By Joanne Hall Preston Historical Society Ethel Veronica Healy was born in 1884 at Grafton, N. Dak. Her father died when she young, and her mother, Mary Healy, moved to Preston and married Louis Kruppenbacher in November 1892. Ethel graduated from Preston High School in 1904. She taught in Fillmore County rural schools for at least a couple of years following … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – I Hope So
By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free Words are filled with power, impact, and beauty. They can paint a vivid picture, captivate the imagination, and convey a window into our souls. But have you ever thought about how often words are diluted with our flippant use of them. The word hope for example. People always say things like “I hope so,” but what … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Return With Us Now to Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear!
Second of a series One century ago, those in Wilmington Township, Houston County, Minn., and those in Wilmington, Del., and beyond began sharing a revolutionary daily experience, right in their own homes. What it was, was radio. The first commercial radio station was KDKA in Pittsburgh in 1920. With the introduction of commercially-made receivers, radio broadcasting boomed … [Read more...]
Fresh Off the Farm – What Are You Thinking?
Science has proven that emotions are created by thoughts. Pause there. Did you actually digest that? Here it comes again: science has proven that emotions are created by the thoughts that we think. This means the feelings we will experience today come from the thoughts we are thinking. So, how are you feeling today? Maybe you’re anxious? Discouraged? Disappointed? Feeling … [Read more...]
Hoping for No Buick Bisons or Lincoln Lemmings on 494
I wasn’t shuffling off to Buffalo. Nor was I off to dance the bison-nova. My wife and I went to Minneopa State Park to see the bison. The bison are usually called buffalo. Minneopa is outside Mankato, Minn. It’s Mankato, no matter how you pronounce it. Minneopa has a herd of 33 bison. That iconic song “Home on the Range” is incorrect. Buffalo never roamed the range, … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – A Legacy of Faith
By Pastor Stuart Weist First Baptist Church of Preston Labor Day has passed, school is back in session, and everywhere children are starting a new academic year. This is a legacy of education that has been marching forth from generation to generation. It’s always fun to hear a young person talk of a new, exciting thing they just learned in school that perhaps we had … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Opera, Soap Operas and “The Breakfast Club”
“Played cards, checkers, dominoes in the evening before the radio came around. Then we listened to the radio, “answered Ilyn Ingvalson Musser (born 1910) when asked about recreation during her youth on a Houston County farm southwest of Spring Grove. “When we grew up, we didn’t even have radio to begin with,” said Tinka Rud (born 1915) of Spring Grove. “Of course, then radios … [Read more...]
Outgrabe, Irish Wristwatch, Headbutting While Texting and Pilfering Gulls
I tried to say, “Irish wristwatch” three times quickly. I failed. I wanted to be pulled home in a Radio Flyer little red wagon. I called Uber. They wouldn’t do it. It had been a hectic day. On my way home, I needed to stop at a grocery store because I had a list. The store was busy. I grabbed a cart. A shopping cart is a fitness coach – a physical fitness coach, not a … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Churches: Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) A BRAND NEW GRANDDAUGHTER!!! Recently, my wife and I became grandparents again! We now have five awesome grandchildren. As of this writing the youngest one is only about a month old. She is a precious, sweet little girl. I love holding her in … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Feasting on Fruit in a Field or “The Wily Watermelon Caper”
Third in a series There was not much happening on one lazy summer Sunday afternoon in the 1930s when several (eight or nine) girls went for a walk down the dusty road in Houston County leading out of Sheldon toward Houston. Their usual turn-around point was Hank Johnson’s driveway, one mile out of Sheldon. As they approached that location, the older girls began talking about … [Read more...]