Minnesota | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Part I from Wanamingo, a classic small town in Minnesota March 21, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: main street, Midwest, Minnesota, small towns, thoughts, travel, Wanamingo

Driving into downtown Wanamingo along Minnesota State Highway 57 on a Saturday afternoon.

Driving into downtown Wanamingo along Minnesota State Highway 57 on a recent Saturday afternoon.

ON THE CITY WEBSITE, Wanamingo is described as a classic small Midwestern town in Southeastern Minnesota. That seems accurate.

What then is a classic small Midwestern town?

Visiting early Saturday afternoon in downtown Wanamingo.

Visiting early on a Saturday afternoon in downtown Wanamingo.

It is a place where, on a Saturday afternoon in March, two guys lean on the back of a pick-up truck and converse outside a bar and grill.

Posted at a local park. I edited the phone number from the photo.

It’s a place where a notice in the park information center requests help in finding Belle, a missing Siamese cat.

Walking the puppy downtown. Wanamingo still has an old style water tower.

It’s a place where a friendly young couple walks their curly-haired puppy, allows a visitor to pet him and then wishes the out-of-towner a good afternoon.

It’s a place with solid brick buildings in a downtown occupied by businesses like a meat market, a bar, a cafe, a garage, law and insurance offices, and grain bins banking the north end of Main Street.

I love the classic corner angled gas station.

Wanamingo has that small town rural feel, that sense of life moving at a slower pace. Traffic is minimal downtown, even though Minnesota State Highway 57 doubles as Main Street. And, yes, the main street is named Main Street.

In this classic small Midwestern town, kids drop bikes in yards.

Beautiful Trinity Lutheran Church. I'll take you on a tour of the church in an upcoming post.

I’ll take you inside Trinity Lutheran Church in an upcoming post.

A life-long resident tinkers with a light post outside Trinity Lutheran, a stalwart brick corner church that holds the histories of so many local families. Births, marriages, deaths.

Wanamingo, platted in 1904, is not Utopia. No place is. But it is a community of about 1,100 that seems, from outward appearances, to care, to want to look its best, to be the kind of place folks want to visit or call home. It is a classic small Midwestern town.

FYI: Check back tomorrow for the second post in my “from Wanamingo” series. I’ll take you inside the Area 57 Coffee Cafe.

Comments (19)

Mobile graffiti March 18, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: art, graffiti, Minnesota, Northfield, St. Olaf College, van

Photographed on the campus of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.

THIS TIME OF YEAR, vehicles in Minnesota can get mighty filthy. Road spray films windows with grime. Mud kicks onto fenders.

And the graffiti artist sees opportunity on a mobile canvas.

Comments (23)

You write the definition of… March 17, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: art, education, Flaten Art Museum, Minnesota, St. Olaf College, ugh, words

I PHOTOGRAPHED THIS three-letter word on the wall outside the Flaten Art Museum inside the Dittman Center of St. Olaf College in Northfield.

It’s meant, I believe, to be a work of art.

If you were to write a definition of ugh, what would you write?

Would you choose a standard dictionary definition? A synonym?

Or would you draw on a memory? Think of a repulsive smell or taste? Picture a creepy bug or other frightening creature? Perhaps a scene?

Go ahead. Write your definition here. Let’s see what creative thoughts those three letters—u-g-h—can unleash. (Note, your comments are subject to my editorial discretion, meaning let’s steer clear of topics like politics. This is a family friendly blog.)

Comments (48)

Anniversary event features amateur silent film clips from Faribault March 16, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: 90th anniversary celebration, Faribault, Fleckenstein Brewery, historic building, history, Minnesota, Rice County Historical Society, silent film, theater, Village Family Theater

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

I MAY NOT BE A FARIBAULT NATIVE. But I’ve lived here long enough—34 years—to surface-know local history.

A downtown Faribault mural featuring Fleck's beer.

A downtown Faribault mural features Fleck’s beer. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

So when Brian Schmidt, native historian, collector of Fleckenstein Brewery memorabilia and member of the Rice County Historical Society Board of Directors, called me recently, I listened. Faribault history interests me because, even if I wasn’t born and raised here, this community is now part of my family’s history.

