Sometime before Minnesota became a territory in 1849, there was a tale of a trapper who roamed the area that included what later became Black Hammer and Yucatan Townships in Houston County. During extreme weather, he would ask for food and shelter overnight at whatever settler’s cabin he could find. Other information about him, even his full name, was not known. But when asked … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Wild animals gave way to an iron Lion, wings of steam power
The following history of Spring Grove was written in 1880 by Sven H. Ellestad in the Spring Grove Posten, the town’s first newspaper, published weekly in Norwegian for approximately a year. An annual subscription cost 50 cents. There has been no change in the punctuation from a 1947 reprint in English as translated by his niece, Clara Johnosrud Torvik: Spring Grove, … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls fall to top seed in section semi-finals
The Spring Grove girls, with the No. 4 seed, saw their volleyball season end in the section semi-finals with a 3-0 loss to top seed and state-ranked No. 8 Bethlehem Academy. The Lions, who closed at 20-10, were the only Section 1A semi-finalists that were not state ranked. The Cardinals from Faribault (20-11) went on to win the section championship with a straight-set victory … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Commemorating those who could not come home
“What a pleasant experience to be halfway around the world and see someone I knew. It made Houston County seem a little closer,” recalled Ron Strub about one treasured memory from his mid-1960s service as an Army medic in Vietnam. “There were a lot of times I knew someone was looking over my shoulder and taking care of me and keeping me safe.” During a Sunday church service in … [Read more...]
Two Lion rallies rebuffed in section rematch with Rebels
Down early and twice trailing by two touchdowns, Spring Grove twice got back within one score and then twice were close to the goal line with a chance to pull even or take the lead. But twice in the fourth quarter, the Lions did not score after reaching Southland 1-yard line and 5 yard-line. No. 4 seed Southland escaped with a 19-12 section quarterfinal win against No. 5 seed … [Read more...]
Lion girls surge into section semi-finals with wins versus Knights, Falcons
The Spring Grove girls, with the No. 4 seed, advanced to the Section 1A Volleyball semi-finals with playoff wins over No. 13 Kingsland and No. 5 Fillmore Central. The 3-0 home win over the Knights on Thursday night (Oct. 28) preceded a midday Saturday 3-1 victory over the Falcons In Rochester. It was the second straight-set win of the season against conference rival Kingsland. … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls coast past Cardinals in regular-season finale
The Spring Grove girls dominated a matchup between the two SEC division runners-up. The Lions thus closed the regular season with the straight-sets road win at LeRoy-Ostrander on Oct. 18. Spring Grove (18-9, 12-2 SEC East) then received the No. 4 seed in the 20-team Section 1A Tournament, which for the first time is scheduled in one large bracket instead of two sub-section … [Read more...]
Lion netters drop two, then take two at Goodhue Tournament
Spring Grove won two volleyball matches after dropping a pair to finish in fifth place at the Goodhue Tournament on Saturday, October 16. It was good preparation for the upcoming playoffs as all four opponents had winning records, similar to that of the Lions, who closed the day at 17-9. Both Losses came against larger Class AA clubs before split-set wins over Class A … [Read more...]
Spring Grove passing explosion extinguished after halftime at Lanesboro
It was Lanesboro run versus Spring Grove pass as it began with a 67-point first half scoring duel. After only 15 plays, Lanesboro led 16-7 before the teams added 44 points in the explosive second period. However, the second half belonged to state-ranked No. 2 Lanesboro in a 72-27 home win over visiting Spring Grove in the October 15 regular season finale. With 99 total … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past When the blackbirds flew, we did, too
When she was nine or 10 years old, her parents thought she was old enough to handle the rifle that she and her siblings would use to scare the blackbirds out of the family cornfields in the Root River valley near Hokah. The late Josephine “Josie” (Lorenz) Gavin reminisced about her childhood in the 1940s. The children took turns with farm chores – one of which in the late … [Read more...]