By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

WASECA – The Waseca boys’ and girls’ cross country teams were dominant at Lakeside Golf Course last Thursday. 

Coach Gary Meurer’s Bluejays had an easy time capturing team titles at the Waseca Invitational. 

Coach Mike Weber’s New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva teams placed sixth among nine teams in the boys’ race and sixth among seven teams in the girls’ race. 

The NRHEG clay target team is currently one of 33 schools participating in the Fall League for the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League.

Although the fall league is smaller than the spring league, which boasted over 100 teams for 2013, the fall league is also growing significantly as is reflected throughout this entire sport.

As in the spring, the conferences the schools compete in are not geographic but instead are based on team size. With 11 shooters, the NRHEG team is in Conference 1A.

The scurs forecast the rain about right with the exception of the dabs that fell in Saturday and Sunday. Will we get back on track for harvest once again? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny and breezy with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 50s. Thursday, mostly sunny and breezy once again. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 50s. Mostly sunny on Friday with a slight chance of daytime showers with a slightly increased chance overnight. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of a daytime shower. Highs near 65 and lows in the lower 30s. Mostly sunny Sunday with a high in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Mostly cloudy Monday with highs in the upper 50s and lows in the low 30s. Tuesday brings the chance of a killing frost. Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 50s and lows near 30. For October 14th, the normal high is 61 and the normal low is 38. In honor of Columbus Day, the scurs will take their tiny Alumacraft canoes to St. Olaf Lake, in search of new lands.

A start to the harvest season was made last week only to be put on hold with the Wednesday night rains. Yields have been somewhat variable, although soybean yields have been far better than what we would’ve thought even a month ago. Late season rains and a warm September made a world of difference. Corn moisture has been a pleasant surprise as well and the previously mentioned warm September is primarily why. Some breezy days mixed in here and there pushed maturity along quickly. Corn yields have been more erratic with some reporting yields near 200 bu./acre with excellent test weight while others were disappointed with yields of 140-150 with lighter test weight. Corn on corn was a part of the equation in many of those cases. All told about 2.62” of rain fell at the ranch with 2.4” in town at the Mall for Men. Our soils have been accumulating moisture with little evapotranspiration occurring. It will be a departure from the past two falls where we were extremely dry going into winter and wondering if there would be enough moisture to keep a crop growing in the spring.

Now that the hummingbirds appear to officially be gone from the ranch, one is hopeful the fall birds begin to take up the slack. The activity at our feeders has been slow, just the same as many other readers have indicated though. We have the odd blue jay, a scattered goldfinch and the occasional nuthatch who would rather be heard than seen. Saturday while the sun was shining was a good time to clean some of the feeders after the rainy spell we’d been through. A long handled scrub brush along with the laundry sink in the garage filled with hot water and a 10-percent bleach solution usually does the trick.

After thoroughly rinsing and allowing the feeders to air dry, they were refilled and open for business once again. Not many takers other than four squirrels feasting on the spilled seed, so it was time to watch the migrating birds instead. One of those perpetual strings of blackbirds showed up in the afternoon along with several groups of robins. Last year they had to rely largely on the berry crop as they moved through the area. This year they were lucky. There are plenty of berries and plenty of earthworms. Yellow-rumped warblers have been common recently, spending much of their time in the flower garden. About sundown on Monday the sphinx moths were still present, making one wonder how much longer they’ll continue.

There is some color starting to show locally and our yard is no exception. The sumac is becoming a little brighter every day and the nannyberries are blushing, heavy laden with black fruit in contrast. The ash trees by the road cut are bright yellow, making a statement that fall has arrived. Evergreen trees have been casting their needles. Everything from arborvitae to Austrian pine has been shedding, making a mat of needles under the trees. 

Our apples were a mixed bag this year. Both the Haralson and the Fireside started out like a house afire, loaded with fruit. In July the Fireside suddenly dumped most of its crop, leaving a scattered apple here and there in the dense canopy. The Haralson was less affected, although those apples had a lot of scab to the point that the skins broke open, resulting in ugly, damaged apples. Not surprising, given the wet May and June we had. The Honeycrisp tree was a no-show, but the SnowSweet was a pleasant surprise. The tree has only been in the ground 4 or 5 years at most and it rewarded us with 4 nice eating apples. Not sure what to expect, I brought them inside when it looked like they were ripe so the birds wouldn’t get them. They were excellent, a nice balance of sweetness and apple flavor. It was almost a shame to melt caramel to dip the slices in. I wasn’t taking any chances though. As years of watching Seinfeld have taught me, fruit is a gamble.

What ever became of the “A” in the A & P Corporation? You gotta admit, he has been awfully quiet for a long time. That all may be about to change. Rumor on the street has it that there will be a new, secret livestock enterprise taking shape on his property soon. The great thing about it is it’s so hush-hush even he doesn’t know about it. (yet)

See you next week…real good then.

The following story was written by my uncle, Paul “Bud” Hanson for The Red Raider Book compiled by the Ellendale Historical Society in 1990. It seemed appropriate to look at during this Homecoming season. 

High school athletics at Ellendale High School during seven decades necessarily had high and low points just as business cycles or our personal lives. 

Perhaps some of the most easily recognized names were the Christensen brothers of the early years of our high school. The twins, Don and Dan, and brother "Hap," were leaders of a very good basketball team and the twins were the pitcher and catcher of an excellent baseball team, and one recalls Don coming down to baseball practice to throw a "few pitches" and it was this writer's moment of glory to have the opportunity to be his catcher. One could only marvel at the assortment of pitches, and the great control he had - and it sure made a novice catcher look, and feel, good!

Another brother combination in baseball of that time was Milton "Pete" and Lloyd Ellingson.

Football for the first number of years was something that only a few of the big schools played because of the cost, so baseball and basketball were the two sports supported in high school. When football was proposed at Ellendale High, many were not in favor of the sport because of some of the injuries that were the result of poor equipment. Prominent names of the early years of football were Frank and Gunnar Anderson, Quentin Lawrence, Adrain Lee, Howard Langlie and others. It was naturally tough to compete with schools that had a head start in the football program and to obtain a coach who understood the game. Little did anyone realize that Ellendale High was about to enter what some called the "Golden Years." Others called them the "Glory Years," as our school was about to embark not only into some exceptional years in sports, but in many new, innovative programs in music, business courses, drama, and academics brought on in part by an influx of new teachers fresh from college who dared to be different.

The "Glory Years" started surprisingly enough with a strange quirk in tactics by the State High School League, as they allowed spring football practice on a one-time basis. It was not only an opportunity for many underclassman to try out for football, but for a comparatively unknown history-science teacher named Maynard Seimers to coach the program as the regular coach was tied up with baseball. With only four letterman back from the previous team and two of them out for baseball, the only experienced players to assist Coach Seimers were Lyle "Stonewall" Finch and James "Windy" Wayne, two stalwarts who would anchor the line in the fall at tackle. It is hard to describe how "football mania" set in, for the paper, Ellendale would field a team with no experience, no size and one that would be fortunate to win a single game, new coach and all. Yet the business community, school board, and interested people contributed to put lights on Ertel Field before the season started. Members of the football team and other citizens took turns hand digging the large holes needed for the poles, and the lights were turned on for the first time a couple of nights before the first game. With a starting team composed of four seniors, four juniors, and three sophomores, Ellendale squeaked out it's first victory with a 12-6 win over an experienced Hayfield team, followed by slender victories over Janesville and Blooming Prairie. Traveling to Grand Meadow, it seemed as though the win streak would stop at three as a combination of jitters, "hometown officiating" and a poorly marked field had the team on the ropes for the first half. The Larkers were about to make their biggest mistake, however, as one of the players belted "Stonewall" Finch in the mouth the "Stoney" promptly started to roll up the offensive line of the Larkers. The team settled down and walloped the Larkers 34-7; another squeaker win over New Richland 12-2 and the team stood at 5-0 for the year. Despite putting on a show of confidence for the team, Coach Siemers spent a sleepless night before the Freeborn game and told his wife of a few months, "This team has already gone much further than they possibly should have and now they will be up against a senior dominated team of large-sized players and it doesn't seem likely that we can once again be victorious." After a scoreless first half, the Raiders gradually pushed the larger Yeomen back and punched in two scores of a very hard earned and well played 13-0 decision. A follow up victory over Alden gave the team a 7-0 undefeated season and gave indications of some of the good years to follow.

