By Zenessa Anderson On November 2, I served as an election judge. It was one of the best, but most exhausting, days of my life. From early morning to long after sunset I helped get people registered, kept the process moving smoothly, and counted. Counting, double checking numbers, and counting a third time, all to make sure that the American People are heard. We carefully … [Read more...]
Historic memories of Fillmore County – The Daniel Dayton family – a pioneer life in Big Spring, Minn., Part II
Continuing on today where Daniel Dayton’s granddaughter, De Orra Dayton, (her father was Zara Dayton) left off last week. Once again, please note, this pioneer story was authored by my good friend, “Flip” (Brian Huggenvik. He has done an outstanding job, educating us about the challenges our forefathers faced as they tamed the wilderness of Fillmore County over a century … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Boatmen, Indian blacksmiths and finally a few farmers by 1850
Eight years before Minnesota statehood, Minnesota Territory was included in the United State census of 1850. A year previous, the Minnesota Territorial assembly had created nine counties. What is now Houston County was then part of a very large Wabasha County, which extended from the Mississippi River west to the Missouri River (now in central South Dakota) and from the Iowa … [Read more...]
Back when Googling was nothing more than goofy giggling
The first vehicle I fell in love with wasn’t a Corvette or a Mustang. It was a bookmobile. I miss libraries. I know some are open, but the ones I haunt offer limited services. I still get books, but I do so without entering a library. My screen had gone wavy, so I knew it was a flashback to a day in high school, back when girls introduced me to their mothers, “This is Al … [Read more...]
Shopping – Man, has it changed!
As I was driving to Rochester one day to buy crafting ribbon, I was taking count of how many of my quick stop shops had closed – JoAnn’s south, gone. Shopko, nope. Kmart, long gone. WalMart – too crazy, just can’t do it. So, this means that my shopping from now on has to be very thought out and well planned to know what I need and where I can get it. With many of my quick … [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...]
Historic memories of Fillmore County – The Daniel Dayton family – The Ravine House… a pioneer life in Big Spring, Minn.
For the next several weeks we will be traveling on a journey that will take us far back into the history of Fillmore County, Minn. We begin our trek 3 1/2 miles northwest of beautiful Harmony, Minn. The year is 1855 and a family headed by Daniel Dayton has just arrived on the scene! Only one year before their arrival the Dubuque-St. Paul Trail had been established and Harmony … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Hoot ‘n’ Holler, the Big Black Horse amid railroad recollections
“Tell that animal up there to go slow and not run over us!” yelled John Sand up to the conductor in the train that was bearing down on them. The “big black horse” (steam locomotive) endangered their little motor car all the way from Rushford to Houston. “We had that big headlight beaming down on us, and we were going as fast as we could.” Sand, who resided in Houston, long … [Read more...]
November
“Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live. The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on a table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on... Alas, because of COVID many families will not all be able to gather around the Thanksgiving table. The year 2020 has been a difficult year … [Read more...]
Hobby? No – obsession!
Anne Spartz was given a simple assignment by her Slayton High School psychology teacher when she was a teen — find out where you got your hair and eye color. Anne found that information nowhere near as interesting as the people she learned about. Her future husband’s sister was in the class and had the same assignment. At family reunions, her dad’s side had a self-proclaimed … [Read more...]