Christensen near perfect; Mosher again among top 25 in Minnesota

Last Tuesday, the NRHEG clay target team hit New Richland Sportsman's Club one last time for the 2013 fall season.

All but set in the fifth-place spot in the conference, the team was primarily looking to finish the season strong.

At the same time, two of the Panther shooters were in a head-to-head tie for the top gun award. One of those shooters was Collin Christenson. Collin had a per round average of 20.6 out of 25 possible targets. This night, however, would see Collin blow that average away as well as almost every target he saw. In his first round, Collin scored a perfect 25/25. This feat alone was a personal best and puts him in the 25 Straight Club. In the second round it took 17 more targets before Christenson made an error. He quickly brushed that off and ended the night nearly perfect at 49/50 targets broken and the team's top gun award.

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

SHERBURN – Mistakes will kill you. Just ask the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva football team. 

The Panthers committed five turnovers in their opening round Section 3AA playoff game. As a result, NRHEG’s season is over. 

Fourth-seeded Martin County West handed the fifth-seeded Panthers a 40-14 setback in the section quarterfinal round at Sherburn last Tuesday.

“I was proud of our effort, but we had five turnovers and you just can’t do that, especially against good teams,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork. “MCW took advantage of our mistakes.”

The Mavericks raised their record to 8-1 heading into the semifinals. 

There is much to be said about Halloween.

From the looks of things, there is a growing trend to celebrate Halloween, not just by kids, but by adults as well. It rakes in a lot of money at the cash register. 

I think for some it is about the fun of being able to pretend. Being able to dress up as somebody different from who we are is something many seem to enjoy. For children it’s exciting to be able to get all that candy, and to go out trick-or treating even if they don't really plan to do any tricks.

Maybe Halloween is exciting because there has been that long stretch from Easter and the 4th of July, and many look forward to the upcoming winter holidays.

Have you noticed how anxious everyone is to decorate for the occasion? Maybe it’s the need for a frivolous break from school and work schedules. 

At any rate, Halloween has arrived.

I am not particularly fond of ghosts and goblins and the other gruesome stuff that goes along with Halloween. What’s the difference between that and the garbage that is on television these days? Instead, how about having kids dress up as someone else, eliminating the macabre? Let them be cowboys, or astronauts, or sports figures, or famous people. Let them create their own ideas and design their own costumes.

For some kids, Halloween is all about free candy. Though treats aren't needed, they have become such a part of the holiday that anything different just doesn't seem to fit. I tried giving pencils one year, but the reaction is not the same when you drop a pencil in their Halloween bags instead of a piece of candy. Tradition holds fast.

I feel the same way about candy thrown at parades. It didn't used to be expected, but now it is a part of every parade. I cringe thinking about it, even though it is wrapped and clean. We have been trying to teach the children that sugar isn't good for them and that we should not eat things that aren’t "clean," but we let them pick up candy off the street.

My parents never let my sister and me go out on Halloween. Not because they didn't trust us to behave, nor to spoil our fun. If any mischief did occur, they knew we were not involved. We were able to experience our Halloween pleasure in a different way by handing out treats to others instead. It was fun trying to guess who the little ones were behind the masks. One year we even wrote down their names, just for fun, and it was interesting to see who had come, and from how far away, to do their trick-or-treating. 

My dad put a scary Halloween record on the outside speakers one year, which wasn't a good idea because it scared away all but the older and braver children. We never did that again. It scared away all the little kids, the ones we enjoyed seeing on Halloween night, with all their cute little costumes and smiling faces.

Halloween was less dangerous then. There weren't so many real ghosts and goblins, and kids weren't able to see those types of things on television almost any night of the week. Costumes were usually cowboys, astronauts, sports figures, Indians, tramps or famous people. Children worked alone, or with their mothers, to create or design their costumes, using things commonly found around the home. Decorations often came from the garden, pumpkin patch or cornfield, and maybe we had a school party or played some Bingo during the day. Education wasn't forgotten, just taught in a different, fun way. 

