The Rooster Crows – March 10, 2023

On March 10, 2023March 8, 2023 By RebelRedIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

As of Friday, March 10, the arrival of Spring, the Vernal Equinox, on Monday, March 20, will be only 10 days into the future. So far, though, there is no sign of the imminent arrival of spring-like weather conditions on the horizon. The weather gurus just predict more snow on more snow, without any letup in sight. The old timers used to advise that Spring, in all her glory, would not arrive until after Easter, which is on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox. In 2023 Easter will be on Sunday, April 9, so don’t look for any nice weather until then, unless an exception to “The Old Timers’ Rule” is found, and then all bets are off.

The actual snowfall amount from the blizzard of Tuesday February 28 and Wednesday, March 1, was higher than the 5 to 9 inches that had been originally predicted. Sargent County Sheriff Travis Paeper was of the opinion that about 10 inches of new snow had fallen on Forman and vicinity by Thursday afternoon. Rutland’s City snow removal specialist, Scott Haan, was of the opinion that Rutland had been blessed with more than 12 inches of the stuff. The snowfall on Sunday, March 5 and the early morning of Monday, March 6, deposited about 2 inches of new snow on the Rutland area, according to City Maintenance worker Scott Haan, with the amount decreasing to the north and east, while Havana reported 7 inches of new snow, with the amount increasing to the south and west. Rutland folks don’t mind being on the short end of snowfall totals at this time of year.

The United States, at least most of it, switches to Daylight Savings Time at 2:00 a.m. this coming Sunday, March 12. At 2:00 in the morning on the appointed day we will all spring one hour into the future, resetting our clocks and watches to 3:00 a.m. We will continue to live an hour ahead of where we would have been without Daylight Savings Time until 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 5, when we will all fal back into the past one hour, regaining the hour of sleep we lost on the morning of March 12. One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, first proposed Daylight Savings Time in America in an effort to save on candles during the Revolutionary War. As there were no Standard Time Zones at the time, though, and every community set its clocks, if it had any, by the Sun, the idea did not catch on. American and Canadian railroads adopted the Standard Time Zones on November 19, 1883, in an effort to keep their trains from running into each other. In 1918, during World War I, the Congress made the railroad’s Standard Time Zones the law of the land, and imposed Daylight Savings Time on the entire nation, as part of the war effort to save on energy. The Day light Savings Time provisions of that measure were repealed in 1919. During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt imposed Daylight Savings Time on the entire nation again, in February of 1942, proclaiming it to be “War Time”, and it remained in effect until the War ended in September of 1945. After World War II, some States continued to use Daylight Savings Time during the Summer months, usually between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and some States just stayed with Standard Time. Minnesota adopted the summer use of Daylight Savings Time, and some of North Dakota’s larger cities on its eastern border, such as Fargo, also adopted it. Later on, North Dakotans approved an initiated measure that outlawed Daylight Savings Time and made Standard Time, or, as Rutland’s John Narum called it, “God’s Time,” the official time of the State. In 1973, during the Arab oil embargo, President Nixon imposed year-round Daylight Savings Time on the entire country as an emergency measure to conserve energy. A lot of people, including John Narum, did not like Daylight Savings Time during the Winter months, and Congress later put Nixon’s proclamation aside with the adoption of the current National Law on the subject. The law has been modified from time to time, but, so far, it has caused no insurrections or revolutions in the Lower 48. John Narum never did adopt Daylight Savings Time, and kept his watch set on Standard Time to the end of his days, and, presumably beyond.

All roads led to Rutland on the evening of Friday, March 3, as fish fry aficionados headed for the little city that can to enjoy the most recent incarnation of the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Annual Great Northern Pike Fish Fry at the Rutland Town Hall. According to Club President, Shannon Hajek, 246 free will donors contributed $4,263.00 for Sargent County’s Food Pantry. Once again, there was fierce competition between the pan fryers and the deep fryers for the public’s favor, and at least one pretty girl, a Rutland native, preferred the deep fried version. The competition is expected to continue into 2024, however, and both groups are fine-tuning their spices and techniques in preparation for next year’s fish fry on Friday, March 1, 2024. Don’t miss it. It’s the best known, and the best tasting, fish fry in the Tri-State region.

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The Rooster Crows – March 3, 2023

On March 3, 2023March 1, 2023 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Thus spoke Hamlet in Act 2, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s tragedy of that name. Poor Hamlet, he couldn’t make up his mind. Almighty God, however, does not hesitate to make a decision when one is desired or required. For instance, after creating man in his own image, without clothing, God pronounced his entire creation, including unclothed men and women, to be “good.” Now, however, in 2023, the Republican dominated North Dakota State Legislature is in the process of adopting legislation declaring that depictions of human nudity in library books is “bad.” The legislature, for the first time in the history of the State, is on the verge of: banning books containing depictions of unclothed humans; censoring the content of books to make sure that they don’t include any pictures that the legislators, in their wisdom, might find offensive; and, imprisoning any librarians who fail to remove offending books from their library shelves. Just imagine, Marian, the Librarian, locked up behind bars, a desperate, corrupting criminal, in the opinions of North Dakota’s Legislators. So, Almighty God, omniscient and omnipotent, has declared that the naked human body is good. The North Dakota State Legislature thinks that the naked human body is bad. It will be interesting to see who wins this argument. At 24 degrees below Zero, though, even the Almighty would most likely agree that some clothing might be a good thing.

Once again, Mother Nature and Old Man Winter have teamed up to give us another winter storm, this one on the evening of Tuesday, February 28, and the morning and some of the afternoon of Wednesday, March 1. As of 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the snowfall amount, at a little over 1 inch, was considerably less than the 5 to 9 inches that the weather gurus had been predicting on Tuesday. The wind had most of the snow up in the air, though, so the total snowfall reading might be considerably higher when it all settles down. The experts were right on when it came to their wind prediction, though. As of Wednesday morning, there was more than enough wind to run multiple windmills that could be pumping water, generating electricity or just providing targets for near-sighted birds to run into. So, are the winter wind, cold and snow good or bad? What about windmills? We’ll probably have to follow Hamlet’s advice, and think about it.

A moving crew consisting of Janelle Brakke of Fargo; Wanda (Brakke) Rasmussen of Fargo; Andy Harris of Rutland; and, Bill Anderson of Rutland; coordinated their efforts to move Rutland native Kathleen Brakke to a new residence east of The Red River on Friday, February 24. Since October of 2019 Kathy had been a resident at Mapleview Memory Care in south Fargo. Her new home is at Lilac Homes Memory Care, 2615 Parkview Drive South, Moorhead MN 56560. Kathy enjoys receiving cards and postcards from friends and family. She also enjoys music, particularly visits from her cousin, Cayuga native Emily (Banish) Wangen, who works with Music Therapy In Motion of Fargo.

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The Rooster Crows – Feb. 24, 2023

On February 24, 2023February 22, 2023 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

Once again, a major winter storm has hammered the region, beginning with some rain, some snow and a lot of wind on Monday, February 20, and continuing with more ice, more snow, more cold and more wind on Tuesday, February 21 through Thursday, February 23. The wind let up for a while on Tuesday morning, but more was promised for the next several days. The temperature took a nose dive from +31 at midday on Monday to -14 at 6:00 on Tuesday morning. State highways were not closed on Monday or Tuesday, but due to ice, blowing snow and high winds, no travel was advised. The mercury registered a cozy -8 on Wednesday morning, February 22, George Washington’s birthday. As George could not tell a lie, we can have confidence that the temperature reading was accurate. The weather gurus are predicting that Wednesday will be the worst day of the storm, with several inches of snow, high winds and a misery index that is through the roof. Thursday is predicted to be a better day, not because it will be nice, but because the beating it inflicts on us is not expected to be as bad as Wednesday’s.

The return to arctic weather has local cattlemen out checking on their cows and heifers, braving cold, snow and wind to assist those expectant mothers that need a little help, and making sure that newborn calves get up, get dried off and get introduced to their self-propelled milk dispensers. Cam Gulleson reports that Gulleson Farm & Ranch has approximately 280 pregnant heifers at the home farm east of Rutland, and 500 cows at their cattle handling facilities on Pickel Hill, between Cogswell & Oakes. As of the morning of Tuesday, February 21, they had 10 new calves on the ground, and only 770 to go. According to Cameron, “We have to be out there with the cattle, anyway, and it doesn’t do any good to complain about the weather, so we might as well like it.”

This community was shocked and saddened on the morning of Monday, February 20, when word was received here that lifelong community member Curtis Silseth had passed away that morning. The memorial mass for Curtis Silseth will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, March 4, 2023 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Forman. Rev. Fr. Timothy Schroeder will celebrate the mass. The Price Funeral Chapel of Forman has been entrusted with Curt’s arrangements. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Curt passed away Monday, February 20, 2023 at his farm home in Weber Township, surrounded by his family, at the age of 73. Condolences may be directed to the family in care of Judy Silseth, 9750 134th Ave SE, Havana, ND 58043. There will be more about Curt’s life among us in next week’s edition of The Rooster Crows.

Since the early 1980’s, The Rutland Sportsmen’s Club Great Northern Pike Fish Fry has been held on the first Friday in March. This year is no exception. The 2023 Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Great Northern Pike Fish Fry will be held on Friday, March 3, at the Rutland Town Hall. This year, for the first time in the history of the event, there will be no advance ticket sales. Those attending the fish fry are asked to make a generous free will contribution, and the net proceeds will be donated to the Sargent County Food Pantry. Serving is scheduled to commence at 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and to continue until: 9:00 p.m.; all the pike filets are gone; or, all the hungry are fed; whichever comes first.

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The Rooster Crows – Jan. 13, 2023

On January 13, 2023January 11, 2023 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

The Rooster Crows is back, for a while, anyway. Life throws us a curve ball once in a while, and you never know when the Umpire is going to shout “You’re Out!” as the ball hits the catcher’s mitt. This past Christmas the weather gods blessed Rutland and vicinity with ferocious blizzards, arctic temperatures and multiple feet of snow. The only time that the weather wasn’t atrocious was when it was worse. Additionally, an epidemic of respiratory infections, influenza and, more than likely, some kind of covid-19 variant swept through the community like the Grim Reaper on steroids, bestowing generous supplies of wheezing, sneezing, aches & pains upon the populace. Fortunately, most around here have had their vaccinations & boosters, so the infections were not fatal, although some victims feared that they might die, and others were afraid that they might not. When the door slammed on 2022 it was “good riddance to bad rubbish,” and no one was sorry to see the old year leave. Its replacement, 2023, has been calm and peaceful by comparison thus far, but that’s a situation likely to change, too. As of Friday, January 13, it is only 66 days until the Vernal Equinox, the First Day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, and we can do that standing on our heads. Until then, keep your overshoes on, your cap pulled down, your collar turned up and your stick on the ice.

The Rutland City Council met at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 9, in the Rutland Town Hall with City Auditor Deb Banish; City Council President Rodney Erickson; and Council members Lori McLaen; Delores Lysne; and, Bill Anderson; present. Mayor Mike Mahrer was absent. Council President Erickson conducted the meeting until Mayor Mahrer arrived. The financial report showed all funds to be in the black. The Auditor reported that the City has acquired the tax forfeited property identified as Lots 1 & 2 of Block 5, Original Addition from Sargent County. Some prior owners of this property include: Mr. & Mrs. Charles Weller; Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Weller; Andrew & Esther Sundlie; Jeff & Katy Kulzer; and, Brad & Rebecca Christensen. The property will be put up for sale on bids later this year. The Council approved an increase in the garbage collection fee of $5.00 per container, and an increase in the sewer fee of $1.00 per household. The Auditor mentioned that the City had not increased garbage & sewer fees since 2005, despite the fact that costs of operation had increased by about 53%, due to inflation, since then. Mayor Mahrer arrived at the meeting in time to conduct the vote. The sidewalk replacement project on the east side of Main Street will be discussed with the City Engineer at the March Council meeting. After reviewing the City’s bills, the Council authorized payment and adjourned. The next meeting of the Rutland City Council is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 6, at the Rutland Town Hall. All meetings of the Rutland City Council are open to the public, and Rutland residents are invited to stop in to observe their city government in action.

