Ortley Town Board March 19, 1909, etc.

First, updating a question asked earlier about painting the cross sculpture at the cemetery: Town Board chairman Elton Davidson informs me that it will be painted for maintenance purposes this spring. He also informs me that he had informed me of it earlier. Oh, well, nobody's perfect ...

In other news, Elton also returned to me the old town board minutes book, so here's another installment:

Regular Meeting of the Town board of Trustees
March 19th 1909.

All members present.
Meeting called to order by President
on motion of C.E. Anderson the following
bills were allowed and Clerk instructed to
issue warrants for same.

Bal on Joe Allis Bill for Surveying Cemetery	6.00
Carl Melander for cash advanced for expenses.	50
William Aiken board of Education	2.00
C.S. Cotton " "	2.00
Ed Schultz For official blanks & Printing	9.40
Fuller & Fuller for dividing School district	60.00
Ortley Township for 1/2 interest in Road Grader and full interest in 2 wheel scrapers	35.00

on reviewing the books it was found that the
Town Clerk has issued warrants to the amount
of $859.24 of which amount $171.10 has been
paid out of General Fund. Amount of warrants
outstanding $688.14 Total Cash received
$181.83 Cash bal in Treasury $10.73
on motion of P.H. Halvorson an amendment
of ordinance no 24 was recommended as follows.
That it shall be lawful for any person over 18 years
of age to play pool or billiards. An amendment
of ordinance no 24 sec. 5. Motion carried.
There being no further business
The meeting adjourned.
O.E. Thorsgaard
Clerk.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

This letter to the editor came in the other day.



To the editor:

Last weekend, March 4, the Rudebusch and Lee families gathered at B. J.'s Cafe in Ortley for a surprise party, to celebrate the 81st birthday of Marvel Catherine Rudebusch Lee. Marvel grew up in the Ortley area and her parents lived there for many many years so it was "a real homecoming" for Marvel.

All arrangements for the party were made by B. J.'s Cafe and I must say, my sisters and I were very impressed. From the lovely birthday decorations, to the beautiful cake to the delicious meal prepared for those who traveled, far and wide, to attend the party were all done in the best of "tastes"! The cake was amazing and the delicious meal was as good as any home cooked, festive holiday dinner.

A BIG thank you to everyone who attended the party, sent a card or called Mom. Thank you so much for remembering Mom on her special day.

My sisters and I say HAT'S OFF TO EVERYONE AT B.J.'s Cafe in Ortley! We all hope to attend the upcoming Ortley Celebration!

Thank you,
Dr. Dixie Klein
Des Moines, IA

P.S.: B.J.'s Cafe is one of SD's best kept secrets, in our opinion! Have your tried their breakfast menu? And the cookies, they are OH SO GOOD! When I am near Ortley, I will drive out of my way to stock up! If you are planning a family gathering or civic event, we HIGHLY recommend B.J.'s Cafe.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR JULY 1, 2006!

On Tuesday evening, March 7, 14 interested Ortley residents met at BJ's Hall to plan a centennial celebration for Ortley. It was decided to hold the event on Saturday, July 1st, 2006. Here are some of the activities which are now in the planning stages: A 1:00 PM parade with color guard, bands, organization floats, cars, tractors, horses, "Ortley Then & Now" costumes, etc., including a "Kiddie Parade" component with pets and kid costumes. Also a car show, an antique tractor/threshing demonstration, stage music and a softball game in the afternoon, carnival with face painting, etc., a craft fair (venders wanted - $5/table). The Senior center will serve a meal at noon and the Church a pork barbecue at 4:00 PM. Karaoke in the evening.

Specific plans will be announced as they are finalized, but it looks like we have the makings of a very enjoyable celebration. The next planning meeting will take place 6:00 PM Tuesday, April 4, at BJ's Hall in Ortley's historic Downtown.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Yes, it's true! A new posting of the Ortley Optic! Sorry I took so long
to get back to this, but I'm glad to know that people are reading this.
I know that, because in the last few days a few questions came in from
interested readers, so I'm going to try to answer them as best as I can.



