Members of the Mankato Elks traveled to Luverne recently to deliver wind pants to the veterans at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne. Pictured at right are Mankato Elk representatives Larry Achterhoff and Ron Sik with Luverne veterans home representative Duane Mabon (far right). Sik and Mabon each hold a pair of the donated wind pants.

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on January 6, 1905.
 
Birds Score High
Many Fine Specimens are Exhibited
Event Was a Big Success
Fourth Annual Show of Luverne Poultry Association Came to an End Saturday—Majority of Purses Won by Luverne Exhibitors—List of the Prize Winners
The fourth annual show of the Luverne Poultry association passed into history Saturday evening. It will not be remembered as a big financial success, but from every other view point it was all that could be desired and the members are one and all well pleased with the event. No less satisfaction, according to expressions heard from all who were present, is felt by the exhibitors from abroad, and it is this fact which adds to the satisfaction of members of the association as well as to the success of the show.
As was confidently expected Luverne exhibitors carried off a large majority of the prizes, winning four of the six silver cups and the silver water pitcher as special prizes. In addition to these the Luverne exhibitors won practically three-fourths of all the other prizes awarded. The fact that the judge who scored the birds and awarded the prizes is no less a personage than F. H. Shellabarger, of West Liberty, Ia., who is everywhere acknowledged to be one of the “two best” poultry judges in the United States, adds greatly to the value of the prizes. He is an acknowledged authority in the poultry world and his scoring is accepted in any state in the union. Birds are purchased everywhere without question on his scoring, which stands as the highest possible guarantee. He has the reputation of being the hardest “cutter” in the field and a bird that will score a certain number of points under him is pretty likely to pass muster in any show in the country. For this reason the show was worth a great deal to exhibitors, and those whose birds won prizes have the assurance that they have genuine prize winners.
The winners of the silver cups indicate the winners of the largest number of prizes, as the cups were awarded on that basis. The local exhibitors who won these trophies are as follows: Mrs. W. A. Shelhamer, association cup for ten highest scoring birds in White Wyandottes, and also silver water pitcher donated by Hawes & Houg for the best pen of White Wyandottes; Mrs. M. Swedberg, association cup for the best pen of Silver Wyandottes; N. R. Reynolds, association cup for the best pen of White Plymouth Rocks; S. K. Chapin, association cup for the best cock, cockerel, hen, pullet and pen in the Asiatic class. The other cups offered went to E. C. Brooks, of Beaver Creek, who won the cup donated by F. C. Wittenberg to the exhibitor making the largest number of entries, and to M. W. Baldwin of Sioux City, who won the association cup offered for the best pen of Barred Plymouth Rocks. In addition to the cups N. R. Reynolds won the three special ribbon prizes offered by the American White Plymouth Rock club for the best cockerel, pullet and pen shown by a member, and Mrs. W. A. Shelhamer the four special ribbon prizes offered by the National White Wyandotte club for the best cock, cockerel, hen and pullet shown by a member.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

Greta Sadie Veldkamp, 96, rural Jasper, died Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, at the Bethany Home in Brandon, South Dakota.
A funeral service was at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Dingmann Funeral Home in Luverne. Burial was in the Jasper Cemetery in Jasper.
Arrangements were provided by Dingmann Funeral Home of Luverne, dingmannandsons.com.
(1104 DN)

Tracey A. Fahrenholtz, 55, Moorhead, died Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Moorhead Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center.
Arrangements are provided by Boulger Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Center in Fargo, North Dakota, www.boulgerfuneralhome.com.
 (1104 DN)

