Town hall meeting planned for September 19By John TorgrimsonMonday, September 11, 2000
The Minnesota Historical Society refers to it as the Milwaukee Elevator Company Grain Elevator. And according to the Society, the elevator located at
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"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Saturday, May 18th, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:56:33, May 18th 2013 - modgudur - I guess the child is anti-gun control since Obama went to all that trouble ... [Read More]
- 9:27:41, May 16th 2013 - caal girl - Nice outfit on you. I loved some of the dresses but am holding my breath ... [Read More]
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- 10:25:25, May 7th 2013 - Thunder6 - Great article! I love to see the Youth of Fillmore County receiveing acco ... [Read More]
- 6:52:10, May 6th 2013 - Jason Sethre, Publisher of Fillmore County Journal & Olmsted County Journal - Maryh, ... [Read More]
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- 2:41:47, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, I just looked up Senate File 796 and in it there are said p ... [Read More]
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29
How will you keep your kids busy this summer vacation?
A ditch mower’s story
Comments
All those miles and all those yearsBy Wayne PikeMonday, September 11, 2000
Glen Van Grevenhof is one of those workers that most of us see, but few of us know much about. Glen is a "ditch mower" and has probably gotten to study more of our area township roads and ditches at a lower speed than anyone.
Township governments hire Glen to mow their ditches, paying him on a "per mile" basis. Mowing ditches is necessary to allow better lines of sight for drivers and to prevent tall grass from acting as a snow fence in the winter. Glen bids for the job in a couple townships, but gets most of his repeat business based on his past reliable performance. Glen jokes that he gets the job because, "Nobody else wants to do it." Glen mows for eleven townships including Bloomfield, Beaver, Spring Valley, Sumner, and Forestville in Fillmore County; LeRoy and Pleasant Valley in Mower County; and Salem, Rock Dell, Pleasant Grove, and High Forest in Olmsted County. When Glen is not mowing, some townships hire him to remove trees and brush from their ditches.
The eleven townships normally request that their ditch mowing begin about June 16 of each year. The pheasant hatch is over at this time and the young pheasants are mobile enough to get out of the way. Glen begins mowing all eleven townships at this time, covering about thirty miles of road each day. Thirty miles of road means sixty miles of ditch. There are five-hundred-ten miles of township roads in the eleven townships that Glen works for, and he mows every ditch along those roads. That amounts to over a thousand miles of ditch. When Glen is finished with the first mowing, he goes to work cutting brush and trees. About the first of September, or earlier if the grass has grown faster, he will be back with his mower for the second ditch mowing of the season. Two mowings per season is the normal practice, but some townships request three per year.
Glen got started in the ditch-mowing business about eleven years ago. He mowed two townships that season with an elderly Farmall Super H equipped with a sickle mower. That early experience was particularly rugged as the Farmall did not have a live power-take-off and the sickle mower continually suffered breakdowns. The slow progress became even slower as the grass grew longer and heavier ahead of him. In addition to the tedium and constant repairs, Glen was exposed to the heat, cold, noise, and dust as he rode the cab-less tractor. Although man .....
[Read the Rest]
Glen Van Grevenhof is one of those workers that most of us see, but few of us know much about. Glen is a "ditch mower" and has probably gotten to study more of our area township roads and ditches at a lower speed than anyone.
Township governments hire Glen to mow their ditches, paying him on a "per mile" basis. Mowing ditches is necessary to allow better lines of sight for drivers and to prevent tall grass from acting as a snow fence in the winter. Glen bids for the job in a couple townships, but gets most of his repeat business based on his past reliable performance. Glen jokes that he gets the job because, "Nobody else wants to do it." Glen mows for eleven townships including Bloomfield, Beaver, Spring Valley, Sumner, and Forestville in Fillmore County; LeRoy and Pleasant Valley in Mower County; and Salem, Rock Dell, Pleasant Grove, and High Forest in Olmsted County. When Glen is not mowing, some townships hire him to remove trees and brush from their ditches.
The eleven townships normally request that their ditch mowing begin about June 16 of each year. The pheasant hatch is over at this time and the young pheasants are mobile enough to get out of the way. Glen begins mowing all eleven townships at this time, covering about thirty miles of road each day. Thirty miles of road means sixty miles of ditch. There are five-hundred-ten miles of township roads in the eleven townships that Glen works for, and he mows every ditch along those roads. That amounts to over a thousand miles of ditch. When Glen is finished with the first mowing, he goes to work cutting brush and trees. About the first of September, or earlier if the grass has grown faster, he will be back with his mower for the second ditch mowing of the season. Two mowings per season is the normal practice, but some townships request three per year.
Glen got started in the ditch-mowing business about eleven years ago. He mowed two townships that season with an elderly Farmall Super H equipped with a sickle mower. That early experience was particularly rugged as the Farmall did not have a live power-take-off and the sickle mower continually suffered breakdowns. The slow progress became even slower as the grass grew longer and heavier ahead of him. In addition to the tedium and constant repairs, Glen was exposed to the heat, cold, noise, and dust as he rode the cab-less tractor. Although man .....
[Read the Rest]
Harvest Time
Monday, September 11, 2000
The bounty of the season is upon us. Everything is all coming at once. Vegetables, flowers and herbs are all ready for our enjoyment. Taste the fruits of your labor and be thankful.
The following excerpt is from .....
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The bounty of the season is upon us. Everything is all coming at once. Vegetables, flowers and herbs are all ready for our enjoyment. Taste the fruits of your labor and be thankful.
The following excerpt is from .....
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This work is not for the birds
Monday, September 4, 2000
I stand on the roof of our workshop holding the end of a rope. My husband has tied the opposite end around his waist so he doesn't slip as he hammers nails into our new metal roofing. Although I am alert to the danger .....
[Read the Rest]
I stand on the roof of our workshop holding the end of a rope. My husband has tied the opposite end around his waist so he doesn't slip as he hammers nails into our new metal roofing. Although I am alert to the danger .....
[Read the Rest]
"Please Don’t Touch the Rattlesnakes!"By John LevellMonday, August 21, 2000
Rattlesnake! The single word most likely to elicit a response from those who live or play along the Root River State Trail, especially during these more temperate, ple .....
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Rattlesnake! The single word most likely to elicit a response from those who live or play along the Root River State Trail, especially during these more temperate, ple .....
[Read the Rest]
An afternoon in La Crosse
Monday, September 4, 2000
We were wandering around downtown historic La Crosse last weekend, which, I couldn’t help but notice, in places, looks a bit like downtown historic Lanesboro. The secret is out, if you want your town to be economicall .....
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We were wandering around downtown historic La Crosse last weekend, which, I couldn’t help but notice, in places, looks a bit like downtown historic Lanesboro. The secret is out, if you want your town to be economicall .....
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A Favorite Teacher
Monday, September, 2000
The sunlight is suddenly different. Insects seem to respect our peace and quiet at night a bit more than they did a few weeks ago. There is a scent of dust on sunny days and the air feels cooler and dryer than just days .....
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The sunlight is suddenly different. Insects seem to respect our peace and quiet at night a bit more than they did a few weeks ago. There is a scent of dust on sunny days and the air feels cooler and dryer than just days .....
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Dad
Monday, September 11, 2000
Last week while tending my booth at the Minnesota State Fair I got the call I’ve always dreaded. "Sit down," my brother Derald said softly. "Dad died just a little while ago."
Waves of emotion. Deep sighs. Ti .....
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Last week while tending my booth at the Minnesota State Fair I got the call I’ve always dreaded. "Sit down," my brother Derald said softly. "Dad died just a little while ago."
Waves of emotion. Deep sighs. Ti .....
[Read the Rest]
The dark at the bottom of the stairway
My wife drove into town to look for some material for a chair that she is going to re-upholster and would be gone for an hour or two and as she was leaving, suggested that I find something useful to do. I sat at my desk and gave the matter some thoug
.....
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