October | 2014 | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Minnesota Prairie Roots named “best local blog” in southern Minnesota October 17, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:26 PM
Tags: Audrey Kletscher Helbling, awards, best blog, blog, blogging, media, Minnesota Prairie Roots, Southern Minnesota Scene, writing

Minnesota Prairie Roots has been voted the best in southern Minnesota.

WE DID IT.

Yes, readers, I use the plural “we” because, without you, I never would have garnered the award of Best Local Blog/Blogger in southern Minnesota for 2014.

I was notified several weeks ago of the honor bestowed upon me by the regional arts/entertainment/lifestyle magazine, Southern Minnesota Scene. Editor Rich Larson phoned with the news and then interviewed me. You can read his story by clicking here. Reverse roles for me since I’m typically the one asking questions or gathering information. I prefer holding the pen and notebook.

The cover of Southern Minnesota Scene’s November issue featuring the 150-plus “best of” winners.

Larson requested that I not share the news online until the magazine published. Fair enough. Look for a hard copy of Southern Minnesota Scene so you can read about all 150-plus winners in the “Best of SoMINN 2014.” Or go to the publication’s website by clicking here.

The process of being named best local blogger started late this summer with online nominations. Thank you to all who nominated me. Once ballots were tallied, the top three then entered the online voting process to choose the winner.

I was competing against Kevin Krein, who blogs at Anhedonic Headphones and also writes for Southern Minnesota Scene. Fiction writer Dennis Vogen, a Faribault native who has published three books and is working on his fourth and fifth, was the other nominee. He blogs, too, but has published only eight posts. Too busy, I suspect, working on those books. As Vogen suggested, maybe a category for “best writer” should be added.

I questioned editor Larson about the number of ballots cast in the blogging category. But he declined to release stats, indicating only that the voting was close. He reveals in print, however, that more than 25,000 individual votes were cast in the entire competition and that Owatonna produced the most winners. Last year it was Northfield.

While recognition of my hard work at Minnesota Prairie Roots is welcome, I can’t take sole credit for my success as a blogger. Without you, my devoted readers, this blog would not exist. Thank you for your ongoing support of my writing and photography, for continuing to read and appreciate the stories and photos I share.

You own this award, too.

Comments (30)

Exploring the Minnesota side of Interstate Park

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Interstate Park, Minnesota, nature, St. Croix River, state parks, Taylors Falls, travel

Westbound from Wisconsin and about to cross the St. Croix River into Taylors Falls, Minnesota. Interstate Park is just over the bridge to the left.

PUBLISHED IN 1953 in the anthology Minnesota Skyline, the poem “Taylors Falls” by Pearl Nearpass opens with these lines:

Climb higher and higher in the Dalles of the St. Croix
Until you look over the jutting cliffs
Of echoing beauty, the great eternal mounting
For a village linked and timed with history.

From the Wisconsin side of Interstate Park, you can see Minnesota’s Interstate Park to the right of the St. Croix.

History seems chiseled in stone here, rock carved away by forces of nature to reveal the magnificent St. Croix River gorge that divides Minnesota and Wisconsin.

You can glimpse the St. Croix River through the trees.

Everywhere walls of rock dominate.

Stunning views of the gorge prevail.

Interstate Park, a duo state park just outside Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, offers spectacular views of the Dalles of the St. Croix. Towering cliffs of solid rock. Jutting pine trees. River running wild.

Rocks pock the ground in both parks.

Visit both, even though the Wisconsin park ranger suggested if my husband and I had to choose one, we choose hiking the Wisconsin side as it offers more trails. Maybe so. But the experience in each differs. We found the two trails we hiked in our neighboring state to be much more rugged than those in Minnesota.

The path through Devil’s Parlor.

And an explanation of Devil’s Parlor.

Railings are welcome along rocky walls.

In Minnesota’s park, railings and asphalt and planked walkways are more accommodating to those who prefer an easier perusal of the land. After following a short, rugged path to view the steep-sided river gorge, we followed a trail that led us down steps and into Devil’s Parlor and The Bake Oven, areas of rock carved away by water.

Nature’s peephole with the Taylor Falls Princess awaiting passengers in the river below.

Down the river just a bit, the Taylors Falls Queen was docked, too.

The Minnesota side of the park also serves as the launch site for river cruises, a popular activity on the day we visited. One can only imagine the steamboats that once docked along this river.

Somehow trees grow seemingly right out of the rock.

Continues Pearl:

No longer the blasting charges
Drown the voices of loggers and waters.
But lonely and majestic moves the breeze
Above the pot-holes and the Devil’s Chair
Of a village albumed in history.

FYI: To read my post about the Wisconsin side of Interstate Park, click here.

(Poetry excerpts from Minnesota Skyline, Anthology of Poems About Minnesota, published in 1953 by The Lund Press, Inc. and a gift from my eldest daughter.)

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Hiking rugged and rocky Interstate Park in Wisconsin October 16, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Interstate Park, nature, St. Croix River, state parks, travel, Wisconsin

Rocky terrain defines Wisconsin’s Interstate Park.

HIKING INTERSTATE PARK along the St. Croix River in Wisconsin requires the sure-footedness of a mountain goat, the eagle eye of a bird of prey or, minimal, a walking stick or steady hand of a friend or family member.

I discovered that last week while exploring the park with my husband, Randy, who offered his hand numerous times to guide me safely along rocky paths.

I’ll admit that, with my camera in tow and an artificial right hip, I tend to be more cautious than most.

Rock steps along a trail.

But we pretty much tossed caution aside when Randy decided we should hike, I mean climb, the .8-mile Eagle Peak Trail to the highest point overlooking the valley. Here’s a description of that path from a park publication: unsurfaced; stone stairs; uneven and steep terrain.

Pine needles and fallen leaves hide trail obstacles.

Add to that pine needles and leaves hiding underfoot rocks, plus sticks that roll quite easily under soles, and you have treacherous conditions. I’m not an experienced hiker, so take my comments from that perspective.

Ferns sprout from rock along Eagle Point Trail.

Ferns sprout from rock along Eagle Peak Trail.

In the end, this trail does not live up to the promised end given trees block the valley view. But, if you desire a hiking challenge, this is your trail.

The rocky St. Croix River gorge is stunning in its craggy beauty.

Randy poses at the scenic overlook. And, yes, I had no option but to shoot into the sun.

Rock everywhere along this river.

Much easier to traverse is the .4-mile Pothole Trail, the other path we had time to walk during our 90-minute visit to the park. Stone stairs and unevenness also define this trail. But there’s much less climbing and the view of the Dalles of the St. Croix River gorge is spectacular. I even pushed through my fear of heights to enjoy the view.

Watch for potholes. I felt like I was watching my step all the time.

You’ll also discover potholes here pocking rock. Yes, you’ll want to watch your feet lest you step into one.

Driving through the Wisconsin side of Interstate Park.

Interstate Park deserves more time than the 1 ½ hours we gave it. But daylight was fading and we didn’t want to spend $10 for a single day pass. Once upon a time, a Minnesota State Park sticker would allow you free access to Wisconsin’s Interstate Park, but no more. Interstate Park continues on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix. I’ll take you there, too.

To notice details, you have to stop. Otherwise you miss them because you're too preoccupied watching your feet.

To notice details, you have to stop. Because I was constantly watching my step, I felt like I missed out on a lot.

Wear your hiking shoes.

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October reflections from the St. Croix River valley October 15, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: aging, life, Minnesota, nature, scenic drive, St. Croix Falls, St. Croix Falls Lions Park, St. Croix River, Taylors Falls, thoughts, travel, Wisconsin

Driving toward Taylors Falls, Minnesota, from the east provides an especially scenic view of this river community.

TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO in October, my husband and I planned an overnight stay at a bed-and-breakfast in Taylors Falls. We anticipated gorgeous fall colors and rare time alone without the responsibilities of parenting three children.

But then my mother-in-law died unexpectedly a week before the booked get-away and we never rescheduled the trip.

Heading toward St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Taylors Falls, Minnesota, along U.S. Highway 8.

This past week, we finally made it to the twin St. Croix River valley communities of Taylors Falls on the Minnesota side and St. Croix Falls in Wisconsin, staying at a chain hotel rather than a B & B. We found the glorious autumn colors we had hoped for and the freedom that comes with being empty nesters.

Shops in downtown St. Croix Falls.

Hop in the van and go. Stop when and where we want. Drive along a winding river road. Hike without worry of kids trailing off the trail or plummeting over the edge of a rocky ledge. Eat late. Sleep in.

My husband on a dock at St. Croix Falls Lions Park along the St. Croix River.

There’s something to be said for this season of life, this nearing age sixty that causes me to pause, to delight in the view, to reflect and appreciate and yearn for the past while simultaneously appreciating the days I live and those which lie before me.

“River Spirit,” a bronze sculpture by local Julie Ann Stage, embodies the poetry and natural beauty of the St. Croix River Valley. The artwork was installed in 2007 and stands at a scenic overlook in downtown St. Croix Falls.

Perhaps I think too deeply, too poetically sometimes.

Reflections, like watercolor on water. A scene photographed at St. Croix Falls Lions Park.

But like the trees buffeting the banks of the St. Croix, I see my days reflected in the river of life.

Beauty along the St. Croix River as seen from Lions Park.

Blazing colors mingling with green.

Leaves upon rock, reflect the unchangeable and the changeable.

Changed and unchanging.

Days of simply enjoying life.

Yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Life is like a river, sometimes calm, sometimes raging. A view of the St. Croix River shoreline from Lions Park.

Life.

FYI: Click here for more information about the Taylors Falls and St. Croix Falls area.

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Dear God, please restore the power October 14, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:01 AM
Tags: church dinners, country church, Minnesota, North Morristown, prayer, Trinity Lutheran Church North Morristown

Parked outside Trinity Lutheran Church North Morristown on Sunday morning for the congregation’s annual fall dinner.

THE IRISH I M van parked outside the German Lutheran Church makes me laugh.

And it’s good to laugh on a Sunday morning when the power has been out for hours and the Lutheran ladies have been scurrying, along with their anxious husbands, to cart roasters of hot food from the church basement.

It is the morning of Trinity North Morristown’s annual fall dinner and the worst possible date for the power to fail at a nearby substation.

Before worship services on a Sunday morning at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

Upstairs in the sanctuary, pews are nearly empty as congregants scramble to move food to the homes of parishioners with power and to nearby Camp Omega. Eventually the pews fill. The church organist gathers her songbooks from the balcony and hurries to the piano at the front of the sanctuary.

The pastor jokes, during the morning worship service, about his strong and resilient German Lutheran congregation, then prays later for the electricity to come back on.

But when he blesses worshipers, the lights are still out.

So the well isn’t working and the toilet can’t be flushed except it can with water hauled in milk cans to pour into the toilet tank.

Outside, the scent of coffee wafts from an open kettle set atop a propane fueled burner.

Tickets for the dinner are selling and diners file in a side door, up the steps and into pews to await dismissal to the basement. Food has been hauled back, down the stairs, into the semi dark kitchen.

In the dim light of the sanctuary, conversation flows with the comfort that comes from visiting within the close confines of a small country church.

Then, just like that, the lights flick on at 11:10 a.m. Applause erupts. An audible gasp escapes, though, when the power flickers, off and on, before remaining on.

Tables await diners in the church basement. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

Diners file to the basement, the IRISH I M and the Lutherans, to feast on ham and turkey and to give thanks for an answer to prayer.

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Season of harvest in southeastern Minnesota, a photo essay October 13, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: agriculture, harvest, photo essay, photography, Rice County, seasons, southeastern Minnesota

Rural Rice County, Minnesota, west of Faribault.

Rural Rice County, west of Faribault.

ACRE UPON ACRE OF CORN unfolds in the mixed sunshine and grey skies of an October afternoon in southeastern Minnesota.

East of Morristown, Minnesota, along Rice County Road 15.

Harvest underway east of Morristown, along Rice County Road 15.

It is the season of harvest.

Just west of North Morristown.

Cornfields roll into soybean fields, some harvested, some not.

Semis await the harvest in southeastern LeSueur County.

Harvesting just south of Faribault off Rice County Road 45.

A semi ready to be filled with soybeans.

Trucks and tractors and combines labor or await the farmers who will toil day into dark to reap that which they’ve planted and tended and watched until now.

Bins likely have been emptied for the new crop.

Corn fills a wagon at a farm site east of Morristown along Rice County Road 15.

More bins to bank the harvest.

Corn brims wagons like a stash of gold, banks of bins or the local grain elevator ready for harvest delivery.

In rural Rice County, a wagon at the harvest ready.

This is the season the farmer awaits.

Waiting…

This October, this harvest time.

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Celebrate autumn in Minnesota this weekend October 10, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:15 PM
Tags: autumn, church dinner, craft fair, fall festivals, Faribault, food, Garden City, Minnesota, nature, seasons, travel

THERE’S MUCH TO LOVE about Autumn in Minnesota.

Stop at a roadside stand or a farmers' market for pumpkins, apples, squash and other Minnesota-grown produce. That's me at The Country Store of Pepin (Wisconsin) photographed earlier this week by my husband, Randy.

Stop at a roadside stand or a farmers’ market for pumpkins, apples, squash and other Minnesota-grown produce. That’s me relaxing at The Country Store of Pepin (Wisconsin) photographed earlier this week by my husband, Randy.

It’s the season of harvest and leaves crackling underfoot and piled pumpkins.

My meal at last year's Trinity dinner, minus the bread and cranberries. I had cake for dessert, too.

Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown, hosts its annual fall dinner and craft sale from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. this Sunday, October 12. It’s one of the best church dinners around, in my opinion. All of the food (some not shown here) is homemade. Cost is $10 for ages 13 and older; $5 for ages 6-12; and free for ages 5 and younger. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

It’s the season of church dinners.

Christine Henke serves chili, which I classified as "very spicy" at Glam Central Salon.

Faribault holds its annual downtown Fall Festival on Saturday, October 11, with a kids’ costume parade, kids’ activities, chili tasting (between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.), gallery-on-the-go and a mystery dinner. Visit the Faribault Main Street website for more information. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

And festivals galore.

Just inside the entry to the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds.

The third annual Maker Fair Fall Festival runs from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday, October 11, at the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds in Garden City. Handcrafted arts and food from nearly 100 south central Minnesota artisans will be featured along with music, kids’ activities and more. For more info, visit makerfair.org. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

It’s the season of shopping at craft sales in small towns and along country roads.

Fall colors are at their prime in some areas of Minnesota. This photo, taken on Thursday, shows the St. Croix River near Stillwater.

But most of all, it’s about taking the time to appreciate this season that brings a sharpness to our days, an awareness that we must savor every ray of sunshine, every moment outdoors. Take time this weekend to embrace Autumn before she exits and Winter walks through the door.

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The art of a downtown

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: art, business, main street, Minnesota, Northfield, sidewalk poetry, signs, street scenes

I CHALLENGE YOU, the next time you are strolling Main Street, Anywhere, to look for art.

Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe sells original art showcased on its walls, plus serves up some great soup and sandwiches and more.

Not just the obvious, as in art created as art.

See all the art going on here in the stone, the angles, the curve of the door, etc. in the alley by The Contented Cow.

See all the art going on here in the stone, the angles, the door, etc. in the alley by The Contented Cow.

But art that weaves itself into the streetscape, into the fabric that defines a downtown.

Attractive sandwich board signage designed to draw shoppers into Glass Garden Beads and the Eclectic Goat.

Notice the colors, the textures, the fonts, the shapes—all those details that we often overlook in our hurry.

An eye-catching window display at the Yarn Shop. (Photo edited.)

An eye-catching window display at Northfield Yarn. (Photo edited.)

Appreciate that which someone created whether to draw your business or your eye or simply for the joy of creating.

Art is everywhere:

A kitschy painting outside a business entry.

I’ll tell you more about this piece of art in a larger scale public art project in an upcoming post.

The Northfield Arts Guild showcases fine original art. But don't miss this stained glass window and the scene beyond it on the center's second floor.

The Northfield Arts Guild showcases fine original art. But don’t miss the stained glass art and the scene beyond on the center’s second floor.

Don't miss the poetry imprinted upon sidewalks on Northfield's downtown. Word art.

Don’t miss the word art (poetry) imprinted upon sidewalks in Northfield’s downtown.

Love the Hogan Brothers sign and the architecture above it.

If only we will pause to notice, and appreciate, streetscape art.

FYI: All of these photos were taken this past summer in downtown Northfield, Minnesota.

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Play me a tune in Mason City October 9, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Iowa, Mason City, music, piano, public piano, travel, Tunes for the Town

MY ENTIRE LIFE, I wished I could play the piano.

But opportunity never presented itself. Or more like limited finances never allowed for purchase of a piano or piano lessons. When you grow up in a large family without much money, piano lessons miss the budget. And when there are farm chores, time does not allow for piano lessons.

To this day, I cannot play a single musical instrument or read a note.

A sign invites pianists to sit down and play the public piano.

But I appreciate music and what a group of Mason City High School students, through Youth Investing Energy in Leadership Development (YIELD), have brought to their northeastern Iowa community via “Tunes for the Town.”

A “Tunes for the Town” piano located in Mason City’s downtown Plaza.

Through this project, students painted four donated pianos which were then placed around Mason City in May. On a recent visit there, I discovered one of those public pianos outside Southbridge Mall in the downtown Plaza. The other three are located in Central Park, near KCMR radio’s studio and inside The Music Man Square.

This public piano project is especially fitting for Mason City, birthplace of “The Music Man” composer, Meredith Willson.

Beth Ann and Randy uncover the Plaza piano, revealing a color piano which mimics my friend's colorful shirt.

Beth Ann and Randy uncover the Plaza piano, revealing a colorful piano mimicking my friend’s colorful shirt.

