Maple Grove's Only Newspaper of Record—Vol. 1 No. 27—Edited by Mr. Ellison, Town Archivist & Historian
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
It is harvest in the township, and harvest in the township is also deer season, whatever the calendar says. The combines are in the fields from first light until well after dark, and everything that spent the summer living in those fields is leaving them, generally by way of the road. The village has responded as it does every October. It drives slower. It watches the ditches. On the county roads at dusk, it brakes for mailboxes, stumps, and anything brown.
The caution is warranted. The Maple Grove Police Department took two deer reports this week, which is two more than the week before. In the first, the vehicle was parked and the deer got in. In the second, the vehicle was moving, the deer was moving, and only one of them stopped. Both are recorded in the proper section.
At the diner, the morning talk has turned to tracks, rubs, and the size of things seen at a distance in poor light. This editor has been told about a great many deer this week. Every one of them was large. Several were described as "the biggest one I've ever seen," on occasion by the same man.
There has still been no hard frost. The mums have now been covered and uncovered every night for three weeks, and the forecast calls for another week of mild days. The village is happy to hold on to these last few days of warmth and sunshine.
📜 POLICE BLOTTER
MAPLE GROVE POLICE DEPARTMENT—INCIDENT REPORT
Reporting Officer: Officer Markle Week of: October 10-16
County Road, West of the Village—Deer in a Parked Vehicle. Reported by Officer Wilson. At approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, two of the Hutchins boys, ages sixteen and seventeen, parked their pickup on the shoulder beside a woodlot and walked in to scout for deer. They report finding a great many tracks, several small trees with the bark rubbed off, and no deer. On returning to the truck, they found a large buck standing in the bed. Officer Wilson's report notes that the buck saw the boys before the boys saw the buck. The animal startled, drove its antlers through the rear window of the cab, jumped out over the side, and left across the field to the north at speed. Neither boy was injured. Both counted the points while the buck was in the truck. They have not since agreed on the number. Final Disposition: Deer/vehicle report filed. Truck towed to a local garage for a new rear window. The boys now know where the deer are. They regard the afternoon as a success.
County Road, East of the Village—Deer/Vehicle Collision. Reported by Chief Carter. At approximately 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, Charlene reported that her car had been damaged by a deer. Chief Carter took the call himself. Asked why, he said his officers had had a long week. Charlene stated that several does crossed the road in front of her, followed closely by a large buck that was paying no attention to the road, and that she clipped the buck's hind quarter. Damage: right headlight and part of the grille. The buck left the scene. Charlene asked that the buck be charged with destruction of property. Chief Carter informed her that if she could locate and identify the buck responsible, he would be glad to hear from her. A search of the scene found no buck. Final Disposition: Deer/vehicle report filed. Charges pending identification of the suspect.
This editor is told that Charlene has since described the incident at the post office, the diner, and the Farmers Market, and to anyone else who would stand still. In the course of the week the buck has, by her account, gained four points and about a hundred pounds. It is the time of year when every buck in the township grows a little in the retelling. This editor draws no conclusions.
📋 COMMUNITY NOTICES
Deer on the Roads—Dawn and dusk, through November. Police Chief Carter reminds residents that the harvest is moving deer out of the fields and across the roads, and that where there is one deer there is generally another behind it. Slow down. Do not swerve. Report any collision. He also asks residents who strike a deer not to attempt to identify it.
Deer Whistles—Gordon's Hardware. Gordon reports that he sold out of deer whistles on Thursday, which he cannot remember happening before, and that more are on order. Gordon makes no claim as to whether they work. He notes that the frost cloth, which he is fairly sure does work, is still on the shelf in all three sizes.
Fall Farmers Market—Saturdays through October, 9:00 a.m. to noon, the town square. Two Saturdays remain. Apples, cider, squash, and the last of the tomatoes, which have no business still being here.
🏛️ HISTORICAL NOTE
On the evening of November 9, 1931, Mr. Orville Greaves of the feed store was driving his Model A home along the county road when a buck came out of the ditch and struck the car. The Gazette reported the damage as one headlamp and one fender, and the deer as "departed."
Mr. Greaves did not let the matter rest. At the next meeting of the Village Council he presented a petition asking that the animal be declared a public nuisance and that the village recover from it the cost of repairs, which came to three dollars and forty cents. The minutes record that the petition was received and referred to the committee on streets.
The committee on streets met once on the question. Its report to the full Council, which this editor has read in the bound volume, is two sentences long. It states that the committee was unable to proceed "pending location of the respondent," and recommends that the matter be tabled. It was tabled.
It has never been taken off the table. In 1962 a councilman moved to take it up again, and was asked whether the respondent had been located. It had not. The petition of Orville Greaves therefore remains, technically, before the Village Council, ninety-five years on.
This editor notes only that Chief Carter's advice to a resident this week, that she let him know when she has found and identified the buck, is the position the village government has held since 1931. This editor offers the record without further comment.
🔍 Fellow Sleuths Worth Following
Death, Heists and Hat People by Bessie Barr
Bessie Barr was here last month with church ladies in 1900. This time she's on a Texas beach.
A flock of glamorous international visitors lands on Pelican Shores to model a local woman's new hat line. They ask a lot more about old paintings, jewelry, and island estates than about hats. Then the island's estate dealer turns up dead. If you've ever watched a tourist ask one question too many, Finn Dockrey and her dog, Beau, are already watching them.
New in the Pelican Shores series, out October 9. $0.99, or free in Kindle Unlimited.
See the full spotlight →
Grab it on Amazon →
FREE READS—OCTOBER TITLES
The county roads are no place to be at dusk this month. The free shelf is.
Browse October’s Free Books →
🍽️ THE MAIN COURSE
This is the week the combines go into the fields, and everything that's been living in those fields all summer comes out the other side. Mostly deer. Ask Charlene.
In Parade of Peril, what Jenna finds standing in a field is a man she went to school with, posed like a scarecrow. He was a bully when they were kids. That's the first body.
The second one is on a parade float, parked behind her own café.
It's Halloween week in Maple Grove. Everybody Jenna grew up with remembers something that happened here twenty years ago, and nobody remembers it the same way. Jenna keeps asking. Joe would very much like her to stop asking.
It's Book 4. It's set two weeks from right now. If you're going to read it this October, this is the week to start.
Book 1, Scones, Secrets & Sabotage, is free →
✍️ Behind the Scenes
We still haven't had a hard frost. I have heirloom tomatoes in pots on the deck that are still ripening, in the middle of October, which is frankly none of their business. The deck runs warmer than the yard, and the forecast says high sixties for another week, so they're getting one more week on the vine. After that, I pick whatever's left and call it a season.
Peanut has officially taken over the house. Peanut and our dog Xena are full-time playmates now. Charlie is tolerating her from across the room, and has forgiven me enough this week to allow a few snuggles. I'm counting that as progress.
This weekend we had the whole family over for dinner, fourteen of us, with my mom and my aunt in town. The pets have never had so many laps to choose from, and they worked every one of them.
The sun is out. The cardinals are singing. Life is good.
See you next Saturday, fellow sleuths—same town, new trouble.
— Willow 🌿
Meet Willow
Author, School Board member, and gluten-free baker. I write the Jenna McGregor mysteries from my home in Michigan, fueled by coffee and Peloton PRs.
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