Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Charming Wabasha on a day in October October 13, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:12 AM
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Nothing says "small town" like a hardware store, including Hill's Hardware Hank in downtown Wabasha.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT Wabasha that keeps drawing me back to this 1830 Mississippi River town?

Small town charm? Yes.

Historic buildings? Yes.

The river and the eagles? Yes.

Now add to that the yummy, chewy, chocolate-covered caramel turtles from The Chocolate Escape, the homemade tomato basil soup at The Olde Triangle (Irish) Pub, the street side festive corn shocks/fall decorations, and the gigantic pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch under the Minnesota Highway 60 Mississippi River bridge.

Wabasha knows how to woo visitors with its irresistibly charming personality. While I delight in that put-on-its-best-face appearance, I search for the nuances that define this town’s character.

Dogs plopped on the sidewalk. A cat tucked under a stairway. Handwritten signs. Bricks, bikes and books. Tile floors. Friendly barbers. An old clock. Unattended stores. Polite motorists who stop for pedestrians. Benches that invite sitting a spell.

It’s there, all there, in Wabasha. Join me for a photographic stroll through this river town on an October afternoon.

Then, the next time you’re in Wabasha, or any town, take note of the store windows and walkways, the rooflines and the signage, the vibe of the place you are visiting. Seek out the details and enjoy.

Corn shocks, scarecrows and pumpkins add a festive flair to the downtown.

I saw two dogs and a cat hanging out, this one near Heritage Park by the bridge.

The historic skyline of Wabasha.

A storefront display of vintage fans in the window of Passe Electric.

A snapshot aimed toward the upper wall and ceiling of The Bookcliffs at Pembroke Avenue, just off the main drag.

The death of a businessman, announced in the window of his business, Gambles Hardware.

A nutcracker collection displayed in The Chocolate Escape.

More of those lovely old buildings.

An inspiring message posted inside The Bookcliffs.

A bench featuring Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon from the movie "Grumpy Old Men," which was based on the setting of Wabasha, rests under the bridge.

The Pumpkin Patch, an autumn attraction under the bridge in Heritage Park.

My favorite pumpkin carving in the Pumpkin Patch.

Jewels on the River, a jewelry shop in the old city hall next to the bridge.

A scene under the Mississippi River bridge.

Crossing the Mississippi River bridge eastbound from Wabasha into Wisconsin.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for something to do this weekend, consider coming to Faribault for the Fall Festival & Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 15, in our historic downtown. Sample and vote for chilis, served street side at businesses from11 a.m. – 1 p.m. A Kids’ Costume Parade along Central Avenue kicks off the event at 10:30 a.m. followed by pumpkin painting and treasures in the haystack for the kids. Adults will find plenty of shopping options in the downtown. Click here for more information.

You’ll also want to check out the South Central Minnesota Studio ArTour which begins Friday with previews in several studios from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. The tour of 23 art studios in the Faribault, Northfield and Cannon Falls area, featuring 46 artists, officially begins Saturday and continues on Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Click here for more information.

© Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Happy birthday, Randy October 12, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 1:52 PM
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TODAY MY HUSBAND is celebrating his 55th birthday, which now officially makes him as old as me. Yeah, I was smart and married a younger man, albeit by only about two weeks.

I’ve been contemplating what message to write here today to him. I decided, instead, to tell you a few things about Randy.

He’s the oldest boy in a family of nine children and was born in North Dakota, where he attended a one-room country school. As the story goes, one day the students were kept inside during recess because of coyotes roaming the schoolyard. True story, he swears.

Randy moved with his family to central Minnesota when he was six or seven, or some young age like that.

It was on the family’s farm south of Buckman that Randy saved his father’s life. Yes, you read that correctly. He saved his dad’s life. My spouse seldom talks about that October 21, 1967, accident shortly after his 11th birthday.

But he was there as his dad’s hand was pulled, along with corn stalks, into the spring-loaded rollers of a corn chopper. Blades sliced off his father’s fingers. Rollers trapped his arm.

And Randy was there to disengage the power take-off. He then raced across swampland and pasture to a neighbor’s farm. To save his father’s life. (You can read the details by clicking here.)

An Allis Chalmers corn chopper like this one exhibited at the 2010 Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show, claimed my father-in-law's left hand and much of his arm in a 1967 accident. That's my husband, Randy, who saved his dad's life by running for help.

My spouse possesses a calm demeanor, meaning not much rattles him. He’s soft-spoken and funny in that quirky kind of humor way.

He does sudoku puzzles and is good at math and numbers and figuring stuff out.

His work as an automotive machinist at Parts Department, Inc., Northfield (NAPA) is always in demand. Suffice to say you better get in line. He’s that good at his job.

Randy at work in the NAPA machine shop in Northfield where he's worked since 1983.

He once owned a Harley, which was smashed in a crash, and once won a trip to the Bahamas.

Right about now, Randy’s probably eating his second or third piece of apple pie bars, his birthday treat at work. Tonight I’ll serve him his favorite cake, angel food, topped with one of his favorite fruits, raspberries.

Speaking of which, I need to bake that cake. Now.

Happy birthday and many more, Randy! (See, I used an exclamation mark, which I never use in my writing.)

I love you.

IF YOU WISH to leave a birthday message for Randy here, please do so. He reads my blog and is, indeed, one of my most vocal fans. Thank you for always supporting me in my writing, Randy.

 

On our way to church in North Morristown

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:08 AM
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ON OUR WAY TO CHURCH on Sunday morning in North Morristown, my husband and I drove through some mighty fine country.

Past…

grain bins awaiting the season’s yield

autumn’s glory edging Cannon Lake

harvested corn fields

tree line and crop line

a farmer laboring

beauty and bounty

a clutch of bins

horses dallying in a barnyard

a shed weathered by time

an old brick house on a hill

to Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown.

We savored the best of a lovely, gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, wonderful, photographic October morning that transitioned into an unbelievably warm afternoon.

Typically we don’t get this many balmy October days here in Minnesota, meaning we need to appreciate each one while secretly hoarding memories of these days for the long winter months ahead.

For now I want to remember this Sunday, this drive west of Faribault to the little country church, Trinity Lutheran, edged by an alfalfa field and across the road, acres of corn.

I want to remember the warmth of the day and of the people with whom we worshiped.

I want to remember, too, the good food and fellowship afterward in the church basement as we celebrated this congregation’s annual fall dinner and craft sale.

CHECK BACK for posts about dinner and about Trinity church.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The truth about goldfish revealed at a convenience store October 11, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:27 AM
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YOU’RE ON THE ROAD. You need to pee. You also need a beverage to quell your thirst. It’s a hot afternoon. So you pop into a convenience store.

You use the facilities, select a bottle of tart lemonade and then head for the check-out counter.

That’s when you spot this message scrawled on the whiteboard, propped between the Minnesota State Lottery and Jean Ross sunglasses displays:

The message posted recently at a southeastern Minnesota convenience store.

And then you think to yourself, “What is the meaning of this message?”

When you inquire, you learn that this is the “thought of the day,” with a new parcel of wisdom or tidbit of information posted whenever the manager is on duty.

It’s as simple as that.

As you walk out of Parkside Gas and Grocery on Main Street in Nerstrand, you think, “Well, I just learned something new.”

And then you have this fleeting thought that you should rush out and buy a goldfish, stash the fish tank in a closet and test the validity of this statement.

But then you remember just how much you dislike cleaning a fish tank.

HAS ANYONE ever tried this? Do goldfish really turn white when kept in the dark?

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Alpacas in Sogn Valley October 9, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:19 PM
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An alpaca outside the craft barn at Sogn Valley Alpacas & Crafts.

I DREW MY HAND across the scarves, stroking the silky, kitten-soft spun fiber of the alpacas.

Hats. Scarves. Prayer shawls. Afghans. Rugs. Clothing. Some tucked inside the small-scale barn shed that mimics the real barn a stone’s throw away. Other merchandise is draped across tables and clothes-drying racks outside, near the penned camel-hued alpaca that chose to ignore me for the most part.

Welcome to Sogn Valley Alpacas & Crafts along Goodhue County 14 Boulevard, rural Cannon Falls, a spur-of-the-moment stop on a recent drive to view the fall colors.

Jayne and R.J. Boersma's Sogn Valley Alpacas & Crafts near Cannon Falls.

Scarves and hats, close-up, and prayer shawls in the background displayed outside.

Silky soft clothing hanging inside the craft barn.

My husband and I missed the fleece demo at 1 p.m., the spinning wheel demo inside and the alpaca farm tour, unless, of course, it was self-guided.

We, in fact, missed any human contact. Not a soul was to be seen except for alpacas and chickens scratching and flapping too close for my fear-of-chickens comfort.

I checked out the merchandise, unsuccessfully tried to coax the elusive alpaca into posing prettily for a photo, side-stepped chicken poop, considered photographing pumpkins and squash splayed out on a picnic table, and then snapped one final photo of an “AGRICULTURE KEEPS AMERICA GROWING” sign before hopping into the car.

The sign supporting agriculture on the side of a shed at the alpaca farm.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Autumn in words and photos, plus a contest October 8, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:52 AM
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I shot this cover image of pumpkins at Twiehoff Gardens & Nursery in Faribault.

WHEN YOU CONSIDER autumn, what comes to mind?

Pumpkins. Colorful leaves. Crisp nights. Harvest. Those top my list.

Because I’m a magazine writer, I pay attention to seasonal details probably more than your average person. If I want to submit a seasonal story and/or photos, I need to plan a year in advance of publication.

And so I did with the current issue of Minnesota Moments magazine. Inside the just-published fall issue, you’ll find 20 of my photos, all taken last fall.

I’m particularly proud of my 11-image, 5-page photo essay titled “Oh, fleeting days of autumn in Minnesota.” Not only will you find fall scenes from rural Minnesota, but you’ll read copy that is more poetic than straight-forward writing. For example, in the opening paragraph of that photo essay piece, I write:

Autumn slips into Minnesota on wisps of wind whirling wayward leaves onto sun-washed grass. And so summer fades and a new season begins.

You’ll also read my poem, “Preparing for winter, circa 1960,” based on embellished memories of my mother canning and freezing garden produce for the winter ahead.

I enjoy writing poetry that connects to my rural roots. And I’ve been fairly successful in getting published with seven poems printed in five anthologies, one on Roadside Poetry billboards and another recently published in a debut literary magazine. I really ought to write more poetry.

But, I have those magazine articles to work on and blogging and… I’m already pursuing stories for the winter issue of Minnesota Moments.

This contest promo image of Mary Nachicas and Don Anderson comes from Nina Hedin of Glencoe, who blogs at ArtsyNina. We are seeking these types of vintage black-and-white candid photos.

THEN I HAD THIS FABULOUS contest idea, “Snapshots of Love,” for our winter edition. And you know how that goes, when you have the idea you follow through and make it happen.

To summarize, we are seeking vintage black-and-white candid photos on the theme of love. Contest submission also requires a bit of writing—a maximum 75-word paragraph answering this question: “What story does this photo tell me about the theme of love?”

The winner, selected by me and other magazine staffers, wins a $150 prize package comprised of handcrafted greeting cards from Bernie (a former Duluth resident) at Budugalee, a $25 gift certificate from Camp Honeybelle (an etsy shop operated by Nina Hedin of Glencoe), a letter press, vintage graphics fine art print from Bruno Press and a one-year subscription to the magazine.

For “Snapshots of Love” contest details, click here.

For info about Minnesota Moments, with the current cover photo, 23 inside photos, and four stories and book reviews by me, click here.

To check out the ArtsyNina blog, click here. And to shop at Camp Honeybelle, click here.

To read Bernie’s One Mixed Bag blog, click here. To view her card collection at Budugalee, click here.

For more information about Bruno Press, click here. You’ll find a feature story about owner Mary Bruno in the fall issue of Minnesota Moments.

Enjoy! And get your contest entries in to “Snapshots of Love.” Entry deadline is November 15, 2011.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A scenic secret in Faribault October 7, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:56 AM
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FARIBAULT IN THE FALL, but any time really, rates as a beautiful city.

Historic buildings. Diverse landscape of wooded hills and open spaces. Rivers running through.

But not until this week did I discover perhaps one of its best kept scenic secrets, or at least best kept to me.

That would be City View Park.

City View Park on Faribault's east side at sunset.

Located next to the city water towers along Parshall Street above Roosevelt School and across from Trump’s Orchards, this hilltop park offers a panoramic, scenic view of Faribault and beyond.

How have I missed this?

Sunday afternoon as my husband and I were returning home from a fall drive, we turned onto Parshall Street, a favorite road into town in the autumn.

That’s when I noticed the teenage boys hanging out atop the hill. That’s when I also noticed the sign, City View Park. We did a quick turn-around and drove back up the hill.

And here’s what we saw—a spectacular view of Faribault in all its hazy, late Sunday afternoon autumn glory.

Near the center of this photo you can see the clock tower at Shattuck-St. Mary's, a private college prep school.

A slightly different view of the same scene as above.

Early Monday evening, after we’d picked raspberries at a friend’s house along Rice County Road 25/197th Street East, another great road for beautiful fall colors, we rushed back to City View Park to view the sunset.

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

Watching the sun set at City View Park on Monday evening.

Trees block the view in some spots of the park. But even they are stunning against the setting sun.

While I was shooting pictures, a woman walked by. “I didn’t know this park was here,” I commented.

She lives nearby, told me the park has been here for about two years.

I checked the city website and couldn’t find any mention of City View Park.

But it’s there, folks, in all its spectacular fall-color-viewing splendor. Follow the streets to the water towers on the east side and you’re there.

After you've checked out City View Park, follow County Road 25 east of Faribault for more beautiful fall colors.

More colorful trees on the other side of Rice County Road 25.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Field fires aplenty in Minnesota’s Red Flag areas October 6, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:10 PM
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A farm site between Morgan and Redwood Falls in southwestern Minnesota, where field conditions are dry and the fire danger high.

DRY, WINDY CONDITIONS persist in much of Minnesota creating ideal conditions for fire.

Unless you’ve had your head buried inside, you understand the danger and the reason for the National Weather Service’s Red Flag Warning that covers central and southern Minnesota.

Today would not be the day to build a campfire, have a bonfire or toss a cigarette butt out the car window (like you should any day). Burning bans are in effect throughout the state.

If forecasters are correct, these weather conditions will continue for awhile.

That all said, I wondered if my nephew, a kindergarten teacher and Westbrook volunteer firefighter, has been battling any blazes in his region of southwestern Minnesota.

Adam checked in with me early this morning:

Fires—we have had quite a few around here. Westbrook has had two; Dovray, two; and Walnut Grove, for sure three, all in the past week. It’s very dry and with the wind, it doesn’t take much to create a big fire. Many of the calls are mutual aid—helping neighboring towns with fires, but that’s how we do things here. All of them have been combines and fields. I haven’t made it to many of them as I could not get out of school at the time. But I made it to one on Sunday.

A story in today’s The Cottonwood County Citizen about a county-wide burning ban confirms Adam’s summary:

These burning bans come in the wake of at least a half-dozen fires that occurred around the county, most of which involved the harvest. Extremely dry conditions, low humidity and high winds have increased the potential for major fires.

I found an article in last Thursday’s Jackson County Pilot headlined “Combine fire sparks massive field blaze.” The story went on to say that a combine fire, fueled by 40 mph winds, quickly spread into a field. Fire crews from numerous departments in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa were called to the scene.

The Faribault Daily News today reports a Monday afternoon fire in the Lonsdale-Montgomery area that burned five acres of hay, 30 acres of swamp and 30 – 50 acres of corn.

Another blaze, this one on Wednesday afternoon in a soybean field northwest of Luverne, is reported in The Rock County Star Herald. In that case, farmers disked strips of black dirt to help contain the fire.

It’s a dangerous situation out there right now, especially for farmers bringing in the harvest in those dry, dry fields.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE to report on fires in your area, submit a comment.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Fill the grain bin in Dennison

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:05 AM
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SO, TODAY WE’RE GOING to talk signs. Not just any signs, but those homemade signs you find in rural Minnesota.

Chances are, no matter where you live, you drive or walk by creative signage every day and don’t give it a second thought. The signs have simply become part of your landscape. You fail to notice either the messages or the art.

And, yes, signs fall into my definition of art.

But then one day an outsider like me comes to town. And I view your town with fresh eyes. I notice the details—the windows and doors, the wood and brick, and the signs that define your community.

Main Street in Dennison, from city hall north.

That is how I happened upon a unique fundraising sign in Dennison, a community of 168 which straddles the Rice/Goodhue county lines in southeastern Minnesota. My husband and I stopped in Dennison while on a Sunday afternoon drive to view the fall colors in the Sogn Valley area.

There, along Goodhue County Road 9, the main east-west road through town, I found this sign appropriately placed by the Farmers State Bank.

Fronting the road and the bank, this sign tracks contributions to the park fund.

Now, whoever dreamed up this sign deserves some type of recognition for effort and creativity.

Dennison is a farming community. The sign reflects that ag heritage with the half-full grain bin. You did notice the corn and the grain bin, right?

The goal is to fill this grain bin and build that park. Want to help? Contact the city or Farmers State Bank.

The promoters of this park project could have designed the typical graph or thermometer sign to track contributions. But, instead, the sign honors the rural heart of Dennison. You simply have to appreciate that type of creative thinking.

You also have to value the sense of community that defines towns like Dennison. Here folks work together to raise funds for a park and don’t/probably can’t rely on government.

Well done, Dennison, and may you get a good corn yield this fall. Enough to fill the bin.

CHECK BACK for another post featuring interesting signage I found in rural Minnesota.

CLICK HERE to see signs I photographed recently in downtown Janesville.

ALSO, CLICK HERE to see sign images taken a year ago in Pemberton.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Inside the colorful Big Woods of Minnesota October 5, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:14 AM
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EVERY TIME I HEAR the words “Big Woods,” author Laura Ingalls Wilder and her book, Little House in the Big Woods, pop into my mind. It’s a natural reflex given my deep love for the Little House books. Think grade school teacher reading the series to her students after lunch and me growing up about 20 miles from Walnut Grove, Wilder’s brief childhood home on the southwestern Minnesota prairie.

That all said, Laura was born in 1867 in a log cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin some seven miles from Pepin.

I visited the Ingalls’ home site many years ago with my family, when my girls were elementary age and we were deep into reading the Little House series. The Big Woods and cabin are long gone, replaced now by open prairie and a replica cabin.

Yet, only a short drive east of my Faribault home, I can experience the Big Woods at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. I have no idea if these woods are anything like those in Wisconsin in the late 1800s. But I like to think they are.

An informational sign along a trail in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

Check out the history section of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website and you’ll find this information about the Nerstrand woods:

“When the first settlers arrived in 1854, they discovered an island of woods in the vast oak savanna prairie which now makes up Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. Sugar maple, basswood, oak, hickory, aspen, elm, ash, and ironwood trees shade the land.”

I spent half my time in the Big Woods looking, and aiming, my camera skyward.

The park boasts a lovely picnic grounds sheltered by trees like this one.

A close-up look at oak leaves changing color.

This time of year those trees flame in fiery hues, making Nerstrand a popular destination for viewing fall colors in Minnesota.

Sunday afternoon, following a fall color drive to the Sogn Valley area in northwestern Goodhue County, my husband and I stopped briefly at this state park just west of Nerstrand. We managed to find a space in a parking lot packed to overflowing in this park teeming with visitors.

If you’re seeking a quiet, people-free escape, you won’t find it here on a weekend.

But you will find a perfect fall experience complete with the earthy scent of decaying leaves; brilliant reds and yellows painted on the cobalt palette of sky; drifts of leaves to plow through; the crisp crunch of leaves beneath feet; a spirit of friendliness among visitors hiking into the Big Woods; a respite from the busyness of life; and an opportunity to savor the fleeting days of autumn in Minnesota.

Everywhere trees provided a colorful canopy of color.

Well-kept and well-traveled paths take hikers deep into the Big Woods.

Along the path, a bursting milkweed pod.

Follow this gravel road west of the park entrance for three miles to Caron Park.

BEYOND THE STATE PARK, there’s more to see at places probably known mostly to the locals:

Follow the gravel road (Rice County Road 88) west of the state park three miles to Caron Park, a 60-acre county park that is a remnant of the Big Woods. You’ll find 1.5 miles of hiking trails here, a lovely waterfall and few people. Late Sunday afternoon we saw a single truck parked in the parking lot.

Nerstrand Meats & Catering, a family-owned business since 1890.

To the east of the park lies the small town of Nerstrand, worth a stop to check out Nerstrand Meats (open 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday – Friday and from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturdays), the International Peace Garden at the local charter school, Nerstrand Elementary, and Main Street small-town Minnesota. (Watch for a future post on interesting signage in Nerstrand. Click here to read a previous post about the Peace Garden.)

A snippet of Nerstrand Elementary School and its International Peace Garden.

North of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, along Rice County Road 30, sit the historic and picturesque 1862 and 1894 Valley Grove churches surrounded by 50 acres of rolling prairie grasses and trees. From high atop this hillside location, you’ll get a spectacular view of the fall colors. You can also hike a prairie path here. (Click here to read a previous post I wrote about Valley Grove’s annual fall country social.)

A view of the Valley Grove churches from the prairie that edges the churchyard.

To assure that you don’t miss out on these color viewing opportunities, I’d highly recommend hopping in your vehicle sooner than later. Leaves are changing and falling as I write and we all know these splendid days won’t last forever in Minnesota.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling