She had been the sickly one of a large herd. My Aunt Edith had been delicate, but she came out of that swamp onto higher ground. She died at the age of 105 years, 8 months, 13 days, a few hours and a smidgen of minutes. Edith loved to garden, crochet, read newspapers and work crossword puzzles. She taught me how to crochet crossword puzzles. No, wait, that wasn’t her. I … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Homeless boy escaped servitude prior to prominence in Minnesota
Part two of a series. Before saving the homes of fellow southeast Minnesota settlers and attaining his adult acclaim (as described in part one of this series) – O. W Streeter had been a homeless boy. About two centuries before this writing, Oscar Willard Streeter was born about 1821 in Syracuse, N.Y. Prospects were promising as the youngest son of Dr. Barton Streeter. But the … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Time for spring cleaning!
By Pastor Bridget Sheely Racine/Sumner Center UMC, Stewartville UMC Children’s Ministry Coordinator Pull back the curtains, lift the blinds, and open those windows for it is time to let the fresh air of spring back into your space! The quiet solitude days of winter are moving on out and the breath of God is blowing across this land bringing new life to His creation again. … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project Characters
By Katie Hershberger Recently, I’ve been creating characters in my mind more often. It’s something I’ve done forever, or at least since the third grade (haha). Either way, creating characters is like an escape for me. For example, I created this sweet old lady who just so happens to fight monsters with her blood. Or, I created this go-lucky cat girl with a lazy eye. I try to … [Read more...]
The Plant Lady – Tis the “seed” son!
‘Tis the “seed”son! Seed packets have arrived in masses at the local hardware stores, garden centers and flower shops. 2022 is the year to treat yourself! Grab what you need, then go ahead and buy a few packets that you’ve never grown before. Most seed packets will have specific planting instructions, so I’ll go over a few tips to guide you in this fun adventure. Our last … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Encouraging and building one another up!
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) United Methodist Churches In my own personal devotions I have been taking much comfort and joy from the writings of Paul in his Letter to the Philippians. I believe Paul’s writings in the Bible are timely for the days in which we live. Many people express to me how … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Houston County pioneer thwarted land sharks, debt collectors
Thousands of Minnesota “wives and children owe their homes to the foresight and wisdom” of a man from Houston County, stated the Duluth Daily Short Line. In the first Minnesota legislature of 1858, a young senator from Caledonia authored a bill, which decades later was still praised by a Washington, D.C. publication as one of the state’s best laws. Houston County pioneer, poet, … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project Why internet has become essential
By Nicholas Weist The internet has become an important part of everyday life in our world. The internet controls banking, e-commerce, security systems, and much more. We have become immensely dependent upon the internet and it used to be a nice want in our world, but because the internet has grown so much in our world today it considered essential. It is hard to imagine what … [Read more...]
First you smell skunks, then you chew mosquitoes
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... That line is from Star Wars, which never goes away. Some jaded souls say that’s true of winter, too. Winter can be a hard hill to get over, but the seasons creep up on us like cheap underwear. Spring drives in on snow tires. The seasons don’t unfold along a line. They unfold like a crumpled road map. I believe March 1 is the first … [Read more...]
Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this
I hurt my ankle while I was sleeping. I’d fallen asleep while reading a book titled, How to Get by on Less Sleep and dreamed about finding a cure for hiccups. Don’t hold your breath — I didn’t find one. I was staying in a hotel room all by my lonesome. The hotel, failing to check my references, had allowed me on the bed. As I stumbled out of that bed, intending to yell, “I … [Read more...]