CAPITOLETTER

June 24, 2024

Last week, Ronda Cordell went to the Southeast Electric Meeting in Ekalaka, and was lucky enough to win a door prize. On Saturday, on the way to Buffalo, she stopped by at Gardner Lake to see some of the Fishing Derby. At Buffalo, she attended the Stuart and Renee Guptil Fiftieth Anniversary party. Then, in Camp Crook she stopped to visit with Lisa Koranda.

Ronda had a dental appointment in Rapid City on Monday. Diane Wear came on Sunday night to do chores for her. Ronda stayed with Cristen and Jayda Westling on Sunday night, and they treated her to a belated Mothers’ Day supper at the Pizza Ranch. She stopped at Jolly Lane Greenhouse and Sam’s Club on Monday. After her appointment she met Curt Zolnoski for lunch. Cristen’s cat had bit Ronda when she wanted out, so Ronda stopped at Urgent Care in Spearfish to have the wound and swelling checked.

Jack Ovitz called Ronda, on Wednesday, to let her know that his thermometer was at twenty-five degrees. Clint Zolnoski’s read thirty-one. Ronda spent much time, Wednesday, with the NAU crop adjuster who came to inspect fields. Thursday was the day to put out bulls. Clint, Denise, Darby and Abby Zolnoski, came early, because it takes three ATV’s to make sure those big critters head to the corrals and not the hills. They behaved, and never broke a corral except to lift a pipe gate off the hinges, as Ronda was spraying the last three. Clint hauled while Ronda sprayed groups. Ronda had planted garden on Friday afternoon. Then, thunder and lightening came through, on Saturday morning, with seven-tenths of rain.

Erma Albert attended a party sponsored by the Altar Society, on Tuesday evening. She went to the chiropractor in Buffalo, on Wednesday, and then went to her physical therapy appointment, too. On Friday, she and Dick went to the Senior Citizen dinner. She got some more plants to put outside.

Lynn Gustafson attended the Little Girls’ Tea that was sponsored by the Diligent Doers Extension Club. The tea was for girls up to sixth grade, and the girls were from Carter County and the Camp Crook area. It was held at the Methodist Church in Camp Crook, and was lots of fun for everyone. Lynn had a doctor’s appointment in Rapid City on Thursday. She and Bruce still have no grasshoppers; maybe because they had more rain at the right time.

Doug Davis went to a Parish Church Council Meeting, at the Rec Center in Buffalo, on Thursday. Amanda, Rory and Oliver Davis came to visit at Doug and Julia Davis’s. They will stay so that the boys can attend Bible school this week at the Little Missouri Church. Bible School will be in the evenings from Monday to Thursday,and there will be a program on Thursday evening. Travis will come on Thursday, also, and stay for a few days.

Shirley Melum noted that there was a freeze this week, too. It didn’t seem to be cold enough to get rid

of the grasshoppers. Many trees are covered with worms that may do lots of harm, too. Don’t think I like them any better.

Dorothy Padden attended the Girls’ Tea at the church in Camp Crook, on Monday, too. On Thursday, Lorraine Chin took her mother, Dorothy, out to supper at the Corner Cafe in Camp Crook. Lorraine left to drive back to Texas, on Saturday. She will come back to have the museum open at fair time. Dorothy went with Ashley Padden to a baby shower in Reva, that day.

Alvin Cordell has planted and been watering some new trees. The grasshoppers are still prevalent, but Ryan started haying at the Yates place. On Wednesday, Alvin saw thirty degrees on his thermometer. Ivan Teigen had ice at his place. Alvin got nearly half an inch of rain this week. He had heard that there was a good rain in the Long Pines. Wade Pearson came out to the ranch on Thursday and Friday to spray weeds and put the bulls out. Cade has spent lots of time out at the ranch helping Marlee, but she will miss him for a while, because Wade took him home with him.

Nathan Kalbach and his family have spent the week at the ranch with Ernie, Rachel and Tommy Melum. Nathan helped Ernie get some fencing done. On Sunday, they all went to Baker, where Nathan’s family will stay to visit with other relatives.

Karen Odell did a little mowing, and the grasshoppers did lots of mowing, this week. She visited with her kids, her brothers, Ron and Jim Evans and her classmate, Bill Foulkes. She made a trip to Ekalaka for a meeting, on Tuesday, and did a little shopping. Some rain was predicted, so then she worked on some indoor painting, and her two sessions of physical therapy.

This was an interesting week for Cody Odell’s family in Mitchell. The rain came down similar to the old saying of a ‘gully washer.’ The Corn Palace, where Kenna Odell works, was surrounded by water, and many streets were blocked by running streams where none should be. The interstate in both directions was blocked for a while, and to the west it was blocked for a few days. Some stores were flooded and so was the motorcycle museum. Cody, Kylie, Kenna and Carson spent a day cleaning up their wet basement. A deer attacked Cody, when some mounted antlers fell from the basement wall. Kurt and Roberta Thomas, Kylie’s parents at Kimball, had a huge and dangerous rushing stream running between the house and sheds, that had never before been thought of as being a stream bed. The storm had brought up to fifteen inches of rain and as it headed on west, Mollie and JD Smith kept look-out for it at Minneapolis, but the main rains headed more south toward Wisconsin, where Jeff and Amanda Odell were vacationing, so they got a taste of it, too. You have probably heard that when Noah lasted out that flood, Camp Crook got a couple of drops. Well, this time it was a little better, because Tie Creek got nearly a half-inch. Micki and Jesse Hinds, on the west coast, had a nice cool dry weekend for watching a game of rugby.

It makes no difference if it’s a velvet throne or a sack of grain, you and a king would both be sitting on the same body part.