By Bill Anderson

Summer 2018 left in a huff between sundown on Sunday, September 16, and sunrise on Monday, September 17. At 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon the temperature registered 93 degrees on a south wind gusting up to 45 mph. By 5:00 a.m. on Monday, September 17, the thermometer registered 48 degrees, accompanied by a 20 mph wind out of the north. A drop of 45 degrees in a span of 12 hours. What a difference a day makes! From wind burn to wind chill in 12 hours. The change in the weather also brought with it a few showers of rain, but not enough to get a reading in any of the local rain gauges. According to information obtained from the internet (and that’s always correct, right?) the Autumnal Equinox will occur on September 22 this year, and astronomers declare the Equinox to be the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. However, there is controversy in the scientific community even about the beginnings and the ends of the 4 seasons. Meteorologists use the Gregorian calendar, the one we all use today, to divide the year into 4 seasons, each 3 months in length, and, as far as the meteorologists are concerned, Autumn began back on September 1. So, are the astronomers correct, or are the meteorologists correct? The answer is: YES! At least the meteorologists are consistent. For them, Autumn always starts on September 1 each and every year, but, philosophers say that consistency is “the hobgoblin of small minds,” so being consistent may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Astronomers, however, can’t quite pin down a date. They say that, depending on the year, the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and several other factors, the Autumnal Equinox can occur, and Autumn begin, sometime between September 21 and September 24. So much for the precision of science! Both meteorologists and astronomers agree that after September 22 we will definitely be in the season of Autumn. That’s where the agreement ends, though, as the meteorologists claim that Autumn will end on November 30 and astronomers say that the Winter Solstice marking the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter will occur on December 22. According to the President, the entire discussion is all part of a plot to take the spotlight away from him, and get people thinking about less significant personages, such as God. Could be.

Curt & Renee Larson arrived home on Wednesday, September 5, at the conclusion of a 3-week trip to Europe that had begun on August 14. Their first stop was Amsterdam, where they boarded one of Viking River Cruises riverboats for a journey up the Rhine River to Basil, Switzerland. In Switzerland they rented a car and drove to Frankfort, Germany, where they stayed with a friend who had been a foreign exchange student in the Larsons’ home a number of years ago, and who is now a Doctor practicing Psychiatry in Frankfort. “No comment,” said Curt. They next traveled to Norway to visit cousins of the Larson and Seavert families, and then on to Sweden where they discovered that Renee’s Swedish forebears had been Jonssons in Sweden and that they had taken the Sundquist name, derived from the name of their farm in Sweden, on their arrival in America. It was a great trip, but tiring, according to Curt, and, as with most trips, the best part was arriving back home.

The members of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion met at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 12, in the dining room of the Lariat Bar. Commander Christensen reminded the members of the Post’s Biscuits & Gravy Brunch that will be served from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 14 in the Rutland Town Hall. Preparation for the North Dakota American Legion’s 10th District meeting that will be held in Rutland on the evening of Tuesday, September 18, including: Setup of tables, chairs & speaker systems in the Rutland Town Hall and in the Community Room of the Sargent County Bank’s Rutland Station; Registration Table; Drink Tickets; Tally Report; Color Guard; MIA/POW table; Welcome by the Post Commander; and, the Invocation & Benediction by the Post Chaplin; were discussed. Post members voted to reimburse the Rutland American Legion Auxiliary Unit for food expenses incurred for the 10^th District meeting. The members also decided to display the American Flags on Main Street on September 18th in honor of the 10th District meeting. This is the second time in the past 2½ years that the 10th District has held one of its semi-annual meetings in Rutland. The first was in the Spring of 2016, when the late William E. Smith, a member of the Havana Legion Post, was District Commander. The current 10th District Commander is Tom Manley, a member of Post #215 of Rutland. Tom is serving his second term as Commander and, based on the success of the 2016 Spring meeting, decided to bring the Fall 2018 meeting back to his home Post. The next meeting of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion will be held at the call of the Commander, prior to the Biscuits & Gravy breakfast/brunch/dinner on Sunday, October 14. Officers of Post #215 are: Larry Christensen, Commander; Tom Manley, Vice-Commander; Doug Olstad, Adjutant; Ted Lee, Chaplain; and, Calvin Jacobson, Sergeant At Arms. Post #215 is seeking new members, states Commander Christensen, and anyone interested can contact him at 724-3129.

Lefse Lena and her crew of proficient and enthusiastic lefse makers wrapped up production for Uff-Da Day XXXIV on the evening of Thursday, September 13. According to Uff-Da Day Chairperson Marcia Brakke, the final lefse count as of that date is 3,683. Some lefse will be made on Uff-Da Day, Sunday, October 7, as part of the demonstration of the art in the Rutland Seniors Center.

Pastor Nicholas Rohde officiated at services at Nordland Lutheran Church on Sunday, September 16. Accompanying Pastor Rohde were his wife, Rev. Leslie Rohde, and infant son, James Dirk Lucas Rohde born on August 29, 2018. According to his Mom, James weighed in at 5 pounds 7 ounces and stood 19 inches tall on arrival. By last Sunday, he was already over 6 pounds and had added an inch to his height. On Thursday, September 13, James had accompanied his parents home from Minot. The Rohde family: Nick; Leslie; and, James; are now at home in Wahpeton. Pastor Rohde served the Nordland Congregation in Rutland and the Trinity Congregation in Havana as intern pastor from August 2016 to August 2017 and has provided pulpit supply to both congregations on several occasions since then. He graduated from Wartburg Seminary in Iowa this past Spring and is awaiting his first call. The Rutland community extends a warm welcome to James Rohde, as well as congratulations to his parents.

Rodney Erickson reported that the first soy beans to be hauled to the Rutland Elevator this year arrived on Monday, September 17, and belonged to Roger Nelson of Ransom Township. Rodney also reported that the Rutland Elevator handled more wheat this year than in 2017, but not quite as much as in 2016. The Rutland Elevator is part of the Wheaton-Dumont Co-op, and grain received here is trucked to unit train loading facilities in Britton SD or Tenney MN, usually for shipment to ports on the West Coast and on to markets in Asia. The current trade war with China has made the Asian markets uncertain this year, though.

A crew from Buskohl Construction was in town on Monday, September 17, removing the back entry from The Old Parsonage at 217 First Street. The back entry was removed to prepare the house to be picked up and moved aside so a new and sturdier foundation can be constructed for it. The house was built in 1902 by pioneer Rutland businessman C. E. Johnson. Johnson’s Store stood on the southeast corner of First & Gay Streets, where the Sargent County Bank’s Rutland Station now stands. The First Baptist Church of Rutland acquired the house for use as a parsonage in 1938. Since the 1970’s the house has had several owners, including: Roger & Nora Erickson; Larry & Rita Trygstad; RCDC; Mr. & Mrs. Ken Nelson; Oleo Acres LLC; and, The Old Parsonage LLC. Nelson Electric and Jacobson Plumbing disconnected electric and plumbing hookups on Monday, September 17, and Schmidt Moving of Wyndmere was in town on Tuesday, September 18, getting the house ready to be picked up and moved aside so the new foundation can be installed. Nick Schmidt III runs the moving crew like his father and grandfather did before him, so, if you want to see the old house move, you’d better watch quick, because they move fast.

The Tenth District American Legion meeting held here on Tuesday, September 18, was judged a success by District Commander Tom Manley. Sixteen of the District’s 25 Posts located in Dickey, Lamoure, Ransom, Richland and Sargent Counties were represented by the 41 members of the American Legion in attendance, according to the report delivered by Post #215 Adjutant Doug Olstad. Thirty members of the American Legion Auxiliary Units in the District attended the District meeting. Preceding the meeting, the Rutland Auxiliary Unit served a supper of Rutland scalloped potatoes with ham, corn, buns and bars in the Rutland Town Hall. Meetings were then held in the Town Hall and in the Community Room of the Sargent County Bank’s Rutland Station. Legion membership in North Dakota peaked in 1976 at more than 35,000. Currently the Department of North Dakota has more than 13,000 members, which is comparable to the 11,000 that it had during its first year of existence, 1919-20. The next 10^th District Legion meeting will be held in late March or early April of 2019.

Norbert & Beverly Kulzer of this community arrived home on the evening of Tuesday, September 18, at the conclusion of a 10-day road trip that had begun on the morning of Sunday, September 9, and took them to Branson MO, Wichita KS and all points in between. Norbert reports that driving conditions were good for the entire trip, but air-conditioning was a necessity in the 100+ degree heat at Branson last weekend. They spent several days in Branson, attending a number of shows in the theaters there. They then traveled over to Wichita to spend a few days with their son & daughter-in-law, Stan & Karen Kulzer, who had recently moved there from their longtime home in Brandon SD. Norbert states that it was a nice trip, but it’s good to get home.

Meanwhile, on the national scene, a Supreme Court nominee may be derailed by high school stupidity that occurred 35 years ago, the President’s former #1 man pleads “GUILTY!” and flips on his former boss; and, the President throws classified information to the barbarians at the gates while his own advisors tell him, “Don’t do it!” If anyone else did what the President did last week, they would be accused of treason by the same folks who now make excuses for behavior that would be considered based in ignorance and stupidity if the evil it creates was not so dangerous for the entire country. Even Nixon’s supporters finally had to admit that he really was a crook. As of Friday, September 21, there will be 86 weeks down and 122 to go until January 20, 2021. God bless Robert Mueller.

Well, that’s the news from Rutland for this week. For additional information about what’s going on in the little city that can, stop by the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and check out 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.