7/13/2005 – Editorials

By Richard Peterson

Minnewaukan will observe its 125th anniversary in 2008. I don’t know of any activities planned, but something likely will happen if we’re still here.
The dollar and a quarter word for a 125th anniversary is "quasquicentennial."
Just for your information, Oberon will observe its quasquicentennial in 2009. Leeds, York and Knox will celebrate in 2011, Brinsmade in 2014 and Esmond and Maddock in 2026.
Information about towns in the eastern portion of the county is sketchy, but there were businesses at Warwick in 1906, which would probably make its quasquicentennial in 2031.
Fort Totten, the oldest settlement in Benson County, was established in 1867. That means Fort Totten’s quasquicentennial was in 1992 and the community will be observing its sesquicentennial (150th) in 2017 and its septaquintaquinquecentennial (175th) anniversary in 2042. Good thing I won’t be around for that one because I can’t pronounce it.
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Speaking of anniversaries, the Fort Totten Little Theatre is observing its 43rd season. Attending the Little Theatre is always a highlight of the summer and this summer’s production is no exception.
This year it’s the well-known "Fiddler on the Roof." Wow! The music is just terrific! What talent we have hiding right here in the boondocks.
The musical is dominated by the character of Tevye and Maddock’s own Lanny Faleide is the perfect Tevye. I’ll never be able to look at him again without thinking he’s Tevye.
His real-life wife, Lisa, is also his stage wife, Golde. They make a great acting pair.
Their son, Dylan, a fourth grader, is also in the play. After all, this saves on hiring child care for all the rehearsals and performances.
Also in the production is veteran actor Peter Foss of Maddock. How come there are so many talented people at Maddock? Is it the water?
There are a couple more Benson County connections in the production. Dr.
Rich Johnson of Devils Lake, who plays the part of the innkeeper, grew up at Fort Totten.
Fifth grader Kya Knoke of Devils Lake also performs in the show. She is the daughter of Benson County agent Scott Knoke.
This familiar production is great fun. Don’t miss it! You won’t regret spending $15 to see it. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in July at 7:30 p.m. The final performance is on Sunday, July
31 at 2 p.m.
For tickets call 701-662-8888.
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From Bruce Kalmbach’s column in the Steele Ozone Press at Steele come 30 lines to make you smile:
1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn’t.
2. I don’t suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
3. I work hard because millions on welfare depend on me!
4. Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.
5. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
6. Don’t take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.
7. You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to me.
8. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
9. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
10. I’m not a complete idiot . . . some parts are just missing.
11. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
12. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
13. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
14. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
15. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
16. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
17. Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it!
18. Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.
19. Procrastinate now!
20. I have a degree in liberal arts; do you want fries with that?
21. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
22. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
23. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
24. They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken.
25. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.
26. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.
27. Ham and eggs. A day’s work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
28. The trouble with life is there’s no background music.
29. The original point and click interface was a Smith and Wesson.
30. I smile because I don’t know what is going on.