Julianne Johnson has written another book which is titled “In a Cloud of Dust.” Johnson – daughter of the late Oliver & Bette Bergstrom – recalls stories of growing up in Swede Grove Township, north of Grove City, and some of her other experiences in the 1960s and 1970s.
Johnson says she began working on the book late in January at her winter home in Hickory, North Carolina which was therapeutic after the death of her ex-husband and a health scare involving her daughter. She says the book includes recipes after each chapter just like her previous two books – “Food, Feathers and Fur” and “Like a Weed.”
Johnson says besides the stories of farm life, she writes about adventures in Grove City, her life away from the farm during her college years, and also holiday memories. She says her mother was a big inspiration in her life and she is hoping to be a mentor to younger generations.
Johnson says she would like to thank Joe Paddock for his guidance during her time with the Litchfield Area Writers Group as he encouraged local writers to document their stories and she would also like to thank Brent Schacherer for all of the years that he included her columns in issues of the Independent Review.
Johnson says she is already thinking of her next book which will likely delve into Grove City history much like Terry Shaw did for Litchfield with his “Terry Tales” books. She says her cousin Cindy Miller Marsh has done the watercolor art work for all 3 of her books. Johnson’s books can be found at the Natural Food Co-op in downtown Litchfield, at the Meeker Memorial Hospital gift shop and through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Archway Publishing or on her cricketmeadowpress.com website.
The Litchfield High School commencement ceremony will be held tomorrow (May 31) at 11 a.m. in the Litchfield High School gymnasium. 110 seniors will be receiving their diplomas.
Supt. Susan Burris says the seniors had their last day of school on Wednesday with rehearsal for the graduation program and a picnic, while the rest of the students will be done next Tuesday. She says she will be speaking at tomorrow’s ceremony with a welcome and will take the students down memory lane.
Four members of the senior class will also be speaking during the commencement ceremony – Allie Kargas, Brooke Caron, Carly Twardy and Ben Olson. High School Principal Jason Michels and Assistant Principal Justin Brown will introduce the graduates while School Board members Alex Carlson and Greg Mathews hand out the diplomas. The band and choir will also perform during tomorrow’s ceremony.
The Litchfield School Board didn’t have many action items on its agenda Tuesday evening, but there was a lot of discussion. The District is awaiting action from the State Legislature so that it can get the budget firmed up for the coming year.
Supt. Susan Burris says it’s difficult to plan when the Legislative action is up in the air. She says the School Board talked about pool repairs that are needed and whether or not to bring the issue of a new pool back to voters again at some point in the future.
Burris says there are items in the old pool that need to be addressed so they are working with Wold Architects on some of those issues. She says there was some construction money leftover which will be used this summer to install handrails at the football grandstand.
Burris says the Board accepted the resignation for retirement purposes for long-time IT Director Jennifer Ridgeway who has done a fabulous job. She says staff and students in the Litchfield School District have been mourning the loss of Kim Kalkbrenner, a paraprofessional at Lake Ripley Elementary, who passed away earlier this month.
Burris says the Litchfield School Board approved of travel plans for members of the FFA Agricultural Issues Contest team who took first place in the state earlier this year, and will be traveling to the National Convention in Indianapolis October 28th through the 31st. She says the students will be doing fundraising this summer, but if anyone would like to send a donation towards the FFA, checks may be sent to the Litchfield School District office.
Scott Gottschalk of Kimball began his No Boundaries Tour motorcycle ride on Sunday in Miami in his attempt to earn a Guinness Book of World Record of riding 120,000 miles in 120 days to raise money to fight human trafficking. He says it’s going well, so far, as he traveled 4100 miles in the first 4 days.
Gottschalk says he’s only gotten two hours of sleep per 24-hours and he’s working with his nutritionist to try to alleviate leg cramps. He says he’s encountered some rain every day of the ride this week, and a wire for the phone system in his helmet broke so he will be getting a new helmet on Sunday. Until then, he’s able to receive text messages at 320-894-5900.
Gottschalk is hoping to raise $1.2-million to fight human trafficking and donations toward his ride may be made at NBTRide.com. He will end his ride on September 18th at Vikingland Harley-Davidson in St. Cloud.