I have no problem with schools deleting some of the hoopla from the day, as it seems more like an after-school event - and as for religious significance, I am not sure anyone really knows much about that any more. We do a lot of frivolous things just for enjoyment, activities which take time away from education, but who is to say what is learned and how education is involved in events? Education wears many hats with events woven into the intellect. We also learn from things that don't necessarily involve "school." Even dressing up as someone else can be a learning experience. Maybe kids should be taught something about the person they are impersonating.

I always felt a little sad regarding Thanksgiving, because somehow it always got shortchanged, falling in between Halloween and Christmas, until my cousin Jim and his wife Maryalice took it upon themselves to host the Hanson family reunion on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. It was a great way to share our thanks giving for all the things we have been given, and it served as a time to begin directing our thoughts toward Christmas. The Hanson family is able to share food, conversation and have fun "catching up" with what’s been going on with our families during the year that we might have missed.

My mother can remember how much fun "Yule a bokking" used to be, and though it was between Christmas and New Year’s, she felt no guilt or distraction from either holiday. Did you know that "Yule a bokking” is a variation of “Boxing Day” celebrated in the British Commonwealth countries? It continues the Christmas holidays with giving to employees, government workers, children, etc. - even including employers and employees changing roles. Of course, there continues to be plenty of Christmas cheer involved.

Maybe we don't always approve of everything we have to do in our world today, but we need to remember that kids still need to be allowed to be a kid. Life doesn't always have to be serious. We can enjoy doing different things as long as they’re fun, clean, decent and harmless to others. We shouldn't need excuses to be happy, but it helps!

My mother always said, "Once you start school you will study or work for the rest of your life." Pleasant thought? At least when holidays like Halloween come along we are able to experience a little bit of enjoyment along the way.

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.

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thursday, Oct. 31: Happy Halloween! Kyra Barbara Kotsmith, Brooke Hanson Berg, Heather Wayne, Emily Smith, Bill Klemmensen, Carrie Thompson, Roseann Kasper, Jerry Neitzel, Lorraine Lent, Kaye & Mike Cady, Vonda & Andrew Komba.

• Friday, Nov. 1: Dakota Wangsness, Garrett Wangsness, Troy Hagen, Mike Reistad, Jamie & Sergio Hernandez.

• Saturday, Nov. 2: Gary Dummer, Karen Osmundson, Tracy Farr Simon, Janis Klinger, Troy Sommers, Dan Nord, Sylvia Janet Baker.

• Sunday, Nov. 3: Nakayla Joy Butler, Preston Dean Shaunce, his 4th; Brian Muri, Paula Degan Conroy, Jennifer Misgen, Lois Conklin, Tim Hanson, Aaron Sargent, Sydney McCamish, Quinn Sebastian Briedenbach, Angie & Josh Lair.

• Monday, Nov. 4: Jeff Carlson, Brant Hemingway, Stuart Vangen, Grant Neitzell, Scott Anderson, Andrew Farr.

• Tuesday, Nov. 5: Faith Jennie Tweeten, Preslie Jean Tweeten, Hope Ann Tweeten, Alyssa Hagen, Kerri Newgard d'Eustachip, David Wayne, Mavis Langlie, Chad Braaten, Allison Hanson, Allison Jensen, Skyla Knudtson.

• Wednesday, Nov. 6: Brody Richards, Makota Grahm Misgen, Mary Ann Lund, Dylan Paul Moen, Jon Beck, David Hagen, Doug Klemmensen, Lauren Jo Draayer, Chad Ayers, Toni Roberts, Taylor Roberts, Kellie & Ryan Benning.

• Thursday, Nov. 7: Ella Dobberstein, Solveig Adelaine Mattson, her 3rd birthday; Ava Leigh Wangsness, her 4th birthday; Alymra Seath, Jolee Johnson, Travis Diederrich, Linda Dobberstein, Scott Olson, Mark Sundwall.

• Friday, Nov. 8: Sydney Larson, Andrew Jensen, Brian Hughes, Burton Nelson

• Saturday, Nov. 9: Phyllis Hagen, Tami Lund Wacek, Scott Coxworth, Jon Aronson, Kent Kruckenburg, Cindy Gould, Tim Westrum, Christopher Jepson.

Make your special day a day you'll never forget, filled with smiles, good cheer, and laughter! And may you have a very Happy Halloween!

This past weekend I headed north to the cabin with my grandson Dylan to do some late fall fishing. He had visions of “the great toothed one” (musky) slamming his new lure dancing in his head and I had hoped to put him on one of the big fish. Unfortunately the lake we chose to fish for that fish was more like the Dead Sea than a good musky lake. I guess I’m getting ahead of myself so let’s go back to the beginning.

Dylan and I headed north over the MEA break from school, leaving home at about 3:30 a.m. Once we arrived at the cabin the temperature was about 45 degrees so we lit a fire to toasty up the cabin. It was supposed to do the rain/snow mix the next day so we wanted plenty of dry firewood for the next couple of days.

That afternoon we took my small boat and headed to a nearby lake that I knew held some nice northern. The lake didn’t disappoint us because it wasn’t long before Dylan was reeling in a dandy pike. After we had boated the fish he said “now this is what I’ve been looking for” and I could tell by his ear-to-ear smile that this trip was already a success. After taking numerous pictures I worked the fish alongside the boat until he splashed my face with water and disappeared into the depths to fight another time. We caught 4 other fish in the short time we were on that little lake before we’d had enough of the cold and headed for the cabin.

That evening as we enjoyed the warmth of the woodstove Dylan had to remind me that the fish that I had caught that day were quite a bit smaller than the ones he’d caught and that was just fine with me. The temperatures dipped into the mid-20’s as the night wore on and there just seemed to be something magical about it as the full moon treated us to a battery free yard light. The moonlight shining through the windows of the cabin as we slept gave me the feeling that all was right with the world at that particular moment. The next morning was a reality check for me; the wood stove was reduced to embers as we slept and when I went to make breakfast I found that the eggs had frozen. Improvising is the key to making things work when things go bad. I found two whole eggs that hadn’t cracked and put them in a pan of water and heated them up so as not to over-boil them. My plan had been to make my self-proclaimed awesome French toast for breakfast. I eventually made breakfast and then it was off to hunt muskies. We had to wait for an hour or so for it to stop raining and then we were off – sort of. First we couldn’t get the boat on the hitch because I couldn’t get my trailer jack to work. We eventually tested our back strength and got the boat hooked up.

We were finally on the way to North Star Lake which is a pretty good musky lake just south of Marcell. After we launched the boat I went to pump the gas primer and gas shot out everywhere through this large crack in the hose. I knew I had to get the clamp off and reassert the hose on the fitting. This little task seemed almost impossible because after I had sawed through that thick hard and brittle gas line I couldn’t get the clamp loose. After about fifteen minutes that seemed like more than an hour I had it off and finally got the new line on.

All systems were go – full speed ahead Muskies here we come!

Well they must have seen us coming and were hiding in the shadows belly laughing because after spending 4 hours beating the water without as much as a follow all we had to show for that trip were some very cold fingers. At one time it had gotten pretty dark and started to sprinkle and the sprinkles soon turned to corn snow and it really came down for a short time. Even though we caught no fish that day and a lot of things didn’t go too smoothly I don’t think I would have traded it for a warm sunny day.

There is something about fall fishing that just feels good at times even when you experience a few hiccups. On our last day there we decided to fish a lake that I had always thought I’d like to fish but up until a year ago it had no public access. This particular day was the coldest one so far and the temperatures never rose above the high 30’s.

We both managed to catch fish on that cold fall day and when we left that lake we knew that we would be coming back to try our luck again another time.

When we first decided to take this trip I had told Dylan that fall fishing can be feast or famine and if you can find the fish then it can be pretty good but if you can’t then it could make for a long cold day on the water. Even that, to me is considered a good fishing day; especially when I get to spend time fishing with my grandson.

Over the years I have acquired a lot of fond memories on fall fishing trips and when the memories are of good friends & family they are priceless.

Until next time, with pheasant and duck hunting now open be sure to “hunt safe” and enjoy the time spent 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

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10."

"Why?"

"Just to see if I still could do it."

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: life is like a car, it's driven from the inside.

I’ve learned

• The five-second rule applies to any dropped food except pie. The five-minute rule applies to pie.

• This sentence contains exactly threee erors.

• Prayer should never be used as a complaint department.

Overheard only because she was yelling into a cellphone at the Cleveland airport

"Don't worry, I'm calling him just so I can hang up on him."

Heard while leaning forward and listening

"No one could cook like my mother. The army came close, but no one could cook like my mother."

Restaurant reviews

I was in one of those noisy restaurants, the kind I try to avoid. There were football games on countless TV sets showcasing some quarterback who was faking retirement and then hitting a tight end running a square-in route for an 18-yard gain. The server asked if she could get me more deafening loudness. At least that's what I thought she had asked. I couldn’t be sure. Either way, I declined. All that noise was too much for a man whose closest neighbors are squirrels.

My neighbor

Old Man McGinty, the youngest Old Man McGinty ever, drives so slow that it takes him three days to back out of his garage and go to the barbershop. Two days if his turn signal is off. Driving is difficult because he can’t lift his arms very high due to that super glue accident back in 1998. He's a member of that generation of men who go to a barbershop even when they don't need a haircut. He has an "Ask me about my grandchildren" bumper sticker on his car. When people ask him about his grandchildren, Old Man McGinty tells them to mind their own business.

In local news

Two judges were arrested for speeding on Highway 13 on the same day. Rather than call in a visiting judge or travel out of the county, the two old friends agreed to hear one another's case.

The first judge took the bench while the second stood at the defendant's table and admitted his guilt. The sentencing judge immediately suspended both the fine and costs.

They switched places. The first judge admitted that he had been speeding, too. The second judge fined him $300 and ordered him to pay all court costs.

The first judge was furious. "I suspended your fine and costs, but you threw the book at me!" he snorted.

The second judge looked at him and replied, "This is the second case like this we've had here this morning. We need to nip this in the bud. Someone has to get tough on all this speeding."

Customer comments

• David and Marjorie Cahlander of Burnsville invited me to come along on a cruise sponsored by David’s alma mater, MIT. I turned down the kind offer. I can’t even spell MIT.

• Steve Weston of Eagan advised me that if I'm ever lost in the woods, I should follow an opossum. It would always lead me to a road.

Did you know?

• Gastromancy is the practice of telling someone's fortune from the noises of the stomach interpreted as words.

• Preantepenultimate means "fourth from last."

• Reflexive sneezing induced by light, sunlight in particular, is estimated to occur in 18 to 35 percent of the population and is known as the photic sneeze reflex or the ACHOO (autosomal dominant compulsive helio-ophthalmic outbursts of sneezing) syndrome.

Nature notes

Darwyn Olson of Hartland asked why blue jays are so noisy in the fall. When nesting, they tend to be secretive and quieter. Fall flocks form and migration begins. They’re vocalizing their discoveries of food, predators, family, and friends. The blue jay frequently mimics the calls of hawks. These calls may warn other jays that a hawk is present or may deceive other species into believing a hawk is near. Mark Twain wrote, "You may call a jay a bird. Well, so he is, in a measure—because he's got feathers on him, and don't belong to no church, perhaps; but otherwise he is just as much a human as you be. And I'll tell you for why. A jay's gifts and instincts, and feelings, and interests, cover the whole ground." Twain added, "A jay hasn't got any more principle than a Congressman."

Meeting adjourned

Kind words cost nothing, yet they are priceless.

The scurs had the chilly temperatures pegged perfectly, but neglected to predict Mother Nature’s dandruff, otherwise known as snowflakes. Will we see some relief from the November temperatures once November is actually here? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of rain. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the mid 40s. Mostly cloudy Halloween Thursday with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40s and lows in the upper 30s. Mostly cloudy again Friday with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the mid 30s. Saturday, partly cloudy with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the mid 30s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the low 20s. Mostly cloudy Monday with a chance of rain. Highs in the mid 40s and lows in the mid 20s. Mostly cloudy and slightly warmer with a slight chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40s and lows in the mid 20s. The normal high for October 31st is 51 and the normal low is 32. For Halloween the scurs will first be heading to Wagner’s. Why? For paper bags so they can trick or treat as Vikings fans.

The light at the end of the tunnel is finally beginning to appear for this harvest and not a moment too soon. If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a hundred times, many can’t wait for this stinker of a cropping season to be over. This seems evident by the speed at which fields are turning black. The corn harvest has taken the turn we were afraid it would with the ugly scars from this spring’s battle to get the crop in reappearing as the corn comes off. To make matters worse, LP gas has become tight, prolonging the time from the field to the bin in some cases. On the bright side, last week’s breezy conditions were just what the doctor ordered when it came to combining soybeans. The freezing morning temperatures were also beneficial, allowing the wet green stems to dry and go through the combine with ease. Anhydrous ammonia applications have been underway with soil temperatures and calendar date in agreement that it is time.

The fall has made for some wonderful garden produce at the ranch. The snap peas are done, but the lettuce and radish plantings continue to amaze. The lettuce is sweeter than any I can remember harvesting in the spring. The spring type radishes are by far the crispest we have ever raised. The winter radishes have been extra special. I harvested one of the red meat, or watermelon type, winter radishes and it was about the size of a softball. Scanning the row there are many more that size. Cutting it open revealed a deep red center, a sweet radish flavor and texture even crunchier than a kohlrabi. The beauty of these vegetables is that they will withstand the cold temps a while yet until they can be processed.

The fall colors have been fizzle for the most part. Blink and you missed them. Just about when it looked like they were coming on, the wind would come up and blow them off the trees before we had a chance to enjoy them. There are still a lot of green leaves and the freezing temps have knocked many of them out of the trees so while there are scattered pockets of color, the peak is well past. At least the warm Sunday temperatures brought the boxelder bugs and ladybugs out, reminding us that even if the trees aren’t cooperating, the bugs are still there to entertain us. 

There are dog days of summer and sometimes there are dog days in the fall. One day last week I ran across all kinds of dogs at customers’ places. There was a big lab mix dog at my little fat buddy’s shop. It was dark when I opened the door and petted the dog. As I was about to leave I heard someone and it turned out my little fat buddy was taking a nap. After I made sure he was up for all day, I went on my way north and ran across a boxer. I also stumbled into a couple of Honeygold apples the owners gave me after soil sampling their strawberry bed. After that, I went soil sampling in earnest and a trio of dogs greeted me, a yellow and a black lab as well as the cutest little Aussie shepherd. I told her if I didn’t already have two dogs, she could come home with me. After sampling was done, I stopped at the kindly neighbor’s to check on the sheep and was greeted by Annie the collie. And of course when I got home there were red and white Border Collies to welcome me. 

Both dogs got in one of their last “herd the lawnmower” days Sunday as they supervised the pesky leaves being ground into confetti. Their grass stained white socks served as a reminder of the dozens of trips they made back and forth keeping a watchful eye. When there’s no lawnmower to herd or gates to watch, Fudgie has claimed the porch as her domain now that autumn has come. In the summer she enjoyed the cool breeze from the south as she watched the sheep grazing below. Now that the leaves have fallen, the sunshine is warmest there, making it a favorite place to watch the sheep, sniff the breeze or better yet, nap. Ruby continues to voice her opinion about my television viewing habits. Watching Clint Eastwood westerns, as is my wont, I was convinced it was only the horses sending Ruby into a growling fit. Much to my dismay, when I tuned in Dirty Harry one night, Clint Eastwood showed up on the screen and Ruby commenced her growling. Even worse, she continued to growl until I chastised her. I mean, how can anyone not like Clint Eastwood? I suspect Mrs. Cheviot has been coaching Ruby. Her reaction is eerily similar when I insist on watching those “dumb movies.”

