Last night Janice Buchholz & I went to an informational Horizon’s meeting in McClusky. We gave a power point presentation on what we had done in Anamoose under the Horizon’s program. Patti Patrie also presented what Bowden had done. McClusky did decide to join the new Horizon’s session that starts this fall.
I visited the Kindergarten class yesterday. With much patience, their teacher, Julie Fahy, got them to stand still, place their hand over their heart, and recite the pledge to the flag.
Anamoose has a large kindergarten class of 11 students (1 missing in the picture). There are 6 boys & 5 girls. Half of the boys have the first name of Josh. The class runs the same schedule as the rest of the school.
The July 15, 2008, McHenry County Homemakers Tour was planned by the Ideal Homemakers Club of Anamoose and 27 participants enjoyed the many points of interest after coffee, juice and homemade muffins at our new fire hall.
The first stop was at the Otto Geigle Farm, formerly know as Moorhead Farm #2. Otto moved to the farm in 1973. The huge milking barn and the rock walls were very impressive as was the history that Otto shared with us.
Our second stop was at Pete’s Tractor Salvage where everyone took a great interest in “Pete’s Toy Shed”. Everyone knows he has the part your looking for and he sends them all over the world!!! We didn’t get to see Pete as he was fishing but his daughter took good care of us.
The Premium Gold Flax Processing Plant was our next stop out at the farm of Randy and Debbie Miller. A gift of “DashO’Flax” (pre-ground Golden Flax Seed) was given as token of appreciation for coming to their fine business as well as fresh lemonade & cookies made with their products. They were delicious. Many of us made onsite purchases and we heard about the many benefits of flax in our diets from Debbie. We were able to see the many processing machines and how they get everything together before shipment to many countries and states. They plan to have Flax Cookies for sale sometime in October - we can’t wait for them to come out!!!
From there we returned to the Anamoose Bakery/Cafe for a delicious buffet dinner made by Connie Rudnick and her staff. Everyone left there feeling VERY satisfied and full - it was an excellent meal!!
Then it was back to the Anamoose School bus driven by our very experienced driver - Lisa Ponzer. 
Our first afternoon stop was at the Lonetree Wildlife Management Area Office, where Scott Peterson gave us an overview what they are all about and what they do to preserve the wildlife and vegetation in the area.
The “After Thoughts Gallery”, where Dora Heil paints and shows her remarkable artistry in a “1923″ church was our first stop in Harvey. Many purchases were made by the tour group. 
From there we went to the Dakota Prairie Organic Flour Co. The expansion project going on right now is remarkable as they acquire many more customers from all over the world. We were given a fine tour and explanation of the whole process from the grains down to the shipping of the finished product of flour. We all felt really cute in those capes we had to wear!
The Tour Group then proceeded to Rue 54 for some wine and chocolate tasting as well as shopping. Sorry no pictures taken as the photographer was to busy tasting and forgot!
We also shopped the Que’ Sers’ and “Sew Wild and Woody” while in Harvey. The bus then returned to Anamoose with some tired passengers as that was really a FULL and FUN day of activities. Everyone received a package of homemade egg noodles from the Anamoose Farmers market and made by Alma Rau. Many door prizes were given out throughout the day and we heard allot of interesting answers to Phyllis Zimmerman’s ND Trivia questions.
Thanks goes out to the planning committee it was a great tour! 
We had our final Horizon’s celebration today at Bismarck. All 21 communities got to “toot their horns” and tell what they had done, either by a presentation, a display, or both. I gave a power point presentation for Anamoose, & we had a display. Janice Buchholz put together a scrapbook of our 18 month program, ending with our wedding of Joe & Ana Moose. Rutland told that they have their first woman on their city board, just like here, Bonnie Dockter just started Monday on the board. Wallhala told that “Horizons for Walhalla was like a pep rally”. They have a Pumpkin Fest every year & had a 792 lb pumpkin. One seed can cost up to $60-unbelievable!
We received a large impressive plaque with a picture of our Joe & Ana Moose Welcome sign on it. We also received our final $8500 that we will put in our Anamoose Area Community Fund. Pictured with the plaque are: LaDonna Goodwin, Janice Buchholz, Dr. Coston, NDSU; myself (Alyce Heer), Phyllis Zimmerman, Pam Heim, Shriley Nitz & Mardell Helm. Back row: Bill Goodwin, Kevin Dvorak, ND Community Foundation; Dennis Zimmerman, Tana Walker, _____, and Gov. Hoeven.
We had our 8th annual Moose on the Loose July Fun Run/Walk. There were about 45 participants. Winner of the 5K Run was Tyler Shaver from Chicago at a time of 20:45. He said he came to Anamoose because he heard about our moose wedding in the Chicago paper, but I think he came to see Whitney Buchholz, Bismarck, who won the woman’s 5K. Whitney’s mother, Tami, took 2nd place, & sister, Sidney, took 3rd place. Her grandparents, Dorothy & Vernon Kesler, took part in the 5K walk.
Second place winner in the 5K was Alex Holen from McClusky with a time of 21:29. Third place winner was Scott Holen, Alex’s dad. Scott told me to say “Alex’s old man was 1/2 minute behind & next year will catch him”.
Winners of the 1 mile run were: Men-Clay Bachmeier, Fargo; Women-Mackenna Bachmeier, Fargo
There were more relatives taking part.. Some that I know of were my granddaughter Honor, & her mother, Jeanne Prom, who took 1st & 2nd place in the 5K walk. Kathy Selzler & her 2 granddaughters participated. Kathy run the 5K Run, walked the 5K walk with me (we came in 9th & 10th), and run the 1 mile (I walked). In May Kathy took part in the 13 mile Fargo 1/2 marathon where there were 13,000 registered runners. Wow!
All participants & helpers got a bright yellow t-shirt (Tyler has his on) that was designed by Pam Heim, organizer of the event. Proceeds from the run go to the Anamoose Fire Dept.
It’s not every day that I get to hear a presidential candidate speak. Barack Obama was at Fargo on Thursday at the Yonker Children’s Farm. Obama mainly spoke to the Veterans, but took many questions from the audience. He stated “The most important thing in the 21st Century we can do to compete is to educate our children”. He talked of our 9 trillion dollars in debt, which is $30,000 for every man, woman & child.
I didn’t think to get up in front fast enough to shake his hand. But later I was visiting with a minister from Seattle who we met earlier in line. He said he had shook Obama’s hand & then shook my hand so I got a “secondhand Obama handshake”.
We all need to listen to what our presidential candidates have to say, so we are well informed by election time.
Who would have ever thought a mock moose wedding would bring us national notoriety! Saturday the Minot Daily News was at the wedding, & 2 days later Janice Buchholz received an email from a friend in Fairbanks, Alaska telling her she had read about us in the newspaper By going on the Internet we discovered our wedding made national news (AP) on MSNBC, in the Chicago Tribune, Kansas City, Arizona Republic, Boston Globe, Fargo Forum, Grand Forks, Minneapolis & a few others. This was truly a big ending to our 18 month Horizon’s program.
I woke up yesterday morning sure that it was going to rain on our outdoor moose wedding, but the sun came out and we had a great crowd that gathered for our program & wedding. The program was first with Danelle Olson as MC. Richard Derrickson read a poem “The Tale of Joe & Ana Moose” composed by Judy Derrickson. Speakers were: Senator Ryan Taylor from Towner; Lynette Flagge, Horizon’s Director; & Eleanore Dossenko, who spoke on the 3 R’s of Marriage. The men’s Centennial singers entertained the large crowd.
The wedding party arrived by Ron Bartz’s horse & buggy. There were quite a few protests to the bride & goom getting married, but the marriage went on with the groom presenting the bride with a HUGE “ring” & the happy couple nuzzling after they said their “I do’s”. Around 200 people enjoyed the picnic meal of barbeques, potato salad, beans & wedding cake.
The video shows some of the events of the day. (This is only the second video I have ever made, and some of the pictures got deleted & I couldn’t figure out how to get them back in. ). Dick Hauser & his crew set up chairs (pictured), while Steve Heim & helpers set up the sound system The wedding cake was made by Marceline Hoaglund. The next 3 pictures show the speakers: Ryan Taylor, Lynette Flagge, & Eleanore Dossenko. The wedding party was led by the ring bearer-Donna Hase & flower girl-Doug Rademacher. The bridesmaid,LeRoy Becker, shows her(or should that be his) open backed dress & the groomsman, Judy Derrickson, sports a white shirt & tie. They are followed by the bride, Ron Cartwright, carrying her beautiful arrangement of wild flowers; & moosegroom, Barb Martin, dressed in his best attire. Ted Sitz & his back up singers provided a moose musical rendition for the happy occasion. Maurie Becker, the moose minister, tried to keep the wedding ceremony on track. We even had a moose hunter (Curtis Hase) in the crowd. The bride & groom fed each other wedding cake. The bride posed by herself, while the groom posed with the flower girl. Ryan Taylor got a moose kiss from the bridesmaid, (I wondered why LeRoy had a ton of lipstick on). I got some of the wedding party to pose for me, but some disappeared to change clothes. Marceline Hoaglund, Pam Heim & Bonnie Dockter (not pictured) served the cake. Bonnie & Pam told me they were aunts of the bride. Missy Lucas helps little Katie show off her Joe & Ana T-shirt. Judy Derrickson held games after the picnic lunch. The meal was served in the park shelter by Bill Goodwin & his crew. The last few pictures just show the groups of well fed people that stood around visiting.
Our upcoming bride, Ana Lope, was very nervous at her wedding rehearsal last night. She had to try on her wedding attire to be sure it fit. Joe Moose was as calm as a cucumber. Maurie Becker, a certified moose minister, made sure the couple knew when to say “I do”.
Saturday is the big day for the wedding. Ana & Joe invite all of you to join us at 3pm in the park for a program, the WEDDING, & a free picnic meal with wedding cake, favors & all. The forecast is for a beautiful day.
Reannie May was officially welcomed to Anamoose today by the Welcoming Committee. She recently moved back to Anamoose from the state of Washington where she moved to after graduating from Anamoose High School in 1966. She received a packet of important information with phone numbers, history, business listings, emergency protocol, etc, as well as gifts from the city, including a “Welcome Sign” she is pictured with. We are so glad she has returned to our little city!
Today was a busy day at the Anamoose Senior Center as 39 people participated in the annual senior citizens blood drive.
Pictured are: 1. Brad Rosel-Drake 2. Elroy Stotz-Anamoose 3. Rose Weninger, Judy Derrickson, Joe Weninger & Richard Derrickson
Several city residents gathered together at the future home of Katie & Zach Fitzgerald and children, to plant a garden as a surprise, when they arrive in Anamoose in July. Katie loves gardening but just had a baby girl in Jamestown recently (in fact after the garden was planted). Seeds and labor were donated by these caring people of Anamoose. I’ve been waiting for pictures of the actual action but have not received them to date - (they will be added if I get them as I didn’t have my camera with me). The picture is of the planted plot waiting for the little seeds to sprout.
It’s a little early yet with this cold weather for garden vegetables. But we had some vendors at our Farmer”s Market Monday evening. We hold it Monday evenings as the VFW has Bingo at 8pm.
I found a great idea when I visited the Gackle blog site. Gackle, ND will be adding a Summer Arts Program “Capture the Coteau” to their Farmer’s Market. They will “look at all the wild life and Flora which surrounds Gackle, study it, draw it, sculpt it, photograph it, and then use it to adorn banners, planters, benches, or what ever we can think of to help us beautify the town”. Go to gackle.communityblogs.us to learn more about this program and the grant they received.
The Anamoose City Park on Main Street has taken on a new look. Last week Kari Weninger painted the animals and Pam Heim painted the Joe-Ana-Moose Cut-out. The Park Board planted flowers around the fountain and by the memorial.
Pam Heim also painted designs on the two windows in the old grocery store. It really looks nice as a couple weeks ago volunteers painted the front of the building. (See article on “Things Look Brighter on Main Street”). Click to enlarge pictures.
We had 2 more babies this past week to increase our Anamoose population. Lacy & Chris Becker had a baby boy, Everette. (pictured)
Kaydence was born to Katie & Zach Fitzgerald at Jamestown Hospital on Saturday. They have purchased a home in Anamoose and will be moving here soon. Sorry that Fitzgerald is spelled wrong on the sign. 
The Anamoose Senior Citizens is raffling off a queen sized quilt. It has over 3000 peices in it. Tickets can be purchased from any Senior Citizen members. It will be raffled off on Sunday, September 21 when the Seniors have their annual fall fund raising meal.
At present some of the seniors are quilting on the lap sized quilt. 
Yes, Joe Moose is patiently waiting for his marriage to Ana-Lope on Saturday, June 28th. The Ana-Day committee met last night for final plans for the wedding when Ana will join Joe on the Welcome sign, and change her name to Ana-Moose.
The program will start at 3pm in the Anamoose Park. Rev Danelle Olson is the MC. The men’s Centennial group will sing; Helen Nolden, Eleanore Dossenko, and Senator Ryan Taylor will speak. Richard Derrickson will read a poem about Anamoose and the wedding that was written by his wife, Judy. A mock wedding will be held after the program. The wedding party consists of: Minister: Maurie Becker, Bride: Ron Cartwright, Groom: Barb Martin, Bridesmaid: LeRoy Becker, Best Man: Judy Derrickson, Flower Girl: Doug Rademacker, and Ring Bearer: Susie Littrel. Following the wedding a free picnic meal will be served along with wedding cake and moose nugget favors. You will be able to have a photo shoot with the wedding couple, or Joe and Ana cutouts in the park for a small fee. There will be a Moose Shoe Contest and some games for kids.
Plan to join us for the wedding Saturday, June 28th.
First picture: around the table from left to right-Maurie Becker, Pam Heim (behind),LeRoy Becker (trying on antler), Doug Rademacker, Fern Reinowski, Judy Derrickson, Richard Derrickson, Susie Litrell, Phyllis Zimmerman(behind), and Bonnie Dockter.
The first night of the Farmer’s Market brought vendors and customers to the Anamoose park shelter. A wide variety of items were for sale: fresh eggs, homemade noodles, cookies, handicrafts, painted mailboxes, jewelry, canned fruits and vegetables and fresh rhubarb to name a few items. I left with arms full and a promise to be back next week! Vendors present this week were: Rosemary Vollmer, Wayne Vanette, Gertie and Alma Rau, Mabel Forschen and Gladys Schnase. It will be held every Monday from 6 PM to 8 PM - come out and get something fresh, homemade and home grown. Contact Farmers Market Chairman - Bonnie Docktor @ 465-3088 for information.
Another of our Horizon goals has come about. Woody and Kathy Selzler purchased land next to them that was called “the stockyards”. They have been getting rid of old buildings and trees, and put part of the land into a community garden. Anamoose area residents can put in a garden at no cost. USDA is offering free seeds for a study on new varieties. If anyone is interested please contact Bonnie Dockter at 465-3088.
As you drive down main street in Anamoose you can see the new Anamoose Area Community Fund sign. Dennis Zimmerman made the sign and painted the background. Phyllis Zimmerman and Pam Heim worked on the wording, and Pam spent hours on her hands and knees painting the design. Then Joe Weninger and Dennis dug the post holes and put the sign in place. It was definitely a group effort!
The Anamoose Memorial Day Program, to honor the Veterans, was well attended. The Memorial Address was presented by Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Sells from the Minot Air Force Base. Rachael Rott and Kaya Engen sang “Song for the Unsung Hero” and “Sleep Soldier Boy” and the honor guard marched to the City Park where flags flew at half mask and the gun shots were heard as well as the taps that were played by Andrew Rott and Brandon Rudnick. This was followed with a delicious potluck lunch at the Oswald Wohl VFW Post #6931.
Saturday evening 5/17/08, Anamoose High School celebrated their commencement with 8 graduates. As usual, it was a beautiful ceremony. It has been a tradition for many years that the graduating class invites the 50 year graduates. Eleven members ( and some of the spouses) of the class of 1958 participated. They gathered at the senior center for reacquainting, remembering and conversation, had a delicious meal at the Anamoose Cafe prepared by Connie Rudnick, and then on to graduation. After the ceremony all alumni were invited back to the senior center for cake, coffee and punch.
Thank you graduating seniors for remembering us ( I, too, have been there and done that) on your special night. It also brings back and gives us memories we will forever cherish.
Pictured below are sitting from left to right, Dorothy Berndt Leier, Rose Hornbacher, Frances Lemer Lageson, Gilbert Gienger and Ramona Buxa Bender. Standing are, Eileen Wick, James Essig, Vernon Wick, Dalton Kohlman, Terry Roe and Harold Spletto.
I discovered there are quite a few people in Anamoose who help out the birds-summer and winter. Bonnie Dockter uses a heating device in the winter to keep her bird bath thawed out. Her grandchildren wanted to be in the picture too.
Emanuel Kesler moved this purple martin house over to his yard when Wes Michelson moved to Harvey. He even made a hoist so he can take it up and down to clean it out-or get the sparrows out of it.
Janice Buchholz took this picture of the finches eating from a bird feeder in her back yard.
Phyllis and Dennis Zimmerman have welcomed this rose breasted grosbeak to their feeder. They also have seen a baltimore oriole.
Needless to say, we have caring people in our community who are concerned about the birds.
Our Horizons program sponsored a Joe and Ana-Moose coloring contest. Pam Heim, 3rd and 4th grade teacher, drew a picture of Joe and Ana-Moose with sunflower and tree background. Carrie Bartz, 3rd grade, (picture) won in the 1st-3rd grade group, while Leah Jans, kindergarten, won in the pre-school-kindergarten group. Each girl received a Joe and Ana-Moose t-shirt. The 14 moose pictures are on display in the Anamoose Senior Citizen Center.
That’s what we need to get our Anamoose Area Foundation Fund moving. The Foundation concept is simple-to create a fund where gifts from many people are pooled together and professionally handled through the ND Community Foundation. Each year the income will be used to fund projects in the community. Through a matching grant program in the ND Community Foundation we need to collect $25,000 in the first year, and the ND Community Foundation adds $5,000. In subsequent years, the ND Foundation will match dollar for dollar up to $10,000, with a bonus if we can raise $25,000.
To start, we are using the $10,000 that we will receive at the end of June for our 18 month committment to the Horizons Leadership program. We have received over $7,000 from businesses and individuals, so we have less than $8,000 to go to reach our goal for the year. We have mailed out letters to Anamoose area people and businesses, and made some personal contacts. This week we are mailing out letters to all alumni that graduated before 1971.
Dennis Zimmerman and Bill Goodwin will be putting up a thermometer on Main St. that will keep track of our Foundation Fund. Pam Heim is our artist for the project. .
