Before the turn of the century, Wade Grinde – the young Spring Grove head boys basketball coach - said the most important statistic was defensive shooting percentage or in other words, how difficult did the Lion defense make it for the opponent to take good shots - and score. In Grinde’s 27 years at the helm, his Lions of 2022 posted the second-best season for both field goal … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Horse, farmer save each other when lives were threatened
Topper, Trigger, Champion, Silver and Buttermilk were all television and movie stars in the 1940s-50s. They were horses, arguably as famous as their human riders (Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger, Dale Evans). And there were the four-legged comic book heroes Thunder and Papoose transporting Red Ryder and Little Beaver. Before their exploits in media … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys turned away by No. 1 Hayfield in section semi-final
The Spring Grove boys could not catch up after state-ranked No. 1 Hayfield (28-2) separated with an 8-0 first-half scoring spurt and went on to win, 54-40, during a 2022 Section 1A semi-final at Rochester. The Lions (24-5), state-ranked No. 10, with the No. 4 section seed, handled the ball better than they had the previous game, but not as well as they had most of the season. … [Read more...]
Leahy is all-conference Lion, McHugh also honored
Spring Grove senior Jordian Leahy was a First Team selection on the 2022 All-Southeast Conference Basketball Team as determined by the SEC coaches. Lion junior Addyson McHugh received Honorable Mention. It was a second SEC honor season for Leahy who received Honorable Mention in 2021. Both were also Academic All-Conference. Leahy, a 5-fo ot-6 senior guard, led Lion … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Homeless boy escaped servitude prior to prominence in Minnesota
Part two of a series. Before saving the homes of fellow southeast Minnesota settlers and attaining his adult acclaim (as described in part one of this series) – O. W Streeter had been a homeless boy. About two centuries before this writing, Oscar Willard Streeter was born about 1821 in Syracuse, N.Y. Prospects were promising as the youngest son of Dr. Barton Streeter. But the … [Read more...]
Defense delivers during Lion boys’ 51-35 section win versus Kenyon-Wanamingo
The Spring Grove boys, with the No. 4 section seed, defended their way past No. 5 Kenyon-Wanamingo, 51-35, in a section quarterfinal (final eight) at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester on March 7. The Lions’ characteristic defense and rebounding plus sufficient offense was enough to overcome their uncharacteristic ball-handling miscues. State-ranked No. 10 Spring Grove … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys crush Kingsland in section opener, 62-27
Three Spring Grove boys achieved individual career-highs while the state-ranked No. 10 Lions were limiting Kingsland to season-low scoring, 62-27, in the March 3 Section 1A opener for both teams. For No. 4 seed Spring Grove, it was the third win over the Knights this season and the teams’ third all-time playoff clash which earned the Lions their first postseason bus ride back … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls make progress on improvement path
The improvement that was expected in 2022 was realized by the Spring Grove basketball girls, who were ready for small-school competition, going 10-9 against other Class A clubs. However, small schools in the southeast corner of the state are not able to fill out a maximum 26-game slate without scheduling several larger Class AA clubs. The 2022 Lion girls were not able to derail … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Houston County pioneer thwarted land sharks, debt collectors
Thousands of Minnesota “wives and children owe their homes to the foresight and wisdom” of a man from Houston County, stated the Duluth Daily Short Line. In the first Minnesota legislature of 1858, a young senator from Caledonia authored a bill, which decades later was still praised by a Washington, D.C. publication as one of the state’s best laws. Houston County pioneer, poet, … [Read more...]
Section upset bid slips away late for Lion girls, 44-41
It was a heart-breaking final half-minute of the section opener and the season finale for the Spring Grove girls. But it was also validation of progress for the No. 11-seeded Lions (10-17). The 44-41 playoff loss at No. 6 seed Rushford-Peterson (12-15) came two months after the Trojans, on the same court, had mauled the Lions by 42 points. In this playoff rematch, Spring Grove … [Read more...]