Funeral services for Clara K. Jensen White will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 12, 2015 at United Methodist Church in Ellendale, MN. Pastor Randy Cirksena will officiate. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in Geneva Cemetery.

Clara K. Jensen White, who was 105 years and 4 months old, died December 5, 2015 at the Care Center in Onalaska, Wisconsin where she had lived for several years.  

Clara was born a full-blooded Swede on July 26, 1910 in Kiron, Iowa, to John and Anna Sward. She grew up in Iowa and attended school in Ida Grove. She married Gordon Jensen at the First Baptist Church in Clarks Grove on November 30, 1927, and they made their home in Geneva. Gordon died in 1961. Three years later, Clara married Reverend John White, the United Methodist pastor in Geneva. They were married for 29 years until his death in 1993. Clara was an active member of the Geneva Methodist Church for many years. She was spiritual and devoted to her bible reading and studies. Her closeness to God was undoubtedly her strength and devotion and why she lived so long.

Elaine E. Wondra of rural Blooming Prairie died December 7, 2015 at Prairie Manor Care Center in Blooming Prairie. Mass of Christian Burial is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Litomysl. Friends may greet the family on Friday, Dec. 11, from 4-7 p.m. at the Brick–Meger Funeral home (1603 Austin Road, Owatonna) and one hour before the funeral liturgy at the church on Friday. A parish rosary will be recited at 3:45 Friday at the funeral home.

The NRHEG wrestling team opened a busy 2015-16 schedule with a fourth-place finish in the Rochester Duals Saturday, Nov. 28.

The Panthers finished 1-2 on the day, winning their opening meet 40-36 over Pine Island while falling 51-20 to Stewartville in the semifinals and 51-27 to host Rochester John Marshall in the third-place meet.

“Altogether, we were not ready to compete physically or mentally,” said Panthers coach Shawn Larson. “As a coach, my priority for the upcoming weeks is to work on getting our team started in these areas. I was impressed with the competition at this tournament as every school involved seemed to be competitive, especially for the first event of the season.”

It seems as if winter just appeared out of nowhere after we experienced our first snowfall this past week. The first blanket of snow always seems to bring out the kid in me. For some reason I get that cozy feeling I used to get as a kid whenever the first snowfall of the season arrived. As a kid I didn’t really worry about having to shovel or if the car had enough anti-freeze because my dad took care of all of that. As I grew a little older I would help him shovel the walk and driveway, which at that time I viewed as fun. Little did I realize that when you are an adult the reality of winter is not all fun and games, but can actually be considered work.

I can still remember the times my dad would put the tire chains on when a snow storm was imminent. Unlike today, we didn’t have a lot of advance storm warnings and the forecasts weren’t as “perfect” as they are today. I sometimes think the old Farmer’s Almanac does a better job of forecasting than all of today’s sophisticated technology. There used to be a lot of “old wives tales” or signs of nature that people went by when anticipating the upcoming winter months.

A few of the old-time weather sayings were as follows: the higher the clouds, the finer the weather; clear moon, frost soon; rainbow in the morning gives you fair warning; Ring around the moon? Rain real soon; Rain foretold, long last, short notice, soon will pass; Red sky at night, sailors delight, Red sky in morning, sailors take warning; If it rains before seven, it will clear before 11; If three nights dewless there be, 'twill rain, you're sure to see; With dew before midnight, the next day sure will be bright.

According to folklore, the black and brown caterpillars of the tiger moth species can predict just how cold and snowy it’s going to be for the upcoming winter when spotted during the fall season. The caterpillars have black bands at each end of their bodies, and a reddish-brown section in the center. Folk wisdom has it that when the brown band is narrow, winter weather will be harsh. How accurate is this? Surveys have found that woolly worms’ weather predictions have been accurate 80% of the time since the 1950s. I have to wonder if that caterpillar doesn’t have a better percentage than all of today’s modern technology.

When bees and butterflies have disappeared from the flower beds, you can expect some heavy weather coming your way. The folklore goes that if they're not in their usual spots, something is up. "When sheep gather in a huddle, tomorrow will have a puddle." It's believed you can expect a storm if these animals crowd together and shield each other. Indians taught early settlers to watch the size of the muskrat and beaver huts. Big huts meant a bad winter. Likewise, oversized nests made by rabbits, hornets and birds were a sign of a long, tough winter according to Native Americans.

These are all interesting theories that have been passed down by our ancestors and in all reality some of them are amazingly accurate. I have always been fascinated by watching critters in their natural habitat and of trying to understand what they do and why they do it in different kinds of weather.

Whenever I spend time at the family cabin I enjoy watching the birds and their actions. During this October we just put in the books at the cabin, I observed an unusually high number of those caterpillars mentioned earlier in the column. At the time I didn’t realize the significance of that stripe or I would have taken note so I could see how close it came to predicting the winter. This is just one of the many wonders nature has to offer us.

I really do believe we can learn a lot by watching wildlife and how the weather affects their actions. I have always felt the barometer has an impact on fishing; in fact, I have on many occasions caught more fish just before a rain as the barometer peaks and starts its downward slide. At times I have also noticed that just before a rain storm the birds, squirrels and chipmunks that frequent the feeders at our cabin seem to become silent and almost disappear as if seeking shelter. To me this is a sign the weather is about to turn. There is also that certain smell almost like compost or damp stale foliage that seems to be in the air just before a rain.

These are all interesting signs of weather, some folklore, some just cute sayings and others just too true to be ignored. Whatever the case may be, nature surely holds plenty of interesting and exciting things for us to observe.

Until next time, I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and can find time to enjoy a little time in the 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.

When you see the big top going up in Geneva this weekend, it doesn't mean the Barnum and Bailey Circus is coming to town. But it is a circus in a way and a Bailey is involved. 

Little did Judy Bailey Thompson realize when she cooked the first wild game and took it to Geneva Liquor Store all those years ago how her idea would grow to such proportions it went from a crock pot to a tent, a big tent which would hold the large amount of people who come year after year for the annual Wild Game Feed.

It isn't just local folks who turn out for this yearly event. A great number of out-of-towners and people from great distances call or write to check to be sure the wild game will be available to enjoy.

This is all food donated and prepared in many different ways from many different wild animals that have been fattened on grass-filled pastures and other natural foods like nuts and berries. It is about as organic as you could get.

So what is cooking in Geneva this weekend? Checking with Steve Bailey and that great crew of people who turn out year after year to help prepare all that wild game that has been donated, they will tell you that though there is ordinary food like potatoes and dressing, baked beans and tacos, to name a few, but the main attraction is the venison, alligator, fish, elk, buffalo, ducks, geese, pheasant, mourning doves, etc. You will just have to come to Geneva and see for yourself.

It is hard to comprehend the amount of food that plates can hold or stomachs either for that matter. And it is all free will donation. 

We'll always thank Judy for that first Wild Game Feed and continue to thank her husband, Hank, and her boys for continuing the feed, along with some great friends who cook like you can't imagine. 

“Good,” is what people say as the good stuff slides down. "I look forward to this day all year long," is something else you hear often as you see the crowd pile in to find row after row of picnic tables filled with hungry individuals. Otherwise it is standing room only. The tent overflows. 

The "Gun Guys," David Thompson, Taff Worrell, Alex Beenken and Bruce Buboltz, to name a few, keep up the raffle for some 50 or more guns so everyone is entertained or rewarded by winning. After all, who wouldn’t want to buy tickets from the cute gals who are on hand to sell the raffle tickets for all the guns that will be available?

The 31st Annual Wild Game Feed will get underway at 10 on Saturday morning, Dec. 5 and that great selection of wild game will be ready to enjoy starting at 11 under the heated bog top. The food will continue until it is all gone, so you better make sure you get their early as you wouldn't want to miss the chance to enjoy all the different items.

Hope you see you all there!

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented that 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.

Also, if you have an idea for a story that you think would be of interest to our readers, please contact me.

If you have birthdays and anniversaries you would like to 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.

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Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, December 3rd: Eric Degan, Ethan Fletcher Cornelius, Brian Van Ravenhorst

• Friday, December 4th: Sue Mattson, Jessica Shultz, Sandy Larson Russo, Sue Brown Asplund, Shawn Vangen Steffen, Jeff Kasper, Skylar Larson, Holly Pichner, Max Jensen, Casey & Jon Homuth

• Saturday, December 5th: Finnegan Fladger, Bodie Jaxon Newgard, Phyllis Hanson, Rick Aaseth, Rosalyn Johnson, Kathy Lee, Christian Conroy, Shannon Jensen, Kelsey Loverink, Ron Farner, Larry & Mary Richards

• Sunday, December 6th: Sharon Johnson, Rodger Hill, Katie Marlin, Tony Jackovitch, John Lerum, John Kaplan, Sue Klemmensen, Chris & Marie Wallace, Emily & Jeffrey O'Brien

• Monday, December 7th: Katie Olson, Tracy Holland, Sam Peterson, Angela Hensrud, Wanda Schwartz, Helen Schmidt, Kara & Eric Grant, Ron & Theresa Langlie, Dawn & Eric Degan

• Tuesday, December 8th: Kathy Glynn, Teri McDonald, Jeff Schei, Tracy Haddy, James Olsen, Mike Flugum, Meghan Baumann

• Wednesday, December 9th: Eva Buendorf, 2012; Carrisa Christensen, Paitan Janis Glynn, Al Paulson, Robert Robertson, Rusty Besco, Mark Ribbe, Tony Phillips, Courtney Thompson, Brian Strand, Chuck & Cynthia Crabtree, Steve & Terri Engel

May you find joy and pleasure all around you on your special day.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

The world is becoming too crowded.

That's true.  

Yet, it could use a lot more like me.

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: How the roll of toilet paper hangs doesn't really matter. Over or under is but a tiny comfort. What matters is that the toilet paper is there.

Thanksgiving memories

I was thankful. No one had burned the gravy. I’m thankful all year. Especially about gravy. Gravy covers a multitude of sins.

One day, she was counting her blessings. The next day she was sleeping on the streets. She was waiting for a store to open. A hunter-gatherer, one of millions shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. That's what Black Friday does to a somewhat sane individual. She’d taken a self-defense class in preparation of going shopping on Black Friday. Sleeping on the streets for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate or to pay for a trophy TV. George Carlin said, "Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong."

I’m thankful that shopping makes people happy. I'm thankful that I don't go shopping on Black Friday.

I’m thankful that things that shouldn't be flavored with pumpkin will no longer be flavored with pumpkin.

We’re never far from where we’re from

We played musical chairs in school. Yes, chairs played musical instruments in those days. Our mothers offered meals with two options — take it or leave it. We ate hotdog relish, mustard, catsup, and onions without the hotdogs in restaurants that advertised "Free condiments." We listened to cassette tapes intently. You never knew when you were listening to a fragile tape for the last time. A black magic marker that had run out of ink was kept in a drawer as a historical marker. Fishing wasn't catch-and-release. It was catch-and-eat.

"What seven-letter word becomes longer when you remove a letter."

"Lounger."

That passed as intellectual conversation during the year that one of my classmates at Summer Bible School ate my macaroni art project. It was a compliment.

It was that summer that I found a 50-cent coin on the sidewalk. Fifty cents bought a lot of black licorice or baseball cards accompanied by bad bubble gum. That coin was walking around money that inspired me to walk around. After I’d discovered the money, I spent the rest of the day walking around with my head down, searching for more money. I missed seeing many wonders of the world by concentrating on monetary rewards. I learned my lesson when I saw stars. No, they weren't the stars that come out at night. They were the stars that suddenly appeared when I walked into that street post.

Ferry tales

I’m a member of the Ferry Tale of the Year Club. Each year, I take a couple of trips on a ferry operated by the Alaska Maritime Highway. It’s a delightful way to travel. The last ferry I was on was the LeConte. It had no gift shop. I like that, although offering a postcard or two would be a nice touch. I send at least one postcard a day to someone who made a difference. I led tours for years, going here and there. I spent so much time in gift shops while doing my job, that I was purchased four times by tourists.

On the ferry, I talked to a fellow who told me that when his father was dying, he’d asked his son to bury him the cheapest way possible. The dutiful son said he would, but admitted that he didn't get the cheapest casket available. He couldn't do that to the old man. He bought the second cheapest casket.

I met Jay Proetto in Haines, Alaska. We talked and I enjoyed his company. We’d both worked with sandhill cranes. We were strangers no more. I expected to see the retired park ranger again, to visit with him again. He died a couple of days later. Endings speak of beginnings. We’d better enjoy the day. It might be all we have.

Nature notes

Birdseed mixes with much millet are good for platform feeders, not tube feeders. Seed blends high in sunflower seeds and peanuts work well in tube feeders.

Meeting adjourned

 Olin Miller said, "You wouldn’t worry about what people may think of you if you could know how seldom they do." Be kind anyway.

The scurs had the Weather Eye dialed in or as close as it gets this time of year. Will our above normal temperatures make it another week or will we face the real December? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy becoming sunny. With highs in the low 30’s with lows in the mid-teens. Thursday, sunny with highs in the low 30’s and lows in the upper teens. Partly sunny and warmer Friday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Monday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. Warmer with sunny skies for Tuesday. Highs in the upper 30’s and lows in the mid-20’s. The sun will begin rising after 7 a.m. on December 4th. The normal high for December 7th is 29 and the normal low is 13. Having dodged the Black Friday and Cyber Monday bullets, the scurs can settle into their regularly scheduled programming. Long time yet until Christmas.

We got our ugly weather out of the way on Thanksgiving Day and had an encore performance the following Monday. Still, it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been with the brunt of the storms missing Greater Bugtussle and environs once again. That’s OK by most. Having snow at Thanksgiving time isn’t prerequisite to making it a fitting holiday. And I have yet to hear anyone complain that they missed moving snow for several hours so they could get out of the driveway. People are funny that way.

November did add additional moisture to our soil profile after a drier than normal October. Precipitation at the ranch totaled 3.36” for November, with most of it being absorbed into the soil. We should be at or near field capacity as the soil finishes freezing up for the year. With as much fall tillage as was accomplished, we should be set up well for spring as internal drainage draws some of the moisture out of the lower profile over winter.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is usually a day for lower intensity activity and this year was no different. After getting some odds and ends tied up it seemed an appropriate time to finish the tree wrap project before the bunnies finished it for me. Indeed they showed indications that they’d been there, although the damage was surprisingly light. The day was chilly however and after finishing wrapping about 20 trees, was thankful there weren’t more. It did provide some time to get a glimpse of the pond sans mosquitoes and darkness for a change. Was curious to see what the landowners to the north had done with their water diversion project and was pleasantly surprised. Excess water from the earlier rains appeared to have been diverted into the wetland and the basin was nearly full. That should bode well for returning waterfowl next spring. Hopefully the pond freezes solid soon. One wood duck house to clean out yet and the water will go over the top of my boots if I break through the ice. I could opt to wear my waders, although that sounds like an awful lot of work.

Bird feeding has had its moments so far this season. Unfortunately the sparrows and starling population have made it less enjoyable just by their sheer numbers. Oddly enough, after snuffing in the neighborhood of 200 sparrows between the sparrow trap and BB gun, there doesn’t appear to be much impact on their numbers. Even worse is the fact that over the matter of a few years they’ve adapted to feed and feeders they’re reputedly not supposed to like. There’s a reason they belong in the same category as rats and cockroaches. They are survivors. I feel bad for the nuthatches, woodpeckers and chickadees that contribute something positive to the bird feeding experience. And they don’t make a mess in the shed.

With weather looking potentially ominous for Monday, it was the weekend to bring the ewes home from the kindly neighbors’ pasture again Sunday. It’s been 20-some odd years now we’ve been pasturing them there and it’s always with some reluctance. This year in particular with the long fall and relatively good grass as a result it was tempting to attempt to outguess Mother Nature. Alas, one can only tempt fate about so long before you know that it’s time.

They loaded up easily, having been locked in the night before to feast on their corn screenings. Luckily they’d also been fed the kindly neighbors’ pumpkins outside a few days before so they had a head start on the ewes at home in that department. Once we were home, the ewes hopped out of the trailer and seemed happy to be there. They know the accommodations and within minutes were out in the pasture with their buddies. There was some minor jousting as pecking order was reestablished. Once that was out of the way, all was calm. 

The ram lamb that had been running with them was held back as the ewes exited the trailer. He was paired up with a new roommate, a lone ram lamb we had kept back when the fat lambs were loaded out earlier in the month. Sparring partner is probably a more apt description as there is usually nothing calm about penning two young Cheviot rams together. This time was no exception. Seeing their churned up enclosure and bloodied heads at choretime reminded me more of the aftermath from a barroom brawl than a sheep pen.

See you next week…real good then.

We’ve all heard the old axiom that humans only use about 10% of our brains. I’m not sure how they come up with a number like that, but it seems a certainty that we all have much untapped potential. How do we reach that potential?

The brain is just like a muscle; the more we use it, the stronger it can become. This is why you will see many studies show that working on brain teasers and word puzzles will strengthen the brain in order to fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia later in life. If all we do with our brain is drown it in television shows and movies, it is not likely to stay strong as we grow older.

I’ve had a running bit in my classroom for years that I am a near-genius based on a high score on an IQ test. However, IQ tests are not considered a great benchmark for true intelligence as much as they used to be. Just like with so many other types of tests, it is a one-shot look at a person on a particular day.

In education, we have new catchphrases come and go about as often as a new emoji is created for texters. One that has been backed up by plenty of research in the past decade is the idea of a growth mindset postulated by Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University.

Basically, growth mindset is the idea that we can get better at areas in which we struggle mentally. That seems pretty obvious, but if I had a dollar for every student who ever said, “I’m just dumb in reading. I’ll never get that,” I’d be a lot closer to retirement. Many people have run across something they can’t figure out and just give up. The growth mindset idea says that we should continue to work at the problem and seek help to find a solution.

Some things don’t seem worth the effort. I’m sure that if I had wanted to, I could have figured out proofs in my advanced math classes. I simply didn’t see how that would be worth the time for someone going on to teach English. But when I think about how many kids struggle with reading and writing and use the “I’m just dumb” excuse, it makes me think we need to push the growth mindset; those are skills that everyone needs.

Growth mindset encourages a different type of language. In a world where we praise way too much and everyone gets a trophy, this theory says we should praise progress and effort, not necessarily the end result every time. Most of us probably didn’t make the very first basketball shot we ever took or hit the very first baseball pitched to us. However, good coaches will point out the good shooting form or the correct swing as steps to help players not give up. Why not do this more in our classrooms?

For years, I’ve found ways to reward students who showed improvement on standardized tests over the previous year. Honestly, some kids will never come close to passing those reading tests, but they gain confidence by knowing that simply putting forth the best effort will be acknowledged. Rather than go into those tests thinking they will fail anyway so why try, some kids are motivated to improve, even if it’s by a couple of points.

Those of you who have read my past educational columns know that I’ve been giving students chances to redo most of their work for the past few years. It’s a great feeling as a teacher to see that “Ah-ha!” moment, and this is when it usually occurs. Some students simply understand why they screwed up initially and can turn in a new version with minor effort. Others, though, have sought help from me to understand why they were not doing something correctly. When I see that light bulb turn on, it’s a grand moment.

Why give a test or grade a paper and then just move on? If a student hasn’t learned something, one can hope they would try to get better so they don’t keep making the same mistakes. Now I don’t encourage the idea of making the whole class wait until everyone gets something, but I know an area I need to work on is trying to get more students to look at redoing items to gain a better understanding. Again, not everyone will master every concept. But we need to keep kids from thinking that they’ll never get something and simply give up.

Even as adults, we can continue in this growth mindset. If you’ve never liked reading because you’ve claimed it’s too hard, step back and try out some young adult fiction. Work that brain, and you might discover something you can really enjoy, which will lead to a stronger muscle in your head. There’s no shame in taking a step back in order to leap ahead. This near-genius loves to do that, and it’s helped me grow. Am I at a genius level now? It doesn’t matter; all that truly matters is that I continue to grow.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is lethologica, which means the inability to recall the right word, as in, “Until she started exercising her brain more, she tended to encounter lethologica in her elder years.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

There was no creampuff opener for the NRHEG boys’ basketball team.

The Panthers started their season Saturday, Nov. 21 at Redwood Valley, a state tournament team last year and three of the last six years, and the home team had its way 80-63.

“You have to give Redwood all the credit,” said Panthers coach Pat Churchill. “They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight.”

The Panthers kept it close early, but the Cardinals went on a late first-half run to take a 42-26 advantage at the break.

“Once they got going, we did nothing to make them uncomfortable,” said Churchill. “They way I would describe it is we allowed them to play downhill all night.”