The Rooster Crows – November 2, 2018

On November 2, 2018May 9, 2019 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

For those who are old enough to remember Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner” comic strip, today, Friday, November 2, is Sadie Hawkin’s Day, the one day in the year when it was permissible, at least in Li’l Abner’s home community of Dogpatch, for a spinster lady to run down and capture any bachelor she could lay her hands on and drag the hapless creature to the Finish Line where Marryin’ Sam, the local preacher, would pronounce them man and wife. Times and customs have changed, but in this year, 2018, the national equivalent of Sadie Hawkin’s Day is Election Day, when it is not only legal, but encouraged, for any candidate to run down citizens and drag them to the polls to perform their patriotic duty. Thankfully, unlike Marryin’s Sam’s pronouncements of life sentences in Dogpatch, commitments made in a polling place or voting booth, like the promises of the candidates, are short term, for no more than 2, 4 or 6 years. Some of the promises don’t even make it past the vote counting. Well, the election campaign of 2018 will be over when the polls close on the evening of Tuesday, November 6, and the election campaign of 2020 will begin at the same instant. In Sargent County, citizens have the ability to end the pursuit by utilizing Vote By Mail to mark their ballots at home and mailing them in to be counted; by voting early, prior to election day, at the Sargent County Courthouse in Forman; and, by casting their ballot on Election Day at the County’s centralized polling place at the Sargent County Courthouse in Forman. In Dogpatch, Li’l Abner’s mother, Mammy Yokum, was the undisputed boss, the power who settled disputes, righted wrongs and imposed order. When Mammy Yokum made her decision and laid down the law she concluded her pronouncement with, “I has spoken!” Every voter who casts their ballot in this election is entitled to quote Mammy Yokum, and there will be another chance to make a pronouncement in only 2 more years.

Rainfall has been scarce during the past week, but cool mornings and heavy dews have been no friends to those trying to harvest the 2018 soybean and corn crops. Thunder and lightning rolled through the area at about 6:30 in the evening on Saturday, October 27, and left behind just enough of a sprinkle to make the combines growl as they chewed through the soybean fields. Paul Anderson’s electronic rain gauge recorded.15 of an inch of precipitation on Sunday morning. The rain gauges of Norbert Kulzer and Roger Pearson have been retired for the season and will record exactly the same amount every morning from now until next Spring. Although most local producers are still concentrating on the soybean harvest, some corn has also been combined, and reports of both yield and quality indicate an excellent crop.

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The Rooster Crows – October 19, 2018

On October 19, 2018May 5, 2019 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

The first blast of the Winter of ’18-’19 roared in on the morning of Wednesday, October 10, with a nasty northwest wind and 6 to 8 inches of wet, heavy snow that piled up on streets, sidewalks and driveways, and made travel on all roads, city, county and State, hazardous. Shawn Klein, manager of the Sargent County Bank’s Rutland Station, reported that her vehicle would begin hydroplaning at any speed over 20 mph, and that, “my knuckles were white clear up to my elbows,” during her Wednesday morning commute from Havana to Rutland. Several vehicles did end up in the ditch as a result of the treacherous driving conditions, but no rollovers or injuries have been reported in this area. The snow let up late on Wednesday evening, and the City Council authorized Mayor Narum to put the City’s snow removal equipment into action on Thursday morning. The snow, on top of the rain that had fallen on Monday and Tuesday, put an end to any hopes of resuming, or starting, harvest activities for the rest of the week.

The Pherson Custom crew was reported to be harvesting corn near the Mark Breker farm southeast of Rutland on the afternoon of Sunday, October 14, and the combines of Jerry and Andrew Woytassek were at work in corn fields near the Gary Thornberg farm in Weber Township that afternoon, as well. According to Doug Spieker, yield monitors on the Pherson combines were indicating 225 bushels per acre from the headlands, and the moisture content of the corn was running at 18 to 19%, requiring some drying if the corn was to be stored. So, despite being beset by those 4 letter words: rain; snow; cold; and, wind; local farmers will not be deterred from getting after the 2018 harvest. Now, if there was just a market for it. Well, we can’t have everything. We did get a tax cut, after all.

Stephen Kulzer and son, Will, of Hartford SD drove up to Rutland on Friday, October 12, to get in some duck hunting action on Stephen’s old hunting grounds. The 2 were guests of Stephen’s parents, Will’s grandparents, Norbert & Beverly Kulzer, during their stay here. On Saturday morning, their trusty guide, Norbert, sensed that the ducks would be flying about 2 miles east of Rutland, and the hunters were ready, with all 3 bringing home a “Duke’s Mixture” limit of mallards, pintails and green-wing teal. On Sunday morning, Stephen & Will accompanied their cousin, Brandon Wyum, and several other hunters to a likely spot near Buffalo Lake where both Kulzers bagged their limit of mallards. “Nice greenheads,” Norbert described them, with the orange feet of northern ducks.

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Veterans Memorial Dedication

On June 1, 2015 By rutlandramblingsIn American LegionLeave a comment

The Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the Rutland American Legion and the Rutland American Legion Auxiliary will host the dedication of the Veterans Memorial on Flag Day, Sunday, June 14, 2015, starting at 2:00 p.m. Several speakers and music will be at the event. Come and help commemorate our service men and women from the Rutland area.

Click on the invitation for further information. Pictures of the Rutland Veterans Memorial can be seen at lower right of the page. Click on the photos to view them.

The Rooster Crows – February 12, 2010

On May 12, 2010May 4, 2019 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

Well, it has been an active week in Rutland, North Dakota, out here on the prairie. Snow started falling like a gentle lullaby on Thursday, February 4, building to a Wagnerian crescendo with a full-fledged winter storm by Monday, February 8. Much to the disappointment of the eager students attending the the local school system, Sargent Central cancelled classes on Monday due to the heavy snow. Mayor Narum had the City’s snowplow opening Rutland’s streets by 4:30 each morning, but travel outside the City was difficult in many places, impossible in others and not advised throughout the area. Throughout the storm, the mercury went up and down like a yo-yo, from 25 above on Sunday to 18 below by Tuesday evening. Well, this is North Dakota after all, and we certainly can’t complain about the flies and mosquitoes so far this year.

Saturday, February 6, was a big day in the Little City That Can, with the 15^th Annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament taking center stage. Sixty-six teams of pinochle players had preregistered for the contest, and nearly all braved the elements to be on hand in the Rutland Town Hall when the first cards were dealt at 8:00 a.m. Steve Lies & Barb Diedrich of Wahpeton took home the first prize of $300.00 at the end of the day, accumulating more than 1,700 points in their winning effort. Local folks were relieved when the team of Roger McLaen and Jack Brummond won second prize, also a substantial sum of cash, as Jack is now recouping some of the entry fees he paid in during the 10 years, or more, that he has not finished in the money. Jack is not deterred by success, however, and commenting on the sign proclaiming that a $5.00 fine could be imposed for whining, stated that he was going to go for the $10.00 package, figuring he could get a volume discount. The pinochle tournament has been sponsored by the children and grandchildren of the late Rudy & Edna Anderson since 1996, the year after Rudy’s death. Both Rudy and Edna were avid card players, and passed their enthusiasm for card games, particularly pinochle, on to their descendants. Proceeds of the tournament not paid out in prizes have been donated to the Rutland Community Club for the improvement and maintenance of the Rutland Town Hall. Tournament participants and kibitzers enjoyed a dinner, featuring the famed Rutland scalloped potatoes with ham, made with real cream and served by members of the Rutland Community Club. The 16^th Annual Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament is scheduled for the first Saturday in February, 2011, in the Rutland Town Hall, says the reigning family matriarch, Sonja (Anderson) Christensen.

The new Lariat Bar also saw plenty of action last Saturday, February 6, as a local snowmobile club made two stops there during the day, the first at 10:00 a.m. at the beginning of their run, and concluding their day with dining and refreshments at the Lariat late in the afternoon. Also enjoying the new dining room facilities at the Lariat were the employees of the Sargent County FSA Office, who held their delayed Christmas Party there on Saturday evening. Approximately 30 employees, spouses and guests attended the event.

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The Rooster Crows – November 21, 2008

On November 21, 2008May 4, 2019 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster Crows, Rutland HistoryLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

November, 2008, is living up to the 11^th month’s reputation as the gloomiest month of the year. The first 3 weeks have seen only sporadic sunshine, long stretches of gray, overcast skies, fog, mist and snow. The excessive rain of October has ceased, but there has not been much drying going on since then, either. The whitetail deer season opened on November 7^th, with rain and snow flurries in southeastern North Dakota, but a real knock-down drag-out blizzard hammered the rest of the State, stranding many would be deer hunters at home with nothing to do but tell each other stories about epic hunting experiences of years gone by. Standing corn still affords a lot of cover for deer in this area, and, although there have been steady reports of deer being harvested, there was no rush of success during the opening weekend as in many previous seasons. As the corn harvest progresses, both whitetail deer and ringneck pheasant hunters are finding it a little easier to spot and stalk their quarry. That still doesn’t solve the problem of being able to hit what they shoot at, but that’s another story. Just ask Kaia Thorfinnson, who took 6 shots at a standing doe, only to see the animal calmly flick its tail and stroll away when the shooting subsided. Kaia redeemed her reputation as a sharpshooter on Sunday, Nov. 16, though, when she dropped a nice whitetail with 1 shot, through the heart, at about 100 yards using a Remington model 700 BDL 6mm rifle equipped with a Nikon 3X9 variable scope. Now Kaia has 2 stories to tell about the 2008 hunting season: one about the one that got away; and, one about the one that didn’t.

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