By Bill Anderson

When Mike & Debbie Banish returned home in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 24, Mike checked their electronic rain gauge and found that it had recorded .9 of an inch of precipitation since he had last checked it back on Tuesday, July 12. The Banishes, along with Mike’s brother, Rick, and friends Mark & Jeannie Bopp had been on a 12-day tour of Alaska that had culminated with a cruise down the Inland Passage from Whittier AK, near Anchorage, to Vancouver BC. The trip, sponsored by the Farmers Union and Colette Travel, had begun with a flight from Fargo to Fairbanks AK via Minneapolis; and a train and bus tour from Fairbanks to Anchorage that took them past Mt. Denali, formerly Mt. McKinley and through the spectacular mountains of the Alaska Range to the port of Anchorage. The scenery, both on land and on sea, was magnificent, Mike stated. The group flew from Vancouver back to Fargo, again via Minneapolis. Air accommodations were supplied by Delta Airlines. But that’s not the entire story. The .9 of an inch of rain mike noticed on his return home had come as the result of several thunderstorms that had rumbled over Rutland and vicinity during their absence. And that’s not the entire story, either. The thunderstorms, in addition to the usual thunder and lightning, had also been accompanied by some hail and high winds in some areas, from several miles west of Rutland to several miles southeast of town. The toughest storm hit on Wednesday night, July 20, damaging crops from the Lock farm in the middle of Rutland Township to east of the Breker farm in Tewaukon Township. The wind destroyed a pole storage building on the Doug & Cher Spieker farmstead, formerly the Clarence & Adeline Breker farm, in Tewaukon Township, and took several hay bales for a nighttime airborne trip to the east. Follow up rains on Thursday night, July 21 & Saturday morning, July 23 were more gentle in their nature and character, leaving a few tenths of welcome rain with each occurrence. Growing crops around the area could use some more rain, but the wind and the ice are phenomena non grata.

Kathy Wyum; Mary Beth Anderson; Joanne Harris; and Patty Breker departed Rutland on Wednesday, July 20, and drove up to Cavalier ND to take in the Frostfire Theater group’s performance of “The Sound of Music” in Icelandic State Park. They were joined at Cavalier by Rutland native Mary (Olstad) Indridson, who accompanied them to the performance. Kathy and Mary Beth had seen the musical a month earlier but were so impressed by the quality of the performance that they wanted to experience it again. A good time was had by all, and justifiably so.

Cayuga native Randy Kiefer stopped by Rutland on the evening of Wednesday, July 20, for a visit with an old friend, Bill Anderson. Randy has been visiting at the home of his sister and brother-in-law, Pam & Keith Hoistad, northeast of Milnor, for the past month. Randy is a bicycling enthusiast, and last year he rode his bike out to Portland, Maine, and spent the Winter there. This Spring, he rode from Maine down to North Carolina, then over to Missouri and up to North Dakota. Randy is planning to continue his summer pilgrimage on Thursday, July 28, when he intends to start riding west, heading for his former headquarters at San Luis Obispo CA. He plans to pause at Sheridan WY for a visit with a niece, Michelle Hoistad, before completing the ride to California. After he arrives in CA, he plans to fly off to Portugal for a bike tour of that country with friends before heading to Morocco on the North African coast to begin a tour of that region of the world, from the northwestern corner of Africa to the northeast corner, at Egypt. Due to hazardous conditions in that part of the world, Randy intends to forsake his bicycle for the comfort and relative safety of bus, train & plane travel. Bill & Randy drove over to Lidgerwood on Wednesday evening, and met up with another old friend, Kevin Oland, at Dee’s Bar & Café. The three enjoyed a very pleasant evening, reminiscing about “the good old days,” when Wednesday night in the Summer would have had every town in rural America full of people doing business. Last Wednesday evening, there were three vehicles on Main Street in Lidgerwood, one was Randy’s, one was Kevin’s and the third may have been abandoned. There were no vehicles on Main Street in Rutland, not even any that may have been abandoned. “The times, they are a’changin’,” sang Bob Dylan, and he was right.

Roger Pearson; Jim Huckell; Mike & Linda O’Brien; Karen Anderson; Gary Thornberg; and Pearl Brakke; were among those from the Rutland, Havana & Forman communities who took in the country music concert in Sisseton on Friday, July 22. The concert, featuring Country singer Jeannie Fricky, was held in the new Teka Kwitha Performing Arts Center at the Wahpeton-Sisseton Community College at Sisseton. Roger estimated that the facility has seating for approximately 500 people on 2 levels. The opening act was a band from Fargo that Roger thought was as good as, or better than, the band that accompanied Ms. Fricky. Jeannie Fricky & her band hail from the State of Texas. Another well-known country music group, the Bellamy Brothers, is scheduled to perform at Sisseton on September 17.

A burial service for Miss Connie McLaen of Minneapolis MN was held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 24, at the Rutland Cemetery. Miss McLaen, age 83, was the daughter of the late Roy & Clara “Tillie” (Jenson) McLaen of this community. She was also a close friend of Elaine (Nelson) Anderson of Forman and Ardy (Brezicka) Crandall of Cayuga. She had a career as an office administrator and executive secretary, primarily in the Minneapolis area, but she worked in Hawaii for several years during the 1960’s and 70’s. Connie had told her friends, Elaine & Ardy, that she wanted her cremains to be interred in a bean pot, and they made sure that her wishes were carried out. A light lunch was served at the Nordland Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall following the burial service. Connie had been preceded in death by her parents. She had no children and no siblings, but she is survived by a multitude of cousins and friends. The Rutland community extends its sympathy to the family and friends of Connie McLaen, a woman of strength, ability, and good humor.

Last week it was noted here that long-time Rutland resident Lary Arneson had passed away at his home here on Thursday, July 14, after a long battle with cancer. He had attained the age of 74 years, 10 months, and 4 days at the time of his death. The funeral for Lary was held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 28, at Nordland Lutheran Church in Rutland with Pastor Julie Johnson officiating. Lary Lee Arneson was born to Densel & Eunice (Lien) Arneson on September 10, 1947, in Veblen SD. He grew up on his parents Tewaukon Township farm in the hills south of Rutland, east of Havana, and attended school in Havana. He graduated from Havana High School in the Class of 1965. After high school, Lary worked on the family farm with his parents until the farm was sold in 1981. Lary and Loretta “Lolly” McNeil were married in 1971. They made their home on the farm until 1981, when they moved to Rutland. During his working career Lary worked for the Arneson Farm, Havana; as a truck driver for Crandall Construction, Cayuga; as the proprietor of the Cayuga Bar, Cayuga; for Roger McLaen Trucking as an over the road driver, Rutland; for Sargent County as Manager of the Silver Lake Park; for the Dennis Pherson farm, Rutland; and, for Northern Plains Ag, Forman. Lary was an avid fisherman and caught his final walleye just a week prior to his death. He also loved lutefisk and was known to consume prodigious quantities of that Scandinavian seafood specialty at local lutefisk suppers each Fall. Lary was preceded in death by his parents; by his wife; by a sister, Kathy Linderkamp; and, by a nephew, Shane Linderkamp. He is survived by one son, Jerry Arneson of Lidgerwood; by one daughter, Kelly Ratigan of Frankfort SD; by 2 granddaughters; by two grandsons; by one brother, Daryl Arneson of Milnor; by one sister, Sandy Grothe of Forman; by a number of cousins, nieces & nephews; and, by a multitude of friends. Burial was in the Rutland Cemetery. The Frank Family Funeral Home of Lidgerwood was in charge of arrangements. The Rutland community extends its condolences to the family and friends of Lary Arneson, a steadfast friend and employee who did the right as he was given the light to see it.

Paul Anderson departed Rutland on the morning of Tuesday, July 26, bound for Lincoln NE to help his daughter, Betsy, move from Lincoln to Las Vegas NV. Paul’s first stop was at Wahpeton ND to pick up the U-Haul truck that was used to transport Betsy’s belongings to her new abode. For some reason, known only to the corporate number crunchers, it is less expensive to rent a U-Haul truck for a trip to Nevada in North Dakota than in Nebraska. Go figure! Paul and Betsy set out from Lincoln to Nebraska on Wednesday morning, and intended to be in Las Vegas by Friday, July 29. Betsy is a college-level history professor and has accepted a position in the history department of a college in Las Vegas for the coming year. Congratulations to Betsy on her new job, and best of luck to Betsy & Paul on making a successful move. Paul expects to be back in Rutland early next week.

Rodney Erickson has been flying the “High Line” for the past couple of weeks, applying fungicides on crops along North Dakota’s northern tier of counties, from Bottineau and Rugby to Devils Lake and Drayton. Rodney reports that the flat ground and big fields in the northern Red River Valley are easier to spray from the air than the hills and potholes in the western and central regions of the State.

For those interested in resuscitating The Lariat Bar in Rutland, a meeting for potential investors has been scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 1, in the Community Room of Stock Growers Bank’s Rutland station. Anyone who is willing to consider making a substantial investment to restore a vital asset to the community is invited to attend. Topics to be discussed will include minimum investment amounts; business organization; business plan; and management of the business.

A retirement party honoring Captain Michael J. Harris USN will be held in the Rutland Town Hall on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. Mike is retiring after 37 years in the Navy. He first served as an enlisted sailor, and then as a Commissioned Officer. According to Joanne Harris, the Captain’s Mom and hostess of the event, the evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a program, possibly brief, on Mike’s career, to be followed by a supper and beverages. The Harris family invites the entire community to join them in celebrating Mike’s career of service to country, community and comrades. That’s 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2, the Deuce of August, at the Rutland Town Hall.

Some upcoming events in Rutland include Rutland City Council meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 1, at the Rutland Town Hall; potential Lariat Bar investors meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 1, in the Community Room of the Stock Growers Bank’s Rutland station; Retirement Party for Capt. Mike Harris USN at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2, at the Rutland Town Hall; and Rutland Community Club meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 8, at the Rutland Town Hall.

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