Tag Archives: worthington

Farewell, Worthington

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I am going to miss southwest Minnesota.

I blame physics. Apparently there’s some natural law or something about how you can’t have one object in two places at the same time, and because I’m moving to Jamestown, N.D. this week, I can’t simultaneously be in southwest Minnesota sipping pina coladas on the shores of Lake Okabena.

Stupid laws of nature. Sure, they keep us from falling off the planet or spontaneously combusting, but they also keep us from having cool stuff like cold fusion, perpetual motion, giants, eternal life and teleportation, not to mention fat-free desserts that taste good.

If you disobey the laws of nature, do you get arrested?

This is something I need to know. I’m taking a reporting position at the Jamestown Sun, which is owned by Forum Communications Company, the same company that owns the Daily Globe.

Unfortunately, this means I need to move every single object I own to Jamestown. I’m convinced that if I broke some laws of physics I could get it all done right quick.  However, I’m a little worried about what would happen if I got caught, so maybe I’d better not.

I’m going to miss Lake Okabena, though, and all the people I met here, most of whom have helped me out in one capacity or another — given me guitar lessons, dragged my car out of the ditch, served as a source for a story or just read an article or two.

There are too many people to thank, and I’m fairly sure if I tried I’d have to start taking more drugs to combat my already-high blood pressure. And I would probably have to share those same drugs with my editor, because a list that long would take up the entire news section, even if we put it in print so small only gnats could read it. Small gnats. You know, the ones that bite.

Plenty of things make Worthington unique — the windsurfing, the turkey race, the multitude of cultures and the lake — but none of that makes it awesome. What makes Worthington and all of southwest Minnesota awesome is the people who live here.

I moved to Jackson in the middle of 10th grade, and my classmates made me feel welcome and wanted. I moved to Worthington almost six years ago, and here, too, I have felt welcome and wanted.

But, as Scotty from “Star Trek” said, “You cannae change the laws of physics!” and I can’t be in two places at once. I am truly sorry to leave, and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know so many of you.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Just for the Hail of It

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I woke up confused last night, because it seemed like all the thunder in the sky had swooped down and decided to hold a party around my apartment. After a few confused seconds I recognized the noise as plain old garden variety hail, but because my bed is located on a second-floor corner and was being pounded by hail on three sides (roof and two walls), the sound was much louder than any sort of storm I’d ever heard before.

I always hear tornadoes described as sounding like a freight train, so naturally I decided to find out if there was a tornado. I wouldn’t have been able to hear a tornado siren if it had been two feet from my head at that point because of the deafening ice-shards pummeling the building.

I suffered a moment of absolute idiocy at that point, and instead of grabbing my laptop, bringing it downstairs and checking the weather in the bunker-like basement, I just wandered into the living room, closed the just-slightly-open window, and fired up the laptop from there.

If there really had been a tornado, I would have been sucked up into it faster than you could say “Auntie Em! Auntie Em!”

Fortunately, the freight train sound was just the roar of the hail.

When I went outside the next morning, I couldn’t believe there hadn’t been more damage. I really hope the farmers didn’t lose any crops.

Going Global at the WALA Sale

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Today we found these awesome inflatable globes at the WALA sale. (The rest of the stuff on my desk: A retro coffee cup purchased at a garage sale, my Motorola Droid, a samurai sword letter opener, the widget that makes the video camera stay on the tripod, my schedule planner and notes reminding me to do various things.)

The sale will end at 4 today, so it’s probably too late for you to go out there today, but I do know that they’re planning to have another sale day. They had all kinds of things, including some great children’s books, games, chairs and desks.

It was a little sad, though. For those of you who aren’t from Worthington, the Worthington Area Language Academy’s sponsor decided not to go on sponsoring them anymore, so the Spanish-English dual immersion charter school closed at the end of the school year. Now they’re selling their supplies.

Sad to think these desks might not see any more students. Hopefully someone who will use them purchases them.

Opening Remarks

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Bill Keitel is speaking. He said you’ll stay at least 30-50% longer if you have a lawnchair, and although I have no idea where he got his stats, I certainly don’t disbelieve him.

Now it’s Mike Woll’s turn. He’s on the Worthington City Council. "Enjoy Worthington. Relax a little. We could all use a little of that. If you live here, pretend you’re on vacation!"

And back to Bill Keitel. He said we have windsurfers here from Canada, Cape Hatteras, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and California. He touted the Daily Globe’s pretty full-color brochures; we’re giving them away at the Daily Globe tent. (I’m sure you knew this, but I work for the Globe. Full disclosure and all.)

And now, the Galactic Cowboy Orchestra will play!

And the Fun Begins!

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We are live at the Regatta!

Although we’ve heard dire predictions of thunderstorms all day, so far it’s hot and humid and pretty windy down at Sailboard Beach as we wait for the Regatta festivities to begin in earnest.

A few windsurfers are already out on the lake, taking advantage of the calm before the races begin, and the chairs for the charity chair sale are arrayed in a line, waiting for bidders to scope them out. Two young girls are playing frisbee in front of the main stage preparatory to the Opening Ceremonies (slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.).

We’d all be happy if it could stay like this, but in Minnesota the weather staying like anything at all for very long doesn’t seem likely.

So come down to Sailboard Beach and take advantage of the sunshine and breeze! Stop by the Daily Globe tent and say hi!

I’ll get some photos posted as soon as I can. Stay tuned! I’m here all evening, tomorrow, and for at least a little bit on Sunday, too!

Remembering Hardy Rickbeil

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Like many others in Worthington, I was saddened to hear about Hardy Rickbeil’s passing on Sunday.

I will not pretend to have known him very well; I only met him once, although I saw him around the community in all sorts of capacities. Hardy seems to have been one of those hyper-involved people that had something to do with the YMCA, something to do with the Crailsheim program, something to do with Turkey Day, something to do with the historical society, something to do with… well, just about everything in Worthington, really.

And if he was like that in his late 90s and early 100s, I can only imagine how much he was involved in when he was younger.

I met Hardy at a Crailsheim banquet, when he was the main speaker of the day.

I would not have guessed his age at more than 80, but he was already 99. For reference, Hardy graduated from the Worthington High School class of 1926. He was already a business leader in 1934, as you can see from this article.

Our website’s online archive goes back less than a decade, but there are quite a few references to Hardy even in that short period of time.

I have met a lot of older people over the past few years, working at the Daily Globe, and many of them could be described as fun, funky, and spunky people.

Contrary to some people’s perceptions, not all senior citizens are fuddy duddies. Just like young people, a large number of them are forward thinking, enterprising, and tech-savvy. Research indicates that 40% of the 65+ crowd uses the internet, for example, and though that’s not a majority it is a very substantial minority. My grandfather, a semi-retired lawyer in his 80s, checks his stocks online daily. My grandmother, a semi-retired secretary, uses email to communicate with the family. And I would be proud to hang out with any of my three surviving grandparents any time, and would even if they weren’t related to me. They’re just fun people.

I don’t know if Hardy was tech-savvy, but even though I only met him once, I could tell he had a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and saw opportunities for people and the community in all sorts of endeavors. I’m not saying he was one of those irritating people who seem to have manic smiles glued their faces all the time, but he was very positive, upbeat and interested in all sorts of issues. He wasn’t just "with-it." He never outgrew his intellectual curiosity.

It is true, I think, that associating with young people helps keep you young, but the kind of young people you need to associate with are the people who are young in spirit, not those who are simply chronologically-impaired. At the age of 99, and I have no doubt, the remainder of his life, Hardy was quite young.

I wish I had known Hardy better.

Photos of Worthington at Sunset

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If you’ve been staying indoors lately, you’ve been missing out. Even yesterday, when it drizzled throughout the morning and a thunderstorm started up again at night, sunset on Lake Okabena was beautiful.

On the nights I go for a walk, I inevitably see something and think "What a great photo that would make!" and of course, I never have a camera. Last night I borrowed the Globe’s camera, thinking I could post any photos worth seeing on my blog.

It was quite windy on the open parts of the shoreline yesterday. I should have worn a scarf to keep my hair out of my eyes, but I forgot about it. The wind made the lake’s surface choppy, and I wondered what it would be like to try to windsurf out there.

But it was beautiful.

I love the dock on Sailboard Beach.

Sad, Hilarious Police Report

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We had several odd police incident reports Sunday, including the awww-inspiring following:

There are mean kids at the park who will not let them play with the equipment.

Mean kids gone upon officer arrival.

Hopefully the mean kids never came back. And here are the other strange ones:

Reports a new Toyota (no plates) weaving and hitting the curb. 

Checked. Just a bad driver.

And the things people call 911 for:

911 call. Reports he is upset because he was asked to leave the bar.

Male left before officers arrived.

 

Worthington of the Past

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I have a google alert set for Worthington, Minnesota, so I get little emails that tell me whenever Worthington is mentioned in a new website.

This time, I happened to have gotten two alerts on eBay sales postcards of the Worthington area. (Note that I’m not promoting eBay or the sellers of these postcards, as I have no idea who they are. I just like old local stuff.)

One is a hand-tinted postcard of "Okabena Lake" with "Does this look good to you?" scrawled on it. It also notes that it was made in Germany. It is dated 1909. The note on the back said it was May and had been snowing for two or three days.

The other is a set of postcards of Worthington street scenes, which includes images of Johnson’s Bakery, Ben Franklin, Habicht’s and of course the Hotel Thompson. I can’t hazard a guess as to the dates of these photos; the numbers written on them appear to be months, not years, but from the look of the cars it’s in the 1950s. What do you think?

Addendum: Oh, and District 518 Superintendent John Landgaard made the Star Tribune, commenting on the weather and how it’s affected District 518.