Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is seeking volunteers for its Senior Companion Service, in partnership with AmeriCorps Seniors, a national service agency, to offer friendship and support to older adults in the community.
Senior Companion volunteers are age 55 and older and visit older adults weekly offering encouragement, sharing their time and talents,assisting with errands, grocery shopping and transportation to appointments to assist older adults in remaining healthy and independent.
“I joined the Senior Companion family eight years ago. I love being with older adults and knew this is what I wanted to do after I retired,” shared Deb Doran, a Senior Companion volunteer.
“I feel that I am helping those I serve by just being there and supportingthem to live independently.”
And, the rewards go both ways, enriching the lives of Senior Companion volunteers as well.
In a recent survey, Lutheran Social Service learned that over 90 percent of volunteers either agree or strongly agree that their volunteer experience at LSS has changed their lifein a positive way.
Almost 85 percent say that they feel more socially connected because of their service as a volunteer. More than 76 percent say that they feel healthier because of their service as an LSS volunteer.
“I feel a personal satisfaction knowing I have positively impacted lives,” Doran said. “It is a life-changing experience.”
“Volunteering is a great way to give back to those in your community,” said Carolyn Scherer, program director for LutheranSocial Service.
“I hope many others will join us in this importantservice to our neighbors who are so grateful for the support.”
The Senior Companion Service is currently seeking volunteers who are age 55 years or older and can commit to at least 10 hours per week.
Volunteers receive an hourly stipend, a chance to stay connected and a meaningful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of older adults. No prior volunteer experience is needed, and training isprovided.
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota conducts background checks to ensure safety.
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota welcomes volunteers from various cultures, backgrounds, traditions and stages in life to inquire.
If you are interested in becoming a Senior Companion, call 888-205-3770, email AMERICORPSSENIORS@LSSMN.ORG orvisit LSSMN.ORG/VOLUNTEER/SENIORCOMPANION.

This week 79 students at Discovery Time Preschool will participate in graduation ceremonies, where they will receive diplomas as the 2022-23 school year ends. The first of four ceremonies took place Monday morning at Luverne Community Education.

Bridal shower
A come-and-go bridal shower for Blair Altman will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 20, at the Luverne Fire Hall at 209 E. Lincoln Street in Luverne. Guests are asked to bring a favorite recipe for the bride. Gifts will be opened at 11 a.m.
 
Celebration of Life
In memory of Pat Gail Johnson, a celebration of life will be from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at her daughter’s home, 413 E. 4th Street, Hills, MN.

LSS meals at Generations
 
Monday, May 15: Salisbury steak with gravy, baked potato with sour cream, peas and carrots, bread, tropical fruit.
Tuesday, May 16: Tater tot casserole, green beans, peaches, dinner roll, bar.
Wednesday, May 17: Chicken wild rice soup, carrots, fruit cocktail, bread stick, gelatin.
Thursday, May 18: Pulled pork on a bun, butternut squash, coleslaw, pineapple chunks, cookie.
Friday, May 19: Turkey alfredo with pasta, broccoli, pears, garlic breadstick, birthday cake.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Pam Franken at 283-9846, extension 11 to reserve one day prior, to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.

Jacobs earns senior assessor accreditation
Rock County Assessor Rachel Jacobs recently completed the Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor (SAMA) licensure requirement through the Minnesota State Board of Assessors.
As a SAMA, Jacobs completed more than 200 hours of classes and required residential and income case study exams.
She also has five years of assessment experience and has completed an oral interview with the State Board of Assessors.
Jacobs began working as a technician with the Rock County Land Records office in 2015. She became the Land Records Office director in August 2021 and was appointed assessor in November 2021 on a probationary status.
With the completion of a SAMA license, Jacobs also fully assumes the role of county assessor.

