Spring Grove football extended winning ways with an 8-3 record (5-2 sub-district) and second straight appearance in the 9-player section championship game. It was at the 13th winning record in the last 14 seasons. But it was not easy with nearly half (five of 11) of the games decided by single-digit margins. The Lions earned a winning record by prevailing in four of those five … [Read more...]
Young Lions Depend on Depth, Defense
The 2023-’24 Spring Grove basketball girls, with depth and pressure defense, seek to improve on their dozen wins last winter, their most in six years. But, at 12-15, it was still a sixth straight season below .500. However, Grove was 12-12 versus other Class A-size schools. The Lions were 10-8 in league play, finishing third among five teams in the SEC East for a second … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Mons Fladager- Painter, Entrepreneur, Father of Spring Grove
Part two of a series “No one man can be given more credit for the development of the city of Spring Grove than Mons Fladager,” wrote area historian Jane Briggs Palen, who noted that there were only two inhabitants in Spring Grove – Robert McCormick and William Hinckley – when Fladager arrived in 1859. He operated a store in a log hut, that with help from two sons and … [Read more...]
Halverson is Lion MVP, among four All-SEC selections
Joelle Halverson was voted Spring Grove’s top volleyball honor as 2023 Impact Player of the Year (MVP) and was one of four Lions named by the coaches to the All-Southeast Conference Team. Kendal VanMinsel is a repeat All-SEC honoree while Sydney Holland moves up to First Team All-SEC this year after receiving Honorable Mention last year. Jordis Neeley completes the all-league … [Read more...]
Excellence Consistent for Spring Grove Volleyball
Spring Grove extended a string of highly-successful volleyball seasons in 2023 with a 22-7 record, the Lions’ third consecutive 20-plus win season under the tutelage of former Spring Grove standout Kelsey (Anderson) Morken. Not counting the shortened COVID season of 2020, the wins over the most recent seasons have been 22, 28, 20, 19, 26 and 22. Going 12-2 in Southeast … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: Settled First by Yankees, Mostly by Norwegians
Spring Grove, the first Norwegian settlement in Minnesota, is still known for its Norwegian heritage. But the non-Norwegian name was given to the village by Pennsylvania printer James Smith, who in 1852 was Spring Grove’s first settler. His 1853 store was the first business. Smith would also be the first Justice of the Peace and postmaster. Before the influx of Norwegian … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: “Mucking Out” Greatly Appreciated by the Cows
Housecleaning appeared more appreciated by the livestock than by the humans. Some older cows jumped and pranced when they were returned to stalls that had just been cleaned. “Envision these animals sticking their noses in the fresh straw and with udders waving, leaping from ecstasy,” recalled Warren Lange in 2015 about cleaning the barn as a boy on a Houston County farm in the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past With Awe and Reverence, Remembering Captain McIntire
He visited classes at Houston School to talk about the Battle of Gettysburg. He was knowledgeable because he had been there, in uniform, as a combatant. Born in Dedham, Mass., in 1838, Samuel Bates McIntire (sometimes spelled McIntyre) moved as a young man with his parents, Edmund and Sarah McIntire, to Minnesota territory in the early- to mid-1850s. First settling in Yucatan … [Read more...]
Lions close with Five-Set Section Loss to Alden-Conger
The Spring Grove 2023 volleyball season ended on Halloween at Rochester with a 3-2, five-set Section 1A quarterfinal setback to No. 5 seed Alden-Conger. With the No. 4 seed, the Lions evened the match by taking the second set 25-16 and the fourth set 25-20 after the Knights had won the first set 25-15 and the third set 25-16. The back-and-forth momentum held as A-C won again in … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Sails Past Southland in Section Volleyball Opener
Spring Grove’s 39 kills were three times that of visiting Southland in the Section 1A Round of 16 volleyball match-up on Oct. 26. With the No. 4 section seed, the Lions improved to 22-6 by routing the Rebels, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-16). No. 13 seed Southland (16-8) had defeated No. 20 Schaeffer Academy, 3-0, to advance to the Round of 16. Spring Grove has won all four matches … [Read more...]
Football: Lions Return to 9-Man Finals, Oust ‘Cougs and Cards
Section 3-seed Spring Grove, last year’s state runner-up, returns to the 9-man section title game after avenging a regular-season loss to Mabel-Canton in the quarters and then upending LeRoy-Ostrander 27-20 in a snowy semi-final. At home in the 32-6 win against 6-seed Mabel-Canton (4-4), the Lions (6-2) scored on its first possession in each half and its first four … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: Lonely and Secluded, but Crowded and Cramped
The wayside tavern/hotel was so small, it was nicknamed the “Seven by Nine.” It was often so crowded that the innkeeper and his wife slept in their chairs while renting out their own bed. About six miles west of Brownsville, on the old Brownsville-to-Caledonia portion of the Territorial Road in Union Township, Houston County, it was a welcome stopover in the 1850s for weary … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: Flour, Fruit, Fabric and Lots of Stockings
Part three of a series During the Great Depression decade of the 1930s, families were often large while money and employment were scarce. The United States government purchased relief food, clothing and supplies and gave it to the Red Cross for distribution to those in need. Flour was the primary food staple with other foodstuff added when possible. The distribution center … [Read more...]
Lion Girls Win Five, Drop One to Finish Regular Season at 21-6
Spring Grove closed the 2023 volleyball regular season with a 21-6 record after winning four matches and dropping one for a third-place finish at the Goodhue Tournament and then a 3-0 conference road romp at Austin versus Lyle/Pacelli (25-11, 25-10, 25-6). The lone tournament loss came against Class AA state-ranked No. 3 Chatfield. The Lions, at 12-2 in Southeast … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Girls Coast Past Wolverines, Burros
The Spring Grove volleyball girls celebrated 2023 Homecoming with a 3-0 whipping of Glenville-Emmons (25-17, 25-10, 25-13) before completing an SEC sweep at Lanesboro, 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-13). Both opponents struggled to return serve and initiate an offense. Overall, the Lions outscored the Wolverines, 75-40, and the Burros, 75-36. West Division G-E went home with a 6-18 … [Read more...]