Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Two delicious Minnesota food events & that Wisconsin barn October 12, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:20 AM
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Diners dish up at last year’s fall dinner at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown.

IN RECENT YEARS I’VE become an enthusiastic church dinner foodie.

And this Sunday, October 14, my favorite of all church dinners will be served at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown, in western Rice County.

Let me tell you, these parishioners can cook. You’ll get real homecooked food from potatoes that have been peeled and mashed to garden grown squash to fresh-baked bread to ham that’s not pressed.

This is the meal you’ll get at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown’s, fall dinner and more. Delicious.

The full menu includes turkey, ham, potatoes and gravy, dressing, squash, corn, cranberries, bread and cake. If you pile all of that onto your plate, you won’t need another meal on Sunday.

And, get this: This generous fall dinner will cost you only $10 (ages 13 and older), $5 for 6-12-year-olds and free for those five and under.

Serving is from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Be prepared to wait upstairs in the sanctuary for tables to empty in the church basement.

You might want to attend the 9:30 a.m. church service so you can be among the first in line.

Participants in last year’s Chili Contest dish up chili at a business along Central Avenue during the Fall Festival.

ANOTHER AREA FOOD EVENT actually happens a day earlier during the Fall Festival in downtown Faribault from 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday. In addition to an 11 a.m. costume parade, pumpkin painting and other activities for the kids, a Chili Contest is part of the celebration.

You can eat your way down historic Central Avenue sampling about 30 chilis between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. I’d advise arriving earlier rather than later as in the past some competitors have run out of chili. I believe the cost is $3, a real deal considering you will have your fill of chili.

Be sure to vote for your favorite because the winning chili will be featured every Friday from October through February at Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza.

Seriously, people, two days of no cooking and eating great homecooked food on the cheap works for me.

FINALLY…REMEMBER that Wisconsin barn I featured here earlier this week? You know the one with the message “#12 is #1G.” I wanted you to guess if the barn was painted green, gold or red.

Well, dear readers, here is the true barn color:

Yes, the barn is red.

I know some of you are perhaps disappointed that the barn is not Green Bay Packers green or gold.

But, I must tell you that, while shopping at Festival Foods in Appleton, Wisconsin, last Saturday, my husband and I found green and gold brat and hamburger buns on a special Green Bay Packers food display.

I could have kicked myself for not bringing my camera into the grocery store. Randy photographed the buns with his cell phone. So if we ever figure out how to get that photo onto my computer, I will show you those green and gold buns.

I am not making this up.

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MY APOLOGIES, READERS, for the over-sized images here. But I’ve tried to reduce them without success; apparently some technical issues going on here with WordPress.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

My thoughts as a Faribault resident on the alleged crimes at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School October 10, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:07 AM
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In the distance you can see the clock tower on Shumway Hall at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, photographed last fall from City View Park.

I’D LIKE NOTHING BETTER today than to ignore the horrible, unspeakable allegations which have thrust my community of Faribault into the headlines.

In fact, Tuesday morning, I wanted to hide the Faribault Daily News from an overnight house guest from California and told him as much.

I mean, would you want your guest, a first-time visitor to Minnesota, to read this major news headline about the southeastern Minnesota community in which you’ve lived for 30 years: Former Shattuck teacher faces child porn charges.

All but one-fifth of the newspaper’s front page was devoted to coverage of the still unfolding story about alleged sexual misconduct involving at least six victims at a prestigious private college prep school on Faribault’s east side. Former Shattuck-St. Mary’s drama teacher Lynn Seibel (from 1992 – 2003) has been charged with 17 felonies, including 10 of sexual misconduct, and is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail, according to the news report.

This morning I awoke to these front page news headlines: Report: Another Shattuck teacher had sexual relationship with student—police reviewing 2008 investigation; New witness comes forward in Seibel case; Shattuck St. Mary’s has positive—and significant—impact on Faribault’s economy.

There are also accusations from law enforcement that school officials failed to report the discovery of child pornography on Seibel’s computer in 2003, the same year the former drama teacher lost his job at the school. Shattuck officials say they reported their discovery to authorities. I don’t know who’s telling the truth and who isn’t in this part of the case. That’s not for me to decide.

What I do know is this: Awful, horrible allegations like this make you realize that no place, no place at all, is immune from unspeakable crimes against our children by those in positions of authority. If, indeed, there has been any sort of cover-up—remember my wanting to hide the Faribault Daily News from my California house guest—then the case takes on additional significance. Thoughts of the Jerry Sandusky case can’t help but flit through my brain.

That all said, let me tell you what connection I, as a Faribault resident, have had to Shattuck-St. Mary’s and how I’ve viewed the school up until now. Mostly, I’ve always thought of Shattuck as a boarding/day school where rich people send their kids. (Current tuition ranges from $26,950 for domestic day students to $42,450 for international students.) Although that “rich people” conclusion probably is not entirely accurate, that is what I, and I expect many Faribault residents, think. I’m just being honest here with my opinion.

Landmark Shumway Hall at Shattuck during the annual Christmas Walk.

Shattuck is also an internationally-known hockey school, turning out winning teams and youth who go on to play professional hockey. I’ve attended one hockey game there and also enjoyed a figure skating show during the school’s annual Christmas Walk.

If one place captures the beauty of Shattuck, it would be the grand stairway in Morgan Hall photographed during the Christmas Walk.

In addition to the open house holiday event for the community, Shattuck hosts an annual Easter egg hunt and numerous arts-related performances that are open to the public.

A hallway leads to the 1889 Morgan Hall, photographed during the Christmas Walk.

And then there’s the physical campus itself. Founded in 1858 as an Episcopal mission school, the school’s two campuses feature some of the most gorgeous stone buildings in Faribault. The clock tower and archway entrance to the Shattuck main campus are notable city landmarks. Locals are married here, in this beautiful setting.

To think that this lovely and historic place of strong stone walls could hold secrets of alleged sexual abuse against the children sheltered here is nothing short of heartbreaking and horrible.

TO READ LOCAL NEWS coverage on the case, click here.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Photographing Webster, Minnesota, Part II October 8, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:29 AM
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Main Street/Rice County Road 3 in Webster, Minnesota. One of the best known businesses in Webster is the Ranchero Supper Club, near middle in photo, to the left of the white car.

WHENEVER I SNOOP around a small town, I wonder when someone is going to step outside of their home or business and ask why I’m taking pictures. Only once has that happened in my many Main Street visits. That was in Otisco, south of Waseca. When I explained who I was, the local relaxed.

If I lived in one of these rural towns and saw a stranger wandering with a camera, I’d question him/her, too.  But that’s me.

My traveling companion, my husband, is used to my curious ways, my quest for interesting photos. He even tips me off occasionally to photo possibilities. Yes, he’s a quick study.

One of the more unusual finds in Webster was this graffiti etched into brick on a downtown building. Names covered several separate sections of wall. I photographed this particular section because of the name Randy (my husband’s name) and “FUZZY,” which was the nickname for one of his sisters. No, they did no etch their names here. Anyone know the story behind all of this downtown graffiti?

Sometimes he probably thinks my photo ideas are crazy. But if he does, my spouse has the good sense not to tell me.

Here are the remainder of the interesting (at least from my perspective) photos I shot in Webster in northern Rice County several weeks ago.

More brick at the Webster Town Hall, a former school, I presume. I love that the old playground equipment has not been removed due to safety concerns. That’s the edge of an old merry-go-round you’re seeing to the left in the frame.

And just how often do you see a pay phone anymore? Well, in Webster you’ll find this one.

Interesting signage atop what I think is a former bank building.

One of Webster’s most interesting businesses: Sight on Survival, “a defensive products and law enforcement gear retail store.”

A snowplow blade awaits winter’s arrival.

To the west of Webster lies one of the most beautiful multi-purpose parks I’ve seen, the Webster Township Park. the park includes this ball diamond, basketball court, horseshoe pits, playground, picnic shelter and grills, nature trail and more.

TO SEE ADDITIONAL images, click here to link to my previous post, “Webster, Minnesota, on a Sunday morning in September.”

Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Caution: Machinery, deer (maybe even a John Deere) & a cold front October 4, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:33 AM
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IF YOU LIVE IN MINNESOTA, in the heart of farm land, you’ll totally understand the first part of the message below posted on a sign in front of the Henderson City Hall.

Slow moving farm machinery and deer chased from their habitat most assuredly are reasons to be extra cautious while traveling rural roads during the fall harvest.

As for that “Chilli on the Hilly,” strike the second “l” in “chilli” and you have chili served this coming Saturday at the Henderson House Bed and Breakfast up that road to the left (Minnesota Highway 19) and around the curve and then to the  right up the steep hill.

Or, strike that second “l”  in “chilli” and change the second “i” to a “y” and you have the current weather in Minnesota. Chilly. Ten inches of snow forecast for northwestern Minnesota today, folks.

Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Webster, Minnesota, on a Sunday morning in September October 3, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:39 AM
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Reflections in the window of the Webster Post Office.

IN WEBSTER, MINNESOTA, on a Sunday morning, the rooster crowed…

 the black cat prowled…

and the John Deere combine roared through town.

And we were an hour late for worship services at St. John’s Lutheran Church (due to an incorrect time published in an area newspaper).

Because we missed church and had an hour before serving of the annual fall harvest dinner at St. John’s, my husband and I had more than enough time to explore this unincorporated village in northern Rice County some 30 minutes south of the Twin Cities.

BRO Machine Company housed in an old creamery.

It takes all of about a few minutes to drive around Webster, unless you park, get out and search for photo ops to define the essence of this rural community. Only then do you notice the nuances that give Webster its character.

Like any small town, it’s worth your time to stop and appreciate, to notice the bikes dropped by kids on lawns, the toy trucks abandoned outside front doors, the aging buildings, the well-kept yards with beautiful flower gardens, and the rolling countryside around Webster. All of this makes you (or at least me) want to pull up roots and move to this peaceful place.

But since that’s not practical…I took photos a few weeks ago…in September.

A beautifully-landscaped yard in Webster.

A front yard in Webster.

I was particularly charmed by the friendly MN Valley Co-op Supply sign on the side of the building.

PLEASE CHECK BACK for one more post with images of Webster, which is only a few blocks long and wide.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

My opinion of Fargo, the film not the city, & a television series October 2, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:02 AM
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SO THEN, THERE, I watched that there Fargo movie just like I promised ya I would, albeit that promise was made, and this review written, months ago. Ya betcha.

But timing is everything. This past week the Academy Award winning writers of Fargo, native Minnesotans Joel and Ethan Coen, announced plans to executive produce an hour-long series for FX television loosely-based on Fargo. Perfect. Time to pull this review out of my draft box, update and publish it.

Since I don’t get FX, relying instead on a roof antenna to deliver several channels of programming to the single 1990s television in our house, I doubt I will ever view the new Fargo series. I have no idea what writer Noah Hawley, or the Coens, have planned for the small screen adaptation.

But, if the team can produce a show similar to the 1990s television series Northern Exposure, set in Alaska, I’d consider it a success. Honestly, I loved that geographic-centric show with strong local characters and could see the same premise working for Fargo.

That update given, let’s return to my opinion of the original Fargo film. To get you back on track, I’ll repeat the intro to this post:

So, then, there, I watched that there Fargo movie just like I promised ya I would, albeit that promise was made, and this review written, months ago. Ya betcha.

Honestly, people, I cannot write like I’m some northwoods hick. This is not how I talk either. Nor is this how Minnesotans or North Dakotans speak, although occasionally a “ja/ya” or “you bet” may slip into our conversations.

After watching the Coen brothers’ 1996 award-winning film for the second time, because I’ve visited the city of Fargo thrice already this year with the son now attending North Dakota State University, my negative opinion of the language in the movie has broadened. Now not only do I dislike the inaccurate accents and word usage, but I don’t like the bad language either. I apparently had forgotten about all the crude language written into the script.

Apparently I had also forgotten that seven—and I think I got that count right—characters are murdered. That’s a lot of bloodshed.

So what do I consider the film’s notable accuracies in depicting Minnesota?

The Coen brothers, who are native Minnesotans, got it right with the snowy highway scene, the scraping ice from the windshield, the buffet and the eggs for breakfast, the car needing a jump start and this weather phrase: “Gotta front comin’ in.”

But here’s what I really appreciate in Fargo: One of the main characters is a strong woman, Brainerd (Minnesota) Police Chief Marge Gunderson. She is gutsy and determined and she is married to an artist. That the Coens would write that key part for a woman impresses me, because, even in 2012, I am quite certain the number of women who head up police departments in Minnesota and North Dakota is relatively small.

I also like this line by Gunderson, spoken at the end of the movie as she ponders the loss of life, all because of money: “There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that?”

That statement is enough to redeem the movie for me.

But I’m still wondering why this film was titled Fargo. Sure, the opening scene takes place in Fargo. But that’s it. From there on in, it’s set in Minnesota. I suppose Brainerd doesn’t have the same ringing appeal or instant identity as Fargo.

And then I’m a bit confused by the discrepancies between the opening—which states that the events depicted in the film took place in Minnesota in 1987—and the afterward, in which viewers are told the film is based on incidents but not a true story. Which is it?

IF YOU’VE SEEN the movie Fargo, what’s your opinion of it?  Do you think it accurately depicts Minnesota and/or Minnesotans? Would you have chosen a different name for the film?

What do you think of plans for a television spin-off of Fargo? What type of content would you like to see in that proposed series? Would you watch it?

CLICK HERE to read a previous post I wrote about a woodchipper and movie memorabilia from the Fargo film on exhibit at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Missing the farm during a Minnesota harvest September 30, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 11:09 AM
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An elevator just outside of Vermillion, MN., near Hastings on Saturday morning.

DECADES HAVE PASSED since I’ve been home on the farm for harvest. My middle brother quit farming years ago and the home place is now rented out.

A harvested cornfield between Hastings and Cannon Falls.

I miss being on the farm, anticipating the bringing in of the crop, then watching the combines chomp through rows of brittle cornstalks and brown fields of ripened soybeans.

Between Hastings and Cannon Falls.

I miss the undeniable scent of earth and plant residue.

Harvesting corn just south of Hastings on Saturday afternoon.

I miss the grain wagons brimming with golden kernels.

The Vermillion Elevator, in the small town of Vermillion.

I miss living in a rural community where tractors and aged grain trucks line up at the local co-op elevator.

I miss the hum of grain dryers drying corn.

A grain truck waits on a gravel road near Cannon City, east of Faribault.

Now I view the harvest from a distance, as an observer passing by.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Roses & poetry September 29, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:33 AM
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Birthday roses from my husband, Randy.

WHAT WOMAN DOESN’T love roses and poetry?

After work on Wednesday, my 56th birthday, my dear husband brought me a dozen wrapped long-stem roses. Then he disappeared, tools and parts in hand, down the basement stairs to the laundry room to repair my clothes dryer which no longer was producing heat. Roses from the repairman. Perfect.

Simultaneously, I was upstairs in my office checking my email while my birthday supper, homemade lasagna, finished baking.

Crossings at Carnegie, housed in a former Carnegie library, is a privately-owned cultural visual and performing arts center in Zumbrota. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

Waiting in my in-box was this message from Crossings at Carnegie, a privately-owned arts center in Zumbrota:

Thank you for submitting poetry/prose to be considered for Crossings’ “It’s All One Water” exhibit. We received about 110 poems, from which jurors chose 28. It was exciting to receive such a fine outpouring of exceptional work from so many talented writers. Jurists told us they were a pleasure to read, and selecting those to be included was a difficult task.

We are pleased to inform you that your entry, “In which Autumn searches for Water,” was chosen to be part of this exhibit. Your poem will be on display, along with other written works and photographs, through the month of October.

How sweet is that? Another dozen roses, figuratively speaking.

I’ll admit that when I submitted “In which Autumn searches for Water,” I was confident my poem would be selected for Crossings’ joint collaboration with the Zumbro Watershed Partnership. I don’t mean that in an arrogant, haughty way. But I think those of us who write realize when we’ve written a piece that sings.

Not that I’m going to sing. You would not want to hear me sing. But I will read my water-themed poem during the Friday, October 19, “It’s All One Water” reception which begins at 7 p.m. A reading of written pieces, with screen projection of water-themed photos, will start at 7:30 p.m. next door to Crossings at the Zumbrota State Theatre.

A chapbook of selected photos and writing (maybe my poem?) also will be published.

There you have it, roses and poetry. Perfect.

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ANOTHER FARIBAULT RESIDENT, Larry Gavin, a writer who teaches English at Faribault High School (he’s taught all three of my kids), is also among the “It’s All One Water” selected poets. Larry, however, is eons ahead of me in poetry. He’s already published three poetry collections. Like me, though, he also was published on Roadside Poetry project billboards (now ending after a run of 22 seasonal poems). You can learn more about this gifted Faribault poet in a post I published nearly a year ago by clicking here.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hey, all you foodies and fun-loving folks… September 28, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:25 PM
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IT’S GOING TO BE ONE of those glorious fall weekends in Minnesota. Trees flaming with color. Crisp cobalt blue skies. A certain awareness that these sunny, warm days of autumn will soon morph into the gray weeks of winter.

But let’s not go there.

Instead, hop in the car and take a fall drive this weekend. Follow a meandering gravel road. Banish “hurry” from your vocabulary. Slow down. Park your vehicle and walk.

Then dine at a local community-centered activity like Cannon Valley Lutheran High School’s annual auction at the Morristown Community Center beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Wait a minute, you say. What does that have to do with food?

Well, the CVLHS event includes a bake sale. I know the woman organizing the bake sale and, based on that, you can be assured of an excellent selection of home-baked goods.

You can’t beat the food served during the CVLHS auction, like this pork sandwich, potato salad and homemade apple pie.

Not only that, you can eat a little lunch at the CVLHS auction. Hot pork, beef and cheesy turkey sandwiches. Salads. Pies from the Trinity Pie Makers (of Trinity Lutheran Church in Faribault, my church) and assorted desserts. The food alone is well worth attending this event. Take that from someone—me—who has sampled this delicious food several times. (Click here to read a previous post about the CVLHS auction.)

One dozen of Kathy Hallanger’s fall-themed cookies sold for $40 at a previous auction.

Check out the silent auction items (auction runs from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) and then stay for the live auction of items (beginning at 7 p.m.) like a week at an Iowa resort, theatre tickets, framed artwork, homemade cookies, a garden bench, 11 yards of clean gravel, a 2000 wheelchair accessible van and, ta-da, this just in from my friend Mike Young, volunteer development director at CVLHS:

Just to let you know…another example of how great people are…as I am standing in the office at CVLHS this morning…looking straight at the window…in pulls a pickup and trailer with an “M” 1944 Farmall Tractor for the auction!

So there, need a vintage tractor? Or how about a goat? Mike told me earlier this week about a game involving a real goat. Seems someone may be “stuck” with a goat, although you apparently can buy “goat insurance” to insure yourself from owning said goat.

The Ray Sands Band played at the 2011 Germanfest.

Then, on Sunday, head east of Faribault to St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township, for the congregation’s annual Germanfest which includes a 10 a.m. worship service, a 3 p.m. polka praise service and a German buffet served from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and then again from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Deutsche food served in 2011: German potato salad, red cabbage, sauerbraten, rinderwurst, a brat, sauerkraut, beets and green beans on my plate.

And, yes, I ‘ve attended and can vouch for the deliciousness of the German meal and the enjoyment of the polka service. Additionally, you’ll find a bake shop (there’s that food thing again), Christmas store, quilt show, petting zoo, root beer stand, bingo and farmer’s market. (Click here to read a post I published last September about Germanfest.)

Will you be attending a community event this weekend? If so, feel free to share in a comment. Or are you organizing or participating in any such event this weekend in Minnesota? Here’s your chance to spread the word. Submit a brief comment with info. It’s all about community here on Minnesota Prairie Roots.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A painting from my dear friend Rhody

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:16 AM
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IN LIFE, RHODY YULE, impressed me with his humble spirit, deep faith and artistic talent. He thought the best of everyone. He appreciated life so much that, even up until days before his June 2011 death when he was but a shell of his former physical self, he desired to live beyond his 92 years.

Celebrity portraits Rhody Yule painted and hung on his garage, where I first discovered his work in the fall of 2009 while driving past his rural Rice County residence.

Losing my friend of only a few years—the man I met because I photographed the portraits he had painted and hung on the side of his garage in rural Rice County—was difficult for me. Yet, I knew Rhody’s legacy would live on in the hundreds of paintings he created through the decades.

Rhody, minutes before his gallery show opened in January 2011 at the Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault.

It was my absolute honor, after discovering Rhody’s work, to bring his paintings to the public via a mini art show at Christdala Evangelical Swedish Lutheran Church, rural Millersburg, and then during a much larger gallery exhibit at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault.

And now Rhody, in death, has blessed me with the gift of one of his paintings, the painting he knew I most favored.

A sampling of the religious paintings Rhody exhibited at a mini show at Christdala on September 26, 2010. The painting on the right is the one Rhody gifted to me.

On Tuesday evening, the day before my 56th birthday and just a day shy of the two-year anniversary of that mini exhibit at Christdala—yes, I spent my 54th birthday setting up that art show for Rhody—I picked up the painting Rhody wanted me to have.

I’d known for a few weeks that I was to receive the painting I’ve come to call “Woman in Reverent Prayer.” Tuesday I phoned Rhody’s stepson, Bob, asking if my husband, Randy, and I could come over and pick up the piece of art in a half hour. That would work, Bob said.

“Woman in Reverent Prayer” by Rhody Yule

Over at Bob and his wife Kathy’s condo, Rhody’s prayerful woman painting leaned against the living room wall as we reminisced about the man we had each loved.

And as I remembered Rhody, I felt myself slipping into sadness. I missed him and wished I had known him longer.

Then, when Bob told me how Rhody wanted me to have that particular painting and how Rhody’s gallery show at the Paradise was the highlight of the last year of his life, the tears seeped from my eyes. To be able to give someone like Rhody such a gift, to realize how much this meant to him, prompts the most humbling and joyful of emotions.

Shortly thereafter as I caressed the painting, Bob suggested that I might want to replace the dinged frame. No, I would keep the frame Rhody crafted, I said, running my fingers along the wood.

Bob lifted the four-foot by 2 1/2-foot painting onto the dining room table then so we could examine the date under Rhody’s signature. We could barely decipher the faint curve of double sixes, meaning Rhody painted “Woman in Reverent Prayer” in 1966 when I was just 10 years old.

I know nothing, really, about the oil painting except Rhody once sharing that it was based on another painting or photo, minus the rosary beads clasped in the kneeling woman’s prayerful hands.

Now, each time I view Rhody’s painting, which will soon grace a wall in my living room, I am reminded of my friend’s deep faith. And I am reminded of how very much his friendship meant to me and likewise my friendship to him.

To realize that Rhody wanted me to have this painting simply touches my heart with gratitude and love.

Rhody and me at his opening night gallery reception in January 2011 at the Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault.

FYI: To read about Rhody’s mini art show at Christdala Evangelical Swedish Lutheran Church, click here.

To read about Rhody’s January 2011 gallery exhibit at the Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault, click here.

To read my tribute to Rhody upon his death, click here.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling