Columns

Christmas 2015 is tomorrow, and while everything around us seems to be changing, at least the Christmas story remains the same. I noticed at least one other thing that hasn’t changed. It seems the Christmas shopping list has stood the test of time and modern technology. With the advent of the cellphone and all things computer, I was happy to notice shoppers pulling out their paper Christmas list…

Dear Friends, It’s been a busy and blessed year at the Juhl-Winter household.  In January our sweet Kate left for an 11-month stint on the mission fields of Thailand. In February Brenda traveled to the Twin Cities with college friends to attend a John Cougar Mellencamp concert. For three hours the four women were 19 again (even though their combined age is 208.) In March we traveled to California…

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on December 1, 1922:   600 POUNDS OF FISH TAKEN FROM RIVER WITH SPEARS   Two Luverne Fishermen Make Record Haul from Rock River in 2 ½ Hours—All Carp   Substituting spears for fish poles, two Rock county disciples of Isaac Walton pulled out of Rock river over six hundred pounds of fish on Friday of last week, within a period of two and a half hours…

A tourist and a pilgrim are two distinctly different mind-sets. We have all been tourists. We have identified certain places to visit, consulted guide books and purchased maps. We have packed our suitcases, making certain to include our cameras and video recorders. By car or bus or train or plane or ship, we have traveled with the objective of seeing “the sites.” Castles, waterfalls, museums,…

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on August 17, 1923:   CITY’S POLICEMEN ARE NOW CHECKING UP MOTORISTS   Mayor Hinkly Orders Prosecution of Motorists Who Flagrantly Disregard Traffic Regulations   Convinced that violation of traffic regulations in this city are becoming daily too frequent by many motorists, Mayor R. B. Hinkly has instructed police officers to make a checking record…

Among the joys of the holiday season are Christmas greeting cards in the mailbox (at the end of the driveway — not an email inbox), on hard copy paper that can be posted on the refrigerator (not a fleeting Facebook post). Social media have somewhat diminished the anticipation of holiday snail mail since we now bump into each other online for brief updates on the goings-on in each other’s lives.…

A couple of weeks ago when my grandson was in town for some deer hunting, we went to McDonald’s drive-up early on a Sunday morning. We placed the order of one McMuffin and two hash browns. Just the grandson was eating; I was along to finance the operation. We pulled up to the pay window and the nice, friendly lady was, let’s say, in the zip code range of my age. She very politely told me my total…

Sunday was the Feast of St. Nicholas — and my youngest son’s 18th birthday. In his sermon at St. Catherine Catholic Church, Father Tom told of the story of Nicholas, about his immense sorrow at the deaths of his parents and the relief he felt giving away his inheritance through small gifts. His main focus was giving gifts to children. The kindness brought happiness to his broken heart. Nicholas…

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on May 19, 1911:   After the first of next July first cousins cannot be united in marriage in the state of Minnesota, according to a law passed at the last session of the legislature, and for this reason there will be a considerable decrease in the number of marriage licenses issued in Rock county. All the neighboring states have had such a law in…

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matthew 7:1    Sven was riding the city bus to town. When he reached his stop, it looked like rain and without thinking he picked up the umbrella belonging to the man sitting next to him. “Stop, thief,” Lars yelled. “Stop dat man. He took my umbrella.” Sven apologized profusely. “I vas not thinking vhen I picked it up. I tought it vas my umbrella. I must haf…

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on August 31, 1923:   SHOE THRIFT WEEK BEING QUITE GENERALLY OBSERVED   But Two Days Remain of Nationally Designated Period for Promoting Health, Comfort, Economy   Two more days of Shoe Thrift Week still remain, the week which has been set aside the nation over for the shoe repair trade, when everybody is urged to have their old shoes repaired and…

Question: Can you talk about winter driving safety? Answer:  This is a great time to talk about it and remind drivers about the dangers of driving on slippery roads and reducing chances of being involved in a crash. •Avoid unnecessary travel if conditions are poor. •Buckle up, and make sure child restraints are tightly secured. •Drive at safe speeds according to road conditions, and provide for…

She’s back.  Our baby girl, age 21, is back from the ends of the earth.  Well, OK, she’s back from Thailand, which is not the end of the earth, but it’s a loooooooong way from Luverne. She flew to Sioux Falls from Bangkok Tuesday night. (Nothing says “Welcome Home” from a tropical climate like 10 inches of fresh snow.)  And now she’s asleep in her room in the basement. Eleven months have passed…

I’ve never cared for family Thanksgiving prayers that require each of us to say out loud what we’re thankful for. Mostly that’s because an original prayer is hard to come by at the end of a 10-person table. Also, we’re sometimes thankful for things that require explanation (which nobody wants to hear when their food is getting cold). What if I blurted out that I’m thankful for Mom’s cancer? My…

  It’s Thanksgiving week so we tend to spend a little more time than normal thinking about those things we are thankful for. Because of everyone’s work and family schedules, our family celebrated Thanksgiving this past weekend. The time worked out well because it was also the weekend of the youth deer hunt at the Blue Mounds State Park. I entered our grandson Carter’s name in a drawing, and he…

  Bits By Betty—November 19, 2015   The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on July 20, 1923:   LUVERNE BUSINESS INTERESTS PLEDGE $5,000 TO A.Y.P. TRAIL   Many Give Financial Aid in Obtaining new Transcontinental Highway Thru This City   That the business and professional men of Luverne are strongly in favor of the movement to secure for Southern Minnesota the proposed Atlantic-…