By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

My mother says that all the stars that twinkle in the sky are probably our loved ones telling us they are happy in heaven and that they look over us every day.

Another twinkling star has recently been added. Someone who made a difference, a big difference, while living and working among us.

Gary Nordlie had a personality beyond dispute. He was true to himself and his fellow man, doing his best to live a more-than-satisfying life while he encouraged and advised others.

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

While still licking our chops and wiping the gravy off our chins from another fabulous Thanksgiving, we are reminded that our recent feast just serves as an appetizer for the annual Wild Game Feed at Geneva Bar & Grill Saturday, Dec. 7.

Held under the heated "big top" in the parking lot at Geneva Bar & Grill, it draws people from near and far. This annual event was started some 29 years ago when Judy Thompson suggested to the hunters who had wild game in her freezer that maybe this would be a good way to raise money for the cancer crusade. What started oh so small all those years ago has now grown to be an extraordinary event.

NRHEG High School Principal David Bunn has announced the names of students selected to the Honor Roll for 1st Quarter 2013-14:

“A” Honor Roll

Grade 12 —Emily Christenson, Hailie Clausen, Kellen Ferber, Kendra Grothem, Presley Johnson, Hannah Lundberg, Paige Overgaard, Ryan Patraw, Douglas Rudau, William Swenson, Carlie Wagner

Grade 11 — Nicholas Bartness, Karina Gaona Quezada, Colton Hagen, Ryann Hagen, Julia Kanngeisser, Grant Kyllo, Jake Langlie, Melissa Malakowsky, Keith Maxon, Hudson Mrotz, Jordan Mueller, Sandra Quezada, Andrew Shutrop, Anna Stork, Trevor Tracy

Grade 10 — Anna Bailey, Bailey Burg, Abby Christopherson, Nicole Edon, Lizzy Hagen, Destiny Hill, Katharine Lewer, Grace Logan, Anna Lundberg, Elijah Lutgens, Jessica Nafe, Corrie Powell, Torrie Stencel, Kayanna Wibben

Thanksgiving is more than a day in November. School children are taught to remember that first Thanksgiving where prayers were offered just for being alive and for the strength that had been given to endure and survive. Lest we forget our forefathers came to establish a country under God’s name. Times have changed and yet they remain the same. We are in fact all still pilgrims subject to God’s guidance and it will show us the way to purposeful living.

We have many things to be deeply thankful for: big things, small things that we accept in many ways and often without thought where these gifts came from.

God doesn't always give us the things we wish for. Thank God He knows best. Sometimes things that seem like tragedy are really a blessing in disguise. It is all in how you look at it or use it.

I received some good words over the Internet from "Kelly," who has experienced the ups and downs of life and not only survived but became stronger.

Her thoughts:

"Thank you Lord.

There is a roof over me.

I have a good place to sleep.

There is food on the table and shoes on my feet.

You gave me your love Lord and a fine family.

I thank you Lord for all your blessings to me."

There are times one can feel so overwhelmed by the problems that surround us it is hard to face a new day. Anxiety and depression can only make those problems worse. It is hard. Not always a cure, but that is when it is time to think about the positive things we have in our lives that can help us cope with the negative.

Thanksgiving. It is "THANKS GIVING". We have so much to be thankful for - lest we forget.

Too often we get so involved with the foolish frolicking of Halloween and the frantic celebration of Christmas we forget to remember Thanksgiving’s real purpose. The first Thanksgiving Days were harvest festivals, or days for thanking God for plentiful crops.

It was also created as a time to say thank you for all the good things in life that cost nothing and provide everything.

In a frenzy of busyness and technology and quickly changing times that challenge us every day, we need to take time to appreciate the positive or good things we have been given. Thank you is such a meaningful statement. It is so easy to say and mean it.

My mother has a saying on her wall, "That if the only prayer you ever say is ‘Thank you’ - that is enough.” That really says it all!

Yes, thank you God, but thank yous go beyond that to the people you know and appreciate but don't always voice that feeling of appreciation that can make a day or even change a life. Putting it into words is all that is necessary.

A thank you, spoken verbally, or a note of appreciation and admiration, are all inspiring ideas that make our lives so much richer.

Enrich Thanksgiving Day beyond the food and friendship and family gatherings and take time to tell someone how much they mean in your life.

Keep a journal. Or just make a list of all the good things that have happened in your life and say, "Thank you," even if it is just in thought.

Thanksgiving Day, usually a family day, is celebrated with big dinners and joyous reunions. We are so fortunate in our family that the Saturday after Thanksgiving my cousin, Jim, and his wife, Maryalice, provide an informal family reunion of sorts to commemorate Thanksgiving Day and reminisce and catch up on what has been happening in the family. It is a reminder of all the family holidays my grandparents celebrated through the years. It is fantastic! Cherish those memories and family moments.

Though there are those who may overfeast, we should be mindful of those whose feast is small or not at all. We are thankful there are those who are planning a "Victory Dinner" and other dinners like the Salvation Army for those who don't have family and friends to share the day with.

One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of house you lived in, how much money you had, nor what your clothes were like, but the world may be a little better, because you were important in the life of another.

Just think of all the nicest things the day could bring your way. That's exactly what you are wished — with love.

Embrace the day and make your life richer. Appreciation can make a day, even change a life!

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. 

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.

Birthdays and anniversaries:

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

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

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

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

• Monday, 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

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

• Wednesday, December 4th: Sue Mattson, Jessica Shultz, Sandy Larson Russo, Sue Brown Asplund, Shawn Vangen Steffen, Jeff Kasper, Skylar Larson, Holly Pichner, Max Jensen, Casey & Jon Homuth

• Thursday, December 5th: Finnegan Fladger, Bodie Jaxon Newgard, Phyllis Hanson, Rick Aaseth, Rosalyn Johnson, Kathy Lee, Christian Conroy, Shannon Jensen, Kelsey Loverink, Ron Farner, Larry & Mary Richards

• Friday, December 6th: Sharon Johnson, Rodger Hill, Katie Marlin, Tony Jackovitch, John Lerum, John Kaplan, Sue Klemmensen, Chris & Marie Wallace,  Emily & Jeffrey O'Brien

• Saturday, December 7th: Katie Olson, Tracy Holland, Sam Peterson, Angela Hensrud, Wanda Schwartz, Helen Schmidt, Kara & Eric Grant, Ron & Theresa Langlie, Dawn & Eric Degan

May you find joy and pleasure all around you on your special day.

This is the time of the year that has most fishermen in limbo. As ice begins to form on our area lakes and streams, the open water fishing opportunities start to dwindle and all we can do is wait for ice-over. This can also be a dangerous part of the year as folks tend to venture out on thin ice hoping to reap the benefits of the “early ice” bite. It has been said many times that the hard water fishing is at its best soon after the ice-over.

The Department of Natural Resources said the thin layers of ice that are forming on Minnesota waters right now are not safe. This reminder comes after a DNR conservation officer helped rescue a man Nov. 15 who was fishing and fell through the ice on Little Rock Lake in Benton County. 

“The bottom line is it’s crucial that people do not let their guard down,” said Kara Owens, DNR boat and water safety specialist, “because ice is never 100 percent safe. A few days of cold temperatures don’t create ice strong enough to hold a person.”

According to Owens, six people died last winter after falling through the ice.

The DNR recommends anyone heading out on the ice should: carry a set of ice picks, check with a local bait shop or resort — ask about ice conditions — and measure the ice.

DNR clear ice thickness recommendations are:

• 4 inches for walking.

• 5 inches for a snowmobile or ATV.

• 8-12 inches for a car.

 •12-15 inches for a medium-sized truck.

Statistics say that most drowning caused by thin ice are at this time of the year and children are the ones who are most prone to testing the first ice.

Looking back to my childhood days, I can recall testing the first ice on more than one occasion. As a kid I spent most of my waking moments either at the “crick” starting with ice-out in the spring or tromping through the slough on a wintery Saturday in search of some kind of adventure. I can remember testing the ice on mud puddles just to get some sort of satisfaction out of breaking through. It is actually kind of strange what simple things can fascinate a young mind.

As the ice thickened, some of the kids in the neighborhood would decide to venture out into the slough pretending to be explorers like Lewis & Clark or frontiersmen like our folk heroes Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. Sometimes I would picture myself as Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, who was a TV hero of mine that was always battling Indians or tracking down those dastardly French Canadian bad guys.

Getting back to the ice thing, while venturing out on the “big ice” for the first time we would usually be extra careful until we felt safe; which would sometimes lead to filling the old 5-buckle overshoe with ice cold water. The overshoe full of water was usually accompanied by a water soaked pant leg which would freeze solid in just a short time in the cold of winter. It’s funny how kids can be oblivious to the freezing temperatures for a time until the pant leg starts to make a “clacking” sound and the teeth begin chattering. This is when you knew it was time to head home and face the “I told you so” that mom would have ready for you after warning you to be careful and stay off the ice.

Most of the time if you did fall through the ice, it was because you had gotten too close to the cattails which were like magnets to a kid looking for the perfect one. For some strange reason we would almost make a game out of finding the best cattail. You didn’t want one that had already started to open up but one that was perfectly brown with the point still intact. It wasn’t as if we would actually do anything with them. I guess it was just a game we’d made up to pass the time on a wintery afternoon adventure.

Yes, those times spent playing on that thin ice could have been dangerous, but we didn’t see it that way because we didn’t think the “crick” was all that deep and, of course, we never really planned on breaking through. I can still remember marveling at the times when you would stand on that clear, thin ice watching as the water flowed beneath it on its way to Goose Lake; it was just another wonder of nature that fascinated a young kid who loved spending time in the outdoors.

Until next time, stay off the thin ice there will be plenty of winter ahead. 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.

Echoes From the Loafers’ Club Meeting in Seattle

"Does it ever stop raining here?"

"It does."

"When is that?"

"When it starts snowing."

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: Silence is not golden. It’s foreign.

I’ve learned

• Hotdish is made for people who like it when foods touch.

• Before climbing a ladder, I should make sure it's leaning against the right wall.

• I should live each day as if I want it to last.

Oh, me-o, my-o, I was in Ohio

I was engaged in a book signing in Ohio. I went for a walk beforehand. It was windy and the rain was falling at a good clip. I had rocks in my pockets and holes in my shoes. Folklore says if you find a rock with a white line or band completely around it, you’d have good luck and a wish granted. I found one. I gave it to another who needed some good luck.

Questions

• If you could have eight days a week, which day would you want to have twice?

• Is "recycle bin" a collective noun?

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Office Max

I needed ink for my copier. It drinks ink like it’s coffee in a church basement. I was in Owatonna, so I stopped at the Office Max there. It’s soon to become an Office Depot store. I visited with a helpful employee named Adam. He fixed me up with what I needed. Adam told me that his wife’s name is Eve. Fittingly, this Adam and Eve were married in Galesville, Wis., an appropriate location because once upon a time, after reading the Bible 25 times, Reverend Van Slyke came to the conclusion that Trempealeau County was the home of the Garden of Eden.

Traveling tales

Mark Twain encouraged me by writing, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

My wife loves to travel with me. That way, when she uses an airport restroom, there is someone to watch her bags.

After some shambolic travel, I was happy to return home. I love traveling and I love coming home. I’m Minnesota grown. I have a severe case of Gopheritis. Whenever people complain about the state’s weather, taxes, roads or politics, I tell them TIM. Not TMI, which stands for "Too Much Information." It's TIM, which means "This Is Minnesota."

A report from Haines, Alaska

I ate with friends at Klondike Pizza. One of them was from the Yukon. Another asked him, "Why do you Canadians say 'eh' all the time?"

The Yukoner replied, "Huh?"

Dan Egolf of Haines told me that a friend of his was going out to eat. As he stepped out the door of his home, a silver salmon fell onto his lawn. He looked up to see a bald eagle with butter talons. The man didn't go out to eat that day. He stayed home and ate fresh salmon.

From the family files

One in the family is working weekends and after school. He wants to buy a car. He has a driving ambition.

My father loved creamed asparagus on toast. I didn’t much care for it. I ate it reluctantly. Then one day, I munched on it and I liked it. It was the dawning of the age of asparagus.

Did you know?

• Research conducted at the University of Sussex showed that reading is the most effective way to overcome stress, beating out listening to music, drinking a cup of tea or coffee and taking a walk.

• There are 1,790 townships, 853 cities and 87 counties in Minnesota. Iowa has 1,661 townships, 947 cities and 99 counties.

Nature notes

Harlan Lutteke of Alden asked, "Where are all the birds?" The lack of birds at feeders is due to behavioral and nutritional reasons. In the spring and summer, birds are focused on breeding. They hunt for mates, search for nesting material and forage to feed nestlings. Once breeding is over, they have little reason to sing. A quiet comes with the season. The food we offer is only part of the birds' diet. In late summer and fall, there is a plethora of fruit, berries and seeds. Birds take advantage of available food sources. Some birds migrate while others move about in response to seasonal changes. Your bird feeders will feed birds.

Meeting adjourned

Two wrongs don’t make it even. Be kind.

Last week was American Education Week, recognizing all those involved in educating our children. This week is Thanksgiving, where we pause from our busy lives to give thanks for the many gifts we have in life. These two ideas have mashed-up for this week’s column!

Gary Nordlie, former English teacher at NRHEG, passed away recently. He was a legend when I arrived in New Richland in 1996 and retired three years later. However, as my mentor, he helped guide me in the right direction as a teacher. He didn’t utter a word about what to teach or how to teach it in those three years. However, he gave me valuable advice that made me not only a better teacher, but a better person.

Naturally, the Mr. Nordlie stories have been flowing freely among the staff that knew him. Every story ends with a laugh and a smile. He may not have always been a traditional teacher, but that’s what made him even better, and that in itself helped to inspire my methods of teaching.

The best advice he ever told me was this: “Always wear a tie to parent-teacher conferences. There’s a chance you might have to tell parents their child is a moron, and you’d better look good when you say that.” And now you know why I almost always wear a tie, not just to conferences, but every day at work!

I’ve seen so many tributes to Mr. Nordlie on Facebook, and it got me to thinking about teachers who inspired me. Everyone can name at least one teacher that had a profound impact, but a few come to mind for me.

Mr. Craig Galvin was my third grade teacher. Mr. Galvin was that fun teacher who interacted with every student and knew how to push each of us to achieve at our own levels. The biggest impact Mr. Galvin had on me was his monthly assignment to write a story. Most of these were creative writing, which can be difficult for third graders. I was motivated to have my classmates vote my story the best each month and kept pushing myself to be more and more creative.

I still have all those stories. It’s fun to sit down and read them sometimes. I know I wouldn’t enjoy writing today without the guidance of Mr. Galvin all those years ago. Thank you, Mr. Galvin!

Mrs. Lorraine Boesch was my eighth grade language arts teacher. She was a much more traditional teacher, and many kids didn’t like her, probably because her class was tough and her expectations high. I thought I could get away with some easier books to read for book reports, but she nailed me on that and kept giving me books that were long and different genres. I would shake my head, but read them…and often found some great works of literature.

I never would have read Louis L’Amour or Johnny Tremain if not for Mrs. Boesch. I started to understand her dry sense of humor during that year. Looking back, I adopted some of her style when it comes to expectations in my own classroom. Thank you, Mrs. Boesch!

Mr. Larry Tise was my English teacher for two years in high school. He was a long-haired guy who you never would have pictured teaching in a Catholic school. Despite the rawness of his demeanor, he presented material in an unforgettable way. We’d often sit in a circle and just talk about whatever was going on, and then he would use that for an assignment, and we wouldn’t even realize that we were working.

Mr. Tise died a few years ago, right before I was ready to teach a writing lesson that he used for us. Every year, I continue to teach a creative writing prep lesson before my students write to music, and every year I dig out the writing I did for Mr. Tise the day he taught that lesson to me. Thank you, Mr. Tise!

Dr. Marjorie Dorner was an English professor that I took for four classes at Winona State. She was the toughest teacher in the department, and my goal was to get an A in one of her classes. I finally did in her Modern Drama class, because I finally got over my intimidation of her and went and asked for help. I was amazed as she compared the paper I was writing to the first one I had ever written for her in my freshman English class!

Dr. Dorner was a pleasant woman once you took the time to get to know her. Looking back, I wish I had done that sooner. It was tough when she would be blunt about if my work was terrible, but that helped me tremendously to look at my writing with a keener eye. Thank you, Dr. Dorner!

Look at that – Mr. Nordlie has inspired again – a whole column’s worth! I just hope one of his wishes never comes true. He used to so enjoy the hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes at school that he said when he died, he wanted his ashes mixed in with the next batch. I think I’ll bring my own lunch that day.

Word of the Week: This week’s word has been named the 2013 Word of the Year and will be added to the dictionary. It is selfie, which is a picture taken of yourself that you use in social media, as in, “The teenager kept taking selfies until she found the perfect one for her Facebook profile.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The scurs missed the Tuesday cold front, but otherwise were dead on. Will their forecasting skills be honed in for Thanksgiving? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the lower teens. Turkey Day, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Mostly sunny on Friday with highs in the lower 30’s and lows in the lower 20’s. Partly sunny for Saturday becoming mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow by evening. Highs in the lower 30’s and lows in the lower 20’s. Sunday, mostly cloudy with highs in the lower 30’s and lows in the lower 20’s. Mostly cloudy Monday with possible snow showers. Highs near 30 and lows in the mid-teens. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with highs near 30 and lows falling to about 10. The normal high for November 28th is 33 and the normal low is 17. On December 2nd we’re back to the sun rising in the morning at 7:30. Also, the loss of daylight has slowed to less than two minutes per day at that point. Enough about time or lack of it. The scurs will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday traditionally by boycotting all Black Friday activities. Plenty of time left to shop.

With the exception of some tiling, the cold temperatures over the weekend all but ended any remaining fieldwork. Corn has stopped appearing at the elevator in Bugtussle and the 10-man dryer has ceased its fearless roar. Some of the prevented plant acreages remain in windrows while other fields were rolled up ahead of last Thursday’s snowfall. None of those bales I’ve seen are steaming yet so that’s a good sign. Soil moisture remains in good shape in the top 5’ measured at the SROC in Waseca. There were nearly 10” available back on November 1st, slightly above the long-term average with some additional accumulation since then. Much of the moisture is deep in the profile so at least at this point, one can look optimistically at next spring’s potential planting conditions.

It will soon be time to bring the ewes home from the kindly neighbor’s. The sheep coming off both pastures are fat. At home they were treated to vegetable leftovers including daily buckets of carrots from Souba’s. At the kindly neighbor’s they consumed countless acorns as the bur oak trees there were very prolific. In the meantime, there is still the small barn left to be cleaned. The cold weekend made matters less than palatable so with a warmer forecast, it’ll happen. The main barn was finished up before the snow Wednesday afternoon last week and mostly without incident. I did, however, discover the likely cause of the tractor missing and coming to a sudden stop last weekend. Looking in the bottom of the sediment bowl I spied a familiar “object.” Not just a part, but the entire body of one of those insipid ladybugs! That it got in the tank doesn't surprise me, but how it got through an opening the size of that in the bottom of the gas tank is beyond me.

Mrs. Cheviot took off again for another weekend of action packed house decorating, so once again the dogs and I were in charge at the ranch. It was a good Saturday to run some errands and upon returning, peruse the Web for Studebaker parts. Yes, brakes are in order and my trusty mechanic keeps finding “things” needing attention. The brake drums are to the point that turning them won’t bring them into tolerance. New brake drums aren’t cheap and neither are decent used ones. Luckily the Internet has made part shopping almost fun, although looking at all the options first including hard copy always makes sense. The car doesn’t have to be on the road anytime soon and replacing the brakes is imperative. Since it’s a three on the tree, one could do a lot of downshifting I suppose. However, operating without a like new braking system given some of the hilly terrain one might encounter could be downright dangerous.

Sunday meant a little warmer temperatures so after church the dogs and I were busy doing some more winterizing. While we refilled the sheep water tank, we got the skid loader out and then removed the old hay bales from the well pit. We used them to mulch some of the perennials we’d planted previously, something that should work just about right. We replaced the partially decomposed hay bales with nice cornstalk bales, making me breathe a little easier the next time Old Man Winter decides to leave the freezer door to the north open again. Having done all this should of course cause the weather to warm up. Hey, if that’s what it takes we’ll keep doing it.

Thanksgiving this year will come as a bittersweet holiday at the ranch. It had become tradition that we’d go get Mom and Fudgie from her place and have her over to stay as long as she’d like. When we’d call to invite her you could always detect the excitement in her voice, the anticipation of the relaxation and the feast that was a part of the visit. Of course she always felt compelled to bring something and among the favorites was the cherry salad she’d make. We have a lot to be thankful for this year, including all the time we spent with Mom since last Thanksgiving and her passing in June.

Those Thanksgiving memories are still alive and well however. I was just at Krause’s the other day, recalling how impressed she had been with the little farm store off I-35 in Hope. She always asked about the store and spoke fondly of her visit there; rightfully so. Few stores exist like that anymore. The rolling of the pumpkins down our hill with the sheep chasing merrily after them was cause for much giggling on her part. And we can’t forget how she loved the way the warm house smelled, especially once the turkey came off the grill to intermingle with the wonderful aroma of everything Mrs. Cheviot had whipped up. We won’t have Mom this year, but we will have cherry salad made from her recipe. Treasured memories and we are thankful for them.

See you next week…real good then.

The funeral service for Constance Carrie Smidt will be held on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 11 a.m. at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Hartland, Minnesota. The Reverend Dennis Frank will officiate. Interment will be in the Hartland Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday at Bonnerup Funeral Service in Albert Lea, as well as one hour prior to the service at the church.

Connie Smidt passed away on Friday, November 22, 2013 at St. John’s Lutheran Home in Albert Lea. She was 80 years old.

NRHEG School Board

By REED WALLER

Staff Writer

What difference has the new technology made to the way learning is done in our schools?

That question was addressed Monday evening as NRHEG seventh and ninth grade students made iPad-assisted presentations to the school board on the progress of their projects.

Food waste composting

Four of Mrs. Feist’s seventh-graders described how their group had organized around the problem of food waste in the New Richland cafeteria. They were developing a plan whereby they could convert thrown-away food to compost.