By Bill Anderson

“Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head” has been Rutland’s theme song throughout September. The approximately 2.4 inches that fell on Sunday evening and Monday morning, September 29 & 30, brought the total for the month to well over 8 inches. Paul Anderson reports that his electronic rain gauge has recorded more than 26 inches of precipitation since January 1, with three months remaining until 2020 wades in. County Commissioner Richard Ruch reports that his farm west of Brampton received more than 3 inches of rain from the Sunday evening-Monday morning downpour that turned the entire area west of Brampton into a lake. It’s a good thing that Richard’s farm was too wet to plant this past Spring, as it would surely be too wet to harvest anything this Fall.

Travelers, as travelers will do, have been arriving in and departing from Rutland lately. On Friday, September 20, Chuck & Mary Beth Anderson arrived back home at their Weber Township farm after a 6 week journey that took them through the northeastern portion of the country. The Andersons took the northern route, skirting the southern boundary of Canada. They towed their 5^th wheel travel trailer across the Mackinac Bridge and just kept on heading east until they reached the Atlantic Ocean. They stopped for a couple of days in Rutland, Vermont, where Chuck wore his Uff-Da Day T-shirt that has the question “Where’s The Lefse?” emblazoned across its front. Chuck said that a couple of ladies asked “What’s lefse?” and they got an invitation to Uff-Da Day in Rutland on Sunday, October 6, where they could enjoy some. The Anderson’s brought back some Rutland VT bumper stickers which they were distributing to friends last week. Dick Meyers stated that the “VT” stands for “Very Thankful,” which is what he is whenever he is in Rutland. Chuck reports that, with Mary Beth navigating and Chuck doing the driving, they by-passed the huge metropolitan areas of Boston and New York City, but still managed to see plenty. One of the highlights of the trip was a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY. North Dakota native Roger Maris, who hit 61 in ’61 to break Babe Ruth’s single season home run record, is still not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Chuck said that he did not see any mention of the Rutland Roosters, either, but it is understood that folks back east are kind of intimidated by the character and competence of individuals like Maris, and teams like the Roosters of old. For the Andersons, though, the biggest highlight of the trip was arriving back at their own home on the prairies of North Dakota.