Kettle River news

Easter season services will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Kettle River. A Maundy Thursday communion service was held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. A Good Friday Tenebrae service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 7; the candlelight service will include meditation of the Solemn Reproaches and the story of the Passion in word and song. The Easter service starts at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 9. Everyone is invited to attend.

The next city council meeting is 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13. Note the change of day.

The first Finnish luncheon is at noon Wednesday, April 19 at the Kettle River Senior Center. We want to welcome all the snowbirds back. Join us for a good meal and a chance to visit with friends. We need at least 25 people to attend to continue this event, so bring a friend who hasn’t attended before.

My roommates and I lived about a mile from the hospital in Chicago and we would walk to work each day. Since it was early morning we would walk past several abandoned buildings and could hear things moving around inside the buildings. We were never sure whether they were man or animal. At that time, the city was tearing down many abandoned buildings and the rats that lived in some of the buildings were looking for new places to live. Some of the sewer rats were as large as a medium-sized dog.

Later, when we started working different shifts, one of the girls was able to get a car from her parents. We would see who was working what shifts and where they were working, so we could figure out our use of the car. So, the person who was working the night shift would get a ride to work, then the person working the day shift would drive to work, tell the night shift worker where the car was parked and then she would drive home. If one was working the afternoon shift, she would drive to work and tell the other where she parked. This worked out especially well during the winter months so we didn’t have to walk alone in the dark in that neighborhood.

On Feb. 28, the Herring family of Sturgeon Lake came home after a day of work and doctor appointments, to find their house filled with thick smoke and a small fire in their utility closet. While the fire was small and contained to the utility closet — thanks to the water softener cracking and leaking on the flames — the smoke alone caused a substantial loss for the family.

The family is facing unexpected costs related to the fire as well as the need to replace smoke-damaged furniture and clothing for six children and two adults. Thankfully, Anthony and May and their children, Natalie (13), Emmett (11), Henry (9), Lucy (7), Isaac (3) and Dorothy (1) are safe and healthy. Search for “Help Herring’s after house fire and smoke damage” at gofundme.com to donate.