I rummaged around. It’s life on the planet Batt. I wasn’t chewing on life’s gristle or on a quest. I wasn’t looking for the truth. I wasn’t looking for answers. I wasn’t looking for Judge Crater, Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa or Waldo. I began my search as men typically do by saying, “Who stole my thingamajig?” Thingamajig could be replaced with whatnot, oojamaflip, whatsit, … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: One small town, three bank heists, two criminal cases solved
Wearing masks in a bank may be common, even required, during a pandemic. Bank tellers may not be alarmed by mask-wearers on Halloween, but on October 31, 1986, at Eitzen State Bank, a rubber mask and a sawed-off shotgun had nothing to do with a holiday. Bank robbers have three times targeted that site. There was limited success during a 1964 burglary, but swift justice … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: Houston County bank robbery merits stay in state penitentiary
It was 1903, just two years after construction of the new bank building. While walking to work on the morning of October 17, Olaf Narveson noticed something amiss at the bank in Spring Grove. He summoned bank president Nels Onsgard, who discovered the vault had been blown open with nitroglycerin. An overcoat had been used to muffle the sound of the explosion. High overnight … [Read more...]
A little of this, A little of that
Patience is not in the American psyche. We believe in independence and instant gratification. That’s why we invented the credit card. We can buy whatever we want when we want it. Usually we want it today or tomorrow. You don’t have to save up money to buy something; just use your plastic card! What a life. As long as you have money or a credit card, you can buy it … [Read more...]
He’s still using rabbit ears
Once upon a time, long before “The Andy Griffith Show” went into reruns, there was an eastern cottontail with a dream. He had a name, but it’s nigh impossible for a mere human to pronounce a rabbit’s name, so I’ll call him the rabbit. Yes, the rabbit was a dreamer. But that’s like saying Fred Astaire was a good dancer or Babe Ruth could hit a home run. As he nibbled on some … [Read more...]
Historic Memories of Fillmore County: The Canton Mystery
Here is another poem about a southeastern Minnesota town written by our good friend, Aaron L. Sleyster. He lived briefly in Preston in the late 1800s to early 1900s. But he left a rich legacy of poems, stories, paintings, and fabulous, historical photographs of which we are all lucky benefactors! Sometimes his poems were accompanied by one of his photos. Sometimes, not. So … [Read more...]
We can’t help it, eating is in our DNA
By Al Batt I spit sunflower seeds for distance. It was a contest. I did OK. I’d have done better, but it had been a dry year. I could have been in a pie-eating contest that day, but the two events had been scheduled for the same time. Pity. That was the year Emma Torvaldson hit a pie judge in the face with her signature lemon meringue pie after she’d finished in second place … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: Postwar pilots progress from farm fields to airport pavement
The first chartered flying club in Minnesota, the Royal Flyers, used a grass runway on a farm just outside of Spring Grove. Twenty-three years later, an airport was completed at Caledonia, the first and still only airport in Houston County. The Houston County Airport was approved in 1966 with construction in 1968 and dedication on September 21, 1969. The only other airports in … [Read more...]
A Goodly Heritage: Some losses in this world become another’s gain
By Wenda Grabau Some losses in this world become another’s gain. One such thing happened on the farm several years ago. On a summer day a new cat showed up in our yard. While not full grown, she was not just a kitten. She had the gray tabby-look but with some alterations. Her feet and legs were white. In honor of the white leggings she displayed, we named her “Pippy” … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: Rise and fall of Riceford – stagecoach start, railroad rejection
Following an Indian trail, fur trader Henry Mower Rice forded a creek while surveying what would become a settlement that (along with the creek) would be named for him – the town of Riceford, located in Spring Grove Township along Riceford Creek in southwest Houston County on the Fillmore County line. Rice, later one of Minnesota’s first two senators, would be one of only two … [Read more...]