By Bill Anderson
The weather roller coaster continues. From downright cold at the middle of last week to pleasant, with the temperature in the high 60’s on Friday & Saturday of last week to windy with a high of 77 on Sunday, culminating in a thunderstorm on Sunday evening that plunged the mercury into the 30’s and made up for its lack of rain with an abundance of violent wind, sharp bolts of lightning and ominous claps of thunder. Up to ¼ inch of rain from Sunday’s storm was reported from Weber Township, Forman and Cayuga, but Rutland and surrounding area received less than .1 of an inch amid all of the sound and fury. Well, as is written in Scripture, it does rain on all, the just as well as the unjust, alike, just not in equal amounts.
Pam Maloney reports that her high school graduating class, the Sargent Central Class of 1977, held a 45th Class Reunion at the Coteau des Prairies Lodge earlier this month. About one-third of the graduates attended and all had a good time reminiscing about the good old days. Pam stated that they enjoyed looking through the old Sargent Central annuals that have now been digitized and posted on Sargent Central’s internet web site at www.sargentcentral.org/digital-yearbooks. Even the handwritten notes and quotes are visible in the on-line versions of the annuals. Sargent Central’s first year, and first annual, began with the 1959-1960 school year. At that time, the District was made up of the Brampton, Cayuga, Cogswell and Forman School Districts. The Rutland and Rutland Consolidated School Districts joined Sargent Central in the fall of 1963, and the Havana School District became part of Sargent Central in the fall of 1969. According to Pam, most of her classmates have now figured out what they want to be when they grow up. Discussions are underway for the 50th Reunion in 2027.
Dan Carlyle of Wadena MN and Dan Kuffler of Scottsdale AZ were in Rutland from Thursday, October 20 to Sunday, October 23, hunting ducks and pheasants in the company of their sons. The group stayed at Ione Pherson’s short term rental property, “The Bird’s Nest,” during their Rutland visit. The 2 men have been frequent hunting season visitors in the Rutland area since the late 1980’s. Mr. Kuffler states that he recently acquired a summer home at Battle Lake MN, where he finds relief from Arizona’s oppressive summer heat. Mr. Carlyle was a classmate of Bill Anderson’s in the University of North Dakota Law School Class of 1988. After several decades practicing law in the courts of Minnesota, he recently changed careers and is now General Manager of the Todd-Wadena Rural Electric Cooperative, a co-op that provides electrical service to farms and rural communities in Todd and Wadena Counties. During many previous visits to this community, the Carlyle-Kuffler duo has been accompanied by Mr. John Nelson and Mr. Bill Spears of Wadena, but those 2 gentlemen stayed home to tend to other business this year. Dan & Dan report that both Mr. Nelson and Mr. Spears are in good health, as full of good stories and as ornery as ever. If any of those stories aren’t true, they should have been. Their many friends in the Rutland community extend best wishes to all 4 of them.
Jesse Brakke of Rutland; Claire Brakke of Madison WI; Janelle Brakke of Fargo; Robert & Darby (Brakke) Sebree of Cincinnati OH; Kaia Mahrer and children: Brody, Julia, Adalyn & Kaitlyn of Rutland; Steve Thorfinnson of Fort Ransom ND; and, Dana & Wanda (Brakke) Rasmussen of Moorhead MN; enjoyed lunch with Kathy Brakke of this community on Thursday, October 20, at the “Porter Creek” restaurant in Fargo. Kathy is the mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, mother-in-law and aunt of various members of the group. She currently resides at Mapleview Memory Care Center in Fargo. All those who attended the gathering report a very enjoyable time.
Rutland native Bonnie Anderson, now a resident of Brookings SD, was a visitor in her old home town from Friday, October 21 to Sunday, October 23. Bonnie was a guest of her sister-in-law, Dianna Anderson, and helped Dianna celebrate her birthday at the Rutland Seniors’ Center on Saturday, October 22. Bonnie’s primary reason for making the drive up to Rutland was to give her younger brother, Jerry Nelson, a training session in how to make apple pies the way their Mother, the late Betty (Colby) Nelson, used to make them. Many here remember that Betty was an outstanding cook, baker & pastry chef, and if anyone went away from her table hungry, it was their own fault. Betty also often contributed her considerable culinary talents to her sister and brother-in-law, Lois & Ralph Nelson, when they owned and operated the Rutland Café from 1962 to 1998. Those were the days!
Six first cousins, descendants of Rutland pioneers Ole & Julia (Peterson) Anderson, held a reunion at Prante’s Restaurant in Wahpeton on Friday, October 21. The following brief report was received from presiding Family Matriarch Sonja Christensen: “…Seven of us gathered at Prante’s – Beverly (Bartunek) Schons of Fargo; Steve & Vickie (Bartunek) Renner of Des Moines IA;, Joanne (Anderson) Harris of Rutland; Paul Anderson of Rutland; Judie (Anderson-Seavert) Grohs of Rosholt SD; and, me, Sonja (Anderson) Christensen of Wahpeton. Beverly & Vickie are daughters of the late Bill & Norma (Anderson) Bartunek; Joanne is the daughter of the late Melvin & Ila (Kronk) Anderson; Paul is a son of the late Earl & Irene (Henjum/Brown) Anderson; and, Judie & Sonja are daughters of the late Rudolph & Edna (Bernt) Anderson. A lot of stories and laughter proceeded around the table. Paul had to leave early to attend to some lake responsibilities, like leaves, dogs, etc. We then went over to my apartment where we had apple crisp and ice cream. The party ended too soon, but a special time was had by all. …” Thanks to Sonja for the report.
Kathy Wyum drove to Minneapolis on Friday, October 21, for a visit with one of her sons, Jesse Wyum, who resides in the area near Lake Bde Makaska, formerly known as Lake Calhoun. Kathy reported that they rented rooms in the Radisson Hotel that is attached to The Mall of America, and took advantage of the very pleasant weather to explore the area around Lake Bde Makaska that includes many classic homes from the Victorian era. Kathy returned home on Sunday, October 23.
John Hoflen of Bismarck ND visited family and friends in the Rutland area from Friday, October 21 through Monday, October 24. John, a 1962 graduate of RHS, was a longtime member of the North Dakota Army National Guard’s pistol and rifle marksmanship teams, and reported that he and his brother, Rob, used up a good part of last Saturday sharpening their shooting skills at the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s John Narum Trap & Rifle Range near Silver Lake. He headed back to Bismarck on Monday, October 24, after one more round of coffee and conversation with the Assembled Wise Men at the Rutland Seniors’ Center.
Stephen Kulzer of Hartford SD and his son, Will Kulzer of Brookings SD, along with their hunting dog, Indy, were visitors at the home of Stephen’s parents, Norbert & Beverly Kulzer, from Friday, October 21, through Sunday, October 23. Stephen & Will were hunting for wild ducks and ring neck pheasants, and had some luck on both counts. One of the ducks bagged by Will had a band on its leg, and he intended to check with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to find out when & where the duck had been banded. During the previous week, from Wednesday, October 12, to Saturday, October 15, Brooke Kulzer, one of Stephen & Ann Kulzer’s daughters, had been a guest of her grandparents in Rutland. Brooke is a graduate of SDSU in Brookings, working on her Master’s Degree, and had just completed a project studying shorebirds and other wildlife on the “Outer Banks” islands on the coast of North Carolina. One of the species they worked with was the sea turtle, which has become an endangered species in recent years, in part because of human encroachment on the turtles’ nesting habitat. Earlier this year Brooke had worked on a waterfowl banding project in southern Arkansas, and she is interested in finding out if the banded duck bagged by Will this past weekend was one that she banded last Spring. Brooke’s & Will’s sister, Lauren, is also a graduate of SDSU at Brookings, and is currently an RN working at a large hospital in Kansas City MO.
Members of Rutland Improvement d/b/a The Lariat Bar LLC Board of Managers met on the afternoons of Sunday, October 23 and Monday, October 24, in The Lariat Bar building on Rutland’s Main Street to interview applicants for the Bar’s management position. A meeting of shareholders has been called for 7:00 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, October 27, at the Lariat Bar.
Mike Harris, accompanied by Mike’s brother, Andy Harris of this community, arrived in Rutland at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 25. Andy had flown from Fargo to Mesa AZ on Thursday, October 20, and met Mike there. Mike had started heading this way with his pickup and 5th wheel travel trailer from San Diego CA a few days earlier. On Monday, October 24, Mike & Andy were in Amarillo TX at 6:30 in the morning, and decided to drive as far north as they could make it that day. They kept driving, stopping only for fuel, and made it all the way to Rutland in one, long, day of driving. Mike is now fully retired from the U. S. Navy, and plans to get in some pheasant hunting around the old home town before moving on.
Meanwhile, Halloween, with ghouls, ghosts, goblins and prowling politicians is just around the corner. Monday, October 31, is the big day for the ghouls, ghosts and goblins, but the politicians have to wait until Tuesday, November 8, for their ship to come in, or sink, whichever it might be. President Biden and former President Trump are not on the ballot this year, but they are hovering over it like a couple of Charles Dicken’s ghosts. Many voters are not enamored of President Biden, but they sure don’t want to return to the mean spirited incivility, chaos, corruption and calumny of another Trump Presidency, either. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Americans will choose whether America’s toughest Grandma, Nancy Pelosi, will be wielding the gavel, or if the whimpering wavering, quivering & quavering Kevin McCarthy will take her spot at the Speaker’s Rostrum. In the Senate, the choice is whether the fast talking New Yorker, Sen. Chuck Schumer, or wily Kentuckian, Sen. Mitch McConnell, will be setting the agenda. Big choices for a big country. In North Dakota, another 2 years of control of the State by big oil and big money appear to be on the horizon. Well, as one pro-Union South Carolina politician said of his State just prior to the Civil War, more than 162 years ago, “It’s too small to be a republic, and too large to be an insane asylum.” Some things in the body politic, like a bad dinner, just have to work their way through the system.
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. 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.
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