The Christmas shopping season may seem long, but it’s much shorter than an election campaign. Life moves fast, but Christmas moves even faster. Shopping is no cause for alarm, but it can be if you wait until Christmas Eve day to do it. Then it can be confounding. Shopping isn’t painful. That part comes at the checkout when I shuffle past the “Who are all these people?” … [Read more...]
When Morning Gilds the Skies
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish of the UMC Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston, and Spring Valley: Faith Churches (and Lenora) I stood on my front porch early this morning as the sun was creeping up over the horizon. Wow! What an incredible sight! The rays of sunshine were glowing reddish orange as wispy clouds swirled in the sky. Our God is an amazing painter … [Read more...]
To Have Your Cake, Time and Again
By Angela Denstad I’m time and again forgetting dates and details, needing to think back to the context of what was happening or what felt important at the time in order to uncover a clue that allows me to do the simple math – still disbelieving – to answer a basic question. Such as, “How long have you lived here?” Time and memory seem to operate on separate non-linear … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – If You Then, Being Evil …
By Rev. Peter Haugen St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church “Which father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (St. Luke … [Read more...]
Your Flying Farmer – Are You Ready for Christmas?
Winter seems to have come early this year. Snowstorms, cars in the ditch, below-zero temps, cold tractors, frozen manure, and air so cold it makes me chilled just thinking about running into the air for a winter flight! I often wonder what the cows are thinking with all this cold and wind. No matter when it happens, it always feels a couple weeks too early. But didn’t … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Canaries Certainly Sang on Portland Prairie
Long woolen underwear in that day was not red, but according to one wearer, “was rough and coarse and itched like blazes.” That day was the 1890s and that wearer was C. J. McNelly (born 1883) who wrote of his youth growing up on a farm on Portland Prairie in southern Houston County. He described the 1890s as the era between the pioneer days and the modern advances in the … [Read more...]
We Encountered Significant Brumal Turbulence
It was the opening salvo of winter. Challenging climatic conditions reminded us we’re not in charge. I read William Faulkner’s book, “Absalom, Absalom!” which included a 1,288-word sentence. And he wasn’t even writing about a Minnesota winter. Winters can be a long sentence. Jonathan Coe’s 2001 novel, “The Rotters’ Club,” contains a 13,955-word sentence spanning 33 … [Read more...]
The Smell of Christmas is in the Air
The smell of fresh pine trees, burning wood, steaming hot chocolate, and freshly baked cookies fills the air at the Guberud Hill Tree Farm from Thanksgiving weekend through Christmas or until the last tree is sold. Starting the day after Thanksgiving and continuing every Saturday and Sunday until Christmas, the public is invited to stop by and select the perfect Christmas … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – The Light Shines in the Darkness
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish of the UMC Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston, and Spring Valley: Faith Churches (and Lenora) In recent days winter has really come on with deep snow, arctic winds and subzero temperatures. I think we have all been kind of spoiled over the last few winters, with little snow and balmy weather, but this winter could be different. … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past “A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits!” Open ’til Midnight
The well known ditty, “A shave and a haircut, two bits!” was more than an often vocalized musical phrase, dating back to a song in 1899; it was a fact of life in the 1930s, at least at the Hokah Barber Shop on Main Street in Hokah, Minnesota. “Two bits” was slang for 25 cents, which had the purchasing power then as does about $6 in 2025. Going to church on Sunday and going … [Read more...]