MARILYN HAGERTY: Girl Scouts are lining up cookies, celebrating 100th year

• Marilyn Hagerty

Marilyn Hagerty

Talk about it

Dear Shirley,

Remember when we took that red wagon and walked all over our home town of Pierre, S.D., selling Girl Scout cookies?

Well, the Girl Scouts around Grand Forks are gearing up for their annual cookie sale. They will be starting out Feb. 18 and finish up on March 24.

These days, the Girl Scouts still have Thin Mints. They are a long time favorite. Then there are Caramel Delights, Peanut Butter Patties, Lemonades, Thanks-a-Lots, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shout-outs and Shortbread.

I know all this because I had the fat pleasure of helping judge their cookie creations contest during the 2012 Girl Scout Cookie Rally over in East Grand Forks. And Brianna Payne came up with the prize winning concoction when she turned out Thin Mint Cookie Pops.

The other winners were Sara Czapiewski, Allyson Gutzwiller and Jamie Czapiewski, all from Minto, N.D., and Kyleen Guttormson and Abbey Guttormson, both from Grand Forks.

Since tasting six desserts, it’s been a little harder to zip up my trousers. I suppose the other judges had the same problem. They were Mayor Mike Brown, City Council member Elliot Glassheim and Grand Forks police officer Sue Shirek.

We’ll be hearing quite a bit about the Girl Scouts this year, Shirley. They are celebrating their 100th birthday.

And you celebrated your birthday Wednesday. I won’t say how old you are — only that after you were born the stock market crashed. I don’t mind telling people I was born the same year as the Queen of England.

Well, winter is moving along in North Dakota. On these cold mornings, I switch the radio on and listen to Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman on 96.1 the Fox. They start talking at 6 a.m. Swygman is kind of a budding curmudgeon, Shirley, but he is quite knowledgeable and very amusing the way he calls a spade a spade.

Then when I get situated in the kitchen with the Herald, I flip the radio to Jim Bollman on KNOX 1310. He has a telephone chat with John Reitmeier over at Crookston. So I get a real earful. I never watch TV in the morning.

I do the jumbles puzzle and read the bridge column. The furnace runs. I keep a teakettle simmering on the stove to get moisture into the air. The dog goes out and quickly comes back to the door.

That’s how it is! I know you are talking in Tucson about the rain that doesn’t come down and hit the ground. Around here, people are talking about Gene Roebuck announcing he will retire from his post as coach for the UND women’s basketball team. They are talking about the wonderful violinist, Hahn-Bin, who performed Sunday afternoon at the North Dakota Museum of Art. They say he was brilliant, audacious and exuberant. And he mesmerized the sold-out crowd.

Over the coffee cups, there is talk about the Young Professionals. They had a big crowd at their recent dinner. They seem to be on the move!

Tonight, the All-City Orchestra is performing at the Alerus Center. And Red River High School is opening its winter comedy “Inspecting Carol.”

I hope you are enjoying the winter visitors in Tucson. Be kind to them even if they do run up the prices in your supermarkets.

Love from your sister Marilyn hunkered down near the west bank of the Red River of the North.

P.S. I know that spring will come. After all, they have Easter candy on display at our Target store. It is near the Valentine candy.

Reach Marilyn Hagerty at mhagerty@gra.midco.net or at (701) 772-1055.

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