1. In regards to the recent ice storm,
someone asks, "Any chance in having the church become an emergency shelter?"



I'm glad you asked that. Let me make something clear, first of all. The
members of Ortley Free Lutheran Church stand ready at all times to help out
in any way we can in time of emergency, including the use of the church building
as an emergency shelter. So, the basic answer to your question is, "YES!"



Let me explain some confusion which I believe has come about in the aftermath of
the ice storm. There was some discussion of whether the Town of Ortley should
have a generator, and if so, where it would be used. Various sites have been
mentioned, including the church. To my knowledge no official decisions have
been made. I heard a second-hand or third-hand report that I had been quoted
as saying that I was "opposed" to having the church used as a shelter. That scared
me a little, because that kind of thing can be very easily misunderstood. To clarify
the issue, there are two different questions involved, with two different answers:



A. Can the church be used as a shelter?



B. Should the church be officially designated by the Town as a shelter?



The answer to Question A is, "absolutely yes."



The answer to Question B is, "I don't know." Official business of this type
involves complex questions of liability, etc., which I don't know much about.
Until those questions are answered, I think we should be cautious about making
any decisions about officially designating the church or some other site as a
shelter. During the recent emergency, many people voluntarily opened up their
homes to those in need, and whether or not the church is officially a
shelter, you can count on us to voluntarily help out in any way we can.



I hope this makes things a bit more clear. I've been afraid that someone might
think, "the church doesn't want to help" or "Pastor Peterson doesn't want to help."
Nothing could be further from the truth. We could have another ice storm again
sometime, or we could have some other type of major emergency in which many people
in our area need emergency shelter. If we at Ortley Church can help, we stand
ready to do so, and we don't need any official designation to make it so. If an
emergency comes up and our building would be useful to help those in need, please
ask.



Next Question:
2.
"When is the Centennial?"



The latest talk I've heard is about either June 24 or July 1. We should know more
soon, as the following notice has just been posted at the Post Office and at BJ's Cafe:



To the citizens of Ortley and the surrounding area:



If you would like to have a 100 year anniversary get together,



COME to the meeting at BJ's Hall.

March 7th at 6:00 PM



I'll post more info as soon as I have it. And all who are able to attend that meeting
are strongly encouraged to do so.



Next Question, in regards to the cross sculpture at the cemetery:
3. "Will it be painted this summer in 2006?"



I don't know if there are any plans to paint it for maintenance purposes. Early on there had
been some speculation about painting a cross on it to make it resemble a conventional cross
more closely, but the artist made it clear that he didn't want his artwork to be altered in
any way. Furthermore, the message I've gotten is that, though some had some initial reservations
about the unusual appearance of the sculpture, people have gotten used to it and embraced it.
Like Paris with its Eiffel Tower (which also generated controversy among the locals), we have a towering
landmark. And ours is even better than their's, because of its spiritual meaning.



In regards to the entries on old town board minutes, next Question:
4. "I like this kind of newletter notes, any more in the future?"



I think so. I was working with a precious book of the old board minutes, and Council Chairman
Elton Davidson needed the book back. I hope to eventually get it back and make some more
entries.



Finally, some interesting discussion has just happened in the online Guest Book.



Local resident Diane Anderson asked, "When was the last year that Ortley School was being used? Does anyone remember the Ray family that lived in this area in the 1920's? I enjoy reading through your Optic news. Diane"



(By the way, thanks for the nice comment, Diane!)



Former resident Steven Hovland replies:



"Diane: In 1966, the 7th and 8th graders began going to Waubay by bus. Grades 1-6 remained in Ortley through the 1968-1969 school year. I was the sole member of the last 3rd grade class. I believe I still have a photo of the 13 students who comprised the last student body of Ortley school. Steve"



FEEL FREE to use the Guest Book as a question-and-answer forum! And, I'm glad to have the Optic up and running again! Thanks for your questions!