Johnson orchard grateful to open: May frost leads to smaller apple yields
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Enjoying a beautiful day for opening the season at Johnson's Orchard are Melissa Williams, Sandy Tollefson and her daughter, Emma Tollefson, and Scott Williams.
Star Eagle photo by Barb Finseth
By BARB FINSETH
Staff Writer
Gary and Judy Johnson of Johnson Oakside Orchard were busy on their season's opening day, Sunday, September 19th. They were quickly bagging more of the early apple varieties of Honeycrisp, Zestar, SweeTango, Regents, and Paula Red, as displayed bags left with customers. The later varieties of the popular Haralson and Fireside apples are being added as they are ready to harvest.
Gary and Judy are happy to have apples to sell this year. Gary confessed that early this season they weren't sure there would be much of a harvest. In late May, just as, the blossom buds on the trees were peaking out, our area had three nights of frost. This is a critical time for the fragile buds as once an apple tree wakes from dormancy, it is highly susceptible to damage from any freezes.
But the death of even a majority of apple buds on a tree will not necessarily mean there won't be any apples in that year. So Gary continued with his usual spring routine of having his beekeeper neighbors, Don & Menta Macy, bring their bee hives to the orchard to pollinate the trees. This may take a couple of weeks, but the hives stay there longer to take advantage of the orchard's many spring flowers for the bees to make honey. Later, Don & Menta sell their honey at the Johnsons' Orchard during the Fall apple selling season.
Unfortunately for this season, there were varieties of apples heavily damaged by the frosts. So few apples developed on the trees of the MacIntosh, and Spartan (an older variety that few orchards grow today), that there won't be any of these offered for sale this year.
Fish Sunflowers by Manchester: Johnny Olson’s sunflower fields’ locations vary from year to year
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SUNSHINE - Logan Piltingsrud enjoys a walk through one of Fish Sunflower’s fields located just outside of Manchester.
Star Eagle photos by Melanie Piltingsrud
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Fish Sunflowers began six years ago when Johnny Olson, a real estate agent from northern MN., grew a field of sunflowers for an elderly couple in Big Lake, MN., who were dying. “It was to honor them,” said Olson. “And people started showing up and telling me their stories.
“I bought a little farm place,” Olson continued. “I never lived there. It was on a busy road, and accessibility was really tough.” But the field of sunflowers Olson planted there meant a lot to the elderly couple.
And then Olson did it again... and again. The project expanded to two fields, and then three fields. “I planted 12 fields last year,” said Fish. “This year I planted 16.”
Olson lost six of this year's sunflower plantings to drought, but it didn't deter the more than 45,000 individuals who follow him on Facebook or Instagram or on his web page, fishsunflowers.com. One field after the next was opened to the public in locations across Minn.: Albert Lea, Buffalo, Monticello, Zimmerman, Big Lake, Kimball, Montrose, Gibbon, Andover and Braham. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked from all corners of Minn., and even from out of state to walk the paths Olson made through his blooming fields.
Crafts and Creations: New business started by Ellendale local, Audrea Horejsi
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CRAFT STATION - Audrea Horejsi is pictured above putting together a presentation for her class, “Kids just wanna have fun.”
Star Eagle photos by Jordan Horejsi
By JORDAN HOREJSI
Staff Writer
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many lives since it began in 2020. Audrea Horejsi, a local Ellendale resident, has decided to take her work life back after losing her job in March of 2020 by starting her own home-run business. Crafts and Creations was formed in the summer of 2021 with the intention of bringing art and creativity to the young minds of tomorrow.
Horejsi has a class, “Kids Just Wanna Have Fun,” which is currently being run through Community Ed in Waseca, Albert Lea, Wells, NRHEG, and Blooming Prairie. In January, classes will start up in Owatonna. Registrations and payments are done through community education in the given town.
During the classes Horejsi plans to teach, children will be required to wear masks as they explore their young, creative minds. Horejsi is already taking steps to put together craft kits for kids who can’t attend classes but still want to do the crafts. All new information regarding Crafts and Creations will be posted on the Crafts and Creations Facebook page.
Nelson’s motor repair shop: Hobby becomes business for 80-year old Ellendale resident
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Cynthia and Russ Nelson have called Ellendale home since 1964. The couple, pictured above, married in 1965. Star Eagle photo by Eli Lutgens
By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
If the name Russ Nelson rings a bell, you’re likely from the NRHEG area. Known for his previous business, Russ Nelson Electric, Nelson has opened a new shop. Russ Nelson Motor Shop is located at 601 Dutton Avenue in Ellendale, right next to the Methodist church, down the road from the water tower.
What started as a side project has now become a business for 80-year old Nelson, who said retirement just didn’t stick with him.
“It started as a hobby 15 years ago,” Nelson explained. “I retired in 2018, but people kept bringing me stuff to work on.”
Nelson, who ran Nelson Electric from 1974 until 2016, plans to continue fixing any and all kinds of electric motors. “I fix whatever pertains to the grain systems, livestock systems, basically any and all electric motors,” Nelson said. “Anything mechanical, I like doing.”
Vacancy pastor Joshua Skogen: Filling in for Evangelical Lutheran Churches 2021
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FAMILY - Vacancy pastor Joshua Skogen, his wife, Katie, and their children, Caleb (12), Micah (10), Lana (9), Nora (7), and twins Luke and Levi (3).
By BARB FINSETH
Staff Writer
Pastor Joshua Skogen began serving the Hartland and Manchester Evangelical Lutheran Churches as vacancy pastor at the beginning of August of this year. Previously, Pastor Shawn Stafford served for 10 years with the people of these two churches before leaving to fill a position as an assistant professor in the Religion Department at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato.
In the Evangelical Churches, it is customary for a local pastor of their fellowship to serve a vacancy on a part-time basis until a full-time pastor is hired. Pastor Skogen is now serving as full-time pastor for Scarville and Center Lutheran congregations in Iowa. He has taken the responsibility to line up pastors or seminarians to cover each Sunday worship service for Hartland and Manchester. He also travels to Hartland to teach confirmation class, visit shut-ins, and provide personal pastoral care wherever it is needed.
Joshua and his wife, Katie, live in Scarville, Iowa with their six children, ages 12, 10, 9, 7, and identical twins three years old. In personal time, Joshua says he enjoys, "spending time with my family, visiting extended family, playing disc golf, and helping with the youth wrestling club in Lake Mills, Iowa.”
Joshua was born in Peru, but grew up on a dairy farm in rural Princeton, MN. When he was younger, some pastors began suggesting to Joshua that he should consider entering the ministry. Then he won the "future pastor" award at his church's youth camp, and, "That got me thinking about it. I love Christian doctrine and I care about the souls of others, so becoming a pastor seemed like a possible fit for me." With the encouragement of a pastor, he started his study in Greek and Hebrew in preparation for seminary.
In 2000, he earned an Associate of Arts degree at Bethany College, then continued his studies at Southwest Minnesota University, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in secondary education in mathematics. He worked for a few years before beginning his seminary education at Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary, graduating in 2010 with a Masters of Divinity degree.
Pastor Skogen served churches in Waukon, Iowa and Portage, Indiana before accepting the call to serve as full-time pastor with the Scarville and Center Evangelical churches in 2018. He says it is now such a pleasure to be able to meet and serve the people of the Hartland and Manchester congregations while they search for a full-time pastor.
The Hartland and Manchester churches are a part of the Lutheran denomination affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. They practice a conservative, traditional liturgy.
Pastor Skogen expands on the Evangelical Church’s beliefs: "We believe that the Bible is God's Word, and we submit to it as being authoritative in all that it says. The worship services use the historic liturgy, which we have shared in our Christian Church through generations. It keeps us focused on Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our forgiveness and eternal salvation."