VOL. V Issue 12R
Holabird Celebrates Doug Lund Friday
Jerry Hinkle, courageous, dynamic Publisher of the Holabird Advocate has decreed that Friday, December 29, will be Doug Lund Day as far as our Front Page is concerned. There has been some confusion as to when exactly Mr. Lund is retiring. Some say he has already done so, others say that this coming Friday is he effective date of his hat hanging.
All of us here at the Holabird Advocate hope that South Dakota Governor, Marion Michael Rounds, will declare next Friday a Holiday in Mr. Lund's honor as well, if he has not already done so.

It's the second day of Christmas, and things are still merry. Agnes Hahn had 40 people at the Come Hahn Inn for Christmas Eve. There were two choices of soup, Oyster Stew and Chicken Noodle. A veritable buffet of appetizers were on hand as well. Some folks slipped out of the festivities to attend midnight mass. The Methodists had their midnight mass at 8 pm, the Lutherans at 10 pm. Jerry Hinkle went to both. The first time for business, the second for pleasure. Jerry asked cousin Gary Haiwick if was going to keep up the time honored tradition of watching the flock by night. He replied that he supposed he would be doing so because he is lambing right now. Agnes turned in early that night because she worked so hard, and was coming down with a cold.

The next day, Jerry took inventory of all of his Christmas treasure. So far, he collected a few dollars in cash, a "Monopoly:Here and Now" board game and The Ditty Bops Calendar. The calendar was a gift from Agnes, although she doesn't know it yet. Don't tell her, or she may stop payment on the check. Jerry put the order in when he saw that the price was the same as the amount on her check. Harold Hinkle tried all Christmas morning to call his sister, Mavis Kennedy. By the time he got her on the phone, it was time to go back to the Come Hahn Inn, which put Harold in a bad mood that lasted all day long. Once there, it was time to partake of the best prime rib our publisher ate that week so far (it's early in the week, though). After dinner folks started leaving so Agnes would have a chance to rest. Mary Hinkle threw a Christmas party for the Darrel Hinkle family, so the kids showed off their presents. Brittany Hinkle got a complete Chef's kit from Leanne Hoffman earlier that day. It was especially nice. There were cookbooks, measuring cups and spoons, a rolling pin, but the crown jewel was an apron with the words "Chef Brittany" sewed into it. As soon as Mary gets the phot developed, we hope to put Brit on our Front Page.

And that brings us to today. At about 3 pm, The Ken and Joan Hansen arrived with daughter Anne Hansen and granddaughter Claire Geitzenauer. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity to eat the leftover prime rib. Some said "French Dip" but Jerry thought that they might be talking about Jacques Pepin.

If anyone was to tell Brittany Hinkle, "This is not your father's 4-H Club!", she'd better not believe it. Darrel and Kristi Hinkle have brought back the old Western Wranglers name from the Hyde County 4-H history books and dusted it off.

The club has a rich, full history. Dorothy Zilverberg, Betty Eckstein, and Mary Hinkle were among the leaders when it was in Holabird. Members of The Western Wranglers were even found south of Highmore for a spell. Kristi is hoping to be as good a leader as her mother in law was back in her day. all of us here at the Holabird Advocate believe that she couldn't have picked a better roll model

One part of Christmas that can be either a blessing or a curse is the annual Christmas form letter. Some include a personal note, others do not. The ones I like best are those with a theme. Sometimes a little bit of poetry. Some just brag about their kids and grand kids. Others just let you know what they themselves have been up to all year. Some even include photos so you can actually see who they are talking about. My favorite so far is one sent by Mike and Laura Dawson, which had different statistics about 2006 for their family. Of course all of the form letters are good. It's better than just sending an e-card and not even signing it like I do. I don't even spent the 39 cents to mail it. But then like Garfield says, "Christmas: It's not the getting. It's not the giving. It's the loving." May it be so for all of you on these 12 days of Christmas!