Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Worry, uncertainty prevail in flood-ravaged Zumbro Falls October 11, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 4:28 PM
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Jackie demonstrates how her 2-year-old great grandson scrubbed muck from the side of Rod's Service & Motel after floodwaters inundated downtown Zumbro Falls.

 

LONG-TIME ZUMBRO FALLS resident Jackie sits on a bench outside her son Rod’s combination motel, car wash, convenience store and service station along Minnesota Highway 60, the town’s main drag in this flood-ravaged community.

“It (the late September flood) took away their whole livelihood,” she says, noting the ruined tools and machines inside the water-damaged complex. A horizontal black line and the word “water” mark the floodwater depth, about seven feet high inside this building.

 

 

Just to the left of the motel sign, a black line marks the water height.

 

Her son and his family lost their home, too. Jackie still has a home as she lives outside the flooded area.

“It (the floodwaters) took the whole town,” she concludes. “I don’t think anyone was spared.”

Not even her. A six-bedroom, two-story apartment building that she owns next to Rod’s Service, was filled with water. She had the apartment sold; final papers were due to be signed on September 30.

 

 

Jackie was set to close on the apartment building in the background, next to her son's service station complex, just days after the flood. The water rose to the point where the siding color changes. Jackie also noted that the dairy trailer (left) floated from behind the station and slammed into a fence to the left in this photo.

 

Surprisingly, 77-year-old Jackie isn’t bitter. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” she says.

She’s lived here since 1958, never seen anything quite like the September 23/24 flooding of the Zumbro. Other times, the river “doesn’t quite get in your door,” she remembers. “But this time, boom!”

The flash flood gave residents no time to prepare.

 

 

A flood-damaged home along Water Street, a block off the main street.

 

 

Another home destroyed by the September flood.

 

Jackie appreciates the tremendous response from neighbors and volunteers—specifically naming high school juniors and seniors who came from nearby Lake City to help the residents of Zumbro Falls.

 

 

Flood clean-up volunteers are directed to the registration site in downtown.

 

Yet, the future of her community, of her son’s business, remains in limbo. “I don’t know at this rate if anyone knows where they stand.”

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The personal anguish in Zumbro Falls

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 4:23 PM
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“HOW ARE YOU FOLKS DOING?” I ask. In retrospect that seems like an idiotic question given the man, woman and an elementary-aged girl are working outside a flood-damaged home in Zumbro Falls.

But I don’t know what else to say and I genuinely do care about their welfare. The woman’s answer is unemotional and I can’t even tell you exactly what she said because her answer to my second question still burns.

“Is it OK if I take your picture?” I ask.

“I don’t want my picture anywhere,” she lashes out at me.

I do not expect this explosive reaction.

Then I turn my head toward the blonde-haired girl, who is sitting on the bumper of a pick-up truck to which a trailer is attached. I can’t even tell you what was in the trailer or the truck. But I remember that little girl’s face.

“You look sad,” I say, looking directly at her. She doesn’t respond. She just sits there.

At that moment, in that child’s face, I see the personal anguish, the fear, the devastation, the loss, that this late September flood has wreaked upon residents of this southeastern Minnesota community. The toll reaches far beyond the physical destruction of homes and businesses and possessions—including a trashed child’s red bicycle I’ve seen inside this family’s open garage.

This family is hurting. And as much as I wish this stressed-out woman had not taken her anger and frustration out on me, I understand.

There will be no photos of them, only my words, her anger, to show the tragic faces of this natural disaster.

 

The flood-damaged garage of the Zumbro Falls woman who would not allow me to photograph her.

 

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Waiting on FEMA in Zumbro Falls

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 4:11 PM
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“WE’RE ALL REDNECKS,” she says.

But she doesn’t mean the term in a negative way. Rather Tracy Yennie implies that she and her neighbors in flood-ravaged Zumbro Falls are hard-scrabble, independent folks who are determined to stay put.

“The whole town is awesome. Everybody knows everybody,” says Yennie, who’s called this place home all 31 years of her life. Up until the September 23/24 floods, she and her family lived in a house several hundred yards from the Zumbro River along “the river road,” Wabasha County Road 68, just outside of town.

Since the flood deposited four feet of mud and cinder block in her basement leaving her home uninhabitable, she’s been camping—in a shed on her property—and waiting on FEMA. “They’re just dragging their feet. They’re not affected,” she says, the frustration in her voice palpable.

With winter approaching, she’s worried about where she—where anyone in this town—will live.

“This has been the most stressful two weeks of my life,” Yennie says as she hangs out next to the Salvation Army trailer, across the street from the fire hall/city hall turned command center on a Sunday afternoon.

 

 

Tracy Yennie hangs out in downtown Zumbro Falls.

 

For weeks now this mother of four boys, ages 2 – 9, has been sifting through her life, she says, trying to decide which of her belongings to keep and which to throw.

Early on, when she talked with her boyfriend on the phone as he watched the river rise and cross the road toward her home (she was out of town), she knew what was most important. She told him to save the baby pictures. But he couldn’t find them. Yennie later found the box of pictures buried in mud. She threw the photos in a bucket of water, dried and saved them.

She understands what can, and can’t, be replaced.

For the most part, Yennie sounds strong. But you can see the worry in her tired eyes and sometimes hear it in her voice, when the tough veneer cracks just a bit. “People are starting to get stressed,” she says, repeating that word, “stressed.”

She has no flood insurance. Few residents did. The town isn’t in a flood plain, she says.

 

 

A flood-damaged home in downtown Zumbro Falls.

 

 

The owner of this water-ravaged home along Minnesota Highway 60, the main route through Zumbro Falls, still has a sense of humor as Halloween approaches.

 

Despite all of her worries about the future, despite her anger at FEMA, Yennie is quick to praise the Red Cross, the church groups and others who have thronged to this community to assist flood victims.

 

 

A Red Cross Disaster Relief vehicle pulls into the command center at the fire hall Sunday afternoon.

 

Twenty-four men from Barron, Wisconsin, with Mennonite Disaster Services, came to her aid, helping with clean-up at her riverside home. She’s grateful to them.

 

 

Inside the Zumbro Falls fire hall, a Thank You Wall recognizes those who have helped with flood recovery.

 

Now, as Yennie ponders a question about life someday returning to “normal,” she laughs. “What’s normal?” she asks. “Normal is a setting on a washing machine.”

 

 

Trash containers line gutted businesses in downtown Zumbro Falls as the community works toward returning to "normal."

 

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A trip to view the fall colors detours in Zumbro Falls

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 4:05 PM
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DEAR READERS:

On Sunday afternoon my husband and I headed east on Minnesota Highway 60 to enjoy the fall colors. We intended to drive to Wabasha, then aim north toward Lake City and maybe Red Wing before returning home to Faribault.

Along the way, we stopped at Holden Lutheran Church near Kenyon so I could snap a few photos. We both appreciate old churches and would have lingered longer except the pastor was in the middle of his sermon and we didn’t want to enter the sanctuary and interrupt.

 

 

The Rev. Bernt Julius Muus, the founder of St. Olaf College in Northfield, was a pastor at Holden Lutheran Church near Kenyon. The congregation was organized in 1856 and this church was built in 1924.

 

From there, we drove to Zumbrota for a picnic lunch at the historic covered bridge.

 

 

The covered bridge in Zumbrota dates to 1869 and is promoted in Zumbrota as the only covered bridge in Minnesota. However, I am aware of another covered bridge, that one in Mantorville.

 

Then we resumed our Sunday afternoon drive, traveling briefly on U.S. Highway 52 before exiting onto Highway 60.

After passing through the town of Mazeppa, we reached Zumbro Falls, a community of less than 200 that was, just 2 ½ weeks ago, ravaged by the floodwaters of the Zumbro River.

We pulled our car a block off main street and parked. I grabbed my camera and notebook. And that was the beginning of the end of our planned afternoon to view the fall colors. Instead, we viewed homes and businesses extensively damaged by the flood. And we spoke to some of the people of Zumbro Falls before driving about five miles further to Hammond.

I am sharing their stories in a series of posts that I hope will help you better understand the devastation from a personal perspective. I could have spent many more hours talking to flood victims. I could have dug deeper. I could have taken more photos.

But I think my stories are emotional enough, deep enough, to convey the frustration, the anger, the resilience, the gratefulness of a community that is suffering.

Typically, I would publish these posts over a several-day span. However, these stories need to be told now. Not tomorrow. Not the day after. But today.

So, please, take time to walk with me through portions of Zumbro Falls and Hammond, where you’ll meet Tracy and Jackie and Susie and Katie. They are strong, opinionated women. I have no doubt they will overcome this present obstacle in their lives.

Yet, even though they are tough as nails, they still need our help, our prayers, our support.

Of all the questions I asked of them, I failed to ask the most important: “Is there anything I can do for you?”

#

PLEASE WATCH FOR these posts as I begin publishing them this afternoon. If you have thoughts to share, share them.

Although my Sunday afternoon did not go as I envisioned, I am thankful for the detour from the planned route. My eyes and heart were opened. I saw destruction and beauty—that beauty being the irrepressible strength of the human spirit.

 

 

Beautiful fall colors provided the backdrop for this pile of destroyed appliances and other debris in Hammond.

 

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Kids in costume on Central

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Costumed kids and their families walk down Central Avenue in Faribault.

 

THEY WERE, OH, so cute. What else can you say about kids—from babes to elementary-aged—dressed in costumes for a parade through downtown Faribault during Saturday’s Fall Festival?

You can only smile, as big and sunny as the autumn day that was absolutely, undeniably, gorgeous.

Singly or hand-in-hand they walked, or danced, or rode on dad’s shoulders, or slept in a stroller as they paraded down Central Avenue.

Fairy-princesses. Two Dorothys. A contingent of scarecrows and a lion, but no tin man (that I noticed). A pasty-faced skeleton. Kids role-playing, the center of attention for several blocks on the main street of a Midwestern town on a Saturday morning.

And then afterward, they scrambled for treasure in hay, stroked paint upon pumpkins and drew chalk art on pavement.

All the while parents and grandparents smiled and snapped photos on a stunning day that was more summer-like than autumn for the kids in costume on Central.

 

 

The wings of a little princess on parade.

 

 

Dragon rides.

 

 

A slumbering babe and doll, ride through the parade.

 

 

Winged princesses were by far the most popular characters.

 

 

Fifteen-month-old Erin dressed as a lion.

 

 

The ruby red slippers of one of two Dorothys.

 

 

Princess Isabella, 5, paints a pumpkin.

 

 

Faribault High School freshman Sagal of the Students Together Offering Peer Support, paints a heart on the face of Ariah, 4, in the kids' activities area on Central Avenue..

 

 

Kelsie, 3, paints a pumpkin after the costume parade.

 

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Autumn splendor in my Minnesota backyard October 10, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:20 AM
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LATELY I’VE BEEN so focused on driving somewhere to view the fall colors that I’ve failed to notice the autumn splendor in my backyard.

But when Arkansas relatives stopped the other day and remarked on the brilliant foliage, I paused to look. They were right.

My neighbor’s maples are ablaze in eye-popping orange and golden hues dappled with green.

And behind my house, the single maple is transitioning from green to yellow.

Curling leaves already carpet the lawn.

When I stepped outside early Thursday morning to hang laundry on the clothesline, I paused, basket in hand, and stared at the cobalt blue sky. Only in autumn do you see a sky so profoundly, deeply, purely blue.

I set the basket down on the steps. The wet clothes could wait a minute or ten. I rushed inside, grabbed my camera and aimed toward the sky, the trees, then toward the ground to those fallen leaves…

over to the petunias

and the hydrangea

and the mums.

God’s creation, in glorious splendor, awaited me. And on this day, I chose to see the beauty He had given to me, right in my backyard.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Seventeen soups on a Saturday October 9, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:30 AM
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Crockpots full of homemade soups line the table at my sister and her husband's annual October soup party.

 

EVERY YEAR for the past seven, my sister, Lanae, and her husband Dale have hosted an October soup party.

Friends and family and neighbors come bearing crockpots brimming with homemade soups—like French onion, oyster, wild rice, chicken noodle, potato—and the wildcard chilies.

Weeks before the Saturday evening event, we inform Lanae of the soup we’re bringing and she approves the selection. She doesn’t want duplicates.

Then on the appointed date, which this year came in early October rather than the typical Halloween time-frame of previous parties, we simmer our soups and, around 5:30 p.m., arrive at her Waseca home.

In the backyard, Dale already has a campfire blazing.

We place our containers of soup on banquet tables set up in the garage and plug the crocks into outlet strips. An extension cord snakes to the next-door neighbor’s house so there are no blown circuits.

