What started as a joke on the computer was true and funny, but it was really not for laughing — and really got me thinking of many different things.

There is a saying about how we should look forward instead of looking in a rear view mirror, which is true, but not necessarily completely true.

In my grandmother’s day people were able to plant their gardens in soil not tainted with chemicals. They ate fresh vegetables from their gardens in the summer and ate less meat (because of refrigeration). The surplus from their gardens was canned in glass jars, not stored in plastic or even tin cans that could contaminate their food.

They got their exercise from hard work and they "walked" to many of their destinations. They split wood, which they used to heat their homes, which may have been cool by today's standards but the coolness kept their noses from drying out and their bodies adapted to the cooler temperatures.

They didn't worry about GMOs, chemicals, high fructose corn syrup and honey. The vinegar they used was not distilled.

We take off our shoes when we come inside our homes so we won't track in obvious dirt and undesirable things picked up on our shoes, so why would we want to wash our floors with toxic cleaners that might be dangerous? More and more homes now have wood, tile, stone and marble flooring and children crawl and play with their toys on those floors. There are products on the store shelves that will actually give animals seizures if you use them on your floors.

It has also become ever so important to keep our hands as clean as possible, as well as away from our facial area. Germs enter our bodies through open areas such as our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It is very important to remember to clean the shopping cart you are going to use when you enter the stores. Wiping the handle with a disinfecting towelette will help you get rid of as many germs as possible. It is also important to use the wipes on your hands when you leave the store after you collect your groceries and supplies as many people have handled all those products you put them in your cart. Stair rails are necessary, but they too contain a large number of germs.

Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It absorbs anything you put on it, so why would we want to use those things that have been found to be toxic to clean our homes? You may actually be using some things that are even more hazardous than whatever you needed to clean.

We are now experiencing more allergies and asthma that we ever used to. A lot is related to opening all those bottles of cleaning products instead of using our grandma's old standbys like baking soda, white vinegar and lemon juice that many households already have in the home and are safer and cheaper.

One example of a cleaning fluid you could use to clean your windows, shower doors or floors is mixing 2 cups of water, 1 cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid and 1 cup of heated warm white vinegar. Put the mixture into a spray bottle and then spray it on the surface you want to clean. Let it sit for 15 minutes or so and then go over it with a scrubbing sponge, followed by a rinse in cold water.

Using common sense and living and eating for immunity will help keep you out of the doctor’s office. It makes more sense to keep your body healthy than having to subject it to medical care.

Along those same lines, years ago people used their common sense and didn't spend so much of their money on "wants" instead of needs and their homes were not full to overflowing and they were not living paycheck to paycheck.

Kids read more books and weren't influenced by all the television trash we have today. It was unthinkable to skip church. Sunday was a day set aside for families to spend the day together and Sunday dinner was something everyone looked forward to. Families played games together for fun. There was less competition for things that took people away from their families as people didn't find many businesses open on Sunday like we see today.

Yes, look forward but don't forget to look back. Rear view mirrors are there for a purpose and many tragedies can happens if we forget to use them. Progress is important but sometimes we have a tendency to overdo it.

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, February 19th: Abraham Peterson, Allison Schmidt, Eleanor Schember, Makela Larkin, Deedee Hunt, Jason Jensen, Teri Ravenhorst, Marjorie Solberg

• Friday, February 20th: Derek Dobberstein, will celebrate his first birthday this year ( 2015);  Hadley Routh, Derek Flesche, Amy Shaunce, David Swearingen, Joyce Lageson Hoddick, LuAnn Sommer Granholdt, David & LeAnn Hanson, Jim & Nancy Cornelius

• Saturday, February 21st: Jeannie Worrell, Andy Butler, Phillip Ingvaldson, Bryan Dirkson, Leanna Peterson, Chris & Kim Jensen, Darrell & Cynthia Farr, Max & Marlene Jensen

• Sunday, February 22nd: Shelia Nelson White, Carlie Thompson, Dalys Waltz, Joan & Marian Mast

• Monday, February 23rd: Sharon Gasner Ramaker, Bernie Warnke, Josh Krueger, Markus Allen Misgen, Daniel Suelter, Dale Waltz, Tiffany Mischke, Daniel Walterman, Laura & Jamie Baudoin

• Tuesday, February 24th: Jerry Hemingway, Rick Draper, Nathan Wayne, Roxy Menefee Ray, Sarah Zamora, Nancy Larson, Kathy & Daryl Reed

• Wednesday, February 25th: Berniece Farr Mattson, Colton Hagen, Brad Hagen, LuAnn Miller, Sherri Larson Fritz, Steve & Vicky Dobberstein

• Thursday, February 26th: Sharon Menefee, Shawn Jensen, Becky Lassahn, Ray Coxworth, Ginger Cornelius, Mary Lou Spurr, Chris Sauke, Mike Glynn, Jeff & Robin Christensen, Joel & Peg Radjenovich

• Friday, February 27th: Steve Pence, Jean Anderson, Garry Nordhorn, Doris Rasmussen, Journey Churchill-Malcolm, Erik Cooper, John Olson, Jayden Dakota Tonkin, Nancy Ingvaldson, Daryl Van Ravenhorst

• Saturday, February 28th: Troy Utpadel, Neil Pence, Jackie Miller, Steve Engel, Dan Nesdahl, Bennett Dobberstein, Atom Oquist, Sharese Lehmberg, John Marlin, Gerry Flim, Michelle Nelson, Michael Nelson, Tyler Titus, Tiffany Mischke, Michael Coy, Jim & Diane Butler

Wishing you quiet moments of beauty on your special day!

As we pass the mid-point of February I find myself fighting off that dreaded cabin fever virus that seems to have gotten a foothold in my mind. With each passing day I find myself daydreaming of those warm summer days spent by a lake. In all reality I know that those days are just around the corner, but that old saying “so near, yet so far” keeps popping up in my head.

I usually don’t mind winter, but the weather at this time of year can go from one extreme to the other in a heartbeat. I always have the memory of the spring of ’65 when I was driving milk truck for Conger Creamery. It was the first part of March and after a long snowy winter I was ready for spring. I had just started driving to Albert Lea with a load of skim milk when a freezing rain started, and by the time I had reached the edge of town all the streets and roads were glare ice. I had decided to outsmart the storm by taking the gravel and coming in the back way. That may very well have worked out, but for one small glitch. There was one steep hill on that road and at the top of that hill sat a van sideways in the road which I didn’t notice until I was about half way up the hill and had to back down without sliding in the ditch. Once the freezing rain stopped, the snow began and to this day I cannot recall experiencing a worse blizzard than that one. It took almost a week to run its course because the storm , and just as folks started digging out, another blast hit.

It was hard on the farmers because we couldn’t get to them with the milk trucks and some roads were drifted in so bad that anywhere there was a hill the tops of the power lines were barely visible sticking out of the snow. When the farmers had no way to get the milk to town they had to dump it down the drain and because winter is the time when cows produce the most milk, it resulted in a lot of lost revenue. Yes, those were the good old days and I probably shoveled more snow in that year than I have the rest of my life.

Although it hasn’t been a particularly harsh winter, bring on those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer and I will embrace them. Looking back, which I do quite frequently, I can recall the days when folks would drop in for a visit on a Sunday afternoon on the spur of the moment, whatever that means. My mom always had the fixin’s in the refrigerator for her famous potato salad and she also had cold meat and cheese on hand for sandwiches because visitors never went home without having lunch. Somewhere in our busy lives these types of occurrences have almost gone the way of speaking face to face with someone. I know it is the sign of the times, and the electronics of today have made talking to someone easier but also a lot less personal.

Mom and Dad had some close friends from Mason City named Chuck and Juanita who would stop by quite often and the folks in turn would visit them. Back in those days you didn’t call someone “long distance” just to see if they were home. You took a chance and hoped they were around or you set a date in advance. Looking back on those days I believe that some of the best times are the ones that just happen and are not planned. It seems as if we sometimes get too busy with our hectic lives to really take time to just enjoy the little things.

Ice fishing in the area has been pretty steady and judging by the number of houses on Fountain Lake a lot of folks are enjoying the season. If Albert Lea Lake had not frozen out last year a lot of these folks would, no doubt, be sitting on the ice in the channel. Hopefully we will make it through this year with no fish kill on any of our area lakes and the fish that have been stocked will get a chance to grow. It would be nice to see the big lake once again become a viable fishery.

My grandson Trevor just returned from a few days at the cabin and he fished a couple of bigger lakes in the area, namely Winnibigoshish and Bowstring, and he said that the fishing wasn’t the best, but they did manage to get a few jumbo perch and some northern. Fishing a big lake on your own can be a challenge if you have never been there before and he said that when he does it again he will try some smaller, more familiar, area lakes closer to the cabin. I’d have to think that it would be a fun experience for him and one that he will learn from. Not all visions of lunker walleye and slab crappie become reality, but then that’s just another part of fishing and it’s what keeps you coming back.

Until next time, stay warm and enjoy the beauty of winter and always take some time to enjoy the outdoors.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason that we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club

Where is the Hanson place?

It’s across the road from the Nelson place.

Where is the Nelson place?

It's across the road from the Hanson place.

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: The thermometer on the dashboard of my car just matched the temperature on a school’s digital time and temperature sign. That rarely happens. I took it as a sign of good things. I probably should have bought a lottery ticket. I’ve never purchased one. I’m told that I can never win unless I buy a ticket. That seems unfair.

Cafe chronicles

I sat down at a table that was so clean, you could eat off it. Men drank coffee passively from cups bearing their names as rented teeth worked their magic on sweet rolls. The coffee-drinking app on one man’s cellphone was declared completely worthless.

Another man spoke of his annual attendance at the local church. He claimed it made him a dependable churchgoer. He goes every Christmas without fail. He is a diet Lutheran.

I enjoyed pie smothered in whipped cream. I did so, even though I could still see a bit of the pie peeking out from under the whipped cream.

Two fellows talked about the good old days of 30-cent gas and only three TV channels. They talked about their youthful exploits and the simple pleasures of earlier times. After a lengthy discussion, one of them summed it all up by saying, "That must have been two other guys. We’re not that old."

A blissful birthday bash

I enjoyed kraut dumpling soup at the Cottage Cafe in Amboy with my bride and friends. It was our way of celebrating my wife’s birthday and the natal day of a friend named Tim Scott. The food at the Cottage Cafe is always scrumptious, most always even better than that. I ate delicious soup in honor of the birthday celebrants. What a guy I am. I felt at home seated at that table. It felt like the time when I’d been moved up from the kids’ table to the adults’ table at Christmas. I didn’t know if I deserved it, but I was happy to be there. I had chased a dream. I try not to take things for granted. I realize how blessed I am to know who I know. I have so many heroes in my life; people who I look up to. I smiled as I sat with my heroes who liked me despite the fact that I had always made my snowmen with eyebrows.

Customer comments

• Viola Nolte of Fairmont said that her daughter mailed her a challenging jigsaw puzzle. Viola and her friends struggled to put the puzzle together. In the midst of that battle, one lady said, "The next time your daughter sends you a jigsaw puzzle, have her put it together first."

• Arlo Tweeten of Hartland told me that his uncle Irving Tweeten umpired some baseball games in Wisconsin. One game featured a pitcher who threw faster than anyone Irving had ever seen. Irving called the fireballer’s initial pitch of the first inning a ball because it sounded low.

• Darwyn Olson of Hartland said that his mother Ethel had a great desire to be helpful on the farm. No job was beneath her. She did whatever tasks that needed doing. She was always asking her husband and son, "What do you want me to do?" When she found herself living in a nursing home, she continued to ask her family, "What do you want me to do?"

• All the great men around me are dying and I don’t feel so well myself. A friend, Leslie Olson of Hartland, passed away recently. I’ll miss him. He and his wife Dolores had been married 64 years. Dolores told me that her daughter, Amy Brown of Owatonna, had been diligent in her photo taking whenever the family had gathered in the last few years. Dolores described the efforts of the hard-working camera with the words, "Funeral pictures."

Customer comments on euphemisms for death

• Rick Mammel of Albert Lea wrote, "I’ve had one for many years, that someone is staring at the bottom side of sod."

Nature notes

Red-tailed hawks don’t have red tails until they are over two years old. Immature birds typically molt into adult plumage — including a red tail — at the beginning of their second year.

Meeting adjourned

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, "Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together."

I’m not always right.

I hope you were sitting down, as that astonishing admission may have floored some of you. What? The guy who writes his opinion as if it were the absolute way things should be is wrong at times? Of course, some of you are thinking, “Well, duh, he’s wrong about a lot of things!”

Yes, I’m opinionated, and I’ll often be quite candid about how my ideal world might look. But if everyone agreed with me, I’d run out of things to write about!

However, I’ll admit when I’ve made a mistake. The key is the willingness to listen to other ideas and gauge all the options for the best outcome. When my students write persuasive papers, I stress how important it is to acknowledge the opposing point of view. Not only does it make the other side feel as if they’ve been listened to, but it helps you understand your opponent better if you’re able to get inside their game plan.

We don’t like to listen as much in our hectic world. We just want to make a decision and move on, often without thinking things through. We want our voice heard, and now let’s keep going. You have a thought about it? Too bad, we don’t need to stop for that; isn’t it obvious?

I’ve been thinking about this for two reasons. One is that parent-teacher conferences are right around the corner again. I’ll often talk about what I’ve seen to a parent. If there is a problem, I’ve got two options. Sometimes there is a practical solution; if a student is getting some easy things wrong, it’s a matter of taking a little extra time. However, another option is to hear about the student and some problems I might not be aware of, which need to be known in order to come up with an answer. For instance, maybe work isn’t getting done on weekends when the child is with the other parent. Then I need to contact that parent and try to talk through the problem. But I wouldn’t know that if I didn’t stop to listen.

What becomes bothersome is when we come up with a potential solution and then it’s not followed through on at home. I’m not just blowing wind to hear my own voice; I do like to see my students have some measure of success. So it’s frustrating when I talk and there’s no listening done from the other side. If we try something and I’m wrong in my idea, then we’ll try something else.

The other reason I’ve been thinking about this is the distressing behavior I’ve seen and heard about regarding our Panther fans at athletic events. NRHEG is rapidly becoming known as having the worst sportsmanship in the area.

We have some tremendous supporters of Panther sports, and most of our fans are very good. However, just like in school, it’s 5-10% that act foolish. It seems that some of our fans think we’re entitled in some way and deserve every call to go our way. There’s always a movement early in games to start to question and belittle the officials. This is the sure sign of people who are worried about the possibility of losing and want a quick excuse for why it’s not our team’s fault. Let’s just blame the officiating.

It’s a rare game I’ve ever seen that has been decided by poor officiating. Good teams learn to play through bad calls and adjust to the way the game is being called. As a coach, I’m going to get after officials if I think there are blatant mistakes being made, especially if they favor the other team. Part of my job is to defend my players and give them a fair chance.

BUT. (I know that’s a fragment, but it’s for emphasis!) It NEVER helps your team when you constantly rant at the officials. I’ve mentioned this before too, but if you’ve never officiated a sport, especially at that level, you need to sit down and keep your trap shut. You can certainly mutter to the person next to you that you think the ref missed something, but the whining is embarrassing. Go get your officiating license. I’m sure the MSHSL will welcome all the knowledgeable people sitting in our stands, as there is a shortage of officials.

I have a standing joke in my classroom with a container of Q-tips, which I sometimes suggest when a student hasn’t listened. We all need the chance to clean out our ears and listen to others, considering their ideas. We also need to listen to ourselves so we don’t make an embarrassment of NRHEG and learn how to show good sportsmanship and Panther Pride, especially during the playoffs. Thank you for your kind attention and please keep on listening!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is arenicolous, which means living, growing, or burrowing in sand, as in, “The arenicolous ostrich didn’t want to listen to anything, so he stuck his head straight down in the sand.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The scurs were afraid word of the accuracy of the Weather Eye would start to get around after another week of unwanted cold temperatures. Will people still be talking after this week or just muttering under their frozen breath? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low single digits and lows near –10. Mostly sunny Thursday with a slight chance of overnight snow. Highs near 5 and lows falling just below zero. Friday, mostly cloudy with a modest chance of snow. Highs in the low 20’s with lows in the low teens. Partly sunny on Saturday with highs in the upper teens and lows near zero. Sunday, mostly sunny with highs in the low teens and lows around 5. Mostly cloudy on Monday with a slight chance of snow. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the upper single digits. Tuesday, mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the low 20’s and lows in the low teens. The normal high for February 24th is 31 and the normal low is 13. The sun will rise on the 24th before 7 a.m. for the first time since last November 7th. The scurs are not putting their long johns in mothballs just yet.

Weather has been trending below normal over the past week as evidenced by the normal highs and lows. Little accumulating snowfall has resulted in addition, although the fluffy stuff that fell Monday was just enough to disguise some of the slippery spots around the yard. Definitely “greasy skid stuff” as Steve Cannon so fondly called it. The winds have howled as well, with Saturday being a good day to stay inside or at very least out of the wind. I am thankful we have planted as many trees as we have over the last several decades at the ranch. Speaking of that, The Waseca SWCD is hosting a “Tree Day” on Wednesday February 18th from 9-5 at the Waseca SWCD office. This is a great opportunity to obtain trees affordably as well as gain valuable information about establishing windbreaks and other wildlife plantings. Remember, the best time to plant trees was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.

Sheep shearing was accomplished on Saturday on what proved to be the coldest day of the week. Our neighborhood sheep shearer and his sidekick were there with bells on. After we got the sheep back in the barn we commenced to shearing and everyone stayed warm with all the activity. Shortly after 1 p.m. we had the job completed and the sheep looked very smooth, and happy to be rid of their heavy blanket of wool. Mrs. Cheviot had a splendid hot meal prepared so we could come in out of the cold, shed our stinky barn clothes and dig in. Nowadays with this hurry up, go here, go there rush everyone in, it’s nice to sit down to a home cooked meal and relax after a workout like that. 

As we’ve mentioned in years past, it may seem cruel to take the wool off the sheep at this time of the year, but there are many reasons for it. With the relatively warm winter we’ve had, the ewes have been sleeping outside a lot. With all that wool, they’re too warm to be comfortable inside. That being the case they really don’t care if it’s snowing either. If one leaves the wool on them, they carry that moisture back into the lambing barn, setting up conditions conducive to pneumonia. Shearing now before lambing makes it more likely the ewe will lamb inside the building. It also helps keep external parasites in check. In addition, the lambs can access the ewe’s udder more easily and the ewe gives off more heat, keeping their babies warm. Indeed, after shearing, the water buckets in the lambing pens rarely freeze. And the lambing barn is a great little spot to get in out of the elements briefly to warm up just as it was when I was growing up. One takes advantage of those brief moments to make sure all is well in the lambing jugs. And yes, we do pick the little ones up for closer examination, much to the ewes’ dismay.

On the 19th the Chinese New Year rolls around and it fittingly happens to be the Year of the Sheep. As found on an Internet site, characteristics of people born in the Year of the Sheep are tender, polite, filial, clever, and kind-hearted. They have special sensitivity to art and beauty, faith in a certain religion and a special fondness for quiet living. They are wise, gentle and compassionate and can cope with business cautiously and circumspectly. In their daily life, they try to be economical. Famous people born in the Year of the Sheep include Michelangelo, Mark Twain, Thomas Alva Edison, Rudolph Valentino, Pierre Trudeau, Barbara Walters, Orville Wright, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Amy Lee, Bruce Willis, Claire Danes, Jamie Lynn Spears and Matt LeBlanc. 

I was actually born in the Year of the Dog. And it sorta fits, just like any of those sayings on fortune cookies do. I like dogs and usually they like me. Over the years I’ve had occasion to become acquainted with hundreds of them. Oddly enough, there is no Year of the Cat in the Chinese Zodiac. There is however in the Vietnamese Zodiac. The reason behind this is the domestic cat was not introduced to China from India until well after their zodiac was established. My take on all this: I like Chinese and Vietnamese food or at least food prepared by people whom I suspect are Chinese or Vietnamese.

Ruby has been watching the Westminster Dog Show starting with the agility trials over the weekend. In addition to making hockey easier for us to watch, high definition television must make dog shows appear sharper and more definitive for a small red and white Border Collie to observe. When the show is on, she frequently approaches the screen growling and barking at whatever breed happens to be making its way around the show ring. The Puli or Pulik as a group are particularly draw her ire. There is no discrimination though. She dislikes all breeds.

See you next week…real good then.

Memorial services for Angeline “Ang” Kent will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 21, 2015 at All Saints Catholic Church in New Richland, MN. Father Raul Silva will officiate. Visitation will be held 4-5:30 p.m. with a prayer service at 5:30 p.m. Friday February 20, 2015 at Friedrich Funeral Home in New Richland and a visitation again one hour prior to the service at church. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery in New Richland.

Angeline “Ang” Kent was born on September 21, 1923 at home in rural New Richland, MN to Monika (Giese) and Thomas Chicos. Ang has been a lifelong resident of the New Richland area and an active member of All Saints Catholic Church. She graduated from Freeborn High School in 1940. Ang earned a teaching degree and taught in Matawan for a few years prior to having children. Later on in life, Ang went back to school and received a bachelor’s degree from Mankato State University and returned to teaching in Freeborn, MN.

MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team swept the Big Ten Conference weekly awards Wednesday as freshman guard Carlie Wagner was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second straight week and senior forward Shae Kelley was named Big Ten Player of the Week. It marks the first time this season that the Gophers earned both freshman and player accolades in the same week. 

Wagner got her second consecutive freshman of the week nod by averaging 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game against Wisconsin and Penn State. She had 17 points on .438 (7-16) shooting from the floor in the win over the Badgers, and added another 17 points and five rebounds in the victory at Penn State.

Shirley Ann Raimann, age 68, of Mapleton, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 15, 2015, at the Mapleton Community Home.

Funeral service will be 11 a.m., Thursday, February 19, 2015, at Medo Lutheran Church, Medo Township, rural Mapleton. Interment will be in Medo Lutheran Church Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Olson–Tichenor Funeral Home handled the arrangements. Memorials preferred to Medo Lutheran Church of rural Mapleton, Epilepsy Foundation, Mapleton Community Home, or charity of donor’s choice.

Everyone’s invited to Groove 4 Food live music benefit for the Area Food Shelf of New Richland on Sunday, March 8. It starts at 1:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 204 NW 1st Street, New Richland. Event emcee will be Al Batt. Admission is free will or non-perishable food donation. The best talent in Southern Minnesota will be there to entertain you. Supplemental funds provided by Waseca County Chapter of Thrivent Financial Alan Shawn Feinstein Foundation and MN Foodshare.