Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

What Minnesotans do on a balmy winter day January 20, 2014

SUNDAY BROUGHT A WELCOME change in weather with an abundance of sunshine and temps reaching nearly 40 degrees Fahrenheit here in southeastern Minnesota.

It was a glorious day.

Following a country road Sunday afternoon somewhere northwest of Faribault.

Following a country road Sunday afternoon somewhere northwest of Faribault.

So after my husband had finished repairing a friend’s dad’s snowblower, we set out on a Sunday afternoon drive along back country roads northwest of Faribault. Oh, how I love a drive in the country, camera in hand, shooting scenes from the passenger side of the car.

And, yes, prior to departure I cleaned the salt-grimed car windows, a futile effort as the windshield was soon spotted with road spray. Temps weren’t quite warm enough to roll down the front passenger side window to take photos. No, we can’t always stop for photo ops or we would never get anywhere.

Anywhere was our destination. We both are suffering from cabin fever, the trapped feeling that afflicts Minnesotans when the winter gets too cold and too snowy for too long. Such is this winter. Today, after a one-day reprieve, we are sliding back into the deep freeze.

But we had yesterday, a gloriously warm and sunny Sunday. For that I am grateful.

Sunday proved a perfect day for this family to ride their horses.

Sunday proved a perfect day for this family to ride their horses.

These Minnesotans preferred driving their snowmobiles in the ditch along a Rice County Road.

These Minnesotans snowmobiled in the ditch along a Rice County Road.

A few miles further north, other snowmobilers

A few miles further north, other snowmobilers parked next to the old school in Millersburg and walked across the street to Boonie’s Bar & Grill.

While some played, others worked. This guy prepares to saw wood along a rural roadway.

While some played, others worked. This guy prepares to saw wood along a rural roadway.

Back in Faribault, another man cut wood.

Back in Faribault, another man cut wood.

And we ended our drive with a walk along the snowy trails at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.

And we ended our drive with a walk along the snowy trails at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.

Fresh tracks showed us that others snowshoed and skied through the nature center.

Fresh tracks showed us that others snowshoed and skied through the nature center.

© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The Benson Family Singers: “To you, O Lord, I will make music” January 19, 2014

Benson Family Singers Rachelle, left,

The Benson Family Singers Rachelle, left, Aaron, Pete and David. Luke is also a member of the group, but did not perform in this song.

MIXING HUMOR AND SERIOUSNESS with music ranging from foot-stomping bluegrass to gospel, barbershop style and even rap, The Benson Family Singers of Faribault presented a wholesome family concert Saturday evening that has me singing their praises.

Posted on the bulletin board inside the church entry.

Posted on the bulletin board inside the church entry.

This family—Pete and Rachelle and sons David, 13; Aaron, 11; and Luke, 9—performed at St. Luke’s Church, Faribault, to raise awareness and funds for the Pregnancy Options LifeCare Center. Paul, 2, has yet to make his stage debut.

But if he’s anything like his brothers and parents, his musical talents, enthusiasm and confidence will shine during shows at churches, festivals and elsewhere.

The family will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 1, at the Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault, in what is billed as “the perfect family entertainment experience.” That it should be.

In today’s world, it’s truly refreshing to listen to musicians like the Bensons. You needn’t worry that they’ll say or sing anything remotely offensive. They are genuine, Christ-loving and family-focused with their music as their family ministry.

Their purpose, says Pete, is “preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever we go. It’s the most important thing we can do in this life.”

So, in a break between songs, this father of four sons shared his faith with the audience at St. Luke’s.

The family balances its serious message with humor as Luke role-played Lars and Pete his counterpart, Ole, in several Norwegian jokes. Not too worry. All of their jokes are kid-friendly funny.

A rapt audience at St. Luke's.

A rapt audience at St. Luke’s.

The Bensons definitely reach out to kids with Sunday School songs like “This Little Light of Mine” and other selections that have young and old alike clapping in time to the music. Think a bluegrass tune from The Andy Griffith Show.

Listening to their barbershop style a cappella singing is an absolute auditory pleasure.

I especially enjoyed the old familiar hymns such as “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

The Benson "boys" presented a rap version of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

The Benson “boys” present a rap version of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”

But, by far, the hit of the evening for me, and I expect many in the audience, were the family’s numerous versions of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” The family pulled out barbershop hats, sunglasses and other props to sing “Leaning” in styles from Johann Sebastian Bach to barbershop to doo-wop, Beach Boys, “clean rap” and music from the hills of Tennessee or Kentucky.

