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...]
Bjerke sweeps sprints for Caledonia/Spring Grove boys
Caledonia/Spring Grove junior sprinter Reid Bjerke won both speed events, the 100-meter dash and the 200M, at the quadrangular track meet at Dover-Eyota on March 13. Chris Pieper remains undefeated in high jump after four meets, clearing 6-foot even in this latest effort. The Warrior boys placed third and the girls fourth in the team standings. The top five places in each event … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past May baskets, a tin toboggan and the shoe-lacing champion of Eitzen
Part two of a series They were all “so hard up,” the young folks in the Eitzen area had to manufacture their own fun, recalled life-long Portland Prairie resident Elmer Thies about the Great Depression era of the late 1920s and 1930s. Entertainment involved roller skating parties, shadow pie sales, county fair booths, parade units and shivarees (a noisy, post-wedding serenade … [Read more...]
Cal/SG boys place first in five events at L-A Invitational
Mitchell Reynolds and Chris Pieper each scored team points in four events as the Caledonia/Spring Grove boys who finished one point out of second place at the Lewiston-Altura Invitational Track and Field Meet on May 7. Eighth grader Fischer Wait won the 400-meter dash (personal-best 56.40 seconds), and Logan Banse won the shot put competition (42 feet, 3 inches), ran on the … [Read more...]
Spring Grove wins a pair, drops three during busy baseball week
Spring Grove won two games and lost three - in that order - during a challenging week that included four games away from home. The Lions returned from a long Monday, May 3 bus ride to Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons with an 11-0, run-rule win. The next afternoon at home, the boys rallied to subdue a winless, but hard-fighting Houston team, 6-4. On Friday in Spring Valley, … [Read more...]