See you next week…real good then.

In 1979, my parents bought me my first comic book, Fantastic Four #212. In it, the super powered foursome fought off old age as their enemies, Galactus and the Sphinx, battled each other. I was hooked!

I still have that issue. I also have all the issues I received from a subscription over two years’ time to The Amazing Spider-Man. Now I was really hooked. All those comics are battered and bruised, some without covers anymore from so many re-readings.

Some time in December, I will hit 10,000 comic books in my collection. Since that magical day 34 years ago, I have steadily built a library of comics that fill the shelves I had built for my office.

What is it about these four-color wonders that lured me in and has kept me reading them, even as I start my fifth decade? It may be any number of things. I think, though, that deep down, I have realized that part of my great love of reading overall has come from comic books.

For many years, collecting comic books was viewed as a nerdy thing to do. It’s only in the past few years that super heroes have become really cool. When movies with Batman and the Avengers make a billion dollars each worldwide, they can’t help but be cool. And here sit all the prior nerds with our collections, citing first appearances of Batman (Detective Comics #27, 1939) and Thor (Journey Into Mystery #83), nodding and smiling because we knew all along that comic book heroes were awesome.

If I’m really honest, I’ll tell you that I related to characters like Peter Parker (that’s Spider-Man’s secret identity, in case you were wondering). He was a mousy teenager, unsure of himself, pretty smart in school, but not very good around girls. I saw a lot of him in me, and many people who cite their favorite book, movie, etc. can relate to a character in that story.

I’m not sure for which character I have the most comics. It may very well be Spider-Man, though it could be Superman too. I do know that my longest consecutive run of one comic is Captain America. In addition to having every issue from 206-454, I have almost every comic of his at least in a reprint form. That’s a lot of patriotism!

I think I would have enjoyed reading a lot, even without comic books. After all, by the time I got my first one when I was five, I already liked books. However, I’m a proponent of the idea that comic books can help those who claim to not like reading. I have a number of these kids in my classroom every year.

As I’ve explored why kids don’t like to read, there could be any number of reasons, some of which involves lack of exposure to books when they were young. However, the idea I get from many is that they struggle to picture what is happening as they read. Those of us who love books can visualize everything as it occurs, soaring through the air with Harry Potter on his broomstick or sitting in the courtroom with Atticus Finch.

Comics can be a solution to that problem. They present the picture for the reader, allowing a reluctant reader to help that imagery along. With more exposure, comics can help kids find an enjoyment in reading and nudge along the visualization process. Will it be a solution for everyone? No, I’m sure it won’t, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it?

I keep bound collections of comics in my classroom and urge some of those struggling readers to try them. For some, it has worked. Others are still afraid of the stigma of being seen with them. For anyone who might be interested in seeing if it would work with your child, let me know. I’m happy to lend out my collections. Plus, I have a number of free comic books that I received from the Little Professor Book Store to give to kids.

Who knows? That one comic could help lead your child to a love of reading. And maybe a lack of shelf space in his or her office someday!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is primogeniture, which means the right of inheritance belonging to the firstborn child, as in, “The comic collector’s eldest child passed up her primogeniture, allowing her brother to have their father’s entire comic book collection.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Despite having the full team shoot for the first time this year, the NRHEG clay target team had its toughest week yet for the fall league. The shooters only managed to score 7.5 of a total 24 possible points. This did not cause them to slip in the standings, but it does all but erase any chances to move up before the season ends this week.

Frank Altrichter and Collin Christianson tied with 40/50 targets to be the high shooters for the week.  These two are also currently tied for the honor of being the team’s top gun for the season. Haylie Mosher maintained her second-place position for conference female shooters and remains in the top 25 in the state for female shooters.