Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

American pride shines at the Stars & Stripes Garage in small-town Minnesota July 2, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:08 AM
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YOU DON’T RUN ACROSS MEN like Joel and Louie Kukacka every day. These guys—father and son—are darned proud to be Americans, proud enough to publicly parade their patriotism.

Drive through the tiny Le Sueur County burg of Heidelberg and you’ll find a smattering of houses, St. Scholastica Catholic Church and a bar. And next to that bar, you can’t miss the Stars & Stripes Garage owned by Joel Kukacka.

Painted red, white and blue and adorned with stars and a front-and-center American flag from the Harvestore silo company, this garage shouts American pride.

There’s nothing artificial about this outward display of patriotism. Joel and Louie really are as true-blue patriotic American as they come.

Several months ago I met the pair while working on a magazine feature article. They immediately impress me as men who possess a strong, independent spirit. If the word “redneck” didn’t have such negative connotations, I might even label them as such. Or I may even tag them as “mavericks,” but then I’ve got that whole Sarah Palin connection going and I’m not sure they would appreciate the tie.

So let’s just call Joel and Louie independent and patriotic small-town American businessmen.

Joel Kukacka outside his Stars & Stripes Garage in tiny Heidelberg.

Joel, who is 59 and a Vietnam War era veteran (he served in Germany and not Nam) opened his auto and farm equipment repair shop in 1980. The “Stars & Stripes” moniker seems a good fit given his military service, his affinity for eagles (including the $18 eagle tattoo he got in Germany) and his preference for American-made products.

As Louie, 33, tells it, for awhile his dad refused to buy anything that wasn’t made in the U.S.A. You simply have to admire someone with that level of American loyalty. But, Louie concedes, eventually Joel had no choice but to buy foreign-made goods.

Get Louie going, and his feisty attitude emerges. It’s clear to me that Joel, who is pretty quiet, has raised a strong boy not afraid to speak his mind. About those eagles his dad loves, well, “they represent independence and freedom, what this country used to be,” the younger Kukacka says.

Not wanting to get into a heated political discussion, I don’t ask Louie to expand on “what this country used to be,” although I’m certain he would give me an earful about government programs and subsidies and a whole list of other issues.

Louie Kukacka, leaning on the half-door between the garage bay and the office, speaks his mind about America and independent businessmen.

“He’s somebody that takes pride in their work,” Louie says of his dad. “That’s America, what we’re here for.”

Louie praises the independent businessmen (versus the big companies) who work long, hard hours to make a living. Joel and Louie openly admit, though, that surviving in rural Minnesota, and in the current depressed economy, isn’t always easy. During slow times, they supplement their income by collecting and selling scrap metal. These are, indeed, self-sustaining men who don’t mind getting a little dirt under their fingernails.

I admire their entrepreneurial spirits and their positive attitudes. They seem entirely content to live and work in Heidelberg, which, according to the 2000 U.S. census, has a population of only 72. Most Minnesotans likely never have driven through this off-the-beaten path town. But anyone who has traveled this section of Le Sueur County Road 30 will remember that patriotically-painted garage.

Louie is especially proud that his nearly 3–year-old daughter, Brigid, spends time in the garage and is already learning to work a wrench, getting covered head-to-toe, he says, in garage grime.

Already, I can imagine Brigid as a strong, independent woman, influenced by her outspoken father and by her Vietnam War era grandfather—a man who loves eagles, displays a photo of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Venture in his office and operates the red, white and blue Stars & Stripes Garage in the American burg with the German name.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

I get free green beans (and lots more) at the Faribault Expo April 30, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 1:37 PM
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WHEN I VISITED the annual Faribault Business Expo and Community Showcase for the first time on Thursday evening, I didn’t know quite what to expect.

“Surprised” best summarizes my reaction.

First, I am surprised to see so many vehicles encircling the Faribault Ice Arena, where the event is held. My husband and I even have to wait for a parking spot to open up.

Once inside, I am a bit overwhelmed by the rows of booths spread out before me. But you have to start somewhere, and I begin by accepting a still-warm chocolate chip cookie, a vendor freebie. Considering that I haven’t eaten supper, I wolf down the treat and a second cookie offered a few booths away.

Already I like this expo. But it gets better. A guy dressed in corny corn head-wear hands my husband a can of Spaghetti Rings. “She’ll take the beans,” he tells the Faribault Foods, Inc, rep and I’m handed a can of Butter Kernel green beans.

Freebies from the Faribault Expo.

Now I’m looking for a cloth bag to carry my loot. I settle temporarily for a paper bag from the folks peddling hearing aids. Considering my ear specialist has told me I really need a hearing aid for my right ear, I talk to the hearing aid vendor for a few minutes, all the time straining to hear him above the buzz of conversation that fills this arena.

Then I move on to The Cheese Cave and introduce myself to Laura. I’ve blogged about Faribault Dairy Company’s specialty cheeses several times and am an enthusiastic promoter of the firm’s cave-aged blue and other cheeses. Simply put, I love this cheese. With three huge plates of St. Mary’s grass fed Gouda, St. Pete’s Select blue cheese and Fini, a sharp cheddar, laid out before me, I can’t resist spearing toothpicks into a cube of each.

I continue down the aisle, tossing bean bags until a vendor finally nudges my fifth bag into the hole and hands me a cloth bag. I tell him I’m not athletic. When he calls me a “good sport,” I feel my face flush.

Twice I try to putt a golf ball into a hole for other prizes that I can’t even recall now. I’m no Tiger Woods, not that I would want to be Tiger Woods.

And then, there’s Plinko. I’m excited about the State Bank of Faribault’s game patterned after The Price is Right Plinko board. I could win $100. But I don’t. I win a lint remover. My husband does better, winning a cooler of sorts that we can’t quite figure out.

All told, by the time we leave the expo, we have pens and pencils, can coolers, a mug, candy, pizza cutters, magnets, informational brochures, a note pad and those two cans of canned food.

Lest you think I’ve come simply for the freebies, you would be wrong. I talk to printers, a cell phone provider, journalists, the police chief, art center and rental center employees, a historian, a restaurateur, carpet cleaner, radio station personnel, bankers and friends.

Oh, and I register for a gazillion prizes.

The entire event impresses me and I expect I’ll return next year. Then, though, I hope to see some of the ethnic businesses that have become an important part of the Faribault community. I don’t recall seeing a single one at the expo.

And, I’m hoping too that another week night is chosen for this event. Some downtown Faribault businesses are open on Thursday evenings, and holding the expo on a Thursday excludes many of them.

There’s always room for improvement, including my need to work on my golf swing and tossing bean bags.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

For the love of homemade sausages, smoked meats and more April 19, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 12:05 PM
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Pekarna's Meat Market, famous for homemade sausage, is a popular stop in historic downtown Jordan.

MINNESOTANS LOVE THEIR small-town meat markets.

In the Mankato/New Ulm area, Schmidt’s Meat Market draws locals and travelers alike off busy U.S. Highway 14 into its Old World shop in tiny Nicollet. Famous for its German style summer sausage, the meat market continues operation as a third-generation family business begun in 1947 by Gerhardt and Esther Schmidt.

Although I’ve never been to Schmidt’s, I’ve heard only great comments about the meat. The next time I head west, I’ll have to check out this popular stop.

In my area, Nerstrand Meats & Catering, in the even smaller town of Nerstrand—about 230 people compared to Nicollet’s 900—is the go-to place for meat. Here, the double smoke hams are the specialty at this fourth-generation family business founded in 1890.

I’ve eaten meat from the Nerstrand meat market and can attest to its outstanding flavor and quality.

The same goes for Pekarna’s Meat Market, another fourth-generation, family-owned business that I discovered while visiting Jordan in the southwest metro a month ago. Actually, I should credit my husband, Randy, for finding this delightful butcher shop/retail store. While I was wandering around looking at buildings in this historic Minnesota River town, he aimed straight for the meat market.

Current fourth-generation owner Greg Pekarna’s great grandfather started the business 117 years ago. It is clear to me that Pekarna’s has got a good thing going here, a conclusion I drew upon seeing the long line of customers waiting at the retail counter on a Thursday afternoon in late March.

Two customer favorites at Pekarna's Meat Market.

Customer favorites at Pekarna’s include smoked pork sausage, ring bologna and baby back ribs. Randy picked up brats and bacon. When I microwaved the bacon, I didn’t even have enough grease to sauté onions for the potato soup I was preparing. Now that’s something. As for the brats, I am not a brat fan, but Randy may convince me to try a Pekarna’s brat.

Greg Pekarna behind the counter at a meat market with old-fashioned, kitschy charm.

While at Pekarna’s I chatted a bit with Greg and his friendly employee Sandy Schmitz. I thought, initially, that they were the married co-owners. When I stated as such, the two burst into laughter and Greg joked that would not work, except he said this in stronger words which I won’t repeat here.

Speaking of words, I noticed two signs in German behind the meat counter: “Wilkommen Pekarna’s Meat” and “Jawohl Gute”

I asked for the English translation of Pekarna, assuming it is of German origin. Wrong. Perkarna means “bakery,” in Czech, Greg tells me. Like I said earlier, this guy has a sense of humor.

And like many small-town Minnesota butchers, Pekarna offers high-quality products and great customer service, trademarks that have allowed his business to survive and thrive for more than a century.

Have you discovered a great small-town meat market like Pekarna's Meat Market?

IF YOU HAVE a favorite small-town meat market, submit a comment to Minnesota Prairie Roots. Tell us why this is a favorite stop. Do you like the sausage, the brats, the bacon? Let’s hear your testaments to small, family-owned meat markets.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling