Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

What a difference a day makes August 22, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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Rain clouds threatened as my husband and I headed south into St. Paul late Saturday afternoon.

Rain clouds threatened as my husband and I headed south into St. Paul late Saturday afternoon.

IN MINNESOTA, WE OBSESS about the weather. More than elsewhere? I don’t know because I have lived in this northern state my entire sixty years of life.

Just out of St. Paul, the sky unleashed torrents of rain.

Just out of St. Paul, the sky unleashed torrents of rain.

But weather has such an impact on our daily lives from the snowstorms of winter to the thunderstorms of summer that we take great importance in weather forecasts. And weather talk. If there’s nothing else to talk about, there’s always the weather.

Shortly thereafter, we came upon a weather related crash. The entire front of this car was smashed. Traffic snarled, apparently for a crash further away. That was cleared by the time we arrived.

Shortly thereafter, we came upon a weather related crash along 35E. The entire front of this car, left, was smashed. Traffic snarled, apparently for a crash farther away. That was cleared by the time we arrived.

A wash-out Saturday was not predicted, as I recall. But then I do tend to fall asleep during the 10 p.m. news, about the time the weather person appears on-screen with charts and maps and Doppler radar.

South of Burnsville, the clouds continued to build.

South of Burnsville, the clouds continued to build as we drove Interstate 35 toward Faribault.

Here in southeastern Minnesota, clouds and rain prevailed on Saturday, impacting outdoor events. I was snug in a first-ring north metro suburban home with my sweet 4-month-old granddaughter while the skies drizzled and the clouds built in to a torrent of rain upon my departure.

Westbound on Minnesota State Highway 99 west of Shieldsville.

Westbound on Minnesota State Highway 99 west of Shieldsville early Sunday afternoon.

As drenching as Saturday was, Sunday was not.

I captured this side mirror image late Sunday afternoon along a rural county road between Ottawa and Le Center.

I captured this side mirror image late Sunday afternoon along a rural county road between Ottawa and Le Center.

The day yielded sunshine and scattered white clouds puffed against a blue sky. No rain. Just cool temps without humidity. Truly glorious.

We came across this pick-up truck broken down along a rural county road near Ottawa. The driver was waiting for a tow truck.

Driving home from an event in St. Peter (I’ll post about that tomorrow), we came across this pick-up truck broken down along a rural county road near Ottawa. The driver was waiting for a tow truck. Sunday was a much better day to break down than during the Saturday rain.

It was a good day to talk about the weather.

© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Step into yesteryear at the stark, yet welcoming, Ottawa Town Hall September 17, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:32 AM
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The Ottawa Town Hall was built in 1860 from local limestone.

I ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT believe my good fortune. After peering through a front window into the old town hall and wondering why the lights were on, I pulled (or pushed; I can’t recall which) on the front door. Much to my elation, the door gave way.

Let me preface this by saying that in the past when I have clicked door latches or turned knobs on historic buildings, mostly churches, I’ve met resistance, meaning I was locked out.

I tried the door latch and the door was, to my surprise, unlocked.

But, ah, to feel the door sway, allowing me entrance, gave me that momentary feeling of surprised satisfaction. And look, just look, at what awaited me inside the Ottawa Town Hall.

Inside, the stark room stretched out before me.

Simplistic beauty best describes the interior of this former general store constructed in 1860 from local limestone and today among six Ottawa buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

To find this village platted in 1853 along the Minnesota River, follow winding Le Sueur County Road 23 northeast of St. Peter. And when you get there, after reading the historical marker and picking up a self-guided tour brochure from the town hall kiosk, try the door.

If you’re as fortunate as me, you’ll step into yesteryear, onto scuffed wood-plank floors, into a building that has been the Ottawa Town Hall since 1902.

If you’re like me, you’ll stand there for a moment or two or three taking in the atmosphere of this place. You can see history in the beadboard walls and ceiling, in the stage flanked by steps and adorned with a scenic canvas curtain reminiscent of melodrama days, in the lone American flag, in the curved-back wooden chairs stacked precisely along the wall.

The stage intrigues me. Who performed here? Do actors and actresses ever grace this stage today?

I tugged at the two side doors that would have given me access to the stage. But, alas, they were locked.

I stroked the stiff canvas of the stage curtian and admired the painted florals.

Ottawa Town Hall chairs

Even the stacked chairs seemed a sculpture of historic art.

If you like “fancy,” you won’t appreciate the starkness of a room awash in white under the blazing light of bare bulbs.

For me, though, there’s something about this town hall that soothes, comforts, makes me feel right at home, as if the door was meant to be left unlocked, the lights switched on in an inviting welcome.

Though rather plain, the town hall possesses a certain welcoming charm.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling