The Star Post 08-30-2023

3 incumbents, 1 newcomer file for Holdingford School Board

BY HANS LAMMEMAN STAFF WRITER

The Holdingford School Board, during their Aug. 16 monthly meeting, adopted a resolution for the Nov. 7 school board election for four board members. Positions up for reelection are currently held by Elissa Ebnet, Rob Knettel, treasurer Evelyn Martini and vice chair Lori Opatz.

At the Aug. 15 filing deadline, incumbents Martini, Opatz and Knettel filed for reelection, and there is one newcomer, Nicole Burg.

COMMUNITY COVERAGE 127 YEARS

400 Block update

During the meeting at Holdingford High School, board members also approved an evaluation of Superintendent Chris Swenson, who is entering his ninth year in the role.

According to the evaluation summary by chairperson Ed Feia, the board was satisfied with Swenson’s performance. Swenson said the overall positive evaluation did not highlight any noteworthy concerns; instead, it allowed for a brief discussion on a couple of items of interest to the board.

Canning

connection

Melrose man continues family tradition in Hemmesch household

BY CAROL MOORMAN | STAFF WRITER

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The evaluation is an annual practice to assess the performance of the superintendent and their compatibility with the school board. As Swenson is in the midst of a contract, the evaluation did not impact his contract.

As the sun was starting to rise Monday, Commercial Contractors Company workers from Melrose were inside the Lisa’s On Main building working on securing the west wall

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN

Dave Hemmesch mashed cooked apples through a cloth-covered colander, straining the juice into a bowl early morning Aug. 24, while his and wife Cindy’s children, Agnes, Lucy and Marcus, watched. The juice was poured into pint jars.

Canning is a regular occurrence – and a family affair – in the Hemmesch household. This was Dave’s first season making apple juice, although he has made applesauce.

School board page 2

Lucy tried her hand at mashing the cooked apples as Agnes held the colander passed down from their dad’s mom, Mary Jo Hemmesch, who still cans in her rural Lake Henry home. Dave’s grandmothers, Marie Hemmesch and Agnes Rothstein, also canned.

“We got a lot of Grandma (Marie) Hemmesch’s jars after she passed,” Dave said.

He has been canning close to 12 years and of his four brothers, Ron, John, Kevin and Albert, Ron and Kevin also can.

His mother has been his canning mentor and resource along with recipes.

“Sometimes it’s trial and error,” he said.

Albany’s Hillcrest now BearCrestLounge

Small-town feel an attraction for Ter-Bear

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER

Terry Torrence’s nickname is “Ter-Bear.” He used that bear twist when naming his business – Bear Crest Lounge-Family Restaurant in Albany –complete with a bear on his logo.

On July 1 he became owner of the former Hillcrest Family Restaurant & Stubby’s Tavern, purchasing it from Sandy Eggert. Torrence, a Maplewood resident, who was raised in Brooklyn Center, may not have any experience cooking for crowds but he is not afraid to wash and bus dishes during a busy buffet day. Just don’t ask him to prepare food – yet.

“I’ll leave the cooking up to the cooks,” he said Aug. 15 sitting in the dining room.

Thanks to his people personality, he loves visiting with customers, including regulars who, over the past month, he has gotten to know. “Farmers come in for

breakfast, a group from Kraft came in, and I talked with another group of woodworkers,” he said. “I love woodworking.”

With more than 40 years as a building con-

Growing a 50-foot by 60-foot, chemical-free garden after he and Cindy (Arceneau) married 10 years ago was the reason for canning. Dave was raised on a farm near Lake Henry, and Cindy is from Melrose.

His reasons for canning are four-fold.

“We grow stuff in the garden, and I wanted to preserve it for longer than the season,” he said.

Second Melrose apartment complex a done deal

City

tops $23.5 million in 2023 building permit valuations

BY CAROL MOORMAN | STAFF WRITER

Construction of a second apartment complex, on the west side of Melrose, could begin soon.

The Melrose Area Development Authority closed on the sale of a Railroad West lot to GCRE-Melrose, LLC, Aug. 28.

A permit for this construction is among more than 200 permits applied for, to date in 2023, totaling $23.5 million in valuations in Melrose.

“It is the second highest year, already, in terms of valuation, … and we’re only in August,” Sheila Hellermann, community development director, said during the Aug. 17 council meeting at the Melrose City Center. “Jennie O’s construction in 2017 was the only year higher.”

Among the permits for new construction is Kwik Trip, St. Mary’s Catholic Church rectory, Meadowlark Country Club cart shed and Riverside Flats apartment/ retail complex by the Sauk River.

Hellermann told the council the developer of the second apartment complex, Granite City Real Estate Partners, plans to begin construction of the 73-unit multi-family apartment building in September.

Two cul-de-sacs with 25 lots for single family dwellings and a green space between the cul-de-sacs and the apartment building with a future municipal park are part of the platting for the area.

Council members approved a preliminary and final plat for Railroad West, a rezoning of the area to a R-1 district and a conditional use permit for the planned development, as recommended by the Melrose Planning and Zoning Commission.

Apartment page 3

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN Marcus (front, from left), Lucy and Agnes Hemmesch; and (back) their dad, Dave, hold canned goods from their pantry and made this growing season Aug.

in their Melrose kitchen. Dave has been canning close to 12 years. Not pictured is Mom Cindy.

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Bear Crest page 3

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN

Terry Torrence (right) and wife Marieta gather Aug. 23 inside a Bear Crest Lounge-Family Restaurant dining room in Albany. As the new owner of the former Hillcrest Family Restaurant & Stubby’s Tavern, he has a vision for the upstairs dining and downstairs bar areas.

tractor in Minnesota, his connection to Albany was a recent business project.

Vivian Ella Kluempke Ella Rose Freidrichs Thomas A. Ecker Alice T. Eichers Mary Ann M. Engelmeyer

Community center cause

People flock to Avon park during yard sale

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER

Ruby Welle carried a toy she chose, that was almost bigger than she was, at Avon’s Largest Community Yard Sale Aug. 24. Mandy, her mom, had an arm full of items she planned to purchase.

They were among the many people who attended the third annual event at the Wobegon Trail Park in Avon, with funds raised going toward a future Avon Community Center.

“One person, oh, my gosh, she hauled a lot of stuff and bought over $300 worth,” said JoAnn Dirkes, who chaired the sale put on by the Over the Hills Avon Senior Citizens and Avon Community Center Committee.

Members worked weekly since May 1 organizing items, which were all donated.

“We had people donating from up north, the Twin Cities,” Dirkes said.

A crew of around 12 people met every Thursday to price and categorize items.

“We have about 16 categories in sections, which makes it easier for shoppers,” she said, looking around the park; tables filled with items filling the park on this sunny Thursday.

Dirkes said four or five years ago the first yard sale was held as a fundraiser at her Avon home.

“But we outgrew the space and moved here,” she said.

The Wobegon Trail Park is a perfect location because there is plenty of room to display the items.

“Last year we made $7,000, but we had two days of rain,” Dirkes said. “The goal this year is

$10,000.”

Dirkes said the money helps pay for “incidentals” for the proposed community center project.

“Like the architectural plan. Everybody wants to see a plan,” she said. “We had to have an architect draw up the plans, and we had to have a feasibility study done that cost $7,500.”

The yard sale ran Aug. 24-26. Whatever clothes and kitchen items were left at the end would be donated to a homeless shelter, shoes would go to an organization and the library would take books, DVDs and CDs, Dirkes said.

“But we’re hoping it’s all sold,” she said. By the looks of it, with the number of people browsing and the lines of people buying one hour into the sale Thursday, it will be a successful sale thanks to the people who donated, the volunteers who organized and worked at the sale and the purchasers. It was a yard sale for a community center cause.

School board from front

“This was not negotiations or anything, just an evaluation,” Swenson said.

He said the district was positioned well for the start of the school year in September without any major concerns other than minor difficulties filling open positions.

“There are a few staffing positions we are still looking for, but other than that, I think we are in good shape getting ready for the school year,” Swenson said.

JoAnn Dirkes holds fingernail polish donated to Avon’s Largest Community Yard Sale Aug. 24 at the Wobegon Trail Park in Avon. Dirkes has chaired the event in the park for the past three years.

Ruby Welle (left) holds an item she chose while she and her mom, Mandy, walked to the checkout area during Avon’s Largest Community Yard Sale Aug. 24 at the Wobegon Trail Park in Avon. There were 16 different categories of items for people to browse through.

Scholz (left) and her mom Jean Hellermann separate food Aug. 24 at the senior center in the lower level of the Melrose City Center in Melrose. The Hellermann family, including Fritz and Brent, made the

They know what they are eating, they can flavor canned goods the way they like it and they see a big savings on their grocery bill.

After the initial investment, canning is not expensive, Dave said.

“I just have to buy lids every year, usually,” he said. He still uses the three canning containers he initially purchased 12 years ago – two hot water bath canners and one pressure canner.

“I like using hot water bath because it’s not as touchy with boiling, and you don’t have to worry about pressure,” he said.

He often leaves the rubber rings on jars for one day to ensure the jars seal.

“If you press down on the lid and it pops back up, it’s not sealed,” he said.

Their “humongous” pantry, as Agnes calls it, is filled with canned goods from this season, with more yet to come. Dave names more than 15 canned goods he makes.

“Green beans; tomatoes soup; spaghetti sauce; stewed tomatoes; peaches; pears; apples; blueberry, strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb jam; beets; zucchini pickles and bread and butter pickles; beef; venison; and we freeze peas and corn,” he said.

After shredding cabbage for sauerkraut they let it age six weeks before canning it. Dave mentions a sauerkraut hotdish Cin-

Bear Crest from front

“I did the remodeling at Barbacoa (Smokehouse & Deli),” he said of the Albany business owned by David and Doris Belford.

It was thanks to David Belford that Torrence found out the Hillcrest was for sale.

“I told him, ‘Dude, I’m 67. I’m going to retire,’”

Torrence said smiling.

Torrence took Belford’s advice and checked out the Hillcrest.

“I saw it as a good investment, and I’m all about investments,” he said.

Apartment from front

Separate, but related to these developments, bids were opened Aug. 3, for the 2023 Railroad Avenue Northwest street and utility project. Eleven bids were received from $1,273,463.90 to $1,641,843.50. The low bid of $1,273,463.90 was submitted by C&L Excavating, Inc., of St. Joseph.

During a special meeting Aug. 24, the council approved awarding the bid to C&L Excavating, Inc.

In other activity related to development, Heller-

dy makes with sauerkraut, fried hamburger, cooked rice and cream of mushroom soup.

During canning season, which starts in the spring with rhubarb and ends in early winter with venison, he cans two or three hours every other day, often during his days off from Land O’Lakes in Melrose. His sidekicks often are their children and Cindy.

He also makes maple

Plus, while working in Albany, he got to know a few people and liked the small-town feel.

As a contractor, he has a vision for the upstairs dining and downstairs bar areas. He plans to utilize the downstairs, making it more of a banquet space.

“It’s a room that was not being used,” he said. “We could have dart tournaments, bean-bag and bands down there.”

He plans to freshen up the facility with new carpeting, blinds, paint and pictures in the dining areas where home cooked meals are served.

“I’d like to put up more

mann said Riverside Flats is forming and pouring walls for an underground parking garage and framing of the first, second and third floors will begin. Kwik Trip is installing gas tanks, pumps, canopies and footings for its signage.

In the Sauk River Park, the restroom remodel is almost complete. City staff is doing the sub-cut for the basketball court, so it is ready when the contractor is ready.

In other council news:

– The first meeting of the comprehensive plan steering committee is Sept. 14. In October, the city will

syrup, collecting syrup from three maple trees on their property and one tree at the neighbor’s, Fritz and Jean Hellermann.

“I freeze the sap, which pulls 75% of the water off and then cook it for the flavor,” he said, a tip learned from his oldest brother Ron.

Adding up the number of regular and wide mouth lids he purchased this year, he will can close to 275 jars of food – pints and quarts –

pictures of Albany, the buildings, the people,” he said.

Torrence has applied for a grant from a Latino economic association. His wife, Marieta, who he married in 2016, is from Colombia and on June 14 earned her U.S. citizenship.

His good friend and mentor is Armando Campo, owner of Los OCampo Mexican Restaurant & Bar in the Twin Cities.

“Just talking to him has been a big help,” Torrence said.

So have his employees. He has hired more waitresses, cooks and bartenders.

“We work as a team

hold a community workshop.

‘We want to encourage people who are interested in being part of the committee to reach out,” Hellermann said. “We are looking for voices from lots of different groups so the final plan reflects a wide view.”

– There have been seven businesses requesting applications for the city’s rehabilitation loan program with one finalized, Hellermann said. The program is for businesses on main street and other areas of town to update the exterior of their buildings.

– Joe Woeste, who was present at the Aug. 17

this season. “We do 80 to 100 pints of green beans a year,” he said.

“That’s not my favorite because I have to snip the ends,” Agnes said of the beans; Marcus adding, “Me too.”

Last week they canned beef. Agnes said, “It’s super easy. You just put the beef in jars and put fat on top (for flavor) before putting it in the canner.”

“To eat it, we put it in a pot to heat it up, juice and all, and I add a little cornstarch, and it’s like a beef commercial,” Dave said.

He said the first time he canned beef Cindy asked what it was, and he said beef, and she said, “It looks nasty.”

“It might not look appealing, but it’s good,” he said.

Their children know what is good. All three answered “pears” when asked their favorite canned food.

Agnes said grilled beets “are the best,” while her mom likes sweet/sour beets.

Plums hang on two trees in the Hemmesch yard, which Dave hopes to can for the first time. He is always up for new canning options.

He has advice for people thinking about canning.

“Start small and try something, because without trying you’re never going to know,” he said.

Dave will continue carring on this family tradition – and passing it on to the next generation.

That canning connection may include an ages-old colander and well used jars.

here,” he said. “If dishes need washing, you wash dishes. The same thing if they are swamped upstairs, the bartender will help upstairs in the main dining room.”

While this is Torrence’s first endeavor as a restaurant owner, this father of four, grandfather of nine and great-grandfather of two, who call him “Pappa,” is up for the challenge – and excited about the future of Bear Crest Lounge-Family Restaurant.

“People have been happy I bought the place,” Torrence said. “This is part of small town Americana, right here.”

meeting, was appointed to the MADA board, filling out the Dec. 31, 2026, term of Sara Hoffner who left her position as Melrose Chamber of Commerce executive director. There were three applications.

– Following discussion, the council directed city staff not to move forward with a vacant building registration ordinance. Staff was encouraged to work with individuals to develop and fill properties which have been empty for extended amounts of time.

Ella Rose Friedrichs

Tyler and Brynn

Friedrichs, of Melrose, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Ella Rose Friedrichs, at 7:34 a.m., Aug. 14, 2023, at CentraCareMelrose Hospital in Melrose.

She weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long.

Big brother Braxon welcomed her home.

Grandparents are Richard and Carla Van Heel, of Melrose; Nancy Stoermann, of Melrose; and Jeff Friedrichs, of Sauk Centre. Greatgrandparents are Marlene Reller, of Melrose; Shirley

Vivian Ella Kluempke

Brian and Beth Kluempke, of Melrose, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Vivian Ella Kluempke, at 12:50 p.m., Aug. 7, 2023, at CentraCareMelrose Hospital in Melrose.

She weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 21 inches long.

Big brother Ethan, 22 months, welcomed her home.

Grandparents are Judy Kluempke, of Melrose; and Bruce and Brenda Drager, of Wood Lake. Great-

Ella Rose Friedrichs

Stoermann, of Melrose; and Nancy Friedrichs, of Sauk Centre. Great-greatgrandmother is Florence Tschida, of Grey Eagle.

Vivian Ella Kluempke

grandparents are Marcella Hollermann, of Melrose; and Beverly Jeseritz, of Farwell.

What’s HAPPENING

Monday, Sept. 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. – Mental Health Support Group. CentraCare-Albany Clinic, 30 Railroad Ave., Albany. For information call the clinic at 320-845-2157.

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1:30 p.m. – Albany Senior Citizens Meeting. Albany Area Community-Senior Center, 741 Lake Ave., Albany.

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 6 p.m. – Flag Disposal Ceremony. Melrose American Legion clubroom, 265 County Road 173, Melrose.

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m. – Schanhaar-Otte Post 7050 and Auxiliary meetings. Melrose American Legion, 265 County Road 173, Melrose.

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m. – Albany City Council Meeting. Albany City Hall, 400 Railroad Ave., Albany.

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m. – AA Meetings. Back to Basic, at Tutti Frutti Marketplace, 38914 County Road 186, Sauk Centre. For more information, call 218-240- 1076. Big Book, Melrose City Center, 225 First St., NE, Melrose. For more information, call 320-241-3909.

Upcoming: Tuesday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. – Melrose American Legion Post 101 and Auxiliary meetings. Melrose American Legion clubroom, 265 County Road 173, Melrose.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN

Dave Hemmesch mashes apples through a colander with the juice strained into a bowl Aug. 25 in his and wife Cindy’s Melrose kitchen. The colander was passed down to him from his mother, Mary Jo Hemmesch.

Mary Ann M. Engelmeyer

Mary Ann M. Engelmeyer, 83, of St. Rosa, died peacefully Aug. 24, 2023, with her family at her side at CentraCare Care Center in Melrose.

A Mass of Christian Burial was Aug. 28 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in St. Rosa with the Rev. Daniel Walz officiating. Interment was in the parish cemetery.

Mary Ann Finken was born Nov. 4, 1939, in Millwood Township, Stearns County, to Robert and Loretta (Stueve) Finken. She was united in marriage to Roger Engelmeyer Sept. 30, 1958, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in St. Rosa. The couple lived north of St. Rosa. Mary Ann worked at Fingerhut in St. Cloud and Sauk Centre until they closed the doors. She then began working at Stearns Manufacturing in Grey Eagle until 1988. Mary Ann enjoyed embroidering dish towels and pillowcases and making blankets and apple pies for her family. She also enjoyed cooking for family gatherings. Most of all, she enjoyed being there for Roger and her family. She was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Christian Mothers, Catholic United Financial, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 101 and the Roving Hillbillies.

Survivors include her children, Audrey (Scott) Blasko of Afton, Dale (Debbie) Engelmeyer of St.

Thomas A. Ecker

Thomas A. “Tom” Ecker, 77, of Miltona and formerly of New Munich, died peacefully, surrounded by his family, Aug. 22, 2023, at his home on Lake Miltona.

A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial was Aug. 26 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Munich with the Rev. Daniel Walz officiating. Inurnment was in the parish cemetery. Thomas Arthur Ecker was born Aug. 4, 1946, in Melrose, to Elmer and Veronica (Schrantz) Ecker. After graduating from Melrose High School, he entered the military, serving with the United States Navy. Tom returned home to New Munich to run the family business, Ecker Feed Service. On Aug. 14, 1971, he was united in marriage to Kathleen Funk at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Munich. Throughout the years, they raised their five amazing children. In 2012, Tom and Kathy retired to their dream home on Lake Miltona near Alexandria.

Tom enjoyed woodworking, fishing, sailing, cooking and making memories with family and friends.

Survivors include his wife, Kathy Ecker of Miltona; children

Heidi (Chris) Wrede of New Hope, Aaron (Lori) Ecker of Alexandria, Carl (Melissa) Ecker of Chanhassen, Gretta (Brian) Eder of Lake Elmo, and Megan (Dan) Stern of Portland, Oregon; 11 grandchildren Logan

Alice T. Eichers

Mass of Christian Burial was

Aug. 29 at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in St. Wendel for Alice Eichers, 91, who passed away Aug. 25, 2023, at Mother of Mercy Nursing Home in Albany. The Rev. Gregory Miller, OSB, officiated, and burial was at Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery near Little Falls.. Alice was born July 31, 1932, in Richmond, to Michael and Anna (Braegelman) Drontle. She married Daniel R. Eichers May 8, 1957, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Richmond. She was a member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Avon and belonged to the Christian Mothers and the Quilter’s Group.

Her faith was very important to her. She loved quilting and crafting. She also found joy in gardening, her beautiful flower gardens, canning, fishing and playing cards. She loved watching her grandchildren. She found ultimate joy whenever she was with her family. They meant the world to her. She will be dearly missed.

Alice is survived by her children, Mark (Louella) of Avon,

Rosa, Diane (Leon) Stueve of Albany, Glen (Darlene) Engelmeyer of St. Rosa, Karen (Henry) Gruber of St. Cloud, Jim (Roseann) Engelmeyer of Freeport, and Laura (Galen) Stickfort of Stillwater; 22 grandchildren and 22 greatgrandchildren; brother and sisters Wilfred “Wif” (Bernette) Finken of Melrose, Dorothy Austing of Freeport, and Donna Bueckers of St. Rosa; and sisters-in-law Gloriann (Jerry) Thomas of Little Falls, Mary Jane (John) Klaphake of St. Rosa, and Margie Engelmeyer of St. Rosa.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Roger Engelmeyer Sept. 15, 2018; parents; and great-granddaughter Addison Wensman.

Arrangements were made with Patton-Schad Funeral & Cremation Services of Melrose. P-35-1B

Spring Hill grotto anniversary evening

Bishop celebrates Mass for Mary

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER

People gathered on the east lawn of the Church of St. Michael in Spring Hill early evening Aug. 15, crickets chirping in the background. With a slight breeze and cooling temperatures, it was a perfect night for an outdoor Mass in this peaceful setting with the cemetery in the background.

The Mass was special for two reasons. It was the fifth year in a row an outdoor Mass was celebrated by the bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud near a Blessed Virgin Mary grotto dating back to 1920 and rededicated Aug. 15 1989. It was the second year as a One in Faith Area Catholic Community event for parishes in Spring Hill, Greenwald, Meire Grove, Melrose, New Munich, Freeport and St. Rosa. The Mass was celebrated by the Most Rev. Patrick Neary, bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, and he was assisted by Deacon Ernie Kociemba.

The humorous side of Neary was woven throughout the Mass, starting at the beginning when he talked about his GPS not being able to find his destination. It was Neary’s first time in Spring Hill since he was named bishop of the diocese this year.

His homily revolved around Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom this feast day was dedicated.

Meyers, Emma, Owen and Noah Ecker, Charlie and Nora Wrede, Georgia and Frankie Lou Ecker, Beatrice and Pearl Eder, and Scottie Stern; brothers and sisters David Ecker of Melrose, Bill (Elaine) Ecker of Perham, Steve (Sue) Ecker of Long Prairie, Dianne (Craig) Smith of Miltona, and Laurie (Bill) Welz of Delano.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Veronica Ecker.

Serving as urn bearer was Logan Meyers. Serving as cross bearer was Charlie Wrede and scripture bearer was Emma Ecker.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred, and will be donated for cancer research and local oncology support.

Arrangements were made with Patton-Schad Funeral & Cremation Services of Melrose. P-35-1B

“She was similar to a young woman, probably about 15, when she found out she was going to be the mother of Jesus; a simple handmaid,” Neary said. “This feast should make us feel close to her.”

He talked about how his own mother showed him what unconditional love was all about.

“She was always there for me. If I was upset as a boy, she would hold me in her arms. … She believed in me all of my life.”

He said being a mother is a vocation.

“It’s a lot of work. It’s not

easy, so they tell me,” Neary said.

“Mothers, grandmothers, sisters, spouses, who are these holy women who have shown us amazing love?”

He wondered what it would be like to sit down with Mary over a cup of coffee and talk about her life with Jesus.

“What was it like seeing him preaching, curing people? What was it like at the cross to see your only son crucified? What about the resurrection?” Neary said.

He said he might ask for her advice on a thousand things.

“Listening to her wisdom would be a privilege,” he said.

Even though Mary was assumed to heaven doesn’t mean she is out of reach to us, he said.

“She knows our hearts. She hears our prayers. She can help us with her motherly kindness, and she always listens to us,” Neary said. “We can trust the whole of our lives to this mother.”

Near the end of the hour-long Mass, Neary thanked everyone involved in planning the Mass, including musicians Donny and Karen Brang, who led people in song. It was announced refreshments would be served following Mass and Neary asked if that included beer. After all, he was in Stearns County.

Neary visited with people following the Mass – eating a cookie but not drinking a beer. It was a perfect ending to an anniversary evening in honor of Mary.

Alice T. Eichers

Theresa Cronin of St. Augusta, Jerome (Theresa) of Avon, Joanne (Joseph) Bloch of Longville and Marlene (Lloyd) Koopmeiners of Avon; 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren; brothers Richard (Alice) Drontle and Edmund (Theresa) Drontle both of Richmond; and sister-in-law

Florence Rausch of Albany.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Daniel in 2014 and sister Rose Peltz.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Williams Dingmann Funeral Home in Avon. P-35-1B

Thank you

Ethan’s tragic death has really shed light on how many wonderful people we surround ourselves with.

To the Gerads/Bauer and Sand/Linn families, thank you. Thank you for stepping up, taking charge and navigating us through the days following the accident. There really are no words to truly tell each and everyone how much we appreciate the outpour of love and support we have received over the past month.

Thank you to the Freeport Fire and Rescue, Melrose Ambulance, Life Link and the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department. We have always appreciated and admired all of you for the job you do, but this tragedy has shed a whole new level of appreciation for your duties and dedication.

To Linda Holm and her staff at Patton-Schad Funeral Home, you were so amazing every step of the way. Thank you for making the worst days of our lives manageable.

To each and every one of you that took the time

to attend Ethan’s visitation and funeral, thank you. It was so humbling to see the turnout.

Thank you Father Dan for the beautiful funeral service and the powerful message. Thank you Father Edward, Father Julius and Father Greg for taking the time out of your busy schedules and being part of our day, as well.

We thank our brothers, Jeremy Sand and Bob Gerads, for sharing their singing talents. It will be a tribute to Ethan we will cherish forever.

Thank you, each and every one of you who visited, brought food, sent cards or were just there when we needed you most.

Ethan left way too soon. We would do anything to have him back, but we find comfort knowing he is happily farming and hunting in heaven.

Love, Jeff, Melissa, Emma and Owen Gerads

P-35-1P

Thomas A. Ecker

Mary Ann M. Engelmeyer

PHOTOS BY CAROL MOORMAN

The Most Rev. Patrick Neary, during his homily at the Aug. 15 outdoor Mass on the Church of St. Michael church grounds in Spring Hill, talks about Mary on the Feast of the Assumption. It was the fifth anniversary of a Blessed Virgin Mary grotto being installed.

People participate in an outdoor Mass Aug. 15 on the Church of St. Michael church grounds in Spring Hill. There was a time for socializing following the hour-long Mass.

September already? The long time wed

As the calendar shifts from August to September, so does our attention. Quite suddenly we shift from ending our days by pulling in dried beach towels and swimsuits from the front porch to digging out backpacks from corners of closets and maybe even thinking about finding a jacket, this past Saturday evening especially.

With the turn of the calendar the garden has shifted from its summer glory of bright marigolds, of swelled pea pods and radishes to an autumnal look. The bean plants have spread beyond their row but are flanked by dry barren dirt where pea plants, rutabaga and kohlrabi have already been harvested. The zucchini, though, is still in its hay day, producing more than any one family can possibly consume. We’re still trying to keep up, resorting to brownies and chocolate muffins with shreds of zucchini hidden among the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

The apple tree is sagging less, with the lower branches picked clean. Our attention might have to shift away from zucchini to getting through the apple harvest. I told my daughters this week to aim for an apple a day. The harvest is plentiful – and there were no complaints about the apple crips Katelyn and I put together on Sunday afternoon, a cool fall breeze blowing through the house carrying the scent of baking apples throughout. I noticed our neighbors filling bags with apples around their tree today, too.

Our attention has shifted to Fargo, with Hallie starting her sophomore year last week at North Dakota State University. She calls and tells us about reading assignments, take home quizzes and her cooking adventures, living for the first time in an apartment with her own kitchen. “Garlic salt or garlic powder for garlic bread?” “What kind of milk do we buy?” And while the picture of Rice a Roni looks good on the box, it tastes nothing like Dad’s rice, she tells

us.

Our attention is focused on Katelyn starting her senior year of high school. I’m struggling to wrap my mind and my emotions around the idea of only one more year with a child in the school system. Only one more year before the house grows quiet and empty. I hope she ends up in Fargo with her sister, yet I’m giving her room to chart her own path.

As I write this, she is spending the evening with her high school dance team. They are decorating the covers of journals to use during the season, a fun excuse to get together. She left with a backpack full of purple glitter and paint pens. She’s captain of the team this year and eager to be a good leader, even though the season doesn’t start until winter.

Hoffarth

My attention has shifted back to my classroom. This shift happens with the turn of the calendar to August, but becomes all-consuming once we hit September. Teacher workshop week is underway. I’m busy attending meetings and lesson planning; studying standards, test scores and class rosters; carting enough desks and books into my classroom – getting ready for the 100 students that will pass through my classroom door next Tuesday. I’ve been teaching for over 20 years, but I’m still nervous for the first day.

My attention has shifted away from long evenings on my patio to evenings cheering for high school soccer and volleyball teams. Competition is underway already. The first fall football game in Albany is Thursday. I’ll be there, too. And may need to bring a sweatshirt along.

While we may bid summer farewell with a heavy heart, shifting from tank tops to sweaters and from iced drinks to hot chocolate or pumpkin spice lattes isn’t so bad – it might even be a welcomed new direction. Maybe it’s even time to get a pot of soup on the stove.

The missing teacher

The image of the one-room school house has a definite place in recorded and oral histories of the area.

Most tell about learning in small schools, with one teacher for eight grades and usually less than 30 children. They are stories of a simpler time, learning by memorization and discipline.

There are also stories of pranks played.

A few mentioned how students tried to sabotage a school day or how, occasionally, students were recruited from class to work in the field.

From the early years of formal education in the Avon area, recorded in William Bell Mitchell’s 1915 “History of Stearns County,” there was an incident about a teacher returning back to the classroom shortly after being suspended – well, sort of.

Mitchell is not specific about the year of the incident, writing it occurred “in the early days” of School District 60, founded in 1870, when remuneration of teachers was lower than today. Mitchell writes “the first teachers were paid the lowest of wages.”

He wasn’t the only one that notes school boards, and perhaps the public in general, tried to keep wages low. In minutes from about a century ago, in a different county, is one board’s recommendation to hire only young, pretty women as teachers. The idea being, according to one person, they would be married in a year or two and have to retire from teaching, thereby cutting back on a possible salary increase. That was not the case for the teacher from School

District 60. The unnamed teacher opted to stretch his income by hunting wild game. He was fond of venison, but his hunting success varied. At one of his hunting spots he noticed a tree had created a naturally elevated stand, of sorts. The height gave him an advantage in the hunt, but he could possibly fall while shooting or waiting during the hunt, “and to provide against such a calamity he took with him a strong piece of rope with which he lashed himself somewhat loosely to the trunk,” Mitchell wrote. Somehow, he lost his balance and slipped. The length of rope prevented him from hitting the ground but he could not get back to the tree, and he missed the start of school.

At school, students eventually alerted some nearby adults of the missing teacher and a search party went to look for him. The party was both relieved and amused when they found the teacher suspended between the tree and ground.

He was apparently not hurt, although perhaps somewhat embarrassed, by the whole incident. Mitchell wrote, “The unfortunate school master was liberated and everybody trooped back to school where the work for the day was resumed.”

The story of the teacher hanging from a deer stand came down through the years and is recorded, citing Mitchell, in “Nestled Between Lakes and Wooded Hills,” Jeanette Blonigen Clancy’s 2000 Avon centennial history book.

The incident may have provided a story to be told about the early years of teaching in the area – but chances are it did not help the missing teacher’s salary.

After a lengthy spell of no weddings, Barb and I recently attended our second ceremony within the past month. I enjoy weddings. I associate them mostly with new love, getting together with family we might not have seen in a while and dancing. There have been times when we couldn’t leave the reception until “Sweet Caroline” had played or until the music started catering to the younger attendees. I remember one wedding in the Twin Cities for Barb’s cousin’s son and his bride. It was a small wedding, and around 11 p.m. there were very few guests remaining. No one was on the dance floor anymore, including the bride and groom, but since the reception was at the hotel we were staying at, we stuck around and danced as long as the music played. Where there is music, there will be dancing. Barb eventually coaxed me off the floor.

Weddings are all about the bride and groom. This is a happy day for them, and you can tell by the way they hold each other and stay at each other’s side. The speeches tell how perfect they are for each, how they are a match made in heaven, transformed down here on earth, two pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly together. Seemingly they also know everything about each other, which becomes obvious if they play the newlywed game where they hold on to each other’s shoes and raise them to answer questions about themselves, like who the better driver is or who initiated their first conversation.

Barb and I, in between wedding celebrations, attended a weekend get-together. There were campfires, good food and drink, volleyball and swimming. And of course, there were one or two adult games including a not so newly wed newlywed game –10 questions to know how well we know our spouse, even a spouse we have been married to for nearly 34 years.

This time I had to coax Barb to play. We had played the same game a year or two ago and failed miserably so we had some trepidation about another go-around. After assuring her even if we only got one question correct, we would consider that a win, Barb agreed to play. How bad could it be, we wondered?

Then the questioning began. What is her favorite song? What is my dream job? What could we not live without? What was my first impression of Barb? Where was our first kiss? After the dust had settled, I was surprised at how well we did. We only got one question out of the 10 right, but it felt as though we did much better than that. Either our answers were close or we simply didn’t write down what we already knew. Sometimes, Barb knows me better than I know myself and vice versa. Either way, we know each other as well as ever.

At this age, though, we have much more on our minds. We have children and grandchildren to think about. We have aging parents, health issues, memory loss and tons of excuses. We also have the satisfaction of knowing out of the eight other couples that played the game that night, none were able to get more than 50% of the answers correct.

Hah, last place? Yes. In the running? Every day.

Busy summer at the county

Greetings and welcome to the official end of summer. It seems like it was just Memorial Day yesterday, and now we are looking at Labor Day.

It has been a busy one for me as your local county commissioner, keeping up with committee meetings and county board meetings. Along with most counties in Minnesota, Stearns County belongs to the Association of MN Counties.

I have been appointed to the National Association of Counties Agriculture and Food Safety Subcommittee to help guide federal farm policy on behalf of counties throughout the country.

Commissioner Kevin Paap, from Blue Earth County, and I are the two commissioners from Minnesota on this subcommittee, and with the next Farm Bill being drafted, we are helping guide the discussion at the federal level. These subcommittee meetings are held mostly online with formal meetings held in February in Washington, DC, and in July at the annual NACo meeting, which moves locations throughout the country. Minnesota is in a unique position this year as the elected president of NACo is from Ramsey County. With the national president from Minnesota, it helps get issues that are important to our state brought to the forefront.

Commissioner’s Corner by Steve Notch

We had a board meeting Aug. 22, which ended up being a long meeting with much discussion on issues such as the preliminary budget presentation, whether to allow the three area colleges to access county property records to look for discriminatory covenants along with waiving fees to record any covenants found, reviewing a new cannabis ordinance for the county, and approving a Request for Qualifications for the proposed jail/ justice center.

The initial budget conversation from administration shows the need for a 2.49% levy increase for 2024. Without the increased county state aid from this past legislative session and the use of fund balances, the preliminary levy would’ve been between 6 and 7% for 2024. We hope to find more areas to cut and maybe get closer to a zero-levy increase for 2024.

On the resolution to allow college students through the Just Deeds Project to access public property records to look for discriminatory covenants, most of the county board felt it was not necessary to pass a resolution to allow access to the records when the records are already public documents. It would be up to each property owner to decide if they wanted to record the affidavit related to the dis-

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criminatory covenants. The fee for recording is $46 and the request was to waive the fee for anyone wishing to do so. It is a symbolic gesture, and each property owner has the right to either record it or not. It was stated these occurred from the late 1800s to around 1968. In 1948 the Supreme Court deemed them discriminatory; therefore, they cannot be enforced, and it seems there is no need to go through the process and waive the fee.

The county board approved a new cannabis ordinance stating where the use of cannabis is restricted, on and around county property, parks, etc. The county will update this periodically as the state creates the department that will oversee cannabis.

Lastly, we approved sending out a RFQ to select an architect and a construction manager to create an initial design and cost estimate for a jail/justice center. The purpose is to determine an approximate cost of a facility to bring this to the voters in November of 2024. The request to voters would be to use a local option sales tax of .375% to pay for the facility versus having just the county property taxpayers be the ones paying for it. More on this in the future.

I can be reached at steve.notch@stearnscountymn. gov or 320-836-2199.

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The Farmers Daughter By Sonya

Ink on My Hands by Kevin Zierden

A Peek at the Past by Herman Lensing

girls soccer falls twice

BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER

The Melrose Area Lady Dutchmen soccer team fell 8-0 to Fergus Falls Aug. 26 at Melrose Area High School in Melrose.

Melrose was constantly on the defense, as goalies Pamela Martinez Montanez, 20 saves, and Tia Primus, three saves, stopped a number of kicks. Montanez had diving stops and stopped a one-on-one break. Most of the Otters’ goals came from rebounds.

Megan Martinez and Natalie Ambriz Botello had shots on goal for Melrose.

Rocori 4, Melrose 0

Melrose lost to Rocori 4-0 Aug. 24 at Melrose Area High School in Melrose. The Lady Dutchmen’s inexperience showed at times.

“We have 11 seniors, but five started playing this year,” said Cecelia Montanez, head coach. “We have to work harder. They did good. We can only go up from here.”

The Spartans scored in the first three minutes and kept the pressure on Melrose for most of the game. Rocori scored again at the 15-minute, 21-second mark of the first half, then did not score again until halfway through the second half. It added another goal with 9:30 left.

In spite of the constant pressure, the Lady Dutchmen did not allow a barrage of goals. Rocori had 13 shots on goal with Melrose goalie Primus recording nine saves.

“She’s a senior but a first-time goalie,” Coach Montanez said. “She did amazing. If she can push through this, she will come out stronger.”

The Lady Dutchmen did mount offensive attacks. Their best chance came with 5:18 left, when Natalie Ambriz Botello took the ball to the goal box. A Rocori defender and the goalie closed in on her, forcing a low-percentage shot that was deflected.

The game was shortened to two 30-minute halves because of the heat.

Dutchmen rally for soccer win

BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER

The Melrose Area Dutchmen boys soccer team came back with a strong second half to defeat Fergus Falls 5-3 Aug. 26 at Fergus Falls High School in Fergus Falls.

Melrose played catch-up for much of the first half. Brandon Sanchez, assisted by Alonso Montañez, scored in the first half, but the Dutchmen trailed 2-1 at the break.

In the second half, Melrose came on strong. Alex Ambriz, with an assist from Alejandro Martinez, equalized the score. A Martinez penalty kick at 28 minutes, 10 seconds gave the Dutchmen a 3-2 lead.

Fergus Falls tied the score with 25:46 left on a rebounded free kick. Alex Ambriz, again assisted by Martinez, put Melrose back on top with a long-range kick with 16:20 left. Six minutes later, Montañez, assisted by Sanchez, put in an insurance goal.

The Dutchmen defense never gave the Otters many scoring opportunities after that. Goalie Adan Lara Ambriz made 14 saves and stopped a penalty kick late in the game.

Rocori 3, Melrose 1

The Dutchmen fell 3-1 in their season opener Aug. 24 at Blattner Stadium in Cold Spring.

The Spartans scored about 10 minutes into the game, then added a penalty-kick goal with about 10 minutes left in the first half. Rocori’s final goal came about 12 minutes into the second half following a throw-in.

Melrose Area had attacks throughout the game with Alonso Montañez, scoring with 7:25 left. The play was set up by a long pass from Alejandro Martinez

Melrose attacked offensively throughout the game and scored with 7:25 left on a play set up by a long pass.

Dutchman goalie Adan Lara Ambriz had eight saves.

Melrose swimmers take 1st in Willmar

Lady Dutchmen post excellent finishes

BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER

The Melrose Area Lady Dutchmen girls swimming and diving team opened their 2023 season taking first Aug. 25 in the Willmar Invitational at Willmar High School in Willmar. Melrose’s team depth showed right from the start, with the 200-yard medley relay team of Brooke Ruoff, Hallie Drossel, Georgia Anderson and Lauren Reed taking first with a 1-minute, 55.04-second time. The grouping of Makayla Zirbes, Jaelyn Mayers, Ava Wensmann and Chloe Viere earned seventh; Ava Smith, Ella Klaphake, Autumn Austing and Anika Berscheit took 10th and Olivia Nathe, Brynn Berscheit, Victoria LaForge and Aubrey Braegelmann snagged 11th.

Melrose had further firsts from Drossel in the 200 individual medley (2:16.53) and 100 breaststroke (1:08.08) while the 200 freestyle relay team of Drossel, Ruoff, Maddi Kraemer

FOOTBALL

and Reed also locked up first at 1:45.88.

The Lady Dutchmen placed four relays in the top 10 of the 200 freestyle relay, with Viere, Anika Berscheit, Ella Erdmann and Jaiden Smith taking eighth; Olivia Nathe, Mayers, Annika Frieler and Braegelmann ending up ninth; and Austing, Klaphake, Maggie Frieler and Leah Seanger finishing 10th.

The 200 was also a success individually. Jaiden Smith finished second at 2:11.03 while Maggie Frieler, Erdmann and Seanger took seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Josie Eveslage landed third in the diving competition at 174.55, while Theresia Nathe, Ellie Dockendof and Bella Kuechle followed close behind at fourth, seventh and 10th, respectively.

For 500 freestyle swimmers, Jaiden Smith positioned herself in third place at 6:15.55 and Maggie Frieler, third; Erdmann, fourth; and Seanger, eighth, also finished high. Melrose finished with 662.5 points ahead of runners-up Tech at 539 and Sauk Centre at 402 points in the sixschool meet.

Other top-10 individual finishes were: Kraemer fifth and Ava Wensmann sixth in the 200 individual medley; Reed fourth at 26.6 and Ruoff sixth in the 50 freestyle; Anderson fourth at 1:08.20 and Kraemer eighth in the 100 butterfly; Reed second at 59.02 and Zirbes seventh in the 100 freestyle; Ruoff third at 1:05.26, Zirbes fifth and Anderson sixth in the 100 backstroke; and Klaphake eighth in the 100 breaststroke. The 400 freestyle relay units of Jaiden Smith, Kraemer, Anderson and Zirbes; Maggie Frieler, Erdmann, Seanger and Wensmann; and LaForge, Austing, Nathe and Viere finished third, seventh and ninth, respectively.

The top-four finishes by the team highlight an important aspect of the team’s strength.

“We showed a lot of depth,” said Nathan Meyer, head coach. “We have a huge group of ninth and 10th graders, complemented by a strong group of seniors and juniors. It was exciting to see them in competition.”

ALBANY HUSKIES fall sports preview

Head coach and number of years coached: Mike Ellingson, second year at Albany, sixth year as head coach, 21st year coaching football.

Assistant coaches: Todd Kuhn, Jim Mader, Zach Dingmann and Brian Bierbaum.

Key returners: Senior wide receiver and cornerback Jack Rieland, senior running back Adam Dennis, junior running back Ethan Meyer, senior defensive end Devin Schaefer and junior safety Elliott Burnett.

Strengths to the team: This team has speed and depth to the roster.

What are challenges your team will face? The challenge will be to continue to grow, learn and execute at a high level.

Which players do you expect to take on a larger role this year? Senior quarterback and defensive back Andrew Olson, senior tight end and defensive end Hunter Hamann, senior fullback and middle linebacker Joe Schmitt, senior running back and linebacker Tyler Hoffarth, junior lineman Zach Stradtmann, junior lineman Jack Eveslage, senior lineman Grant Wohletz and junior running back and linebacker Drew Lehner. What type of team-building exercises do you incor-

porate into the season? Spaghetti suppers, Saturday donuts, a golf outing and the Miracle League Outing. What life lessons do you want your athletes to learn? The biggest life lesson I would like the team to understand is that people will often forget scores and stats, but likely never forget how you treated them.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Head coach: Kathy Conrad, 28th year coaching.

Assistant coaches: Duane Lichy and Chris Grove.

Key returners: Olivia Goebel and Carter Schwalbe are both returning seniors with state meet appearances. Both will be strong team leaders.

Strengths to the team: The team worked together all summer, putting in solid miles.

What are challenges your team will face? Both Perham and Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball are joining our section. What type of team-building exercises do you incorporate into the season? Kayaking, biking, games and Saturday practices at various locations (all including breakfast).

What life lesson do you want your athletes to learn? Hard work can be enjoyable and will take you places.

MELROSE DUTCHMEN AND LADY DUTCHMEN fall sports preview

FOOTBALL

Head coach and number of years coached: Chuck Noll, 36 years, and Vaughn Glasener, 35 years.

Assistant coaches: Brandon Welle, Jesse Kuechle, Jordan Welle, Kyle Shaughnessy, Matt Taffe and Ryan Moscho.

Key returners: Jose De Los Santos, senior linebacker; Max Wehlage, senior wide receiver and defensive back; Sam Wehlage, junior wide receiver and defensive back; and Hudson Bitz, junior tight end and linebacker.

Strengths to the team: I think our overall athleticism, especially at the skilled positions, and there seems to be a more prominent feeling of enthusiasm in practice and the locker room.

What are challenges your team will face? With a smaller senior class and fewer returners our schedule is not an easy task. Facing Eden Valley-Watkins and Albany in our first two games will be tough.

Which players to do you expect to take on a larger role this year? Logan Schad and Isaac Rosenberger are coming back out for football after some time away. We are hoping to get some bigger contributions this year from them.

What type of team-building exercises do you incorporate into the season? Our team-building activities include team meals the day before our football games, and we have established a leadership council to help add to the culture of our team in a positive way.

What life lesson do you want your athletes to learn?

Belonging to something much bigger than yourself is a huge concept for student-athletes and then helping out and giving your time.

GIRLS CROSS-COUNTRY

Head coach and number of years coached: Scott Brever, 10 years.

Assistant coaches: Dan Shaffer, nine years.

Key returners: Maria Hinnenkamp, junior, West Central Conference All-Conference and Top 20 Preseason Section 6A Runner; and Kaitlyn Klasen, sophomore, WCC All-Conference Honorable Mention.

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Strengths to the team: Even though we lost seniors Kayla Meyer and Bridgette Hingeveld, we do return most of our varsity lineup from last year’s runner-up WCC Conference finish, so we are hoping the experience will help build upon that to again be competitive in the difficult conference.

What are challenges your team will face?: Our reduction in enrollment moves us back down to Class A, so we will have to adjust and focus on the new teams and runners we will be facing at the Section 6A Meet. Our numbers are a little lower, so we will have to avoid injuries to compete at a high level.

Which players do you expect to take on a larger role this year? Some of the runners off of last year’s team took on

larger roles in our varsity lineup as they gained more experience and physically matured. I hope these runners, like Zoe Hoeschen, Olivia Harren and Lydia Prout and newcomers like Danica Kerzman, can continue to make strides this year.

What type of team-building exercises do you incorporate into the season? We have Watermelon Wednesdays, Dairy Queen runs, team bowling, grill-outs, homecoming float decorating, team meals, a fundraising carwash and other events we incorporate into our season to build team chemistry. What life lesson do you want your athletes to learn? I look at cross-country as an extension of the classroom, where we are trying to get athletes to experience and learn life skills to help them become successful when they leave high school. I feel in cross-country, students learn the benefits of hard work, fortitude, mental toughness and healthy competition.

BOYS CROSS-COUNTRY

Head coach and number of years coached: Scott Brever, 10 years.

Assistant coaches: Dan Shaffer, nine years.

