Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

From fossils to DINO, diggin’ dinosaurs in southern Minnesota September 9, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
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I took this photo of a young boy with a dinosaur painted on his face and imitating a dinosaur at the Virtues Trail Family Night in Faribault six years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2019)

“THE KIDS KNOW more about dinosaurs than me,” said my friend Larry Richie, retired Faribault area farmer, amateur archaeologist, historian, volunteer at Nerstrand Charter School and much more. He’s one of those guys who’s a wealth of knowledge accrued through years of living and caring about people, animals, the land and history. And he’s always willing to share his discoveries.

Larry Richie leads his donkey, Orville, around the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines grounds in 2024. He brought Orville to the fall show again this year along with a collection of fossils. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo August 2024)

I ran into Larry recently at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show where he had set up tables with fossils uncovered during digs on property south of Faribault. I didn’t take notes, so I don’t recall everything my friend told me. But I left feeling pretty certain I’d just touched, picked up and photographed dinosaur bones.

Larry knows a heckuva lot more than I do about these plant and meat-eaters that roamed the earth long ago. But not as much as the kids, he laughed. I concur. My grandchildren certainly know more about dinosaurs, and Pokemon, than I do.

One of many fossils Larry brought to the Gas & Steam Engines Fall Show. Those would be toes on a dinosaur, according to Larry. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo August 2025)

As I listened to Larry, I thought, here’s a man with passion and determination. Although he’s, as yet, been unable to find anyone who will verify the authenticity of his dinosaur bones, I walked away a believer.

The battery-operated dinosaur roars, moves its head and arms, and flashes its eyes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Dinosaurs are decidedly amazing creatures that fascinate all of us, no matter our age. I remember playing with plastic dinosaurs as a young child. If I was to dig around in an upstairs storage space, I’d likely find those vintage toys. And if I headed to the basement and opened a tote, I’d find several dinosaurs, including battery-operated ones, belonging to my now grown children. Those roaring dinos with flashing red eyes scared my grandkids as preschoolers.

A tribute to Sinclair Oil and its dinosaur in a residential yard in Owatonna. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2025)

One dinosaur that never scares is DINO, the Apatosaurus of Sinclair Oil fame. I happened upon three multi-sized versions of DINO along a residential street near Morehouse Park in Owatonna recently. The trio was strategically placed on either side of Sinclair gas pumps, the scene like a work of art, a snapshot of marketing history.

The largest of the three DINOs in the Sinclair Oil Company display in Owatonna. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2025)

DINO has been around since 1930 promoting Sinclair products. In Minnesota, 46 Sinclair gas stations remain, the nearest to me in Waseca 25 miles away.

Elvern and Arlene Kletscher with children, Audrey, Lanae, Brian and Monica, at Dinosaur Park in the summer of 1966. I’m the oldest sibling in this photo taken by my brother Doug.

There’s something about dinosaurs that is timeless, that appeals to generations. I hold fond memories of visiting Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, S.D. in 1966 on the only vacation our family ever took. It’s documented in a black-and-white photo pasted in my photo album. Those mammoth sculptures atop the hill made an impression.

Today I remain in awe of dinosaurs. Just like my friend Larry, my grandkids and countless other kids and adults. I expect we’d all feel a bit differently, though, if dinosaurs, especially meat-eaters, still roamed the earth.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Quite the ride June 28, 2023

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:41 PM
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This battery-powered T-Rex was my son’s toy. It roared, turned its head, moved its arms and flashed its red eyes. My grandkids were terrified of it at one time. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2023)

IF YOU HAD JUST DISEMBARKED a roller coaster only to see a T-Rex chomping up the tracks and roaring towards you, would you trust that you would survive?

So what does this have to do with anything relevant to today and, well, to me? Lots.

Last week my vestibular rehab therapist changed things up a bit. He led me from our usual private meeting room down the hall to a more spacious room with a large screen TV, a table, chairs, toys, a dollhouse and some type of exercise equipment I couldn’t identify.

“Yeah, I get to play,” I exclaimed to Ryan.

WE’RE GOING TO DO WHAT?

He had other things in mind. “You’re going to ride a roller coaster,” he said. I looked at him in disbelief and then with fear as he pulled out a virtual reality headset.

“I don’t like roller coasters,” I stated. That is true. The last one I rode was nearly 50 years ago. The Woody at Arnold’s Park in Spencer, Iowa. They called it The Woody back then for a reason. Built in 1930, this is the 13th oldest wooden roller coaster in the world. And this amusement ride was, for me, absolutely terrifying as the cars clacked up and down and around the tracks.

I also have minimal exposure to VR, having tried my son’s headset once and experiencing great difficultly in navigating anything. Simply being in a virtual world proved uncomfortable and disorienting.

So when Ryan mentioned roller coaster and VR in the same sentence, I felt my angst rise. But I recognized that he was serious and that this was just one more effort to retrain my brain by exposing me to motion and to noise in an attempt to manage symptoms resulting from vestibular neuritis, Meniere’s Disease and peripheral sensory neuropathy.

REMIND ME, WHICH BUTTONS DO I PUSH?

Alright then. Ryan set up the computer program, tightened the headset on my head, then handed me the controls, instructing me on which buttons to push. He told me to point the laser at the triangle to start the ride. I couldn’t even manage that as my hands shook. I failed at multiple attempts to use the hand controls, so eventually my patient PT took over. Young people can manage tech stuff far better than aging Baby Boomers like me.

Soon I was on the dreaded roller coaster, riding up and down and all around while noise roared. It was a lot of visual and auditory stimuli as intended. Curves and the roar of a waterfall proved the most challenging. Almost immediately I asked to sit. But when I grew more comfortable, Ryan had me standing with my hand touching the back of a chair to help me feel grounded. I took multiple breaks.

OH, NO, THERE’S MORE!

When I thought a roller coaster ride was surprise enough, yet more awaited me. I soon noticed dinosaurs lurking in the background. Then a Tyrannosaurus separated from the herd and began chomping the track, moving at a ferocious pace directly towards me.

“My granddaughter would love this,” I said in the midst of all that chaos, then corrected myself. “Well, maybe not.” Isabelle, 7, loves dinosaurs but even this teeth-baring meat eater might scare her.

In the end, I survived. Both the T-Rex and the roller coaster. Ryan was pleased with my ability to mostly handle the stimuli. Now I wonder what he has planned for physical therapy tomorrow?

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling