The scurs kept the snow away until the weekend at least. Are we out of the woods yet or are we still following the bread crumbs? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the lower 50s. Partly cloudy for Thursday with a slight chance of evening showers or thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Partly cloudy on Friday with an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the upper 50s. Saturday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 50s. Mostly cloudy Sunday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Monday, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the upper 40s. Mostly cloudy Tuesday with highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s. The normal high for May 20th is 71 and the normal low is 50. The scurs may be ready to put the toboggan away for the year.

Spring has been a test of one’s patience if you’re a farmer. The snowfall that blanketed the area continues to leave its mark. Fields have been slow to dry although the temperatures and lack of wind have also been factors. Some have been determined to try fieldwork only to discover too late that fields have simply not dried very quickly. It is rather remarkable given the dry conditions we faced coming out last fall that our soil profile has been completely recharged in the top 5’. The small acreage of corn that was planted before the snow will likely emerge this week. Small grains have emerged slightly unevenly while the alfalfa that was underseeded in some of those fields appears to have caught very nicely. This is good news for those who lost stands of alfalfa this past winter and spring. Even though it likely won’t make up for the hay that was lost, it’s still better than the alternative. 

Wetlands have also benefitted from the large amounts of precipitation thus far. They too are at capacity and the wildlife is reaping the rewards. Ducks and geese are busy nesting and deer can easily find water once again. The western chorus frogs crank it up every night and more recently the toads have begun their trilling to add to the wonderful sleeping music. Aside from hearing rain on the rooftop, few things will put me to sleep faster than listening to these little amphibians chirping away after dark.

Garden plans have been just that so far. Even the small garden that usually is dry by now remains damp on the surface in spots. The main garden had a layer of ice on it Saturday morning and the sleet, snow pellets and freezing rain that passed through later that morning did nothing to bolster any remaining enthusiasm I might have.  Hopefully the breezy condition from Monday and Tuesday will move it along so something can be accomplished soon. One can live off the fresh produce from it most of the summer and the waiting is the hardest part.

It was a watershed week watching and listening to the birds this past week at the ranch as well as at the kindly neighbors’ At home, there were still some juncos on the 7th although they left shortly after that. A Harris’ sparrow made it on the 9th and has been hanging with the white-crowned sparrows daily since. The orioles came that same day. The oriole nectar feeder bit the dust last fall so a new one was procured to replace it. It was filled and hung up at lunchtime and by 5:30 p.m., the first male oriole had already found it. A yellow warbler crossed my path the morning of the 10th as I made my way to check the black cutworm trap. Later that afternoon while repairing fence at the kindly neighbors, a bluebird could be heard calling in the rolling oak pasture. A house wren was heard at the ranch on the 12th and the first hummingbird of the season at the ranch was desperately trying to catch up with the near horizontal oriole feeder due to strong winds on the 13th. A robin’s nest with 3 eggs in it was also found on top of the boom box in the barn. It must enjoy classic rock on Power 96. The icing on the cake was the first indigo bunting of the season Tuesday morning, in stark contrast to the dozens of yellow goldfinches.

The lawn finally decided to come to life at least in places despite the generally cool spring. It was especially lush where the dogs had been using it as their personal bathroom as well as in the ditch where nutrients are easy to come by. Mowing it the first time is an adventure. Getting the aging mowers and mower operator limbered up first always takes some doing. The ditch usually takes priority as the road cut is a challenge. One never knows when the next gully washer is going to fill it with water so mowing requires a watercraft license. The grass in the bottom was about the consistency of canned spinach. It gunked up the deck something fierce and caused several stoppages of play in order to de-gunk it. All in all it got done and the finished product was a definite improvement.

The Border Collies definitely seem to enjoy mowing lawn more than we humans do. When you approach the lawnmower, they get all excited and run around frantically. Once you’re seated and hit the ignition, the tire biting commences and when the blades are engaged, walking back and forth at a safe distance so the mower doesn’t get away becomes their focus. It’s great exercise for them and while they’re tired afterwards, it’s a happy tired. 

See you next week…real good then.

When I turned 16, I got my shot to work at Randall Foods, your one stop shopping center in New Ulm, the same store at which my dad worked. The biggest concept that was drilled into us over my seven years of working at both the Randall Foods in New Ulm and in Winona was customer service. It was not, “Can I help you?” but, “How may I help you?” It seemed obvious that we could help a customer; it was much more courteous to say the latter.

In fact, there was a two-month period where everyone in the store underwent intensive re-training on all aspects of customer service. The opinion was if a customer wasn’t satisfied and never came back, that person could tell another person, who might tell another, and we would slowly lose all that business.

That’s a sound principle. Michelle and I experienced both ends of that spectrum recently while shopping for a new vehicle.

That’s right. Once the old mini-van turned over 200,000 miles, we decided it was time to look for something different. We stopped at a number of car dealerships looking for a good used vehicle for our family.

At one location, the gentleman who helped us seemed like the entire time spent with us was a waste of his time. He didn’t smile, and he actually lied to us at one point about a noise we could hear from the rear of the vehicle. (He claimed it came from the key box outside.) When I asked to test drive a second vehicle we were looking at, it was if we had removed all energy from him.

He didn’t work very hard to sell us on the good points of the vehicles. I had to pry information from him. We were very interested in one they had, but a big part of the reason we didn’t go back to look at it again was his demeanor.

Listen, we all have bad days. However, during my grocery store days, we were told to put on a happy face, no matter what. It could be the most annoying customers in the world, but we would smile and help them find what they needed.

When we eventually stopped at Car Time in Owatonna, we faced the opposite of our previous experience. The salesman was friendly, polite, not pushy, and answered any question I had that he didn’t already anticipate.

We really liked the vehicle, but we decided not to go looking any more or even go back and look at the one we liked at the previous location, in large part because of the salesman. He can be happy that his good service helped him make a sale.

Unfortunately, I see more and more of the former type of service than I do the latter. Again, in my years in the grocery business, if a customer asked where something was, we were to lead them to the item.

It seems that if I ask someone at a store where to find something, it’s as if I’m disturbing them from the most important task in the world. I had this happen at Walmart when I was looking for a specific type of clock radio. I asked where it might be. The woman looked at me as if I was the most idiotic person in the world and told me it would be with the clocks.

I replied that I assumed that, but wasn’t sure where the clock section was. At first, she pointed in a vague direction. Perhaps when she saw the annoyed look on my face, she decided that leading me there would be a better idea. Guess what? I didn’t buy a clock radio there. I did at Fleet Farm, where a helpful employee guided me right away to what I was looking for.

Why is customer service so difficult? We seem to live in a society that doesn’t find it to be a defining feature of customer-centric businesses. If you’re at Walmart, you’ll probably come back, even if you have a bad experience. Will I go to Walmart again? Of course I will; that woman isn’t the only person who works there. But they did lose a sale that day.

I do find good customer service in our local stores, as I mentioned last week. There is always a smile at Lerberg’s and Wagner’s. I’m always shown exactly what I’m looking for if businesses in our school district have it. Maybe that’s another reason that makes living here so great. The small businesses need every sale to make it, so customer service means something to them. Plus, they seem to legitimately enjoy their jobs; they’re not just collecting a paycheck. Bravo!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is panache, which means elegant style or charm, as in, “The salesman’s panache helped make the customers feel at ease.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Funeral services for John Paul Hohansee will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16, 2013 at First Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.  Rev. John Holt will officiate.  Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15 at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com.

John died Sunday, May 12 at his home, surrounded by family.

Paul Stephen Baarson, age 80, of Apple Valley, MN, passed away May 4, 2013, due to cancer. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 56 years, Marie; sister, Sylvia; sons, Craig (Jen) and Jeff (Patty); daughter, Denise (Ed); and grandchildren: Matt, Rachel, Amber, Anna and Jake.

Paul was born October 15, 1932, in Ellendale, MN, and grew up on the family farm. He started his school career in a one-room schoolhouse, where, from his mischievous beginnings, one would never guess he would go on to pursue a career in education. 

Paul was active in many sports and activities throughout school. He graduated from Ellendale High School (MN), earned a BA in Education from the University of Northern Iowa, a Masters Degree at Montana State, and his Specialists Degree from the University of Saint Thomas.

Funeral services for Lorraine E. Meyer of New Richland, MN, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 16, 2013 at the First Congregational Church in New Richland, MN. Pastor Pamela Jensen will officiate. Visitation will be held Wednesday, May 15, 2013 from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Friedrich Funeral Home in New Richland, MN. Interment will be in St Peter Lutheran Cemetery, New Richland.

Lorraine was born December 14, 1937 in Albert Lea, MN, the daughter of John and Elsie (Boettger) Dusza. She was a graduate of New Richland High School. On February 23, 1957 she was united in marriage to Robert Meyer at the First Congregational Church in New Richland. Lorraine was a New Richland resident all of her life. She had been employed by Land-O-Lakes, Hudson Foods and retired from Schweigert Foods as a switchboard receptionist. Before her marriage she had worked as a waitress in New Richland and at the Wilson Co. in Albert Lea.

LeSueur River Lutheran holds recital with historic organ

RECITAL — LeSueur River Lutheran Church held a recital Sunday, April 21 to celebrate its newly refurbished historic pipe organ. Above from left: Pastor Brian Gegel, Gratia Johnson, Marilyn Schempp and Matt Groskreutz. (Photo by Paul Meierding)

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

A celebration of the newly refurbished pipe organ at the LeSueur River Lutheran Church, rural New Richland, was held on Sunday, April 21. A dinner of hot beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy was served following the morning worship service. Janice Pederson of Superior Foods catered the noon meal.

Starting at 1 p.m., an organ recital was presented by distinguished organist Marilyn Schempp of Sioux Falls, S.D.; along with Gratia Johnson, the current church organist. Eric and Christopher Knutson on trumpets and Daniel Knutson on euphonium, also from South Dakota, joined in a program of organ solos, organ duets, and organ/brass arrangements.

By REED WALLER

Staff Writer

Dr. Dennis Goodwin’s contract was approved to offer at a special meeting of the NRHEG school board on Monday, May 6.

Dr. Goodwin, currently Superintendent of Schools in Platte-Geddes district, South Dakota, was selected for the position of Superintendent to replace departing NRHEG Superintendent Kevin Wellen.

A National School Board Association contract was drawn up by facilitator Ed Waltman at South Central Service Cooperative (SCSC).

The contract is a standard three-year contract for 2013-2016, starting Dr. Goodwin at $106,000 and increasing 1.25 percent per year over the three years.

The total salary plus benefits will be $149,432 for the first year, $152,948 the second year, and $156,089 the third year.

The New Richland Area Foundation Fund made its second round of grant announcements during the April 22 New Richland City Council meeting.

There for the announcement were NRAFF Grants Committee members Kermit Schoenrock, Pam Goehring, Matt Harrington and Gail Schmidt.

A total of four grants amounting to $3,500 were announced.

They were:

• $1,000 — Dave Dunnette representing the Sportsman’s Club for improvements being made to the pavilion at St. Olaf Lake Park.

Irene Supalla fondly recalls life as a farm wife

RIGHT AT HOME — Irene Supalla feels right at home living at Whispering Oak in Ellendale, and looks back fondly at her many years as a farm wife. (Star Eagle photo by Rachel Rietsema)

By RACHEL RIETSEMA

Staff Writer

The Whispering Oak assisted living facility and Irene Supalla are pretty good buddies at the moment. I mean, for crying out loud, the sunshine beams in her bedroom in the daytime and the sun sets outside her living room windows.

Even just kicking it back on the couch with crocheting tools is good enough for Supalla.

“I’ve made all three of my daughters table clothes and doilies,” Supalla said.

“And, how do you like my new curtains?” she asked.

Well, you see, she called her oldest son Michael and asked for her sewing machine so she could whip up some new ones. She absolutely didn’t like looking at bare windows anymore.