Clontarf MN: we pass by but need to appreciate

(lakesnwoods image)

I wonder why Benson became a more vital town than Clontarf. Clontarf is one of those places on the map that we really don't associate with anything. Some might toss out the term "wide place in the road." In an earlier time, "whistle stop" might describe (a town where a train wouldn't actually stop, it would "blow its whistle").
Those of us who travel between Morris and Willmar, or Hancock and Benson, are well familiar with the town name. It's just a point of reference, a sign you're between Hancock and Benson.
Approaching Benson, we know we're getting close to a convenient Dairy Queen!
Benson seems a comparable town to Morris. Benson and Morris were prime sports rivals in my youth. I no longer believe in investing emotions in sports at any level. We leave a wreckage behind us of dashed dreams. Does winning really make us happier? It's illusory. When I was a kid, I heard out and about that Benson had a disproportionately high percentage of "druggies." Truth or mere urban legend? I don't know. I do know that Morris was hardly free of that problem. Talk about leaving emotional wreckage behind you.
As the years passed, I got the impression that Benson was one of those towns beset with petty political conflicts and controversies. The funeral home and radio station were at each other's throats there once. A script from Andy Griffith to be sure. And then we head east toward Willmar, the "big town."
Benson and Morris have had a partnership in hockey. It never made sense to me: there is no natural sense of affinity between the towns, the distance in between is rather great (about 26 miles), and the program's name of "MBA" is sterile and doesn't immediately convey where on the map it is, similar to BOLD and MACCRAY. All these programs should be named after a specific town - the other towns can be content being along for the ride. Get over it.
I won the Benson Kid Day 10-kilometer footrace in 1985. I hope the historical annals there have this preserved. It was the best race I ever ran.
Benson is where I saw my orthodontist in the 1960s: Dr. Albani, an agreeable and light-hearted person. He made sure I got a "retainer" after the braces were taken off. I went through all that in my junior high years. A photo of me from then is a perfect candidate for the "Get Mortified" website where people share stories and photos from those clumsy adolescent years. "Your hair is a mess," Randy Thraen said to me. I capitulated to adolescence. I should have started combing my hair straight back at a younger age. So much hindsight now that I'm in my 60s.
The last motorcoach tour taken by my mom was with Riley's which is located on the same highway en route to Willmar. Dad and I picked her up and she started telling us about all the excitement, and included in all this was a reference to one of her trip-mates: "Dr. Albani." She didn't know our old connection. That Alaska trip ended just weeks before the 9-11 attacks. Part of her trip included air travel. Based on all the stuff that transpired with terrorists, it seemed a good time to bring my mother's travels to a close. She had been to many places with both Riley's and Utopia Tours.
Clontarf has a far more interesting history than you'd suspect upon passing through. There was a time way back when, when families arrived daily to settle around Clontarf, brought there by James J. Hill's trains. The Clontarf "colony" had the Catholic Church as its pulse. The first priest was Father Anatole Oster. He named the parish "St. Malachy" for an Irish saint. Let's review how Clontarf itself got its name: early arrivals coined this based on the site of the 11th Century victory of Irish King Brian Boru over Viking invaders. I'm happy to see a "Brian" do well but I'm chagrined about the Vikings being vanquished, since I have Norwegian lineage.
Clontarf quickly grew into a vibrant village. There was an influx of Irish immigrants. The colony grew so much, Clontarf Township split. The settlers faced challenges and adversity. Grasshoppers might invade! The lighter soil lent itself to hay and grasses. Feed and bedding were needed for animals in the horse-powered society of the time. Clontarf hay was used by the Chicago Fire Department!
The industrial school of Clontarf was a significant chapter. Established with quite fine ideals, it couldn't get going. Then there was the experiment with educating Indian children just like here in Morris - an uphill challenge. Intentions were good but obstacles great. Many of the Indians stayed at the school only one term. Few showed any interest in learning the industrial arts.
Back in the early '80s I heard that a Morris school faculty member was planning his wedding anniversary celebration at the Clontarf Club. I had always seen a road sign or billboard identifying that establishment. Intrigued, I showed up for the party and photographed Dave Holman, his wife Darlene and family for a photo that appeared in the Morris paper. Neat! I began a personal trend of attending the Holmans' anniversary gatherings. Sadly, Darlene Holman has left us. Dave can be seen at McDonald's on many mornings.
The passage of time waits for no one. History has its ups and downs with drama. How fine if I could re-create the "glory" of winning the Benson Kid Day 10K! Many towns have scaled back and now only have a 5K. I haven't kept track of Benson. For many years I covered the Benson-Hancock American Legion baseball team for the Hancock Record. Today there is no Hancock Record. I hope my contributions to this area's history are noted and appreciated.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Tommy "Fatty" Wood, the silent film actor from Brainerd

Silent movies have a surreal quality about them. It's as if we're stepping into a mysterious world. But it's just a case of cinema being in its infancy. Minnesota had a connection to those early heady days of cinema. My mother told me about "Fatty" Wood when I was a child. "Fatty" was born in Eau Claire WI but he was for all practical purposes a native of Brainerd.
My mom Martha H. Williams, now age 93, was a 1942 graduate of Brainerd High School. She is most proud of her roots, her connections to that old railroad town. I recently put up a post (on my "I Love Morris" blog site) about Brainerd for which I did some cursory research about actor Wood. It was hard finding a whole lot of information at the start. Since then I dug and was able to do better. I'm intrigued buy this long-ago actor from Central Minnesota who appeared with the likes of Charlie Chaplin.
Those were the days before "synchronized sound" in the movies. But those movies were surely not "silent." They were accompanied by music performed right in the theater. I think we have all wondered how the public could really have been entertained by what seems to be such a crude product. Read cinema history and you'll see that the artistic community took this genre of entertainment seriously.
Chaplin is iconic in movie history annals. Right here I'll give you a chance to see Fatty with Charlie in an old movie - it's "Sunnyside." Just look for the very rotund gentleman - it's "Fatty." You may click on this YouTube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZSza0MhLHY&t=824s
 
Fatty was born on May 6 of 1894 and died too young at age 38 on December 27, 1932. I'm assuming that his tremendous weight left him vulnerable to illness and death. He got a cold and died of pneumonia. He's buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd, same cemetery as my grandparents on my mother's side.
Brainerd celebrated its Centennial in 1971. My family was there and enjoyed it all, including the showing of a Fatty Wood film that was made in and around Brainerd. I heard this was a rare showing, rare because the film was old and delicate. Today of course such stuff would be digitized ASAP. I'm assuming that task has been done. However I could not find any of the Brainerd-centered material on YouTube. I'm going to contact the Crow Wing County Historical Society about this.
The full name of the actor we're featuring here is Tommy "Fatty" Wood. Old press accounts sometimes made the mistake of having his name appear as "Woods." He was featured in the role of "Farmer Corntassel" in footage that highlights Brainerd and Crow Wing County. The story is a comedy, described as "side-splitting" in a 1915 Brainerd Daily Dispatch account.
The movie begins with Farmer Corntassel meeting several well-known state officials at the Brainerd train depot. Fatty then goes to First National Bank where he meets a stranger who turns out to be a pickpocket! He gets past that encounter and then gets taken for an automobile ride around Brainerd. He visits various merchants until we again see the pickpocket. At first the thief appears to succeed in lifting Fatty's "roll," as the newspaper reports, but justice prevails as the thief ends up in the city jail.

Tommy is easy to spot: the big guy.

There is considerable humor through the course of this. We get scenes of the mines at Crosby and Ironton. We see the hydraulic work at the Hillcrest mine. "Beautiful Bay Lake" enters the picture. The movie ends with "Farmer Corntassel" visiting the Echo Dairy Farm. It's truly a cinema gem as we are treated to the sight of students leaving the high school. Prominent buildings and business streets enter the picture.
My family went to a Brainerd movie theater to watch some of the old stuff in 1971 for the Centennial. (I remember that admission was with a button!) I have just a vague memory of the content so I'm not sure if we actually saw the Farmer Corntassel piece or some other work.
My mother concluded high school as WWII began raging. She was most attuned to what was going on with the Brainerd National Guard unit for WWII. That unit was tragically captured by the Japanese in the Philippines. The Guardsmen were forced on the Bataan Death March. Only half of those young men made it back home after the war. My mom played in the band for ceremonies both at the time of departure and the somber return.
Brainerd was a company town and my grandfather worked for the railroad. His first Social Security check at the very start of that program was en route to him when he died of a stroke. Imagine life without Social Security!
Fatty Wood helped make Brainerd a pioneer in harnessing the fledgling medium of movies. All the locally produced work was seen as an economic asset for the beautiful lakes area. Fatty reported in February of 1916 that his weight had reached 470 pounds and was still going up. In January of 1917, Wood and "A. Anderson" led the Brainerd marching team at the St. Paul Winter Carnival. We read that "the tailor had to splice two measuring tapes together for Wood." April of 1917 saw the actor's weight bulge up to 600 pounds! Oh my. He went to Chicago for a tryout with the Mutual Film Company.

We're not surprised that the rotund fellow was turned down for military service. At one point he had to be weighed on a freight scale. "They don't make uniforms his size," the newspaper joked. Rotund, yes, but his " 'mile of smiles' is to be seen on the screen," the Brainerd Dispatch reported.
Wood was hailed as "first Minnesota man in movies." He ended his association with Chaplin in 1919. It was reported that he intended to start his own company. He was multi-talented with music and the ukulele standing out.

Fatty was in Los Angeles when Chaplin's brother Syd contacted him to give him the cinema break. "I made up my mind to be a motion picture actor," Fatty is quoted saying. Charlie invited Fatty to his house to enjoy cocktails, cake and tea. It was there that the Chaplins arranged for Fatty to be in "Sunnyside." The next day saw Fatty on the filming lot, there to rub shoulders with some of Hollywood's biggest names like Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Fatty appeared to have a powerful presence. Too much so?

"Dim suspicion seized us," a newspaper account read, "that Tommy Wood of Brainerd MN and of Hollywood CA believed that Chaplin was a little piqued at the comedy powers of his heavyweight co-star." Tommy commented: "Those stars are all alike. They want to have the whole picture. Look at Edna Purviance, how long she has been with Charlie, and see how little she gets to do. Look at Bill Hart. He has a new leading woman in every picture. People in Los Angeles told me that was the way with stars and I found out that it's true." Thus we might better understand Wood's departure from Chaplin.
The Brained Daily Dispatch proclaimed in 1919 that "Tommy Wood is our biggest living advertisement of the Minnesota climate." Fatty's last reported cinema appearance was uncredited where he played a prospector in the classic "The Gold Rush" with Chaplin, a 1925 film.
The Brainerd newspaper reported the news of Fatty's death from pneumonia in December of 1932. His death came in Minneapolis. "The deceased weighed nearly 600 pounds at one time and gained considerable popularity throughout the country for his stage and musical endeavors." His parents preceded him in death. He was survived by two sisters. The Brainerd paper reported that funeral services were held at First Congregational Church with Rev. N.P. Olmstad officiating. I presume the church was in Brainerd.
Tommy once said "sometimes people think I'm Fatty Arbuckle. But most of them remember me in 'Sunnyside.' "
Indeed, Tommy "Fatty" Wood lived his life on the sunny side of the street.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Mike McFeely radio show (WDAY) calls out Taco Bell

(Grand Forks Herald image)

There's a saying about how you know you're getting old when you no longer know what time Taco Bell closes. It came to mind as I listened to the Mike McFeely radio show last week. McFeely vented about how he and others had encountered problems at Taco Bell, particularly one located close to the Moorhead State University campus. OK it's "Minnesota State University Moorhead" now. There was a time when it was "Moorhead State College."
McFeely has a three-hour morning show on WDAY Radio, from 9 a.m. to noon. He used to be heard in the afternoon on KFGO. He dares to be a political progressive on the radio dial. He has had an on-and-off association with Forum Communications in his career. Right now it's on because WDAY is owned by the Forum. I hate to give Forum Communications credit but these days I prefer WDAY over KFGO.
A political progressive on radio can tread rough water. Radio nationwide can be a big swamp where those of the tea party ilk can rule. These days with my new laptop I can listen to live stream radio with no issues regarding signal quality. What a fantastic new world we're in. Within a few days after getting the laptop (from a genial Tucker McCannon), I started to wonder if I even needed cable TV anymore. Right now I have a cable TV package through Mediacom that costs too much. I'd cancel now and go to Federated, except I hate the hassle of changing services.
I changed phone services and got a bill for a nominal amount from the previous provider about three months after I thought I was done with them. With Mediacom I'd have to return some equipment. A Mediacom employee who came to our house about a year ago said his company was "trying to get rid of those (cable) boxes." Federated informs me that if I switch to them, there would be no box needed. I'd only want the minimal cable TV package for about half of what I'm paying now. That modest package now includes MSNBC which is the only channel I'm interested in. As with McFeely, that channel has a progressive political stance.
 
Speaking of political stance
As for conservative TV, why has Fox News become so poisonous and toxic? It is blatant propaganda for Donald Trump and his following. About 35 percent of Americans will support Trump no matter what he does. Remember Trump's "joke" about how people would support him even if he shot someone in broad daylight? What kind of country are we living in now? I'm glad I'm not a parent who has to explain to my kids who Stormy Daniels is.
Advertisers have finally bailed on Laura Ingraham's Fox News program. I could see that coming because Ingraham has tendencies that are clearly in the bomb-throwing direction. When I was a kid, such incendiary and reactionary voices were marginalized. You'd see this stuff on obscure pamphlets that wacko types would pass out. Ingraham went over the edge on anti-gun control.
I feel sorry for the local people who tried to get answers from Jeff Backer and Torrey Westrom on gun control. Don't be naive about this: conservative Republicans are not going to see the light on this anytime soon. Heck, never. In response, did they really talk about pornography demeaning women?
 
Economy doesn't always serve us
McFeely's rants about Taco Bell, which many of us could greet with laughter, reflect a mounting frustration many of us feel with corporate America. Corporations are run by people in distant offices who are cold and detached, making judgments solely on maximizing profit. Profit is always important, but companies are run in a more customer-friendly way when the owners are the local people you see in church on Sunday. At a certain point they are made to realize they have to serve the people. Not like the Wells Fargo banking system that was eventually exposed to be something like a full-fledged criminal operation.
In Morris we have Bank of the West, about which my feelings aren't too much better. So Bank of the West now pays one percent interest on a five-year certificate of deposit. Remember that letter that Ralph Nader sent to the Federal Reserve chairman about how people across the U.S. living on fixed income needed more generous interest? Do we really need to turn to companies like Edward Jones just to get decent interest on savings? I don't want to go through the hassle of making that switch. My checking account at Bank of the West was started at the old (ancient) Citizens Bank. How quaint. Those were the days when local bank presidents were iconic local leaders. Today banks are run by local managers who do what they're instructed to do, just like the Morris newspaper of today. Or Thrifty White Drug.
Thrifty White deserted main street and downsized its service to the public. I used to get my bird feed there. Do you really prefer this new world we're in?

Taco Bell is owned by Yum! Brands which also owns Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut has a restaurant in Morris.
Listening to McFeely's rants made me feel a little better because I know I'm not alone - I'm not alone as a customer having gotten lousy service because of the company's drive to keep overhead low. In other words, they don't pay enough. I used to visit our Morris Pizza Hut restaurant 5-6 times a year, i.e. not a lot, and it was surprising how many lousy experiences I had. When finally there was the opportunity to supply customer feedback online, I "flamed" them. It's too bad because I like the atmosphere at Pizza Hut. It seems real relaxing. More than one server there was amused - I enjoyed this - by how I'd bring an old Civil War magazine to read while waiting for my order.
Pizza Hut must rely on orders to send out pizza. The dine-in clientele seems almost nonexistent at times. I get the impression that Morris people prefer the busier Pizza Ranch with its buffet. Frankly I prefer Pizza Hut if I can just get decent service. I don't like it when a waiter comes up to me and says "we're real busy tonight." Once a waitress came up after I'd waited too long and explained that "a couple employees didn't show up for work." McFeely talked about Taco Bell restaurants that would literally be closed because they couldn't find employees to work. It's discouraging.
There is a Taco Bell in Alexandria. I dined there once with Bev Lucken. The experience was OK. I guess Taco Bell has sort of a "bar rush" reputation. The bar rush is a rapidly fading American custom. I remember when Atlantic Avenue Restaurant in Morris (DeToy's now) was open 24 hours - yes it's true - and would attract stumbling drunks. That whole scene is so gone with the wind thanks to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which incidentally is no longer run by mothers, it's run by lawyers. I suppose we're better off.
I'll close here with a "plug" for the Mike McFeely radio show on WDAY, 9 a.m. to noon. He calls out the tea party types. I don't know why he left KFGO. Maybe he's an easier "sell" in the morning than in the prime afternoon hours. North Dakota is a red state. But Forum Communications is a quite Republican-oriented company. I'm glad they make allowances for McFeely.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Hancock boys flirted with state, were stopped just shy

Hancock's exciting ride in the 2018 post-season ended on March 16. What memories! Although the big climb ended shy of state, the Owls put together 25 wins over the course of the 2017-18 campaign. Noah Kannegiesser may have led the way but there were significant contributions from others. I didn't personally watch the team. I wish I could have.
The curtain came down in the March 16 game that had Mahnomen/Waubun as the opponent. The game was for the 6A title. This time the winning magic eluded the gallant HHS crew. The Owls were stopped in a 71-64 final at the Concordia-Moorhead fieldhouse.
Mahnomen-Waubun has the "Thunderbirds" nickname. They entered the game as somewhat less than a world beater, with a loss total over ten. But it was the Thunderbirds who got the advantage and thus the right to advance to state. The halftime situation was the T-birds up by four, but Hancock made things more than interesting in second half play. Coach Cory Bedel's Owls got the score tied 52-52 with 9:45 left. Then the Owls climbed further as they seized the lead at 59-54. The time remaining: 7:32. Alas, the Owl crew could score just five more points. The final horn sounded with the T-Birds up by seven.
The books are closed on the HHS boys' season with a won-lost record of 25-3. The T-Birds outscored the Owls by a dozen points over the final seven minutes. Hancock was seeking its first state tournament appearance since 2003. Kannegiesser scored a bushel full of points as is his habit. His total on this night: 32. So his career total was upped to 2,688.
The Owls hadn't lost a game in over a month. Coach Bedel had his team streak out to a 7-1 record at season's start. Then it got even better with a win streak of 12 games. Finally they fell to Dawson-Boyd on February 12. The jets got going again with a seven-game win skein that included three wins in post-season.
Bennett Nienhaus complemented Kannegiesser with offensive prowess in many games. He was No. 2 in scoring behind Kannegiesser in the March 16 game with 15 points. Connor Reese found the range to score nine points. Cole Reese scored seven and Peyton Rohloff one. Kannegiesser and Nienhaus each made three 3-point shots.
Mahnomen-Waubun was led by Treston Spalla who poured in 22 points. Other double figures scorers for the T-Birds were Dion Bower with 18 points and Jayden Heisler with 13. Parker Syverson and Jon Starkey each scored six points. The list wraps up with Logan Pazdernik (4) and Will Bly (2). Heisler and Bower each made three 3-point shots.
Amidst all the excitement of reaching such a high level in post-season, a notable individual honor was announced. Kannegiesser, the Owls' superstar guard, is one of ten finalists for the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association McDonald Award. He's the only Class A player to be so honored. He's on the prestigious list with lots of metro area players and Division I recruits. Without a doubt Kannegiesser belongs on the list - he led the state in scoring with his per-game average of 36 points. He scored over 1,000 points on a notable shooting percentage of 57.3.
The McDonald Award is named for coach Bob McDonald. This year's award is the first. Where can fans enjoy Kannegiesser's talents in the future? Glad you ask. He'll be scoring for those Comets of Concordia-St. Paul of Division II.
 
Owls 61, Ortonville 54
The Owls reached the Section 6A championship game with their success vs. the Trojans of Ortonville. This game might have been postponed in light of the terrible van accident that resulted in Hancock students seriously hurt. Coach Cory Bedel reported that the team discussed the matter and decided to move forward and play the game. They'd play it with the injured students in mind, feeling inspired by them and their strength to persevere.
Amidst an atmosphere of prayer for those kids, the Owls went out and won their game at the Concordia fieldhouse floor. Hancock led at halftime 29-22. But the Trojans were a quite undaunted unit and seized momentum for a time in the second half, good enough to wrest the lead away from the Owls and to lead by four with six minutes left. The Owls fought back to prevail in the end, 61-51, for their third win over Ortonville this season.
Coach Bedel recited the old wisdom about how it's hard to beat an opponent three times in a season. Ah, it's superstition, right? Well, I don't know. "The kids came down and hit some big shots," Bedel was quoted saying. The reward for the winning surge was the South Sub-Section championship. Upon savoring the win, everyone's thoughts turned back to the tragedy of the accident and how the kids are striving to recover. So many people talk about "prayers." IMHO I'm not sure the prayers accomplish much.
Kannegiesser poured in 36 points in the March 12 win. He was one of just five Owls putting in points. His reliable sidekick in the offensive scheme of things, Bennett Nienhaus, scored nine points. Cole Reese added eight points to the mix. Peyton Rohloff scored six and Daniel Milander two. Kannegiesser brought waves of cheers with his five 3-point shot successes. Nienhaus made three 3-pointers and Cole Reese made one.
Rohloff led in rebounds with nine while Connor Reese and Nienhaus each grabbed eight. Kannegiesser showed his unselfish play with seven assists. He was all over the court as shown by his five steals.
Ortonville had four double figures scorers led by Tyson Powell who scored 15 points. Then we have DaVonte Edwards with 12 points and Mitchell Meyer and Caden Wellnitz each with ten. Peter Treinen added seven points to the mix. Meyer made a 3-pointer.
 
Owls 69, Battle Lake 61 (OT)
The Owls' exciting ride included a come-from-behind victory that required overtime. The site was the big floor of our U of M-Morris. It's too bad more post-season games don't get played there (like in the old days). The Owls got the advantage in overtime over Battle Lake in a 69-61 final on March 10. Whew!
Kannegiesser's point output on this day was 35 with every point important as the Owls had to rally from an eight-point halftime deficit. The halftime score was 37-29 with the Owls in that worrisome hole. The Owl faithful had to cross fingers and keep the faith, for what would be a wild second half here in Morris.
Sure enough, the Owls had what it took to surge and win. They outscored Battle Lake 40-34 in the second half and overtime to win.
Kannegiesser's 35 points were followed by Connor Reese's nine. Bennett Nienhaus and Cole Reese each finished with eight points. Peyton Rohloff put in seven points and Daniel Milander had two. It was bombs away by Kannegiesser as he sank six 3-point shots. The Reese boys - Cole and Connor - each made one '3'. Rohloff led the Owls in rebounds with six. Kannegiesser and Cole Reese were tops in assists, each with four. Kannegiesser led in steals with four followed by Milander and Nienhaus each with three.
The Battle Lake scoring list had four in double figures: Nick VanErp led their charge with 19 points. Colton Kirschbaum put in 15. Isaiah Dorn had a point total of 14 and Bennet Cameron contributed ten. The list wraps up with Brady Scholten and his three points. VanErp built his total with three 3-pointers. Cameron made two shots from long range and Dorn made one.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Minnewaska boys fall to Breckenridge & Dahlgren

The Lakers' exciting ride is over. Fans relished the March Madness atmosphere. The Lakers played two games amidst that atmosphere and unfortunately, found winning elusive.
The road ended Thursday night. The 'Waska Lakers met Breckenridge in the state consolation semi-finals. The site was the Concordia-St. Paul court, home of the Comets.
Fans here in Morris might suggest that 'Waska was playing a little over their heads in state. After all, our MACA Tigers could taste victory in the second half of a post-season game versus the Lakers. Our Tigers were a pretty ordinary team. We saw that game slip away to a very opportunistic 'Waska team. Opportunism should be rewarded. 'Waska showed that magic again as they advanced further. Finally those Lakers could relish that state glow, and no one could suggest they didn't deserve it. But their luster dimmed as the state action got underway, first in a game vs. Caledonia in which the wheels came off in the second half.
The game against Breckenridge had a similar pattern: fading in the second half. The Cowboys of Breck presided over the Lakers 72-42 Thursday night. The Lakers end their season with a W/L of 21-9. Breck advances with 26-6 numbers. Breck was the prime district-level rival for our Tigers back in my younger years. We all remember the coach whose last name was Lipp. We remember that green color of the Breck team and crowd. It seemed we lost to them too often.
Breck led the Lakers 36-24 at halftime. The green team punched on the accelerator the rest of the way, outscoring 'Waska 36-18. Breckenridge plays Esko for fifth place in a game set to start a couple hours from when I'm writing this (Friday).
 
Dahlgren shows precise shooting eye
Derek Dahlgren was a big force for the green team on Thursday. Dahlgren made four 3-pointers. He led a real barrage of 3-pointer success by Breck, spread out among several players. Hunter Feigum made two shots from beyond the stripe. These Cowboys each made one long-ranger: Andrew Kram, Noah Christiansen, Max Johnson, Jace LeNoue and Copper Yaggie.
Dahlgren with his 3's led the Breck scoring list with 20 points. Christianson was close behind with 18. Feigum put in eight points. ("Feigum" was the name of my kindergarten teacher.)
Max Johnson scored six points and Dawson Peterson put in five. Several Cowboys finished with three points: Kram, Caden McGough, LeNoue and Yaggie. Sam Bakken added two points to the mix.  The list wraps up with Michael Randall scoring one.
For the Lakers, Jackson Johnsrud matched Dahlgren's output of 3-pointers, making four. Matt Gruber connected twice from three-point range, and Ryan Amundson made one '3'. Johnsrud and Gruber were the Lakers' double figures scorers with 15 and 10 points respectively. Jack Blevins put in five points. Garrett Jensen and Shawn Carsten each had an output of four. Ryan Amundson scored three points and Grant Jensen one.
Gruber led in rebounds with five. Christianson was the top assist producer with four. Four Lakers each had one steal: Johnsrud, Ryan Christianson, Luke Barkeim and Joe Piekarski.
Congrats to the Lakers on their super 2017-18 season! Enjoy spring. (My late father Ralph was a 1934 graduate of Glenwood High School. He was the youngest of five boys in the family.)
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Maybe most "evangelicals" are charlatans

Could Lee Greenwood write a song about this?

I once had to work within a few feet of an adulterous relationship. It was highly upsetting. We might comment on the current situation with Donald Trump, a man who has been recorded relishing sexual assault. A complete list of his shortcomings would be exhaustive. We all know something is crazy and embarrassing about the situation in the Beltway with Trump in charge.
The circus involving the porn star is near the top of the list now. Does our relative apathy show that we just don't respect what goes on in the nation's capital? If we really respected and cared about it, wouldn't there be a general public uprising to get things straightened out? It seems little more than an annoying distraction right now.
We hear that the Fed is heading toward higher interest rates partly because of the economic policies promoted by Trump. Maybe economic anxiety will prompt the kind of organic uprising that would seem to be needed. In the meantime we have adultery on the list. And again there is a high level of annoyance caused by the so-called "evangelicals." The media toss around that term so much. There seems to be some vagueness surrounding it. I go to a church with the word "evangelical" in the name of the synod, but surely we're not considered "evangelicals." The media would consider the ELCA to be bland and squishy. They shouldn't pretend that they speak for its members. The ELCA's members mostly see themselves as committed and relevant. Yes we don't push the anti-gay meme. We are in fact inclusive. Might we thus be derided by the Franklin Graham types?
The "evangelicals" are notorious for standing by the president, Donald Trump. They rationalize of course that they can overlook the sins of the man while feeling good about his policies. If you're a churchgoer, did you ever feel threatened by the policies of Barack Obama? Didn't you freely attend church and practice your faith? What's the difference now? Barack Obama was a wonderfully devoted, monogamous family man with two lovely daughters, who showed class and civility all the time. Do I have to contrast that with Donald Trump?
Trump will go down as the most famous adulterer of all time, dragging us all through the swamp with the headlines about his misadventures. Isn't the Bible important to "evangelicals?" Isn't it pretty simple to comprehend that sex out of wedlock is a sin? Doesn't the Bible tell us: "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."
So, God will judge. Can't Franklin Graham and his ilk internalize that? Evangelical Christians are supposed to hate sin. At present that crowd is giving Trump an approval rating of about 70 percent. Evangelical Christians hate sin but they also love Trump? That sounds impossible. If true it reeks of hypocrisy. The Bible speaks on that too in the Gospel of Matthew: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces."
Weren't religious zealots in our midst mindful of lofty principles when they called out Bill Clinton? James Dobson of Focus on the Family wrote in 1998: "As it turns out, character does matter. You can't run a family, let alone a country, without it."
We are approaching Easter, a time of year when Christian consciousness reaches a peak. In several years I have written a post at Easter time that is not ebullient about Christianity. Good Friday is troubling. Maybe Mel Gibson is responsible for that with the movie he made showing the horrible, miserable torture of Christ, torture so severe, no normal mortal person could survive it.
I don't recall that kind of imagery when I was young. I just remember being taught that Christ died for our sins. Today the sheer bleakness of Good Friday has taken over. I want no part of it. I'll entertain the idea that Christ died for our sins. That's fair enough although I've always had trouble really internalizing it. The "rising from the dead" thing would be so easy to fake or fabricate. People have political motives that can create all kinds of misdirection. If Jesus died to save us, does that mean that every human being who existed before Christ is in hell? They would not have had the opportunity to "accept Christ." Evangelicals or born-again Christians, i.e. the real zealots, however you describe them, say nothing short of accepting Christ will get you to heaven.
Heaven is the big incentive, the carrot on the stick, inducing us all to get out our checkbooks and contribute to our church. My old friend Glen Helberg advised me once that if I were to ever serve on a church board, "keep in mind it's all about money." I remember the Dick Gautier character in he original "Dick and Jane" movie (with Jane Fonda) who, in his pursuit of thieves, shouted "that's God's money." Gautier played a typical evangelical charlatan. Finally he breaks down and shouts "look, would you give me my goddam money?"
Really the so-called evangelical Christians are being played like a piano by that big shadowy special interest out there with deep pockets financially, that just wants to be left alone by government. Those people don't care about the common citizens who are struggling at all. They put on airs to cloak reality. They get the gullible "evangelicals" eating out of their hands. Like deer at a deer park.
The news story about Stormy Daniels will reach a head soon. Are we numb to revelations about Trump how? What have we become as a nation? Daniels is not only "the other woman" (among many such women), she's a porn actress. Does this give porn legitimacy in our contemporary society?
Daniels is dazzling in her appearance with her blond locks of hair and her smile. Wouldn't she make a nice First Lady? It appears she would take to the public eye more comfortably than Melania.
I don't have to think much about adultery to reject it. It's a matter of instinct with me. That's one reason my old times at the Morris Sun Tribune became unpleasant. I stuck with journalism despite all the slings and arrows because it's in my DNA to practice it. I got up in the morning euphoric about what I was to do. We had adultery and then we had a major employee theft scandal. Still I sat at the keyboard and felt inspired.
There is a feeling of whistling past the graveyard in America now. It's like we assume this whole tempest of the Trump presidency will pass. We'd like to assume that good will prevail over evil and we think Trump will "take a great fall" like Humpty Dumpty, or more realistically Richard Nixon. I have cautioned that we can assume nothing. Maybe this time evil will win. Trump fired Rex Tillerson when Tillerson was sitting on the pot. Where will it end?
And to those "evangelical" Christians I say: "Woe to you, blind guides."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

A blessing for Dad: "Operation Downfall" not needed

The late Ralph E. Williams, founder of UMM music, is at right, serving as lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater of WWII. He was my father. Wouldn't we love to know the names and hometowns of the other guys in photo! They sort of look like the guys from "McHale's Navy," don't they?

The world descended into insanity in the mid-20th Century. It's hard to fathom how the human race diminishes life to where so many can be killed for political objectives.
My late father survived his service in the Pacific Theater in World War II. The atomic bomb helped enable him to survive that smoking mess.
The grim reaper had his scythe out, ready to accept legions more war dead, had we not succeeded with the two big bombs. Speculation has always been wild about how the invasion of mainland Japan would have proceeded. We braced to accept so many more casualties. Was Japan a bottomless pit in that regard? Were the Japanese people so totally brainwashed, they were prepared to sacrifice everything? What goal could possibly have made this toll worthwhile? The explanation would be one word: insanity.
There is evidence that the U.S. was preparing for massive casualties, had we been forced to stick with conventional weapons. Our military ordered the production of half a million Purple Heart citations in 1945. Then the miracle happened: the atomic bombs that brought hostilities to a close, albeit with a terrible price for Japan. It was "The Empire of Japan" back then.

Lt. Ralph E. Williams, U.S. Navy

The U.S. military put this huge reserve of medals into storage. It has drawn from this stockpile ever since. We can assume they were passed out during Vietnam when the American public became less reverential toward war honors. Perhaps the medals were a means by which grieving families could be mollified or pacified some, making them less inclined to be skeptical about war aims? Certainly there was nothing passive about our young generation back around the year 1970.
We learn that as of 2012, there were still 100,000 Purple Hearts in U.S. inventory. They were leftovers from the invasion that would have been called "Operation Downfall." I presume the reference is to the downfall of the Japanese Empire. Still the name has a somber tone to it. "Jap" might have been substituted for Japan contemporaneously. I'm told there's a reason why we don't see re-runs of the sitcom "McHale's Navy" very often. The Navy men such as Tim Conway and Ernest Borgnine tossed around terms like "Nips" (for Nipponese, a degrading reference).
"Japs" and "Nips" were hostile and pejorative for a reason: it is important in war to dehumanize the enemy. Thus the enemy becomes easier to kill.
My mother, now age 93, grew up in Brainerd MN where the National Guard was sent to the Pacific Theater early-on. It was an immensely tragic story. Those Brainerd men were captured and imprisoned by the Japanese in the Philippines. I'm surprised we left our servicemen so vulnerable there. My mom Martha played with the high school band for ceremonies at the group's departure and the later somber return. A few years ago there was a visiting author at our Morris Public Library who'd written a book giving primary attention to the Brainerd group. The book as a whole was about the home front during WWII. He seemed particularly interested in what Brainerd experienced. It was one of the better attended author events at our library.
My father Ralph E. Williams joined the U.S. Navy and spent the next three years and eight months as a gunnery officer in the Pacific. He told about the war's immediate aftermath in a "Sunspots" feature compiled by Liz Morrison: 
 
In November, 1945, my ship stopped in Japan for a day. I took the electric train into Tokyo. For 20 miles, between the port and the city, there were no houses standing. But there were thousands of tepees made of corrugated tin, with a column of smoke rising from each one. I took a long walk through Tokyo in the dark. In every doorway, there were homeless families - mothers, fathers and children, sleeping in the entrances.
 

Drawing of Lt. Ralph Williams

My father told me various stories, always impressing on me the total humility exuded by the Japanese as he and the other officers observed, amidst all the rubble. Haunting memories to be sure for this Glenwood High School graduate of 1934 (the time of John Dillinger). My father came home and ended up as a founding faculty member at our University of Minnesota-Morris. He started the music department here and was the only music faculty the first year. Previously he taught at the U of M's St. Paul School of Agriculture.
Yours truly created the Ralph and Martha Williams Fund at UMM to ensure that the memory of Mom and Dad is always honored in the richest way possible. What better way than to invest in the future?

"Downfall" left on drawing board, thank the Lord
The Manhattan Project was responsible for preventing Operation Downfall from being deployed. "Manhattan" was so secret, few involved in the "Downfall" planning even knew it existed. Once word spread, planners initially thought the terrible bombs would be used as ground support in the invasion. The Pentagon planned for up to seven nuclear bombs to be available in the campaign. We dropped two of course, in lieu of any horrible land invasion. Those bombs fell nearly four months before the invasion was to begin.
The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki cost the lives of upward of 250,000 Japanese civilians. A protracted ground campaign would have killed millions. I can only ponder how my father might have been drawn in. Our military was bracing for resistance from a "fanatically hostile population." We were prepared to experience between 1.7 and 4 million casualties with up to 800,000 dead. For the "Japs," between five and ten million would die. Astonishing.
But instead we got the atomic bombs, dispatched on the orders of Harry Truman. The Japanese had their own term for the defense they would mount vs. Operation Downfall. It was "Ketsugo" ("decisive"). The outlook for the emperor was grim. Japan had six carriers left. The U.S. had major success at Midway but it was not a knockout punch, though it might have looked that way in the Charlton Heston movie.
The Japanese were ready to thrust its Kamakaze pilots at the invading Allies. The Kamakazes were responsible for the death of Stevens County native Floyd Lange. The estimate is that more than 10,000 such pilots were ready to be mobilized, mostly against troop transport ships. Was there any limit to the extent of casualties that the U.S. civilian population would accept?
The Empire of Japan knew it couldn't "win" but the hope was for war weariness to cause the Allies to negotiate an end to the hostilities. Just like Robert E. Lee and the Confederates with the Gettysburg campaign. It didn't work in the Civil War and it wouldn't work in 1945 for Japan. The U.S. indeed seemed ready to accept a staggering price for the invasion of Japan, an invasion that would have dwarfed D-Day.
What possessed the human race in the mid-20th Century? We failed to learn all the lessons we might, as shown with our subsequent disaster in Vietnam. Korea presented lots of questions too. But our military was so built up for World War II, was it liberally employed just for that reason? My generation was fanatic in opposing war in the '60s and early '70s. We wanted swords to be beaten into plowshares.
But we still had the ample stock of Purple Hearts left over from "what might have been": Operation Downfall. Thank the Lord it was left on the drawing board.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com