Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

White Cane Day & more focus Faribault Lions as they serve October 15, 2024

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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The entrance to the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, located on Faribault’s east side. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2024)

AS SOMEONE WHO DEALS with vision and hearing impairments, I feel fortunate to live in a community with a heightened awareness of those issues. Faribault is home to the Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and Blind. Medical professionals offer local care in vision and hearing. And the Faribault Lions Club, focused on both, is especially active.

Pictures of MSAB students are featured on banners scattered around the campus. This one highlights a graduate. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2024)

And that is why I met local Lion John Battles and learned about White Cane Awareness Day, celebrated annually on October 15. Battles was standing inside the exit area of Fareway Foods handing out information about white canes and collecting donations. Those monies will help blind and visually impaired individuals deal with mobility issues. For example, past gifts have been used to purchase canes and/or replacement tips for students at MSAB.

I underwent eye muscle surgery as a child and then again 64 years later, this time using an adjustable suture in my left eye. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2023)

I paused to drop money into John’s bucket and also to chat a bit about the Lions’ work and my own struggles with vision. I’ve been diagnosed with bilateral strabismus and in January underwent surgery to realign my eyes with the goal of eliminating my double vision. Unfortunately, the corrective surgery did not work long-term. That’s true in 10-20 percent of surgical outcomes. Rather than attempt another surgery, I opted to try prisms in my prescription eyeglasses. Adjusting to the high number of prisms took time and they are not perfect. I struggle with depth perception and sometimes still see double. But, as I told John, at least I can see.

This photo of me (far left in group picture) with family on a vacation to northern Minnesota in 1960 shows me wearing a patch over my left eye. This was an attempt to correct my vision without surgery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo by Elvern Kletscher)

My vision issues are not something which suddenly developed. Rather, I was born with misaligned eyes, requiring strabismus surgery at age four. I am forever grateful to my parents for understanding the importance of corrective surgery. Although I never asked, I expect it was a huge financial burden for them. Had I not undergone this operation at the hospital in New Ulm, I likely would have gone blind in my less dominant eye.

This building on the MSAB campus houses the Lion’s Den, an apartment setting to help students learning to navigate independent living. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2024)
Serving up pancakes and sausage at the annual Lions Club pancake breakfast, a major fundraiser for the Faribault service organization. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2015)
The main entry to the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. The local Lions Club supports students and programs at MSAB. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2024)

As I shared parts of my story with John, I felt his empathy and his strong desire to help others. The Faribault Lions clearly practice their motto of “We serve.” They collect used eyeglasses and hearing aids, offer vision screenings for kids, support Can Do Canines (which trains service dogs), funded the Lion’s Den apartment at the school for the blind (helping students adjust/learn in an apartment setting) and much more. Their service projects are not solely focused on vision and hearing.

This sign on the Lion’s Den acknowledges this as a project of the Faribault Lions Club with a grant from the Lions Club International Foundation. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2024)

But on this day, I want to highlight the efforts of John and his fellow Lions to educate the public about white canes. In the printed information John distributed at the grocery store, I learned that the idea of white canes originated in 1930 with the Lions Club of Peoria, Illinois. The club president suggested white canes with red tips as a tool to help those with visual impairments. The idea caught on as a way to grow their independence and also as a way to create awareness among the public.

The Foley Lions Club in central Minnesota is raising awareness about vision via this bench in Lion’s Park. There’s also a lion’s head drinking fountain in the park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)

Awareness is assuredly a goal of the Lions. The informational sheet from John quotes two subdivisions of Minnesota state law #169.202 regarding white cane usage and how those operating motor vehicles must stop and yield to those carrying white or metallic canes. That seems common sense. But sometimes common sense is elusive.

A banner on the MSAB campus shows pride in the school mascot. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2024)

I appreciate the efforts of the Faribault Lions, especially when it comes to vision and hearing. They are determined to raise awareness, offer financial and other support, and make a difference for those of us who have vision and hearing impairments. Mine are manageable. I can see. And I can hear, even though I have profound hearing loss in my right ear (due to sudden sensory hearing loss from a virus).

Outside the M Health Fairview Eye Clinic. Inside the clinic, donors names are listed on a wall, including some I recognized as from Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2023)

It’s humbling to sit in the packed waiting room of a specialty clinic like M Health Fairview Eye Clinic on the campus of the University of Minnesota and see young children with white canes. That puts my vision issues in perspective. In every situation, opportunities exist to learn and to grow empathy. I did and I have. And now, thanks to Faribault Lion John Battles, I have grown my understanding of White Cane Awareness Day and how much my community cares.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Lions Club serves Faribault community at 52nd annual Super Bowl breakfast February 2, 2018

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL are getting lots of media attention these days as host cities of Super Bowl LII and related events. That’s to be expected. I’m grateful for that exposure, as long as Minnesotans aren’t portrayed as characters right off the set of Fargo. (Ahem, Minneapolis-based Surly Brewing.) Sure we draw out the vowel “o,” but we don’t talk with exaggerated accents. Not even in Greater Minnesota.

I digress.

I pulled this breakfast promo from the Faribault Lions club Facebook page.

 

Super Bowl LII in Minnesota reaches beyond the Twin Cities metro. There’s Browerville in central Minnesota, home to extended family of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. And then there’s Faribault, about an hour south of U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis and home to a 52-year Super Bowl tradition—the annual Lions Club Super Sunday Pancake & Sausage Feed. Yes, you read that right. Fifty-two years.

 

The featured foods, pancakes and sausage. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

 

Sunday from 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., the Lions will serve this all-you-can-eat Super Bowl Day breakfast to hundreds at the local Eagles Club in my community. I’ve attended once or twice. I’m not a fan of pancakes. But I am a fan of this Lions Club endeavor to raise monies for local causes such as the Basic Blessings Backpack Program, scholarships, dictionaries for local third graders and more.

 

Posted in the dining area at the 2015 breakfast. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

 

With a club motto of “We Serve,” the Lions are also collecting used prescription eyeglasses and hearing aids to redistribute to those in need. And, for the first time, they are offering a free vision screening to children ages six months to six years through Lions Kidsight USA, a community eye screening endorsed by Lions Club International. The focus on vision and hearing is especially fitting for Faribault, home to the Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and for the Blind.

 

Making pancakes at the 2015 breakfast. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

 

Serving up pancakes and sausage. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

 

Lions Club member Otto serves sausages. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

 

I love how Faribault Lions members and others, year after year after year, for 52 consecutive years, have sold tickets, flipped pancakes, fried sausages and more on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s dedication. That’s commitment. They showcase the best of Minnesota as a place of kind, caring and compassionate people, from rural to metro.

© Copyright 2018 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Forty-nine years of serving others at Faribault Lions Club Super Bowl Pancake Breakfast February 2, 2015

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Bob Cross mixes pancake batter following his secret recipe.

Bob Cross mixes pancake batter following his secret recipe.

SNUGGED IN THE BACK of the Faribault Eagles Club kitchen, around the corner from griddles and a serving line, Bob Cross mixed pancake batter Sunday morning.

Signs advertise the event and thank sponsors.

Signs advertise the event and thank sponsors.

I expected him to shoo me away, to hesitate at sharing the secret recipe for pancakes prepared at the Faribault Lions Club 49th annual all-you-can-eat Super Bowl Pancake and Sausage Breakfast.

The secret ingredient: cake donut mix.

The secret ingredient: cake donut mix.

But Bob welcomed my questions, allowed me to take photos. And although I didn’t get the precise recipe, I have a pretty good idea now what goes into these tasty pancakes. Eggs. Oil. Water or milk (sorry, I can’t recall which). And, the secret ingredient—cake donut mix, as in a pre-mixed combination of flour, sugar, salt, whey and more used in making cake donuts. The cake donut mix adds a touch of sweetness to the pancakes, Bob says.

Ten years ago this volunteer took over pancake batter prep duties from his father-in-law, Bill Harkins. Bill’s recipe has been tweaked and perfected, and legend has it that only Bob now knows the exact recipe.

An overview of a section of the spacious dining area.

An overview of a section of the spacious dining area.

He’s obviously got it right based on number of diners. When I checked with ticket sellers at 12:15 p.m., an hour before closing, 750 people had already gone through the line in 4.75 hours.

The featured foods, pancakes and sausage.

The featured foods, pancakes and sausage.

That’s a lot of pancakes. And we’re talking near dinner plate-sized pancakes.

The volunteer on the right makes pancakes for the first time at the breakfast.

The volunteer on the left makes pancakes for the first time at the breakfast.

But this breakfast is about more than the food. It’s about continuing a 49-year Faribault Lions Club tradition. It’s about seasoned pancake breakfast volunteers frying pancakes alongside newbies. It’s about high school students serving beverages and clearing tables. As cliché as it sounds, the Lions and crew work like a well-oiled machine.

Serving up pancakes and sausage.

Serving up pancakes and sausage.

This breakfast is about working together and dining together.

One of the beneficiaries: Basic Blessings Backpack Program.

One of the beneficiaries: the Basic Blessings Backpack Program.

It’s about giving back to the community with proceeds helping those in need.

Lions Club member Otto serves sausages.

Lions Club member Otto serves sausages.

It’s about service to others, following the Lions Club motto, “We Serve.”

