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...]
Your Flying Farmer – It’s Safe as Long as You Remember it’s Dangerous
It was a perfect evening. You, dear reader, know what I’m talking about. There’s a certain feel in the air, a certain smell on the breeze, and the open space in your life has popped a little dream into your head. What is that dream? Maybe it’s a longing to go on a hike in the park, head to the fishing hole, or go out with friends. For me, it was to be soaring around the skies, … [Read more...]
It’s Better to Have a Landline Than a Land Mine
I swallowed a mosquito. I’m an adventurous eater. Swallowing a mosquito often happens to a guy whose mouth is always open. I stumbled into a drugstore. A friend there told me he’d overheard a woman looking at the makeup shelves mutter, “What’s the point? I’ll still recognize me.” I changed lanes and headed to what wasn’t a dark aisle, one where a mother would warn … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Let Go and Let God
By Pastor Bridget Sheely Co-Pastor of Prairieland Parish Fall – to lose the old, to have its proper place. This is just part of the many definitions of what the dictionary says “fall” is. What I find fascinating is that the dictionary is talking about fall like “I fell down,” not fall like “the season” and yet how appropriate the definition is. I love fall!! … [Read more...]
A Goodly Heritage – Out in the Garden
Memories can come at any time. But today as I have been out in the garden, memories invaded my thoughts. As I picked each buttery-colored wax bean, I thought of my mother. Even when she lived with me at the age of 94, she helped me snip beans. Along with the beans, I brought in a fine bouquet of gladiolas to please her and to perk up the scenery in the house. Though … [Read more...]
Last Winter had Been Peaked, Puny and Downsized
The air carried the scent of a dirty athletic sock that had been microwaved. The fair had ended, and I found myself downwind from a dumpster emitting that lingering stench. It wasn’t the smell of prize-winning flowers discarded into that large garbage container. A florist, who I knew a little but not a lot, walked over. We howdied but we didn’t shake. He told me he was … [Read more...]
Steam Ahead at the 72nd Annual Hesper-Mabel Steam Engine Days
The Mabel Lions Club has been actively involved in the Hesper-Mabel Steam Days since the 1960s, when they served the best tasting chicken dinners in downtown Mabel during the town’s annual celebration. The 72nd annual celebration takes place from September 5-8 in Mabel, Minn. The ever-popular tractor parade kicks off the festivities on Thursday evening. Featuring Case … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Flashback Flood Vacation
By Cheryl Boyum Eaton Peterson Station Museum Growing up in Minnesota or surrounding states in the 1940s to 1960s, every school child remembers the thrill of hearing on the radio or television, “No school” due to heavy snows. This meant a day of sledding, making snowmen, throwing snowballs or simply sleeping in. But, children that lived in or went to school at a river … [Read more...]
Real Hope and Change!
By Pastor Marke Geselle Valley Christian Center We’re having the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge Choir in our morning service this Sunday! I’m always blessed to hear the stories of those going through this life changing, drug and alcohol program. In those months in the program, lives and eternal destinies are changed. Those with life controlling substance abuse, … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Sheldon, Beside Beaver Creek Between the Bluffs
First of a series An abundance of wood and water, especially water power, brought about the birth of many commun-ities, such as Sheldon in Houston County, Minnesota. The village was named for Julius Sheldon who came from Suffield, Conn., and impressed with the excellent water power, purchased land. In 1853, John Brown a native of Scotland built the first dwelling and took … [Read more...]