Echoes From the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"How is retirement going for you?"

"Well, I don't really have any retirement skills."

"So what do you do?"

"I think about what I did."

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: "shortcut" is another term for "wrong turn."

I’ve learned

• The only reality to Reality TV shows is that they are faked.

• Many an ailing goldfish has had its entire life flush before its eyes.

• I'm part of the people who can be fooled some of the time.

The headlines from Hartland

• Defendant found guilty and sentenced to jury duty.

• Mort Postem says that all caskets he offers come with a lifetime guarantee.

• Gladys Overwith said that she couldn’t believe that her husband was stealing from his job as a road worker, but all the signs were there.

• Soup and Pie Suppers at Hartland Evangelical Lutheran Church on October 28 from 4 to 7 p.m. and at Cross of Glory on November 6 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

Halloween

I’ve been working on my costume. Last year, I threw a sheet over my head and went as an unmade bed. Good luck, trick-or-treater. I hope you don’t get a rock.

Montana

I was near Great Falls Montana, on my way to a speaking engagement. What was going through my mind was a Frank Zappa song, "I might be movin' to Montana soon, just to raise me up a crop of dental floss." The cartoon bubble over my head pictured fields of dental floss blowing in the breeze under an endless big sky. I didn’t see any.

Cafe chronicles

I stopped at a small-town cafe where I was to meet a man I didn’t know. I needed help identifying him.

I asked the waitress if she was acquainted with the folks patronizing the eatery.

"I know more than half," she grunted.

"Then you’re the one I need to talk to," I said.

"Now that I think about it," she added, "I’m willing to bet that I know more than all of them put together."

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

"That’s a fine looking boy you have there. He'd make a good trade-in on that backhoe we just got in."

I knew the implement salesman was kidding, but I could tell my father was considering the deal.

My father wanted a backhoe. What man or boy didn’t?

I’ve dashed to where a crowd had gathered because someone was digging a hole. Where a backhoe was gouging a cavity into the earth.

That’s entertainment.

School daze

I was in the second grade at what is now New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva-Bath-Otisco-Matawan-Summit-Cooleyville-Berlin-Hope-Trenton-Lemond-Hollandale-Clarks Grove-Freeborn-Vista-Waldorf-Manchester-Beaver Lake-St. Olaf Lake-Mule Lake Grade School, more commonly referred to as NRHEGBOMSCBHTLHCGFVWMBLSOLML.

"Now children," said Mrs. Demmer, "here is a wonderful lesson from the life of the ant. It’s an example on how we should live our lives. Every day, the ant works all day. Every day, the ant is busy. And in the end, what happens?"

I answered, "Someone steps on it."

It was one of those right answers that was wrong.

Bumper sticker snickers

• Mark Christenson of Columbia Heights saw this, "Get in, sit down, hold on, and shut up."

• On a battered Buick in Iowa, "Don't worry what people think, they don't do it often."

• On Jared Knutson’s car in Hartland, "Crops are green. Tractors are red."

Did you know?

• Pew Research found that 15 percent of Americans don't use the Internet.

• According to eMarketer, adults in the U.S. spend 4 hours, 31 minutes watching TV each day and another 5 hours, 16 minutes looking at other screens.

• If you have cable, you pay at least $5.54 per month for ESPN.

• The first official intercollegiate football game was in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton.

Nature notes

A Carolina wren has an amazingly loud voice for its size. In summer, it sings "teakettle, teakettle." It has a rich cinnamon plumage, a white eyebrow, and an upward-cocked tail. This wren has been wintering farther north recently, which allows us to see them in Minnesota. It thrives in tangled, shrubby habitat and visits suet feeders. Brian Plath hosted a Carolina wren in his Austin yard. The bird found a large nest box to call home--the Plath’s garage. The wren came into the garage each night and Brian or his wife shut the door behind it. When the garage door was opened in the morning, the wren flew out. Brian hung a discarded Baltimore oriole nest in the garage. The wren found it a good place to snooze. A hot pocket for wrens. The wren slept well. Why not? It had the best wren house in town.

Meeting adjourned

Say kind things behind the backs of others.

In doing a survey of the readership of this paper, I discovered a lot of interesting statistics. For example: 

• You are one of about 6,000 readers who have either or will read part or all of this week’s Star Eagle.

• The most read is Al Batt, with the police blotter a close second.

• The readership will greatly increase with pictures of local interest (for example, the NRHEG Girls’ State Championship Basketball Team).

