Hens Do Crow! Aug. 7, 2020

On August 7, 2020August 7, 2020 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

Neither wind nor heat nor dark of night nor the coronavirus can stay a farmer from cutting wheat when it’s ready to harvest. Rodney Erickson reports that the 2020 harvest of Spring Wheat in the Rutland area began on Tuesday, July 28, when Nick McLaen hauled the first load to the Wheaton-Dumont Co-op Rutland Elevator. Both the yield and the quality of the crop were very good, Rodney said. The first wheat came in from one of Nick’s fields approximately two miles north of town. Rodney said that he expects more combines to be in the field, and more wheat to be coming in, during the first week of August. Spring wheat is not as big a crop as it once was out here on the northern plains, but it is still an important element in many crop rotation plans, and, if you want to eat good bread, you can’t beat bread made with flour that started out as North Dakota Hard Red Spring Wheat. If you don’t believe it, just ask Dennis or Nick. In addition to taking delivery of grain at the Rutland Elevator, Owner/Manager Rodney Erickson has been busy with aerial application of herbicides, fungicides and pesticides on crops throughout the region. Matt Smith is in charge at the Elevator when Rodney is absent.

Last month Darwin Brakke passed away at his home in Havana. Darwin attended Rutland high school, graduating in 1957, and he married Kathleen Bauman the same year. Together they had four children – Darby, Julie, Jesse, and Janelle. He married Pearl Parrow in 1990. Darwin was one of the original founding members of the Rutland Sportsman’s Club. Over the years, Darwin worked for Ronald Donaldson at Rutland Plumbing & Heating as a plumber and backhoe operation, he owned and operated the Lariat Bar, was a partner in J&B Excavating and was a loader operator for Bernard Mahrer Construction. A private burial for immediate family was held in Rutland and a celebration of his life will be held at a later date.

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The Rooster Crows – August 3, 2018

On August 3, 2018May 8, 2019 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

Those hazy, lazy, crazy days of summer are here at last – clear skies, warm nights, warmer days and the prairie wind holding its breath until it can decide which way to blow. The corn and soybean crops are still green and growing, getting taller, fuller and more magnificent by the day. Wheat fields are now burnished golden amber waves of grain, some almost ready to be cut, and some ready. Kurt Breker tried a field near Cayuga on Monday, July 30, but decided to give it another day or two. By the time this column appears in The Teller a lot of wheat will have been cut, threshed and either hauled to on-farm storage or straight to a grain terminal in town. Although wheat is no longer the dominant crop it once was on the northern plains, it is still a major cash crop and an important component of many crop rotation plans. Good old North Dakota hard red spring wheat is still the best wheat for making the flour that makes our daily bread, and for that every North Dakotan can, and should, be truly thankful.

Hal Nelson, sports correspondent for The Rooster Crows, reports that the Rutland Roosters Men’s Slowpitch Softball team played the Lidgerwood team in the final home games of the 2018 regular season on Tuesday evening, July 24, at Lou Sanderson Field. It was a beautiful evening, Hal states, and the field was in great shape, with the outfield grass as thick and lush as a green plush carpet. A mild breeze out of the northwest helped hold the mosquitoes down, and the fly balls in mid-air, allowing the outfielders time to get under them without having to swat mosquitoes and catch flies at the same time. The Roosters cruised to a 23-13 victory in 5 innings in game #1, but had a tougher time in game #2, squeaking out an 18-15 come from behind win in extra innings. The Rutland team was down by 3, 12 to 15, in the 7^th inning, Hal reported, but tied the game up in the 7^th, and then scored 3 more runs in the 8^th to seal the victory. Congratulations to the Rutland Roosters Men’s Slowpitch Softball team on another successful season, and thanks to Hal Nelson for another good report.

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The Rooster Crows – June 29, 2018

On June 29, 2018May 9, 2019 By rutlandramblingsIn Rooster CrowsLeave a comment

By Bill Anderson

“Doesn’t it ever quit raining around here?” Wait a minute! Wasn’t it only about 10 days ago that the question was, “Doesn’t it ever rain around here?” How fickle are we, anyway? The thunderstorm that rumbled and rolled through the area on Saturday night and Sunday morning, June 23 & 24, dropped 1.1 inch of rain on Rutland, according to Roger Pearson’s rain gauge at 409 Gay Street. Another series of showers on Sunday afternoon and evening left another .88 of an inch, making the total 1.98, that’s darned close to 2, inches for the 24-hour period. Jim Lunneborg reported 1 inch, even, at his Shuman Township farm, and Doug Spieker reported 3.1 inches of rain at his Tewaukon Township farmstead while his neighbors to the west, Joe & Patty Breker, had 3.25 inches in their rain gauge on Monday morning. The countryside is full of green and growing crops, with what some producers believe to be sufficient moisture now to pull the wheat crop through to maturity and get the beans and corn well along the path toward a good harvest. Mike Walstead reported that he checked one of his corn fields this past weekend and found that the top leaf was nearly chest high. The days when “knee high by the 4^th of July” was the harbinger of a good corn crop are long gone. It’s still a long way from the field to the bin, though, and many perils lay in wait between here and there, so keep your fingers crossed!

Rutland native Judie (Anderson-Seavert) Grohs, now residing on the shores of Lake Traverse near Rosholt SD, sent a correction to a report that appeared in the Rooster Crows column back on June 8. Here’s Judie’s message: “Thanks for mentioning the Sargent Central Class of ’68 Reunion in the Rooster Crows. Good story but I need a bit of a correction. The reunion at the Silver Lake Pavilion is on the 4^th of August, only, starting at 2:00 p.m. A catered supper is at 5:00. With all the activities in Rutland that day, (The Rutland Rib-Fest is on Saturday, August 4, with ribs, music, etc.) the class of 68 should find plenty to keep them busy if they find all us Oldies too boring. Anyway, we have a few classmates excited about returning to visit with all the rest of our classmates. Hoping more will let me know they are coming. They can always call me at 701-640-9522 to make sure we have enough food and other goodies for the event.” Thanks to Judie for the correction. Best wishes to the members of the SCHS Class of ’68 on your 50^thAnniversary Reunion on Saturday, August 4, at Silver Lake.

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