It’s nice to have a name you can remember. I live a mile from where I was born. I had no choice. My mother said nuts didn’t fall far from the tree. I grew up amid people named Nelson, Olson, Hanson, Sorenson, Knutson, Gulbrandson, Jacobson, Peterson, Madson, Thompson, Hendrickson, Larson, Jenson, Erickson, Swenson, Christenson, etc., and I still have difficulty pronouncing … [Read more...]
A little of this, A little of that
Fabulous fall is finally here. I can’t stand the heat; I can’’t stand the cold. This weather is Goldilocks right for me. The color of fall leaves makes me feel like I live in a fairytale book. Even without a fairy godmother I can finish many chores because of the cool mornings. Getting a good night’s sleep really helps with the fresh air from an open window. I even got … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Good, very good, and supremely good
By Pastor Pam Seebach Harmony, Mabel, and Newburg United Methodist Churches “When God began to create the heavens and the earth – the earth was without shape or form, … God said, “Let the earth produce every kind of living thing: livestock, crawling things and wildlife.” And that’s what happened. God made every kind of wildlife, every kind of livestock and every kind of … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Townships, county, provided medicine, food, grave digging
Part two, 1800s epidemics From the 1850s through the 1870s, the first three decades of Anglo settlement of Houston County, settlers – especially children and women – were ravaged by contagious diseases. In the 1880s, township and county officials attempted to prevent uncontrollable epidemics of small pox, diphtheria, cholera, measles, influenza, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, … [Read more...]
A Goodly Heritage
Time out with the kids Grandpas and grandmas can find it a challenge to get time with their grandchildren. Time and distance take a toll on how often and how deep their relationships can go. Our children’s families are not unlike many others. Their homes are not situated close to the farm. So we are faced with making the times we have together something special. One … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Give God a call
By Rev. Deanna Woodward Maple Leaf Parish United Methodist Churches of Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston and Spring Valley How do you feel when you call a business to ask a question and get one of those recordings? You know, the kind that lists a long menu of options that may or may not lead to a live person on the other end of the line? Have you ever wondered what it would … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Pioneers were defenseless against most formidable foe
Physically strong, self-sufficient men realized they were capable of taming the frontier but not always able to save the lives of their children and wives. During the last half of the 1800s, the first white settlers in southeast Minnesota had strategies for protection during Indian raids, but these hardy pioneers were defenseless against their most formidable enemy – disease. … [Read more...]
Baw boomp ba
Baw boomp ba. Baw boomp ba. I tossed the ball against the wall, caught it on one hop and then threw it again. The small, yellow stress ball promoting Iowa Lakes Community College helped me to become lost in my thoughts. I was thinking summer leaves too soon. It comes quickly and then is looooooooooooooong gone. I don’t want it to go. Summer leaves carrying my claw marks. … [Read more...]
Real Bites Twin Springs Supper Club
Restaurant owner Roumel Reynon does it right. My wife and I recently visited Decorah, Iowa, for dinner at the Twin Springs Supper Club. It’s a uniquely placed restaurant tucked back in the woods on what seems like a private drive. That uniqueness adds to the ambiance, as you drive by homes of distinction. We had heard great things about the restaurant from our friends in … [Read more...]
I can still fit into my old classroom
One of us had a pet rooster named Gary. My primary school class was made of equal amounts of good intentions and mischief. Naps were supposed to settle us down, but just as we’d fallen asleep in a lake of drool, it was time to wake up. We had a water fountain in the corner of the classroom, which fostered a need to raise our hands when we needed to use the restroom. “May I … [Read more...]