• Many of the readers of the Star Eagle get the newspaper passed down from others. They read it at their place of employment, at a medical appointment, or second-hand from a relative. (Fellow Hospital Auxilians in Albert Lea Arlene Murray and Darlene Nicolai are prime examples of second-hand readership.)

To make this survey legal, I must let you know it is subject to plus-or-minus 100 percent in error.

Along the lines of second-hand readership, Jim Lutgens, Editor and Publisher, has decided that if readers furnish the picture of a person in uniform in a foreign country reading the Star Eagle, he will publish the first 50.

In mentioning the Albert Lea Hospital Auxiliary, I should point out our All-Day Book Sale Wednesday, Oct. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 31 on the lower level at the hospital. There is a large variety of books.

October 31 is Trick or Treat Day. Fortunately, it is usually Treat Day.

October 31, 1991 was a Trick Day, as it was the beginning of a major storm in this area. No electricity, power lines down, almost 30 inches of snow, a real mess. Reid Knudsen of Clarks Grove was freezing and trying to deliver mail in Albert Lea on November 1. ‘Twas then he was the recipient of a Random Act of Kindness in the form of hot soup in a hot cup. Twelve years later, Reid is still thanking Genie and me. (He says the soup is getting better with age!)

The fall migration is in full swing. All those two-legged creatures are headed south – whether it be birds or Minnesotans, they want out of the snow.

Genie and I are slow learners (especially me). We plan on having a white winter. Deer hunting at Cass Lake in November. Christmas by the Lake bus to Clear Lake, Ia. on December 7. Perch fishing on Leech Lake late December or early January. The Eel Pout Festival at Walker, Minn., mid-February. Ice fishing at Lake of the Woods, late February or early March. NRHEG Girls’ State Basketball final game in March.

It will then be April and I plan on writing this column weekly. Until then, it will be sporadic.

See Dorothy or Swan Tollefson for information as to performances at Chanhassen Dinner Theater by grandson Adam Moen.

At our 50th Anniversary party at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church on a Saturday, many of our Catholic friends attended. At the Soup and Pie Supper (two days later) at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church, many of these same friends attended. Genie and I now refer to them as “Lutheran Associates.”

Genie is the retired R.N. who led a tour of first graders from St. Theodore’s Catholic Church in at the hospital in Albert Lea. The tour made the front page of the Albert Lea Tribune.) Two days later Genie and I helped do Reader’s Theater (we read and play-acted a book to the kids) at St. Theodore’s School. Genie and I are now referred to as “Catholic Associates.”

A big favor to ask for a young feller named Max Hanson living in Owatonna, age 11. Please include Max in your prayers as he is having major health issues.

Max thanks you. His parents, Scott and Christy, thank you. His grandparents, Paul and Paula, thank you. Genie and I thank you. Remember, there is Always Room For God.

- - -

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.

In 2003, Chris Moneymaker (yes, that’s his real name) won the World Series of Poker Main Event, cashing in to the tune of $2.5 million. Moneymaker won a seat at the tournament by winning a satellite event for $39. Prior to this, he had never played in a live tournament. After his win shook the poker world, Texas Hold ‘Em, the game played at the Main Event, exploded into worldwide popularity.

Part of this was helped by the fact that ESPN broadened its coverage that year, and many more people started watching. I was one of those people. I’d always enjoyed playing card games, but had not played much poker and had never played Texas Hold ‘Em. Like many others, I was entranced to watch the action unfold since the TV audience could see the players’ cards and follow the action much differently than by just sitting at a card table.

Following Moneymaker’s win, I started playing some poker online. I never gambled my own money, but played free tables, just trying to figure out the game. Concurrently, local establishments started holding free roll tournaments, enticing people to come out and play poker tournaments, hoping to offset the prize money with the money that would be spent at the bar.

The first live tournament I played was at the Ellendale Muni. It was a slow day, with only 16 players. Obviously a rookie, I had to be reminded when I was in the blinds and how to place my bets. It was a lot different than clicking on a mouse!

To my surprise, and the surprise of everyone there, I won the tournament! My final hand was Ace-Nine, and I spiked a nine on the final card to beat my opponent’s pair of eights. That day was the start of my love affair with poker. I continued to go to tournaments in Ellendale and occasionally in New Richland. I did well enough in a decent proportion to come home with cash, but I gained more than that.

Most of the folks around here that play poker are really fun people. Nobody takes these tournaments all that seriously. We try to play cards the right way, but not every hand is treated like a life and death situation. If someone shows up wearing sunglasses, they usually get ridiculed. Where do you think you are, Vegas?

