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.

May 19, 2013

May 19, 2013 Rosenfeld News by Tina Wolfe

            Wow, what a ducky weekend. I definitely have to start being careful about my wishes. Yes, we needed some moisture but not to send this part of the province back to swamp land. Now all we need is some gaters and we could have our own reality show; not to say that I know some men who would enjoy this type of recreation. The hummingbirds and orioles are back and we’re busy filling two feeders as well as the seeds for the pine siskins and gold finches. The front deck is like grand central station with all the coming and going.

            We have a lot of volunteer stuff coming up in the garden and it’s normal to see poppies and calendula but onions? Many of our onion sets didn’t grow last year because it was too dry so we worked them under in fall and now the greens are nearly a foot tall. As soon as it dries up, I’ll be out there cutting fresh onion greens. When the rest of the garden goes in will depend on when the rain stops and the wind blows in dry air. The puddles are disappearing fast as we head into Tuesday so the moisture was obviously badly needed but it gets scary when a person hears a loud bang and the power goes off which happened Monday just before supper. Isn’t it funny the reaction a person has to no hydro? I was beginning to get chilly and thought I’d go get a small heater only to realize that if the furnace couldn’t run, plugging in a small heater wouldn’t work either.

4-H celebrations

            Roland will be hosting the 100^th year anniversary celebration of the 4-H club this month. Many children have participated in this club during this time. Rosenfeld used to have a big club which featured carpentry, photography, cooking and sewing. Nowadays parents seem too busy to volunteer in order to keep this going. I used to be a club leader but now feel it should be run by younger folks. That’s not to say being a leader wasn’t fun. One year I taught a group of boys how to cook and the first rule was that they had to taste everything they chose to cook. There were times when this was done with eyes closed and a quick swallow which ended with much laughter.

School news

            The Rosenfeld School has been very busy the past week. Thursday, May 16 they had a visit from the Altona Parkside Grade 8 concert band who stopped on their way to Portage. Dwayne Schott, band instructor, explained that this was to show the Grade 6 Rosenfeld students what instruments were available for them in fall when they start junior high. The concert began with music that built up to a volcano explosion and quietly calmed down. This was followed by Calypso Kid and I’m a Believer. The Jazz Band played three pieces: Chattanooga Choo Choo, Can’t Help Falling in Love which is an Elvis song and Smoke on the Water. What a great way to spend a morning.

            Thomas Wolfe, our grandson, spends many hours in our basement playing records on out stereo and the last while has gotten into my Elvis stash of records. This concert explained why the sudden interest as he plays drums in the jazz band.

            The very next day the students participated in Jump Rope for Heart and the school vibrated with music coming out of the gym. Some of the activities were skipping, jumping hoops and trying the hula-hoop. Rob Fleming, gym teacher, had set up activities centers and the students moved from one center to another after five or 10 minutes.

Condolences

            Friends of ours, Jim and Judith Schellenberg, in Mitchell lost a very dear family member on May 12. Judith’s mother, Janie Winther wife of Kai Winther will be missed by the Schellenberg family.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

May 5

May 5, 2013 Rosenfeld News by Tina Wolfe

            I enjoy a nice chat first thing in the morning so this Tuesday morning was very special. My granddaughter, Amber, called from Germany and we spent the next hour catching up on all the local news. It’s very inexpensive calling overseas from Germany; it would cost us an arm and leg calling from here. We have reversed situations in the world of language, I teach English to German immigrants and she is learning German. It was interesting to learn that once a person has all the paper work done to live in Germany, you are free to travel anywhere in the European Union. Hopping the train or flying to Italy or Turkey is just as common as if we drive or fly to Alberta, BC or Ontario. It gives a whole new perspective about how huge this land of Canada is.

Movie night

            The school gym was filled with families on Friday, May 3 ready to watch a movie and purchase tickets for silent auction items.  Half the floor was covered with mats and soon kids in pajamas carrying blankets and pillows occupied the space. Everyone was offered free popcorn and candy bags were being purchased. After the dolphin movie the auction item tickets were drawn and I’m happy to say I was one of the lucky winners. There were great prizes like lawn chairs, flower pots and hangers, rakes, remote control helicopter, jugs of oil and many gift certificates. Thanks to all the wonderful donations from local businesses. Andrea Friesen, a PTA member, thanked everyone for their  participation and announced that the purchase of new playground equipment will happen in the near future. This movie event brought in a total of $1247.00 which was much appreciated. I would like to thank Parent Council for hosting this fun evening.

Photo contest

All you shutterbugs get out your cameras. Our Portage-Lisgar MP, Candice Bergen has announced a photo contest. The winning photo will be featured on the cover of her Christmas card which will be sent out all over the riding as well as be displayed on her website.  Please go to her website for the rules and how to submit the photos as everyone is allowed three entries. With having snow until the end of April, it makes this contest a bit easier to find the right subject. All entries must be submitted by Aug. 30, 2013.

Gardening

The greenhouse owners must be very happy that the weather has finally turned warmer. My first seedlings of petunias, tomatoes and peppers are blooming and are patiently waiting to be set out in the garden. The big pots of geraniums which were wintered through in the greenhouse sit in the sunshine in front of the garage. Yes, I know I’ll need to pull them in for night but it just makes spring more real to see the flower pots up front. The greenhouse doors are opened wide every morning to let the sun shine on the racks of seedlings and geranium cuttings.

Photo taken by Tina Wolfe

The Wolfe’s had a surprise visit by a log-eared owl last week. It perched on a tree right in front of the living-room window which resulted in real live TV viewing.

May 14

May 14, 2013 Rosenfeld News by Tina Wolfe

            What a gorgeous morning, this Tuesday, May 14. We’ve just had a nice warm shower and it looks greener immediately. It’s hard to believe but even though we had huge snow banks we could use more rain. Many people have put in part of their garden and the farmers are going full speed around here. The push is on to get things growing and I have to restrain myself from planting the annuals but it is a tad early. Jack Frost could still be making a visit and then all is for not. The cannas lilies are in and the big pots will be prepared for plants, the pansies will go in today but the other flowers will have to wait.

            The column will be short this week, I want to go out and play.

Parent council update

            We are waiting on the school division as we've applied to get some money towards the playground from them. We hope to have enough to actually order the structure in June, have it delivered this summer and install it for the next school year. The division has said they would take care of the pea gravel and we need to ask someone about pouring piers for the structure once we know what type of prep is required.

            Our movie night/silent auction went over way beyond our expectations. We were thinking perhaps to make around $5-600 but we cleared almost $1250.00 after expenses. Most of our auction items were donated by our local business owner’s right here in Rosenfeld which was so encouraging to see. There were numerous comments regarding what a good idea the event was, that we should definitely do it again and to call them next time we needed donations. The proceeds are all going towards the play structure.

            Now the PAC is in the process of planning our final event of the year which is the school picnic. I've taken that on and the picnic is scheduled for June 21st.

            We are also purchasing and donating a large juice/water jug to the Good Neighbor Center as a thank-you for allowing us the use of the GNC every year for the school soup and pie fundraiser. This year's supper did better than it has in the last number of years. We raised just over $1000.00 after expenses and the evening was a busy one which is always good to see. The leftovers were donated to Chris and Cheryl Peters in Gretna as they had a bake sale fundraiser the following day to raise funds for their mission trip to the Dominican Republic this summer. Reported by Eva Peters.

Garage sale

            Many communities are having garage sales and I enjoy going for entertainment even if not purchasing much. Some residents in Rosenfeld are also planning a one day sale for Thursday, June 6 which will run from noon – 8:00 pm. If anyone is interested call me and we’ll add your address onto the list. If you don’t have enough for your own maybe get together with the neighbour and pool your stuff. As of now we have four addresses but one is multi-family.