Success breeds success. A good basketball season was followed by an undefeated baseball season and everyone looked forward to the 1940 football season, as now the team had a seasoned squad. Looking at the team pictures of 1939 and the team pictures of 1940, it is apparent that the lightweight team of 1939 had grown considerably in size and weight, with experienced players in all positions, had little trouble defeating all opponents on its way to scoring a record 353 points to opponents’ 0. The only suspense during the year was, would a fluke allow somebody to score? Many of the players remarked that the toughest games they played all year were against each other in practice as the Raiders certainly were able to field three full teams that would have gone undefeated that year. Forty two lettermen were available for Coach Seimers the following year, led by All-State halfback Lloyd Loven and All-Conference tackle Buck Goodnature, three years running. Brother combinations during those years were Harlan and Luvern Peterson, Stan and Louie Lageson and the Swearingen twins, Merlyn and Marlyn. Support also came from the Miller brothers, Leroy "Bud" and younger brother Alan, as well as a host of better than average athletes. The only thing that prevented the 1941 team from again going 7-0 was a terrible blizzard on the last night of the season that the opposing team did not want to reschedule. The 1942 team also went 7-0, and the victory string reached 27 before the bubble burst. During this string of victories with the football team there was a 95% success ratio in basketball and a couple more baseball championships. Bear in mind that in those days separate classifications were not held in different sized schools. Football players were expected to go both ways because of substitution rules. By a strange coincidence, the U of M also won National Championships during Ellendale's glory years and surprisingly enough with mostly Minnesota players. 'Twas said that University Coach Beirman drove the country until he saw a farm boy plowing with a walking plow. He would stop and ask directions, if the boy used the plow to point, he became a Golden Gopher. Because of their contributions, perhaps this era could be called the "Loven-Peterson-Miller brothers" era, but so many great athletes contributed to the string, that one hates to single out too many for fear of overlooking some valuable contributors. Most of the athletes from those teams were to play for Uncle Sam instead of a college, as their services were required in Asia, Africa, the South Pacific and European theaters of World War II. Coach Siemers went on to coach at Faribault where his teams won several Big Nine Championships in football and basketball, with a state tournament winner in basketball. Those who played for "Coach" can remember his philosophy: "Play hard, but play clean. Should I ever catch you playing dirty you will be turning in your uniform." "Coach" also stressed that the athletes of Ellendale High School were role models for the younger kids. He encouraged his athletes to go out of their way to talk to the elementary kids and encouraged them to work diligently to become Ellendale Raiders. He was a perfectionist who believed in fundamentals, clean play and firm discipline. No matter that some of his teams were high scoring machines, Coach Seimers had a way of deflating some fairly large egos, both during the game and during the season, and did not hesitate to pull star players if they believed they were bigger than the team.

There would be other undefeated teams in Ellendale history, there would be other fine athletes to compete in, not only baseball, basketball, or football, but in wrestling and track as well; but the memory of the first undefeated team, the new lighted field, the fan interest and community pride in the Ellendale teams of the "Glory Years" set the standard for years to come.

Although, the war years took their toll on coaches, interim coaches on a volunteer basis still brought back some state championships in baseball. Perhaps, one of the most noted of these was Dale "Fuzzy" Haug, who as an underclassman was still good enough to pitch for the Owatonna Aces of the very tough Southern Minnesota Baseball League during the summer season. Who can forget the championship won at Carleton College when with two out, the Raiders behind 0-1, and Gil Nelson walking, followed by a ricochet hit by Don "Stretch" Whitcomb that went for an inside-the-park home run and the Raiders winning 2-1?

 Football, basketball and baseball have reached many "golden moments" since then and provided hundreds of hours of enjoyment for the spectators, as fine young players passed through our school system and gave the sport of their choice their "all". Each era seemed to produce its' own star players. Ellendale went on to add wrestling, track, and cross country to it's athletic program and sent many a good athlete on to district, regional, and state competition.

 One of the things that sort of got buried in the background was girls’ athletics. During the early years of Ellendale High the girls fielded an excellent basketball team led by Helen Todd. Obviously, the state high school league decided that it was unladylike for girls to participate in strenuous exercise and they should be confined to activiies such as cheerleading and home economics or something, as it was almost another forty years befere the girls once again were allowed to participate in athletics. The "Raiderettes" excelled in basketball, volleyball, and softball and brought more than their share of trophies to the showcase in the lobby.

 Just out of curiosity, how many of the gold, watch-chain football, emblematic of the 27-game winning streak, could still be found? Certainly, a great keepsake for those who still have them! 

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 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. 10: Pat Goodnature, Trevin Stollard, Aarin Gray Pirsig, his 2nd; Eric Anderson, Nicole Anderson Loken, Luverne Hamor, Haley Hanson, LeRoy Ingvaldson, Nicole Lonning, Betty DeRaad, Elena Grace Spande

 Friday, Oct. 11: Alisha Moody, Reed Michael Kath, Mitchell Edwards, Ebonie Mullenmaster, Earl Klinger, Mayro Leak Kubista, Melissa Otto, Jenna Swearingen, Mike Trumble, Cory McGrath, Shawna Besco, John Cyr, Alisha Moody, Lee & Jody Loverink

 Saturday, October 12: Katilyn Olivia Crabtree, Les Shawback Jr., Christopher Wallace, Beth Spande, Marilyn Dobberstein, Terrie Mullenmaster, Maurice Mullenmaster, Vikki Pence, Roxann Ditlevson, Lewis Kelly, Denise Jensen Bronner, Charlie & Becky Phagan, Larry & Terry Jensen, Vera & Todd Fitterer

 Sunday, Oct. 13: Hunter Stephen Knutson, his 9th; Journey Lynn Utpadel, Hunter Stephen Knutson, Courtney Ann Deml, Otto Nels Oquist, Mitchell Wallace, Jackie Flor, Rita Thompson, Suzanne Peterson, Mikkel & Jennifer Iverson

 Monday, Oct. 14: Jim Lutgens; Reece Alexander, Chris Ritz, Janet Goette, Dan Hanson, Breanna & Tim Briedenbach, Delana & Daniel Routh

 Tueday, Oct. 15: Barb Kuckebecker, Madison Lynn Homuth, Corbin Brocker, Colin Matthew Felt Farr, Tony Anderson, Sandy Jensen, Ed Ver Hey, Leroy & Garnet Folie, Heidi & Tim Schaefer

 Wednesday, Oct. 16: Kade Schember, Jenny Shaunce, Sabrina Marie Bauers, Allie Larson, Donna & Gordon Hanson, Daniel & Regina Van Kampen, Jamie & Amber Jensen, Travis & Stacy Ingnaszewski

 Thursday, Oct. 17: Lucas Bailey, Pat Wayne, Dale Strenge, David Killian, Sherrie Dahl, Dustin Wayne, Pam & Rick Cook, Sidney & David Kasper, Andy & Mary Ditlevson

 Friday, Oct. 18: Gordon Jensen, Carrie Nolan Allen, Deloris Nelson, Andreas Quinn Vu, Stan & Cindy Nelson, Randy & Cindy Horan, Tait & Jennifer Ingvaldson, Carol & Larry Cox

 May every day in the year ahead bring you something to enjoy!

I have stated many times fall is my favorite season and nothing has changed in that department. The fall colors in the northern part of the state are getting close to peak in some areas and half of the state is at least 50% turned. Although the weather can always be unpredictable in the fall, and at times it can even seem to be the poster child for sudden change, it is still a great time to be outdoors. One thing I really enjoy in the fall is taking a drive in the country to enjoy the transition of colors. I have found it can also be therapeutic and a great way to get some relief from any stress you may have built up. Looking back a few years to a day when I had arrived home from work feeling a little stressed out, on the spur of the moment I decided to take a little drive with no particular destination in mind. As I pulled out of the driveway I decided to visit a few of our country roads I hadn’t driven on for many years. Along the way I spotted a fox in a freshly picked cornfield obviously digging for field mice or some other critter trying to avoid being its supper. After watching the fox I moved on and also saw a couple of red tailed hawks, the usual crows and an eagle. As I drove around the countryside observing the natural beauty of a nice fall afternoon and observing some of nature’s creatures at work, I got that “life is good” feeling that the simple things nature shares with us can give you. That was the stress reliever I was looking for and it worked like a charm.

There have been many fall fishing trips for this writer over the years and I have found this is when you really need to be prepared for change. Looking back, I am reminded of a time when a friend of mine and I took a fall trip to a little lake north of Marcell, not far from where I now have a cabin. On our first day of fishing it was cool, cloudy and a little rainy with temperatures in the low 60s. The fishing was good and we thought we’d hit it at the right time. The next morning we awoke to sunshine and calm winds, which helped the temperatures soar into the mid 80s. Guess what? The fishing followed the cold front out of the area and we were hard pressed to catch a fish the rest of the trip. I do believe fall fishing can be affected by weather more than any other season, or maybe I just haven’t figured it out yet.

Fall is also the time of year when I start to think muskies. The thought of having one of the “toothed ones” on the other end of my line still gets the adrenaline flowing. I love to troll for them, although I’ve probably caught more of them while casting; but both tactics can give a person the ultimate fishing thrill. I have always thought speed trolling a big lure and almost having your rod ripped out of your hands when a big musky hits it was the ultimate thrill. On the other hand, I can’t think of a better fishing experience than casting a lure and having a big fish explode out of the water at the exact time the lure hits the water.

I am planning a fall trip to the cabin with my grandson Dylan with hopes of maybe doing a little musky fishing. Like I stated earlier, the weather can always have an effect on outdoor activities in the fall, but it can never dampen the experience of spending time up north with a grandson. I have spotted quite a few grouse in the area of our cabin this past summer, so we may even get in a little hunting while we are there.

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MUSKY TALK

The Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc. meets the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Eagles Club in Owatonna. They include informative speakers, updates, raffle and door prizes and musky talk. You do not need to be a member to attend. Bring a friend and help improve musky fishing in Southern Minnesota.

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It’s just an observation:

Would there be a government shutdown if the folks in congress had to quit getting paid? I think not! Congress needs to start thinking about the good of the American people they represent and quit worrying about party lines.

Is it just me, or have the commercials on television actually gotten louder since the FCC said they had to tone them down? Have you noticed that in those E Harmony commercials, it looks like the guy who started it is now going on the dates with those couples?

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Until next time, this is a great time for hunting and fishing and to take a drive and take in the beauty of the fall colors 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

"Guess what I did this weekend."

"Nothing."

"Lucky guess."

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: why does the windshield wiper on the driver’s side of a car always wear out first?

The news from Hartland

• Old MacDonald quits eating breakfast due to excessive mooing, oinking, and clucking.

• Skunk wins local smelling bee.

• Sheriff Hank Uft says that 50 isn’t the new 30 when it comes to speed limits.

Ask Al

• "Why do birds fly into windows?" Because there is no "Windows for Dummies" book for our avian friends.

• "How can we prevent diseases caused by biting insects?" Don't bite any insects.

