Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Art, history and community meld at Faribault car cruise-in August 22, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 11:15 AM
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I CAN’T DIFFERENTIATE a Ford from a Chevy. But I can distinguish a Mustang from a Cadillac.

You needn’t know cars, however, to appreciate a car cruise-in like the one I attended Friday evening in the 400 block of Central Avenue in historic downtown Faribault. The monthly cruises are new to my community and, if I’m correct, Friday’s show marked the first this summer that hasn’t been rained out.

Downtown Faribault Car Cruise Night, looking southeast on Central Avenue.

Just several of the many vintage vehicles, these parked by a Mexican store and bakery.

For me, a car cruise-in is all about art, history, community and having a good time. However, for my automotive machinist husband, the one who got me interested in these shows, it would be mostly about the cars or trucks. He’s my go-to guy whenever I question the make, model or year of any vehicle on display, which is often.

While he’s more interested in what’s under the hood or in the overall design, I appreciate the hood ornaments, wheel covers, taillights, the curve of metal—the details that, to me, represent, mini artscapes.

I switched this photo to black-and-white to show off the hood ornament, a work of art.

A 1948 Dodge sported this artsy license plate.

Call this art, or humor, Ron Lehnen posed this "Halloween Rat" under the hood of his 1970 Chevrolet pick-up truck with the "rat motor."

On Friday, in Faribault, I also appreciated the art of neon lights flashing in storefront windows, the slant of sun against brick during that magical hour around sunset, and clouds that painted the sky on a perfect summer evening of temps in the low to mid 70s.

The setting sun cast a lovely light on the historic Hotel Faribault.

Merchandise and flashing neon lights created a colorful visual at a Mexican store in the car cruise block.

Toss in period tunes and music by the likes of Johnny Cash, my favorite country western singer, played on-site by local radio station Power 96, and the mood was set for hanging out and chatting it up with folks I hadn’t seen in awhile.

Car cruise attendees visited with one another, creating a sense of community.

Aaron shows his 6-year-old daughter, Lexi, the interior of a vintage car.

Ted told me about his new grandson, Jaxson. Kathy told me about the need for rain in the Courtland area, where my maternal roots lie and where her husband had traveled that day to farm with his brother. Lowell told me about the $8.99 steak dinner he’d just enjoyed down the street at the Signature Bar and Grill.

Food was the only item missing from cruise night, although I could have stepped into the Mexican bakery or walked to a restaurant along Central Avenue if I had really wanted something to eat. Maybe, eventually, organizers will encourage places like the bakery or nearby restaurants to set up food stands outside their businesses.

The next Downtown Faribault Car Cruise Night is set for 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Friday, September 16. However, I’d advise coming well before 10 p.m. as the event pretty much ended around 9 p.m.

The 1970 Chevrolet pick-up with the rat motor. My husband owned an orange truck like his, only a year newer or older, I can't recall which. A steer wandered onto a roadway. He hit it and that was the end of his pick-up truck, many years before I met him. So I've only heard the story...never seen the truck.

Lowell and Deb Melchert leave the cruise in their 1947 Chevrolet as the event winds down.

YOU MIGHT ALSO CHECK out Woody’s Hump Day Cruise In on Wednesday evenings in downtown West Concord. Two remain, including one this Wednesday, August 24, and also on September 7. That cruise-in runs from 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., or until dark.

Hastings also hosts the Historic Hastings Saturday Night Cruise-in from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. with the remaining events set for September 3 and 17 and October 1.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Take me out to the (vintage) ball game in Faribault August 20, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:05 PM
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Curly Schreckenberg watches the vintage baseball match from his Model T Ford.

FRANK “CURLY” SCHRECKENBERG pulled into the Rice County Fairgrounds in his 1918 Model T Ford, a fitting mode of transportation Saturday afternoon for a vintage baseball game between the Northfield Silver Stars and the Rochester Roosters.

“There’s nothing like old-fashioned,” Schreckenberg said as he sat behind the wheel of his Model T, occasionally glancing over at the competition played with 1860 rules. No gloves. No called balls and strikes. No sliding. No spitting. No swearing…

Striker (batter) up!

Schreckenberg’s a fan of ball games. He played church league softball from age 38 – 71, mostly as a pitcher. “I loved playing ball,” he said. “I loved the fellowship.” He was dressed in the uniform of First English, his team for most of his 33 church league years.

His antique car drew lots of attention from the players and from the crowd gathered Saturday for the vintage match. The Silver Stars whooped the Roosters by a score of 6 to 1. Afterward, the players posed for a team photo by the Model T.

With team members sporting names like Cow Pie, Rabbit, Goose, Woodchuck, Bean Field and Admiral, no one seemed to take the event too seriously. Rather, the match focused more on bringing history to life.

Out on the ball field, the players, dressed in vintage uniforms, tried to stay true to the mid-19th century time period.

The Rochester Roosters, the scorekeeper and the umpire posed for a photo after the match.

Likewise, the Silver Stars from Northfield gathered for a team photo.

“Watch the daisy cutters (sharp grounders),” Rabbit, aka Scott Richardson, from the Silver Stars advised.

“Don’t run me over, Tar Cutter,” another player warned.

“I think the whole team ought to be fined.”

“Way to hustle, Bryan,” a teammate said, slipping up on a name.

Wooden bats clustered on the grass behind the players' bench before the match.

Players munched on sunflower seeds on the Silver Stars bench.

At least one Rochester Rooster player sported period style stockings.

Wooden bats and gloveless hands. Bags of sunflower seeds and peanuts. Wood planks balanced between straw bales. Root beer floats. Bell-ringing when an ace (run) was scored. Good-natured bantering. All set a period mood for the 1 ½-hour match (game) between the two teams.

Occasionally a player pulled a cell phone from a pocket, sipped on Gatorade, clicked a digital camera. Ethnic music from a Hispanic celebration across the fairgrounds carried to the ball field, adding to the relaxed setting.

“It’s a beautiful day for a baseball game,” at least one fan was overhead saying.

Indeed, it was a perfect August afternoon for a vintage baseball match in Faribault, even for someone like me who doesn’t get into baseball, but can appreciate living history.

Fans sat in the sun, but most sat under shade trees for the match hosted by the Rice County Historical Society.

Some attendees even brought vintage style wooden folding chairs.

Roosters' bench time and one dirt and grass-stained white uniform.

A young player for the Rochester Roosters.

The end of the match with the victorious Silver Stars on the right and the Roosters on the left.

FYI: Minnesota has some eight vintage baseball teams, I was told on Saturday by the game’s umpire. Most of those are in the eastern part of the state and include teams like the Apple Jacks from La Crescent, the Afton Red Sox and the St. Croixs. The Minnesota teams also compete with Wisconsin teams like the Osceola Onions and the Milwaukee Cream Citys.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

You call the $50,000 shot August 19, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:19 AM
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IF YOU ARE BITTEN by a bat that flies away, you should expect to undergo a series of rabies shots.

If you win $50,000 while assuming the identity of someone else, you should expect fall-out from your actions.

Right about now you’re likely wondering why I’m writing about bats and bills all in the same post. Well, both made the news in my community of Faribault this week. One has garnered national attention, the other not.

First, the bat bite, not because it’s less important than the $50,000, but because it’s easier to write about and no gray area exists. You get bitten by a bat that can’t be caught, like a 9-year-old Nerstrand boy did in his family’s barn recently, and you get rabies shots. Simple. Black-and-white.

But, if you potentially win $50,000 like 11-year-old Nick Nate Smith of Owatonna did last week by shooting a hockey puck from 89 feet into a 1.5-inch by 3.5 inch hole at a Faribault Hockey Association fundraiser, you’re talking an entirely different story.

On the surface, this would seem black-and-white. Accomplish the amazing feat, win the prize.

However, Nate isn’t Nick. And it was Nick, Nate’s identical twin, whose name was pulled for the chance to score the $50,000 by sinking the puck into that incredibly small space.

The problem, however, is that Nick wasn’t in the hockey arena when his name was drawn, so Nate stepped in for his brother, made the shot and supposedly won the $50,000.

That is until the Smith family admitted to event organizers that Nate had subbed for Nick.

Now a Reno, Nevada, insurance company for the puck-shot event is investigating, the $50,000 payment remains in limbo and the story of the amazing shot and the follow-up controversy has gone national.

In our house, we’ve discussed this whole $50,000 hockey puck debacle numerous times already. Opinions have varied from:

  • Just give the kid the $50,000.
  • Why did the Smiths tell them it was Nate?
  • He doesn’t deserve the $50,000. Nate isn’t Nick and the family wasn’t intially honest.
  • What if a friend had stepped in and taken the shot? Would they give him the money?

Can you guess which comment is mine?

