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...]
Peering at the Past Medicine shows, foot soaking and Houston County “wonder drugs”
“In those days, the kids went barefoot, so occasionally, we’d step on a nail,” recalled Ray Fruechte about his early 1900s boyhood in rural Portland Prairie, northwest of Eitzen. “... we would take a foot pan, put a little water in it with carbolic acid in the water, mix it up and then soak our foot in that. Later on, we used iodine and mercuricomb (mercurochrome), followed by … [Read more...]
Cougar standout next pursues school spirit as collegian
Mabel-Canton senior cheerleader Katelyn Kleiboer will be eliciting school spirit next year at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). She was selected after a day-long evaluation and competition at the McLeod Center on campus at Cedar Falls. The first round was an evaluation of tumbling, motions and memorization of the fight song and a cheer. Round two involved physical stunts. … [Read more...]
Pieper wins high jump, Wait 400M run for C/SG boys
Chris Pieper matched a personal record with a winning 6-foot, 2-inch high jump and eighth grader Fischer Wait won the 400-meter run with a personal-best time of 56.59 seconds as the Caledonia/Spring Grove boys finished second in a triangular track meet at Rushford on April 30. With an injury-limited lineup, only four Warrior girls made the trip and finished third in the team … [Read more...]
Lions turn back second Cougar rally, 6-5
Spring Grove could not protect its first three-run lead, but the Lions went back ahead by three and held on to turn back visiting Mabel-Canton, 6-5, on April 20. Mabel-Canton, after erasing the first three-run deficit, had a two-run rally fall short later with the tying run on base in the final seventh inning. The Lions’ second scheduled game of the week, versus Southland, was … [Read more...]