Mildred (Beeck) Schmidt 89, Le Mars, Iowa, died Sunday, Sept. 16, 2001, at Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars.

Services were Thursday, Sept. 20, at Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home. The Rev. Tim Olsen officiated. Burial was at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.

Mildred Helen Gertrude Eggebrecht was born to Herman and Minnie (Ladwig) Eggebrecht on Aug. 30, 1912, on a farm near Craig, Iowa. She attended school in Craig.

She married William Beeck on July 10, 1941, in South Sioux City, Neb. They lived in various places throughout Iowa and Minnesota before settling in Reading. Mr. Beeck passed away on Nov. 21, 1965.

She married Harold Schmidt in October 1987 at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Le Mars. They moved to Glennie, Mich., and lived there until Mr. Schmidt passed away in March 1994. She returned to Le Mars.

Survivors include her niece/daughter, Joyce Lunstra and her husband Roger, Sioux Falls, S.D., and their sons, Bruce Lunstra, Columbus, Ohio, and Dave Lunstra, Brandon, S.D.; her daughter, LuAnn Funk and her husband Jim, Sibley, Iowa, their son, Scott Funk and his boys Wyatt and William, Worthington, their daughter, Bobbi Funk, Celle, Germany, and her special friend, Jason Carlson, Bloomington, Ind.; LuAnn's son, Greg Funk and his special friend, Molly Erfman, and their daughter, Makalia, Sibley, Iowa; and many nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Schmidt was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters and three brothers.

Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home, Le Mars, was in charge of arrangements

Mildred Marie Dohlmann, 80, Magnolia, died Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001, at Parkview Manor in Ellsworth.

Services were Tuesday, Sept. 18, at Magnolia Methodist Church in Magnolia. The Rev. Chris Johnson officiated. Burial was in Luverne Memorial Gardens, rural Luverne.

Mildred Kruger was born to Henry and Tilla (Spieker) Kruger on Jan. 24, 1921, in Little Rock, Iowa. She attended school in Magnolia. She worked at home and did house cleaning in her younger years.

She married Henry Dohlmann on Feb. 28, 1940, in Luverne. After their marriage they lived in Luverne and Kanaranzi until they moved to Magnolia in 1946. She was a homemaker and also had a craft shop she ran out of their home.

Mrs. Dohlmann was a member of Magnolia Methodist Church. She enjoyed sewing, making crafts and playing pinochle.

Survivors include her husband, Henry, Magnolia; two sons and daughters-in-law, Dallas and Carol Dohlmann and Neil and Sharon Dohlmann, all of Magnolia; one daughter and son-in-law, Veta and Terry Sandhurst, Magnolia; five grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and one sister and brother-in-law, Rose and Marvin Brower, Hadley.

Mrs. Dohlmann was preceded in death by her parents, an infant son, Jr. Dale, one granddaughter, Teresa, four brothers and one sister.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

By Jolene Farley
Six candidates are vying for four open seats on the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board at election on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

The Crescent asked candidates to provide some details about themselves. They will respond to a more in-depth questionnaire closer to the election date.

Matt Larson
Newcomer Matt Larson and his wife, Cindy, built a new home in Beaver Creek last fall. They previously lived on an acreage north of Hills. Larson was raised near Pipestone and graduated from Pipestone High School in 1983.

He sells real estate for Coldwell Banker in Sioux Falls.

Cindy Larson is the physical education teacher and Title One instructor at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary.

The Larsons have two children, Haley, 8, and Luke, 6.

Annette Mahone
Newcomer Annette Mahone, Hills, is originally from Blue Earth and graduated from Custer High School in Custer, S.D.

Annette and her husband, Robert, have lived in Hills for two and one-half years.

The Mahones have three sons, Eugene, 30, Alex, 22, and Nathan, 13.

Robert Wassenaar
Newcomer Robert Wassenaar graduated from Hills-Beaver Creek High School. A lifelong resident, Wassenaar farms near Hills.

He has two children, a son, Nick, and a daughter, Jessica, 15.

Tim Baker
Newcomer Tim Baker farms north of Hills. His wife, Michele, is a teacher at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary.

Baker was raised in Steen and graduated from H-BC High School in 1991.

Baker and his wife have one daughter, Peyton, 2.

Alan Harnack
Incumbent Alan Harnack moved to a farm north of Beaver Creek when he was 7 years old.

A 1967 graduate of Hills-Beaver Creek High School Harnack went into the Army from 1968 to 1970, then attended Dunwoody Institute, Minneapolis, from 1970 to 1972.

He has been an H-BC School Board member since 1985.

Harnack is employed by Dysthe Construction, Beaver Creek.

Harnack and his wife, Zoe, have three sons, Chris, Scott and Eric.

Lois Leuthold
Incumbent Lois Leuthold graduated from Hills-Beaver Creek High School and has lived in the area her entire life.

She is employed at Dakota Capital Corporation, Brandon, S.D., as a mortgage loan consultant.

Leuthold and her husband, Alan, have four children, Mitchell, 14, Thomas, 12, Brady, 10, and Natalie, 7.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth's football team continued to pick up steam during an early-season run that continued Friday night.

Facing winless Lake Benton in a Southwest Ridge Conference game played in Ellsworth, the Patriots scored 37 unanswered points through three quarters and went on to beat the Bobcats by a lopsided 43-8 margin.

Quarterback David Top threw a pair of touchdown passes to receiver Brad Haak, and running back Chris Reid ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns to lead the H-BC-E offense.

The Patriot defense recorded a safety in the game while blanking LB through three quarters. When the game was complete, the Bobcats were limited to a total of 148 yards.

All things considered, it was a great homecoming performance for the Ellsworth faithful and H-BC backers.

"We played pretty well," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "We played real well defensively. The key was our defensive linemen controlling the line of scrimmage. That freed up our linebackers to come up and make some tackles. We did some nice things on offense, too. Our linemen did a good job of coming off the ball hard, which allowed our backs to run four or five yards before being touched."

With the Patriots executing well on both sides of the ball, the stage was set for a third consecutive victory to start the season. H-BC-E is 2-0 in the SRC, leaving it involved in a four-way deadlock for first place.

The Patriots wasted little time in taking control of the game Friday in Ellsworth. H-BC-E received the opening kick and put together a long scoring drive that featured the conversion of two fourth-down situations into first downs.

Top hit Haak for a 12-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive, and Tyler Bush added his first of three straight extra points to make it a 7-0 game.

The H-BC-E offense was unable to score over the rest of the first quarter, but the Patriot defense did add two points to the cause.

After a punt by H-BC-E pinned the Bobcats down on their own one-yard line, Haak penetrated the LB line to tackle a running back in the end zone for a safety on the first play from scrimmage.

Reid, who averaged more than 11 yards per run with 17 carries in game, put the game out of LB's reach by halftime.

The Patriot junior scored on runs of 71 and 18 yards during the second quarter. Bush added extra points after each touchdown run to make it a 23-0 difference at the intermission.

H-BC-E continued its 37-0 run by scoring 14 points in the third quarter.

After forcing the Bobcats to punt to start the second half, H-BC-E's offense put together a drive that ended with Top connecting with Haak for a six-yard score. When a pass for a two-point conversion fell incomplete, the Patriots were left sporting a 29-0 advantage.

The Patriots made it a 37-0 game with their third possession of the third quarter.

EHS student Chris Tiesler gave his hometown fans something to get excited about when he scored on a 21-yard touchdown run before hauling in a successful conversion pass from Bush.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in the final 12 minutes of play.

Jason Schwong ran for a two-yard touchdown and Tony Miller carried in a two-point conversion when LB ended H-BC-E's scoring run early in the fourth quarter.

Lee Jackson capped the scoring when he found the end zone at the end of a 35-yard run for the Patriots.

H-BC-E will be gunning for its fourth straight victory when it plays 0-3 Edgerton in Edgerton tomorrow.

"Edgerton runs a lot of the same things it did last year," Ellingson said. "They like to use an unbalanced line and pull out some trick plays on offense. We have to be ready for some non-conventional things when weÕre on defense. Offensively, we have to win at the line of scrimmage."

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 344 rushing yards, 33 passing yards, 377 total yards, four penalties for 25 yards, 14 first downs, three turnovers.

LB: 116 rushing yards, 32 passing yards, 148 total yards, two penalties for 27 yards, eight first downs, two turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 17-193, Jackson 4-45, Jordan Scott 4-33, Kevin Van Batavia 11-40, Tiesler 3-29, Jesse Leuthold 2-8.

Passing: Top 4-13 for 30 yards, Bush 1-1 for three yards.

Receiving: Haak 3-27, Tiesler 2-6.

Defense: Schilling 10 tackles and one interception; Darin DeBoer nine tackles, Van Batavia two tackles and two sacks, Brant Deutsch three tackles and one sack, Matt Buck two tackles and one fumble recovery.

By Jolene Farley
Local American Legion and Auxiliary chapters hope to inspire more members to join their ranks. In light of the recent tragedies in New York City and Washington, their purpose has taken on added meaning.

According to Diane Strassburg, First Vice-President of Second District Auxiliary and the membership chair for 79 units, the purpose of the Legion and Auxiliary is "to carry on the dignity and respect for past veterans, current veterans, future veterans ... to provide a place where there is camaraderie," she said.

"You work together for the veterans and active military, the children and the communities."

Strassburg, Magnolia, is hoping to rekindle membership in many of the units under her direction.

Americans became more comfortable after World War II, Strassburg said. "They forgot to teach their kids to stand up when the colors went by, take their hats off. They just thought it would carry on without teaching," she said. "We need to teach our youth, because they are our future."

Posts and units were not inspired to go out and recruit new members. "It (the Legion and Auxiliary) is meant to restore pride and dignity and respect for freedom," said Strassburg. "We are who we are today because of the veterans."

Local posts and units are the heart and soul of the Legion and Auxiliary, according to Strassburg. "At the local level all the work gets done, wonderful things in the community."

The American Legion, chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, wartime veterans' organization, is a community service organization with more than 3 million members.

The American Legion Auxiliary was organized in 1919 to assist the American Legion.

"The Auxiliary enhances the Legion," said Strassburg. "Without the Legion there is no Auxiliary and without the Auxiliary there is no Legion."

Today the Auxiliary has almost a million members and administers hundreds of volunteer programs and raises money to support its own programs as well as the programs of other charities.

Locally, the Legion and Auxiliary donate to many worthy causes and scholarships. They also sponsor Girls' State and Boys' State candidates.

Robert Sandbulte, Commander of Hills American Legion Post 399, has struggled to increase membership numbers. More and more families have no contact with anyone in the military, according to Sandbulte. Some families had a grandfather or some other relative who served but no recent relatives in the military.

"They lose the importance of a strong military by not being connected to it in any way," said Sandbulte. "The fact that we have a Legion means that from generation to generation people have been willing to pay the price for freedom."

Except for dues, the Auxiliary in the Hills area has not been active for 10 years or so, according to Lois Nelson, treasurer of the Hills Auxiliary. But she added, "The Auxiliary meant a lot over the years."

Strassburg attended this year's Memorial Day service in Hills. "It was wonderful," she said. The pride the community showed in their charter was obvious, according to Strassburg.

Hills is a "great town, great area," and Strassburg hopes many will want to become members of the "solid second" as southwestern district is fondly called.

Strassburg is encouraging anyone from the area interested in joining either the Legion or Auxiliary to attend a membership drive on Friday, Sept. 28, at the Hills Legion Hall.

She said rallies can be fun. "It is a get-together where people can visit or talk. It is serious but you still have a good time," Strassburg said.

There is a misconception about the American Legion and Auxiliary, according to Strassburg. "They think it is all starchy old stuff, but it's not."

She said the principles the organization stands for never go out of style. "Freedom does not come cheap," she said. "Freedom is not free. It can be taken away in a second."

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek volleyball team snapped a six-match losing skid Tuesday night in Adrian.

Squaring off against the Adrian Dragons in a Red Rock Conference clash, H-BC picked up its first win since Sept. 8 by sweeping a three-game contest.

The win was H-BC's second conference victory in three league battles, and it left the Patriots with a 3-7 mark overall.

Inspired play at the net and defense was the key to victory, according to Patriot coach Nicole Fey.

"The girls played much more aggressively at the net in this match," she said. "Defensively, we did a great job of digging up their hits."

It did take the Patriots some time to gain control of the match.

Adrian raced to a 5-0 lead in Game 1, but the hosts missed some key serves that opened the door for a 15-4 H-BC run that gave it a 15-9 win.

The Patriots prevailed by a 15-9 margin in the second game before coasting to a 15-5 victory in the finale.

Erin Boeve led the Patriots offensively by delivering a match-high 17 kills.

Cassi Tilstra and Brittney Olson led the defensive effort by chalking up eight and seven digs respectively.

H-BC hosts Red Rock Central and Southwest Christian in league matches tonight and Tuesday respectively. The tilt with SWC will serve as H-BC's homecoming match.

By John Rittenhouse
Busy schedules didn't keep the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth boys' cross country teams from having a banner day at the Worthington Turkey Trot Saturday.

Most of the H-BC-E varsity runners were helping the Patriot football team beat Lake Benton in Ellsworth the night before, but one couldn't tell by the way things turned out Saturday.

The H-BC-E varsity and junior high boys' squads wrapped up team championships during a very impressive showing.

"These Saturday morning meets are tough on some of our guys because they play football on Friday nights," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "It's hard to tell how they will respond, but enough of them did respond for us to do well."

The varsity boys scored 79 points to best second-place Luverne, which had 100 counters.

Worthington (114), Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin (122), Adrian (130) and Murray County Central (130) round out the field.

Brad Haak, who hauled in two touchdown passes and recorded a safety on defense during Friday's football game, had his run of good luck continue Saturday. Haak won the varsity individual title with a time of 17:04.

Tyler Bush (eighth in 18:09), Lee Jackson (16th in 18:50), Kale Wiertzema (25th in 19:34) and Nathan Fick (29th in 19:47) made contributions to H-BC-E's winning team effort.

Matt Buck placed 33rd in 19:59 without influencing the scoring.

H-BC-E's junior high boys tallied 36 points to win their team championship.

Top 10 efforts from Nathan Mahone (first in 6:29), Devin DeBoer (fifth in 6:37), Kerry Fink (sixth in 6:44) and John Sandbulte (seventh in 6:45) set the stage for a victory as a team.

Adam Finke placed 12th in 7:12 to help the team cause, while Justin Hinks didnÕt influence the scoring after placing 21st in 9:40.

Lee Walraven led a Patriot boys' junior varsity team that was one runner short of being complete by finishing third with a time of 12:18 in a two-mile race.

Derek Haak (25th in 13:56), Paul Jess (29th in 14:07) and Jared Drenth (39th in 14:30) also ran with Walraven.

Patriots Cassi Tilstra and Brittney Rozeboom secured the top two places in the girls' junior varsity race with respective 13:56 and 14:13 times. Becky Broesder placed 17th in 15:30 during the same race.

Stacy Bush was the lone Patriot entered in the girls' junior varsity run. She finished 20th in 8:25.

"Everybody had a good day for us, boys and girls," Goehle said. "It was a big meet, and I was proud of the way our kids ran."

H-BC-E has a busy week on hand as it runs in Jackson today, in Princeton Saturday and in Slayton Tuesday.

By Jolene Farley
Pastor Lowell Berg of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills celebrates a landmark this year. Berg, ordained Sept. 5, 1971, has been a minister for 30 years.

"My ministry here at Hills Bethlehem Lutheran has been a very easy ministry because they (parishioners) are very mission-minded," Berg said. "As beautiful as the church is, the people are even more so."

Berg has been a minister for 30 years, but has been in Hills for 22 years.

In November 1979 he was installed as pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran and Chaplain of the Tuff Memorial Home.

"My ministry has really been strengthened by the people I serve," said Berg.

"One of the joys of my ministry is being the Chaplain at the Tuff Home," Berg said. "Sometimes I feel they give back more to me then I give to them in the ministry."

Berg has noticed some changes in the Lutheran church over the years. In 1988, the Lutheran Church of America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America segments of the church merged.

Bethlehem Lutheran was a member of Lutheran Church of America but now has become a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, according to Berg.

Berg is a past president of the Rock County Ministerial Association and a member of the Board of Regents of Augustana College. He served on committees for the SW Minnesota District and Shetek Conference and also the SW Minnesota Synod.

Pastor Berg and Sonya have one daughter, Amy, born in 1966.

Pastor Berg is grateful for what he terms as 30 years of blessings. He also expresses appreciation for the support and partnership of his wife over the years.

He was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on May 11, 1944. He graduated from Westwood High School in Sloan, Iowa, in 1962. After attending Norfolk Junior. College, Norfolk, Neb., for a year he transferred to Morningside College, Sioux City. In 1967 he graduated from Morningside, majoring in history and art.

Berg didn't always intend to become a minister. When he began taking college courses, he chose a pre-medicine major until his junior year when he switched to teaching and coaching.

Pastor Berg's life changed during his senior year when he became interested in the seminary and started taking more courses in theology.

Also during his senior year, he married Sonja Rae Johnson on Nov. 26, 1965. Sonja had two brothers attending a seminary so Berg asked for guidance.

He went on to attend Luther Seminary (ALC) in St. Paul. As a junior in the seminary, Berg interned at the Malta Lutheran Parish, including the towns of Malta, Dodson, Loring and Whitewater. He returned to Luther Seminary and graduated in 1971.

Berg was ordained in St. Luke Lutheran Church in Sioux City. Foxhome-Bukku Lutheran in Foxhome, Iowa, became his first parish before coming to Hills.

To celebrate Pastor Berg's 30 years, Bethlehem Lutheran parishioners plan a Family Fun Day from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16, on the Bethlehem Lutheran Church grounds.

Activities and events for all ages include horseback rides, kids' fishing pond, tug of war, water balloon toss, volleyball matches and special music.

Lunch will be served with burgers and brats, potato salad, chips and a beverage.

By Jolene Farley
Adam Finke was chosen as one of 18 People to People Middle School Advisers for the Sioux Falls area. As an ambassador, Adam visited France, Germany, and Spain this summer.

Finke's trip began on an uncertain note. The delegation was scheduled to fly out of Sioux Falls, S.D., on June 13, but because of heavy rain and thunderstorms their flight was delayed two hours.

Consequently, the delegation missed a connecting flight from Minneapolis to New York City. Luckily, the group was able to board a later flight out of Minneapolis.

After finally arriving in New York City, the group of 26 kids, four chaperones and one group manager was forced to stay two nights in New York while waiting for a standby flight to Paris, France.

According to Finke, the unscheduled time in New York was enjoyable. The group took a tour of the city including the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center.

After finally arriving in Paris on Sunday, June 17, the group hiked to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

As part of the ambassador experience, Finke was scheduled to stay with the Jamets family in Orleans, France, for three days.

Finke says there wasn't much difference between his home and the Jamets home except dinner was exceptionally long. It was served in courses with much conversation in between each course.

Cheese was a frequent delicacy, according to Finke. Beef was not served unless it was imported, due to the Mad Cow Disease epidemic in Europe.

After his stay at the Jamets, the tour progressed to Freiburg, Germany. Finke's group hiked into the Black Forest. The area is named the Black Forest because the trees are so thick lanterns are needed to see.

After reaching the mountain lake located at the center of the Black Forest, named Titisee, the group went paddle boating.

Next on the travel agenda was Zurich, Switzerland, where the group toured the city and cruised Lake Zurich.

They then journeyed through Switzerland to Annecy, France, visiting glaciers and ice caves in the Swiss Alps.

On day 13 of the trip, the group arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. The ambassadors attended an educational meeting at the United Nations and the Red Cross.

They then traveled south toward Barcelona, Spain. The group sunned themselves at the beach and viewed the work of some of Spain's famous architects.

The group flew to Seville, Spain, for a guided tour of the city and a tour of the worldÕs largest Gothic church.

Next they journeyed through the Spanish countryside to Madrid, Spain, stopping in Toledo, Spain, the religious capital of Spain.

In Madrid, the group viewed the world's largest collection of Spanish paintings and saw the Royal Palace.

After 21 days, on Tuesday, July 3, the group departed for the United States.

The trip was very educational, according to Finke. "Everything there is pretty much older than our whole country," he said.

Finke said he would go again if given the chance. He made many new friends and was exposed to a great deal of history.