By Bill Anderson

Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of The American Legion provided the honor guard, and Mother Nature provided the tears, in the form of a day long drizzle & rain, for the funeral of Virgil Hoistad Sr. on Saturday, May 6. As had been reported here, earlier, Virgil’s funeral would be held at his home church, Nordland Lutheran Church, in Rutland, with burial at the home church of his late wife, Donetta (Gulsvig) Hoistad, at Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church near Kidder SD. All in all, the service, the ceremony, and the weather combined to provide a fitting tribute for our late friend and neighbor, Virgil Hoistad Sr. 

Roger Pearson reported that, as of Monday, May 8, he had measured 1.2 inch of rain in his gauge at 409 Gay Street since the 1^st of May, including 1 full inch on Saturday, May 6. Roger’s next door neighbor, Norbert Kulzer, whose rain gauge at 415 Gay Street is only a few feet east of Roger’s gauge, reported 1.1 inch of precipitation from the May 6 rain event. Jesse Brakke said that the electronic gauge at his farm in Section 15 of Ransom Township indicated that he had received 1 full inch of rain on Saturday, May 6, although he is unsure of the effect that the dehydrated spider he found in the gauge would have on the reading. Ione Lunneborg reported 1.7 inch of rain at the Jim & Ione Lunneborg farm in Shuman Township, and Rick Bosse stated that the Brampton area had received somewhere between 2 and 3 inches of rain during the May 6 event. 

Raccoons can be cute little fellows, in the right place and at the right time, but one place in which they are not cute is in a commercial building on Rutland’s Main Street. Many have seen the Facebook photo of 2 raccoons posing in the window of the former Rutland Post Office at 113 First Street. They looked cute, posing as if they were the new Postmaster and Clerk at the Rutland Post Office. Unfortunately, they are also extremely destructive, going through walls, floors and ceilings to get where they want to go. They do not restrict themselves to their original place of abode, either. Like a band of drunken hooligans, raccoons are perfectly willing to trash any location to which they have access. The City of Rutland had previously notified the absentee owner of the building, Dr. Hamilton that the raccoons, and other vermin, were to be removed as soon as possible. A response from Dr. Hamilton was due by Tuesday, May 2. Rutland’s City Attorney, LeeAnn Even, reports that the demand letter sent to the registered agent of Hamilton Enterprises, LLC and to Hamilton Enterprises, LLC required removal of the raccoons within 7 days of receipt of the letter, or, at least, steps such as contracting with a pest removal company for dealing with the raccoons and notifying the city of the estimated timeframe to deal with the raccoons must have been taken. The letter also informed Hamilton Enterprises that failure to deal with the issue would result in the City having the raccoons removed and billing Hamilton for the costs, including attorney’s fees. Well, we suppose that the raccoons, once apprehended, could be charged with impersonating officials of the U.S. Postal Service and sentenced to 10 or 20 years in the Federal Penitentiary. That would keep them off the street, and out of our attics, for a while.

The former Post Office building at 113 First Street has some other problems, too. A section of the brickwork on the lower northwest corner of the building had recently fallen out onto the sidewalk and had remained where it had fallen for several days. On the morning of Wednesday, May 3, Bill Anderson had been walking up to the Rutland Seniors’ Center for the morning coffee session when the bricks tripped him up and he went flying, first into the brick wall of the building, and then onto the concrete sidewalk. Fortunately for Bill, 3 employees of The Lariat Bar: Shauna Bergh; Tyler Weatherby; and Courtney Setter; happened to be out front at the time and saw him go down. They immediately came to his assistance, helped him get back on his feet and get into the Seniors’ Center, where retired nurses Joanne Harris & Cher Spieker took over. Using equipment kept at the Seniors’ Center just in case of such an emergency, they checked blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs before pronouncing their verdict, “You’re going to the Emergency Room!” Bill has dealt with both Joanne & Cher for many years, and knew better than to argue with them, besides, he felt as if he had been hit by a truck. The Forman squad of the Sargent County Ambulance Service was already on its way to Rutland, and Bill was soon on his way to the Oakes Hospital’s er. Nicole drove the ambulance, and Tim monitored Bill’s condition in the back of the vehicle. At the ER, nurses Kristin, Kayla & Kelly assisted Emergency Room physician Dr. Kevin. An X-ray of Bill’s ribs was taken, and no broken ribs were detected. With abrasions cleaned up & bandaged, bruises inspected and vital signs back to normal, Bill was released from the hospital and caught a ride home with his cousin, Andy Harris. Fortunately for Dr. Hamilton, owner of the building, and the bricks, Rutland’s maintenance supervisor, Scott Haan, has since picked up the bricks and gotten them off the sidewalk.

Commencement exercises for Sargent Central High School’s Class of 2023 have been set for the afternoon of Sunday, May 21. Sixteen Sargent Central students are set to graduate this year, and five of them have significant ties to the Rutland community: Gaven Christianson, son of Barry & Jennifer Christianson; Abigail “Abby” Erickson, daughter of Rodney & Andrea Erickson; Joslyn “Josie” Hamilton, daughter of Kenny & Tanya Hamilton; Tyson Siemieniewski, son of Brad & Heidi Siemieniewski; and, Fletcher Willprecht, son of Wendy Willprecht and Kevin Willprecht. Their many friends in the Rutland community honor these graduates for their accomplishments while students at Sargent Central and expect to hear great things about them in the future. Their parents, teachers, advisors, and community have equipped them with thetools needed for success. Now, it’s up to them. Wherever they go, whatever they do, from this point forward, they will always take the values and lessons learned in Rutland, and, as this community goes on, it will retain some of the essence of the spirit and enthusiasm of these young men & women. Congratulations to them, and to their parents, on their graduation from Sargent Central High School, and best wishes to them for their future success. 

A post-graduation reception honoring Gaven Christianson; Tyson Siemieniewski; and Fletcher Willprecht; will be held at the Rutland Town Hall following Sargent Central’s commencement exercises. The parents of Joslyn Hamilton will host a graduation reception in her honor at the Hamilton family’s farm home, 5 miles south and ½ east of Rutland from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 20. The family of Abigail Erickson will host a post-commencement reception in her honor at their home in Rutland following the graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 21.

This year, 2023, marks sixty years since the 14 members of the last Rutland High School (RHS) graduating Class received their diplomas at a ceremony in the Rutland Town Hall on May 23, 1963. Members of the RHS Class of 1963 were: Earl William “Bill” Anderson; Ronald “Red” Bauman; Arthur “Art” Fust; Margaret “Margie” Granlund; Shirley Katchinsky; John Lee; Richard “Ricky” Lee; James “Jim” Marquette; Beverly McNeil; Judith “Judy” Nathe; Edward “Ed” Nelson; Mary Pires; Louis Siemieniewski; and, Patrick “Pat” Young. Faculty members were: Francis “Frank” Bell; Martha Nell Reif; Ernest Randa; and Edward Schense. Today, 50% of the class members are deceased, as are 75% of the faculty. Once, the class of ’63, like today’s class of ’23, stood at the precipice of tomorrow, full of ideas, hopes, plans and ambitions. During their lifetimes the class of ‘63 has experienced war; assassination; Scientific achievements; political corruption; social & economic upheaval; personal success; and personal failures. How well the class of ’63 did in meeting its challenges won’t be know during their lifetimes, and maybe not even then.

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.