The grease paint was on, the house lights went down, the stage lights went up, the curtain opened and “Occupation: Murder,” Entertainment Unlimited’s 2010 Children’s Summer Theater production was underway at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, August 12 & 13, on the stage of the Rutland Town Hall. The plot involved a TV game show, a murdered sponsor and some amateur and professional sleuthing to reveal the identity of the guilty party. Characters included: Buzz Langston, Director of It’s a Living!, played by Kaleb Siemieniewski; Fran Rawlins, Assistant Director of the show, played by Thomas Mehrer; Tony Fabrizi, the two-timing Sponsor of the show, portrayed by Kael McKibben; Marilyn McBride, The It’s a Living Girl, Tatum Wyum; Edward St. James, the announcer, played by Kian McKibben; Julian Warren, a Broadway star and regular panelist, performed by Tyler Banish; Dennis Clark, the Moderator, played by Jacob Nelson; Paul Irwin, a publisher and regular panelist, played by Isaiah Beckstrom; Virginia Singleton, a recording artist & regular panelist, Josephine Hajek; Lou Bennett, Julian’s agent, Kyle McKibben; Allene Clark, Hannah Siemieniewski; Maria Fabrizi, Tony’s wife, portrayed by Josephine Nelson; Lt. Jim Slate, a homicide detective, portrayed by Jacob Mehrer; and, Amanda Maxwell, an amateur sleuth, played by Tracy Haussler. Executive Director and Stage Manager Brady Haussler was ably assisted by Assistant Director Diane Smith and by Managing Director Pam Maloney. The sound system and lights were operated by Drew Wyum. This was Entertainment Unlimited’s 15th annual Children’s Summer Theater production in Rutland. The community is looking forward to the 16th, another sure hit!
Jim & Ione Lunneborg of this community headed south and east last week, on the Allis Chalmers road trip from Madison SD to Albert City IA. The road trip started on Tuesday, August 10 and ran through Thursday, August 12. Jim drove the WD Allis Chalmers tractor that his Dad, Ed Lunneborg, had purchased from the AC dealer in Milnor, Ole Holt, back in 1950. the 175 miles from Madison to the threshing show at Albert City was divided into three segments, the longest being 75 miles, a long way to ride on a steel seat. Thirty-two vintage Allis tractors made the trip, Jim reported. Also driving a classic Allis-Chalmers tractor on the run was Gene Hajek of Gwinner. Jim and Gene are among only 10 Allis-Chalmers aficionados who have made all of the AC road trips in the past 6 years. On those trips they have traveled from Oakes ND to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba; from Oakes to Madison SD; and from Madison to Albert City. Jim expects that the next vintage Allis-Chalmers road trip will be made from Albert City up to Hutchinson MN for the big Allis-Chalmers show held there on the 4th weekend in July each year. Congratulations to Jim and Gene for making the trip, and for restoring a bit of American agricultural history. Traveling from Portage La Prairie to Albert City on a WD is quite an accomplishment, even if it did take 6 years to do it.
The thunderstorm that rolled over this area early on the morning of Friday, August 13, dumped 2½ inches of rain on Rutland and vicinity. Only a few miles to the south, though, rainfall amounts were much less, with ½ inch, or less, being recorded in the Coteau Hills south of town. Silver Lake Park Manager Dennis Goltz reports that the rain gauge at Silver Lake showed 3 inches that morning, while only .9 of an inch of precipitation had fallen at his farm, a few miles south of the lake. Ample rainfall, coupled with the heat and humidity of recent weeks, has pushed the corn and soybean crops to a stage of development well ahead of where they were, at this time last year. Field corn has now started to dent and the sweet corn is getting tough, is the report from local farmers. If the number of pods on the soybean plants, and most pods have 3 or 4 beans in them, is any indication, this could be a good year to be in the bin building business. The weather has been a little cooler, highs in the 70’s, since last Saturday, and that’s a welcome relief, but also a harbinger of things to come.
The second annual Rutland Quilters’ Retreat was hosted by the Rutland General Store on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 13 through the 15th. Thirteen quilting enthusiasts from Rutland, Forman, Milnor, Lamoure, Lisbon, Lidgerwood and Hankinson worked on their favorite past-time from 8:00 a.m. into the evening on Friday and Saturday, and until 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. They practiced their art in the back room of the Rutland General Store, which supplied materials, provided tables and electricity, and served meals. Most of the out-of-towners stayed in Rutland for the weekend, as did the quilters from Rutland, of course.
A sudden squall of rain and wind made for a shaky start to Rutland’s Second Annual Rib-Fest on Saturday, August 14. The only casualty of the weather, though, turned out to be the band, “Raw Sugar,” which lived up to its name and melted away, disappearing in the rain. Within half an hour after the sudden shower hit, the sun was shining, the wind had gone down, and the several hundred rib enthusiasts gathered on Rutland’s Main Street, enjoyed a beautiful evening with good friends, good ribs, good conversation and, later in the evening, good karaoke music. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as good karaoke music. The judges, Terry Price of Britton, Brooke (Carlson) Devitt of Ft. Ransom, Dustin Preble of Bariboo WI and Diane Pherson of Rutland, sampled ribs from all competing rib chefs in a blind taste test and concluded, first, that there were no bad ribs in the competition, and, second, that all of the ribs they tasted were delicious. They were charged with the obligation to choose the best ribs, though, and they chose the ribs prepared by Rachelle Marquette of Rutland as the best tasting ribs in the contest. The “People’s Choice” award winner were the ribs prepared by Kenny & Tanya Hamilton of this community. Also available from the various stands were: sweet corn; cole slaw; Kettle Corn; deep fried Oreo cookies; fresh garden produce; arts and crafts items; and, a lot of other good stuff. The Third Annual Rutland Rib-Fest is scheduled for the third Saturday in August 2011. Tune up your recipe and get in on the fun.
The Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Annual Youth Day on Sunday, August 15, turned out to be another successful event on another beautiful day. A record 254 youngsters participated in the event, receiving instructions and experience in handling shotguns, rifles, BB guns, archery and fishing equipment. Every participant received a $5.00 door prize donated by local businesses and individuals. Winners of the 56 “Grand Prizes” awarded during the Sunday afternoon event were: Avery Kramer; Mason Mischke; Hunter Lien; Preston Jones; Nina Schwalk; Megan Rush; Kaylee Harles; Sherwin Strege; Matty Buchest; Kiarina Berg; Ethan Hildebrand; Cole Rohrbach; Drew Wittich; Paul Asfeld; Daltin Scheuring; Shellin Strege; Roselyn Hanmann; Pat Orn; Danson Kraner; Dylan Schreiner; Cryan Bopp; Mandy Hoistad; McKayla Jacobson; Joshua Wittich; Austin Wilprecht; Calab Jablonsky; Hunter Rivan; Jordon Paplinski; Tayler Chapen; Maci Schwalk; Hanna Ciesynski; Lara Berg; Abby Flannery; Tatum Diegel; Chandler Koeller; Donavon Julephs; McKenna Paeper; Josh Christianson; Heidi Ciesynski; Mia Jund; Allen Paeper; Tony Banish; Charre Diow; Lea Buschol; Katie Wanner; Tristen McMahen; Calab Christensen; Jaci Bopp; Jenna Langman; Carter Chapen; Tyrone Berg; Sam Altentaler; Ben Altentaler; Derin Arp; Callin Olson; and, Machson Wold. According to Club secretary-treasurer Travis Paeper, participation in Youth Day 2010 set another record, at 254 participants. The event, which was co-sponsored by the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club, the Windy Mound Chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation and the Sargent County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, was held at The John Narum Memorial Trap & Rifle Range just north of Silver Lake Park. The facility has been owned and maintained by the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club since 1973. Sportsmen’s Club officers for 2010 are: Wyatt Nelson, president; Vaughan Rohrbach, vice-president; and, Travis Paeper, secretary-treasurer.
Rutland Township has been the location of some strange sightings over the years, from the pink elephants, huge snakes and “chocolate colored” mountain lions reported by the late Noble Nelson more than half a century ago, to the penguin spotted by Lori McLaen a few years back, and, most recently, a giant night crawler spotted by Greg Donaldson as he was making his Sunday morning constitutional along the Township road just west of Rutland. As he was on his morning hike at about 8:30 a.m. on the 15th, Greg reports, he spotted a long object lying on the road. On closer inspection, he concluded that it was the largest night crawler he had ever seen. Using his feet as measuring devices, he concluded that the big earthworm had to be over 5 feet long. It had a tire track across it, and had obviously been run over and killed by a passing vehicle some time earlier in the morning, he said. When he completed his walk, Greg took his camera and went back out to the place where the night crawler lay to take some photos. With a tape measure along side it, the big worm is obviously 5 feet long, and was probably even longer before it died and started to dry out. Figuring that there should be at least one more witness to this phenomenon, Greg then went back to town and picked up John Ringuette, who also went out to the site with Greg to make an inspection and verify the size of the creature. Later on Sunday, Jerry Sapa of this community went out and picked up the big night crawler, which had dried up and shrunk down to about 48 inches by that time. Jerry’s hope was to preserve the worm for a display. If it works out, he will let us know. Meanwhile, Gary Rogers, a reporter for KFGO Radio News, had been out at the Youth Day event and had heard about the giant night crawler. The next day KFGO News was talking with Greg about the monster worm, and, on Tuesday morning, Greg was a guest on Joel Heitkamp’s morning talk show, “News & Views,” describing the discovery. The photo of the night crawler is now on display on KFGO Radio’s internet web site at www.kfgo.com. Worm experts have also been interviewed, and have verified that, although not common, huge night crawlers can and do make an appearance once in a while. An avid fisherman, Greg has been calculating the size of the walleye he could catch with a 5 foot long night crawler for bait.
The Rutland General Store’s Fun Bus made a trip up to Amenia ND, 7 miles north of Casselton, on the evening of Monday, August 16, transporting several local folks up to an event honoring retiring U. S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan. Making the trip were: Mark Wyum; Kathy Wyum; Bill Anderson; Steve Wyum; Sheila Wyum; Marlys Harris; Lance Gulleson; and, Gretchen Vann. The Amenia event was held at the farm of Bill and Gwen Hejl and was sponsored by the North Dakota Farmers Union and the Red River Sugar Beet Growers. Sen. Dorgan is retiring at the end of this year, after 30 years in the Congress, 18 of them in the U. S. Senate. Chief of Staff for the Senator’s Washington office is Pam Gulleson of Rutland. Senator Dorgan has visited in Rutland on many occasions during his time in public service, and toured the Rutland General Store shortly after it’s opening in 2007.
Paul and Sue Anderson of Rutland spent Monday & Tuesday, August 16 & 17, way out west in Medora, where they took in the musical at the Burning Hills Ampitheater and toured Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Also touring in western North Dakota and Medora this week are Dick and Bonnie Anderson of this community.
Morris Seal Coat And Trucking of Morris MN applied hot oil and chips to the City’s streets on Tuesday, August 17, completing the repair and resealing of Rutland’s thoroughfares. That’s the good news. The next step in the process will be spreading the special assessments that will have to be collected to pay for the improvements. Well, there’s no gain without some pain, they say, whoever “they” are.
At a meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, August 17, members of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion decided to hold two pancake breakfast fund-raisers in the next several months. They are planning pancake and sausage breakfasts to be held on Sunday, October 10, 2010, and on Sunday, February 13, 2011, provided that there are no conflicts with other community events. Post Commander Larry Christensen also reported that the new dual heat system has now been installed in the American Legion Hall, providing a backup, propane fueled, heating system to supplement the electric heat system in the building. The Rutland Fitness Center occupies most of the Legion Hall as a fitness and exercise facility. Post members also decided to hold another Flag Retirement Ceremony on Veterans’ Day, November 11, at which damaged and soiled American Flags may be disposed of with proper honors. Those with Flags to be disposed of should contact Commander Christensen, Post Adjutant Roger Nelson or other Post members to make arrangements.
Lou Sanderson Field will be the site of the Hal Nelson Invitational Softball Tournament here on Saturday, August 21. Six teams, from Rutland, Forman, Havana, Lidgerwood, Enderlin and Wahpeton, will compete in the “pool play” tourney. The first pitch is scheduled to be tossed at 9:00 a.m. Lunch will be available at the concession stand, says Park Board member Jen Christianson, and bean bag and other games will be played between games. Proceeds from this year’s tournament have been dedicated to the Jesse Brakke Benefit event that will be held in Rutland in September, says Hal Nelson, a member of the Rutland Park Board. So, head on out to the ballpark, for the last games of the Summer.
Plans continue for the Jesse Brakke Benefit, scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 11, in the Rutland Town Hall. Activities will include: dinner and silent auction from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.; live auction from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.; and, raffles throughout the evening. Anyone having items that they would like to donate should contact Greg Donaldson at 724-6266 or 680-0591, Deborah Banish at retmom@yahoo.com or Janelle Brakke at 724-3391. Greg reports that several baseball memorabilia items have been received that include items from Minnesota Twins great Kirby Puckett; and North Dakota natives Travis Hafner, Darin Erstad and Chris Cotes. NFL, including Minnesota Viking, items are also being acquired, Greg reports.
Lefse production for Uffda Day 2010 commenced on Tuesday, August 16, when Lefse Lena gathered her lefse chefs at the Rutland Town Hall and rolled out more than 612 lefses, not counting the “mistakes” and sample rounds which were consumed by the chefs. Several thousand rounds of lefse will be produced by Lefse Lena and the crew before the big day on Sunday, October 3. This year the Uffda Day Parade will start at 1:00 p.m. rather than at 12:00 Noon as in prior years, so don’t let the schedule change throw you off. Plan to come early, eat hearty and enjoy the day.
Well, that’s it for this week. For more information about what’s going on in Rutland, where even the night crawlers are bigger and better, check out the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and take a look at Rutland’s blog and Facebook pages, too. Later.
The Rooster Crows – August 20, 2010
The grease paint was on, the house lights went down, the stage lights went up, the curtain opened and “Occupation: Murder,” Entertainment Unlimited’s 2010 Children’s Summer Theater production was underway at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, August 12 & 13, on the stage of the Rutland Town Hall. The plot involved a TV game show, a murdered sponsor and some amateur and professional sleuthing to reveal the identity of the guilty party. Characters included: Buzz Langston, Director of It’s a Living!, played by Kaleb Siemieniewski; Fran Rawlins, Assistant Director of the show, played by Thomas Mehrer; Tony Fabrizi, the two-timing Sponsor of the show, portrayed by Kael McKibben; Marilyn McBride, The It’s a Living Girl, Tatum Wyum; Edward St. James, the announcer, played by Kian McKibben; Julian Warren, a Broadway star and regular panelist, performed by Tyler Banish; Dennis Clark, the Moderator, played by Jacob Nelson; Paul Irwin, a publisher and regular panelist, played by Isaiah Beckstrom; Virginia Singleton, a recording artist & regular panelist, Josephine Hajek; Lou Bennett, Julian’s agent, Kyle McKibben; Allene Clark, Hannah Siemieniewski; Maria Fabrizi, Tony’s wife, portrayed by Josephine Nelson; Lt. Jim Slate, a homicide detective, portrayed by Jacob Mehrer; and, Amanda Maxwell, an amateur sleuth, played by Tracy Haussler. Executive Director and Stage Manager Brady Haussler was ably assisted by Assistant Director Diane Smith and by Managing Director Pam Maloney. The sound system and lights were operated by Drew Wyum. This was Entertainment Unlimited’s 15th annual Children’s Summer Theater production in Rutland. The community is looking forward to the 16th, another sure hit!
Jim & Ione Lunneborg of this community headed south and east last week, on the Allis Chalmers road trip from Madison SD to Albert City IA. The road trip started on Tuesday, August 10 and ran through Thursday, August 12. Jim drove the WD Allis Chalmers tractor that his Dad, Ed Lunneborg, had purchased from the AC dealer in Milnor, Ole Holt, back in 1950. the 175 miles from Madison to the threshing show at Albert City was divided into three segments, the longest being 75 miles, a long way to ride on a steel seat. Thirty-two vintage Allis tractors made the trip, Jim reported. Also driving a classic Allis-Chalmers tractor on the run was Gene Hajek of Gwinner. Jim and Gene are among only 10 Allis-Chalmers aficionados who have made all of the AC road trips in the past 6 years. On those trips they have traveled from Oakes ND to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba; from Oakes to Madison SD; and from Madison to Albert City. Jim expects that the next vintage Allis-Chalmers road trip will be made from Albert City up to Hutchinson MN for the big Allis-Chalmers show held there on the 4th weekend in July each year. Congratulations to Jim and Gene for making the trip, and for restoring a bit of American agricultural history. Traveling from Portage La Prairie to Albert City on a WD is quite an accomplishment, even if it did take 6 years to do it.
The thunderstorm that rolled over this area early on the morning of Friday, August 13, dumped 2½ inches of rain on Rutland and vicinity. Only a few miles to the south, though, rainfall amounts were much less, with ½ inch, or less, being recorded in the Coteau Hills south of town. Silver Lake Park Manager Dennis Goltz reports that the rain gauge at Silver Lake showed 3 inches that morning, while only .9 of an inch of precipitation had fallen at his farm, a few miles south of the lake. Ample rainfall, coupled with the heat and humidity of recent weeks, has pushed the corn and soybean crops to a stage of development well ahead of where they were, at this time last year. Field corn has now started to dent and the sweet corn is getting tough, is the report from local farmers. If the number of pods on the soybean plants, and most pods have 3 or 4 beans in them, is any indication, this could be a good year to be in the bin building business. The weather has been a little cooler, highs in the 70’s, since last Saturday, and that’s a welcome relief, but also a harbinger of things to come.
The second annual Rutland Quilters’ Retreat was hosted by the Rutland General Store on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 13 through the 15th. Thirteen quilting enthusiasts from Rutland, Forman, Milnor, Lamoure, Lisbon, Lidgerwood and Hankinson worked on their favorite past-time from 8:00 a.m. into the evening on Friday and Saturday, and until 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. They practiced their art in the back room of the Rutland General Store, which supplied materials, provided tables and electricity, and served meals. Most of the out-of-towners stayed in Rutland for the weekend, as did the quilters from Rutland, of course.
A sudden squall of rain and wind made for a shaky start to Rutland’s Second Annual Rib-Fest on Saturday, August 14. The only casualty of the weather, though, turned out to be the band, “Raw Sugar,” which lived up to its name and melted away, disappearing in the rain. Within half an hour after the sudden shower hit, the sun was shining, the wind had gone down, and the several hundred rib enthusiasts gathered on Rutland’s Main Street, enjoyed a beautiful evening with good friends, good ribs, good conversation and, later in the evening, good karaoke music. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as good karaoke music. The judges, Terry Price of Britton, Brooke (Carlson) Devitt of Ft. Ransom, Dustin Preble of Bariboo WI and Diane Pherson of Rutland, sampled ribs from all competing rib chefs in a blind taste test and concluded, first, that there were no bad ribs in the competition, and, second, that all of the ribs they tasted were delicious. They were charged with the obligation to choose the best ribs, though, and they chose the ribs prepared by Rachelle Marquette of Rutland as the best tasting ribs in the contest. The “People’s Choice” award winner were the ribs prepared by Kenny & Tanya Hamilton of this community. Also available from the various stands were: sweet corn; cole slaw; Kettle Corn; deep fried Oreo cookies; fresh garden produce; arts and crafts items; and, a lot of other good stuff. The Third Annual Rutland Rib-Fest is scheduled for the third Saturday in August 2011. Tune up your recipe and get in on the fun.
The Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Annual Youth Day on Sunday, August 15, turned out to be another successful event on another beautiful day. A record 254 youngsters participated in the event, receiving instructions and experience in handling shotguns, rifles, BB guns, archery and fishing equipment. Every participant received a $5.00 door prize donated by local businesses and individuals. Winners of the 56 “Grand Prizes” awarded during the Sunday afternoon event were: Avery Kramer; Mason Mischke; Hunter Lien; Preston Jones; Nina Schwalk; Megan Rush; Kaylee Harles; Sherwin Strege; Matty Buchest; Kiarina Berg; Ethan Hildebrand; Cole Rohrbach; Drew Wittich; Paul Asfeld; Daltin Scheuring; Shellin Strege; Roselyn Hanmann; Pat Orn; Danson Kraner; Dylan Schreiner; Cryan Bopp; Mandy Hoistad; McKayla Jacobson; Joshua Wittich; Austin Wilprecht; Calab Jablonsky; Hunter Rivan; Jordon Paplinski; Tayler Chapen; Maci Schwalk; Hanna Ciesynski; Lara Berg; Abby Flannery; Tatum Diegel; Chandler Koeller; Donavon Julephs; McKenna Paeper; Josh Christianson; Heidi Ciesynski; Mia Jund; Allen Paeper; Tony Banish; Charre Diow; Lea Buschol; Katie Wanner; Tristen McMahen; Calab Christensen; Jaci Bopp; Jenna Langman; Carter Chapen; Tyrone Berg; Sam Altentaler; Ben Altentaler; Derin Arp; Callin Olson; and, Machson Wold. According to Club secretary-treasurer Travis Paeper, participation in Youth Day 2010 set another record, at 254 participants. The event, which was co-sponsored by the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club, the Windy Mound Chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation and the Sargent County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, was held at The John Narum Memorial Trap & Rifle Range just north of Silver Lake Park. The facility has been owned and maintained by the Rutland Sportsmen’s Club since 1973. Sportsmen’s Club officers for 2010 are: Wyatt Nelson, president; Vaughan Rohrbach, vice-president; and, Travis Paeper, secretary-treasurer.
Rutland Township has been the location of some strange sightings over the years, from the pink elephants, huge snakes and “chocolate colored” mountain lions reported by the late Noble Nelson more than half a century ago, to the penguin spotted by Lori McLaen a few years back, and, most recently, a giant night crawler spotted by Greg Donaldson as he was making his Sunday morning constitutional along the Township road just west of Rutland. As he was on his morning hike at about 8:30 a.m. on the 15th, Greg reports, he spotted a long object lying on the road. On closer inspection, he concluded that it was the largest night crawler he had ever seen. Using his feet as measuring devices, he concluded that the big earthworm had to be over 5 feet long. It had a tire track across it, and had obviously been run over and killed by a passing vehicle some time earlier in the morning, he said. When he completed his walk, Greg took his camera and went back out to the place where the night crawler lay to take some photos. With a tape measure along side it, the big worm is obviously 5 feet long, and was probably even longer before it died and started to dry out. Figuring that there should be at least one more witness to this phenomenon, Greg then went back to town and picked up John Ringuette, who also went out to the site with Greg to make an inspection and verify the size of the creature. Later on Sunday, Jerry Sapa of this community went out and picked up the big night crawler, which had dried up and shrunk down to about 48 inches by that time. Jerry’s hope was to preserve the worm for a display. If it works out, he will let us know. Meanwhile, Gary Rogers, a reporter for KFGO Radio News, had been out at the Youth Day event and had heard about the giant night crawler. The next day KFGO News was talking with Greg about the monster worm, and, on Tuesday morning, Greg was a guest on Joel Heitkamp’s morning talk show, “News & Views,” describing the discovery. The photo of the night crawler is now on display on KFGO Radio’s internet web site at www.kfgo.com. Worm experts have also been interviewed, and have verified that, although not common, huge night crawlers can and do make an appearance once in a while. An avid fisherman, Greg has been calculating the size of the walleye he could catch with a 5 foot long night crawler for bait.
The Rutland General Store’s Fun Bus made a trip up to Amenia ND, 7 miles north of Casselton, on the evening of Monday, August 16, transporting several local folks up to an event honoring retiring U. S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan. Making the trip were: Mark Wyum; Kathy Wyum; Bill Anderson; Steve Wyum; Sheila Wyum; Marlys Harris; Lance Gulleson; and, Gretchen Vann. The Amenia event was held at the farm of Bill and Gwen Hejl and was sponsored by the North Dakota Farmers Union and the Red River Sugar Beet Growers. Sen. Dorgan is retiring at the end of this year, after 30 years in the Congress, 18 of them in the U. S. Senate. Chief of Staff for the Senator’s Washington office is Pam Gulleson of Rutland. Senator Dorgan has visited in Rutland on many occasions during his time in public service, and toured the Rutland General Store shortly after it’s opening in 2007.
Paul and Sue Anderson of Rutland spent Monday & Tuesday, August 16 & 17, way out west in Medora, where they took in the musical at the Burning Hills Ampitheater and toured Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Also touring in western North Dakota and Medora this week are Dick and Bonnie Anderson of this community.
Morris Seal Coat And Trucking of Morris MN applied hot oil and chips to the City’s streets on Tuesday, August 17, completing the repair and resealing of Rutland’s thoroughfares. That’s the good news. The next step in the process will be spreading the special assessments that will have to be collected to pay for the improvements. Well, there’s no gain without some pain, they say, whoever “they” are.
At a meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, August 17, members of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of the American Legion decided to hold two pancake breakfast fund-raisers in the next several months. They are planning pancake and sausage breakfasts to be held on Sunday, October 10, 2010, and on Sunday, February 13, 2011, provided that there are no conflicts with other community events. Post Commander Larry Christensen also reported that the new dual heat system has now been installed in the American Legion Hall, providing a backup, propane fueled, heating system to supplement the electric heat system in the building. The Rutland Fitness Center occupies most of the Legion Hall as a fitness and exercise facility. Post members also decided to hold another Flag Retirement Ceremony on Veterans’ Day, November 11, at which damaged and soiled American Flags may be disposed of with proper honors. Those with Flags to be disposed of should contact Commander Christensen, Post Adjutant Roger Nelson or other Post members to make arrangements.
Lou Sanderson Field will be the site of the Hal Nelson Invitational Softball Tournament here on Saturday, August 21. Six teams, from Rutland, Forman, Havana, Lidgerwood, Enderlin and Wahpeton, will compete in the “pool play” tourney. The first pitch is scheduled to be tossed at 9:00 a.m. Lunch will be available at the concession stand, says Park Board member Jen Christianson, and bean bag and other games will be played between games. Proceeds from this year’s tournament have been dedicated to the Jesse Brakke Benefit event that will be held in Rutland in September, says Hal Nelson, a member of the Rutland Park Board. So, head on out to the ballpark, for the last games of the Summer.
Plans continue for the Jesse Brakke Benefit, scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 11, in the Rutland Town Hall. Activities will include: dinner and silent auction from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.; live auction from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.; and, raffles throughout the evening. Anyone having items that they would like to donate should contact Greg Donaldson at 724-6266 or 680-0591, Deborah Banish at retmom@yahoo.com or Janelle Brakke at 724-3391. Greg reports that several baseball memorabilia items have been received that include items from Minnesota Twins great Kirby Puckett; and North Dakota natives Travis Hafner, Darin Erstad and Chris Cotes. NFL, including Minnesota Viking, items are also being acquired, Greg reports.
Lefse production for Uffda Day 2010 commenced on Tuesday, August 16, when Lefse Lena gathered her lefse chefs at the Rutland Town Hall and rolled out more than 612 lefses, not counting the “mistakes” and sample rounds which were consumed by the chefs. Several thousand rounds of lefse will be produced by Lefse Lena and the crew before the big day on Sunday, October 3. This year the Uffda Day Parade will start at 1:00 p.m. rather than at 12:00 Noon as in prior years, so don’t let the schedule change throw you off. Plan to come early, eat hearty and enjoy the day.
Well, that’s it for this week. For more information about what’s going on in Rutland, where even the night crawlers are bigger and better, check out the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and take a look at Rutland’s blog and Facebook pages, too. Later.