ONCE UPON A TIME, long before shopping online became a thing, long before malls and long before the prevalence of big box stores, small town Main Street centered retail commerce.
Mom and pop shops prevailed, mostly meeting a community’s basics needs. But even back in the day, a few chain stores existed. I’m talking five-and-dime variety stores like Ben Franklin and Woolworths.
As a Baby Boomer, I hold fond youthful memories of these two stores. Of buying 45 rpm vinyl singles, nail polish, embroidery patterns, fabric… But even into adulthood I shopped at both, including at Woolworths along Central Avenue in downtown Faribault. Here I bought goldfish (for my kids) scooped from tanks in the back of the store. Here our family bought basics and other goods.
That variety store closed long ago, along with many other businesses that once claimed space in my community. Today Faribault’s downtown looks much different than when I moved here 44 years ago. That’s to be expected. Businesses close. New businesses open. A few endure for generations. As a place and times change, so do its businesses.
But occasionally I discover a place that takes me back to yesteryear in a flashback of memories. That happened recently in the small town of Kasson, just west of Rochester along U.S. Highway 14. While walking through the downtown, I found KLG Store. The name itself told me nothing about the business. But a printed sign in the front window advertising “Kasson Hometown Sausage Sold Here!” drew me inside. Not that I like sausage. I don’t. But I appreciate quirky no-frills signs.
Yet, once inside KLG, I was immediately drawn to cubbies of yarn, then tables and shelves packed with bolts of fabric. I forgot all about the sausage. Instead, I ran my hands across cloth, eyed the colorful prints, remembered my teen years when I stitched nearly all of my clothing.
I haven’t touched my sewing machine in years. For a moment I thought perhaps I should pull it out of storage and resume a creative activity I once loved. Spools of colorful Coats & Clark thread had me visually pairing thread with fabric. Psychedelic prints had me visually pinning and cutting patterns for a seventies fashion statement. Oh, the memories.
Then a stash of vintage collapsible fold-away baskets distracted me, temporarily pausing my fawning over fabric, yarn and embroidery patterns. The red, green and gold fabric and metal baskets with wooden handles are signature five-and-dime store staples.
Turns out KLG once housed a Ben Frankin store. I felt giddy upon learning that, but also a tad melancholy. The fold-away baskets reminded me of the passage of time, of how quickly the decades fly.
This building in some ways still houses a variety store with fabric, yarn and notions; products produced via laser engraving, digital and screen printing; and Kasson Hometown sausage, brats and other meats filling coolers. The hometown sausage, though, is no longer made in Kasson, but rather at Morgan’s Meat Market in Waseca.
Times change. Businesses change. But sometimes remnants of the past remain, like those fold away shopping baskets inside KLG. Durable baskets that took me back in time to Ben Franklin and Woolworths along yesterday’s Main Street.
TELL ME: If you have any special memories of dime stores, I’d like to hear them.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Persistent peaceful protest April 23, 2026
Tags: America, children's picture book, commentary, concerns, current issues, democracy, Faribault, First Amendment rights, free speech, Iran War, Minnesota, Operation Metro Surge, peace, protest, protest signs, protesting, rural Minnesota, war
THEY PROTESTED during the Vietnam War. Larry, Karl and Mary, who was tear-gassed at the University of Minnesota back in the day. Nearly 60 years later, they are on the protest line again, holding signs, voicing their concerns.
And I’m there, too, standing along Minnesota State Highway 60/Fourth Street in Faribault exercising my First Amendment rights to free speech. I never thought that at my age, I would become a protester. But nearly every Saturday morning from 11 a.m.-noon for the past three months, I’ve stood in solidarity with Larry, Karl, Mary, Kate, Mercedes, Randy, Raven, Matt, Barb, Kirsten, John, Gary, Wendy, Elizabeth, Josh, Sheri, Mark, Ann, Reed, Susan, Donna, Travis, Carrie, Allison, Hannah…up to 175 people at the most recent No Kings Day protest.
I’m proud to call these kind, compassionate and caring individuals my friends. Some I’ve met on the protest line; others I knew previously. Whether friendships old or new, I value every single person who is taking a public stand against the chaos unfolding in this country. There is value in protesting.
We express our concerns in the signs we craft, or buy, and hold for passing motorists to see. Concerns about immigration enforcement, the environment, Constitutional rights, the Epstein files, voting rights, the future of our democracy, human rights, data centers, the economy, incompetency of elected officials, un-presidential images with comparisons to Jesus…and most recently the war in Iran.
I have a stash of signs in my basement and continue to create new ones. When issues pop up, I pull out the markers, the tag board or cardboard, the stencils and write a message. There’s no shortage of concerns I hold for this country and world under the current federal leadership.
Lately I’ve held “Peace, not war” signs. It’s an issue on everyone’s mind, this unnecessary war our president started without Congressional approval, without a clear understanding of the Iranian regime’s mindset, without an exit. American soldiers are dying. The economy is a mess. And on and on. Threats to bomb away a civilization don’t sit well with me. Nor do comparisons to Jesus or attacks on Pope Leo XIV.
Peace has always felt elusive. Even on the protest line, where we practice peace, we sometimes find ourselves under verbal attack from motorists who clearly support the president and his agenda. We’ve been yelled at, called “stupid, retarded, mentally ill, dumb a**es” and more while getting the middle finger sometimes accompanied by a “f**k you!”. We just smile and wave, refusing to give these angry MAGA individuals the negative reaction they desire. That said, when they drive dangerously close to us at a high rate of speed, they cross the line from free speech to public endangerment.
Nearly 60 years ago, Larry, Karl and Mary were young adults protesting the Vietnam War. I admire that they are back on the protest line. They understand the importance of speaking up, of not remaining silent.
Creatives like Wendy Anderson Halperin also understand how we can use our voices to make a difference. I recently found her book, simply titled Peace, at my local library. Published in 2013, this children’s picture book is especially relevant today. I encourage you to read it, to study Halperin’s detailed illustrations and to read the many quotes woven into the artwork. Quotes that are thought-provoking, uplifting, revealing, encouraging.
I leave you with two quotes printed in Peace:
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”—Jimi Hendrix.
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the earth.”—William Faulkner.
RELATED: Sahan Journal, a nonprofit digital newsroom in Minnesota dedicated to reporting for immigrants and people of color, published an outstanding article on April 21 about more than 70 Minnesota children detained by federal immigration agents during Operation Metro Surge. This is an eye-opening story that should be read by everyone, regardless of political affiliation. Click here to read.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling