SIX MONTHS AGO, Randy and I met friends, Sue and Charley, for lunch in Pine River while vacationing in the north central Minnesota lakes region. We enjoyed our meals and conversation at the Damsite Supper Club, which really isn’t a supper club by my definition, but which serves damn good food. It sits across the road from the Pine River Dam, thus the restaurant name.
Afterwards, our friends headed back to their Hackensack home while we poked around Pine River. I love exploring small towns for all the treasures they hold. And Pine River holds many, starting with the Kindness Rocks Inspiration Garden, just across from the supper club and river bridge.
Kindness rock gardens, or simply scattered kindness rocks, are, in my opinion, an inspiring addition to any place. Every time I find kindness rocks, I feel a surge of happiness. The positive messages and art painted, written or drawn onto rocks (technically stones) always uplift me.
And right now I feel like we could use a whole lot of kindness rocks in this country. Boxcars full. Truckloads full. Cargo holds full. Dump them upon the land. Let them rise like mountains or flow like rivers. Let inspiring words, followed by acts of kindness, generosity, love, compassion and care, spill upon the soil and take root.
In Pine River, the Kindness Rocks Inspiration Garden grows from tragedy. The corner community garden honors the memory of 11-year-old Bryce Mink, who died nearly two years ago on March 12, 2023, a month shy of his 12th birthday. Bryce went into cardiac arrest, was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and died two days later. He had undiagnosed lymphoma with a large mass pressing on his chest, restricting his airway, impeding CPR efforts by his mother and resulting in brain damage.
This is nothing short of tragic, to lose a child unexpectedly, so quickly, so young. But to see Bryce’s legacy of kindness continue in that public park, well, that says something about the impact he made on his community. Bryce was described as “a kind boy and a friend to all.” I believe it. Children, at that age, are often not yet tainted by the unkindness of adults. They live life unencumbered. Make friends easily with most anyone. Play. Learn. Smile and laugh and love and live with exuberance. It’s no wonder we often wish we could still be kids, free of the challenges that come with adulthood.
It’s tough being a grown-up sometimes, especially now, in a country that seems lacking in the very basics of decency and kindness. Certainly not in everyone and not everywhere, but in too many people and places.
Perhaps it’s time we pick up a rock and, instead of hurling it, print a message of kindness upon it. Write of goodness, generosity, compassion and care: Peace. Do your best. Be kind. Shine your light. Then live those words. Like Bryce did.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Shining kindness, beginning in Minnesota July 29, 2025
Tags: acts of kindness, commentary, Damsite Supper Club, Faribault, kindness, kindness rocks, Kindness Rocks Inspiration Garden, Make America KIND button, Minnesota, Pine River
WHEN MY FRIEND SUE rummaged in her purse for something she wanted to give me, she pulled out a button with the message “Make America KIND.” Perfect. I am all for kindness. Sue’s simple act of gifting me with that button, which I pinned to the faded 1970s vintage denim jacket I was wearing, was an act of kindness in itself.
That got me thinking about kindness, not only because of the button, but because Sue and I, along with our husbands, had just finished lunch at the Damsite Supper Club in Pine River. Every Wednesday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., veterans eat for free. So Sue’s spouse, Charley, enjoyed a complimentary meal as did other vets. The restaurant honors the veterans for their service with the kindness of a meal and then by inviting them to sign a dining room wall.
Right across the road, my friend reminded me, sits the Kindness Rocks Inspiration Garden. The memorial garden honors Bryce Mink, 11, who died in 2023 of undiagnosed lymphoma. Painted stones decorated with inspiring words and art fill the rock garden. The garden is a visual of kindness.
Before we went on our way, Sue had another gift for me. A bag of books. Fiction, nonfiction and poetry books she felt a “Prairie Lady” would appreciate. She’s downsizing and set aside Visibility: Ten Miles—A Prairie Memoir in Photography and Poetry, Light on the Prairie, Pioneer Girl—The Annotated Autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder and several other books. Sue knows me well and I’m grateful for her kindness.
KINDNESS DEFINED
What does it really mean to be kind? By my definition, the word means “being nice.” In actions and/or in words. Being generous, caring, compassionate. Being thoughtful. Giving without expecting anything in return. Doing what is right and good. Listening. Encouraging. Supporting. Many words define kindness.
My sister-in-law Rosie showed kindness to Randy and me when she surprised us with a homemade caramel roll upon our recent arrival at her lake cabin. She knows how much we love these rolls from Valeri Ann’s Family Foods, an eatery just down the highway in Merrifield. What a thoughtful gesture given these sweet treats sell out quickly. Rosie got the last two, saving one for us.
KINDNESS IN A HUG
Then there’s the kindness Randy and I recently extended to a stranger via a vintage desk we carried to the curb. When a passerby stopped a while later, I stepped outside to greet her. She wanted the free desk. I also invited her into my living room to look at a table we no longer need. Because the woman spoke limited English, we struggled to communicate, finally resorting to pen and paper until her friend arrived to interpret.
Eventually, the woman decided she wanted the desk only. So Randy helped load it into her friend’s car. And then I spontaneously hugged this Somali immigrant who graciously and gratefully thanked me. It felt like the right thing to do. We held each other for a moment, our embrace warm, genuine.
Kindness came full circle. It didn’t take much effort for me, Randy, Sue, Rosie and the Damsite Supper Club to “Make America KIND” in our own unique ways. Just imagine if every single person extended kindness to family, friends and strangers. This would be a much gentler, compassionate and caring country.
TELL ME: I’d like to hear about a recent act of kindness you either gave or received.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling