Another brush with nice people

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The following is another “Have Fun or Get Out of the Way” column by Don Leighton and Mike Granlund and their alter egos, Lance Boyle and Billy Pirkola, which runs occasionally in The Superior Telegram.

Last Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Lance were dining at Lance’s favorite restaurant, Grizzly’s, when three people came in to dine. On the way to their table, they walked past the Boyles and the gentleman said hello.

Well, to make a long story a little shorter, after dining, I approached their table and introduced myself. I had a wonderful conversation with three really nice people from Austin, Minn. This was the first time in Superior for the trio. Ely, Minn., and the Boundary Waters are high on their list of places to go.

While on their way to heaven on earth, they stopped for dinner and allowed Lance to meet one of his goals in life. Meeting nice people reminds me of how lucky we are to live in the Northland.

Dan and Sue will be celebrating their 50th anniversary on Sept. 10. They were accompanied by their beautiful daughter, Jenny. You remember Lance’s favorite saying, “food, family, fun and friends.”

Dan knows a man named Leighton in Austin and says he is an exceptionally handsome man. He asked if I was related. I said, “No, the resemblance stops with the name.” It was a good night.

* Congratulations to Levi Felton for a job well done. The Superior High School senior organized and pulled off one of the great events of the year. This past Saturday, the Osaugie Open 5K Run for Hunger raised $1,200 to be donated to the Salvation Army. Seventy-three runners entered to help those less fortunate than themselves. What a great job Levi and his volunteers did for the community. Levi is using this as his senior project. Chris Kintop, his mentor, says of Levi: “Levi Felton is the total package.” If he doesn’t get full credit, the committee will have to deal with Lance and Billy.

* More good things from the people of our area. On July 31, Grizzly’s, O’Neill’s and SHS teamed up for a street dance that raised $5,500 for academic and athletic programs at SHS. Ray Kosey (SHS), Rick Lampton (Grizzly’s) and Tom and Nancy O’Neill (O’Neill’s Pub) deserve a big round of applause for their efforts.

* At the Jim Weinandt “Never Give Up” Scholarship Golf Scramble at Botten’s Green Acres, held Aug. 14, the people of Douglas County enjoyed great food, fun and golf while raising more than $4,000. This money provides scholarships at Northwestern High School in Weinandt’s name. Jim was a long-time coach and English teacher at Maple and was one of the most popular members of the high school faculty. The Weinandt family, led by Jim’s brother Bill, organized this event with the help of Brad and Jodi Botten. “Without Brad and Jodi and the help they have given our family and the friends of Jim, we could not pull off this event,” Bill Weinandt said. Jim would be proud.

* In two weeks, the all-time top 10 slow pitch softball players, as named by the fans, will be revealed. Lance will also reveal his top 10.

* The final results of the “Hunger Takes No Holiday” food drive will be given in two weeks. The support from the generous people and businesses of our area was tremendous. Lance and Billy thank all who donated, especially Garrett LeBare, a first grader at Northern Lights, who donated all he had; nine cents. How special is that?

* High school football starts Friday with the NHS Tigers travelling to Ashland to face the Oredockers and the Spartans traveling to Stevens Point to take on one of the elite teams in the state, the Panthers. The Spartan game begins at 6 p.m. and can be seen on your computer at ifan.tv. KUWS will not be airing the Spartan games this season, so, the only way to follow them is at www.ifan.tv. The Tigers may be heard on WNXR, 107.3 FM or seen at www.ifan.tv at 7 p.m.

* Superior football fan can get an early look at the Spartans when they hold their annual “meet and greet” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Ole Haugsrud Field. Along with meeting their favorite players, kids can also participate in the Jaycees Punt, Pass & Kick contest. More details on the event may be found on Page B4.

Opinions and/or story ideas can be e-mailed to dleigh1273@aol.com or wgranlund@centurytel.net

Tags: have fun or get out of the way, collections, sports, superior, preps