Annually, the social and entertainment event of the year. Looking back, the super and I missed an opportunity to arrive in a limo, with champagne on ice. Oh yeah, not at the school! But for the arthriticly and follicly challenged among us, we were celebrating not having to sit on a hard wooden bleacher or cold metal folding chair any longer – for the first time, we were in a THE-AYE-TUR! And what a lovely touch that is.
[Oh, student musicians, where art thou?]
[And then they filed in with the precision of a Marine drill team, taking care not to trip over the upright basses.]
[And here is your Alexandria Area High School orchestra! 🙂 ]
[And here joined by your Alexandria Area High School combined choirs.]
[Together they are wonderfully directed by Brad Lambrecht, orchestra, and Steve Deitz, choir, both looking quite lovely in coat and tails.]
[The concert honored Murrae Freng, who would have absolutely loved the new auditorium. It’s a real shame that he just missed being able to see it.]
The Program
Part of every Christmas concert since we’ve been going has been the narration by Bob Hines. Our old friend has the perfect late-night FM deejay voice!:
[Checking now your programs, the Silhouettes (properly named here) and Les Marquise performed right in front of us.]
Christmas Carols – The Carolers:
[The Rainbow Strings on the far side of the auditorium, among beaming hundreds of parents and grandparents!]
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
***********************************************************************************
Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
**********************************************************************************
alexandriacardinals 