Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

“Your Christmas tree looks terrible. Why don’t you get a new one?”

“They don’t make them like this anymore.”

“Don’t you ever wonder why?”

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: even a little shopping is a lot.

It's not the gift, it's the recipient

In the movie, Christmas Story, Ralphie said, “Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved." 

During one of my kid years, I wanted to give my mother a Christmas gift I’d made myself. The problem was that the only thing I was good at making was a mess.

I gave Mom a rock on which I’d used old orange Allis-Chalmers paint to letter "I love you" in a childish scrawl.

I wrapped it in the Sunday comics section of a newspaper.

Mom said it was the best gift she had ever received.

Miracles in the mailbox

It had been a good day. I was swimming in the sea of the season. Nice things had happened. I had found the long lost cap to a favorite pen and I had located old eyeglasses so that I was able to see to tighten a tiny screw holding my newest eyeglasses together.

I arrived home, bone weary from a day of ringing bells for the Salvation Army. Ringing those bells is payment for the air I breathe. I strode into my work-filled office. I looked through the mail — Christmas cards, bills, newspapers, magazines, and letters. The Christmas cards, tending to favor portrayals of cardinals in evergreen trees, buoyed my spirits. Then I opened a letter from an address unfamiliar to me. It was from someone I had met in Ohio several years ago. The envelope contained a small piece of paper. It was plain with nothing on it but words written in black ink. The kind words were cramped and filled the card, curling around the edges. Handwriting adds a dimension to our correspondence — a personality. It and the cards made me happy. Each was a miracle in itself. Where else could someone bring such joy to another for only 44 cents?

Being thankful

Years ago a storm hit. When you live where I do, winter takes the world by storm. The storm hit with the terrible blizzard trifecta — ice, wind, and snow. Utility poles snapped like potato chips. I'm not a winter wimp. I like our coldest season. It gives us vim or maybe it’s vigor. Still, it was hard remaining upbeat without power, heat, and water. At first, it was an adventure. We had no generator or fireplace, so we cuddled for warmth. Cuddling is good.

"Many are cold, but few are frozen," I said with a smile.

I wore long underwear as I struggled to read books by flickering candlelight. Reading by candlelight is an art that produces more red eyes than any camera trick could ever remove.

A creature of habit, I flipped a light switch whenever I walked into a room. They were as powerless as I was. I missed artificial light, but it was easily obtainable water that I missed the most.

As the cold became colder and the lights remained darkened, it appeared that we had entered the winter of our discontent. It seemed that the meek would inherit a frozen earth.

Days had passed before I saw that one of the many digital timepieces that blink the incorrect time in our house was blinking. The power was on!

I took a shower. It was amazing. It not only took the stink off, it rejuvenated my spirit.

Heat, water, and a switch that brings light are great gifts that I too often take for granted. I need to stop doing that.

Nature notes

I stood along the Chilkat River in Alaska. I was watching, photographing, and marveling at the bald eagles feeding upon salmon they had snatched from the river. My attention was directed to one eagle. A pair of ravens and a good number of magpies surrounded the big bird trying to eat a fish. The eagle was a lion on a kill encircled by hyenas and jackals. One raven waddled behind the eagle, pulled the eagle's tail, and while the eagle was distracted, the other raven snatched a bite of salmon.

Many people have wished a similar technique would work around the dessert tray.

Meeting adjourned

"Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; teach us to be patient and always to be kind.”—Helen Rice

Merry Christmas.

Another Christmas is nearly upon us, which means another year is almost in the books. It really does go faster every year, doesn’t it?

Merry Christmas! And the word “Christmas” can’t be emphasized enough. With all the “holiday” this and that going on this time of year — referring to what we all know full well is Christmas time — it makes one wonder if we’re losing the true meaning of the word “holiday.” Think about it.

Christmas is a time to give, forgive, be thankful and remember.

Thanks to the impetus from our not-so-secret Santa, Jody, the gift of giving is definitely in the air at the Star Eagle.

And of course we’re thankful. I’m mostly appreciative of the Star Eagle readers, advertisers and all the people who put forth the effort to produce the newspaper each week. They won’t be mentioned by name because their names can be found in the box at the bottom of this page. To each and every one of you, thank you. You’re wonderful.

My mom, Millie Martenson, who left us in August of 2010, is still remembered just about every day in our household, and she’ll be missed again this Christmas. My dad, Lester, who left us much, much earlier, is also recalled and spoken of fondly.

In October, for my 51st birthday (could have sworn it was 52, but I was wrong), my youngest son Eli gave me a new leather Minnesota Twins wallet. It’s nice.

The next month, I was walking out of One Stop after fueling the family rig and noticed a beat up penny on the ground. I always pick up pennies. I had already picked up two earlier that day and dropped them in the jar atop the refrigerator. I slipped this one in my pocket and drove off.

Later that night, when I got home and emptied my pockets, for some reason I looked more closely at the penny found at One Stop. It was tough to read, but upon careful examination it was clear. The year on the penny was 1970. Then I glanced at the calendar. It was November 12. It was 41 years to the day that my dad died. A chill went up my spine. Then I smiled. I think it’s a sign my dad and my mom are still in some way watching over us, and it’s a good feeling. The penny added 1 cent to my net worth, but I feel much richer for some reason. It now resides in my wallet.

Merry Christmas, and God bless us, everyone.

The snow last Friday took the scurs by surprise. Luckily, by Sunday the surprise disappeared. Are we in the running for a white Christmas? Starting Wednesday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of overnight snow. Highs of 35 and lows around 25. Partly cloudy on Thursday and slightly cooler. Highs of 30 and lows near 15.  Friday, mostly clear and cooler. Highs 25 – 30 and lows of 15. Mostly sunny on Saturday with highs near 30 and lows of 20. Christmas Day should be partly cloudy with highs of 25 – 30 and lows around 15. Monday, partly cloudy with highs of 25 and lows of 20. Mostly sunny on Tuesday with highs of 35 and lows around 15. The normal high for December 25th is 24 and the normal low is 6. The scurs will be making a list and checking it twice so they can be the model of efficiency given the vast amount of time left to Christmas shop.

The 21st will mark the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year for us as far as daylight is concerned at 8 hours and 54 minutes. The actual day of the solstice can vary from year to year from the 20th to the 23rd. The amount of daylight varies from day to day by a matter of several seconds. Days will be getting longer eventually, although not easily measured for several days following the winter solstice. Part of the issue is the sun keeps rising a little later until well into the first week of January following the solstice while it keeps setting a little later at the same time. Eventually the time begins to offset and there becomes a noticeable difference.

In the heavens during the early evening hours, Jupiter continues to be present relatively high in the eastern sky while the even more spectacular Venus continues to stay out a little longer each night before setting in the southwest. As bright as it is, it actually twinkles somewhat and gets some rose coloration when it approaches the horizon. This has prompted some over the years to phone in calls about UFOs. Of course it’s never reported what kind of holiday cheer might have been involved prior to the sighting.  

The snow from last week probably wasn’t as surprising as the rain was. At the ranch we recorded .46” of rain on Thursday, which was followed up by another .08” from Friday evening’s 2” snowfall. So far for the month of December we’ve tallied .92”, the most since September’s .99”. While we’re nowhere near to setting any records, we are making some slow progress toward getting enough moisture to get a crop started next spring. Soils are slightly frozen now, but they weren’t when the rain fell. Additionally, on the rough surfaces found in many area fields, most of the water finds its way into the ground. Virtually none of it is running off at this point.

You knew it couldn’t be too far off: The annual Christmas gifts for the crack management staff at the Star Eagle from yours truly. For Fearless Leader (aka “Jim”) a new camera after I broke the old one while being photographed by the corn shock a few weeks ago. For the Kingpin (aka “Jody”), the full boxed set of McHale’s Navy. It should bring back fond memories. Given his rapier wit, I have a feeling that might have been an accurate depiction of life during his tour of duty. For Reed, new shoes for pounding the streets of Bugtussle searching out those crucial school board stories. For Kugie, the famed ‘CCO cough button. Maybe it’s just my radio, but he always sounds a little like Patrick Reusse, sorta like he could hawk up a greenie any minute. For Rachel, the Star Eagle’s very own Cabbage Patch Kid, a new reference book called How to Speak Farmer. This will come in handy for future articles when you have to write about farm equipment. For example, it explains that a “stripper plate” is a part of a corn head, not something an exotic dancer eats off of.

Ruby is getting ready for Christmas. She’s like a furry little four-legged kid in a lot of respects. She’s perceptive and knows something is up although not exactly what. Decorations, Christmas trees, presents and human treats all over her turf are all probably clues. She is helpful when something sweet hits the floor during a cooking bomb session. Definitely saves on clean up time. We’re debating whether to get her a Wii-Fi so she can practice herding sheep in the house or a trail camera so she knows when her squirrel is down out of the tree. Either way I think she’d be happy. Or, more likely, we could go the cheap route and buy her a new kennel bed and another batch of play balls. Guess what? She’d be happy with that too. One nice thing about dogs and Border Collies in particular: They’re easy to please. Never had one complain they didn’t get what the neighbor’s dog got.

