Monday, December 17, 2007

Wright-Cromwell News

12/17/2007

Wright-Cromwell News by Jennie K. Hanson 12-17- 2007

Well, it’s almost the last week of the year and by the time you read this, it probably will be the last week.  This has been a year of changes, so many changes for so many families in our area.  And now with the death of Mary Aho on December 13, 2007 another family will be affected by major change.

Mary H. Aho, 83, of Tamarack, Mn was laid to rest on Sunday, December 16th.  Over 200 relatives, friends and neighbors attended her funeral held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright, Mn.  Pastor Janeva Stromberg officiated, Jo Schneider was pianist, Ken Peterson sang “You Have Come to the Lakeshore” and “On Eagles Wings”, and Mary’s great grandchildren, Alex, Isaac, Luke and Harrison sang “Jesus Loves Me”, which was very touching.

Mary will be deeply missed by her daughter Sandy and husband Tom Nistler and family and especially by her husband, Art.  May the wonderful memories of Mary stay with you all.  As I heard someone say at the funeral:  “Mary was a real lady with a Capital “L”. 

Suzy and Lucas Goodin’s baby daughter, Kieriahna Lalaith will be baptized on Sunday, December 23, 2007 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cromwell, Mn.

There will be NO SCHOOL from December 22 – January 1st, 2008.  No After School Program on the 21st either.  School will also get out early on December 21st at 1 PM.  I sure hope the school students, teachers, staff and administration have a very wonderful break and come back January 2nd refreshed.

The latest Pool tournament held at Leonard Aho’s had some interesting results.  1st Place was Chester Anderson and Cal Nelson, 2nd Place was Henry Oja and Lincoln Hansen, and 3rd Place was Les Richards and Randy.  There were 14 teams and a good time was had by all. 

I got a nice email from Jon Sloan and he writes:  “Hope things are going well with you and the family.  Things are busy down here.  There’s one more week left after this before the kids leave for Winter Break.  I’m at the North City, Inc until Jan. 25.  Then I go back to the South location.  Teaching has been going ok, and things are going all right with my security job on the weekends.

Jan (Jon’s wife) is still at Cargill; I think she’s been there now about 14 years.  She still works at Hancock Fabrics on Saturdays.  Yes, we lead pretty busy lives.

I’m still teaching and training in Tae Kwon Do.  I’ll be eligible to test for my 5th Degree black belt around June/July.  I’m also training in Haidong Gumdo, a Korean sword art.  I’ll be teaching sword classes this next year at least one of the two TKD schools I help teach at.

Jan and I were able to come up north for Thanksgiving, and we’ll probably come up to visit on Christmas Day.

Hope your holiday season hasn’t gotten too busy for you.”

St. John’s Lutheran in Wright will be having Christmas Eve services at 5:30 p.m.  They will be having joint services with Our Saviors in McGregor for New Years Eve.

Christmas Eve Candlelight services will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran in Wright at 10 PM and at Bethany in Cromwell at 8 PM.  Please feel welcome to attend either of these services.

Due to our Food Shelf Wishing Tree at the Bethlehem Church getting a rather late start, they will keep it going through January.  Thanks for any donations you can make.

Art Jauss writes to say:  “I really appreciate your having done a history of the Clothing Depot. There were parts that I had forgotten (Channel 6 and Becky Lowry coming, for example); but others parts I do remember are that Cyndy Bergsedt, Mary Oja, Mary Purcell, Bea Jauss and I among others were involved from the outset as was our current manager, Dardanelle(Beanie) Randa....It should be said that Yvonne Davis and Jennie Sathre were spark plugs and movers and shakers also from the beginning.  It was Jennie Sathre who helped to set the tone for the Depot’s operation. The mission, as spelled out in the Articles of Incorporation, “Is to provide that the Depot is organized exclusively for charitable and religious purposes, specifically to uphold the dignity of all users....and to encourage community involvement.’’

“Mention should be made of others who have made major contributions to the Depot. Marlene Almquist was a great contributor with her volunteering, doing the display cases and being our parliamentarian. Mary Purcell, after being part of the charter group and a volunteer, has been a great cheerleader and monumental contributions were made by Bud Olson.  It was he who got the majority of our racks for display of the clothing from a department store in Moose Lake that went our of business....And lastly, it must be said that “our” little dynamo, Beanie Randa, is the life and breath of our Depot.  She has given her all to the development and wonderful place that it now is.”

The Area Clothing Depot will be CLOSED for Christmas vacation.  That means that they will not be open on December 22nd, 25th, 27th, 29th or January 1st.  They will resume regular hours on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008.  Thank you so very much for your donations and patronage.

The Depot took in over $ 8,000 dollars this year.  There were higher expenses, because of the move downstairs, but they were able to keep prices the same as they have been for over 10 years now.  No “Price Gouging” there.  The Depot’s Goal is to provide good used items at a very reasonable price.

Last month I took the “Are You Smarted that a 5th Grader” Quiz on the computer and guess what?  I am officially smarter than a 5th Grader.  I even have a certificate to prove it.  You can take this quiz on the internet and let me know if you made it.  It was a fun challenge and since I never taught higher than 4th graders, I feel pretty good about passing the 5th Grade test!

The Wright Senior Center will be having a “Toes R Us” foot care clinic on January 2nd at 11 AM.  Then you can have your blood pressure checked at 12:30 PM and following the business meeting, Sheriff Kelly Lake will be present to talk and answer questions at 1:30 PM.  All are Welcome.  You don’t have to be a member to take part in any of these events.

Then there are a few last minute announcements from this week’s Bus Bulletin: Basketball is well under way now and there will be basketball during Christmas vacation.  The boys will play in the Pillager Holiday Tournament on the 27th and 28th and the Girls will be at Lakeview Christian Academy on the 28th.

The Cromwell-Wright School 1st Semester will end on January 17th.  There will be NO SCHOOL on January 18th and 21st for Teacher Inservice.

Just a thought: If you think gas is expensive, try Egg Nog.  It’s over $10.00 a gallon.

I’d like to end the column with some advice from Santa.

All I Need To Know I Learned From Santa

1. Encourage people to believe in you.

2. Always remember who’s naughty and who’s nice.

3. Don’t pout.

4. It’s as much fun to give as it is to receive.

5. Some days it’s ok to feel a little chubby.

6. Make your presents known.

7. Always ask for a little bit more than what you really want.

8. Bright red can make anyone look good.

9. Wear a wide belt and no one will notice how many pounds you’ve gained.

10. If you only show up once a year, everyone will think you’re very important.

11. Whenever you’re at a loss for words, say “HO, HO, HO!”

That’s all the news from Lake Twothousandsevenisalmostgone and Hello to all the kids who are anxiously waiting for Santa to arrive.  Remember the Reason for the Season and do something to help others this week.