Tag: US Post Office

The Rooster Crows – May 12, 2023

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By Bill Anderson

Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of The American Legion provided the honor guard, and Mother Nature provided the tears, in the form of a day long drizzle & rain, for the funeral of Virgil Hoistad Sr. on Saturday, May 6. As had been reported here, earlier, Virgil’s funeral would be held at his home church, Nordland Lutheran Church, in Rutland, with burial at the home church of his late wife, Donetta (Gulsvig) Hoistad, at Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church near Kidder SD. All in all, the service, the ceremony, and the weather combined to provide a fitting tribute for our late friend and neighbor, Virgil Hoistad Sr. 

Roger Pearson reported that, as of Monday, May 8, he had measured 1.2 inch of rain in his gauge at 409 Gay Street since the 1st of May, including 1 full inch on Saturday, May 6. Roger’s next door neighbor, Norbert Kulzer, whose rain gauge at 415 Gay Street is only a few feet east of Roger’s gauge, reported 1.1 inch of precipitation from the May 6 rain event. Jesse Brakke said that the electronic gauge at his farm in Section 15 of Ransom Township indicated that he had received 1 full inch of rain on Saturday, May 6, although he is unsure of the effect that the dehydrated spider he found in the gauge would have on the reading. Ione Lunneborg reported 1.7 inch of rain at the Jim & Ione Lunneborg farm in Shuman Township, and Rick Bosse stated that the Brampton area had received somewhere between 2 and 3 inches of rain during the May 6 event. 

Raccoons can be cute little fellows, in the right place and at the right time, but one place in which they are not cute is in a commercial building on Rutland’s Main Street. Many have seen the Facebook photo of 2 raccoons posing in the window of the former Rutland Post Office at 113 First Street. They looked cute, posing as if they were the new Postmaster and Clerk at the Rutland Post Office. Unfortunately, they are also extremely destructive, going through walls, floors and ceilings to get where they want to go. They do not restrict themselves to their original place of abode, either. Like a band of drunken hooligans, raccoons are perfectly willing to trash any location to which they have access. The City of Rutland had previously notified the absentee owner of the building, Dr. Hamilton that the raccoons, and other vermin, were to be removed as soon as possible. A response from Dr. Hamilton was due by Tuesday, May 2. Rutland’s City Attorney, LeeAnn Even, reports that the demand letter sent to the registered agent of Hamilton Enterprises, LLC and to Hamilton Enterprises, LLC required removal of the raccoons within 7 days of receipt of the letter, or, at least, steps such as contracting with a pest removal company for dealing with the raccoons and notifying the city of the estimated timeframe to deal with the raccoons must have been taken. The letter also informed Hamilton Enterprises that failure to deal with the issue would result in the City having the raccoons removed and billing Hamilton for the costs, including attorney’s fees. Well, we suppose that the raccoons, once apprehended, could be charged with impersonating officials of the U.S. Postal Service and sentenced to 10 or 20 years in the Federal Penitentiary. That would keep them off the street, and out of our attics, for a while.

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The Rooster Crows – March 10, 2023

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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 – Dec. 2, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

The four day Veterans Day weekend, from November 10th through the 13th, gave us rain, cold, ice, snow and slush, bringing down power lines, wrecking trees, damaging buildings and making traffic of any kind, pedestrian or vehicular, hazardous. The four day Thanksgiving weekend gave us sunshine, temperatures into the upper 40’s, and altogether pleasant conditions that raised spirits, melted snow, removed ice, and greatly improved conditions for travel and other activities. The Almighty giveth and the Almighty taketh away, in this case that turned out to be a mighty good deal. By Wednesday, November 30, conditions were back to winter, with a temperature of 9 above and a 25 mph northwest wind, but at least the ice and snow were gone, for a little while, anyway. Sometimes old guys wear their long woolies; Sometimes they wear the ones filled with down; sometimes they’re all in the laundry; then those old guys are the talk of the town.

A few years ago, the City of Rutland installed a speed limit sign with a flashing light on it along County Road #10/First Street, on the south side of town, in an attempt to slow down the traffic entering Rutland from the south. The sign is now missing, as is its flashing light. Anyone with information about the present location of the missing sign is asked to contact the City of Rutland at 724-3081. Traffic signs are expensive, and they are installed for the protection of the public. Some folks think that it is humorous to remove or deface traffic signs. Several years ago, someone thought that it would be fun to steal a STOP sign from the intersection of County Road #14 and ND Highway #11 at Geneseo. Shortly after the sign had been removed, a person unfamiliar with the area drove through Geneseo from the south and, as there was no sign, did not stop at the intersection. The driver’s vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in the center of the intersection. The driver was killed and her car was demolished. This was not humorous to any of the parties involved. If you have any information about Rutland’s missing speed limit sign, please see to it that the sign is returned so no one will have to carry a tragedy on their conscience for the rest of their life.

Paul Anderson travelled on Delta Airlines to Phoenix AZ on Tuesday, November 22, to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his Mother-In-Law, Etha Quinlan of Sun City West, his daughter, Betsy, from Las Vegas NV, and his daughter, Katy, and her family from Seattle WA. Present at Etha’s home in Sun City for Thanksgiving Dinner were: Etha Quinlan; Paul Anderson; Betsy Anderson; Josh & Katy Elfering; Rhys Elfering; and, Arlo Elfering. Betsy, Josh, Katy and the kids all headed for home on Friday, November 25, and Paul arrived back in Fargo on the11:00 p.m. flight from Minneapolis on Sunday, November27.

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The Rooster Crows – Oct. 7, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

Uff-Da, what a day!  Sunday, October 2, 2022, Uff-Da Day XXXVII, was a great day in the little city that can. It started out as a questionable day, with an overcast sky and sputtering rain showers as the 5k Run/Walk got underway at 8:00 a.m., but it just got nicer and nicer all day long, with increasing sunshine and just enough of a breeze to keep the flies grounded. The Sun really does always shine on Rutland, even when it’s raining! The streets were full of people, and every face had a smile. More than 3,000 lefse, 18 roasters of scalloped potatoes with ham, more roasters full of rice pudding, gallons of rommegrot, hundreds of krumkake, sandkaker & abelskievers, Uff-Da Tacos, hot dogs and bratwursts had been consumed by the time activities started to wind down. All that was left was the aroma of good cooking. Among the highlights of this year’s event were: the 2022 car show organized by David & Pat Bladow, and members of their family, that included 104 antique, classic, restored & modified automobiles from throughout North Dakota, South Dakota & Minnesota; the one room country school exhibit in which Val Pherson and a group of 32 youngsters, dressed in period garb demonstrated what school was like back in “the good old days”; the sawmill operated by Sod Buster volunteers from Fort Ransom and powered by Joel Susag’s WD-45 Allis Chalmers tractor; musical performances by Jim Levery, Harvey Bergstrom and Earl Fust at the Seniors’ Center and Town Hall throughout the day; The American Legion Color guard composed of Ted Lee, Roger McLaen, Andy Hoflen, Andy Harris & Calvin Jacobson that led the Uff-Da Day Parade through town; and, The temporarily reopened Lariat Bar, now under new ownership and management, that supplied refreshments to patrons throughout the afternoon and evening hours. Annie Kempel, owner & operator of The Monkey Hut Bar in Havana, was behind the bar at The Lariat to manage the day’s operations. Arts & craft vendors, 41 of them, reported a great day and local youngsters with their wagon loads of pumpkins, squash and other garden produce did a land office business. The Nickel Scramble, once again sponsored by Joe’s Ag Supply and the Kenny & Tanya Hamilton family, had enthusiastic participation by kids of all ages.  According to Rutland Community Club President and Uff-Da Day XXXVII Chairperson Katie McLaen, planning for Uff-Da Day XXXVIII will begin at the next meeting of the Rutland Community Club on Monday, October 10, at the Rutland Town Hall. Uff-Da Day XXXVIII will be on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Mark it on your calendar now, and don’t miss it.

Among the throng in Rutland for Uff-Da Day were Rutland natives, former residents and old friends: Eleanor (Kulzer) Bommersbach, age 102, and her daughter, Patsy Steiner, of Wyndmere ND; Pat Prindiville from Horace ND; Glen Larson and daughter, Laura, from Watertown SD; Lowell T. Wyum from Fargo ND; Ann Hoflen from St. Paul MN; John Hoflen from Bismarck; Allison Hoflen from West Fargo ND; James Hoflen from Iowa; Kathy Lee from Wahpeton ND; Carol (Welle) Fridgen from Nevis MN; Sonja (Anderson) Christensen from Wahpeton; Clarence “Stub” & Sharon(Lee) Sundlie from Fargo; Bonita (Bauman) Sundlie and daughter, Lisa, from Horace ND; Harlan Nundahl from Fargo; Mavis (Hoflen) Wold from Forman; Mary Alice (Pearson) Oyloe from Williston ND; Jerry & Ramona Kelsh from Fullerton ND; Sarah (Lee) Dobmeier from Alexandria MN; Mary (Olstad) Indridson from Cavalier ND; Jim Dotzenrod & grandson, Brody, a big fan of Rutland’s “Bounce Houses,” from Wyndmere ND; Alissa Mitskog from Wahpeton ND; Evangeline (Larson) Vold from Britton SD; Patty (Larson) Jacobson from Forman; Dean & Carol (Henjum) Nundahl from Mankato MN; Corrine (Narum) Romereim and granddaughter, Jaylyn Romereim & Jaylyn’s boyfriend, from Wahpeton ND; Rod & Brenda Romereim from Wahpeton ND; Steve & Judie (Anderson-Seavert) Grohs from Rosholt SD; Brevin Watson & girlfriend from Wahpeton ND; Rita Preble from Forman; and, many, many more. 

Jim and Jennifer Boyko of Britton SD have purchased the Weber Township farmstead formerly owned & occupied by the late Terry & Patty Carlen and their family. The farmstead of about 20 acres is situated on the west side of County Road #10, approximately 6 miles south of Rutland. Mr. Boyko is employed by Hortons in Britton, and Mrs. Boyko is a teacher in the Britton school system. The Boykos have two adult children presently in college, and a daughter in Junior High at home. The Rutland community welcomes the Boykos to Sargent County, to the Coteau des Prairies hills, and to the Rutland & Havana communities. The Carlen Farm had been purchased last Winter by John Anderson of Weber Township. John offered the farmstead for sale last Spring, and the deal with the Boykos was closed about 2 weeks ago. It’s good to have people on our local farms.

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The Rooster Crows – June 10, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

“There’s naught so rare as a day in June,” the late Earl W. Anderson used to say, and the first week of June 2022 proved the accuracy of his observation. Warm, sunny days, blue skies and gentle breezes replaced the cold, raging winds that were our constant companions throughout the Winter and Spring. Local farmers are still finding it difficult to locate fields that are dry enough to work in, but conditions are markedly improved from what they were in May. Mark Wyum reports that he has been “coltering” around sloughs in some fields in order to get them dried out enough to plant a few more acres. The piece of equipment that Mark is using for his task has shanks that are about a foot apart, and 2 colter blades attached per shank. Old timers remember a colter as a straight bladed disc that ran ahead of a plowshare, opening the ground to make it easier to keep the plow in the ground. Well, nobody plows any more, but the colter still has a use. The implement Mark is using is 41 feet wide and can cover a lot of territory when the need arises, as it has this Spring.

Despite some encouraging news about a month ago, the Post Office situation in Rutland has returned to the same old same old of no information; no action; no service; and no Post Office. Rodney Erickson reports that, as of Thursday, June 2, he has heard nothing further from the Postal Service office in Colorado that had previously informed him that it would be 1 or 2 months until they could get someone to Rutland to take a look at available facilities. One hundred sixty years ago, the Pony Express could deliver the U.S. Mail across the trackless wilderness from St. Joseph MO to San Francisco CA in 10 days. Of course, those horses are a lot older now, and may have slowed down some. Perhaps the Postal Service officials involved could hook a ride from Colorado to North Dakota on a Coors beer truck. Those trucks seem to be able to make the trip in a couple of days. The drivers must be properly motivated.

On the brighter side, the Waloch-Johnson Insurance Agency has informed this writer that Ms. Michelle Sagvold has been hired to run the agency’s Rutland office. Ms. Sagvold is still in the process of training and getting licensed, and a firm starting date for her take over of the Rutland office has not yet been set. Waloch-Johnson’s many clients in the Rutland community are looking forward to having a full-time agent in the local office once again.

Correction: The wedding of Miss Hailey Hamilton and Mr. Evan Wyum was on Friday, May 27, not on Saturday, May 28, as was reported in The Rooster Crows last week. Apologies for the error are extended to the bride & groom. Despite the incorrect information that appeared in this column last week, Hailey & Evan are definitely officially married and living happily ever after at their home in Fargo.

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The Rooster Crows – Apr. 29, 2022

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By Bill Anderson

The thunderstorm that moved through the Rutland community late on Friday night and early Saturday morning, April 22 & 23, was a real rip-roaring, rumbling, rattling, rocking & rolling sound and light show, combined with a downpour that dumped .84 of an inch of rain at the Mike & Debbie Banish farm south of town; 1 inch at the Chuck & Mary Beth Anderson farm in Weber Township; .85 of an inch at the Mark & Kathy Wyum home in Rutland; 1½ inch of rain at Jesse Brakke’s Ransom Township farmstead between Rutland & Cayuga; and, more than 2 inches at Rick Bosse’s farm near Brampton. A 4.6” gully-washer near Crete, in the northwestern corner of Sargent County, washed out a substantial section of County Road #2 near Kraft Lake, according to Sargent County Commissioner Lyle Bopp. The temperature shot up to 72 above by Noon on Saturday, and then began a rapid decline to 24 degrees by 6:00 on Sunday morning, as the weather front moved through. The forecast for the week calls for more rain and more cold, with freezing temperatures most nights until the first week of May is behind us. Well, at least there was half a day of nice weather on Saturday, April 23. There was some consternation on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 26, when a bright object appeared in the sky to the south southwest of Rutland. Concerns were relieved, though, when it was confirmed that the object was actually the Sun, making its first appearance in quite some time. It was a welcome sight, and it is hoped that it will show up a little more often in the future. There is general agreement that a week or two without freezing temperatures sometime between now and Labor Day would be nice.

Rodney Erickson reports that the paperwork he submitted to the U.S. Postal Service concerning a new Post Office location in Rutland has been received by the office in Colorado in charge of the project and is under consideration. Rodney was informed that it might take a month or two for the Postal Service to get someone up to Rutland to look things over and make a recommendation about the floor plan for a new facility. It takes a lot of planning to figure out how to put a lobby for the public up front; office space, work area & storage in the rear; and a screen line with customers’ Post Office boxes and a service window in between. Speed does not appear to be of the essence. The Post Office boxes, service window and other USPS equipment were removed from the old Post Office last week and taken to the Gwinner Post Office to be stored until they can be installed at the new location. Let’s hope that the Postal Service can remember where it put this stuff when the time comes to use it again. As of the end of April, it will have been 7 months since the door on the old Post Office was locked “for a few days.” Since then, several local volunteers have been making daily trips to Forman to pick up mail at the Post Office there and deliver it to the intended recipients in Rutland. A few years ago, before the gang that now runs the Postal Service from its lair in Washington DC was appointed, the aim of the operation was to be faster, more efficient, and less expensive. The current Postmaster General has a new goal: slower; less efficient; and, more expensive. It is time for the Congress of the United States, the body that has the statutory and Constitutional responsibility to oversee the operations of the Postal Service, to fire the Postmaster General and the entire Board of Governors of the USPS. They can then be replaced with competent individuals of good character who have the best interests of the American people in mind. So, come on John, Kevin and Kelly, step up and do your job!

In another Main Street development, The Stock Growers Bank, formerly The Sargent County Bank, has listed the Lariat Bar and its contents with the Steffes Auction Company in Fargo, to be sold sometime in mid-June. According to Casey Bopp of Stock Growers Bank, it is the Bank’s intention to sell the property as a “turnkey operation,” ready for a new buyer to get up and running in short order. The Lariat Bar has been closed since March 5, when former operators Pete & Michelle Denault, decided to terminate their lease. The Denaults had a good business going but decided to leave the business due to personal concerns. Anyone wishing to obtain additional information about the Lariat Bar in Rutland can contact Casey Bopp at Stock Growers Bank in Forman, 701-724-3216, or check out Steffes Auction’s web site at steffesgroup.com. The Lariat Bar is a great business opportunity for anyone who is willing to put forth some effort. It’s better than having a license to print your own money.

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