Happy Festivus…see you next week. 

Berniece C. Richardson, 97, of Owatonna, died Saturday, December 17, 2011 at Homestead Hospice House. 

She was born June 26, 1914 in rural Blooming Prairie the daughter of Bernt and Karin Sophia (Larson) Paulson. Berniece graduated from New Richland High School and attended Normal Training to be a school teacher.  She taught country school in both Waseca and Steele County for 9 years.  She married Paul Richardson on September 18, 1942 in Anoka.  While her husband was in the military she worked for New London City Bank in New London, CT.  After the war, the couple moved to Bixby in 1945.  There they ran a gas station, bus station and post office until retiring in 1976.  The couple later moved to Owatonna in 1989.

NRHEG School Board

By REED WALLER

Staff Writer

The fiscal 2011 audit and a possible new softball field were additional items discussed at a meeting of the NRHEG School Board Monday, Dec. 5, concurrent with the annual Truth in Taxation Hearing. 

Softball Field

The board considered the results of a meeting with the Activities Director and the softball coach concerning the inadequacies of the Legion Field softball field, and what needs to be done.

Three options were offered: 1. Improve Legion Field. 2. Use the field at Ellendale. 3. Build a new softball field on its western property in New Richland.

1. Improve Legion Field

“There are a lot of challenges down there,” said Board Chair Rick Schultz, referring to issues such as maintenance and the chronic flooding conditions which have kept the field unusuable for a large part of the softball season. “I feel some kind of obligation to get more than four games out of a field.”

New Richland City Council

By JODY WYNNEMER

Staff Writer

Following the required public hearing, the New Richland City Council, with all members in attendance, approved the city’s 2012 Budget Tax Levy Monday night. The levy will be $293,706, up $4,380 from 2011. It represents a 1.51% increase from last year.

“Our preliminary budget in September started out at almost a 10 percent increase,” said City Clerk Wayne Billing. “The council cut $67,481 out of the proposed budget.”

City resident Mark Kvamme was in attendance and inquired as to why he is seeing his property taxes going up. Local Government Aid from the state is being reduced $47,065 for 2012 compared to 2011. Also, there is no guarantee the state legislature won’t reduce the amount even further. Residents can visit City Hall or the city’s Web site for a complete breakdown of the 2012 budget.

The council adopted the following resolutions:

11-29 — Accepting a $5,000 donation from the NR Fire Relief Association.

11-30 — Committing special fund revenues related to Government Accounting Standards Board’s statement number 54.

Ellendale City Council

By SCOTT GROTH

Contributing Writer

The Ellendale City Council met December 8, 2011 at 7 p.m. with Mayor Engel and all council members present. Clerk Louks and three residents were present for the Truth In Taxation hearing.

Mayor Engel opened the hearing by reviewing the process the council takes to arrive at the proposed tax levy. The levy proposed by the city for 2012 is $307,118. This is around a 7% increase over 2011. Engel then opened the floor to any citizens who might have questions concerning the levy.

One citizen, who told the council he works for the county, asked if like at the county, all departments were asked to trim as much as possible from their budgets. Engel said that the city does not have a lot of different departments, but the council has been trying to watch the spending.

Another citizen asked the council why her home had gone up in value, along with her taxes. She was told by county officials that she needed to come to the city. The hearing date in April is the time to correct a problem like this. Engel also went into detail about the homestead credit, which is being phased out by the state. 

DECOR WANTED — The University bar owners, Dan and Tara (center and right) and full-time bartender Megian Bell can’t do it alone this time. They kindly await donations of New Richland and Hartland memorabilia to decorate their business walls. (Star Eagle photo by Rachel Rietsema)

Renovations finally complete, Hartland University seeks local items to display

By RACHEL RIETSEMA

Staff Writer

Whether the Hartland University Bar owners can believe it or not, the time-consuming land of blueprints is finally a thing of the past.

“After 13-14 years of on-and-off renovation projects, this place is getting to be exactly how we want it,” said 14-year co-owner Dan Harguth.

Harguth only has one more University renovation wish, and this time, it doesn’t involve knocking walls down or adding a patio.

Right now, he’s waiting on some final touches, a decoration theme if you will, only to be accomplished through donation of local resident’s memorabilia.

“Other area bars have suitable wall decor that tie the whole place together,” Dan said. “So, when people walk in here, they probably think something like, ‘Cool name, nice place, but it isn’t quite right.’”

At the mercy of the soon-to-be donators, the rich-colored walls of this joint will reflect a “University theme.” The New Richland and Hartland-related items he hopes to feature are jerseys, pennants and old newspaper articles.