Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Owatonna’s Central Park on a winter Saturday with summer flashbacks March 1, 2022

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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A scene from the Owatonna Farmers Market in June 2014. The historic building anchoring a corner across the street is the National Farmer’s Bank of Owatonna. Architect Louis Sullivan designed the 1906-1908 building in the Prairie School Architecture style. The bank is considered “a Jewel Box of the Prairie.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo June 2014)

THE LAST TIME I STOPPED at Owatonna’s Central Park, this southern Minnesota city’s community gathering spot pulsed with activity. The park hosts a busy Owatonna Farmers Market from May through October.

A scene from Owatonna’s Central Park on February 19. (Minnesota Prairie Roots photo February 2022)

But on this cold Saturday in late February when I stopped by, only a few people used the park. A couple walked their dogs. And two women crossed to the center fountain, purses angled across downy winter coats, stocking caps clamped on and shopping bags looped over three gloved hands, take-out coffee clutched in the fourth.

A crane tops the 1909 fountain, refurbished in 2021. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)
Imagine this fountain in the warmer months. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)
Love the graceful curve of the fountain top crane. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2022)

As the women paused near the centerpiece fountain placed here in 1909, I studied the scene before me, camera ready. Only moments earlier, I finished my packed lunch inside the cozy warmth of the van. Randy and I had planned to eat at nearby Rice Lake State Park. But that all changed when hiking trails proved too icy for safe walking. So here we were in Owatonna, shifting our plans.

This replica of the 1899 community stage centers the park. It was built in 2004, on Owatonna’s 150th anniversary. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)

I was determined that the cold weather would not keep me from photographing the park. Dressed in a warm hand-me-down parka from my son layered over tee and flannel shirts, long johns under jeans, practical winter boots, hand-knit cap and mitten/gloves, I felt prepared. The combo mitten/gloves were a gift from Randy years ago. They work great for winter photography. I flip back the fleece ends to reveal open fingertips. That allows me to manipulate my camera without exposing my entire hand.

An artsy planter sits on fountain’s edge awaiting spring planting. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)

Even with all of that, I soon found myself hurrying my creative pace. My fingertips were freezing.

Trees and lights against a bold blue sky by the stage/bandshell. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)

But I was determined to document the setting on an afternoon that looked deceptively warm. Bold blue skies. Sunshine. Artsy fountain. Stout community stage. Historic buildings bordering the park. Remnants of snow sculptures.

This snow castle still stands, albeit weathered after a month. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)
Beautiful colored ice fills a window of the snow castle. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)
The back side of the castle features a slide. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)

I regretted that we missed Owatonna’s Bold & Cold Winter Festival at the end of January. Then those sculptures would have been newly-built, pristine. But now I could only imagine kids slipping down the slide at the deteriorating snow castle.

Plants for sale at the 2014 Owatonna Farmers Market. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2022)

I also imagined how, in a few months, this scene will change. How leaves will unfurl on the birch trees. How the fountain will spill water. How Farmers Market vendors will set up shop. How music will create a joyful rhythm that welcomes spring, then summer. And warmth.

A snapshot scene from the 2014 Owatonna Farmers Market, which covers one-block square Central Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo June 2014)

This I contemplate as I snap frames, fingertips freezing, hurting now in the cold of winter. Back in the van, I hold my fingers close to the blower, seeking heat while the sun shines bright, bold over Central Park.

© Copyright 2022 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Entrepreneurs, inventors & more at Owatonna Farmer’s Market June 27, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
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A snapshot scene from the Owatonna Farmer's Market, which covers one-block square Central Park.

A snapshot scene from the Owatonna Farmer’s Market, which covers one-block square Central Park.

AMONG THE VENDORS selling lettuce and rhubarb, onions and the season’s first strawberries and cherry tomatoes, between those marketing jars of salsa, hunks of cheese, pickled asparagus and root beer jelly, mixed with others showcasing embroidered dish towels and bird feeders and fleece blankets and so much more, there are those who offer something just a tad bit different at the Owatonna Farmer’s Market.

Gene Mosher talks to my husband, Randy, about his jar cover opener.

Gene Mosher talks to my husband, Randy, about his jar cover opener.

They are folks like Gene Mosher, who calls himself an inventor. On this Saturday morning, this Owatonna resident has set up a small table to peddle his product, the jar cover opener. Most shoppers simply pass him by.

Gene gives a demo.

Gene gives a demo. So the contents don’t spill when opened, Gene suggests screwing the opener onto a board and mounting it under a cupboard, for example.

But I stop to investigate the V-shaped metal tool which Gene claims will open those hard to open jars. He places a jar inside the saw-toothed grip and, with ease, unscrews the lid. I try. Success.

Slashed price.

Slashed price.

It’s late morning and Gene’s slashed the price from $15 to $10. This is his first time at the market. He has yet to sell a single opener; he’s always given them away. And he insists I take one, too.

I suggest he market his invention at the local senior center, taking the product to those most likely to purchase it. But Gene doesn’t seem too concerned. Pressed a bit, this long ago printer and then machining model maker will tell you about the mud covers he developed for race cars and the piston ring gapping machine which is now sold all over the world. He’s an inventor and tells me I’ve just made his day by stopping to check out the jar cover opener.

Selling the EZ Tomato Cage.

Selling the EZ Tomato Cage, which collapses for storage and also has extensions for those really tall tomato plants.

Just like Gene, gardeners Luther Hanson and Mark Gengler saw a need—for a better tomato cage—and created the EZ Tomato Cage. This 59-inch tall structure made of galvanized steel and aluminum parts appears about as strong as any tomato plant holder-upper I’ve ever seen.

Not that I have a need for this $20 per unit made in America product since I grow only two tomato plants in pots. But I think immediately of my middle brother and his wife who plant dozens of tomatoes and likely would appreciate such sturdy, and collapsible for storage, construction.

Rose Gehrke of Waterville set up a stand to sell her homemade cupcakes.

Rose Gehrke of Waterville set up a stand to sell her homemade cupcakes.

Nearby, I am impressed by Rose Gehrke, a 15-year-old entrepreneur from Waterville who some day hopes to open a cupcake shop. On this morning, she is at the market with her dad and the 96 cupcakes she baked the day prior. Some 10 hours in the kitchen. Four homemade varieties including the absolutely delectable vanilla with raspberry filling topped by cream cheese frosting and the equally delicious chocolate with a cookie dough filling and cookie dough frosting.

Rosie Cakes cupcakes come with my endorsement.

Rosie Cakes cupcakes come with my endorsement.

Inspired by the television show, Cake Boss, and kids’ birthday party cupcakes, Rose learned to bake from her mom. Now she’s got her own business, Rosie Cakes, the start-up for her dream of one day owning a cupcake shop.

And because I believe in dreams and the young people who dream them, I purchase two $2 cupcakes from Rose of Rosie Cakes.

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BONUS FARMER’S MARKET PHOTOS:

Sweet little girls' dresses stitched by Judy Bliss.

Sweet little girls’ dresses stitched by Judy Bliss.

Dean, 11 months, snuggles against his mom's back while his parents shop at the Farmer's Market. The family recently moved from Houston, Texas, to Owatonna.

Dean, 11 months, snuggles against his mom’s back while his parents shop at the Farmer’s Market. The family recently moved from Houston, Texas, to Owatonna.

Plenty of plants were available for purchase at the market.

Plenty of plants were available for purchase at the market.

Vicki Mendez was selling her handmade LEGO crayons (available in several sizes)

Vicky Mendez of Vicky Lynn Designs was selling her hand-molded LEGO crayons (available in several sizes) plus lots of other merchandise.

Another shot of the busy market, which gets even busier once gardens really begin producing. Then vendors are set up along the sidewalk and on the grass.

Another shot of the busy market, which gets even busier once gardens really begin producing. Then vendors are set up along the sidewalk and on the grass. The massive building on the corner with the green trim is the most famous of Louis Sullivan’s banks and is called “a jewel box of the prairie” done in the Prairie School style of architecture. It’s a must-see if you’re ever in Owatonna.

FYI: The Owatonna Farmer’s Market is open from 7 a.m. – noon, May – October, at Central Park in the city’s downtown. It’s an impressive market.