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Solar eclipse disrupted by clouds in the Marshall area

For the past few weeks I’d had high hopes for Monday’s solar eclipse, hopes that I could sit outside and watch things darken in the middle of the day. The forecasts over the weekend led me to be doubtful. Monday was supposed to be mostly cloudy, with a good chance for rain later in the afternoon. The peak of our partial eclipse was set for 2 p.m. on Monday. In the late morning the sun was peeking through from time to time. I held out hope. During lunch I noticed clouds thickening. It didn’t qualify as the start of an eclipse. It was just clouds, the kind that appear before a ...

Drill pressed

I recently felt a pressing need to own a drill press. No farm shop is complete without one and a man isn’t any kind of man if he doesn’t have a drill press. An internet search yielded a perplexing panoply of choices. There are big ones, small ones, short ones, and tall ones. I was fantasizing about my ideal drilling machine when the sharp slap of sticker shock stung me in the wallet. Some drill presses cost more than my first car which, admittedly, was a junker that lacked a few minor accessories such as an engine or a transmission. Just as when I purchased my first car, I felt ...

A blast from the past — celebrating the big home run 50 years ago

This much is true. I hit a home run. For years, Kevin Sweeney, the retired editor of The New Ulm Journal, wrote up New Ulm’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. It was his way of poking fun at the dour Germans who surrounded him.  Kevin reported on true events, like New Ulm’s few Irish gathering at a bar. Then there were less-true events, like dressing Herman in green and music by the O’Concord Singers. Readers were warned to believe his reports “at their own peril.” Consider this column in that vein.  In thinking about my upcoming 50th class reunion, it occurred to me ...

Book reveals some history behind ‘The Great Seal’

While browsing through books at the Avera Thrift Store, I came across a book titled, “Growing Up In Minnesota: Ten Writers Remember Their Child- hoods”, edited by Chester G. Anderson, copyright 1976. On a blustery Minnesota day, I opened the book, and to my surprise, opposite the first page of type was a ink drawing of “The Great Seal Of Minnesota”, with the date “1849” at the bottom of the circle. It was a seal design I had not seen before. Editor Anderson described it in an “Introduction: From Tepee to Ax and Stump.” His first paragraph reads: “The Great ...

Memoir writing: It should be part of everyone’s bucket list

Memoir writing is something most people don’t think about, but maybe they should. It’s always surprised me that writing isn’t popular. I remember back in junior high when writing was sometimes used as a punishment. It was often effective because classmates didn’t like it. I’ve always enjoyed putting my thoughts into words. I do it at least once a week. Until this past month one thing I’d never considered was writing my memoirs. It was always something I thought I might do someday when I became a senior citizen, when I had nearly a lifetime of experiences. That changed ...

The Vietnam War – Mike Lamfers – Last Time to the DMZ and Home

We have been learning about Mike Lamfers, who grew up east of Amiret and, after graduating from Tracy High School in 1965, served with the Marines in Vietnam. Mike deployed to Vietnam in October 1966, joining the Commo Platoon of 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam. They returned to the DMZ in March 1967, where Mike was promoted to Sergeant. They left again to relative security at Phu Bai, but Mike explained they did not stay. “The longest I was anyplace in Vietnam was about six weeks. We moved to Camp Evans, inland ...