“THE KIDS KNOW more about dinosaurs than me,” said my friend Larry Richie, retired Faribault area farmer, amateur archaeologist, historian, volunteer at Nerstrand Charter School and much more. He’s one of those guys who’s a wealth of knowledge accrued through years of living and caring about people, animals, the land and history. And he’s always willing to share his discoveries.
I ran into Larry recently at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show where he had set up tables with fossils uncovered during digs on property south of Faribault. I didn’t take notes, so I don’t recall everything my friend told me. But I left feeling pretty certain I’d just touched, picked up and photographed dinosaur bones.
Larry knows a heckuva lot more than I do about these plant and meat-eaters that roamed the earth long ago. But not as much as the kids, he laughed. I concur. My grandchildren certainly know more about dinosaurs, and Pokemon, than I do.
As I listened to Larry, I thought, here’s a man with passion and determination. Although he’s, as yet, been unable to find anyone who will verify the authenticity of his dinosaur bones, I walked away a believer.
Dinosaurs are decidedly amazing creatures that fascinate all of us, no matter our age. I remember playing with plastic dinosaurs as a young child. If I was to dig around in an upstairs storage space, I’d likely find those vintage toys. And if I headed to the basement and opened a tote, I’d find several dinosaurs, including battery-operated ones, belonging to my now grown children. Those roaring dinos with flashing red eyes scared my grandkids as preschoolers.
One dinosaur that never scares is DINO, the Apatosaurus of Sinclair Oil fame. I happened upon three multi-sized versions of DINO along a residential street near Morehouse Park in Owatonna recently. The trio was strategically placed on either side of Sinclair gas pumps, the scene like a work of art, a snapshot of marketing history.
DINO has been around since 1930 promoting Sinclair products. In Minnesota, 46 Sinclair gas stations remain, the nearest to me in Waseca 25 miles away.
There’s something about dinosaurs that is timeless, that appeals to generations. I hold fond memories of visiting Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, S.D. in 1966 on the only vacation our family ever took. It’s documented in a black-and-white photo pasted in my photo album. Those mammoth sculptures atop the hill made an impression.
Today I remain in awe of dinosaurs. Just like my friend Larry, my grandkids and countless other kids and adults. I expect we’d all feel a bit differently, though, if dinosaurs, especially meat-eaters, still roamed the earth.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
So, to the extent that birds are descendants of the dinosaurs, then those old reptiles still walk the Earth in the form of the turkeys that are partial to the spillage from our bird feeders. 🦖 Based on their beaks and talons, I like to think of them as scaled-down velociraptors. 😉
Those turkeys very well could be velociraptors. 🙂
I’m in favor of the “Leaf eaters”! Have you ever seen Jurassic Park! My favorite Dino movie! 🍿 🎥
Nope, I’ve never watched the movie, even though it’s a classic.
I think my earliest memory of dinosaurs was watching the Flintstones. Then of course taking family trips to the Dakotas learned about fossils, dinosaurs, petrified wood, arrowheads, etc. Living in Florida you just have to look at a gator and you think dino like. Same with some of the bird species like Wood Storks and Pelicans. Then we have the gopher tortoises here too. I find it fascinating of what is surviving and thriving vs. what was around in the ice age, what is extinct or close to extinct, those that were almost extinct and came back in mass numbers, etc. Your post is what I needed to read today – thanks for sharing 🙂 Happy Day – Enjoy
You are welcome. And thank you, as always, for sharing about your adventures and those Florida creatures. 🙂
I love this post. I have some fond memories of dinosaur park too. My kids would have loved all of the dinosaur information. My daughter still mentions the Christmas where everyone bought her Barbies and all she wanted was dinosaurs.
Thank You! for sharing you sure put a smile on my face today.
And thank you for sharing your dinosaur stories. I laughed at your daughter’s story about Barbies vs dinosaurs.
I so love that picture of you and your family with the dinosaur! that is such a treasure. you are right about the kids, they far surpass me with their knowledge and it seems like most all children have an interest in them, some more that others. I do remember the Sinclair dinosaur of course, I love Dino on the flintstones.
Dinosaurs certainly hold universal interest and appeal. And, yes, I love that family pic also. I have so few.
I do remember Dino, the Sinclair dinosaur. Fun flashback. It would be fun to see the three together in Owatonna.
It was fun to discover and photograph.