For Hong Kong native Peter Mak, the journey to Lanesboro isn't as far as it seems. You see, Mak's exhibition of art work at Cornucopia Art Center has a local connection. Mak's wife is Barbara Tammel, the daughter of Marilyn and Donne Tammel of rural
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"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 8:58:04, Jun 18th 2013 - cabraden1 - I salute you Colonel Overland. Your were my c.o. at Rockville Naval Air ... [Read More]
- 7:10:46, Jun 13th 2013 - chipperlee - Seems to be a well written article, except maybe Silica Sand is used in ... [Read More]
- 12:02:15, Jun 9th 2013 - getthefacts - The problem here lies in the fact that girls were repeatedly told "if y ... [Read More]
- 10:45:32, Jun 7th 2013 - Jo mom for 6yrs - Mr. Ehler hit the nail on the head. I agree with the religious con ... [Read More]
- 2:47:58, Jun 7th 2013 - hello - Hello, it's time you wake up. There isn't a community nearby that doesn't offe ... [Read More]
- 9:06:21, Jun 6th 2013 - hello - Hello, it's time you wake up. There isn't a community nearby that doesn't offe ... [Read More]
- 2:05:29, Jun 6th 2013 - Kim Wentworth - The number one rule in a debate: 1) if the person from the opposite si ... [Read More]
- 12:42:18, Jun 4th 2013 - EW - For someone that is always spouting religious rhetoric, you try to come off as a ... [Read More]
- 11:32:18, May 31st 2013 - JO PLAYER - This is unfair to us girls. Morrie Miller is not getting canceled but J ... [Read More]
- 8:25:34, May 29th 2013 - RP - Why is Mr. Ehler involving himself with non-school activities? Is he going after ... [Read More]
33
Do you think the use of all fireworks should be legal in the state of Minnesota for all consumers?
In praise of small places.
Comments
First time author Tony Andersen is a true patriot of Minnesota. Born and raised in St. Paul, one gets the impression after reading his recently released book Small Town Minnesota A to Z, (Afton Historical Society Press; 120 pages, $24.95) that he would rather go exploring the back roads of his home state than spend a month, say, in Europe or sailing the Caribbean. And indeed, Andersen has traveled a great deal -- in Minnesota.
Starting in Argyle, (pop. 636) in the sugar beet and sunflower country of northwestern Minnesota, Andersen randomly selected towns of under 1,000 population to visit and photograph across the state, one for each letter of the alphabet. He ended up down here in the driftless zone, at Yucatan (pop. whatever?) in Houston County and then finally finished his journey just north of Rochester in Zumbro Falls (pop. 237).
The germ for the idea of this book started over twenty years ago, Andersen writes, when as a boy he was crowded into the cramped backseat of his family's car. He fancied himself a photographer and dreamed of taking pictures of the places that flashed by just outside the car window.
Andersen initially set out in 1998 with the intention of photographing the inanimate-- the buildings and scenery of small town Minnesota. He felt con-spicuous and awkward at first, looking every bit the part of the obvious stranger. And what was he doing with all that camera equipment and that stepladder? The local folk wanted to know and they weren't at all shy about asking. Andersen was heartened by the friendly curiosity of the people who approached him and began to rethink the focus of his entire project.
What Andersen discovers is that the worn-out cliché of "Minnesota Nice" is alive and well and flourishing throughout the state. "Without exception I was made to feel welcome in every town I visited," Andersen writes, "People I had just met took me into their homes . . . they opened old worn photo albums and spoke candidly of family stories and loaned me collections of written history I never would have found elsewhere."
Wherever he goes, Andersen finds simple and quiet adventures in the ordinary occurrences of everyday small-town life. He shakes dice for coffee in Miltona (pop. 181); he attends a homecoming football game in Gonvick (pop. 302); he spends an afternoon with an elderly man in Odessa (pop. 194) who is a wheelwright - a builder and restorer of wooden wagon wheels; and in Yucatan he hears the .....
[Read the Rest]
Starting in Argyle, (pop. 636) in the sugar beet and sunflower country of northwestern Minnesota, Andersen randomly selected towns of under 1,000 population to visit and photograph across the state, one for each letter of the alphabet. He ended up down here in the driftless zone, at Yucatan (pop. whatever?) in Houston County and then finally finished his journey just north of Rochester in Zumbro Falls (pop. 237).
The germ for the idea of this book started over twenty years ago, Andersen writes, when as a boy he was crowded into the cramped backseat of his family's car. He fancied himself a photographer and dreamed of taking pictures of the places that flashed by just outside the car window.
Andersen initially set out in 1998 with the intention of photographing the inanimate-- the buildings and scenery of small town Minnesota. He felt con-spicuous and awkward at first, looking every bit the part of the obvious stranger. And what was he doing with all that camera equipment and that stepladder? The local folk wanted to know and they weren't at all shy about asking. Andersen was heartened by the friendly curiosity of the people who approached him and began to rethink the focus of his entire project.
What Andersen discovers is that the worn-out cliché of "Minnesota Nice" is alive and well and flourishing throughout the state. "Without exception I was made to feel welcome in every town I visited," Andersen writes, "People I had just met took me into their homes . . . they opened old worn photo albums and spoke candidly of family stories and loaned me collections of written history I never would have found elsewhere."
Wherever he goes, Andersen finds simple and quiet adventures in the ordinary occurrences of everyday small-town life. He shakes dice for coffee in Miltona (pop. 181); he attends a homecoming football game in Gonvick (pop. 302); he spends an afternoon with an elderly man in Odessa (pop. 194) who is a wheelwright - a builder and restorer of wooden wagon wheels; and in Yucatan he hears the .....
[Read the Rest]
The Lion in Winter: A royal feast
Monday, September 18, 2000
"The Lutheran tongues will be wagging," one theater goer said to me after seeing Commonweal Theatre's staging of The Lion in Winter.
He was right. The Lion in Winter is a medieval soap opera chock full of co .....
[Read the Rest]
"The Lutheran tongues will be wagging," one theater goer said to me after seeing Commonweal Theatre's staging of The Lion in Winter.
He was right. The Lion in Winter is a medieval soap opera chock full of co .....
[Read the Rest]
Play Review: Bus Stop
The Commonweal Theatre has come up with another winner in Bus Stop, a 1950’s comedy by William Inge. There’s a lot more than just laughs and slapstick going on in this play though. Loneliness, the play-wright seems to be saying, is the shared common
.....
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Gateway Towns
Greetings from Austin, Minnesota! Located on I-90, visitors from the west will come through this major city located on the Cedar River.
Austin is the home of the Fortune 500 company -- Geo. A. Hormel & .....
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Northeastern Iowa
Northeast Iowa shares much of the same topography of Historic Bluff Country. Limestone bluffs, meandering rivers, springs, and rolling hills in the east and softly rolling hills with rich prairie soil in the west. Minnesota and Iowa also share the sa
.....
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Anytown, MN
Nestled in a deep valley of the Root River is the unique city of Anytown. This quaint townsite of less than one thousand residents, located in the state hardwood forest reminds one of the many hillside villages in Norway.
Strolling down the .....
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Strolling down the .....
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Not in my backyard
Monday, June 26, 2000
In the usually quiet burg of Spring Valley, the hot topic of conversation has switched as of late. While recent flooding has left the community with much to contemplate, another issue is sizzling to the forefront. What’s .....
[Read the Rest]
In the usually quiet burg of Spring Valley, the hot topic of conversation has switched as of late. While recent flooding has left the community with much to contemplate, another issue is sizzling to the forefront. What’s .....
[Read the Rest]
Wykoff, MN
Our limestone karst region is dotted with "sink holes" which indicate caverns below ground such as the caves at Mystery Cave near Forestville State Park.
When you visit the heart of Bluff Country, take the drive on MN Hwy. 80 and you will fin .....
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When you visit the heart of Bluff Country, take the drive on MN Hwy. 80 and you will fin .....
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