June 22, 2013 Rosenfeld News by Tina Wolfe

            It’s summer. And the mosquitoes are out in full welcoming force. I like to take my cup of coffee and do a walk-a-bout first thing every morning but now it’s more like a run-a-bout with many slaps, waving of the arms and stomping legs. I’m just as likely to wear the coffee as to drink it.

            Another critter which is making itself known is the cutworm. I have always thought that these pests were numerous when it was dry and here they are in the Red River clay chewing melon plants, beans and corn. And these plants are not small; the melons are blooming for goodness sakes.

            And isn’t it strange, the top three inches of garden is powder and when tilling its mud. But if we don’t get rain this weekend we won’t be tilling in the garden at all. The outside will get done but if we have a repeat of last year with no rain in July and August, we’ll need to conserve all the moisture there is. So far every shower that has been forecast has been going around Rosenfeld. Winkler and Morden got a good shot awhile back even causing flooding; it’s come as close as Altona but Rosenfeld received only a few drops.  And here’s an update on the rain situation; we received ¾ inch on June 23 which was slurped up as fast as it came down.

            As my readers may have noticed I missed writing a column last week. It was the Father’s Day fishing week where the three generations of males heads out into the wilderness and my car gets a workout. I make a point of trying to see as many friends as possible which causes me to miss many of the school events which, of course, results in no column.

Condolences

            Mary Jean Heinrichs of Altona, formerly of the Rosenfeld area, passed away Friday, June 7. The service for Jean was held on Tuesday, June 11 at the Altona Bergthaler Mennonite Church with internment at the Altona Cemetery. Jean, 75, was a very active member of both communities. As a member of the Rosenfeld Bergthaler Church she participated as Sunday School teacher, church council, leader of Adult Bible study and coordinator of DVBS for many summers. Upon moving to Altona she became involved at the MCC Thrift Store. She will be dearly missed by her husband Abe and her children: Leanne, Greg/Lorraine, Audrey/Brad and all the grandchildren. She leaves a big hole to fill for all the volunteer hours she worked in both communities. We send thoughts and prayers to Abe and their family.

School news

            The school was a hub of activity the last few weeks with field trips, Grade 6 grad, Kindergarten grad and the annual picnic. The weather has cooperated and not one of these was rained on. Only one more special day left to go and that’s the year end celebration on June 27 at 9:00 am and then schools out. Congratulations goes out to all grads whether Kindergarten, Grade 6, Grade 8 or Grade 12. These are all big transitions in a person’s life and may the wind be at your back.

            The Kindergarten class had a wonderful time on their field trip to Morning Sound Farm in Sanford on Tuesday, June 4. They learned a lot from Mr. and Mrs. Farmer who taught everyone about all the farm animals. Some of the students’ favorite memories from the field trip were holding baby chicks, milking a goat, the horse and the hayride. Written by Gladys Klassen.

            On Wednesday, June 5 the Grade 5 class went to Winkler for a tour of the Eagle 93.5 radio station and was treated to a lunch from Dairy Queen in Winkler and Morden. They had been selected as "Classroom of the Month", a contest that they entered through www.pembinavalleyonline.com.

            On June 12, 2013, the Grade Three’s and Four’s went on a field trip to Pembina Valley Bible Camp. There were four activities to do at the field trip. They were the climbing wall, outdoor education, arts & crafts, and a scavenger hunt. At arts & crafts we made bead geckos. It was fun because we got to pick out whichever colored beads we wanted and then name them. At the climbing wall, my favorite part was the zip line because you got strapped onto a long line. You had to run and jump off the edge of the wood and it would carry you through the air. Written by Kathleen Wiebe

            On Monday, June 19th 2013 the grade 5 & 6 went to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center of dinosaurs and we saw Bruce the biggest dinosaur in Canada. Bruce is actually a girl not a boy. Eric was our leader for the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center and we had Eric and Erin for our leaders for the digging at Mt. Nebo. We went to the digging sight. It was 20 minutes away from the Dinosaur Museum which is in Morden.  We went to the Museum for our 􀏐field trip. After that we went to Dairy Queen. Written by Leah Maier

            The Grade 5 class students held a Poetry Café on Thursday, June 20 at 9:30 am. I was very fortunate to receive two handmade invitations from two very cute young ladies and happy to be able to attend. We were seated at decorated tables with menus and the waiters and waitresses stood by to take our orders. The menu included an assortment of beverages and dainties. The poetry reading began shortly and every student gave a reason as to why they had chosen their particular piece; mostly because it made them laugh. I would like to thank Jackie Nickel and her Grade 5 class for this enjoyable hour.

Community announcement

            The annual Memorial Service will be held at the Rosenfeld Bergthaler Church on Sunday, June 30 at 10:00 am. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Thomas Wolfe was all smiles with his 333/4 inch jack caught at Pine Beach Lodge.

June 10

June 10, 2013 Rosenfeld News by Tina Wolfe

            Tuesday, June 11, 2013 and it’s a beautiful day in this neighbourhood. The sunrise was absolutely awesome as I was gazing over my queendom with a fresh cup of coffee in my hand. The flowerbeds have been worked with my handy-dandy twister and the lawn freshly mowed. Life is good. Today I’ll tackle the vegetable garden which is slowly drying but still too wet for tilling so it will be the good old fashioned hoe doing the job.

Garage sale chatter

            Well, Rosenfeld’s first community-wide garage sale on June 6 was a hit. Helen Kuhl provided her famous cinnamon buns at her sale and Trudy Wiebe and her children sold hotdogs and iced tea. They were pleasantly surprised by the quantity of product sold and Dave and I could have sold twice as many bikes and fishing rods. To host a sale is very tiring but I love meeting and chatting with the people. One lady bought a big stack of puzzles which she was taking back home to Nunavut. Yes, that’s right, way up north to the land of the midnight sun. I’ve been watching Canadian pickers and used some of their tactics when making deals with people. One of my favourite sales was when a lady bought the box full of 1960’s Melmac. The grandkids and I have played restaurant with those dishes many a time. Some of the pieces were not the ordinary Melmac but speckled and much thicker dishware including serving bowls and divided serving bowls. I was happy to see it go to someone who will enjoy it as much as I have. Two ladies from Gretna stated that it was one of the most diverse community sales that they had taken in and they had made many a purchase. Mother Nature was kind that day and gave us sunshine with very little wind. By all the feedback I’ve been getting, it appears that this will become an annual event.

Yo-yo entertainment

            Entertainment was provided to the Rosenfeld students by Mel Steinmeyer on Wednesday, June 5. He was very entertaining and oh’s and ah’s were heard when he did his yo-yo tricks.

            Our interactive shows are filled with humor, world class yo-yo tricks and even magic! Our Yo–Yo Professionals amaze, entertain, and motivate young and old alike, with a positive, upbeat and exciting program. Not only are our speakers great with the yo-yo, they are also successful and experienced communicators. They will take your students on an amazing journey as they use the yo-yo and other fun activities to communicate our “School is Cool” message. By the end of the show students will have done some math, learned how the brain works, heard the “School is Cool” message and be amazed at how many new things they learn at school every day. And best of all… there is no charge to your school! Information taken from their website www.yoyoempire.com

Spring concert

            The Rosenfeld School held their annual Spring Concert on Friday, June 7 and gave the attendees some very good entertainment. The Grade 1 class gave an action-packed version of poem entitled Springtime which was written by the class. The Crocodile’s Tooth by Boris Zakhoder was performed by the Grade 3 Reader’s Theater. It was about a crocodile that never brushed his teeth and cried crocodile tears when getting a toothache. Many a chuckle was heard during this performance. Then it was time for some singing and the Grade 1 – 3 choir took to the stage with a very cute song entitled Things I Learned from a Cow like moove over and moove ahead.  Showcasing further talent the students then provided a video made in school dealing with accepting differences. The Mass Choir’s finale, All God’s Creatures (Got a Place in the Choir) which had an arrangement by Denise Wohlgemut and lead by Cathy Schroeder, was an absolute hit. The program ended with closing comments by principal, Jason Pilkington, and a rousing Happy Birthday for Cathy Schroeder.

Going for a walk

            On a beautiful evening there’s nothing better than going for a walk or bike ride to end the day. Living in a small community a person greets everyone whether you know them or not so it was no surprise to see Gene Schellenberg taking his evening restitution. But this time he was not alone, one of his brothers was by his side. I hadn’t seen John in many years even though he and his family live in Steinbach so it definitely was time to catch up. It was great to hear some of the adventures his family have had and we shared some laughter. So thanks, Dr. John for making this a special bike ride.

June 4

June 4, 2013 Rosenfeld news by Tina Wolfe

            I hope everyone is having fun playing in the mud. I could say that we here in Rosenfeld are very fortunate that we didn’t get the four inches of rain that  Winkler and Morden received or the eight inches which Grand Forks received but in the end it’s still all mud. The weeds are taking over the garden and I guess if they’re growing so will all the other stuff. We’ve covered the tomatoes and peppers twice due to Jack Frost visits resulting in rubber boots the size of a country. As the readers can tell, I’m beginning to get grumpy concerning the weather.

            Even though the weather was cool and windy, Dave and I met friends of ours from Mitchell, Jim and Judith Schellenberg, in St. Pierre last Saturday to take in their town wide garage sale. This time I had a list of items to look for and I found all except one which will keep me searching. We enjoyed the day looking for treasure and St. Pierre residents had a great selection of stuff to choose from.

            This Thursday, June 6, Rosenfeld will host a village wide garage sale for the very first time. I hope that many treasure hunters come round, our garage is full to over flowing.

Show and tell

            The students at the Rosenfeld School have had many interesting items and critters come through their doors for Show and Tell. On Wednesday, May 29 the Penner Family brought a lamb to school, something that had not been at school before. The Elmer Penner family has begun a sheep operation and has been busy this spring with lambing and one followed Erna and Nettie to school with the help of mom, Neta and brother Johny. The staff was just as excited at the students and a few were overheard saying that they too would like to have a few lambs.

Spring concerts

            W. C. Miller Collegiate hosted the first concert which took place on Tuesday, May 28 at Buhler Hall in Gretna. From all reports it was an exceptional evening, going a full three hours. I have apologized profusely to my granddaughter Gabby for missing it. I have no legitimate excuse so I won’t try to make one up. The evening became a farewell to Mr. Dwayne Schott, the band instructor, who has down sized his work load and will be staying on only in Parkside Junior High. I had so hoped he would stay on until our grandkids had graduated; he is extremely good at what he does.

            The next concert was at Parkside Junior High in Altona and this one I did attend. Many of the pieces were the ones performed for the Rosenfeld students a couple of weeks ago but enjoyed just as much as the first time. Dale Wall, son of Jake and Nettie Wall, played a solo on the trumpet and Thomas Wolfe, son of Mike and Anna Wolfe, soloed on the drums. The rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight was very pretty and one I hadn’t heard before. The choir director, Akufuna Sifuba, is leaving the school division and Mr. Schott wished him well in his new school. During the evening Mr. Sifuba spoke about how adults need to encourage young people to carry on professions and jobs when older adults retired. He had asked the choir members if there was anyone who would be interested in conducting and only one hand had popped up, Thomas Wolfe. We had the pleasure of watching Tom conduct the mass choir with the rendition of Wade in the Water.  Grandma’s heart almost exploded. What a great evening.

            The Rosenfeld Spring concert will be held this Friday at 2:30. Everyone is welcome to attend.

May 28

Rosenfeld News by Tina Wolfe

            This past week has been crazy busy around here. Even though the garden was too wet to till I’ve been making rows and digging holes. Our green house is almost empty and a horrible mess but that can be taken care of later when the planting is done. The garden seeds are in except for one more row of corn which is the sweetest variety available. I always try one new variety of flowers and this year I have an aromatic variety of tobacco. It blooms in various colours which are open all day and grows to a height of three feet.

            On top of getting plants and seeds out, I’ve been busy getting ready for the upcoming garage sale. We are sharing our garage with two other families and can barely fit our small car in one of the spaces.

            I’ve been called long winded and so to disprove that point, I’ll keep the column short this week.

Birthday wishes

            A big happy birthday goes out to my brother, Henry Friesen of Morris. He is celebrating 70 years young on May 29. May he be blessed with many more and we will be celebrating at the Friesen picnic which takes place on August 24.

Community announcements

            The annual spring cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, June 1. Pickup begins at 10:00 am so please have your stuff at the end of the driveway for the Friesen’s to begin. Remember please no hazardous material.

            The Rosenfeld community is also planning their first ever village wide garage sale for Thursday, June 6. It will run from noon – 8:00 pm. If you don’t have enough for your own sale, call me and I’ll try to match you up with someone who will share garage space. At this point I have a dozen interested residents with a number of multi-families and if this is a success we would like to make this an annual event.

School news

            The Rosenfeld staff and students have been hard at practice for their upcoming Spring Concert. This will take place on Friday, June 7 at 2:30 pm in the school gym. Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate the end to a long winter and cool spring.

            The Altona and area Family Resource Center will be hosting another Learning Fair on Friday, May 31.  It will take place in the school gym from 9:00 am – noon.