The Wednesday morning sun peeks above the trees on the east side of the Freeman Junior-Senior High School parking lot as a steady rain falls across the community. The morning broke with thunder, lighting and a hard shower that quickly dumped as much as an inch-and-a-half in some areas. More was possible later.

Freeman Public School announced late Monday afternoon that there will be no school on Thursday, Aug. 25 so students and staff can attend the memorial service for Kahlen Salis, who passed away on Aug. 16 due to complications from a liver transplant. Kahlen was a member of this year's eighth grade class.  Thursday's funeral will be at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Freeman at 10:30 a.m., with visitation on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church.

Plans are formulating for a one-weekend event featuring the traditional sit-down Schmeckfest meal and a small-cast musical.  After three years of Covid-induced adjustments, Schmeckfest 2023 will emphasize a return to its roots.  A task force has been assessing Schmeckfest possibilities for the post pandemic era. Recommendations include changes to the Schmeckfest governance structure.

The Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy Phoenix are 1-0. Competing in Burke Friday night, Aug. 19, the brand-new football cooperative shrugged off a slow start and cruised to an impressive 34-12 win over the Cougars less than nine months after the Canistota School Board dumped Freeman Public by voting to dissolve the Pride cooperative.

Freeman Postmaster Lisa James wants the public to know that the post office is receiving word that people are getting emails and texts regarding tracking # US9514961195221 asking them to pay $3 on their credit card to reroute the package. This is a scam, she says, and all messages should be dismissed and deleted. 

Prompted by the significant interest of people planning to attend the Gary Waltner presentation on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21, the program (originally scheduled at the Bethel Mennonite Church on the museum grounds) has been moved to Pioneer Hall to accommodate a larger audience. It will start at 3 p.m. in the auditorium located on the adjacent Freeman Academy campus. It is sponsored by Heritage Hall Museum & Archives (HHM&A).

The juxtaposition between “The joy of being jolly” printed this week as a historical piece from 1902 and the two guest columns written by rural Freeman resident Ashley Holzwarth dealing with mental health struggles that appeared in the past two issues of The Courier couldn’t be more striking. The former from 120 years ago urges everybody to “smile on, smile ever,” to “quarantine your feelings,” and that “people with ‘bad spells on them’ and the ‘dismals’ will cheer up, be chirk and get well.’”

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER It was 10 years ago that Chad Soulek attended a rib cook-off in Corsica at the invitation of longtime friend and fellow firefighter Josh Gerlach. So impressed was Soulek with the event that included representation from fire departments across the area that he brought the idea back to Freeman with him. “I said to our department, ‘I don’t know why we can’t try this here and make it a go,’” he told The Courier. “We took a chance and went with it and here we are.”

Students at Freeman Junior-Senior High School gather for an assembly Wednesday morning to make the first day of school. The 2022-23 term is underway at both Freeman Public and Menno, with Marion beginning classes next Monday and Freeman Academy starting Wednesday, Aug. 24.

JEREMY WALTNER - PUBLISHER It’s just about time to ring the bells again — the school bells, that is. Area students will begin reporting to class for the 2022-23 term next Wednesday, Aug. 17 when Freeman Public and Menno start the new year. Both districts will complete a full day — a change for Freeman Public which has historically held just a half-day opener. Marion starts school on Monday, Aug. 22 — that will be a 12:30 p.m. dismissal — while students at Freeman Academy will report for a full day on Wednesday, Aug. 24.