Members of the NRHEG Speech Team brought home a third-place trophy from an invitational tournament held Saturday, March 5 at Morristown. Every competing team member brought home an award or recognition; highlights were the first-place and third-place medals earned by Jessica Katzung in storytelling and Amanda Groskreutz in Humorous Interpretation. Seven team members attended the event.

Said team coach Deb Bently, "It's a privilege to be there at the moment when team members are rewarded for their hard work and dedication." The competitive speech season begins each year in late January and continues until early April. Still on the schedule for this year's team is an invitational tournament on March 19 at JWP, the sub-section meet at Fairmont on March 26 and the Section meet at St. Peter on April 8. According to Bently, at least a couple members of this year's team have a chance at advancing to state-level competition, which will be held in mid-April.

What are good friends for?

Feeling sympathetic no doubt for our winter of snowfall, a friend from Alaska sent a recipe she thought would be a good one to use for next year’s Geneva Wild Game Feed event. I wrote back and said she would have to send us the whale meat as I doubt Geneva, Beaver or St. Olaf Lake would have enough of the meat to go around. The recipe seems simple enough and should take care of a lot of good eaters.

Captain Mel Anderson's Alaskan Whale Stew

• 1 (105-ton) blue or sulfur bottom whale

• 1,896 lbs. onion

• 7,326 lbs. potatoes

• 1,908 gallons tomato sauce

• 2,276 lbs. carrots

• 927 lbs. celery

• 104 lbs. salt

• 76 lbs. black pepper

• 52 gallons hot Tabasco sauce

Place whale in large pot with tomato sauce and cook at 300 degrees for four hours. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for at least 36 hours. It serves 347,161 people.

If you care for hare in your stew, you can add a two-pound rabbit.

And if that doesn't tickle your fancy, you can try this recipe for Alaskan Tossed Snowballs.

You will need one dozen ripe Alaskan snowballs; one quart of caribou juice, drained and strained; two cups essence of seal gizzard and one teaspoon mashed moose bellow.

Toss snowballs into a bucket and when you have enough, peel and slice into quarters, or if preferred, into nickels or dimes. Now toss into stew pot. Squeeze a couple of caribou until you have a quart of juice, which you add to the snowballs in the stewpot. Set on fire and heat to boiling. After 30 minutes, test the snowballs for doneness with a hacksaw. If tender, add ywo cups essence of seal gizzard. Stir well and add mashed moose bellow. Cook until the moose bellow is quiet, but do not over cook because of danger to teeth while tossing the snowballs into mouth.

Makes one serving if you happen to like Alaskan Tossed Snowballs. Otherwise, it will serve up to 100.

The author really lives in Texas after being exiled from the Liar’s Club for lack of evidence.

Actually, the cookbook had some very good sounding recipes, including some for rhubarb cake, jam and marmalade. Right now that sounds like spring, but I think it will be a day or three before our rhubarb makes its appearance. I was told Alaskan rhubarb is spectacular.

When there is so much stuff that tastes good and is good for us, why do we eat and do things that aren't good for our health? I guess we may be descendents from Adam and Eve.

Interesting how a color symbol can touch your mind. Pink for breast cancer, red for heart health and white....is it diabetes? Think red, white and pink.

The way the weather has been playing tic-tac-toe with the "snowbirds," they will be spreading their wings and heading north instead of south.

My sister, Kaye, recently called to let us know there was rain and snow in Phoenix. Yes, in Arizona. Not just up on the Mongolian Strip, but in downtown Phoenix. She said they needed the moisture, but it will bring on a rush of green growth of grass and weeds. What's so bad about that? When it turns hot and the weeds dry up, it has to be removed for danger from fire. Many Arizona fires are started by cracks of lightning, destroying acres of land.

If you don't think little things make a difference, consider Celestial Seasonings Tea. The company has found that if they leave off the string and tag, they save more than 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering landfills every year. I guess that gives us some "food for thought" too.

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented that they like to read about the local happenings and family events such as family and school reunions, birthday and anniversary celebrations, 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, so we can then pass along the news to you.  If you have news to share, please contact me.

Also, if our NRHEG Star Eagle readers would like to share birthdays and anniversaries of your family and friends, or you know of some that should be deleted, or names have changed, 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.

Birthday and Anniversary greetings this week to:

• Thursday, March 10th:  Julie Stieglbauer Dahl, Sue Misgen, Aaron Callahan, Travis Johnson, Michelle Olson Bedney, Tom Vavra, Heidi Mattson LaFave, Chuck Hanson, Gayle Dummer, Douglas Schmidt, Linda Anderson, DeLynn Johnson Rohrbacher, Hannah Emily Brunsen

• Friday, March 11th:  Marian Mast, Carolyn Flesche, Leroy Folie, Kari Thostenson, Jon Carlson, Michelle Meyer, Larry Richards, Tim Simon, Joan Ahlstrom Diderrich, Tanya Swearingen, Tom Arbogast, David Callahan, Dean Lembke, Spener Sebastian Sommers, his 8th; Doug Blouin, Wendell Kuehni, Paul & Shirley Nelson

• Saturday, March 12th:  David Paulson, Jason Bowman, Terri Engel, Robert Hall, Harla Stanley Malz, Spiering Brody Sundbland, Willard Johnson, Gary & Barb Paulson, Jack & Virginia Jensen

• Sunday, March 13th:  Joanna Ver Hey, David Mangskau, Lynda Kruckeberg, Darla Waltz, Jessica Liverseed, Craig Lunning, Tony Tonsing

• Monday, March 14th:  National Potato Chip Day! Laura Katherine Worrell, Connor Duane Klemmsensen, his 2nd; Sierra Christine Krause, her 2nd; Brian Cerney, Brent Huber, Marcia Hutchins, Lee Loverink, Mary Finch, Kathy Molenaar, Trevor Titus

• Tuesday, March 15th:  Angie Haberman Lyman, Marvel Beiser, Andy Ditlevson, Robin Jepson, Judy Lunning, Tim Phagan, Steve Clausen, Tony Motl, Julie Peterson, Don & Cindy Gould

• Wednesday, March 16th:  Ava Pospesel, Blair Pospesel, Al Batt, Cortnee Langlie, Judy Waage, Tyler Lewis Hagenbrock, Jackson Taylor William Churchill, Howard Boverhuis, Harold & Pat Wayne, Hugh & Karen O'Byrne

• Thursday, March 17th: St. Patrick’s Day, Ashley Marie Hagen, Shannon Weckwerth Pacholl, Mike Cady, Dakota Ray Janning, Nicole Hanna, Patrick Wobschall, Harvey Zicafoose, Mandy Galbraith, Joel Hill, Jenifer Jensen Pietari, Carol Scott, Kevin & Marsha Jensen

• Friday, March 18th:  Ashley Marie Hagen, Lynn Sommer Eaton, Chad Cornelius, Randy Brandt, Michelle Bartness, Dan Enzenauer, Matthew Larson, Wanda Stanley, Kent Toft, Matt & Jennifer Van Hal, Dean & Sue Westrum

Wishing you sunny smiles to warm your heart on your special day!

As luck would have it, the snowfall the scurs predicted last week was on the scant side. Oddly no complaints from anyone. What’s this week hold for snow chances? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with snow likely. Highs of 30 and lows of 15 – 20. Partly cloudy on Thursday, highs near 30 and lows of 15 – 20. Partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy on Friday with a chance of a rain/snow/sleet mix during the day, becoming all snow overnight. Highs around 40 and lows of 20 – 25. Partly cloudy on Saturday with a slight chance of snow. Highs of 25 – 30 and lows around 10. Partly cloudy skies on Sunday with a chance of a snow/sleet mix overnight. Highs of 30 – 35 and lows near 30. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a continuing chance of a sleet/snow mix. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 25 – 30. Cloudy on Tuesday with a chance of a rain shower or two. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows around 30. The normal high for March 12th is 39 and the normal low is 20. The scurs will be emerging from their lair to set their clocks ahead one hour at precisely 2 a.m. on March 13th as per government mandate.

You knew it had to be coming and not a minute too soon. That lovely pain in the rump known as Daylight Saving Time. Even the do-gooders who support the folly go so far as to correct you if you wrongly refer to it as Daylight Savings Time. They need to go lay by their dish. It’s no secret that we are a nation known for sleeping disorders and sleep deprivation. While the debate about whether or not the practice actually saves energy or not rages on, the evidence in studies continues to mount that heart attacks, suicides and traffic accidents increase sharply following the spring time change. There are also plenty of suggestions for dealing with DST to ease the potential problems with the transition. I have a thought: Rather than putting band-aids on a self-inflicted wound caused by allowing the government to play Russian roulette with our health, let’s leave the clock alone once we get it set one of these years. Think of all the lost time at work that would save, not to mention all the emergency room visits that would be averted when people fall of their chairs while changing their clocks. It would be one way to cut health care costs and no one would lose sleep over it.

An interesting week of keeping an eye on the birds. There was a pair of bald eagles circling high above St. Olaf Lake last Thursday and that was also the morning the first robin was appeared at the ranch. Horned larks continue to be noted along the edges of roads and the pheasants are still parading around the yard. It won’t be too long and we’ll see the roosters in their full breeding plumage, something that is a sight to behold in the bright early morning sun.

It was a good weekend to take advantage of some of the weather conditions and get things tidied up a bit at the ranch. One of the first orders of business was to get the gravity box of screenings back into the slot where it belonged in the barn. After leaving it out for a couple days the beeswings had managed to swirl around the yard, giving it a pinkish hue. so it had taken up temporary residence where the tractor usually sits. Luckily the ground was frozen out front so it made it relatively easy to bend the wagon around the corned with the skid steer. Between tasks of course there were bottle lambs to feed and a quick trip to procure supplies at the store where you go to the bathroom in the big orange-roofed silo.

The second task consisted of getting the little old Electric flare box out and heading north to get some avena sativa. It first of course needed the tarp removed, the tires pumped up and to be properly attired with a SMV sign so the nice policeman wouldn’t give me a ticket. Over the years one forgets how slow one has to drive with one of these little pieces of now ancient farm equipment in order to keep them from whipping. Following an uneventful trip and a great visit with the supplier, the trip back home came off without a hitch. Upon backing the wagon back where it belonged, it was time to pen up another ewe that had lambed. Shortly after that it was choretime again and I was shot. The next day it was time to take advantage of the snow piles and prune the apple trees. The snow was so deep there was no need for a ladder and best of all, no need for the pole saw. I could stand on the snow and reach the sapwood needing trimming with the loppers! When not eating sheep afterbirth, Ruby played with the sticks as they fell to the ground. Luckily there were only four trees in need of pruning and with the wind howling out of the east, it was good to be done.

Lambing is thundering down the home stretch. We’re a tad over 80% done with only seven ewes left to lamb. Ruby got her wish to help this past week and help she did. We move ewes and lambs from the lambing barn to the main barn as space for lambing pens or jugs as they’re commonly called is limited. Once off to a good start, both the lambs and ewes do better if they’re allowed more space and are in a more social environment. When we move the ewes with lambs, we take the lamb or lambs and the ewe will generally follow based on their lamb’s scent. It helps however to have someone, human or canine tailing this miniature exodus. That’s where Ruby caught on almost immediately the first night we allowed her to assist. Mrs. Cheviot and I each grabbed one of the two twin lambs and we moved down the hill with the ewe following us. We wondered where Ruby was and looking behind us, there she was on the ewe’s tail in the little walking crouch that Border Collies are noted for. Just as pleasing was the fact she stayed on the ewe all the way up the alleyway to the main pen, keeping the ewe from doubling back. The best part though was that none of this had to be taught, it was pure instinct. Oh sure, there are things this dog needs to learn but one certainly had to be proud of her accomplishment that night. I know she was as she wiggled and whined with delight as we heaped on the praise.

See you next week…real good then.

On a very, very foggy Thursday morning Genie and I drove to the 32nd Annual Eelpout Festival in Walker, MN. Vehicles were appearing and disappearing until we got to Highway 2 at Grand Rapids, MN. Because of the fog, it took two hours longer than normal. Fortunately, the temperature was in the mid-40s so the roads weren’t icy.

320 miles and we arrived at The Palace Casino and Hotel just west of Cass Lake where we stayed four nights. Brian gave us a great welcome back upon check in.

Because of the warm weather creating unsafe ice conditions, only ATVs and snowmobiles were allowed to drive onto Leech Lake. The Cass County Sheriff’s vehicles were at each ramp onto the lake enforcing the ban on the vehicles.

With the ban of vehicles on the lake it created a problem of parking space in Walker plus wall-to-wall people on shore. Genie and I didn’t enter the Karaoke contest as there were too many waiting their turn in the Trapper’s Lodge. The Trapper’s Lodge was a huge tent with Karaoke on one end, a meal of eelpout nuggets and fries on the other end, and an ice bar with ice sculptures in the middle. We had our picture taken sitting on an eelpout ice sculpture.

We even saw Grandma Jane and Grandpa Dan with grandchildren Ellie and Aaron from Albert Lea looking at all of the eelpout which had been caught. (The biggest was 13.33 lbs.) For more details talk to Jane at the Albert Lea Medical Center Pharmacy.

We attended Sunday church at Trinity Lutheran on Highway 2 west of Cass Lake. The bulletin stated to let Ardean know if you are not able to attend the Meatball Dinner next Sunday — so we let him know we couldn’t!

To Karin, William, Bill, Eric and son “H.B.,” Betsy, Jennifer, Chris her, Chris him, Lisa (welcome back,) Jason, River, Auntie Kim, Brian, Robert, Maggie, Audrey, Vernae, Bernice, Sheila, Sharyl and the rest of the employees at the Palace, you are all guest treatment specialists.

In talking to Brian at the motel desk, he had noticed the bath towels have gotten smaller, too. We decided it was just like candy bars and cars being made smaller than before.

In driving the highway between Cass Lake and Walker this summer, notice the country store at Wilkenson as Lisa is hoping to re-open it.

The Palace Hotel has a room rate special of $30 Mon-Thur and $45 Fri-Sat. for March and April of 2011. Call (800) 442-3910 for reservations. The facility has a snack bar, a bingo hall, a non-smoking dining room, a smaller casino with an 80-unit motel and indoor pool all under one roof, plus “about you” guest specialists.

Some of the local hustlers, with lots of head hair, were peddling a tiny, raw eelpout, a small red jalapeno, and a glass of home brew for $10. They guaranteed if you ingested all of it, the results would be lots of hair on your head. They told me it was a fundraiser for the local Lie-ons Club. So far, I’m still bald!

The 320 mile drive home on the President’s Holiday was very slow with lots of vehicles in the ditch due to icy conditions. It took two hours longer than normal.

True trivia — 2200 ice anglers went fishing on a beautiful (weatherwise) Saturday in February at Lake Agnes, Alexandria, MN. They were all successful “ice” anglers and nothing else. The organizers decided to double up on the prizes next year!

Many thanks to Ken Bertelson for filling in as greeter at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church during my absence.

ECHOES FROM THE LOAFERS’ CLUB MEETING

“I don’t expect anything from life. There’s only one problem with that.”

“What’s that?”

“I often get what I expect.”

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: if I want 3-D, I’ll look out a window.

I’VE LEARNED

1. If a man buys his wife clothing, he is better off buying it too small than too large.

2. Never to ask my wife to straighten my necktie when she is mad at me.

3. That when dining, I should always order the mild sauce.

MY NEIGHBOR

My neighbor Mort Postem is the local undertaker. He’s a millionaire worth several thousand dollars. His funeral home has a motto over its door, “School tablet, aspirin tablet, stone tablet.” Mort told me that there are two cities named Oslo in Minnesota. He says you can never be sure where you are when you are in Oslo, Minnesota.

MERLE

There were many men named Merle when I was growing up. Wakefield, Vokoun, Michaelson, Shurson, and Bartness. I’m sure I haven’t named all the Merles I knew. They were good guys named Merle. Only Merle Bartness survives. I don’t run into kids named Merle. The world could use more Merles.

WHISTLING TRAINS

Hartland has become a whistle-stop without a whistle. The train not only doesn’t stop, it no longer runs through town. The tracks are abandoned. The only whistle we hear is the noon whistle. It acts as an alarm clock for some. I miss the noise of the train. The occasional sounds of a fire truck or ambulance come close to a train’s whistle. Al Miller of Waseca told me that a friend of his winters in a senior citizen trailer park in Florida. The friend added that the average age of the folks living in the 70-unit area is such that the ambulance drives in twice a day. I’ll bet they’d love to hear a train whistle instead of an ambulance siren.

THERE IS A CARP ON LINE ONE

Minnesota is the land of 15,291 lakes—give or take and depending upon who is counting. There are so many lakes that fish are common roadkill. I stopped along a marshy lake to look at waterfowl one day. As I stepped from my vehicle, I nearly stepped on a dead carp. Near the carp was a smashed cell phone. Maybe the carp had been making a fin call when a car hit it. I wondered if the phone had been dropped accidentally or if someone became so frustrated with the device that he or she destroyed it. I pictured a guy slamming it to the ground and then jumping on it repeatedly. I thought of the words of Bjarne Stroustrup, who said, “I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.”

THE T-SHIRT SAID

On a ferry from Haines to Juneau, Alaska, “Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?”

CAFÉ CHRONICLES

I love the sounds of a café. The noise is welcoming and warming without being irritating as long as no TV is blaring. I overheard this conversation at a nearby table.

The waitress said, “And if you're over 65, the price will be only $7.00 instead of $7.50.”

The diner looked at the menu for a bit before replying, “I’m not going to admit to being that old for only fifty cents.”

ANOTHER PHILOSOPHER SPEAKS

A friend from Albert Lea greeted me, “It’s good to see you because then I know that I’m still here.”

NATURE NOTES

“What is the saying about thunder and frost?” The first frost of autumn will occur six months after the first thunderstorm in spring.

“Those raised tunnels on my lawn—are they the work of voles or moles?” They are evidence of mole activity. Moles eat earthworms primarily. They will eat grubs, but using grub control products as a method of controlling moles is ineffective. Voles, often called meadow mice or field mice, eat bark, grasses, seeds, and insects.

“What makes the blue snow in my yard?” The urine of rabbits or deer that have eaten buckthorn.

“What state has the most bald eagle nests?” According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska has the most, then Minnesota, Florida, Wisconsin, and Washington.

“How can I tell male and female bald eagles apart?” When seen together, the female will be noticeably larger.

MEETING ADJOURNED

The door of wisdom hinges on kindness.

Memorial services for Deloyce Sawyer, age 87, of Albert Lea were held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 12, 2011 at Ellendale Methodist Church. Interment will be at a later date. Visitation was one hour prior to the service at the church.  To sign the guest book, go to www.bayviewfuneral.com.

Deloyce died February 27, 2011 at Good Samaritan Center in Albert Lea.

Deloyce Sawyer was born May 20, 1923 in New Richland, the daughter of Clarence and Meryl Molyneux.  She graduated from Ellendale High School on May 29, 1940.  Deloyce attended the Mankato School of Beauty Culture and graduated on January 6, 1941. She married Floyd E. Sawyer on February 3, 1943 at her home in Blooming Prairie.  To this union three daughters and one son were born: Pat, Paulette, Dennis Floyd, and Lyn.  After leaving the farm, Floyd and Deloyce moved to Ellendale and spent many winters in Lake Havasu, AZ, where Deloyce enjoyed swimming, bowling and socializing with friends.  She was an excellent cook and homemaker. She used her sewing talents and also used her skills as a beautician, giving many haircuts and perms to family and friends.  When Floyd’s health deteriorated, they moved to Bancroft Creek Estates. Deloyce continued to live there until she suffered a compression fracture and moved to the Good Samaritan Home in Albert Lea, where she died on February 27th.  She was a member of the Ellendale Methodist Church and the Oak Street Club for many years.

NRHEG English instructor helped facilitate Internet Safety Night at Ellendale Elementary Feb. 24. The event, sponsored by the NRHEG PTO, highlighted dangers of the Internet. (Star Eagle photo by Carol Jolly)

By CAROL JOLLY

Staff Writer

It's a beautiful summer night, family all gathered 'round the bonfire, kids roasting marshmallows, Mom telling campfire tales.

Suddenly, Hadley stumbles, and falls atop the burning bed of coals. Immediately, Dad springs into action, freeing her from the blazing hearth as a chorus of stop, drop and roll sings in the air.

We instill rules of safety in our children continuously as they grow. However, we may be overlooking a danger that lurks within our homes every day.

By RACHEL RIETSEMA

Staff Writer

All huddled in a circle, they look into each other’s eyes, ready for their pep talk. Minutes later, the last few lingering butterflies have left, because they’ve got this. It’s time to show no mercy.

The NRHEG High School competition cheerleaders step onto the mats, and perform a 2 ½-minute routine consisting of stunts, dance, jumps, tumbling and a cheer. Each section has a time limit and criteria to be met and judged on.

“The team is judged on creativity, transitions, crisp motions, technique, crowd involvement, tumbling skills, corporations of stunts, difficulty of stunts and overall routine,” said NRHEG cheer coach and kindergarten teacher Kari Buendorf. “They are also judged on the overall affect, appearance and spirit of the team.”

Douglas M. “Hawkeye” Spies passed away Sunday, February 27, 2011 in Indianapolis, IN after a battle with cancer. He was 61 years old.

He was born March 18, 1949 in Waseca, MN to Alvin and Mildred (Kopischke) Spies. He graduated in 1967 from Waseca High School. He entered the U.S. Army and served two tours in Vietnam. Doug married Marsha Pearce. They had one child (Mark) and divorced. Later he married Rebecca Hoskins (Baumann) and had two children (Nicole and Jennifer); they divorced. He later married Marcia McCormack and lived the rest of his life with her. He enjoyed baseball and sports in general. Other hobbies included playing pool and cards, and U.S. History.

He was a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and belonged to other various veterans associations.

By JODY WYNNEMER

Staff Writer

Area food shelves are seeing a dramatic increase in demand for food and other basic necessities. In 2010, there were more than three million food shelf visits statewide and it is estimated the number of Minnesotans without enough food is 14 percent. Traditionally, the March Food Shelf drive accounts for more than half of the food distributed each year by the 300 food shelves across the state. The theme for 2011 is “Mission Impossible,” and the goal is to raise 12 million combined pounds of food and dollars.

Groups across the state are planning a variety of events such as stuffing vehicles with food to chili cook-off contests. The New Richland Area Food Shelf has called in some special help for the occasion.