family | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Thanksgiving morning December 2, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: family, Minnesota, Minnesota State Highway 60, snow, sunrise, Thanksgiving, travel, weather, winter

THE SUN WAS BEGINNING to edge into the landscape as we aimed east out of Faribault along Minnesota State Highway 60 toward Kenyon on Thanksgiving morning.

I’d been awake since 5 a.m., unable to sleep. Shortly before 6 a.m., I rose to shower, grab breakfast, pack and head out the door for the 300-mile drive to Appleton, Wisconsin, south of Green Bay to visit our daughter.

Driving into Kenyon, the view of the rising sun is temporarily blocked.

Snow ribboned the pavement, whitened the land, locked the temperature in the icebox category. This was not the Thanksgiving I envisioned. The world seemed more Christmas-like than November.

But this is Minnesota and, after living here my entire life, I should accept that the weather is unpredictable. I’d just shoveled more than a half a foot of snow from our driveway and sidewalk the day prior.

These thoughts rolled through my brain as the sun eased above the earth in a brilliant, blinding orb. On this day of national thanksgiving, I was grateful to be on the road with my husband, closing the miles between us and the daughter I love and cherish.

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A letter to my daughter on her birthday November 16, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: birthday, daughter, family, letter, mother, thoughts

Miranda, celebrating her birthday today. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo September 2014.

Dearest Miranda,

I never imagined, before I had children—before you or your sister or your brother were born—how deeply I could love a child.

But the day you were born, my heart opened wider, my love deepened to depths unimaginable. There was room in my heart for you and your sister and then, six years later, your brother.

Some day, when you become a mom, you will understand the fierceness with which a mother loves—how she hurts and cries and rejoices and desires nothing more than the best for her children.

I think of you every single day. Some days my heart aches at your absence. And I wish I could wrap my arms around you and hug you and feel the softness of your beautiful curls.

You are a beautiful, strong, caring and compassionate young woman with a mind of her own. Remember how, as a preschooler, you shut yourself in the toy room and played alone for hours? When I’d check on you, you’d ask me to leave. And even though I did, it wasn’t easy to walk away, to feel like you didn’t need me.

But I’d like to think we always need each other, that our love for one another runs deep through our veins, that no matter the distance between us, we remain connected.

I consider how strong you’ve been. At age four you clutched your Big Bird, took a nurse’s hand and walked toward the operating room while I dissolved into tears in your father’s arms. You never cried.

And years later, when you had to wear a back brace 23/7 for a year, you didn’t complain. I cried. But you soldiered on and did what you had to do.

Miranda in Valles Calchaquies, near the town of Cafayate in the Salta province of Argentina. File photo 2013.

You’ve always seemed fearless to me, ready for any new adventure. You flew solo to Argentina to study abroad and then back twice thereafter, fighting off a mugger once. I don’t like to think about that attack even now because the thought of anyone ever remotely coming close to harming you scares me. I love you so much and want you always to be safe.

You give of yourself with selfless compassion from a faith-filled heart. Not once, but twice, you helped with clean-up after Hurricane Katrina. Even in your life’s chosen profession as a Spanish medical interpreter, you continue to give.

I am proud of you. Your name means “admirable.” That seems fitting for you, my precious daughter.

I love you now and forever. Happy birthday!

With love,
Mom

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A joyful labyrinth honors faith & family November 3, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: art, faith, family, labyrinth, Minnesota, prayer, rural Faribault, yard art

MY FRIEND JOY is one of those creative types whose talent and energy seem endless.

She carves and builds and creates, always working on some project that enhances the rural Faribault home she shares with her husband, Steve.

Indoors and out, Joy’s house and yard reflect her individuality, her appreciation for family and history and that which is old or useful or meaningful. Her faith is often interwoven into her projects.

An overview of Joy’s backyard labyrinth.

A few years ago, Joy constructed a labyrinth outside her walk-out basement. It presents for impressive and practical backyard art.

A close-up, without the overall impact of the meditative walk way.

