August 1st will be the date of the annual meeting of the Ellendale Area Heritage Society at the old Thompson Boat House on the south side of Beaver Lake. For the past few years we have had our August meeting here and found that it is a good time to share memories and photos of the lake, and maybe even some artifacts. We invite anyone who would like to share their stories; whether you grew up around here, visited, took swimming lessons, fished, waterskied or have a lakefront home. 

Ed and Norrine Jensen are greats hosts and will have the coffee pot on. We will meet at 9 a.m. Come and join us for a fun time of reminiscing and storytelling!

Arnold C. “Arnie” Groskreutz, age 88, of Mankato, MN, formerly of Wells, MN, passed away Saturday, July 18, 2015 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, MN. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 11 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wells, officiated by Rev. Mary Iverson. Visitation will be Tuesday, July 21, 2015 from 4–7 p.m. at Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Wells, and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. Interment will be in First Lutheran Cemetery in Waldorf. Military Honors will be accorded by the Wells Color Guard. Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home of Wells is in charge of arrangements. Please see www.brussheitner.com to leave online condolences.

NATIONAL QUALIFIERS — Cordell Peterson, left, and Wyatt Fitterer will compete in the Asics/Vaughan Greco-Roman National Tournament in Fargo, N.D. July 20-21. (Star Eagle photo by Jim Lutgens)

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

By now, most high school wrestlers have long ago hung up their singlets and shoes for the season, forgetting the long hours of sweat and blood left on mats mostly found far from the spotlight.

Wyatt Fitterer and Cordell Pederson are not like most high school wrestlers.

The NRHEG students have continued to wrestle since shortly after the high school season ended in March, qualifying in May for USA Wrestling nationals in both team and individual competition as part of the Lakeville Freestyle/Greco-Roman Wrestling Club.

Fitterer and Pederson, seniors at NRHEG High School this fall, are no strangers to big time wrestling, with four state tournament appearances and an international trip to Australia and New Zealand between them. Pederson has been to three consecutive state tournaments. Fitterer, a state qualifier as a freshmen, did not make it as a sophomore and had his junior season cut short by injury.

Lecture July 23 at History Center

The Steele County Historical Society is pleased to announce a roundtable discussion about the history of Ellendale on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. in the Wenger Room of the History Center at 1700 Austin Road, Owatonna. The lecture is sponsored by Swenson Financial Services. The roundtable is being done as a compliment to the “Welcome to Ellendale” exhibit that is currently on display in the History Center.

Presenters will include: Barb Mrotz, President of the Ellendale Heritage Society; Lloyd Kaplan, Ed and Norrine Jensen, also of the Ellendale Heritage Society; Jim Deml, farmer; and Mary Groth, Donnavon Eaker, and Andy Lerberg all Ellendale business owners, past and present. Guests to lecture will learn about the community’s varied history, from agriculture, to locally owned and grown businesses, to the early origins of the community and the impact of the arrival of the railroad.

In response to growing public concerns about land use and water, a Southern Minnesota Land Use Expo will take place Monday, July 20 at a farm near Blooming Prairie.

Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson is scheduled to speak at the Expo, which will focus on agriculture and water. Other elected officials are expected to be on hand for a special legislative listening session starting at 1 p.m.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rodney Krell farm along U.S. Highway 218 two miles north of Blooming Prairie.

There will be field demonstrations on various types of liquid and solid manure application equipment as well as various types of conservation equipment.

“This is an educational experience for all ages whether they’re connected to farming or not,” said Dan Vermilyea, feedlot specialist for Steele County, who is helping to coordinate the event. “We’re hoping everyone will come away with a better understanding of agriculture and how it impacts water.”

Vermilyea said what makes this event unique is that it will have a legislative listening session. 

Grocery bills getting too high?  Is there a reason for that? What can we do about it?

Remember that little guru who ran around in shorts and a top inspecting peoples' shopping carts? Granted, he was looking for things that people should not have in their diet if they wanted to lose weight.  Strange thing was it sort of follows the same trend.

If you have ever sat and waited by the grocery store exit and took a good look at what is in peoples' shopping carts as they head back home again, you would understand what I mean. Their carts contain many items they later plan to eat or drink that cost them, both in money and calories.

How much of what you see in those carts is food that they really need to sustain them and how much will come under the category of "stuff?" That stuff fills their carts, drains the billfold and does nothing to improve their health. You know what I’m talking about...all those pop bottles, of sugar water, hanging on the side of their cart. And we can't forget the bags of chips, the sweet treats, the rolls and candy, and all those other items that come with a large cost, but really don't provide any value that sustains.

Many people today fill their shopping carts with the easy make items with processed ingredients that really don't provide much value for our bodies, and quickly drain their billfolds.

People need to go back to the basics, and start eating foods that sustain them so they are not tempted to eat the stuff that temporally fills them up but doesn't keep them going. Those basic foods also help sustain the billfold too, as they don't come with big costs.

Speaking of change...change is coming fast, so fast sometimes it is hard to keep up with it all. We can only try and retain the memories of things in the past that were valuable to keep in mind.

Would you like to go back to the way times once were? Sometimes yes. Life was simpler then. There wasn't all the hoopla that one had to go through to do things. Paper work, speculation. Some things are sensible. Sometimes you wonder if we put emphasis on the wrong things that are really not worth all the time and controversy that goes into it, some little things we tend to put a lot of mind and matter in that really aren't all that important while we let other things slide that really are important.

If life didn't contain some changes I don't suppose it would be very interesting. Change is the thing that brings about decisions, creativity, new advancements...and the list goes on and on. Decisions call for choice and without choices to make a person can't grow. The only trouble is most of the time it is the difficult changes, and the hard choices you face, that make you grow the most.

It is not easy to be happy and thankful sometimes when circumstances bring changes you might not like or need at the time. But later when you look back at those times you may realize those were the times you grew and matured the most.

Our beloved Clara White will be celebrating her 105th birthday on Sunday, the 26th of July. Think of all the changes she has experienced in her life. How did she do it? By being happy, interested and busy.The way she looks at life should be a lesson to all of us. Life has its ups and downs and how we handle them makes all the difference. To say I admire this great lady would be putting it mildly. Just thinking about her is enough to make a bad day for me a good one. She is my hero. Bless her with birthday cards and letters please. Let her know how much we love her.

Research proves that how we think is the biggest asset we possess. In placebo tests it has been proven that how we think and look at things makes more of a difference than any amount of pills we take.

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.  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 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.

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thursday, July 16th: Sue Stieglbauer, Hudson Mrotz, Kyle Ladlie, Jeff Helmers, Nancy Wilder, Kenny & Sarah Price, Dave & Deb Oeltjenbruns

• Friday, July 17th: Kaylee Christine Hanson, Merton Nelson, Ralph Diaz, Sandi Vangen, Victor Christenson, Larry Molenaar, Leslie Schwartz, Lisa & Bob Wayne, Kristine (Simon) & David Freitas

• Saturday, July 18th: Anika Christine McDonald, Nancy Anderson, Matthew DeShane, Katie Dobberstein, Michael Graif, Luke Rye, Roger & Betty Davies, Mark & Mandy Boehme

• Sunday, July 19th: Charlie Glenn Fuller, Cheryl Dunlap, Natasha Marie Peterson, Nicholas Pete Johnson, Carolyn Plunkett, Alyssa Mumm, Travis Jensen, Michael Beckman, Ryan Schmidt, Warren Farr, David Cooper, Angie & Michael Kath

• Monday, July 20th: Pam Muri, Paul Marcus, Wayne Sommers, Brad Eder, Richard Nelson, Cody McCartney, Howard Gallentine, Elvern & Jeanne Holland, Cory & Colette Bauers, Mark & Teri Ravenhorst

• Tuesday, July 21st: Olivia Carol and Lauren Elizabeth Marlin, 2014; Julie Langlie, Riley Marzloff, Violet Elise Aronson, Lindsay Smith, Marilyn Sullivan, Trudy Abel Holm, Marcia DeVriendt, Randy Anderson, Michele Granowski Domeier, Mike Collins, Nicholas Miller, Micki Heimer, Ed & Nancy Ver Hey, Katie & Paul Troe, Mike & Amy Glienke

• Wednesday, July 22nd: Warren Torgerson, Colleen Brekke, Jodie Hohansee Waalkens, Shari Crabtree, Jeff Olson, Joanie Ayers, Jesse Collins, Tyler Joshua Lair, Carl Anderson, Vicki & Kory Kress, Tara & Scott Peterson, Tara & Chad Cliff

• Thursday, July 23rd: Charlotte Joan Tuttle, Barb Kubat, Jackie Layland, Diane Broskoff, Jim Brown, Ron Kaiser, Kelly Pitcock, Carl Glienke Sr., Nathan & Michelle Jacobson, Brooke & Isaiah Lundberg, LuAnn & Keith Miller

• Friday, July 24th: Marilyn Goslee Jurrens, Robert Carter Edwards, Katie May, Joy Peterson, Pat Schulz, Jeff Thompson, Phillip Briggs, Denise & Richard Olson, Trisha & Casey Johnson, Greg & Shari Lassahn

• Saturday, July 25th: Sue Hill, Kari Janka Hareid, Stan Mork, Ivy Oland, Ann Falksen, Rick Hagen, Cole Pospesel, Kristine & Jesse Routh

• Sunday, July 26th: Jordyn Marie Wobschall, Kristine Broskoff Routh, Mark Bartness, Jane Osmundson, Amy Radke, Jean Smith, Scott & Cheryl Christensen and CLARA WHITE, her 105th BIRTHDAY. Wouldn't it be nice if we all could shower her with special greetings on her BIG DAY! Cards, letters and special greetings can be mailed to Clara at the Onalaska Care Center, at 625 Sandlake Road, Onalaska, Wisconsin, 54650.

Let your door open to every joy your special day can bring.

This past Monday I was returning home from Minneapolis when, on a whim, I decided to take a side trip at Faribault to visit the Waterville area and Best Point Resort, which sits on Lake Tetonka just west of town. We kept a camper there for about eight years before we decided to buy land up north and build a cabin. It had been a few years since I had last been there and I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane.

As I turned on the road to the resort I decided to visit the public access before going to the resort. As I approached the access I found that it was just as nice as I had remembered it being. Once I had checked that out I headed to the resort and, although it had been raining very hard for some time, it had begun to subside just as I arrived.

At the campground I found that things were pretty much as I had remembered them. Some things never change, because with the rain a lot of the folks were sitting on the porch outside the office; this was always a good place to hang out and catch up on the latest gossip on rainy days. The owners, Jerry and Linda Miller, weren’t around, but I did talk to Roger, who is from Iowa and has had a camper at Best Point for many years. He was working on his sewer, which had backed up with all this rain; that’s when I realized that there were certain things about having a permanent campsite that I didn’t miss.

As I looked around the campground I remembered the good times, like sitting around the campfire in the evening swapping fish tales with friends. The campfires were always fun and it seems nothing brings folks together like sitting around a good campfire. The convenience of having my boat close by and being able to jump in and go fishing any time that I wanted is probably one of the things I miss the most about camping. It is always fun to reflect back on the good times and the good people that I had gotten to know in the eight years that I’d had my camper at Best Point.

I have often thought about coming back there and tenting for a weekend with one or more of the grandkids. I have mentioned it to Dylan, my son Brad’s boy, about maybe doing that and he seemed to be on board. I think that it would be fun to get up early and hit the lake at sunrise. I don’t know how fishing has been on Tetonka lately, but this lake has always been a good panfish lake. Over the years I have also caught my share of walleye, northern and bass, but some of the best times were when the white bass or stripers were biting. Now although I have tried many times I never could quite find a way to fix those fish to make them not taste a little strong. My brother-in-law Mike tried everything imaginable to turn them into tasty fillets. He tried soaking them in milk, soaking them in 7-Up, and just plain salt water. No matter what he did they just always seemed to taste just a little fishy. Now that I’ve told you the negative part of fishing stripers I have to tell you the good part; this fish is an excellent fighter. I don’t believe there is anything more fun than getting into a school of stripers. Using an ultra-lite setup with light line and casting a jig can be a blast because these fish can definitely put up a fight. Talk about fun, I don’t think that there are too many fish that pound for pound will give you a better battle.

I don’t know what the striper population on Tetonka is today, but when I had my camper there they were pretty abundant. I would definitely recommend striper fishing to anyone that wants to have some good old-fashioned fishing fun. I don’t know if there is a best time to fish them, but two of the best striper experiences that I’d had were at different times of the day. On one occasion my brother-in-law Mike and I were trolling beetle spins tipped with fathead minnows in the middle of the day going from the south shore to the north shore and back. Many of the fish we caught were right in the middle of the lake and we did catch a lot of fish.

On another occasion my grandson Trevor and I were doing some evening fishing with Mike and we found the fish were hanging right off this rocky point. Trevor, of course, was in the front of the boat and he was bringing in one after another. The heavy bite lasted for about half an hour and then began to taper off. Trevor was about 12 at the time and an experience like that couldn’t help but make his love of fishing even stronger. I always feel that once kids get a taste of fishing success it will always stay with them. Trevor is all about fishing, hunting and the outdoors and his brothers also like to hunt and fish, but not to the extent that Trevor does. One of the main reasons why I am glad all of my grandsons enjoy these great sports is it is something they can enjoy for the rest of their lives. This is why it is important to me that I pass on my love of the outdoors to my sons and grandkids so it will be there for generations to come.

Until next time, enjoy the summer and take advantage of the weather but most of all just get out and spend a little time in the great Minnesota 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.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I have good news and I have bad news.

Give me the good news first.

OK, I can't remember the bad news.

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: When a man hears, "Bring a dish to pass," he thinks, "Potato chips." I know when I need to get new eyeglasses. If I can't read the baseball box scores in the newspapers, it's time. Bike shorts scare more kids than horror movies do.

Aiming for Ames

I saw a car in Ames, Iowa, that was nearly covered with bumper stickers. That's why I don't have a bumper sticker on my car. Apparently, once you start putting on bumper stickers, you don't know where or when to stop. I saw a minivan in Ames that had stick figure decals of a family unit on its back window. There was a decal of the mother, two kids, a dog and a cat. It was evident that the representation of the father had been scraped off, leaving a ghostly image.

There was a story there.

As I drove on a busy highway where the goal of each car was to pass the car ahead of it, it seemed as if fast-moving drivers were anxious to be on the bleeding edge of travel. It’s difficult not to succumb to peer pressure and be pulled into that silly and speedy competition. I was about to join that ridiculous race when I saw a hearse. It was driving the minimum speed. There was no need to hurry. There was literally no time to lose. The sprint of life was over for someone. I think most drivers slowed their pace. I know I did.

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

I helped a neighbor bale hay. The pay wasn't much and he didn't offer any health insurance benefits, but there were no walls and the ceiling was magnificent. The lack of monetary rewards was of little concern. I didn’t need much. I spent more time on a hayrack than in a store. I wasn’t much of a shopper then and I'm not much of a shopper now. I know why I’m that way. I was frightened by a back-to-school sale when I was a youngster.

POW Camp Museum in Algona, Iowa

As World War II wore on, labor shortages became common. German prisoners of war offered a solution. Camp Algona was responsible for 34 branch camps in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. More than 10,000 prisoners spent some time there from April 1944 to February 1946. The 287-acre camp included a 150-bed hospital and dispensary staffed by American and German medical personnel. It had 178 wood-frame buildings and a 65-acre garden. The prisoners were paid a wage of 10 cents per hour while working at farms and factories, not to exceed 80 cents per day. Prisoners spent their free time engaging in athletics, the arts and scholarly endeavors. Today, it’s the location of a National Guard armory and the Algona airport. The museum honors 2600 Kossuth County veterans of World War II. A photo of a family member who died in that war has found a home there.

I learned on my visit to this fine museum that the German prisoners were treated well. That was good to know and it was what I’d expected. If only WWII had been the war to end all wars.

Nature notes

Nuthatches cache food to consume later. There aren’t many safe places to store food out there, as other creatures are watching and searching constantly. A nuthatch practices scatter hoarding, hiding food in many locations, in the hopes that some would remain hidden. Other animals do the same thing. Squirrels come quickly to mind. I’ve watched crows and jays pilfering acorns hidden by squirrels. I’ve noted that nuthatches like to cache hulled sunflower seeds. I reckon the seeds make for fast and easy storing in the crevices of tree bark. A study found that the most active time for caching is early in the day with most food being cached within 45 feet of the feeder.

Meeting adjourned

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." — John Wesley

The signs and literature at four area Lutheran Churches (Ascension, Salem, Trinity and Central Freeborn) read Vacation Bible School June 15-18 at Edgewater Park in Albert Lea, 9 a.m.-12 noon for pre-school and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. for grades 1-6. 

Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, June 14 at Trinity with pizza and root beer floats. Vacation Bible School attendees could bring anyone but the family pet. (Genie and I got back from Arkansas just in time to attend). 

Joan Anderson and Diane Dopperhammer from Ascension, Amber Deming from Salem, Annette Hansen and Greg Anderson from Trinity, and Genie Hanson from Central Freeborn, were the church adult representatives responsible to tie everything together for a successful vacation bible school. (Yes it was!!)

This year, (similar to the last few years) a team from Okobji Lutheran Bible Camp taught the grades 1-6 while Genie taught the pre-school (19 youngsters) with Maggie Eggum, Lorrie Hensche, Bre Brown, Kylee Brown, and Shelley Bush the scheduled helpers for Genie and the team. My job was gopher – go fer this, go fer that, go fer food to feed the Okoboji team, go fer a drive to the swimming pool in Geneva to let Samuel Christensen meet his ride home. (I learned a lot about cars from Sam)

The Okoboji team was Samantha Walter, Gale Winter, Louisa Jastram, Emma Potter, and Ryan McCullough. I asked them where they were from. Louisa answered Sioux Falls, South Dakata. The rest all said Tenwa. Not wanting to look stupid, I didn’t ask where Tenwa was. I checked the encyclopedia, my atlas of North America, a computer listing of all the towns in the world with a population in excess of 250 — nothing, no “Tenwa.”

Genia and I brought the Okoboji team a Chinese meal on Thursday evening. We were a little early as I thought maybe I could find out where Tenwa was. I pointed out we were a little early with the food as I liked the old saying, “the early bird gets the worm.” The team pointed out that was a good saying, but one must also remember the old Chinese proverb, “the second mouse gets the cheese,” (that ended my evening quest for where Tenwa was.)

The great week ended with singing and a skit put on by the Okoboji team plus attendees. It was followed by a pot luck supper in the Edgewater pavilion.

After supper, we helped the team load their maroon van with Iowa license plates. When the van was loaded, I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I asked, “Where is Tenwa?” As they got into the van, rolled down the windows and started to drive away, they answered in unison, “The answer is on our license plate.”

It was then a brilliant light bulb flashed in my mind. To the younger generation, in their texting language, Iowa is Tenwa.

———

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.