Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Utica, not New York, but Minnesota February 23, 2016

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A farm site just minutes east of Utica.

A farm site just minutes east of Utica in southeastern Minnesota.

YOU NEVER KNOW what oddities will surprise you in a small town, which is precisely why I delight in exploring rural communities.

Utica, a town of about 300 located along U.S. Highway 14 between Rochester and Winona, definitely presented some attractions worth photographing this past September. I use the word “attractions” loosely. What I find interesting may go unnoticed by others.

I'm always happy to see a grain elevator that has been maintained and is appreciated.

I’m always happy to see a grain elevator that has been maintained and is appreciated. These are small town treasures.

It was the red and grey grain elevator jutting above Utica that drew my husband and me off the highway and into this community as a freight train roared through town.

Utica may not have a website, but it has this sign to tell you a bit about the town.

Utica may not have a website, but it has this sign to tell you a bit about the town.

From there we swung onto Main Street and noted that Utica was founded in 1858, if the signage on Utica Storage is accurate. We laughed at the “ELV. PRETTY HIGH” notation.

The law.

The law…

...up close.

…up close.

And, if not for Randy, I would have missed the 10 Commandments posted on the front of the building.

The "can't miss it" house.

The “can’t miss it” house.

Then, in a residential area, a Victorian house painted in lavender hues presided on a corner. I wondered for a second if it might be a tea house, but saw no such signage. Apparently the owner just really likes this hue given the outbuildings are also painted lavender.

This reminded me of my Aunt Marilyn, whose house is not lavender, but who loves the color. And I once worked with legendary Northfield News editor Maggie Lee, who wore only lavender.

Utica is definitely a farming community.

Utica is definitely a farming community.

Utica’s final attractions were two tractors—a wonderfully restored John Deere and a rusting Farmall—staged for sale outside a shed.

Now, if we’d taken the fast route home via Interstate 90, we would have missed all of this. Utica would remain just a sign along the interstate. I would know nothing of its character, its individuality, its colors.

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Oddities & art at a rural Minnesota flea market September 3, 2013

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WHENEVER I SHOP a flea market with my camera, I challenge myself to find and photograph items that rate as unique, odd, artistic. I consider shapes and fonts, weirdness and, really, anything unusual that catches my eye.

Sunday afternoon browsing the Rice County Steam and Gas Engines Show Flea Market in rural Dundas provided plenty of subject matter.

Here are my top picks for flea market art and oddities, starting with the weirdest, a trio of doll heads in a colander:

Kind of creepy if you ask me.

Kind of creepy if you ask me.

The same vendor, Lou of Mantiques LLC (gotta appreciate that creative name), also offered another odd item, a child’s coffin, for sale. It drew my interest in that unsettled sort of way when you’re curious enough to ask but are uncertain you want to hear the story.

A child's coffin.

A child’s coffin.

According to Lou, who speaks with a thick accent even after 18 years away from Boston, during the diphtheria epidemic parents built coffins in advance, storing the boxes in barns in anticipation of their children’s deaths. Sad. Just plain sad. The coffin Lou was selling has never, obviously, been used but was passed down through the generations. Not in his family; some other. I can’t imagine anyone buying this coffin, but…

Michniewicz Sales presents "Quality Lawn Ornaments" made in the USA.

Michniewicz Sales presents “Quality Lawn Ornaments” made in the USA, in living color.

To balance the melancholy of that story, let me show you a sampling of Bob Michniewicz’ kitschy lawn ornaments. I first met Bob a year ago at the same flea market, photographed and blogged about him (click here to read that post). He was happy to see me again as, apparently, the publicity I gave him last September resulted in the sale of 10 cow lawn ornaments. Bob extended an open invitation to photograph his art anytime I please.

Tool and/or art, you decide.

Tools and/or art, you decide.

Now not all vendors are likely aware that they’ve created art. Or perhaps the art unfolds in the eyes of the beholder. While most flea market shoppers would see open end wrenches, dies, a brush and a turnbuckle hook when viewing these tools, I see something more—a collage.

Historic art.

Historic art.

Ditto for community celebration and homecoming buttons. These are mini pieces of historic art. Mini, however, would not describe the Albert Lea Tigers’ “Stomp the Packers” (as in Austin, not Green Bay) homecoming button. That button is the size of a dessert plate. Wowza.

A vendor's "trailer."

A vendor’s “trailer.”

Finally, my camera lens landed on a vintage Winnebago camper because, yes, sometimes even a camper converted into a flea market merchandise hauler can be a work of art in angled lines and graphics.

There you have it. My top picks from this year’s flea market.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A mail order tractor and other oddities at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show September 7, 2010

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“STEP RIGHT UP! See the phenomenon that is attracting world-wide attention among pickle lovers—a gigantic bottled pickle.”

Yes, folks, if you had attended the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines, Inc., Show this past weekend in rural Dundas (like me), you would have discovered oddities and attractions worthy of a stop-and-look second look.

First off, we have…

…a peculiar overgrown pickle (or a cucumber) preserved in a slim-neck bottle and for sale at the flea market. Puzzled by this specimen, I asked another gawker, “How did that get inside the bottle?” He figures a small still-on-the-vine cucumber was inserted into the bottle and allowed to grow. Duh.

Next, we have…

…the black John Deere tractor. Again, I am puzzled. Why is this John Deere General Purpose Model B tractor painted black instead of yellow and green? Why is “MICHAEL” imprinted on the tractor? Is Michael the owner? And if so, can he answer my question?

For you toy collectors, we have…

…the amazingly expensive toy cow. Priced at $175, the rather forlorn-looking animal wasn’t flying off the shelf. Then Mankato collector/seller Steven M. Ulmen clued me in that the overpriced price was purely a joke. He would, he said, sell the miniature cow for a buck, or maybe even give it away to a kid. Steve also has a serious side. This former probation officer is an author. I left without a cow, but with two of his books, Blood on the Prairie: A Novel of the Sioux Uprising and his recently-published Bad Moon Arising.

Next, folks, we have a walk-through parts store on wheels…

…J. J’s Tractor Parts of Jackson stashes bins full of parts inside a semi trailer and travels to shows like the one in Dundas. The guy I talked to, who may or may not have been J.J., has been a traveling partsman since 1968. Three years ago he acquired the user-friendly semi trailer. I wanted to suggest, however, that he add a ladder to his inventory.

For all you hunters out there, impress your buddies without going on that big hunt by purchasing this flea market find…

…an antelope (I think) head. Need I say more?

Wait, sportsmen (and women), there’s more…

…try out this Ski Whiz from Massey Ferguson. This dual-seat snowmobile features a dual clutch steering system. No promises are made regarding speed.

And for those of you who prefer to order products from the comfort of your home, we offer…

…this 1949 Wards tractor found on page 250 of the Montgomery Wards catalog. Mail order brides, mail order tractors…

Finally, we advise you to read and follow this warning…

…on the back of a horse-drawn wagon: CAUTION POWERED BY OATS DON’T STEP IN EXHAUST.

So there, folks, you have it, just some of the many oddities I discovered at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show.

CHECK BACK for future blog posts about the Dundas event.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling