An orange was a precious Christmas gift, a century ago, for children in southeast Minnesota. In general, however, fruit could be consumed during the winter only if it had been canned after summer or autumn harvests. The transition from canned fruit to fresh fruit was highly anticipated each summer. “There were wild strawberries that were the sweetest and most succulent that I … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Better to be the plaintiff in early Yucatan
Part two During territorial days and the early years of Minnesota statehood, minor legal disputes were most often settled in townships by a justice of the peace, an appointed or elected magistrate. Some handwritten records from the 1860s and 1870s survive from the court of Justice James Kelly in Yucatan Township, Houston County. There was one case of an indelicate nature, but … [Read more...]
Spring Grove gridders grill Grand Meadow, 47-16
Spring Grove grilled Grand Meadow, 47-16, on Sept. 24, snapping a four-game losing streak against the Superlarks with a balanced offense – 242 yards rushing, 223 yards passing - and a defense that forced 10 punts while limiting GM to 100 yards of offense. The Lions (4-0, 4-0 East)) overcame two first half turnovers to lead 27-8 at halftime. Grand Meadow (2-2, 1-2 East) … [Read more...]
Lions girls win Waukon Tournament, take Bronze title at Showcase
It was all Iowa competition on one Saturday and all Minnesota opposition the next Saturday. The Spring Grove volleyball girls did not drop a set while winning all six matches on the way to the championship of the Waukon (Iowa) Tournament on Sept. 17. A week later in Burnsville at the prestigious Class A Showcase, the Lions won three of five matches and the Bronze Division … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls turn away Grand Meadow, 3-0
The Spring Grove volleyball girls scored five of the final six points to overtake visiting Grand Meadow in the first set and then went on to less dramatic decisions in the next two sets to sweep the Superlarks, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15) on Sept. 22. Grand Meadow, the current the leader in the SEC West Division left the court at 8-5 (6-2 SEC). The state-ranked No. 9 Lions … [Read more...]
Lions girls surge early, Cougars control rest of state-ranked showdown
The Spring Grove girls took the exciting first set, but the rest of the night belonged to visiting Mabel-Canton, 3-1 (SG 26-24, M-C 25-11, 25-12, 25-13) in a Sept. 20 clash of top-ten, state-ranked volleyball teams. After winning their first 42 sets of the season, undefeated Mabel-Canton responded well to a setback. Shortly after the Cougars dropped their first set of the … [Read more...]
Volleyball Lions grab win out west over Wolverines
The Spring Grove girls served an extraordinary 99% in a Sept. 15 runaway road win at Glenville-Emmons, 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-13). The Lions put 73 of 74 serves in play with nine aces. Kenadee Gerard served eight times with three aces. Nine different Lions served without error. With a 14th straight win in the series with the Wolverines, Spring Grove improved to 6-0 (6-0 SEC) … [Read more...]
Big-play Lions control state-ranked clash with Cougars
It was a blitz of big plays that propelled state-ranked No. 6 Spring Grove well past visiting No. 9 Mabel-Canton, 56-14, on Friday night, Sept. 16. The Lions scored four times on scrimmage plays that covered 46 yards or more plus a 60-yard Elijah Solum non-scoring pass to Tysen Grinde. And then there was Grinde’s74-yard kickoff return touchdown. Spring Grove improved to 3-0 … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Getting to court – by canoe, by wagon, on foot
In 1887, Judge Flandrau appeared before the Ramsey County, Minn., bar, where he delivered a lecture on the practice of law in the early days after statehood in 1858. “To give the younger members of the bar some idea on the difficulties attending the practice in early days, you must allow me to relate a few instances connected with my own experience. Mr. Brisbin called me down … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls hurry through the Hurricanes
The Spring Grove volleyball girls overwhelmed visiting Houston 3-0 in a home match (25-14, 25-13, 25-8) on Sept. 13. The Lions outscored the Hurricanes at the net 36-15 and 21-0 from the service line. Each team had a similar number of attacks, but Spring Grove was far more successful in converting opportunities into kills. Spring Grove served 92% with five … [Read more...]