You better believe that the second response, “Why did the Smiths tell them it was Nate?”, is not my statement and resulted in a lecture from me about honesty and how the family eventually would have gotten “caught.”

I don’t pretend to know every detail related to the hockey puck shot event. But I do know this much: Nate isn’t Nick.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN to offer your opinion. Would you award the $50,000 to Nate Smith? Why or why not? Vote by submitting a comment.

IN A 24-HOUR unscientific online poll conducted by The Faribault Daily News, 63 percent of the 245 respondents said Nate Smith should get the $50,000. Thirty-two percent said he shouldn’t. And five percent checked “I don’t know.”

MEDIA FOCUS on the Smith story has been substantial. Click on the sources below to read some of the coverage.

CBS The Early Show

The Faribault Daily News:  the initial story published on August 12 and a follow-up story published on August 14

ABC News

National Public Radio

BY THE WAY, my comment is the third one: He doesn’t deserve the $50,000. Nate isn’t Nick and the family wasn’t intially honest. Choose to agree or disagree. It’s your shot.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Poetry & more in Paul Bunyan land August 18, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:26 AM
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The lake side of the Hackensack Lending Library. To the left stands Lucette Diana Kensack..

Lucette Diana Kensack

SEVERAL SUMMERS AGO while vacationing in northern Minnesota, my family stopped in Hackensack, 50 miles north of Brainerd. The initial draw to this town of 285 was the 17-foot tall statue of Paul Bunyan’s sweetheart, Lucette Diana Kensack. I appreciate kitschy roadside art. What can I say?

Two other discoveries, however, trumped seeing Lucette. A stone’s throw from Lucette, along the shores of Birch Lake, sits the cutest log cabin—a Works Progress Administration project and today home of the Hackensack Lending Library.

And just down the street from Lucette and the library, I found the sweetest pink fairy tale cottage.

Those small-town treasures marked my introduction to Hackensack.

Now, fast forward to last summer. I wasn’t back in Hack, not physically anyway. Rather my poetry was among poems displayed at the town’s annual Northwoods Art and Book Festival. During that event, the featured poets are invited to read their poetry. Fest-goers can also vote for their favorites with six poems selected for “Popular Choice” awards. Six poems are also recognized as “Poems of Merit.” All of the original and unpublished poems are posted without author names attached.

I didn’t attend last year, didn’t win and didn’t deserve to win. My poetry wasn’t worthy of an award.

This year my poetry is back at the Northwoods Festival set for this Saturday, August 20, and I’m more confident that I’ve actually written poems that could win an award. Oh, I’d love to tell you which poem is mine (or it could be both poems that I submitted; I haven’t been told). But I won’t unfairly sway the voting. Suffice to say my rural background shines in my writing.

If Hackensack wasn’t such a long drive from Faribault, I’d be there taking in the poetry, the art, the music, the book-signings, the food. However, if you’re in the Brainerd lakes area or parts north on Saturday, check out the Northwoods Art and Book Festival from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and then tell me all about it by submitting a comment.

Voting for the “Popular Choice” awards begins at 9 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m.

If you’re already thinking, “Audrey, I don’t like poetry,” rethink your thinking. I promise you that my poetry rates as down-to-earth, understandable and not at all stuffy.

This whole concept of getting poetry out to the public via a display like the one in Hackensack pleases me. Just like the Roadside Poetry billboards in Fergus Falls. I was fortunate enough to win the spring competition and have my four-line poem plastered across four billboards there.

These new poetry venues, and the increasingly popular sidewalk poetry in cities like St. Paul, Mankato and now Northfield, are bringing poetry to the people. That’s a good thing because, in reality, how many of us actually pick up a book of poetry for leisure reading?

Minnesota poet Todd Boss and designer/animator Angella Kassube are also making poetry even more appealing by utilizing visuals in their acclaimed motion poems. Click here to read some of those.

Poetry has certainly evolved through the years, a necessity to keep writers interested in writing it and readers interested in reading it.

Professionally, I’ve only begun to unfold my wings as a poet. Even publicly calling myself a “poet” still sounds foreign to my ears. But with publication in two magazines and four anthologies, soon to be five (The Talking Stick, Volume 20, published by Park Rapids-based Jackpine Writers’ Bloc); winning the spring 2011 Roadside Poetry competition; inclusion at the Hackensack festival; and recent notification that one of my poems will publish in the Lake Region Writers Network’s first literary magazine, I finally feel worthy of the title “poet.”

The last of four billboards featuring my Roadside Poetry spring poem.

The sweet fairy tale house in Hackensack, located near Lucette and the park and photographed in 2009.

"Curve around the corner/You are free/To change directions/Or your mind," reads this poem by Marlys Neufeld of Hanska and imprinted in a Mankato sidewalk.

HOW DO YOU FEEL about poetry? Do you read it? Why or why not?

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Inside the Hamilton Wood Type Museum & the Target connection August 17, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:22 AM
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A picturesque view of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, as seen from the historic Rogers Street Fishing Village.

We treated ourselves to ice cream sundaes after the museum visit.

IF NOT FOR MY SECOND DAUGHTER’S neighbor mentioning a day trip to Two Rivers, Wisconsin, I might never have discovered the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum or its connection to Minnesota-based Target.

The retailing giant collaborated with the museum on a recently-released fall Vintage Varsity collection promoted as “Cool Never Fades.”

With vintage so in vogue right now, Target definitely found the right place for designers to authenticate this new line. Hamilton made wood type from 1880-1985 and boasts a collection of 1.5 million pieces, the largest in the world. Target dipped into that collection to create graphics for the Vintage Varsity line.

The Target connection, however, wasn’t my reason for visiting Two Rivers, a city of 13,000 just south of Door County. Rather, Lake Michigan drew me here on a recent Sunday when my husband, son and I were visiting our daughter Miranda at her Appleton home 50 miles to the west.

My family can assure you that fashion wouldn’t draw me anywhere. But wood type would.

So, when I planned our day trip from Appleton to Two Rivers, Hamilton Wood Type ranked high on my must-see list, right after Lake Michigan. A promise to the teenage son of ice cream afterward at the historic Washington House, just across the street from the museum, kept him from complaining too much about my museum meandering. Interestingly enough, the sundae originated in Two Rivers in 1881.

Had I opted to take the official Hamilton tour, I likely would have learned much more about Hamilton Manufacturing Company and the museum, which also includes a collection of 1930s – 1970s advertising cuts, wood type and Linotype equipment, tools and more. The manufacturing company, which once made medical office furniture, appliances and more, is still in business today producing steel lab equipment.

Hamilton manufactured the first gas-powered clothes dryers.

The museum is a self-supporting, working museum where artists and designers and others get hands-on experience in wood type printing and where custom printing is done, according to a Minneapolis woman who was printing at the museum on the day I visited.

In all honesty, Hamilton’s historical details didn’t interest me. Rather, I was here because of my decades-earlier connection to Linotype and because of my profession. During my first job out of college in 1978, I worked as a reporter at The Gaylord Hub, a small-town weekly newspaper that still used hot metal type to create auction bills and other custom printing. At the time, I failed to appreciate this fading art. Rather, I found the constant clack-clack-clack of the vintage machines bothersome, especially when conducting phone interviews.

Today my attitude has changed. I appreciate printing as an art. I took that perspective to the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum and knew, even before I stepped inside the 1927 building, that my focus would be visual.

The Hamilton complex of buildings covers blocks.

The building exterior features aesthetically appealing letters and punctuation.

My eyes swept across the nothing-fancy, industrial space filled with letters in more fonts and sizes than I could ever imagine. Posters. Colors. Graphics. Drawers upon drawers upon drawers that I wished I could pull open. Machines. Cement floors and brick walls. Jumbled pieces of wood and smeared paint cans, and brushes hung on walls.

I felt almost overwhelmed by the photographic possibilities, the kaleidoscope of colors and shapes that changed as I circled the room.

Everywhere you'll see letters and numbers in differing sizes and fonts, a visual delight.

One of the many vintage prints you'll see in the museum.

Rows upon rows of tempting drawers, presumably filled with wood type.

An oversized vintage photo anchors the wall you first see upon entering the museum.

John Burnet, an early engraver at Hamilton.

Lines of type.

One of the many graphic cuts you'll see in the museum.

Only when I was in a back room, where the Minneapolis artist was printing and the museum manager/tour guide chastised me for taking his photo without asking, did I think about the Target collection. I had passed by a clothing rack earlier, hadn’t even looked. But then the Minnesotan mentioned Target. So on my way out the door I paused, shot a quick photo and then joined the impatient teen for an ice cream sundae across the street.

A t-shirt I pulled from the rack of clothing at the museum. I don't know whether this is from the Target collection, because I didn't check.

Stacks of paint cans clue you in that this is a working museum.

Prints hang on a wall in one of the back rooms.

This photo shows printers' aprons and, to the back, the wall just inside the museum entry.

The entry provides a sweeping view of the museum.

FYI: For more information about the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, click here. The museum is open from1 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday and from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday from May 1 to October 31. Winter hours are from noon – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Friday and Saturday by appointment. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Buffalo plaid and barn swallows at an elegant wedding reception August 16, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:31 AM
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Lindsey and Brent were married at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Wyoming. See my educational note at the end of this photo regarding seating during a wedding ceremony.

LONG GONE ARE THE DAYS of crepe paper streamers, tissue paper wedding bells and bud vases of carnations decorating tables at wedding receptions. That would have been my reception in the Vesta Community Hall 29 years ago.

Now when I consider that décor, I practically slink onto the floor in embarrassment. But it was what it was and no one expected more in 1982. We had a good time celebrating and that’s what counted.

Today it’s all about elegance and this and that and even hiring a wedding planner to coordinate the big event, because, truly, weddings have become events as much as celebrations.

On Friday my niece Lindsey married Brent in Wyoming, Minnesota, with the reception following at the Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake. Now if you want to picture the polar opposite of my small-town community hall reception with the meal catered by an area grocery store and served on, gasp, Styrofoam plates with plastic ware, then Lindsey and Brent’s reception would be it.

Lindsey and Brent's reception was held in an elegant banquet room at Majestic Oaks.

The name Majestic Oaks suits the elegant banquet room décor. I felt rather like royalty dining at a round table swathed in a white tablecloth and set with hefty silverware—including three forks—under airy chandeliers and mini-white lights wrapped in gauzy fabric.

I didn’t need to fret about where to sit as tables were assigned. My husband and I were seated at table 13, which didn’t prove at all unlucky.

At this reception, guests didn’t form a buffet line; we were served at our tables. When I saw my nephew eating a flower—which I initially thought was a radish—from his dinner plate, I gasped.

My meal of chicken, green beans, potatoes and, yes, that edible orchid.

“You can eat orchids,” my sister-in-law informed me (she should know; she works in food service) and I replied with something like “I’ll wait 20 minutes to see if Jeremy’s OK before eating mine.” I didn’t and I did—eat that orchid. Tasteless. I prefer my orchid in a vase, although eating one certainly presented a moment of Fear Factor entertainment.

The bridal party’s entry into the banquet hall also proved entertaining as the attendants tried to outdo each other with dance moves. I had to ask my 25-year-old daughter why the maid of honor, my niece Katie, was wearing a buffalo paid shirt upon her entrance.

“Because she walked into the reception to the song ‘Minnesota Gurls’,” Amber told me.

The maid of honor and best man entered the reception hall wearing plaid shirts in the spirit of true Minnesotans.

Oh, yeah, sure, ya betcha, I thought, like I’ve ever heard of that spoof on Katy Perry’s “California Girls.” But I appreciated the nod to Paul Bunyan and Bemidji, where the bride’s parents attended college and where you’ll find Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues.

The bride skipped the plaid when she walked into the banquet room.

All in all, I’d rate the reception venue as fancy schmancy based on my experiences as a wedding guest. Yet, one moment stood out as downplaying the elegance aspect just a bit. That would be the barn swallows nesting in their mud nests right above the balcony doorway. One wedding guest suffered the misfortune of being pooped upon.

A discussion ensued between my husband and me as to how the bird crap problem (both upon the guest and on the balcony carpet) could best be addressed. He suggested blasting the pests with a high pressure water hose, but then noted that swallows are a protected bird. I didn’t believe him, but he is right.

IN SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION, my niece’s wedding proved educational as follows:

  • Barn swallows are a protected species and will poop on you whether they are in a Redwood County barn or outside a fancy Ham Lake banquet room.
  • Orchids are edible.
  • California girls are not the only ones with a song devoted to them.
  • Do not sit behind the tallest member of your extended family during a wedding ceremony.
  • Always do a last-minute check on directions to your hotel because road construction may have occurred between the time the invitations were mailed and the wedding date. Do not assume that, when you spot your brother’s law office across the street from the gas station (where you are asking for directions to the hotel) at midnight that you can break into the law office and spend the night there because you can’t figure out where the heck the hotel is located and neither can the convenience store clerk because the hotel name constantly changes.
  • Brides should not crash other bride’s parties. Show up twice and security, aka the bartender, will be alerted. My question to the party-crashing bride: Was Lindsey and Brent’s party more fun than yours or were you too inebriated to realize that you were in the wrong banquet hall?
  • Finally, young men who enter the women’s bathroom looking for a woman named Rosa will be stopped. By me.

HERE ARE SOME OTHER favorite wedding shots:

Maid of honor Katie tucked her iPod into the sash of her bridesmaid's dress.

My sister-in-law Rosie, the bride's mom, gave out last-minute instructions before the ceremony. She appeared calm to me. Now whether she really was that calm, I don't know.

I love this sweet shot that shows my niece Jocelyn with her daughter Meghan before the wedding service. Meghan, who will be two in October, was the flower girl. She walked down the aisle, oh, yes, she did.

The more I look at this photo, the more I like it. The image of Lindsey and Brent entering the limo reminds me of two celebrities swarmed by fans and the paparazzi.

One of the groomsmen opened his window and I snapped this image.

Photographing guests photographing the bridal party.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Cannon Falls pulls out the flags for President’s visit August 15, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:02 AM
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Amy Savvy cleans the windows at Amy's Savvy Seconds, next to the Cannon Falls Chamber of Commerce, on Sunday afternoon in preparation for President Barack Obama's visit.

IN A FEW HOURS, President Barack Obama arrives in small-town Minnesota for the first stop on a Midwest bus tour that will also take him into rural parts of Iowa and Illinois.

The folks in Cannon Falls, a town of some 3,795 in southeastern Minnesota, have rolled out the flags in a patriotic welcome to our nation’s leader.

Throughout the downtown Sunday afternoon, most businesses were displaying American flags in storefront windows. Flags were also posted along the downtown streets. Some homeowners displayed flags in their yards and mini-flags lined at least a block of the roadway leading to Hannah’s Bend Park, site of the President’s visit.

Along the road to Hannah's Bend Park, at least one homeowner had decorated with mini American flags.

An American flag hangs outside Schaffer's Antiques.

A street-side flag in downtown Cannon Falls.

Vintage building signage provides the backdrop for an American flag in this historic river town.

Whether Obama will ever see the many flags in the downtown remains unknown as his route into and out of Cannon Falls remained unofficially unknown to the locals I visited with on Sunday. At least one business owner speculated he would travel U.S. Highway 52 into town, which seems the most likely route.

Warren Schaffer of Schaffer’s Antiques recalled a shutdown along that highway when President Ronald Reagan passed by Cannon Falls.

The last visit by a U.S. President to this Goodhue County town occurred in 1928, when Calvin Coolidge attended the dedication of a statue honoring Col. William Colvill, a Civil War veteran who led the First Minnesota Volunteer Regiment during the battle at Gettysburg.

Most Cannon Falls residents likely feel as antique shop owner Schaffer does about Obama’s visit. “He’s the President. This is a little town. This is a big deal.”

A Spanish American flag hangs on a wall inside Schaffer's Antiques. The flag, which shop owner Warren Schaffer thinks likely was a coffin flag, is not for sale. It makes a nice wall decoration, Schaffer says.

A flag in the window of the Cannon River Winery, a busy place on a Sunday.

A shot of Cannon Falls' main drag and a flag in the window of an insurance company.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Cannon Falls prepares for President Obama’s town hall meeting August 14, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:18 PM
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Two tents were set up at the entry to Hannah's Bend Park early Sunday afternoon.

I DIDN’T EXPECT TO GET SO CLOSE, to park in the parking lot next to the Cannon Falls Community Pool, stroll across the street and walk down the hill into Hannah’s Bend Park where President Barack Obama will participate Monday morning in a town hall meeting.

But my husband and I walked right into the thick of preparations Sunday afternoon with no questions asked, just like the locals and others who’d arrived by foot, vehicles and on bike to check out the hubbub.

An overview of the south end of Hannah's Bend Park, where President Barack Obama will appear.

One of the many families visiting the park to view the pre-Presidential preparations.

Bikers came to the park to check out the town hall meeting site.

Workers had already set up, or were setting up, picnic tables, tables and chairs, bleachers, fencing, amplifiers, tents and more. They were simply doing what they were told, they said, while pointing out the Secret Service guys in khakis and shades standing along the bank of the Cannon River. Nice guys, they said.

