Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

One woman’s promise to God January 6, 2015

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The Chapel of the Good Shepherd.

The Chapel of the Good Shepherd.

IT STANDS STATELY and tall on the campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault. The Chapel of the Good Shepherd, or, to be exact, the Eunice Shumway Memorial Chapel of the Good Shepherd.

Inside the historic sanctuary, the pews face the aisle rather than the altar.

Inside the historic sanctuary, the pews face the aisle rather than the altar.

Eunice’s mother, Augusta Shumway, pledged $20,000 to build the chapel. After construction began in June 1871, Augusta lost nearly everything in the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871. Despite her loss, Augusta fulfilled her promise, sending $15,000 in insurance payments to Bishop Henry Whipple. She later donated more monies to the school.

Looking up at the altar and the stunning stained glass windows above it.

Looking up at the altar and the stunning stained glass windows above it.

The bishop quoted his friend Augusta in his book, Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate: Being Reminiscences and Recollections of the Right Reverend Henry Benjamin Whipple:

“Bishop, I promised God to build the chapel in memory of my daughter. I owe but one debt, and that is to God. I have collected enough of insurance money to complete the building, and here it is.”

Two behind-the-altar windows up close.

Two behind-the-altar windows up close.

Wrote the bishop: It was a noble instance of woman’s faith.

Whipple summarizes well the intentions of Augusta, who only a dozen years earlier lost her 13-month-old daughter.

The bell tower spire is a Shattuck landmark.

The bell tower spire is a Shattuck landmark.

What faith. What hope. What generosity.

BONUS PHOTOS:

The arched wooden front doors present an impressive entry.

The arched wooden front doors present an impressive entry.

The exterior is tastefully and simply decorated for the holidays.

The exterior is tastefully and simply decorated for the holidays.

Outside the front door. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Outside the front door. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Just inside the doors, a creche.

Just inside the doors, a creche.

A close-up of the Holy Family shows Joseph viewing the Christ Child.

A close-up of the Holy Family shows Joseph viewing the Christ Child.

On a wall inside the entry.

On a wall inside the entry.

Beautiful stained glass above the exterior entry doors.

Beautiful stained glass above the exterior entry doors.

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

I am distinctly Minnesotan and proud of it January 5, 2015

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SEVERAL YEARS AGO, before my son-in-law married my daughter, I gifted him with How to Talk Minnesotan by Howard Mohr. It’s a rather humorous, but truthful, volume of Minnesota Speak.

 

The original version of How to Talk Minnesotan was published in the 1980s. This is the version I've read.

The original version of How to Talk Minnesotan was published in the 1980s. This is the version I’ve read.

I thought Marc might need a Minnesota “dictionary” given he grew up in California, where bars are drinking establishments and not also a sweet treat baked in a cake pan.  And, yes, he now lives in Minnesota with his wife, my eldest.

Having ever only traveled as far west as one mile into Wyoming, never down South and to the East Coast only once, during college, I am mostly unfamiliar with regional differences in dialect.

Apparently we Minnesotans draw out our “o”s and possess a distinct accent. No, not like the “sure, ya betcha” voices of Fargo.

The son noted this on his recent arrival home from Boston for holiday break. “Listen to yourselves,” he advised his dad and me.

Apparently friends at Tufts University have ribbed him about his incorrect pronunciations of “bag” and “sorry.”

Before my son transferred to the East Coast college from North Dakota State University in, yes, Fargo, two years ago, I phoned the Tufts financial aid office. The woman who answered had a Boston accent so strong that I could not understand her. I requested that she please slow down. If ever there was an accent…

An updated version published in

An updated version published in 2013 by Penguin Books.

Continuing along his Minnesota differences theme, the son noted also that we use the word “supper” to reference our evening meal. My husband and I explained that this is a carry-over from our rural backgrounds. The noon meal was dinner. Lunch was served at 3 p.m. to the men in the field and a “little lunch” around midnight, when you had company (aka visitors). Supper was served either before or after the evening milking.

After nearly 60 years of identifying meals as breakfast, dinner, lunch, supper and a little lunch, we’re not going to change our dining terminology.

That brings us to after meal clean-up. As the 20-year-old and I were doing dishes after supper (not dinner) recently, he noted that, “You know they don’t wash dishes like this in Boston.”

I paused mid swirl of dishrag upon plate, confused. “What do you mean? That everyone has a dishwasher?”

He shot me that c’mon Mom look youth sometimes reserve for parents, then explained. Rather than filling the sink with water, each item is washed individually with a squirt of soap under running water.

