Month: July 2018

The Rooster Crows – July 27, 2018

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By Bill Anderson

Sargent County is now as beautiful as it has ever been in living memory. Orvis Pearson, who was born here in 1925, and has farmed here for most of his life, states that he has never seen a crop look so good at this time of the year as does this one, and Orvis has a good memory, too. Early in the morning of Thursday, July 19, another rain event occurred. When the rain paused at 8:30 in the morning, Paul Anderson’s rain gauge registered .65 of an inch, and when it finally stopped that evening the total was 1.3, at least in Paul’s gauge and in Norbert Kulzer’s rain gauge. At Roger Pearson’s however, it amounted to 1.25 of an inch. Harvey Bergstrom reported that the day’s total added up to 3.2 inches at his farm 3 miles south of Cayuga, and the same amount at the old Kleingarn farm north of Cayuga. It was a good rain here, but a torrent of 7.5 inches hit Ellendale, 60 miles to the west, doing considerable damage to crops and roads. Another thunderstorm rolled through the Rutland area at about 2:30 in the morning on Wednesday, July 25, leaving .67 of an inch of rain and cooler, drier air in its wake. Many wheat fields in the Rutland area are now within a few days to a few weeks of being ready for harvest. Harvey Bergstrom is of the opinion that his wheat will be harvested between the 5th and the 10th of August. He and Judy had picked some heads from one field and counted from 30 to 50 kernels in each head. “Looks good,” says Harvey. The “Golden Harvest” begins.

Cameron & Jenny Gulleson; Pam Gulleson; Kevin & Samantha Gillespie; Paul Anderson; and, Bill Anderson; of this community were among the large crowd attending a 2018 campaign event on the evening of Thursday, July 19, at Joel Heitkamp’s home on Lake Elsie, near Hankinson. Mac Schneider, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, and Jim Dotzenrod, candidate for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, were present and addressed the gathering. Mac Schneider is a lawyer in private practice and a former State Senator from Grand Forks, and Jim Dotzenrod, a farmer from Wyndmere, served as a State Senator from this area from 1974 to 1994 and from 2008 to the present. Sen. Dotzenrod addressed 3 main issues: trade, which should be free, fair and open; tariffs, which should be low or non-existent; and, ethanol, which should be promoted to help put a floor under the price of corn and to clean up the environment. To those 3 issues, candidate Schneider added: Healthcare, which should be affordable and available to all; strengthening & preserving Social Security & Medicare, now under attack from the White House and the Congress; strengthening crop insurance, production guarantees and price protection in the Farm Bill; and, controlling the budget deficit, which has exploded under the current GOP controlled Congress and White House. Also attending the event were 25th District Democratic-NPL endorsed candidates for the North Dakota Legislature: Perry Miller, candidate for the State Senate; Bill Berlin, candidate for the State House of Representatives; and, incumbent State Representative Elise Mitskog. Former State legislators in attendance included: former Senator Joel Heitkamp of Hankinson; former Representative Pam Gulleson of Rutland; and, former Representative Don Lloyd of Lisbon. Also attending the event were Rutland natives Sonja (Anderson) Christensen and Corrine (Narum) Romereim, now of Wahpeton. Vote By Mail and early voting will commence on Thursday, September 27, in Sargent County and many other North Dakota counties, according to information obtained from Sargent County Auditor Pam Maloney.

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Uffda Day Parade Seeks Entries

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UFF-DA DAY PARADE –  SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 –  RUTLAND, NORTH DAKOTA

The 34th Annual Uffda Day Fall Festival is coming up in Rutland on Sunday, October 7, 2018.  Again this year, in addition to the other Uffda Day events and activities, we are going to have a parade.  You are invited to join with us to help make this year’s Uff-Da Day Parade one of the best in the event’s 34-year history.

As you know, Uffda Day is a celebration which emphasizes the Scandinavian and pioneer heritage of the Rutland Community.  You and any organizations you belong to are invited to participate in this year’s Uffda Day Parade.  We encourage you to join us in a celebration of the heritage of ethnic diversity that has so enriched our communities.

We ask, but don’t require, that you notify us in advance if you plan to have a unit in the parade, so we have a chance to keep things somewhat (but not excessively) organized.  The parade will form up on the East side of town, on Dakota Street, and will start, promptly, at 1:00 p.m., so plan to have your unit in place by 12:30 p.m., or a little earlier, if possible.  Lyle Erickson, Richard Lysne and their assistants will be on hand to help you find your place in the 2018 Uff-Da Day Parade.  Please fill out the registration form on this letter and return it to Parade Committee, PO Box 100, Rutland ND 58067, or call 701-724-3467.  For additional Uff-Da Day 2018 information, check out Rutland’s internet website at www.rutlandnd.com; take a look at the Uff-Da Day and Rutland Facebook pages; and, look for The Rutland Leader insert in The Sargent County Teller. Whether you are here as a participant or an observer, we hope that you, your family and friends, are able to join us, on Sunday, October 7, 2018, for an interesting and fun-filled day.  Feel free to share this invitation with others.

Sincerely,

Bill Anderson, Lyle Erickson & Richard Lysne – UFF-DA DAY PARADE COMMITTEE

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Type of parade unit (band, float, antique auto, etc.)  __________________________

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RibFest Needs You!

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The 10th Annual Rutland Ribfest still needs some rib cookers/vendors for the event on Saturday, August 4. If you or someone you know would like an opportunity to cook and sell ribs as your own fundraiser, get them together quickly and call The Lariat Bar and Grill at 701- 724-3610 to get on the list of vendors.

The event also includes Junk Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a good variety and number of vendors.  In addition, there will be a free-will garage sale at the City Hall from 10a.m.-2p.m. with proceeds going to Relay for Life and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They will also serve scallop potatoes from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Rutland American Legion Auxiliary will have a pie and ice cream social starting at 3 p.m. at the Senior Center. Bands will also start at Noon so it will be the day to be in Rutland (That is until Uffda Day of course!).

The Rooster Crows – July 20, 2018

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By Bill Anderson

The thunderstorm that rolled through at about sun-up on Sunday, July 15, deposited .25 of an inch of rain in Norbert Kulzer’s rain gauge and .2 of an inch in the gauge of his next-door neighbor, Roger Pearson, and brought along some cooler, drier air in its wake. Norbert and Roger have both noticed an interesting development in their lawns this Summer, the presence of an abundant crop of volunteer corn growing in the bluegrass. For quite a few years, Roger has been supplying the local squirrels with several cobs of ear corn each week. The squirrels, being conservative North Dakotans who have experienced hard times, or think that they might, don’t eat all of the corn, but save some of it by burying it in the ground, “squirreling it away,” so to speak. This year, with the abundant precipitation and warm weather of June and July, the squirrels’ corn caches have all sprouted, providing Roger and Norbert with added incentives to mow their lawns on a regular basis. Corn is a grass, though, so as long as moisture and temperature allow, it will keep coming back. The squirrels have not indicated whether or not they have signed up for multi-peril crop insurance or for the Federal Farm Program. It’s pretty certain that their 2018 corn crop will end in disaster, though, but Roger says not to worry. There’s going to be plenty of ear corn this Fall, and he’ll keep on supplying it as long as the squirrels stay out of his attic.

Weather conditions aren’t so great for growing crops everywhere, it seems. Rolf Odberg of Halden, Norway, a cousin of the Anderson family of this community, reports that this Summer has been the hottest and driest in southern Norway and Sweden in more than 70 years. Not since 1947 have the farmers of that region experienced a total failure of the hay crop, but it has happened this year. Norway and Sweden have numerous small farms, and most of them rely on dairy production for a substantial portion of their income. No hay equals no milk, and Rolf reports that some farmers there have been forced to sell their cows on the slaughter market due to the hay shortage. The increased supply of beef on the local market has depressed meat prices, too, so the farmers’ woes have become even more dire. Fortunately for the farmers of Norway and Sweden, their Viking ancestors homesteaded the island of Iceland, out in the North Atlantic, more than a thousand years ago, and their Icelandic cousins are harvesting a bumper hay crop this year. The Icelanders are selling their surplus hay to their Norwegian and Swedish brethren, rescuing the dairy farms of southern Norway and Sweden, and proving once again that nothing that happens is so bad that someone can’t get some good out of it. Thanks to Rolf for the report. Mr. Odberg and members of his family have visited in Rutland several times in the past few years, most recently for family reunions in 2014 and 2017. Ms. Stephanie Watson of Rogers MN, a granddaughter of the late Rudy & Edna Anderson of this community, is planning to be visiting at the Odberg home in Norway at the end of July, Rolf reports.

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The Rooster Crows – July 13, 2018

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By Bill Anderson

Well, here we are: the Summer Solstice, the mid-point of the Solar Year, was 3 weeks ago; June 30, the end of the first half of the calendar year, was 2 weeks ago; and, the 4th of July, Independence Day, the mid-point of Summer vacation, was just a week and a half ago. Only 5 weeks to go until the kids head back to school. Ain’t that a pip!? Sun, rain, wind and heat continue their work, though, no matter what the calendar, or the School Board, says. The thunderstorm that brought rain to this area on the evening of July 2 and morning of Tuesday, July 3, deposited .5 of an inch on Rutland, according to Roger Pearson’s rain gauge, while the gauge of his next-door neighbor, Norbert Kulzer, recorded .6 of an inch. Everything is back to normal. Another rain on the evening of Sunday, July 8, a Thunderstorm that rolled through at about 8:00 p.m. left .2 of an inch in Roger Pearson’s rain gauge and also .2 of an inch next door, at Norbert Kulzer’s.  Jesse Brakke reported .4 of an inch at his farmstead between Rutland & Cayuga, Jim Lunneborg .65 of an inch at his farm in Shuman Township and Rick Bosse .8 of an inch on Sunday evening, and another .18 at about Midnight to bring the total at Brampton to just under an inch. But that’s not all! The next thunder and lightning show started at about 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 10, and dropped about .75 of an inch of rain on Rutland, with more to the west and southwest, as Rick Bosse reported another inch at Brampton and Judee Silseth reported 1.4 inch at the Silseth farm southwest of Silver Lake. Paul Anderson reports that his electronic rain gauge has recorded nearly 10 inches of rain at Rutland since the 1st of June. By contrast, only about 1.5 inch of precipitation was received during the months of April and May. Some wheat fields in the area are beginning to exhibit that greenish, golden hue that indicates the first round of harvest activity may be commencing around the end of July.  The wheat crop looks very good right now, but, as we know, “…it’s never as good as it looks from the road,” and that’s the truth!

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The Rooster Crows – July 6, 2018

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By Bill Anderson

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to celebrate the independence and liberty of a great nation and a great people, there’s no better way to do it than with the fireworks and fury of a good, old-fashioned thunderstorm. Thunder, lightning, wind and rain rolled through Rutland at about 3:30 in the morning on Friday, June 29, leaving enough water in its wake to do some good, and not enough to do any harm. Roger Pearson reported that his rain gauge showed .2 of an inch, while Norbert Kulzer’s gauge showed .3 of an inch right next door. Shawn Klein reported that .25 of an inch was recorded at Havana, and Dennis Goltz stated that .2 of an inch was received at his farm in Weber Township. Kurt Breker finally broke the drought at his farm 1 mile south of Cayuga with a timely .3-inch rainfall, and Jim Lunneborg reported that .2 of an inch had fallen at his farm in Shuman Township. The precipitation is keeping crops doing well throughout Sargent County. Now, if only there was a price…

Back on July 2, 1776, John Adams predicted that date, the date on which the original Resolution Of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress, would be celebrated with bands, flags and fireworks by future generations of Americans, and Mother Nature honored that prediction with another thunderstorm that rolled through on the evening of Monday, July 2, with heavy rain to boot. As it was still raining as of the writing of this article, though, no report of amounts is yet available. The deluge was reminiscent of “pitchforks and hammer handles,” though.

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