Category: Rooster Crows

The Rooster Crows- August 5, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

Back in the 1930’s, our parents & grandparents used to sing, “It ain’t gonna rain no more, no more; It ain’t gonna rain no more. So how in the heck can I wash my neck if it ain’t gonna rain no more.” Well, it finally did rain, and, as those Old Timers used to say, “It always rains after a long dry spell.” We’re looking for that rain around here, but there hasn’t been any precipitation of any consequence for quite a while. Meanwhile, the growing crops have been reaching for whatever moisture is in the soil, and that’s starting to run short on the hilltops. It’s not the first time it’s been dry around here, and it won’t be the last, but, for this summer, it has gone on long enough. We’re ready to be too wet, again.

Steve & Sheila Wyum took off on a summer vacation trip on Friday, July 22, with their first stop at Medora and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where they saw the sights and took in the Medora Musical at the Burning Hills Amphitheater. Next on their agenda was the Little Big Horn Battlefield where a Native American guide from the Crow tribe gave them a guided tour of the area where Gen. George Armstrong Custer and the 7th U. S. Cavalry met their end at the hands of Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and the combined might of the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes. (It should be noted that Crow scouts also guided Custer and the 7th on that fateful day back in June of 1876.) From there, they enjoyed the scenery of the Big Horn Mountains as they headed for Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they took in the Rodeo & Frontier Days. The last stop on their tour was the ranch of Steve’s cousin, Tommy Fabris, a grandson of the late Isabel Kulzer, in northwestern South Dakota. Tom was a professional rodeo bronc buster in his younger days, until one broke his back, once again proving that old cowboy proverb that, “There’s never a horse that couldn’t be rode, and never a cowboy that couldn’t be throwed.” He made a complete recovery, but now restricts himself to horses that can be, and have been, rode. The Wyums returned to their Ransom Township farm home on Tuesday, August 2, known to Icelanders as “The Deuce of August,” and celebrated by them as their National Day.

Debbie & Mike Banish, Rick Banish and Mark Wyum departed Rutland on Thursday, July 28, bound for Belton MO, a suburb of Kansas City, where Debbie, Mike & Rick checked out a motor home RV. They bought one, a 2019 Integra 45’ Motor Home, equipped with a full kitchen, living room, 1 master bedroom & a pull-out sleeping area, 2 bathrooms, a 605 horsepower X1500 Cummins diesel engine and a separate engine with a generator that produces enough electricity to run the motor home’s 3 air-conditioners. “It’s nicer than our house,” said Debbie. While at Belton, they looked up one of Mark’s & Mike’s old classmates, Becky (Reif) Hall, and her husband, Kirby. Becky is the youngest of the 3 children of the Late Rev. Jack & Martha Reif who were part of this community from 1953 to 1964 when Jack served as pastor of the First Baptist Church and Martha was a teacher and principal in the Rutland school system.  Becky & Kirby invited the quartet from Rutland to their home in Belton for supper on the evening of Friday, July 29. Mark served as an unpaid consultant during the trip, and, as any lawyer can tell you, “Advice is worth what you pay for it.”

The TNT Parish, composed of Trinity Lutheran Church of Forman; Nordland Lutheran Church of Rutland; and, Trinity Lutheran Church of Havana; held a joint service at the Silver Lake Park Pavilion at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 31, the 5th Sunday of the month. It was Pastor Julie Johnson’s Sunday off, so Rachel Hoistad from Trinity at Forman conducted the service. Mrs. Hoistad is currently studying for the ministry. Following the service, a pot-luck dinner at which the cornucopia of good, home cooked fare overflowed, was served. Pastor Johnson will be departing for Holden Village WA on Friday, August 5, where she will take part in a retreat for pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She plans to return on Saturday, August 13.

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The Rooster Crows – July 29, 2022

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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.

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The Rooster Crows – July 22 2022

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By Bill Anderson

According to Siri, the little know-it-all who lives in the I-phone, we are now in the middle of “The Dog Days of Summer, that hot, sultry period of time when the days pass slowly and it seems as if Summer will last forever. It won’t of course. The Dog Days of Summer officially begin on July 3 and end on August 11, although they can be extended by a few days on either end, depending on the weather. So far, the weather has been hot and dry. The mercury hit a sweltering 95 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, July 18 with a blast furnace wind out of the west. The heat generated a thunderstorm on Monday night that blew down some tree limbs and left somewhere between 0.001 and .37 of an inch of rain in its wake, depending on which block in Rutland you are talking about. The .37 of an inch reading came from the weather app on Scott Haan’s cell phone, which registers the precipitation that falls at the old Rutland school grounds. The temperature dropped down to the mid-80’s on Tuesday, July 19, and, according to Alexa, a shower of rain that began at about 9:30 p.m. left another .1 of an inch of precipitation on Rutland. Chuck Anderson reports that the rain gauge in his Weber Township farmyard measured Tuesday night’s rainfall amount as .55 of an inch. Meanwhile, the crops keep right on growing. Corn that was knee high on the 4th of July was head high two weeks later, by the 18th of the month. A good rain, say an inch to an inch and a half, would be very welcome right about now. Soybean fields appear to be green & healthy. Whheat fields are filling and some are even beginning to take on that golden, pre-harvest hue. The Dog Days of Summer are doing their job.

Bill Anderson and his 12 year old great-grandson, Brody Mahrer, returned to Rutland on the afternoon of Saturday, July 16, after spending a week in Fredericksburg VA, where they attended a reunion of the U.S. Marine Corps unit that Bill had served with in Vietnam 52 years ago. They made the round trip on American Airlines, flying from Fargo to Reagan National Airport in Washington DC via Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. All flights were on time, or early, and everything went smoothly, Bill reports. Among other activities, those participating in the reunion toured the Fredericksburg Civil War Battlefield on Monday, July 11; drove up to Washington for lunch with James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Senator from VA, former Platoon Commander and Company Commander of Delta Company, 5th Marines on Tuesday, July 12; Visited the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico VA and took in other sites on Wednesday, July 13; toured the Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Wilderness battlefields on Thursday, July 14; and, visited the Vietnam War Memorial Wall and the Marine Barracks in Washington DC on Friday, July 15. Each Friday evening during the Summer months, the Marine Band also known as “The President’s Own,” the Marine Corps Drum & Bugle Corps and the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, all stationed at the Marine Barracks, perform for the public in a “SunsetReview.” The performance began at 8:30 p.m. and concluded at 10:30 p.m. It was very impressive and was enjoyed by all. Those participating in the reunion at Fredericksburg were Marines who had served in Company “D” of the 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam back in 1969 & 1970. Brody also took in King’s Dominion Amusement Park in Fredericksburg on Thursday, July 14, and throughout the week received lessons on how to play “Back Alley,” a card game that the Marines played while in Vietnam, and which they continue to this day. Bill and Brody are making plans to attend next year’s reunion, which is tentatively scheduled to be held in Louisville KY.

The price of gasoline has been dropping since the 4th of July, but it was plummeting in northern Virginia last week. Bill Anderson reports that the posted price at most gas stations between Washington DC and Fredericksburg was between $4.89 and $5.00 on Sunday, July 10, but had dropped to as low as $3.98 by Saturday, July 16. The price of diesel fuel, too, had declined, but not by as much as the price of gasoline.

Harris Construction of Crete, owned & operated by the father-son team of Mike & Mason Harris, has been busy pouring cement for some sidewalk and front step projects in Rutland during the past couple of weeks. A new, handicapped accessible front step has been installed at Nordland Lutheran Church on Cooper Street; a new patio deck has been constructed at the Mark & Kathy Wyum home on First Street; a new sidewalk has been poured at Delores Lysne’s home on Anthony Street; and, a new sidewalk extension across the boulevard to the street has been completed at Paul Anderson’s house on Gay Street. Also, Kathy Wyum has been doing some Exterior Decorating on her own house at 217 First Street, and at the house belonging to Paul Anderson at 309 Gay Street. She has been decorating with lights, flags, pottery decorations and flowers on the front porch.

This community was saddened on Thursday, July 14, when it was learned that long time Rutland resident Lary Arneson had passed away at his home here after a multi-year battle with cancer. The funeral for Lary Arneson has been scheduled for Thursday, July 28, at Nordland Lutheran Church, with burial in the Rutland Cemetery. There will be more about Lary’s life among us next week.

Preparations for Uff-Da Day XXXVII are now in full swing. Rutland’s annual Fall festival with a Scandinavian theme will be on Sunday, October 2, in 2022. Several lefse making sessions have already been held, with the latest on Tuesday, July 19 and on Thursday, July 21. . Chairpersons of the various committees are lining up their helpers for the big event. As of Friday, July 22, there will be 72 days remaining until Uff-Da Day in Rutland on Sunday, October 2, 2022.

The Rutland Roosters played their last home games of the season on Tuesday, July 19, with play commencing at 6:45 p.m. at Lou Sanderson Field. Once again, Lady Luck deserted the Roosters as they dropped 2 games to the Squirrels of Sheldon, the first by a score of 16 to 6 after 6 under the 10 run rule, and the 2nd by a score of 15 to 12 in the regulation 7 innings. It was a tough season, but we’ll get ‘em next year.

Meanwhile, up at the State Capitol in Bismarck, the big “to-do” is over the $1.8 million in unauthorized spending engaged in by the late former Attorney General, Wayne Stenhjem, before his unexpected death earlier this year. The Ag’s office used the money to make improvements to a leased office building owned by prominent ND Republicans, including a State Legislator. Will anything be done to hold anyone accountable for an unauthorized expenditure of $1.8 million of the peoples’ money? Doubtful. No one in Bismarck is even asking why the State is paying millions to lease office space from wealthy Republicans while office space in the State Capitol Building stands empty. The Party of small government likes to spend big when they’re lining their own pockets with public money, it seems.

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 http://www.rutlandnd.com, and take a look at Rutland’s 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.

The Rooster Crows – July 8, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

What would the 4th of July be without fireworks? There was quite a display of fireworks from every corner of Rutland commencing about 10:30 p.m. on the evening of Sunday, July 3, but Mother Nature topped off the evening an hour or so later with a Thunder & Lightning sound and light show of her own. She even added half an inch of rain for effect. 

The heat and humidity of recent weeks, coupled with plenty of soil moisture and a few timely rains, have had crops in this area literally jumping out of the ground. Despite having been planted only a little over a month ago, local cornfields had all surpassed the traditional “knee high by the 4th of July” indicator of a good crop coming. Well, a lot can happen between now and harvest time, and we don’t want to be counting our chickens before they’re hatched, or our corncobs before they’re picked.

Rutland’s City Election was held back on Tuesday, June 14, in conjunction with the North Dakota State Primary Election. The City had two 4-year terms on the Council up for election, and one 2-year term to fill out, Bert Siemieniewski’s unexpired term. Incumbents Rodney Erickson and Lori McLaen had filed petitions to be put on the ballot for the 4-year terms, and both were elected. No one had filed for the 2-year term, though, and some voters wrote in their choice for the position. The result was a tie, with Kathy Wyum and Bill Anderson each receiving four write-in votes. At the Council’s Reorganization meeting on Tuesday, June 28, the two names were put on slips of paper and placed in a bucket. The Council selected the winner by drawing out one name. Bill Anderson was declared to be the victor as the result of his name being drawn. No claims of election fraud, stolen election or shenanigans at the polling place have been made by either Kathy or Bill, and no riotous crowds have assaulted the Rutland Town Hall as the result of the election’s outcome. Bill had previously served on the Council from 1978 to 1985. He says that he intends to work with Mayor Mahrer; City Auditor Banish; and the other Council members: Rodney Erickson; Delores Lysne; and Lori McLaen; to maintain & improve Rutland’s services and infrastructure. In other business at the Reorganization meeting the Council set the first Monday of each month, with the exception of those months in which the first Monday is a legal holiday, as the Council’s regular meeting date; re-appointed Debbie Banish as City Auditor; re-appointed Mike Basingthwaite of Interstate Engineering as City Engineer; and, reappointed Attorney LeeAnn Even as City Attorney. The next meeting of the Rutland City Council is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11, at the Rutland City Hall.

Rutland native Harold Young, now a resident of Mesa AZ, arrived in Rutland on the evening of Thursday, June 23, intending to vacation in his old hometown for a couple of weeks. Harold brought Arizona’s heat and North Dakota’s humidity together for a tropical experience. This is Harold’s first visit in Rutland since the Summer of 2019, pre-pandemic. This time, he was here for the interment ceremony for his mother, Gwendolyn (Prindiville) Young, on July 2, and said that he planned to start working his way back to Arizona on July 6.

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The Rooster Crows – June 24, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

The 4 day stretch from Friday, June 17, to Monday, June 20, was sizzling hot, with the mercury hitting the upper 90’s on Friday and Monday, and getting over the 100 mark on Saturday & Sunday. You could have fried an egg on the sidewalk, if it wasn’t for the fact that eggs now cost about $9.00 a dozen, and are too expensive to fry on the concrete. . As a bonus, Mother Nature did throw in some 50 mph wind just to keep things interesting. The ample supply of soil moisture appeared to protect growing crops from damage, so far, but the thunderstorm that passed through on Monday evening was welcome.  It dropped some more precipitation that alleviated fears of a permanent drought. Roger Pearson reported .3 of an inch in his rain gauge, and both Norbert Kulzer and Larry Arneson reported that their gauges showed .4 of an inch.

Most farmers in the Rutland area completed their planting operations by the June 10 crop insurance deadline for coverage on soybeans. The crop insurance deadline for corn and wheat was back on May 31. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the normal crop acres were prevented from being planted due to this past spring’s excessive moisture, although, for some, the acres prevented from being planted was as high as 40% of normal. Some of those acres were under water, and some were just too soft & muddy to operate machinery on, unless you wanted to leave it there as a permanent landmark. According to Cam Gulleson, the acres left idle due to excess moisture this spring will likely be seeded to cover crops in the next few weeks. The cover crops will be able to be grazed or cut for hay.

According to Siri, the little know it all who lives in the I-Phone, the Summer Solstice arrived at 4:41 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, June 21, so the longest day and shortest night are now behind us. It’s all downhill from here. The next thing we know, it will be 20 below, the wind will be howling and the Christmas lights will be up. At least there are a few things out here on the prairie that are regular and predictable. It is interesting to note that, according to Siri, the Sun operates on Daylight Saving Time during the Spring & Summer months. Will wonders never cease?

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The Rooster Crows – June 17, 2022

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By Bill Anderon

Despite the wet Spring that had delayed field work until the end of May, this community was pleased to get the rain that fell on Friday night, June 10. As soon as it doesn’t rain for a few days, a true North Dakotan starts to worry that it will never rain again, or, that when it does rain it will be too much, too little or in the wrong place. It can’t be helped. It’s in the blood. Roger Pearson reported .3 of an inch in his rain gauge on Saturday morning, while his next-door neighbor, Norbert Kulzer, had .4 of an inch in his gauge a few feet away. Norbert’s reading was matched by the .4 in Lary Arneson’s gauge, 2 blocks to the west. Chuck Anderson reported .37 of an inch at his Weber Township farm6 miles southwest of town; Harvey Bergstrom reported .31 of an inch in the gauge at his farm 3 miles south of Cayuga; and, Kurt Breker had .3 of an inch in his gauge 1 mile south of Cayuga. Another .1 or .2 of an inch was scattered across the countryside on Sunday & Monday, helping to keep lawn mowers and mosquito swatters busy. Well, the old timers used to say that it always dries up after a wet spell. We’ll just have to find out if they knew what they were talking about.

The Annual Rutland Community Block Party opened up at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, with more than 100 community residents and over 3,000 water balloons on hand for the festivities. The Rutland Volunteer Fireman manned the grills, turning out burgers, bratwursts, and hot dogs for participants, and also provided water game facilities for the community’s youth. During the Block Party, Miss Abbie Erickson, daughter of Rodney & Andrea Erickson, and a Senior at Sargent Central High School, was crowned “Miss Rutland 2022; and, Corbin Carlson, son of Bryce & Casee (Hawkinson) Carlson, and Lilith Pavek, daughter of Corey & Sarah (McLaen) Pavek, were awarded the titles of Mr. & Miss Lefse for the coming year. All 3 of Rutland’s reigning royals will be in the 2022 Uff-Da Day Parade on Sunday, October 2, 2022. The Rutland Community Block Party is held each year to give the community’s present, former and future residents an opportunity to get acquainted and re-acquainted, to talk over old times and to make plans for future good times. Thanks to Rutland Community Club President Katie McLaen for the information in this report.

Katie McLaen also reports that the Rutland Community Club met at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 13, at the Rutland Town Hall. The meeting was short. It was reported that the stage curtains in the Town Hall had been repaired and cleaned; and, that lefse production for Uff-Da Day 2022 will commence with a morning and an evening session on Thursday, June 16. Check the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com and the Rutland Facebook page for more information about the dates and times for future sessions. Fourteen sessions have been scheduled between mid-June and mid-August, so far.

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