How is your memory? As the old year passes and the new one arrives it is common for us to look back over the events of the past year and reminisce. For some people wonderful things happened, yet for others harsh or tragic experiences occurred. My hope is that the former has brightened your life and been a delight. For those with the severe times of life to recollect, may … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past “Just gravity” and the electrified stool in Black Hammer
The Black Hammer Store, part two The first gasoline pump at the Black Hammer General Store would pump only one gallon at a time. In the store’s second machine, gas was pumped by hand from an underground tank into a tall above-ground, five-gallon glass globe. Whatever amount of gas the customer wanted would be pumped and then be dispensed through a hose into the automobile. “No … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion-I wonder as I wander out under the stars
By Rev. Debra Jene Collum Chatfield United Methodist While the rest of us have been organizing closets, trying new recipes, teaching children online and figuring out ZOOM; all worthy occupations, a team of engineers and scientists have been spending their time during the pandemic getting a new observatory satellite ready to launch into deep space. As you can imagine, it was a … [Read more...]
Dances with birds or the jays of our lives
My wife got me a nifty bird feeder for Christmas. Film rights are available. It holds sunflower seeds. Now I won’t have to do any cooking when she’s away. I situated the feeder in a fine place for me to watch birds. My neighbor Crandall stopped by. “You’re putting up a new bird feeder,” was his greeting to me. “You got me there. Guilty as charged,” I said. “Does … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Bottles of pop awaited – beneath the trap door
The commencement of commerce in the Houston County hamlet of Black Hammer dates back to the 1860s when blacksmithing and storekeeping became a business plan. Gunder Mathison owned a blacksmith shop while also operating a general store before selling it to Bernt Hanson, another blacksmith. Thrond Jacobson, who purchased the store in the 1880s, restocked the shelves by carrying … [Read more...]
Socially distance new plants? Sometimes, yes
As humans living through a pandemic, we have become experts at social distancing. Plants can also carry pathogens such as diseases, pests, noxious weeds and jumping worms. Keeping them separate from your garden until you are absolutely sure they are healthy will give you a healthier flower bed. It never fails. Every season, we receive a call from a client that asks us to … [Read more...]
He’s always wrong but never in doubt
My doorbell didn’t ring. It had voluntarily chosen to leave the labor force. I opened the door anyway and a robed visitor accompanied by sitar music walked in out of the dimming twilight. The renowned mystic from the Far East part of the township, the fabled soothsayer, the seventh son of the seventh son of the seventh son, the oracle from just down the road; Swami Davis … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Unprecedented?!
By Pastor Bridget Sheely Racine/Sumner Center UMC, Stewartville UMC Children’s Ministry Coordinator Well folks, the time has come around again where we close the door to yet another year, 2021 and open the window to welcome the fresh breezes of a new year, 2022. It is natural this time of year to reflect on what was and what is to be. As I ponder the past, there is one … [Read more...]
Butter’s not a right
Butter’s not a right There it was. I wasn’t expecting it. At least not before Christmas. I re-read the words my brain sluggishly computed: “Pay to the Order of...” Hoping to teach a 4-H butter-making class in my silo farm store, I applied for a Midwest Dairy grant, but I wasn’t expecting an answer until 2022. And here, as if whispering Merry Christmas, I received my … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past It was not always a “man” manning Root River traps
Caledonia took pride having one of the best markets for raw furs in southern Minnesota, according to the Caledonia Journal in 1911. Houston County native Dell Stewart, launched his fur-buying business about 1899 and was well known by every trapper and hunter in the county. He paid the same commission price as would any fur house. He was credited with always giving “a man a … [Read more...]