Rutland Ramblings – Nov. 24, 2023

Three Montana deer hunters with roots in the Rutland community: Glenn Kulzer of Dillon MT; Ross Kulzer of Whitefish MT; and David Kulzer of Condon MT; reported a Whitetail Trifecta on the weekend of November 17 & 18. Glenn & Ross had arrived at their parents’ home in the Swan River Valley near Condon on Friday, intending to do some deer hunting during the week of the Thanksgiving holiday. Ross recalled that they had often seen deer wandering around Dave & Pat Kulzer’s log home and decided to place his rifle near the door, just in case.  Ross’ brother, Glenn, was standing on the front porch, checking out the mountains on the other side of the valley with field glasses, looking for signs of deer in the area. When he lowered the glasses, he discovered a nice four-point buck about 15 yards away, looking at him. Glenn, a National Champion long distance shooter, reached in the front door, grabbed Ross’ rifle, put a round in the chamber and dropped the buck with one shot. On the following day, Saturday, Nov. 18, Ross duplicated Glenn’s success by bagging a second four-pointer in the front yard of the cabin. Ross, too, dropped his quarry where it stood, with one shot. As Ross, Glenn & David went out to field dress the second buck, they spotted a third buck pursuing a doe in a shallow ravine just down the hill to the south of the cabin. This time it was David’s turn to show the boys how the old-timers do it, and he, too, dropped the buck, this one a monster six-pointer, with one shot.  So, in two days the Kulzer boys of Rutland filled all three of their whitetail tags. Everyone, including Miranda, Lilah, Cohen, Sarah, and Granny Pat pitched in to cut up the deer and begin processing the venison. According to Pat, Dave’s big buck was so tough that a sharp knife would be needed to cut the gravy. Congratulations to the Montana branch of the Kulzer clan on bagging their winter supply of venison on the weekend before Thanksgiving! Maybe they’ll bring some along on their next trip to the homeland.

About a dozen members of the 28th District Dem-NPL Executive Committee met at the Rutland Town Hall at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 20.  The meeting was preceded by a 7:00 p.m. social gathering.  Among those present were Co-Chairpersons Mary Schlosser of Edgley and Sarah Dux of Forman.  Also present were Gene & Deb Elhardt of Ellendale, Jenny Millerhagen of Forman, Hal Nelson of Rutland, Bill Anderson of Rutland, Richard Schlosser of Edgeley, Dale Radermacher, Sonja Albertson, Sharon Brady of Ellendale, Kelly Brady of Ellendale, and several others via Zoom.  Among the topics discussed were the success of recent fund-raisers, the Oct. 29 event honoring former State Senator, State Representative and Dickey County Commissioner Jerry Kelsh of Fullerton for his many years of public service, issues raised during the 2023 Legislative Session, the search for 2024 Legislative candidates, and tentatively scheduling the 2024 District 28 Convention for March 23, 2024, two weeks ahead of the Dem-NPL State Convention in Fargo on April 4-6. The date of the district convention is subject to change.  The next meeting of the 28th District Dem-NPL Executive Committee was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 18, 2023, via zoom.

The holiday season is upon us now and the family gatherings and school concerts have begun.  The Gulleson and Wyum’s held their Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday, November 19, at the Coteau de Prairies Lodge. All reports indicate that the food was delicious, the time spent with family and grandchildren was pleasant, and the weather certainly cooperated for the gathering. Chuck and MaryBeth Anderson drove up to Grand Forks on Monday, November 20th, to attend their grandchildren’s school concert. Brynn played the saxophone and Braiden performed a solo and according to MaryBeth they both did great.

The Sargent County Food Pantry 2023 Giving Tree tags for Christmas gifts are available at several locations including Stock Growers Bank (Forman, Rutland, Milnor), and Trinity, GA and Zion Lutheran churches and St. Arnold’s Catholic Church in Milnor. The deadline for dropping off the gift wrapped presents is Friday, December 8.

The Sargent Central student winter concert night was switched to Thursday, December 7th, at the Activity Center. They will have a free will spaghetti supper fundraiser for the student Washington DC trip and a SC Supporters for Education bake sale. For those who will be unable to attend the concert due to the change of date or distance, it will be live streamed at Youtube.com/@SargentCentral.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow Rutland activities and news on the city website, through the blog, and on Facebook. Let the Holiday celebrations and the spirit of the season begin and continue throughout the year.

The Rooster Crows – Nov. 26, 2021

By Bill Anderson

Thanksgiving, at least Thanksgiving dinner, came a week early to the Rutland Seniors Center on Wednesday, November 17. Head cook Janet Kiefer prepared Thanksgiving dinner with turkey; dressing; mashed potatoes & gravy; green bean casserole; cranberries; lefse; and, pumpkin pie with whipped topping; for a total of 33 patrons, 24 who enjoyed their dinner together at the Seniors’ Center, and 9 who had their dinners delivered by “Meals On Wheels,” otherwise known as Roger Pearson & Hal Nelson. Janet and her husband, Cliff, headed south on Thursday, November 18, bound for Dallas TX to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with their son, Andy, and his family. Delores Lysne filled in for Janet in the Seniors’ Center kitchen on Thursday, November 18, and Diane Smith was in charge of dinner preparation on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, November 22, 23 & 24. Rutland’s Seniors are fortunate to have three such talented & capable chefs ready, willing and able to take charge in the kitchen and do the cooking the way their mothers taught them.

Aaron & Silvia Brooks of this community were called to Yuma AZ last week, where Silvia’s father, Alfredo Tastana, was seriously ill with covid-19. Mr. Tastana passed away on Thursday, November 18. According to Silvia, there will be a funeral service later this week at Yuma, followed by interment of her father’s remains at his home community in Mexico. Mr. & Mrs. Brooks expect to be back home in Rutland sometime next week. The Rutland community extends condolences to the family of Alfredo Tastana on the loss of the family’s patriarch. May he rest in peace.

Five of Rutland’s “Happy Warriors:” Mike Mahrer; Kyle Mahrer; Vaughan Rohrbach; Bill Hoflen; and, Jesse Brakke; accompanied by Steve Thorfinnson & Alwood Huckell of Fort Ransom; and, Ray Ohm of Hankinson; departed Rutland on Tuesday, November 16, bound for their hunting grounds in western Kentucky, where the whitetail deer are as plentiful as are cottontail rabbits in North Dakota. The group from Rutland has been hunting whitetails in western Kentucky, near the town of Clinton KY, for the past several years. The area has a combination of small farms and dense woods, ideal habitat for whitetail deer. The local residents consider the deer to be a nuisance and are happy to have hunters come in to harvest the surplus. The hunters expect to be back home by Wednesday, November 24. 

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The Rooster Crows – Nov. 12, 2021

By Bill Anderson

The first weekend in November may have been the last weekend of “Indian Summer” for the year of 2021. Friday through Sunday had temperatures in the 60’s, topping out at 67 degrees (that’s above Zero) on Saturday, November 6. Monday and Tuesday, November 8 & 9, were both bright, sunny days with the mercury hitting the mid-50’s, but the TV weather experts are assuring us that the pleasant conditions will end by Wednesday, November 10. Those dreaded 4 letter words, rain, cold, wind and snow are in the forecast for the days ahead. Farmers with crops still in the field have been running their combines and trucks day and night, trying to reach the end of the harvest before Mother Nature puts an end to it for them. Well, it’s not as if we didn’t know it was coming, and it won’t be the first time, nor the last, that mud and snow have made life difficult for local farmers. Still, it’s always preferable to have the harvest all wrapped up before Old Man Winter arrives, rather than to have him riding in the combine cab with you.

The 2021 North Dakota rifle season for Whitetail deer opened at Noon on Friday, November 5, but local hunters are not reporting much success, so far. The weather has been too nice, and neither the deer nor the hunters have been in the mood for the chase. The situation is expected to improve this coming weekend, though, as more seasonal conditions move into the region.

There has been one report of deer hunter success so far this week. Jim Huckell, who has been successfully hunting deer in the coulees of the Coteau des Prairies Hills south of Rutland since the days of John C. Fremont and Joseph Nicollette, well, maybe not quite that long, bagged a good sized 4 X 5 buck just before sunset on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 9. Jim has farmed and ranched in the hills since his childhood days, and knows every draw and coulee like the back of his hand. When you know the land you’re hunting on; the habits of the animal you’re hunting; and, the characteristics of the weapon you’re hunting with; you’re halfway to deer sausage on the grill.

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The Rooster Crows

October 23, 2020

By Bill Anderson

Mother Nature told Rutland and vicinity that “Enough is enough!” last week as she flipped the switch and turned off the pleasant autumn weather that had lulled some into thinking that Winter might never arrive this year. Old Man Winter hasn’t made his entrance, yet, but the sub-freezing temperatures at night, along with some cold rain showers, and even some light snow showers, are the calling cards announcing his intention to pay a visit in the near future. The cooler weather, along with harvest action, has livened up the whitetail deer bow hunting season, though, as more deer have gotten in the mood and are on the move. Jesse Brakke, with the advice and assistance of his great-nephew, Brody Mahrer, bagged a nice 4-point buck on the old Carl Christianson Farm in the SE¼ of Section 16 in Ransom Township last week, and other bow hunters have also reported success in the past several days. Those afield with shotguns, seeking the elusive ringneck pheasant have also been reporting good shooting in recent days. With nearly all of the soybeans and much of the corn in this area harvested and in the bin, the birds are now showing up and surrendering to their pursuers. The hunter still has to shoot straight, and the assistance of a good dog adds to the chances of success, but 2020 is shaping up to be the best year for pheasants in this area for quite some time.

Joe Breker reported that harvest activities on the Breker Farm south of Rutland wrapped up last week, the earliest harvest conclusion in many years. Joe said that all of the corn was dry enough to put in the bin right out of the field, eliminating the cost of drying that often adds to the expense of harvest. Joe practices “No Till Farming,” so his Fall tillage is done, too.

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Hens Do Crow! Nov. 29, 2019

Sargent Central High School volunteer day was Friday, November 22 (postponed from October due to the snow!). Twelve students helped in Rutland to clean the City Hall, Fire Hall, and Legion Hall. Thanks to the hard working group the City Hall floors shine like they haven’t shined for a while. There were items in the Legion left from Uffda Day that got moved and the Fitness Center equipment in the Legion also got a good cleaning. Seven of the twelve are from Rutland so it was good to get that home-town help.

Sargent Central ‘cleaning crew’
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The Rooster Crows – November 16, 2018

By Bill Anderson

Mother Nature has been supplying all of the cold, snow, wind and ice we ever wanted, and more. Tuesday, November 13, registered the lowest temperature of the season, so far, at -1, but that won’t even register on the discomfort scale in a few weeks. Right now, here in Sargent County, we have a bin-busting soybean crop and the most bountiful corn crop in history in the process of being harvested. From cold to corn, we have everything in abundance in North Dakota. You sure can’t beat that!

Roger Pearson and Mac Pherson report that the siege of cold weather has put ice on all of the local lakes and sloughs which had been producing fish a few weeks ago, putting an end to both fishing from a boat and fishing from shore. Mac estimated that the ice on Sprague Lake could be as thick as 4 inches on Tuesday, November 13, which some ice fishing enthusiasts claim is thick enough to walk on. Mac, however, is a little more cautious, preferring at least 6 inches of ice before he ventures out. Roger has no illusions at all about his ability to walk on water, even if it is frozen, and prefers to wait for warm weather and open water, so he can catch his fish while both feet are firmly planted on dry land.

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