Gwen Prindiville Young – rutlandramblings

By Bill Anderson

What would the 4^th 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 4^th 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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By Bill Anderson

The 1 to 3 inches of snow predicted for Rutland and vicinity on the afternoon and evening of Friday, December 17, and the morning of Saturday, December 18, turned out to be about a foot of the fluffy white stuff. Maybe the hyphen shouldn’t have been between the 1 and the 3. The heaviest snowfall in the region was along the State Line, from Ellendale to Fairmount. According to the official Kulzer’s Hardware yardstick, 12 inches of snow fell in Rutland, and 13 inches were awarded to our neighbors in Havana. City Maintenance man Scott Haan was out opening streets in the still dark hours of early morning and kept at it all day long. It looks as if Rutland’s late Mayor, Ron Narum, has a worthy successor in the snow pushing department.

This community was saddened last Thursday when word was received here that Gwendolyn (Prindiville) Young of Rutland had passed away on Tuesday, December 14, at her winter home in Mesa AZ. Gwen had attained the age of 101 years, 3 months and 27 days at the time of her death. Gwendolyn Prindiville was born on August 17, 1920, on the Prindiville farm just south of Rutland, to John D. & Naomi (Barnhart) Prindiville. She was the second of their 6 children, and their only daughter. Gwen grew up in the Rutland community and completed both elementary and high school in Rutland, graduating in the RHS Class of ’38. Gwen’s high school class suffered tragedy when 4 RHS students were killed and 4 were injured in a collision with a Great Northern Railway locomotive near Fairmount during “Skip Day” just prior to graduation. At the outbreak of World War II, Gwen enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and participated in the invasion of North Africa in November of 1942 as a member of General Eisenhower’s headquarters staff. She served in Eisenhower’s headquarters in Algiers in 1943. While in Algiers, she met and married another soldier, John Young of Chicago IL. Following her military service, Gwen returned to Rutland. She and her husband had 4 children: John; Patrick; Harold; and Vincent. After being discharged from the Army and returning to Rutland, Gwen was employed as secretary by the Sargent County States Attorney, and later as office manager for the Sargent County office of the USDA’s Farmers Home Administration. In 1961 she succeeded her father as Postmaster at the Rutland Post Office, and she served in that capacity until her retirement in 1981. Gwen was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church; of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion, and of the American Legion Auxiliary; of the Rutland Community Club; and, of the Friendly Garden Club. She is survived by 2 sons: Harold Young; and Vincent Young; both of Mesa AZ; by 2 brothers: John “Pat” Prindiville of Horace ND; and Alan “Mike” Prindiville of Spokane WA; by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and, by a host of friends. She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; by 3 brothers: Dennis; Gerald; and Roger; and by 2 of her sons: John; and Patrick. Gwen donated her body to a medical school in Arizona for medical research and training. A celebration of her life and inurnment of her cremains will take place in Rutland this coming Spring. The Rutland community extends condolences to the family and friends of Gwendolyn Young, a strong and resourceful woman who endured hard times with calm strength and good cheer.

Rutland native Corrine (Narum) Romereim of Wahpeton reports that she is making a good recovery after an accident back in October that left her with a broken wrist, a fractured pelvis and a large bump on her head. Corrine said that she had stepped outside her farm home west of Wahpeton to help untangle a dog that had wrapped its lead rope around a porch post. Once freed, the dog was so excited that it wrapped the rope around Corrine’s ankles, causing her to fall on the concrete driveway. “It can happen fast,” said Corrine. “You’re OK one second, and a second later you’re badly injured.” Fortunately for Corrine, her son, Rod, arrived at her home a short time later, found her in the driveway, and got her to the Emergency Room for care. She spent several days in the hospital, and several weeks in a rehab facility in Fargo before returning to her home. She is still doing the rehabilitation exercises, she said, and expects to continue them for some time to come.

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