By Bill Anderson

“Ask and ye shall receive,” the scripture reads. Last week rain was requested on Friday morning, and rain was received that night. That’s a quicker return than Sears-Roebuck or Montgomery-Ward used to make back in the day. It wasn’t a lot of rain in the Rutland area, but, as the Old Timers say, “It’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.” In an unusual coincidence worth noting, the rain gauges of next door neighbors Norbert Kulzer and Roger Pearson agreed that .2 of an inch was the amount received in Rutland. Harvey Bergstrom reported that his rain gauge on the Bergstrom Farm south of Cayuga held “.29 of an inch and 10 mosquitoes,” when he checked it on Saturday morning. Mike Banish reported that the gauge at the Mike & Debbie Banish farm held .22 of an inch on Saturday morning; Lisa Wyum reported that the gauge at the Tom & Lisa Wyum Farm south of Buffalo Lake held .235 of an inch on Saturday morning; Steve Wyum reported .325 of an inch at the Steve & Sheila Wyum farm northeast of Rutland; and, Randy Pearson reported that the gauge at his Shuman Township farm registered .75 of an inch. Reports from the airports at Gwinner and Milnor indicated 2 inches at Gwinner and 1 inch at Milnor.

Mark & Vicky Weber took their business, M & V Consulting, on the road last week, and traveled out to the western reaches of the State to check farm fields for bugs, weeds, diseases and other disorders. The Webers were in Dickinson on Thursday & Friday and checked fields in the Dickinson, Mott, New Leipzig and Carson areas before heading for home on Friday night.

The family of Cayuga native Mary (Kiefer) Breker hosted a Birthday Party in her honor at The Coteau des Prairie Lodge on Saturday, August 6. Mary was actually born in January of 1933, but it was decided to celebrate while the weather was a little more cooperative than it usually is in January. Mary’s parents were the late Bill & Cecelia (Riba) Kiefer, who farmed near Lake Tewaukon at the time of her birth. In 1942 Mary’s Dad and one of her uncles, George “Pete” Kiefer, bought the international Harvester dealership in Cayuga and created a legendary business where customers could buy “…everything from soup to nuts,” and, just in case someone called them on the slogan, they kept a case of Campbell’s soup under the parts counter, and had a penny operated peanut dispenser by the front door. Mary and her husband, the late James Breker, farmed just south of Cayuga and were members of the community for their entire lives. Their son, Kurt, is currently on the farm and one of their grandsons is also producing cattle and grain in the Cayuga area. For many years Mary was the Avon Lady in the Cayuga, Rutland, Geneseo and Havana communities, and she is still known by many and missed by all. The many friends of Mary Breker in the Rutland community wish her a very Happy Birthday, and many more in the future. Mary currently resides at Sheyenne Crossing Assisted Living Center in West Fargo.

Rutland native Bonnie Anderson, now a resident of Brookings SD, was the guest of her sister-in-law, Dianna Anderson, from Friday, August 5, to Sunday, August 7. Bonnie had driven up to attend the Birthday Party for an old friend, Mary Breker, at The Coteau des Prairies Lodge.

Mark Wyum of this community, accompanied by sons Jordan Wyum of McLeod; Rob Wyum of Rutland; and, Jesse Wyum of Minneapolis; and, by grandsons Colton Wyum; Clay Wyum; and, Braylon Wyum; took in a Minnesota Twins baseball game in the Twin Cities on the evening of Saturday, August 6. The Twins took on the Toronto Blue Jays, and added another win to their record by a score of 7 to 3. According to Mark, grandpa, sons and grandsons all had a very enjoyable time.

When the goose season begins, can winter be far behind? Well, one thing we know for sure is that the early season on Giant Canada Geese, the kind that devour soybean fields in this area each spring, will begin before school starts, with the season opening on August 15 and running until September 22. According to knowledgeable staff at the Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge, the daily limit of the big birds during the early season will be 15, with a possession limit of 45. Hunting must be done with a shotgun, no rifles or pistols allowed, and according to Refuge staff, repeating shotguns, whether semi-automatic or pump action, must have a plug in the magazine that limits capacity to 1 shell in the chamber and 2 in the magazine. Hunters during the early season must also have a valid North Dakota hunting license and a Federal Waterfowl Stamp in their possession. The early season on Giant Canada Geese is a tribute to the conservation efforts of sportsmen and wildlife managers that rescued the species from near extinction back in the 1950’s & 60’s and brought it to the point at which the population has become a crop destroying nuisance to farmers, as well as a pest to golf course managers, owners of lake homes and others who don’t appreciate large numbers of geese fertilizing their lawns with slippery, gooey, odoriferous goose poop. Thanks to the staff at the Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge for the above information, particularly to Refuge Administrative officer Jen Christianson of Rutland for directing questions to those with the answers. For additional information about the early goose season call the North Dakota Game & Fish Department at 701-328-6300; or, the Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge at 701-724-3598.

The Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Annual Youth Day is coming up on Sunday, August 21, at the John Narum Memorial Trap & Rifle Range 3 miles west and 1½ miles south of Rutland. Youngsters who want to become acquainted with the proper handling of firearms as well as with archery techniques and fishing methods are invited to come on out to do some trap shooting with shotguns & clay pigeons, and some rifle target shooting, too. The Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Youth Day is one of the largest, and best run, events of its kind in the country. Youngsters are invited to come on out and enjoy the afternoon, do some supervised shooting, enjoy some lunch and win some prizes. That’s on Sunday, August 21. Don’t miss it!

Sargent Central School students will begin the 2022-2023 learning season on Wednesday, August 24. Teachers will be reporting for duty at the campus in Forman to get their classrooms arranged on Wednesday, August 17. Sargent Central Music Teacher Kaia Mahrer says that she is looking forward to having a schedule, again. For old timers, the Sargent Central School District is comprised of the former Brampton; Cayuga; Cogswell; Forman; Havana; and, Rutland School Districts. Sargent Central’s largest graduating class was back in 1970, when more than 70 graduates received their diplomas. Its current enrollment is roughly equal to what the enrollment of the Rutland School District was back in 1962-63. Varsity sports are now a cooperative effort with Sargent Central, North Sargent at Gwinner and Milnor getting together to put teams on the field or on the court. Times change, but the enthusiasm and optimism of students, from Kindergarten to high school seniors, does not. The Rutland community extends best wishes to all of Sargent County’s students, and the best of luck to the Sargent County Bulldogs athletic teams, made up of students from Brampton; Cayuga; Cogswell; Delamere; Forman; Gwinner; Havana;Milnor; Rutland; Stirum; and, Straubville.

Thirty potential investors were on hand for the second meeting concerning the possible acquisition and re-opening of The Lariat Bar at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9, at the Rutland Town Hall. The steering committee that was selected at the August 1 meeting of potential investors: Paul Anderson; Mike Wyum; and, Katie McLaen; reported on progress that had been made during the preceding week. It was decided that a minimum investment of $1,000.00 will be required to purchase 1 share in Rutland Improvement LLC, the entity that has been established to purchase the building, equipment and furniture from Stock Growers Bank, the current owner. A number of prospective investors turned in their pledges, and $170,000.00 was collected. The steering committee will continue to direct the process until an initial meeting of investors in the LLC can be held. In the meantime, a bank account will be established, a title examination will be conducted and the search for a management team will proceed. The Lariat Bar will be back soon!

Calvin & Wendy Jacobson of this community celebrated their 47^th Wedding Anniversary on Tuesday, August 9. That same day a message was received from Mr. Neil Herman concerning the history of the house that has been Calvin & Wendy’s home since their marriage back in 1975. According to Neil’s account, his father, Meredith Herman, acquired the vacant lumberyard office in Veblen back in 1935, disassembled the building, moved it to the Leneue Gulch in the Coteau des Prairie hills south of Rutland, reassembled it, and operated it as a dance hall and tavern until 1940. This was the Big Band era, and the swing music of Red Nickels & The Five Pennies; the polka music of Whoopee John Wilfahrt’s Polka Kings; and, other big name bands of the 30’s & 40’s were often on the dance bill. In 1940, Meredith terminated the dance hall & tavern business, cut the building in half, put new end walls in the two halves and moved one of them a little ways south of the original location to make a house out of it. The other half remained in The Gulch and was later acquired by Earl Lehman for use as a bull barn. In 1944, Neil wrote, his father, with the help of some neighbors, moved the house half of the original building to the farmstead on “The Million Dollar Hill” now owned by Jesse Maly. The movers used 2 farm trucks, tied together back to back so the 2 vehicles were facing opposite directions, loaded the house on the beds of the trucks and, very carefully, moved the house to its new location. A number of improvements and additions were made to the dwelling during the next several years. The Meredith & Nellie Herman family occupied the house as their home until 1952, when the farm south of Rutland was sold and they moved to Colorado. In 1955 Carl & Eleanor Malstrom purchased the farm and moved into the house that had once been part of a lumber yard, part of a dance hall & tavern and a farm home at a different location. In the late 1960’s Joe & Janet Malstrom acquired the farm from Joe’s parents and made their home there. When the Malstrom’s built a new house on the farm in 1975, Calvin Jacobson acquired the old house and moved it to Rutland, the new location being the former site of the Rutland Farmers’ Shipping Association’s livestock sales pavilion, just east of the corner of Ross & Front Streets. The house became the home of Calvin and his bride, Miss Wendy Tveten, a native of Langdon ND. During the past 47 years the Jacobsons have also made significant additions and many improvements to the house. The other half of the original lumberyard office is still a bull barn in the Gulch, to the best of Neil’s knowledge. If you are ever at the corner of Ross & Front Streets in Rutland some dark night, and you get a whiff of spiked malt along with a faint hint of dance music in the air, it’s probably just Calvin & Wendy’s house, reminiscing about “the good old days.”

Meanwhile, on the national scene, a search warrant, a search of a former President’s home, and a former President refusing to testify in a deposition on the grounds that his testimony may incriminate himself, were all in the news this week. The former President in question was not Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush or Barack Obama. Things just keep on getting curiouser and curiouser, don’t they?

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 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.