Part three of a series “Hello, central?” and “Number please,” were commonly heard during the first half of the 1900s as telephone callers spoke with central switchboard operators, who would connect their calls. There was a personal touch to every call. Operators were required for anything other than calling other telephones on a shared party line. Caledonia received its first … [Read more...]

Gardening for the senses Gardening is certainly a hands-on activity.  From gently patting seeds into the soil to pulling weeds out, your hands are constantly involved.  Looking around the garden, we see shades of every color. The fragrance of scented flowers floats through the air.  Using all five of your senses can heighten your gardening experience, and even take you back … [Read more...]

By Rev. Deanna Woodward Maple Leaf Parish - Cherry Grove, Fountain and Spring Valley Faith United Methodist Churches Spring is often a time for cleaning and de-cluttering our homes.  Families are getting ready to host garage sales.  Winter clothes are stored away and closets are made ready for lighter summer wear. Children grow, (and sometimes adults do, too) and so … [Read more...]

Part two of a series Can you imagine sharing a telephone line with 20 families – not 20 people, but 20 large farm families. No? Well, it was better if one lived in town. Telephones (most likely diaphragm string phones) had come to southeast Minnesota in the 1880s with “electric speaking” phones available in the mid-1890s. The first switchboard came to Caledonia in 1900. … [Read more...]

Shawn Hoff bought his first guitar at the age of 16, but it wasn’t until he came to Harmony many years later that he actually started playing it. About 10 years ago, he moved from Hastings to Harmony, but Becky, his wife, wasn’t able to move with him for about six months and so he spent his first winter in the area living alone and so bored that he finally picked up his guitar … [Read more...]

I thought it was just a cramp This article is way overdue as it seems that many of my friends have had a few medical issues lately and it makes me wonder at what point does it become more than a cramp?  The growing old starts gradually but then it can hit you like a cement truck!  For instance, how old were you when you ran or walked your first mile since fifth grade and were … [Read more...]

First of a series The first telephones in Caledonia were probably the legal “string phones,” but could they have been prohibited versions of the patented “electric speaking telephone?” In the spring of 1883, an article in a Caledonia newspaper sought subscribers for a telephone exchange with an investment of $25 plus $10 dollars for an instrument (telephone) and the necessary … [Read more...]

By Al Batt Spring rode in on the south wind. It was a soaring turkey vulture wearing a stocking cap on its bald head. Its head still looked much smaller than a bald eagle’s. Not everyone finds winter a blessing. I try to enjoy every winter day, but by the middle of March, I find slacking in my resolve. Spring is the Big Mac and fries of seasons to many. It’s an extension of … [Read more...]

When most people think of relaxing after a long day at work, they might think of sitting down on the couch and catching up on a TV show or going for a walk. Not Andy Walsh. His relaxing hobby is woodworking, which incidentally is also his day job. The two are not the same though. “All day, I work on big stuff,” Walsh said about his job as a union carpenter in the Mayo Clinic … [Read more...]