Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Montgomery keeps drawing me back to explore this small southern Minnesota town October 21, 2026

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Franke’s Bakery in the heart of Montgomery sells kolacky, a folded dough with a fruit or poppyseed filling. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2024)

EVERY TIME I VISIT Montgomery, I discover something new in this town of some 3,400 only 22 miles northwest of Faribault and the self-proclaimed Kolacky Capital of the World.

The 2026 Kolacky Days button displayed in the Arts & Heritage Center of Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

But this community is about much more than the Czech pastry baked in many an area kitchen and at Franke’s Bakery and celebrated every July during Kolacky Days. Montgomery is also about historic architecture, locally-grown businesses, the arts, history, farming and a people proud of their Czech heritage.

Walking in Richter Woods County Park, rural Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

My recent brief stop in Montgomery came near the end of a fall color drive through four area counties. That included hiking at Richter Woods County Park just west of town. Colors weren’t there. But still, walking through the woods in a park situated like an island among farm fields always proves peaceful, calming.

Beer to go at Montgomery Brewing. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Then it was onward to Montgomery, where getting onto Minnesota State Highway 13 during school dismissal time meant waiting and more waiting as a steady stream of traffic flowed by. Eventually Randy was able to turn the van right, then turn left toward the downtown.

Mike’s Discount Foods, Minnesota’s largest grocery liquidator, located in Montgomery and several other Minnesota communities. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

We passed Montgomery Brewing, where we’ve previously enjoyed excellent craft beer. And then we passed the new grocery store in town, Mike’s Discount Foods, next to the grain elevator. I was happy to see a grocery store reopened some two years after a long-time grocer shuttered in September 2023. A small town without a grocery store creates a local food desert and a challenge for residents, especially those who are aging.

A farmer waits with his load of grain at the elevator. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2026)

I snapped a few photos of Mike’s and then of a farmer waiting with his John Deere tractor and grain wagon outside the elevator during the height of the busy harvest season.

Historic Hilltop Hall, home to the Arts & Heritage Center and Posy Floral & Gifts. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Then it was on to the Arts & Heritage Center of Montgomery, one of my favorite places to pop into while in town. Volunteer run, this center in the historic Hilltop Hall always stages interesting exhibits in a narrow gallery decorated with formal portraits of Kolacky Days royalty lining the walls.

On display, 1980s era Cabbage Patch dolls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I found the Native American toys on the top shelf especially interesting. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Chinese checkers have been around for a long time. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

Volunteer Kathy welcomed us to the “Toys from the Past” exhibit which features homemade and manufactured toys dating back nearly 100 years. I saw toys I played with, toys my kids played with and then some from my parents’ era. It was just plain fun to reminisce as I viewed all those toys loaned by locals for the exhibit which ends October 31.

New wings on the front of Edel’s Meat Market are appropriately themed to meat. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

Kathy, upon my inquiry, directed me to the latest Wing Walk mural, part of the art center’s public art project collaboration with Tri-City United High School art students and the Montgomery Community Foundation. I found the newest mural—meat-themed wings—at Edel’s Meat Market, passing Czech Point along the way.

The patio at Czech Point decorated for Halloween. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

Now that’s a new place I need to Czech/check out. The inviting patio was enough to make me pause. The restaurant and bar serve up not only food and drink, but entertainment in a community gathering spot. The online description of food prepared from locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible appeals to me as do specials like a Hot Beef Commercial, $8 burgers and a Crispy Chicken Mashed Potato Bowl. It sounds like a whole lot of good rural comfort food to me.

This new Wing Walk mural welcomes motorist entering Montgomery on its northwest side. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

In some ways, that’s how I feel about Montgomery. Comfortably at home every time I visit. I have no personal connections here. Yet I feel warmly welcomed in a place that celebrates its Czech heritage, values community and understands the importance of the arts and of bringing people into Montgomery to experience life in small town southern Minnesota.

Beautiful fall flowers outside Posy Floral & Gifts in downtown Montgomery. The shop is next to the Arts & Heritage Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)

FYI: The Arts & Heritage Center is open from 2-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. If you’re looking to visit a specific local business, check hours ahead of time. Montgomery is a small town and everything isn’t open every day.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Go local when viewing fall colors October 26, 2025

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City View Park on Faribault’s east side provides a sweeping, colorful view of the city in October. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2022)

IF I WANT TO VIEW fall colors, I needn’t go far. I can step into my backyard to see glorious golden maples. Up the street from my Willow Street home, more trees blaze. If I follow Second Avenue to its intersection with Seventh Street, I’ll find especially vibrant trees on a corner property owned by friends Mark and Laurie. There are more splashy hues along Seventh Street and all about town. Tree-lined bluffs rising above the Straight River burst with color. Faribault is a beautiful, historic riverside city anytime, but especially in autumn.

A view of the Cannon River from the pedestrian bridge at the Cannon River Wilderness Area between Faribault and Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

Yet, even with all the colorful trees in town, I like to go into the countryside to see the colors, too. And it’s not just about the orange, red and yellow leaves. It’s also about sky and water, fields and farms, the “all” which comprises and defines rural Minnesota in September and October.

This weathered barn with the fieldstone foundation sits along the gravel road leading to Richter Woods County Park west of Montgomery in Le Sueur County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

It’s also about following back gravel roads, the vehicle kicking up dust. It’s about meeting massive farm equipment on roadways. It’s about stopping to look at a weathered barn. It’s about traveling at a slower pace.

