Winners of the 2023 Montgomery Torchlight Parade float contest were announced by the Torchlight Parade and Fireworks committee. 
"Monster Christmas" was awarded first place float in the parade. It features a large monster truck with the Grinch chasing a miniature monster truck carrying Santa Claus. In between, a family sat around an open fire. 

The Montgomery Area Community Club (MACC) celebrated its 100th anniversary during their annual membership meeting on Monday, Nov. 13.
MACC was founded on March 7, 1923. On Feb. 23, 1923, a businessmen’s meeting that was held at city hall discussed the matter of forming an organization. A “fair sized crowd” showed up for it and it was said that those in attendance were “very keen” to the forming of it, according to the article in the March 2, 1923, Messenger.

“As they were checking out the window displays, Mikayla stated her favorite Christmas movie was Home Alone 2. She hopes someone depicted the scene when the pigeon lady throws bird seed on the Sticky Bandits.”
If you find the medallion, bring it to the Messenger office at 310 1st Street South or call 507-364-8601. Finders of the medallion will receive $100 in Monty Bucks! Look for the next clue in the Dec. 7 Montgomery Messenger if the medallion isn’t found.

The Minnesota River girls hockey team improved to 3-2 this season with a 2-1 win over New Prague Tuesday, Nov. 21 in a game played at Le Sueur.
Sophomore Clare Hathaway scored the game-winning goal at the 12:05 mark in the third period. It was her first goal of the season. She received assists from freshman McKenna Andresen, her team-leading third of the season and freshman Noelle Simonette’s first assist.
Senior Makenna Mueller scored her team-leading third goal in the first period giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

I have a sibling who doesn’t eat anything with pork products in them. Strangely enough, you will find pork products in places sometimes you don’t always think of — one of them being store-bought gelatin.
This sent me on a hunt of how I could make my own gelatin and the results were surprisingly simpler, more flavorful and more nutritious than I realized. In fact, if you can somehow make anything into a liquid, you can make it into gelatin. It also sets firmer.

Mildred (Milly) Mary Schoenbauer, age 96, of Montgomery, passed away on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at Traditions of Montgomery. Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 30, 2023, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home.  Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. with visitation one hour prior at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery. Memorials are preferred to local service organizations of donor’s choice.

I took my father to see a show with U.S. Navy Glee Club Men’s and Women’s Chorus with the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall earlier this month. Preceding the show, we sat down in the lobby next to a couple, approximately in their seventies.

“Eileen, Max, Mikayla, and Ruby were excited for the upcoming Torchlight Parade and Fireworks on Nov. 30. Besides seeing nearly 50 lighted floats and checking out the window displays depicting Christmas movies, they have an opportunity to search for the holiday medallion hidden somewhere in Montgomery.”
If you find the medallion, bring it to the Messenger office at 310 1st Street South or call 507-364-8601. Finders of the medallion will receive $100 in Monty Bucks! Look for the next clue in the Nov. 30 Montgomery Messenger if the medallion isn’t found.

With dozens of cast members and as many musical numbers, Seussical the Musical will bring the larger-than-life charters of Dr. Seuss to the Tri-City United High School’s performing arts center this weekend.
TCU Fall Musical Director Sarah Meija said with all of the cast and crew together it’s around 50 participants.
The show is a mashup of Dr. Seuss stories, most prominently Horton Hears a Who!, Horton Hatches the Egg, and Gertrude McFuzz. It also features such Suess favorites as The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch.

Bradley David DeWitte, 67, Montgomery, passed into eternity surrounded by family and friends on Friday November 17, 2023, after a short battle with a big cancer.  Visitation will be held on Saturday, November 25, from 9 a.m. - noon with funeral service at noon all at St. John Lutheran Church in Montgomery. Interment will follow at Wabash-Friends Cemetery in Indiana.
Brad was born September 7, 1956, in Mankato to Robert and Ruth (Yokiel) DeWitte.  He was raised in Mankato, attended Loyola Catholic School, and graduated in 1974 from Mankato East High School.

Two Tri-City United juniors and one senior have been honored by the Minnesota River Conference coaches following the 2023 season.
Senior Lexi Factor and junior Audrey Vosejpka were named to the First Team and junior Emma Skluzacek was named to the Honorable Mention Team.
Factor was also named to the first team last year and Vosejpka was an Honorable Mention selection in 2022.

The Minnesota River Conference, which is disbanding at the end of the 2024 season, names outstanding coaches each year.
This year they honored four coaches who have been coaching for more than 110 years combined.
Bruce Davis of Tri-City United, Joe Scoblic of Lester Prairie, Chip Wolverton of Sibley East, and Jon Wroge of Norwood-Young America were the honorees this season. They were named during the MRC Coaches Social earlier this fall.

Between Halloween and the 2020 Presidential Election, my family moved from West Virginia to rural Minnesota. It was during the height of the pandemic and my wife had lost her job because of it. She found a new position in Appleton, Minn., and we decided to leave the Appalachian Mountains for the first time.
As a lifelong West Virginian, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Minnesota felt like such a foreign place. Cold, flat and in a different time zone from all our friends and family.

The Minnesota River Conference, which is disbanding at the end of the 2024 season, names outstanding coaches each year.
This year they honored four coaches who have been coaching for more than 110 years combined.
Bruce Davis of Tri-City United, Joe Scoblic of Lester Prairie, Chip Wolverton of Sibley East, and Jon Wroge of Norwood-Young America were the honorees this season. They were named during the MRC Coaches Social earlier this fall.

A person wouldn’t know it was a winter holiday festival the day the two junior grand marshals stopped by the Messenger to have their picture taken, as it was a balmy 60 degrees out Sunday when they did.
Hendrix Rotter, son of Jeff and Eve Rotter, and Brenlynn Sirek, daughter of Jon and Missy Sirek, all of Montgomery, were chosen as the 2023 Torchlight Parade and Fireworks junior grand marshals.

Tri-City United High School students, from the College in Schools (CIS) Introduction to Literature: Poetry, Drama, Narrative class, had the opportunity to meet U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon during her visit to the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
CIS classes are courses offered through the University of Minnesota, similar to what most people know as advanced placement or AP classes. The coursework is signed up for separately by students and taught by teachers in their own high school.