Wright/Cromwell news

I was fortunate enough to attend the memorial service for former pastor Ed Nieman at Faith Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids Friday, Aug. 12. The service was beautiful, the church even more beautiful. Ed and Gayle’s daughters, Jenifer and Rhea, presented a PowerPoint tribute highlighting their years with their dad as children and his many volunteer projects during his years in the ministry and after retiring. What a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, pastor, and friend to so many.

Our sympathies to the family of Marvin “Marv” C. Aho, 81, of Forest Lake, formerly of Wright, who passed away peacefully with special friend Yvonne Swanson by his side on Aug. 9. A memorial service was held Aug. 13 at the Forest Lake VFW.

Our sympathies go out to the family of Willard Lindholm of Cromwell, who died Aug. 10. Visitation is 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. Celebration of Life Saturday, Aug. 20 at Cromwell Wright Evangelical Free Church in Wright, followed by a luncheon. Memorials to the DAV are preferred.

Beanie Randa and Jennie K. Hanson were re-elected to the Farmers Co-op board of directors at their recent meeting. In other business, Tim Bury gave an update on how the store has been doing the past year. He has tried to reduce expenses while keeping costs to customers as low as he can and still stay in business. Sales were down $8,000 for the fiscal year. The roof replacement is paid off. Used our line of credit to replace the propane furnace. The state health department inspected the well and discovered it needs a new well cap to keep the well in sanitary shape. The contract for deed was satisfied on the old feed mill in February. The store got a $1,000 grant from Aitkin County Growth with the funds coming from Talon Metals. Property taxes have gone up. Next summer the county roads will be paved, and Tim will investigate getting the parking lot paved when the pavers are in the area. The county replaced the culvert on the north driveway and did a great job, even replacing the Class 5 gravel that had washed away. Reese Hansen asked if the extended hours in the summer are worth it, and, yes, they really help in the months of June, July and August. A new “bait” sign was purchased by Doreen Warner and Shelley Wood and put up by the highway. Also, Stacey Goodrich has been posting store sales on Facebook with cute sayings and such. The white board in the entry, donated by Shelley Wood, draws attention to specials and more. Tom Hansen replaced the yard light with very bright LED bulbs at no cost to the store. All improvements, even small, can make a difference! We are fortunate to have a grocery store in the area and the board, employees, and manager thank everyone who patronizes it!

Last chance to volunteer at the Little Red School and visit with folks at the Carlton County Fair Aug. 18-21. Please call me at 218-357-2385 or 808-366-6582, or email me at [email protected] if you are willing to help. The shifts are usually for two hours. I do have a few openings, so please help me out!

Alpha Delta Kappa will hold a freewill-donation rummage sale 8:30 a.m.-

2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19 at 3840 County Road 138 in Barnum. ADK supports the Little Red Bookshelf, Tales for Tots, and scholarships for seniors at Willow River, Moose Lake, Barnum and Cromwell.

There will be a blood drive at Bethany in Cromwell on Aug. 24. Call Wanda Karppinen, 218-644-3542, to register.

The next Young Old Timers dance will be at the Cromwell Pavilion 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25 with music by Florian Chmielewski. All area folks are welcome to attend.

Ray and Alice Gurske of Tamarack Lake will be having a total estate auction Saturday, Aug. 27, with Janzen Auctions conducting the sale. Check the Janzen website for more information.

That’s all the news from The Edge of Wright. Have a great week and hope to see you at the fair!