Part one of a two-part series It has long been a double distinction – the name and the landmark – for the Houston County hamlet of Black Hammer. That early landmark, ”The Stone Lady,” still looks down from a hill named Black Hammer, 1.3 miles south of the village with the same name. Early 1850s settler Knud Olson Bergo lived near a bluff in Minnesota that reminded him of a … [Read more...]
Warrior girls, boys sweep 4x200M relays at quadrangular
Both the Caledonia/Spring Grove 4x200-meter relay teams (girls and boys) were victorious at a quadrangular track and field meet hosted on May 6 by La Crescent-Hokah with the Warriors also competing against Cotter and La Crosse Logan. There were additional first-place honors for Garrett Ness in shot put and Chris Pieper extending his high jump winning streak. There were no team … [Read more...]
Spring Grove splits crucial last-inning, one-run nailbiters
For the visiting Spring Grove boys, three runs were not quite enough in the first-place showdown versus undefeated, state-ranked Southland but two days later, three runs were just enough to edge one-win Mabel-Canton. Both games were tied going into the final seventh inning. The Rebels prevailed, 4-3, with a walk-off single at Adams on Monday, May 2, whereas the Lions edged the … [Read more...]
Lions outscore GMLOK before walk-off heartbreaker at Lyle/Pacelli
Spring Grove slipped down into third place in a three-team championship baseball race while splitting a pair of conference games. On May 5, the Lions overcame a late uprising at Spring Valley to win 16-8, completing a season sweep of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland (GMLOK). But the next afternoon at Austin, it was a role reversal in the rematch with Lyle/Pacelli. The … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Homemade hankies, communal crockery saved summer shockers
Large handkerchiefs and a two-gallon crockery jug were indispensable, and the cistern certainly satisfied while shocking grain, according to Anita Lee (Hartman) Palmquist while describing her childhood on a Houston County farm in Pleasant Valley near Hokah during the late 1920s and early ‘30s. All youngsters were expected to handle age-appropriate farm work – either alone or … [Read more...]
Beardmore wins 100, runs on winning relay for Cal/SG boys
The Caledonia/Spring Grove 4x200-meter relay boys claimed their first win of the 2022 season, while Chris Pieper won his fourth high jump competition in four attempts, both wins last week while clearing 6-feet even. That relay quartet, with their best time to date of one minute, 37.5 seconds, featured freshman Fischer Wait, sophomore Josh Beardmore, junior Eric Mauss and senior … [Read more...]
Cal/SG relay boys, Pieper, Beardmore begin with multiple wins
The Caledonia/Spring Grove 4x100-meter relay boys have won their first two races of 2022 while 2021 All-State high jumper Chris Pieper has won his signature event in his first two efforts of the season, matching his personal best 6-foot, 4-inches at Plainview-Elgin-Millville on April 22, where the versatile senior also placed third with a discus throw of 114 feet. The boys … [Read more...]
Lions overcome elements, Hurricanes
Spring Grove (3-0, 3-0 SEC) scored in every inning but did not have a big inning until erupting for five runs to end the game in the sixth inning - a run-rule 12-2 win over Houston with temperatures in the 40s on a rainy, misty and windy Friday night at Blayne Onsgard Memorial Field on April 22. "Even with the wet conditions, it felt good to finally be able to get out and … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Wearing bells in Houston, stuck in muck in Caledonia
They wore “beautiful brass bells, that made the prettiest musical sounds,” according to Houston, Minn., historian Ingrid Julsrud, referring to dray horses. A dray was a wagon and team of horses that unloaded freight and merchandise at the train depot for delivery to downtown merchants. Baggage might be taken to hotels. Railroads reached southeast Minnesota during the 1860s and … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Not showing off – just hanging on!
Part five of a series Sisters Barbara and Juliet Lee, on horseback, rampaged through downtown Spring Grove. Onlookers on that mid-1920s Sunday afternoon thought the teenage girls were showing off. After all, they were the daughters of renown horsemen Knute Lee. But recalling that speedy spectacle years later, Juliet told her son Mark that the girls were just holding on as best … [Read more...]