GROWING UP IN SMALL TOWN Minnesota in the 60s and 70s, I saw local businesses thriving. There were two hardware stores, two grocery stores, a lumberyard, feed mill, grain elevator, bank, restaurants, corner bar, barbershop, several service stations, post office and more in my hometown of Vesta, population 365. But today, the one-block Main Street stands mostly empty, pocked by vacant lots from long-ago torn down buildings. A few businesses remain. The elementary school closed decades ago.
In Belview seven miles to the north and east, the story repeats. I recall driving to Belview with my grandma in the early 1970s to shop for fabric so I could sew dresses for her. That dry goods store is long gone. Belview has, like most rural communities, experienced the closure of many businesses as locals headed to regional shopping hubs to shop at Big Box stores and also embraced online shopping.
Likewise, Redwood Falls, to the east of Belview along Minnesota State Highway 19, has changed considerably. That Redwood County seat and the Lyon County seat of Marshall were our family’s go-to larger towns to shop for clothes, shoes and other necessities when I was growing up on the prairie. Last Saturday when Randy and I stopped in downtown Redwood, I found the streets nearly empty and few businesses open. Nothing like the bustling downtown I remember.
I can sit here and write about this with nostalgia and sadness, wishing these rural communities remained self-sufficient. But wishes are not reality. And wishing does not change things. Action does.
While in Redwood Falls, I met a young man, Nate Rohlik, who recently opened Vintage Vinyl, Toys & Games. He’s passionate about improving his community, about providing a place for young people to gather, about growing opportunities.
He’s friendly, outgoing, welcoming. Everything you want in a shopkeeper. But Nate also carries a sense of responsibility, it seems. He recently-returned to his home area after a stint with the military that took him around the world. He could have settled elsewhere. But he chose to return to his roots. (He graduated from nearby Wabasso High School, my alma mater, in 2004.) That says something.
We didn’t chat all that long. But my brief conversation with Nate gives me hope. Hope that his positive attitude, his efforts—including purchasing two arcade games—and his drive will ignite a fire of possibilities.
PLEASE CHECK BACK to read my thoughts on small towns and what draws me to them.
© Copyright 2021 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
You capture the American reality. In your writing snd photographs. Hooray for Nate! Love all that vinyl and his spirit. Thanks for taking us on your journey.
You are welcome, Ruth. I enjoyed meeting Nate. Such a positive young man who truly wants to improve his community.
I could spend hours in a place like that!
I understand.
🙂 thanks for sharing Audrey. Makes my wonder why Grandpa used to say ‘don’t blink or you’ll miss it while on trips through rural Minnesota’ 😉
You are welcome. Check back tomorrow for more small town photos and thoughts. And then more after that. I’ve been out and about lately.
Good for Nate for opening Vintage Vinyl in his hometown. I hope the shop is successful!
His enthusiasm is strong and that is the first step toward success.
I know Colin would love that Vintage Vinyl shop! We might have to take a road trip!
He and Randy both love vinyl. Be sure to call Nate before heading to Vintage Vinyl to assure he’s open. Hopefull Treasures in Hope is also another great source for vinyl. That’s south of Owatonna along I-35. Again, call before you go.
Thanks for this! I pre-date you by at least a decade. As I’ve written to you before, during many summers in the ’50s and ’60s my family would come out from New Jersey to stay at my grandfather’s farm in Sheridan Township, which is near Belview, where one of my favorite aunts lived. Your articles bring back many memories of these visits. It is interesting to see how these small towns are doing. I think that the apparent decline of these small and even medium-size towns is a result of complex factors. The transition from the small family farm to larger farms consolidated from these smaller farms (my grandfather’s farm was 240 acres) is certainly one of them, along with the internet, which as you have noted makes shopping easier and obviates the need for many of the small businesses that have closed. In many respects, the small towns in the area have lost their economic purpose. But with the pandemic showing that much of modern work can be done from home, many businesses, both large and small, may decentralize, permitting those who prefer a rural life style (not me!) to move back. So stay tuned; the best may be yet to come for these small towns!
Charles, I appreciate your insights. I agree this is a complex topic. Much has changed in the decades since I left the farm. And much has changed in the past year. So, yes, perhaps more people may move to rural areas. That said, good internet access can be an issue in rural parts.
I have family from New Jersey who also came to our farm every summer or every other summer.
Thanks for the nostalgic post…I am so grateful that we had the small-town upbringing that you describe so poignantly! I love the image of you sewing dresses for your grandma…that is a special memory! We could probably compare notes for hours if we ever got together! Coffee at the Viking Cafe in Fergus? Yours, Lisa
Ah, the Viking Cafe, now that’s definitely small town nostalgic. If I ever return to Fergus Falls…
Glad you enjoyed my small town post. Thanks for reading, Lisa, and for the invitation.
Lots of memories of the Sward Kemp building for me. My orthodontist, Dr. Ingles was in the upstairs. For the past couple of years I’ve stopped into the drug store on my way though. They must have moved locations since last Summer or Fall. RWF had a wonderful downtown at one time, now it’s all on the “strip”. 😦
Ryan, I remember downtown Redwood Falls as you do. Busy. Thriving. “The place” to shop. Now the downtown is mostly vacant. And, yes, the pharmacy relocated upon the construction of a new hospital/clinic. My dentist was the same as yours, up that long long flight of stairs.