The Rutland Community Club met at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 9, at the Rutland Town Hall, following the Rutland City Council meeting. President Katie McLaen reported that club members reviewed the annual Santa Claus Day event that had been held at the Town Hall on Saturday, December 17, and concluded “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Santa Claus will be invited to make his 78^th annual pre-Christmas visit to Rutland in December of 2023, so, he’s coming back, and you had better be good! The next Community Club sponsored event will be the 27^th Annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament on Saturday, February 4, in the Rutland Town Hall. The Community Club is once again planning to serve the scalloped potatoes with ham dinner to tournament participants. Anyone wishing to help out should contact Katie at 701-680-9354. The next Community Club event after the Pinochle Tourney will be the annual Fun Night & Carnival on Sunday, March 26, at the Rutland Town Hall. Club members also discussed a plan to acquire some additional aluminum bleachers for use at Lou Sanderson Field. Uff-Da Day revenues will be used to make the purchase. The next monthly meeting of the Rutland Community Club is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 13, at the Rutland Town Hall. Everyone is invited.

Rutland native Sonja (Anderson) Christensen, a daughter of the Late Rudy & Edna Anderson of this community, and one of the organizers of the upcoming 27^th Annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament that will be held in the Rutland Town Hall on Saturday, February 4, reports that, as of Sunday, January 8, 24 teams had already pre-registered to participate in the tourney. One of the teams includes a 93 year old Dad who resides in Minnesota, and his son who makes his home in Seattle WA. Sonja states that 2 locals: Roger McLaen; and, Stella Bell; have participated in all 26 prior tournaments, and she expects to see them at the 27^th, too. A couple from Forman, Roger & Bonita Ziegler, have played in all but one of the preceding 26 tournaments. Sonja says that anyone who wants to register for the tournament should call her at 701-899-1463 or 701-642-6793, or send an e-mail to cschristensen@midco.net. Sonja states that she is looking forward to greeting many old friends, and making some new ones, at the 27^th Annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament on Saturday, February 4, at the Rutland Town Hall.

Morning coffee hour participants with January birthdays were honored with a chorus of the “Happy Birthday” song and a big slice of birthday cake on the morning of Monday, January 9, at the Rutland Seniors’ Center. Among those with January birthdays were: Ann Erickson; Hal Nelson; and, Bill Anderson. Those not present included: Andy Harris; Pam Maloney; Rick Banish; and, Boyd Jacobson Jr. Happy Birthday all!

Randy McGinnity of RPM Sound Design of Wheatland ND was in Rutland this week, installing new audio-video-streaming equipment at Nordland Lutheran Church. The new equipment is expected to improve sound quality in the Church Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall, and to enhance the worship experience for those tuning in to Nordland’s on-line ministry.

Some upcoming events in Rutland include: Nordland Lutheran Church Annual meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 22, at the Church building in Rutland; 27^th Annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament on Saturday, February 4, at the Rutland Town Hall; Rutland City Council meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 6, at the Rutland Town Hall; Rutland Community Club meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 13, at the Rutland Town Hall; Annual Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Great Northern Pike Fish Fry on Friday, March 3, at the Rutland Town Hall; and Rutland Community Club’s Annual Fun Night & Carnival on Sunday, March 26, at the Rutland Town Hall.

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.

The Rooster Crows – Feb. 25, 2022

On February 25, 2022February 24, 2022 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster Crows2 Comments

By Bill Anderson

The snow began shortly after Midnight, in the early hours of Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 21, 2022. The wind was already blowing at a steady 35 mph, with gusts up to 45. The temperature had fallen off the edge, dropping like the proverbial rock, smashing through the Zero barrier, and staying there for the next four days. The snow just kept on coming, with the counties along the North Dakota-South Dakota State Line receiving more than their fair share. In Rutland, about 12 inches had fallen on Monday, followed by another 6 to 8 inches on Tuesday. Because of the sub-Zero cold, the snow was light and fluffy, which made it difficult to measure as the wind whipped it into huge snow drifts in local farmyards and on city streets. Nothing moved on Monday, and nothing moved on Tuesday, either. Snow drifts blocked the streets, and blowing snow reduced visibility to zero. Local students, who already had Monday off from school due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, got Tuesday & Wednesday off, too, giving them a 5 day weekend during which they all studied and prepared for class projects, just as students have always done on blizzard days. Well, maybe a few of them did that, maybe sometime in the distant past, but hope springs eternal.

The blizzard did not stop Jim Brown. He was out with his trusty snow shovel, wading through the snowdrifts, to keep the doorways and sidewalks of his snow removal customers clear. In some cases the drifts blocking doorways were as deep, or deeper, than Jim is tall. For the most part, Jim’s customers couldn’t get much farther than the front porch once the snow was cleared away from the door, but at least they could get out the door, providing the illusion of liberation, if not the reality. February, the shortest month of the year, has become the longest month of the winter, with high winds, low temperatures and one storm after another piling snow upon snow upon more snow, all on a foundation of ice. This global warming stuff sure is confusing.

Mark & Kathy Wyum hosted a number of youngsters and oldsters at the Rutland Seniors Center on the evening of Wednesday, February 16, for a viewing of two videos concerning Rutland community history. The first video presented was of Rutland’s “Pride Of The Prairie Centennial” celebration from June 25, 26 & 27 of 1982. The video showed the people of Rutland in action as they honored the history of the community with numerous events and activities, including making, frying, flipping and serving “The World’s Largest Hamburger,” a 3,591 pound behemoth, during the celebration. The second video was a medley of film clips provided by the late Dr. Hans Kuisk, who served as a medical doctor in the Rutland community from 1950 to 1956. Dr. Kuisk and his wife had escaped from their native Estonia after World War II, and were sponsored for admission to the United States by the Rutland community. As part of the relocation program, Dr. Kuisk agreed to provide medical services in the community for a period of 5 years. During his time in Rutland, Dr. Kuisk treated hundreds of illnesses & injuries, and delivered dozens of babies at the Rutland Maternity Hospital, with the assistance of Nurse Midwife and community activist Mildred Meyers. Dr. Kuisk was also an amateur movie maker, and made many 8 mm movies during his years here. Over the years, some of his films deteriorated, but about 20 years ago, Dr. Kuisk and one of his sons salvaged some of them, and put together the medley of scenes shown last Wednesday. It was like a window into the past, seeing Rutland and its people as they were back in 1954 & 1955. There were scenes from the Rutland High School Homecoming of 1954, showing the marching bands from Rutland High & Delamere High, complete with their booming bass drums and baton twirling majorettes; Santa Claus Day 1954, with Main Street full of people and cars; scenes showing the construction of Rutland’s municipal water tower and the installation of the water system; scenes from the businesses that served customers on Rutland’s Main Street back in the 1950’s, and many scenes showing the people of the community going about their daily lives. Some of those watching the video on Wednesday evening were in their 70’s & 80’s, and remembered the people and events recorded, and some of those watching the video were preschoolers who got to see what their home community was like in a bygone era, when their great-grandparents were young. All agreed that the videos were interesting, as well as nostalgic, and thanked the Wyums for presenting the program. Bryce Carlson even got to hear his grandpa, Robert Carlson, laugh. You’ll have to ask Bryce about it.

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The Rooster Crows – Feb. 4, 2022

On February 4, 2022February 5, 2022 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster Crows1 Comment

By Bill Anderson

Here it is! The Rooster Crows is back! This writer’s move to a different residence in Rutland is still a work in progress, but the people and pets have relocated somewhat successfully. There are still boxes to open and unpack, and needed items to locate, but, on the bright side, some items have been found that haven’t been seen since the last move, back in 2019. If anyone finds a Rutland High School letterman’s jacket, Class of ’63, please let me know.

The bitterly cold weather endured by North Dakotans throughout the month of January has continued into February. The Ground Hog, Rutland Rasputin, saw his shadow on Ground Hog’s Day, Wednesday, February 2, presaging at least 6 more weeks of winter for this area. Had Rasputin not seen his shadow, winter weather would only have lasted for another 42 days. The high winds and blowing snow that hit the region on the evening of Monday, January 31, and continued on into Tuesday, February 1, even caused Waste Management to reschedule the regular Tuesday morning trash pickup to Wednesday, February 2. Rutland residents were notified of the change by telephone on Tuesday morning. A personal robo-call from the community’s garbage service provider is always appreciated.

The Rutland community was saddened to learn that Violet (Olson) Wyum, a lifelong member of the Rutland community, had passed away on the evening of Tuesday, February 1, at the age of 97 years. She was residing at Four Seasons Healthcare Center in Forman at the time of her death. Additional information about Violet Wyum’s life among us will be in next week’s column. Funeral arrangements had not yet been made as of this writing. Price Funeral Chapel of Forman & Britton will be in charge of arrangements.

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