The Minnesota Historical Society is pleased to announce the newest recipients of 38 historical and cultural heritage large grants (over $10,000) in 25 counties, totaling $3,578,731 in FY2021. The grants, awarded once each fiscal year, are made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Grant applications were recommended … [Read more...]
Spring Valley woman crafts through pandemic
Linda Kruegel has enjoyed sewing and crafting for most of her life. As a child, she and her family lived with her grandma who was a quilter and a sewer. “I remember a good many days of sitting underneath the quilts while she and her sisters and friends were quilting,” she said. During Linda’s junior year of high school, she made her own wedding dress as a school home-ec project … [Read more...]
Historic memories of Fillmore County: The Daniel Dayton family – The Ravine House… A pioneer life in Big Spring, Minn., Part IV
The Daniel Dayton saga by “Flip” (Brian) Huggenvik continues and – to recap: The 1890s found both Dayton boys, Zara and Aaron hard working farmers. They raised beef cows, pigs, chicken, and even had some sheep. The crops were wheat, oats, barley, flax, and corn. And of course lots of hay... 60 tons a summer. They would sell their grain in Harmony, but hold back enough to get … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: If women on board – then no boozing, no smoking, no cussing
It was surely more pleasant watching the ride from a theatre seat than experiencing an actual ride on a stagecoach. Made famous by mid-20th century movies and television about life in the American West of the late 1800s, horse-drawn coach travel dates back to England in the early 1600s and came to North America during colonization. While stagecoaches contributed to the lore of … [Read more...]
Making the most of murals
Have you ever seen a mural larger than life and wondered how the artist was able to paint it? The enormity of mural painting is fascinating and you don’t have to go all the way to some big city to appreciate it because there is a mural artist close by. Meet Wanda Scheevel, age 46, from Harmony, Minn. Wanda has lived in Harmony most of her life. She moved here in 2nd … [Read more...]
Self-taught artist, Micah Hanson sets a goal to draw a micro-drawing every day for 365 days
Each artist has their own individual style describing how their artwork looks. Local artist Micah Hanson uses the adjective detail, small detail, when describing his work. While interviewing Hanson, he talked in detail about the fish scales, the turkey feathers, and the realistic features added to his paintings, such as the crayfish swimming among rocks. Last November, … [Read more...]
Big screen, big ideas – what to look forward to at the JEM Theatre
Doors that are usually open had to close suddenly during the March-April shutdown. The ticket window was dark, and the popcorn popper was still and quiet. The seats, so recently filled with friends and families, sat empty, and an empty theatre could have been a sign of the times. No new movies could have meant no more movies if the theatre closed down, but with the incredible … [Read more...]
Commonweal Theatre offers original radio play for the holiday season
LANESBORO, MN — As a response to and in compliance with state and federal guidelines associated with COVID-19 precautions, the Commonweal Theatre in historic Lanesboro has remained closed since the end of March and will proceed as such for the remainder of the year. During this period, Commonweal leadership along with its professional resident ensemble members, and board of … [Read more...]
Lanesboro Arts Center remains positive despite pandemic challenges
“We’ve been here for 30 odd years, we’re not going away,” Lanesboro Arts Director and Team Executive Director Robbie Brokken said. Brokken shares the title of art director with Kara Maloney who is also the advancement director. Together, with an incredible, hard-working staff and board of directors, they run the Lanesboro Arts Center. Despite the challenges that the center has … [Read more...]
Love Day
What is hobby-volunteerism? GozAround defines hobby-volunteerism as using volunteering as an outlet for one’s talents. For many people, talents refer to a person’s artistic skills. Using artistic gifts, no matter what medium, is the perfect opportunity to give back. The women of Trinity Lutheran Church in Spring Grove may not have been the ones to coin the term … [Read more...]