Ryder News April 30, 2015

Ryder News for April 30, 2015

   If you walk into the Ryder Senior Center in the AM on most days you will now hear chatter and laughter. David Kimball has volunteered to make breakfast for anyone who wishes to eat on Mon, Tues, Thurs. and Fri. from 7:30 until 10:00 a.m.  He will be there on Saturday also, but not until 8 a.m. It will be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. It is great to have somewhere to have coffee, visit and eat, if you so choose. OH! He offers biscuits and gravy on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

   Yvonne Erb, a former Ryder resident passed away on April 22^nd at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center in Bismarck. Her husband, James had passed away in August of 2014. Yvonne is survived by her children, Jay of Apache Junction, Ariz.; Kim of Denver, Colorado; Tondi (Don) McGuire of Mandan; 5 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. Her funeral was held April 25^th, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Bismarck. Burial was at the ND Veterans Cemetery in Mandan.

   It sounds like a fun event for Senior Citizens on May 12^th at the Minot Municipal Auditorium. It is the 19th Annual Salute to Seniors and will be held from 9-3:30 with vendors and fun events. You can call 852-3398 with questions or for reservations.

      There is an IRS telephone scam going around where someone is pretending to be from the IRS and they tell you that you owe money or more money to the IRS and that if you don’t send money to a certain address or call a certain number, you will be arrested. Please be aware of the following: 1. The IRS does not initiate contact by telephone. They use certified mail. 2. Legitimate government agencies have an 800 number. 3. The IRS will not arrest anyone over the phone. If an arrest is required, it will be after lengthy legal processes have been exhausted. You’ll know about it. Police agencies need a bona fide warrant to arrest people. 4. If you receive such a call, report it to the IRS at IRS@tigta.gov. Also notify your local police.

Lorraine Nelson celebrates her 80^th birthday.

   Lorraine Nelson celebrated her 80^th birthday on Sunday, April 26^th with a family potluck gathering at the apartment complex where she spends her winters. Kenny and I along with John, Staci and Johnny were there along with a whole bunch of her family. I don’t dare name names in fear of leaving someone out.

   I went to the bridal shower for Kelsey Reinisch on Saturday. It was a large shower with tons of gifts and lots of people. It was fun to get a chance to see and visit with everyone. The hostess asked that each of us give our name and how we knew Kelsey. When it was my turn I said, “I really don’t know any of these people, I just came for the food.” After the laughter died down I told them I was a friend of the family. 

   There will be Bingo once again on the first Friday of the month…which means that it will be Bingo Night at the Ryder Gym on May 1st starting at 7:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come and have fun and lunch is also served.

   St John’s Ladies Aid would like to invite all ladies to their Annual Mother/Daughter Salad Luncheon which will be held on Sunday May 3^rd at 1 p.m. The speaker will be Marci Narum and there will be a free will offering.

   If anyone has cloth bags that they don’t use, please donate them to the Ryder Community Club, (Kathy, Dave Kimball; Bruce, Deb Peterson, Barbara Miles). They need them for the Food Pantry that they are working on putting together.

      Hoofin’ It For A Cure Cancer Awareness Ride will be May 16^th and 17^th.  It is a 26 mile ride from Roseglen to Garrison, ND. A Free Will donation is required to ride.

    All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. Pre-registration recommended and appreciated. Snacks, drinks and meals are provided. There will be primitive camping at the Sharon and Larry Iverson farm 12 miles west of Garrison. Door prizes, food, friends and fun for the whole family. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. No stallions, no dogs, no alcohol during the ride. Only foals that are led are allowed. Call Dawn Kolden at 701-743-4322 for more details.

   Once again we have reached the end of the news for this week. I am still waiting for news items from my readers. I may have to start making stuff up and starting rumors etc. Just remember, you were warned! 

   Have a great week and enjoy the warmer weather that they say is on the way. I heard that wood ticks don’t like the heat and right now they are out and about so hope it warms up real soon to get rid of them!

   It’s okay to talk to yourself, it’s even okay to answer yourself…but when you ask yourself to repeat what you just said, you have a problem!

Ryder News April 23, 2015

Ryder News for April 23, 2015

Wendell Hanson’s 90th birthday celebration.

   Wendell Hanson celebrated his 90th Birthday on April 11th (altho his actual birthday is April 15th) at Brentmoor Assisted Living in Minot along with his wife Marlys, Larry and Marsha Reinisch, Nick Reinisch and Dani, Jody and Peggy Reinisch, Josh Reinisch, Kelsey Reinisch and Alex DesRoches, Kandi and LaVerne Mikkelson, Brock and Taylor Mikkelson, Brody and Emery, and Dirk and Amber Mikkelson, Amy, Abby and Avery.  What a milestone!!

Replacing gas pumps at Ryder’s Cenex Station.

  There seems to be some major renovations at the Cenex station in Ryder. Right now they are replacing the old gas pumps and will also be replacing the bulk tanks. The work should take about a month to complete depending on the weather. They will be back to their Saturday hours (8 a.m. – noon) starting on April 25th. You can still get gas as they have their old pumps hooked into some temporary tanks set up on the north side of the building.

   There will be a bridal shower for Kelsey Reinisch, bride-to-be of Alex DesRoches on April 25th at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ryder.

   There will be a bridal shower on April 26th at Makoti Senior Center at 2 p.m. for Megan Whitted, bride-to-be of Greg Petrick.

   My brother, Dick Ludwig is living out at his farm home for the summer and trying to get some field work done. He said he got stuck the other day while trying to do some cultivating and almost got stuck while picking rocks. What I don’t understand is why he doesn’t call me when he gets stuck…I told him…”Have Camera-Will Travel!”

   Jim and Doris Ann Zieman stopped in to visit and have coffee with Kenny and Sue Bradley after church last week.

    It looks like we have come to the end of the news column for this week. Now here is your assignment for the coming week…go out and make some news and then get it to me so I can make you famous!  Have a great week and I will be looking for your e mails and waiting for your phone calls!
 

Ryder News April 16, 2015

Ryder News for April 16, 2015

    Mathilda “Tillie” (Van D Bruggen) Stueflat passed away on April 2 at the age of 98. She and husband, Ed, had lived in Ryder where he was a blacksmith. They had 3 daughters. Their twins, Janice and Jean, were born in Ryder in 1937 with their sister, Joan, being born in Minot. They moved to Minot and later to Wisconsin in 1956.

    Ed passed away in June on 1991 after 57 years of marriage. Tillie was such a spunky lady and supplied many fun stories from when they lived in Ryder. Those stories were shared in the Ryder News before Ryder’s 100th in 2006.

      Mary Quillin sent the following to Sue’s News: “I just wanted to say that the memorial service for Rod Officer was beautiful. It was completely full upstairs at St. John's with an overflow room downstairs to watch via TV which was also full. The love the community has for the Officer family was overwhelming to see. Rod will be deeply, deeply missed. Let's continue to surround Kathy and their family with love during this difficult time.”

   Dave and Kathy Kimball spent a great Easter weekend with 8 of their grandkids and their son Carl and his wife Crystal, Amanda and her fiancé Joe, 6 dogs and 3 cats. The kids had a ball looking for the Easter eggs outside (brrr).

   Rod and Kathy Kallestad stayed home in Garrison for Easter as It was Kathy's weekend to work.  Daughter Jenny, her fiancé Kyle Brossart, and granddaughter Kylie Johnson of Minot traveled to Rugby to Kyle's parents, Rich and Jane Brossart on Saturday for the weekend.  Daughter Cindy Olson, fiancé Wil Oberdick, and grandson Henry Oberdick hosted Easter dinner at their house in Minot for Uncle Steven Olson and girlfriend Elizabeth Allen, Grandpa Mike Olson, Grandma Pam and Grandpa Shawn Brooks of Surrey, and Great Grandparents Karen and Edwin Olson of Douglas.

    Kathy Kimball and Eden Brunsell no longer work at the Ryder Post Office. There have been some changes in rank that made it impossible for Eden to work and find a daycare for her son. Kathy because of her rank will only be working in Roseglen, unless more schooling is offered to her. They would both like to say how much they appreciated their customers for being there and they will miss you all.

   Kristina Syversen sent me the following message: “I was wondering if someone could help me locate someone who moved to/lived in Ryder all the way back in 1915/1916. I'm looking for Berthe Knudsen Strand (she was my great grandmother) and Emil Evensen Strand. If you know anyone who knows anything about either of these two, please contact me! Either just message me through Facebook. Or email me at kristina.brodal.syversen@gmail.com”.

   Betty Jean Berg sent me the following Easter news: “Paul and I were in the process of deciding what we should do for Easter this year. Then Paul's sister called and said she decided to bring dinner to the farm this year to her and Paul's mother's place. That sounded really great as it is hard for the guys here to leave right now as we are so busy having calves. I got busy and prepared a salad the night before to help her out. It wound up being a small group this year as Bryce's family went to his wife's side, and Brian ended up at his stepdaughter's place. Darla and Dave had just gotten back from Cancun so she figured she better catch up on her book work after she got home from church. So it was just Alvina, Duane and his two girls, LaShae and McKalya, me and Paul, his sister Judy and hubby Larry Rice.  Judy is a great cook and always makes too much food. The four of us split what was left over and we all had a good meal the next day too. Everybody loves leftovers, especially the cooks.”

   The following is another little writing from Gus Mueller’s website Gus’s Things and Stuff.

The former home of Bernice Mueller.

MEMORIES FOR SALE!

   I’m thinking that most of you reading this recognize the Ryder house in this photo. It sits on Lots 10, 11 and 12 of Block 16, or more simply stated, it’s just across the street from the Ryder Gym. I just learned that the house is for sale—you can maybe see the “For Sale” sign on the door. It’s changed hands quite a few times in the past 15 years, but for the first 50 years it sat in Ryder it was owned by a Mueller, so it has a lot of fond memories for me (and no, there were not garbage cans lying in the front yard when the Mueller’s owned it).

   The house originated from outside of Makoti, and was moved to Ryder in 1948 when my brother Don married Phyllis Sorenson. Interestingly, according to the Ryder Centennial Book, there doesn’t seem to be any record of the lots being owned by anyone other than Don. The left (south) addition to the house was built by Don and Cousin Leo Brandt a few years later, using the lumber obtained from tearing down the old house on the Mahoney homestead southeast of Ryder—Don bought the Mahoney quarter to launch his independent farming career. We (Herman II, Bernice, and I) began living in the house in 1960 or so, when Don and family moved to the “Burtness house” down by the ball diamond—moving into a totally new neighborhood had lifelong scarring on both Keven and Kirby, but that’s a story for another day. For over 20 years, my mom lived in the house by herself, following the death of my father in 1974.

   This “house” was indeed a “home.” Like all of you whose family have spent a lot of time in the same house, it’s hard to sort out all the memorable events, and categorize what you remember most, but here are my Top Ten:

   1. At age 5, riding a bicycle for the first time on the sidewalk in front of the house. The bike belonged to my niece Khylene; she was a year younger than I—I didn’t get my own bike until I was ten (yes, I’m still bitter).

   2. At about the age of 6, eating spaghetti for the first time, prepared by Phyllis for a Sunday night family dinner. Trip to bathroom followed shortly thereafter (Bernice didn’t make dishes that exotic).

   3. Around age 12, having a Chef Boy-Ar-Dee pizza-making birthday party in the kitchen. We went a little crazy and added summer sausage in case you’re wondering.

   4. In February of 1964, sitting on the living room floor (with niece Khylene) watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.

   5. Coming home from school during lunch hour and playing cribbage with my dad—the card table was a permanent fixture in the living room during the winter months.

   6. Surviving winter nights in the unheated upstairs bedroom.

   7. Getting caught in the upstairs bedroom with my high school girl friend by my mom (did I say it was cold up there?). Mom was not supposed to come home from her Minot shopping trip until much later!

   8. Senior year of high school, sneaking into the house hours past curfew, smelling of beer (of course), with overnight guest Lee Sorenson, telling Lee he cannot use the bathroom because it’s next to my parent’s bedroom and he will wake them, and then dealing with the consequences.

   9. When my mom moved out to go to assisted living, digging through a cabinet in the basement and finding all the school projects I had made for her, dating back to the 1st grade.

   10. And I saved the best for last—the fantastic meals and the warm and loving atmosphere provided by my mom all those times I came home to visit (I’d like to think it was just for me, but I hear she was like that to everyone!)

   You can sell a house, but the memories are invaluable!

   That’s it for this week. Thanks for all the Easter happenings. I know there must have been more but I am grateful for what was sent to me. Have a wonderful week and enjoy the weather. Hope the nice days are here to stay!

Ryder News April 9, 2015

Ryder News April 9, 2015

   Ugh, snow on Easter Sunday…I sure wish winter were over and we could get on with the warmer weather and summer!

   Carol Jean and Wayne Hansen along with their daughter, Annette Rockeman visited Doris and Bob Landon Thursday afternoon. The Hansen’s live at Edgewood Vista and the Landon’s live at Brentmoor, all in Minot. They are long time neighbors from the King’s Highway and Hiddenwood area near Ryder, ND.  

   The little community of Ryder was saddened to learn of the untimely passing of one of its residents last week. Rod Officer passed away on Tuesday, March 31^st in a Minot hospital. He is survived by his wife, Kathy; son, Troy Officer of St. Louis Park, MN; daughter Traci (Nathan) French of Savage, MN; 3 step-grandchildren; 7 grandchildren; father and step-mother, George and Jeanice Officer; mother-in-law, Tresa Driessen; Sister-in-law, Renee Best-Officer; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. His funeral was held on Tuesday, April 7^th at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ryder with burial in Sunset Memorial Gardens in Minot.

   Rod will be sorely missed by the Ryder residents as well as those from many area communities. Rod was a great guy and always there to lend a helping hand. He was the “go to” guy when you needed plumbing supplies or your plumbing fixed. He was the guy to call when you needed any excavating done as he had the backhoe and the expertise to get the job done correctly. Rest in peace, Rod, Heaven surely got a good one when the Lord called you home.

   From the amount of kids at the Ryder Park and later at the Ryder gym, I would say that the Easter egg hunt and later crafts at the gym was a huge success!

Gina Schenfisch along with Dustin and Amber helping their little ones out with their craft projects at the Ryder Gym after Easter egg hunt.

Easter egg hunt in the Ryder Park

    Kenny and I along with the McGrath’s were invited to Rick and Shawna Sprinkle’s for Easter Sunday dinner…but then Levi and Gage came down with colds and since I am to avoid getting sick if I can, we opted out of their place and had Easter Sunday dinner at the McGrath’s instead. Staci fixed a very tasty ham with all the trimmings and we all had plenty to eat!

   Lenyce Simmons enjoyed spending Easter Sunday with her sons, Beau and Wes at the home of Wes Simmons.

   There will be a bridal shower for Kelsey Reinisch, bride-to-be of Alex DesRoches on April 25th at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ryder.

  Gus’s Things and Stuff (You can visit his website by Googling Gus’s Things and Stuff) has a little article that I am posting with his permission in the news. The following article is in reference to the March 26^th edition of the Ryder News. 

GIANT ELEPHANT IN RYDER!

   Yes—you indeed are seeing a photo of an elephant in last week’s Ryder News. I ran into a previous Ryder resident recently who was not aware that there is a weekly edition of Sue’s News (aka Ryder News) available to read online. If you’re signed up for my Things and Stuff, you probably already know this, but just in case someone out there doesn’t—now you do. It’s easy to access: I just Google “Sue’s News Ryder.” It’s linked to Facebook, but you don’t have to be a Facebook person to read it. If you are on Facebook, give it a “Like.”

   And speaking of the Ryder News—thanks Sue for doing that. Seems it must be a rather thankless job, as if you write about what is REALLY the news, people get upset (and you just might run into these people). So you pretty much have to avoid personal matters, legal issues, religion and politics. All the good stuff in other words. About all that leaves is births, deaths, birthday parties and bingo. Wait . . . if you’re playing bingo for money you’re gambling, and most all religions frown on that, so even bingo may be taboo for small town news. Guess that leaves you talking about the giant elephant on Main Street—see photo from Sue’s web site.

   I will have another article from Gus in next week’s news.

    Mathilda “Tillie” (Van D Bruggen) Stueflat passed away on April 2 at the age of 98.  She and husband, Ed, had lived in Ryder where he was a blacksmith. They had 3 daughters. Their twins, Janice and Jean, were born in Ryder in 1937 with their sister, Joan, being born in Minot.  They moved to Minot and later to Wisconsin in 1956.

   Ed passed away in June on 1991 after 57 years of marriage. Tillie was such a spunky lady and supplied many fun stories from when they lived in Ryder. Those stories were shared in the Ryder News before Ryder’s 100th in 2006.

   The following was posted on the Sue’s News timeline by Kristina B. Syversen. I guess you would have to find her on Facebook to get a message to her if you have any information pertaining to who she is looking for. 

  “Hi everyone! So I was wondering if someone could help me locate someone who moved to/lived in Ryder all the way back in 1915/1916. I'm looking for Berthe Knudsen Strand (she was my great grandmother) and Emil Evensen Strand. If you know anyone who knows anything about either of these two, please contact me! Thank you.”

    That’s it for this week; get your Easter Sunday news to me so we can share it with the world. If I don’t have more readers responding with their news items, pretty soon there won’t be a column to read!!  

   Have a great week and let’s all think warm weather and spring, spring, spring!!!