I headed to the grocery store to stock up on Easter supplies.  Maybe your Easter menu is like mine?  Ham, baked potatoes, asparagus, fresh fruit salad and cake make up my Easter dinner.  The most important items on my list included malted milk Easter eggs and Brach’s maple cream eggs.   I buy at least five bags of the malted milk eggs because this  is the only time they are … [Read more...]

Second of a two-part series The founder of Caledonia, Capt. Samuel McPhail, credited with naming both that village and Houston County during the early 1850s, was a most prominent early settler in both Southeast and southwest Minnesota. Arriving in Brownsville with his wife in 1850, he founded Caledonia in 1853 and was greatly responsible for it becoming the county seat. If not … [Read more...]

I built a bridge once. I’ve been to Jerusalem. I picked up newspapers from a smiling vendor without a stand. Stacks of papers rested upon the ground. Large rocks held them in place. He had 14 children at last count and was 81. Each morning, he’d hoist me high to prove he was strong enough to sell me newspapers. He claimed his longevity, strength and happiness came from four … [Read more...]

By Pastor Jeff Jacobs Unity Lutheran Parish - St. Paul, Saetersdal and St. Matthew’s, Granger Holy Week last year was not what we expected.  Joyous processions on Palm Sunday, foot washing or Communion on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday Tenebrae and reflections on Jesus’ last Seven Words, Easter Vigil and bonfires and trumpets and glorious Alleluias at dawn – for many of … [Read more...]

By Pastor Stuart Weist First Baptist Church of Preston Often, I will hear people try to encourage one another by saying, “Remember that God will not give you more than you can handle.”  This is supposed to encourage someone but, it often makes them feel worse because they now feel inadequate for not being able to handle more. Consider for a moment this phrase said to someone … [Read more...]

Callie Tiedemann and Monica Brand were looking for something fun to do during the pandemic when they hit on the idea of making dog treats. Both of their families, like so many families, had added a new dog into their families during the pandemic. About a week before Christmas, they made their first dog treats. At first they used a bow tie cookie cutter to cut their … [Read more...]

It all started with a phone call from my daughter.  “Can we come visit?  I need to leave the kids with you so I can keep an appointment.”  Now this kind of news generally comes to me with particular delight.  I enjoy having my children and grandchildren at the farm.  “Of course, honey. When will you be here?” I responded. “I really won’t be there much.  I will have to leave … [Read more...]

There are two kinds of people — those who were born in March and those who wish they had been. My birthday is on St. Urho’s Day every year. Making another trip around the sun gives me cause to reflect upon what I’ve learned during this wonderful life. Goals are adjusted. Life is a series of things you didn’t expect. Back in the used to be when I was as smart as I’d ever be, … [Read more...]

First of a two-part series He named his daughter Minnesota, his dog Santa Anna, his town Caledonia and his county Houston. Capt. Samuel McPhail founded the towns of Caledonia and Redwood Falls. He was a soldier, an attorney, a businessman, an Indian fighter, a tree scientist and one of the most colorful pioneers in Houston County – unforgettable to all who heard his squeaky … [Read more...]