By Bill Anderson

We can always talk, and write, about the weather. We don’t, and can’t, do anything about it, but we sure can comment on it. At times we are so proud and boastful of the pleasant weather conditions in our home communities that an outside observer might think that we actually had something to do with creating it, while at other times our mournful wails against the injustice of harsh weather conditions might lead that same outside observer to conclude that some malevolent being is sending foul weather to torture us poor innocents who have chosen to make our homes here. The weather, though, is neither good nor bad. It is only our reaction to it that makes us perceive it as being one way or the other. As The Bard once wrote, “…There is nothing that is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so…” Well, that being said, after some mighty pleasant weather at the beginning of last week, a mean spirited old cold front moved through this area on Thursday and Friday, May 18 & 19, dropping temperatures down to the low 40’s, and drawing some cold weather clothing back out of the closet. The cold front brought the smoke from Canadian wildfires down to ground level, too, making breathing a hazardous practice for anyone with asthma, allergies, COPD or other respiratory ailments. The cold front also brought trace rainfall amounts to the Rutland area, further delaying Spring planting for a few more days. By Sunday, May 21, though, nearly everyone with crops to plant was in the field, some raising dust and some getting stuck in the mud, but all experiencing the feeling of action, if not the fact. By Wednesday, May 24, the temperature had hit the 90’s, a substantial percentage of the acres intended for wheat, corn and soybeans had been planted and the rocks had been rolled flat in preparation for the combine harvesters that will begin gathering in the golden harvest in a few short months, depending on the weather, of course.

The Rutland Community Club held its regular May meeting on Monday, May 15, at the Rutland Town Hall. Community Club President Katie McLaen supplied the following report: “We made a big purchase at our May meeting, 12 new plastic picnic tables and 2 new aluminum bleachers for the ball diamond at Lou Sanderson Field. Both purchases will be used through the Spring & Summer, as well as at Uff-Da Day in early October! The Annual Community Block Party is scheduled to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, in the City Park adjacent to the Rutland Town Hall. The Volunteer Fireman will be grilling burgers, bratwursts & hot dogs, and Miss Whitney Mahrer will be crowned Miss Rutland 2023. Everyone in the Rutland Community is invited to participate in the Block Party. It’s a great opportunity to greet your neighbors, renew old friendships and make some new ones. There is no charge, and it’s a lot of fun!

So, what the “H” is going on with the U.S. Postal Service now? For many years, the rural routes were classified as either category “J” or category “K”, and the compensation paid to rural mail carriers was based on several criteria, including mileage of the route; number of deliveries on the route; time it took to complete the route; etc. Now, however, the Postal Service has put forward a plan to classify all rural routes as category “H”, a category no one has ever heard of prior to May of 2023. Compensation on all routes will be the same, regardless of miles, deliveries and other criteria. According to at least one carrier who delivers mail to some addresses in Sargent County, the new compensation schedule will result in a reduction of approximately $1,000.00 per month for the carrier serving that route. No one is expected to get a raise under the new system. Additionally, although the Postal Service is advertising for applicants to serve as substitute carriers, the rule will be changed to require regular carriers to work 6 days a week, rather than 5, leaving no days for the substitute carriers to work. Since 2006, the Postal Service has been working hard to make itself unprofitable and to put itself out of business. It has gotten rid of postmasters, clerks and post offices. Now it’s taking aim at the rural mail carriers. It has discouraged customers by raising fees while decreasing service to its patrons. The Postal Service is subject to rules and regulations instituted by the Congress and is under the supervision of the Congress. It is about time that our Congressmen and Senators step up, take responsibility for the disaster they have created, and do something to correct it. The duty of the Postal Service is to deliver the mail in a timely and economical manner. That’s it! Pretty simple. Even a member of Congress should be able to understand it.

Continue reading “The Rooster Crows – May 26, 2023” →

By Bill Anderson

The rain last Thursday & Friday, April 27 & 28, and the wind that ripped and roared through the community from Thursday April 27 through Monday, May 1, felt more like late March or early April than late April and early May, but a quick check of the calendar has confirmed that we are already into the 5^th month of the year with no appreciable field work on the 2023 crop yet completed. Even though the high temperatures have only been up in the mid-50’s lately, the lengthening days have done away with most of the snow that blanketed Sargent County with a layer of the white stuff several feet deep only a few short weeks ago. The forecasted high temperature of 72 degrees for Wednesday, May 3, was the first time that the thermometer has hit the 70 mark since November 1 of last year. 

Local farmers are anxious to get into the field, but some neighbors may have thought that Joe Breker was rushing the season a bit when they spotted Joe out with a self-propelled combine on recently tiled fields on the northerly 2/3 of Section 6, Twp. 129 Rge. 54 LTL, in Tewaukon Township. Joe explained that he was using the weight of the combine to level the filled trenches of the tiling project so he can plant a crop of radishes without wrecking his planter on rocks and dirt clods that were brought to the surface when the tile was installed. The radish seed won’t be ready for harvest until mid to late August. According to Joe, the tile was installed last Fall as part of “The Tri-Farmer Tile Project”, a cooperative effort that involved Joe, Dennis Pherson Jr., and Jerry Woytassek. The tile lines, once installed, allow what used to be excess spring moisture to drain away, taking alkali and other undesirable elements with it, leaving a field that can more easily be planted, and harvested. Joe says that the radishes he plants this Spring will hopefully yield seed that will be sold to other farmers to seed a soil conserving cover crop once their main cash crop, usually corn, soybeans, or wheat, has been harvested. So, although a combine on a bare field at the beginning of May might not be the conventional method of employing that particular implement, it is all part of the no-till and minimum till farming methods employed by many progressive, conservation minded farmers in this 3^rd decade of the 21^st Century. 

Hal Nelson & Bill Anderson of this community drove up to Fargo-Moorhead on Friday, April 28 on a multi-purpose mission. Bill visited his wife, Kathy Brakke, at Lilac Homes Memory Care in Moorhead; Bill & Hal called on Joel Heitkamp at radio station KFGO AM 790 to discuss North Dakota current events and history; and they stopped in to check out preparations for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day program and exhibit that would be presented at the Fargo Air Museum at Hector Airport on Saturday & Sunday, April 29 & 30. They also checked out gas prices at a major Fargo discount store and discovered that the price there was 5 cents a gallon higher than Rutland Oil Company’s price right here at home. That will teach them to buy at home!

Sunday, April 30, was the 5^th Sunday of the month, and was Pastor Julie Johnson’s day off at the TNT Parish. At the Nordland Congregation here in Rutland, lay members presented a skit about the blind beggar whose sight was restored by Jesus on the Sabbath Day. The established church leaders 2,000 years ago condemned both Jesus and the blind man for healing and being healed on the Sabbath. Actors in the skit were: Mike Wyum; Randy Pearson; Steve Wyum; Carolyn Christensen; Kathy Wyum; and Larry Christensen. Those involved delivered the message proficiently, efficiently, and effectively.

Continue reading “The Rooster Crows – May 5, 2023” →

By Bill Anderson

“The Lariat Is Back! Long Live The Lariat!” proclaimed Paul Anderson, President of the Board of Managers of Rutland Improvement d/b/a The Lariat Bar LLC on the evening of Friday, December 9, as shareholders and guests gathered to officially reopen the business and provide a “shakedown” cruise for newly hired employees and newly installed equipment. As expected, there were a few problems getting the new, electronic Point Of Sale (POS) system to properly interface withwaitresses and bartenders, but those problems were ironed out as the evening went on. The older technologies – a beer glass is still a beer glass, a bottle is still a bottle and a pizza oven is still a pizza oven – worked right off, without a hitch. In the Kitchen, the full menu that is intended to be offered to the public is not yet available, but customers were pleased to have a full line of appetizers and pizzas available during the first night of operations. The Lariat opened its doors to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 10, with Silvia Brooks behind the bar, and business was booming from the moment the first customer came through the door until the bar closed at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. “I am a very happy man,” stated Jerry Woytassek, as he surveyed the full tables and the lineup at the bar. Jerry, along with his wife, Patty, is among the 41 shareholders who acquired The Lariat’s building, equipment & furniture from The Stockgrowers Bank earlier this past Fall, and has been working to get it ready to reopen ever since. Even Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus, alias Alwood & Jeri Huckell, came to Rutland from their Summer home in Fort Ransom to participate in opening night festivities. With its 2 jumbo TV screens available, one in the main barroom and one in the back room, it is likely that Santa and his Mrs. will be stopping by again before the football season is over. Bar Manager Sue Kaehler expressed her appreciation to all those who came in to make The Lariat Bar’s revival weekend a big success. It is intended that The Lariat Bar will be open 7 days a week, with abbreviated hours on Sunday. In addition to Ms. Kaehler, some of those on the staff include: Silvia Brooks; Tyler Weatherby; Courtney Setter; Tony Banish; Nicole Flannery; Heidi Siemieniewski; and, Shauna Bergh. The Lariat Bar and its predecessors has been Community central in Rutland since Jack Prindiville first poured a shot of whiskey in Prindiville’s Saloon back in October of 1886. The Rutland community is pleased and proud to have The Lariat Bar as an integral part of the community once again.

For the 2nd time in a month, Rutland & vicinity were hammered by a major winter storm, beginning with rain and high wind on the evening of Monday, December 12, changing to snow and high wind on Tuesday, December 13. The storm, moving up from the mountains of Colorado through Nebraska, was predicted to last through Thursday, December 15. Rutland folks woke up to about 9” of new snow that was about the same consistency as wet cement on Wednesday morning. The wet, heavy snow is expected to be tough on pheasants and other wildlife, but just what the doctor ordered for drought parched pastures and fields. It is wet enough, and heavy enough, to stay put once it touches down. The hard packed snow over a sheet of ice has made travel hazardous, and both motorists and pedestrians are advised to proceed with caution. Students at the Sargent Central School system were disappointed that the storm forced the cancellation of classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, but all successfully managed to hide their disappointment behind big smiles and shouts of happiness as they created snow fortresses and snowmen from the material provided by Mother Nature.

Mike Harris; Andy Harris; and, Bill Anderson; stopped in at the PAM Rehab Center in south Fargo on the afternoon of Thursday, December 8, to visit with Doug Spieker who was there recuperating from the effects of a fractured hip. Doug reported that the rehabilitation therapy had been effective, and that he anticipated being back at his Tewaukon Township farm home the next day, Friday, December 9. Doug’s many friends in Rutland know that he is as tough as nails, and that he will be in town, checking out The Lariat, in the near future.

After several years of unsuccessfully applying for financial assistance to aid with the repair and replacement of damaged sidewalks adjacent to Rutland’s Main Street, Rutland City Auditor Debbie Banish would have been justified to have just given up. Giving up is not in Debbie’s constitution, though, so she kept trying. Finally, her perserverance has paid off. On Monday, December 12, 2022, the City received word that it has been awarded more than $147,000.00 to assist with the sidewalk improvement project. The grant is part of the Federally funded Local Transportation Alternatives Program (LTAP), and it is expected that bids for the work that needs to be done will be solicited this coming Spring.

Mike Anderson; Mike Harris; Ione Pherson; and, Norman Preble; Rutland folks with birthdays during the month of December, were honored at the Rutland Seniors’ Center during morning coffee on Monday, December 12, with a big, thickly frosted birthday cake prepared by the birthday girl herself, Ione Pherson. Friends present entertained the birthday gang with a chorus of the “Happy Birthday” song and many good wishes. All of those honored are over the age of 21.

“Oh, you better be good, you better not cry, you better not pout, and I’m telling you why, ‘cause Santa Claus is comin’ to town!” Santa Claus is scheduled to make his 77th annual pre-Christmas visit to Rutland on Santa Claus Day, Saturday, December 17. According to Rutland Community Club President Katie McLaen, activities will begin at 5:00 p.m. in the Rutland Town Hall. There will be a spaghetti supper, games for all and the award of Christmas hams donated by local businesses and individuals. Santa is expected to make his appearance shortly after 5:00p.m. on Saturday, and will be on hand to listen to Christmas requests from children of all ages prior to distributing the Christmas hams. He’s making his list and checking it twice, he’s gonna find out who’s naughty and nice, so be on hand in Rutland when Santa slides in on the ice.

The Christmas Eve worship service at Nordland Lutheran Church in Rutland is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 24. All are invited to attend and participate. More good news! The Winter Solstice arrives next Wednesday, December 21. After that, more light and less dark. Things are looking up. Of course, it will keep on getting colder for a while, probably until the middle of February, but as long as the Sun is shining a little more each day, we can take it. At least there will be more daylight to illuminate the thermometer.

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 web site at http://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.

It seems that the Rooster has flown the coop this week so there is no weekly news from Rutland. The rooster should be back at the roost next week for another column.

By Bill Anderson

The fierce heat and wild winds that had afflicted this area on Fathers’ Day weekend eased off by Wednesday, June 22, and settled some very pleasant weather on Rutland and vicinity last weekend.  The tough weather didn’t depart without taking a final shot, however.  A rockin’, rollin’, rootin’, tootin’ thunderstorm rolled through on the evening of Friday, June 24, leaving an inch, or more, of rain to our north, but only somewhere between .05 and .1 of an inch at Rutland.  The green and growing crops around here still look good, though, and it appears that there is still ample soil moisture to keep them going, for now.  Well, it has been said that North Dakota is never more than 10 days away from a drought or 10 hours away from a flood, and folks around here would like to stay somewhere in between those two extremes.

A few weeks ago, Virginia Goerger of Wyndmere, a granddaughter of the late Caroline Kulzer Gooley Haring, drove over to Rutland to deliver some posters advertising a community play coming up in Barney ND.  On Thursday evening, June 23, Delores Lysne, Ann Erickson, Janice Christensen, Dianna Anderson, Bev Tesch, Janet Kiefer, Cher Spieker, Kathy Wyum, Mary Beth Anderson, Joanne Harris and Bev Kulzer drove over to Barney to take in a performance of “Don’t Talk To The Actors,” a comedy that was well done and very humorous.  The local ladies had stopped at the Black Pelican in Wyndmere for supper prior to heading over to Barney for the play. “It was a fun evening,” said Bev Kulzer, “and if anyone didn’t have a good time, it was their own fault.”  All of the ladies made it home all right, and there were no arrests reported.  

Mark & Kathy Wyum and Chuck & Mary Beth Anderson harnessed their heavy-duty pickup trucks to their travel trailers and headed north on Friday, June 24, headed for Cavalier ND and Icelandic State Park in northeastern North Dakota. The camping quartet arrived back home on the evening of Monday, June 27. According to Kathy Wyum, they had a very enjoyable trip.  One of the highlights, she said, was taking in a performance of “The Sound Of Music,” performed by the Foxfire Theater Group, in the scenic beauty of the Park.  According to Mark, the highlight of the trip was the thunderstorm that rolled through the Cavalier area on the evening of Friday, June 24, with continuous lightning that lit up the sky from horizon to horizon and heavy rain that washed out a section of North Dakota Highway #32 near the campground in which the Wyums and the Andersons were parked. The campers avoided the damaged area of Highway #32 by taking a different route, through Fargo, on the way home. If you happen to stop in Cavalier one of these days, Mark recommends the home made basil tomato soup at The Blue Fox Café. He said that the basil flavor kind of threw him off, at first, but by the time he finished the first cup of soup, he was ready for another.

Chuck Sundlie reports that he sold his fishing boat, motors and trailer on Saturday, June 25. The boat was equipped with electronic fish finding equipment as well as with 2 motors, one a 90 horsepower unit, and the other a 9.9 horsepower kicker. Chuck had acquired the boat a year ago, but found that he just didn’t have the time to use it as much as he thought he would.  He did stand in it and cast out into the front lawn a few times, he said, but it just didn’t have the same effect as being on the water. The new owner took his prize to South Dakota, said Chuck, and Chuck sent the check to the bank.  Everybody’s happy.  

Greg Donaldson and Hal Nelson drove to Minneapolis on Saturday, June 25, to take in a couple of Minnesota Twins’ baseball games. The Twins played the Colorado Rockies on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, winning the first game by a score of 5-0, and capturing the second contest by a 6-3 margin. The presence of Greg & Hal changed the Twins’ luck, as they had dropped the opener of the 3 game series to the Rockies in a 0-1 squeaker on Friday evening, before the 2 retired Rutland Rooster veterans came to the rescue.

The Rutland Roosters Men’s Slowpitch Softball team hosted the Cowboys from McLeod at Lou Sanderson Field on the evening of Tuesday, June 28. The Cowboys rode roughshod over the Roosters in Game #1, posting a 17 to 4 victory in that contest. Game #2 turned out to be a real slugfest, with the McLeod team squeaking out a 24 to 23 come from behind win. The Roosters next home games will be on Tuesday, July 5, when they are scheduled to take on Hankinson at Lou Sanderson Field. The final home games of the regular season will be against Sheldon on Tuesday, July 19.  Games start at 6:45 p.m. Whether the Roosters win or lose, the staff at the Rutland Park Board’s concession stand at Lou Sanderson Field are winners every time. Come on out to the ballpark to see real pros like Larry Christensen, Andrea Erickson, Hal Nelson and Mac Pherson in action, handling hot dogs, bratwursts, popcorn, soft drinks and other snacks with the grace & skill of gymnasts or ballet dancers, and the repartee is pretty sharp, too.

Members of Rutland’s Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion were called upon to provide graveside military rites for the interment of 2 veterans at the Rutland Cemetery this week. The service for the interment of Noel Liermark, a U. S. Army veteran of the Vietnam era, was at 10:30 on the morning of Tuesday, June 28. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining, birds singing, a gentle North Dakota breeze and the temperature about 70 degrees. Noel served with Military Assistance Command – Vietnam (MAC-V) back in 1960-61, before most of us knew where Vietnam was, or how to spell it. Noel’s spouse, Deborah (Vanderwolf) Liermark, continues to make her home in Rutland.  Members of the American Legion detail for Noel Liermark’s interment included: Post Commander Larry Christensen; Post Chaplain Ted Lee; Sergeant At Arms Cal Jacobson; Bugler Roger Pearson; Color Bearers Andrew Hoflen & Roger Lunde; Doug Olstad; Roger McLaen; Andy Harris; and, Bill Anderson.  The service for Gwendolyn (Prindiville) Young, a U. S. Army  veteran of World War II, was scheduled to take place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, at the Rutland Cemetery. Gwen was residing at her winter home in Mesa AZ when she passed away at the age of 101 last Fall. She remained physically active and mentally sharp to her final day. Gwen’s Army service included an assignment in General Eisenhower’s Headquarters in Algiers during the North African campaign of 1942-43. The Rutland community extends its condolences to the families of Noel Liermark and Gwen Young, and expresses its gratitude for their service to our community and our country.  Welcome Home, Gwen & Noel, and thank you for your service.

Guests at the Joanne Harris home this week are her son & daughter-in-law, Mike & Joy Harris of San Diego CA. Mike, a Captain in the U. S. Navy, is getting ready to retire from the navy at the beginning of November.  Mike & Joy plan to fly back to San Diego on July 9, and will return to North Dakota this coming Fall. During his 37 year Navy career, Mike has served at duty stations on both coasts of the U. S., in the Far East and with NATO Command in Europe.  He began his career as an enlisted sailor on an aircraft carrier, then obtained a commission through the Navy ROTC program at Iowa State University. He said that the toughest part of officer training was learning how to sail a real, wind-powered, sailing vessel. At the present time, the only sailing vessel on the Navy’s list of active ships is The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, commissioned in 1798 and berthed at its home port of Boston MA.  Mike says that, despite the fact that the Navy taught him how to sail a sailing ship, it never assigned him to Old Ironsides. Too late now.

Meanwhile, on the national scene, things are jumping. On Friday, June 24, the U. S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, cranked American legal history back half a century by overturning the Court’s 1973 decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. The 1973 decision had held that the U. S. Constitution protects an individual’s right to privacy, including the right of a woman to control her own body and obtain an abortion if she so decides. The holding in Roe v. Wade had been reviewed and upheld on several occasions during the past 49½ years. The big difference between then and now is the makeup of the Court. Although the 3 Justices appointed by former President Trump had all testified, under oath, at their confirmation hearings that the reasoning and holding in Roe v. Wade was “settled law,” all 3 voted to overturn it.  U. S. Senator Susan Collins, Republican, of Maine, was outraged that the 3 had lied to her, under oath, but she should not have been surprised. After all, they had been appointed by the biggest liar to ever hold public office in the history of this country, so what did she expect?  So, the Party that likes to call itself the Party of “small c conservatives,” and the Party of “small government,” is now celebrating the largest expansion of Federal and State Government power into the private lives of citizens in the history of the Republic, and the first time since the ratification of the Constitution in 1789 that a previously recognized Constitutional Right has been taken away from the people as the result of a Supreme Court decision. As if that wasn’t enough, a former staff member in the Trump White House testified before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U. S. Capitol by supporters of former President Trump, that the former President knew that the mob carried weapons and that he wanted them admitted to the Capitol, anyway, despite their threats to kill former Vice-President Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, among others. As justification for his appalling conduct, his supporters remind us, “You knew he was nuts, and you put him into the White House anyway.” Can’t argue with that.  

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.