Wright/Cromwell news

It's great to have my internet back. I haven't been able to send this news column to the papers or my internet friends for the past three weeks. The last couple of weeks were busy and I hope you didn't miss any events due to not getting the news from me.

Aug. 11 was a very special day for our family. My brother and sister-in-law Mark and Linda Dahlman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright. We had relatives and friends from all over the country, including Montana; Denver, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; as well as the Twin Cities area, Floodwood, Afton and Battle Lake, Minnesota and all the surrounding area. Cousins we hadn't seen for years came to help us celebrate. The family provided the food, decorations and photo boards. All in all, it was a great event, and a good time was had by all. Mark and Linda thank everyone for attending, and for the cards and greetings from everyone.

Now that the primary elections are over, most of the incumbents are headed for the November races. I see that Dan Reed and Alex French will be on the ballot for our county commissioner. Gary Peterson decided not to run again after serving three terms. We thank him for his service to the community. The Nov. 5 General Election should bring out a lot of voters.

The Farmer's Co-op held its 105th annual meeting on Aug. 14, with 14 people in attendance. There was a lengthy discussion on the future of the store, and it was the general consensus of the membership that the board should explore (1) selling the store, (2) hiring a new manager (since Tim will retire in seven months) or (3) closing the store. Some of these options would not be necessary if more folks would patronize the store. But the number of transactions this year was down by 15,000, and sales were down $75,000. If everyone who lived in the area would patronize the co-op to meet a bigger percentage of their needs, the board wouldn't have to take any drastic action. Elections were held and Carol Hutar was reelected for a three-year term and Mark Dahlman was nominated and elected from the floor for a three-year term. The meeting was followed by door prizes, and a lunch served by the Wright Senior Club.

By the time you read this, the 133rd Carlton County fair will be over. The weather wasn't the best on opening day Thursday, but the rest of the days were great. Hundreds and thousands of folks come to the fair every year for many reasons. One of my reasons is to support the Little Red Schoolhouse by getting volunteers to work there, greet the parents and children, give out school supplies, and generally enjoy sitting in the old school desks and using the slate chalk boards like the students used in the early days. There are so many folks who volunteer during the fair, and we sincerely thank them all.

The Cromwell Park Pavilion has its grand opening 2-6 p.m. today, Friday, Aug. 23. There will be talks, workshops, conservation booths, lawn games and, best of all, food.

Tour the new Carlton County Justice Center at County Road 61 and Justice Drive. Tours are at 9 a.m.,11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27.

That's all the news from the Edge of Wright.