Among the workers were Tom Leonard and his sons, 14-year-old Isaac and 13-year-old Caleb, from Festival Production Services of Lonsdale. As subcontractors for the event, they had erected the press risers and were, when I approached them, finishing up the 8 x 12-foot Presidential stage.

Tom and Isaac Leonard work on the Presidential stage.

Tom Leonard was matter-of-fact about his efforts. “For me, it’s just another gig,” he said. “It’s like anything. It’s work.”

Caleb, however, seemed a bit more impressed with putting together a stage for the President. “It makes me feel kind of important,” he said as he swung a hammer.

Perhaps Tom Leonard’s laid-back attitude comes from having done many Presidential gigs, including an inaugural ball for George W. Bush. Sunday marked just another day on a job that includes rigging up staging for rock-n-roll bands and other customers.

Marilyn and Jeryld Carstensen were in town from St. James and scored two tickets to Monday’s Presidential appearance after getting in line at 4 a.m. Sunday. Their 22-year-old daughter, Regan Carstensen, has been reporting on the Presidential visit for The Red Wing Republican Eagle, so the couple has gotten caught up in the excitement.

Media, including Twin Cities-based Eyewitness News, were in town on Sunday.

Media were already converging on Cannon Falls Sunday afternoon. At Amy’s Savvy Seconds in the downtown business district, Amy Savvy had already done several television interviews and was preparing for another when I came across her cleaning her shop windows.

Amy Savvy cleans the windows at her secondhand shop. She planned to write a message welcoming Obama.

When I returned later, a television crew was inside Amy's Savvy Seconds.

“It’s a historic thing,” Amy said of the President’s Cannon Falls stop. She appreciated the extra business in town and had opened her second-hand store Sunday, and planned to be open again on Monday, days she’s typically closed. She was also working around her grandma’s funeral set for Monday, but figured her grandma would want her to take advantage of the extra traffic downtown.

A few doors down, Warren Schaffer was tending Schaffer’s Antiques, wishing the President would stop in and buy something. I looked around, spotted an eagle and suggested it as a possible Presidential purchase. Warren promptly informed me I was looking at a whiskey bottle.

Calling himself a “middle-of-the-road” guy when it comes to politics, Warren none-the-less shares in the community’s excitement over the Presidential visit. “He’s the President. This is a little town. This is a big deal.”

A street corner in the heart of downtown Cannon Falls.

Downtown Cannon Falls, population, 3,795, had seen a lot of traffic for a Sunday, Warren observed. He expects even more on Monday; his shop will be open on a day when it’s usually shuttered.

Through-out the downtown, most businesses have displayed American flags in storefront windows or outside. At the Cannon River Winery, a sign hangs out front welcoming the President.

A sign welcoming the President hangs on the front of the Cannon River Winery.

American flags, large and small, hang in most storefront windows.

The excitement in Cannon Falls Sunday afternoon was palpable. At Hannah’s Bend Park, my first stop in town, clusters of folks gathered, pointing out the brush that had been cut days earlier from the hillside, pointing toward the area where workers labored to get everything in place for the town hall meeting…

Tom Leonard was still hard at work, jumping up and down on the bleachers, apparently testing their stability. He’ll be back on Monday, taking everything down, moving on to another day, another gig.

Tom Leonard, along with sons Isaac and Caleb, checks the stability of the bleachers.

Speakers awaiting installation at the town hall meeting site.

CHECK BACK for a second blog post featuring photos of American flags displayed in Cannon Falls for the President’s visit.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Sweeping the steps on a Monday morning August 12, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:08 AM
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WHILE ON A FOUR-DAY vacation in Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota earlier this week, I took nearly 500 photos.

Posed pictures. Landscapes. Carefully framed frames. And then photo after photo after photo that I shot from the passenger side of the car as my husband, son and I traveled along interstates, state highways and winding, narrow back country roads.

Taking photos from a car traveling at highway speeds can be difficult. But I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture a good, even great, image while on the move. Let’s just say I’m never bored because I’m constantly seeking photo ops.

That means looking ahead, anticipating and clicking the shutter button at just the right moment. Too soon and I miss the shot. Too late and I miss the shot. I can’t even begin to tell you how many pictures I’ve failed to get because I’ve had the camera switched to OFF or I’m not quick enough.

But the more I practice this method of photography, the better I become. I’ve managed to snap some of my favorite photos through the windows of a car. Yes, I keep the windows closed unless the car is traveling at 30 mph or less. I don’t want to risk dirt/dust flying into my camera and landing on the sensor.

And it goes unsaid that clean windows are a must, but not always possible. I don’t let dirty glass stop me from taking photographs.

All that said, here’s my favorite car-shot image from this trip.

My favorite image from this road trip: "Sweeping the steps on a Monday morning at a Mexican restaurant in Omro, Wisconsin."

Let me tell you a little about the subject. On our way to Appleton, Wisconsin, on Saturday, we drove through Omro, a small town just west of Oshkosh on State Highway 21. I saw this vivid orange Mexican restaurant, but wasn’t in a position to photograph it.

However, on the return trip through Omro on Monday morning, I had my camera ready and, when I saw the man sweeping the front steps of the restaurant, I fired off two quick frames and got what I consider a pretty darned good photo.

The vivid colors and composition make this, in my opinion, a good photo.

But the image excels to excellent when you consider the subject—a man sweeping the steps. Ordinary becomes extraordinary for the everyday story told. As a photographer, I strive to photograph regular, everyday life. When I manage to photograph a scene like this one, I am pleased, mighty pleased.

Even in black-and-white, the image remains a strong photo.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Take time to stop and appreciate small towns August 11, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:15 AM
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In tiny Belview, you'll find the 1901 Odeon Hall. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this Queen Anne style building features a barrel-vault ceiling. Still in use today for wedding receptions and community events, etc., Odeon Hall once also featured vaudeville shows, motion pictures, concerts and more.

I WANT TO THROW a challenge out there. The next time you’re driving through/near small-town Minnesota, or small-town wherever, stop. Pull off the highway and drive along Main Street. Park your vehicle. Get out. Walk. Look. See.

Notice the buildings, the architecture, the signage, the history. Consider what centers the town: the café, the post office, the grain elevator, the churches, the school—if there is a school.

Families, retirees and even single people choose to live, to work, to worship together, to celebrate, to mourn, to live their lives here. This is their home, not just some town in the middle of nowhere that you must pass through to get from destination A to destination B.

I have, in recent years, begun to appreciate the small towns and rural areas of Minnesota more than ever. I grew up on a dairy and crop farm in southwestern Minnesota, which is about as rural as you can get. But I haven’t always valued that upbringing like I should.

As I’ve gotten into the art of photography, I’ve begun to view these towns with a fresh perspective. I notice what, in the past, I’ve overlooked or taken for granted because of my rural roots.

Let me show you some photos I took recently in and near Belview, a community of 375 located four miles north of State Highway 19 in northwestern Redwood County. Belview lies about 10 miles from my hometown of Vesta, another one of those small towns that motorists zip by without a second thought. I bet you didn’t know that Vesta is the home of the nation’s first electric cooperative. I thought so.

That’s the thing about small towns. If you stop and walk and look and see, and I emphasize the word, see, you will discover more than just a place to drive through when getting from point A to point B. You will discover the heart and soul of community.

Move in close to view the details, like the front of Odeon Hall. I attended a cousin's wedding dance here decades ago. Imagine the celebrations inside this historic building.

Most small towns, like Belview, are fortunate to still have a place where you can get your hair cut and styled. I appreciate the simple lines of this brick building located along Main Street.

I discovered this poster in the window of a Main Street building advertising a local band, HickTown Mafia. The band plays "country with a kick, rock with an attitude," according to the group's website.

I found this abandoned former gas station (I think) on a downtown corner. This charming building practically shouts for someone to reopen it as a bakery, coffee shop, antique store or some other such venue. Perhaps the two local wineries/vineyards and other area vendors could market their products here.

The Parkview Home, a Belview nursing home, was once home to my maternal grandfather and to other extended aging family members. I've been here often to visit relatives and, during high school, to sing Christmas carols with the Luther League. The building was damaged in a July 1 tornado (note the blue tarp on the roof) and residents have been temporarily displaced.

Northwest of Belview, you'll find picturesque Rock Dell Lutheran Church. My Uncle Merlin and Aunt Iylene Kletscher were married here in November 1964, the last time I was inside the church.

A side view of Rock Dell.

Near Rock Dell you'll find Swedes Forest Township Hall in the middle of corn and soybean fields.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Belview, click here and here. Also read my previous post about Rainbow Antiques, Crafts and Junque in Belview by clicking here.

TAKE MY CHALLENGE and report back to me on the treasures you discover in a small town or rural area.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling