in the yard to move snow around all winter it seemed like a logical time to tow it back to its place of origin near Owatonna. The wagon trailed about like a drunken sailor on leave, so a slow rate of travel was in order. After 17 miles of listening to the bearings squeak, watching the running gear whip violently back and forth while visions of ditching it danced in my head, I was more than relieved to exhale and unhook it once we reached our destination.

While in Owatonna, it presented a golden opportunity to grab a Christmas tree before they were down to the Charlie Brown trees. There’s something about the smell of a real tree that can’t be duplicated. Sure, they’re more work and maybe someday if our health no longer allows it, we may opt for an artificial. However, even if that day comes, my guess is it’ll just add to the numerous artificial trees scattered throughout the house. Mrs. Cheviot lives for Christmas decorating. This is part of why Mr. Cheviot is willing to opt for a live tree. After putting it in the pickup, bringing it in the garage, letting it set a few days, taking it outside, making a fresh cut, hauling it back in the house and plopping it in the stand, Mr. Cheviot can go back into hiding, sure in the knowledge that his decorating “skills” won’t be needed for another year. Best of all, this year I didn’t even need to stop at the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange silo. I went before I left home just like Mom always told me.

See you next week…real good then.

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

ROCHESTER – The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva wrestling squad opened its season with a second-place finish at the Rochester Century Duals. The Panthers won two of three matches during the day in head coach Shaun Larson’s debut. 

“It was nice to have a chance to compete after two weeks of practicing,” said Larson. “All in all, I was very proud of our wrestlers.”

NRHEG started its day by rallying for a 34-26 victory over Rochester Century. The Panthers had to overcome a 26-6 deficit to pick up the win. 

The Panthers’ only win in the first six matches came from Cordell Peterson at 126 pounds. He stuck Rochester’s Michael Siewert in 3:37.

Thomas R. Linnihan, 56, of Owatonna, died Monday, November 25, 2013 of natural causes at his home in Owatonna. 

He was born January 8, 1957 in Albert Lea, Minnesota the son of John and Catherine (Klotz) Linnihan. 

He is survived by his sister, Patricia (and Jim) Johnson of Sioux Falls, SD; brother, John Linnihan; four nephews, John and Sean Linnihan, Christopher and Joel Johnson; and one niece, Jessica O’Connor.

A memorial service will be held Friday, December 13, 2013 at 2 p.m. at All Saints Catholic Church in New Richland. A reception will follow at 3 p.m. at 113 2nd Avenue NW, Waseca, Old Eagle’s Building. A private interment was held at Calvary Cemetery in New Richland.  Michaelson Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.