Holger Olesen and Bert Dahl discuss the pros and cons of their tablet stands made with recycled Legos, as Indus technology coordinator Dianne Tillman tries the stands out.
Started from the bottom
Indus students learn
about starting businesses
B8
Team coach Rich Magel aims at a laser generated by the DryFire Target Simulator at Backus Community Center Wednesday. The simulator, purchased with donations by the trap club, will allow shooters to practice and perfect their skills indoors.
Ready,
aim, fire!
Falls Trap Team
gets new simulator
B7
Barb Albert
At 85 years old, Barb Albert admits she struggles to remember exact dates, but Dec. 7, 1941, is one she will never forget.
Sitting at her dining room table holding a piece of scratch paper with notes she jotted down, Albert recalls events of the day that still holds a clear spot in her memory.
“I can still picture everything,” she said. “It’s one of my earliest memories.”
Albert was 11 years old when the Imperial Japanese Navy conducted a military strike against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She said she can still remember seeing the first few planes fly in, shooting at a communication tower on top of a hill near her Kaneohe, Hawaii, home.
“The planes just kept coming,” she said. “They were shooting and diving at the tower.”
It was terrifying, Albert said. “It was completely unexpected.”
Like any other day
The day began like any other. Albert’s father, Kenneth Rickard, had just come home from working at the nearby naval base and the family was getting ready to attend Sunday Mass. It was just before 8 a.m. when the shooting and dive-bombing of the tower began.
“My dad ran outside and saw the symbol on the plane’s wing was not one of ours,” Albert said. “He knew right away we were under some kind of attack.”
To protect his family, Rickard flipped over their living room couch and ushered Albert, her mother and younger brother under it. In case the planes began shooting at the homes, the couch would hopefully offer some protection.
Then, Albert said, her father was gone.
“We were worried he wouldn’t come back,” she said. “We didn’t know what was happening.”
It was a long day, Albert said, adding her mother kept glancing out the window – against her husband’s orders – to see if she could understand what was happening.
“I remember being scared, but thinking it was unfair my mother got to see what was going on,” Albert said with a smile. “I was curious, too, and I wanted to see.”
Finally, Albert’s father, exhausted but unharmed, returned home.
“He told us that once he got to the base that morning, the men were scrambling to get ammunition and machine guns all while the planes were still coming at them,” Albert recalled. “Because they didn’t have much time to react, some men knelt down and let other men balance machine guns on them...I can’t even imagine. It must have been horrific.”
Shortly after arriving home, Rickard and other men rushed their families to churches in the nearby town. From there, Albert said townspeople opened the doors to their homes for families affected by the attacks.
“It was a beautiful thing,” Albert said. “They gave us shelter and food. I think we were there for about a week and the people were just so generous. I’ll never forget how grateful we were.”
Arriving at the mainland
About a week after Pearl Harbor was attacked and World War II was declared, Albert’s family was put “on a big ship” and sent to California, she said.
“I remember we had to wear life jackets,” she said. “We had to follow any orders we were given and always had to be ready to go below deck to our compartments if we were told to do so.”
A destroyer circled the ship the entire journey and in the eyes of an 11-year-old, it was “fascinating, but very scary,” Albert said.
“The whole week was just scary,” she continued. “I remember feeling safe having the destroyer there, but I didn’t really feel safe until we got to California.”
Albert said she had family in California and was elated to see them and spend the holiday season with them.
“They gave us our Christmas,” she said. “Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have had much of one that year.”
The day which President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared would be “a date which will live in infamy,” holds true for Albert. She said she never cared for any kind of travel – especially by airplane – and surmises her experience on Dec. 7, 1941, is the reason for that.
“That day is definitely one I will never forget,” she said. “I don’t think about it too often, but when I do, I remember it so clearly.”
Fourth-grader Phoenix Lessard helps cut down a Christmas tree for his class Tuesday at Gary Saunders' tree farm.
Falls fourth graders band together to carry their Christmas tree back to the pickup truck that will take it back to the school.
Will Gilbert gets an assist from Jeff Herberg in cutting down his class' Christmas tree Tuesday.
Katie Winkel’s fourth grade class poses around their class Christmas tree after cutting it down Tuesday.
Gary Saunders, right, shows students how to identify the variety of trees at his tree farm.
Nick Bernath takes his turn in helping to cut down his fourth grade class' Christmas tree.
Falls fourth graders examine the difference between the types of trees at Gary Saunders' tree farm Tuesday.
Falls fourth graders helped cut down and carry their class' Christmas tree Tuesday.
Emma Schneider helps cut down her class' Christmas tree.
Katie Winkel, center in white hat, joins her fourth grade class in considering a tree for their class Christmas tree Tuesday.
Falls fourth graders channeled their inner loggers Tuesday when they headed out to an area tree farm to chop down Christmas trees for their classrooms.
At Gary Saunders’ tree farm on the Littlefork River near Pelland Junction, students got a chance to learn about different area trees, as well as have a hands-on experience chopping down their own trees.
Saunders addressed the students before they trekked off to select their trees, and helped them identify the different types of coniferous trees he grows. Saunders has been growing the trees since the 1970s, he said, and initially undertook the endeavor as a way to break the wind on his property.
He grows four to five different types of trees on his farm, Saunders said, but his favorite is balsam, because he enjoys the smell. He grows about 200-300 trees per season, he said, and has more than 6,500 trees at his farm.
Katie Winkel’s fourth grade class got an assist in cutting down their tree from Jeff Herberg, who held one side of the bow saw while students took turns holding the other side. As the tree slid off its stump, one student considered their situation and asked, “How do we get it back?”
The students lined up on either side of their prize and hoisted it up, proudly carrying it back to the pickup truck that would take it back to the school.
Kevin
Grover
Members of the community now have the opportunity to make their voices heard about International Falls schools.
Surveys asking the public to provide their views of three strengths and three concerns about Independent School District 361 are expected to be available next week.
The surveys, which will be handled by the Minnesota School Board Association, will hopefully help move the district a step in the right direction, said Superintendent Kevin Grover.
“I’m excited about this,” Grover told The Journal Wednesday. “I hope there is participation. I think this can be a good thing.”
The Falls School Board last month agreed to hire a representative from the Minnesota School Board Association for strategic planning and goal setting at a cost of $3,900, which includes travel expenses.
The effort kicks off with the survey, which will be available on the district’s website and at each of the schools’ offices. The survey may be completed by anyone in the community – regardless of whether they are directly connected to the school – until the beginning of January.
“We want the good, but we also want the bad,” Grover said of survey responses. “We want people to be honest.”
Grover explained the notion behind hiring MSBA stems from the creation of the Blue Ribbon Panel more than a year ago. The panel, made up of community members, brainstorms ways to improve the district. More than once the panel has suggested the district define and set long-term goals.
“We want to do that,” Grover said of goal setting. “This process will hopefully help do just that.”
Survey responses will funnel directly to MSBA and will be completely anonymous, Grover said. After results are compiled, a representative will travel to Borderland Jan. 7-8 to host a series of meetings.
A series of separate meetings will be held with district administration, staff, students, the school board and the public, Grover explained. The superintendent continued that administration will not be present at the public meetings to allow the community members more freedom to speak their minds.
“The atmosphere changes when the superintendent or a principal is in the room,” Grover said. “By not being there, we hope it’ll add to people’s honesty.”
Exact times and locations of meetings will be announced when they are set, he said. Advertisements and information about the meetings will be published in The Journal available.
After data is collected from the surveys and meetings, administration and staff will continue to meet with the MSBA representative once a month until April. Then, MSBA will take the district to the point of putting certain goals and objectives in motion, Grover said.
“Obviously, we can’t take everyone’s ideas,” Grover said. “But MSBA will look for reoccurring themes and work with that.”
Grover reminded survey takers “the sky is the limit” and responses need not be limited to academic issues. He said responses can include opinions about extra curricular activities, how the district can use its buildings for more community-oriented activities or whatever people want to include.
“We need a bigger picture,” he said. “Academics is one piece of what we do. We want to know more of what the public wants to see.”
When completed, results will be published and available for the public to view.
“We will keep the process open and honest,” Grover said. “We want this to be meaningful and make changes based on the information we receive.”
