By Bill Anderson

Well, 2008 arrived in Rutland without incident, and 2007 departed right on cue, at the stroke of midnight. Newborn ‘08 got a chilly reception, though, as the mercury dropped steadily on New Year’s Day, plummeting right past the 0 mark by late afternoon, undoubtedly the coldest weather so far this year. We won’t know if it’s a record, though, until December 31.

With the holiday season now over, many folks are wondering what they’re going to do about that extra 10 or 20 pounds they picked up between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. In past years, the only recourse was a New Year’s resolution that usually didn’t last past January 2. This year, though, there is hope. The Rutland Fitness Center, sponsored by the Rutland Park District, has been in operation in the American Legion Hall since December 1, with a number of exercise machines available to work off those extra pounds. Aerobics classes are also being held twice a week in the Rutland Town Hall. Contact Ione Pherson or Jen Christianson for information about aerobics classes or becoming a Fitness Center member. Join up to shape up, firm up and slim down.

2008 is a Leap Year, with 1 extra day, and also an Election Year. With the Presidential campaigns of at least 18 candidates vying for the Democratic and Republican nominations having dominated the news since November of ’06, many are wondering if that extra day couldn’t be postponed and added to ‘09, instead, in order to shorten the campaign season a little, if only by a day. By Thursday evening of this week, the results of the Democratic and Republican caucuses in Iowa will be known, and some candidacies will be abandoned, while a few will move on to New Hampshire to fight it out in the snowbanks, there. North Dakota’s non-binding Presidential preference caucuses will be held on Tuesday, February 5, fairly early in the game by traditional standards, but possibly too late to have much impact on the candidate selection process this time around. The GOP contenders are all disadvantaged by the fact that they have to drag around the baggage of the Bush Administration, which has an approval rating at this point that is lower than that of either the Truman or Nixon Administrations at their close. Bush’s hope is that, like Truman, the passage of time will increase his esteem in the eyes of most Americans. If it happens, though, it will be too late to help this crop of Republicans.

Kathy Stout of West Branch Iowa, escaped from the ice, snow and campaign advertising of Iowa to spend 5 days visiting at the home of her parents, John & Joanne Harris, in Rutland. Because of treacherous weather conditions in the Hawkeye State, Mrs. Stout made the trip by commercial airline this year, flying out of Cedar Rapids on December 26 and returning via Fargo on December 30. She reports that eastern Iowa was hit by a severe ice storm early in December and has 3 to 4 times as much snow on the ground as does this area. She plans to discuss with her husband the prospect of abandoning Iowa’s harsh winters in favor of North Dakota’s friendlier, more temperate climate.

Miss Adrienne Jacobson departed Rutland, bound for Ames IA and a return to college studies on Sunday, December 30. Adrienne is pursuing a pre-veterinary course of study at Iowa State. She is the daughter of Calvin & Wendy Jacobson of this community.

Calvin Jacobson & Norbert Kulzer have both been under the weather this past week, battling holiday colds. The cold virus seems to be particularly persistent this winter, so be careful.

The American Idol Rutland Style competition held at the Rutland Town Hall on New Year’s Eve drew a number of enthusiastic participants, according to the event’s organizers. The American Idol competition was followed by lunch, dancing and merry making with noisemakers, paper hats and confetti. While cleaning up the Hall on New Year’s Day, Jeanne Leinen expressed the opinion that, if the event is held next year, the elimination of confetti may be a good idea.

Anglers continue to report on again-off again fishing success on local lakes and sloughs. One fisherman, though, had a wild time landing a fish in his ice fishing house on Wyum’s Slough, northeast of Rutland, last week. It seems that the fisherman was utilizing a 5 gallon bucket to accommodate an urgent call of nature when, as he perched on the bucket, overalls and long underwear around his ankles, he noticed some action on his fishing line. Grabbing the line, he set the hook and then realized that something much larger than a perch had taken his bait. As he worked the line with one hand, he managed some essential clean-up and pulled up his long johns with the other, but the big fish under the ice didn’t give him time to get his trousers up, too. For more than 15 minutes he played the fish, being careful not to trip on his pants tangled around his ankles, and also taking care not to knock over the bucket which had served as his comfort station. Finally, the fish gave out, and a northern pike weighing more than 13½ pounds was pulled up through the ice. The moral of the story: opportunity sometimes arrives at inopportune moments, and the one who can adapt, improvise and overcome adversity will land the prize. The bait used to catch the big northern was a minnow purchased from the sporting goods department at the Rutland General Store.

Lynn Hartje of Cavalier ND & Rodger Kemp of Minneapolis MN visited Rutland from Saturday, December 29 to Monday, December 31, joining Paul Anderson, a friend from college days, for a weekend of late season pheasant hunting. They report good shooting, although most of the birds were very wild and got up well out of range. Enough held, though, for the hunters to put a respectable number of birds in the game bag. Mr. Hartje had a surprise while crossing a slough on Sunday afternoon when he walked close to a muskrat lodge and discovered the runway to the lodge entrance by falling through the ice into knee deep water. The water was quite cold, he reported. During their stay in Rutland, Mr. Hartje & Mr. Kemp also took time to visit with another old friend from college days, Bill Anderson, and to take in the Sunday brunch at the Rutland General Store. These two men have made their late season hunt in the Rutland area an annual tradition and expect to be back again, in December of ‘08.

Some upcoming events in Rutland next week include Rutland City Council meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 7, at the Rutland Town Hall; and Rutland Community Club meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8, at the Town Hall. Coming up next month will be the annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament on Ground Hogs Day, Saturday, February 2, in the Rutland Town Hall. In March, the Rutland Sportsman’s Club Fish Fry will be served in the Town Hall on Friday, March 7, and the Rutland Community Club’s annual supper and play is scheduled for Saturday, March 15.

Rutland’s internet web site has been offline since last Friday, but it will be back, better than ever. Just keep checking at http://www.rutlandnd.com to see the re-designed and easier to use Rutland site on the internet superhighway. It will be coming back online in the very near future.

The following are excerpts from the L. S. Sanderson column of January 1, 1953: Now that we’re thru with Fifty-two, and a man we didn’t like: A Happy New Year, just get in gear, and we’ll string along with Ike.*Mr. and Mrs. Lester Herman were pleasantly surprised when their son, Dale, was granted a furlough and arrived to spend Christmas at home. Dale is a member of the air force and is stationed in Texas.*Tobin Nelson suffered an attack of appendicitis last week and was forced to undergo surgery at the Britton hospital. He was transacting business in town when stricken and after an examination by Dr. Kuisk, an immediate operation was resorted to. Tobin resides on a farm near Geneseo. *Lester Krohn and wife came up from Minneapolis to spend Christmas with his mother and daughter here. Mr. and Mrs. Krohn reside in Minneapolis. *Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Silseth Jr., were presented with a son as a Christmas present. Mrs. Silseth is at the Meyers Maternity Hospital. *A basketball tournament is being advertised and will be held at Rutland on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2 and 3. High School teams from six of the surrounding towns will compete for valuable trophies. *Emil McLaen was called to the bedside of his uncle, Sam Molberg, who is seriously ill at his home in Midale, Sask., Canada. Mr. Molberg is a former resident of Sargent County who resided two miles north of Rutland.* Mr. and Mrs. McCrory came down from Bismarck to spend Christmas at the home of her father, S. L. Greene. Mrs. McCrory was formerly Miss Harriet Greene. *John Fraaberg is visiting friends here this week and also attending to his farm interests. Mr. Fraaberg is the owner of a farm here, also a farm near Max, N. D. and has a home in Appleton, Minn., where he resides. *“Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot” was the theme song on New Years Eve when everyone stayed up to see the old year out and the New Year in. The song is ended, but the melody lingers on, but 1952 will soon be forgotten in a mad scramble to get the 1952 taxes paid. Off the record, we should say that the most important events in 1952 were the oil development and the nice weather in North Dakota, and the defeat of the democrats at election time. While we are strong for Ike and the new administration, we believe that the record set by President Truman in collecting taxes, selling bonds and going fishing will never be broken.