The Goehring Family Christmas Eve gathering at the Come Hahn Inn on the edge of Highmore was festive, or at least as festive as it could get. There were no Christmas carols and no Christmas story, but at least there was also no fights. There was plenty of food of course. Agnes Hahn presided as always and made sure of that. Agnes threw some of her family members for a loop when she announced that this would be her last year of hosting Christmas Eve for her family, as it has become too much work. And so, it would appear that at 90 years of age, that Agnes is going into retirement. She said that the Come Hahn Inn will always be available for holiday gatherings, but it's time for someone else to do the work.

It is at this time that all of us here at the Holabird Advocate wish to commend Agnes Hahn for over 40 years of Christmas Eves and Christmas dinners. Few people have kept Christmas so well for so long. It is our hope that when next Christmas Eve rolls around, and someone else is in her kitchen, Agnes is kicking back in the living room with a glass of wine wondering what is taking so long. We have a suspicion that Agnes may be called on as a consultant, but we hope that she will be able to let her family take care of her as well as she took care of them for all that time. There is a saying that goes, "Step off the stage gracefully and let the sprightlier age take to the spotlight before they come up and throw you off". It's interesting that in this case the sprightlier age is in their 50s and 60s. This is quite an opportunity for Agnes. She will get to see what she has taught her daughters and daughters in law. As long as they remember to do everything with love, the details will take care of themselves.

Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, made quite an exit from the Family gathering on Christmas Day. After leaving the Come Hahn Inn, he remembered that he had his mother's quilt in his back seat and tried to turn around to come back and got stuck in a snowbank in front of the Lutheran Church. Harold Hinkle and Wilbur Goehring Junior got him out and on the way back to Mitchell.

Jerry must be a glutton for punishment, because he came back to the Ponderosa yesterday. Today the well went dry, and the Hinkles have to haul water to the house like they live in a third world country or something. He's wishing he had made a reservation at the Come Hahn Inn. All of us at the Holabird Advocate hope Agnes gets some free dish washing out of it if he ever does. Failing that, she should get another box of chocolate covered cherries.

As we go through puberty and reach adulthood, we are faced with many temptations. But when we hit midlife, they change. Here are a few temptations that are particularly intoxicating to the middle-aged man:
Sofas;
Slippers;
Dogs or people who don't speak;
Escalators;
Medicine cabinets;
Nothing to do.

Dedicated to all you parents who remember what "Some assembly required" really mean!

Those who thought that Barrack Obama would bring about Bill Clinton's third term will be disappointed to find out that, in least in one respect, it's not happening.

This photo of Joan Hansen, or Forrest City, Iowa, with Barrack Obama was taken during the Iowa Caucus. e can't see the face too good, but Jo says it's him, so until it can be proven otherwise, we'll believe her.
This is not a bimbo eruption, of course. Joan Hansen has too many morals, and too much sense to be lumped in with your average presidential groupie. We don't know what they are talking about, but if she is lobbying for the position of Librarian General, all of us here at the Holabird Advocate hope she gets due consideration. Jerry Hinkle was hoping to be nominated as Secretary of Sexy, but we have discovered that the cabinet position does not exist. That is just as well, since he doesn't know shorthand.

One of the reasons for our hiatus is that Jerry Hinkle is a staff writer and Student Senator for the Phreno Cosmian, Dakota Wesleyan's Student Newspaper. As with most publications of high standing, this one has a web presence. If you would like to see all, or even some of the articles that Jerry has knocked out for the Phreno during the fall term, check out the site at: http://www.dwu.edu/english/student.htm#phreno

Phreno Cosmian is Greek for "Mind of the World", or so the story goes.

Children have been rebelling against their parents since the beginning of time. In order to establish their own identity in the family, they feel they have to indulge in behaviors and attitudes that are not enjoyed by their parents. So if you have teen-agers that you care about, I recommend that you have your entire back tattooed, get some jewelry riveted to your face, wear your pants around the knees and never use a sentence that doesn't feature the f-word. Sure it may upset the other executives who work at your office, but you'll be forcing your kids to choose normalcy as their declaration of independence.

During our involuntary hiatus Barrack Obama was elected President of the United States. Time Magazine thinks that is all it takes to be a person of the year. We disagree! Our person of the year had a difficult election cycle. He even had our own courageous, dynamic Publisher doubting his ability to do the job he has been elected to do. Then came an appearance in Java City at DWU. He appeared slow and sluggish, but was greeted with a standing ovation by a rather enthusiastic crowd of people. He spoke slowly, choosing words deliberately, and even employing a certain amount of self deprecation humor towards himself and the political stereotype. His best quote, "A politician who doesn't say much. I should win by a landslide for that reason alone". Reelection was not a sure thing, but he defied all logic, and the odds, to come out ahead on Election Day. Our Person of the Year has shown us all what being courageous and dynamic, while keeping his humility, is all about. The Holabird Advocate Person of the Year for 2008 is SENATOR TIM JOHNSON!

Life and Time of Dorothy Zilverberg (1921 - 2008)
Dorothy Zilverberg, 87, of Highmore, passed away Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at the Highmore Healthcare Center.
Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, December 6, 2008 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Highmore with Father Kevin Zilverberg officiating. Burial was in St. Mary's Cemetery, Highmore, directed by Luze Funeral Home of Highmore. Visitation was held 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Friday, December 5, 2008 with a 7:00 p.m. wake service at the church. Dorothy Catherine Boehmer was born February 23, 1921 in Hughes County to August and Elizabeth (Schmidt) Boehmer. After graduating from high school in Harrold, SD she went on to Notre Dame Junior College in Mitchell, SD where she earned a teaching certificate. During her teaching career, she taught at Grey Goose, Canning, and south of Harrold. She then met John Zilverberg and they married February 17, 1945 in Highmore during military leave while John was in the Marines. Military service took them to Klamath Falls, Oregon where she continued to teach 6th grade. The couple was transferred to San Francisco until the war ended October, 1945.
After the war, John and Dorothy moved to their ranch north of Holabird where they started a family of four children. Dorothy was a faithful, loving partner and wife for 63 years. She loved her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and would do anything for them. She also loved birds, flowers, traveling and being an active volunteer. Her volunteer activities included holding state office with SD Extension Homemakers and serving on the state and county boards. She held local offices in Cattle women, Catholic Daughters, Altar Society, Historical Society and belonged to the Retired Teachers Organization. In 1976 she represented Hyde County as Mother of the Year in the state competition. In 2003 she was honored to be inducted into the South Dakota 4-H Hall of Fame for 20 years of service as a 4-H leader. In 1989 John and Dorothy retired from the ranch and moved to Highmore.
Dorothy is survived by her husband, John Zilverberg, two daughters and two sons, Marcia (Mike) Wiedebush of Aberdeen, Donald (Peg) Zilverberg of Holabird, Karen (Ray) Geditz of Ipswich, and Gary (April) Zilverberg of Holabird, 12 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, and a sister, Marcella Auch.
She was preceded in death by her parents, twin brothers who died at birth, a brother Vincent Bollweg, and a sister Evelyn Reding.

All of us here at the Holabird Advocate are dreadfully sorry that we are so late in our expression of heartfelt sympathy at the passing of this great lady. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by all. Dorothy is free from all of her trouble and pain. We should all be that blessed!

Last week, I was at a 25th wedding anniversary for an average normal couple, if there is such a thing. He's a schoolteacher, she's a sales clerk. These are two careers where you don't take business trips. That means that at the end of every day, you both go home. You have to respect that. This is a marriage with no time off. Compare that to the scenario where the man and the woman are both senior executives in a large corporation. They travel all the time. In 25 years of marriage, they're really only together about four years. We need to differentiate between these types of marriages. It's not how many years you're married, it's how many days and, more importantly nights, you've spent together. Now obviously we don't want to discount the accomplishment of a 25-year marriage, regardless of the reduced years of active service, but I think you have the right to calibrate your gift based on the degree of difficulty. The traveling business couple should get flowers and a card, the stay-at-home working couple deserves something better. I suggest a gift of separate holidays for each of them or a large bottle of an expensive beverage with a significant alcohol content.