Helmer Lawrence “Haaky” Haakenson, 102, Luverne, died Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.
Visitation is from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2, with Parish Prayers at 7:30 p.m., at Dingmann Funeral Home in Luverne. Visitation is also one hour prior to the funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3, at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. Burial with full military honors provided by the Luverne American Legion and VFW will be in the St. Catherine Cemetery in Luverne.
Helmer Haakenson was born to Lars and Anna (Freim) Haakenson on Feb. 20, 1919, at the family home in rural Rock County. He attended country school grades 1-7 and finished eighth grade in Luverne.
In 1940 Haaky enlisted in the Army. He was trained to fix radar sets. He spent the majority of his military years in Kodiak, Alaska. He was honorably discharged in 1945.
Haaky attended Dunwoody College in Minneapolis where he completed their electrician program. He worked for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the majority of his career, retiring in 1981.
Haaky married Joan Serie on Feb. 8, 1947, at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Minneapolis. They lived in Minneapolis until 1948 when they returned to Luverne. Initially Haaky worked in Luverne but spent most of his career in Sioux Fall. Often he spent weekends doing electrical work for friends and family.
He enjoyed golfing and played to age 98. He and his wife, Joan, played couples bridge and enjoyed dancing.
Haaky enjoyed working on the family tree and learned his dad Lars spelled his last name Haakonson on his citizenship papers. As a result, Haaky changed his tombstone to Haakonson, insisting that was the correct spelling.
He was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne, serving in numerous capacities including Eucharistic Minister and treasurer with his wife; the Knights of Columbus, serving as Grand Knight for two years; the VFW, serving on the firing squad 1980-2005; Last Man Club, earning the title as last survivor. He had the honor of meeting Mary Pawlenty and her husband, then Gov. Tim Pawlenty, as Mary adopted the members of the Last Man Club. Haaky, along with his son, Mike, traveled on the Southwest Minnesota Honor Flight for World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., April 30-May 1, 2010. He also volunteered at the VFW bingo games at the Minnesota Veterans Home, removing snow for seniors who lived near his home, and assisting at Senior Dining.
Four days before his 100th birthday, he moved into the Oaks Assisted Living facility and then to the Minnesota Veterans Home.
Haaky is survived by his children and spouses, Cheryl and Bob Dodge, Concord, California, Marsha and Gary Gabrielson, Gary, South Dakota, Sandy and Dave Parpart, Delano, Mike and Pam Haakenson, Luverne, and Mary and Mark Aukes, Luverne; grandchildren Troy and Tami Burnett, Chad (Lisa) Gabrielson, Mandy (fiancé Terry Hendrix) and Eric Parpart, Andy (Meghan) Haakenson and Lindsay (Tyler) Kashdan, Jake (Christina) Aukes and Mariah (Sam) VanOrman; five great-grandchildren; and a sister, Lorraine Eggimann, Santa Maria, California.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Joan, in 2004; and two sisters, Ethel Carlson and Helen Probst.
Arrangements were provided by Dingmann Funeral Home of Luverne, dingmannandsons.com.
(1104 F)

Lylas Mae Smidstra, 88, Luverne, died Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.
A funeral service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, at The American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids, Iowa. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. The Smidstra family requests masks be used during the visitation and funeral service.
Lylas Mae Jurrens was born July 23, 1933, to Everett and Juel (Feldman) Jurrens in Ellsworth. She was raised and received her education in Ellsworth.
She married Ben Smidstra on Dec. 3, 1958. They were blessed with two children, Charles and Joel. They lived on the family farm where Lylas helped with the day-to-day operations. Her first grandchild was born in August of 1985, and she devoted much of her time to helping care for her grandchildren.  They spent many weekends and summers on the farm with Lylas and Ben.
Later in life, Lylas was employed for 20 years as a cook at the Rock Rapids Health Center.
She treasured time with her husband, her sons, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She enjoyed cooking and baking and always prepared special Sunday meals for her entire family.
She was an animal lover and had a special place in her heart for cats. She enjoyed going on bike rides down their gravel road, relishing in the harvest of her son Joel’s garden, and meeting up with family and special friends at the Pizza Ranch to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.
After significant health problems, Lylas moved to the Minnesota Veterans Home in February 2018.  In October 2019, her husband, Ben, moved to the Minnesota Veterans Home and they were able to spend nearly all their time together.  They enjoyed visiting, talking about old times, playing games, doing activities and singing hymns, among many other things.
Lylas is survived by her husband, Ben Smidstra of Luverne; son Charles Smidstra of Luverne; five grandchildren, Ben Smidstra of Luverne, Christina (Jose) Grijalva of Luverne, Bethany Smidstra (partner Brandon Englert) Rock Rapids, Iowa, Melissa (Fady) Smidstra of Michigan and Erin Smidstra (fiancé Jordan Jerke) of Sioux Falls; 15 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Delores Jurrens of Ellsworth; brother-in-law Joe Jeffer of Luverne; and many nieces, nephews, and other extended family.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, Joel Smidstra; parents-in-law Charles and Reika Smidstra; two brothers-in-laws, Albert (Harriet) Smidstra and Bert (Albertha) Smidstra; and four sisters-in-laws, Jennie (Jack) Vande Weerd, Suzie (Hank) Kelderman, Jessie (Harvey) Wiersma and Wilma Jean Jeffer.
Arrangements were provided by Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids, Iowa, www.jurrensfuneralhome.com.

LHS senior Mia Wenzel qualified for the Minnesota individual state tournament for the Cardinals after winning the individual Section 3A Singles Tournament.
Wenzel competed at the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis on Thursday, Oct. 28.
In her first-round match, Wenzel was defeated by Ana Medina of Rochester Lourdes 6-0, 6-0.
Wenzel then played Annika Harberts Otts from Providence Academy in the Consolation bracket. Wenzel was defeated 6-2, 6-0, ending her state tournament play. 
“I have said it all year. I could not be more pleased with how Mia played,” said LHS coach Jon Beers. 
“Mia is a competitor and wants to win each match she plays. She may have come up on the short end of both her matches, but it doesn't take anything away from the accomplishment of playing in the state tournament.”  
Wenzel has been playing tennis since she was 4 and said competing at the state level has long been her goal.
“Honestly, this has been my lifelong dream,” she said Monday. “When I won my section finals match, I almost broke down and cried.”
Beers said it’s been about eight years since the last time an LHS girl was in the state tournament.
“Mia represented her school and herself very well just playing in the state tournament,” Beers said.
Wenzel finished the season with a 16-5 record playing No. 1 singles and did not lose to any Section 3A opponents during the year. 
“Mia has played varsity singles the last three seasons and was a great team leader this season,” Beers said. “She will be hard to replace and will truly be missed next year.”
Wenzel said she enjoyed competing with high-caliber athletes and described the experience as surreal.
“I made myself a lot more nervous than I needed to be,” she said. “But I was glad I got to compete up there with other people from this part of the state, and I met a lot of really nice people.”
Her advice to younger peers: “If you have a dream, go for it. You can do it.”

In the first round of the Section 3 Nine-Man playoffs, the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots hosted the Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman Jaguars Tuesday, Oct. 26.
This game went much like the first time the two squads met earlier in the season. The Patriots cruised to a 47-0 playoff win, ending the Jaguars’ season at 3-6.
H-BC scored early and with lightning speed.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Patriots had a false start penalty that put them at their own 38-yard line. On their first play from scrimmage, senior Cole Baker went 62 yards through the right side of the offensive line and quickly made the score 6-0 with only 20 seconds gone in the first quarter.
The Patriots then forced the Jaguars into a fourth and 16 punting situation after only three plays, and Justin Roelfs ran for a 30-yard punt return to the Jaguars’ 23-yard line.
Six plays later, Baker found the end zone with 8:02 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Oliver Deelstra ran the successful conversion to boost the Patriots’ lead to 14-0.
After the Patriots’ touchdown, on the next Jaguar offensive play, defensive tackle Max Scholten fell on a Jaguar fumble at the 21-yard line.
This was the first of six Patriot defensive takeaways, two by fumble recovery and four by interception.
After the Scholten fumble recovery, Ty Bundesen scored the Patriots’ third touchdown of the first quarter. Although the point-after run was short, the Patriots extended their lead to 20-0 at the 7:51 mark of the first quarter.
After another Jaguar punt, the Patriots went on a 10-play, 68-yard drive capped by Baker’s five yard run to widen the score to 26-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The second play of the second quarter saw cornerback Gideon Taubert intercept a Jaguar pass at the 40-yard line in Jaguar territory.
The next H-BC scoring offensive play had many moving parts. Wide out Bundesen came in motion left across the field, quarterback Deelstra faked the ball to running back Baker, and left end Casey Kueter ran a delayed pass pattern up the seam on the left hash mark between the two Jaguar safeties. Deelstra then lofted a deep pass to Kueter who caught it at the 18-yard line, stumbled on the catch, but kept his feet and ran into the end zone with the football. Bundesen booted the extra point to make the score 33-0 with 11:47 left in the half.
On the next Jaguars possession, Deelstra picked off a pass and returned the ball to the 47-yard line. With a drive of 10 plays, Deelstra scored from six yards out. Bundesen again was good with the kick, making the score 40-0 with 5:25 left in the first half.
The score remained 40-0 into the third quarter until defender Austin Allen intercepted a pass in the flat from his linebacker position. He returned the ball 15 yards to the 14-yard line.
On the next play, Justin Roelfs scooted through the left side of the line to score from 14 yards out. Bundesen split the uprights to end the scoring at Patriots 47, Jaguars 0.
The rest of the way saw a running game clock because of the point differential.
All Patriots in uniform saw playing time during the game, with some reserves playing as early as the second quarter.
“I thought our defense played great all night. Our guys (defense) were flying to the football and I thought we played a real physical game,” said Patriots head coach Rex Metzger.
Statistically the Patriots held the visiting Jaguars to minus eight (-8) rushing yards for the entire game.
“Creating six turnovers and giving our offense good field position was the difference in the game,” Metzger said.
The 7-2 Patriots moved on to play the Edgerton Flying Dutchmen in the Section semi-finals Saturday, Oct. 30, in Hills.
 
Team statistics
HBC: 289 rushing yards, 93 passing yards, 382 total yards, 18 first downs, 4 penalties for 25 yards, one turnover.
GHEC/T: minus eight (-8) yards rushing, 65 passing yards, 57 total yards, four first downs, four penalties for 16 yards, six turnovers.
 
Individual statistics
Rushing: C. Baker 10-118 yards, O. Deelstra 7-48 yards, T. Bundesen 5-37 yards, J. Roelfs 3-31 yards, Sawyer Bosch 5-30 yards, Brock Harnack 2-13 yards, Drew Leenderts 2-12 yards, Luke Furstenberg 3-0 Yards.
Passing:
O. Deelstra 4-6 for 85 yards, S. Bosch 1-3 for 8 yards.
Defense: Gideon Taubert six tackles & one Interception, Brayden Metzger four tackles & one fumble recovery, L. Fuerstenberg four tackles, A. Allen three tackles & one interception, Brock Harnack one tackle & one interception, O. Deelstra one tackle & one interception, Max Scholten one fumble recovery.

The Luverne Cardinals volleyball team advances in subsection playoffs with a victory over Pipestone in five sets Monday night in Luverne.
It wasn’t an easy win for the LHS girls, but coach Sarah DeBeer said the Cardinals’ clean serving was a key part of the game.
She said almost all Luverne players were error-free, and their hard work at the net contributed to Monday night’s success.
“This match was the outcome we hoped for after dropping a five-set game to Pipestone earlier in the season,” DeBeer said.
She said the Cardinals have been growing as a team and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak.
Pipestone won the first set 25-18, LHS took Set 2 with a score of 25-19, Set 3 went to Pipestone 25-18, and Luverne won Sets 4 and 5 by scores of 25-21 and 15-12 respectively.
Pipestone lost on a service error in Set 5 while Elise Ferrell (20 kills for the night) supplied five attacks in Set 5 to seal the match.
Christina Wagner contributed 13 kills in the game.
The Cardinals will take on Big South Conference foe Jackson County in Worthington on Thursday, Nov. 4. Game time is 7 p.m.
Cardinals take first-round game from Fairmont
By Reva Sehr
For the Star Herald
No. 2-seeded Luverne volleyball team was expected to make quick work of No. 7 Fairmont Friday in Luverne, but the Cardinals had to work for their 3-0 win in the first round of Section playoffs.
After some Fairmont errors at the start of Game 1, Luverne was up by four points with a Kamryn Van Batavia dig to Reghan Bork, who set for Elise Ferrell to drop a kill followed by a light serve from Bork into the Fairmont hole. 
A few errors by Luverne and a Fairmont kill tied the game at four. Luverne pulled ahead after a kill by Ferrell followed by another Ferrell kill with assistance from Macy Stratton in the back row and Bork on the set assist.
The Cardinals fell behind Fairmont after a series of out-of-bounds plays but managed to inch their score back up with a surprise over-the-net by setter Trista Baustian and kills by Ferrell and Morgan Ahrendt.
Fairmont gained the advantage again on a series of kills and Luverne errors to put Luverne behind by three points. 
A block by Christina Wagner and Baustian followed by a dig from Stratton to Baustian who set for Ahrendt’s kill closed the gap to one point. An ace serve by Baustian tied the game at 16. 
A couple of errors on both sides tied the game at 18. After a couple of Luverne out-of-bounds plays, Fairmont getting through Luverne blocks, a kill by Luverne, and a double by Fairmont, the game was tied at 21. 
Then the magic happened. After a nail-biting volley, Luverne was scrambling to get control when Van Batavia made a diving save to allow a Luverne point. 
This was followed by a couple of Bork serves and some good Cardinal net play for Luverne to cinch Game 1 by a score of 25-21.
Luverne dominated Game 2, and the closest Fairmont came to Luverne was in the beginning of the game by three points.
Luverne started to pull away with kills by Wagner and Van Batavia.
Then Baustian passed to Macy Stratton who sent it over to Ahrendt who strategically placed the ball into the Fairmont hole. 
Anja Jarchow and Ahrendt followed with a block that came back to the Luverne side, but Jarchow was expecting it and tipped it back over the net. 
Later, a Luverne back row dig sent the ball bouncing down off the ceiling, but Wagner saved the play by diving for a successful pass for Luverne to get it over the net. 
Luverne continued to gain points from Fairmont errors and earning points on offense and defense.
Fairmont lost control after a Morgan Gonnerman hit, and Baustian pulled her signature move, sending the ball over the net rather than setting, landing the ball into the hole.
Luverne won Game 2 with a score of 25 to 8.
The first 10 points of Game 3 saw the teams exchanging the lead, but Luverne pulled away after a Fairmont time-out. 
Luverne responded with a Van Batavia pass to Bork set to Stratton for a back row attack. 
Rattled by Luverne, Fairmont proceeded with errors, giving Luverne four points while Stratton was serving. 
Grace Sandbulte and Wagner teamed up on a block to put Luverne up by 10 with the score at 22 to 12.  Fairmont went on to block a Luverne kill, but Sandbulte, assisted by Stratton and Bork, executed a kill right back at them to keep the lead at 10.
 An error by both teams still kept the gap at 10 and the score was now 24 to 14. 
Luverne won the game 25 to 14 when Baustian strategically placed the ball into the Fairmont hole. 
Coach DeBeer commended her team for their cool heads in the playoff game.
“The ladies did a nice job of taking control from the service line during the match against Fairmont,” she said.
“We are hoping to utilize our serving game against Pipestone on Monday. It should be a great match to watch.”
 
Stat Highlights:
Serves:  Macy Stratton 19/20 with 1 Ace; Reghan Bork 19/20 with 2 Aces
Set assists: Reghan Bork 15, Trista Baustian 10
Blocks:  Anja Jarchow 2 solos and 2 assists, Christina Wagner 1 solo and 1 assist
Attacks:  Elise Ferrell 7, Morgan Ahrendt 5
Overall record:  17-6