Duplicate Bridge

Duplicate Bridge played at four tables at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 4. Winners were Jim Fisher and Dave Ring, first place; Edna Knobbe and Rich Stroup, second place; Larry Crowe and Bill Momsen, third place; and Gail and Ray Schmidt, fourth place.

Duplicate bridge was played by nine teams at noon Feb. 5. Winners were Gail and Ray Schmidt, first place and Crowe and Fisher, second place. Vandy Newman and Ron Peters tied with Ring and Stroup for third and fourth place.

Both sessions are played every week at the Senior Center in Austin. All bridge players are welcome. Players come from Austin, Adams, Rose Creek, Albert Lea, Blue Earth and Mason City.  Those who would like to play but do not have a regular partner should call 507-437-2750.

 

Lens & Shutter Photography Club

The Lens & Shutter Photography Club had a Jan. 16 meeting at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea with club vice president Mitch Pederson presiding. There were eight members in attendance. January’s competition category was gardens.

Members receiving awards were Pederson, first place for “Butterfly Garden” and third place for “Japanese Garden;” and Darcy Sime, second place for “Como Conservatory.” Honorable mentions were given to Linda Eisterhold, Jean Aamodt and Carol Bertelson. Pederson gave a demonstration on shutter priority settings. Ron and Bev Oyer provided the evening’s refreshments.

The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in room 465 on the lower level at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea. The club has continuing displays of each previous month’s competition categories at Farmers State Bank in Albert Lea.

The club meets the third Thursday of the month, September through May. Anyone interested in sharing and learning more about photography is welcome to attend.

 

Fully Rely on God

The annual Valentine’s Day gala was Feb. 1 in Fellowship Hall at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church in rural Albert Lea. Sixty-five people were in attendance, with three clans amongst them. A clan is three or more generations with either the matriarch or patriarch in attendance. The clans of Ackland from Manchester, Hensche from Clarks Grove and Mrotz from Ellendale were well represented. They came to the FROG Valentine’s party with Norwegian bingo beginning at 6 p.m. The fun, food and fellowship — the FROG outreach mission — began after Wayne and Bev Indrelie brought in Domino’s pizza and Genie Hanson gave the table prayer.

After pizza, 12 games of Norwegian bingo were played. The person getting bingo picked out a free prize from a table of various prizes. They then went to the white elephant table to purchase a prize of their choice for a dollar.

After the last game of Norwegian bingo, those who didn’t win were permitted to pick a prize from the white elephant table for a dollar. Thus, everyone got a prize to take home. The prizes left were combined and sold four for $1.

A great example of a random act of kindness was when Brad Bjerke and Wayne Indrelie let a youngster replace them when they got bingo. After bingo, a generous portion of vanilla ice cream with a variety of toppings was served. During the dessert time, door prizes were drawn. Winners were Jasmine Hensche, muffins; Bev Indrelie, pie; and Jammi Weatherly, a stuffed baby turtle.

During the evening, each person picked out a beanie baby of their choice. Valentine’s cards for those not getting around so much were signed by the guests to be mailed after church Monday, along with food and coupons.

Some of the bingo prizes won were: Gillian Griggs, a cap that looks like it was made for her; Gerhard Keith, a U.S. military veteran cap; and Diane Wangen, a light switch that gives off light without electrical wiring.

Food coupons were available for anyone who either had or would visit a shut-in.

Local businesses that helped support the Valentine’s day gala with coupons were Main Street Family Restaurant, Quality Inn & Suites, Ramada Inn, KFC, Dairy Queen, Applebee’s and Arby’s.

Tentatively planned activities for the next year are:

• Bus to Lutheran Night at the Twins on July 28.

• Bus to Christmas by the Lake on Dec. 5.

• Valentine’s Day party with Norwegian bingo Feb. 6, 2021, at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church.

• “Church Basement Ladies” in fall 2020 or early spring 2021.