News

Parents, students and teacher gathered in the general music room at Park Elementary last week for a ukelele jam session to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off.” It was the culmination of a seven-week general music enrichment class taught to the school’s fourth- and fifth-graders by Kari Wendroth and Emily Marino. The class was made possible when Wendroth applied for a ISD 423 Foun- dation grant to purchase 17 ukuleles, music books and teaching materials for the class.

Sam Flom can’t quite remember why he dropped out of high school so many years ago. The Hutchinson resident does recall, however, that his mother was always mad at him for doing so.

Words for Living “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener ... I am the vine; you are the branches.

Looking for something to do? Julie Jo Larson can help. She is the author of “100 Things to do in Minnesota Before You Die” and “100 Things to do in Minnesota Northwoods Before You Die.” She’ll be able to tell you the best options in person 10 a.m.

With the school year winding down, it’s time to start thinking about things to do during the months ahead. One of the best is the summer reading program offered at the Hutchinson Public Library.

Shelby Foote was a Civil War historian. Foote, a southerner who was featured in several docu mentaries, once told an interesting story about the start of the war. In his classic southern drawl, Foote explained that a Virginia newspaperman stated that the war would be over so fast, and that there would be so little violence that the blood of the first major battle could be cleaned up with a handkerchief. With a chuckle, the old historian mused at just how many handkerchiefs it would have taken to soak up the mess from the estimated 750,000 casualties suffered in what was, and still is, America’s bloodiest war.