Earlier this past Spring, Mike & Kayla Mahrer had purchased a house that had been moved out of the Red River flood plain by the government’s flood damage mitigation program. The house had been moved to Rutland by Mike & Kayla, and had been temporarily set on blocks in Mahrer Construction’s lot on the north side of town until conditions permitted the construction of a foundation. That house was moved onto its new foundation at 115 Ross Street on Wednesday, August 24, with a sizable contingent of Sidewalk Superintendents supervising the move. The foundation had been excavated by Jacobson Plumbing, Heating & Excavating of Rutland, and the foundation had been formed and poured by TON Construction of Rutland Township. The Mahrers’ new home occupies lots just north of the site of their current home at 117 Ross Street. The existing bungalow style house now sitting at 117 Ross Street, built by C. A. Rennix back in 1910, is being purchased by Ms. Marcia Moen of Elk River MN and she intends to move it to lots on the east side of Dakota Street after the Mahrers move into their new home in late September or early October.
Last Wednesday, August 24, the Rutland General Store received a visit from an apparent apparition that had, in general, the appearance and characteristics of Jack Brummond, The Sage of Weber Township. This man who wasn’t there claimed that he was not present in the Rutland General Store at the Round Table that afternoon; and, although he was not there, reported that the Havana Street Dance on Friday, August 12, was a successful event for the Havana community, despite the fact that the bib overall wearing exotic polka dancers did not make an appearance. The man who wasn’t there received a standing ovation from the Assembled Wise Men when he sprang for lunch. As the man who was not there was not there, there is no telling when he might return, however, it is likely that Jack Brummond may have some comment about the fellow the next time he is in town.
On Thursday, August 25, Paul Anderson of this community drove out to Bismarck on behalf of the North Dakota Grape Growers Association. Paul met with the North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture and with representatives of NDSU’s crop research department concerning continued funding for research and development of grape varieties hardy enough for North Dakota’s rigorous climate. Paul also met with a representative from the Governor’s office concerning the effort to retain the Rutland Post Office.
A new unit equipped for fighting grass fires has recently been acquired by the Rutland-Cayuga Rural Fire Protection District, report Fire Chiefs Cam Gulleson and Kurt Breker. A 2011 Dodge 2500 heavy-duty ¾ ton, 4 wheel drive, 4-door crew cab pickup, powered by Chrysler’s 5.7 litre hemi-head V-8 engine, was purchased from the Dodge-Chrysler dealership in Wahpeton utilizing a municipal discount program offered by Chrysler that reduced the purchase price of the vehicle by about 1/3 from the list price. The pickup had been purchased several weeks ago, but had been at M&T Fire at Volga SD, being outfitted with fire fighting equipment, until Friday, August 26, when it was delivered to the Department. This is the second new rig acquired by the Department this year, the first being the 1994 Sutphen pumper purchased from a suburban Chicago fire department earlier this Spring. Rutland Fire Chief Cam Gulleson and Cayuga Fire Chief Kurt Breker, as well as the members of the Board of the Rutland-Cayuga Fire District, deserve a pat on the back for the improvements made to the District’s fire fighting capabilities this year. The Department’s volunteer firemen meet monthly for training and to keep themselves acquainted with the equipment they use. The communities of Cayuga and Rutland have a fire department they can be proud of.
Although the 2011 early Canada Goose season has been open since August 13, hunter participation appears to have been ho-hum, at best, so far. Heat, humidity and mosquitoes have discouraged many from going afield, with the heat making it difficult to keep birds in edible condition once bagged. Many veteran goose hunters do not feel comfortable shooting at a goose unless they have an icicle hanging off the end of their nose. Rutland native Harris Hoistad, now manager of the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Sand Lake Refuge northeast of Aberdeen SD, states that only a short time in the heat can turn a prime goose into a rotting carcass, and proper care of bagged birds is crucial to the successful conclusion of a good hunt. During the early season a good cooler filled with ice is as important to the hunter as are a good shotgun and the proper ammunition. Two more hunting seasons, deer archery and mourning dove, open this coming weekend, giving outdoor enthusiasts 2 more reasons to get out and enjoy North Dakota’s wide open spaces.
Over the years, many comments have been heard, generally from non-hunters, that they do not care for wild game, usually due to the wild, gamey flavor. Rutland native Arden Anderson, now a resident of Wahpeton, recently came across a report of a taste comparison between venison and beef, and he thought that the readers of this column might find it of interest. The article follows: “From the “U.S. Venison Council” Controversy has long raged about the relative quality and taste of venison and beef as gourmet foods. Some people say venison is tough, with a strong “wild” taste, others insist venison’s flavor is delicate. An independent food research group was retained by the Venison Council to conduct a taste test to determine the truth of these conflicting assertions once and for all. First, a Grade A Choice Holstein steer was chased into a swamp a mile and a half from a road and shot several times. After some of the entrails were removed, the carcass was dragged back over rocks and logs and through mud and dust to the road. It was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and driven through rain and snow for 100 miles before being hung out in the sun for a day. It was then lugged into a garage where it was skinned and rolled around on the floor for a while. Strict sanitary precautions were observed throughout the test, within the limitations of the butchering environment. For instance, dogs and cats were allowed to sniff and lick the steer carcass, but most of the time they were chased away when they attempted to bite chunks out of it. Next, a sheet of plywood left from last year’s butchering was set up in the basement on two saw horses. The pieces of dried blood, hair and fat left from last year were scraped off with a wire brush last used to clean out the grass stuck under the lawn mower. The skinned carcass was then dragged down the steps into the basement where a half dozen inexperienced but enthusiastic and intoxicated men worked on it with meat saws, cleavers, hammers and dull knives. The result was 375 pounds of soup bones, four bushel baskets of meat scraps, and a couple of steaks that were an eighth of an inch thick on one edge and an inch and a half thick on the other edge. The steaks were seared on a glowing red hot cast iron skillet to lock in the flavor. When the smoke cleared, rancid bacon grease was added, along with three pounds of onions, and the whole conglomeration was fried for two hours. The meat was gently teased from the frying pan and served to three intoxicated and blindfolded taste panel volunteers. Every member of the panel thought it was venison. One volunteer even said it tasted exactly like the venison he has eaten in hunting camps for the past 27 years. The results of this scientific test conclusively show that there is no difference between the taste of beef and venison…” Well, scientifically established facts speak for themselves, and you can’t argue with that.
Rutland native Ed Nelson, RHS Class of ’63, visited in Rutland at the home of his mother, Lois Nelson, from Sunday, August 27, through Monday, August 29. Ed reports that he in enjoying retirement, having fully retired from the Crookston MN School System in 2010, after a 43 year career as a teacher, coach, media specialist and computer guru for the District. He and his spouse, Jody, are planning a 6 week tour of the northeastern U.S., from Minnesota to Maine, this Fall, he states. Ed and Jody’s son, Cody, is now pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.
Another Rutland native, David Bergman of Denver CO, SCHS Class of ’66, stopped in Rutland on Monday, August 29, on his way to Minnesota to join his older brother, Allan, on a fishing expedition into Ontario, Canada. David reports that he retired from the optical business 2 years ago, and that he and his wife distribute their time among homes in Denver CO and Lodi CA, in the Napa Valley area, and traveling throughout North America and Europe. David is the second of 5 sons of the late Marland & Beatrice (Thol) Bergman of this community. He reports that Allan is currently residing at his lake home in northern Minnesota, Gary now resides in Minneapolis, and that Dennis and Dean both live in Huron SD. David recalls that his education as a businessman began when he was a boy in Rutland, where he maintained a paper route, delivering the Sunday Minneapolis Tribune, and hired out to pick rocks, haul hay bales and do other labor on local farms. He states that he was the only boy his age who had his own charge account at Hermanson’s Store, and that he supplemented his income by financing purchases of candy, ice cream and soda pop for his friends at a usurious rate of interest. He had not been back to the old home town since 2006, and was both surprised and pleased to see the new buildings and improvements on Main Street. David joined former classmates Steve Wyum and Bonnie (Nelson) Anderson, and their spouses, for supper at the Lariat Bar on Monday evening.
Rutland has some new residents. Ramon & Matilda Garcia and their 4 children are now residing at 404 Gay Street, in the home previously occupied by Kyle, Kaia and Brody Mahrer. Mr. Garcia is employed in the Minot area, but a shortage of housing brought on by the oil boom there led the family to Rutland through Ramon’s friend and co-worker, Troy Siemieniewski of this community. The Rutland community extends a hearty welcome to the Garcia family. Add 6 to the population of the little city that can.
Cam Gulleson and crew returned from Mott ND on Sunday, August 28. They had custom cut wheat, canola and barley on the Kerry Swindler farm there. Cam reports a disappointing 20 bushel per acre Wheat crop, and a canola crop that had been hammered by hail, but 1,000 acres of barley averaged 60 bushels per acre and made malting grade. Barley is not raised in this area any longer, but the Anheuser-Busch malting plant at Moorhead contracts with farmers across the tri-State area for malting barley. Cam states that 3 semi loads of barley were hauled direct from the field near Mott to the malting plant inMoorhead.
The Pherson Custom Combining crew has had 4 Gleaners cutting wheat near Cando, in the northern part of North Dakota, reports Denny Pherson. Cando used to be in the heart of the “Durum Triangle,” but spring wheat has now replaced durum as the principal crop in that region. Yields are good, although the wet weather that plagued this area last Spring also prevented farmers further north from planting about 40% of their normal crop acres, states Denny. Much of the wheat in the Cando area is still green, Denny states, so the combining action has been stop and go.
Steve & Sheila Wyum returned home on Saturday, August 27, at the conclusion of a 10 day vacation trip to Eugene, Oregon. The Wyums had departed Rutland on Wednesday, August 17, and had made the trip by air, arriving at the home of Steve’s aunt, Forman native Pat (Cookson) Boehm, that evening. They spent their time visiting friends and family in the Eugene area, and touring throughout the wheat growing region of eastern Oregon. Steve reports that crop conditions look good in that part of the country.
Jim & Ione Lunneborg returned from a visit with their daughter, Marne, in Greer, South Carolina, on Monday, August 29. Jim reports that they flew from Fargo to Greenville, with a brief stop in Chicago, via United Airlines. Marne is employed by radio station MY102.5 in Greenville, a 20 minute commute from Greer, where she had purchased a home several months ago. The Lunneborgs actually arrived back in Fargo on Sunday night, but Jim had a dental appointment in Fargo on Monday morning, so they stayed over to take care of that matter. That’s one way to remind yourself that the vacation’s over – pay a visit to the dentist.
Milton McLaen was in Rutland on the morning of Tuesday, August 30, heading south to check out the building projects currently in progress south of town. Kenny and Tanya Hamilton have a new house in progress on Milton’s old farmstead 5 miles south and ¼ mile east of Rutland; the house that Milton & Danene built on their farm 50 years ago has been moved by Roy Hildebrandt to the farmstead just north of the State Line formerly occupied by Leo & Suzanne Malstrom, and is being prepared for occupancy there; Thane Bergh is in the process of building up a new dwelling and farmstead on a parcel of land in Section 25 of Weber Township, just north of Patty Carlen’s farm, purchased from Milton & Danene; and, the Coteau des Prairies Lodge is under construction near Frenier Dam, in the hills southeast of Rutland. There might not be any gold in “them thar hills,” but there sure is action. Milton also reports that he and Danene have had correspondence from their son, Warren, informing them that he recently flew into, and out of, Mogadishu, Somalia, in performance of his duties as one of the pilots for a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. According to Milton, Warren stated that the Saudi prince he works for has contributed a great deal of money to the famine relief effort in Somalia, and the flight was in connection with that work. There is no security at the Mogadishu Airport, so they landed, the prince conducted his business in the city, and they departed within a couple of hours. Warren and his flight crew did not leave the aircraft during the rather tense visit to a very dangerous and violent land. When he is off duty, Warren resides in Chandler AZ with his wife, Tupe, and 6 year old daughter, Rachel.
Katie Wyum drove down from Fargo on the morning of Tuesday, August 30, and joined sisters-in-law Evelyn (Wyum) Anderson and Phyllis (Wyum) Osmundson as dinner guests of Violet Wyum at the farm northeast of Rutland. Joining the ladies for dinner were Steve & Sheila Wyum, Mike Wyum and Mark Wyum of this community. Katie states that the Red River at Fargo finally fell below flood stage on Monday, August 29. Since March 29, the river has been over its banks all but 4 days this Spring and Summer.
Gordon Philips, retired oil magnate and current man about town, drove up from Havana and took in a session at the Rutland General Store’s Round Table on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 30. Gordon and his wife, Bev, remain very active in the community and are frequent volunteers for events and activities at the Four Seasons Healthcare Center in Forman, among other things. You would never guess that Gordy is over 90, and that’s because, at 76, he looks like he’s 25 years younger and acts like he’s 55 years younger.
The U. S. Postal Service has scheduled a public information meeting concerning the Service’s future plans for the Rutland Post Office to be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 20, in the Rutland Town Hall. At this point, the time of day that the Service has selected to schedule the meeting indicates that they do not wish to have a very large group to deal with. Rutland Community Club president Paul Anderson has contacted the Service’s representative, Ms. Evelyn Brown, Postmaster at Comstock MN currently temporarily assigned to the Kindred ND Post Office, to request that the meeting time be rescheduled to a time more accommodating to the patrons of the Rutland Office, so keep checking for changes of time, date or place. Paul also reminds all with a 58067 zip code to sign the petitions of support for the Rutland Post Office that are circulating in the community, and to write letters to the State’s Congressional delegation, State Legislators and Governor requesting their support for retention of the Post Office in Rutland.
The recent hurricane on the east coast, Hurricane Irene, left several billion dollars of damage in its wake, but the news on August 31 was that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has only $800 million left in its coffers, and FEMA is still dealing with disasters stretching as far back as Hurricane Katrina in September of 2005. In North Dakota, alone, FEMA is working its way through several hundred million dollars of damage as a result of the floods that inundated the State this Spring and Summer. Governors across the Country, from Chris Christy in New Jersey to Jack Dalrymple in North Dakota, are standing with their hands out, demanding more and more money from the Federal government. North Dakota, with over 1.5 billion in the bank, could help itself, but Al Carlson, leader of the Republican majority in the North Dakota House of Representatives, has declared that it would be “unconstitutional” for the State to provide assistance to its own citizens. Mr. Carlson’s assertion is patently ridiculous. He is a typical Tea Party hypocrite, denouncing Federal spending out of one side of his mouth while, at the same time, demanding increased Federal assistance for North Dakota out of the other. All the while, he insists that the State must sit on its $1.5 billion surplus and deny assistance to its own people. Now, however, comes the crowning injustice. California, under former GOP Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was among the most financially profligate and fiscally irresponsible of States, but now the news has come out that North Dakota is lending a substantial portion of its surplus funds to California. The people of California need help, because of the irresponsibility and mismanagement of the State’s political leaders. The people of North Dakota need help, due to natural disasters and through no fault of their own. So, who does the State of North Dakota, under the direction of Rep. Carlson, Sen Carlyle and Gov. Dalrymple, decide to help? You guessed it –California! Do wonders never cease?
Well, that’s the news from Rutland for this week. For more information about what’s going on in Rutland, Pride Of The Prairie, check out the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and stop by the Rutland blog and Facebook pages while you’re at it, too. Remember to sign the Post Office petition and write some letters of support, as well. Later.
