MACA girls sweep Benson to build streak

Tigers 3, Benson 0
It's six in a row now for our orange and black of volleyball. The skein grew to six on Tuesday with the sweep over Benson at home. The home fans cheered as the Tigers won 25-11, 25-20 and 25-13. We sported a 9-5 conference record at night's end, 13-10 overall.
The WCC slate is now completed. Benson came out of the night at 8-15 overall.
A very balanced hitting attack had Lexi Pew lead with nine kills. She was complemented by: Emma Berlinger (6), Kenzie Hockel (5), LaRae Kram (4), MacKenna Kehoe (1), Sophia Carlsen (1) and Sydney Solvie (1). Pew showed authority at the net in blocking too. She rose up to execute three aces. Carlsen and Kram each came at the Braves with two ace blocks. Berlinger and Hockel each added one ace block to the mix.
Macee Libbesmeier set the pace in digs with ten. Courtney Lehman and Jaden Ross each performed eight digs. Hockel and Kehoe each had six, and Kram had five. Let's take a look at serving aces and here we see Kram with two followed by several teammates each with one: Emma Bowman, Ross, Kehoe and Carlsen. Kram facilitated the offense with her 17 set assists. Kehoe and Carlsen each had one assist.
Claire Ricard was the Benson hitting standout with ten kills. These Braves also got stats in hitting: Mariah Ahrndt, Sarah Brandt, Rachel Berens, Beth Cain, Marissa Connelly, Kara Kannegiesser, Abby Lundebrek and Abbie Mitteness. It's nice to see the Berens name continue in Benson Brave sports. Rachel Berens had the team-best three serving aces. Ellie Moesenthin was their top setter with 12 assists. Ricard contributed two ace blocks. Ricard and Mitteness had 16 and 15 digs respectively.
 
Cross country: WCC meet
The Pomme de Terre Golf Course was abuzz with excitement Tuesday for the colorful spectacle of the West Central Conference cross country meet. Our Tigers sport the orange and black colors. The team tent was a nice bright orange.
The weather was the kind that cross country runners like, cool but not unpleasant, sun under the clouds. So, in that setting we had our boys team leader arrive at the finish chute No. 1. This very accomplished individual is Noah Stewart. Noah's champion time was 16:40.0. The MACA boys placed fourth as a team. Melrose was the boys team champion among the six total teams.
Stewart was joined in the MACA effort by: Thomas Tiernan (13th place, 18:50.0), Bradley Rohloff (16th, 19:07.0), Reid Tolifson (32nd, 20:11.0) and Jared Boots (35th, 20:20.0).
The MACA girls' effort is unfortunately without Maddie Carrington. Maddie was injured in the Homecoming week Powder Puff football game. It was an avoidable injury IMHO. Just avoid playing in the game. But the Carrington name is hardly absent from the running scene. Meredith now carries the Carrington family banner.
Grandpa Tom was on hand to support Meredith and her teammates. Tom was able to cheer Meredith arriving at the finish chute No. 2, timed at 20:53.0. The only faster runner was Kayla Meyer of Melrose, time of 20:35.0. The Tigers placed second as a team behind Minnewaska Area. There were seven schools represented. Hailey Werk of the Tigers placed seventh, timed at 21:58.0. Anna Backman was tenth (22:21.0).
Isabel Fynboh (23:08.0) and Katya Lackey (23:11.0) placed 18th and 19th respectively.
 
Football: Tigers 36, Sauk Centre 14
Our MACA Tigers own a record over .500 at the end of the regular season. The finale was Wednesday night at our Big Cat Stadium, where the visitor was a struggling Sauk Centre team. Alas, the Streeters have failed to win in the 2019 campaign. We afforded them no relief Wednesday as we prevailed 36-14. So we're 5-3. Next is the playoffs.
Sauk Centre was a strong rival back in the days when I attended high school.
The Streeters scored first in the Wednesday game: Anthony Marsh carried in from the nine. The conversion run try was unsuccessful. A punt return was the vehicle for the orange and black getting going. Kenny Soderberg took that return 52 yards for the score. Eli Grove kicked the point-after.
Soderberg scored our second TD as well. This time he caught a pass for 37 yards, a pass thrown by Zach Bruns. Grove came through for the PAT. The Tigers were up 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.
A field goal and a touchdown accounted for the MACA scoring in the second quarter. Grove gave thrills with a 33-yard field goal. Looks like there is college football potential for this young man's kicking. Bruns scored on an eight-yard run and Grove kicked.
On to the second half: Bruns had a three-yard TD carry and this time the PAT kick try was blocked. Sauk Centre's Ben Millard ran the ball in from the four, and Nolan Ziemer passed to Isaiah Hornick for two on the conversion. The last TD of the night was scored by our Jackson Loge. Loge caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Bruns. The conversion pass try was unsuccessful.
We had 13 first downs on the night. Bruns not only engineered our passing game, he was the top ballcarrier: 12 carries, 63 yards. In passing his numbers were seven completions in eleven attempts for 89 yards. He was complemented in the running game by Tristan Raths (ten carries, 47 yards) and Durgin Decker (4-29). Our pass-catchers were Soderberg (three catches, 55 yards), Loge (2-18) and Josh Rohloff (2-16).
Sauk Centre had 19 first downs. Sauk's rushing yardage was supplied by Marsh (29 carries, 126 yards), Irvin Brenes (8-46), Gabe Polipnick (9-28) and Ben Millard (5-21). Ziemer completed four passes but he had two picked off. Marsh had two of the receptions for 13 yards. Dominic Ritter and Riley Gritz each had one reception.
I invite you to compare my coverage of MACA sports with what is on the Stevens County Times website.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tigers fall to Osakis amid hostile weather

