I’m experimenting on my kids.Don’t tell them that. Some of you actually know my kids, so I’m serious. What’s the experiment? For several years, I’ve been curating lack in their lives. Before you call Protective Services, don’t worry... my kids are clothed and fed. But here’s what I mean: Convenience in America has turned into quite the little beast. Somewhere along the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Backwards races and barrel races – on ice
Fourth of a winter series A century ago, young and somewhat older residents of southeast Minnesota did not always pass personal time indoors during long winters. When work was completed, recreation thrived outdoors in January as well as in July. In the first half of the 1900s, ice skating was a given on a large lake in Hokah, the Big Slough in Houston, the Mississippi River … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Tradition gives connection
By Pastor Bridget Sheely Racine/Wykoff/Sumner Center UMC I love Christmas! From when I was a child in the ‘70s to this day, Christmas has been that time of year that has awaken the fruits of Advent in my soul. Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. As a child this special feeling came in the form of learning and experiencing my family’s Christmas traditions. As another season of … [Read more...]
I’m a wonder — I wonder what I’m looking for
I remember my uncle smoking cheap cigars. When flush with cash, he’d move up to affordable White Owl cigars. I knew when that happened because I could smell the burning feathers. He chewed on the end of a cigar like Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western until the stogie became eligible for carbon dating. I was at an airport when a guy fainted onto the baggage carousel. He … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Fun on ice with clubs and a flaming missile
Third of a winter series There was plenty of action and competition in the 1870s and 1880s, even before the advent of school-sponsored sports. W. J. Langen (1869-1960) like many other boys, ice skated near Hokah on a 30-acre lake, which at the slightest spell of cold weather, would provide fine skating ice. Boys would gather evenings, often for a game of “shinny.” A block of … [Read more...]
Good News
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Churches: Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) Please take a moment and look at the Nativity Scene pictured here... take a moment to consider the Good News of the birth of our Savior Jesus... This is the Good News of Christmas...John 3:16 reminds us that God sent his only Son out of love for the human … [Read more...]
I can’t watch a basketball game on the toaster
I’ve oozed from the primordial soup. I’m threatening to become an owner-operator of a TV. Please hold your applause until the end. A TV? Welcome me to the 21st Century. What next? An indoor outhouse? Wearing shoes in the summer? My ancestors went barefooted all year, wrapping barbed wire around their tootsies when the conditions were icy. The Batt Cave hasn’t had a … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – “In the Bleak Midwinter”
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Churches: Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) I love to walk in the woods. I love to listen to the birds. I love to hear the wind blow through the trees. I love the beauty and wonder of God’s Creation. The other day I went for a walk and in a field near our house a deer was standing quietly in the … [Read more...]
Life in the clouds
Life in the clouds Gasp! “My water broke!” reported my wide-eyed wife. We had been looking forward to this day for 10 months, yet still the surprise took me off guard. After a quick recovery from the drop in my stomach, I got my jaw off the floor. “Alright! Yes! How are you? This is awesome!” Oh, the excitement that comes with a baby! My wife is a rock star! At 2:00 the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Warm tongues on frosted windows
Second of a series on winter It was challenging to keep a dwelling warm during winters of the early 1900s, according to Houston, Minnesota history columnist Ingrid Julsrud. The first seven years of her life, the family lived in rented houses that had no basement. The floors were cold; each autumn, her father purchased a large roll of tar paper or heavy blue paper and wrapped … [Read more...]
