Mother Nature is having a hard time trying to help spring arrive. It seems we can only have one day at a time when the wind isn’t blowing or it is raining! Then we receive at least one nice day and possibly two when the wind begins to blow again and also the dust, and then the wind blows up a shower of rain one more time. Old Man Winter is very stubborn this year and doesn’t want to give up, which makes spring arrival very difficult. However, it seems the days are getting longer; at least we have more daylight. The lawns have been like velvet carpets and there are some flowers beginning to blossom, so let’s hope our Old Man Winter will begin to realize that he needs to retire soon.Joan Hoogeveen, Lucy VanWyhe and Henrietta Huenink attended the Christian Women’s Club luncheon and program Wednesday noon at United Methodist Church in Rock Rapids, Iowa. Friday afternoon Joyce Aykens and Jo Aykens attended the Tulip Festival at Orange City, Iowa. Following the day’s program they enjoyed supper at the Pizza Ranch with their family who are residents of Orange CityLou and Joy Mayer of Cape May Court House, N.J., stopped to visit Mildred Paulsen on their way home from Casa Grande, Ariz., where they had spent the winter. While here they visited several places where Mildred’s family had lived. Her father had been a resident of Oakland, Iowa, for many years. They spent some time there and also at Lake Okoboji where Mildred had spent many times with the United Methodist Church Youth Group. They also attended the Tulip Festival in Orange City. The Mayers left for their home in New Jersey Sunday morning. H-BC’s senior class graduation will be at 7 p.m. Friday, May 27. Some of those graduating from the Steen area are Brittney Rozeboom and Cody Scholten along with many others in this area. Vacation Bible School will begin Monday, June 6, at Steen Reformed Church. Jennie Schowenberg, 83, Steen, passed away Monday morning at Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, S.D. Her obit is printed elsewhere in the Crescent. We will observe Memorial Day this weekend. With conditions in our world today I feel we need to protect our freedom from the terrorists that are so prevalent today everywhere. I am sure there are many of us who do not approve of the wars. However, freedom is not free, as you will agree as you read the following article. Freedom cost our forefathers everything they had as well as their very lives and all we have to do is to be sure we still have it to protect us. Just think what life would be like if we lost it. So, as we are remembering those who have lost their lives in combat, let us remember those today who still are. Freedom Cannot Be Taken for GrantedFreedom cannot be taken for granted. Instead we should work for it, sacrifice for it, and keep it safe. Freedom’s price is eternal vigilance and adequate preparedness. Its value is for life itself. Freedom is a heritage won by our forefathers. To help preserve it, each of us has been given a "Bill of Responsibilities" to go along hand in hand with our "Bill of Rights." Accordingly, each of us has work to do for the preservation of American ideals. Freedom is every citizen’s business — including those who fashion and produce the weapons and supplies required by our Armed Forces. Those who work on confidential, secret, and top-secret projects are even more concerned with freedom’s preservation, and their responsibilities are greater. Our determination to preserve this Nation, and the freedom for which it stands, must be stronger and more durable than the forces, which would overthrow it. We who live in freedom today are accountable for it — accountable to God, to country, and to ourselves.Therefore, let us work together to keep our freedom.By Admiral Arthur Radford, Retired U.S.N.