Friends dine together.

Friends dine together.

As I wandered about taking photos, I saw a lot of people I knew, but also many I didn’t. I felt a sense of community in my city of some 23,000, a connection that comes from living in the same geographical area and from participating in a time-honored tradition.

A snippet of the long list of volunteers.

A snippet of the long list of volunteers.

Forty-nine years. That’s a long time for one organization to continue with a breakfast.

One couple brought their own pure maple syrup to pour onto the Lions Club pancakes.

One couple brought their own pure maple syrup to pour onto the Lions Club pancakes.

This is the first year I’ve attended. I don’t especially like pancakes. But I ate three Sunday morning, proof that the Lion’s Club pancakes are deserving of their long-standing praise.

A visually-impaired volunteer reads a book in Braille while working at the breakfast. The Faribault Lions have funded many projects for the visually-impaired and were collecting used eyeglasses at the breakfast.

A visually-impaired volunteer reads a book in Braille while working at the breakfast. The Faribault Lions have funded many projects for the visually-impaired and were collecting used eyeglasses at the breakfast.

Tradition. Secret recipe. A community coming together. Lions serving.

The ticket sellers' cheat sheet.

The ticket sellers’ cheat sheet.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the Lions Club Pancake and Sausage Breakfast scores as a big win in Faribault. For forty-nine years.

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

46 years of serving pancakes for a cause on Super Bowl Sunday February 2, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:10 AM
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THEY’RE SYNONYMOUS in Faribault—the Super Bowl and pancakes.

For 46 years, the Faribault Lions Club has sponsored a pancake and sausage breakfast on Super Bowl Sunday, raising funds to support projects that adhere to the club motto: “We serve.”

Let me repeat that. Forty-six years. Wow. You have to admire an organization so committed to helping others. The Faribault Lions expect to feed 1,200 – 1,500 and raise $5,000 at their Super Bowl Pancake Breakfast.

Now I’m no fan of pancakes (ranking them right alongside liver) or of football, but I may have to eat pancakes this Sunday simply to support a worthy cause. I’ll skip the football except for the commercials.

The Faribault Lions provide funding for college scholarships, dictionaries for third graders, food for children in need, and assistance for the visual and hearing impaired, among other projects.

While all are worthy causes, the club’s effort on Sunday to collect used prescription eyeglasses and hearing aids and to raise dollars to assist those with visual and hearing impairments resonates with me.

I’ve worn glasses since age four, after undergoing surgery to correct crossed eyes. Without that surgery, I would have gone blind in my “lazy eye.” I value my vision and know that without corrective lenses, I would struggle to see.

Lions Club International’s commitment to helping those with vision issues stretches back to 1925 when Helen Keller presented this challenge during a speech to the Lions:

Will you not help me hasten the day when there shall be no preventable blindness; no little deaf, blind child untaught; no blind man or woman unaided? I appeal to you Lions, you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind. Will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in this crusade against darkness?

And so with that challenge, the Lions became “Knights of the Blind,” collecting and distributing prescription eyeglasses through clinics world-wide. Can you imagine the joy of giving someone the gift of sight?

I just rummaged through a dresser drawer and found four eyeglasses that I can donate to the Faribault Lions Club on Sunday.

The prescription eyeglasses I'm donating.

Faribault Lions have also connected with the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind in Faribault, supporting numerous projects there, including an apartment to teach independent living skills.

My community is home to the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, perhaps another reason local Lions take such a strong interest in helping those who are hearing impaired.

I am among those with a hearing impairment having lost 70 percent of the hearing in my right ear last March in an episode defined as “sudden sensory hearing loss.” (Click here to read about that.) Unfortunately, a hearing aid will not help with this type of near-deafness.

But for most who suffer from a hearing impairment, a hearing aid will help. The Lions are committed to collecting used hearing aids for distribution to those in need. Can you imagine the joy of giving the gift of hearing?

It’s impressive, isn’t it, how so many worthy causes have evolved from two powerful words: “We serve.”

FYI: The Faribault Lions Club Super Bowl Pancake Breakfast will be held from 7:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, February 5, at the Eagles Club, 2027 Grant Street Northwest. Cost is $6 for adults and $4 for those 12 and under.

The Lions are also selling Super Bowl snacks—8-ounce packages of nuts for $5 – $6—to raise monies for their Backpack Blessings Program which provides local children in need with food for the weekends.

It should not go without stating here that many local businesses and volunteers (within and outside of the Faribault Lions Club) contribute to the annual Super Bowl breakfast.

Bring your used prescription eyeglasses and hearing aids, your money and your appetite on Sunday to participate in the “We serve” endeavor.

Click here to learn more about the Faribault Lions Club.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling