IN THE SEA OF CORN which defines southwestern Minnesota, an island emerges.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
On the cusp of harvest in southwestern Minnesota October 4, 2013
Grey skies and rain create a moody scene along U.S. Highway 14 between Sleepy Eye and Lamberton.
RAIN DRIZZLES, SOMETIMES SPLATTERS, across the windshield of our van as my husband and I aim toward the southwestern Minnesota prairie, driving toward Lamberton for a day of making horseradish with my extended family. It is a time-honored tradition, started by my father, dead 10 years now.
For me, this 120-mile trip from our Faribault home is not as much about the horseradish as it is about family and memories and spending a weekend in my beloved native prairie, the place that shaped me in to the person/writer/photographer I’ve become.
This section of U.S. Highway 14 between Sleepy Eye and Lamberton features many stately and well-kept barns like this brick one.
Even after 40 years away from this place of big skies and flat open spaces, of small towns and family farms, of corn and soybean fields stretching into forever, I still miss this land.
Especially at harvest time.
A cheery smile on a barn off U.S. Highway 14 serves as a backdrop to a ripened soybean field on a grey Saturday morning.
As we journey, my head pivots toward the corn and the beans, ripened mostly to muted gold.
I can almost hear the corn leaves rustling in the bendy wind under moody grey skies.
I can almost smell the intoxicating scent of earth that prevails only at harvest time.
I can almost hear the chomping combines and rumbling grain trucks, the roaring tractors and the lumbering grain wagons, parked and silent now as rain sweeps across the acres.
A serene country scene just north of Lamberton in southern Redwood County.
Later that day, after we’ve reached our rural destination and dug, washed, peeled, chopped, blended and bottled the horseradish, the heaviest of the clouds lift and shift east.
The skies have cleared along Redwood County Road 6 north of Lamberton where corn fields await harvest.
By Sunday morning we awaken to the clear and crisp skies of autumn in rural Minnesota.
Driving U.S. Highway 14 back to Faribault Sunday morning.
It’s a perfect morning.
Barns and ripening crops define the landscape of southwestern Minnesota this time of year.
Sunshine upon fields.
Grain bins await the harvest on a southwestern Minnesota farm.
Sunshine pooling upon my lap as we aim east, past bins and barns and bountiful fields, back home.
Rounding the curve eastbound into Sleepy Eye.
Past the ripening crops. Through the small towns, like Lamberton and Springfield and Sleepy Eye.
And when we reach the western outskirts of New Ulm, I feel as if we’ve crossed a line. Menards and Walmart loom to the left. U.S. Highway 14, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway, is now a four-lane through this German community, busy with traffic and drivers racing to get ahead before the roadway once again narrows to two lanes en route to Mankato.
Barns, like this one, rise above the soon-to-be-harvested corn fields.
My mood shifts. I’ve left the peace of the prairie, the one place on this earth that holds my soul in solace.
FYI: This post was previously published on streets.mn. The above photos were taken on Saturday, September 28, and Sunday, September 29. Conditions change rapidly during harvest time, so I expect harvest is well underway, although delayed now due to the rain.
A post will be forthcoming on making horseradish.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
You know you’re in rural Minnesota when… September 16, 2013
…you pull into your hotel parking lot and park your vehicle across the chain length fence from a row of Demco gravity flow wagons.
Luverne, Minnesota’s newest hotel, the GrandStay, 908 South Kniss Avenue.
Join me this week for a series of stories from Luverne, a farming community located in the extreme southwestern corner of Minnesota, right next to South Dakota and Iowa. It’s a community worth visiting, as I will show you via photos and words.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Forever rooted to rural Minnesota September 13, 2013
RURAL MINNESOTA LONG AGO claimed my heart. It is the place where I grew up, the land I love, the connection to earth and sky and elements that, despite more than three decades of living in town, has never vanished.
I’m rooted to the land and I find myself often longing to turn onto the gravel driveway, to swing open the creaky barn door, to follow the corn rows.
I ache for the days when I lived on the farm. Sunset and sunrise unbroken by buildings. Wind rustling. The heady scent of freshly-mown alfalfa. The rich earthy smell of the land at planting time and harvest. Wagons brimming with corn. Quiet. Stars studding the blackness.
Today I still claim rural Minnesota—in my memory, through the lens of my camera, in the words I write. And that is my solace, the road I follow back home.
FYI: These edited photos were taken earlier this summer in the Vernon Center/Amboy/Truman area of southern Minnesota.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Oh, the things you see & hear at a vintage farm show September 6, 2013
WHENEVER I ATTEND the Rice County Steam and Gas Engines Show in rural Dundas, I never quite know what I will discover, or hear. Look and listen.
Displayed at the Friends of Minnesota Barns booth.
I noted the above sign at the Friends of Minnesota Barns booth. Then the guy manning the display shared a story from the Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Show a week earlier. A man and his wife read the sign. The husband asked, “Will you take my wife in trade?”
She shot back, “You’re the INSERT SLANG WORD FOR MULE in the family.”
The Friends of Minnesota Barns guy and I laughed, oh, how we laughed.
Speaking of INSERT SLANG WORD FOR MULE HERE, EXCEPT IN PLURAL, look at this lawn art by opinionated Bob Michniewicz of Madelia. You never quite know what Bob is going to say or create.
“Quality Lawn Ornaments” from Michniewicz Sales.
I did a double take on this potty humor:
Brand loyalty and potty humor. Seriously, I could not believe I was seeing this. I grew up with John Deere farm equipment.
Let me show you something sweet and endearing:
Family time at the playground on vintage playground equipment.
And patriotic:
Flags abound at the show.
This reminds me of my growing up years on the farm and the Farmalls my dad owned and I drove (a B Farmall to be exact):
Vintage Farmalls.
Loren Fossum’s corn picker. That is not Loren driving, though.
I was just plain giddy when I saw this vintage 1960s corn picker, similar to one my Dad used but not a Ford. Loren Fossum of Northfield recently purchased the combo tractor and corn picker for a bargain price, which I won’t reveal because maybe Loren doesn’t want that publicized. He told a little story about overhearing a conversation among several young men trying to figure out what type of equipment they were viewing. They finally concluded that the blue monstrosity was designed to take down trees. Wrong. That would be corn, boys.
Another reminder of life on the farm, spotted at the flea market:
Oh, how I loved to twirl the handle on my dad’s vise grip until I tightened something, maybe a block of wood, in place.
And just because I found this Cropgard Farm Dryer interesting:
Apparently not just an ordinary vintage farm wagon.
This quartet was so engrossed in viewing photos of the homemade John Deere tractor that they didn’t even notice me. Sweet. I love capturing moments like this that tell a story:
Immersed in tractor talk.
Tractors everywhere:
Rows and rows and rows of vintage tractors define this show. For me the interest lies in the artsy aspect of these machines. Just look at the front of this Massey Ferguson–the font, the grill…
More cool vintage:
Anything rustic and vintage appeals to me visually.
My parting shot, taken through the fence on the back of bleachers, says it all: Passing a love of tractors along to the next generation.
To future generations of John Deere tractor lovers…
AFTER VIEWING THESE IMAGES, let’s hear from you. Do any of these photos spark memories or thoughts? Please share.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
A crop dusting photo essay August 27, 2013
Frame 1
I’M NOT NECESSARILY a fan of the end result of crop dusting—some chemical sprayed upon a field with the residue sifting into the air and upon the earth.
Frame 2
But watching a crop dusting plane at work does fascinate me.
Frame 3
On a recent Saturday afternoon, while traveling Minnesota Highway 28 en route to Morris, I was entertained by a crop duster spraying a cornfield near Westport.
Frame 4
Frame 5
Frame 6
Just ahead of the van in which my husband, son and I were traveling, the plane skimmed across the highway before completing a sharp turn to pass back over the roadway and across acres of corn.
Frame 7: How low do you think this plane is flying?
I am no aviation expert, but it seems to me that special skills and a dose of daredevil courage are required to fly a crop duster.
Frame 8: Just the tail and wings of the plane visible above the cornfield.
Thoughts?
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Meet Bill, the sweetcorn salesman August 21, 2013
Bill Edelbach sells fresh vegetables to my husband, Randy.
I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND why Bill Edelbach sold an entire pick-up full of sweetcorn and other farm fresh vegetables while parked along a busy street corner in Kenyon this past Sunday.
Cucumbers and peppers, three for $1.
He’s quite the salesman, pointing me to the peppers and cucumbers and zucchini when my husband and I had stopped only for sweetcorn.
Even a few heads of cabbage for sale. Tomatoes are slow in ripening this year, Bill says.
For more than 50 years, Bill has vended veggies grown on his Kellogg area farm. You can see those years chiseled in lines across his forehead, around his eyes, through his cheekbones.
Years of work etched in Bill’s face.
Bill has the kind of weathered face that I love to photograph, a face that distinguishes him as a long-time farmer. One who loves the land and the food he grows. He’s a hard worker; you can see that in his thin frame, in his hands.
Gotta appreciate the handcrafted signage.
There’s another thing you should know about Bill. Something like 30 years ago, he says, Tombstone Pizza folks were traveling around to small towns for a marketing campaign. They came upon Bill and his veggie vehicle parked in Cannon Falls, bought the whole truckload of sweetcorn, and moved him and his truck this way and that while photographing the scene.
Bagging our sweetcorn late Sunday afternoon.
That’s Bill’s claim to fame. Plus 50 years of selling his field fresh vegetables in small-town Minnesota.
For less than $5, we purchased half a dozen ears of sweetcorn, three cucumbers, a green pepper and a zucchini.
Two hours later we were feasting on Bill’s sweetcorn; garden fresh potatoes purchased last week from another roadside vendor; and smoked pork chops bought fresh at a local grocery store meat counter.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Stepping into yesteryear at the Blue Earth County fairgrounds August 1, 2013
Just inside the entry to the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds.
PRIOR TO LAST FRIDAY, I’d never been to the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds, nor even to Garden City, the unincorporated community in which the fairgrounds is located. That would be south of Mankato, along the banks of the Watonwan River.
Log cabins on the fairgrounds include this one from 1860 and a replica of an 1839 cabin.
What a delightful place—like a step back in time.
The beef barn, shaded by an oak tree.
Space for chickens and ducks and geese and such poultry.
Always a fair favorite, the sheep.
Just look at these old-fashioned buildings and imagine the cattle, pigs, poultry and sheep trucked into this scenic spot for the annual showing of the best of the best.
I expect (hope) the 4-H food stand was repaired before the fair.
Imagine 4-Hers clutching coveted ribbons.
The open class exhibit buildings. Look at the splendid old doors on these structures.
Imagine the families and old folks, the neighbors and strangers mingling here to celebrate life in rural Minnesota.
Imagine the young lovers strolling the grounds.
My Aunt Marilyn remembers, more than 50 years ago, attending this fair on a weekday afternoon along with other Blue Earth County employees. “I suppose they don’t do that anymore,” she said.
I expect not, Marilyn.
A posting of fair sponsors just inside the front gate.
Today, August 1, through Saturday, August 3, you can experience this grassroots fair when gates open at the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds/Shady Oaks Campground in Garden City just off U.S. Highway 169.
CLICK HERE for detailed fair information and click here for info about the campground.
BONUS PHOTOS:
It seems every fairgrounds has an old school or church like this one.
An on-site beverage stand.
The Future Farmers of America building.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Appreciating the Sunday afternoon drive June 29, 2013
Checking out the crops near Moland Lutheran Church in Steele County, Minnesota.
ONCE UPON A TIME, I thought Sunday afternoon drives were reserved for farmers checking out the crops or for old people with nothing more important to do.
In Merton Township, Steele County, Minnesota.
No longer do I think that. I now welcome these day trips into the country for the solace, the beauty, the discovery, the photo ops, the joy of whiling away an afternoon with no specific destination.
Along Rice County Road 21 south of Faribault.
I love wide skies and open fields. I love old barns and gravel roads and cows grazing and tidy rows of corn. I love country.
Making hay, along old U.S. Highway 14 west of Owatonna.
In this crazy fast-paced world of scheduled activities and rare free time, such impromptu rural jaunts are to be embraced.
Near Clinton Falls in Steele County, Minnesota.
If you have not discovered the Sunday afternoon drive, you are missing out on one of life’s simplest and most soul satisfying pleasures.
Northwest of Owatonna along Steele County Road 17.
On a farm site west of Owatonna.
A vineyard along Steele County Road 17.
Southwest of Faribault.
FYI: The edited photos featured here are from a recent Sunday afternoon drive south and east of Faribault and then west and north of Owatonna looping back to Faribault. All images were shot from the passenger seat of our van at highway speeds, or slightly under.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
More photos from “A Day on the Farm,” Rice County, Minnesota June 24, 2013
BECAUSE I APPRECIATE family dairy farms and because I am grateful to Ron and Diane Wegner and their daughters, Brianna and Kaylee, for opening their farm to area residents, here are more photos from “A Day on the Farm.” The Wegners hosted this event on Saturday in rural Rice County, Minnesota. Click here to see additional photos from my first post.
The beautiful old barn on the Wegners’ third-generation family farm.
The Wegners milk 50 registered Holsteins.
This scene inside the barn caught my farm girl eye.
Fence leaning and wagon towing.
Twins Kelly and Emily, almost two, visit the farm with their dad.
Rice County Dairy Maid Kelsey Kuball applies a temporary tattoo to a young visitor’s arm.
A farm cat that was just a wee skittish with about 600 strangers wandering around the farm.
Rice County Dairy Princess Kaylee Wegner waits for kids to arrive for a photo shoot with the calf.
A trio of silos next to the Wegners’ barn.
My favorite outbuilding, to the left.
Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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