Christian Boisen, Luverne, Owned Luverne’s First “Juke” Box
     
      Although there is no sworn statement on file, it is believed that Chris Boisen, Luverne, had Luverne’s first “juke” box. Before going any farther, it might be well to explain that the “nickelodeon” brought here by Mr. Boisen could hardly be compared with the gaily colored coin phonographs of today, but it cost as much, perhaps, and proved just as popular as the modern machine.
         Mr. Boisen had purchased an Edison phonograph, one of the earliest models, and was in Rock Rapids when an acquaintance induced him to come here to display his machine. It was a crude affair, but a money maker. Fifteen rubber tubes emanated from the sound chamber. By putting the tubes into their ears, eight customers with one tube in each ear could listen to their favorite recording at one time. The 15th tube was used by the operator of the machine so that he could tell if the record was playing properly or not. Boisen charged his patrons five cents to listen to one record, or they could hear three for a dime. He did quite a business at those prices, he recalls.
         The equipment represented considerable investment. The machine itself cost $360 and the records cost $2.00 each.
         The experience with the phonograph, however, is but one of many interesting experiences in Mr. Boisen’s life. He was born Sept. 18, 1868, near Flensburg, Germany, a seaport city of 150,000 located on the Baltic Sea and bordering Denmark at the north edge of the city. His father was a blacksmith by trade, and during the Danish war, he shod horses for the army. He was a skilled workman, and specialized in fine work such as cutlery, etc. His parents died when he was a boy, and at the age of six, he went to live with his sister. At that time, he was able to speak the Danish language, but as the law forbade the speaking of Danish in the city where his sister lived, he soon forgot most of it. He can still say a few words in Danish, however, but he speaks both high and low German, in addition to English.
         In 1879 he came to Brooklyn, New York, on a ship which had been built in his home town. As a matter of fact, he was in the ship when it first went down the scaffold. At that time, the piers of the great Brooklyn bridge were just being completed, and he recalls driving a team onto a ferry boat, crossing the river, loading the wagon with supplies at a market, and then coming back, when he worked for a short time for a storekeeper.
         He went out one night with a fisherman friend with whom he stayed to get oysters, and states that he was really frightened when the man pulled in a giant sea turtle about three feet in diameter. The oysters, too, were extra large, and while in Brooklyn he learned to eat oysters prepared in many different ways, “I’ve eaten them in soup; I’ve eaten them chopped fine and put on pancakes and I’ve eaten them fried. I’ll tell you, those were real oysters,” he declared.
         He spent several hectic hours in Brooklyn one Decoration day, he recalls. He loved music, and when the band paraded in the street, he began following it until he became lost. He didn’t know what to do for some time, so he kept following it until it again passed the place where he had first seen it. He had enough band music, for that day, he relates, so he went home.
         His brother, who lived at Luzerne, Iowa, insisted that he come to live with him, so he reluctantly left Brooklyn. After coming to Iowa, he attended school, and later was confirmed there.
                  The first winter he was in Iowa was one of the most severe he ever experienced. Under normal conditions, 56 trains passed through the town of Luzerne in 24 hours. After the blizzard struck, there wasn’t a train in the town for a whole week. There were no snow plows in those days, and the only thing that could be done was to shovel cut the cuts, and try to force the locomotive through the snow banks by sheer force of power. Mr. Boisen recalls how two locomotives had a “running start” of two miles, and then hit a snow filled pass. Another locomotive had come up from the rear and pulled them back by a cable.

10 years ago (2013)
•The effects of the April 9-10 ice storm continue to be felt around the region, and especially in Rock County, where damage was among the worst.
At Tuesday night’s Luverne City Council meeting City Administrator John Call reported that public works crews are continuing to trim trees and remove trees damaged from the storm.
“We hauled out 125 loads of debris from the main city park and from Riverside Park,” Call said.
“They have taken down 45 trees in the main park. It’s thinned out, but it’s still a beautiful park.”
 
25 years ago (1998)
•For many residents in the Kenneth area, the bank in Kenneth is the only bank they’ve ever done business with.
It's the banking institution that handled their first personal savings accounts, college funds, and loans for cars, home and farming operations. For many, the bank in Kenneth has been an important part of their lives.
That will all come to an end Friday when the bank will be open for the last time. The State Bank of Edgerton, which bought the Kenneth bank in 1993, will continue to provide banking services for its clients. But for residents in and around Kenneth, the closing of the building represents another major blow to small-town survival.
 
50 years ago (1973)
•Bill Getman, a former Luverne boy who now lives in Wayne, Pa., was presented with a check for $100 recently for winning first place in an essay contest, sponsored by the Jaycees of Wayne. Bill’s essay “Our Community Needs” stressed the importance of becoming involved in community affairs as the only cure for our nation’s leading disease, which, Billy says, is apathy.
The answer, he says in his essay, is “tough love.”
“Not a Hollywood, romantic, emotional love, “he wrote, “but a love that forces us to spill our guts to people, that makes us put ourselves on the line for people. Let’s start ‘squealing’ on those who destroy our schools, let’s start going to those meetings where community and school needs are discussed, and let’s support those people who stand up against the useless waste of money…If it is only to cut the grass of a neighbor who cannot do it herself, let’s get involved!”
 
75 years ago (1948)
•Another Luverne teacher has resigned and three new faculty members have been hired for the coming year, Supt. M. C. Munson announced this week.
Latest to announce that he would not return next year is Leonard Anderson, who has taught the past two years in the commercial department. He announced no definite future plants.
Employed as athletic coach for the coming year is Arling Anderson, who for the past six years has taught school and coached athletics at Lake City, Minn. Mr. Anderson has had a good record in both football and basketball, according to reports. A graduate of St. Olaf college, he is married and has three children.
Miss Genevieve Huisenfeldt, Marshall, who for the past four years has taught at Redwood Falls, will teach typing and shorthand next year. She received her training at the College of St. Catherine, University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Business college.
Miss Hildegarde Bunge, Plato, Minn., who will be graduated from St. Cloud State Teachers college this spring, has been employed to teach girls’ physical education and biology.
 
100 years ago (1923)
•If the new law regulating public dances, passed by the state  legislature, is anywhere near as effective as its authors planned, it will make a marked change in the manner of conducting dances in many sections of the state.
The law, which is Chapter 139, provides that proprietors of dance must procure a license, from the councils in incorporated places, or from township boards or the county board in unincorporated places. Applications for the permit are carefully safeguarded under the provisions of the law to prevent undesirable persons from securing permits. Five persons can petition for the revocation of the permit if they find the law is not being observed in the conduct of the dances.

Scott A. Ehde, age 53, of Luverne, Minnesota, passed away at home on May 4, 2023.
Visitation was from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. A funeral service was at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 8, at Grace Lutheran Church with burial at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne. To view a life tribute video and sign an online registry, please visit www.hartquistfuneral.com
Scott Arthur Ehde, 53, of Hills, Minnesota, died on May 4, 2023, at his parents’ home in rural Luverne, Minnesota. Scott was born on June 13, 1969, to Arthur and Carol (Nelson) Ehde in Luverne. He was baptized in Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills, Minnesota, when he and his parents lived in Steen, Minnesota. His family moved to rural Luverne when he was 4 years old. He was confirmed in Grace Lutheran Church and attended school in Luverne, graduating with the Class of 1987. He worked at the family mink farm throughout his high school years.
Scott earned his business degree from Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota, where he was a member of the track and field team and was president of the college business and marketing club. His friends at that time remember him for his boundless energy, free spirit and big dreams. He graduated with honors from MSU in the spring of 1991, and that summer he married Lori (Kroontje) of Kenneth, Minnesota. Their marriage was blessed by two sons, Jonathan in 1996 and Carson in 2001. They later divorced.
Scott had a brilliant mind and a charming personality, which lent well to his chosen career in sales and marketing. He believed in the value of life insurance for protecting families and easily attained top sales goals with Prudential Insurance during his early years in the Plymouth, Minnesota, office. In 1993 he moved back to Rock County and started his own firm, Scott Ehde State Line Financial Services in Hills, where he thrived with farmers and ag businesspeople as his clients. A few years later, he started a custom planting business with a no-till drill during a time when soil conservation practices were first getting established. His dad later joined Scott’s farming business, as they added land, machinery and a haying operation.
He made many family memories (as a child and with his own children) during summer trips to Cedar Rapids Lodge on Medicine Lake near Blackduck and winter snowmobiling trips in the Black Hills.
Scott was diagnosed with bipolar depression in his late twenties when he also started leaning on alcohol and drugs for self-medication. Through many subsequent hardships and losses, he maintained his spirit of kindness and generosity, showing a distinct fondness for the underdog and less fortunate. For example, while working for several holidays at Baumgartner’s Family Christmas Trees in Sioux Falls, South Dakota he would purchase trees for local churches and for families who had never before had a fresh Christmas tree. Scott paid dearly for the effects of his disease, losing lifelong relationships and much of what he had achieved professionally, but he never stopped loving his sons and family close to him. Even in his darkest moments, he was known for randomly sending thoughtful greeting cards with heartfelt, handwritten notes of thanks.
Finally, he never lost sight of his Savior and Lord. On the day he ended his life on earth, a “Verse of the Day” arrived on his cell phone home screen from the Bible app he was using. It was from Psalm 103:11, “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him.”
Scott is lovingly remembered by his son, Jonathan (and Brittany Landwehr) Ehde of Sioux Falls; his parents, Arthur and Carol Ehde of Luverne; his fiancée, Kari Mess of Hills, and her sons, Cody, Michael and Donavon; uncles and aunts, Elmer (Karen) Ehde of Edina, Minnesota, Margaret (Bud) Sturzenbecher of Sioux Falls, Clarine Hawkins of Sioux Falls, Roger (Barb) Nelson of Mankato, and Marilyn Nelson of Hills; and cousins, Dawn (John) Cerqui, Tim (Jennifer) Ehde, Doug (Ruth) Brown, Donna (Don) Larson, Kim (John) Ochsner, Virgil Hawkins and Brandy (Bill) Boddicker, Mark (Julie) Nelson, Marie (Dan) LaRock, Ryan Nelson and Todd Nelson.
He was preceded in death by his son, Carson Ehde; his sister, Pam (Ehde) Lais, and his grandparents, Elmer and Goldie Ehde and Elmer and Opal Nelson.

Patricia “Pat” Gail Johnson, age 75, of Temple, Texas, passed from this life on Sept. 16, 2022.
Pat was born in Luverne, Minnesota, on January 12, 1947, to parents Gerrit and Theresa (Gisolf) Korthals. She grew up in Jasper, Minnesota, and graduated from high school there.
She married Art Johnson in 1967. The young couple spent 30 years together and raised two children before life would eventually take them in separate directions. Pat worked in customer service jobs for most of her life. She retired from HyVee Grocery in Minnesota in 2010. After retirement she made her way to Temple with her sister Valerie and to be closer to family in the area.
Pat loved her family. She loved to watch NASCAR, garden, cook and grill (charcoal only). She enjoyed spending time with her grandkids and her two dogs, Shorty and Vinnie. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.
Pat leaves behind to cherish her memory her son, Greg Johnson and wife Sandy of Luverne; daughter Marie Opheim and husband Mark of Hills; brother Darrell Korthals of Pipestone, Minnesota, brother Rodger Korthals of Temple, Texas, sister Valarie Korthals of Temple, Texas, and sister Bonitta Mygrant of Steen, Minnesota. She also leaves behind four grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Pat’s life will be on Saturday, May 20, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the home of Pat’s daughter Marie (Mark) Opheim at 413 E. 4th Street in Hills.