Soon the tables, decked in festive Halloween décor, are crammed with crocks of tantalizing soups. Labels and ladles—the ones guests are required to bring—are propped next to pots.

 

 

The soups included Norwegian Fruit, brought by my Aunt Marilyn, who is proud of her Norwegian heritage.

 

At the other end of the table, brownies and cupcakes and a pumpkin-shaped cake, bloody finger shortbread cookies (made every year by my young nieces) and a gallon container of cheese balls (also a tradition) quickly fill table space.

 

 

My niece Tara, who has a talent for cake decorating, created these festive cupcakes.

 

But Lanae always reserves room for Julie’s bread. Next-door neighbors Julie and Brian arrive shortly before meal-time with baskets of piping hot homemade breads, the perfect, expected, accompaniment to all those soups.

 

 

Neighbors Brian and Julie always bring baskets of fresh homemade breads.

 

At 6 p.m., my sister picks up a vintage tray and bangs a spoon against the metal. She offers instructions to soup party newbies: “Take three or four bowls and put a little soup in each so you can try all the soups.”

 

 

Lanae sets out stacks of vintage metal trays for her soup party. The cheese balls in the orange tub are a must-have every year.

 

 

Some of the soup selections on a diner's tray.

 

 

Party guests line up to ladle up the homemade soups.

 

On this Saturday evening, 17 soups are available. I try most and, if I had to vote for my favorite, it would be the Greek Chicken and Lemon Soup with Orzo. First, the exotic name impresses me and then the tangy lemon paired with chicken pleases my taste buds. I also especially like the Wild Rice and the Reuben Spaetzle, of which I get the last scrape-the-bottom of the crock ladleful.

 

 

Sisters Becca, left, and Amber, right, sample soups with their cousin Whitney..

 

As we sit around card tables or banquet tables inside the garage or on the driveway, sampling the soups, sipping wine or beer or pop or water, snuggled in sweatshirts in the briskness of an early October evening which should be warmer, I am content.

This soup party is the ideal way to welcome autumn in Minnesota. Good food. Good conversation with family and friends.

Kids running carefree in the yard after dark with glow lights.

 

 

Four-year-old Kegan plays football with his dad before supper.

 

Wood crackling and flaming in the backyard bonfire.

Seventeen soups on a Saturday. Can October get any better than this?

 

 

More of those incredible soups.

 

FYI: HERE ARE THE SOUP OFFERINGS from Lanae and Dale’s seventh annual soup party, attended by 44: White Chili, Cheesy Chicken Wild Rice, Rueben Spaetzle, Oyster Lentil, Barley Vegetable, Greek Chicken & Lemon Soup with Orzo, Cauliflower/broccoli, Cheesy Chicken Chowder, Wild Rice, Gunflint Chili, Red Chili, Italian Meatball Veggie, Roast Pepper, Norwegian Fruit, Chicken Noodle, Split Pea and French Onion.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hit one out of the cornfield for the Minnesota Twins October 8, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:02 AM
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Montgomery Orchard celebrates the Minnesota Twins' 50th anniversary with a Twins logo corn maze.

 

HEY, ALL YOU APPLE-LOVING Minnesota Twins fans, if you want to test your Twins knowledge and your navigation skills, head to Minnesota’s version of The Field of Dreams at Montgomery Orchard, like I did last weekend.

Just a note here, before I tell you more about this opportunity. Please do not mistake the previous apple reference for any endorsement of The Big Apple-based New York Yankees.

Montgomery, Minnesota, orchard owners Scott and Barb Wardell clearly love the home team as they’ve created a six-acre corn maze in the shape of the Twins emblem. But that’s not all. They’ve developed a trivia game that challenges maze visitors to answer questions about the Twins at home plate; first, second and third bases; the pitcher’s mound; short stop; and right, center and left fields, depending on the selected maze route.

Since I don’t exactly like mazes, having once survived a terrifying mirror maze at Arnolds Park in Lake Okoboji, Iowa, during my teen years, I opted for the short Be-A-Mazed half-hour route. Fortunately, my husband agreed to lead me through the cornfield because I possess minimal map reading skills or sense of direction or knowledge of The Twins.

 

My husband leads the way through the short corn maze route. If you get lost and think you can just follow the corn rows to get out, forget it. The corn is not planted in straight-shot rows.

 

But my 24-year-old daughter and three of her friends, who had driven down from Minneapolis for the afternoon and who are the ultimate Twins fans, along with my teenaged son, opted for the longer maze with far more winding trails and far more trivia questions. At least one of the four women had brushed up on Twins trivia. I wondered, though, why none of these Twins fanatics were wearing Twins attire.

 

My oldest daughter, left, and three of her friends drove down from Minneapolis to navigate the maze, pick apples and rave about the homemade hot dogs from Edel's Meat Market, an on-site vendor.

 

Who am I to talk, though? I probably should not admit this. But since I am an honest person, I will reveal that, except for the World Series games in 1987, I have never watched an entire professional baseball game on television or ever attended one. I am the rare individual who really does not care about sports. I had come to the orchard corn maze simply because I wanted to see my daughter.

While I was there, I decided to exert some effort toward answering the Twins trivia questions. The problem, however, is that nearly everything I know about baseball history is limited to names—Harmon Killebrew, Tony Olivia and Rod Carew. I learned about those players decades ago from my eldest brother who listened to the Twins games on his transistor radio and who insisted on being Harmon Killebrew whenever we played farmyard softball.

I figured that long-ago role-playing and sportscasting would be helpful in the maze trivia contest. Plus I do know a bit of current trivia: Joe Mauer plays for the Twins. Yup, I figured “Mauer” might be the answer to at least one question.

But, after reading the first set of questions at home plate, I realized I’d never win this game.

Here’s the first rookie question I faced at home plate: Which of the following Twins legends are not in the Baseball Hall of Fame?  a. Harmon Killebrew  b. Tony Olivia  c. Rod Carew  d. Kirby Puckett

I had no clue. None. Nada. Strike one.

So, I moved on to the All-Star question: What American League catcher holds the record for the most All-Star selections?

I suspect if I knew the definition of “All-Star” that would help considerably. Strike two.

Heck, I may as well go for the Hall of Fame question: Name three Minnesotans that grew up to catch for the Twins.

Uh, yeah, so like I have no idea what positions Harmon or Tony or Rod played. Not even Joe, although I think he’s a catcher but I would need to verify that.  Sorry, Joe. Strike three. I’m out!

After that I decided to forgo the trivia and concentrate on getting through, and more importantly out of, the corn maze. As my husband and I wound our way along the rock-hard dirt path that twisted through the towering dried corn, I repeatedly asked if he knew where we were going. He said he did and I trusted that he did, although a few times I wished aloud for bread crumbs to drop along the path.

Or perhaps leaving a trail of peanuts and Cracker Jacks would have been more appropriate.

 

The Twins trivia questions are posted at baseball positions in the corn maze.

 

 

My husband climbs to a platform in the midst of the cornfield.

 

 

From the elevated platform, you get a bird's eye view of the corn maze and the countryside. Montgomery Orchard is donating $1 of each maze admission to the Twins Community Fund.

 

 

After completing the maze, head to the orchard to pick apples.

 

 

Or you can head to the store for pre-picked apples, local honey, jams, jellies, Cortland caramel apples and more. Peruse the wagon full of pumpkins from a neighboring farm on your way there.

 

 

You can choose from bags of apples lined up on the store porch. The orchard grows 13 apple varieties.

 

 

Musicians entertain inside and outside the store, depending on the weather.

 

 

Down in the pole shed, visitors can help make apple cider during a 2:30 p.m. daily demonstration.

 

FYI: Be-A-Amazed corn maze is located at Montgomery Orchard about an hour south of the Twin Cities and just south of Montgomery one mile east of the intersection of state highways 99 and 13 along highway 99. Regular orchard hours are from 1 – 6 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday and Sundays. (Check the Web site for Be-A-Mazed-At-Night dates.)  Last corn maze admission is taken at 4:30 p.m. and reservations are recommended for large groups. Cost is $6.75 for ages 11 through adult; $5.50 for ages 4 – 10; and free for those under four.

In addition to the maze, apple picking, cider making and entertainment, Montgomery Orchard offers a 1 1/4-mile nature hike through the prairie. A free adopt-a-tree program is also available for youth.

Click here for info about Edel’s Meat Market, which serves those delicious (according to the Minneapolis residents) hot dogs and homemade brats.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Reaching out, helping Faribault area flood victims October 7, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:00 PM
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TWO WEEKS AFTER floodwaters inundated many southern Minnesota communities, including Faribault, efforts continue to help those in need. Tonight I attended an all-you-can-eat chili feed at Hy-Vee Food Store. Proceeds will go to the local Red Cross chapter to assist flood victims in the area.

Rice-Le Sueur Counties Red Cross Executive Director Angela Storch, who has been on the job only nine months, was at the feed, passing out hugs and information and sharing her obvious passion for helping others. She is a non-stop bundle of energy and, she readily admits, can’t stop talking.

But that’s a good quality. You need someone with Angela’s leadership abilities and communications skills to handle a disaster like this. As she shared general stories about families who’ve been pushed to the edge, reeling from the loss of their homes, or severe damage to their homes, I could feel her genuine care. About 70 homes in Faribault were affected by floodwaters or sewer back-up.

The Red Cross has been dealing not only with the physical needs of flood victims, but also with the mental health issues that often follow a traumatic event such as this, Angela told me as she grabbed a bowl of chili. She’s referred individuals to other agencies qualified to assist with those health needs.

She’s quick to praise Faribault’s mayor, local emergency directors, the Salvation Army, area food shelves and businesses like Hy-Vee that are reaching out to help. The grocery store donated $9,000 in hand-sanitizers/disinfectants. She’s thankful for the volunteers who’ve aided flood victims, for those who are organizing benefits—there are three more in the next several days—for the spirit of “Minnesota Nice” that prevails.

I asked if volunteers are still needed to help with clean-up. She needs to get updated on that, but suggested calling the coordination center. Angela expects requests now will be for people with wheelbarrows and crow bars and strong backs and arms who can gut and cart building materials up stairs and out of flood-damaged homes.

Through the entire process, this former Faribault United Way director says she’s learned so much. She once considered Red Cross funding requests, but now she understands, really understands, she says, just how much the Red Cross does.

For today, that’s mainly helping victims of the devastating floods that swept through southern Minnesota two weeks ago.

FYI: Call (507) 332-6234 to volunteer with flood relief efforts.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Together let’s make this harvest season safe

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:07 PM
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Bishop Jon Anderson, Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, blesses the Prahl family.

 

SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I wrote about a Tractor Roll-in and Harvest Blessing Service at Trinity Lutheran Church in rural Gaylord.

Yesterday I received my September 30 issue of The Gaylord Hub, a community newspaper where I worked for two years right out of college. Even after three decades removed from Gaylord, I’m still interested in the happenings in this small town.

As I paged through the issue, I came across a photo on page four from the Trinity harvest blessing service. Pastor William Nelsen had e-mailed the same image, and several others, to me. But they were just sitting in my in-box and I wasn’t sure I would ever publish them on Minnesota Prairie Roots.

But then, yesterday, that blessing service photo in The Hub, followed by a story two pages later, prompted me to write this post. The news article shared information about an accident in which a farmer’s clothing became entangled in a power take off driven rotor shaft. The farmer sustained severe head, chest and arm injuries and was airlifted from the scene. The irony of the harvest blessing photo and the farm accident story publishing in the same issue of The Hub was not lost on me.

Yes, harvest season is well underway here in southern Minnesota. And with it comes the added danger of accidents on the farm and on roadways. Farmers are tired, stressed, overworked.

Motorists are impatient and in a hurry.

This time of year we all need to take great care as we’re out and about in rural Minnesota. If you get “stuck” behind a combine or a tractor or a slow-moving grain truck, exercise caution and don’t be in such an all-fired hurry to zoom around the farm machinery.

If you’re a farmer, please use proper signage, turn signals and flashing lights and stick to the edge of the roadway as much as you can. Bulky farm machinery limits a motorist’s ability to see around you, which can lead to accidents.

Together, with understanding and patience and, yes, even consideration, farmers and non-farmers can join in making this a safer harvest season.

 

 

Pastor Bill Nelsen blesses the Klaers family and their harvest during the service.

 

 

Pastor Bill Nelsen blesses the Kahle-Giefer family and their harvest. Farmers drove about 40 tractors and combines to the worship service attended by 200-plus worshipers.

 

 

I snapped this harvest photo along a rural road near Northfield on Sunday afternoon.

 

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Photos courtesy of Margie Nelsen