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Minnesota remembers Abraham Lincoln 150 years after his assassination April 14, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Cannon Valley Civil War Roundtable, commemorative events, entertainment, Faribault, history, Lincoln's Traveling Troupe, Mankato, Minnesota, Northfield, President Abraham Lincoln, The Northfield Historical Society, Theatre

THE PISTOL WEIGHS HEAVY in my hand. Cold metal and wood against warm flesh nestled in my palm. I am surprised, really, by the weight and smallness of this curved 1840 Philadelphia Derringer, which is exactly like the deadly weapon John Wilkes Booth fired at President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.

An 1840 Philadelphia Derringer, like the pistol used to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.

My husband holds an 1840 Philadelphia Derringer. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2009.

I wrote that paragraph in 2009 after attending a meeting of the Cannon Valley Civil War Roundtable. There an area collector showcased Lincoln memorabilia. I’ve never forgotten that petite pistol he allowed me to cradle.

Today, especially, I feel the weight of that Derringer. April 14 marks 150 years since Booth shot our 16th President as he watched the play, Our American Cousin, in Ford’s Theatre in our nation’s Capitol.

The assassination of Lincoln—the President who, via the Emancipation Proclamation set slaves free in “rebellious states”—stands as a memorable and pivotal moment in U.S. history.

A Lincoln postcard which a collector brought to a Cannon Valley Civil War Roundtable meeting several years ago.

A Lincoln postcard which a collector brought to a Cannon Valley Civil War Roundtable meeting in 2009.

Today we honor this remarkable leader of humble roots, author of the Gettysburg Address wherein he vowed “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

An original photo of Abraham Lincoln in Roger's collection.

An original photo of Abraham Lincoln from a southern Minnesota collector’s collection.

I’m also particularly fond of a lesser-known Lincoln quote: “All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

Promotional poster for the Lincoln event in Northfield, Minnesota.

Throughout our nation and even here locally in Rice County, folks are publicly remembering Lincoln on the 150th anniversary of his death. At The Grand Event Center, The Northfield Historical Society this evening presents Our American Cousin, A Night That Changed Our Nation, The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Held in an 1899 historic opera house/theatre with balcony booths much like those in Ford’s Theatre, the event includes summary presentations on the assassination and the nation’s reaction; a snippet from Our American Cousin; and a re-enactment of Lincoln’s assassination. Tickets are available in advance and at the door, although there is no guaranteed seating the day of the show.

An ink drawing of Abraham Lincoln by my artist friend, Rhody Yule, now deceased.

At 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, the President of the Wood Lake Battlefield Preservation Association will arrive on horseback at the Faribault Senior Center, 19 West Division Street, Faribault. There, at the monthly meeting of the Cannon Valley Civil War Roundtable, Tom Hosier of Rochester, dressed in period costume, will talk about Lincoln’s assassination. The presentation is free and open to the public.

A poster promoting the upcoming Lincoln's Traveling Troupe performance.

A poster promotes the upcoming Lincoln’s Traveling Troupe performance.

In Mankato, Lincoln’s Traveling Troupe will present the “true and dramatic story of Lincoln’s assassination” and its immediate aftermath in The Heavens Are Hung in Black, a play written by Lincoln historian and re-enactor Bryce O. Stenzel. Show times are 7 p.m. Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Dining Room.

How will you remember Lincoln today or this month?

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We didn’t find gold in Oronoco, but… April 8, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: antiques, churches, gold, Gold Rush Days, historic buildings, history, Oronoco, small towns, southeastern Minnesota, travel

ORONOCO. I delight in the way those “o”s roll off the tongue. Smooth. Repetitious. Like a steady drum beat.

But I’d never been to Oronoco, only seen the exit signs to this community off U.S. Highway 52 five miles north of Rochester. Time to change that, to visit this place named after the Orinoco River in South America. (And, yes, the spelling of Orinoco is correct.)

The old schoolhouse.

On a recent Saturday, my husband and I wound our way into this small town, home of Oronoco Gold Rush Days, an antique show and market held on the third weekend in August since 1972. That’s a long-standing event, its name tracing to the apparent discovery of gold here in the late 1850s and the establishment of the Oronoco Mining Company. That mining venture didn’t last long as the raging Zumbro River washed away the gold mining operation. Apparently little gold was found.