Friday was a perfect showcase for how hardy the football fan crowd has to be. Unpleasant weather, yes. It's a signal we're in the late stages of the season. Once the playoffs get going, weather can be a real wild card. Fans have to cross their fingers at that point.
But first we have one more game in the regular season. It's what people my age call "the MEA week game." That's the week when the teachers union gets together to plot strategy against the rest of us. Just kidding! Well, I'm not kidding 100 percent.
The teachers union is one group you don't want to get riled up. But I get the impression it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. I think the system has been adjusted so that the teachers, administration and board in a given community are much more likely to "be on the same page" rather than dug into their foxholes. I was close to public schools (as newspaper person) for years when severe conflict marked the whole thing. There has to be a better way.
A big step was to clip teachers' wings in order to get them to realize that they are not nearly as important as they thought they were. We love our teachers and we want them to return to favor to our youth. We want our teachers to have a comfortable middle class lifestyle, OK? We don't want them to behave toward our kids like prison guards in a prison. Kids can get "smart" without teachers holding their hands the whole way.
 
Osakis 41, Tigers 6
OK, now on to football. The Tigers clashed with the Silver Streaks of Osakis - love that name - Friday amidst the nasty weather in Osakis. Space heaters were along the sideline. Remember when Vikings coach Bud Grant said "no" to that? It worked because we won. Had we not won, the coach would have been considered nuts.
The host Silver Streaks upped their record to 5-2 at the expense of our orange and black squad. Alas the score was not pretty from the MACA perspective: 41-6. One media account characterized the conditions as a "blizzard."
MACA enters MEA week with a still-encouraging 4-3 record. Osakis has won four games in a row. Osakis Coach Bill Infanger commented "for our offense to put up 41 points in these conditions against an outstanding Morris defense, I feel really good about it."
Click on the link below to read about our MACA volleyball team's 3-1 win over Montevideo on Thursday. This post is on my companion blog, "Morris of Course." Thanks for reading.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2019/10/tigers-improve-to-12-10-with-win-at.html

 

Close game in first quarter
Osakis struck on its first drive of the evening. They had the ball back at their own eight yard line but climbed out of the hole impressively. Much of that climbing was with a 45-yard run by Luke Imdieke. Isaac Hetland did the scoring with both the touchdown and the two-point conversion. Hetland carried in from the four for the TD.
It was in the first quarter when our Tigers got their only score of the evening. This came on a two-yard run that had Zach Bruns clutching the football. We tried a pass on the conversion and it was unsuccessful.
Alas, Osakis owns the scoring highlights for the rest of the game. Let's plow through that. Imdieke broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The conversion pass try was no-go. Bring on the third quarter: we see Hetland crossing the end zone stripe again, on a four-yard TD run. He got the handoff on the conversion play and succeeded again.
Osakis poured it on in the fourth quarter as MACA was possibly getting worn down. The weather certainly didn't help. Imdieke carried the football in from the one. Then it was Hetland finding the end zone from the three. Carter Rost made good on the PAT. The final Osakis score came on a ten-yard run that had Garek Radtke carrying the football.
So, the Silver Streaks overcame our Tigers and the weather, while we had to look ahead to our game this Wednesday, Oct. 16, which will have Sauk Centre as the opponent at Big Cat Stadium. After that: playoffs. Osakis coach Infanger said "playing in weather like this is a gut check."
 
Newspaper looking for editor
Well this is interesting. Or maybe not. Newspapers are a stressed industry so it's not surprising seeing staff changes or shakeups or however you want to term it. Our Morris newspaper is in transition or flux. Our local school superintendent once protested when I used "flux" in a headline - something about how school administration was in flux which it actually was. According to the dictionary definition, my use of the word was precise.
School administrators want everyone to think "nothing to see here."
The Morris newspaper website appears frozen or in limbo now, no doubt due to the Fargo Forum still having a connection to it. Perhaps there are paid items there where the obligation has to be fulfilled over a period of time. It appears the new owners have only limited ability to add anything on the site, but it appears they can shoehorn in a headline.
So last night I noticed there's a notice in VERY LARGE type that the paper is looking for a new editor. So I guess Rae Yost is departing? I saw no mention of her, just like I saw no mention of Sue Dieter's departure. Yes, a "sinking ship" type of business can become unpleasant and uncertain.
No one doubts that newspapers everywhere are on the defensive. The Forum must have abandoned Morris because it saw no business future here.
Put aside your rose-colored classes, everyone. Let's face it: nearby Alexandria is doing rings around us in every conceivable way - amenities etc. How are you gonna keep 'em down on the farm? Or in Morris? Or Donnelly?
It will be interesting to see if the Anfinsons can find a younger person to take the editor's job. The job does not strike me as attractive at this point in time. Regardless of what it would pay, the stresses could well be overwhelming. No matter how you do your job, you're likely to get some harsh feedback.
We live in a new age in which everyone feels empowered with communications. It wasn't like this at all when I was young. Today if people feel alienated by "the local paper," they will look around to see what other avenues might serve their interests better in our vast communications universe.
Good luck? Well I do wish the Anfinsons good luck, seriously. I don't know if Rae is leaving town, but she and her significant other were pleasant to have at our little "movie club" sessions at the Morris Public Library. I would miss them.
 
The image below recognizes Columbus Day which is today, Monday, Oct. 14. In many places it has been switched to "Indigenous People Appreciation Day," honoring Native Americans of course. Not sure if our Morris community has made the official switch. It's a good thing. Besides, Norwegians were here first, as we all know!

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Might as well put on "Jesus shoes," right?

My generation had "tennis shoes" for when we wanted to engage in rigorous physical activity, by the standards of that era.
I seem to recall "Pro Keds." I don't even recall hearing about "running shoes." Distance running erupted as a fad after Frank Shorter's success in the Olympics. We watched transfixed as the guy ran, ran and ran. A bestseller simply had to appear at our bookstores, because paper "books" were still quite the standard. So we got the runaway bestseller with the red cover, remember? By James Fixx?
Today you can get political with your running shoes. You can spend $1,425 for customized Nike sneakers called "Jesus Shoes." Making a statement about Jesus of course means you're a Republican, probably a "far right Republican" or at least self-fashioned that way, and a supporter of Donald Trump.
What would Jesus Christ say about a charge of $1500 for a pair of sneakers purportedly anointed by Him? These are "Nike Air Max 97s" injected with holy water from the Jordan River in the Middle East. We of course have to take their word for it. Remember the barber in the movie "The Shootist," John Wayne's last movie, who planned on selling locks of hair from the terminally-ill famous gunfighter? He really swept up random locks of hair from the floor, remember?
I suppose there is nothing more Christian than to make a quick buck on something, right? That's the tide.
It is questionable whether the growing avalanche of negative news about Trump will really take him down. That is because the foul-mouthed commander in chief has so much support from the Christian community, whether they wear $1500 sneakers or not.
I just heard a few days ago about another local person who left an ELCA church for the more conservative Good Shepherd, on the rural edge of the community. You can hear the barking days from the nearby dog kennels. Somehow Trump reminded me of a barking dog Thursday night at his Nuremberg-style rally right here in our state, in Minneapolis.
The crowd wore red shirts. These people gravitate to the churches that are inclined toward right wing politics. Jesus Christ himself seemed far more disposed to humanistic and tolerant ideas, ideas where monetary incentives were not the be-all and end-all.
Such a huge portion of Christianity now appears to twist itself into a pretzel reasoning that Trump actually represents God and Jesus. The real underpinning of these feelings is nativism. Another element is homophobia. A simple non-discrimination policy re. gays ended up as a flashpoint causing many ELCAers to "defect." In our Morris MN that means a defensive stance by our ELCA churches who after all need people and money to stay healthy.
Good Shepherd is reportedly doing very well. Am I happy for that? Maybe the solution is to discourage organized religion completely. If the meme prevails of Trump and Christianity being bonded, then I'd be one of those retreating from religion.
Ralph Reed is the founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. He's an evangelical with the skill of using the mass media just like Trump. Reed has a book coming out (of course) in which he argues that evangelicals "have a duty to defend" the president. Why? Could Reed really envision our Savior standing with Trump, truly endorsing this vulgar man who fired up his crowd of red-shirted lemmings on Thursday in Minneapolis?
Reed says evangelicals "have a moral obligation to enthusiastically back" Trump.
The most ardent Christians want to see a dismantling of federal protections for abortion. Are you all really prepared for a new norm in the U.S. where abortion is effectively prohibited? Meanwhile the rock-ribbed Republicans, the flag-wavers for the likes of Trump, will be sure to have their own discreet channels to get an abortion for their mistress. The rich get what they want? Is this what Jesus Christ stood for?
Reed's upcoming book originally had the title "Render to God and Trump." So we are now speaking of Trump and God in the same breath. Might new versions of the Bible incorporate Trump?
The Reed book's publisher now says the title of the book will be "For God and Country: the Christian Case for Trump." Perhaps this will be gobbled up by Good Shepherd members, not to mention the more obvious fundamentalist churches in the Morris area.
I sense the ELCA churches are fading. A good friend of mine became an ELCA skeptic and he refers to the synod as "ELC-Gay." Why so excited about the issue of gay rights? Why does this stick in your craw so much? You might have a gay member of your own family. Do you want that person circulating in a world where he gets the message that he's not entitled to basic things? The basic opportunities that the rest of us take for granted?
Gay rights is merely a policy and it's not something to get particularly excited about. To change one's church because of this is ridiculous. For sure many southerners wanted to cling to Jim Crow laws. But the rest of the world moved on and the southerners could either get on the bus (of progress) or get off.
Are the Ralph Reed types, the wearers of the red shirts Thursday in Minneapolis, willing to get off the bus? Without misgivings about being left behind? Because that's what will happen to them.
Nevertheless the pro-Trump wave comes at us, underscored in the Nuremberg-type rally Thursday. Trump was his usual foul-mouthed and insulting self. Again, can you imagine Jesus Christ standing in league with this man? Countenancing him?
Can't you see that the Ralph Reed types are just exploitative? They see a big audience of paranoid people who simply fear change and progress. The evangelical crowd cites a parallel they see between Trump and the Biblical Esther, a heroine of the Old Testament. So, it has come to that.
This is a man who lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. He gets strident support from people who try to cite actual scripture to rationalize some of the more shocking policies. I apply the "shocking" description merely on the basis of common sense. A danger with any rabid religious crowd is that they truly suspend common sense.
Reed more or less shrugged about the "Access Hollywood" tape. The circle of zealous religious Trump supporters has Reed along with Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell Jr., Robert Jeffress and Paula White. They feel Trump's entry into the political sphere is divinely inspired.
Such zealots equate "religious freedom" with the freedom to discriminate on religious grounds like against gay people. But it doesn't end there. Be careful what you wish for, all you Morris area "hardcore Christians." If you people can proclaim that God is truly on your side - and your crowd definitely speaks that way - I will concurrently proclaim with no inhibitions that God is on the side of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Don't try to subtly deride us by saying "of" instead of "in." It's "In America."
Jesus Christ does not take political sides per se. But surely his words seem more consistent with what the ELCA and America's progressives are asserting these days. I have a right to that opinion, just like the Trump-ites can cheer and holler as our president cloaks himself charlatan-like in Christianity. All while he talks about Joe Biden "kissing Obama's ass." And the evangelicals cheer.
Hey, take your "trade war" and shove it. There, I can talk just like the Trump-ites.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

15-13 in game 5 spells win for Tigers

Tigers 3, Minnewaska 2
Any five-game match in prep volleyball, the maximum length, is a barn-burner. Fans were treated to this kind of back and forth battle Tuesday night. The home team fans at our Morris gym could cheer with gusto at night's end. We prevailed in the 3-2 outcome over rival Minnewaska Area.
We won as follows in this WCC action: 25-12, 24-26, 25-23, 17-25 and 15-13. I guess you might say it was a donnybrook. Whew! The success was extra satisfying because it put us over .500 to 11-10. The Lakers came out of the action at 9-8.
The hitting attack had a balanced look. It was facilitated by setter LaRae Kram who chalked up 35 assists. Sophia Carlsen delivered 13 kills and Lexi Pew came through with ten. Kram pounded down nine, and the list continues with Emma Bowman (7), Kenzie Hockel (4), Emma Berlinger (3), Jaden Ross (1) and MacKenna Kehoe (1).
Pew showed determination to deliver nine ace blocks, and Carlsen was aggressive too at the net to get six. In serving aces we see Ross and Macee Libbesmeier each with three, and Kram and Kehoe each with one.
Tigers were busy in the digging department in this marathon match. This list is topped by Courtney Lehman and her 25 digs. Kram came through with 15 digs and Libbesmeier had 14. Hockel and Kehoe each added 13 to the mix. Ross chalked up eleven digs and Bowman had ten. The list concludes with Pew and her five.
Ellie Danielson was a force as she typically is for the visiting Lakers. On this night she pounded down 22 kills. Alexis Piekarska was No. 2 on the list with ten. The list continues: Avery Hoeper (7), Emma Thorfinnson (6), Sara Geiser (5), Brecklyn Beyer (3) and McKena Panizke (1). These Lakers had ace blocks: Hoeper, Beyer, Danielson, Geiser and Panizke.
Geiser was the setting cog with 40 assists. Danielson was sharp at the service line to execute three ace serves. Ditto with Kirsten Glover. Other Lakers with ace serves were Geiser (2), Hoeper (1) and Grace Bartels (1). It was Danielson topping the 'Waska list in digs with 27.
Our orange and black team will visit Montevideo on Thursday.
 
Cross country: Benson Invitational
The MACA girls cross country team finished third among eight teams in the Benson Invite held Monday. The team is adjusting to the absence of Maddie Carrington. Meredith Carrington ensures that the Carrington name will stay high-profile in the team's exploits.
For sure coach Dale Henrich was saddened to learn of Maddie's injury which happened in the Homecoming week powder puff football game. We wish Maddie a recovery that is on schedule and with no complications. Reportedly she will be active in speech to fill the void caused by this injury. This is a commendable step to take.
Grandpa Tom could cheer Meredith taking third in Monday's Benson meet. She covered the course in 21:56. The girls champion was Sophia Kluver of Sauk Centre with her time of 21:23.00. Anika Fernholz of LQPV-DB was second with her 21:51.00 performance. The top five also included Annika Trygestad of LQPV-DB in fourth and Sydney Hagen of Minnewaska in fifth.
Meredith Carrington was joined in the MACA effort by Hailey Werk (tenth place, 22:45), Anna Backman (17th, 23:00), Kelly Berlinger (24th, 23:13) and Katya Lackey (26th, 23:17).
Minnewaska Area was the champion team followed by LQPV-DB in second. The Tigers in third were followed by Sauk Centre, Montevideo, New London-Spicer, Benson-KMS and Border West.
Here's a shout-out to Noah Stewart who reached the finish line first in the boys race. He covered the course in 16:32. Mikey Kvaal of LQPV-DB was second, clocked at 16:51, and Zeke Sather of LQPV-DB arrived at the finish chute third with his 17:33.00 performance. The top five also included Griffin Johnson of LQPV-DB and Bertram Munk of Yellow Medicine East.
Stewart was joined in the MACA effort by Thomas Tiernan (19:12), Bradley Rohloff (20:41), Cole Hawks (20:50.60) and Pierce Richards (20:58). As a team our boys were fifth among nine teams. LQPV-DB won the crown followed by the hosts of Benson-KMS.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

An old paper letter from Provost Imholte

So touching to go through old family items and find a handwritten letter with canceled stamp affixed. Quaint, yes. Here's one from Jack Imholte, who ran the University of Minnesota-Morris as provost, a position now called chancellor. He was affectionately called "The Silver Fox" for reasons obvious if you looked at a photo.
He had a fascination with Civil War history. I was proud I could engage in an intelligent conversation with him over the Battle of Gettysburg. I had read the historical novel "The Killer Angels." I chatted with Imholte at the upstairs restaurant at City Center Mall in the days when it served what you might describe as American food. I realize that characterization might be termed ethno-centric, so I'm sorry. Just trying to be descriptive.

Jack Imholte

The sage Dr. Imholte, who had a book published about the First Minnesota Regiment, and I agreed that General Longstreet of the Confederate side probably showed the superior judgment. This in comparison to the iconic general of the gray legions, Robert E. Lee.
I have read that General Lee was affected with pretty bad diarrhea at the time of Gettysburg. Digestive problems were common among the combatants. Rancid bacon? "Hardcore" re-enactors today actually try to replicate this aspect. I'll pass on the hobby. Model trains, anyone?
So Jack wrote a letter to my father in 1996. Cursive handwriting! It's not even taught to our young people any more, right? Many people my age shake heads about that. Warning: We must remember that our youth are not only not gaining the skill of writing cursive. It stands to reason they'll struggle trying to read it. So if you're dropping something off at the Post Office and the workers there are all young, well.
I imagine the Post Office is having to deal with this issue responsibly. Better yet, why don't we still get kids to be competent with handwriting? I recall being taught handwriting in the second grade. It wasn't hard to pick up.
Whenever Civil War-era letters are published, we're instantly struck by the "flowery" nature of the writing. It seemed like a real art form. Something we ought to miss? That might be a stretch. Do we miss gas station attendants waiting on us? Asking to check the oil, wash the windshield? It was once a staple.
We might not want to go back in time, but I feel a renewed closeness to Jack "The Silver Fox" Imholte just holding this letter that I pulled out of an envelope with its stamp. It's the type of correspondence that would surely be handled with email today. Technically I think email began in 1992. But the early days as with most revolutionary things were halting as we had to fundamentally change our habits, or at least think about changing them. I went through the latter - thinking about it - for a long time before actually adopting many new ways. Sigh.
For the record, General Longstreet of the Confederates, who was a main player in the historical novel "The Killer Angels" (Michael Shaara), wanted a defensive position for his army in Pennsylvania. General Lee followed his normal pugnacious instincts. The Civil War was at a time of dramatically improved war technology. In particular, the "rifled gun" with its grooves was a major stride from "smoothbore." Improved war tech always gives an advantage for a time to the tactical defensive.
Smoothbore wasn't completely gone. It was such a weapon that took down General "Stonewall" Jackson of the Confederates in a friendly fire incident. The Myth of the Lost Cause made a huge deal out of the loss of Jackson. There is an actual grave marker for his amputated arm. He died from pneumonia.
The word "myth" pretty baldly tells us we should be prepared for some bulls--t. It has been written that Jackson got overrated, because he made a name for himself "cleaning out the Shenandoah Valley" which was a task not calling for savvy or genius. Any time he was involved in a standard large-scale battle, he could be as confused as any general. You see, the advanced weaponry made it unlikely, maybe impossible, for one army to ever obliterate another. The "losing" army always ended up as the one that had to depart.
Let's be realistic. Couldn't the Confederate army have simply been surrounded and choked off in Pennsylvania? (It was the Army of Northern Virginia.)
The spirit of conciliation after the war - not that a whole lot of bad feeling didn't still fester - had the North sort of bow to the gallant General Lee. Lee had after all suggested conciliation himself. So let's honor the gallant Southern fighting man while walking away with the biggest prize: we won the war.
Jack Imholte wrote a definitive book about the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment. It's as good a reference as you could want. There is a statue of a Civil War veteran at our Summit Cemetery in Morris. It's rare to find such things this far to the west. The statue is of Sam Smith who has many descendants among us today.
I'm pleased to note I have had my own original songs recorded about both the First Minnesota Volunteers and the Sam Smith statue. Oh, and another song inspired by the events of Charlottesville VA: "I Thought the Civil War Ended." All are on YouTube. They appear to have done well attracting listeners, so I'm proud.
Proud, too, would describe my feelings as I read the letter from Jack Imholte to my father Ralph in 1996. "Thanks for sending me a copy of your exploits with the Apollo Club," Jack wrote.
The "exploits" were in a booklet called "Sweeter Than the Honeywell: 100 Years of Music and Friendship." It's a tribute to the history of the Apollo Male Chorus. It came at the time of the group's centennial (1995). The chorus is a Minneapolis-based institution.
In 1951 my father became the seventh director of the Apollo Club. He held the role until 1955 which was the year I was born. (Coincidence of course?)
In 1964 a former historian of the club wrote of my dad that "with the introduction of his own compositions and arrangements into the programs of the Apollo Club, the Club produced a new sound that was excitingly different from the usual choral fare."
I could quote a lot more in this vein. At a certain point as I read, I almost feel like reacting "oh, knock it off." I mean, it gets to be a reminder of the pedestrian nature of my own life, my shortcomings. But it's great to read that my father indeed left a legacy. So we came here to Morris in 1960 for the launch of this little "experiment on the prairie," the new U of M-Morris.
All my life I have contended with scorn directed at me because of the perception that I'm from a privileged family. We are all dogged by something in life that we feel is unfair.

Howard Viken

A more upbeat thing: I remember in my teens accompanying my parents to an anniversary event of the Apollo Club. I remember the guest performer for the event was singer John Gary. The emcee was Howard Viken of WCCO Radio. My father was introduced during the program and he stood along with Mom and I.
Through the years I heard a snippet of conversation in our household about a dark side of the venerated Minneapolis Apollo Club. I guess Jewish people weren't exactly welcome. My father would never have gone along with such a thing, but he was aware of the custom or whatever you want to call it. Well, prejudice.
My father taught music at the U's St. Paul School of Agriculture in my preschool years. This was before schoolteachers entered my life to terrorize me. Our St. Paul days were golden. But Morris came to define us. Our family monument is at Summit Cemetery, a black bench on which you'll see my father identified as "founder of UMM music." And my mother: "Diligent worker at UMM." I am identified as "journalist." And I feel pride in that too.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

This exhibition might have to end

MACA sports has been dealt a most unfortunate injury. Any injury is sad but this one especially so, arguably, because it was in an exhibition event. It was a one-time event. One can argue it was a frivolous event. It is an event with a long and somewhat contentious background.
Yours truly was with the Morris newspaper when the Homecoming powder puff football game was at Green River Park. According to my recollections, it was not an official school event. Not only that, it was looked down upon by some. Why?
Some might say the sport of football is too rough for girls. Rather than posture that way, let me say instead that football is too rough for everyone. Maybe we should put it aside. The trend is definitely in that direction. However, this change is surprisingly slow. People still turn out for the Friday night lights.
Back in those past times, with yours truly making his rounds for the Morris Sun Tribune, it was my understanding that our volleyball coach was contrary in her attitude about the Homecoming powder puff football game. So much so, she reportedly had a policy of suspending any players who took part! Was she to be viewed as a humorless soul, a grouch?
No! Her stance now looks most wise, based on the fact that Maddie Carrington is out of action for a time due to an ACL injury in the 2019 event.
I believe the event is today school-sanctioned. Someone reminded me it's flag football today, whereas in the controversial Green River Park days it was full-go tackle. "Whoa Nellie," as the late Keith Jackson would say.
I'd argue flag football is still pretty wild. Last time I went it was at our big-time football field, Big Cat. I took photos for a Flickr photo album.
A family member of Maddie informed me very early Wednesday morning at a local diner - sun not up yet - of the heartbreaking news. Maddie is a top-flight runner and she's active athletically throughout the year. Her sister is Meredith, also a fine runner. I wrote about their father Matthew and his sister Anna when they were MAHS student-athletes. We remember Grandma Laura.
How shall we assess the powder puff football event? It's not just the football/danger element, it's the fact that it's a one-time event where the kids are not conditioned over time mentally and physically. Maddie is in the best condition imaginable, but football is a sport with its own skill sets and reflexes. Let me make a comparison: I remember a baseball injury once when the player, Bert Campaneris of the A's, was involved in a stunt where he played all nine positions in a game. He got seriously hurt making a play at the plate as catcher. Sportswriters observed after that, that such a stunt was questionable on the one-time grounds. Campaneris was not finely tuned with his skills.
Look how the very experienced catcher Ray Fosse got hurt in the All-Star Game when Pete  Rose barrelled into him.
Maddie is now sidelined a while, projected 7-9 months. Here's a paradox or contradiction: At the same time our volleyball coach frowned on powder puff in the Green River Park days, at least one school board member was enthusiastic about it and attended. School activities are often the fodder for disagreements, aren't they. I regret that public opinion at the time tended to frame the volleyball coach as rather a stick in the mud. I compliment her on her wisdom.
Maddie will be having surgery on October 18 in the Twin Cities, I'm told.
Many well-intentioned people continue to follow the sport of football enthusiastically. I personally wish the sport would die a quicker death. Ah, but my sentiment carries the weight of a grain of sand on a beach. Or, as Alex Karras as "Mongo" said in "Blazing Saddles": "Mongo just pawn in game of life."

Cross country at Sauk Centre
Life does go on, so MACA cross country visited Sauk Centre for a meet on Tuesday. It's not the same writing these results without Maddie's name. But alas, she's on the mend while sister Meredith carries the banner.
Meredith placed fourth with her time of 21:38.5.  The girls champion was Caroline Kuehne of LPGE, time of 19:53.9. We were the runner-up team behind Minnewaska Area. Hailey Werk placed sixth with her time of 21:41.4. Kaylie Raths was 17th, clocked at 22:26.4. Then we have Anna Backman in 19th (22:33.0) and Isabel Fynboh in 27th (23:12.4). On to the boys side where we congratulate the champion, MACA Tiger Noah Stewart. Stewart covered the course in 16:18.4. He was joined in the MACA effort by Bradley Rohloff (18:57.8), Thomas Tiernan (19:02.7), Jared Boots (19:28.6) and Reid Tolifson (19:48.7).
Melrose was boys team champion. We were No. 3 among the eleven teams.
 
Volleyball: Melrose 3, Tigers 1
The Tuesday story in volleyball had the Tigers bowing to Melrose 1-3. Game scores were 16-25, 19-25, 25-14 and 21-25. We entered this match having won four straight. It was a WCC affair at Melrose. Our record at night's end: 7-8.
Lexi Pew executed three ace blocks. Kenzie Hockel and Sophia Carlsen each had one ace block. The digs list was topped by Courtney Lehman whose total was 22. Macee Libbesmeier came through with 19 digs, and the list continues with Pew (14), Jaden Ross (12), LaRae Kram (9) and Emma Berlinger (5). Hockel and Pew each had one serving ace. Kram was go-to for setting with 16 assists.
These Tigers recorded kills: Berlinger, Emma Bowman, Hockel, Kram, Pew and Carlsen.
 
Conference tennis meet
The Alexandria courts were the site for West Central Conference tennis action Saturday. Minnewaska had a shining performance to take No. 1.
Our No. 3 doubles team of Ireland Winter and Breanna Schmidgall placed runner-up with a 2-1 showing. Our No. 1 tandem of Greta Hentges and Ryanne Long was third with their 2-1 showing. Our No. 2 doubles team of Hannah Watzke and Lakia Manska went 2-1 for fifth.
Turning to singles, here we see Katelyn Wehking going 2-1 for third place. Kassidy Girard at No. 3 singles went 1-2 for fourth. Katie Messner at No. 4 went 1-2 for sixth. Abbigail Athey played first singles and had an 0-2 day.
 
Patience not a virtue?
Freelance columnist Randy Blaser hits the nail on the head with his Sept. 25 offering. He does this right in the headline, no follow-up really necessary. Here's Randy's heading: "Participation in high school football is declining - I'm surprised it's not happening faster."
Researchers now theorize, Blaser writes, "that it is repeated blows to the head, not necessarily suffering a concussion or repeated concussions, that can lead to CTE in a former football player."
Imagine wanting your son to be in a school activity that involves "repeated blows to the head." So Blaser appropriately wonders: Why isn't the flight from high school football happening faster? Excellent question.
I have suggested in the past that we need more leadership like from school board members who could vigorously speak out and discourage support of the sport. You would think at least some of our Morris Area school board members would have "the right stuff" as it were. A former superintendent in a discussion with me about this did not offer a defense of football, but asserted "we follow all protocols." That's CYA. It's not courage.
 
Addendum: I finally found out a little backstory on the potentially costly unsportsmanlike penalty called on the MACA football bench in a recent game. I at least found out the name of the transgressor. A reliable parent told me the flag was on Jake Torgerson. I happened to be listening to the radio at the time the incident happened. It's hard for me to listen to a whole game because the voices emanating from the speaker can seem rather like a speaker at a fast food drive-through. Is it just me or does Mark Torgerson sound like he's a monotone? I gathered that the penalty could have cost us the game. We did end up winning. If the Chicago Cubs had won on the night of the infamous Steve Bartman incident, his name would not be remembered.
 
Addendum #2: Checking the newspaper website lately, it seems the new owners are being neglectful, unless there's an excuse of dealing with the transition from the Forum. A lot of sports on the site during the Forum days appeared to be piggy-backed from the Willmar paper (also Forum-owned) but at least it was there. The new owners may be seeing the end of their honeymoon. There was joy at the initial announcement. IMHO as I page through the new product, I can't really sense an improvement in content. If I'm at the grocery store I'm not sure I'd want to spend $1.50 for it. Anfinsons will need to sense there are good business results in the offing here. Apparently the Forum did not. Some of us diss the Forum as being distant and uncaring. Maybe we'll have to re-think some of that. The Anfinsons may have to do more than maintain the status quo, profit and circulation-wise - they'll need to push things upward. The headwinds here might have to do with the state of the Morris community itself. Are things really looking up here? Well, I think the answer may well be no. I can write about Tiger athletics without concern of making a profit at all. Maybe that says something about our new media landscape.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Deja vu with Morris vs. Hancock coverage

The change at the local newspaper is causing a ghost or two to arise before me. A friend, commenting on the September 24 edition, said the emphasis on Hancock reminded him of my work long ago. "Reminiscent of the late '80s/early '90s," he wrote.
I still have my sweatshirt with these words: "Hancock's at state in '88." It was the Hancock girls basketball team reaching that pinnacle. Somebody had better make sure that history is preserved.
The Owls went through an incredible chapter of success with a particular coach, a coach who abruptly had to leave the scene due to - ahem - legal problems. It ended with prison. But along the way the Hancock community sure enjoyed salad days. How those Owls ran and pressed.
The standard thing to say whenever student athletes do well is that they're "talented." We don't wish to take anything away from their accomplishments. Still, I'm sure when it came to the private feelings of school administrators in this part of the state, they knew something else was going on. The very shrewd coach of Hancock had a "formula" for maximizing success.
The problem was that it led to an "ugly" form of basketball, one accenting steals, fast-breaks etc. His program could have been inserted anywhere and with basically the same results. It did call for a pretty substantial commitment by the players. The Hancock student-athletes decided to be responsive to it. Good for them, except I'd argue that they and their parents did not adequately weigh the very limited, let's say negligible, value of this time-consuming activity for future life.
The immediate glory of winning got them mesmerized as it were, and it's hard to blame them. You only live once. Go for it. And the Hancock girls ended up "going for it" at places like the Met Sports Center and Williams Arena.
The Morris girls hoops program was quite pedestrian at the same time. "Pedestrian" might suggest average. Really we were below average. And for me to say that out and around, left Morris people in a mood to want to burn me in effigy on main street. Imagine the howling mob bearing torches like in "Frankenstein." Really it almost seemed that bad.

The juxtaposition today
So, my friend was looking at an early edition of the Anfinson regime in the local print media. At the time I really hadn't done an analysis myself. Then on Sunday morning at church - I'm one of those "liberal" ELCAers - I glanced at the sports section. My goodness, a huge banner headline about the Owl football team! And in contrast, there's a mere one-column headline about the Tigers who had beaten ACGC.
BTW my post on the ACGC game was put up on the afternoon after the game. These days I appear to be beating the local commercial media in getting lots of sports journalism put out. My ACGC game review is on my "Morris of Course" site. For a long time this was a secondary or "backup" site for my journalism. Unfortunately, since Mom has been gone for the last 1 1/2 years, I have more time and get more rest and thus I can write a little more often. Mom was almost certainly the reason I became a writer - she forced me to read aloud from books that were a year above my normal reading level.
My review of the ACGC game can be viewed with the permalink below:

http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2019/09/maca-football-gets-third-win-33-13-at.html

 

I posted on the Homecoming game vs. Kimball on my original site, the one you're on now. It is a pleasure as always for me to be doing this. I do not consider this "work." Nevertheless the Morrisons were willing to pay me through the years. I gained the financial resources to be able to make contributions to the U of M Foundation, like the Morrisons, on behalf of both my Mom and I. I hope there's a valuable legacy there. (When in Morris, do as the Morrisons do.)
My friend reminded me of times he'd hear about an alleged bias on my part favoring Hancock, land of the Owls. I responded and told him of a particular dimension to keep in mind, a dimension outside of mere winning. To elaborate: A critic of mine back in the day claimed I wanted to "ride a winner's bandwagon." Silly rabbit, cliches are often misleading. When Morris loses and Hancock wins, and when the discrepancy is substantial, we have a situation where Hancock's season lasts much longer.
We always had a sports section to fill. We were twice a week back then. Heck, our overall product had to be at least twice as much as today.
So I'd often fill the sports with whatever teams were simply "alive" in competition. If Morris had fallen by the wayside, well that was too bad. "Some gotta win, some gotta lose." Was that the name of a song?
I write about sports without ever having dealt with the on-field pressure myself. So, I never got concussions.
It's too bad if local people allege a certain fault with the Morris paper and then say it reminds them of me! Hancock had its own paper in "the old days" and I actually did a lot of work for that paper. Jim Morrison owned it. I worked closely with Katie Erdman. It appears Katie had to parachute from the Morris paper in its Forum incarnation. She landed in Elbow Lake and now she's back here - wonderful resolution of it all. I have sent her two emails in the spirit of "welcome back" and she did not answer. No point in answering a has-been, I guess.
The Morris paper has to be in a challenged financial atmosphere. So I probably should feel thankful I'm not part of it. A layoff or two could be in the cards, merely as an act of business necessity. Newspapers are in rough waters now.
I could write a book about my background. At present I love sharing journalism the best I can, as a 64-year-old who never tires of school activities. Today the Morris girls teams, unlike pre-1987, can hold heads high in terms of competitiveness.
The days when so many generous headlines had to go to Hancock are over. Or are they? Just consult the recent Morris papers. The ghosts may be hovering. We're into the month of Halloween.
So, I could write a book? Sometimes I joke with friends that the title of my biography would be "Add Dreams of Glory," a line from Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" book of 1970. I cut my teeth during Watergate, when reporters were made to feel like they could attain glory. It was not a healthy yearning, most practitioners of the craft would argue today.
Update: Just looked at the new, Oct. 1 issue of the Morris paper, and there appears to be no relief from the Hancock vs. Morris positioning in sports. Hancock gets disproportionate emphasis. So, no phone complaints after the previous week? Are people apathetic? Too bad Hancock doesn't still have the "Record." Too bad I don't still labor hard every week filling two pages of sports for it.
 
Addendum: The headline for this post uses the term "deja vu." Isn't it amazing how the expression "deja vu all over again" which was an obvious joke, has increasingly come to be used by people who don't realize it's a joke! Hear it enough and you might think it's legitimate. In case you need a heads-up, it's a joke because it's a pure redundancy.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesots - bwilly73@yahoo.com

No problem covering this team: 1960 Morris High School basketball, coached by Truman Carlson!