Was it 2012, or 1988 revisited?  Hot, dry and dirty, conditions that have been mighty rare for the past 2 dozen years, paid this area a visit on Thursday and Friday, May 17 & 18.  The wind howled a dusty greeting to Syttende Mai, and pushed the temperature high enough to fry lutefisk on the sidewalk, if a person had lutefisk to waste on such foolishness, that is.  The thermometer hit 90 degrees on Thursday afternoon, and topped 95 on Friday, before sliding back down to the 60’s for Saturday & Sunday.  By Tuesday, May 22, though, the heat was back up to 90, with the wind speed registering gusts at half that number.  The weatherman is promising rain for the end of the week and through Memorial Day weekend, and delivered on that promise with a thunderstorm on Tuesday night that dropped about .3 of an inch throughout the area.  A Tuesday afternoon discussion of crop conditions and farming methods by the Assembled Wise Men came to the conclusion that this is the year when moisture conserving no-till farming methods are likely to pay off.  The no-till crops are “sure to be the last to die,” was one smart comment.

Jack Brummond, accompanied by his “better half,” Bev, stopped by the Round Table on the afternoon of Monday, May 21, but made no mention of the county-wide rain dance he had proposed last week.  Judging by the size and ferocity of the storm conjured up on Tuesday night, though, Jack must have been working on the project through the weekend, or maybe just the threat of having to witness Jack gyrating through a rain dance was enough to convince Mother Nature to let loose of some precipitation.  At any rate, with corn and soybean planting either completed or nearly so, the rain could not have come at a more opportune time – just what the doctor, or the Sage of Weber Township, ordered.

This community was saddened on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 16, when word was received here that Rutland native Arden Anderson had departed this life at Sanford Hospital in Fargo.  He had attained the age of 69 years, 8½ months at the time of his death.  Arden Claire Anderson was born in Veblen SD on September 3, 1942, the second child and eldest son of the late Rudolph and Edna (Berndt) Anderson of this community.  He grew up on the family farm ½ mile east of Rutland (the farm now owned and occupied by Bill & Mary Woytassek) and attended school in Rutland, graduating from Rutland High School in 1960. Arden was an avid sports fan, participating in Little League and Legion baseball, as well as being a member of the RHS football, baseball and basketball teams during his school years.  He was also proud of the fact that he had been a member of the Rutland Roosters amateur baseball teams in the early 60’s, following his graduation from High School.  Throughout his adolescent and teen years, he became skilled at bowling, pool and the many card games, including: whist; hearts; gin rummy; up the river; and, pinochle; played by the old men at the Rutland Recreation Center, then owned by the late Wilbur & Elsie Jacobson.  He could hold a conversation with anyone, from the very young to the very old, and often commented that an important part of his education was obtained on the benches in front of Rutland’s Main Street businesses while listening to local farmers converse about the weather, politics, markets and other issues of the day, during the summer evenings of his youth.  Arden attended college at the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, where he earned an Associate Degree in accounting and public administration in 1962.  Following graduation from college, he was employed by Wahpeton National Bank as an auditor.  In May of 1964, he was united in marriage with Marilyn Hoffman of Wahpeton.  They made their home in Wahpeton throughout the 48 years of their life together. Arden was active in civic affairs in Wahpeton and, in 1968, he became City Auditor for the City of Wahpeton, a position he held until his retirement in 2003.  He also served as Clerk for the Wahpeton Park Board from 1968 until 1997.  He participated in softball and golf, and was also an umpire, referee and official for high school baseball, football and basketball games for many years.  He also enjoyed coming back to Rutland each Fall to hunt geese, ducks and pheasants, and to visit with old friends.  In recent years, he was named to the North Dakota State Softball Hall of Fame and to the North Dakota State College of Science Hall of Fame for his work in those areas.  He was also active in the North Dakota League of Cities and in economic development activities in the Wahpeton area.  Following his retirement, Arden became active in Statewide politics, serving in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004, and in the North Dakota State Senate from 2006 through 2010.  In the Legislature, he was well known and respected by colleagues on both sides of the political aisle for his common sense approach to problem solving, and for his expertise on issues involving local government, as well as finance and taxation.  Over the years, Arden also maintained close contact with his home community, and rarely missed a community event in Rutland.  Since 1996, the families of Arden, his sisters, Sonja Christensen and Judie Seavert, and his brother, Jeff Anderson, have sponsored The Rudy Anderson Memorial Pinochle Tournament in Rutland, and have contributed several thousand dollars toward improvements to the Rutland Town Hall. Arden was preceded in death by his parents, Rudolph & Edna Anderson.  He is survived by: his wife, Marilyn, of Wahpeton; by 2 daughters, Janet Peterson of Davenport IA and Jody Bogenreif of Moorhead MN; one son, James Anderson of Minneapolis MN; 2 sisters, Sonja Christensen of Wahpeton and Judie Seavert of Rosholt SD; one brother, Jeffrey Anderson of Champlin MN; and numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.  The funeral for Arden C. Anderson will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Wahpeton, with the Rev. Jule Ballinger officiating.  There will also be a prayer service at7:00 p.m.on the evening of Friday, May 25, at Bethel Lutheran.  Vertin Munson Funeral Home of Wahpeton is in charge of arrangements.  Interment will be at Fairview Cemetery, Wahpeton.  The Rutland community extends its condolences to the family and friends of Arden Anderson, a native son who was a credit to his family and his community.

The current practice of pulling large rollers across soybean fields to push rocks in the field into the dirt so they won’t be picked up by harvesting equipment in the Fall, prompted some reminiscing about “picking rocks” at the coffee counter at the Rutland Café last Thursday morning.  For years, fields had been cleared of rocks by hand labor, picking them up, loading them onto a trailer or stone boat, and hauling them to a rockpile where they were unloaded.  Local teenagers were often hired to perform this task, and the results were often uneven.  Starting in the 1960’s, though, mechanization came to rock picking.  Mike Kulzer recalled that, when he was 13 or 14 years old, he convinced his Dad, Alphonse, to let him buy a mechanical rock picker, use Alphonse’s B John Deere to pull the implement, and do custom rock picking for his Dad and for the neighbors.  Mike recalled picking rocks for the Hoflen Brothers and the Giske Brothers, among others.  The conversation then turned to the prodigious lunches that most farm wives sent to the field back in those days, and Mike remembered being told by several of his rock picking clients, after they had delivered enough lunch to him to feed a threshing crew, that, whatever he did, he should never bring any lunch back from the field.  This memory prompted another patron at the coffee counter to recount an explanation that the late Emil McLaen had delivered for the “No lunch home from the field” rule.  While picking rocks west of Rutland with a crew of kids from town, Emil had stopped for a lunch break, and everyone dug into the big box of sandwiches, cupcakes and other items that Mrs. McLaen had sent to the field.  When every member of the crew had eaten their fill, half a sandwich remained in the box.  “Anyone want this?” Emil asked.  When no one took the half sandwich, he dug a shallow trench in the dirt with his heel, dropped the sandwich in and covered it up.  When one of the youngsters present asked Emil, known to be a wise man, but not a wasteful one, why he did that, he explained, “I learned a long time ago that you never bring lunch home from the field.  If you do, one of two things will happen, neither of them good.  Either the cook will figure that you don’t want or need that much lunch and, the next day when you are really hungry and want that extra sandwich, you will be one short, or, she will keep that sandwich you brought back from the field and send it out again the next day, all dried up and stale.  So, the rule is: Never bring lunch home from the field.  Eat it, bury it, feed it to the dog or something else, just don’t bring it home.” This prompted another lunchbox reminiscence, this one involving a fellow who was doing some road maintenance work on local Township roads some years ago.  As he finished up for the day, he stopped in one of the local power houses for a beer with the boys after work.  That beer led to 2, then 3, then more, and he finally made it home after the bar closed at 1:00 in the morning.  He snuck into the house very quietly, placed his lunch box on the kitchen counter and slipped into bed with no one being the wiser.  The next morning, despite a severe hangover, he was up early and figured to get back to the job where he could suffer in solitude.  His wife had said nothing about his late arrival home and, when he picked up his lunchbox, he knew by the heft that she had refilled it for him, so he thought he was home free.  Later that morning, though, when he stopped for mid-morning lunch and a much needed cup of coffee, he opened his lunch box and discovered 3 very warm cans of beer and a note from his spouse stating, “If you want to drink beer all night, you can drink it all day, too.”  Although it is doubtful that any readers of this column would have any reason to know that a hot day, warm beer and a hangover are not a good combination, suffice it to say, Lesson learned!

The Rutland Men’s Slowpitch Softball team is off to a good start this Spring.  They took 2 games from the Forman team, at Forman, on Tuesday, May 15, then won 3 games on Saturday and one on Sunday in an early season tournament in Oakes before losing the last game to finish 2^nd in that contest.  On Tuesday evening, May 22, the Rutland Men opened the 2012 season in their home ballpark with 2 victories over the Lisbon Subway team.  Next Tuesday, May 29, the Roosters will be at home to take on the Sheldon team, and on Tuesday, June 5, the Gwinner team is scheduled to make its first appearance of the season at Lou Sanderson Field.  So come on out to the ballpark, get a hot dog and a cold beverage at the concession stand, and enjoy yourself for an evening with the Roosters at Lou Sanderson Field.

Graduation ceremonies for Sargent Central High School will be on Sunday, May 27, at the Sargent Central Events Center in Forman.  This community congratulates 3 of its young citizens: Tracy Haussler, daughter of Rick & Vicky Haussler; Ally Peterson, daughter of Jim & Llana Peterson; and, Cole Rohrbach, son of Vaughan & Polly Rohrbach; on their graduation.  Wherever they go, whatever they do, they will take a part of this community with them, and they will leave a part of themselves here.  Their many friends in Rutland extend congratulations to them, and to their parents, on this, their first of many achievements.

Memorial Day observances in Rutland on Monday, May 28, are scheduled as follows: 10:00 a.m. military rites at Nordland Cemetery, 2 miles east and ½ mile south of Rutland; 10:30 a.m .military rites at the Rutland Cemetery on the east edge of town; 11:00a.m. Memorial Day program at the Rutland Town Hall; and, 12:00 NOON, traditional Memorial Day pot-luck dinner, featuring Rutland’s scalloped potatoes, at the Rutland Town Hall.

Some improvements have been made, or are in the process of being made, to several homes in Rutland.  Tony & Lori Nesta have installed new metal roofing on their home at 103 Bagley Street, and are in the process of applying a new coat of attractive yellow paint on the exterior of the structure; Mike & Kayla Mahrer are nearing the completion of work on their new home at 215 Ross Street; and, Rob Roney and Kylee Hambeck have installed new metal roofing, new windows and a new coat of blue paint at their home at 404 Gay Street.  Congratulations to these homeowners on the improvements to their homes, and thanks for keeping our community looking good.

Quentin & Doris Hoistad have advertised their home and farmstead for sale on bids, with the sealed bids to be opened on Thursday, June 7.  The Hoistads have made their home on the farm 1½ mile west of Rutland since the mid 1950’s.  Their farmstead is attractive and well kept, and a buyer will obtain a good set of buildings along with 46 acres of real estate.  The Hoistads are planning to move to town after the farmstead is sold.

As a member of the Sargent County Park Board, Quentin Hoistad was a key factor in the construction of the new Park Pavilion at Silver Lake.  Quentin resigned from the Park Board after completion of the Pavilion project this Spring, and Jim Peterson of Rutland has been appointed to fill out the remainder of his term.  Quentin’s 27 years of service on the Park Board will be recognized on Wednesday, June 20, when the new Park Pavilion is scheduled to be dedicated and the 50^th anniversary of the Silver Lake Park will be celebrated with an open house picnic and program from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  The Sargent County Park Board is inviting all of Sargent County’s citizens to visit their park, view the new Park Pavilion and enjoy a picnic lunch with musical accompaniment provided by the Earl Fust Band.

Well, that’s the news from Rutland for this week.  For more information about what’s going on in the little city that can, check out the community’s internet web site at rutlandnd.com, and stop by the Rutland blog and Facebook pages while you’re at it, too.  Congress still has not acted on Postal Service Reform legislation, and the unreformed, unrepentant management of the U. S. Postal Service is presently moving to eliminate professional employees and curtail hours of services at thousands of Post Offices across the nation.  Now is the time to keep the pressure on the Postal Service and the North Dakota Congressional delegation to SAVE OUR POST OFFICE!  Never let up!  Never give up!  Later.