Playing poker for me is sort of like getting my hair cut. I enjoy the company and discussion as much as the real reason I’m there. Over the years, I’ve met a lot of people that I wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Many of the regulars (or semi-regulars, as I’ve become due to a busy Saturday schedule) know about important life events in each others’ lives, and I know some that get together outside the poker world.

This camaraderie is genuine. I know I can ask Kevin and Kelly how their daughter’s teaching in Texas is going. I know I can give Loren a hard time and he won’t take offense. I know Denny and I can visit about the Twins and hold a good conversation. I know Otto is reading my column right now and will have something to say about it the next time I see him!

Where I’ve really seem the friendship is at funerals, strange as that sounds. The area poker family has lost some of its staunchest members over the years, and there are always a great number of other players at the wake and /or funeral. This is not just a casual game; it is a friendly game in the truest sense.

I enjoy my poker family. I love driving over to New Richland at 12:30 on Saturdays at the Liquor Store to sit and shoot the breeze and try to hit that one card that will put me over the top or give me a story to tell about beating the odds. The truth is that all of us who play and know each other have beaten the odds by having a group of good friends. Now if only one of those friends would front me $10,000 to enter next year’s Main Event…

Word of the Week: This week’s word is xanthodontous, which means having yellow teeth, as in, “The poker player’s xanthodontous smile showed that he had been at the poker table too long and needed to attend to personal hygiene.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The scurs were a little generous with their low temperatures, much to the chagrin of those hoping for one more week of frost-free weather. Will we warm up or continue our downward spiral? Starting Wednesday, partly sunny with a chance of an afternoon shower. Highs in the lower 40s and lows in the upper 20s. Partly sunny for Thursday with highs again in the low 40s and lows in the upper 20s. Friday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the mid 30s. Partly sunny on Saturday with highs in the mid 40s and lows in the low 30s. Mostly sunny Sunday with highs in the mid 40s and lows in the low 30s. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of a daytime shower. Highs in the mid 40s and lows in the low 20s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with highs on the mid 40s and lows in the low 20s. On October 26th, we slip to 10 hours and 30 minutes of daylight. The normal high for October 26th is 54 and the normal low is 34, the same as we see for April 10th. The scurs are wishing we had the temperatures following April 10th to look forward to.

Field progress, particularly the soybean harvest, was slowed by the persistent nagging showers this past week. Many a combine was seen parked on the end of the field over the weekend as a result of the mixed precipitation that included sleet, hail and a few snowflakes. Corn yields are becoming more variable as farmers get into some of the Black Thursday and later planting. Moisture has probably reached a point where we can expect little improvement, so with soybeans on hold corn harvest has been the order of the day, until the beans dry out that is. Memories of the 1991 Halloween Blizzard are still etched on the minds of those who can remember it, so it’s time to make something happen. The hum of corn dryers can be heard throughout the land and the one at neighbor David’s lulls me to sleep each night with its constant drone. Of course it’s nothing compared to the 10-man dryer in Bugtussle.

It has been a cold October after a warmer than normal September. Almost makes one tempted to add a little tincture to the morning coffee. Around the ranch, the growing season ended officially on Sunday morning. The thermometer read 29 degrees and there was ice in the puddles as well as in the water tank. Some of the plants do take it better than others including petunias, radishes, lettuce and peas to a certain degree. The predicted low was enough to make me pick all the peas, tomatoes and cucumbers before they got nipped. Oh yeah, and the four squash that actually made it. While this was a far cry from the dozens we’re used to, we still have to be thankful the garden was as productive as it was. We still have a lot of winter radishes to harvest yet as well as the spring-type radishes planted in early September. And it’s been nice that folks like Betsy’s dad have shared their bounty with us. Oh, to have a system tiled garden.

Fall has also been a time to plant a new batch of perennials we brought back from the farm at Spring Valley. The lilies of the valley were put in last weekend followed by peonies that were divided into crowns after digging. Probably the most interesting plant however was the Jack in the Pulpit. The plant I dug was one of the offspring resulting from some my dad had moved from a woods before it was bulldozed to the south of our farm over 45 years ago. Not knowing much about the biology of the Jack in the Pulpit, it was interesting to read up on propagating them. The plants come from a corm rather than a tuber as some of the Internet info may suggest. The flowers are pollinated by flies and plants can also be started from seed. The seeds must be separated from the red flesh before planting though. The flesh contains a chemical called calcium oxalate that can cause a nasty skin irritation so rubber gloves must be worn. I bet those ladies at the grocery store thought I just had dishpan hands.

