August 2022

Enjoying the slide at the Sleepy Eye Family Aquatic Center on Sunday afternoon, this dad and daughter made good use of the final week of swimming in Sleepy Eye. With school starting at Public School next week, the SEFAC season comes to an end. The expected open hours for the rest of this week are 1 to 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20 - the final day for the summer. Weather and number of patrons can affect these open hours. Check by calling SEFAC at 794-9501. Deb Moldaschel

The Sleepy Eye Sportsmen’s Club donated $1,000 to the Sleepy Eye Area Food Shelf. Pictured, Sportsmen’s Club member Dale Evers (center) presented the check to food shelf board members Ann McCabe (left) and Jan Zilka. Submitted

The Minnesota Century Farm program began in 1976. Since then nearly 11,000 Minnesota farms have been recognized as Century Farms. Qualifying farms have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years and are 50 acres or more. Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota State Fair jointly sponsor the Century Farm program. Seventy-eight Minnesota farms are recognized as 2022 Century Farms.

Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Class of 1967 held their 55 year reunion on Saturday, August 6 at the Sleepy Eye Golf Club. Pictured, front from left: Vernon Hillesheim, Sanborn; Phil Witt, St. Paul; Carol (Haecherl) Gent, Bowlus; Karen (Frederickson) Schafer, New Ulm; Kathy (Bertrand) Suker, Park Rapids; Mary (Rubey) Bertrand, Annandale; Arlene (Schmitz) Mages, New Ulm and Mary Jane (Hillesheim) Price, Spring Park. Back: Lonnie Spaeth, New Ulm; Mary Baumann, Sleepy Eye; Doug Schleisman, Delano; Neil Steffl, St. Paul; Duane Helget, St. James; Dennis Braulick, New Ulm; Doug Pelzel, Sleepy Eye; Carol (Fischer) Waibel, New Ulm; Bernard Soukup, Sleepy Eye; Diane (Ludewig) Maurer, Sleepy Eye; Jerome Wurtzberger, Sleepy Eye; Tony Hoffmann, Sleepy Eye; James Wurtzberger, New Ulm; Stephen Soukup, New Ulm; Marvin Braun, Sleepy Eye and Caroline Dietz, Minneapolis. Submitted

Kyle Capacia, Chapter Reporter From Aug. 2 through 4, FFA members from Sleepy Eye traveled to Farmfest to teach youth and families about various farm safety topics.

Summer is wrapping up and so did the library’s amazing Summer Reading Program. Over 160 kids had a great time reading and completing projects with an ocean theme. Those who finished the reading incentive enjoyed their free day pass or concession voucher at the Sleepy Eye Family Aquatic Center. We also hosted several programs for the kids, including a morning at the Sleepy Eye Lake with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources naturalist, a Kinder Koncert music and rhythm program with the Minnesota Orchestra, and entertaining story times with guest readers from Divine Providence Community Home, the lifeguards from the SEFAC, Miss Sleepy Eye Royalty, and author Katie Roiger. It was a fun summer at the library and our numbers of checkouts and active patrons have returned to pre-pandemic levels.