Rutland, ND

I attended the Bergman/Evenson Post 215 Flag Retirement Ceremony on Veteran’s Day afternoon behind the Legion Hall in Rutland.  Approximately 50 faded, tattered flags that have flown over the graves of veterans, or flown by homeowners or businesses were retired with dignity and honor.  A prayer was given by Post Chaplain Milton McLaen, and Post Commander Larry Christensen presided over the retirement ceremony as each flag was placed on a fire in accordance with proper flag disposal.  I was moved as I watched each flag being consumed by the flames, and as I remembered all the men and women who have so courageously served under our nation’s flag.

After the ceremony, the veterans were served a soup and sandwich supper by the Legion Auxiliary.  The Nordland Lutheran Church parish hall was festively decorated with lace-draped tables, flags and thank you cards for our veterans and their guests.  Six kinds of soup, three kinds of sandwiches and a variety of bars ensured that no one left hungry.  Sonja Christensen, Auxiliary President, gave a reading on the birth of the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892 and the changes that have been made to it through the years.  I don’t know that I had ever given much thought as to how the Pledge of Allegiance came to be.  Sonja did a good job of enlightening us all.

Earlier Tuesday morning my husband had participated in a county-wide Veterans Day Program in Forman with two other members of the Rutland Post.  The Auxiliary in Forman served them a nice lunch of hot chile.

That evening, my husband and I agreed that it had been a good day.  We had spent Veteran’s Day remembering veterans and what they have sacrificed for our country.  That’s what the day is all about.

The weather was absolutely beautiful.  Why would anyone want to be inside on such a lovely afternoon?  Lots of people, if you consider the crowd that attended Rutland’s annual Fun Nite.  The Town Hall was packed with people playing Bingo or trying their luck for prizes at the variety of games available.  The competition at the Cake Walk was pretty intense and some people went home with 3, 4 and 5 cakes.  I worked in the kitchen serving pop, lemonade, coffee, hot dogs, nachos, walking tacos, bars, ice cream sundaes & root beer floats.  My co-worker and I were sure kept hopping.  Kids went home with full sacks of loot, maybe a bit of a sugar high and a big smile on their faces.  The adults were also smiling after spending a nice afternoon visiting with friends and participating in the games with their children.  Thanks to Diane Smith and Hilary Mehrer for putting together another great community activity.

There will be a meeting of the Screening Committee/Action Plan Chairpersons on Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. at Nordland Parish Hall.  The Steering Committee will be discussing the suggestions for the use of the $8,500 we received for successful completion of the Horizon Project.  Rutland residents have provided input through the suggestion boxes at the General Store and Cafe.  Suggestions included: 

As many of you have already heard, Hal Nelson of Rutland was seriously injured Saturday, October 18, when his house exploded.  If you missed the broadcast you can view it at WDAY-TV which shows what little is left of his home. You can link to Hal’s CaringBridge site to keep updated on his steps to recovery or to post your words and thoughts for Hal and his family.

A benefit fund has been established for Hal to help him with the costs that will be incurred on his road to recovery.  Donations can be sent to any Sargent County Bank (link for address) with a memo area notation “Hal Nelson Benefit.”  Cash donations are being accepted in a donation jar at the Rutland General Store as well for the Fund. 

The lefse crew is working steadily to produce an abundant supply for the upcoming Uff-Da Day sales and meal.  As of last Thursday, the gang has produced just over 1700 lefse.  There will be additional lefse rolling sessions this month every Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.  There will be a late night session on Wednesday, September 10, at 8:00 p.m.  Anyone who wants to help out is welcome to come and join the workers at City Hall any of those dates and times. (The photo is courtesy of Wikipedia; the crew here makes perfectly round lefse!)

Uffda Day is only 34 days from now and I know that all the work and activities are shortly going into super high gear.  Lefse Lena and her crew has been busy.  I’ll get another count after tomorrow morning’s session to let you know how we are progressing on just the lefse.  There is much more to do and many more troops to rally to get the event ready for the 1000s of visitors who come.  Let’s just hope we get enough lefse made! (The schedule of events and activities is listed on the separate Uffda Day page linked at right.)

With all the lefse and cooking that this community is preparing for UffDa Days it’s time to think about keeping in shape (or getting back in my case)! The Rutland Fitness Center is up and running with Aerobics classes. They will be held Thursday, August 21, Monday August 25 and Thursday August 28 at 6:00 p.m. If you are serious to get back into the groove, plan on attending the Aerobic classes every Thursday, 6 p.m., September through April (Jen will lead the evening classes). For the early birds, there will also be a 6:00 A.M. session from September through April (Rachel will lead these!).

Dates and times for yoga classes and circuit training classes will be announced in the near future. All aerobics and yoga classes will be at City Hall. Circuit trainings will be at the Fitness Center. The classes are only $3.00 each session unless you are already a member of the Fitness Center — which means you can attend them for free. Let’s get in shape before UffDa and then all those holiday treats that seem to follow in November and December!!!

Yesterday, my family and I attended the 11th Annual “Youth Day” held at the John Narum Memorial Trap & Rifle Range near Silver Lake.  The event drew about 190 youth and their families from throughout the area.  Activities included trap shooting, archery, BB gun, 22 rifles and casting with rod & reel (into small swimming pools) and a coin scramble.  This was the first time we attended and we were all extremely impressed with the event and the size of the crowd.  The three hours flew by quickly and wrapped up with an impressive raffle of about 45 door prizes of hunting vests, decoys, bow sets, rifles, shotguns and BB guns and other items.  All the winners were full of smiles.  That included my son who won a 12 gauge shotgun that weighs considerably more than he does.  He is now looking forward to growing up so he can use that gun.  This annual event is sponsored by the Rutland Sportsman’s Club, Sargent County Pheasants Forever, and the Windy Mound Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.  Many “thank you’s” are in order from my son and I’m sure from all the other proud winners.  Congratulations to all the winners and a Big Thank You to everyone involved in helping with this event — which I understand is the largest youth event of its kind in the Upper Midwest.

Well, you know UffDa Day is not far off when the rolling pins are steaming along.  Last Thursday’s crews managed to get a good start of about 470 produced.  There will be more groups this week starting with Monday, August 25, 8 p.m. session.  Tuesday - and maybe Thursday - more will gather to work toward the goal of 4000.  This is the 24th year for Uff Da and let’s hope we don’t all burn out so that we can make it 25 years.  I wonder what else happens during that 8 p.m. rolling session???  Guess I’ll have to go just to find out. Stay tuned.

This evening, my family and I attended the Rutland Children’s Summer Theater presentation of “Willabella Witch’s Last Spell.”  We had a very enjoyable time attending the program which demonstrated the talents of 18 Rutland youth.  Willabella had quite a dilemma and she was visited by several well-known characters — the Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel and their entourages (princes, 7 dwarfs). There must have been 75-80 people in the audience who seemed to find the play entertaining to say the least.  I managed to get a couple snapshots from tonight’s presentation.  I know others got some better shots and I’ll try to get some soon.  If you are interested, there will be another performance on Sunday, August 17, 7 p.m. at Rutland City Hall.  Adult tickets are only $5.00.  It’s a great way to spend an evening!