Emil SerckEmil Serck, 100, Inwood, Iowa, died Friday, April 18, 2003, at Canton-Inwood Hospital.Services were Tuesday, April 22, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Inwood. Burial was at Richland Cemetery, Inwood. Emil Matthew Serck was born to Nick and Lena (Riemers) Serck on April 28, 1902, in rural Sioux County, Iowa.He married Elvera Pedersen on June 19, 1935, at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. They farmed first in Sioux County and later, south of Inwood until retirement in 1967. They moved to Inwood in 1972. He moved to Fellowship Village at Inwood in December 2002. Survivors include his wife, Elvera Serck, Inwood; one son, Glenn (Hennie) Serck, Inwood; one daughter, Dolores (Fred) Elbert, Hills; nine grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.Mr. Serck was preceded in death by three brothers, Henry, Herman and Albert Serck, and three sisters, Mary Hanzen, Clara Wiese and Amanda Schroeder. Porter Funeral Home, Inwood, was in charge of arrangements.

Duane SandbulteDuane Alan Sandbulte, 68, Steen, died Saturday, April 19, 2003, at Luverne Community Hospital in Luverne. Services were Tuesday, April 22, at Steen Reformed Church in Steen. The Rev. Dan Ramaker officiated. Burial was in Eastside Cemetery, Steen.Duane Sandbulte was born to William and Rebecca (Wesselink) Sandbulte on April 7, 1935, at Carmel, Iowa. He graduated from Sioux Center High School, Sioux Center, Iowa. He married Bernice Vonk at Rock Valley Reformed Church. They lived in Carmel from 1959 to 1965, Steen from 1965 to 1976, and moved to Hills in 1976. He worked with Sandbulte Brothers Construction Co., Sioux Falls; he was an independent insurance salesman for Minnesota Benefit and helped out as a bus driver for the Hills-Beaver Creek Schools. He also helped his son, Dale, with custom round baling. He served in the Army National Guard from 1957 to 1963 at Sheldon, Iowa. Mr. Sandbulte was a member of Steen Reformed Church in Steen where he taught catechism and Sunday School. He also served a term as Sunday School superintendent, was an usher and was involved in the M2 Program which ministers to inmates at South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. He enjoyed farming, softball, bike riding, walking and swimming. Survivors include his wife, Bernice Sandbulte, Hills; five sons, Dale (Jodi) Sandbulte, Steen, Craig (Brenda) Sandbulte, George, Iowa, Myron (Lisa) Sandbulte, Brian (Tracie) Sandbulte, all of Hills, and Nathan (Mary) Sandbulte, Sioux Falls; two daughters, Julie (Jim) Harsma, Steen, and Denise Dudley, Hills; 16 grandchildren; three brothers, Howard (Bernice) Sandbulte, Sioux Center, Iowa, Glen Sandbulte, Winfield, Kan., and Rodney (Carol) Sandbulte, Rock Valley, Iowa; five sisters, Hermina (August) Ykema, Allendale, Mich., Angeline (Calvin) Korver, Alton, Iowa, Iola Statema, Zeeland, Mich., Ronda (Rich) Kooistra, Inwood, and Laura (Jim) Westra, Rock Valley; two brothers-in-law, John Draayer, Hawarden, Iowa, and Ed (Elaine) Kats, Rock Valley; one sister-in-law, Hermina Sandbulte, Edgerton; and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Sandbulte was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, John, Henry Bernard and Lloyd, and two sisters, Sharon Kats and Henrietta Draayer.Roste Funeral Home, Hills, was in charge of arrangements.

John RozeboomJohn R. Rozeboom, 76, Luverne, died Monday, April 14, 2003, at Hospice Cottage in Luverne. Services were Friday, April 18, at American Reformed Church in Luverne. The Rev. David Sikkema officiated. Burial with military honors was at Pleasant View Cemetery in Valley Springs, S.D.John Rozeboom was born to Bert and Hattie (Van Batavia) Rozeboom on Dec. 29, 1926, in Steen. He was raised near Beaver Creek and attended Springwater Township schools. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was stationed in the Philippine Islands.He married Jennie Van Loo on June 1, 1946. The couple first lived at Valley Springs, S.D., and later on a farm near Hills. Mrs. Rozeboom died Aug. 30, 1985.He married Gertrude Ackerman on Sept. 9, 1986. They moved to Rowena, S.D. He semi-retired but still helped out on the farm. Mrs. Rozeboom died Sept. 9, 1990.He moved to Luverne later that year. He married Cathy Van Hill April 25, 1992. Mr. Rozeboom was a member of American Reformed Church in Luverne and the American Legion Post in Valley Springs. He enjoyed birds and operated a full-time game farm. He liked to fish and was an accomplished woodworker. One of his favorite hobbies was spending time in his vegetable and flower gardens. Survivors include his wife, Cathy Rozeboom, Luverne; one son, Gary (Sheri) Rozeboom, Hills; stepsons; stepdaughters; stepgrandchildren; two brothers, Jim (Edith) Rozeboom, Luverne, and Harvey (Gert) Rozeboom, Hills; one sister, Bordette (Charles) Oelrich, Hull, Iowa; and several nieces and nephews. Mr. Rozeboom was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Jennie, his second wife, Gertrude, and a stepgranddaughter. Memorials are preferred to the Hospice Cottage in Luverne. Hospice of Luverne Community Hospital will plant a tree in memory of John Rozeboom.Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Wilbert LeutholdWilbert J. "Bill" Leuthold, 85, Onaga, Kan, died Friday, April 18, in Onaga, Kan. He was the brother of Paul Leuthold, Hills.Services were Tuesday, April 22, at Mercer Funeral Home, Holton, Kan.Bill Leuthold was born on Nov. 16, 1917, in Oneida, Kan.He married Anna Carolyn Karns on Aug. 29, 1940, in Seneca, Kan.Survivors include his wife, Anna Karns, Onaga; two sons, Steven L. Leuthold, St. Louis, Mo., and Wilbert J. Leuthold Jr., Blackhawk, Kan.; three daughters, Dixie Carol Gibbs, Sequim, Wash., Mary Jane Eisenbarth, Geneva, Ill., and Sue Ann Thiemann, Manhattan, Kan.; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and one brother, Paul Leuthold, Hills.

10 years ago (1993)"The congregation of Steen Reformed Church had much to celebrate on its 80th anniversary Sunday.The congregation officially broke ground for their new church. Construction is slated to begin later this month. The new structure should be completed in about nine months."25 years ago (1978)"A group of residents of the city of Beaver Creek presented the City Council with a petition signed by 92 residents of the city asking the proposed water tower question be brought to a vote of the people.At the public hearing on the proposed 150,000 gallon tower at the cost of $255,000, residents were informed the city council would make the final decision."50 years ago (1953)"Richard Sjolseth and Robert Moser went to Luverne Tuesday evening when on Wednesday they joined a group of young men who were being inducted into the Army. They expected to go to Omaha and then to Chicago."75 years ago (1928)"Just to let this generation know what is meant by a dirt or sod fence, the writer interviewed Lars Kolsrud Sr., one of our pioneer settlers, who did much of this work in the early days. It was well-neigh impossible to get posts in those days, except through long hauls, and then another thing, money didn’t happen to be very plentiful."Therefore, if a farmer wanted a fence he had to ‘manufacture’ it right on the farm, and this is how they went about it: They dug a ditch about five feet wide and about three feet deep, with the ditch slanting toward the bottom. "The dirt thrown from the ditch was piled on the opposite side, and Lars explained that one of the tedious parts of the job was to pile the sod against the dirt in such a way that the dirt would not wash back into the ditch. He explained that the only animals that could jump the fence were jackrabbits, and that these man-made enclosures, when properly built, lasted for many years."100 years ago (1903)"Mr. Follett of Rock Rapids was in town Thursday looking up the cement sidewalk situation. Mr. Follett was the first to enter the business of manufacturing cement walks in Rock Rapids and some of his work done eight years ago is said to be as good as new."

Coming Friday to spend the Easter holiday in the home of Dennis Roning were his daughter, Deneise and husband, Bill, Swanson, Big Fork, and their four boys, Scott and Julie and three children, Woodbury, Paul and Gina, Plymouth, Dennis, New Hope, and Matthew and two boys, Proctor. Kris and Brian Hoelker, Sioux Falls, spent Easter with her sister, Sonja and Pastor Berg. With them were their daughter, Bobbi and Tony Leggett, and daughters, Annalee and Holly, also from Sioux Falls. Arie and Maryann Drooger and Sharon Weever, Edgerton, drove to Rock Valley last Saturday to help Grace Van Maanen celebrate her 75th birthday.Mike and Nancy Sandager hosted the Sandager families for Easter dinner. Present were Sheldon and Ellie Sandager; Pucky and Shirley and family; Tarah Sandager and Chole; Charles and Dawn and family; Dawn’s parents, Bob and Marie Petersen, Tyler; Nancy’s father, Merlin Garlid, en route from Tucson, Ariz., to Center City; Carolyn Norton and friend; and the foreign exchange students. Greg and Dianna Spath, Wells, came Thursday to spend until Monday visiting relatives in the area, namely Jill and Shawn Swenson and McKenzie; Jennifer and Ardell Van Wettering, Brooke and Ashley; Mike and Robin Spath and Madison; and also Greg’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Spath, Sioux Falls.John and Carol Van Maanen returned home from a two week vacation where they visited their daughter, Dana and Tim Vink, and three girls at Tulare, Calif., and also relatives in Ripon, Calif. They also visited Yosemite National Park. Bonnie and Brian Olson, St. Paul, spent the weekend with her mother, Luella Schlueter, and also visited Willard and Phyllis Gropel in Luverne. Anna and Mike Gilman and three children, Eden Prairie, spent the weekend in the home of her parents, Wendell and Kathryn Erickson. Other dinner guests on Sunday were Margaret Erickson, Worthington, and Pat and Kirsten Anderson and Nicole, Sioux Falls. Saturday morning Martha Hoyme and Gloria Engels, Sioux Falls, visited with Opal Swanson.Wednesday evening Betty Elbers was a supper guest in the home of Cheryl Elbers in Valley Springs. On Saturday afternoon Cheryl and Michelle and Madison visited her in the Elbers home. Carol Lonkey, Brooklyn Center, spent the weekend in the home of her mother, Martha Lindrud, and they joined the Ruben Vestlie family for Easter dinner Sunday in his home in Sioux Falls.Todd and Jane Paulsen, Molly, John and Emily, Le Center, spent the weekend in the Jack Paulsen home. Mike and Tracy Paulsen and Kelli Jo, and Jackie and Steve Wells and Ian, all of Sioux Falls, were additional dinner guests Easter Sunday. Cyndi Ebert spent the weekend in the home of her son, Jeff and Josie, in Omaha, Neb.Roger and Ruth Jackson and Lee spent their Easter break in the home of her sister, Rita Engels, in Marshall, along with her father and other family members. Cliff and Vi VanWyhe hosted a four o’clock Easter dinner with those present being Steve and Marilyn VanWyhe and Justin, Steen; Heather VanWyhe, Bloomington; Amber VanWyhe, Kearney, Neb; Travis Arends, Brookings, S.D.; and Lexi and Ron DeWit, Lindsey and Ashley, Sioux Falls. Dana and Kay Dahlquist spent Easter in the Dick Lewellen home in Wessington Springs, S.D.Mary Carter spent the weekend in the home of Alf and Marilyn Metzger in Hawarden, Iowa.Betty Elbers drove to Edgerton last week Tuesday to visit her mother, Jessie Boeve, at the Edgebrook Care Center and helped her celebrate her 90th birthday. Sunday afternoon Wilmer and Betty visited Jessie at the Center. Deb, Luke, Dylan and Alison Mathias, Heron Lake, Cindy Lenz, Breann, Riley and Jessica, Windom, spent Easter in the home of Bob and Twila Kirsch. Riley remained to spend overnight. Shirley Olson has moved from Padre Island, Texas, to her apartment in Hills where she is making her permanent home. Easter dinner guests in the home of David and Nancy Swanson were Chad and Jennifer Nelson, Taylor and Jaxson, Magnolia, and Opal Swanson. Betty Elbers attended the Easter brunch at Steen Reformed Church Friday morning. Tim and Brenda Plimpton, Jamie and Stuart, and the McCormick families of Sioux Falls spent Easter with relatives in Lennox, S.D.Kent and Paul Kolsrud and Kylie, Sioux Falls, were Easter dinner guests in the home of Alice Kolsrud and visited Grace Slieter also at Tuff Memorial Home. Easter guests in the home of Chuck and Rheta DeBoer were Seth and Susan Hofman and David, Melvin, Iowa.Easter guests in the home of Dean and Peggy Goettsch were Annette and Tony Goettsch, Sioux Falls, and Alice Goettsch. Evelyn Rogness received word that her youngest brother, Glen Thomson, passed away Saturday in Springfield, Mo. He was 82.

Even though spring has arrived Mother Nature is still having a problem deciding where she should send the rain, or should it be snow, or maybe a freezing drizzle! Of course she can always send the sunshine. We always enjoy that even if we do need moisture. We were one of the fortunate ones that received some rain this past week. It was a nice slow rain and every drop of it soaked into our thirsty earth. It also washed off our windows and even more important, washed away our little black beetles. My door has been covered with them and the rain was good. I don’t know if you remember the old saying that predicted "rain on Easter and it will rain the next three Sundays." If it would continue to be rainy for that long it will not be very conducive for the farmers getting into their fields. But, we can’t have everything and we do need the moisture. Even though the farmers get restless this time of year, you can count on them to get their crops in on time. This is so important, not only for the farmers, but for our communities here.The Steen community was shocked and saddened Saturday to hear of the sudden death of Duane Sandbulte. He and his family have been residents of the Steen-Hills community for many years. Funeral services were Tuesday at Steen Reformed Church. Burial was in Eastside Cemetery. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family. Evelyn Tilstra was released from St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester on Tuesday and has returned to her home. Paul Bosch and son, Eric, from Brandon were Wednesday evening callers in the home of his parents, Dries and Laura May Bosch. Henrietta Huenink’s sister, Dorothy Sides, from Friendsville, Tenn., came last Tuesday to visit her sister and to attend the 100th birthday of her mother, Dena Korthals, on Saturday. She returned to her home on Sunday. Our deepest sympathy goes out to Yvonne Rozenboom on the death of her father, Warren Hagland of Mountain Lake. Special music at Steen Reformed Church Sunday morning worship service was provided by Heather and Lowell Bonnema. Mildred Paulsen attended the Local Advisory Committee for the Mental Health Center at Windom on Monday evening. Several from Steen Community attended the musical production "Bow the Knee" at the American Reformed Church in Luverne Saturday and Sunday evenings. Several have been asking me how Floyd Paulsen, son of Melvin and JoAnn Paulsen, is getting along following the accident he had sometime ago. His mother, JoAnn, told me he was no longer in a wheelchair. He is able to be on crutches and will be for another four weeks. However, he is able to get around under his own power now.Gracia Schrick from George, Iowa, and her mother, Jane Bonnema, attended the bridal shower for Heather Bonnema last Saturday morning. Easter Sunday afternoon callers in the Dries and Laura May Bosch home was their son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Amy, and daughters, Emma and Isabel, from Sioux Falls.Our deepest sympathy goes out to the Harvey Rozeboom family on the death of Harvey’s brother, John, last Monday. Funeral services for him were on Friday. Easter Sunday dinner guests in the Daryl and Marie Paulsen home were Francis and Jane Mainolfi, Sioux Falls, Steve and Sherry Paulsen and sons, Tyler, Tanner and Trevor, Hills, Clark and Suzie Meyer, Brandon, and Mildred Paulsen. Arnold and Jane Bonnema were Easter Sunday dinner guests in the home of their son George and Sharon Bonnema in Luverne. Other guests were their daughter, Julie and David Haugom, Luverne, and their daughter from the Cities. Those of us that grew up in the years of the Great Depression often remember how little money was available in those years to pay your bills and take care of families. This is especially true as the value of our money has diminished this past year and the prices of goods and services have gone up and money has become harder to make reach all of the areas we need it to. That got me to thinking, just how important is money. We are learning just how important it is to get our priorities straight. As I thought about this it seemed to me that having money is just not enough but more and more it is what we are all striving for. Money, by itself, does not have a whole lot of value. It is what you can purchase with it that makes it valuable. If there was nothing to purchase it wouldn’t have much value.The late George Horace Lorimer, who for many years edited the now defunct Saturday Evening Post, once wrote these words. "It is a good thing to have money and the things money can buy but it is good to check up once in awhile and make sure we haven’t lost the things that money cannot buy."Money cannot buy real friendship, it must be earned.Money cannot buy a clear conscience, square dealing is the price tag.Money cannot buy the glow of good health, right living is the secret.Money cannot buy happiness; happiness is a mental attitude and one can be as happy in a cottage as in a mansion.Money cannot buy sunsets, singing birds, and the music of wind in the trees, these are as free as the air we breathe.Money cannot buy inward peace. It is the result of a constructive philosophy of life. Money cannot buy character, character is what we are when we are alone with ourselves in the dark. Hopefully, you will continue this list yourself. You will agree that among the things money cannot buy are some of the most valuable treasures life has to offer. It is a good thing to check up now and be sure we are not missing these things.

The City Council of tiny (pop. 40) Mount Sterling, Iowa, will soon decide the fate of an anti-lying ordinance. According to Reuters, the mayor pro tempore, Jo Hamlet, "has heard one too many tall tales." "People shooting 15-pound geese and catching 9-pound bass and 28-pound gobbler turkeys and over 200-point bucks — I thought maybe we ought to ... tame down a little bit," Hamlet stated. The ordinance would also ban claims of high corn yields and ordinary gossip. Hamlet must have had tongue in cheek when he suggested the possible punishments might include mouth-washings and tongue-lashings. If the ordinance passes, an obvious place of change will be the driver’s license office. Car and truck drivers, actually capable of casting shadows as wide as a barn or a 12-row corn planter, will no longer be able to say they weigh much less than they do. If the law is followed to the letter, Mount Sterling will become a town without childhood myths and legends. It would be a town without a tooth fairy, Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. ‘Your tooth fell out, huh? Well, big deal. Here’s a quarter." "Here, take these bags of candy. Thank goodness I don’t have to spend half the night hiding thousands of jelly beans and marshmallow bunnies under sofa cushions. I’ve got better things to do with my time." "Bah. Humbug." All of the fun would be missing. The new ordinance might also lead to an increased number of guilt-filled confessions. "Hello? Is this the IRS? I think I might owe you guys some money." "Remember when I told you I had never been married before?" Unable to tell even white lies, how will people respond to the challenging questions which surface continually in personal relationships? Armed with the truth and nothing but the truth, men would be unable to heed the advice of Olin Miller, "A man who won’t lie to a woman has very little consideration for her feelings." Truly honest opinions might ruin many marriages. "Honey, does this dress make me look fat?" (If that floral print had to cover any more surface, you would look like one of those 20-acre botanical gardens they’re always showing on the travel channel.) "Why can’t we be romantic like we used to be?" (Let’s face it, after all these years, you’re either looking more like me or your mother. I can’t decide. It’s a toss-up.) "So, how do you like this new recipe?" (Thank goodness our children have grown up and moved out. Collateral damage from this particular disaster should be minimal — just the two of us. It’s kind of funny when you think about it — ours may be the first deaths attributed to bad linguini.) Even if the anti-lying ordinance is passed in Mount Sterling, at least one form of stretching the truth will continue to survive. According to Douglas Malloch, "The biggest liar in the world is They Say." As anyone who has ever lived in a small town knows, They Say is mighty difficult to track down.

Villagers observed the celebration of Easter. They attended Good Friday and Sunday morning worship at the Tuff Home, being chauffeured back and forth due to the rain. Many villagers went with family and friends away for dinner, while pretty pastel tablecloths and Arnold’s wooden crosses welcomed others who had guests or remained for the traditional ham dinner. The Olson’s had extended an invitation to anyone to join their family in the community room and some did. We hope you had a blessed Easter as well. "Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day." Such is not the case of the moment. We welcomed the rain for we did need the moisture but doesn’t it make a muddy gray world ? When Jim Crawford, Carolyn’s brother-in-law, visited the Village he brought with him a C.D. that his son, John Robert, of Nashville, Tenn., had made. On it he’s singing with his daughter a song he wrote, in support of the U.S. soldiers and their families. It’s titled "Daddy, Please Come Home, the Little Soldiers Prayer." We’re always impressed when we know someone on tape but the song and the singing impressed us more.Spring is evident at the Village. Lawn chairs are being placed on the patio. Flower pots are waiting to be planted. Inside we have pussy willows, a beautiful begonia, a gift from Miles and Arla Olson and Berdella’s Easter Lily. Five blooms to remind us. However, we did not plant potatoes on Good Friday.Arnold S. had a birthday (91) and, of course, we had to celebrate. Arnold had guests for dinner and served lemon cake and ice cream for dessert. Two days later it was Palma’s turn. She had an afternoon party with huge pieces of chocolate cake. Palma’s age? Thirty-nine she said.Last week I told you we had "Red" Day but I failed to tell you Pastor Berg showed up for Bible study wearing a bright red clerical shirt. The circle met in the community room. Earl’s son and family visited from Rochester. There were villagers who gathered on Saturday to dye Easter eggs with Caroline’s family. I’ll keep you posted.