By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish of the UMC Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston, and Spring Valley: Faith Churches (and Lenora) A few days ago, I ran across a picture of Snoopy sitting in the grass with a big smile on his face and the caption, “Be the reason someone smiles today.” The expression on Snoopy’s face was one of sheer joy and happiness and it made me … [Read more...]
Fresh off the Farm – What Needs to Go?
Have you ever written a list of what you did not want your family to look like? What would make your list? Cluttered home? Hurried? Impatient? Overworked? Overbooked? Over committed? Tired? Fighting parents? Sassy kids? What would you not want? I recently attended an online homeschool planning boot camp in which we wrote down our family vision, non-negotiables, and the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Grain, Trains, Torrents of Rain Rise and Fall of Railroads in Caledonia
Second of a series Shipping “King Wheat” to market was the primary reason railroad service into the interior of the new state of Minnesota was so critical during the 1860s. Since the late 1850s, wheat had been the major cash crop in an agrarian economy. Ironically, wheat production began to wane by the late 1870s when railroad service finally reached the Houston County seat … [Read more...]
Square Watermelons Don’t Roll Off the Table
We’d gotten enough rain to settle the dust and make it possible for me to chew mosquitoes when I walked outside. I remembered going to the local drugstore with my mother on similar rainy days. While she was taking care of her business there, I headed to the free library that the store generously provided. It was called a magazine rack, and there were umpteen periodicals to … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Faith is a Guide in Times of Distress
By Pastor Nissa Peterson Chatfield and Root Prairie Lutheran Churches Life is hard. It is full of ups and downs, pain and sorrow. For people of faith, our faith is part of what helps us weather those challenges in life! With lots of challenging national news happening in the last couple of weeks, I wanted to name some of the ways that faith can help you in times of … [Read more...]
Being Bored Can be Brutally Boring
“I’m bored.” Sometimes my lips flapped for no reason, but that’s what I said. I have vivid memories of saying that because it was the last time I ever said, “I’m bored.” I immediately regretted saying it because my father heard it. He had used both ears. He’d grown up in a family with many ears, and the members of that fine family leaned in and listened hard to hear when … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Finally, Rails Reached Caledonia and Preston
Houston and Fillmore Counties were thriving in the mid-to-late 1800s, greatly due to the transformation of transportation by the railroad – except for the two county seats, Caledonia and Preston. The early Minnesota railroads, built between 1862 and 1870, began in the eastern counties and generally expanded westward as did the settlements. These lines reached from the … [Read more...]
Thyme & Again – School Days and a Little Homework
By Angela Denstad Time and again, back-to-school season comes around, and that means – whether you’re a student, a parent of a student, an educator, friend, fan, or neighbor of students – life shifts into school mode. Even for those who only vaguely recall their own long-ago school days, the fresh, fall air and dewy mornings might just lead to a longing for a new pair of … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Saturated
By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free This summer the rain has seemed constant and steady like a “drip…drip…drip that never stops.” Floods have occurred near and far causing devastating destruction to homes, land, and lives. The damage in the wake of something so innocent as the rain is incredible. But when the soil becomes saturated and can no longer … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Crime, Booze and Other News in the 1870s
“A young man never feels so much at a loss what to do, as when he takes his girl to a picnic, a big ant crawls down her back and begins to bite her just above the belt, and she begins to scream for help.” This quip was published in the Caledonia Journal in September 1879. Percival “Perk” Steffen, who owned that newspaper for 36 years (1922 to 1958), at some point, decided to … [Read more...]