O'Leary's Service Station, which stood at the corner at First Street North and Sakatah Boulevard in Waterville for more than 90 years, was demolished Monday, April 30. The station has not been operated since late December 2018 / early January 2018 when John "Johnny" O'Leary retired, and the iconic building was considered dilapidated. The property owners plan to use the land to create two pads for campers.

Jon E. Broadbent, age 73 of Stapleton, passed away Friday, April 27, 2018 at Great Plains Health in North Platte. He was born May 13, 1944 in Waseca, MN to Earl George and Luella May (Schnoor) Broadbent. He graduated from High School in Minnesota and later served in the United States Navy and served as a Naval Chief. Jon also served in school administration at Red Cloud, Loup City, Venango, Wauneta, Maxwell, and most recently in Stapleton.

Ardis D. Kabes, age 87, of Waterville, died on Monday, April 23, 2018 at Janesville Nursing Home.  Graveside services will be held at Riverside Cemetery, Morristown on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 10 a.m. with the Reverend David Mumme officiating. Arrangements are being completed by the Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.
 

Arlene Beverly Houlihan of Decorah, Iowa, died peacefully at the Aase Haugen Senior Services on March 30, 2018. She was 86 years old. Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 20, 2018 at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Decorah with Rev. Phil Gibbs officiating. Burial was in St. Benedict Cemetery in Decorah. Visitation begian at 9 a.m.

Delbert M. Velzke, age 85, of Owatonna, passed away on Sunday, April 22, 2018 surrounded by his family at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis. Funeral services will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Morristown on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 2 p.m. with the Reverend Travis J. Loeslie officiating. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery, Morristown with military rites provided by the American Legion Post #149, Morristown. Visitation will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Morristown on Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The WEM softball team has started their 2018 season with three straight wins over Gopher Conference opponents. Friday, April 20 they defeated Blooming Prairie, 7-1, in seven innings and NRHEG, 3-1, in five innings at the Austin Westcott LifeEnterprise Sports Complex Dome. Tuesday, April 24 the Bucs downed United South Central, 15-5 in five in Waterville. WEM trailed 5-4 heading into the bottom half of the fifth inning when they exploded for 11 runs to end the game by the 10-run rule.

The small service station at the corner of First Street North and Sakatah Boulevard in Waterville is slated for demolition.
Locals refer to it simply as O'Leary's.
The place is as iconic as its manager, 98-year-old John "Johnny" O'Leary, who operated the station for almost 80 years, up until winter 2018 when his body no longer allowed him to work at the station.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School junior Sarah Best, daughter of Dave and Cherie Best, earned first place in the Original Oratory division at the Class A Speech Tournament in Apple Valley on Saturday, April 21.
Senior Buccaneer Elijah Bass, son of Angela Sweetland, also competed in the State tourney and finished 12th in Extemporaneous Reading.
Pick up a copy of the April 26, 2018, Life or Enterprise to learn more.

WELL, I AM STILL HERE AND Nothing more drastic has befallen me. Guess Lisa is satisfied with her little "tricks" and things are back to normal albeit I do have the new address and guess it is permanent. However, I am glad that she scheduled me for this week instead of last week. The April 19 date on which Editor Jay wrote the column was also designated (by the Government, I guess) as “Earth Day”... can you imagine what she might have pulled on me if I had been scheduled to write that day?

A set of sisters, Claire and Natalie Elness, claimed top honors in the Annual Spelling Bee of Lutheran Elementary Schools in Southern Minnesota that was held at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Truman on April 21.
The girls are the daughters of Troy and Aubrey Wetzel and Alec and Nicole Elness.
Big sister Claire, a fifth grader at Trinity Lutheran School, North Morristown, competed in the fifth and sixth grade division, and little sister, Natalie, represented Trinity Lutheran in the third and fourth grade division.

Ardis D. Kabes, age 87, of Waterville, died on Monday, April 23, 2018 at Janesville Nursing Home.
Arrangements will be announced later by the Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

Cindy Joy Lindahl, age 51, of Janesville, lost her battle with colon cancer on Friday, April 20, 2018 at her parent’s home. Funeral services will be held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 415 Lake St. W., Waterville on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 10 a.m. with the Reverend David Mumme officiating. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery, Morristown. Visitation will be at the Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault on Monday, April 23, 2018 from 4 to 8 p.m. and also at the church for one hour prior to the services on Tuesday.

Ronald William Boyd, age 56 of Waterville, died on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato. Born in Waseca on September 14, 1961, Ronald was the son of Marlin and Sharon (Lau) Boyd.  As a young man he attended school in Waterville.  Ronald worked in various jobs over the years including manufacturing and property management.  He also served in the United States Army Reserves.  He enjoyed fishing, working outside, and working with computers.

Hoot Lanes II defeated Xpressions Salon Friday, April 13 for the Waterville Bowling Championship. Hoot Lanes rolled a 3,330 series with handcap while Xpressions rolled a 3,234 series. All 10 bowlers in the championship match averaged higher than their league average. Jacob Hill (667 series), Nick van Houdt (660), Tim Steinhaus (641), Willie Lindquist (629), and Henry van Houdt (553) made up the Hoot Lanes team. Don Simes (702), Jay Schneider (650), Jeff Ready (598), Tauston Taylor (521), and Brian Pittmann (495) made up the Xpressions team.

Minnesota has new Czech Slovak ambassadors when the royalty was crowned at the annual Miss Czech Slovak MN Pageant at the American Legion Post 79 in Montgomery on Saturday. The new royalty is pictured with the night’s Czech Helpers. 

Pictured are: Czech Helpers Melanie Le Brun, Miss Congeniality and Second Princess Michelle Vlasak, Queen Heather Vikla, Czech Helper Hayden Dietz, First Princess Mary Carson and Czech Helper Alenka Jans. The royalty was crowned after interviews, parent introductions, and talent and kroj competition. 

Because of the severity of the winter storm, the Miss Czech Slovak MN Pageant has been moved to Saturday,  April 21. The location and times will remain the same. It will be held at the Montgomery American Legion Club. A public reception and dinner will be held prior to the 7 p.m. pageant. 
 
Pageant contestants include: Mary Carson, daughter of John and Rosalind Carson, Heather Vikla, daughter of David and Kelly Vikla, and Michelle Vlasak, daughter of Ed and Debbie Vlasak.