Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Reflecting on & celebrating 43 years of marriage May 15, 2025

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Randy and I exit St. John’s Lutheran Church in Vesta following our May 15, 1982, wedding. I cherish this image because it’s a journalistic-style photo in the day of portrait-only wedding photos. I also cherish it because it shows loved ones, including some who have since died. (Photo credit: Williams Studio, Redwood Falls, MN)

FORTY-THREE YEARS. Three children. Three grandchildren. Three seems the focus number today, the date I married Randy 43 years ago.

It hardly seems possible that so many years, so many decades, have passed since the two of us exchanged vows at St. John’s Lutheran Church in my hometown of Vesta. On the Saturday afternoon of Minnesota’s 1982 weekend fishing opener, we gathered with family and friends in the church on the edge of town a half mile from my childhood family farm.

In hindsight, May was not the best month to choose for a wedding, especially when your dad and most of your paternal relatives are farmers. My parents never said a word about our chosen date of May 8. But my florist sister protested. That was Mother’s Day weekend and she firmly stated that she would not attend our wedding. So we changed the date to a week later. I should have called her bluff.

The Vesta Community Hall, site of our 1982 wedding reception and dance. I loved this building with its stage, wood floor and wood benches lining the edges of the dance floor. It’s no longer the community hall, sadly. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

That aside, our May 15 wedding went on during spring planting season. Dad managed to take time away from the tractor to grill food for the groom’s dinner, to walk me down the aisle and to celebrate afterwards at the Vesta Community Hall. Some farmers missed our wedding to plant corn. And at least one angler opted to go fishing. Choices.

Life is all about choices. Randy and I chose to marry each other. And for that I am thankful. We’ve made a great team, facing life’s challenges and celebrating life’s joys together. I cannot imagine going through the difficult times alone, without Randy’s steady, calming presence. His laid-back, introverted personality balances my more extroverted emotional personality. Sometimes he frustrates me as I’m sure I do him. But it works, this balance.

Our similarities of background have proven a strength in our marriage. We both grew up on crop and dairy farms in families without much money, so we’ve always agreed on finances. At a young age, we were expected to pitch in and do farm chores. As the older among many siblings, we carried more responsibilities. We worked hard. We understood that our parents were counting on us. And when we talk about picking rock, we don’t need to ask, “What are you talking about?” I will say, though, that Randy picked a whole lot more rocks in rocky Morrison County than I did from my dad’s farm fields in Redwood County. But then again, Randy never worked an off-the-farm summer job detasseling corn.

Now here we are, 43 years later, Randy still working hard—full-time as an automotive machinist even though he supposedly retired several years ago. And me still writing and doing photography. But we make a conscious choice now to put our family before jobs. Or more like I “tell” Randy he needs to take off work so we can do whatever, such as travel four hours to Madison, Wisconsin, to see our four-month-old grandson. Oh, and Everett’s parents, too.

Audrey and Randy, May 15, 1982. (Photo credit: Williams Studio)

I love how Randy supports me in my writing, even attending the many poetry readings I’ve participated in through the years. I doubt my husband ever expected that he would be marrying a poet. Next week, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, I’m joining four other poets at Books on Central in Faribault to read poetry. Randy will be there in the chairs listening. I just need to “tell” him.

And I need to tell him this also. Happy 43rd anniversary, Randy! I love you! Thank you for being my partner in life.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hands-on engaging history at Faribault’s Riverside Rendezvous May 14, 2025

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Rendezvous re-enactors visit near the pirate ship. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

I’M INTERESTED IN HISTORY, although not as much as my husband. He reads history-themed books, remembers historical dates and facts, and leaves a museum with more info imprinted on his brain than me. I learn about and retain history better when I can actually “see” and experience it. That’s why I find events like the recent Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival in Faribault especially appealing.

One of many tents where you could learn and also buy goods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

That same connective shift is something I see happening more and more in history centers and museums. And that’s a good thing—to have interactive and creative exhibits that draw people into history. It is via connecting with our past that we begin to understand today.

Fur pelts and hats at the Mountain Man Hat Making tent. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

After attending the Riverside Rendezvous, I hold a deeper understanding of early life in Minnesota, specifically the Faribault area. Fur trading shaped the local economy. Those long ago fur traders and Indigenous Peoples got along, realizing they could help one another by exchanging goods. It seemed to work for a long time, until European settlers moved in, pushing the Dakota off their native land. Cultures clashed. War ensued. Everything changed.

This historian talked about whip making. His partner later cracked the whip. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Change is inevitable. The Rendezvous provided ample visual evidence of that by focusing on everyday life in the 1700s and 1800s. Each encampment participant highlighted a specific area of yesteryear. And by that I mean a skill—like pounding metal, stitching leather, shaping hats and much more.

Jenna Nelson demonstrates candle making. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
My grandson layers hot wax onto a wick as he builds his candle. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

That included candle making, something my kindergarten-aged grandson tried. Under the watchful guidance of Rice County Historical Society Curator Jenna Nelson, Isaac dipped a wick into a pot of hot wax and then into a jar of cold water, repeating the process until he had a thickened candle.

This toy of yesteryear fascinated my young grandson as he adjusted the wooden figure in varying positions. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Isaac also tried his hand at stitching a leather pouch, rug weaving and playing with toys of yesteryear. He smiled the entire time. He is very much a hands-on kid who loves creating. His older sister, not so much.

A tent full of books. bowls and hats for sale at the Rendezvous. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

But Izzy did race to a tent full of books and happily accepted rock candy from a costumed character at the axe-throwing station.

Lots of kids attended the Rendezvous. Here a young girl and her stuffed animal, wait inside Baby’s Indian Frybread tent. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

I give great credit to the Rendezvous re-enactors who engaged with all ages, who clearly know their crafts and who were excited to share their knowledge of both skills and history with attendees.

From rugged to well-dressed, period attire varied depending on character role-playing. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
I zoomed in on this lovely lady from afar, so I don’t know her story. But she was the most fancily-dressed at the Rendezvous. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
I saw lots of leather, fur, jewelry, piercings and tattoos. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

And that they played the parts by dressing in period costume certainly made the experience real, as in really stepping back in time. Just ignore the ringing cellphones.

Stitching a buckle on a leather belt, right, at a trading post type tent. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

I gathered in chatting with these historians that attending rendezvous is part of their way of life. They become like family to one another. I expect their love of these history festivals grows with each experience, each interaction. They are a friendly lot. Engaging.

Leather bags and blankets available at the leather stitcher’s booth. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

This approach to history carried me back to the past in a way I’ve not previously experienced. Visually, I saw history unfold before my eyes at the Riverside Rendezvous. And that I’ll remember.

The rope maker. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

FYI: The Rice County Historical Society organized this first rendezvous along the Cannon River in Faribault’s North Alexander Park. Given the success of this year’s event, they are planning a second rendezvous in May 2026. To read my first of two posts about the 2025 Rendezvous, click here.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Gathering beside the Cannon for history come alive at Riverside Rendezvous May 13, 2025

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Learning about pirates at the pirate ship sitting near the Cannon River. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

TO READ ABOUT THE PAST is one thing. To learn about history via people passionate about the past is quite another.

Folk singers Curtis & Loretta from Minneapolis perform Sunday morning. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The past came alive over the weekend at the first-ever Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival in Faribault organized by the Rice County Historical Society. I spent four hours of my Mother’s Day roaming the festival grounds alongside the Cannon River at North Alexander Park. Listening. Learning. Connecting. Questioning. Observing. And photographing.

Many rendezvous feature medallions (like these for the Faribault festival) which participants post on their tents. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
This re-enactor taught kids and adults to stitch mini leather pouches. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Small handcrafted leather bags for sale. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The Rendezvous covered 1701-1900 with participants dressed in period costume. Think top hats, mountain hats, head scarves, long skirts, lots of leather and fur.

Before shooting off three cannons, this re-enactor talked about cannon balls, loading and firing a cannon, and safety. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Firing one of three cannons. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Before the cannons were fired, fest attendees were told to cover their ears “like fish.” The boom was loud. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The re-enactors shared their period skills from blacksmithing to hat making to cannon shooting, rug weaving, leather stitching and much more. There was a lot to see, a lot to learn. And a lot to do, if you chose to participate.

Spools of colorful string for rug weaving fill a vintage suitcase. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Folks gather around Lori Feltis as she weaves on her portable loom and talks about rug making. She operates Bohemian Rag Rug Studio near Stewartville. My grandkids enjoyed some hands-on weaving with Lori. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
A narrow strip woven on Lori’s loom. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

I left the hands-on activities to others, including two of my elementary-aged grandkids. They joined many kids trying out new skills, making memories. School classes attended the festival Thursday and Friday. So many lessons taught and learned.

Valin with his “pet” skunk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

My biggest personal lesson of the day came in an unexpected way, and not until I arrived home. While walking from one tent to another at the Rendezvous, I crossed paths with Valin cuddling his pet skunk. I’d never seen a real skunk up close and I was rather excited to photograph Little Stinky. I even called my husband over for a close-up look. Valin assured me Stinky’s stinky part had been removed. Back home, Randy revealed to me that Little Stinky was a pelt. “Didn’t you see his (Valin’s) hand underneath moving the skunk?” Uh, no. I can only imagine the story Valin told around the evening campfire about the lady who thought his skunk was alive. This is now the stuff of laughter and legend for my family. Lesson learned: Everything is not as it appears.

Sam Temple presented about early Minnesota history with a focus on Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

That humorous moment aside, I did appreciate the honest and informative storytelling of local historian and documentary filmmaker Sam Temple. Smartly attired in a top hat and dress clothes, he talked about early Minnesota, about Indigenous Peoples, about the illegal French Canadian fur traders who came here first—about their relationship of interdependence and co-existence with Native Peoples and how a new mixed race culture developed.

Scraping a beaver hide, the woman in this tent focused on the Dakota, their connection to nature and how that wove into their way of living. They traded furs for goods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Temple shared much more before shifting his focus to Faribault town founder Alexander Faribault, of mixed race (his mother was part Dakota) and a licensed fur trader by age 21. Alexander arrived in a multi-cultural community with “a foot in both worlds,” Temple said. Wood-frame houses and teepees stood side-by-side. As I listened, I considered my multi-cultural community today. Getting along, but not always. By the time Alexander Faribault, who was historically-influential both locally and state-wide, left Faribault, “the teepees were missing and his mother’s culture was gone,” Temple said.

There were several food and beverage vendors on-site, with Baby’s Indian Frybread proving especially popular. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

If there’s something else I learned while attending the Rendezvous it is that I absolutely love fruit-filled Indian frybread, which I’ve not previously eaten. The sugar-topped pie-like dessert oozed blueberry filling and cream cheese. It was beyond decadent.

A blacksmithing demonstration. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

As much as I loved frybread and Little Stinky, the good folks who participate in history fests like the Riverside Rendezvous assuredly love stepping back in time. Their passion and desire to present the past in a way that engages people in history was something I felt, saw, heard while moving from tent to tent, space to space. To be part of this proved a cultural, historic experience, growing my knowledge and appreciation of those who shaped Minnesota and Faribault, this place I call home.

Tents were scattered across the spacious, shady grounds of riverside North Alexander Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

FYI: Please check back for more photos from the Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival in Faribault. This year’s Rendezvous was so successful that the Rice County Historical Society is planning a second one for 2026, but a weekend later so the event does not fall on Mother’s Day and the fishing opener weekend.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The boy who would be pope May 12, 2025

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A sculpture in a southern Minnesota Catholic church shows Mary holding the hand of Jesus. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

AS A KID, he set up an ironing board as an impromptu altar and made his two brothers attend Mass in their southside Chicago home. They teased, “You’re going to be Pope.” And today Robert “Bob” Prevost is just that, Pope Leo XIV.

I love that story, among the many reported since Prevost was selected by a Conclave of Cardinals to lead the Roman Catholic Church. He is the 267th pope and the first American elected to that powerful position.

From everything I’ve read and heard in media reports, he seems a good choice. His brothers say he will address tough issues (like immigration) and will bring people together. I’ve heard the words “building bridges” used often when referencing Pope Leo XIV. I am hopeful this man, who speaks five languages and who spent most of his church service in Peru, can use his global experiences and perspectives to make a positive difference in the world.

Oh, how we need a leader like him, described as humble, intelligent, calm, a good listener, unafraid to criticize, to be a voice of reason.

Can he be our President?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

In honor of Mother’s Day: Stories of 3 strong mothers May 9, 2025

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This page from an altered book crafted by my friend Kathleen shows my mom holding me. Mom died in January 2022. I love the quote. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

THREE MOTHERS. Three strong women. Three remarkable experiences. This Mother’s Day I feel compelled to share the stories of a trio of moms. Their stories are decidedly different, yet similar in the common denominators of strength and love.

Photographed in a small southern Minnesota town, a box containing Naloxone used as an emergency treatment for an opioid overdose or suspected overdose. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

MOTHER OF A RECOVERING ADDICT

Let’s start with the woman checking out my clutch of greeting cards recently at a local chain discount store. As I stepped up to the counter, a young man bade her goodbye. “I love you, Mom,” he said while walking toward the exit.

It was one of those moments when I simply had to say something. “That’s so sweet,” I said, looking directly at the clerk.

I don’t remember our entire conversation. But I do recall the highlights. Her son is a recovering addict two years sober. “I almost buried him,” she told me.

“You must be so proud of him,” I replied. And she was and is and I wanted to reach across that check out counter and hug her. But I didn’t. My encouraging words would have to suffice. I walked out of that store feeling grateful for this mom who never gave up on her son and for the son who recognizes the value of her ongoing love and support.

This shows two of the 22 Miller siblings featured in an exhibit at the Waseca County History Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

MOTHER OF TWENTY-TWO

Then there’s Lucille Miller of rural Waseca, married to Alvin and mother of their 22 children. Yes, twenty-two, all single births. I learned about the Miller family recently while touring the Waseca County History Center. An entire display focuses on them.

Lucille gave birth to her first child in December 1940 at age 17 and her last in January 1966 at age 43. Fifteen girls and seven boys (oldest to youngest): Ramona, Alvin Jr., Rose, Kathleen, Robert, Patricia, Marylu, Diane, John, Janet, Linda, Virginia, Helen, Art, Dolores, Martin, Pauline, Alice, Angela, Marcia, Gregory and Damien.

I can’t even fathom being pregnant that often, birthing that many children, or coming up with that many names. But Lucille Miller did just that and raised her children on the family’s Blooming Grove Township farm. She died in August 2006, her husband not even a year later. Lucille and Alvin never intended to have 22 kids. But these deeply spiritual parents considered each and every one a blessing.

Information I found online backs that up. This mother of many also “took in” several kids, led two women’s organizations and worked to establish local group homes for the disabled. Three of the Miller children had disabilities.

Helen Miller’s book about growing up in a Minnesota farm family of 22 children.

Helen Miller, 13th in line, calls her mom “a saint.” (I certainly don’t question that assessment.) She’s written a book, 21 Siblings: Cheaper by the Two Dozen, about growing up in this mega family where the Catholic church and school centered life and organization was key in keeping everyday life running smoothly. Chores were listed, then assigned, and siblings used the buddy system. I have not yet read the book, but intend to do so.

I expect the obituary of Lucille’s daughter, Virginia Miller Pelto, 60, who died on May 8, 2014, just days before Mother’s Day, reflects the way in which her mother lived: Of the many things Virginia loved, above all she loved people. As a very spiritual person, she put the world on her shoulders and in her prayers. She donated time to her church, her community and anyone who needed to just talk. Any mother would be proud to have a daughter with such a giving and compassionate spirit.

My daughter Miranda and grandson Everett, 3 months old when this photo was taken. (Photo courtesy of Miranda, April 2025)

MOTHER OF EVERETT

Finally, there’s the story of my second daughter. Miranda became a first-time mom in mid-January. Considered a “geriatric mom” given her closing-in-on-forty age, she was closely-monitored throughout her pregnancy. Miranda was in excellent physical condition—she’s a letter carrier. Her pregnancy proved uneventful with labor commencing the day before her due date. But then everything changed. For the worse. Labor was long, delivery difficult with baby’s head and shoulder getting stuck. Once Everett—all 10 pounds of him—was born, Miranda experienced extensive postpartum hemorrhaging requiring the transfusion of three units of blood. A team of doctors and other medical personnel at a Madison, Wisconsin, hospital worked to save her life.

A week later, after Miranda and John were semi-settled at home with Everett, Randy and I traveled to Madison to see all of them. When the new parents recounted harrowing details of that difficult birth, my strong strong daughter said she feared she might die. Before she saw her son.

As Miranda and I stood in the nursery, arms wrapped around each other gazing down at newborn sleeping Everett, I felt overwhelmed with emotion. I still get emotional thinking about how I nearly lost my daughter on the day my second grandson was born. I’ve written about that experience in a short story, “Birthing Everett,” which will publish in late August in The Talking Stick anthology.

We all have mothers. We all have stories, whether we are sons or daughters or mothers ourselves. Today I honor all mothers, especially Miranda, Lucille Miller and the store clerk who nearly buried her son. They are three strong women.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Experience yesteryear at Riverside Rendezvous & History Festival in Faribault May 8, 2025

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An1849 map of Minnesota Territory and more as seen through a magnifying lens inside the Rice County Historical Society Museum. Minnesota became a state in 1858. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

HISTORY COME TO LIFE appeals to me because of the immersive experience. I learn better, retain more, when I can engage. This weekend offers ample opportunity to get into history at the Rice County Historical Society’s first-ever Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival along the banks of the Cannon River in Faribault’s North Alexander Park.

A scene inside an 1856 log cabin during a past living history event at the Rice County Historical Society. This weekend’s festival will be outdoors in a park in an encampment type setting. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Organizers promise that the trades, traditions and history of the 18th and 19th centuries (1701-1900) will come alive via hands-on activities, demonstrations, workshops, storytelling, music and special events. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 10, and Sunday, May 11. Mothers get in free on Mother’s Day. Otherwise ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children 6+ and $30 for a family pass.

Admittance buys you a whole lot of history-based entertainment, knowledge and fun. For example, the hands-on history happening all day both days includes candle making, rope making, tomahawk throwing, historic toys and games, quill making, log cutting and shops at which to shop, not trade.

This sculpture of Alexander Faribault and a Dakota trading partner stands in Faribault’s Heritage Park near the Straight River and site of Faribault’s trading post. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

But you can learn about the fur trade at noon either day as local historian and documentary filmmaker Sam Temple talks about town founder Alexander Faribault and the fur trade. Todd Finney, a descendant of the Wahpekute band of the Dakota (original inhabitants of the land which is now Rice County), will speak at 3 p.m. Saturday and again at 11 a.m. Sunday about the Wahpekute Dakota.

On that same storytelling stage, musicians The Roe Family Singers, The Skally Line, Hannah Flowers, and Curtis and Loretta will perform at various times throughout the festival.

You can learn about hat making, pirates (yes, pirates with MN Jack Sparrow), historic clothing and weapons, things that do and don’t go boom, Civil War medical care and more during workshops and demos.

And then there are four special events, the first a Cane Pole Fishing Tournament starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. Bring your cane pole, not your rod and reel. Some cane poles will be available for participants. Saturday also brings Voyageur Games at 1 p.m. On Sunday, there’s a Tomahawk Throwing Competition at 1 p.m. followed by a Log Cutting Contest at 3 p.m.

I’ve never attended a rendezvous, so I have nothing with which to compare this event. But just reading through the schedule, I’m excited to take in this history festival with my two elementary-aged grandchildren, their parents and my husband. I expect we will all learn a lot and make some great memories.

Vendors will be selling food and beverages. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo used for illustration only)

One more thing, food and beverages will be available for purchase, the food being cheese curds (no festival is complete without that deep fat fried fair food), hot dogs, corn dogs, assorted frybreads, and candy and fudge.

All in all, the Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival looks to be an interesting, informative and enjoyable event for history lovers, families and anyone who’s looking for something different to do on a beautiful spring weekend in southern Minnesota.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Montgomery Kolacky Days royalty honor Czech heritage & culture

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Montgomery Kolacky Days royalty introduce themselves at the Czech May Day KCHK Radio tent, from left to right, Miss Congeniality Tayla Kline, 1st Princess Olivia Skluzacek and Queen Neysa Anderson. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

NEARLY EVERY SMALL TOWN community celebration comes with royalty. And Montgomery, Minnesota, is no exception. While attending Czech May Day in this Le Sueur County town on Sunday afternoon, I saw a whole lot of royalty.

Gathering around the May Pole for a royal photo before the pole raising. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

I am impressed by the poise and confidence of these young women who represent not only their community, but also their Czech heritage. They are well-spoken, graceful, truly deserving of their royal positions.

A sampling of the Kolacky Days queen portraits ringing the walls of the Arts & Heritage Center of Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Since 1931, Montgomery has crowned princesses and a queen during its annual late July Kolacky Days celebration. Kolacky is a Czech treat, a sweet bun with a fruit or poppyseed filling. Montgomery calls itself the Kolacky Capital of the World and perhaps rightly so. These folks love this Czech pastry, which is baked in home kitchens and by the thousands at Franke’s Bakery, a community staple since 1914.

The flag of Slovakia, which was once part of Czechoslovakia, flies at the Czech May Day celebration. The flag of the Czech Republic also flew. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Montgomery’s 2025-2026 Masopust King Isaak Worm introduces himself. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
A royal sash. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

There’s a whole lot of pride in being of Czech ancestry and I love that about Montgomery. These folks share their heritage, teaching all of us about culture, food, traditions and more still celebrated and honored generations removed from the homeland. They celebrate Czech Masopust (which has a Masopust king), Czech May Day and Kolacky Days.

Royalty take a break to visit and enjoy the May Day entertainment. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

You’ll find Montgomery’s royalty at these events, promoting community and heritage. Area high school juniors living within a five-mile radius of Montgomery or neighboring Kilkenny are eligible to enter the Montgomery Kolacky Days queen competition. They are judged in three categories: interview, talent and evening gown.

On the state level, Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota represents the Bohemian heritage. Here she holds a May Pole ribbon in Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Those chosen as the queen, first and second princesses and Miss Congeniality must then attend 15 specific events during their year-long reign. Now that takes time and commitment. They are rewarded with not only scholarships, but also new friendships, travel and a wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight on Montgomery and its Czech and Slovak heritage.

I saw lots of these red royal family t-shirts at Czech May Day. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

I observed lots of support for these young women who represent Montgomery in traditional Czech costumes at events throughout Minnesota. Their families sport red t-shirts with “Royal Family” emblazoned across the back. Elementary-aged girls also wear red tees reading “Kolacky Days Royal Little Sister.” Future princesses or queens perhaps.

Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota Queen Sarah Langridge of Prior Lake holds a May Pole ribbon. She moved from Europe to Minnesota at age eight. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Even the current Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota queen attended Czech May Day in Montgomery entertaining the crowd in song, but mostly gracing everyone with her presence.

Gathering around the May Pole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

As these young women mingled and later wound ribbons around a May Pole, I considered how much they care about their Czech culture and heritage—enough to carry on a royal tradition of 91 years.

FYI: Montgomery celebrates its 91st Kolacky Days on July 25-27, 2025. Click here to read the history of how Montgomery royalty has been selected through the years. Contestants were not always judged; it’s an interesting history.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Focusing on folk dancers at Czech May Day in Montgomery May 7, 2025

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Multiple ages perform traditional Czech and Slovak folk dances in traditional costumes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

WHENEVER I PHOTOGRAPH an event, a place, a whatever, I use my camera to tell a story. And that means framing not only overall scenes, but also focusing close-ups. It means, too, that I am conscious of moments which convey emotions, feelings, all part of the story.

A sweet face conveys serenity during a folk dance. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The Czech May Day celebration in Montgomery, a small southern Minnesota town, offered an ideal opportunity to create a visual story celebrating the community’s Czech heritage. That event centered on music, dance and traditional costumes.

Colorful traditional Czech attire created a festive scene. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

This was, in many ways, a photographer’s playground. And, by that I mean simply a heckuva lot of fun to photograph with endless photo ops. Colorful, detailed attire and constant movement had me clicking the shutter button of my Canon camera as a story unfolded before my eyes.

My favorite photo from Czech May Day. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Yet, it was the quiet moments, too, which caught my eye. When a young dancer stepped away from the circle of dancers so her mom, seated next to me, could re-tie the ribbon around her neck, I aimed my camera lens upward and caught the tender moment. It was sweet and loving and profoundly endearing. To be witness to that felt like a gift. It is my favorite photo from Czech May Day.

I observed many women holding the hands of girls before, during and after dances. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Likewise, as I zoomed in on the hands of dancers, I saw a woman’s hand clasping a child’s hand. That, too, speaks of tenderness, love, care and mentoring. We’ve all experienced the protection and guidance of a reassuring hand. This photo shows a truly relatable human moment.

The colors of the Czech and Slovak flags are reflected in these traditional dresses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Full skirts flared during the dances. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
So many beautiful Czech dresses… (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

As I watched the multi-aged dancers, I was taken by their colorful attire, by detailed embroidery, eyelet lace, aprons tied around waists, crisscrossed lacing, vests, flying ribbons and patterns and floral wreaths. It was like looking through an ever-changing kaleidoscope via my camera lens.

This young boy was among the few males who were part of the folk dancers. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

When I caught a young boy with outstretched arm in a circle of dancers, I caught more than that choreographed movement. I also captured his concentration, his sense of pride in being part of a celebration honoring his heritage.

This woman portrays confidence and strength of character in my eyes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

And when I photographed an emcee in her traditional dress, I saw grace and strength, not just a portrait.

May Day attendees could try on traditional Czech attire at this photo cut-out and a second one. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

The St. Paul Czech and Slovak Folk Dancers and Sokol Children Dancers are only one part of my visual storytelling of Czech May Day in Montgomery. On Tuesday I shared the overall story in images and words. Today I focus on those traditional dancers, on their dress and movement and those stand-alone moments when they connected individually. And with me.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Celebrating May Day in Montgomery, Czech style May 6, 2025

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A section of Montgomery’s Main Street with Franke’s Bakery (known for its kolacky) on the far left and Pizzeria 201 on the right. In the distance to the right is Heritage Park, site of the Czech May Day celebration. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

MONTGOMERY, MINNESOTA HAS CZECHED the box on one more reason to love this Le Sueur County community of 3,200 some 20 miles west of Faribault. That’s Czech May Day.

Czech royalty wait in line at the KCHK Radio tent to introduce themselves to the crowd. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Sunday afternoon, on a sunshine-filled spring day as perfect as they come in southern Minnesota, Randy and I headed to Montgomery to Czech out this annual event. What we found at appropriately-named Heritage Park were a community, a region, a whole lot of people proud of their Bohemian roots.

A member of the Czech Heritage Club sports celebration buttons on his vest. Some he’s been to, some he hasn’t. (MInnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

A member of the Czech Heritage Club even tried to convince Randy and me that we might have some Czech blood given our German ethnicity. I suppose it’s possible, but unlikely based on knowledge of our family ancestries. But who are we to disagree with a man wearing a traditional Czech vest plastered with buttons like BOHEMIAN POWER and A KOLACH (kolache/kolacky) A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY? He even schooled us about “Minnesota’s Czech Triangle,” which includes Montgomery and the neighboring communities of Lonsdale, New Prague and Veseli.

Czech dancer topiaries, Alenka and Vlada, created by Meghan Petricka, a former Miss Kolacky Days queen, welcome attendees to the Czech May Day celebration. Czech and Slovak flags fly in the background. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Mostly, though, this event was about music and dance with entertainment by the Czech Area Concertina Club, St. Paul Czech and Slovak Folk Dancers, and Sokol Children Dancers. I was mesmerized by the mostly women and girls spinning and circling and stepping, their colorful skirts twirling as they moved to the steady rhythm of Czech music that sounded a whole lot like a German polka to me. But I am no music expert and, I suppose if I asked my new Heritage Club friend, he would be quick to explain the difference.

Dancing in traditional dress. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Dancers wore flowers and ribbons on their heads. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
The dancing included jumping. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

On this day it was not as much about learning as observing and enjoying. I watched and photographed, weaving in and out of the crowd, pausing, too, to take it all in, to be in the moment. I saw precision and concentration in well-rehearsed dances. I especially liked the mixing of ages, how women and elementary-aged girls paired, seasoned performers mentoring the young, passing along heritage to the next generation. Their joy was palpable as they clasped hands, leapt, spun. I found myself tapping my foot.

Members of the Czech Area Concertina Club make music. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Likewise, the Concertina Club set my foot bouncing and my mind wondering. How can these musicians possibly manage to press the right buttons while also moving their squeezeboxes in and out? But they did and created pulsing music in the process.

Raising the May Pole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

It was the May Pole, though, and subsequent dancing which centered the celebration. The raising of the Majka by a team of men was, in itself, impressive to watch. Randy suggested I sit in a “safe” location lest the towering conifer, stripped of its bark and topped with a ring of flowers and spruce top, topple. He needn’t have worried about my chosen photographic position. These guys, using thick poles, ropes, sawhorses and brawn, easily guided the Majka up and then into a pre-dug hole before stabilizing and securing it. They made the process look easy.

Grabbing ribbons on the May Pole. Two circles circled the pole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
The floral wreath near the top of the May Pole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Ready to circle the May Pole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Montgomery Kolacky Days and Miss Czech Slovak Minnesota royalty mostly comprised the first group to circle the May Pole. I will say, though, as I sat baking in the hot sun, it seemed to take an interminably long time to separate the 16 wide ribbons streaming from the May Pole and to get everyone into place. Yet, once the walk, not really a dance, began around the tree, it appeared to go seemingly flawlessly, at least to me.

Czech treats and other baked and canned goods were available from Czech Sis Kitchen. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
American-Czech folk artist and illustrator Doreen McKenney created and vended greeting cards, coloring books and more. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)
Working at the Czech style hot dog stand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

By then I was feeling overheated. So Randy and I headed back toward the van, passing food and beverage stands selling Czech hot dogs and beer, vomacka, kolacky and more. Next time we won’t eat before we come…although we did buy an authentic fruit-filled kolache from two Czech immigrants at the Czech Sis Kitchen.

Painting a wing for the Wing Walk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

We also passed other vendors and a painting station where anyone could dip a brush and work on painting customized wings as part of The Montgomery Wings Mural Walk. That features butterfly wings scattered around town.

Posy Floral & Gifts vended May Day baskets and more. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2025)

Art, community pride and heritage—even if not of my German ethnicity—draw me to Montgomery. I love this small town with its old-time bakery, meat market and barbershop, its arts and heritage center, its brewery, historic buildings and signage, its homegrown specialty shops and much more. And now that “much more” includes the celebration of May Day, Czech style.

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FYI: Please check back for more Czech May Day photos. I shot more than 200 images and would like to share a few more of my favorites in follow-up posts.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Commentary: 100 days in & he’s talking dolls May 2, 2025

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Dolls with appropriate eye-rolling and blank staring. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

ONCE UPON A TIME in The Land of Plenty there lived a ruler who, once he took office, commenced to ruthlessly flaunt his authority (which fits, given his self-proclaimed ruler status). He really didn’t care what he said or did as long as it fit his agenda to make his kingdom—more precisely himself—great. The forceful leader promised that the “golden age” of Acirema would start on the day he assumed power. Perhaps he was referencing the opulent gold décor in his redecorated palace office.

The ruler gathered his team of loyalists and followers, assuring them that as long as they followed his plans, his instructions, his actions, his orders, he would reward them, or at least keep them out of the dungeon. Threats and intimidation have a way of instilling self-preservation and obedience.

But not everyone much cared for the self-centered leader or his policies. They never fell under his spell, his control. They were willing to stand up to him, question him, even at the risk of raising his ire. Or worse. They began to rise up and challenge him and his underlings. That didn’t sit well with the ruler. I mean, how would you like the courts calling you out, gray-haired ladies protesting, students criticizing you in schoolyards? Nope, can’t have that happening in Acirema. Never mind that The Land of Plenty was a land of freedom, of laws, of due process, of balanced powers. Or at least it was before the authoritarian ruler took over.

Disheveled dolls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

A JOB REVIEW 100 DAYS IN

And so, 100 days into his reign, the ruler underwent a job review of sorts. Job reviews held no sway with him, although he should have understood their importance based on his previous experiences as a land baron who banished many a worker. Whatever. He was above everyone. All of them. He didn’t believe multiple reports of his declining popularity. He was doing a great job, he proclaimed. Great! And that was that. Don’t tell him otherwise for fear of being branded a liar. Or worse, banished from the kingdom. Just nod and agree that everything is going great and the ruler would call you a friend rather than a foe.

But you can only push people so far before they break and stop believing you, if they ever did in the first place. And many in the kingdom never did take this man at his word. He had a habit of distorting the truth, in other words lying. Now name-calling is not nice. But truth is truth.

One windfall apple, that will eventually rot. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

BULLYING AND BLAMING

Many in the kingdom were weary of the bullying coming from the palace. No one likes a bully. No one likes decrees that harm, rather than help, the kingdom. When the ruler levied new taxes on goods, promising to enrich his subjects, many did not believe him. (It should be noted that some—too many—still believed him.) He urged patience and calm as anger rose both inside and outside the kingdom. The ruler had upset the marketplace apple cart. Yet, he would hear none of the verbal resistance. As was his usual reaction, he blamed the previous overseer of The Land of Plenty for the rising costs of food and for marketplace shortages. “It was him, not me!” the ruler shouted. He used that blame tactic often.

Dolls, dolls and more dolls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

2 DOLLS, 30 DOLLS, 900 DOLLS

But then he said something that deeply upset his subjects. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” the ruler responded when asked about rising prices and marketplace shortages. Outrage ensued. Thirty dolls? It was then that the people of the kingdom realized how disconnected the leader was from reality. Many of them now lived in poverty due to his policies. Their children had no dolls, unless you counted those crafted from corn cobs. The ruler’s grandchildren, however, had an entire playroom filled with imported dolls. Lovely dolls. Thirty times thirty. That’s 900 if you’re counting.

By this time the citizens of The Land of Plenty were counting only one thing—the number of days until they could vote in a new leader of Acirema. If that would even be an option. If they weren’t all banished. If they still had a country.

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NOTE: While this is a fictional story, it is rooted in truth. Feel free to leave a comment, understanding that I moderate all comments on this, my personal blog.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling