News: Minnesota

Winnehahas
State Club

The 2009 MN State Rally was held this year at the Dakota County fairgrounds in Farmington, Sept. 11-13. The theme was "Celebrate"! as the Winnehahas were celebrating their 38th year as a WIT club. The tables were decorated with beads, glittering fireworks, and balloons; the walls were hung with lights and posters. Campers started arriving Tuesday and a crew headed up by Bill Pomerson expertly handled parking 62 coaches.

Thursday a pre-rally, all-day outing in Hastings included a tour of the LaDuc Mansion, a tour and winetasting at the Alexis Bailey Winery, and a tour of the historical buildings and artifacts and gardens on the Bauer family property. There were also two stops at American Legions in Hastings and Farmington for lunch and dinner.

Friday was a busy day starting with the golfers heading out early for their tournament, organized by Bob Fischer and George Bell. Marcia Fabricius conducted a women's forum where many great ideas were exchanged for making motor home camping easier and more enjoyable. Marge Janke, Connie Lerdon, and Nancy Harvey led a group in a craft project making folding notebook holders out of placemats. Martha Pfaff emerged the winner in the 31 tournament conducted by Bill Keeler and Sandi Vee came out on top in the cribbage tournament organized by Marv Vehrenkamp. Dinner was a "bring your own meat" barbecue with catered side dishes.

Board members were supposed to be the grill chefs at the 5-foot long charcoal grill, but it seemed most people wanted to keep an eye on their own, so it got pretty crowded around the hot, smoky grill. Seating assignments for dinner had been posted in the morning and in the afternoon, each table's team was responsible for decorating a cake using the rally's theme. The cakes and all materials and tools were provided. The planning and execution brought out the best in both men and women and some amazing works of art were produced. Prizes were awarded and each team ate its cake for dessert.

A trio of musicians called Locklin Road provided delightful entertainment using a variety of instruments along with vocals that included Celtic and Folk. Bingo with cash prizes was headed up by Joe and Amy Holden, with assistance from Jim and Arlene Mealy and Dick and Marcia Fabricius.

Saturday morning's opening ceremony with the flag raising was held indoors after breakfast with a color guard from the Farmington American Legion. President Diane Ryberg introduced current Winnehahas officers. WIT General Manager and Central Area Rep, Doug Formanek, and his wife, Pat, addressed the assembly with a rundown of the currently improving situation at Winnebago Industries and an admonition to current members to get out there and recruit new members. Pat and Doug setup a WIT store and several members had tables with flea market and craft items.

Raffle tickets were on sale all weekend for gas cards provided by the State Rally Fund and an all-wheel alignment donated by Precision Alignment of Elk River. A table of silent auction items drew some heated bidding. A caravan of cars carried a group to Quilt Cove in Eagan for a trunk show of new quilting products, some technique demonstrations, coffee and cookies, door prize drawings, and, of course, shopping.

Most attendees spent Saturday afternoon in Northfield enjoying the many activities offered in connection with their annual "Defeat of Jesse James Days." There were tractor pulls, a car show, poker tournament, an arts and crafts show, a rodeo, bingo, a vintage baseball game, musical entertainment, and reenactments of the infamous bank robbery. There were other things to see in Northfield as well, including St. Olaf College and Carleton College. Back at the rally grounds, board members served an ice cream social.

Four volunteers from each local chapter (Sundowners, Southern Honkers, and Northwoods) served the catered dinner. After dinner, Winnehahas' own Gary Stacken provided the musical entertainment, interrupted occasionally for announcements of door prizes donated by the Southern Honkers, the raffle drawings, and announcements of the winners of the silent auction items. Outgoing president Diane Ryberg reviewed the 2009 camping season, thanked the outgoing officers, and introduced the incoming officers. Doug Formanek installed the new officers: President, Dave Seaberg; Vice President, Ted Steele; Secretary, Barb Johnson; Treasurer, Betty Borchardt; and Board Members, Bill Keeler and Marcia Fabricius.

"Dakota Village" is a collection of historical buildings moved to the fairgrounds to form an early settlement town. One of them is a lovely old church where Mike and Ann Hadel conducted a non-denominational worship service with musical accompaniment by Gary Stacken. All the proceeds from the raffle and the silent auction were donated to the historical society for the upkeep of that church. There was a closing ceremony with a "virtual" lowering of the flag and parting comments from Diane Ryberg and Dave Seaberg.

Dave Seaberg 651-633-6463 zoe2dave@aol.com

Sundowner Winnie-Tascas
Local Chapter
By Marcia Fabricius

The last Sundowner campout of the 2009 season was held Sept. 25-27 at Two Rivers Campground and Tubing near Royalton, MN. Jim and Julie Rademacher and Ken and Cindy Flowers were our hosts. There were 19 coaches attending. Many arrived early to enjoy the lovely campground on the banks of the MS and Platte Rivers. Those present Thursday were treated to golf-cart tours of the large campground and a roaring campfire in the evening. Two of the 19 came as visitors to the chapter, but over the course of the weekend, they became members. Welcome to Richard and Mavis Johnson and Terry and Jeanne Johnson.

Friday as more rigs pulled in, they were welcomed by members who weren't out visiting local points of interest, playing games or visiting elsewhere. By early evening, everyone had worked up a hunger because of the tantalizing smell of the huge pot of delicious homemade soup our hosts cooked outdoors all afternoon. Later, many played card games in the lodge or enjoyed another campfire with popcorn.

Saturday the business meeting was held and there was a special presentation of an engraved plaque and other gifts to Erv and Bertha Bueckers in appreciation of their extraordinary support of the Sundowners.

Saturday afternoon, the entire group boarded the campground's tubing bus for a tour of nearby Camp Ripley, a 53,000-acre Army National Guard military post. The Rademacher sons, Chad and Jason, served as drivers and resident experts of the facilities and activities of the sprawling complex. There was a two-hour stop at the military museum, which featured a variety of vintage vehicles outdoors and numerous artifacts and historical information inside. After a drive through the MN State Veterans Cemetery, the bus stopped at the Cabin Fever Restaurant for meals that everyone raved about.

Returning to the campground, people found a variety of things to do. Some played card games, some sat by another fire, and some stopped in at the Halloween party the campground owners held for their seasonal residents—complete with music, decorations, costumes, and beverages. Several of the Rademachers' grandchildren, along with some of the children in the campground, came around in their Halloween costumes for "trick-or-treat."

Sunday our hosts, with a little help from Mike Capra, Lowell Anderson, and Dick Fabricius, served a hearty breakfast. Gradually, the members began heading home amid cries of "See you in the spring," and "Have a good winter in TX," and with fond memories of another great Sundowners camping weekend.

Dick Fabricius 651-462-1622 dickfab@aol.com

Winnebago-Itasca Travelers