• "I saw a cow with a bell around her neck. What’s the purpose?" To keep her from eating birds.

Questions for you

• When do you switch from wearing short-sleeved to long-sleeved shirts?

• Do you say "caramel" or "carmel"?

• Who is your favorite Rocky — The Flying Squirrel, Balboa, Marciano, Colavito, or Horror Picture Show?

Cafe chronicles

• I was enjoying a reflective meatloaf commercial. It was like a beef commercial only with meatloaf. What was most important is that it had mashed potatoes and gravy. And that it wasn’t swill.

• I recalled a sign I saw in Alaska, "Steve's Road Kill Cafe... you kill it, we grill it."

• The sign in the bathroom read, "Employees must wash hands." I’m not one to complain, but no employee washed my hands. I had to wash my own.

I signed his cast "Ouch!"

My four-year-old grandson broke his arm. He did so while playing football. He probably shouldn’t have been playing, but the Minnesota Vikings needed him. Christian Ponder will replace him at quarterback.

When I was a wee lad and anything said to me was a word to the whys, my mother told me often to wash behind my ears. I wondered and asked why. I couldn’t look behind my ears and didn’t notice anyone other than my mother looking around back there. I found it easier just to hold my hands over the back of my ears as I walked amongst adults.

Wasting hours without taking minutes

I was at a large meeting. The vast room alternated between being too cold and too hot. The speakers might have been in another ZIP code. The presenters passed out pencils and paper to the audience members so that we could write down any questions we might have. My question was "Do I get to keep this pencil?"

Did you know?

• There is a Chinese law that requires children to care for their elderly parents, including regular visits and phone calls.

• Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in the US, has gotten shorter. It’s now measured at 20,237 instead of 20,320 feet.

• The 2013 Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds sold out of its 8,000 tickets ($25 each) in about 3 minutes.

• Alcatraz closed in 1963 for financial reasons.

• The percentage of households with a computer jumped from 21 percent to 78 percent from 1992 to 2011. Landline telephones fell from 96 percent to a 71 percent share over that same period.

• Mr. Potato Head was the first toy ever advertised on TV, in 1952.

• The Chatty Cathy doll was popular in the 1960s. A string on her back was pulled, and Chatty Cathy said one of 11 things: I love you. Do you love me? Please brush my hair. What can we do now? Please change my dress. Give me a kiss. I'm so tired. Let’s have a party. Please take me with you. Let’s play school. May I have a cookie?

• The Lumper is a varietal white potato whose widespread cultivation throughout Ireland was implicated in the Irish potato famine. Blight destroyed one-third of Ireland’s potato crop in 1845 and almost all of it in 1846.

• According to the American Dental Association, the average person produces over 6,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime.

Hummingmoths

Rose Hood of Albert Lea asked about insects that look like hummingbirds. They look, fly, and feed like hummingbirds, but are smaller. They are white-lined sphinx moths that hover over flowers. The moth has a proboscis, a flexible tube that resembles a beak. This moth has a white line extending the length of its front wing and a rosy-colored stripe across the rear wing. Its brown body tapers to a point at each end and has dark bands across its abdomen.

Meeting adjourned

If you are going to be caught doing something, be caught doing something kind.

As Jackie Gleason used to say, “Fall, how sweet it is, orange you glad?”

In our recent travel along I-90 to the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming and back, the crops looked the best we’ve seen in our forty years of going there. There were cornfields with corn next to the Badlands of South Dakota. Ranchers were cutting their third crop of alfalfa. Hay bales, both round and square, were vey plentiful. The only fields that didn’t look good were in Freeborn County due to the wet spring and not being planted.

My farming (gardening) ability is next to zilch. A vine started growing in our lawn that looked very much like cantaloupe or watermelon. It had very pretty yellow flowers so I faithfully watered it. (Some days I could taste the cantaloupe and other days the watermelon.) Even bumblebees were pollinating the pretty yellow flowers. The flowers develop into a pod with very sharp stickers on the outside. ‘Twas then my taste buds went to store-bought melon. (I am still watering the vine as I want to see what the seeds inside the pod look like.)

In regard to the above, I called to see if there would be any financial help to eradicate the noxious weed. For Freeborn County my request was too late in the growing season.

Genie and I attended the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) Pavilion in Albert Lea.

Pre-dinner music, which was very danceable, was played by Millard and Ken. Genie and I danced a waltz and a two-step before the meal was served. We would have danced more but a sad-faced lady we didn’t know came to us and said she would like to dance “just one” waltz. She was wearing a blue type RSVP vest, which told me she was probably a VIP-RSVP. She did tell me her name was Eleanor, her husband was Steve, and they lived in a border town.

I danced a waltz with her and was very surprised, as she was an excellent dancer.

Just prior to the meal, a young lady came over to us and told us she remembered Genie and me from doing readers’ theater at her school in Albert Lea (Lakeview). Readers’ theater is an RSVP program where we read and play-act a book to youngsters in local schools. Shelby, the young lady, was helping her mom and older sister serve the meal. Thanks, Shelby.

Somehow our table was the last to go through the serving line. To make matters worse, I was the only male at the table. Thus I was the very last of about 200. Just as I got my plate, they ran out of beans. The servers (Hillman and Hillman) politely told me I’d be okay without beans as I was full enough with hot air gas!

I was putting up a Soup and Pie Supper flyer for Central Freeborn Lutheran Church at Wagner Foods in New Richland,when a lady wearing a bandana started talking to me. (My first impression was, a friendly Harley rider.) She told me she and her hubby were involved in the area farming community. She apologized that she couldn’t make the Monday Soup and Pie Supper, as Monday is her chemo day. Please join me in praying for her – especially on Mondays. Cheri Possin, you made my day, thanks.

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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.

As many of you are aware, we had two lockdown situations occur at our New Richland School last week. The lockdowns were in response to two very different situations.

The first, on Tuesday 3 October, was implemented when the school received a phone call from the New Richland Police Department. A potentially dangerous individual had fled police and was last seen entering a cornfield south of New Richland. We felt the most prudent response was to bring the secondary building into a hard lockdown, a period of extremely limited motion inside the building which places all students inside classrooms with locked doors. Limiting motion this way is part of a plan to minimize student exposure to danger. The basic premise is that, if any intruders were to get inside the building, they would have trouble locating any students or other occupants they might be targeting. During this time, teachers remain with students in the classrooms while administration coordinates with local law enforcement. In addition to the hard lockdown at the New Richland site, a soft lockdown was implemented at the Ellendale building. As the name implies, a soft lockdown is less stringent; the building’s outside doors are locked and students are kept in their classrooms; teachers continue presenting material while administrators patrol the hallways.

The second lockdown was initiated on Wednesday after a threatening message was found; the threat involved only the New Richland building, and named no specific target, but rather the school population in general. We members of the administration responded immediately upon learning of the threat, following lockdown procedures for the second time in two days. I was very pleased to see the smooth, immediate cooperation we received from every group, from the staff in the kitchen — who were just in the process of serving lunch — to the students, teachers, and support workers. It was easy to tell that the safety of our students was everyone's first priority, and that perspective guided our response.

Law enforcement officers were on site within minutes of the discovery of the threat, and assisted first with the necessary safety protocols, and then with the investigation into who had made the threat. After a thorough search of the building, we confirmed that there was no abiding threat to our students' safety, and progressed to a soft lockdown. 

I understand any concerns that the public and the parents of our students may feel about these two events. I want you to feel confident that every possible step was taken to assure the safety of everyone in the building, and that swift action is being taken to identify the culprit and take disciplinary measures.

Days like these are the reason our school district has a crisis plan which identifies specific procedures for handling each possible type of emergency situation. As with any event, we learned of adjustments we want to make in implementing our plans, and have already reviewed these with staff.

It is self-evident that the administration will only initiate a lockdown when there is a genuine need for it; all occupants of the building are expected to respond appropriately. Let there be no doubt, the words, "The safety and well-being of our students is our district's first priority," are not a publicity slogan, they are the foundation of everything we do at NRHEG.

The Chinese have a saying that roughly translates to, “May you live in interesting times.” We’ve certainly had that at NRHEG over the past week, with two lockdown situations in two days.

These lockdowns were for very different reasons. However, both were to provide safety for our students. Lockdowns are never fun, but based on all the unfortunate violence in and around schools in the last 15 years, they are necessary.

I’ve seen all manner of blowback online and heard it in person too. One person thought it was dumb to keep kids in the school if there was a threat from within. However, there have been so many situations where someone put a threat inside a building, only to be waiting outside as students poured out of the building. As I told this person, the locked doors and cement blocks will protect us a lot better.

Parents are always concerned; they have a right to be. I was worried, and I was in the same building as my daughter! At least I was able to assure my wife that everything was fine here. Even there, I limited what I told her. I know that goes against my marriage vows, but there’s no need to speculate if I don’t have facts. (Hopefully, this statement doesn’t affect my ability to say Happy Anniversary to Michelle this week!)

Speculation leads to rumors which can lead to slander or worse. It also amps up parent worry. When kids start texting what they think they heard from someone who heard it from someone else in the two minutes between the announcement to go to lockdown and when the lights went off, it can only be bad news.

We’re all human. We gossip. It’s very natural. But as I mentioned in my previous column on the negative aspects of social media, things can get out of hand in a hurry.

Here’s what parents need to know in these situations: There is a potential danger at school, the students are safe, and the proper authorities are doing everything they can to resolve the matter. Outside of that, wait for official information.

That doesn’t help if you’re a parent at home or work when the call goes out. You are going to worry. Still, helping to spread the stories isn’t helpful and might lead to worse situations down the road.

Once the situations were resolved and people had a chance to let all this settle in, I found a sense of anger. The vast majority of our students were mad at having their educational time taken away from them. Sure, some kids relish getting out of class, but most of them would rather be in class than huddled in a corner in the dark for two hours.

Most kids genuinely want to learn. These incidents took away some of that. Teachers expressed anger as well. If someone was trying to get out of class for a while by putting a threat out there, that’s very upsetting. It puts everybody in a panic. If you didn’t want to be in school that day, come down with a case of fakeintitis or something, but leave the rest of us out of it.

I’ve written about parental responsibilities before; here’s another example. Please monitor your children’s social media. Maybe there was some clue from some child that this was going to happen. Check texts, tweets, and statuses. This can help nip things in the bud, since we know that kids always talk about things; privacy means nothing to them.

Dr. Goodwin and Mr. Bunn have done so much work in developing a positive culture in our school, but they seem to have hurdle after hurdle placed in front of them. (Luckily, Mr. Bunn has track experience from high school!) I truly hope we can have a time of normalcy and show them what true Panther Pride is about and just how outstanding our communities can be. Oh, and it would be nice if we didn’t need to hear the word lockdown again until we need to practice for the 2014-2015 school year!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is interminable, which means seeming to be without end, as in, “The wait during the lockdown seemed interminable to students, staff, and parents.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Long-time resident of Albert Lea, Mary Ann Dixen, age 90, passed away Saturday October 5, 2013. She had attended St. Olaf College and obtained her B.A. in economics, later returning to college at Mankato State University for her teaching credential in elementary education.  She was a fourth grade teacher in Albert Lea for 20 years, retiring in 1985.

Mary Ann recognized the importance of education and continued that interest after retirement. She was instrumental in establishing the Albert Lea Area Schools Science Fair for students in grades 3 to 6 to promote interest in science, as well as serving as a judge for the students’ projects. As a former teacher she brought a valuable perspective to the School Board as a board member from 1986-1995 – including serving as chairperson.