Senior Connections Senior Connections June 2019 | Page 3
KITTOK from Pg 1
help in whatever way we can to further the par-
ish’s mission.”
One of those people pulled a prank on Kittok
this April Fool’s Day.
“Somebody put my home phone number on the
answering machine at church and forwarded all
the calls to my home,” Kittok said. “ . . . We kept
track of all the calls that came in. At noon, I went
over there and said, ‘These people are trying to
get a hold of you.’ She said, ‘I wondered why the
phone was so silent.’”
He is a member of the American Legion, the
VFW of Wright County in Montrose, Knights of
Columbus, Catholic Order of Foresters, and Cath-
olic United Financial.
In addition to his volunteer service, Kittok also
works as a gravedigger and Delano’s dogcatcher.
Though he is compensated for digging graves, he
also considers it as a type of ministry, as he prays
for everyone he buries and those left behind.
As dogcatcher, he takes the opportunity to let
people know the rules of caring for dogs in Del-
ano.
Perfect Peas
CHRISTIE SCHLUETER
Peas can be planted as soon as you can get the
garden worked up.
They can even take frost.
There are lots of varieties of peas. Once you
have picked the variety you want to use you are
ready to get started. The norm for soil temperature
for peas has been between 40 and 45 degrees. They
really do well in areas that have full sun and rich,
well drained soil.
Peas grow best in cool spring weather, If the soil
is too wet or cold at planting time, the seeds get
fungus and rot or barely grow if they sprout. With
warmer soil, germination and growth are faster.
But when it gets hot out, they stop producing well.
To make germination faster or if your soil does
lack some nutrients, dust them with an inoculant.
This is available at garden centers or on line. This
gives them enough nitrogen to help them grow
quickly. Soaking the seeds overnight also helps.
To retard fungus in cold soil, coat the seeds with
a fungicide. If you have powdered fungicide, sim-
ply put it in a paper bag with the peas and shake.
Plant the seeds one-inch deep and two-inches
apart. You should be able to use seeds for up to
three years.
Peas also respond well to the addition of phos-
phorus (the middle number) so digging in bone
meal or rock phosphate will help with pea produc-
tion.
Peas love to climb, so plant them next to some
kind of structure. You can tie a string across the
row or plant them in a hole surrounded by twigs or
He does not shy away from work or human in-
teraction.
“I like to stay busy,” Kittok said. “The meet-
ing of people, to me, is a wonderful experience.
I realized before I was educated on it that I was
an extravert and gregarious. It thrills extraverts
when there’s a line and there’s another extravert
behind you and, before you know it, you’re having
a conversation about who knows what. My wife
will say, ‘Who was that?’ ‘I don’t know, just a guy
I met in line.’”
He encourages others to get involved.
“Don’t be shy,” he said. “If you feel it’s some-
thing you want to do, go ahead and do it. There are
always going to be naysayers in your way. Don’t
let them be obstacles to your happiness.”
He said he was humbled by the recognition,
calling it motivation to keep moving forward.
“That’s my joke, that I can’t quit now,” Kittok
said. “I’ll remain Citizen of the Year for a good
long time now. I need to be an example to others.
Come to think of it, that’s what I do as a deacon, to
be an example. I think every good citizen is bur-
dened with that responsibility.”
Previous winners
A long list of individuals have preceded Kittok
as Citizen of the Year:
Loretta Diem in 1978, Mary and Bill Wallisch in
1979, Cliff Lundsten in 1980, Dr. Pierre Guilfoile
in 1981, Angie VanLith in 1982, Jack Schumacher
in 1983, Phil and Helvie Carlberg in 1984, Don
Gilmer in 1985, Perry Ditty in 1986, Horace
Keplinger in 1987, Gerhard Meiners in 1988, Char
and Jim Iten in 1989, Bill Diem in 1990, Win-
nie Sinkel in 1991, Mary Robinson in 1992, Don
Hamilton in 1993, Maria Logsdon in 1994, Rich
Ditty in 1995, Art Zitzloff in 1996, Ann and Jim
Lundsten in 1997, Jon Hanson in 1998, Cliff and
Sandy Simon in 1999, Scott Shoutz in 2000, Carol
Lundeen and Gordy Wetter in 2001, John Tacka-
berry in 2002, Gail Sinkel in 2003, Wayne Estby
in 2004, Margaret Parsons in 2005, Dave and Gary
Zitzloff in 2006, Donna Anderson in 2007, Clar-
ence “Deacon” Bruhn in 2008, Ted May in 2009,
Steve Gilmer in 2010, Dave Carroll in 2011, Jack
Lynch in 2012, Dale Vander Linden in 2013, Deb-
bie DeBeer in 2014, Lloyd Griep in 2015, Carol
Plocher in 2016, Frank Muckenhirn in 2017, and
Terri Mills Harris in 2018.
away their fresh, sweet taste. Try to keep them soft
bamboo tied with string around the twigs or bam- but fi rm, not mushy. You just have to pour boiling
boo so they can climb.
water in order to cook them.
Movable wire fencing works well and then can
Different varieties are available that can be
be used for tomatoes when the peas are done. Add
compost or fertilizer to make the soil better. But More PEAS on Pg 8
do not cultivate heavily if the soil is damp, it ru-
ins the texture. When
the fi rst pods appear,
try side dressing with
compost or fertilizer,
or a liquid fertilizer.
Peas also like wa-
ter, so be sure they
have plenty to drink,
especially when they
start blooming. Add a
Short Trips
layer of mulch to keep
June 24 - 26, Mystery Tour
the soil cool and the
One
Day
Tours
weeds out. This will
July 26 - 29, Medora
July 11, Jasper Theater
keep the peas com-
August 11 - 13, Duluth Tall Ships
ing for another two to
July
31,
Guys
and
Dolls
three weeks.
Sept 27 - Oct 9, New England
Pick peas frequent-
August 6, Stillwater
Nov 7-12, Nov 15- 20, and
ly. If you want for a
meal, pick the same
Nov 29 - Dec 4, Branson
evening. Pea sugar
changes to tasteless
starch very quickly.
952.442.4443
To preserve the sweet-
ness
immediately
16 W Main St. | Waconia, MN 55387
freeze any extras in
TravelEasyInc.com | [email protected]
freezer bags or the
vacuum bags. Do not
@traveleasyinc
overcook peas; it takes
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