Until this past summer, I’d only seen the labyrinth in the dark, walking it during an evening campfire. I wasn’t prepared for the stunning beauty of this twisting path in the fading hours of daylight.

A mosaic created by Joy.

Wow.

Sample tiles were used in the labyrinth.

No wonder this took my friend some three years to construct. She began the labyrinth in 2010, laying selected tile into sections of concrete. Some of those tiles were sample tiles acquired from a friend.

The horse tile celebrates a granddaughter’s love of horses.

Joy proves always resourceful in reusing and repurposing. There’s not much she will throw.

Precious imprints of loved ones’ hands and feet.

Grandchildren imprinted hands and footprints.

The focal point and end of the labyrinth, perfect for a prayerful walk.

Memories. Faith. Time. All are intertwined here.

Walking portions of the labyrinth during a photo shoot.

At least once a week, if not more, Joy walks this labyrinth. It is her quiet place, her place of prayer. Right here, created by her gifted hands, in her backyard.

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Annie Mary still remembers me on Halloween October 31, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Annie Mary Twente, family, ghost stories, Halloween, Hanska, legend, southwestern Minnesota, traditions

THAT ANNIE MARY TWENTE is getting a tad forgetful is to be expected. She would, after all, be 134 years old if she had lived past age six.

The little girl from Hanska was buried alive in October 1886 after presumably falling into a coma and thought dead by her parents. But she wasn’t. Dead, that is.

Stories featured in Ghostly Tales of Southwest Minnesota include “Annie Mary’s Restless Spirit.” Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

As this southwestern Minnesota ghost story goes, Annie’s father went a bit mad after exhuming his daughter’s body and finding scratch marks inside her coffin and locks of hair pulled from Annie’s head.

I can only imagine. The very thought of burying one’s child alive would make anyone crazy.

I first learned of Annie Mary more than 30 years ago, when I lived in a community near Hanska. My Aunt Marilyn grew up hearing the story from her mother, Stella, who grew up just across the lake from the Richard Twente farm.

So when I moved to St. James, near Hanska, my aunt reminded me that I now lived in Annie Mary’s backyard. She told me about the fenced cemetery with the lone gravestone and somewhere in her storytelling Marilyn mentioned Annie swinging in a swing knotted to a tree branch. Legends seem to take on a life of their own, meaning it’s often difficult to separate fact from fiction.

A card I received from Annie Mary on a past Halloween. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

But one fact remains constant. Every year for about the past thirty, I’ve received a Halloween card from the little girl who was buried alive. It’s always signed ANNIE MARY in an awkward childish print of block letters.

Up until this year, Annie also wrote, “I MISS YOU!” That always sent shivers up my spine, even though I don’t believe in ghosts and knew my Aunt Marilyn had penned the message. This year she forgot the “I MISS YOU!” part.

But she made up for the omission by finding a card with a bare branched tree shadowed in the background inside a fence. And when I look closely, I swear I see the face of a little girl and a swing dangling from a branch.

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Whirlwind weekend of activity & emotions September 18, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: family, life, Minnesota, thoughts, travel

HAVE YOU EVER FELT just so exhausted, physically and emotionally, that you wish you could lie down and sleep for years?

After three weekends of traveling to southwestern Minnesota for family and other events and to clean my mom’s house, I am exhausted.

This past weekend my husband and I put 475 miles on our van crisscrossing the state and also the roads of Redwood County.

The beautiful handcrafted LFL donated to my hometown of Vesta.

The beautiful handcrafted Little Free Library donated to my hometown of Vesta in 2012 and installed outside the Vesta Cafe. There are also shelves of donated books inside the cafe for locals to read in this community without a city library. I donated two boxes of my mom’s books. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

Saturday morning saw us exiting Faribault by 6:45 a.m. for the nearly 2 ½-hour drive to my hometown of Vesta. By the time we arrived around 9:15 a.m. to drop off books for the Little Free Library at the Vesta Cafe, I was already yawning. And we hadn’t even started cleaning at Mom’s house, a process which would take five hours on this Saturday. But I’d already been awake since 5 a.m.

One of numerous banners displayed in the farming community of Belview. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

By 2 p.m., we were headed 12 miles north and east to Belview to see Mom in the nursing home. Randy cat napped on her bed while I perched on the seat of Mom’s walker and visited with her.

Our weekend travels took us deep into southern Minnesota farm country.

Then we aimed south for the 45-minute drive to my brother and sister-in-law’s rural Lamberton home. Randy suggested I nap, and I tried. But even the hypnotic rhythm of travel and the warm sunshine streaming through the van windows were not quite enough to lull me asleep. It was the emotional upheaval of the day that kept me awake.

Me, left, with two of my best friends from high school, Margie and Sharon, at our 40th Wabasso High School class reunion.

A quick shower and change at my brother’s house and we were back on the road driving toward Wabasso for my 40th high school class reunion. We partied until nearly midnight and I managed only a fitful night of sleep before rolling out of bed at 7:30 a.m.

Nearing the other end of the 35W bridge.

We crossed the Interstate 35W bridge on our way home. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

We were on the road by 9:30 a.m. driving north and east toward rural Wyoming, Minnesota, for a sister-in-law’s 50th birthday party. About two-thirds of the way into the 3 ½-hour drive, I started whining like a kid, “Are we there yet? I just want to get there. I hope there’s some food left. I’m hungry.” The crankiness kicked in about the same time we rolled into heavy metro area traffic.

My husband, bless him, understood. He understood that stress and lack of sleep had morphed me into an overtired and crabby wife.

We arrived at the birthday girl’s home to find plenty of delicious food awaiting us. I pasted a smile on my face. After a few hours of visiting and relaxing in the sunshine of a perfect autumn afternoon, we took down the tent we lent to the party host, loaded it into our van and headed south to our next destination—the home of our eldest daughter and son-in-law.

My eldest daughter, Amber, and her husband, Marc, pose in front of the home they recently purchased in a Twin Cities suburb. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

My eldest daughter, Amber, and her husband, Marc, in front of the home they recently purchased in a Twin Cities suburb. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

About a half hour later we arrived, unloaded the stuff we’d hauled from my mom’s house, and soon settled into a comfortable spot on the sofa, me with a much-welcomed soothing glass of wine. For a few hours we savored our time with Amber and Marc and our son-in-law’s parents visiting from California.

Full stomach, a little wine…and that sleepy feeling drifted over me again, before we were out the door on the final stretch home. One hour to Faribault. Darkness descending. Headlights beaming too bright in my tired eyes. Rain falling. Wipers swiping. Home at 8:15 p.m. Finally.

Then, unpacking.

What a whirlwind weekend, crammed with too much of everything. Too much time in the van. Too many activities. Too much emotion. Too little sleep.

And we didn’t even make two other events—a book release party in northern Minnesota where I was to read my winning poem and a barn dance fundraiser.

I am beyond exhausted. Drained. Physically and emotionally.

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The faith of my forefathers September 12, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: ancestry, Bode, country churches, faith, family, family reunion, Immanuel Lutheran Church rural Courtland Minnesota, Karl Bode, Lawrence Bode, Minnesota

A view of Immanuel from the church balcony. The pews, the chancel furnishings and the stained glass windows from the old church were incorporated into the new church.

A view of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Courtland, from the balcony. The pews, the chancel furnishings and the stained glass windows from the old church were incorporated into the new sanctuary. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

I love to tell the story,
’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.

Katherine Hankey

IT SEEMED A FITTING HYMN sung by the Men’s Choir during a recent Sunday morning worship service at Immanuel Lutheran Church, rural Courtland, Minnesota.

Male voices blended in perfect harmony, a soothing symphony of the aged song that transcends time, a hymn as powerful today as it was for past generations.

Karl Jr. and Anna Bode, their nine children and a daughter-in-law. That's by grandpa, Lawrence (originally spelled Lorenz) in the front row in the white dress.

Karl Jr. and Anna Bode, their nine children and a daughter-in-law. That’s my grandpa, Lawrence (originally spelled Lorenz), in the second row in the glasses.

And the past prevailed on this Sunday, a day set aside for a reunion of the descendants of Karl Johann Bode, Jr. and his wife, Anna (Dallman).

An old photo of the Karl Jr. and Anna Bode siblings, including my grandfather, Lawrence, right front.

My husband and I were there, representing my mom and our siblings—the daughter and grandchildren of Lawrence and Josephine Bode.

A historical sign outside of Immanuel Lutheran Church, east of Courtland, Minnesota.

Fitting Scripture read:

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

Deuteronomy 32:7

Beautiful aged stained glass windows highlight the sanctuary.

My Bode forefathers left a strong legacy of faith, evident in this very church they helped found in 1859 after moving from Illinois to Minnesota. Stained glass windows from the old church have been incorporated into the new, a visual connecting today’s generation to those before them.

The symbolic bouquet.

Red roses in a stunning altar bouquet honored my great grandparents. Nine yellow roses represented each of their children, Herman, Alma, Otto, Paul, Emil, George, Lawrence, Carl and Ervel.

The Bode cousins pose for a photo at the reunion.

The Bode first cousins pose for a photo at the reunion.

I am proud to be a part of the Bode family, a family still firmly standing upon a foundation of faith.

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Oh, to be a kid at a wedding September 10, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: childhood, family, life, wedding

KIDS ARE SO MUCH a part of my niece’s life that their participation in her September 6 wedding seemed natural and fitting. Carlyn works in her mom’s family daycare.

Darling flower girls, Ellen and Lainey, never made it to the front of the church to stand with the rest of the bridal party. One of the two burst into tears and then both wedged onto the laps of the bride’s parents, who cuddled these little girls for much of the service. That’s how much my eldest brother and his wife love these two.

The ring bearers, Hank and Connor, cute as cute can be in their black pants, white shirts and suspenders and dress shoes, managed to reach the front of the church. But then they roamed throughout the ceremony. Down the aisle and back up front. Then reverse.

No crying, though, after the initial flower girl’s outburst. So that was good. The cuteness factor just made you smile.

Two wedding guests and ring bearer, Hank, gathered on the church sidewalk next to the receiving line.

Afterward, during the hour-long congratulatory/receiving line process, kids played, wandered and ran outside the church. And when I spotted three of them, including my great nephew Hank, focused on something on the sidewalk, I honed in with my camera. They were oblivious to my presence.

Focused on…

What, I wondered, fascinated them?

Hank needed a drink from his sippie cup, which he toted around most of the afternoon.

Birdseed. Bagged birdseed to be opened and tossed at the bride and groom. It takes so little to entertain kids.

I wish many times now that life was as simple and uncomplicated as opening a bag of birdseed and spilling the contents onto a sidewalk.

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My beautiful niece on her wedding day September 9, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: bride, family, life, love, marriage, Minnesota, small town, thoughts, Walnut Grove, wedding, Westbrook

Carlyn and Jared leave the church in the early evening, showered with birdseed.

Showered with birdseed, Carlyn and Jared leave the church in the gorgeous early evening light of a perfect September day.

IT’S SO CLICHE to say that the bride was radiant. But no other word seems fitting for my niece, Carlyn, so in love with her now-husband, Jared, her high school sweetheart whom she married on Saturday at English Lutheran Church in Walnut Grove.

Just a historical note here. The English Lutheran church bell dates back to the late 1800s, when Charles Ingalls, the father of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, donated monies toward its purchase.

Lots and lots of birdseed tossed at the newlyweds.

The bridal couple, family and guests walked below that bell Saturday before witnessing a beautiful ceremony celebrating faith and family and the beginning of a new life together.

Look at how happy they are…that loving look Jared is giving his new bride.

Carlyn cried more than any bride I’ve ever seen. Cried walking down the aisle. Cried during the ceremony. Cried when she hugged her parents. So much emotion overwhelming her.

That look, oh, that look on the new groom’s face after the ceremony.

And I thought how fortunate she is to live only blocks from her parents, to work side-by-side with her mother in a family-owned daycare. Likewise, Jared works with his father on their nearby farm.

Instead of signing their names in a guestbook, guests signed the leaves on this tree.

These newlyweds will be surrounded by those who have loved and nurtured and cared for them their entire lives.

I watched as kids wove freely among adults on the church grounds and at the reception in the Westbrook Community Center. Small town carefree. Connected. Something you wouldn’t see at a wedding reception in a larger community.

Jared and Carlyn await their introduction and entry into the reception hall.

On one end of the reception venue, kids tossed a toy football back and forth. A boy rumbled a toy truck across the floor. Preschool boys splashed in the drinking fountain.

And in between it all, adults laughed and conversed and danced to the beat of polkas, country line dances, 70s tunes that I once sang as a member of the Wabasso High School choir and more.

As my husband and I passed below street lights outside the community center, past the impressive corner veterans’ memorial and the old brick implement dealership where the bride’s dad (my eldest brother) worked before a new facility was built on the edge of town, I considered what a perfect day it had been. September weather at its best. My mom recovered enough to attend the wedding and reception. And love. Radiant.

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Celebrating her granddaughter’s wedding September 8, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: family, health, life, mother, thoughts, wedding

SHE WAS DETERMINED to attend her granddaughter’s wedding. And she did, one day shy of three weeks after suffering traumatic injuries in a fall.

Three of my mom's granddaughter's visit with her after the wedding.

Three of my mom’s granddaughter’s (including my daughter, middle) visit with her after the wedding.

She would be my 82-year-old mother.

About the only photo I managed during the ceremony, taken from my place in the pew.

Saturday afternoon Mom was among some 400 guests packing English Lutheran Church in Walnut Grove for the marriage of Carlyn and Jared.

The day marked a milestone for Mom, her first outing in three weeks except for the long ambulance ride from a southwestern Minnesota hospital to the trauma unit at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and the car ride back to a nursing home five days later.

The reception was held at the community center in the bride and groom’s hometown of Westbrook.

Already while hospitalized, Mom set a goal to attend the wedding. Then she decided that she might like to go to the reception for awhile also. She accomplished both.

Guests shower Jared and Carlyn with birdseed as they leave the church.

It is good to have goals when you are eighty-two, or any time really.

I laughed because my mom's nails were painted and I forgot to paint mine.

Nursing home staff painted Mom’s nails for the wedding.

I am thankful to the staff of Parkview Home in Belview for encouraging and working with my mom and even painting her nails for the wedding.

I am grateful, too, for a family that has been there for her every step of the way, encouraging, supporting, loving.

And for prayers. Yes, prayers.

Mom faces a long road toward full recovery. I understand that. But she has already come so far.

Yet, it is not easy to see the fading purple bruises, the oversized bump that still mars her forehead, the neck collar that locks her broken neck in place, her frailness…

There are times when sadness overwhelms me. But then I remind myself to be grateful. For every single day I have my mother.

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Oh, to be two… August 27, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: family, life, photo essay, thoughts

DON’T YOU WISH sometimes that you could be the carefree kid again? I do.

I wish I could be like my great nephew, Hank, with nothing to worry me—climbing dirt piles, tossing clumps of dirt, running here and there as fast as my short legs can move me.

And then when I was all tuckered out, I’d slip inside the house and cuddle a plush toy before settling onto my mother’s lap.

My head would dip and nod against her until I fell into sweet slumber. Then she would ever so gently lift me from her lap and snug me onto billowy cushions, my curls pressed against the armrest, my fingers furled against my forehead.

I know I can’t be two again. But I can dream.

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Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Thanksgiving morning December 2, 2014

A letter to my daughter on her birthday November 16, 2014

A joyful labyrinth honors faith & family November 3, 2014

Annie Mary still remembers me on Halloween October 31, 2014

Whirlwind weekend of activity & emotions September 18, 2014

The faith of my forefathers September 12, 2014

Oh, to be a kid at a wedding September 10, 2014

My beautiful niece on her wedding day September 9, 2014

Celebrating her granddaughter’s wedding September 8, 2014

Oh, to be two… August 27, 2014

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