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 5^th and the 10^th 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 25^th 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.

More than 80 descendants of the late Obed & Sue (Kulzer) Wyum of this community gathered at Lake Minnewauska, near Glenwood MN, from Tuesday, July 17 through Thursday, July 19 for a multi-generational family reunion. According to Mark Wyum, one of the Wyum grandsons, 2 of the 6 children of Obed & Sue, Phyllis (Wyum) Osmandson and Dorothy (Wyum) Dohman, and 20 of Obed’s & Sue’s 21 grandchildren, participated in reunion activities, which included: water sports; good food; and, a lot of reminiscing. Among those from Rutland who attended were: Steve & Sheila Wyum; Mike & Phyllis Wyum; Mark & Kathy Wyum; Tom & Lisa Wyum; Bradley Wyum; and, a number of their children and grandchildren. Tom & Lisa Wyum now reside on the farm that was once home to Obed & Sue.

Ms. Wendy Sue (Wyum) Honchl of Lisbon MD has been visiting at the Ransom Township home of her mother, Violet Wyum, since Thursday, July 19. Ms. Honchl had also attended the Wyum Family Reunion earlier in the week. She is employed as a medical professional in Lisbon, Maryland, which is situated approximately half way between Baltimore MD and Washington DC.

Forman native Clark “Yogi” Seavert of Wilsonville, Oregon, was in Rutland on Friday & Saturday, July 20 & 21, to attend the memorial service for his old friend, Scott Donaldson. Clark delivered a moving tribute to Scott during reminiscing on Friday evening. Also among the many old friends attending the Memorial Service for Mr. Donaldson were: Sarah (Lee) Dobmeier of Alexandria MN; Pat & Linda Mahrer of Hankinson; Judie (Anderson-Seavert) Grohs of Rosholt SD; Greg Sjothun of West Fargo; Todd Sjothun of West Fargo; Bill Kiefer of Fargo; David Susag of Fargo; Wayne Susag of Minneapolis; Ivan Susag of Fargo; Sonja (Anderson) Christensen of Wahpeton; and, many more.

Curt & Cathy Nebben of this community departed Rutland for a 10 day Summer vacation on Friday, July 20. They intend to see the sights at Yellowstone National Park and all points between here and there before returning home.

Members of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion met at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, July 23, in the dining room of The Lariat Bar, with Post Commander Larry Christensen presiding. The Adjutant’s report informed members that $2,550.00 was available in the Post’s treasury. Responding to a request from 10^th District Commander Tom Manley, also Vice-Commander of Post #215, the members voted, unanimously, to host the 10^th District Fall Meeting in Rutland on the evening of Tuesday, September 19. Members also voted to make a donation to the Sargent Central School Playground fund, and to support Tom Manley’s Legacy Fund motorcycle ride to raise funds for the American Legion’s scholarship program. Tom will join the Legion Riders on a fund-raising ride from Hutchinson KS to Minneapolis MN for the American Legion’s National Convention. Commander Christensen also reminded members of the request from the Uff-Da Day Parade Committee to provide a Color Guard for the Uff-Da Day Parade on Sunday, October 7, and about the Post’s pancake & sausage breakfast that is scheduled for Sunday, October 14, in the Rutland Town Hall. The next meeting of Post #215 will be held at the call of the Commander, sometime prior to the 10^th District Fall Meeting and Uff-Da Day.

Norbert Kulzer reports that he received word on the morning of Tuesday, July 24, that Lou Spiering of Big Lake MN, a friend who was once a familiar figure in the Rutland community, had passed away on Saturday, July 21, 2018, at the age of 84. Lou was the Credit Manager for Allis-Chalmers Credit Corporation during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s, and was well known for his ability to make a deal work for customer and dealer alike. He was proud of his nickname, “Loose Credit Lou,” and had many friends in this area. Lou was an avid upland game hunter, and often spent an Autumn afternoon hunting pheasant in the Rutland area. The Rutland community extends its condolences to the family of an old friend, Lou Spiering, and bids a fond farewell to Loose Credit Lou, a good natured guy who could handle a loan or a repossession with a smile.

Rutland’s 10^th Annual Rib-Fest is on the calendar for Saturday, August 4, 2018, according to Mike Pyle, one of the owners of The Lariat Bar here. The Dusty James River Band is scheduled to provide live music on Main Street from Noon to 4:00 p.m., and the Long Road Down band will have the stage from 6:00 to “0 Dark 30.” Ribs will go on sale at Noon, states Mike, and will be served until gone. There is still plenty of room for rib cookers and other vendors, says Mike, and anyone interested should give Mike a call at 724-3610, or send him a message via the Lariat Bar’s Facebook page. In addition to RibFest activities, a Rummage sale fund-raiser for Relay For Life will be conducted at the Rutland Town Hall, and a Junk Fest fund-raiser for the International Ambassadors of Music trip to Europe in 2019 is also on the schedule for Saturday, August 4.

As of Friday, July 27, there are only 72 days remaining until Uff-Da Day XXXIV in Rutland on Sunday, October 7. Uff-Da Day Chairperson Marcia Brakke states that lefse making for this year’s celebration commences with “Lefse 101 For Adults” at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 7, in the kitchen of the Rutland Town Hall. Anyone interested should call Marcia at 763-221-7862 to register. “Otherwise,” Marcia states, “please join us at the town hall on August 9, 16, 21, and 23, September11 and 13, all times at 9 am and 6 pm. We need volunteers to be a part of this special tradition. Novices and seasoned experts welcome! See you at the Rutland Town Hall for rolling and turning! Uff-Da!”

Meanwhile, on the national scene, the President is telling Americans to believe nothing that they read or hear, and only what he tells them should be believed. At the same time, the White House Communications Office is deleting a segment from the President’s joint press conference with Vladimir Putin, the one during which the President embarrassed himself and our country, from the official White House video and the official White House transcript, even though millions of people heard what Putin said during the live broadcast. George Orwell misjudged the title of his book by 34 years. Instead of “1984” it should have been “2018.” As of Friday, July 27, there will be 81 weeks down and 127 weeks to go until January 20, 2021. This President has embarrassed our country, alienated our allies, antagonized our friends and energized our enemies. The alarm bells are clanging in the night. Is anyone awake?

Well, that’s the news from Rutland for this week. For additional information about what’s going on in the little city that can, check out the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and stop by the Rutland Facebook page while you’re at it, too. Remember to patronize your local Post Office, and don’t forget to keep the pressure on the U. S. Postal Service and the North Dakota Congressional delegation to SAVE OUR POST OFFICE! Later.