MAY 5, 2010 - INTER-COUNTY LEADER - NORTHERN CURRENTS, SECTION B - PAGE 9
Dust bowl I
grew up listening to our dad and mom telling stories about their experiences during the “Dirty Thirties.” Our dad lived in north central Nebraska on a small farm north of Valentine. Valentine is in Cherry County, which is known as the Sand Hills. Our mom was raised in Watertown, S.D. Dad told about harvesting buffalo “chips” from buffalo wallows, to burn for heat. He would “walk fence” to remove tumbleweed from the wire so the sand wouldn’t drift over, allowing the livestock to walk over the fence. He left a jacket hanging on a fence and when he returned to retrieve it, the locusts had eaten holes in the armpits, probably for the moisture. Mom has a picture of her and some friends standing under a lighted streetlight at noon, during a dust storm. The first time I read Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath,” I sat in the kitchen; I wanted to be close to food. I envisioned the poor folks from Oklahoma, starving. My parents experiences and Steinbeck’s book left an indelible impression. Every time I travel around the Dakotas, especially between Watertown, S.D. and Fargo, N.D., I am reminded of the dust bowl days. There are “shelter belts” in that area that stretch for miles. Shelter belts are rows of trees planted to stop the relentless wind from eroding the topsoil. They are arranged in large rectangles that vary from 40 acres to quarter sections. Almost every building site is also surrounded by a shelter belt. Last summer, I read George Will’s column, Dust Bowl revisited. The article recounts the tremendous erosion that occurred from 1932 to 1935. Will references Timothy Egan’s book “The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.” A couple of quotes from Egan’s book jumped out at me. From Will’s articles: “On May 10, 1934, a collection of dust storms moved over the Midwest carrying, Egan says, ‘three tons of dust for every American alive.’ It dumped 6,000 tons on Chicago that night.” I couldn’t find any data on the weight of dust, but dirt (which I believe is heavier) weighs variously 1-½ tons per cubic yard. This would mean the dust storm dumped the equivalent of 308 (13-yard) trucks full of dirt on Chicago. At first blush, you see people up to their hips in dust. Not! It would have been a heavy “dusting,” much less than the ash fallout from the Mount St. Helens eruption. Given the size of Chicago in 1934, they would have used brooms to clean it up. “Storms in March and April 1935 dumped 4.7 tons of dust per acre on western Kansas, denting the tops of cars.” No way! That’s about one-fourth of a dump truck load per acre! The bodies of 1935 automobiles were very rigid, if you stacked 3 feet of dirt on the roof it probably wouldn’t dent. What’s my point? It was hot and dry and too much soil was exposed for those conditions. The government asked the farmers to grow wheat and they did, but the drought overcame their efforts and the soil blew around. Those were very hard times compounded by drought, stock market collapse, the Depression and world war. I have enough anxiety; couldn’t Egan have just said “a lot of dirt blew around”? Unlike the folks from Oklahoma, just in case there is another dust bowl, I migrated to Wisconsin where God already made the shelter belts. My e-mail address is biedingerb@wildblue.net.
Engagement
Brooke Biedinger
Irregular
Columnist
Hofmann/Odden Gordon and Kathy Hofmann of Welch, Minn., and Greg and Cheryl Odden of Barronett are pleased to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their children, Heidi Hofmann and Nathan Odden. Heidi is a 2006 graduate of Cannon Falls High School and will graduate from Rochester Community Technical College in dental hygiene May 13. Nathan is a 2002 graduate of Cumberland High School. He received a dairy science/dairy herd management degree from Northeast Iowa Community College in 2005. He is employed as the Herdsman at Ringa-Lea Farm Inc. of Barronett. A wedding is planned for May 29 at First Lutheran Church of Cumberland. - submitted
Engagement
Nyren/Jensen Krista Nyren and Walter Jensen, both of Chisago City, Minn., are pleased to announce their engagement to be married on June 12, 2010, in Hayward. Krista has a master’s degree in social work and is presently employed at Regions Hospital, Minneapolis, Minn. Walter has a degree in finance and is presently employed at One Cut construction. Krista is the daughter of Darrel and Sue Nyren, Frederic, and Walter is the son of Bryan and Cindy Jensen, Grantsburg. The couple will make their home in Chisago City, Minn. - submitted
LAKESIDE GREENHOUSE, NURSERY & LANDSCAPING
BALSAM’S
HYDROSEEDING time is here! SPRING TREE SALE!
• Onion Sets • Sweet Corn • Bulk Seed Potatoes • Landscape Materials • Delivery Available Large Selection Of Shrubs, Perennials and Specialty Annuals Make Us Your Destination “Garden Shopping” Beautiful Mother’s Day Novelty Garden Gifts Hanging Baskets (Woven Design) New! Vintage Wine Rain Barrels Hours: Mondays Closed, Tues.-Sat. 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Sun . 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Location: 4 miles north of Balsam Lake on Hwy. 46, east on 200th Ave., 1/8 mile on the right.
715-825-2202 Business • 715-554-0618 Greg's Cell
511072 37L 27a,d
Quality Plants
SCRMC offers parents group May 6 ST. CROIX FALLS - Looking for tips and suggestions about caring for your little one during the first year of development? St. Croix Regional Medical Center offers you a new parenting group, Year One: Bringing Up Baby, for parents and their babies under 1 year of age. Held the first Thursday of the month from 6 to 7 p.m., the group’s leaders will address a new child-care/parenting topic of interest each session. Each evening offers a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere in which to learn and meet other parents who are in the same phase
of life. Topics include car seat safety, developmental stages, common childhood illnesses and vaccines, infant sign language and many more. An experienced health care provider may also be present to discuss the most current information on these topics as appropriate. The classes are free, but registration is appreciated. The sessions are facilitated by health educators Angela Chivers and Sarah Shaw, who both have small children of their own. To register or for questions, please call 715-483-0431 or email: sarah.shaw@scrmc.org. - from SCRMC
REGIONAL HOSPICE THANKS OUR 2010 SPRING FLING DONORS AAA Sports, Spooner Acorn Pantry, Siren Adventures, Siren Anne Heidemann, Wausau Arrow Building Center, Spooner Aston and Marlys Kilen, Cloquet, MN Austin Lake Greenhouse, Webster Auto Stop, Siren Avalon, Frederic Avion Accounting, Siren Ballet of the Dolls at the Ritz Theatre, Minneapolis, MN Bank of the West, Spooner Bargain Bill’s, Rice Lake Barron Electric, Barron Bear Paw Company, Rice Lake Benson Thompson Real Estate, Spooner Best Western Lodge, Siren Bill and Gloria Knutson, Spooner Black Iris Gallery, Spooner Bremer Bank, Frederic Burnett Co. Chapter #1819 Women of the Moose, Siren Burnett Dairy Cheese, Grantsburg Bush and Gilles, Spooner Cenex Station, Shell Lake Chieftain Wild Rice Co., Spooner Christa Kilen, Spooner Christman Meat Company, Spooner Community Bank of Northern Wisconsin, Spooner Crescent Lake Community Outreach, Danbury Daeffler’s Quality Meats, Frederic Dahl Funeral Home, Spooner Dairy Queen, Siren Dave’s Hardward Hank, Spooner Deb Lindau, Grantsburg Denelie’s Pizza, Spooner Dr. Brad Harlander, Frederic Dr. SteveTesch, Frederic Dreamers/St. Croix Bar and Grill, Grantsburg Edling-Taylor Funeral Home, Grantsburg Elaine Walker - Mary Kay Cosmetics, Spooner Ellery Vollrath, Danbury Frederic Golf Course, Frederic Gail and Harry Franklin, Spooner Gail Stencil, Luck Got Nails and Tanning, Siren Grand Casino Hinckley, Hinckley, MN Grantsburg Family Foods/Marketplace, Grantsburg Grantsburg Subway, Grantsburg Green Bay Packers, Green Bay Green Valley Dental, Spooner Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN Hazel Bohn, Frederic Hensons IGA, Minong Hi Ho Silver, Hayward Hole in the Wall Casino, Danbury Hopkins Sand and Gravel, Webster Illusion Theater, Minneapolis, MN Indianhead Credit Union, Spooner Indianhead Flower Shoppe, Spooner Inter-County Leader, Frederic Jacobson Advanced Eyecare, Frederic Jane Wilcox, Siren Jeanette Laqua, Siren Jeanne Laqua, White Bear Lake,MN Jerry and Bonnie VanDomelen, Gordon Jersey’s Sports Bar & Grill, Spooner Jim Perlick Construction, Shell Lake Joan Snell, Spooner Joe Muench, Hayward Johnson Bank, Spooner Johnson Lumber, Siren Judy and Bob Hodell, Trego Judy Anderson, Wausau Kathy and Jerry Hansen, Danbury Kozy Kitchen, Grantsburg 510513 37r,L
Kronlund Cranberries, Spooner Lake of the Torches Casino, Lac du Flambeau Larsen Auto Center, Spooner Lee and Martha Jacobs, Cameron Link Bros., Minong Lunkers Lodge, Webb Lake Lynnette Kasinskas, Gordon Madden’s Restaurant, Siren Main Street Cafe, Siren Making Memories, Siren Dr. Mark VanEtten, Sarona McNally Ind., LLC, Grantsburg McKenzie Landing, Spooner Merle and Carol Flaata, Minneapolis, MN M Tech - Jonathan Maslow, Grantsburg Nick’s Family Restaurant, Spooner North Wind Book and Fiber, Spooner Northern Golf and Outdoors/Paul Domke, Spooner Northwinds Bar and Resort, Spooner Olsen and Son Drug, Siren Pat Neeley, Spooner Peggy’s Fashion Rack, Siren Potter’s Shed, Shell Lake Pour House, Siren Ray Knutson, Spooner Rod Ernst, Grantsburg Schmitz’s Economart, Spooner Shared Medical Technical Inc., Rice Lake Shell Lake State Bank, Shell Lake Shell Lake Woodcrafters, Shell Lake Skinner Funeral Home, Shell Lake Spooner Auto Laundry, Spooner Spooner Bake Shoppe, Spooner Spooner Country Store, Spooner Spooner Dairy Queen, Spooner Spooner Eye Care, Spooner Spooner Golf Course, Spooner Spooner Ladies Golf League, Spooner Spooner Market and Grill, Spooner Spooner Mercantile, Spooner Spooner Outlet, Spooner St. Croix Casino and Hotel, Turtle Lake St. Dominic’s CCW, Frederic St. John the Baptist Catholic Women, Webster Stepping Stone Theatre, Minneapolis, MN Stokes, Prock & Mundt Cremation, Altoona Subway Frederic, Frederic Syren General Store, Siren T & T Tool Inc., Spooner Swedberg-Taylor Funeral Homes, Siren The Gallery, Siren The Lodge at Crooked Lake, Siren The Pizza Place, Grantsburg/Siren The Prime, Trego The Rose Garden, Frederic The Shack, Spooner Thistle Bee Candles, Spooner Tom Twining, Spooner Tony’s Riverside, Spooner Top O Wisconsin, Spooner Town of Bashaw, Shell Lake Town of Spooner, Spooner Track’s Restaurant, Spooner Trego Dinner Bell, Trego U.S. Bank, Grantsburg UW-Superior Athletics, Superior Vicki Amundson, Frederic Village Floral, Grantsburg Village of Minong, Minong Voyager Village, Danbury Walker Lumber, Minong Wal-Mart, Rice Lake Wayne’s Foods Plus, Webster Wilderness Lakes Real Estate, Spooner Wolverine Tire and Auto Care, Spooner