By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

MAPLETON – A long season ended quickly in the opening round of Section 3AA for the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva football team. 

The sixth-seeded Panthers lost to third-seeded Maple River 33-8 in the section tournament opener at Mapleton Oct. 23. 

“We simply made too many mistakes against a good Maple River team,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork. “They came out firing on all cylinders and we did not.”

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

BLUE EARTH – A disappointing and injury-plagued season came to an abrupt end in the opening round of the sub-section tournament. 

Coach Joe Kuechenbecker’s fifth-seeded New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva volleyball team were swept in three games by fourth-seeded Blue Earth in the quarterfinal round of the South Sub-Section 2AA Tournament at Blue Earth last Thursday. The Panthers made it to the sub-section championship game before losing to Le Sueur-Henderson last season. 

The Bucs outscored NRHEG 75-56 in winning 25-19, 25-19 and 25-18.

The Panthers had defeated Blue Earth in a tournament during the season. 

Junior high CC teams wrap up season

The NRHEG junior high cross country team had a very good season for 2012.

All of the junior high runners this year were in the seventh grade. The members were Ben Lewer, Kollin Reese, and Braeden Thompson for the boys. For the girls, the runners were Mikayla Olson and Rayna Crossen.

Junior high events consisted of 7th and 8th-graders for the most part; sometimes 9th-graders also ran. The course is between one and two miles, depending upon the choice of the host school.

The boys had a successful season. Ben Lewer placed as high as 11th place a couple times, perhaps his best run in his last meet of the season. Braeden Thompson placed in the top 10 for almost all of the meets, placing as high as second place in Fairmont. 

This year, there are many very controversial things that will appear on the ballot in November. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you all why I’m voting and what I’ll be voting for. 

The first topic, which I feel most strongly about, is the marriage amendment. I will be voting no. I could write a novel about why I’m against banning gay marriage, but I’ll stick to the basics here so as not to offend. 

Don’t like gay marriage? Don’t get gay married. It’s as simple as that. 

Forty years ago, there were people fighting against a different minority: African Americans, and their right to live as white people do. Forty years from now, what will people say when they look back?

The second topic is voter ID. I will also be voting no on this, and any taxpayer who doesn’t want more money taken out of their hard-earned paychecks than already is should follow suit. This amendment is so ridiculous I can’t even believe it made it this far. 

It’s going to cost every county in Minnesota hundreds of thousands of dollars, and for what? To make a person show photo identification before they are allowed to vote. 

Not only will this lower voter turnout by making the voting process more costly and difficult, but it affects everyone, because everyone who pays taxes will be shelling out for years to come.

As for who I think should run our country, I honestly don’t know if any one person could do a good job. But I know who I’m not voting for: Mitt Romney. I’m not a Republican, I don’t agree with his views, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable living in a country that’s run by a man like him.

Politics aren’t really my cup of tea; in fact, I try and stay as far away from them as possible. However, the issues listed above are ones I feel very strongly about. After all, we’re all entitled to our opinion. 

I know a lot of people don’t agree with mine, especially in a conservative town, but sometimes opening your mind and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is exactly what needs to be done.

I know I’m young and I’ve got a lot of the world left to see. But it amazes me sometimes at how immature some adults can be, even those much older than myself. 

Each day that goes by is another day of learning. I’m just getting out of the gate, and yet I’m mature enough to put my pride aside and look at things through another person’s eyes when it needs to be done. 

Why can’t the people who I’m supposed to look up to and learn from do the same? I guess there are just some things in this world I’ll never understand, no matter how many years of experience I have under my belt.

I encourage you to fight for what you believe in, but don’t be ignorant, either. It’s O.K. to be wrong, and it’s O.K. to admit when you are. 

Mistakes are natural; they’re a way to learn. Open your mind, open your eyes, and look at the world around you. 

Is it the kind of world you want to be living in? You have the ability to change it, to make it better. 

But you’ve got to make yourself better, too. Is the person you see staring back at you in the mirror every day someone you’re proud of? 

You have the ability to change yourself, as well. Make yourself into the person you’ve always wanted to be, fight for the things you feel strongly about, and most importantly, be kind to those around you while you do.

It is such a joy when people we think of as hometown folks bring honor and glory back home.

Needless to say, when I heard Hunter Pence was going to be playing in the baseball playoffs, and later recognizing the parts that he played on winning some of the games that took him and his team on to the World Series, I have been glued to the television set and all the baseball games. 

His teammates give him credit for being a real spark plug for the team, but baseball is his game and he has lived it just about 24-7 since he was a little boy. Hunter’s dad, Howard, stayed with him and his big brother, Howie, through countless little league games as these two young boys grew up. 

Incidentally, a couple of those little league players, including Hunter, that Howard watched played baseball for many years, went on to play for the Houston Astros.

Maybe that is part of Howard’s legacy that he passed on to Hunter in a big way.

My family has retold the story many times of how I went to school and said that I was related to Harmon Killebrew. My sister, Kaye, did the same thing. 

My nephew also went to show and tell at school and said that he, too, was related to an important baseball player: Babe Ruth. Actually, it was my grandma Schember who was related to the late Connie Mack whose name was originally McGillicuddy. 

Look it up. It was something my grandmother Schember was very proud of. 

Years later, the story once again came to life as the post office where Kaye works in Arizona was the post office that Harmon Killebrew came to get his mail. Kaye met him often and one day, she finally got up enough nerve to tell him the school story. 

He got a big kick out of it and said he was proud to have known the late Connie Mack well.

And now, I can boast and tell you that I’m related to another famous baseball player from my Grandpa Richard’s side of the family, Hunter Pence. My Grandpa Hanson and Hunter’s great grandfather, Hans Peterson, were related. 

The men were cousins and good friends. They carpentered together for years. 

The Petersons were into baseball. In fact, my Grandma Hanson use to tell how Chris Peterson, a former Geneva resident, as a small child came with his mother, Helen, to see my Grandma Hanson and her new baby. (which I think was my mother) 

Chris found a baseball bat and was playing with it. Not too much later, something happened and the bat shattered the glass head on my Aunt Helyn’s doll. 

And now, his nephew, Hunter, is shattering records and bringing fame to our community by being a member of the San Francisco Giants, 2012 World Series Champion baseball team.

I, too, can proudly say that I am related to Hunter because my Great grandpa, Chris Christensen, who used to be the school custodian here in Geneva, was a half brother to Soren Christensen. Christensen was a blacksmith in Clarks Grove and married Nellie, who was another relative of Hunter’s, which is too complicated to explain now.

Sometimes you have to dig deep to find and remember the family associations, but not this time, because Hunter’s great grandparents, Hans and Helen Peterson and Mark and Gina Peterson, were also good friends of the family.

Needless to say, watching the 2012 World Series has been exciting for me and many others here in our area. Do you suppose that my granddaughters will go to school and share during show and tell that they are related to one of the players of the 2012 World Series championship team, Hunter Pence?

Pride doesn't stop here and one doesn't have to be a relative to be proud.

I am proud of little 10-year-old Emma Esplan, of Ellendale, who has collected over 500 pairs of shoes for the people of Haiti. 

I am also proud of T.J. Schiltz, in his winning runs. Fame doesn't come without talent and endless energy behind it.

I am proud of our school band, athletic teams, and cheerleaders. It takes dedication to achieve those things. 

They don't happen overnight or by sitting on a couch watching television. Winning isn't everything; it is how you play the game. 

Isn't it great to pick up the paper, or hear in the news of the good things that people do that are positive?

Please take the time to acknowledge great accomplishments and the goodness of others.

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 news, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

• Thursday, November 1st: Dakota Wangsness, Garrett Wangsness, Troy Hagen, Mike Reistad, Jamie & Sergio Hernandez.

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

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

• Sunday, November 4th: Jeff Carlson, Brant Hemingway, Stuart Vangen, Grant Neitzell, Scott Anderson, Andrew Farr.

• Monday, November 5th: 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 Kundtson.

• Tuesday, November 6th: 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, Ed & Fern Possin, Kellie & Ryan Benning.

• Wednesday, November 7th: Solveig Adelaine Mattson, her 2nd birthday; Ava Leigh Wangsness, her third birthday; Alymra Seath, Jolee Johnson, Travis Diederrich, Linda Dobberstein, Scott Olson, Mark Sundwall.

Make your special day a day you'll never forget, filled with smiles, good cheer and laughter!

The Minnesota deer hunting season begins on November 3. It doesn’t seem possible that it is already here. 

Although I am not a deer hunter myself, I do keep up with how some friends that hunt have fared.

A few years ago, I attended the Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener in the Brainerd area. I was invited to ride along with some nice folks from the DNR as they checked in with hunters at various deer camps to see how they were doing. 

It was really an interesting time. I was impressed by the close-knit feeling that I took away from visiting those different deer camps.

Many of these camps were made up of generations of hunters that have been coming to the same area for many years. Most of these camps were started by a group of friends or a family that had one main thing in common, the love of hunting. 

Deer camps have been a part of the Minnesota deer hunting scene for as long as I can remember. I had often heard friends talking about “deer camp,” but after witnessing it firsthand, I could see what was so special about it. 

Some of these folks had introduced their kids and grandkids to the sport and were still there hunting right alongside of them.

Sharing a tradition with the next generation is what being a sportsman is all about. It can give you a real sense of accomplishment and for me it makes spending time in the outdoors even more enjoyable. 

Although I don’t hunt much anymore, it is fun to watch the grandkids get excited about the sport. A couple of weeks ago, my son Brian and his family were spending some time at our cabin.

The weather wasn’t the best, but they still managed to bag a couple of grouse  on our land. Grant, the youngest of the three boys, got his first grouse on this trip which made everyone happy.

I have said more than once that it isn’t always about how many fish you catch or birds that you bag, it’s about being there and the whole outdoors experience. I don’t know what is the matter with me lately, because  even though the lakes aren’t even frozen over yet, I am already looking forward to spring. 

This winter, I am planning on spending a little time on the “hard water” with my grandson Trevor. He can be the guide because, unlike his grandpa, he knows where and how to catch fish through the ice.

In the past few years, I have ventured out from time to time and tried my hand at ice fishing. The key to having a successful outing is to start early in the season as soon as the ice is safe enough to venture out on. 

I’m getting a little ahead of myself though as we still have open water. I want to take a little time to get that one more - one more cast in. 

Still being that kid at heart, I am definitely guilty of being “that guy.” You know the one who says it’s time to go, but has to get in a few more casts just to satisfy his need to fish. At times, I feel that I do this because in my mind, I can see this “lunker” lying there waiting for me to make that perfect cast.

Having the need to satisfy that urge sometimes has not ended well for me. Many years ago, I was shingling my garage on a November Saturday and I was supposed go to a birthday party for my niece. 

My wife and the boys went on ahead while I finished what I was doing. I had just bought a new fishing rod at Bergland Sporting Goods store’s closeout sale and decided to try it out before heading to Freeborn for the festivities. 

I drove around Fountain Lake looking for a spot to cast. After a few casts, I had caught a small northern so I took that as a good sign and headed home to put the fishing pole away and clean up. 

I leaned the rod against the car while I retrieved my tackle box but wouldn’t you know it, a gust of wind came up and blew the car door shut at about the same time my rod started falling over. It was shut in the car door and that crunching noise told me it wasn’t going to be good. 

Sure enough, it was broken off just above the handle which made it unfixable for me. So much for my new rod and that one more cast thing.

This story did have a happy ending. I shipped it to the company (Browning) and explained what had happened and asked if they could fix it. 

A couple of weeks later, a long package arrived containing a brand new rod with an invoice that said they were replacing the broken one because of a factory defect. Evidently, the good folks at Browning felt sorry for the dummy that broke his fishing pole the first time he went to use it.

Who would have thought that having to make just one more cast could create a problem? The funny thing is; the kid in me still feels the need to make that one more cast.

Until next time, enjoy the outdoors and take a little time to share the experience with our youth.

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 a Loafers’ Club Meeting

"We're getting older."

"I hear that. Where do you see yourself in five years?"

"In mirrors."

I've learned

1. When Superman makes jokes about his girlfriend, it’s the Lois form of humor.

2. The cream rises to the top, but so does the scum.

3. That when the cashier says, "Strip down," she's talking about my credit card.

Thoughts of the election

1. I read that the human body has 45 miles of nerves. If that's true, negative ads have gotten on every inch of them.

2. Elections should be held on Christmas. Then, if we don’t like someone we elected, we could exchange him.

3. A yard sign has never changed my mind as to whom I am voting for.

The news from Hartland

Pumpkin Patch closes. Owners claim to be out of their gourds.

Chimney sales are through the roof at Sherlock Homes.

Fast food restaurant offers escargot sandwiches for those wanting to slow down.

Tomb it may concern. Halloween memories

I liked the school bus. The problem was that it stopped at the ends of too many driveways. It wasn't the express. I was early on the bus, late off. I looked at my seatmate. He was dressed like Dracula. It was a pain in the neck riding a bus with a vampire. I told him of a nonexistent man named Jeckle who lived near our school. I assured him that we could knock on the door of Jeckle and hide.

Cafe chronicles

"Could I have my hamburger without onions?"

"I'm sorry, but we’re out of onions. Would you like it without pickles instead?"

I was seated at the table of infinite wisdom. Men ate with a lupine voracity. The discussion was on frugality. Loren Ingebretsen of Felton, MN told me he’s so cheap that included in his directions to his family following his death is, "Slice the ham thin."

My contribution to the table topic was the tale of my frugal neighbor.

"Put on your coat," he said to his wife.

"Are we going out?" she asked.

"I am, but you’re staying home."

"Then why do I need to wear a coat?" she wondered aloud.

"Because I'm turning off the heat."

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

Tom Benson operated the barbershop here for many years. Some thought his dog spent so much time there because it enjoyed watching Tom cut hair. I worried that the canine was waiting for Tom to cut off a customer’s ear.

Customer comments

Jim Mathis of Atlanta told me about the great numbers of northerners who winter in South Florida. He said that there so many, the farther south you get, the more north it becomes.

Duane Miller of Hartland said that his great nephew calls his great uncle, "Grunkle Duane."

Dan Carlin is a retired teacher from Faribault. His students were fond of asking Dan if he were related to George Carlin. Dan replied, "He's my brother, but my wife won't let him in the house because of his filthy language."

Barb Finseth of New Richland told me that her father, Ken, offered his farm driveway to youngsters for sledding down. If the weather was not conducive to good sledding (some claim that Minnesota has only two seasons — winter and poor sledding), Ken would run water down the driveway to make it world class sledding.

Did you know?

New Hampshire has been ranked the top beer-drinking state with a per capita consumption of 43 gallons a year according to a report in 24/7 Wall Street.

In 1957, Leave It to Beaver on CBS was the first TV program to show a toilet tank. Network executives were squeamish about displaying a bathroom on television, especially a toilet. The network and the production company reached a compromise — an episode including shots of the tank, but not the toilet itself.

The most popular drink on National Basketball Association flights, according to Delta, is Snapple Kiwi-Strawberry juice drink.

Nature notes

“Is there a spray that will discourage squirrels?” I’ve not used any as a squirrel deterrent, but I’ve heard from many readers regarding such things. I’ve been told that squirrels don’t like the smell of dog repellent spray. They also purportedly dislike the smell of vinegar. Many people have used Liquid Fence to deter squirrels from digging up bulbs or potted plants and from making a dog’s breakfast of the landscaping. Liquid Fence is an all-natural repellent with ingredients that include garlic. I must qualify my answer, as I’ve never used these methods to keep squirrels at bay. I’ve tried mothballs and found them of no help.

Meeting adjourned

Make kindness your default position.

The scurs were on the edge of their seats as the rains fell last Wednesday night and Thursday morning. They’ll be focusing their efforts for the upcoming week to see if we get weather to allow us to finish a storybook season. Starting Wednesday and Thursday, partly cloudy with highs of 50 – 55 and lows of 35. Partly cloudy for Friday with a slight chance of showers. Highs again in the low to mid-50’s and lows near 40. Mostly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of showers. Highs of  45 and lows of 35. Mostly cloudy for Sunday with a slight chance of rain. Highs again near 45 and lows dropping to near 30.Parttly cloudy and cooler for Monday with a chance of rain with highs of 45 - 50 and lows around 30. For Election Day, partly cloudy with highs around 50 and lows falling to the mid-20s. The normal high for November 6th is 48 and the normal low is 29. We will also experience 10 hours of daylight on the 6th, the same as we typically saw February 4th. We also will see the sun set at 6:01 p.m. on the 3rd, yet it will set at 5 p.m. on the 4th due to the end of that ultimate in government meddling known as Daylight Saving Time. The scurs will be riding to the polls on Tuesday, sitting in the backseat bitterly clinging to their guns and religion.

The rains that fell on the 24th and 25th were just what the doctor ordered. Not only did it allow farmers to feel more comfortable about anhydrous ammonia applications, it also allowed the graders to take out the washboards that had overtaken many of the area gravel roads. It also marks the largest rainfall event since September 5th.  Altogether we managed 1.07” at the ranch and in town where no one actually farms a tad over 1.3”. The effect in the fields and area pastures was almost immediately apparent. In the fields some of the large hunks of soil were already beginning to break apart as of Friday and the pasture at the ranch had a nice green hue to it, something not seen for many weeks. After a cloudy cool weekend forecast, the Monday sun will likely be a welcome sight.

Not a lot new in the bird department other than I saw a Harris’s sparrow on its journey back through to their overwintering territory which is primarily in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. They’re a little less showy in the fall but they’re still unmistakable. Something that has my dander up is the suet I put out while attracting the desired woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees, has also been attracting starlings (expected) and house sparrows. Since they’re being persistent, I may employ one of my long awaited plans to hang the suet cake feeders from the bottom side of a board. Woodpeckers and the like are used to crawling around and hanging upside down whereas the starlings and sparrows reputedly lack that ability. Anything to make their lives less pleasant would be worth it.

Saturday at the ranch it was time to trim some of the lower limbs off the trees that had been slapping me in the face all summer in addition to deciding what trees to water first. As luck would have it, examining one poor little oak I’d been nurturing for years I discovered the rabbits were already in midwinter form, having chewed off all the impressive new growth it had put on over the summer. It wasn’t even the end of October yet, I thought to myself. So I strung the hose down to one of the pear trees and proceeded to get out the spiral tree wrap. Good thing I did too. Checking on the 15 Freeman maples planted in the windbreak, a couple of them showed signs that Peter Cottontail had been chewing the bark. Back in the yard not far from the aforementioned oak, one of the small Red Splendor crabapples was also barked up. This means war and a scorched earth policy literally when the wind is in the right direction. All the brush piles are prime targets now we’ve had some rain, given the proper wind conditions and an okey-dokey from the brush fire police.

The cooler weather has meant a renewed enthusiasm in the Studebaker Lark project. The early harvest has meant that field operations will soon cease and there should be more time to work inside. Picking up where we left off last spring had me searching for a water pump, a fuel pump, a heater core and a heater control valve. It’s not as simple as going to the local parts store. Finding the right part involves looking it up in the body and chassis parts catalog, yourself, and learning how to cross reference to know which parts are interchangeable on other models. They can be found, sometimes for a price, from several vendors so it’s best to shop around as well as checking the swap pages. It’s amazing through the network of the Studebaker Driver’s Club how many parts are still readily available, much of it NOS (new old stock). After all, the car is 52 going on 53 years old and Studebaker has been out of business since 1966. The deeper I get into the project, the more enamored I find myself becoming with the company which was often ahead of its time.

Have I always had an interest in Studebakers? Sometimes seems like it. It probably started early on. As a wee lad of 4, I remember Alfred and Cora Meinke who lived across the road from us at the Stewartville farm, had a bullet-nose, probably an early ‘50s model Champion. It was a dull blue as many of them were. Paint seemed to oxidize more readily in those days especially since many cars had to sleep outside. When we moved to the Spring Valley farm, the neighbors on the corner also had one. Marzolf Implement in town was the local Studebaker dealer. Then there were the old car magazines we got from Cousin Phil, an avid car collector himself. Poring over those pages in our makeshift playhouse we were introduced to the likes of the Golden Hawk, the Packard Hawk and the Avanti, cars that commanded respect not only for their rakish styling but for their performance. The Lark VI itself was noted for neither but it was a tough, practical, reliable little car that became a member of our family. At only 38,000 miles, it deserves a chance to relive some of its previous glory. Probably a good thing it can’t talk though. Besides, I’ve owned Fords, Chevys, Dodges, Buicks, Pontiacs and even an orange AMC Gremlin. Not many can say they’ve actually owned a Studebaker.  

See you next week…real good then.

I’ve often wondered if there are people in Florida who wish they would’ve voted in the 2000 election. If you recall, Florida was the pivotal state when it came to George W. Bush eventually winning the presidency. 

Hanging chads and other irregularities abounded, but that election, as well as the close one in 2004, showed why every vote is important.

One of my college roommates used to try to argue that his vote didn’t matter because of the electoral system. However, if enough people think that, it can make a difference. 

In Florida that year, some tallies had Bush winning by as few as 100 total votes. Think about how many people you know who don’t vote and multiply that around the state. 

Would our country have been a better place with Al Gore as president? I don’t know; the events of 9/11 would probably have still occurred, and it would be interesting to look into an alternate universe and see what Gore’s reaction would have been.

We’ve had a number of close elections in our own state, including Al Franken’s win a few years ago. Local elections can be very close too; I can recall a recount in Medford a number of years back where the mayoral race was determined by about five votes.

All this leads to my plea to please get out on November 6 and vote. It’s one of the great rights we have as a democratic society. However, don’t just go to vote; become informed before you do.

I’ve heard many people talk about just going in and randomly picking people. While it’s hard to know who all these judge candidates are, most of the other candidates and issues have a plethora of information to understand the various platforms. 

Look over those and be educated. I’m not just talking about the junk crammed into our mailboxes in the past month, but search out unbiased sources that analyze the tendencies of these candidates and tell you how they have voted in the past and how they really feel about issues.

Understand the issues. My colleague, Jessica, wrote an article about the voter ID amendment a few weeks ago. Read that again and find other information to make an informed decision. 

I don’t know how many people I’ve talked to about the marriage amendment who think that if they vote no, they will be legalizing same-sex marriage. That’s simply not so; it would just leave the possibility open. That’s an important difference to some people, so please be informed.

Spend a little time and take the election seriously. If a candidate you would have preferred in office loses by a few votes and you didn’t go to the polls, how will you feel? Please find the time on November 6 to vote and make your voice heard, even if it’s part of a louder voice rising from all voters. That’s one of the things that make our country work!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is capitulate, which means to give in or surrender, such as, “The candidate had prepared a concession speech in case the count showed he would lose and had to capitulate to his opponent.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The Mass of Christian Burial for Richard Eugene Jensen of Wadena will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at the St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Wadena with Father Tim Wenzel presiding. Friends may call at the Johnson-Schuller Chapel in Wadena on Tuesday from 5 until 8 p.m., with Parish Prayers to be held at 5:30 p.m. and Knights of Columbus Rosary at 7 p.m., and again at the church on Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass. Richard passed away at the age of 78 years on Friday, October 26, 2012 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud.

Richard was born on September 7, 1934 to Frank and Jessie (Mosier) Jensen at Ellendale, MN. He was diagnosed at age 7 with Becker Muscular Dystrophy. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Park Rapids then to a farm west of Sebeka where they milked Jersey and Guernsey cattle until her age & his health made it too difficult. He attended Alexandria Technical College in the 1960s to study food service management. After the death of his mother Richard moved into Wadena where he lived until his death.