A boarded up building dated 1912.

Historic buildings define the heart of this quaint river community. We did a quick drive through downtown and stopped only to browse two highway side antique shops as the day shifted toward evening.

The 1912 building up close.

Oronoco seems worth a return trip to poke around more, to see what we missed.

First Presbyterian Church, constructed in 1871, sits atop a hill.

First Presbyterian Church (today Presbyterian Church of Oronoco), constructed in 1871, sits atop a hill.

A front view of that beautiful old church.

The community center.

The downtown VFW sits atop a hill, too.

Sometimes a building’s side view is as interesting as its front view.

FYI: To learn more about Oronoco area history, click here. For more info on Presbyterian Church of Oronoco, click here. To read my previous post about Antiques Oronoco, click here.

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One grand old WPA gym in West Concord April 6, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: architecture, education, historic buildings, history, Minnesota, photo essay, school gym, schools, thoughts, West Concord, West Concord Community Center, West Concord High School, West Concord Historical Society, WPA project

The original, non-digital scoreboard that uses light bulbs still graces the 1936 former West Concord School gym.

YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR the rhythmic bounce of basketball upon wood floor, hear the roar of the crowd as the ball swishes through the net and two points are added to the scoreboard.

Instructions on the stage wall for operating the curtain.

You can almost hear the resounding applause of proud parents as performers bow and the heavy curtain sways, pulled shut by hand-over-hand action of a stage hand running thick ropes.

This beautiful gym was once home to the West Concord Cardinals.

You can almost hear the clear diction of graduates’ names pronounced before they proceed onto the stage to receive their West Concord High School diplomas.

The former gym now houses the West Concord Community Center. Today the West Concord Historical Society’s research center is located on the second floor, former site of the school library and a study hall.

Echoes of the past linger inside the old West Concord School gym, built in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project. The school closed in 1991.

The gym is now a multi-purpose facility open to the community.

Today this grand gymnasium houses this southeastern Minnesota town’s community center. The space is now used for a middle school athletics program and rented out for class reunions, festive gatherings by the area’s Hispanic community and more, according to Janis Ray, director/gambling manager for the adjoining West Concord Historical Society museum.

The original ticket booth remains just inside the front entry.

I applaud West Concord for saving this impressive auditorium and the connected school. All too often such grand structures are demolished because of the cost to maintain them. They are worth saving for their history, memories and architectural significance.

This massive WPA project painting hangs as a stage backdrop.

Gymnasiums aren’t built like this any more. Imagine the hands of formerly unemployed men laboring to build this gym. How happy they must have been to earn a paycheck. Preserving this gym is a tribute to them, too, to hard work and building a sense of community.

Students involved in theatrical productions signed the stage wall behind the stage curtain.

I hope future generations will always remember that.

BONUS PHOTOS:

The building on the left, built in 1902 with a wing added in 1914, houses the West Concord Historical Society. On the right is the 1936 WPA project gym, 60 percent of its cost funded by the government.

The former school building on the left, built in 1902 with a wing added in 1914, today houses the West Concord Historical Society. On the right is the 1936 WPA project gym, 60 percent of its cost funded by the government. It is now the West Concord Community Center.

Imagine the students and their families who have walked through these doors.

Imagine the students and their families and others who have walked through these doors. They were locked when I visited.

What I assume is an original light fixture. Beautiful.

Looking across the gym floor toward the original fold-up chairs and the entry into the auditorium.

Handcrafted detail on the vintage seating make these works of art.

A sticker, "Educating Everyone Takes Everyone," on a sturdy wood door reminds visitors of this structure's original purpose.

A sticker, “Educating Everyone Takes Everyone,” on a sturdy wood door just off the stage reminds visitors of this structure’s original purpose.

In a narrow hallway off the gym, leading to the women's bathroom, I discovered these rows of lockers painted in the school color.

In a narrow hallway off the gym, leading to the women’s bathroom, I discovered these rows of lockers painted Cardinal red, the school color.

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Part III: Oh, the memories, the treasures uncovered in West Concord April 2, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: history, Minnesota, museums, travel, West Concord, West Concord Historical Society

IT’S EASY, WHEN TOURING a museum like that run by the West Concord Historical Society, to feel overwhelmed by the volume of items displayed.

This struck me as particularly humorous: A Sacred Art calendar, Lutheran edition.

