Many residents of Houston County in 2021 are descended from settlers who arrived in the middle-to-late 19th century (1800s). Annual Syttende Mai (Norwegian Independence Day) celebrations in Spring Grove honor the area’s Norwegian heritage. There are approximately four and half million Norwegian Americans, the 10th largest European ancestry group in the United States. Most live … [Read more...]
Same-script, walk-off win precedes Spring Grove’s season-ending loss
“Just eerie,” was how Spring Grove baseball coach Chris Strinmoen described the second walk-off win over Fillmore Central/Lanesboro on the same field within six days. The same three Lions played exactly the same three roles in both remarkable, celebration-inducing sequences. The second decision, a 2-1 Lion win, came in the May 31 section opener in front of a great crowd at … [Read more...]
Pieper is champion; 13 Cal/SG athletes advance to section track meet
Chris Pieper won the sub-section high jump crown as Caledonia/Spring Grove track had nine boys and four girls advance to the Section 1A Track and Field championships after qualifying at the Sub-section 1 Meet on June 3 at Rushford. Junior sprinter Reid Bjerke advances in three events with junior Pieper, junior sprinter/thrower Logan Banse and eighth grader Fischer Wait each … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Horsepower, cornhusking and the Houston County Matrimonial Bureau
Fifth of a series Portland Prairie had the first 4-H club in Houston County, organized in 1923 by Gladys Lapham, said one of the charter members, Elmer Thies. His 4-H project that first year was a heifer calf named Nancy. At the county fair, young Elmer and Nancy won a trip to the state fair, but as it turned out, young Elmer was too young. “I was only nine years-old. One … [Read more...]
Lions’ come-from-behind, walk-off win highlights Senior Day
A last-inning, three-run, walk-off rally gave Spring Grove its first lead and a Senior Day, non-conference win against Fillmore Central/Lanesboro, 5-4. Two afternoons after that May 29 thriller, the SEC double header at Adams against Southland was rained out. Twice postponed, they settled for a single, make-up game on Saturday morning, an 11-1, six-inning Senior Day win for the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Measuring cornfields with bicycle wheels and five-foot protractors
Part four of a series “My father sold a load of old sows. He didn’t get enough money to pay the hauler and had nothing for the pigs,” recalled lifelong Caledonia resident Leona (Burg) Weichert, about growing up in the 1930s. “That doesn’t seem real!” Today, the word “depression” is most often associated with the psychiatric condition of emotional sadness. There was … [Read more...]
Spring Grove bats quiet against Cougars, Rockets
Hits and runs were scarce for Spring Grove during the first no-win week. In two games, the seven Lion hits produced no runs. The only four runs were scored without a hit. Spring Grove scored the first four runs of the week, but the Lions did not cross home plate again. The boys were overtaken at Mabel-Canton, 8-4, as the Cougars earned a season split on Monday, May 17. Back … [Read more...]
Pieper captures conference high jump crown for Caledonia/Spring Grove
Junior jumper/sprinter Chris Pieper won the conference high jump championship with a personal-record 6 foot, 4 inches and placed second in long jump for the Caledonia/Spring Grove boys at the May 22 Three Rivers Conference Track & Field Meet at Elgin. Mitchell Reynolds, among 18 triple jumpers, tied with the best distance (personal-record 38 feet, 2 inches), but he lost the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Ray Fruechte recalls tramps, peddlers and gypsies
Part three of a series Vagrants, often known as tramps, passed through southeastern Minnesota in the later decades of the 1800s and the early decades of the 1900s. Even those that were seemingly well-bred and educated to some extent, preferred to seek charity more often than to seek employment. There were more than a few tramps that traversed the highway near Eitzen and … [Read more...]
Lions persevere past AC/GE and Schaeffer, cannot contain state-ranked L/P
Spring Grove started the baseball week coming from behind to vanquish visiting Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons, 6-1, and ended the week in the Rochester rain with a strong start to ultimately subdue a stubborn Schaeffer Academy squad, 10-6. In between, Lyle/Pacelli appeared worthy of its No. 5 state ranking with a 17-1 road romp at Blayne Onsgard Memorial Field. The winners of … [Read more...]