By Bill Anderson

 Winter’s winds can blow and blow, bringing in mountains of ice and snow. Winter’s wild, wooly, and rough as a saw, but it can’t beat Rutland – We’re hanging on til the thaw! Winter storms during the last week of February and the first 2 weeks of March have been the worst 3 weeks of the winter for delays, postponements and cancellations, so far. Since Ash Wednesday on February 22, half of Nordland Lutheran Church’s Lenten and Sunday services in Rutland have had to be cancelled because of impassable roads and impossible driving conditions. In Rutland, the continuous process of removing several inches of new snow, along with newly formed snowdrifts, from the City’s streets each day has left each City block looking like a snow fortress, with parapet walls of packed snow several feet high lining the sides of the streets, and huge piles of snow, resembling the towers and turrets of ancient castles, at each street corner. Caution is advised when crossing any intersection in Rutland these days. Well, this coming Monday, March 20, brings with it the First Day of Spring, and the possibility that Winter’s mighty fortresses may soon be vanquished by a fresh supply of high-powered sunshine. Time (especially Daylight Savings Time) is on our side, and victory in this battle is all but assured.

Saint Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17, in Rutland will be observed with the traditional Irish dinner of boiled potatoes, corned beef & cabbage being served at The Lariat Bar. True sons & daughters of Ireland will want their traditional Irish banquet to be served with a traditional Irish beverage, a pint of Guinness, a dark, stout beer that is made from Irish barley, hops, water and a specific strain of ale yeast that has been used since Arthur Guinness first made the beverage in his brewery at St. James’ Gate, Dublin, back in 1759.  Dublin was also the original home of Jameson Irish Whiskey, a beverage that is also frequently consumed on St. Patrick’s Day in toasts to St. Patrick; to the Irish people; to their history as poets, dreamers, schemers and fierce fighters; and, to their fondness for strong drink and lost causes. So, if you’re feeling lonesome for the Auld Sod of the Emerald Isle this Friday, whether your last name is O’Brien, O’Johnson or O’Kaczinski, stop in at The Lariat Bar in Rutland for a traditional dinner of corned beef & cabbage and the beverages that go with it. You will be entitled to “The Luck Of The Irish,” for the remainder of the year.

City Auditor Deb Banish reports that it was Rutland’s Mayor, Mike Mahrer, who made the temporary repairs to the Rutland Town Hall’s kitchen entrance door. A permanent fix is still being sought, but, for now, Mayor Mike has saved the day.

Birthday cake was on the menu during the morning coffee session at the Rutland Senior’s Center on Monday, March 13. The cake, this month made by Joanne Harris, was in honor of those morning round table regulars with March birthdays, including: Debbie Banish; Kurt Breker; and, Jim Lunneborg. The honorees were treated to a large slice of cake, a hot cup of coffee and a virtuoso performance of “The Happy Birthday Song,” emphatically sung by those present.

Bill Anderson accompanied his cousin, Capt. Mike Harris USN (Ret.) to Fargo on Monday, March 13, to visit his spouse, Kathleen Brakke, at Lilac Homes Memory Care in Moorhead. Mike had business at the VA, and Bill’s purpose for the trip was to observe his & Kathy’s 36^th wedding anniversary with a dinner at Lilac Homes. Kathy was also the recipient of a floral arrangement and a box of chocolates delivered by Dalbol Flowers of Fargo. Kathy & Bill were married on Friday, March 13, 1987, at the Grand Forks County Courthouse, with Cogswell native Judge Kirk Smith officiating. Kathy was in the grocery business in Rutland at the time, and bill was a student at the UND School of Law at Grand Forks. Bill was enrolled in an exchange program that UND had with the University of Oslo, Norway, at that time, so the newlyweds delayed their honeymoon until early May, and then spent the next 2 months attending classes, touring, site-seeing and visiting cousins in Norway & Sweden. They still consider Friday the 13^th, to be their lucky day.

Jerry & Patty Woytassek recently returned from a 3 week vacation on the Texas Gulf Coast, near the port city of Corpus Christi. Jerry stated that they had taken their travel trailer with them, and had a very enjoyable vacation, taking advantage of the warm weather, sunshine and peace & Quiet to unwind and untie the hard knots of a long, hard winter. Jerry reported that the fishing was very good, and that he had caught a number of redfish in the shallow waters of the Gulf. Redfish are among the best of the edible fish available on the Gulf Coast. He said that the water they were fishing in was only about 2 feet deep, and that the boats they used were flat bottomed with a very shallow draft. He said that the boat he was on had a 250 horsepower motor on it so they could get to where the fish were in a big hurry. Jerry also reported that his parents, Bill & Mary Woytassek, who had traded in their Rutland ND address for one at Detroit Lakes MN a few years ago, were vacationing at Green Valley AZ, near Tucson, this winter. They will be home when the spirit, and the temperature, moves them.

Mark & Kathy Wyum of this community enjoyed a long weekend family holiday at the Delta Hotel, formerly the Ramada, in Fargo, from the evening of Friday, March 10, to the morning of Monday, March 13. Among the family members who enjoyed the accommodations, swimming pool and dining at Granite City Restaurant were: Mark & Kathy; Jordan & Miranda Wyum and their children, Colton, Clay, Aunica, Nora & Patrick of McLeod ND; Rob & Dana Wyum and their children, Braylon, Briella, Bryce and Bridger of Rutland; Jesse Wyum of Minneapolis; and, Wendy (Wyum) Honchl of Fargo. Wendy had spent most of the winter in the Rutland community, but had recently relocated to Fargo. Mark stated that the family had spent an extra night at the Delta due to Sunday’s poor driving conditions. Jordan, though, had braved the weather and headed for home on Saturday afternoon to take care of cows & calves. Weather, it seems, is a big deal for people, but is irrelevant to the cows.

Back in “the good old days,” the town barber shop was where a person went to get updated on what was happening in the community. There aren’t many barber shops any more, but those that are still in business still fulfill the same purposes. Nola’s Barber Shop in Lidgerwood is one of the few shops that remain in this area, and Tuesday, March 14, must have been Rutland Day at Nola’s. Shortly after Noon on Tuesday, half a dozen Rutland regulars were either in the chair or on the bench at Nola’s. Joel Susag; Hal Nelson; Mark Wyum; Bill Anderson; Jerry Woytassek; and, Kevin Willprecht; were in Nola’s shop, getting haircuts, swapping stories and relaying the news. Basketball tournaments, vacation trips, the actions and inactions of the legislature, and other topics too numerous to mention were being discussed. Nola said that she heard a lot, but didn’t learn much. Nola’s maternal grandparents were the late Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Edgerton of Cayuga. It’s a heck of a deal, when a person has to get in the car and drive 18 miles just to find out what’s happening in Rutland, but that’s the way it is these days. Time marches on!

The author of this column will be taking a break from the snow, cold & wind of a North Dakota winter to spend next week visiting in Sun City West AZ, at the home of Paul Anderson & Carol Fridgen. Anyone who has news that they would like to get into The Teller or on the Rutland web site should contact Rutland City Auditor Debbie Banish.

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 pay a visit to 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.