The wording on this beautiful piece of art struck me as particularly funny: A Sacred Art Calendar, Lutheran Edition.

But often certain things will imprint as particularly unique or humorous or as a reminder of something from your past.

When I nearly ran into these dangling beads inside the doorway to The 50’s and 60’s Room, I knew this would be my favorite themed room.

The WCHS’s museum, housed in a massive former school, contains so much stuff that you are sure to find multiple pieces of the past that pop out, no matter your age.

This Flecks beer memorabilia is displayed in the West Concord museum even though the beer was made in my community of Faribault 25 miles away.

I have no personal connection to West Concord. Yet I am connected by time and by the geography of living in southeastern Minnesota.

Here are some more of my favorite finds inside the WCHS museum:

This entire former classroom is set up to look like the 1930s-early 1940s Flame Room once housed in the Concord Hotel. This space can be rented for gatherings. Locals dined and danced at The Flame.

Vintage ads and graphics, like this one for pink Frigidaire appliances, always draw my attention

Vintage ads and graphics, like this one for pink Frigidaire appliances, always draw my interest.

This pink Frigidaire electric stove was purchased by Arthur and Lorraine Spreiter in about 1959 from Pirkl and Hall Appliance along Main Street in West Concord. The stove features double oven doors rather than a drop-down door. The Spreiters also purchased an upright pink refrigerator/freezer.

I was delighted that this apron was saved and displayed in The Farmers and Merchants Room. Lumber yards were once such an important business in small towns.

I am delighted that this apron was saved and displayed in The Farmers and Merchants Room. Lumber yards were once key businesses in small towns. Most have closed, replaced by Big Box lumber sources. The apron is so representative of the personal service offered in small towns.

I collect vintage drinking glasses and once had a red spotted one. My Aunt Jeanette has a collection of these. Love.

I love vintage signs and graphics. And how many Gambles stores even exist any more? This sign was found in the old West Concord Gambles store opened in about 1935 by Clarence Barwald. It hangs in The Farmers & Merchants Room.

Growing up, I never was impressed by the oil-cloth covered Formica table in our kitchen. But today, well, I feel differently. My husband was especially thrilled to see this yellow table, like the one he remembers from his youth.

This shoe is the most colorful and memorable one I've ever seen. It's like a work of art, showcased in The Fashion Room.

This shoe is the most colorful and memorable footwear I’ve ever seen. It’s like a work of art, showcased in The Fashion Room.

One classroom is devoted to a garage sale type space called Grandma’s Attic. Here you can purchase secondhand merchandise with proceeds going to the museum. I purchased a Fire King bowl for $1.

FYI: Click here to read my initial post and my second post on this small town museum. Thank you for following this three-part series on this incredible collection of West Concord area history.

Here’s an upcoming event at the West Concord Historical Society, 600 West First Street, that may interest you: The Czech Area Concertina Band will perform from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 19. Admission is a free will donation.

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Part II: Preserving memories in West Concord April 1, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: history, memories, Minnesota, museum, photo essay, travel, West Concord, West Concord High School, West Concord Historical Society

WHAT DEFINES A MUSEUM?

Collections? History? Preserving the past?

All three fit the definition. Yet, it is memories which make a museum personal.

A commemorative plate from West Concord.

A commemorative plate from the small southeastern Minnesota farming community of West Concord.

The West Concord Historical Society, housed in a former school, boasts an incredible museum that showcases West Concord area history. I didn’t grow up here. I don’t live here. Yet, I connected.

Join me on a photo tour showing snippets of what this museum holds.

IN THE HERITAGE ROOM:

I expect many visitors would image Sunday dinner at Grandma's house when viewing this scene.

I expect many visitors will remember Sunday chicken dinners or holidays at Grandma’s house when viewing this scene.

IN THE CARDINAL ROOM:

The school was once home to the West Concord school Cardinals. An entire classroom is devoted to all things Cardinal. this proves a popular place during class reunions.

The school was once home to the West Concord Cardinals. An entire classroom is devoted to Cardinals memorabilia. This exhibit proves a popular place to tour during West Concord High School class reunions. The school closed in 1991. West Concord is now part of Triton Public Schools where the mascot is a cobra.

A cheerleading uniform.

A majestic band uniform displayed along with school trophies.

I was thrilled to find a collection of school yearbooks.

Wearing Cardinal pride.

IN THE FARMERS & MERCHANTS ROOM:

From a local beauty shop.

IN THE VETERANS ROOM:

Between two military uniforms, I shot this view of a 48-star American flag.

Between military uniforms, I shot this view of a 48-star American flag.

Books and documents are also displayed in The Veterans Room.

IN THE SHELL ROOM:

Old radiators in The Shell Room, which features a collection of shells donated by West Concord alumni Burton Goddard and Miriam Goddard.

IN THE 50’s & 60’s ROOM:

Feelin’ groovy…a snippet of 1960s art.

A fondue pot. I remember using a fondue pot in my high school home economics class.

I remember using a fondue pot in my high school home economics class in the 1970s.

Sit a spell in this 60s corner or lose some inches on that exercise equipment, left. Well, consider it, but don’t actually do it.

A 1950s place setting. I collection vintage tablecloths.

A 1950s place setting. I collect vintage tablecloths.

IN THE FASHION ROOM:

Clothing and sewing equipment from times past suggests how far a generation or two have come.

Clothing and sewing equipment span generations in The Fashion Room.

IN THE HALLWAY:

An old radiator and old windows show the character of this aged former school.

IN THE MARY DELZER ROOM:

Remember making these silhouettes from black construction paper? I hadn't thought about these in decades. Janis Ray had her students create these profiles each year as a gift to their parents.

Remember making these silhouettes from black construction paper? I hadn’t thought about these in decades. Former educator and WCHS director Janis Ray had her elementary aged students create these profiles each year as a gift to their parents. These are displayed in a room dedicated to education and in which Janis taught.

IN GRANDMA’S ATTIC:

In Grandma’s Attic you can buy garage sale type items, like these lamps, with proceeds benefiting the WCHS. I really should have purchased the two matching lamps. Aren’t they fabulous?

IN THE OFFICE:

A recent donation awaits research and placement.

School letters left-over from West Concord High School are available for purchase.

School letters and numbers left over from West Concord High School are available for purchase. West Concord is now part of Triton Public Schools (West Concord, Dodge Center and Claremont). West Concord Public Charter School, however, is open in the community.

FYI: If you missed my first post on the West Concord Historical Society museum, click here. Today’s post is the second in a three-part series.

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Part I: Keeping the history in West Concord March 31, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: history, Minnesota museum, small towns, travel, West Concord, West Concord High School, West Concord Historical Society

EVERY COMMUNITY NEEDS a Janis Ray and a team of equally enthusiastic volunteers.

Janis Ray sits at the desk in a former classroom turned office space.

Janis Ray at her desk in a former classroom turned office space.

“We’re the keeper of the history,” says 86-year-old Janis, former educator and a current director/gambling manager of the West Concord Historical Society.

The 1902/1914 school is on the left, the 1936 gym on the right. Museum left, community center right. To enter, use the door between the buildings, in the area where the red car is parked in this photo. The school closed in 1991.

My husband and I met Janis recently while on a meandering day trip to several small towns in southeastern Minnesota. In West Concord, population hovering near 800, we happened upon the historical society and community center housed in an old school. After the school closed in 1991, the WCHS purchased the 1902/1914 building and the attached 1936 gym for $1, saving the complex from planned demolition. Several years later, the museum opened in this hulk of a multi-story brick building, the kind that can never be replaced in character and visual strength by a new facility.

A West Concord Centennial poster hangs in a hallway outside the research room.

I appreciate this museum, this building, even though I have no personal connection to the West Concord area.

Clothing and more of yesteryear grace The Heritage Room.

Beautiful handmade quilts are displayed.

The Veterans Room honors local men and women who served their country.

This structure houses not only local history, but everyone’s history. Or at least everyone who grew up in rural Minnesota. I delighted in room after former classroom themed to topics like veterans, fashion, farmers and merchants, education, the 1950s and 60s, heritage and more. Even hallways hold small town rural treasures.

Pull-down maps like this one of Minnesota remain in some classrooms.

Reminders of the building’s former use linger in blackboards, globes, pull-down maps and the “Principal’s Office” sign above The Farmers & Merchant Room doorway. You can almost hear students slamming locker doors and shuffling across worn wood floors.

The roof of the aged school is topped with this unique architectural structure.

I know I missed a lot simply because we arrived too late to study the three stories of collections in detail. The place closes at noon Saturdays and Janis was gracious enough to let us stay a bit past closing. Yet I left impressed. This is one of the finest small town museums I’ve ever toured.

A drawing of the 1902 school hangs in a hallway.

And, Janis will tell you, the largest in the area. She is proud of what this community has created. She graduated from this school and taught elementary school students here for 36 years. Her roots run deep.

Admission cost is a suggested $4 or a donation.

Perhaps that is what appeals to me—that personal connectedness spawning passion unquelled. You can’t match small town enthusiasm that brings locals like Janis here to volunteer 25 hours a week. She manages the liquor store pulltab fundraising which brings in $10K-$12K yearly to help meet annual historical society expenses of around $70K. Membership (there are 260 members from 24 states) and donations provide the remaining bulk of financial support. There’s no paid staff.

The museum includes The Cardinal Room filled with West Concord High School activity memorabilia.

Janis is serious about this business of keeping the history. She delights in young people coming here with their parents or grandparents, generations passing along the histories of this community and building to another generation.

The museum feels living room comfortable, like this 1950s living room set up in The 50's and 60's Room.

The museum feels living room comfortable. This 1950s living room staged in The 50’s and 60’s Room includes the first TV (a 1950 model on the left in this photo) sold in West Concord.

I felt at ease here, unencumbered by rules. Photography is allowed. You can meander among the exhibits; no ropes or half-walls fence you out. There’s a certain comfortableness that prevails, as if everything here belongs to you, even when it doesn’t. But perhaps it does.

There’s even a room to do research.

FYI: The museum is open from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. – noon Saturdays. Or call 507-527-2628 for an appointment. The museum is located at 600 West First Street, a block west of Highway 56 at the intersection with Olive Street. Click here to reach the WCHS website.

I will showcase the museum in two more posts because I have way too many images for a single story. And then I’ll take you into the West Concord High School gym built as a WPA project in 1936. It’s a treasure, too.

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One of the reasons I appreciate my community of Faribault February 5, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: businesses, Faribault, historic buildings, historic downtown, history, Minnesota, photo essay

I NEVER WANT TO TAKE my community for granted, as cliché as that sounds. But sometimes I do. We all do, I suppose.

We need to appreciate the place we call home as much as we sometimes criticize or yearn for whatever we think is better. The grass is always greener. Or so we think. Often it’s not.

A beautifully restored building a block off Central Avenue at 31 Third Street N.E. houses a restaurant and pub on the lower levels and a ballroom on the second floor.

A beautifully restored building a block off Central Avenue at 31 Third Street Northeast houses Alexander’s Supper Club and Pub 31 on the lower levels and a ballroom on the second floor.

Today I want to show you a photo snippet from downtown Faribault. These images reveal one of the reasons I value this community where I’ve lived for 31 years.

A mural, one of several in the downtown area, promotes historic Faribault. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

My southern Minnesota city is old, historic old. Fur trader Alexander Faribault established a fur trading post here in 1834. That was 15 years before Minnesota became a Territory. The city of Faribault was platted in 1855, three years before Minnesota statehood.

Sturdy, aged buildings define most of the downtown. It’s lovely.

Situation across from the post office, this former warehouse was restored. Today it houses Alexander's Supper Club and Pub 31.

Situated across from the post office, this former warehouse is home to Alexander’s Supper Club and Pub 31.

Just up the hill you'll find the Vintage Ballroom and Suites at 129 Central Avenue North. Bernie's Grill occupies the first floor.

Just up the hill a few blocks away from Alexander’s, you’ll find the Vintage Ballroom and Suites at 129 Central Avenue North. Bernie’s Grill occupies the first floor.

Historic buildings are reflected in the windows of Studio 14 Salon and Spa at 204 Central Avenue North. The salon created a “Frozen” display for a downtown holiday decorating contest, earning first place.

Grampa Al's, 28 Third Street Northwest, claims to be one of Minnesota's oldest bars.

Grampa Al’s, 28 Third Street Northwest, founded in 1929, claims to be one of Minnesota’s oldest bars. The business website says Grampa Al’s has been “serving hamburgers and cold refreshments since the end of Prohibition.”

Crafty signage suspended high in a window at The Crafty Maven hints at the crafty goodness you will find inside this historic building at

Crafty signage suspended high in a window of The Crafty Maven hints at the crafty goodness you will find inside this historic building at 212 Central Avenue in historic downtown Faribault.

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Toy stories at the Minnesota History Center December 11, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Baby Boomer, history, history center, memories, Minnesota, Minnesota History Center, museum, St. Paul, toys, TOYS of the '50s 60's and '70s

TOY: Object for a child to play with.

If you’re a Baby Boomer, that object may have been Tinker Toys or Lincoln Logs, anything space or Western related, a baby doll or Barbie or perhaps a troll. How about a Tonka truck? Twister or Cootie or Candy Land, anyone?

The Minnesota History Center’s “TOYS of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s” is a skip down memory lane for my generation. A recent tour of the exhibit, which runs through January 4, 2015, skipped joy into my heart as I spotted toys I hadn’t thought about in years. Sometimes it’s fun simply to forget about today and remember the carefree days of youth. The days of hopscotch and jacks and stick horses and…

Outdoor toys and a play area are part of the exhibit.

I didn’t see a jump rope, though, but perhaps missed it.

Oh, the hours sitting cross-legged with Tinker Toys scattered across the floor, attempting to construct a Ferris Wheel.

Oh, the anticipation of rolling a six on the die to insert the last of six legs into a Cootie’s body.

Oh, the tears that raged when I discovered my oldest brother had punched in the boobs of my new bridal doll.

Oh, the gratitude to my friend Robin for gifting me with a mini pink-haired troll at my ninth birthday party. It was the only troll or childhood birthday party I would ever have.

Some artsy favorites like Spirograph, Lite Brite and making bugs from goop.

Oh, the delight in creating kaleidoscopic designs with Spirograph’s pens and plastic shapes.

A museum visitor checks out the 1960s exhibit.

Memories rolled in waves as I perused the showcased toys. Some I had as a child; many I did not.

In the ’50s section of the exhibit, a Christmas tree with coveted toys of the decade.

I remember each December paging through the Sears Christmas catalog (AKA “Wish Book”) that arrived in our rural southwestern Minnesota mailbox, wishing for so much, knowing in my deepest desires that I would never get the Pogo stick I coveted nor the doll that cried with the pull of a string or a new bicycle (mine came from the junkyard).

Space toys were big in the 1960s and my oldest brother had a rocket.

I would receive what my parents could afford and I expect they sacrificed much even for that.

Toys strewn across the floor in a play area of the 1970s part of the exhibit.

Looking back, that inability to give me and my siblings a pile of toys was a gift in itself. Sure, I wanted the hottest new toy. That’s normal thinking for a kid who doesn’t understand family finances or a parent’s thoughts on curbing greed.

I remember life without TV and our first television, in black and white. And Mr. Potato Head, a popular toy back in the day.

I remember life without TV and our first television, black and white. And Mr. Potato Head, a popular toy back in the day.

Because of my upbringing, I have never focused on material things.

Anything Western related was especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Here you see the Western influence in furniture. My siblings and I spent countless hours riding our stick horses through the grove and, in the winter, around the house.

Yes, toys are fun to get and give, especially those that encourage creativity and imaginative play and don’t require batteries.

I cherish the blessings of family and home more than anything. I spotted this needlework in the 1970s portion of the exhibit.

But it is family that I cherish most. And when I toured the History Center’s toy and other exhibits, I did so with my husband, eldest daughter and son-in-law. Nothing skips joy into my heart like being with those I love.

As we left the museum, we voted for our favorite Minnesota made toy. My daughter and I voted for Cootie. Our husbands chose Tonka.

As we left the museum, we voted for our favorite Minnesota made toy. My daughter and I voted for Cootie. Our husbands chose the Tonka truck.

FYI: For information on “TOYS of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s,” click here. Just a little heads up: This exhibit was packed on a Saturday afternoon. I’d advise visiting this St. Paul museum on a weekday, especially if you want an opportunity to participate in the interactive parts of exhibits.

BONUS PHOTOS:

My son-in-law noted, as we toured the 1970s part of the exhibit, that toys began to reflect social issues such as being environmentally conscious.

A 1960s living room.

Never saw this cartoon and I'm glad I did. Audrey carrying a gun? Really.

I didn’t grow up on the Little Audrey cartoon and I’m glad I didn’t. Really, a little girl carrying a gun?

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In which I meet a Wisconsin blacksmith November 13, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: art, artists, blacksmith, blacksmith shop, Catherine Latane, cookie cutters, craftsman, history, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pepin, Tom Latane, travel, Wisconsin

DARKNESS AND RED-HOT HEAT and banging of metal against metal…

T-C Latane, 412 Second Street in Pepin, Wisconsin.

Memories of accompanying my farmer father to the blacksmith shop in my hometown of Vesta flash through my mind as I step into the shop of Tom Latané in Pepin, Wisconsin.

Blacksmith Tom Latane talks about his craft in the front part of his shop. Behind him are examples of his work.

Blacksmith Tom Latane talks about his craft in the front part of the shop he shares with his wife, Catherine. Behind him are examples of his work. Several artisans sells their wares here.

My husband and I have stopped here on a mid-week October afternoon during a brief get-away. By chance, we have found this life-long blacksmith in his shop where anvils and vises, buckets and axe and tools of the trade crowd the brick-floored space.

Tom splits wood in the area where he blacksmiths.

While Tom rapid-splits wood for a forge fire, I scan this grimy room with a good luck horseshoe clamped on brick above a neatly lined shelf of corralled chisels.

Hardware crafted by Tom.

Tom also works with wood, sometimes combining wood and metal in pieces.

Tom created this candleholding masterpiece.

Standing here in this time, in this place, with a man practicing the aged craft of blacksmithing seems almost surreal. But Tom has been doing this all his adult life, relocating from Maryland to open his Pepin shop in 1983 with his wife, Catherine, a tinsmith.

Two of Catherine’s cookie cutters.

She’s a native of Minnesota, just across the river, and an artist, too, who crafts tin cookie cutters by hand. Catherine is known for her commemorative Laura Ingalls Wilder cookie cutters in a community that each year celebrates its most famous native daughter.

An anvil in Tom’s shop.

Surely blacksmith shops existed in this area during the late 1860s when Charles and Caroline Ingalls lived with their family in a cabin in the Big Woods near Pepin.

Tom looks the part of a craftsman.

History holds this town. And Tom looks every bit the part of a long ago craftsman, untamed white beard and longish hair and period cap and suspenders giving him the appearance of a historic reenactor. But he is authentic, hand-forging locks, hardware, tools and candle fixtures.

Symbols of the trade for blacksmithing and tin cutting.

I almost expect Charles Ingalls to walk in the door.

A sign at the shop.

FYI: For more information about T. & C. Latané, as this couple calls their business, click here. The shop at 412 Second Street in Pepin is open from noon – 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, May – December or by chance.

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My impressions of Marine on St. Croix October 27, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: historic town, history, Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, St. Croix River, travel

The volunteer fire department is housed in the heart of the downtown.

The volunteer fire department is housed in the heart of the one-block, give or take a little, downtown.

MARINE ON ST. CROIX. It sounds so poetic, those four linked words that name a village banking the St. Croix River.

And it is that in the sense of feeling like you could be perhaps in South Shaftsbury, Vermont—although I’ve never traveled there and have no idea if this Minnesota community is at all like Shaftsbury—where Robert Frost penned his most famous of poems, “Stopping By the Woods On A Snowy Evening.”

A quick snapshot shows the Village Hall to the right and the Marine General Store on the far left.

A quick snapshot shows the Village Hall to the right and the Marine General Store two doors down.

Marine on St. Croix presents history and nature mingled in a quaint New England type setting. Here the 1870 General Store and 1888 Village Hall still serve this community of 700, although I have no idea where all those residents live. Apparently not near the town’s business district. Perhaps across the roadway which, to the north, will take you to Taylors Falls and, to the south, to Stillwater.

Fabric flags remind me of simpler times.

Fabric flags outside Reclaiming Beautiful remind me of simpler times.

This place has a timeless, poetic feel. Woods and river. Aged wood frame buildings. A history that stretches back to 1839 when this settlement was termed Marine Mills and served as home to the first commercial sawmill along the St. Croix River. That makes Marine on St. Croix 175 years old this year, founded 19 years before Minnesota became a state.

I can almost smell the scent of white pine which once forested this region, see logs bobbing in the St. Croix, hear the screech of saw against wood, domesticating trunks into lumber.