By John RittenhouseArea drivers posted heat wins in three different classes at Rapid Speedway, in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Friday.The local racers found success in the late model street stock, sportsmen and hobby stock classes at the Iowa track.Former Hills resident Darrin Korthals had the best night, winning the first heat race and feature event in the street stock class.Former Ash Creek resident David Kruger, Ellsworth’s Scott Overgaard, Luverne’s Chad Overgaard and Adrian’s Mark DeBoer competed against Korthals Friday.Kruger placed second in the first heat and sixth in the feature. Scott Overgaard finished fourth in the first heat and fourth in the feature. Chad Overgaard placed third in the second heat and second in the feature. DeBoer placed fourth in the second heat and third in the feature.Ellsworth’s Greg Roemen had a good night in the sportsmen’s class at Rapid Speedway.Roemen won the first heat race before finishing second in the feature.Former Luverne resident Anthony Mann and Steen’s Pete Kracht also mixed it up in the sportsmen’s class.Mann placed third in the first heat and fourth in the feature. Kracht placed seventh in the first heat and 10th in the feature.Kanaranzi’s Colter Deutsch won the first heat race in the hobby stock class before finishing sixth in the feature Friday.Steen’s Billy Cowell won the second heat race before placing eighth in the hobby stock feature.Luverne’s Mike Buss, Magnolia’s Larry Kracht, Ash Creek’s Bobbi Kracht and Ellsworth’s Chris Tiesler also raced in the hobby stock class at Rapid Speedway.Buss placed second in the first heat and sixth in the feature. Larry Kracht finished third in the first heat and 16th in the feature. Bobbi Kracht placed fifth in the first heat and 13th in the feature. Tiesler placed sixth in the first heat and 11th in the feature.Jeff Haubrich, Luverne, saw success at Murray County Speedway in Slayton Friday, placing third in his heat race and third in the hobby stock feature.Luverne’s Mike Steensma won his heat race and the feature in the modified class in Slayton.Luverne’s Brad Buysse competed in the 360 sprints at Rapid Speedway, finishing fifth in the third heat and 15th in the feature.Adrian’s DeBoer and Luverne’s Jesse Akkerman raced street stocks at different tracks in South Dakota Saturday night.DeBoer placed fourth in the first heat and fifth in the feature at Lake County Speedway in Madison.Akkerman placed second in his heat race and third in the feature at I-90 Speedway in Madison.Ellsworth’s Roemen placed fourth in the street stock feature at Worthington Speedway Sunday.Correction: The Aug. 21 edition of the Star Herald reported Luverne’s Brandon Buysse competed in the 360 sprints at Huset’s and Rapid Speedways.It was Brad Buysse racing at those tracks. The Star Herald regrets the error.

