Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Glimpse farming of yesteryear at rural Dundas show September 3, 2026

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Plowing with horses at the 2025 Rice County Steam & Gas Engines fall show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

STEP ONTO THE RICE COUNTY Steam & Gas Engines showgrounds this Labor Day weekend in rural Dundas, and you’ll return to farming of yesteryear, exactly as the organizers intend. The fall show, along with the spring show in May, honors the past in a big way with hundreds of old tractors, several steam engines, demonstrations of long ago farming and a whole lot more.

An Allis-Chalmers guy through and through. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

This year’s show features the Allis-Chalmers tractor brand, noted for its signature bright orange color.

Square dancers dance inside the music shed at last year’s show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

But you needn’t be all that interested in tractors or even have a farm background to appreciate this event. There’s plenty more to do with a flea market, petting zoo, music, food, cornhole tournament, kids’ pedal tractor pull, mini train rides and on and on. Enough to keep you on the grounds for hours, if not a full day or multiple days. The event runs September 4-6 with gates opening at 7 a.m.

This pair works at shelling corn in 2025. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I approach this ag-focused show with historic, artistic and photographic interests. My farm background draws me to demonstrations like threshing, shelling corn and plowing. And among the rows and rows of tractors, I always search for my favorite B-Farmall, the tractor I drove as a farm kid, and a John Deere like my Dad’s.

I’m not old enough to remember steam engines, but these engines always draw lots of interest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

There’s something comforting about turning back the clock, of being in the presence of memories, of feeling a connection to my farming past. I am rooted in the rich black soil of southwestern Minnesota, the place which shaped me, my writing and my photography.

One of my favorite photos because of the admiration I see in the young boy’s eyes as he rides in the 2025 tractor parade. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Oh, the photos I find while at the Rice County Steam and Gas Engines Show. I’ve managed through many years of attending the fall and spring shows, to gather a collection of images that reflect a deep love and respect for the land, for farmers, for heritage. I especially delight in spotting “characters” or catching a “look” or a moment. Some of my favorites came last year while roaming the showgrounds and also while watching the tractor parade.

My favorite find at last year’s flea market, a Le Sueur-based Minnesota Valley Canning Co. commemorative Green Giant mug, which I totally regret not buying. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

The flea market has also always offered plenty of photo ops as I search for the weird, the quirky, the unusual, the artsy. More and more, I find merch from my youth, prompting long ago memories.

Look at the sheer joy in this boy’s face as he competes in the pedal tractor pull. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

Whether I’m perusing second-hand goods, touring on-site historic buildings like a 1920s farmhouse or an old one-room schoolhouse, visiting with friends, enjoying a burger from the Knights of Columbus food stand or an Amish-made fruit pastry, listening to music, meandering among the tractors, watching a farming demo or one of many other show options, I find myself immersed in the experiences.

A horse-drawn wagon offers rides at the farm show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

Above all, I value this opportunity to reconnect with my rural roots, to celebrate my rural-ness, to honor those who’ve worked the land. Like my dad. Except for a short stint serving on the front lines during the Korean War, farming was Dad’s life. He milked cows, grew corn and soybeans, all in a time period of intense hands-on labor. He, along with my mom, raised six children to work the soil, to tend the animals, to understand the importance of faith, family and farming. And for that I am grateful

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Pioneering Minnesota seedswomen featured in library exhibit July 27, 2026

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Carrie Lippincott built a successful seed-selling business in Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

IF CARRIE LIPPINCOTT, Emma White and Jessie Prior toured Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault, I expect they would appreciate not only what’s inside the library, but also outside. They were, after all, pioneering Minnesota businesswomen who ran successful seed companies at the turn of the 20th century.

Buckham Memorial Library, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

The trio would be impressed by our local library, which actively promotes gardening via programming, a seed library, an organic learning garden, bee lawn, pollinator habitat and native prairie plantings. Plus, the current children’s summer reading program, “Plant a Seed, Read/Planta una semilla, lee,” themes to seeds.

Three informational panels comprise the Seedswomen exhibit. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

All of that makes Buckham an ideal location for the traveling exhibit, “Minnesota Seedswomen 1890s-1900s,” on display until July 31 in the hallway linking the library to the Faribault Community Center.

Credit info is featured at the bottom of the panels. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Lippincott, White and Prior focus the three-panel exhibit crafted from information in the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Andersen Horticultural Library.

Jessie Prior marketed herself as a “flower seed specialist.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

My love of libraries, reading, learning, flowers and vegetables drew me to the exhibit. I’d never heard of the three enterprising women who became successful in their field on a national scale. Prior, who started Prior Seed Company in 1895 at age eighteen, called herself a “flower seed specialist.”

