The Spring Grove girls led 10-9 after six minutes of play, but the sixth lead change – which came with a 3-point basket by Grand Meadow’s Lauren Queensland – kickstarted a 10-point Superlark run. And the final 30 minutes would not remotely resemble those first six minutes on the way to the 66-21 final count at Grand Meadow on Jan. 11. The Lions, after scoring 10 points in … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys fend off Knights, Superlarks
The Spring Grove boys, after coasting past all four SEC East Division rivals by an average score of 67-26, received serious challenges while hosting the fourth-place and fifth-place squads from the SEC West. The Lions trailed in the second half of both contests before salvaging low-scoring wins with second-half scoring surges. They kept the games close with defense that … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past They bounced their ears off a bang board
A bang board stood upright in a horse-drawn wagon. It was a target for a contestant to hit with an ear of husked corn, so the ear would fall into the wagon without the corn picker having to look at the wagon. He or she could continue looking only at the corn being husked or shucked. In 1940, witnessed by approximately 1,000 spectators, George Reining of Caledonia successfully … [Read more...]
Lion boys coast past Cougars, other Lions
Defense provided two road routs for the Spring Grove boys, who have an early stranglehold on the Southeast Conference East Division race. There was some offense, too; In the 58-14 win at Rochester over Schaeffer Academy on Jan. 7, sophomore guard Elijah Solum poured in a career-high 30 points while junior guard Tysen Grinde tallied 20 along with a pair of career-highs with 9 … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls rally, complete SEC sweep of Schaeffer
The Spring Grove girls rallied past visiting Schaeffer Academy with a 10-point run midway through the second half and went on to win by eight, 49-42. The Grove girls had trailed early by as many as 10 points (17-7) before coming to back to take the lead just nine seconds before halftime. But they would be back down at intermission, 23-21, after Gabriella Buehler sank all three … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past “Just gravity” and the electrified stool in Black Hammer
The Black Hammer Store, part two The first gasoline pump at the Black Hammer General Store would pump only one gallon at a time. In the store’s second machine, gas was pumped by hand from an underground tank into a tall above-ground, five-gallon glass globe. Whatever amount of gas the customer wanted would be pumped and then be dispensed through a hose into the automobile. “No … [Read more...]
Spring Grove guys fall to R-P, get past D-E
It was the fewest points in a win for the Spring Grove boys in a dozen years. Most of the Lions’ 44 points were the career-high 25 by sophomore Elijah Solum. The 44-33 victory came over Class AA Dover-Eyota on the second day of the Dec. 27-28 Rushford-Peterson Christmas Basketball Invite. A day before, a brief second-half ball-handling collapse had meant defeat versus host … [Read more...]
Spring Grove defense deprives Burro boys
The first few minutes provided no indication that Spring Grove would coast to a convincing 70-34 victory. It was a hot-shooting start for the Lanesboro boys who hit three of their first four shots, while the home team was going 1 for 8. The Burros led 7-2. But then, Spring Grove changed defenses and took complete control. Lanesboro managed only two more field goals before … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls buried by Burros on the backboard, scoreboard
The Lanesboro girls dominated the game because they dominated the glass with a huge 47-to-18 rebounding bulge over visiting Spring Grove on Dec. 21. Both teams came in with only one league loss. With the 58-35 win, the Burros (6-3, 3-1 SEC) remained atop the SEC East Division standings. While the Lions (3-6, 3-2 SEC) remain numerically alive in the loop race, but they had no … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Bottles of pop awaited – beneath the trap door
The commencement of commerce in the Houston County hamlet of Black Hammer dates back to the 1860s when blacksmithing and storekeeping became a business plan. Gunder Mathison owned a blacksmith shop while also operating a general store before selling it to Bernt Hanson, another blacksmith. Thrond Jacobson, who purchased the store in the 1880s, restocked the shelves by carrying … [Read more...]