By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth volleyball team opened the season in impressive fashion by beating a pair of teams early this week.The Panthers posted a four-game win over Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster in Round Lake Monday before winning a four-game match against Fulda in Ellsworth Tuesday.Ellsworth plays Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Westbrook Friday.Ellsworth 3, Fulda 1The Panthers came out on the winning end for the second consecutive night when they topped the Raiders in Ellsworth Tuesday.All four games of the match were close, but EHS used some scrappy defensive play to win three of them."We played good defense and it kept us in the match," said EHS coach Jason Langland. "It really wasn’t an offensive match. Neither team hit the ball very well."The match was entertaining, as a four-point difference was the largest margin of victory in four games.Ellsworth led 2-0 after posting 25-23 and 25-22 wins in Games 1 and 2, but the Raiders came back to post a 25-21 victory in the third game. The Panthers iced the win by pulling out a 26-24 win in Game 4.Marla Groen completed 12 of 13 serves and recorded five aces for the winners. Lynette Drenth and Amy Timmer charted six set assists each.Amy Tiesler and Brittney Kramer led with eight and seven kills respectively. Laurel Drenth charted eight digs and five blocks.Ellsworth 3, SV-RL-B 1The Panthers opened the season in style by posting a four-game win over the Raiders in Round Lake Monday."It was the first time we won the first match of the season since I’ve been here," said Panther coach Langland. "I was pretty happy with the way we played. We worked some of the kinks out."Ellsworth rolled to a 25-12 win in Game 1 before falling behind by four points late in the second game. EHS, however, rallied to knot the score at 26 before using an ace tip by Brittney Kramer to take a 27-26 edge. The Panthers scored the next point to seal a 28-26 win.SV-RL-B pulled out a 25-21 win in Game 3 before EHS settled the issue with a 25-16 win in the fourth tilt.Kramer (eight kills and eight blocks) and Laurel Drenth (10 kills, eight blocks and six digs) turned in strong performances at the net for the winners. Kramer was 14 of 16 serving with seven aces.Amy Tiesler completed all 14 of her serves and registered three aces to go along with six digs during the match.Lynette Drenth and Marla Groen contributed eight and six set assists respectively to the winning cause."I thought we passed the ball fairly well, and Kramer and Laurel Drenth did a good job of blocking at the net. We served the ball pretty well, too. It was a good first match," Langland concluded.

By John RittenhouseA total of nine golfers won flight championships during the 65th Men’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend.Along with Dan Serie collecting his fourth club championship, Doug Van Kley, Craig Nelson, Matt Kopp, Tom Foster, Scott Spronk, Cory Bloemendaal, Virgil Van Hulzen and Cliff Boom entered the winner’s circle as flight champions at the end of the two-day, 36-hole tournament.Van Kley emerged as the winner of the president’s flight. He was one of eight players who competed in the championship flight on Saturday before they were placed in the president’s flight Sunday.Van Kley (85) took a one-shot lead over James Stratton (86) and two-shot advantages over Gary Golla (87) and Jeremy Sudenga (87) into Sunday’s rounds.Both Van Kley and Stratton carded 41s during Sunday’s opening round to remain one stroke apart. Van Kley nipped Stratton 37-38 during the second round to win the flight by two strokes.Van Kley finished the event with a 40-45-41-37-163. Stratton’s final numbers were 46-40-41-38-165.Golla and Sudenga slipped out of contention Sunday, opening the door for George McDonald. McDonald, who shot an 89 Saturday, rallied to record a 79 Sunday to finish third. His final numbers were 40-49-41-38-168.Craig Nelson used a late surge to win the first flight.Scott Remme shot an 85 Saturday to open a two-shot cushion over Nelson, Steve Sehr and Jason Phelps, who all shot 87s. Dave Iverson was three shots off the pace with his 88.Sehr fired a 42 during Sunday’s first round to move in front of Remme by one shot and take a two-shot lead over Nelson.While Sehr dropped out of the picture after shooting a 52 during Sunday’s second round, Nelson heated up and shot a 40 to win the flight by five strokes with a 41-46-44-40-171.Remme placed second (42-43-45-46-176) and Iverson finished third (45-43-44-45-177).Matt Kopp won a two-hole playoff to take top honors in the third flight.Kopp shot an 83 Saturday to open a two-shot cushion over Dan Kern, who carded an 85.Kern outshot Kopp 38-42 during Sunday’s first round to gain a two-shot advantage, but Kopp rallied to tie Kern for the flight lead with a 42-44 scoring advantage during the second round.Kopp and Kern both made par on the first playoff hole. Kopp won the flight title by making par on the second playoff hole. Kern bogeyed the same hole.Kopp’s numbers for the tournament were 43-40-42-42-167, while Kern turned in a 43-42-38-44-167. Dave Gangestad placed third with a 44-45-43-43-175.Tom Foster posted a one-stroke win in a very competitive third flight.Foster, who shot a 40 during Saturday’s first round, finished the day with an 88 to sport a one-shot lead over Jeff Sehr (89), a two-shot cushion over Tom Serie (90) and a three-shot advantage over Mark Sehr (91).Serie fired a 44 to begin play Sunday, giving him a two-shot advantage over Foster and Jeff Sehr and a three-shot lead over Mark Sehr, who slipped out of contention with a 51 in the second round.Foster bounced back with a 43 during the final round to nip Serie and Jeff Sehr by one shot in the final standings.Foster finished the event with a 40-48-48-43-179. Sehr (50-39-47-44-180) and Serie (46-44-44-46-180) shared second place.Scott Spronk posted a three-shot win in the fourth flight.Spronk recorded a 92 Saturday to sport one-shot leads over Don Lien and Bill Den Hoed (92s), a two-shot lead over Tom Kopp (94) and a three-shot lead over Tom Skattum (95).Den Hoed and Kopp slipped out of the picture during Sunday’s first round, when Spronk shot a 42 to increase his lead to four shots over Lien and eight shots over Skattum.Lien outscored Spronk 45-46 during Sunday’s second round, but it wasn’t enough to keep Spronk from winning the flight title with his 44-48-42-46-180. Lien (46-47-45-45-183) finished second and Skattum (47-48-47-44-186) placed third.Cory Bloemendaal rallied from a one-shot deficit to post a comfortable, eight-stroke win in the fifth flight.Gary Kurtz carded a 90 Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Bloemendaal (91) and a five-shot lead over Sam Hansen (95).Bloemendaal moved in front of Kurtz by two strokes after outscoring him 46-49 during Sunday’s first round. Bloemendaal iced the flight title by outscoring Kurtz 45-51 in the final round.Bloemendaal’s final numbers are 48-43-46-45-182. Kurtz (46-44-49-51-190) placed second and Hansen (48-47-45-52-192) finished third.Virgil Van Hulzen erased a six-shot deficit on Sunday to win the sixth flight by one stroke.Jason Heard shot a 92 Saturday to take a two-shot lead over Bruce Olson and Nate Jarchow (94s) and a three-shot lead over Dennis Holtrop (95).Heard and Holtrop dropped back in the pack after shooting 100- and 107-stroke scores Sunday.Jarchow fired a 41 during Sunday’s first round to gain a five-shot lead over Olson and Van Hulzen, but Jarchow carded a 53 during the second round to fall into third place.Van Hulzen nipped Olson 45-46 during Sunday’s second round to win by one shot.Van Hulzen finished the tournament with a 53-45-43-45-186. Olson (47-47-47-46-187) placed second and Jarchow (45-50-41-53-189) finished third.Cliff Boom posted a seven-stroke win in the seventh flight.Mark Sas carded a 94 Saturday to lead Boom and Ryan DeBates (96s) by two shots and Dave Arends (97), who slipped out of contention Sunday, by three strokes.Boom shot a 47 during Sunday’s first round to gain a two-shot lead over DeBates and a four-shot cushion over Sas.Boom locked up the flight title by shooting a 46 during the final round.Boom finished the event with a 52-44-47-46-189. Sas placed second (46-48-53-49-196) and DeBates placed third (49-47-49-52-197).

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne tennis team was put to the test of playing in four events in a seven-day span.The Cardinals competed at doubles tournaments in St. James and Fairmont Wednesday, Aug. 20, and Friday respectively.Luverne then dropped a seven-point match against Yellow Medicine East in Pipestone Monday before posting a three-point win over Brandon Valley in Brandon, S.D., Tuesday.The 1-1 Cardinals host Redwood Valley for an 11 a.m. match Friday before playing at Sioux Falls Lincoln Tuesday.Luverne 6, BV 3The Cardinals recorded their first team victory of the season in Brandon, S.D., Tuesday.Luverne won four of six singles matches and took two of three doubles tests to topple the Lynx on their home court.Samantha Gacke, Alyssa Klein, Kaitlyn Deragisch and Jessica Klein posted singles wins for the Cards.Gacke and Deragisch notched 10-6 victories over Hilary Green and Jill Tucek in the No. 1 and No. 4 slots. Alyssa Klein blanked Arin Kundtson 10-0 at No. 3. After falling behind 7-2 against Ashley Rubin at No. 6 singles, Jessica Klein rallied to steal an 11-9 victory.BV’s Julia Lappe handed Brittany Boeve a 10-5 setback at No. 2 singles. Lynx’ Jamie Vermeer downed Andraya Gacke 10-4 at No. 5.Samantha Gacke and Boeve teamed up at No. 1 doubles and recorded a 10-3 victory over Green and Lappe. Alyssa Klein and Heidi Sandbulte won 10-3 over Knudtson and Tucek at No. 2.BV’s Vermeer and Rubin bested Katie Kraetsch and Lindsey Severtson by a 10-6 decision at No. 3 doubles."The girls played well," said Cardinal coach Greg Antoine. "Samantha (Gacke) and Alyssa (Klein) took control and kept control of their matches. Brittany (Boeve) lost, but she was playing their best player. Jessica (Klein) came back as far as anyone can to win her match. I think all of the doubles tournaments we played in last week helped our doubles players today. All three teams played well."YME 7, Luverne 0The Cardinals were unable to post a match victory when they took on Yellow Medicine East in Pipestone Monday.Luverne had to mix up its lineup to cover the absence of a singles player, and that played a role in the outcome."We were missing Nikki Van Dyk in singles," said Cardinal coach Antoine. "We had a lot of players playing in different positions, and that makes a big difference in tennis."The highlights of the match for Luverne turned out to be set wins posted by the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams.After dropping a 6-3 decision to Jessie Pederson and Michelle Miller at No. 2 doubles, Luverne’s Jessica Klein and Heidi Sandbulte evened the match with a 6-4 victory in the second set. The YME team won a 7-2 decision in the tiebreaker that was used to settle the third set.Luverne’s Lindsey Severtson and Katie Kraetsch fell by a 6-2 tally in the first set of the No. 3 doubles match against Hailey Bennett and Meghan Bredeson. The Luverne team won the second set 7-6 after posting a 7-3 victory in the tie-breaker for the set. The YME team won a super tie-breaker by a 10-4 margin to take the third set.YME’s Cassie Barber and Jessica Oloove secured 6-1 and 6-0 wins over Jenny Braa and Andraya Gacke at No. 1 doubles.The Sting won all the singles matches in straight sets.Ashley Bennett topped Samantha Gacke by 6-1 and 6-4 scores at No. 1, Jamie Euger nailed down 6-0 and 6-1 wins over Brittany Boeve at No. 2, Kelly O’Connell bested Alyssa Klein by 6-4 and 6-1 tallies at No. 3, and Melissa Rasmussen notched 6-1 and 6-3 wins over Kaitlyn Deragisch at No. 4."One thing I noticed about our play was we need to be more aggressive. I saw the kids were trying to use strategies, but they just couldn’t get it done," Antoine said.Fairmont tourneyThe Cardinals placed third as a team during Friday’s doubles tournament in Fairmont.The host school took top honors in the event and was followed in order by Worthington, Luverne and Springfield."I thought our girls really played well in Fairmont," Antoine said. "We started doing some of the things we’ve been working on in practice. Now we just need more practice."Samantha Gacke and Brittany Boeve provided the highlight of the day by placing second in the championship flight. The Luverne squad won 32 games, finishing second behind a Fairmont team that won 34 games.Nikki Van Dyk and Alyssa Klein also played in the championship flight, winning 21 games to place fifth.Cardinals’ Kaitlyn Deragisch and Andraya Gacke won 26 games to place third in the second flight. Heidi Sandbulte and Jessica Klein finished sixth in the same flight with 20 wins.Lindsey Severtson and Amy Herman posted 25 wins to place fourth in the third flight. Whitney Maine and Katie Kraetsch tied for fifth place in the third flight with 17 wins.St. James tourneyThe Cardinals dropped three matches during a doubles tournament in St. James Wednesday, Aug. 21.Luverne came up on the short end of 7-1, 8-0 and 5-3 scores against Sibley East, the host team and Maple River respectively, but the Cardinals did earn something in the process."We gained a lot of good experience," said Cardinal coach Antoine. "We won a lot of the games, but we just didn’t come out on top in the matches. Hopefully, we learned some things that we can build on down the road."Luverne’s No. 1 doubles team of Brittany Boeve and Samantha Gacke had a successful day that featured winning two of three matches.Boeve and Gacke posted a 5-1, 1-5, 10-3 (super tie-breaker) against a team from SE before dropping a 2-5, 5-2, 10-5 (super tiebreaker) match to SJ. They beat the MR team by a 5-3, 2-5, 10-7 (super tie-breaker) decision.Cardinals Nikki Van Dyk and Kalina Vander Poel won their match against MR by scores of 5-2 and 5-3 at No. 2 doubles. Luverne’s No. 7 team notched a 1-5, 5-3, 13-11 (super tiebreaker) during the match against MR.

Dan Serie (middle) won his fourth club tournament championship during the Men’s Club Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend. Joe Dorhout (left) placed third. Chris Nowatzki (right) finished second.By John RittenhouseDan Serie left little doubt that he’s the best golfer the Luverne Country Club has to offer during the 65th Men’s Club Tournament played Saturday and Sunday.Serie led the championship flight after all four rounds during the two-day, 36-hole tournament, winning his fourth club championship since 1991.Serie, who has won three of the last four club tournaments, met all the challenges that confronted him during the 2003 version of the event.He withstood windy conditions and lightning-fast greens to shoot a five-over-par 72 on Saturday. On Sunday, Serie survived humid, 90-degree temperatures and a late challenge by runner-up Chris Nowatzki to shoot a one-over-par 73 and win the championship flight by four strokes."I played pretty well," Serie said, at tournament’s end. "I actually think I played better Saturday than I did on Sunday. I got a few lucky breaks on Sunday to stay ahead of Chris, who is due to win won of these tournaments."The problem for Nowatzki and the rest of the 11 players in the championship flight on Sunday was Serie’s not giving mood.He doubled his first-day lead of two strokes to four during Sunday’s opening round. Serie did leave the door open for Nowatzki to trim the difference to two strokes during the final round, but he made par five times and recorded one birdie over the final six holes to close the door on the competition.After a miserable performance during the 2002 version of the event, Serie served notice that things would be different this year with his play in Saturday’s first round.Serie fired a one-over-par 37 during the opening round to sport a two-shot lead over Darwin Elbers and Jon Jarchow, who shot 79s. Steve Smedsrud and Joe Dorhout were three strokes back with 40s.The eventual champion was unable to match his early success during Saturday’s second round, when Serie shot a four-over-par 40. It proved to be the highest score for a nine-hole round during the tournament.The competition, however, was unable to cut into the two-shot lead Serie brought into the second round.Nowatzki, who carded a 44 during the first round, shot an impressive one-under-par 35 during the second round to climb within two shots of Serie (77-79). Smedsrud was three shots back after shooting his second 40 of the day, and Jarchow (81) trailed by four shots after shooting a 41."The course was tough to play Saturday," Serie said. "The wind was blowing 30 to 35 miles-per-hour, and that made it hard on all of us. Winds like that made what were fast greens in the first place even faster."The humidity helped slow down the greens on Sunday, but the heat was a factor everyone had to endure.Serie and Nowatzki were paired with Smedsrud and Elbers in Sunday’s final group, but the title-chase turned into a showdown between Serie and Nowatzki as Elbers and Smedsrud carded 43- and 46-stroke opening rounds to slip out of contention.Dorhout, a member of the second-to-the-last group, played well by shooting a 75 Sunday. He climbed to within four strokes of Serie at one point in the final round, but he ended up finishing third with 157, seven strokes behind the champion.Like Saturday, Serie got off to a good start by shooting his second 37 of the tournament.Nowatzki countered with a 39, leaving him with a four-shot deficit (114-118) to make up.Nowatzki climbed within three shots of the lead when he made par on the first hole of the fourth round, while Serie took a bogey.It looked like Nowatzki would pick up some more strokes when he reached the green on the par-5 second hole with his second shot before two-putting for birdie.Serie, however, came up with a birdie of his own on the same hole.After both his drive and second shots found the right rough, Serie faced a 110-yard approach with trees and a sand trap in the line to the green. Serie met the challenge by striking a shot that eluded the obstacles and came to rest six inches away from the cup."I was thinking bogey," Serie admitted after the event. "I thought if I could get a bogey, I still would be ahead of Chris. I took a 5-iron and punched it. It was a good shot, but it was a very lucky shot."Serie proceeded to miss the green with his tee shot on the par-3 third hole, which led to his last bogey of the tournament. Nowatzki made par to cut Serie’s lead to two strokes with six holes left to play.The players proceeded to par the fourth and fifth holes before another defining moment fell in Serie’s favor on the sixth green.Serie faced a 15-foot putt for birdie with a four-foot break from right to left. To the amazement of the crowd, Serie sank the putt to increase his lead to three shots after Nowatzki made par."It definitely was the putt of the tournament for me," Serie offered. "The thing is I had a similar putt on the same hole during the first round, so I knew the line. I told my caddie that it was about time I made a putt. Making that putt made the situation a lot more comfortable for me."Both players made par on the seventh hole before Serie iced the championship by making par on the eighth hole. Nowatzki, who had to chip the ball onto the fairway after his drive rolled under an evergreen in the right rough, made bogey on the same hole to slip four shots off the pace.Both players made par on the ninth hole, which ended with Serie sporting a 150-154 lead over the challenger. Both players shot 36s during the final round.Serie said having a four-shot lead to play with heading into the final round was crucial."It was a lot better to be ahead by four strokes than being down by four. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens and make par," he said. "I knew Chris would make some birdies the way he was playing. I think Chris and Joe (Dorhout) are two of the better golfers out here who have never won a club tournament. But I was comfortable with my swing heading into the final round, and I knew wouldn’t make too many mistakes."The champion credits caddie Paul Ebert (Elk River), a long-time friend and Luverne High School classmate, as being a calming influence on him during the two-day event."This is the 10th year Paul has been my caddie, and this was the third time I’ve won the tournament with him. He does a great job," Serie said. Here is look at the final results of all players in the championship flight.Dan Serie 37-40-37-36-150, Chris Nowatzki 44-35-39-36-154, Joe Dorhout 40-42-38-37-157, Tim Connell 41-42-40-36-159, Darwin Elbers 39-40-43-39-161, Victor Van Dyk 45-39-39-42-165, Jon Jarchow 39-41-41-45-166, Steve Smedsrud 40-40-46-42-168, Cory Stratton 44-40-43-42-169, Micky Sehr 43-39-45-42-169, Craig Hohn 42-42-42-46-172.

What’s on the mind isn’t always what’s fit to printA great column topic just hasn’t crossed my mind this week. Sorry. You can read on if you want, or just move on to the letters to the editor. This happens to most columnists about once a year — a clear message to write about just doesn’t come to mind.As I sit at my desk, at 9 p.m. Tuesday, I am thinking about a lot of things: whether I’ll paint my house this summer; whether my friend is liking her new job; why I can’t find that mini flashlight I keep in the pantry; whether my sister, the teacher, is able to stand it in her room that doesn’t have air conditioning; that maybe I’ll visit Mom and learn how to make pickled beets next week. I’m thinking that my husband and I should have a glass of red wine more often with supper, since that new heart study said it’s good. I’m actually remembering that I’ve heard that one before a couple times.My mind is also busy making sense of the city and county meetings I attended tonight. So, you see, it’s not that my head is empty altogether (though some might laugh at that statement), it’s just that there’s no one, clear topic that is begging to be written about.Instead of figuring out an actual column topic, I’m just sitting here (now at 10 p.m.) hoping the anti-zit ointment I put on my chin is working. I could write one of those commonly seen columns that lists things that make the writer mad — sort of a Top 10 list of irritants. But, unfortunately, I can only think of a couple: (1.) Those flashing graphics and words on the bottom of the screen during TV shows. They now preview upcoming shows and acknowledge program sponsors during the regular broadcast. Isn’t that supposed to be a part of the "commercial break?" I find them very distracting and annoying. (2.) It bugs me that so many music artists using names like "Nude," "Stripped" or "Bare" for their CD titles these days. It’s totally losing it’s impact and appearance of originality. Everyone from Gloria Estefan to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera has gone the "naked" route and I’ve seen enough. Too bad I couldn’t come up with more, because everybody loves a complaining columnist.In hopes of finding ideas to write about, I even went through a couple inspirational e-mail forwards and ended up crying on my keyboard. I don’t want to appear too sappy, so I won’t share those. I actually thought I was close to a column decision earlier tonight. I listened to my editor enjoy a Dairy Queen Blizzard. I was thinking I could write about the greatness of ice cream and mention that the ice cream cone happens to be turning 100 years old. … Some say it was invented when the application for the patent was submitted on September 22, 1903 — but others contend the cone was first introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. I decided that idea wasn’t worth a whole column, either. … And I’d rather have a sundae than a cone, anyway.It looks like I’ve emptied the thoughts swimming in my head, so I’m sure I’ll have a great topic next time. See you in two weeks.

Martin Township continuedThe following is from the Rock County Herald printed on July 18, 1924:"The first child born in the settlement was Edward Evans, April 15, 1871, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Evans. The first child born in Martin Township was Jorgen Anderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Niels Anderson, June 24, 1872, who died at nine years of age. The first girl born in Martin Township was Anna Jensen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nels Iverson. One of the first deaths in the neighborhood was Mrs. Thora Moe, mother of Gulbrand and Knute Moe, in 1872. The first divine service was at the home of Mrs. Thora Moe by Rev. E. Olson in 1871, at which three children were baptized, namely Edward Evans, Pete Steen, and a child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jacobson. The first public school in the county was at the home of Deborah Estey in Clinton Township in December 1870. Mrs. Richmond was the teacher. The winter following the year of rapid settlement — the winter of 1872-73 — must go down in history as the most severe one. It brought the most terrible blizzard in the county’s history before or since in which the settlers received their first experience of real hardships. (This article was written in 1924 and was talking about 50 years before that.) The ill-fated year 1873 began with the most violent storm in the history of the state from the time of its first settlement to the present date. For three days beginning Jan. 7, the blizzard raged, extending over the whole northwest. Seventy human lives were lost in the storm in Minnesota, but by a miraculous turn of fate, none of these was in Rock County It was the only county in the vicinity that escaped without loss of life. Several Martin Township farmers were caught in the storm while on a trip for wood on Rock River and had narrow escapes from meeting death in the storm. One such party was composed of Ole O. Rue Sr., Ole O. Rue Jr., Nels Anderson and John Goldberg. Just as they reached the edge of the timber, the storm broke. The men got their cattle within the grove, and there the unfortunate men were obliged to pass the night. Mr. Rue states that he had all he could do to keep the other members of the party on the move. They begged to be permitted to sit down and rest, which of course, would have been fatal. About daylight, Anderson and Goldberg went out of the grove to seek a place of shelter, but they could find none and returned with badly frozen faces. At noon the weather cleared a little — enough to permit the storm bound men to see the sun and get their bearings, then they set out for the west in an effort to reach their home. Ole O. Rue Jr., led one yoke of oxen, and the other members of the party clung to the tails of the oxen and kept close together. In that manner they safely reached the home of Henry Martin where they secured shelter for the night. During the night Mr. Goldberg, who was more badly frozen than the others, was in great agony, and, believing himself to be dying, he bade his comrades good-bye. He subsequently recovered. All the members of the party reached home after spending the night at Mr. Martin’s. Erick Colby was another Martin Township farmer who went to Rock River after wood that awful day. He reached the timber just as the storm struck, but braving the dangers of the blizzard, he at once set out for home, and reached it in safety."

"I have a hankering," wrote a man named Lin Yutang, "to go back to the Orient and discard my necktie. Neckties strangle clear thinking." As it turns out, clear thinking isn’t the only thing being strangled when men wear neckties. Think jugular vein. A recent article in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reports that tight neckties increase the risk of glaucoma, the leading cause of preventable blindness. A tight necktie can evidently increase blood pressure by constricting the jugular vein, causing a backup of blood to the eye that can damage the optic nerve. If men ever needed an excuse to throw away their neckties, this is it. Neckties in men’s wardrobes are a prime example of the worn-out expression, "It’s always been done this way." The "four-in-hands" and bow ties worn today are almost identical to the neckwear worn first in the United States back in the 1870s. By comparison, if women would still be wearing things dating back to that time, we would have closets filled with whalebone corsets, long dresses with bustles and hoop skirts. Today’s neckties are descendants of ascots, cravats and other men’s neckwear too difficult to spell or pronounce and dating back to the 1700s. In light of the news about neckties, men might question the motives of family members who repeatedly give them ties for Christmas and birthdays. Neckties rarely wear out and they are truly gifts that keep on giving. One humorist once observed, "Nothing lasts as long as a necktie you don’t like." That’s particularly true if the ties in question reveal holiday trees with real flashing lights, hula dancers or neon pink flamingos. For every man in this country there must be at least "one ugly tie in the back of the closet" story. The ties are never thrown away, perhaps because of unspoken fears that the givers might find out or that the neckwear police might show up at the front door. Neckties are difficult to knot and they must be terribly uncomfortable because men are seen loosening them whenever they can. Ties are often unsightly stain traps for foods that might otherwise plummet from fork to floor unnoticed. Surely, with the exception of women’s pantyhose, no other garment has been cursed as often as men’s neckties. This world might be a better place without neckties. Of course, we would no longer be able to sing in church, "Blest be the Tie that Binds." Now it’s all about the tie that blinds. Given the link between possible blindness and tight neckwear, we might have negative reactions to, and different interpretations of, everyday expressions — "tie-dyed," "to tie one on," "tie-breakers" and "to risk one’s neck." A necktie-less world might also be safer. Dangling ties are undoubtedly dangerous for men working near moving parts of heavy machinery or restoring old wringer washers. When A.E. Housman wrote "Shropshire Lad" in 1896, he had another neckwear in mind, but it was deadly nevertheless — "And naked in the hangman’s noose, the morning clocks will ring a neck God made for other use than strangling in a string." The comparison is a natural for an eventual revolution against men’s neckwear — a hangman’s noose and a tight necktie.

I just want to take time to publicly thank the Spotlight Dancers and Cindy Crabel. The fund-raiser for the benefit of the Historic Palace Theatre was a generous gift. The board of the theatre is excited about the variety of events that we are able to host. Our calendar is becoming full, with thanks to Cindy and the group we are able to continue to offer live stage events and movies to all in the community. The next event is the 25th anniversary of "Jaws." Come, if you dare to go back into the water …LaDonna Van AartsenBlue Mound Area Theatre BoardHistoric Palace Theatre