Saturday brought with it a waiting game as we had sold a ram to a gentleman from Wisconsin. When he finally arrived, he was happy with the ram we had available. It was good old Tube Steak, one of those rams able to leap tall panels at a single bound. He had been the odd man, er, ram out as we’ve cut down on numbers and didn’t need his services and neither did the ewes. The buyer also noticed a young ram lamb we had kept back, wowed by his flashy appearance and breed type.  Always nice to hear comments from someone who is seeing the same animal we are. 

Our wide-ranging conversation went from sheep, to the hay shortage and his four-hour trip across Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was wondering what some of the strange looking crops were he’d seen especially as he’d crossed the Mississippi into Southeast Minnesota. He was thinking that they were perhaps turnips. He had the family right. When I explained that many of them were probably tillage radishes, that drew a quizzical look from him. When I said they were actually a daikon type radish, the light bulb came on as he’d been a farmer’s market participant over many years. 

We caught the ram, flipped him on his behind, gave him a pedicure, and then loaded him into the truck. Payment was made and Chris was on his way back to Wisconsin. We’d had a great visit and that’s probably one of the main reasons the sheep remain at the ranch. Sometimes it isn’t so much having the sheep around as it is all the characters one stumbles across as a result.

See you next week…real good then.

Funeral services for Beverly I. Johannsen, age 93, will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, October 24, 2013 at the Cross of Glory Lutheran Church, Hartland. The Rev. Dennis Frank will officiate. Interment will be in the Hartland Cemetery. Visitation is from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com.

Beverly died on Monday, October 21, 2013 at the Mayo Clinic Health Systems, Albert Lea.

New Richland City Council

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The New Richland City Council had a special guest at Monday evening's regular meeting at City Hall — Dr. Dennis Goodwin, Superintendent of Schools for NRHEG.

He was not bearing good news.

The street, curbs and sidewalks  adjacent to the school are very much in need of repair. The price tag: an estimated $653,634.38.

It was one of many items discussed by the council, which had a full complement of members accompanying Mayor Christine Gislason and City Clerk Wayne Billing. Guests included Goodwin, Larry and Pam Goehring and Kim Schlaak.

Ellendale City Council

By SCOTT GROTH

Contributing Writer

The Ellendale City Council met Thursday, October 10, with Mayor Swearingen and all councilmen present. Also at the meeting were Assistant City Clerk LeAnn Hojberg, Maintenance Supervisor Josh Otto, Municipal Liquor Store Manager Pete Paulson and Frank Thompson of Thompson Sanitation. 

Thompson said the current contract is about to expire. He informed the council there would be a slight increase for the next three-year contract. The increase will be 25 cents per week per household. Thompson explained the service would remain on the same day and about the same pick-up times. Thompson was asked about the container sizes for households and replied there are three different sizes. They have 95, 65 and 35-gallon containers available. Thompson added that if any customer would like to change container size to give them a call at 507-256-4370. The council thanked Thompson for the good service he has been providing the city and moved to approve another three-year contract.

Football team caps festive week with big win

TURNOVER — The Panthers’ Noah Krell (52) and Wyatt Fitterer (36) team up to tackle a Mankato Loyola ball carrier, causing a fumble during NRHEG’s 41-7 Homecoming victory last Friday in New Richland. Keith Maxon recovered the loose ball for the Panthers, who improved to 3-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

NEW RICHLAND – Most football coaches feel if you can control the line of scrimmage, you can control a game. 

The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva football team proved that theory true Friday. 

The Panthers dominated play up front on the way to a 41-7 Homecoming win over Mankato Loyola. The game was called after three quarters due to lightning strikes.

NRHEG ran 56 plays in the game, compared to just 33 for the Crusaders.

“We controlled the line of scrimmage and that let us do the things we like to do,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork. 

WHO’S IN FIRST NOW? — The Panthers’ Adam Anderson, left, jokes with teammate T.J. Schiltz, right, near the start of the USC Invitational at Oak View Golf Course near Freeborn last week. Schiltz, who has lost only twice this season, won the race. Anderson finished 15th. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

FREEBORN – A hilly course is not something cross country runners look forward to. 

The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva cross country teams competed on the hilly course of Oakview Golf Club near Freeborn in their final preparation before the conference meet.

The Panther boys and girls both finished fifth among six complete teams. 

Coach Mike Weber’s boys have an overall mark of 27-54 this fall, while the girls are 7-36.