Wright News

11/08/2005

Wright News By Jennie K. Hanson November 8, 2005

The Lakeside Community Club will be holding their Annual Mojakka Supper on Saturday, November 12th 4:30 - 7 PM.  This is a Thrivent matching funds event.

The Cromwell Methodist Church would like to invite you to attend their Ham Supper on Friday, November 18, 2005.  They will be serving a delicious meal X-Hotmail-From: from 4:30 at 6:30 PM at the Methodist Church in Cromwell.  Adult dinners are $7.00, youth dinners are (Ages 6 - 12) are $3.50 and under 6 years of age are Free.  There will also be dinners to go.  Come and join your friends, old and new, at this special occasion.  Mark your calendars now so you won’t forget.  We’ll see you there!

With all these suppers going on, who needs to cook?

Margaret Olson Webster did a book signing at the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin on November 4, 2005.  She is a former teacher from the Tamarack Area and has written and self published another book called “Are All the Heroes Gone.” This is a book based on Finnish stories from the Kalevela. There will be NO SCHOOL on November 24 and 25th for Thanksgiving Vacation. The first Trimester ends on December 1st.  Students will need to have all their assignments done by that date.  There will be NO SCHOOL for Christmas Vacation from December 23rd to January 2nd.

The Elementary Christmas Program will be on Tuesday, December 20th and the Junior and Senior High School Concert will be on Wednesday the 21st both at 7 PM.

The children in Bethany and Bethlehem Lutheran Churches will have their Christmas Programs during the regular church services on December 18th. Please don’t forget the annual Holiday Bazaar at Bethany on Sunday, November 13th starting at 6 PM.

The 31st annual Cromwell Community Craft Sale was held at the school on November 5th.  Over 500 people attended this well-known event. Over 700 people attended the annual Hunter’s Supper at Bethany Lutheran in Cromwell on Friday the 4th.  Unfortunately, they ran out of turkey, so next year they will make 35 turkeys instead of 31.  Wow, that’s a lot of bird!  I guess more and more people have heard about this famous supper and are coming from miles and miles away.

Hunting season started last weekend and with that in mind, I always recall the time our son Garrie was shot in the face during hunting season.  It was 15 years ago this year.  He had been hunting with his cousin in the morning with the 30-30 rifles and then in the afternoon the boys decided to go bird hunting, so luckily they had the 22’s.  His cousin was fooling around and accidentally shot Garrie in the face.  I was cleaning our cabin in the yard when his cousin came running up to me and said to call the ambulance because Garrie had been shot.  I was so shocked and scared that I couldn’t even remember my name and where we lived when I called 911.  Finally I remembered and then went running up to the field where the accident happened.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw Garrie walking out of the woods with just a small dribble of blood flowing out of his upper lip.  I think he was in shock, too because he was just standing there like a zombie.  The first one on the scene was Tim Hutar, our neighbor and a first responder, and we headed to Cromwell and met the Ambulance near Risackers.  From then on, things were kind of a blur, but eventually we got to the Cloquet Hospital and then Garrie was transferred to Duluth where he underwent jaw surgery the next day.  He had 3 plates and 8 screws permanently placed on his jaw to hold it together.  I think he spent a week in the hospital and then recovered at home.  His jaw was wired shut for 6 weeks and he had to eat all his food through a straw.  Luckily he had a missing tooth on his right side so the straw fit through that hole just fine.  Garrie lost 25 pounds during his recovery, and now his jaw gets very cold during the winter weather.  He always says that he is the only one he knows who caught a bullet in his mouth and lived to tell about it!  Yes, he really bit the bullet!  We were all blessed to have him survive that accident, so please hunt safely this year.  Don‚t take any chances and especially don’t fool around with guns. There have been just too many accidents in the past.

You may be reading this column on Veteran’s Day, November 11th, so I thought I’d include a bit of trivia about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

1.  How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

21, this alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2.  How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as the last question.

3.  Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4.  Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time?

No, he carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb.  After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5.  How often are the guards changes?

Guards are changed every 30 minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6.  What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb he must be between 5’10” and 6’ 2” tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30 inches.

Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in the barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives.  They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform (fighting) or tomb in any way.  After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb.  There are only 400 presently worn.  The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the pin.

Their shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet.  There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.  There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform.  Guards dress in front of a full-length mirror.

During the first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV.  All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.  A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred.  Among the notables are President Taft, Joe E. Lewis, (the boxer) and Medal of Honor Winner Audie Murphy, (the most decorated soldier of WWII) of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniform ready for guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2003, as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our U. S. Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm.  On the ABC Evening News, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned to suspend the assignment respectfully declined the offer, “No way, Sir!” Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson.  The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, 365 days a year, since 1930.

May God Bless our Troops, our Veterans, and especially the guards at the TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS.

That’s all the news from Lake Honorourmilitaryandveterans and Hello to all the snowbirds who may be reading this news on the Internet.