A WEEK AGO, my husband and I drove into Millville, population 182, located along the Zumbro River in Wabasha County in southeastern Minnesota. We were on one of our Sunday afternoon drives. We choose a general direction in which to travel from our Faribault home. Then we just go, atlas in hand,
Whatever we discover, we discover. And, even if we do not find anything seemingly extraordinary, we celebrate the ordinary, the everyday, the small towns and farms that hold our hearts. For, although Randy and I have lived in Faribault, population around 24,000, for 29 years, we still long for the land, for small-town life, for Redwood and Morrison counties and the farms upon which we were raised.
Perhaps you, too, were raised on a farm, now live in town, and understand that longing, that forever rooted to the land connection.
That said, I highly recommend a Sunday afternoon drive.
And I also recommend viewing (click here) Minnesota Public Radio’s Ground Level project, “Fighting for an American Countryside,” which published awhile ago. I watched the first video clip on Friday and was moved to tears. The promo summary reads:
People in rural Minnesota are battling small-town decline with determination, resourceful thinking, and unwavering belief.
I wish that was true for all rural areas, but it is not. I’ve seen all too many shuttered buildings, empty Main Streets, neglected personal properties in too many small towns. Times are tough. Young folks are leaving; the population is aging. It’s difficult, sometimes, to survive the economic and other challenges unique to rural areas.
Some small towns can rise to these challenges like those featured in the MPR project. Others lack the resources, the leadership, the creativity to do so.
Yet, all of these small towns, whether in growth or decline, are to be valued. For they are home to someone. Or they were home to someone, like Randy and me, empty nesters who now take Sunday afternoon drives and end up in places like Millville.
When Randy pulled over in Millville to check the map, I hopped out and photographed a farmer leaning on his pick-up truck near a wagon brimming with corn. It’s a typical small-town scene this time of year.
Then I walked just up the road and snapped a picture of the gun shop signage before we aimed out of town, and then turned around a few miles out. Apparently we were on the wrong route.
We followed a tractor and wagon, winding at a snail’s pace down the hill back into Millville.
And then, as we drove by, I photographed a curb-appealing brick house I’d noticed earlier. I love the wrap around porch, the strong lines, the neighborly appeal of this home.
Past the grain bins, again, and the farmer waiting by his truck, we turned and found the “right road,” although there are really no “wrong roads” on a Sunday afternoon drive.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
There are NO wrong roads, are there? I love those rambling drives to nowhere that end up to be somewhere. 🙂 Chris and I went to the Fossil and Prairie Park in Floyd County yesterday and enjoyed the drive even though it wasn’t that far or long. The farmers were in the fields, the sun was shining and all was right in the world.
Oh, I am envious. Just my kind of day. Randy took the day off yesterday and we did some yard work. I am still battling this horrible cold, so there will be no adventures this weekend. In fact, I stayed home from church this morning because I don’t want to make others sick. I listened to the service on the radio. I think window washing is on the list of “jobs” today. Or maybe we’ll take a short drive if I start feeling better.
Oh I hope you start to feel better soon. I am sorry that you are feeling icky. Nothing like a cold to take a perfectly good day out of being a perfectly good day! Window washing? Ugh. Wait till you read my post for tomorrow and see what I am going to be up to…….
Thank you. I’ve been drinking lots of tea with honey.
Now you have my ear. I cannot imagine what you are going to be up to.
Haha……It’s going to shock you. Not.
The tension builds, the plot thickens, until…
I know–you are on the edge of your chair, aren’t you? Hahahha!
Almost falling off.
All very familiar here in the small towns of North Dakota as well. Churches closing, post offices and schools. Sad. I think of how many small farms dotted the plains at one time. Gone like dust in the wind.
Have a great day Audrey and I love your journeys! 🙂
Thank you, Mere. Like dust in the wind…seems a poetic and fitting choice of words.
I’m with you on the Sunday afternoon rides. Been to Millville myself, it’s the sister town to Elgin. I have a good friend who used to live there. Sorry to hear you are not feeling well Audrey…get better soon!
Yes, Elgin, Millville, Plainview, right?
I am feeling somewhat better, but definitely not near 100 percent.
One of the stories I wrote for the Globe last month was about Small Business Saturday – the Saturday following Thanksgiving when people are encouraged to shop local. It’s a great band wagon to jump on!
Oh, yes, we had that in Faribault last year and I got a goody bag for shopping local that included a discount at the local family-owned shoe store. I promptly used it.
Excellent!
I’d love the freedom of being able to go on a Sunday afternoon drive however from where we lie it would take at least 90-minutes before we actually got out of town so it’s not something we do – and not something our 8-year old would enjoy. Our country towns are also not doing so well. Many have decreasing population while our cities continue to explode. They keep letting new migrants into the country but they seem to only want to come to the city. I wish a percentage would go out to the country to boost the towns and keep them alive xx
Oh, we only began these Sunday afternoon drives in recent years. Our kids would not have been interested either. I can understand why you can’t do these if it takes 90 minutes to actually get out of town. Wow, that’s a lot of city. Me? In probably a minute I can be out in the country, driving by fields. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am most definitely not a city girl.