A century, a decade, a year and almost a month ago, the big news in Houston County was a train wreck between Spring Grove and Caledonia. One newspaper noted how Spring Grove station agent Mr. Beerman was “somewhat surprised” to see only the engine of No. 425 arrive on Tuesday evening, January 11, 1910. Conductor Merwin explained that he had left both cars and the passengers in … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls first drop, then win close contests
The Spring Grove girls (1-3, 1-2 SEC), with better ball-handling and shooting, were competitive until the end of both games last week. They faded in the final couple of minutes of a 34-31 loss at Mabel-Canton (Jan. 18), but they rallied late for a 47-39 win at Schaeffer Academy (Jan. 21). Coming into this 107th meeting between Spring Grove and Mabel-Canton, each team had won … [Read more...]
Lion boys alone in league lead after two runaway wins
The Spring Grove boys remained the lone undefeated team in the SEC East after a late-week 68-29 annihilation of previously unbeaten Schaeffer Academy. That came after a 57-31 throttling of Mabel-Canton. That 22nd consecutive victory over the Cougars came three nights before the Spring Grove Lions ended a two-game losing skein against the Schaeffer Lions, last year’s East … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys overtake, fend off Grand Meadow, 45-41
The visiting Spring Grove boys rallied late with a 13-to-3 run to regain the lead and hold off Grand Meadow, 45-41, in the 2021 season and conference basketball opener for both teams on Jan. 15. It was appropriate that both teams scored in the 40s during the Lions' 44th straight win against the Superlarks, dating back to 1999. The Lions had led throughout the first half by … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys rely on youth, improved shooting
The Spring Grove basketball boys return five of last year’s 12 letter winners, but the Lions bring back less than half of the scoring and only a fourth of the rebounding. For the second straight season, Caden Grinde is the lone full-time returning starter, who was also the most celebrated as the Spring Grove MVP and two-time all-conference selection. Illness provided … [Read more...]
Lion girls 16 points shy of Superlarks, Trojans
The Spring Grove girls rebounded and defended, but unsteady ball-handling sabotaged their pursuit for points in the first two basketball games of 2021, dropping both by 16-point margins. The Lions (0-2, 0-1 SEC) fell to visiting Grand Meadow, 36-20, on Jan. 15 and then 20 hours later, were outscored at Rushford-Peterson, 44-28. Grand Meadow 36, Spring Grove 20 … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls depend early on defense
“Depending on defense” while developing an “offensive identity” is the early-season task for the youthful Spring Grove basketball girls according to third-year head coach Kody Moore. There is a lot of offensive production to replace with three-fourths of the scoring and nearly two-thirds of both the assists and offensive rebounds no longer available after last year’s 6-21 … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – You could see four churches from there
“You can see four churches from here,” observed Paul Klinski decades ago from his farm in Union Township, Houston County, according to David Klinski, son of Paul and fourth-generation resident of that family farm. Two of the four church buildings still stand on or near Highway 44 north of Caledonia. Pioneer congregations faced considerable challenges: finding a meeting place, … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Moonshiners – Moonshiners, lawmen and hide-n-seek with illicit liquor
It can be difficult to enforce a law that a good portion of the populace wishes to violate. So it was when the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the production, importation, transportation and sale of liquor. Caledonia journalist and commentator Perk Steffen noted that the eastern part of Houston County “did not turn its back upon prohibition… It faced … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: New Year’s Day: “If you had not seen us crash, we may have all died.”
“It was like the Lord told him to do it now – you have an important job to do tomorrow,” wrote Glenn Buxengard, referring to neighbor George Wiemerslage, whose tractor had run out of gas the night before – New Year’s Eve. It was dark and time for chores, so Wiemerslage was going to leave gassing up until tomorrow. But he didn’t wait. So, when Buxengard phoned him the next … [Read more...]