With so much of our nation experiencing such severe storms I think I had better apologize to our weatherman as I have been a little bit hard on him the entire year. Maybe if I apologize now he will change his mind about sending us a bad winter. I, for one, could certainly get along without that. The last few days our weather has been absolutely perfect. I know I should be outdoors getting things in shape for the coming winter, but somehow I just can’t get into the mood. Perhaps the real reason is that I have tomatoes and corn to take care of, weeds to get rid of and I could go on and on!Even though our weather has been beautiful, there are many signs that tell us our nice days are limited. The leaves that are falling from the trees are no longer green but a pretty shade of yellow and gold. The birds are flocking together getting ready for their long trip to a warmer climate to spend the winter, which tells us that we had better enjoy our beautiful weather while we have it. Jo Aykens and her daughter Joyce from Worthington traveled to Watertown, S.D., last Monday, where they met their relatives, Art and Marcia Jelsma, who also had a way to come. They enjoyed their noon dinner together and caught up on the relatives. Before returning home, Jo and Joyce spent the afternoon at Redlin Art Center, which they enjoyed very much. The Hills-Beaver Creek junior class magazine sales will begin on Sept. 29. The proceeds from the sales go to the junior-senior prom that will be later this year. Good luck to them!Anna Schouwenburg was hospitalized on Monday where she underwent an angiogram and also had other tests. We wish her all the best. Orrin and Bernice Aukes attended the Hoff family reunion at Luverne Pizza Ranch on Friday night. There were 32 relatives present. The evening was spent visiting and catching up with what everyone had done since they had last been together. Melissa (VanBemmel) Thomas from California arrived last Wednesday to spend a week visiting in the home of her parents, Marion and Carol VanBemmel. She returned home on Tuesday. Melissa Thomas and her sister, Cindy Wissink, organized a surprise birthday party for their father, Marion VanBemmel, for his 60th birthday on Friday evening at the Wissink home in Luverne. There were 55 family members and friends present to help him celebrate, and yes, he was surprised!There will be a hamburger and brat feed at the ballfield in Hills on Friday, Oct. 1. This is their homecoming game. Food will be served from 5:30 p.m. until half time of the ballgame. The H-BC Junior class is sponsoring it. Hope to see you there!Harold Wissink has moved to Luverne and is now a resident of Poplar Creek Estates. His room is No. 410. Why not give him a call, or better yet, go to see him if you are in Luverne. Those attending the Christian Women’s Club luncheon and program at United Methodist Church in Rock Rapids Wednesday noon and afternoon were Joan Hoogeveen, Winnie Scholten, Verla Baker and Mildred Paulsen. Since this is an election year, we will hear many things both good and bad about candidates and politics in general. However, we are still using many of the old terms that have been used throughout the years. In case you have forgotten or if you were like me, didn’t pay attention, I thought I would share some of them with you. During this political year we will hear a lot of terms used that many of us think are strictly 20th century. Some are old as old as the politics of our country. For example, George Washington was called a "favorite son." As early as 1789 candidates decided to run for office. When they did they borrowed an Old Indian term and "stumped" their districts. In the efforts to get elected some of them as early as 1828 found it expedient to stay "on the fence" on key issues. Even 25 years earlier, candidates were talking about the "party platform" and the platforms on which they stood. The term "dark horse" is relatively new. It came into use in the summer sometime after 1865 to designate a secret candidate. It was first used to describe an unheralded and practically unknown horse which beat all the favorites in a horse race of that day. So now you know the history of some of these terms that are still being used rather frequently. Perhaps this will make some of the publicity and speeches a little more interesting. I hope you enjoy hearing and even using some of these expressions.