“Makes no sense to me and seems mighty wasteful of water and dish soap,” I chided. “Are you sure that isn’t just a college kid thing rather than a Boston thing?”

He didn’t respond.

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A brutally cold Sunday in Minnesota January 4, 2015

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TODAY APPEARED deceptively lovely. Blue sky. Sunshine. Fresh layer of snow overnight.

A rural scene along Interstate 35 north of the Northfield, Minnesota, exit.

A rural scene along Interstate 35 north of the Northfield, Minnesota, exit.

But appearance is not reality.

On this Sunday in Southern Minnesota, the temp dipped to minus two degrees Fahrenheit by late afternoon.

A tough job on a cold day, cleaning up after a crash.

A tough job on a cold day, cleaning up after a crash.

On Highway 36 in Roseville, a Minnesota state trooper faced the unenviable task of clearing debris from a crash scene. Only his cheeks and nose appeared visible from behind a black mask as he worked in the brutal cold. He faced the additional danger of two lanes of heavy traffic propelling toward him. All it would take is one inattentive driver…

Steam hangs heavy in the air during cold spells.

Steam hangs heavy in the air during cold spells.

Near downtown Minneapolis, smokestacks billowed steam, always more prominent on days like today.

A sun dog photographed from Interstate 35 between the Northfield and Faribault exits.

A sun dog photographed from Interstate 35 between the Northfield and Faribault exits.

As day shifted to evening, sun dogs showed up, bright columns of light flanking the sun.

Another sun dog, photographed just before the first Interstate 35 exit southbound into Faribault.

Another sun dog, photographed just before the first Interstate 35 exit southbound into Faribault.

It’s been one cold day in Minnesota.

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A new series: Minnesota faces January 2, 2015

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DURING MORE THAN FIVE YEARS of blogging, I’ve photographed many a Minnesotan. Young and old. And in between.

From my cousin’s young daughter passing a tray of chocolates at a 50th anniversary party to a woman sitting under an old-fashioned hair dryer at a West Concord beauty salon to our newest immigrants celebrating their heritage at Faribault’s International Festival, I’ve photographed a wide range of subjects.

Some of the images are posed portraits, others snapshot style.

Each photo tells a story— through lines etched into a face, in the tilt of the head, the look in an eye or perhaps the way hands fold. Or a smile. Or not.

Light and setting add to the story. Sometimes the environment tells as much, if not more, than the face.

I’m not a professional portrait photographer. It’s just me and my Canon DSLR. No fancy lighting. No anything except the camera lens between me and my subject.

To photograph these individuals has been an honor. Truly. I delight in showcasing the people, places and events of rural Minnesota, where I’ve lived my entire life.

Beginning today, and every Friday until I run out of images, I will pull a portrait from my files and show you a face. The face of a Minnesotan.

And because I appreciate the timeless beauty of black-and-white photos, those portraits will be void of color.

Words will be sparse. Instead, I want you to focus on the image. The faces that tell the stories.

 

PORTRAIT #1: Dan, who claims Folgers is the best. 

 

Dan Tersteeg, Fourth Ave. Christmas dinner 2012

 

 

Dan Tersteeg tends the coffee at the annual Community Christmas Dinner at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church in Faribault. I shot this portrait two years ago in the church basement. But I could have taken it this past December as Dan was in the same spot overseeing the coffee. Dan told me in 2012 that he always uses Folgers because it works best with Faribault’s water. I believe him. Who am I to question the guy in charge of the coffee?

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hope, my word for 2015 January 1, 2015

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Inspirational quotes posted on my desk, on the shelf above my desktop screen.

Inspirational quotes posted on my desk, on the shelf above my desktop screen.

HOPE. It’s a four-letter word that holds so much promise.

Hope will be my mantra for 2015, after a year that’s been especially challenging.

How do you define hope?

I’d like some synonyms to stash in my memory bank, to pull out, to examine, to consider when life presents seemingly insurmountable challenges, when grey prevails, when I need encouragement. We all have days when we need nothing more than hope.

My blogger/real-life friend, Sue, awhile ago posted this quote from one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson:

Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.

Beautiful. That quote is posted on the shelf above my computer screen. A reminder of hope.

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HAVE YOU, LIKE my friend Beth Ann who blogs at It’s Just Life and inspired me to choose a focus word, selected a word or phrase that will take you into and through-out 2015?

For you, my loyal readers, I wish a year of contentment and true peace, days brimming with happiness and the love of family and friends, and an appreciation for the simple joys of life. Happy New Year!

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling