Monday, March 10, 2008

Wright/Cromwell News

03/10/2008

Wright/Cromwell News by Jennie K. Hanson March 10, 2008

THEY’RE HERE!!!  We’ll have daffodils in the stores this weekend!!  If you think you’ve missed your opportunity for a day brightener, you can contact Ann Heikkila, Lindsay Lally or Carolyn Krogh to get some for yourself and help our the American Cancer Society.  Thanks to all for your support!

Everyone is welcome to help Aina Larson celebrate her 90th Birthday at the Cromwell Park Pavilion on Sunday, March 16th from 1 – 4 PM.  So, “Happy Birthday, Mom from your kids: Bill, Carol, Sonja, and Eileen. You Go Girl!” No gifts, Please, but if you want, you can bring a donation to our Local Food shelf.

And speaking of the Food Shelf, Sheldon Larsen reminds us all to make our donations whenever possible, but especially in March as this is “Food Shelf Month”.  Donations can be left at the local stores and churches.  And, Thanks in advance!

Congratulations to Bev Krall of Fridley, Mn on her 18th Birthday on February 29th.  Yes, she is the only person I know born on the 29th Leap Year.  You can figure out how old she really is.  Bev and Tony used to live on the North side of Eagle Lake and have sold their property and stay in the cities since retiring several years ago.  We do get to see them occasionally when they head up to Gilbert for family trips.

Tony Krall’s last surviving brother, Stanley died at the end of January.  Stan and his wife, Verne, had just moved from Duluth to a small apt. in Moose Lake last November.  So, Tony is the only one left of his family from Eveleth.  Tony and Bev had just arrived home from South America and then Stan died.  The last they saw him was the end of December.

I read in the DNT that Karla and Ben Line named their new son, Carter Benjamin and he was born on February 14th, 2008.  Congratulations, again!

Dr. Sue Benzie is retiring on April 1, 2008 (that’s no April Fool’s Joke either) from the Gateway Clinic and closing the office in Cromwell.  This is sad news for many area residents who have depended on her and the clinic for the past several years, since 2000.  The current Cromwell staff will be relocating to positions in Moose Lake after March 31st.

Dr. Sue writes that she has enjoyed practicing medicine in Cromwell and has appreciated your support and the support of the staff.  It is a real challenge to keep a small rural Clinic open.

We, too, as the Community of Cromwell - Wright and surrounding area, want to thank Dr. Sue for her dedication to our area.  We will miss you, but know that you deserve your well-earned retirement!

The Area Mini-bus goes to Duluth this Friday, the 14th Call Edna Samuelson to sign up.  Remember it goes the 1st and 3rd Thursdays to Cloquet and the 2nd and 4th Fridays to Duluth.

On a personal note, I have been doing a lot of subbing lately, mostly in Floodwood, and some in Cromwell.  It seems that many teachers have been sick with the flu.  Let’s hope this goes over quickly and everyone gets well soon.

Hilda Nivala, who is at the Villa Vista, fell and broke her hip about four weeks ago. She had surgery to on pin it. We would ask that people keep her in their prayers to help her in the recovery.

Let’s keep all our friends at the Villa in our thoughts and prayers, especially the workers and staff, too as they prepare for the expansion in the near future.  I’m sure work will be starting soon.

Next weeks JubiLent Service will be at Bethlehem in Wright on Thursday, Maundy Thursday, March 20th with a Soup supper at 6 PM and Sharry Waldriff at 7 PM.  NOTE: There will be NO SERVICE on Wednesday of that week.

I know that the Senior Dances have resumed at the Cromwell Park Pavilion once a month, but do not know the dates and performers.  Please let me know so I can get them into the news. Thanks, Jennie.

That’s all the news I have this week from Lake Gettingupearlierandenjoyingthesunlater and Hello to our newest 90 year old, Aina Larson! 

Monday, March 03, 2008

Wright Cromwell News

03/03/2008

Wright Cromwell News by Jennie K. Hanson March 3, 2008

Can “Daylight Savings Time” be here already?  Well, yes it can.  We turn the clocks ahead next Sunday, March 9th at 2 AM.  Hope you remember or you will be late for your very important date on Sunday or Monday.  Yes, we lose an hour of sleep this weekend!  We won’t turn our clocks back again till November 2nd.

This is the second year that Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act, which extends Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, is expected to save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours.

Just as sunflowers turn their heads to catch every sunbeam, so too have we discovered a simple way to get more from our sun.  Daylight Saving Time gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring.

Yet, the implementation of Daylight Saving Time has been fraught with controversy since Benjamin Franklin first conceived of the idea. Even today, regions and countries routinely change their approaches to Daylight Saving Time.  Hawaii, for example, does not change their clocks at all.  They stay on the same time all year around.

“Congratulations to Kari Heikkila for making the Dean’s List, fall 2007, at Carthage College, Kenosha, WI. Kari is a freshman at Carthage majoring in neuroscience and biology. This past January, Kari had the opportunity to travel to China with a small group of Carthage students and had a wonderful learning experience. Kari is a 2007 graduate of Bemidji High School and is a member of the Honors Program. She is the grand-daughter of Ann and Wesley Heikkila and the daughter of Susan Burns, Bemidji, MN.  Lt Brandon Burns, grand-son of Ann and Wesley Heikkila and son of Susan Burns, is currently deployed to the middle east. Lt Burns is an air refueling tanker pilot and is based out of Fairchild AFB, WA. This is Brandon’s first deployment. Please keep him in your prayers while he performs his missions and for a safe return home.”

Boy Scout Troop 169 Cromwell/Barnum/Moose Lake is holding a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser at the Cromwell Pavilion on Saturday March 15th from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  The cost is $6.00 Adults, $3.00 Children 3-12, and Free for children 0-2.

Zula Matalamaki is doing pretty good and is taking therapy for recent medical problems.  When you are praying for Service people you can add her Grandson Chris Restad.  He is in Iraq for the second time.  He is a doctor and says they treat everyone, enemy, civilians and the our service men.  Oh, by the way Chris is Mary Lee’s son (Zula’s daughter).

For those of you who saw Doug Wilson jogging this fall, you’ll be happy to know his efforts paid off well.  Doug won the Biathlon at the 9th Annual RABBIT CAMP held at the Stenson Shack on Saturday, February 16th.  Doug completed the course with a blistering time of 4:05:05.  That, along with his keen shooting eye, buried the competition.

Other participants were Doug’s brother, Bruce Wilson, and Craig Sherfenberg, Al Danzl, Jim Schanche, and Dave Stenson.  Bruce, who motored all the way from Hopkins, Mn was named “RABBIT CAMP CHAMP” !  And as in years past, a good time was had by all!

Mae, Siiri, and Nita want to wish their sister, Aina Larson a very Happy 90th Birthday on March 12th.  The family of “Aina Mononen Larson” invite you to an “Open House” at the Cromwell Park Pavilion on March 16th from 1 – 4 PM to help her celebrate her 90th Birthday.  NO Gifts please, but a donation to the local Food Shelf would be great.  Boxes will be provided.  If you want more information call Anita Conklin.

Last Friday night as the Cromwell Cardinals beat Onamia in both games, our exchange son, Gwang Ho Lee became the “3-point man”.  He doesn’t get to play much in any of the B games, but Coach Gronner put him in for the last 6 or 7 minutes and Gwang was able to get off a shot and as they say: “Nothing but net!” from the 3 point line.  The crowd went wild!  This was only Gwang’s second successful shot in the whole year, and both of them came at the end of the game and both were 3-pointers.  We are pretty proud of this guy from South Korea who never played basketball in his life before coming to Cromwell-Wright. Next time you see him, give him a pat on the back, too!

And speaking of Basketball, we bid farewell to 4 seniors who will be graduating this May. This year’s coaches, Mr. Pocernich and Mr. Gronner, have some great things to say about our seniors: Eric Arnold, Curtis Hakala, John Hedin and Cody Hendrickson.  “ This year’s seniors have been a big part of the Varsity program for the last 3 years.  In that time, they have been a part of teams that have gone 56-20.  Although underclassmen play a lot of minutes for us this year, the group’s leadership – both vocal and by example – has been a big reason that they have been able to enjoy success despite having to overcome the loss of 4 starters to graduation off of last year’s team and John’s injury.”

“As coaches, all of our graduated seniors are special to us.  This group is definitely no different.  In addition to everything mentioned, this is a group of simply outstanding young men.  All four have plans to go on to college, and they will be great ambassadors for the communities in which they live.  They have been an absolute joy to be around the last 4 years, and have enriched our lives a great deal.  The community, and especially the parents’ of these young men, have every reason to be extremely proud of them.  They will be missed by teammates, coaches, and the fans alike.”

Congratulations to Ben and Karla Line on the birth of a son.  Does anyone have the details?

Our sympathy to the family of Mae Huntoon of Floodwood, MN, who died at the age of 92 on February 20, 2008.

There will be school on March 21st.  Spring Break will be March 24th – 28th.

The next JubiLent service will be on Wednesday, March 12th at Bethany in Cromwell with Bill and Laurie Bastion.  This concert was very well attended last year, so come early, enjoy the Soup Supper at 6 PM and get a good seat for the concert.  Bill Bastian is the premier Tenor in the whole area and his voice is terrific!

We all know that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln and that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated John F. Kennedy, but who Assassinated William McKinley and James A. Garfield?  Well, here are some interesting facts:

On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley visited Buffalo, N.Y., for the Pan-American Exposition, a celebration of the United States’ emergence as an industrial and imperial power. Around 4 p.m., McKinley entered the Temple of Music, a building on the fairgrounds, to greet the public. A few minutes later, Secret Service agent George Foster noticed a “dark complexioned man with a black moustache” in the crowd near the president. As Foster’s eyes settled on the black man—“I didn’t like his general appearance,” the agent later explained—another visitor stepped forward from the crowd. Pale and slender, he held a pistol concealed under a white bandage.  Leon F. Czolgosz fired two shots into the president from close range. One week later, McKinley died.

Shortly after his inauguration in 1881, President James A. Garfield was assassinated by one mildly loopy Charles Julius Guiteau. Guiteau joins the splendiferous ranks of political assassins in this country with the distinction of not only being mildly deranged but exceedingly depraved to boot. Guiteau’s father beat his son recklessly and accused him of wanting “things beyond your earnings,” and “having been guilty of things that were criminal according to human as well as divine laws.”

As one might expect, Charles Guiteau left home at the age of 16 in 1857. Two years later, in a brief shining moment, he inherited $1,000 from his grandfather. Eager to make something of himself, he ventured to the newly-founded University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he promptly flunked the entrance exams. Hoping to eventually attend the University, he took remedial classes while his father sent him Oneida Community literature.

Well, that’s all the news from Lake Turnthoseclocksforward and let’s hope the weather warms up soon.