Spring Grove volleyball is coming off an 8-4 pandemic-shortened season, a third-place tie in the SEC East Division (5-4) and a summer tournament championship that included two wins over state-ranked teams. It is an experienced squad with the tallest Lion lineup that coach Kelsey Morken can recall in her 16 seasons as either a Lion player or area coach. Seven of 10 letter … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Theatre destroyed just hours before the production
A man “carrying a casket upside down on his shoulders in the red glow of the flames, was a weird sight,” according to one account of a fire that caused the evacuation of caskets from the Schummers Building in Caledonia. Fire was a great threat to the survival of fledgling southeast Minnesota villages during the last half of the 1800s. With closely-clustered frame buildings … [Read more...]
Caledonia Junior Legion takes third place trophy at state
The Caledonia 16 & under baseball boys finished third among eight teams at the 2021 Junior Legion Division II State Tournament at Montevideo on Aug.ust 6-8. “We played three close, high-intensity games,” said Warrior coach Chad Augedahl. “We played some really good baseball.” Behind two-hit pitching by Thane Meiners, Caledonia blanked Proctor, 6-0, in Friday’s … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Wowed with words, dazzled with descriptions in 1903
Was it really considered a compliment to be compared to Poland China hogs? It was unexplained why Caledonia “rooters” were so enthused about a contest between Spring Grove and Houston. However, more than a century ago, Houston County writers were able to describe an ordinary local event with enough embellishment of the English language, exaggeration and humor to hopefully … [Read more...]
Griffin voted MVP as Spring Grove honors four baseball teammates
Isaac Griffin was voted the highest honor by his Spring Grove baseball teammates, one of his four team awards as four Lions were honored for their contributions during the 2021 spring season. Besides receiving the Todd Oakes Most Valuable Player award, the senior was also voted the Cy Young Best Pitcher and the Ernie Banks Best Teammate awards and received the Derek Jeter … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past His horse wore snowshoes; hundreds of deer couldn’t move
Norwegian emigration, part 9 “The new generation lacks both the knowledge and imagination to grasp the actual conditions of life as it was lived by the pioneers,” wrote Hjalmar Holand in 1920 about Norwegian pioneers in southeast Minnesota. Hard work was a given, but these pioneers were at the mercy of weather, insects and specifically for that era – epidemics. Chinch … [Read more...]
Caledonia, Lanesboro meet in substate baseball finals; Warriors advance to state
The Caledonia Junior Legion boys rallied from a late four-run deficit to overtake Lanesboro in the championship game of the Southeast Substate Baseball Tournament on July 28 and advance to the 2021 Division II Junior Legion State Tournament (age 16 and under). The Burros led 6-2 going into the bottom of the fifth inning (seven-inning game) before the Warriors rallied for the … [Read more...]
Griffin voted MVP as Spring Grove honors four baseball teammates
Isaac Griffin was voted the highest honor by his Spring Grove baseball teammates, one of his four team awards as four Lions were honored for their contributions during the 2021 spring season. Besides receiving the Todd Oakes Most Valuable Player award, the senior was also voted the Cy Young Best Pitcher and the Ernie Banks Best Teammate awards and received the Derek Jeter … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past First immigrant farms were near water and woods
Norwegian emigration, part 8 The Norwegians who first pioneered southeastern Minnesota preferred farm sites near rivers and creeks rather than prairie acreage. When they arrived on wagons, the prairies were easier to cross than more direct routes through marshland and dense undergrowth along the Root River. But for farmsteads, they first sought flowing water and woods, the … [Read more...]
Legion Lions close summer season, edge Cougars 2-1
It was a night for pitchers as Spring Grove closed the American Legion (age 19 & under) season with a tight 2-1 win over visiting Mabel-Canton on July 22. The Lions managed only four hits, but a trio of Spring Grove pitchers combined to toss a one-hitter. Each team used three pitchers, surely by design, since all but one logged more strikeouts than walks. There was only one … [Read more...]