A view of Kelly Lake and a colorful shoreline. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

And it’s about stopping, exiting the van to walk into the woods or stand along the shoreline of an area lake to admire a colorful tree line.

A sweeping view of the countryside in the Union Lake area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

As a native of the mostly treeless southwestern Minnesota prairie, it was not until I moved to Rice County in 1982 that I fully realized just how overwhelmingly stunning this season is in our state. I didn’t grow up going on vacations with the exception of two—one at age four to Duluth and the second to the Black Hills of South Dakota during my elementary school years. But each autumn, my siblings and I piled into the Chevy with our parents for a Sunday afternoon fall color drive along the Minnesota River Valley from north of Echo to Morton.

A partially-harvested cornfield in the Union Lake area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

And so my love of Sunday drives (which were frequent during my youth because Dad wanted to look at the crops) evolved. As did my understanding that all we needed to do was travel a short distance to see a different landscape. One with woods, colorful woods, in autumn.

Colorful trees by Union Lake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

The topography of Rice County is incredibly diverse. From the familiar flat prairie to rolling hills and valleys to lakes and rivers and streams, it’s all right here. Lovely.

Sometimes you just have to stop and look up, here in Richter Woods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

I encourage Sunday afternoon drives, or whatever day works for you. Forget about schedules and the work at home. Get in the vehicle and go. Go local. Appreciate what’s right in your backyard.

Inside Richter Woods, rural Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

Pull over along a gravel road, if it’s safe to do so, and take in the countryside. Stand along the shore of a lake. Walk into the woods. Hear the crunch of dried leaves beneath your soles. Look up at the colorful leaves. And see, really see, the autumn beauty that surrounds you…before winter strips the land, leaving it naked and exposed.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Discovering Richter Woods, rural Montgomery October 19, 2021

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Richter Woods County Park and the on-site barn in LeSueur County. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

EACH DAY OF SUNSHINE and warmth this late in October in Minnesota presents as a gift. We long-time Minnesotans understand that and celebrate. One less day of winter. One less day of cold and snow when the season of autumn extends. The recent weather has proven simply glorious.

Richter Woods Barn. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

Late last week Randy took two days off work to savor these final days of autumn. And while we didn’t travel far, we delighted in nearby discoveries. We got a late start on Thursday, catching up on some much-needed rest. So we stayed close to home, aiming for western Rice County into LeSueur County.

Trees line both sides of the gravel road leading to Richter Woods. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

Eventually, we landed at Richter Woods County Park 1.5 miles west of Montgomery. I’d heard of the park, but had yet to visit.

The hilly countryside near Trondjhem Church, rural Lonsdale. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

We followed the slow-paced route there along mostly back country gravel roads.

An unexpected sighting of two swans. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

We paused once so I could photograph a pair of swans gliding across a small lake.

An aged barn along a gravel road. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

I photographed, too, a weathered barn with fieldstone foundation. I often wonder how long barns will remain a landmark of our rural landscape. I feel an urgency to document their existence before roofs cave, boards rot, and only foundations remain.

A playground sits next to Richter Barn. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

At 80-acre Richter Woods, a mammoth barn looms, centering the park gathering space. The barn is available to rent for $75/day from April-October. With a spacious loft and main level, the barn offers plenty of room for events like weddings, reunions and much more.

Looking up to the haymow. Trees shadow the barn door. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

I couldn’t access the locked barn. But I could envision the interior, especially the haymow with its curved wood frame. Many bridal couples covet rustic settings like this. I wonder whether many have discovered this barn circled by woods in the quiet countryside near Montgomery.

A splash of red/pink flowers bloom on a bush next to the green barn. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

As much as I appreciated the barn, I couldn’t get over the forest green color. I longed to see that barn in red, a historically-accurate hue. I expect others, too, have wondered at the unusual color choice. As a photographer, I find a red barn much more visually-pleasing.

One of two trails we took into Richter Woods. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.
No maps in this mailbox. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.
There are lots of picnic tables on-site, some nice, others not so much. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

Before pulling out our picnic lunch to dine near the barn, Randy and I stretched our legs. We followed a leaf-strewn dirt trail into the woods with no map to guide us. The on-site mailbox was without the promised maps.

Maple leaves galore. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

Maple leaves, especially, blanket the earth.

Looking up toward the colorful tree canopy. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

In a few spots, I looked overhead to a canopy of red and yellow trees set against the deep blue sky of October.

A recently-sawed tree. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

We noticed, too, the many rotting and recently-sawed trees, I felt inwardly thankful for an afternoon without strong winds to possibly topple dead trees, loose branches.

Mushrooms on a fallen tree. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

Mushrooms thrive in decay.

Loving the graceful curve of the barn roof. Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2021.

Mostly, though, I noticed the peace. The quiet. I feel incredibly grateful to have access to natural settings like Richter Woods County Park. And I feel grateful, too, to live in this decidedly rural region of Minnesota within an hour of downtown Minneapolis. I feel grateful for gravel roads to follow. For barns that still stand. For warm and sunny October days that draw me into the countryside, into the woods.

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PLEASE CHECK BACK as I take you on to more backroads in Rice and LeSueur counties.

© Copyright 2021 Audrey Kletscher Helbling