On this quiet Sunday afternoon, my husband, Randy, and friend, Beth Ann, who lives in Mason City and served as our tour guide, uncovered the piano.

Randy has enough musical knowledge to play a short tune.

Then Randy pounded out some simple beginner’s tune and determined the piano needs tuning. His dad played piano and organ and even an accordion, before he lost his hand in a farming accident. But even after the accident, my father-in-law still tuned pianos.

The colorful back of the piano.

No concert was performed that Sunday afternoon in the Plaza. But my unheard applause rings for those high school students and “Tunes for the Town.”

Just cover the piano once you’ve finished playing.

FYI: The pianos are locked at night and, as you can see, are covered to protect them from the weather. They will be moved indoors this winter.

A 22-year-old Des Moines man pled guilty recently to felony criminal mischief after he flipped and destroyed one of the pianos earlier this year. That piano has since been replaced.

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In praise of community sculpture walks, like the one in Mason City October 8, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: art, Frank Lloyd Wright, Iowa, Mason City, Meredith Willson, River City Sculptures on Parade, sculpture walks, sculptures, travel

BRINGING ART TO THE STREETS, in essence to the general public, excites me.

Not all of us have the opportunity to tour big city art galleries or other places that showcase the creations of renowned sculptors.

Martin Eichinger of Portland, Oregon, created this graceful “Bird in the Hand” bronze sculpture valued at $14,500 and posed near the Mankato Civic Center during my visit there in 2011.

So when communities like Mankato and Bemidji, Minnesota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and Mason City, Iowa, bring sculptures to the streets, I want to stand up and shout, “Thank you!”

Details define “Reading Magic,” a $8,500 bronze sculpture by Julie Jones of Fort Collins, Colorado, displayed in the 2011 CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour in Mankato.

I’ve toured the Bemidji and Mankato outdoor sculpture collections and recently spotted several of the 33 sculptures on loan and/or permanent display as part of River City Sculptures on Parade in Mason City. The artwork is exhibited for a year before a new set of sculptures rolls into town. All of the art is for sale, so some remains permanently in the host cities.

Isn’t this just the greatest idea?

Here’s a look at some of the sculptures, and the settings in which they are placed, in Mason City:

This downtown Mason City building dwarfs a corner placed sculpture, "The Thinker," by Serge Mozhnevsky.

This downtown Mason City building, the former First National Bank, dwarfs a corner placed sculpture, “The Thinker,” by Serge Mozhnevsky. John Dillinger and other gangsters robbed the bank on March 13, 1934, escaping with about $52,000.

Directly across the street you’ll find “Bruno” by artist Eric Thorsen in the Federal Avenue Plaza.

The Plaza, a green space (even if it is artificial turf) in downtown Mason City, provides an ideal location for sculptures.

The Plaza, a green space (of artificial turf, cement and bricks) in downtown Mason City, provides an ideal location for sculptures.

Sculptor Martha Pettigrew’s “Fish Story,” featuring a grandfather and two of his grandchildren, has been purchased as a permanent part of the city’s sculpture collection. The red bench was recently replaced by a less distracting gray bench. The art is located in the Plaza.

Art on the Plaza extends beyond the sculptures. Look up.

The buildings themselves are art.

The Plaza presents a welcoming and inviting spot to linger in the heart of downtown Mason City.

Martha Pettigrew’s “American Architect,” a portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright, stands permanently in Central Park. The famous Prairie School style architect designed a house, hotel and bank in Mason City.

The Meredith Willson Footbridge, named after “The Music Man” composer, was built in 1940 and spans Willow Creek. It is, in itself, a work of art.

“Kinetic Weather Disturbance Ensemble,” a sculpture by Douglas Walker, is located at one end of the bridge. It is now part of the city’s permanent sculpture collection.

Just another view of the long and scenic bridge. On the afternoon we visited, three deer frolicked in the creek.

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Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Minnesota Prairie Roots named “best local blog” in southern Minnesota October 17, 2014

Exploring the Minnesota side of Interstate Park

Hiking rugged and rocky Interstate Park in Wisconsin October 16, 2014

October reflections from the St. Croix River valley October 15, 2014

Dear God, please restore the power October 14, 2014

Season of harvest in southeastern Minnesota, a photo essay October 13, 2014

Celebrate autumn in Minnesota this weekend October 10, 2014

The art of a downtown

Play me a tune in Mason City October 9, 2014

In praise of community sculpture walks, like the one in Mason City October 8, 2014

Follow Minnesota Prairie Roots via Email

An essay of barn photos & memories; In praise of preserving country churches; & Testing the track during a Soap Box Derby trial run in Faribault

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