Key returners: Dominic Kerzman, junior, WCC All Conference and Top 25 Preseason Section 6A Runner; and Malachi Piche, junior, WCC All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Strengths to the team: After losing seniors and varsity starters Austin Kelzer and Anthony Martinez, we will be led by returning veteran Dominic Kerzman, along with starters Malachi Piche, Timothy Wilwerding and Sawyer Frieler. After that, we have a lot of runners competing for the remaining varsity spots, which will hopefully create a healthy competition between the athletes that will benefit all of them and the team.

What are challenges your team will face? I suspect we will have a changing varsity lineup early in the season as athletes compete for those varsity spots left open due to graduation. This inexperience is something we will have to overcome to build team chemistry as the season progresses. Which players do you expect to take on a larger role this year? Isaiah Zink and Andrue Stalboerger broke into the varsity lineup for the first time late last year. They will hopefully pick up where they left off last year to contribute to the varsity team. Also, we have captain Hayden Wieling and many rising junior high runners that could contribute to varsity as well this season.

What type of team-building exercises do you incorporate into the season? We have Watermelon Wednesdays, Dairy Queen runs, team bowling, grill-outs, homecoming float decorating, team meals, a fundraising carwash and other events we incorporate into our season to build team chemistry.

What life lesson do you want your athletes to learn? I look at cross-country as an extension of the classroom, where we are trying to get athletes to experience and learn life skills to help them become successful when they leave high school. I feel in cross-country, students learn the benefits of hard work, fortitude, mental toughness and healthy competition.

If you’re going to use, know.

First varsity match, first win

Huskies girls

soccer tops Pelican Rapids in inaugural varsity performance

BY MIKE KOSIK STAFF WRITER

The Albany Area High School girls soccer team was impressive in their first varsity game, winning 5-0 against Pelican Rapids at Michael Field at Herges Stadium in Albany.

Savanna Pelzer will go down as the first player to score a goal for the Albany varsity team.

The Huskies had just one year of experience under its belt, playing junior varsity last season. It was the first time Albany fielded a varsity soccer team.

“It definitely feels good to win our first one,” said Peter Maas, co-head coach.

Pelzer added another goal later on in the first half. In between her goals, Callie Holthaus scored to give the Huskies a 3-0 score at the end of the first half.

Eva Schwenzfeier scored Albany’s fourth goal and their first of the second half, with Madison Fischer scoring with less than two minutes remaining to make it 5-0.

Alyssa Sand had 13 saves in goal for Albany.

“It’s exciting,” said Samantha Tate, co-head coach. “It’s going to put us on the right track to move forward.”

The Huskies took a lot of shots on goal, firing 27

shots at the Pelican Rapids net during an energetic opener. “We keep telling them

FOOTBALL

Head coach and number of years coached: Luke Mitchell, year 12.

Assistant coaches: Brody Anderson, Kelly Kobernusz, Logan Oellien, Hunter Aherns and Davis Mickelson.

Key returners: Seniors: Quarterback and linebacker Drew Lange, 74-175 passing, 906 yards; lineman David Heinen; tight end and defensive back Nolan Streit; wide receiver and defensive back Mason Bengston and lineman Evan Lichy. Juniors: Running back and defensive back Luke Bieniek, 112 carries, 719 yards, 14 receptions for 142 yards; quarterback and linebacker Will Pilarski and wide receiver and defensive back Garrett Frink. Sophomores: Defensive back and running back Masyn Patrick, 11 receptions for 160 yards; running back and defensive lineman Mason Lichy; quarterback and linebacker Jaxon Bartkowicz and running back and linebacker Kolton Harren.

even if you miss, you wouldn’t have scored if you hadn’t taken it,” Tate said. “A lot of opportunities there.”

Maas said the team passed well, with most of the passes connecting. He also liked the overall impact of everyone in the lineup.

“Every player contributed tonight,” he said. “They all made meaningful minutes out there, which is huge. It just builds for the future.”

Pelzer, Holthaus and Bekah Domke were credited with assists.

Albany 2, Rocori 0

The Huskies won their second match of the season 2-0 over Rocori Aug. 28 at Blattner Stadium in Cold Spring.

Savanna Pelzer and Kylan Gerads scored the goals. Both assists went to Callie Holthaus.

Lady Dutchmen win 2 at volleyball invite

Melrose plays in HLWW tournament

BY HERMAN LENSING STAFF WRITER

The Melrose Area Lady Dutchmen volleyball team split matches in pool and bracket play Aug. 25 at the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Invite at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School in Howard Lake.

The Lady Dutchmen fell 25-16, 25-20 in their first match to Mound Westonka. The serving of Alea Berscheit led the serving attack, as she went 11 of 11 with two aces. At the net, Avery Birch had

seven kills and Ria Nelson and Berscheit each had two blocks. Nelson led the team in assists with 16 and Hannah Hoppe led the team in digs with 10.

In its second match, Melrose won a three-set nail biter over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The first set was a 25-19 win for Melrose, followed by an 18-25 loss. In the final set, the Lady Dutchmen held on for a 15-12 win. Play at the net was led by Birch with seven kills and Berscheit with three blocks. Nelson served in a perfect 10 of 10 serves, but Hannah Hoppe had the only ace serve. Kaylee Ellering had 14 digs and Nelson 20 assists.

In bracket play, the Lady Dutchmen held on for 25-18 and 25-21 wins over West Central Area. Two of

Huskers girls swimming and diving begins season with win

BY MIKE KOSIK | STAFF WRITER

The Holdingford Huskers girls swimming and diving team opened the season on a positive note, defeating Apollo 86-74 Aug. 24 at Apollo High School in St. Cloud The Huskers took first place in seven events during the match to win a closely-contested points battle.

those points came on ace

serves from Allie Hoppe. Berscheit led the team, hitting 10 of 10 serves.

Hannah Hoppe’s five kills finished attacks started by Ellering’s 10 digs. Savannah Honkomp’s two blocks led the defense at the net and Nelson set up attacks with her 12 assists.

Melrose’s final match

ended in a 21-25, 19-25 loss to Paynesville. Ema Feldewerd, 9 of 10, and Hannah Hoppe, 9 of 9, led the serving and had seven digs. Ellering provided points with two ace serves and six kills and started the offense with nine digs. Nelson was again the assists leader with 12. Isabelle Jaenicke had a block.

Melrose cross-country season off and running

BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER

The Melrose Area Lady Dutchmen started their cross-country season with a fourth-place team finish Aug. 28 at Pomme de Terre Golf Club in Morris.

Bringing in the 120 team points were finishes by Maria Hinnenkamp, 22 minutes and 26 seconds, 12th; Danica Kerzman, 23:27, 20th; Zoe Hoeschen, 23:57, 25th; Kaitlyn Klasen, 24:47, 33rd; and Gretta Van Wahlde, 25:46, 43rd. Olivia Harren and Hannah Welle also ran for Melrose. Paynesville’s Madi Wendlandt, 20:57, earned first. New London-Spicer had the best team score with 55 points.

In the boys competition, the Dutchmen were led by Timothy Wilwerding’s 14th-place finish at 19:15, taking fifth out of eight complete teams and earning 125 team points. Sawyer Frieler, 20:35, and Sullivan Stumler, 20:44, earned 29th and 30th, respectively. Malachi Piche, 21:11.70, was 38th and Logan Rue earned 46th with a 21:53 time, one half-second ahead of teammate Isaiah Zink. Andrue Stalboerger completed the Dutchmen team. Jacob Drevlow of Sauk Centre grabbed first at 17:23, helping his team to a first-place finish with 41 team points.

Strengths to the team: We are bringing back a lot of very good athletes with speed. This group has been practicing with great energy. We don’t have a lot of seniors but we do have a lot of great leaders who push each other to succeed. What are challenges your team will face? We will be playing a lot of underclassmen. Can we play physical enough in a very competitive district? Last season, we faced three teams that played in the state tournament and several other talented teams. We need to play excellent football each week.

Which players do you expect to take on a larger role this year? We have a large group of talented sophomores we feel are ready to step up and play a lot of varsity minutes. What type of team-building exercises do you incorporate into the season? We split our team into four groups each season. These teams compete in a variety of activities called Elite Compete. The players compete in a variety of challenges that force them to compete and work together. What life lesson do you want your athletes to learn? As our season progresses, we want our players to learn accountability, leadership and discipline that will help them be better people on and off the field.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Head coach and number of years coached: Tracy Huls, third year as head coach.

Assistant coaches: Jess Mickelson and Jon Leither.

Key returners: Dawson Hofer, ninth grade, was All-Conference and finished 69th at the state meet; Joe Guthrie, 12th grade, All-Conference; Aiden Pellett, 12th grade, All-Conference; Nick Guthrie, 11th grade; Cameron Martini, 10th grade; Jimmy Jensen, 11th grade and Quinn Guthrie, 10th grade. For girls: Loretta Mrosla, 10th grade, All-Conference; Gracelyn Gerads, 12th grade; Claire Arvig, 12th grade; Alyssa Young, 12th grade; Evie Aleckson, 11th grade and Olivia Klasen, ninth grade.

Strengths to the team: For the boys team, it’s depth and experience. The team goal is to get to the state meet as a team. We have more numbers for the girls this year, and our team goal is to try to win the conference.

What are challenges your team will face? Our boys are very strong and have a good chance to make it to state as a team. They will have to finish first or second to St. Johns’s Prep to achieve this. The challenge will be also be to beat Cathedral and Northwest Nighthawks. Loretta Mrosla is very capable of making it to state. Loretta missed going to state last fall by one spot. Each meet we have will give us more of a guide to where we are compared to the teams and individuals we will need to beat to achieve our goals. Which players do you expect to take on a larger role this year? Our captains Joe Guthrie, Aiden Pellett, Loretta Mrosla and Gracelyn Gerads lead our team in warm-ups and role model integrity, hard work, leadership, support and having a positive attitude.

What type of team-building exercises do you incorporate into the season? Pasta parties and treats on Fridays. What life lesson do you want your athletes to learn? Goal-setting, pushing through tough times and knowing how to be a team player.

Featuring:

PHOTOS BY MIKE KOSIK

Savanna Pelzer strides away from the net after scoring her second goal of a match against Pelican Rapids Aug. 25 at Michael Field at Herges Stadium in Albany. The Huskies girls soccer team won its first game of the season 5-0.

Madison Fischer sets to kick the ball in the match against Pelican Rapids Aug. 25 at Michael Field at Herges Stadium in Albany. Fischer scored the final goal of a 5-0 Albany victory.

Martins survive in state play

Defense lifts St. Martin over Loretto

BY HERMAN LENSING STAFF WRITER

Timely hitting and defense put the St. Martin Martins into the final weekend of the amateur baseball season.

The Martins were outhit

18-8 but outscored Loretto

6-5 for the Class C Minnesota Amateur Baseball Tournament win Aug. 27 at Optimist Park in Litchfield. Scott Lieser gave up hits in every inning. His defense, though, kept finding ways to strand Loretto runners.

“Everybody did their part,” said Carl Lieser, manager. “It was a team win.”

As they have all season, the Martins scratched for runs, using two Loretto errors and singles by Bryan Schlangen and Tanner Arceneau for a 1-0 first-inning lead.

Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, St. Martin executed sacrifice bunts, a growing team trademark. The first moved Brady Goebel to second base. Following an infield error, which placed Scott Lieser on second and pinch runner Michael Schlangen on third, St. Martin pinch hitter Ben Schroeder put down a bunt. It was well-placed and Loretto did not get the chance to throw out Michael Schlangen, who tied the game.

The seventh inning was a big one for the Martins, who followed two-out walks to Kyle Lieser and Bryan Schlangen with doubles by Goebel and Scott Lieser.

Goebel’s double scored Kyle Lieser and Bryan Schlangen. Scott Lieser’s double plated Goebel.

“I knew it would be a fastball and swung at the first pitch,” Goebel said.

Later that inning, Devon Schaefer, pinch-running for Scott Lieser, scored on an error.

Carl Lieser rarely hesitated to bring in pinch runners or hitters as they worked to get runs. All game long, the Martins made plays when needed to stop the Larks from scoring but never stopped the

Larks from hitting. The three Koskies in the lineup – former major leaguer Corey Koskie and his sons Joshua and Bradley – combined for nine of the Larks’ 18 hits. Joshua Koskie, who had four hits, singled in a run in the seventh. St. Martin’s infield turned double plays in the eighth and ninth innings but could not avoid a nail-biting final frame. Following the ninth-inning double play, the Larks record-

ed three straight hits, the last one being a two-out double by Corey Koskie. “We knew he would be good, but you have to face everybody,” Goebel said. With the score at 6-5 and the tying run on second, the Martins brought New Munich draftee Ty Reller to the mound. He hit the first batter, putting the winning run on base. The following batter lifted a fly ball to right field

for the final out.

“I was a little nervous at first, but with defense like this, it is pretty easy to settle in,” Reller said.

While the hits by Goebel and the double plays were talked about at game’s end, Carl Lieser felt there was clear element in the win.

“Everybody stepped up and did their job,” he said.

Tanner

to

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Philippi’s improvement keeps Avon in state tournament

Lakers faces St. Martin in round 16

BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER

Carter Philippi had a sense of drama with his two home runs Aug. 27 in the Class C Minnesota Amateur Baseball Tournament at Saints Field in Dassel.

His first, leading off the third inning, gave Avon a 1-0 lead over Hibbing. His second, a one-out shot in the seventh, won the 2-1 game.

“It was like I was seeing a beach ball in a couple of at-bats,” Philippi said. “It has been a hit-or-miss thing, but I am hitting hard.”

Philippi has been doing that consistently in the past few games. As a result, the Lakers are headed to the final weekend of the state tournament.

“This is his fifth or sixth year,” said Caleb Curry, co-manager. “He has been a student of the game, improving each year. We did some fine-tuning of some things and leveled his swing. We put in some work Wednesday and it paid off.”

Avon had two singles by Reese Gregory and a double by Peyton Randall. It really had only two other serious threats. Both times, the runners were stranded at third base.

Other than that, Avon and Hibbing’s pitchers engaged in a pitching duel. Dominic Austing earned the win, going seven innings and leaving with the lead. Hibbing loaded the bases once with no outs, but Avon turned an unusual double play to keep them from scoring. A line shot to right was speared by Gregory, who threw to third to complete the double play. It was

tournament.

plays and pitched two innings of relief.

Avon’s second double play of the game.

Gregory earned the save, facing seven batters in the last two innings while giving up a hit. Neither Laker pitcher walked a batter.

“I felt good after the second inning,” Austing said. “My fastball was OK; the changeup was pretty good. My curve wasn’t great but it was good enough to keep them off the bases.”

Hibbing’s score came in the sixth, when Avon committed two errors, including one by Philippi, allowing the run to score. The second home run helped ease the memory of the error for Philippi.

“I had to make up for that,” he said. “Coming the very next inning, it felt good.”

The home runs took pressure off the Lakers, who were wondering if they would get another

chance to score.

“Their pitcher was throwing strikes and controlling the strike zone,” Curry said. “It was a back-andforth game with good defense. It came down to the end, and we came out on top.”

The win sets up a state tournament rematch with St. Martin at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1 at Saints Field in Dassel. Avon defeated St. Martin 2-1 in 11 innings during a state showdown last season.

“We have so much respect for those guys,” Curry said. “It is almost disappointing to have to play them because we respect them too much. But it’s the state tournament, and they will try to take it to us just like we will try to take it to them.”

Carter Philippi celebrates while circling the bases against Hibbing Aug. 27 at Saints Field in Dassel. Philippi bashed two home runs, helping Avon win the game 2-1 to advance in the state

PHOTOS BY HERMAN LENSING

Bryan Schlangen (center) is greeted by Tanner Arceneau (left) and Kyle Lieser after crossing home plate during a four-run seventh inning Aug. 27 at Optimist Park in Litchfield. Kyle Lieser scored the go-ahead run that inning.

ce bunt, allowing Michael Schlangen to score the tying run ce bunts that inning.

Michael Schlangen slides across home plate with the tying run Aug. 27 at Optimist Park in Litchfield. Schlangen was put into the game as a pinch runner.

Arceneau applies

tag

Loretto’s Corey Koskie Aug. 27 at Optimist Park in Litchfield. The tag was in time but the ball was too wide from Arceneau to catch.