Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Sports at what cost December 15, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:43 AM
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I’VE NEVER BEEN ATHLETIC. When elementary school classmates picked teams for Red Rover or softball, I was among the last chosen. Who would want a skinny girl with toothpick arms trying to hold the line against brawny boys becoming men or strong farm boys who could slug the ball into the outfield?

I wouldn’t have chosen me either. Even though I could scoop silage and ground feed, carry milk pails and toss hay bales nearly as well as my brothers, I possessed no athletic prowess. And, frankly, I didn’t care, although it did hurt sometimes to always be the last team member chosen.

I needed to care about sports only enough to pass physical education classes. I remember one junior high school p.e. teacher who expected everyone in the class to excel in gymnastics, just like the pencil-thin, all-legs-and-arms girl who could bend like Gumby. Needless to say, I got a “C” in that class. Thankfully today’s gym teachers seem to have changed their expectations and grading tactics, realizing that not every student is a naturally-gifted athlete.

But too many parents think their kids are the next Brett Favre, Joe Mauer or whoever else is considered a sports star. (Those are the only two names I could come up with off the top of my head since I don’t follow professional sports.)

Anyway, in my opinion, too many parents have become obsessed with athletics, pushing their little Jimmy or Janie into multiple sports that continue non-stop year-round. When, exactly, do kids have time to relax and just be kids? How can they learn to use free time, to entertain themselves, if their lives are always scheduled with this practice and that practice and this game and that game?

Now, before I raise the ire of coaches, parents and student athletes, let me clarify that student athletics have value. Kids learn to work hard. They learn team work and self-discipline. They learn to set and achieve goals. And they get a good work out. Sports can also be entertaining.

The problem arises, in my opinion, when sports overtake family life and everything evolves around practices and games. This time of year I am especially troubled by the scheduling of practices and tournaments during holiday breaks. When student athletes should be celebrating with their families or simply enjoying some down time, they are running to practices and games and tournaments.

I remember a friend once telling me about her son’s soccer game scheduled on a week night in Marshall, a three-hour, one-way, drive from Faribault. Now tell me that makes sense. None of the moms wanted to go and I can’t blame them given their sons were only middle-schoolers. That’s just one example of how ridiculous this traveling sports competition has gotten.

I wonder, too, how families can afford, weekend after weekend, to travel out of town for tournaments, shelling out money for gas, fast food, admission tickets and hotel rooms. How do they work those multi-hundred dollar weekends into their family budgets and is it worth the money spent? Maybe. Maybe not.

Sunday practices and games for student athletes also bother me. A lot. I’ve often wondered why parents don’t simply revolt against coaches and organizers (or whomever) that schedule these Sunday activities.

Are sports so important at the elementary and high school level that families have to give up their Sundays?

NOW IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING what prompted this spiel, I will tell you: Brett Favre and the collapse of the Mall of America Field roof.

I really do not care about Favre or whether he played in Monday’s  Minnesota Vikings’ game. But the amount of news coverage earlier this week made me think I should care. Honestly, why?

As for the dome collapse, I dislike how some are now using this incident to say, “We need a new stadium.” Well, this taxpayer does not want to pay for a new Vikings stadium. Let the Vikings, with their highly-paid football players, pay for their own stadium.

But, hey, you know, this society seems obsessed with sports…

I’m sure many will disagree with the opinions I’ve expressed here. But I’m certain many of you out there will agree. What’s your take on sports at the elementary and high school level and how athletics impact families? And, what’s your opinion on a new stadium? Sorry, I’m not asking your opinion on Favre, but if you want to offer one, go ahead.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Tales of consumer dishonesty from an honest vacuum cleaner salesman December 14, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:13 AM
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My new Bissell PowerForce Turbo vacuum cleaner replaces the General Electric vacuum I bought 8 1/2 years ago. The switch wore out on that 2002 vacuum just days before I was going to give the cleaner to my daughter for her new apartment.

YOU WOULD THINK that buying a vacuum cleaner should be easy, right? Not.

Faced with more than a dozen choices lining two sides of a big box store display aisle, I was overwhelmed by the selection—Eureka, Bissell, Dirt Devil, Hoover…

Not only did I have numerous brands from which to choose, but each company also offered high-end, low-end and in-between models.

And then the powerful force of name branding—tornado, wind tunnel, PowerForce—sucked me into the vortex of consumer confusion.

How would I ever decide which vacuum cleaner would pull the most dirt from my carpet?

I would need to focus, focus, focus.

OK, what did I want in a vacuum cleaner? Powerful suction. Adjustable height. Accessory tools. A bagless system. Filters that don’t cost a fortune. Sturdiness. Affordability.

As my husband and I began perusing the choices, I/we became more confused.

Then…, thankfully, an associate came to our rescue, told us the cheapest models were “crap” and wouldn’t last a month, that some consumers buy the $400 models (“but why?”) and that the bestsellers are Bissells, the vacuum he owns.

With that advice and his directive to consider the $69.94 (why can’t they just say $70?) Bissell PowerForce Turbo bagless vacuum stacked on the end cap, I felt like the swirling winds of too many choices were finally subsiding.

He gave us some additional money-saving advice. Rather than replace the foam filter, simply blow out the dirt and dust with an air compressor. Been there, done that, but still a solid tip for a shopper who may not have considered this option.

This associate was certainly impressing me with his knowledge and his honesty.

Then, he clinched the sale by telling us to keep the receipt and the box, and “if you’re not happy, you can return the vacuum,” honoring the store’s 100 percent customer satisfaction policy. “You wouldn’t believe the dirty vacuum cleaners that come back.”

I don’t know if it was the look of surprise on my face or what, but he then shared several more stories about returned merchandise that, to me, qualify as theft and I told him so. He didn’t disagree with my judgement.

A customer once returned motor oil that was clearly old oil drained from a vehicle, he said.

Consumers routinely return specially-mixed paint because the color isn’t right (didn’t know you could do that, I thought).

But the worst abuse of the retailer’s return policy this associate has seen occurred when a man returned a dirty, worn-out power sander that was a decade old.

“You took it back?” I asked, incredulous.

“He had the box and the receipt. What could we do?” he responded.

The company, he says, loses millions nationwide annually due to such merchandise returns.

And who pays for that? Consumers who purchase $400 vacuum cleaners? Or those of us who buy $69.94 vacuums?

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Life in a snow socked Minnesota town December 12, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:39 PM
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A snow pile divides traffic lanes along Fourth Street/Minnesota Highway 60 a block from Central Avenue in Faribault Sunday morning. Trucks would later haul away the snow.

FIFTH BIGGEST SNOWFALL of all time in Minnesota. Windchill advisories in the double digits below zero. Mall of America Field roof collapses at 5 a.m. Sunday. No church services. More snow for mid-week.

The list goes on and on.

But we’re tough Minnesotans. We can deal with all of this, right?

I guess so.

Right now my back muscles ache from all the bending and lifting and throwing of snow. Shovels and shovels and shovels full of white stuff tossed from the driveway, the sidewalk, the steps, even from around the garbage cans buried to their lids.

I’m calling it a day now after a run out to the farm store for boots for the 16-year-old. It just didn’t seem right that he was upstairs sleeping this morning when the parents were outside, working for hours to dig out. But we couldn’t find a size that fit him, so he’s still bootless.

All of that aside, conditions are looking better in Faribault today. The snow stopped overnight, replaced now by bitter cold. Streets have been plowed and folks are out and about, navigating around corners piled so high with snow that if I was a kid, I would be playing King of the Mountain.

Snow piled in the street between the Knights of Columbus Hall and the Faribault Post Office around 9 a.m.

Cars buried in snow in a public parking lot across from the American Legion.

Snow runs down the center of the street by the Rice County Sheriff's Department.

Division Street in Faribault by the Community Co-op Oil Association, the library and the community center. Looks like a for sure white Christmas in Faribault.

Motorists had to navigate around snow in the middle of First Avenue N.E. in the downtown area of Faribault Sunday morning before trucks cleared the snow mounds from streets.

Just more snow in the street, moved there from parking lots and from the traffic lanes. This is on First Avenue N.W. by the NAPA store, just a block off Central Avenue in downtown Faribault.

A wall of snow separates traffic lanes on Minnesota Highway 60/First Avenue N.E. by the post office early Sunday morning. I shot this through the car windshield. I took all of the photos from inside the cozy car.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Snow clean-up continues in my Faribault neighborhood

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 12:17 PM
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My husband shovels the end of the sidewalk by our house while our neighbor works toward him with the snowblower. What a great neighbor.

SO…HOW HAS YOUR MORNING BEEN?

If you live in Minnesota or one of our neighboring states, I bet you’re digging out from one of our worst snowstorms in two decades.

I’m still trying to determine exactly how much snow fell in Faribault since this all began Friday night. The National Weather Service in Chanhassen lists 12 inches on its website, but I don’t believe that. I’d say we’re pushing more like 1 ½ feet. In all fairness to the NWS, an online note states these may not be final totals. Ya, think?

Anyway, after a frozen recoil mechanism, insufficient gas and then a broken starter rope delayed snowblowing at our house by about 1 ½ hours, we finally have the driveway and sidewalk cleared. Our neighbor’s is done too.

I did my share of shoveling heavy chunks of snow from the end of the driveway so we could get the car out and drive to the gas station for more gas. Boy, that was fun. Kind of like chiseling rock with a pick ax.

Well, I took a break from the shoveling because, despite dressing in layers (including my husband’s long johns), certain parts of my anatomy were beginning to feel a bit frozen.

My husband just stepped inside a few minutes ago to warm up and inform me that a sheer pin broke on the snowblower. Thank goodness he has extras in his toolbox or he’d have to visit the hardware store for the second time today.

He told me when we were down there earlier that a new snowblower would fit under the Christmas tree.

But I was quick with a comeback. “We don’t even have a Christmas tree.”

“Then for sure it will fit,” he shot back.

Yup, we’re sure having a fun day here in Faribault.

Our neighbor Mark blew his sidewalk and two sweeps down ours because, he says, he couldn't turn around half-way anyway. Sometimes we clear his too, for the same reason.

It's going to take a lot of shoveling before anyone can reach our front door. I've never seen this much snow on our sidewalk and steps. The city snowplow threw the chunks of snow onto our yard as it cleared the street.

Snow piled high by city snowplows make intersections, like this one by my house, dangerous. Vehicles coming off the side street onto busy Willow Street need to nose into the traffic lane to see oncoming traffic.

A block away from my home, a resident clears snow from the sidewalk.

I’LL POST MORE SNOW PHOTOS from Faribault later. But right now I need to go back outside and help my husband shovel the snow away on the front sidewalk and steps.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Digging out during a Minnesota blizzard December 11, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:11 PM
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“IT DOESN’T EVEN look like I blew the snow,” he assesses.

And it doesn’t. After a full day of falling snow and wind-whipped snow, our driveway appears untouched by a snowblower. But my husband was out once already, around mid-morning, clearing ours and the neighbor’s driveways.

Now he’s struggling to even get out the back door. Snow has drifted into the backyard and onto the back stoop and blocked the door. He leans against the storm door and pushes his way outside, into a world of swirling flakes and strong, bitter wind.

Minutes later Randy returns to the house asking for the hair dryer. Ice has formed in the recoil mechanism of the snowblower, he says, and he needs to melt the ice.

I follow him into the garage with my camera, realizing that this use of a blow dryer might appear rather amusing to someone who doesn’t live in Minnesota. I’ll note here that a hair dryer also comes in handy for thawing frozen car doors.

I snap a few pictures until my husband tells me he needs to start the snowblower before the recoil mechanism freezes again. I get the hint.

Randy uses a hair dryer to thaw the frozen recoil mechanism on the snowblower. Melted snow from earlier today dripped into the mechanism causing the problem.

A close-up of Randy thawing the recoil mechanism with a hair dryer.

I step back into the house, grab a yard stick and measure the snow depth off the back stoop. It measures 16 inches.

So far this is turning out to be one heckuva blizzard.

Snow drifts piled around our van as snow piled onto our driveway.

Randy makes his first pass, for the second time today, down the driveway around 7 p.m.

Randy begins his second pass down the driveway. He blew snow for an hour and then stopped because he's running low on gas. He needs enough gas to blow out the driveway in the morning so he can buy more gas to blow more snow and more snow and more snow.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hunkering down during a Minnesota blizzard

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:58 PM
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My neighbor across the street shovels snow Saturday morning.

WELL, WELL, for the second weekend in a row, southern Minnesota has been socked with snow. A foot last weekend. Another foot, maybe more, for parts this weekend.

But round two brings with it a stronger punch—strong winds and dropping temps that make conditions out there downright dangerous. Windchills tonight are expected to plummet to a bone-chilling 35 degrees below zero.

In Rice County, where I live, county snowplows have been pulled from the roadways due to low visibility. Winds are whipping at about 30 mph.

I live in a valley in Faribault. So when conditions look bad at my place, I know it’s bad out there.

Today I’m hunkered down at home with my husband, Randy, and our 16-year-old son. Randy wasn’t too happy this morning when I suggested he stay home from work. (I was thinking of hiding the car keys.) But he heeded my advice and I’m thankful given he works 15 snowy miles away in Northfield. Of course, he tells me, “I could have made it there and back.”

Yeah, right. The job is not worth the risk of driving in blizzard conditions. And, yes, my area of Minnesota is under a blizzard warning.

I haven’t been outdoors yet. Randy has been out, blowing snow from our driveway and that of a neighbor. He thought it would be easier this way, clearing the snow twice rather than a foot or more all at once.

Our van, which is parked on the driveway, is encased in ice from the freezing rain and sleet that fell for several hours last evening.

All of our plans for the day have been abandoned. Our son should have been taking his ACT test, but that was canceled. The college entrance exams were canceled at more than 50 schools in Minnesota. The last time he was slated to take the test, he had to cancel because of bronchitis.

The Christmas Walk at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault is off, but the ice skating show set for 4 p.m. was still on the last I checked. I had hoped to attend both, but right now I really don’t feel like going anywhere.

The big batch of chili I cooked yesterday for tonight’s Family Game Night potluck at my church has gone into the freezer after that event was postponed. I’ll serve the chili at a family gathering next weekend…if we don’t have another blizzard and my guests can make it.

That’s life in Minnesota in winter, folks.

Traffic has picked up along my street in Faribault this afternoon despite blizzard conditions.

I've seen plenty of pickups with attached snowplows, like this, drive past my house today.

STAY SAFE this weekend. And if you don’t need to travel, don’t.

IF YOU HAVE any winter weather stories or weather condition reports to share from your area, please submit a comment. I’d like to hear from you.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Traveling Wisconsin State Highway 21 December 10, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:04 AM
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THIS PAST WEEKEND my husband and I moved our second-born to eastern Wisconsin, where she just started a job as a Spanish medical interpreter. Our mission focused primarily on transporting her possessions, carrying them into her second floor apartment, helping her settle in and then leaving the next morning.

That, of course, left no time for exploring the Dairyland state, much to my dismay. I had to settle for viewing the attractions and oddities from the passenger seat of our van.

I settled in for the 300-mile trip with my legs snuggled under a fleece throw and my camera resting in my lap. Whenever I saw something interesting, different or unusual, I clicked away, shooting photos through the side window and windshield which were specked with salt residue.

It didn’t take long before I started seeing roadside cheese signs and fiberglass cows and business names that I found downright intriguing and often amusing.

 

Wisconsin is, rightfully so, proud of its cheese as promoted in this highway billboard.

Join me for a photographic journey along Wisconsin’s State Highway 21, which slices through the south central part of the state. I didn’t take notes, so I can’t tell you where most of these images were shot. After awhile the towns blend together.

Be assured, though, that the next time we travel Highway 21, we’ll stop and explore. I saw plenty of places—cranberry bogs, an Amish quilt shop, country churches, antique stores, cheese shops, even bars with interesting names—some of which I want to check out. Meanwhile, enjoy this armchair tour, the first in my on-the-road in Wisconsin travel installments.

 

You can't miss these cows and cheese sign right next to Highway 21 in Omro, west of Oshkosh. A sign by the stop sign said we didn't have to stop if we were turning right, crossing over the bridge. It was the oddest stop sign sign I've ever seen. No, I was not quick enough to photograph the stop sign sign. Next trip.

Piggly Wiggly grocery stores are popular in towns along Wisconsin Highway 21. I love the cute, vintage sound of that name. For some reason, I found it humorous that the sign on the right advertises pork chops on special with that smiling pig logo looming overhead. I also hear, via a friend whose brother lives in Wisconsin, that Wisconsinites simply call these grocery stores "The Pig."

Hunting is big in Wisconsin as evidenced by the many "Welcome hunters" signs I saw. And then I spotted this sign in Wautoma, our one brief stop to have lunch with my cousin Bev..

I wondered...are gals welcome too at Guy's Discount Grocery & Liquor? Wisconsin seems more lax with its liquor laws than Minnesota. Grocery and liquor stores are housed together with no dividing walls or doors between them. In Appleton, a sign inside a grocery store advertised the city's new ordinance allowing liquor sales from 8 a.m. to midnight. From the produce department, you could walk right into the liquor department. Oh, and all the store employees were wearing Green Bay Packers jerseys.

 

Hands down, here's the funniest bar name I saw on signage along Wisconsin Highway 21--the Stumble Inn

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Boosting my photography confidence December 9, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:48 AM
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WE ALL LIKE to win.

My husband once won a trip to the Bahamas.

A few years ago I won a bag of groceries.

I’ve also placed in several photo contests during the past decade—a few times at the local nature center and once in a nation-wide competition sponsored by a life insurance company. That first place national win earned me $100.

Every time one of my photos wins an honor, my confidence soars. While I feel quite confident as a writer, I’ve always had some insecurities about my photography skills. I’m a writer first and the photography simply evolved as a sideline necessity.

Today, after years of practice, I can unequivocally state that I enjoy photography. Yet, the doubt still lingers. Are my photos good enough and does anyone like them?

Apparently the folks at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans liked the photo I submitted for a 2011 wall calendar competition. My image of an old cross-topped fence surrounding the Urland Lutheran Church Cemetery in rural Cannon Falls now graces the October page of the Thrivent “Connecting with the Cross” calendar.

 

My winning image of the church cemetery fence. The calendar photo has been slightly cropped and darkened.

“We looked for unique and inspiring images, and yours was one of them,” Tim Schwan, vice president of Church and Community Engagement wrote in a congratulatory form letter I received. “We received more than 300 submissions. Among many high-quality contenders, yours stood out.”

Now if those words aren’t validating, I don’t know what would be. While I may not be as technically savvy as some/many photographers, I do possess an eye for detail that allows me to find and compose good pictures.

Interestingly enough, I did not shoot my winning fence image specifically to enter this contest. In fact, I was unaware of the Thrivent photo calendar competition when I took the picture in late March while on a Sunday afternoon drive with my husband in the Sogn Valley area of southeastern Minnesota. We both love old country churches. So when we came upon Urland Lutheran, we stopped, walked the church grounds and I started clicking.

 

Urland Lutheran Church, rural Cannon Falls

Country churches offer so many photo ops along with lots of beauty and history.

Urland Lutheran Church dates back to 1871 and is named after Urland in the Sognefjord area of Norway, home to many of the families that formed the rural Cannon Falls congregation. Names like Ole and Ragna on church cemetery tombstones point to the strong Norwegian heritage.

 

Ole is a common name on markers in the Urland cemetery.

Another Ole tombstone at the Urland Lutheran Church Cemetery points to the congregation's Norwegian heritage.

Behind every photo lies a story. And that’s the story behind my winning calendar image.

 

A close-up side view of Urland Lutheran. Unfortunately the church was locked when we were there.

I DON’T KNOW the stories behind the other 11 calendar page photos. But all portray a cross, as required by contest guidelines. Among the more unusual photos—crossed icicles, a cross-shaped thorn, and children holding quilts and standing in a cross formation inside a church sanctuary.

I’m hopeful that Thrivent will publish the winning images and information about each photo on the company’s website.

The other photo contest winners are Cindy Carlson of Northfield, MN; Jyll Malotky of Prior Lake, MN; Fred Von Ruden of Owatonna, MN; Roy Christell of Lake Saint Louis, MO; Martin Lohrmann of Philadelphia, PA; Walt Timm of Jefferson City, MO; Lynn Radtke of Blaine, MN; Chris Denning of Helena, MT; Carla Gauthier of Saginaw, MI; Susan Ryan of Chicago, IL; and Anitra Frazier of Dolton, IL.

Now, if you’re wondering how you can get one of these calendars, well, you must be a Thrivent member.

Sorry.

AS A SIDE NOTE, many years ago my daughter Miranda placed in a Thrivent Kids’ Club calendar contest. She drew a picture of alligators flying kites on the beach. I think she won for the very same reason I did. Her creation stood out as unique.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The continuing property value downward spiral December 8, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:47 AM
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THE ARRIVAL OF OUR 2011 PROPERTY tax statement in the mail last week has thrown me for a loop. I don’t know why, though, since my head hasn’t been stuck in the sand and I am acutely aware of plummeting property values.

Let’s consider the positive first. Our proposed 2011 tax, without special assessments, is dropping 22 percent. Yahoo. I like seeing that minus sign before a double digit number in the tax column.

If everything remains as projected, my husband and I will pay $506 in property taxes and $22 in special assessments next year. I can handle that.

About now some of you are probably wondering whether we live in a cardboard box with those “low” taxes. I assure you that we live in a modest, small-by-today’s-standards, old home along a busy street in Faribault.

Our modest Faribault home

Now back to those numbers on that statement. When I look at the taxable market value of our home, I’m not quite as enthusiastic. Let me restate that. I am not at all enthusiastic.

The value of our 1 ½-story, one bathroom, three-bedroom home has dropped 13 percent from $92,300 to $80,200. That’s a $12,100 decrease.

I am a bit surprised by this dip below $90,000, although I really shouldn’t be given how slowly houses are selling, if at all, in Faribault or anywhere. Yet, you like to think that your house is immune from devaluation. Clearly ours, once valued as high as $111,700 (in 2007), is not.

My curiosity piqued, I opened a file cabinet and pulled out past property tax statements and bills. I compared figures back to 1998.

Our proposed property tax and taxable market value on our home today nearly match those for 2003.

This current devaluation is all a bit depressing and would be even more so if we were trying to sell. But we’re not. The house is paid for and we have no specific reason to move.

That brings up another issue. When my husband and I purchased our house in October 1984, the fixed interest rate for our 30-year mortgage was 10 ¾ percent. Eight years later we refinanced to a 8 ¾ percent, 15-year loan, which we paid off early.

So, when I hear about mortgage rates hovering around four percent today, I feel a twinge of jealousy. Even factoring in today’s housing costs compared to 26 years ago, we could have bought so much more house with an interest rate that incredibly low.

But it is what it is and I’m glad we’ve stuck it out in the same house for nearly three decades. We’ve invested hours and hours of sweat equity and money to improve our house and it’s paid for. In today’s economy, I like that feeling of security.

HOW HAVE YOUR PROPERTY values and taxes changed, if at all? How does this affect you?

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Remembering Pearl Harbor from Minnesota December 7, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 3:17 PM
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MY MOM WAS ONLY nine years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 69 years ago today.

I asked her about this shortly after 9/11.

She shared how frightened she was because, in her small world and for all she knew, Hawaii was as close as a few towns away from her Minnesota home.

Imagine how terrifying the attack must have been for children, and adults, in a world where communication was not instantaneous.

Rhody Yule wearing his USS Arizona cap.

EVERY DAY THE NUMBER of WW II veterans dwindles. And with the deaths of these former soldiers, a bit of our living history dies too. Some of their stories will never be told for many cannot speak of the horrors of war. Others share their stories only with family members and/or their brothers in arms.

I am fortunate to have met one particular WW II veteran about a year ago. He is 92-year-old Rhody Yule, a truly remarkable man. Rhody, while small in stature, is big in heart. He possesses humbleness, strength of spirit, a sharp mind and gentleness of character that we should all emulate. I cannot say enough good things about my friend.

 

Rhody’s military experience included serving in Nagasaki, Japan, cleaning up after the atomic bomb. He won’t say much about his time there, calling the situation “a mess.” Clearly, he saw more than anyone should ever witness.

I asked Rhody once about the possibility of radiation exposure. He had to do what he had to do, he told me.

I’ve seen photos my soldier-friend brought home from Japan. The utter obliteration of the landscape can only be compared to the most powerful and devastating storm times 100 or maybe 1,000.

Rhody, who is a former sign painter and an artist, created a trio of sketches from his time in Japan. The public will have an opportunity to see those during an upcoming exhibit at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault.

One of Rhody's sketches from Japan during WW II. In the bottom right, you will see an opening into a cave, where Rhody said the Japanese worked on military machining projects.

Another one of the three sketches Rhody did while stationed in Japan during WW II.

I, along with many others, have been working for the past several months to make this show, “A Lifetime of Art, The Rhody Yule Collection,” a reality. The exhibit opens with a reception from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Friday, January 14, and closes on February 26.

In addition to the Nagasaki sketches and many other pieces of art, Rhody is showing a painting he did on a piece of old tent canvas while stationed in Nome, Alaska. He had no other material on which to paint the 1944 circa image of snowplows clearing snow from the military runway. Imagine the history on that piece of canvas, the stories held within the threads of that fabric.

WE ALL HAVE STORIES to tell. Today, the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, let us hear the stories of those who remember this day that shall forever live in infamy. And more importantly, let us listen.

Text and photos © Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Artwork © Copyright 2010 Rhody Yule