It felt good to laugh.

And it felt good, in the closing song, to join this talented family in singing the chorus of “There Is Power in the Blood.”

FYI: To learn more about the Benson Family Singers, click here. To learn more about their upcoming performance at the Paradise Center for the Arts, click here.

Information about the Pregnancy Options LifeCare Center was available at the concert.

Information about the Pregnancy Options LifeCare Center was available at the concert.

For info about the Pregnancy Options LifeCare Center, a pro-life organization dedicated to providing physical, emotional, social support and assistance to women by empowering them to make healthy, life-affirming choices, click here.

© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hunkering down during Minnesota’s extreme cold January 7, 2014

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FOX 9 morning news on Monday shows temps and windchiills predicted for Monday evening.

FOX 9 morning news on Monday shows temps and windchills predicted for Monday evening in the Twin Cities.

I’M ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES. I don’t have to venture outside, into the frigid cold which is gripping Minnesota and many other parts of the country.

Rather, I can hunker down inside, working from my home office.

When I arose Monday morning and switched on the radio, the temperature registered at a negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of 47 degrees below zero. That’s cold, people, darned cold.

Starting a cold winter morning off with a bowl of banana-laced oatmeal.

Starting a cold winter morning off with a bowl of banana-laced oatmeal.

The television weatherman reported the same brutal temps before I turned off the TV and enjoyed my usual morning bowl of oatmeal.

We have an abundance of fleece and wool throws at the ready.

I have an abundance of fleece and wool throws at the ready.

On mornings like this, the house feels colder than normal. So I’ll notch up the thermostat a degree, to 68, and grab a fleece throw from the couch to toss across my lap while I write.

A cup of instant cappuccino set atop a stash of books.

A cup of instant cappuccino to kickstart me on an exceptionally cold winter morning.

And although I’m not a big coffee drinker, I typically have a single mug of instant French vanilla cappuccino each morning. I can almost hear all of you serious coffee drinkers out there cringing at the idea of me drinking instant coffee.

Every January the regional library system implements its reading incentive, appropriately named "Hot Reads for Cold Nights." My mom gave me this mug, which she got from her library system.

Every January the regional library system implements its reading incentive, appropriately named “Hot Reads for Cold Nights.” My mom gave me this mug, which she got from her library system. That’s my stash of books and magazines from the library.

Saturday I stopped at the local library to stock up on books and magazines, but didn’t read much until Monday evening as I attended a wedding on Saturday and then Sunday evening was riveted to the two-hour premiere of Downton Abbey. Much to my husband’s dismay, I recently discovered this Public Broadcasting Service Masterpiece Theatre show.

Ice rings created by my husband and in the backyard.

Ice rings created by my husband and now in the backyard.

My spouse entertained himself on Sunday by watching the chilly football game in Green Bay and later making ice candle holders. He froze water in ice cream buckets on our patio. I darted outside Monday morning to view and photograph his ice art.

The furnace vents into my backyard.

The furnace vents through a pipe into my backyard.

And then I photographed the exhaust venting from the furnace, enveloping the lawn chairs in a visual contrast of seasons.

A reminder that, yes, spring will come and this fern will once again grace my backyard.

A reminder that, yes, spring will come and this fern will once again grace my backyard.

Back indoors, I aimed my camera lens at a fern (temporarily displaced by the Christmas tree) and at a pineapple on my kitchen counter.

The closest I am to anything tropical.

The closest I am to anything tropical.

If you live in Minnesota, you understand why I photographed both. Right?

© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Dreading our next Arctic blast here in Minnesota January 3, 2014

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I’VE EVOLVED INTO A WINTER weather wimp. Truly.

I photographed these winter enthusiasts heading up the hill to the park to go sledding.

I photographed these winter enthusiasts across the street from my home a few days ago as they headed up the hill to the park to go sledding. And, yes, I shot this image through a window so I didn’t have to step outside.

There was a time, many decades ago, when I actually thrilled in snow and cold—tunneling into snowbanks, building snow forts, packing snowballs, sledding, running up and down the mounds of snow Dad pushed from the driveway and farmyard into make-believe mountains.

I role-played a Canadian Mountie driving a dogsled across those mountains and across rock-hard snowdrifts.

I battled against my brothers with stockpiled snowballs.

I gripped the baler twine handle of the old runner sled as I raced across the yard.

I loved to skate upon patches of ice in the field or at the ice pond in town.

Those were the days.

Later, when I had my own kids, I played outside in the snow with them, slid down the hill at the nearby park, even ice skated occasionally and once snowshoed with my family at the local nature center.

On New Year’s Day, I suggested to my husband that we take a walk at River Bend Nature Center. But then I stepped outside to shake out a rug.

“Uh, I’ve changed my mind about that walk,” I said. “It’s too cold.” Temps were in the sub-zero to slightly above zero Fahrenheit range. Too cold. Way too cold.

The low temp in Embarrass, 90 miles north of Duluth on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, plunged to 46 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on Thursday. That’s cold. Way too cold.

Winter no longer appeals to me. Rather, it rates as mostly an unpleasant season to endure with snow to shovel, icy/snowy surfaces to traverse and travel, and frigid cold to withstand, although beauty does exist in a snowy landscape.

The upcoming days will surely test my winter endurance. The National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, Minnesota, is forecasting the following:

SOME OF THE COLDEST WEATHER IN THE PAST 20 YEARS IS EXPECTED ON
SUNDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR 40 TO 60
DEGREE BELOW ZERO WIND CHILLS. WIND CHILL WARNINGS APPEAR VERY
LIKELY TO BE NEEDED.

Now doesn’t that sound fabulous?

© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Words to ponder upon beginning the new year December 31, 2013

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Sign at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church

THIS MESSAGE GRABBED my attention recently at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church, Faribault, Minnesota.

Definitely words to ponder as 2013 draws to a close and we look ahead, with hopefulness and resolution, to the new year.

What opportunities will you seize in 2014?

Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The ever-present shepherd December 29, 2013

Snow shovels in church

EVEN WHEN PASTURES are not green, the Lord stands steadfast as our shepherd.

Pastures currently are not green, in the literal sense, here in Minnesota, although on Saturday we enjoyed a balmy 46 degrees.

Today we’ve been thrust back into winter’s hold, with an Arctic air mass gripping the state. Air temps are hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit with the windchill at minus 25 –  minus 34 degrees F.

Consider that yesterday I didn’t wear a coat; my long-sleeved flannel shirt proved sufficient to keep me warm while outdoors.

This morning I pulled a sweater over my shirt and bundled into my wool coat, scarf and gloves to head out for church services.

What a difference between yesterday and today.

Just like our lives. One day brings comfortable walking through green and sunny pastures. The next day brings challenges along a cold and snowy path.

No matter the route, I am assured that the Lord is my shepherd, there to guide me on this journey through life.

He gives me the tools—prayer, loving family and friends, His promises and love, and more—to help me clear and navigate the path when the going gets rough.

What a blessing to have the assurance of His presence.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Photo taken at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church, Faribault, Minnesota

 

Wishing you a blessed Christmas December 25, 2013

ATTENDING CHURCH SERVICES has always been a part of my Christmas time celebration for it is Christ’s birth I focus on today.

I recently photographed these scenes at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church, an historic Faribault, Minnesota, church:

Christmas, Fourth Ave UMC sanctuary

 While the sanctuary stood empty, I imagined the pews packed with worshipers,

Christmas, sanctuary Nativity

the baby Jesus already laid in the manger,

Christmas, cross stitch

the anticipation of children restless with excitement.

Christmas, Nativity

What a joyful time.

Christmas, stairway Nativity

May the blessings of peace, happiness and joy be yours today and in the year ahead, for unto us a Saviour is born, Christ the Lord.

Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Christmas trees past December 23, 2013

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Christmas tree lot in Faribault

FOR MANY A HOLIDAY SEASON, this unpretentious Christmas tree lot has operated at the intersection of busy Second Avenue Northwest and Minnesota Highway 3 near the edge of Faribault.

I’ve never shopped for a tree here. But, one of these holiday seasons, instead of passing by, I need to stop and ask a few questions, take a few photos, learn the history of this place and perhaps pick out a tree.

Our family Christmas tree always sat on the end of the kitchen table, as shown in this Christmas 1964 photo.  That's me in the red jumper with four of my five siblings.

Our family Christmas tree always sat on the end of the kitchen table, as shown in this Christmas 1964 photo. That’s me in the red jumper with four of my five siblings.

The lot reminds me of childhood Christmases, when my family would choose a short-in-stature, short-needled Christmas tree at the local grocery store.

To this day, I prefer a Charlie Brown type tree to one that’s tall, full and perfectly-branched.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A photo essay: Blessings abound at Community Christmas Dinner in Faribault December 16, 2013

Be present at our table, Lord, be here and everywhere adored, These mercies bless, and grant that we may feast in fellowship with Thee.

Guests filed through the serving line at the free Community Christmas dinner.

Guests file through the serving line at the free Community Christmas dinner.

PERHAPS THEY NOTICED the words above the church basement kitchen window, perhaps they didn’t. But the hundreds of diners who filed through the serving line at the annual Community Christmas Dinner at Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church in Faribault on Sunday, were blessed…

Christmas dinner, servers

…by the men and women and youth who served them

Christmas dinner, plated food

a delicious meal

Christmas dinner, Mike and Sue

in the wonderful company of folks like Mike and Sue, high school sweethearts who met at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind in Faribault and who have been married nearly 31 years.

Christmas dinner, chopping meat note

Diners were blessed by organized volunteers who leave detailed notes so that this dinner flows seemingly flawlessly.

Christmas dinner, kitchen crew

They were blessed, too, with a hardworking kitchen crew that works behind the scenes preparing food, washing dishes and kettles, etc.,

Christmas dinner, apron

and by team members with a sense of humor (as written on this volunteer’s apron).

Christmas dinner, peace on earth banner

Uplifting basement banners offer words of blessing.

Christmas dinner, cake directions

Sweet blessings come in cakes baked, per these special instructions and brought to the church basement,

Christmas dinner, frosting cake

and then frosted with whipped topping and sprinkled with colored sugar,

Christmas dinner, Madeline with cake

before Madeline and others serve the Christmas cake, the same dessert that’s served every year at the Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner, diners

Blessings come in the company of others in the warmth of this church basement on a cold December day in Minnesota.

Christmas dinner, women waiting after

These waiting women were blessed, too, by a driver bringing the vehicle close to the door for their ride home.

Christmas dinner, church exterior

The members of the historic 1915 Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church

Christmas dinner, sign

bless the community of Faribault each December by opening church doors for the annual Community Christmas Dinner.

Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

In Faribault: The blessings of a Community Christmas Dinner December 13, 2013

One of the principal rules of religion is to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since he is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve him in our neighbor; which he receives as if done to himself in person, standing visibly before us.—  John Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist movement

A street-side sign welcomes diners to the free Community Christmas dinner.

A street-side sign welcomes diners to the 2012 free Community Christmas Dinner. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

IT’S NOT LIKE I NEED a free meal. There’s plenty of food in my cupboards, refrigerator and freezer.

But, for the past several years, I’ve eaten at the Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church, Faribault, Community Christmas Dinner.

For me, dining in the basement of this 1915 church just weeks before Christmas is about being part of my community—connecting with friends and strangers in the spirit of neighborliness and holiday good will.

A sampling of the volunteer crew it takes to put on the Christmas dinner.

A sampling of the volunteer crew which puts on the Christmas dinner. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2012.

There’s something about partaking in a community meal, prepared and served by a crew of dedicated volunteers, that makes me feel embraced and cherished.

My meal, minus the cranberries, bread and cake which were also served.

My meal, minus the cranberries, bread and cake which were also served. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2012.

I appreciate the smiles of servers dishing turkey and meatballs, mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans onto hefty plates that have graced this church basement through many an occasion. In my plate, I feel the weight of grief and joy, of comfort and celebration.

Volunteers expected to serve around 225 diners at the free Community Christmas Dinner. A free will offering could be given.

Volunteers served around 225 diners at the free Community Christmas Dinner in 2012. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2012.

In the closeness of back-to-back folding chairs pulled to tables draped with red and green plastic tablecloths and topped with festive poinsettias, I engage in warm conversation.

It’s all about connecting here, through words and food.

The din of a church basement is unequaled—rise and fall of voices, clatter of dishes and kettles, occasional outbursts of laughter.

To be there nourishes more than my body. This Community Christmas Dinner also feeds my soul and reaffirms for me that I am blessed to call Faribault home.

And another worker handed out Christmas cake.

The meal always ends with the serving of Christmas cake.

FYI: The Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church Community Christmas Dinner will be served from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 15, in the church basement at 219 Fourth Avenue Northwest, Faribault. Take-out meals will be available between 10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Free will offerings are accepted with those donations going back to the community.

To read my post about last year’s dinner, click here.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling