Hey Ruth Ann!

How did you do on opening day, Ruth Ann? All we have is this three-year-old photo. Anything new to report? -- Trailboss@swpub.com

Something to feed your alumni pride. . .

Girl Golfers are Section Champions
The Cardinals Girls Golf team fired a season best 334 at Detroit Lakes, Sartell, and Fergus Falls Tuesday at Thumper Pond Golf Course to walk away with the Section 8AA title by 32 shots, beating Detroit Lakes by 29 yesterday on the second day of the 2-day tourney.

After leading by just 3 the first day, 359-362, the Cards set their minds to it and played their best golf of the season to shoot a 334. This is the best 4-player score ever shot by any team at the Thumper Pond Golf Course in a Section 8AA meet. Detroit Lakes came out with a 363, Sartell 368 and Fergus Falls 395.

Final Teams Standings: Alexandria 693, Detroit Lakes 725, Sartell 741, Fergus Falls 785.

We will play a practice round at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids on Monday, attend the Pre-Tournament Banquet on Monday night and play the tournament Tuesday and Wednesday.

Girls Softball -- State????
Alex wins North Subsection

Alexandria 7, Brainerd 3
The Alex Cardinals won the North Sub Section Softball Tournament defeating Brainerd 7-3 in 9 innings at Brainerd. The game was exciting from start to finish. The Cards scored the first run of the game in the 2nd inning with two out Ally Teclaw hit a triple and scored on Dani Bany's single to center.

Alex added another run in the 4th when with two out Bany walked and was pinch run for by Kate Gearman. Jordan Taveirne then knocked in Gearman with a long double. Brainerd came back in the bottom of the 4th with 3 runs on five hits to take the lead 3-2. Alex would not give up as they answered with a run of their own in the top of the 6th. Bany and Taveirne singled to put runners on first and second.

Brenna Burgau then singled over the 3rd base bag scoring Gearman who was pinch running for Bany to tie the score. Dani Bany got out of a bases loaded jam in the 8th. Alex broke it open in the 9th with a single by Dale and Bartholomew to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Ashley Holmes hit a grounder to third but the Brainerd girl could not handle it which allowed Bartholomew to score from 2nd to put Alex ahead for good.

Teclaw hit a double to score Dale. Then Dani Bany put the exclamation point on the game when she hit a two run single down the right field line scoring two more runs. Alex pounded out 13 hits to Brainerds 8. This win puts Alex in the Section 8 Final at 5:00 on Thursday against Annandale.

The following day the games will be played in Alex at a time yet to be determined. It is the best out of three. If the Cardinals win this short series they will go to State. The Cards are 17-6 on the year.

What's Up with Alexandria weather?

Paula Hanson wants to know.

Stan,
Just a short note to say "thanks" to all of our classmates that sent me
information regarding donating furniture etc. from my Dad's storage.
All of the information was very helpful and we were able to give away almost everything, with only a small load having to go to the dump. We spent last Saturday in Alex sorting things and moving them.

What is up with the weather in Alex? It was a high of 45 degrees on Saturday with a strong wind. We thought if we waited until the end of May it might actually be warm, but we were wrong.

FYI my Dad is now living at Knute Nelson Home and doing well.
Thanks Again,
Paula Hanson

(By the way, the dramatic photo above wasn't taken any where near Alex. It was sent to the blog by Jeanne Pearson, I think, after Katrina blew through the heartland. TB)

Tragedy takes classmate

Larry Sass suffered a heart attack, fell off a roof and died, according to a classmate who sent a link to this obituary in the Strib, which was published May 23, 2007:
Sass, Larry age 59, of Long Lake. Preceded in death by his father, Robert. Survived by loving wife, Mary Anne; children, Erin (Jeff) Byboth, Carrie and Joe; sister, Nancy (Steve) Emery; brother, Randy; mother, LaVonna (Bonnie); grandson, Jackson Byboth, and many loving relatives and friends.
Funeral service Friday, 10 AM at St. George Catholic Church, 133 S. Brown Rd., Long Lake. Visitation Thursday, 5-8 PM at Rettinger Funeral Home, Long Lake, & also 1 hr. prior to service at church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family. Rettinger Funeral Home Long Lake.
Anyone with more information about Larry and his life after high school is invited to share it with the trailboss@swpub.com.
He added much to the richness and character of our class. His crew cut shock of red hair, high energy level and pugnacity made him an unforgettable member of our class. We note his passing with sadness.

Doxies on Parade in Los Altos

Hi,
This is from last Saturday's Pet Parade which has been a tradition in Los Altos for 60 years. Our group, Dachshund Delegation, has marched for the last three years and it's so much fun to see the reaction to all these doxies prancing down the street - the dogs have more fun that we do!!
Sara

Oh, Fer Cute!

Lynn Dietz Jorgenson's Grandkids (well 2 of them anyway) Benjamin and Mitchie.

Woodsman, woodsman. . .

This photo arrived in the trailboss mailbox today with no information except something about somebody claiming to be a lumberjack. Yes, it is Obert, doing his impression of Paul Bunyan. Can you help the trailboss write a caption?

Money, fame and prizes?

This came today, another shameless pitch, from Tom Obert and Paul Donley:

Subject: Education Foundation
The die has been cast, the gauntlet has been dropped, the challenge has been issued . . . class warfare has begun!

The classes of '67 (probably the most numerically involved class locally), '77 (which includes national luminaries Tom Lehman, John Hammergren, and John Hawkes), and other "7's," no doubt, are having class reunions this summer. The Alexandria Area Education Foundation will take these opportunities to request donations from these alumni. We hope all alumni will become members of the 206 Club (a $206.00 contribution for School District 206).

We also hope that other classes scheduling local events, such as the class of '65 golf tourney, will take those opportunities to make donations to the EFoundation. With the goal to raise $1 million in five years, may the best class win!

p.s. On October 5, Homecoming, we will have the first annual Alexandria alumni, staff or faculty Hall of Fame dinner at Garden Center. (And yes, that is the book written by John C. Obert.)

p.p.s. As an older person, I forgot to mention that alumni may want to make a donation in honor of a favorite teacher - and challenge others to do the same!

Tom

Note from the trailboss:

As another older person, I am befuddled by the artwork Mr. Obert offered with his email and shown above. This still life looks cool and erudite, signifying educational pursuits, and that's the book by his liberal father. Now, can I actually win that telescope in a raffle or something or is that just the same one Tom uses to scope Lake Darling seeking out the prurient pleasures of old men?

Obert replies:

Thank you for publishing the EFoundation's shameless, though necessary, request for $$$$$$. The photo was the cub reporter's feeble attempt at something artsy-fartsy. It is suppose to represent the need for $$$$$ for education (book and telescope). Regarding my prurient interests, that telescope was too small to see all the way across Lake Darling - so a much larger one is on order.

Cub

Take me to your leader

Look closely and you can see a grizzled alien in this cattail mob beside a county road near Maple Lake. Look out. They are heading downtown!
Hey, wait a minute. Is that just Robert Helie with his staff?

In memory of Peggy's boy

These spring flowers are here to honor William “Bill” Fiebranz. His body was recovered from the Mississippi River near Clearwater recently. The 38-year-old Blaine man, who has close ties to the Alexandria area, had been missing since March 29 when he failed to come home from his nationally acclaimed tackle shop in Fridley.

Bill was the son of the late Peggy Watters, who was a member of the Alexandria Jefferson High Class of 1965.

A paraplegic, Fiebranz’s wheelchair was found about 100 yards from his truck, partially sub-merged about 15 feet from shore.
Fiebranz was born and raised in Alexandria and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1987. He has several friends and family members in the area, including a grandmother, Lorna Fiebranz, and a sister, Kathy Niblett, who both live in Alexandria.
(Information from the EchoPress)

No. 7

Alexandria Golf Course, site of the 2007 Sevey Open

Lake Darling in the background.

Sara Sevey is putting together another golf outing in mid-August. Contact her at ssevey@yahoo.com for info. The Alex Golf Course has put aside August 26th (Sunday) for us with a 1:00ish shotgun tee time. Thanks to Tom Obert being a member, our greens fee including cart will be $58.58, which is a bargain. Please let others know about this and encourage them to let Sara know if they're playing with us. This will include non'65ers as this is a non-reunion year and open to all.

(Photo by Tom Obert, this morning, after carding par here.

His photography is getting as good as his golf.)

Working the roses at 60 -- self portrait

Lorlee Bartos tended her Dallas rose bushes last night after a birthday at work and took this digital photo, per instructions from the trailboss.

Sixty years. The roses look good and so does Lorlee.

Proof of participation and success

A smartass classmate (not Tom Obert this time) has emailed the trailboss to say "That's all very nice, your fishing trip to Canada, but we don't see you catching any fish. What's the point if you don't deliver?" Well, you don't see me with pictures of fish because I was taking pictures. But thanks to an email from a friend, here's proof that the trailboss did his part in providing nutrition as well as imagery to the party.

So top this you fish people! Opening day. Mother's Day, whatever. For example, Ruth Ann Helie, isn't it about time you landed supper? Send the big one to traiboss@swpub.com

Trailboss photo shoot in Canada

The trailboss just got back from a spring fishing trip to Canada and brought back these images. The weather was mild and the ice was out, pretty much, about 50 miles by float plane north of International Falls this weekend.

I am not sure what the red and black buds are. Alexandria Cardinals? Perhaps you know. They grow on bushes everywhere about now. Click on the images to enlarge them.

We fished trout from the rocky shore, after dropping off our cisco rigs in about 20 feet of water. It is a casual form of fishing, you wrap your line around a beer can and wait for it to tip over. When that happens you have a few minutes to set the hook. Plenty of fish, limits for everyone.

Relax everybody. Spring is here again. We've all seen 60 so far. Now they just seem to get sweeter.