Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Minnesota’s church dinner season underway August 2, 2013

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TIS THE SEASON of church dinners.

Diners dish up at last year's fall dinner at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown.

Diners dish up at the 2011 dinner at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown.

Although I’ve never partaken in the one at The Church of the Nativity in Cleveland, I’ve attended plenty of others in southern Minnesota. Church dinner food is typically homemade, the draw for me, along with the fellowship.

If I wasn’t already busy this Sunday, August 4, I’d head west to Cleveland, which sits along State Highway 99 six miles east of St. Peter, to this Catholic church dinner and festival.

The beautiful chicken dinner sign I spotted along Minnesota Highway 99 on the edge of Cleveland.

The beautiful chicken dinner sign I spotted along Minnesota Highway 99 on the edge of Cleveland.

Since I can’t review the food, I’ll award these dinner promoters five stars for creative and eye-catching roadside signage.

To learn more about the dinner, I checked out the church website (click here) where the meal is tagged as “Men’s Chicken Dinner & Parish Festival.” Now I’m certain women and children are welcome. I assume the “men’s dinner” means the men are cooking the advertised “fabulous broasted chicken.”

In addition, baked potatoes, creamy cucumbers, baked beans, pie and beverages will be served. Homemade pie. The best.

Food will be served from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Mass starts at 8:30 a.m.

My meal at last year's Trinity dinner, minus the bread and cranberries. I had cake for dessert, too.

My food plated at the annual Trinity North Morristown church dinner.

Besides food, the festival offers your usual games, beer garden (this was an initial surprise for me, a Lutheran, to discover beer at a church event) and silent auction. The Church of the Nativity also has an antique car show and a coffee bar, neither of which I’ve seen at a parish fest.

Next year this event is going on my list of must-attend church festivals.

FYI: I’d recommend attending these three church dinners:

Click here to read about the Veseli Ho-Down, Most Holy Trinity’s annual parish festival and dinner. This event is held in late August. Great food, music, games and more.

Click here to read about the annual church dinner at Trinity Lutheran Church, rural North Morristown. The dinner is served in mid-October in the church basement. Excellent, excellent food.

Click here to read about the Strawberry Festival held each June at Moland Lutheran Church, rural Kenyon.

Also, check out the website, Church Cuisine of Minnesota, for stories and photos of other church dinners.

HAVE YOU ATTENDED an outstanding church dinner and/or festival? if so please share in a comment to this post.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Walnut Grove mural bridges cultures July 18, 2013

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Rochester artist Greg Wimmer was commissioned to paint this mural last summer in downtown Walnut Grove.

Rochester artist Greg Wimmer was commissioned to paint this mural last summer in downtown Walnut Grove.

MY NEPHEW, ADAM KLETSCHER, who lives and teaches in Walnut Grove, told me to check out the new mural downtown when I recently visited this southwestern Minnesota community. So, after leaving the Family Festival during the town’s annual celebration of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books, I stopped to photograph the 20-foot by 78-foot painting on the east side of Bubai Foods along Main Street.

Being a bit rushed, I failed to photograph the front of the building housing a combination Asian and American food market. And I didn’t have time to go inside and ask questions.

Later I connected with Terry Yang, who moved to Walnut Grove in 2001 from St. Paul, opened the Asian portion of Bubai Foods in 2003 and purchased the American foods side in 2005.

Yang is among the estimated 30 percent of Walnut Grove’s 870 residents of Hmong ethnicity. The Hmong first came to this rural area in 2000, Yang says, to settle in a quiet small town with affordable housing (“We don’t have to lock our houses or cars here,” he says) in a landscape similar to their native Laos.

Walnut Grove is now home to retired Hmong and to young people employed mostly at factories in nearby Marshall, Wabasso and Worthington.

The mural in progress. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

The mural in progress. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

It is that infusion of Laotian immigrants that figured in to the design of the community-supported mural painted last summer by Greg Wimmer of Rochester based Wimmer Illustration and Design with assistance from Adrienne Lobl. Mural sponsors included individuals, local businesses and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.

This snippet of the mural shows Laura Ingalls Wilder as a teacher next to a Hmong woman. To the left is the log bridge spanning Plum Creek, where the Ingalls family lived in a dug out.

This snippet of the mural shows Laura Ingalls Wilder as a teacher standing next to a Hmong woman. To the left is the log bridge spanning Plum Creek, where the Ingalls family lived in a sod house.

The painting, Yang says, shows the similarities between Laos and Walnut Grove and also melds the new Hmong culture and the pioneer history of this Minnesota community. For example, Laura Ingalls and a Hmong woman stand side by side, one in a simple lace-collared prairie dress, the other in intricate and colorful traditional celebratory Hmong attire reserved for special occasions like weddings and New Year’s celebrations.

Wimmer worked with the Hmong community, integrating many of their suggestions in to the design. A log bridge spanning Plum Creek, part of an original Ingalls family mural here which had faded and was in need of repair, was incorporated in to the new work and represents the bridging of two cultures, according to the artist.

“My personal opinion is that it (the mural) makes a statement about the changes in the community without saying a word,” Wimmer says.

In the foreground a Hmong man plays a bamboo flute near a rice field as his daughter carries a basket. In the background, a pioneer busts sod with a an ox and a plow.

In the foreground, left, a Hmong man plays a bamboo flute near a rice field as his daughter carries a basket. In the background, a pioneer busts sod with an ox and a plow.

Yang also references the connections between the two cultures via two farming scenes—of a pioneer man plowing a Minnesota field with an ox, similar to the water buffalo that work the land in Laos, and of a Hmong family near a rice field and shown with a basket for carrying harvested crops from farm to village.

Native prairie plants, like black-eyed Susan and coneflowers, are part of the painting.

Native prairie plants, like black-eyed Susan and coneflowers, are part of the painting.

One of the draws to Walnut Grove, Yang says, is the land available for Hmong to plant gardens. Laotian natives, like native Walnut Grove area residents, are connected to the land.

Yang has always felt welcome in southwestern Minnesota and appreciates the mural showcasing the changes in his community, which now includes, he says, “so many races.”

Girls in traditional Hmong dress attended the mural dedication last year.

Girls in traditional Hmong dress attended the mural dedication last year. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

FYI: Hmong dancers will be among entertainers at the Family Festival from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. this Saturday, July 20, at the Walnut Grove City Park as part of the festivities celebrating the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Click here to see the festival schedule.

And click here for more information about other events at the annual celebration.

BONUS PHOTOS:

Greg Wimmer painted this mural in nearby Marshall. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

Greg Wimmer painted this mural in nearby Marshall. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

And Wimmer painted this mural in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

And Wimmer painted this mural in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo courtesy of Greg Wimmer.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Serving up ice cream & nostalgia at The Whippy Dip July 9, 2013

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WITH THE WEATHER HOT as Hades, nothing beats an ice cream treat.

The Whippy Dip sign close-up

And it’s especially delicious served with a scoop of nostalgia, like that offered at The Whippy Dip in Decorah, Iowa. Don’t you just love that name? Whippy. Dip.

The Whippy Dip, overview

On a recent stop at this popular walk-up/drive-up ice cream/fast food stand, my husband waited in line to order a chocolate twist cone for me and a blueberry sundae for himself while I snapped a few photos.

The Whippy Dip, ice cream

I was impressed with the generous size of the $1.50 small cone, but soon realized my error in choosing a cone on a hot day. Picture chocolate ice cream dripping onto your fingers. Shoulda had the sundae or maybe the tornado or…

Great spot, the Whippy Dip.

What’s your favorite home-grown place to stop for an ice cream treat? And what do you order?

FYI: Look for more stories from Decorah and other northeastern Iowa communities which my husband and I visited last week while vacationing. Yes, this Minnesotan is admitting that she vacationed in Iowa. And loved it.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Why I love church festivals like the one at Moland Lutheran June 25, 2013

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Diners flocked to Moland Lutheran Church on Sunday for the congregation's annual strawberry festival in the church basement.

Diners flocked to Moland Lutheran Church on Sunday for the congregation’s annual strawberry festival in the church basement.

OH, THE PEOPLE you meet in church basements…

Moland Lutheran Church southwest of Kenyon.

Moland Lutheran Church southwest of Kenyon.

Like 90-year-old Georgia Vincent, nee Aase, who was born a mile south of Moland Lutheran Church, was baptized in this rural Kenyon parish and today drives 25 miles from Steele Center every Sunday morning for worship services.

She’ll tell you that her great grandparents came from Norway and that her father wanted a boy, whom he would name George. He didn’t get his boy.

Georgia eventually moved away to the Twin Cities and married. Her husband died on her 48th birthday, so, after 35 years she returned to the area, settling in Steele Center to raise her young daughter.

Georgia Vincent wipes down trays.

Georgia Vincent wipes down trays.

On this Sunday afternoon, Georgia was stationed in a corner of the church basement, washing trays during Moland’s annual strawberry festival. She did so with a smile, happy to contribute to an event where she once served food to diners. At age 90, she leaves that task to the younger folks.

Georgia, at work.

Georgia, at work.

Next year Georgia claims she will retire from helping at the festival.

I don’t believe her.

AND NOW, ON TO MORE PHOTOS from that strawberry festival:

Volunteers guide motorists into parking spaces outside the country church.

Volunteers guide motorists into parking spaces outside the country church.

First stop: the bake sale inside the church entry. My husband purchased caramel rolls.

First stop: the bake sale inside the church entry. My husband purchased caramel rolls.

Shopping at the bake sale.

Shopping at the bake sale.

Routing past retired farmer and head counter George Derscheid, stationed near Georgia.

Routing past retired farmer and head counter George Derscheid, stationed near Georgia in the church basement.

George's tally sheet. George pointed out a spot of skin cancer on his hand, said, he's dealt with bone cancer and now skin cancer. He's the most optimistic and cheerful person.

George’s tally sheet. He wondered why I wanted to photograph his hands. Because, I said, I like hands and the stories they tell. And then George pointed out a spot of skin cancer on his hand, said he’s dealt with bone cancer and now skin cancer. He’s the most optimistic and friendly person, just like Georgia.

Volunteers dish up hot pork sandwiches from Nerstrand Meats, homemade potato salad, ice cream, angel food cake, strawberries and chocolate cake, whatever you choose.

Volunteers dish up pulled pork sandwiches from Nerstrand Meats, homemade potato salad, ice cream, angel food cake, strawberries and chocolate cake, whatever you choose.

Lots of coffee to go around.

Lots of coffee to go around.

Diners file through the food serving line.

Diners file through the food serving line.

The backs of the folding chairs are labeled with the church name.

The backs of the folding chairs are labeled with the church name and the same strawberry decorations are pulled out every year.

First I ate my pork sandwich and potato salad.

First I ate my pork sandwich, potato salad and pickles.

Then I returned for a generous bowl of ice cream heaped with fresh strawberries. I couldn't eat all of it, so my husband finished off the delicious dessert.

Then I returned for a generous bowl of ice cream heaped with fresh strawberries. I couldn’t eat all of it, so my husband finished off the delicious dessert.

Diners exit the church.

Diners exit Moland Lutheran Church.

I love church festivals. For the food, the fellowship, the friendly folks, the history, the often beautiful setting…

PLEASE CHECK back for additional photos from Moland Lutheran.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Gather with the Norwegians and the Lutherans this weekend in rural Minnesota June 21, 2013

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IF YOU’RE NORWEGIAN (which I’m not), appreciate historic country churches (which I do), rejoice in the preservation of old buildings (which I do) and value worshiping God in a rural setting (which I do), then venture into Monkey Valley this weekend.

If you can’t resist a tasty meal in a church basement (which I can’t), love strawberries (which I do), enjoy good fellowship with the locals (which I do) and delight in a beautiful and historic country church (which I do), drive south of Monkey Valley to Moland on Sunday.

A rear view of the Old Stone Church, a simple structure with three shuttered windows running along each side of the building.

A rear view of the Old Stone Church, a simple structure with three shuttered windows running along each side of the building.

Within miles of each other, two area churches are celebrating this weekend, first with a Norwegian church service in an 1875 limestone church, appropriately called the Old Stone Church and located 2.3 miles south and west of Kenyon along Monkey Valley Road.

A stone's throw from the Old Stone Church, a view of Monkey Valley.

A stone’s throw from the Old Stone Church, a view of Monkey Valley.

The road name alone was enough to draw me to this ethnic worship service three years ago. As one story goes, monkeys escaped here from a traveling circus and fled into the woods. True or not, I’m buying it.

During a worship service filled with music, choir and congregational members sing in Norwegian, "Ja, vi elsker."

During a worship service filled with music, choir and congregational members sing in Norwegian, “Ja, vi elsker.”

To read about the Norwegian worship service I attended in 2010 and to learn more about the Old Stone Church, click here and here and here.

Sunday’s once-a-year worship service begins at 9:30 a.m.

Moland Lutheran Church, a Norwegian Lutheran church south of Kenyon in Steele County, the subject of my post which was Freshly Pressed in July 2010.

Moland Lutheran Church, a Norwegian Lutheran church south of Kenyon in Steele County near Owatonna.

About the time the service wraps up at the Old Stone Church and you’ve finished mingling, you’ll start thinking about lunch, conveniently served at Moland Lutheran Church a few miles to the south and west at 7618 84th Avenue N.E., rural Kenyon, close to where the counties of Rice, Steele, Dodge and Goodhue meet.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Moland folks will serve pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, strawberries with angel food cake and/or ice cream, chocolate cake (if the menu is the same as in 2010) and beverages. As church meals go, I’d highly recommend this one for the food, the hospitality and setting.

Be sure to check out the sanctuary and history of this 1884 country church before leaving. Moland reminds me of the Lutheran church I attended growing up in southwestern Minnesota.

The Moland folks serve a generous amount of strawberries with two scoops of ice cream.

The Moland folks serve a generous amount of strawberries with two scoops of ice cream.

To read my 2010 post on the Moland strawberry festival, click here.

My Moland post, “In Praise of Preserving Country Churches,” was featured in WordPress’ “Freshly Pressed” on July 9, 2010. That’s a huge honor for any blogger, to have his/her work selected as among the best of the day from WordPress blogs world-wide. You can read about that honor by clicking here. Last year I was also featured in WordPress and you can read that post about the Faribault Heritage Days Soapbox Derby by clicking here.

The real honors, though, go to all those men and women out there who preserve country churches and serve all those delicious meals in church basements.

FYI: To read about more church dinners/meals, check out the Faribault-based blog, Church Cuisine of Minnesota, by clicking here.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A wannabe dairy princess June 20, 2013

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The barn where I labored alongside my father while growing up on the southwestern Minnesota prairie. File photo.

The barn where I labored alongside my father and siblings while growing up on the southwestern Minnesota prairie. File photo.

GROWING UP ON A MINNESOTA DAIRY FARM, I’ve always loved dairy products.

Fresh milk from our herd of Holsteins.

Butter and cheese from the bulk truck driver who picked up milk from our farm.

Singing Hills Coffee Shop's delicious maple bacon sundae.

One of my new favorite ice cream treats, a maple bacon sundae from Singing Hills Coffee Shop in Waterville. File photo.

Ice cream from the Schwans man. (My older brother often sneaked the tin can of vanilla ice cream from the freezer and climbed atop the haystack to eat his fill. He failed to remove his spoon, leaving damning evidence connecting him to the ice cream caper. I was too obedient to attempt such thievery.)

Sliced strawberries, cucumbers and Amablu Gorgonzola cheese added to Romaine lettuce made a perfect salad. I topped the salad with lemon poppyseed dressing.

Sliced strawberries, cucumbers and Amablu Gorgonzola cheese added to Romaine lettuce make a perfect salad. I topped the salad with lemon poppyseed dressing. File photo.

My cheese tastes have, thankfully, expanded beyond American and Velveeta, staples of my childhood. I especially favor the blue cheeses made and aged in sandstone caves right here in Faribault and sold under the names Amablu and St. Pete’s Select. If you like blue cheese, this is your cheese.

Cow sculptures outside The Friendly Confines Cheese Shoppe in LeSueur. File photo.

Cow sculptures outside The Friendly Confines Cheese Shoppe in LeSueur. File photo.

I bring up this topic of dairy products because June marks an annual celebration of all things dairy during “June Dairy Month.” This moniker is imprinted upon my brain. I once ran, albeit unsuccessfully, for Redwood County dairy princess.

Krause Feeds & Supplies in Hope advertised the availability of Hope butter and Bongards cheese. File photo.

Krause Feeds & Supplies in Hope advertises the availability of Hope butter and Bongards cheese. File photo.

Steele County, to the south of my Rice County home, is apparently a big dairy county having at one time served as home to more than 20 creameries. One remains, in the unincorporated village of Hope, producing Hope Creamery butter in small batches. The creamy’s organic butter is especially popular in certain Twin Cities metro eateries.

Owatonna, the county seat, once claimed itself to be “The Butter Capital of the World.” That butter capital title will be the subject of an exhibit opening August 1 and running through November 10 at the Steele County History Center in Owatonna. The exhibit will feature the area’s rich dairy history to current day dairy farming in the county. Events will include a roundtable discussion on the dairy industry and, for the kids, butter making and a visit from a real calf.

Notice the cow art on the milkhouse in this image taken this past summer.

Cow art on the milkhouse of my friends Deb and John, who once milked cows in rural Dundas. File photo.

Calves. I love calves. More than any aspect of farming, I loved feeding calves buckets of warm milk replacer or handfuls of pellets. I once named a calf Princess and she became my “pet,” as much as a farm animal can be a pet. Then my older brother—the one who ate ice cream when he wasn’t supposed to—told me one day that my calf had died. I raced upstairs to my bedroom and sobbed and sobbed. Turns out he made up the whole story of Princess’ early demise. She was very much alive.

The vibrant art of Faribault artist Julie Falker of JMF Studio.

The vibrant art of Faribault artist Julie Faklker of JMF Studio. File image.

And so, on this day when I consider June Dairy Month, my mind churns with thoughts of butter and ice cream, of calves and of the dairy princess crown I never wore.

FYI: Faribault area dairy farmers Ron and Diane Wegner are hosting “A Day on the Farm” from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. this Saturday, June 22. Their farm is located just south of Faribault at 25156 Appleton Avenue. The event includes children’s activities, photos with a baby calf and free cheeseburgers, malts and milk. Event sponsors are the Rice County American Dairy Association and the Minnesota Beef Council. The Wegners’ daughter, Kaylee, is the current Rice County dairy princess.

The Redwood County American Dairy Association in my home county of Redwood in southwestern Minnesota is sponsoring a coloring contest for kids and a trivia contest for adults. Click here for details. 

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Dairyland, an old-fashioned drive-in in Fergus Falls June 13, 2013

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I’VE SEEN THIS PLACE BEFORE. I just know I have. On my vintage Candy Land board game. Or in a fairy tale perhaps.

The seasonal Dairyland Drive In opened in 1955.

The seasonal Dairyland Drive In opened in 1955. Although I did not ask, I believe the area to the left is the original drive-in, now used for storage and patio dining.

But I haven’t really. Not until this glorious spring evening have I laid eyes on the Dairyland Drive In in Fergus Falls. Now, here I am, photographing this longtime fast food place in the photographer’s golden hour, thrilling in the pop of red against pink-tinged sky, the flash of headlights signaling the end of a Thursday in this west central Minnesota community.

As close as I got to going inside the drive in. I should have gone inside anyway, just to photograph the interior. Photographer's regrets...

This is as close as I got to going inside the drive in. I should have gone inside anyway, just to photograph the interior. Photographer’s regrets…

If I had even a smidgen of space in my tummy for an ice cream treat, I’d be waiting in line at Dairyland for a hot fudge sundae. But my husband and I have just finished a filling meal of sandwiches and fries at Mabel Murphy’s, across Interstate 94, before touring the town. We are not one bit hungry. Too bad.

A vintage menu is propped outside the restaurant.

A vintage menu is propped outside the restaurant.

So on this visit to Fergus Falls, I must content myself with photographing that sweet gingerbread style building which houses Dairyland, established here in 1955 and now in its 58th year of business.

Pat Connelly

Pat Connelly

Soon co-owner Pat Connelly notices me and walks across the street. He first worked at Dairyland at age fourteen, when he started with slicing onions. He and his wife, Jean, bought the place in 1997 from his brother, Chuck, who bought the business in 1982 from Bert Skogmo.

Up until 2001, Dairyland still had car hops. Now it’s drive-through or dining inside or on the patio.

Just another view of Dairyland, with the parking lot to the right.

Just another view of Dairyland, with the parking lot to the right.

The eatery is still known for its homemade onion rings and for broasted chicken, Pat tells me.

Sandwiches are named after locals and those who worked here. Like the K.C. Ham & Cheese after Kelly Chandler. Or the Borstad Burger.

Pat seems especially proud of all the local teens he’s employed—500-plus through the years. When an elementary-aged girl walks by Dairyland, he greets her, tells me she will be coming with Mrs. Johnson’s class on an end-of-the-year class outing for treats. That’s tradition for most Fergus Falls students.

I can’t help but wonder at the memories they’ll cherish of Dairyland… and pass along someday to the next generation.

HAVE YOU EATEN at Dairyland Drive In in Fergus Falls? If so, let’s hear your thoughts. If not, tell us about a similar old-fashioned drive-in you’d recommend. Note that my husband and I were in Fergus Falls in mid May, when these photos were taken and I met Pat Connelly.

© Copyright 2103 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Sweet finds in Montgomery, Part V: Pizza and Big Honza April 15, 2013

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Pizzeria 201 is located at 201 First Street South in downtown Montgomery.

Pizzeria 201, right, is located at 201 First Street South in downtown Montgomery.

SETTLED INTO A FRONT corner booth at Pizzeria 201 in downtown Montgomery, my husband and I watch the comings and goings at Franke’s Bakery as we wait for our Flamin’ Bleu pizza.

Our corner booth.

Our corner booth.

The popular Czech bakery is one busy place on a Saturday afternoon, as is the Pizzeria, 201 First Street South. After a few hours of perusing downtown shops, with an earlier stop at the bakery, we are hungry and ready to try out this recommended eatery.

Although I would have selected a pizza loaded with vegetables, I agree to the Flamin’ Bleu suggested by my not-so-veggie-lovin’ spouse.

“You do know it has celery and onions on it, don’t you?” I ask.

Although tasty, Flamin' Bleu was not quite what Randy expected. He expected chunks of bleu cheese topping the pizza. But then we are bleu cheese fanatics with award-winning bleu cheeses produced in our home community of Faribault.

Although tasty, Flamin’ Bleu was not quite what Randy expected. He envisioned chunks of bleu cheese topping the pizza. But then we are bleu cheese fanatics with award-winning bleu cheeses produced in our home community of Faribault. We have high expectations with bleu cheese.

He does, but orders anyway, drawn in by the Gorgonzola, hot buffalo sauce, buffalo chicken and bleu cheese crumble toppings. Pizzeria offers a wide variety of pizzas from the classic pepperoni to Hog Heaven, German (topped with sauerkraut) and more, plus several dessert selections. The beef and pork toppings come from a Le Sueur County family farm.

Pizzeria 201 also has occasional wine tour and beer tastings.

Pizzeria 201 also has occasional wine tour and beer tastings.

Not hungry for pizza? The restaurant also offers sandwiches, calzones, soups and salads and pasta dishes.

Pizzeria's inviting space.

Pizzeria’s inviting space.

While I snap photos, Randy orders, afterward sharing that the waitress asked whether he wanted our pizza sliced in squares or triangles. Neither of us can ever remember being asked that at a pizza place. Quite thoughtful, really.

Big Honza's Museum of Unnatural History, right behind Pizzeria 201.

Big Honza’s Museum of Unnatural History, right behind Pizzeria 201.

Also, when I inquire whether we can get into Big Honza’s Museum of Unnatural History, right next door, the waitress agrees to open up for us when we finish our pizza.

That's the carving of Big Honza Giganticzech, to the right of Pizzeria 201.

That’s the carving of Big Honza Giganticzech, to the right of Pizzeria 201.

So after eating a portion of our Flamin’ Bleu sliced in triangles and served with beverages poured in pint jars, we exit the Pizzeria and walk around the corner to view Montgomery’s version of Paul Bunyan Land. An over-sized wood carving of Big Honza Giganticzech stands next to the pizzeria.

During our self-guided tour in the unheated museum, we meander past an assortment of Big Honza oddities assembled by area resident John Grimm, owner of Hilltop Hall, Montgomery’s arts and cultural heritage center. You just have to laugh at this humorous collection of weird stuff.

A snippet of what you will see in the museum, including Big Honza's Farm Market, a nod to the local canning company.

A snippet of what you will see in the museum, including Big Honza’s Farm Market, a nod to the local canning company.

Big Honza's chair and more.

Big Honza’s chair and more.

Potty humor.

Potty humor.

On that note, this ends our tour of Montgomery. I’d encourage you, if you haven’t already done so, to read my entire series of stories (April 7 to today) from this south-central Minnesota Czech community of some 3,000 known as The Kolacky Capital of the World. Also check out my archives of March 4 – 8 for previous posts from Montgomery.

The whole point of this series has been not just to showcase Montgomery. It is about highlighting small towns—anywhere. All too often we dismiss small towns or overlook them with the misconception they have nothing to offer. That is so far from the truth. Every town has businesses, venues, people and events which define it as some place special.

I challenge you to look in your backyard for those places. If you live in the big city, venture out to a rural area. If you live in a small town or medium-sized city, drive to a nearby small town you’ve never explored.

If you’ve already done this sort of thing, shoot me a comment and share those small-town gems you’ve discovered. I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Sweet finds in Montgomery, Part III: Inside the bakery & the drugstore April 12, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:18 AM
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Franke's Bakery opened in 1914.

Franke’s Bakery opened in 1914.

NO VISIT TO MONTGOMERY would be complete without a stop at Franke’s Bakery, noted for kolacky, a fruit-filled (or poppy seed-filled) pastry beloved by this community of mostly Czech descendants.

One busy place on a Saturday.

One busy place on a Saturday. To the left, Jule Franke and Mary Ann Kaisersatt work the counter.

In business for 99 years, this bakery bustles with customers dropping in for sweet treats, breads and coffee room chat.

This 18-month-old Montgomery resident stopped in with her dad, grandma and sister for a treat Saturday morning.

This 18-month-old Montgomery resident stopped in with her dad, grandma and sister for a treat Saturday morning.

“You just missed your dad,” noted a baker parceling out sweets to a customer on a recent Saturday morning. “I saw him on the street.”

The tiled exterior entry to Franke's with a sign on the lower part of the door reading: "Kolacky Days Celebration Czechoslovakian American Heritage.

The beautiful exterior entry to Franke’s with a sign on the lower part of the door that reads: “Kolacky Days Celebration Czechoslovakian-American Heritage.” Montgomery celebrates Kolacky Days each July. You can bet this bakery is especially busy then preparing the ethnic pastry for the celebration.

Yes, this bakery, this south-central Minnesota community, is that kind of place, where everybody seemingly knows everybody and their whereabouts. And I mean that in the kindest of ways.

My Bavarian bismarck. FYI, Franke's ships its baked goods, so feel free to order. The bakery makes this promise: "We bake our breads and rolls fresh everyday the old fashioned way without all those preservatives.

My Bavarian bismarck. FYI, Franke’s ships its baked goods, so feel free to order. The bakery makes this promise: “We bake our breads and rolls fresh everyday the old fashioned way without all those preservatives.”

Randy and I bopped in for 75-cent bismarcks, mine Bavarian (custard-filled), his raspberry, before continuing our perusal of Montgomery’s downtown business district.

Posted on businesses throughout downtown Montgomery, you will find photos and military biios of veterans. This is the Montgomery Veteran's Project, a way of honor the town's veterans.

Posted on businesses throughout downtown Montgomery, you will find photos and military biios of veterans. This is the Montgomery Veteran’s Project, a way of honor the town’s veterans.

When I noticed the lovely floral sign marking Herrmann (how non-Czech is that name?) Drug, Cards & Gifts, I just had to stop at this local pharmacy and general merchandise store marketing everything from shampoo to kitchenware to gifts and Titans school apparel.

The drugstore sells Titans apparel for the local school.

The drugstore sells Titans apparel for the Montgomery-Lonsdale-Le Center school, Tri-City United.

My husband insisted I photograph these "made in China" towels from American Mills. He wants me to submit this to Jay Leno.

My husband insisted I photograph these “Made in China” towels from American Mills and sold at Herrmann Drug. He wants me to submit this to Jay Leno.

I was impressed with the selection; no need to run to some Big Box store when you have Herrmann Drug. And how lucky this town of nearly 3,000 is to have a pharmacy…and so much more.

Herrmann Drug's pharmacy is located at the rear of the store.

Herrmann Drug’s pharmacy is located at the rear of the store.

READERS: We’re not finished yet with our tour of Montgomery. Check back for two more posts. And if you missed my Montgomery stories from earlier this week, backtrack to Sunday and start reading.

To read a previous post on Franke’s Bakery, click here.

And to read about the Montgomery Veteran’s Project, click here.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Raising monies for Jaws of Life at a small town pork chop feed March 28, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:48 AM
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Pork chop dinner take-out at the Vesta Community Hall.

Pork chop supper take-out at the Vesta Community Hall.

SMALL TOWN, MINNESOTA, on a Saturday night, and I am snapping pictures at a pork chop supper in the community hall.

This could be Any Town, rural Minnesota. But this is my hometown of Vesta, population around 330, situated half way between Redwood Falls and Marshall along State Highway 19 on the southwestern Minnesota prairie.

Volunteer firefighters, including my cousin Randy, left, grill pork chops outside the hall.

Volunteer firefighters, including my cousin Randy, left, grill pork chops outside the hall. The firemen served about 250 meals.

Outside the hall, several volunteer firemen, including my cousin Randy, are grilling chops over an open charcoal pit for the annual Vesta Firemen’s Relief Association Pork Chop Supper.

David Widman sells tickets.

David Widman sells tickets.

Harlan and Karen step up to the serving window, where Erin, center, and other volunteers dish up food.

Harlan and Karen step up to the serving window, where Erin, center, and other volunteers dish up food.

The grilled pork chop meal.

The grilled pork chop meal.

Inside, Randy’s wife, Erin, and others are scooping up baked beans and potato salad and parceling out chops while other volunteers sell tickets and pour beverages. My nearly 81-year-old mom, whom we are visiting for the weekend, is treating my husband and me to supper.

I knew most of the diners.

I knew most of the diners.

As I mingle among diners, chatting with aunts, an uncle, cousins, and locals I haven’t seen in awhile, I’m cognizant of the importance of this event to raise funds for the Vesta Volunteer Fire Department. Proceeds will go toward a new $25,000 Jaws of Life device, already purchased with a $5,000 grant, past Pork Chop feed dollars and a loan.

Volunteer firemen remove the windshield from a junk car.

Volunteer firemen remove the windshield from a junk car.

After finishing my meal, at 7 p.m,, I step outside the Vesta Community Hall to observe several volunteer firemen remove a windshield and peel open the doors of a junk car using that new Jaws of Life.

About 30 onlookers gathered outside the hall to watch the Jaws of Life demonstration.

About 30 onlookers gathered outside the hall to watch the Jaws of Life demonstration.

Bracing myself against the stiff wind in a “feels more like 15 than 30 degrees,” I question my judgment in roving around the “accident scene” taking photos. Why would this crowd of about 30 stand outside in this raw weather watching this demonstration?

Because they care. Because they support their local volunteer firemen and First Responders. Because they know this could be them or their next-door-neighbor or their sibling or some stranger off the highway in need of rescue and emergency care.

Peeling away doors with the new Jaws of Life.

Peeling away doors with the new Jaws of Life.

The fire department typically responds to 12 – 15 fire calls annually in a 61 square mile area covering the City of Vesta, Vesta Township and part of Underwood Township, according to Fire Chief Travis Welch. In 2012, firefighters fought a major shop fire. They also responded to two head-on crashes which left three dead. Eight of the volunteer firemen serve as Vesta First Responders.

To the 18 volunteer firefighters—Travis, Jeremy D., Dallas, George, Randy, Tony, Aaron, Jeff, Jeremy K., Jon, David, Brian, Jason, Andrew, Neal, Jordan, Ryan B. and Ryan E.—thank you for being there for my hometown of Vesta.

Standing in front of the community hall, I watch the sun set in my hometown.

Standing in front of the community hall, I turn and watch the sun set in my hometown.

FYI: If you wish to donate monies toward the $5,000 balance owed for the Jaws of Life, mail your donation to:

Vesta Fire Relief
c/o David Widman
Box 104
Vesta, MN. 56292

The new Jaws of Life replaces jaws more than 20 years old and “unable to cut some of the new high tensile steel in today’s cars,” according to a letter from the Vesta Firemen’s Relief Association.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling