West End News: November 3

The Bloodmobile is returning to Zoar Lutheran Church in Tofte on Monday, November 14. It's surprising, in this day and age, that blood donation remains such a critical part of medical treatment. Having a good supply of blood on hand quite literally saves lives every day. The donation process is easy, fun, and leaves you with the good feeling of having done your part for your community. Jane Johnson is handling the scheduling this time around, so call her at 663-7254 to make your appointment.

Schroeder residents should all plan to attend the public hearing at 6:30 on Wednesday, November 9. Schroeder's Comprehensive Land Use Plan is being revised and this public hearing is your chance to weigh in on those changes before they become set in stone. Land use plans are just the kind of thing that people often say, "when did this happen?" and "why didn't I hear about this?" Well, this is happening now and you are hearing about it now. The more community members weigh in on the plan, the better it will be in the long run.

Schroeder Township Supervisor Bruce Martinson commented that Schroeder has more private land that can be developed than any other part of the Cook County. That fact surprised me until I thought about it for a minute.

Schroeder is in a job creating state of mind since Minnesota Power closed the power plant there last month. Hopefully, the new land use plan will get that process started.

A fun project is happening at Zoar Lutheran Church in Tofte. The church has two old bells. One is the longtime church bell and the other is the original bell from the old Tofte School, which was a classic white schoolhouse located in what now is the middle of the Bluefin Bay complex.

Three West End craftsmen are combining their talents to restore the bells and make them more interesting. Randy Nelson of Tofte cleaned and repainted them, Dave Rude of Tofte is making an interval control system that will allow them to be programmed to ring according to a pre-set schedule. Dave Gustafson of Schroeder is building a new enclosure to house the bells. Soon, we'll all be enjoying the fruits of their considerable skills.

We were working in the office at Sawbill this morning, when Cindy suddenly started saying, "moose, moose, moose!" Sure enough, a big, healthy-looking cow moose was strolling up the driveway. Just as she disappeared behind a building, Cindy started chanting again, "another one, another one, another one!" Here came a two-year-old calf, calmly stepping around the parked cars and following her mom into the back yard. They arranged themselves in the yard in front of the picture window, where they obligingly posed for pictures and video before wandering off down the ski trail.

Moose in the yard is a rare event these days, but it is a big part of the joy of living in the good old West End.

For WTIP, this is Bill Hansen with the West End News.

(Photo courtesy of Veronika Ronkos on Wikimedia Commons)