Plenty of people turned out to sample chili in downtown Faribault Saturday afternoon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
DOWNTOWN FARIBAULT PROVED a busy place Saturday afternoon. It was good to see people out and about on a sun mixed with clouds kind of first day of October.
Some chili makers got creative with their serving stations. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
Serving up “MARVEL-ous chili. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
MARVEL characters guard the chili. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
The Faribault Main Street Chili Cook-off drew me downtown to sample chili served outdoors in front of nonprofits and businesses and even on a street corner. For me the event was as much about socializing as tasting chili.
Chili servers get in the Halloween spirit. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
Food always brings community together. And the cook-off effectively does that. I saw people I haven’t seen in a long time. Staying connected matters to me.
Mayor Kevin Voracekflanked by city councilmen Peter Van Sluis, left, and Royal Ross converse and serve chili. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
Even the mayor made and served chili with city council members assisting. I appreciate their community involvement, this everyday kind of interacting. As I spooned the mayor’s chili, a woman praised the naming of a new city park as Fleckenstein Bluffs in honor of a long ago brewery. Hearing her positive comment encouraged me as I expect it did our elected officials.
An out-of-town team works on finding answers to clues during a scavenger hunt in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
The all-around vibe along and off Faribault’s Central Avenue on Saturday felt positive, welcoming, inviting. When I observed groups of people in matching tees and carrying clipboards, I finally asked what they were doing. They were part of an invitation-only scavenger hunt, HÖDAG, through southern Minnesota. I welcomed them to Faribault and invited them to return and spend more time in our city.
Serving chili with a smile. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
I’m a firm believer in making others feel welcome with a smile, friendly words and encouragement to return to Faribault.
Tami Resler’s art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
Johnnie Walker’s pottery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
Pet portraits by Julie Fakler. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
After eating and greeting, I headed to the Paradise Center for the Arts and the annual South Central Minnesota Studio ARTour. There I not only viewed the work of six talented artists, but also got some camera first aid from Johnnie Walker, a photographer and potter. While at the Paradise, my zoom lens locked and Johnnie, who teaches photography at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, offered to take a look. He couldn’t fix the sticky lens problem, but he semi-eased my mind and promised to reconnect with me about getting a different lens. I tend to panic if anything goes wrong with my camera gear given my limited knowledge of equipment. Johnnie’s kindness reaffirms for me that there are good, kind people in this world.
Spotted on the windshield of a jeep, identifying the owner as a scavenger hunt participant. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
The events in downtown Faribault on Saturday brought a whole lot of people together. To serve and sample chili. To converse and explore. To follow clues in a scavenger hunt. To showcase and appreciate art. But, mostly, to connect, to build a sense of, and an appreciation of, community. And that is how, from my perspective, the first day of October unfolded in historic downtown Faribault.
Outside the entrance to the Paradise Center for the Arts. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2022)
FYI: The South Central Studio ARTour continues from 10 am – 5 pm Sunday, October 2, featuring 35 artists at 18 studios in Faribault, Northfield, Nerstrand and Farmington.
The White Barn Boutique, rural Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
IF NOT FOR A ROADSIDE SIGN noticed while on a fall color drive in northern Rice County, I wouldn’t have landed at The White Barn Boutique by Circle Lake. But the sign drew Randy and me to turn onto a narrow gravel road curving to a white barn and silo edged between trees. As Randy pulled our van onto a grassy parking space bordered by a colorful string of flags, I remarked, “Maybe they have antiques.”
An inviting scene on the second level, at the top of the stairs. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Admittedly, the word “boutique” doesn’t appeal to most guys, so I appreciate that Randy was willing to stop. I was right. The White Barn includes plenty of antiques, collectibles and vintage, enough to hold the interest of anyone who appreciates treasures of yesteryear.
Flowers bloom aside the barn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
The welcoming entry to the barn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A scene staged under a tree. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Even before I opened the barn door adorned with a simple, seasonal wheat wreath, I felt welcomed, interested, impressed. An array of tables, chairs, flowers and other items outside hint at what’s inside.
Art can be found everywhere. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Most boutique owners, like Susie Morrison, the talent behind The White Barn, are not only business savvy but creative. I observed that inside and out in the artful display of merchandise, the vignettes, the purposeful groupings… When creatively staged, it’s easy to imagine a piece of furniture, an accessory, glassware, textiles, even a vintage phone or a collection of Hardy Boys books in your home.
Sunlight floods the upper level merchandise displays. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Merchandise packs this barn on two levels. While I began meandering through the cozy areas crafted in a once open space, Randy chatted it up with one of Susie’s sisters. Three of the Benjamin sisters were on-site at the seasonal fall boutique open Friday and Saturday and then next weekend, October 7 and 8, from 10 am – 5 pm at 3175 122nd Street West Faribault, two miles off Interstate 35 in the Millersburg area between Faribault and Northfield. December brings a holiday boutique here with other sales during the year.
Even a vintage card box makes for interesting art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
While engaging in conversation, Randy and I realized we’d been on this property decades ago for a company picnic and overnight camping when the sisters’ parents lived here. There was that sense of familiarity, yet time has a way of fading memories.
The colors and the tabletop phone remind me of the 1970s. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
An artfully draped vintage linen reminds me of Grandma. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
The vibrant floral on this chair caught my eye. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
In some ways, shopping at The White Barn is about memories, about nostalgia, about reclaiming the past. It’s like walking into Grandma’s house or into a scene from the 1970s…the remembering, the imagining, the desire to bring this all home.
Fall colors found in floral art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Shopping here is an experience, an unexpected one for us on this autumn afternoon, if not for that roadside sign diverting us from emerging fall colors to a white barn along a rural road.
Directions for parking. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
TELL ME: Do you have a favorite seasonal boutique in your area? If yes, what draws you inside?
A wave of cattails signal Autumn’s entrance. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
IN THIS SEASON OF EARLY AUTUMN, the landscape of Minnesota transitions to subdued, muted, softer tones flashed with vivid orange, yellow and red in tree lines or a solitary tree. This time of year truly marks a change as we ease toward Winter, a season devoid of color.
Goldenrods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
A hillside of drying grass contrasts with the looming grey sky. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
Grasses tower high above me. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
A month ago, before Summer exited, I already observed Autumn’s entrance at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault. Stands of cattails. Groups of goldenrod. Seas of drying prairie grass. All signaled the shift to September days.
I’m sure this scene has changed in the month since I photographed it. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
I love this time of year. Sunny days give way to cool evenings to brisk mornings. I’ve pulled the flannel from the closet. I embrace the feeling, the glory, of each day, recognizing such days are fleeting.
Rustic signs, which I love, mark the trails at River Bend. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
But weeks before this end of September, I delighted in the final days of August with that short walk through the woods at River Bend, then along a grass-lined trail to the hilltop Prairie Loop before I retraced my steps.
A stem of grass bends in the wind. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
Prairie grasses, looming well above my head, bent in the wind. I noted the gracefulness of the stems’ movement, the details on a single stalk. If you’ve ever paused to study a stalk, it’s almost like reading a poem. Grain after grain after grain ladders a slim line. In poetry, each word ladders into a line, into a verse, into a poem.
In the light of an August afternoon, a Monarch butterfly feeds upon the flower of a thistle. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
In the flashlight of the afternoon at River Bend, I spotted a lone Monarch flitting among thistles, black-outlined orange wings contrasting with the soft purple of the bloom. A metaphor. Or perhaps a simile when penned poetically. Poem upon poem upon poem.
Lush leaves veined by the August sun. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
Autumn edits out Summer, eliminating the excess wordage of a season that is lush and full and busy. Now the lines of the season shorten, every word carefully chosen, a harbinger of what lies ahead. Winter. Sparse. Barren. Cold.
I followed this path from the woods, across the low lands to a hilltop overlooking the prairie. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2022)
But until then, Autumn settles in with the familiarity of a worn buffalo plaid flannel shirt. With the familiarity of cattails and milkweed bursting. Goldenrods. Tall prairie grasses drying, moving toward dormancy. I’ve seen this shift every September for past sixty years now. Yet I never tire of the shift, the change in seasons here in southern Minnesota.
OF ALL THE BOOKS I could have pulled from the “new fiction” section at Buckham Memorial Library, I chose, among others, one by a Minnesotan. But not until I was several chapters into the book did I flip to the back pages for information about the author, Barbara A. Luker.
I was delighted to learn that Luker hails from St. Peter, a college town in the Minnesota River Valley some 40 miles west of Faribault. To discover another Minnesota writer always pleases me. Luker works full-time for the City of St. Peter and is fairly new to writing books.
It was the title and the simple cover art—a small cut-out heart-shaped cookie next to a larger one—that first drew my eye to I Carry Your Heart. I bake similar plain heart-shaped cookies from my mom’s Cream Cheese Roll-out Cookies recipe each Valentine’s Day. Yes, cover art and titles matter to me given all the books out there. And this art connected to me personally.
Then I turned to the back cover for the story summary. The plot sounded interesting enough to add the book to those already stashed inside my cloth Boomerang bag reserved for library check-outs. I Carry Your Heart, a title taken from e.e. cummings’ poem of the same name, is, as you might guess, a love story. And, yes, there’s romance, a genre I don’t typically read and which made me blush.
This book is truly a tender, multi-layered love story. Not only of romantic love, but also of family love and community love and the sacrifices sometimes made for love.
This is a generational story that takes the reader back in time to reveal secrets kept by Abigail Lillian Peterson Ward. When she dies unexpectedly, her granddaughter, whom Abigail appointed to sort through her belongings, uncovers another side, another truth about her Nan.
The story felt somewhat predictable to me. Yet there were enough twists to surprise me at times and certainly to hold my interest to the end.
I appreciate also the Minnesota influence in the writing. The author shows her roots, for example, in the fictional town described as like a Norman Rockwell painting by one character. In my mind I pictured Luker’s hometown of St. Peter. I could also envision the church ladies serving a luncheon after Abigail’s funeral and the turkey commercials served in her restaurant. Both are, oh, so Minnesotan (although I’m more familiar with a beef commercial). Details like that add authenticity.
All in all, I Carry Your Heart proved a good read, even if in a genre I don’t typically choose.
A paper sunflower dangles from the ceiling in a space at the Owatonna Arts Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
YELLOW, TALL AND DRAMATIC, the sunflower exudes strength and happiness. I love this flower, so prevalent now in the Minnesota landscape.
Paper sunflowers add a sunny element to an already sun-drenched seating and exhibit area at the Owatonna Arts Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
But this year especially, this strong, simple, sunny flower symbolizes much more than the end of the growing season, the ripening of crops, the transition into autumn. The sunflower, as we’ve come to learn this year, is the national flower of Ukraine, the symbol of peace.
In historic downtown Faribault, sunflowers crafted from milk jugs brighten the window of Fashions on Central, a women’s clothing and accessories shop operated by the Faribault Senior Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Every time I see a sunflower now, I think of the people of Ukraine and the war that still rages there. I remember watching, in the first days of the Russian invasion, media footage of people fleeing the country, people who looked very much like the average Minnesotan. And I thought, this could be us, this could be me.
Sunflowers flourish on a fence panel by a community garden plot in Madison, Wisconsin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo September 2020)
As the war goes on and on, it is easy to move onto the next headline, to forget about the horrors, the atrocities, the death, the destruction and displacement happening in Ukraine. But then I see a sunflower and I am once again reminded of the suffering in Ukraine, of the elusiveness of peace.
I photographed these sunflowers last autumn at Apple Creek Orchard, rural Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2021)
Here in Minnesota, sunflower fields draw families into mazes under bold blue autumn skies. It’s all about the experience and making memories and photo ops among sunny flowers. Thoughts are far from Ukraine in those moments. But even then, in imagining the scene, I see yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. And my thoughts shift back to the people of Ukraine and those who love them, including people right here in Minnesota. In Pittsburgh. Throughout the world.
This LOVE mural in Northfield includes sunflowers among the featured flowers. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo September 2021)
This year, the sunflower has also evolved to symbolize resistance, unity and hope. We’ve certainly seen that happening in Ukraine. Hope is a powerful word, one I’ve latched onto through challenging times. Hope infuses strength. And hope grows sunflowers that rise tall and dramatic in the landscape, their sunny heads turning toward the light of peace.
A sampling of Shefland’s photography at the OAC exhibit.
AFTER VIEWING ALAN SHEFLAND’S“Architecture AbstrAcTED” photography exhibit at the Owatonna Arts Center, I felt inspired. Inspired to shoot a few architectural images of my own while roaming the West Hills Campus, home to not only the arts center, but also an orphanage museum, city offices and more.
I took this photo of the OAC entry.I converted the image to black-and-white and upped the contrast. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Shefland’s appreciation of the lines, angles, curves, light of buildings resonates with me. I, too, am fascinated by the seemingly abstract art to be found in architecture. These are not just structures constructed for a purpose, but rather art forms.
Shefland’s artist statement posted with his OAC exhibit. (Minnesota Prairie Roots photo)
This New York City born photographer, who is widely-traveled, focuses on the skyscrapers, the city buildings that rise high in the landscape. His current black-and-white photo exhibit features images from New York, Toronto, Minneapolis and more. Today he calls Minnesota home.
This shows a snippet of a much larger photo by Shefland.
Patterns and lines and curves meld to create remarkable abstract images. Modern art. Devoid of color, their impact is stronger, bolder.
My edited photo of an OAC sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
As I paged through the gallery guestbook, I agreed with the comment “Awesome exhibit…worth the drive from Mpls!” I only had to travel 12 miles. I feel fortunate to have access to art exhibits like this locally, without going into the Twin Cities metro.
One more glimpse of images you will see in Shefland’s OAC exhibit.
I am not an urban person. I am not well-traveled. Major cities hold no appeal. Yet, I can appreciate that others value densely-populated areas and all they offer. We are each different and that’s a good thing.
I photographed this exterior stairway on the West Hills campus after viewing Shefland’s exhibit. I love the patterns, the angles, the shadows, the light. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Yet, as different as we are, we share interests, like photographing architecture. For Shefland, it’s the architecture in cities. For me, it’s the architecture of small towns. Historic buildings or other structures that catch my interest.
To view Shefland’s photos is to grow my knowledge, my appreciation, my respect for creatives like him. He expands my world, personally and professionally. I can say the same for Keith Goldstein, a talented photographer from New York City. I’ve followed Keith’s blog, “For Earth Below,” for many years. His work is currently exhibiting in Milan. The scope of his photography ranges from architectural to streetscapes to street portraits and more. In a recent photo, he featured colorful Fruit Loops cereal scattered across pavers. Simple. Artsy. Creative.
Shefland-inspired, my photo of a stairway and railing on the West Hills campus. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
I find joy in connecting with other photographers, whether online, via gallery exhibits or in-person. To see the world through their lenses enlightens, teaches, encourages me.
FYI: Alan Shefland’s exhibit at the Owatonna Arts Center continues until October 2. Gallery hours are 1 – 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays and holidays.
Note: I de-saturated all of the images in this post and did minimal photo editing to up the contrast.
The young boy wearing these cowboy boots watched intently as Northfield artist David F. Allen worked on a painting of Valley Grove Church. The two talked about creating (the little guy likes to color) and about a newly-acquired pig named Pinky. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
IN TELLING A STORY, whether in images or words, details matter. Combined, details comprise the whole. And that’s the approach I take in creating.
A painting of the 1862 Valley Grove stone church and cemetery by David F. Allen and for sale at the Social. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo September 2022, photographed with the artist’s permission)
Panels placed alongsidethe stone church provided historical details. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
In the entry of the 1894 church, more historical info and photos. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Recently I attended the Valley Grove Country Social in rural Rice County. This event, hosted by the Valley Grove Preservation Society, celebrates the history, heritage, land and people rooted to two hilltop Norwegian churches with adjoining cemetery and restored prairie. One of the first pastors here founded St. Olaf College in nearby Northfield.
Folks gather outside the 1894 church to converse and to view the art of David F. Allen. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Many people from my area hold this place dear and that shows in the upkeep of the 1862 stone church and the 1894 wood church rising high above a landscape of prairie, farm fields and wooded areas near Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.
A section of the cemetery looking toward the rolling prairie land. The Social included tours of the cemetery and of the prairie. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A prairie restoration project fills the prairie with wildflowers, grass and insects. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
This striped gopher ran across the cemetery lawn before popping into a hole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
I, too, despite no personal connection to Valley Grove, have come to hold this site dear. I appreciate the historic churches and cemetery and the surrounding landscape. And I also appreciate gatherings like the Country Social.
This prop horse harnessed to a buggy features a horse hide blanket. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
An accordion players plays with Hutenanny under the oaks in the cemetery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Ribbon-tied notecards for sale in the stone church. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
This Social showcases Valley Grove in a way that stretches beyond history, although that decidedly focuses the celebration. Music and art and hands-on activities weave into the all of it.
Doing laundry the old-fashioned way. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Corn ground at the Social. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Toys like this stick horse were available for kids to use. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
I love to see adults and youngsters engaging, conversing, teaching, learning. The younger generation will one day carry on with events like this and with the preservation of history and heritage at Valley Grove. So offering hands-on activities like rope-making, corn grinding, doing laundry, playing with yesteryear toys…is vital.
Musicians perform under the oaks while Social attendees listen and/ore explore the cemetery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
While I was persuaded to wind twine into a rope with Randy, I simply observed the other participatory activities. I prefer to meander unobtrusively (not always easy) with my camera, observing, documenting. I strive to tell a story that will encourage others to embrace events and places like Valley Grove. There’s so much right here in Rice County to explore and experience. We need to treasure that which is in our backyard. Just like the “eat local” movement, I say, “Explore local.”
The goats drew lots of admirers as they wandered, tethered, with their owner. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
The kids’ tent, right, featured hands-on activities. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A leashed dog came with its owner. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Much of what I feature here on my blog is local. And, if it isn’t, it’s rooted in my region. I value southern Minnesota, especially the small towns, the rural landscape, the people, the arts, the events…the all of it defining this place I call home.
TELL ME: What specific places and/or events do you appreciate where you live and which you feel go unnoticed by many locals?
Vehicles line the gravel driveway leading to the hilltop Valley Grove churches, rural Nerstrand, during the September 18 Country Social. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A COUNTRY SOCIAL EVOKES an essence of history, of community celebration, of activities that hearken to a bygone era. The Valley Grove Country Social held on Sunday afternoon high atop a hill near Nerstrand Big Woods State Park fits that and beyond. This site, the location of two historic churches and an adjoining cemetery, marks one of my favorite places in rural Rice County for its history, natural beauty and peace.
Inside the stone church, now used for fellowship, folks grab refreshments, converse and view historical information and art. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A vintage buggyadds another historic aspect to the Valley Grove Country Social. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
On this September afternoon, I delighted in an event that brings people together to celebrate Norwegian heritage and history, people and place, stories past and present, the arts, and, oh, so much more.
Bouquets and vintage photos edge window sillsin the oldest church. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
An organist and violinist play during a recital in the newer church. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Horse-drawn wagon rides onto the prairie drew many passengers throughout the afternoon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Grinding corn as part of the hands-on learning opportunities. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Northfield artist David Allen brought his brushes, watercolors and paper to paint on-site. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
From garden and prairie flowers tucked into Mason jars set atop window sills in the 1862 stone church to a recital inside the 1894 church to horse-drawn wagon rides to kids grinding corn to an artist painting, the scope of activities proved broad. There was something for everyone from the youngest to the eldest. Generations mingled, connected. One taught, the other learned.
From cemetery’s edge, the open prairie. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Rope making, a nod to Valley Grove’s agrarian roots, was part of the Country Social. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
All ages were drawn to these two goats. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
To observe, to converse, to listen, to feel, to experience all of this imprints upon my soul gratitude for those who know this place, this Valley Grove, is worth preserving and sharing. Although I hold no personal connection here, I feel connected. It is my faith, my love of the land, especially the surrounding prairie and farmland, and the quiet of this remote rural location which cause me to feel comfortably at home, at peace.
One of David Allen’s paintings of Valley Grove. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
If you’ve never visited Valley Grove and live near enough to tour, then do. I’ve been here many times to walk the cemetery and grounds, to hike through the prairie, even once sitting on the front steps of the wooden church for a picnic lunch. The churches are locked when not open for events or special services like a wedding or Christmas Eve worship.
A musician performs with the group Hutenanny under the oak trees in the cemetery.
Still, whether inside or outside the two churches, a sense of the past prevails. Gravestone after gravestone bears the names of Norwegian immigrants and their descendants. Study the markers and stories begin to emerge, whether real or imagined. I can only imagine the joys and sorrows shared here.
Toys of yesteryear were available to try. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Valley Grove is about more than a place where historic churches stand next to a cemetery. It is a gathering spot for those who are celebrating, those who are grieving, those who are remembering and, on this afternoon of a Country Social, a place of connecting with community.
The sprawling Lyon County Historical Society Museum in the heart of downtown Marshall, across from the post office. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Me, photographed next to the panel featuring my poem, “Ode to My Farm Wife Mother.” My one regret is that my mom (pictured in two smaller photo insets) never saw this exhibit in person. She died in January. (Photo by Randy Helbling, September 2022)
To the far left is the panel featuring my poem, “Ode to My Farm Wife Mother.” In the center is my poem, “Hope of a Farmer.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
My poem, “Hope of a Farmer.” That is not my dad in the photo. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
The exhibit, which won a 2021 Minnesota History Award from the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums, opened in January of the same year. Finally, I got to Marshall last week. Up until my visit, I was unaware that two, not just one, of my poems are included. When I read the title “Hope of a Farmer,” I thought to myself, I wrote a poem with that title. And then, as I read, I realized this was my poem.
The second floor exhibit celebrates Lyon County in the award-winning exhibit, “Making Lyon County Home.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Now I’m doubly honored that my rural-themed poetry inspired by my farmer father and farm wife mother were chosen to be part of this outstanding exhibit focusing on the people, places, businesses, communities, activities, events, history and arts of Lyon County.
A clothes pin bag hangs in an exhibit space near my “Ode” poem, quite fitting. Visitors can turn a dial to generate “wind” blowing dish towels on a clothesline. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
finances rocked by falling corn and soybean prices.
This panel honors literary and visual artists of the region. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
As I read the “Imagining the Prairie” informational panel, my gratitude to the LCHS staff, volunteers and Museology Museum Services of Minneapolis (lead contractor for the exhibit) grew. I appreciate that an entire panel focuses on the arts: The Lyon County landscape…has inspired painters and poets and artists of all kinds. I’ve long thought that as I see the prairie influence in my writing and photography. Farms, vast prairies, wide skies and tumbling rivers define the landscape of southwestern Minnesota.
Corn rows emerge in a field near Delhi in southwestern Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
A fitting quote from Bill Holm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A quote from poet, essayist and musician Bill Holm of nearby Minneota, summarizes well the lens through which we prairie natives view the world and the creative process. The prairie eye looks for distance, clarity, and light…
A grain complex and the Oasis Bar & Grill in Milroy, near Marshall. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Holm, who died in 2009, was among southwestern Minnesota’s best-known writers, having penned poetry and multiple books such as his popular The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth and Boxelder Bug Variations. His boxelder bug book inspired his hometown to host an annual Boxelder Bug Days, still going strong.
Poetry by Leo Dangel in the ag-focused part of the exhibit. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
To see my poems featured alongside the work of gifted writers like Holm and equally-talented poet Leo Dangel in the “Making Lyon County Home” exhibit was humbling. Dangel, who died in 2016, wrote six collections of poetry. The prairie and rural influence on his work show in the featured poems, “A Farmer Prays,” “A Clear Day,” and “Tornado.”
My poem honoring my mom… (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Both men taught English at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, reaffirming their devotion to this rural region and to the craft of writing. The exhibit includes a section on the university, which opened in 1967 within 10 years of my leaving the area to attend college in Mankato. I sometimes wonder how my writing would have evolved had I stayed and studied on the prairie.
A serene country scene just north of Lamberton in southern Redwood County, which is right next to Lyon County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
When I returned to Marshall for the first time in 40 years, nothing about the town seemed familiar. Time has a way of changing a place. But when I reached the top floor of the county museum, saw my poems and began to peruse the “home” exhibit, I felt like I was back home. Back home on the prairie, among cornfields and farm sites and grain elevators and all those small towns that dot the landscape. Back home under a wide prairie sky with land stretching beyond my vision. Back home where I understand the people. Back home in the place that influenced my writing as only the prairie can for someone rooted here.
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Please check back for more posts featuring the Lyon County Museum and the area.
On the east side of the Valley Grove Cemetery, massive oaks rise next to a restored prairie.(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
HE APPROACHED ME inquiring whether I was the official photographer. I was not. But I was photographing the Valley Grove Country Social on Sunday afternoon in rural Nerstrand.
The beautiful historic churches stand next to the cemetery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
That unexpected encounter proved powerful, revealing why this hilltop location of two historic churches and a cemetery holds such deep personal meaning for many. From the Norwegian immigrants who built the stone church in 1862, replaced by a wooden church in 1894, to today, this land keeps stories and memories and provides a place to grieve.
The hilltop cemetery provides a sweeping view of the prairie and distant treeline. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
For Brett Norgaard, Valley Grove is the final resting place of his beloved son, Bjorn Erik Norgaard, struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on February 20, 2011, while skiing on frozen Lake Superior. He was only 23. Bjorn’s gravestone, imprinted with a ballad he penned, sits near the site of a massive oak felled in a September 2018 tornado. That tree, in the southwest corner, was a cemetery landmark, the spot where many baptisms occurred.
Memory boxes crafted from a landmark fallen oak at Valley Grove. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
A photo of Bjorn rests between two poems he wrote. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
Now, in this chance meeting, I learned of Bjorn’s connection to that tree. His father held it—two boxes crafted from that fallen oak, the larger one holding a passport, an American Birkebeiner pin and other mementos of a dearly loved son.
Brett Norgaard asked me to take this family photo. I was happy to do so after hearing his son’s story. Shortly thereafter, rain began falling so I was unable to photograph Bjorn’s gravestone. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
But it was Bjorn’s poems that expressed to me the creative spirit of this outdoorsman, environmentalist, cross country skier, Alaska fly fishing guide, 2006 Northfield High School graduate, son, grandson, friend…
This cemetery is rich in history, in stories and in natural beauty and peace. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
The second verse of his poem, “Oak Leaves,” seems almost prophetic. He wrote:
New season coming, you must change,
but please remain, not yet time to fade away.
For one day we will cease to be,
will you drop your leaves and cover me?
Today Harold Bonde, 94, will be buried at Valley Grove, not far from Bjorn’s grave, not far from the site of the fallen landmark oak. His burial space was marked off during Sunday’s Country Social. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
After Bjorn died, his father found 80 poems in his son’s journals. I understand why he cherishes them. These are the words of a soulful, introspective, nature-centered, sensitive spirit. And although the oak tree no longer stands, unable to drop leaves onto Bjorn’s gravestone, there’s a sense that the tree remains. Strong. Sheltering those who lie beneath the soil and those who walk upon the earth, come here to visit, embrace and remember loved ones. Only days earlier, on September 15, Bjorn would have turned 35.
Many families meandered and conversed in the cemetery on Sunday afternoon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2022)
On this day of a Country Social, Bjorn’s family remembered him, honored him. I saw love in a father’s hands wrapped around oak boxes, in watery eyes and precious stories. Here at Valley Grove, atop a hill edged by prairie, woods and farmland, and centered by two historic churches, humanity comes in moments like this, when a father shares his grief with a stranger. Compassion rises. A connection is made. Comfort comes. A loss is shared.
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Please check back for a follow-up post featuring the Valley Grove Country Social in its entirety.
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