Inside the historic Village Family Theater. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2016.

Inside the historic Village Family Theater. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo August 2015.

On Saturday, March 19, a previously publicly unseen piece of local history will debut on the big screen at the historic Village Family Theater in the form of a silent movie. I could hear the excitement in Schmidt’s voice as he talked about amateur film footage shot between 1935-1938 by Charles Fleckenstein of Faribault brewery fame.

Schmidt purchased the unmarked film at a Faribault auction house. When he started viewing the clips, he knew he’d stumbled upon something remarkable. And now he’s sharing that discovery in a 10-minute professionally produced silent film montage reminiscent of a bygone era.

Stacked inside the Harvest and Heritage Halls are these crates from Fleckenstein, which brewed beer and made soda in Faribault.

Stacked inside the RCHS Harvest and Heritage Halls are these crates from Fleckenstein, which brewed beer and made soda in Faribault. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo October 2015.

Viewers will see workers digging a tunnel and celebrating a birthday at Fleckenstein Brewery (yes, they’re drinking beer), plus other footage of a long ago golf course in the middle of town, the 1938 Faribault Jalopy Race and Thrill Day, The Top amusement ride on Roberds Lake, and the old Faribault Airport and The Bluebird Inn (a former high-end restaurant) south of town.

An edited photo of a sign at the Rice County Historical Society. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo October 2015.

The silent film, followed by the feature film, The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, kicks off the Rice County Historical Society’s 90th anniversary celebration. Set and filmed in Ireland, the movie seems the ideal classic for a post St. Patrick’s Day show.

I did a quick tour of the theater in August 2015. This sign sat in the lobby. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

I did a quick drop-in tour of the theater in August 2015. This sign sat in the lobby. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015.

After the movie, attendees can tour the historic theater, purchased in 2103 by Steve McDonough and since refurbished. The building, just off Faribault’s Central Avenue, was built in 1896 as an Armory, then converted to a funeral parlor in 1912. In the late 1940s, the building became the Village Movie Theater, closing some 40 years ago. It also served for awhile as the Village Bar and as a church.

The wooden floor is original to the theater. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo August 2015.

Schmidt says attendees at the RCHS event should take special note of supporting timbers in the basement. Those were cut to angle the floor for the movie theater. The floor is a floating floor, unattached to the walls.

Surrounded by history while watching history. That’s how I see it.

FYI: The 90th anniversary celebration begins with the silent film showing at 3 p.m. followed by the feature movie and tour. The Village Family Theater is located at 20 Second Street Northwest. Admission is $5 for RCHS members and $7 for non-members.

Comments (12)

When March springs into May-like weather in Minnesota March 13, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: March 12, Minnesota, Nerstrand, Northfield, outdoors, photo essay, Wanamingo, weather

Visiting early Saturday afternoon in downtown Wanamingo.

I NEEDED A DAY TRIP. A day to explore small town and rural Minnesota. A day to pull my Canon DSLR out of winter hibernation. A day to document life in this place I call home.

My husband, Randy, crosses the bridge across Shingle Creek in Wanamingo.

So my husband and I headed east on Saturday, through Kenyon and then on to Wanamingo for lunch, a tour of a church, a stop in Riverside Park and a short walk through the woods along Shingle Creek.

Water rushing over limestone. Sun shining. The smell of creosote on a bridge deck. Blue sky striped with thin white clouds.

Lovely.

Walking the puppy in downtown Wanamingo.

Walking with the baby and the dog in Northfield.

And everywhere, people. Walking. Alone. In pairs. With babies and dogs.

Going fishing in the North Fork of the Zumbro River, Wanamingo.

Fishing.

Biking along Goodhue County Road 30 past Riverside Park in Wanamingo.

Or biking.

This bike was parked outside the elementary school in Wanamingo on Saturday.

From Faribault to Wanamingo to Nerstrand to Northfield and back home.

Two bikers stopped at Nerstrand Meats.

In the throngs of people outdoors, I saw spring. Glorious spring, here unseasonably early with temps nearing 70 degrees. Saturday was the sort of day that we Minnesotans think impossible in mid March.

Rollerblading near St. Olaf College in Northfield late Saturday afternoon.

It was a day for lying in a hammock stretched between trees on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield. Or walking hand-in-hand. Or for rollerblading back to campus.

Motorcycles were out everywhere, including this biker on Division Street in downtown Northfield late Saturday afternoon.

It was a day for riding motorcycle. It was a day to do anything that took you outdoors.

A scene more like May than March in Nerstrand.

It was perfect.

Comments (16)

Photo memories of St. Mary’s of Melrose March 12, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:37 PM
Tags: Catholic, Church of St. Mary, churches, fire, Melrose, Minnesota, photo essay, thoughts

The Church of St. Mary rises above the land, defining Melrose. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.

The Church of St. Mary rises above Melrose. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.

TODAY, AS I PHOTOGRAPHED two rural Minnesota Lutheran Churches, I thought of another church I photographed nearly five years ago in Melrose. The Church of St. Mary. It’s a beautiful Catholic church. Opulent and splendid and filled with a spirit of holiness.

Friday afternoon that magnificent 1898 church 100 miles northwest of the Twin Cities caught fire. Damage is estimated at $1 million.

To current and former parishioners of St. Mary’s and to the Melrose community, I am deeply sorry.

A view from the back of St. Mary's Catholic Church looking toward the main altar.

A view from the back of St. Mary’s looking toward the main altar. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.

When I photograph a church, I do so because I appreciate the beauty, history, art, and faithfulness therein. I understand the significance of a house of worship in connecting and centering a church family and in building generations of memories and a tradition of faith.

Just look at this detailed side altar. I could have spent hours in St. Mary’s. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.

Today I understand even more, though, how important my work of visually preserving small town and country churches. If my St. Mary’s photos from 2011 comfort the folks of Melrose in the aftermath of this devastating fire, then I am blessed.

Click here to see my first photo essay, “Hail St. Mary’s of Melrose.”

Click here to see my second photo essay, “St. Mary’s of Melrose, Part II.”

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A summer-like day in March in Minnesota March 8, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:29 PM
Tags: Faribault, March 8, Minnesota, record warmth, weather, winter

At 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, the outdoor temperature in my Faribault backyard registered at 66 degrees. This photo shows the indoor/outdoor temp monitor atop my refrigerator.

IT WAS A THROW the windows open kind of day here in Southern Minnesota. Let the wind sail the scent of spring through the closed-up winter house. Air out the rooms. Turn off the furnace because it’s warmer outside than in.

Eat lunch outdoors. In the sunshine. In temps reaching about 70 degrees.

Tuesday was the kind of winter day that seems pinch me unbelievable. Is this really March in Minnesota? Or is it summer?

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All about love & family at my daughter’s baby shower March 7, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: babies, baby shower, daughter, family, Faribault, Minnesota, party, thoughts, tradition

I picked up three helium balloons for my daughter and son-in-law’s baby shower for a total of $3 at Dollar Tree in Faribault.

THE PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS flew in from California. The aunt drove 300 miles from eastern Wisconsin. A great aunt traveled from western Minnesota, near the South Dakota border.

I created this baby banner from construction paper, shiny paper letters, animals shapes and polka dot ribbon, then strung it across my living room window.

They gathered with 13 other guests (three of whom are pregnant) and three baby girls to celebrate the anticipated arrival of my first grandchild in less than two months.

Family from across the country shipped baby gifts to my home prior to the shower. I started stacking them, along with party supplies, in my daughters’ former bedroom.

I’d been planning this party, this baby shower, for months for my eldest daughter, Amber, and her husband, Marc. It was perfect. In every way.

Guests created personalized onesies using stamps, stencils, paint and permanent markers.

From the food to the conversation, art project, games and, yes, even the weather, the day proved lovely.

I purchased these napkins at Party Plus in Owatonna.

Guests loved the cute mini elephant roll-out cookies I made and sprinkled with pastel sugars. I borrowed the cookie cutter from a friend.

Beanie Babies were big when the mom-to-be and dad-to-be were growing up. So I asked guests to identify the elephant, lion and zebra. Only one guest correctly names them: Peanut, Roary and Ziggy.

Beanie Babies were big when the mom-to-be and dad-to-be were growing up. So I asked guests to identify the zebra, elephant and lion. Only one guest correctly named them: Ziggy, Peanut and Roary.

It was my honor and my joy to throw this party for my daughter and son-in-law. When I settled on a theme—zoo animals—my creativity sparked. Elephant themed napkins and dainty elephant cut-out cookies. A baby trivia game included questions about the gestational period of an African elephant (22 months), plus questions about the parents-to-be and more. The two grandpas were the lifelines.

The great nieces played while their moms and others passed opened baby gifts around my living room. That’s my husband in the doorway.

Laughter and conversation flowed. Arms of aunts and grandmas and cousins held babies. Wrapping paper fell onto the living room carpet, entertaining the 10 ½-month old who’s beginning to walk.

The adorable “Santa” outfit from Great Grandma Norma for Amber and Marc’s daughter.

The parents-to-be and guests, and grandparents, too, gushed over the red velvet Santa-style dress with matching hat and red-and-white striped leggings selected by Great Grandma Norma in California. You could almost hear the Minnesota dialect reaction, “Oh, fer cute.”

My daughter holds a colorful car seat activity toy for her daughter.

This whimsical creature from Uncle Jon Eric and Aunt Stephani in California drew many admiring comments.

My daughter Miranda, who lives in Wisconsin, bought this shirt for her niece. My son-in-law is showing off his daughter’s shirt.

Baby’s first doll, a colorful car seat activity toy, a pink “Someone in Wisconsin Loves Me” long-sleeved onesie. Cute. The hand-stitched burp rags, the floral headbands, the cloth diaper shells. Cute. So many gifts from those who love my daughter and son-in-law and my unborn granddaughter.

The grandparents-to-be flank the parents-to-be. From left to right, my husband, me, Amber, Marc and Marc’s parents, Lynn and Eric. We are standing outside the garage door. I found the “it’s a girl” banner packed in a shoebox with baby cards. Next-door-neighbors hung the banner on our garage door 28 years ago when our youngest daughter, Miranda, was born.

Sure, this young couple could have gone out and purchased most of these items. But there’s something special about gathering in a home, crowding into the living room to eat, visit, play games and then watch the opening of baby gifts.

I was delighted to have my two beautiful daughters in my home, together, for several hours.

I was delighted to have my two beautiful daughters, Miranda, left, and Amber, in our home for several hours. We haven’t all three been together since June.

This is about tradition. This is about family. This is about love. This is a baby shower.

FYI: Check back tomorrow when I’ll show you more baby shower details and ideas.

Comments (28)

In Owatonna: Sign sign everywhere a sign March 3, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: downtown, Minnesota, Owatonna, signs, thoughts

THIS PHOTO, SHOT while driving through downtown Owatonna, calls for close study. There’s just so much here. It’s like a Where’s Waldo or an I Spy book. The longer I look at this image, the more I see.

Signs dominate. They are everywhere, although one is missing in the empty frame above the bar.

Notice also the art—murals, bicycle bike racks and an artsy boxed street lamp.

Notice the buildings with a hodgepodge of bricks and a history to which I am oblivious. I’m sure locals know the story behind The Emporium Dry Goods Groceries Shoes signage.

Owatonna apparently has a thing about signs, at least to my visitor’s eyes. Around the corner in the heart of downtown, “thirty minute parking signs” populate the retail area where I shopped. These made me feel unwelcome, like “Don’t linger and shop in our downtown.” I kept checking my watch while perusing the merchandise at a party supply store.

Upon leaving that shop, I noticed signs popping up everywhere like unsightly weeds. I can’t recall specific messages. But most had to do with parking or loitering or other city ordinances. I doubt I’ve ever seen so many signs in a single Minnesota downtown. Visually, the sign clutter detracts. From a visitor perspective, the signs send a message that is not exactly welcoming. The next time I’m in Owatonna, I intend to examine this issue more closely. Maybe count the signs…

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From small town Minnesota: Should Gaylord keep its noon & 6 p.m. whistles? March 2, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: City of Gaylord, Gaylord, memories, Minnesota, noon whistle, sirens, tradition, water towers

I photographed this aged water tower, which looks a lot like the 1917 one in Gaylord, several years ago. It stands in Freeport, Minnesota, along Interstate 94.

WHAT IS THE PRICE of history, of nostalgia, of tradition in a small town?

Folks in Gaylord, a county seat community of some 2,300 in southern Minnesota, are grappling with that question as the city replaces its aging water tower with a new one.

Should the city spend several thousand dollars annually for inspections and $100,000 every 10 years for upkeep of the 1917 tower? Or should the tower be torn down? And, if so, what happens to the siren attached to it?

The issue isn’t simply one of economics. That’s clear in Facebook comments on the City of Gaylord Facebook page. Residents and former residents are discussing not only whether to keep the tower, but whether to continue with the tradition of blowing the noon and 6 p.m. whistles. A siren on the old water tower blares twice daily as it has for decades. The whistle has become a hot topic of discussion.

Wabasso's water tower, painted in the school colors and adorned with a white rabbit, the school mascot.

This aged water tower stands in Wabasso, Minnesota, where I attended high school. Wabasso means “white rabbit” and is the school’s mascot. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

I understand the small town nostalgia bit. I grew up on a farm near Vesta, a town of several hundred with an old water tower (long gone) and those roaring daily sirens. I also lived in Gaylord where I worked as a newspaper reporter for two years fresh out of college.

The noon and 6 p.m. whistles (and if I remember correctly, even a 9 p.m. whistle) in Vesta alerted residents to the time of day. Time for dinner. Time for supper. Time to get home and prepare for bed.

This water tower stands in Canton, Minnesota, near the Iowa border. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

Do those whistles still hold importance in 2016? Are they necessary? Are they welcome?

In perusing comments from Gaylord, I read of overwhelming support for keeping the whistles.

Folks write of the whistle in terms of small town charm and values, nostalgia, memories, historical importance, uniqueness and more.

One Gaylord native says of the siren:

It was the singular mechanical device that, by itself, taught us Gaylord kids what responsibility meant. If I and my siblings weren’t walking in the door at noon and six, there was hell to pay. It is a legacy.

Another commenter surmises:

I have continued the tradition and taught my children to listen for the whistle. A watch just isn’t enough when you are talking about kids. They need an audible reminder of the progression of time. The noon whistle is a blatant reminder of the time of day, as is the 6:00 whistle. I think it is an important tool for responsibility as we raise the next generations. The matter of $5,000 – $10,000 is actually a small price to pay when averaged out for a big payout. Besides, what is more monumental in a small town than a noon and/or 6:00 whistle. Can’t get that in the “big city”.

The City Council will decide on the 1917 tower and the whistle in several months. For now, they’ve taken this stand:

The council has determined taking it (the old water tower) down makes the most sense in the long run. The City is looking into keeping the whistle in some capacity…An alternative whistle is being explored; an unused severe weather siren (behind the Prairie House), is proposed to be relocated to the old water tower site.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS on keeping the aged tower and/or daily whistles? Let’s hear.

FYI: Click here to reach the City of Gaylord Facebook page. Read the comments and even listen to the siren.

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Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Part I from Wanamingo, a classic small town in Minnesota March 21, 2016

Mobile graffiti March 18, 2016

You write the definition of… March 17, 2016

Anniversary event features amateur silent film clips from Faribault March 16, 2016

When March springs into May-like weather in Minnesota March 13, 2016

Photo memories of St. Mary’s of Melrose March 12, 2016

A summer-like day in March in Minnesota March 8, 2016

All about love & family at my daughter’s baby shower March 7, 2016

In Owatonna: Sign sign everywhere a sign March 3, 2016

From small town Minnesota: Should Gaylord keep its noon & 6 p.m. whistles? March 2, 2016

Follow Minnesota Prairie Roots via Email

An essay of barn photos & memories; In praise of preserving country churches; & Testing the track during a Soap Box Derby trial run in Faribault

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