I remember my uncle smoking cheap cigars. When flush with cash, he’d move up to affordable White Owl cigars. I knew when that happened because I could smell the burning feathers. He chewed on the end of a cigar like Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western until the stogie became eligible for carbon dating. I was at an airport when a guy fainted onto the baggage carousel. He … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Fun on ice with clubs and a flaming missile
Third of a winter series There was plenty of action and competition in the 1870s and 1880s, even before the advent of school-sponsored sports. W. J. Langen (1869-1960) like many other boys, ice skated near Hokah on a 30-acre lake, which at the slightest spell of cold weather, would provide fine skating ice. Boys would gather evenings, often for a game of “shinny.” A block of … [Read more...]
Good News
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Churches: Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) Please take a moment and look at the Nativity Scene pictured here... take a moment to consider the Good News of the birth of our Savior Jesus... This is the Good News of Christmas...John 3:16 reminds us that God sent his only Son out of love for the human … [Read more...]
I can’t watch a basketball game on the toaster
I’ve oozed from the primordial soup. I’m threatening to become an owner-operator of a TV. Please hold your applause until the end. A TV? Welcome me to the 21st Century. What next? An indoor outhouse? Wearing shoes in the summer? My ancestors went barefooted all year, wrapping barbed wire around their tootsies when the conditions were icy. The Batt Cave hasn’t had a … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – “In the Bleak Midwinter”
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Churches: Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) I love to walk in the woods. I love to listen to the birds. I love to hear the wind blow through the trees. I love the beauty and wonder of God’s Creation. The other day I went for a walk and in a field near our house a deer was standing quietly in the … [Read more...]
Life in the clouds
Life in the clouds Gasp! “My water broke!” reported my wide-eyed wife. We had been looking forward to this day for 10 months, yet still the surprise took me off guard. After a quick recovery from the drop in my stomach, I got my jaw off the floor. “Alright! Yes! How are you? This is awesome!” Oh, the excitement that comes with a baby! My wife is a rock star! At 2:00 the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Warm tongues on frosted windows
Second of a series on winter It was challenging to keep a dwelling warm during winters of the early 1900s, according to Houston, Minnesota history columnist Ingrid Julsrud. The first seven years of her life, the family lived in rented houses that had no basement. The floors were cold; each autumn, her father purchased a large roll of tar paper or heavy blue paper and wrapped … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – So hard to have faith
By Pastor Jeff Jacobs Unity Lutheran Parish - St. Paul, Saetersdal and St. Matthew’s, Granger A colleague of mine was once on a mission trip in Mexico. While there, he visited an impoverished woman who, through an interpreter, talked about her life. Then at one point, she expressed how sorry she felt for Americans. My colleague was surprised, to say the least, as he … [Read more...]
I heard a muffled cackle at St. Aidan Cemetery
Joe was dying. But he got over it. The report of his imminent demise had been greatly exaggerated. He got better and lived a good number of years before he began dying again. This time, Joe died. After the funeral, Joe’s friends and family gathered at St. Aidan Cemetery, a lovely rural resting place near a ghost town. Wonderful words were spoken there. Then Joe’s … [Read more...]
One story of hope
We are in the midst of November. The end of autumn is a perfect point from which to look ahead to spring. The countryside reveals its period of rest and dormancy, a time when rebirth and renewal are just a few short months away. With the harvest ended, the land recovers. As it is now, we enter a season where hope takes us through the expectations of winter’s icy grip. … [Read more...]