Among the many flowers growing on library grounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Lippincott labeled herself as “The Pioneer Seedwoman of America,” operating Lippincott Flower Seeds in partnership with family. She made a point of hiring women.

Colorful artwork promotes Emma White’s company, Choice Flower Seeds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Likewise, White’s Choice Flower Seeds tapped into women, specifically female artists, to create catalog covers. She marketed to women with Sunbonnet Babies and Brownies (elf-like creatures) artwork. The previous owner of the seed company enthusiastically endorsed his successor, telling customers White deserved their business and trust.

Each of the three panels is packed with information and illustrations. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Each woman, in her own way, made her mark in the seed-selling business. Yet, together they shared the commonality of women entering business during a time when most businesses were run by men. I expect these businesswomen had to work hard to prove themselves, to distinguish themselves, to compete and succeed.

Seeds in Buckham’s seed library come from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

And succeed they did. Prior won a bronze medal in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair for the pansies she grew. White, especially active in the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, became the first to guarantee packet size rather than seed numbers. Lippincott set herself apart by arranging catalog seed offerings alphabetically. In many other ways these women promoted and grew their Minneapolis-based seed companies.

“Why Local Seed Matters” posted on a library wall. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

In the competitive world of seed-selling, the three most assuredly understood the importance of standing out. Whether through colorful, eye-catching catalogs (Lippincott), creative writing and pansy growing competitions (White) or becoming an accomplished grower of sweet peas (Prior), the three seedswomen showed business savvy.

Creativity in encouraging reading, a woodcarving, “Story Time,” by world-renowned carver Ivan Whillock of Faribault hangs in Buckham Library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

All were decidedly creative in marketing through their colorful catalogs, growing guides, leaflets and books. They shared their gardening knowledge, which likely helped grow a loyal customer base. These women were business smart. And they were strong. Those are among my take-aways from the traveling exhibit.

Posters hang throughout the library promoting the seed-themed summer reading program for kids. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The log for the summer reading program at Buckham. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Seed-themed, gardening and other related books on display at the library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

After I read the information on the panels, I entered Buckham library, thinking about Lippincott, White and Prior. I pictured them opening the drawers of an old library card catalog, now holding seed packets. I envisioned them paging through the seed and gardening books on display. And I imagined them enthusiastically encouraging kids to participate in the “Plant a Seed, Read” summer reading program.

Community members can harvest vegetables from the library’s organic learning garden. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Stepping outdoors, I saw them admiring the many flowers flourishing around the library. And they may have, like me, pulled ruby red rhubarb from the organic learning garden.

The rhubarb crisp I made with exceptionally red rhubarb from the library garden. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)

Afterwards, I would have welcomed my new friends, Carrie, Emma and Jessie, to my home blocks from the library. Over plates of tangy rhubarb crisp, I would thank these seedswomen for their pioneering efforts as strong, innovative and creative businesswomen. And, if they were willing, I would put them to work in my tangled mess of flower gardens.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Juneteenth: You “shall be free” June 19, 2026

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A slavery bill included in the exhibit “Testify: Americana Slavery to Today” from the Diane and Alan Page collection and exhibited previously in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

CONSIDER FOR A MOMENT the significance of Juneteenth. On this date in 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas.

Imagine the jubilation of learning that you might really and truly be free. I expect that may have been difficult for many to believe. But two years earlier, President Abraham Lincoln signed the document ending slavery in states that had seceded from the Union. Not all states. Only those that had been part of the Confederacy.

The proclamation reads in part: I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free… What powerful words—shall be free.

A portion of a photo by Steve Somerstein included in the exhibit “Selma to Montgomery, Marching Along the Voting Rights Trail.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

While slavery ended long ago, the struggle continues for anyone whose skin is other than white. Injustices and racial discrimination remain. To think otherwise is to be in denial. Look what’s happening with gerrymandering and voting rights. Consider cases of police brutality and incarcerated Black men who were later cleared of crimes they did not commit. Consider poverty.

And remember the Civil Rights movement, the fight for equality that happened long after slaves were declared free. But not equal.

Juneteenth marks a day to reflect on how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. I care about this personally. My 18-month-old grandson is bi-racial. And although he looks decidedly White with light skin and a head of blonde curls, the blood of slavery runs through his ancestral veins. Some day he will learn about the Emancipation Proclamation and the struggles that preceded and followed.

Joyful Nigerian-themed art created by a friend. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

And I hope that when he understands, he will celebrate Juneteenth in a big way. He already loves music, bopping his head and swaying his body to the beat of songs thrumming from his toys.

Juneteenth holds the same joyfulness. The spirit of freedom and celebration encompassed in the words of the Emancipation Proclamation. You shall be free.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Reflecting on Alexander Faribault upon his June 22 birthday June 17, 2026

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The Alexander Faribault house, a historic site owned by the Rice County Historical Society. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

MANY YEARS HAVE PASSED since I toured the nondescript wood-frame house built by Alexander Faribault in 1853. Multiple times a week I pass by this house which sits along busy Minnesota State Highway 60 in downtown Faribault. It’s become so much a part of the local landscape that I don’t even notice the building which was briefly home to Faribault and his family. But it’s an important part of local history given Alexander Faribault founded the town in 1855.

A promo for the upcoming birthday celebration features a photo of Alexander Faribault. (Promo credit: Rice County Historical Society)

On Monday, June 22, Alexander Faribault will be celebrated at a free birthday open house from 5-6:30 p.m. in his former home at 12 First Avenue Northeast. Born 220 years ago in 1806, Faribault died at age 76 in November 1882.

Attendees at the upcoming birthday celebration can learn a whole lot more about Faribault, the town and the house from staff and volunteers with the Rice County Historical Society. I’m always up to learning more about the city I’ve called home since 1984.

This sculpture of Alexander Faribault with a Dakota trading partner stands in Faribault’s Heritage Park near the Straight River and site of Faribault’s trading post. It sits atop the Bea Duncan Memorial Fountain. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I know the basics about Alexander Faribault, a licensed fur trader who first established a trading post along the Cannon River in 1826 or 1827, depending on your information source. He was only twenty years old. He grew his business throughout the region, trading with the Wahpekute, a band of the Dakota, and moving his trading post to the confluence of the Cannon and Straight Rivers, current-day Faribault.

A mural on the former Erickson Furniture business features Alexander Faribault against the backdrop of the city’s historic viaduct. The “bridging” theme fits Faribault the man and Faribault the city. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I imagine for Faribault, who was French Canadian and Dakota, developing trading partnerships with the Dakota proved easy given his understanding of the people, their language and culture. But later that same relationship proved challenging for him. Some locals, after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, no longer appreciated his friendship with the Dakota and his willingness to shelter some of them on his farm.

This scene in downtown Faribault reflects our community’s diversity. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Back then, just like today, this community has not always been accepting of others. In the 1860s, the Dakota were targeted. Today it is the Somali community. It’s disheartening when history repeats itself, when differences in skin color, food, culture and language separate us. Alexander Faribault, as a mixed blood who embraced the Dakota, surely witnessed and felt the challenges of injustices and discrimination.

Children gather around a pinata at an international festival in Faribault. It is one of my favorite award-winning photos. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

My community has certainly made progress in welcoming all to our city. Yet, we could do better. I still hear derogatory comments about our Somali neighbors, worsened by the current political climate. I still hear derogatory comments about our Hispanic neighbors, made worse by current immigration policies. We are all, unless Indigenous or descendants of slaves, of immigrant roots, something people often forget.

An overview of Alexander Faribault’s gravesite in Calvary Cemetery on the west edge of Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Alexander Faribault wasn’t “from” here. He was born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. But he came here, established a fur trading business and eventually founded the city of Faribault. By all accounts, he was kind, generous and compassionate and served in many capacities from interpreter to territorial legislator to school board member to postmaster. I’m sure he had his flaws. We all do. But it seems Alexander Faribault did his best to build a strong and inclusive community that has grown into the diverse city of today. I think he’d appreciate a legacy of diversity.

A snippet of the words written about Alexander Faribault on a memorial marker at Calvary Cemetery, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

On a 1958 marker at the entrance to Calvary Cemetery where Alexander Faribault is buried, these words are written about him: Race or creed did not color his judgments. He saw in every man the image of God and thereby the possibility of making this a better place in which to live.

Those seem necessary and profound words for all of us to read. Especially today.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Noteworthy finds while on the road in southern Minnesota June 2, 2026

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Driving into Redwood County near Morgan. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2026)

WHILE ON THE ROAD from Faribault to my hometown of Vesta and back recently, I noticed interesting roadside details. These may not necessarily catch the attention of other motorists. But they caught my eye.

Unleaded gas was priced substantially lower than other places at Morgan Convenience on May 26. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

“BARGAIN” GAS

Let’s start with the price of unleaded gas at Morgan Convenience, Food & Fuel. It was priced at $4.18 (rounded up a tenth) on May 26. Elsewhere along the route, the cost was $4.49 (rounded up a tenth). I don’t understand how the gas price in Morgan, a small rural Minnesota town of some 900, can be so much lower than in neighboring New Ulm, population around 14,000, for example. Or in Faribault with about 25,000 residents. This makes no sense to me and is not the first time gas prices in more rural outstate Minnesota have been priced considerably lower.

Signage at a restaurant and bar in Morgan. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

MORE THAN JUST BURGERS

Also in Morgan, I spotted this sign: THE SPOTT. And, yes, the period is part of the abbreviated name. Clever. Upon returning home, I researched this business, full name The Spotted Bear Ale House. It’s a restaurant and full service bar.

The Facebook page features lots of food I’d enjoy: loaded pulled pork baked potato; pulled beef Gouda sliders with Parmesan fries; caramel, strawberry lemon, raspberry and/or banana rolls with peanut butter frosting; General Tso chicken and rice with crab salad; and more. Yum. The offerings impress me as vastly different from your typical small town burgers and other bar food. As a side note, this business is for sale.

An old threshing machine is the backdrop for Gilfillan Estate signage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

AN ESTATE IN THE MIDDLE OF FARM FIELDS

Just down the highway, another sign grabbed my attention. That was signage on an old threshing machine marking the Redwood County Historical Society’s Gilfillan Estate. It’s not the sign so much as this property west of Morgan along Minnesota State Highway 67 that is noteworthy. Here you’ll find both the estate and the site of Minnesota Farmfest.

The estate, with its long, tree-lined driveway leading to a stately house, has been here for as long as I can remember. The original owner, Charles Duncan Gilfillan (1831-1902), bought 10,000 acres of Redwood County farmland. He built a house, offices, a grain elevator, stockyard and tenet homes here and raised purebred livestock exported to Great Britain. Eventually his son, Charles Oswin Gilfillan, took over the estate. The younger Gilfillan was an active philanthropist in Redwood County. I must make an effort sometime to tour the estate and learn more about the Gilfillans and their generosity.

An A.C.O. silo still stands between New Ulm and Courtland. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

A NOD TO FARMING OF YESTERYEAR

More history is written onto a silo that hugs U.S. Highway 14 east of New Ulm. The A.C.O. on the brick silo stands for AC Ochs of the AC Ochs Brick and Tile Company in Springfield, several towns down the road to the west 30 miles distant. These silos, made from curved bricks, were built across the Midwest between 1910-1945. I love their historic, signature look and their unique construction. They are landmarks of a bygone era of diversified small family farms.

The Colonial Inn, with a 73-year history in New Ulm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

AN OLD SCHOOL MOTEL

In New Ulm, the Colonial Inn along North Broadway/Highway 14 appears old school motel. And it is. Built in 1953, rooms in the U-shaped building open to the paved parking lot. While I’ve only seen the motel from the exterior and a few photos on the no-frills website, this motel seems exactly as I would expect. Basic. Simple. And a throwback to yesteryear with the exception of WiFi.

A billboard with an unusual question. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

FIRE & BRIMSTONE

Finally, in the Smiths Mill area along Highway 14 east of Mankato, a thought-provoking sign asks whether you will go to heaven or to hell when you die. I have no idea who paid for this billboard with the John 3:36 notation at the bottom. But it’s certainly an oddity in highway signage. Fire or no fire?

You never know what you’ll discover while on the road.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Author tracks the James-Younger Gang’s escape from Northfield May 29, 2026

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An overview of a presentation given by Russ Swanson at the Rice County Historical Society on May 28. The coat lying on the podium is a replica of the inverness capes worn by the James-Younger Gang. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

THEY WERE, HE SAID, masters of deception. And after listening to a well-researched and entertaining presentation about the James-Younger Gang at the Rice County Historical Society in Faribault recently, I agree.

This assessment of the outlaws who attempted to rob the First National Bank of Northfield on September 7, 1876, comes from Russ Swanson of Canton, South Dakota. The ag teacher, farmer, author and researcher shared a wealth of information on the gang, focusing on the outlaws’ efforts to escape capture after the failed robbery.

(Book cover sourced online)

But Swanson, author of A Chase to the Death: The Detailed Pursuit of the James-Younger Gang Following the Northfield Raid, also provided plenty of pre-robbery history that I found especially interesting. The eight-member gang arrived in St. Paul in late August 1876 after a 13-hour train ride from Sioux City, Iowa. I always thought they rode into Minnesota on their horses and headed for Northfield. Not so.

Instead of robbing the bank in Mankato, the gang attempted to rob the Northfield bank, pictured here. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

PLANS TO ROB MANKATO BANK

The gang split upon their arrival in St. Paul with some going to Red Wing, where they stayed at the St. James (National) Hotel. Others went to St. Peter, then to Madelia. By this time, they’d purchased horses. Eventually the eight met in Mankato, intending to rob the First National Bank of Mankato, their original Minnesota target. But they were recognized and ditched the plan.

Swanson threw out a lot of information as he led the audience on the gang’s journey through Minnesota, then back west to Dakota Territory and Iowa. En route to Northfield, they stayed in LeSueur Center (current-day Le Center), Janesville and then Millersburg, imbibing in whiskey purchased there. Swanson spun a detail-rich storyline.

He didn’t spend much time on the actual seven-minute Northfield bank robbery, a point Swanson acknowledged at the beginning of his presentation. The short crime left a bank cashier, a bystander and two of the outlaws dead and others wounded.

This slide created by Russ Swanson shows the eight outlaws with information in red about them and also their horses. To the left are the locals wounded and killed during the attempted robbery.

PURSUIT & ESCAPE

The gang’s efforts to escape capture prompted the largest manhunt in U.S. history with 1,000 men searching for the outlaws. Swanson used maps to show the routes taken by the gang, which eventually split. Frank and Jesse James traveled together while the three Younger brothers and Charlie Pitts stuck together.

The saga is one of stolen horses, the first taken near Dundas. Of gunfights, including south of Shieldsville. Of taking men captive to guide them through the Big Woods near Kilkenny and elsewhere. Of awakening to church bells by Marysburg. Of abandoning horses near German Lake. Of crossing the Cannon, the Blue Earth and other rivers. Of hiding in cornfields.

Russ Swanson points to information specific to Northfield in another slide. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

MASTERS OF DECEPTION & HORSE THIEVES

To hear so many familiar place names took me along the escape route—riding into woods, crossing an unguarded railroad bridge, traversing rivers, stopping at farm sites. Desperate to evade capture, the savvy outlaws pretended to be members of the posse pursuing them. They stayed with farm families under those false pretenses.

That their true identities remained mostly hidden speaks to that “masters of deception” label Swanson tags to the gang. The outlaws stood out in their mannerisms, their talk and even their dress—draping, sleeveless inverness capes concealing their firearms—yet still fooled many.

They stole Percheron draft horses in Garden City. The James brothers stopped for breakfast in Luverne and then were pursued into Dakota Territory, stealing more horses. Blind and partially-blind horses. Eventually, the pair stole a horse at gunpoint north of Canton, South Dakota. Turns out that horse owner, Peter Wahl, homesteaded on land that Russ Swanson now owns. That prompted his 10 years of researching the James-Younger Gang, authoring a book and today presenting on the topic.

“This area is a hotbed of their territory,” Swanson told the audience in Faribault. He backs up that statement with extensive research, tapping into maps, newspaper articles, census records and more from Minnesota into South Dakota and Iowa. He noted the abundance of eyewitness accounts.

The First National Bank is now a museum with tours available. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

DETAIL-RICH STORIES

I found the entire presentation intensely fascinating, rich in details. A lost hat. Nights of impenetrable darkness. Stolen chickens. Too much whiskey. Eleven bullet holes in Cole Younger, whose toenails fell off when he removed his boots after days of riding. A bullet that wounded a pursuer’s horse still in possession of his family generations later.

As Swanson concluded his talk, he shared a quote from Cole Younger, captured in a September 21 shoot-out in Hanska Slough near Madelia that took the life of outlaw Charlie Pitts. “Be true to your friends if the Heavens fall,” Younger said, refusing to give up any information to authorities. The Younger brothers went to prison while the James brothers escaped to Missouri.

Swanson shared more, much more, in his lengthy talk and Q & A. In the all of it, I was surprised to learn of so many locations in this region connected to the failed Northfield bank raid. Had the eight gang members remained incognito while in Mankato, this story would have followed a different plot line, a different path into history.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A plant sale & more at the Merton Town Hall May 26, 2026

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The Merton Town Hall, rural Medford. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

INSIDE THE MERTON TOWN HALL, Audrey Klukas, who lives a few miles away in rural Owatonna, is hosting a May plant sale. She’s hauled plants and canned goods, homemade apple pies and woven rugs from her trailer, up the steps into this aged building.

Audrey Klukas, in the background, arranges plants for sale. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Marigolds, geraniums, petunias, tomatoes, succulents, peppers, hostas, sedum, coneflowers and more cover tables and sections of the old wooden floor. Tree seedlings sit on a painted church pew.

Hanging baskets of petunias. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Klukas has grown most of the plants in her rural greenhouse. She’s a woman of many talents, an entrepreneur, a student of horticulture. In 1973, she graduated with the first class of horticulture students completing their two-year degree at the University of Minnesota, Waseca. That technical college closed in 1992.

A sign is propped outside the town hall entry. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

It’s clear that Klukas put her education to good use—planting seeds, then watering and nurturing the growing plants. She’s shared the fruits of her labors in this month-long sale, held every Friday through Sunday in May. The final weekend sale is from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 29-31.

Looking toward the entrance to the town hall, a view of many plants for sale. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

As I wandered among the plant-filled tables, bright sunshine streamed through the windows, Asian beetles clinging to the warm glass.

Assorted varieties of rhubarb jam. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I admired the jars of canned goods. The pickles. Jam in assorted varieties like rhubarb with strawberry, raspberry and cherry. And then something I’d never seen, pickled kohlrabi and kohlrabi with pepper flakes and jalapeno. I should have bought a jar.

Blue jean rugs in the foreground woven by Audrey Klukas. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Instead, I meandered, taking it all in. I stopped to run my hands across the woven rugs crafted by Klukas and displayed on a table below a flyswatter, a clock and an American flag bannered on the wall above a printed copy of “The Pledge of Allegiance.” I noticed a handprinted sign: Needed old jeans for rugs. It takes a lot of jeans to make a rug, Klukas told me.

4-H memorabilia above and in a trophy case. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I asked some questions about the building, which she probably uses more than anyone, Klukas said. A 4-H club once met here. And when I looked closer, I saw that verified in an over-sized green clover, a discarded banner and more in and above a trophy case.

A trophy awarded to 4-Hers in 1973. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

A trophy caught my eye. Klukas stepped around her plant tables and onto a stage to remove the trophy from the cabinet. A silver horse topped the Steele County 4-H Club Herdsman Award sponsored by the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse and Auxiliary of Steele County, 1975. I admired the 51-year-old trophy, as much a piece of history as a piece of art.

A sign inside a voting booth. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A township plat shows Merton near the top center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Since this is the Merton Town Hall, the center of township government, this is also a meeting and polling place. I wiggled my way to the voting booths, divided and cordoned off with blue fabric for privacy. Here locals exercise their right to vote. This is about as grassroots as it gets in a democracy.

A church pew at the back of the town hall holds tree seedlings. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A partial listing of the plant inventory and prices. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Klukas and I didn’t talk much. But she shared that a church once used this building, too, which was originally a school. No more details known. School, church, town hall, 4-H club meeting place and now, in the month of May, this simple structure in the middle of farm fields is a space to sell plants, rugs, homemade preserves, pies…the fruits of Klukas’ labors.

An old outhouse sits near the town hall. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

When I stepped outside the town hall, I considered the feet that have climbed the front steps into this building. To learn. To worship. To discuss township governance. To vote. To commit to the 4 tenets of 4-H: head, heart, hands and health. To gather. And on this May day to shop as farm fields green, as robins tend their young inside an on-site weathered gray outhouse that leans into the land.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Are gas prices fueling your anger? May 20, 2026

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Gus’ Station was moved from Ellendale to the Village of Yesteryear, next to the Steele County History Center in Owatonna. It offers a glimpse into the past of a small town Minnesota full service gas station and garage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

IF YOU WANT GAS at a bargain price, you’ll find it at Gus’ Station in Owatonna. The price is locked in at 38 cents a gallon. “Pull up to the pump,” I urged Randy recently after he parked in the gravel lot near the full service gas station and garage in the Village of Yesteryear. We laughed.

In my imagination, I pictured the station owner bounding out of the 1931 building to pump our gas, check the oil, note the water level in the radiator and wash the windshield. But all of that was simply wishful thinking.

At Gus’ Station, gas is forever 38 cents/gallon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

The gas nozzle wouldn’t fit our 2008 van. The fuel was leaded. Few stations offer full service anymore. And gas is certainly not selling for 38 cents a gallon.

The price last Friday for unleaded gas at Anhorn’s in small town Medford, between Faribault and Owatonna. No digital signage here. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Instead, last check of prices in Faribault several days ago, unleaded gas was selling for $4.50 (rounded up a tenth) a gallon and diesel for $5.49.

Are those prices fueling your anger? When Randy and I saw gas prices that high while traveling to and from eastern Wisconsin on May 2 and 3, we were feeling smug that prices were lower in Minnesota. But some two weeks later, here we are with those same ridiculously absurd, sky high prices.

I lay the blame on one person. The president. If not for the war in Iran (which he started) and his blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, gas prices would not be bordering unaffordable.

It’s no secret that I oppose the war, the actions of this president, his cabinet and most Republicans. I could write a lengthy list of everything he’s done to make life worse and less affordable for the average American. But I’ll stay on topic and focus on gas prices.

Once upon a time not all that long ago and 50 years ago, gas prices were much lower, here frozen in time at Gus’ Station. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

If I bought 15 gallons of unleaded gas at $4.50/gallon today, that would cost $67.50. If I bought 15 gallons of leaded gas in 1970 at 38 cents per gallon, the cost would have been only $5.70. I’d like to flash back in time, pull up to Gus’ Station and tell the attendant, “Fill ‘er up.”

TELL ME: What are gas prices in your area? Please specify where you live. How are you feeling about the price of gas and the economy in general?

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Finding oddities, history & community at RCHS Flea Market May 19, 2026

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Shoppers peruse flea market goods early Saturday morning. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

WHENEVER I SHOP at a flea market, like the one last Saturday at the Rice County Historical Society, I challenge myself to find the quirky, odd and/or unusual. I’m never disappointed.

A replica spiked metal helmet sold at the flea market. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Hands down, the most interesting find at the RCHS market was a replica Pickelhaube, a spiked metal helmet worn by an Imperial German Army officer during the 1870s Franco-Prussian War, according to vendor Carson Heselton. He sold the reproduction helmet to a young man who seemed thrilled to get his hands on the unusual piece and learn a bit of history in the process.

An historic church and school, owned by the historical society, backdrop the flea market. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Heselton holds a wealth of historical knowledge, which is no surprise given he has a degree in history and is currently in graduate school. Somehow we got on the topic of the Ku Klux Klan’s presence in Rice and Steele counties many decades ago. Heselton wrote a college research paper on the subject with his work now on file with the local historical society. I intend to read it at some point. But he shared a little with me, including that the Klan burned a cross in the yard of his grandmother’s Catholic family when she was just six years old. The KKK targeted Catholics along with African Americans. His grandma never forgot that traumatizing event, the story passed down through the generations.

Timmy Capranos with his The Holy Catch lures. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Vendor Timmy Capranos of Kilkenny brought an over-sized cross to the RCHS Spring Flea Market. But his had only good intentions—to market his faith-themed fishing lures under the tag “The Holy Catch.” Each lure features a cross with the words GOD LOVES YOU.

A sample Father’s Day card includes the date of the celebration. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Capranos earns my award for creativity with not only his $4.99 holy lures, but also his Design Your Own Card enterprise of blank card stock offered for 99 cents to, well, design your own card. He even provided a sample Father’s Day greeting card. I love his humor, his entrepreneurship and his overall joyful personality.

Jeremy Struff of JS Woodcrafts brought his handcrafted wood products, including this bowl. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
For the gardener, a vendor sold wildflower seed pods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Kenyon vendor Likkle Jamaica Cawna sold her Jamaican Hot Pickle (for fish and meat) and baked goods. Her Jamaican bread was sold out when I stopped by her table. She hopes to sell her homemade foods at local farmers’ markets. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I saw more creativity in crafted wooden bowls, lemonade stand signs, wildflower seed pods, yard art, beer bottle wind chimes (also by Capranos) and pickled vegetables.

This is the first time I’ve seen a tractor for sale at a flea market. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

You never know what you’ll find at a flea market. A guy even showed up with an early 1950s Super A Farmall tractor.

Collectors could find Fleck’s Beer bottles and related items from the historic Faribault brewery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

The adage of “One person’s junk is another’s treasure” certainly fits. Since I don’t need more junk or treasures, I try really hard not to buy anything. Mostly I eye the goods, reminisce, talk with people and scout for the quirky, odd and/or unusual.

A Faribault resident’s finds from a long ago local business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

And sometimes I find history in the process—in a replica Pickelhaube, a thermometer promoting pioneer corn and Hy-Line chicks, and bottles that once held Faribault-brewed Fleck’s Beer.

Vendors set up in front of the RCHS, then wrapped around the side and back. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
The tin man and woman, who once stood outside Lockerby Sheet Metal in Faribault, watch over the flea market as permanent installations at the historical society. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A Fun Lil’ Band entertains. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I also find community at flea markets. There’s something about poking around in piles of stuff that feels grassroots connective. I often find myself striking up conversations with vendors and sometimes shoppers. I usually see people I know, which leads to a bit of catching up.

A seller counts his money. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Another opportunity to shop for unusual finds and handcrafted goods happens Memorial Day weekend in nearby rural Dundas. Rice County Steam & Gas Engines hosts its annual spring event with a flea market and swap meet from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24. A consignment auction is also set for 9 a.m. Saturday and a tractor pull for 9 a.m. Sunday.

Payment signage among tools for sale at the RCHS Flea Market. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I hope to be there, poking around, looking for the quirky, odd and/or unusual as I connect with community and maybe learn some history in the process.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Living history along the Cannon River May 18, 2026

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Tents aplenty, including that of a hat maker, were set up by the Cannon River for the Riverside Rendezvous in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

ALONG THE BANKS of the Cannon River in Faribault’s North Alexander Park, they set up camp. The fur trappers, the blacksmith, the weaver, the spinner, the tinsmith, the shopkeeper, the hat maker…all of them in a community founded by a fur trader, Alexander Faribault.

In between stitching leather, this re-enactor weaves a cord. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

History came to life here, at the second annual Riverside Rendezvous and History Festival organized by the Rice County Historical Society. This event is like a step back in time to the 18th and 19th centuries with history enthusiasts in period costume demonstrating long ago hands-on work and talking up their passions.

One of the hands-on activities, making candles. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
The blacksmith pounds hot metal. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Tinsmith Kitty from Lake Pepin demonstrates tinsmithing. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Here I watched candle-making, blacksmithing, rug weaving, spinning of wool into yarn, tinsmithing…

Attendees listened to this participant give a lesson in defense and weaponry. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I learned about crests and weapons.

Listening to The Skally Line musicians. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I listened to musicians on-stage, one group singing about Tator Tot Hotdish, not exactly period appropriate, but entertaining none-the-less.

Playing an historic saxhorn inside a dry goods tent. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
History-themed books filled a tent, these appropriate to the event. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Lots of hats for sale. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Inside Stick and Stump Dry Goods, a musician blew into an 1873 saxhorn, drawing attendees into the tent to peruse the merchandise. A row of merchants vended goods from tents, selling period weapons, beads, books, belts, soap, hats, knives, clothing and a whole lot more.

Guided by the archer, Randy aims at the target. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

In a far corner of the park, rendezvous attendees stepped up and tried their skills at archery and tomahawk throwing. I passed given my lack of athleticism. I watched, though, while my husband, Randy, pulled the bowstring and, in one of three attempts, hit the target.

A photo opp after tomahawk throwing. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I also observed a re-enactor taking a photo of two tomahawk throwers with their smartphone, another example of present day and yesteryear mingling in an almost (at least to me) comical moment. Those long ago dwellers of this land could never have imagined the technology of today.

There were many open campfires for cooking on the encampment grounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Stripping the plant dogbane to make into a strong thread. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A still life of simple foods and dinnerware. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Events like this not only preserve and celebrate history, but serve as visual reminders of how much has changed with the passage of time. Progress can often be measured by the past.

MN Jack Sparrow and his pirate “ship” were a draw, especially for the kids. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I’m not a history buff. Yet history interests me enough to want to learn more, to attend events like the rendezvous. Before the encampment opened to the public over the weekend, local students came by the hundreds to North Alexander Park for a living history lesson. I would have enjoyed history a whole lot more as a child had I gone to something like this.

Period dress is an important part of the rendezvous. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Humorous signs inside the Baby’s Indian Frybread tent. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Spinning and playing with a toy spinner. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

As I wandered around the grounds, photographed, listened, conversed, paused to eat first savory, then sweet, Baby’s Indian Frybread, I considered the time, effort and work involved in putting an event like this together. It’s a lot for the organizers, volunteers and participants.

The North West Company was a Canadian fur trading company important in early fur trade in this area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

I’m grateful for this rendezvous which brings living history to Faribault, a place where the Wahpekute once fished and trapped and traded and dwelt. This place, too, where Alexander Faribault came to trade with the native Dakota, to settle, to establish the town named after him.

A vendor inside a tent with blankets, weapons and an assortment of goods for sale. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)

Faribault is a town rich in history. Rice County is a county rich in history. Minnesota is a state rich in history. And, on Saturday, for a few hours, I glimpsed that history along the banks of the Cannon River, where the water flows into the nearby Straight River, stories carried on the current of the water from the past into the present.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling