5/31/01 - End of Month Notes: Michael Gaunt has accepted the position of Stephenson School Superintendent, replacing Charlie Kalhoefer who is retiring. Scott Snyder, Stephenson Elementary Principal, has resigned and will be moving back to Illinois.

The YMCA sponsored women's exercise classes held at the Stephenson Township Hall are over for the season. Debbie Grinsteiner, who taught the group, was very enthusiastic about the enthusiasm of the participants and plans to start up again in the fall.

The Domestic Abuse Support Group that met in Daggett has also completed their series of meetings. At one of the last meetings the subject was "Making Good Decisions." The handout gave the opportunity to play a survivor-type game and pick "The Last Ten People on Earth." The 15 choices included a wheat farmer who was a Ku Klux Klan member, a 70 year old priest, a professional football player, a prostitute, a Mexican-American law student, a 60 year old Jewish psychiatrist, a Black Mililtant male medical student who was at the top of his class, and other unique people.

Not Very Serious Horoscope: Most of the people born in May are Swedish. (You didn't know that?!) They believe more in Swedish proverbs than in the stars. Particularly this one: "Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, love more; And all good things are yours." Following that advice will probably work for Germans, Swiss, Gypsies, Irish, Icelanders and Portuguese as well. It may produce strange side effects in the French and Italians.

5/27/01 - The Stephenson Township Cemetery is beautifully prepared for the Memorial Day celebration tomorrow. Sexton John Hoijer and his assistant Mike Joslin have the grounds trimmed and looking neat. Ken Poisson, Steve Kakuk, Deloyd Lindstrom and Mary Halvorsen marked the graves of 391 veterans with American flags. (The total of flags used at all the cemeteries in the mid-county area is 640.) A steady flow of people from near and far brought flowers to plant, or arrangements to place, on the graves of loved ones. Dorothy Rasmussen and her husband, Larry Gerue, stopped to chat. We rode the same bus to school about a hundred ....well, maybe more like fifty, years ago and I hadn't seen her since. Dorothy also recognized a woman nearby, Evelyn, who was related to the Sengers, Nerats and Sanders families - all familiar names. Memories flowed

It was memory time too at the Amerian Legion Hall where family, friends, Catholics and people of Polish origin gathered to honor Father Don Loskot on the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. When you consider that the Loskot relatives include Brobergs, Kruhmins, Majkrzak's, Markleins and a lot of other local families it's not surprising that a visiting priest friend of Father Don opened the morning Mass at Precious Blood Church by asking if there was anyone present who WASN'T related to the Loskots.

5/23/01 - The summer construction season has begun, even if it's not officially summer. In our area they are tearing up sidewalks, cutting trees, digging trenches and moving a lot of dirt. The city has contracted with Havelka Construction of Wallace for work on the parking area in front of

5/22/01 - School administrative staff reports to the school board this month show that in spite of a variety of problems through the year, end results are quite positive. Many students are being honored for academic and athletic achievements. The track teams have done well and enthusiasm is high. The golf teams are doing better than in recent years, and organizational meetings for football and girls basketball teams were well attended.

Stephenson Elementary Principal Scott Snyder gave results of the 4th grade MEAP tests. Math results improved by 7.9%, Reading was up 9.1%. Reading for Information improved by 11.8%. Results for grades 5, 7 and 8 are expected in June and the ones for 11th graders should be received by August or September.

Paul Weismantel reported on the UP Principals' Meeting he attended in Iron Mountain in April, calling it a "very valuable experience." Topics covered included pending litigation regarding girls' sports season, tournaments, declining school enrollment trends in the UP, and legislative and funding issues.

orty-nine youngsters were tested during the kindergarten screening in April, according to Elementary Principal and Special Ed Director Sharon Hoots. She is involved in preparing for and conducting a lot of meetings and training sessions. Two teams of teachers from Daggett and Mellen schools will attend programs this summer to increase technology skills. Follow-up sessions are scheduled throughout the year.

Installing new seal kits, a pressure relief valve and handling the usual mechnical, electrical and plumbing repairs will keelp Brad Tilmblin's maintenance crew busy. Brad noted the new John Deere Model 1420 commercial lawn mower has been received. He called it a "fantastic piece of equipment" and added a "thank you" in his report to the board.

Mike Zemba, who heads the Transportation Office, has been dealing with things like a recall on drivers' seat reinforcement, driver evaluations and paying bills. They also held a rear-door emergency evacuation drill with all the buses on April 18.

5/11/01 - The library in Stephenson was a busy place Wednesday morning. It was story time for 3 to 5 year olds. Attendance can range from two to fifteen youngsters. That day three showed up to learn about mothers and the good things they do, whether their children are cats, birds, mice or humans. Autumn had lots of questions and comments on the stories read. Katrina, with tiny butterflies and shiny beads in her hair, and Taya, with two butterflies in her blonde hair, and a big smile also joined in the discussions and the 'work' project of making stamped and ribboned bookmarks for their moms.

Pat Shuman of the library staff, was in charge. Her questions and comments kept the girls interested and enthused. For instance, at one point she told how she has a cat that likes to play the organ. If she leaves it plugged in the cat knows which button to touch to turn the organ on, and then walks across the keys playing it's own original compositions. The story hours are held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. It's a good opportunity for parents to spend some time browsing or visiting. By the time the story session was over Autumn's mom had a pretty high stack of books checked out to take to grandma, who enjoys reading to her grandchildren.

If you're the type who always has more reading material laying around than you have time to read, a stop by that kind of table at the library will make you feel right a home. You might find things like the Menominee Chamber of Commerce Newsletter, an American Legion publication, and the May issue of Good Housekeeping, to name a few. In just a few minutes you can learn the latest on an evaluation of toeless pantyhose for women, how questions on etiquette now concern when and how to appropriately move to the front of the line at a copy machine, and that mother/daughter projects now have nothing to do with cooking, sewing or needlework. Instead they plan unusual trips or participation in activities like sky-diving or musical programs. The nicest thing is that you can sit in a comfortable chair and read for awhile and then just get up and walk away, without having to find a place to put things and clean off the table before you leave.

5/9/01 - Enthusiasm is the word for this time of the year. Kids are anxious to get out of school. Graduation is just around the corner, vacation plans are being made. Many consider it the best time of the year.

The school board also reports an enthusiastic response to their visit to the school district of their first choice to replace Charlie Kalhoefer, our school superintendent who is retiring this year. The board met last night to make a decision on hiring Michael Gaunt, the Middle School Principal at Cllinton, Michigan. Basically the result was, we like him, he likes us, lets go for it. There was some disscussion on details of the contract that would be offered. Gaunt was to be contacted today and, if he accepts their proposal, the final paperwork will start immediately. Mike Nutall, School Board President, mentioned that during their visit to Clinton they spoke with the local police and city officials,as well as the staff at the school. All reports on Gaunt were favorable. Mike noted that in that community the police cars and municipal buildings were painted in the school colors, a good sign of mutual support and cooperation.

5/6/01 - Even though the park in the center of Stephenson is only one short block and one long block from a farmer's field you don't often see someone walking their goat in it. Especially if you have to come all the way from Iron River to do it. Brian Lehman, his wife Cathy, and two of their children, Bailey and William, were here Saturday morning for the annual Fur and Feather Swap. They also have dogs and puppies, but only one goat. Brian says it's an excellent lawn mower, but a little strong willed. That was obvious. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was walking who, but both attracted quite a bit of attention, especially from the many young people, and by mid-morning Brian said Cathy was busy negotiating a sale.

Not far away Tracey Juedes of Hermansville still had 3 geese and a bunch of baby chicks available. The geese are good watch dogs and also do a good job of weeding a garden, according to Tracey. A friend, Sara Patterson, also from Hermansville, stopped by to show off the classy looking Angora rabbit she had just acquired as the result of a trade for her Harlequin bunny.

This is one of the most low key "sales" you could ever attend. The people involved are warm and friendly, willing to chat and answer questions without pressuring you to buy. My grandkids attended one of their events a few years ago and somebody GAVE them a rabbit. (They had to take it back because they didn't have room to keep it in a city apartment.)

Saturday morning was pretty cool and breezy. Dutch Rowland of Escanaba was passing through town on his motorcycle and saw the Swap sign on US 4l. He decided to check it out and use it as an opportunity to warm up a bit. He looked like a pretty free spirit, with his fancy flowered hat and long white beard. His advice to all of us: "Remember the story of the teakettle. Even though it's up to it's neck in hot water it still keeps singing. I have a party wherever I go." And he went across the street, got on his bike...and left.

Then there was the man who had just bought himself a Polish rooster for $3. Bruce Haulotte of McAllister had come to sell 50 chickens and some wooden animal cages he made while laid off from construction work in the winter. When I talked to him he had already sold about 30 chickens and most of the cages. Someone wanted to buy his rooster too, but it was not for sale. Kids stopped by to ask questions about the chickens. Mostly they want to know what kind they are and when they start laying eggs, Bruce said.

All the peeping, chirping, honking and other noises attracted some protesters as well. They weren't carrying signs or anything, but a group of seagulls circling overhead obviously wanted to know what was going on. Since nobody on the ground spoke their language it took them a while to realize their furry, feathery friends were not being mistreated. They left peacefully.

5/1/01 - The sirens heard going off at about 8:45 this morning were just a test. Apparently they have been unhooking and rehooking wires and things in the city's new building area and wanted to be sure the fire and weather sirens were working properly.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please take a minute to write H. Barb Upton.