RJ Arnold carries a shovel down the sidewalk after clearing snow Tuesday morning. As expected, the Freeman area received its first accumulative snowfall of the season during the overnight hours, with Mother Nature leaving a couple of inches of the white stuff across the community — enough for an inconvenience and for some schools, including Freeman Academy and Freeman Public, to call for a two-hour late start.

Jet streams cross in the Monday morning sky as sunlights hits the water tower in Freeman. A nice day is expected, but by Tuesday morning the area could be experiencing the first snow accumulation of the season.

The three Andersen brothers, Quentin, Owen and Nolan, string lights along the front of their College Street home on what was an ideal Nov. 26 day for decorating outdoors. The Andersens, including parents Emily and Mike and other extended family members, weren't alone in taking advantage of the mild temperatures. Others were out and about, too, enjoying the beautiful fall day.

Joshua Hofer sings Scene 2 of "Messiah" — "The Coming Judgement" — during Friday's performance of the classic Handel oratorio by the Swiss Choral Society. The 60-minute concert was presented by the 51-voice choir and accompanying musicians at the Salem-Zion Mennonite Church, where nearly all pews were filled.

With Thanksgiving in the past, thoughts will now turn to the Christmas season, as illustrated by these decorations on the front of the Et Cetera Shoppe in downtown Freeman. The holiday season is also being marked tonight by the performance of the first part of Handel's "Messiah" by the Swiss Choral Society. It was presented at the Salem-Zion Mennonite Church at 7:30 p.m.

Here's a blast from the past — an image of the original Saxatones, a local group that played various venues, including nursing homes in its later years, through the late 1990s. Glenn Gering was the last of the original group to pass away; he died in 2016. Dan Graber played with the last of the Saxatones until his freshman year at Freeman Academy. "I learned a lot," he said. "It was wild."

On Nov. 11, 2022, Veterans Day, Vernon Handel (Colonel Retired) passed from this life into eternal life. He was 80 years old. Vern was raised on a farm in Menno, S.D., before catching the flying bug and attending the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree and an assignment to train as a fighter pilot for the Air Force. More importantly, during this time he also met the great love of his life, Connie, though, at first, she wasn’t so sure about him.

Gideon William Schaeffer was born on the family homestead located southeast of Menno, S.D. on Nov. 5, 1929. His parents were Wilhelm Jacob Schaeffer and Anna (Bender) Schaeffer. He was the seventh of 11 children.  Gideon was baptized by Pastor John Bodenman and confirmed by Pastor Erich Kaempchen at Saron Reformed Church in rural Menno.  Gideon died on Nov. 13, 2022 at Splendido (a retirement community) in Tucson, Ariz., at the age 93. 

For those looking to get into the Christmas spirit, the Freeman Community Center on Wipf Street will be the place to be next Thursday, Dec. 1 where a host of holiday-related activities will take place from 4 to 8 p.m.

JEREMY WALTNER - EDITOR & PUBLISHER Nothing was stolen, but a break-in at Norm’s Thrifty White Pharmacy over the weekend has local law enforcement asking if anybody saw anything suspicious. According to Freeman Police Officer Jay Slevin, the break-in occurred around 7 a.m. Sunday when the perpetrators gained access by using a hatchet to break a back window. Slevin said he suspects the security motion alarm that sounded once they were in the Main Street pharmacy “scared them and they took off.