A Hutchinson man survived a grueling, lonely ordeal last Wednesday, after being run over by a bulldozer and struggling to find his cell phone to call 911.

“I needed to find that phone or I was going to die, is what I kept telling myself,” said 34-year-old Thomas Malchow, speaking on his cell phone earlier this week from his room at Hennepin County Medical Center.

The latest addition to Hutchinson’s growing roster of public art is the bronze fireman statue at the Hutchinson Fire Station, 205 Third Ave. S.E.

ire Chief Brad Emans told me the statue was originally destined to be placed in Fireman’s Park by the Crow River bridge in downtown Hutchinson. When road construction made the installation of the statue uncertain, the firemen opted to place it by the firehouse instead.

Although Thanksgiving began as a day of religious observance, it has changed through the years to become more of a secular holiday.

Today, it is celebrated with groaning tables of food, watching afternoon football and preparing for "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, that has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

In early December, retired teachers Robert and Mavis Schwanke will load up several large cardboard boxes in their van and head into the Twin Cities. Their cargo: a year’s worth of knitting — about a thousand four-foot scarves.
The scarves, as colorful as a rainbow and as cheery as Joseph’s coat, are destined for students in need, who are enrolled in the Minneapolis school system.
Read about the Schwankes gift of giving in the Tuesday Hutchinson Leader.