rural Minnesota | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Autumn, Southern Minnesota’s season of harvest & hope October 4, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: Belview, Courtland, crops, farming, harvest, Hope, Morgan, New Ulm, photo essay, rural Minnesota, southwestern Minnesota

Somewhere between Morgan and New Ulm, in the middle of prime Minnesota farm land early Saturday evening.

HARVEST. That word holds the seasons of a farmer’s hope.

A partially-harvest cornfield between New Ulm and Morgan.

From spring planting to summer growth to autumn ripening, a farmer focuses on the outcome—a yield that brims with golden corn and soybeans.

Harvesting between St. Peter and Nicollet.

Harvest equipment sits in a cornfield west of St. Peter.

Through months of looking toward the skies, of weathering too much or too little rainfall, of watching heat shimmer waves across fields, of tending and waiting, a farmer anticipates this season of harvest.

Driving west on Minnesota State Highway 99 toward Le Center.

On a day trip Saturday from the southeastern to the southwestern side of Minnesota—through Rice, Le Sueur, Blue Earth, Nicollet, Brown and Redwood counties and back—I observed the harvest. Minimal on the eastern side, which has been flooded with too much recent rainfall, but in full swing in the counties of Brown and Redwood.

Combining beans near New Ulm.

Farmers worked the land, dust enveloping combines.

A red grain truck jolts color into a field near New Ulm.

North of Belview, trucks await the harvest.

Parked outside the elevator in Morgan.

Farming communities like Morgan are busy with harvest.

Grain trucks idled in fields and barreled down county roads toward local elevators

Near Courtland.

Grain bins near Waterville.

or homestead grain bins.

Driving into Courtland.

This time of year, motorists need to be watchful of slow-moving farm equipment.

Harvest started west of St. Peter.

The landscape crawled with tractors and combines and trucks, farmers at the wheels, guiding the crops toward harvest.

A harvested field against a farm site backdrop of white.

And I observed it all. No longer an intimate part of this process as I once was so many decades ago on my Redwood County childhood farm, I am still connected to this season by the memories that trace deep within me.

West of New Ulm.

Harvest still holds me in hope.

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A country moment from southwestern Minnesota October 3, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: Belview, cemetery, country graveyard, cow, Rock Dell Lutheran Church, rural Minnesota, southwestern Minnesota

YOU KNOW YOU’RE in rural Minnesota when…

…within feet of a country cemetery, a fenced-in cow saunters past a mounded grave graced with flowers.

Photo taken on October 1, 2016, Rock Dell Lutheran Church, rural Belview, Minnesota.

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A picture story from small town Minnesota September 27, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: community, photo essay, photography, rural Minnesota, small towns, thoughts, Waterville

SMALL TOWNS SOMETIMES present images of time standing still.

History lingers.

The past writes in to the future.

Long-time grassroots businesses maintain a presence, some strong, others struggling against the consumer pull to regional shopping centers, to discount and chain stores.

Watering holes still lure in the locals with icy beer and plenty of BS, enough to crank up the town rumor mill.

Signs of change creep in. An aging populace. Technology. New needs.

But always the community webs together, lines interconnecting those who call this place, this small town, home.

(All of these images were taken recently along two side streets and an alley off Main Street in Waterville, Minnesota.)

FYI: Please click here to read my first post from Waterville. And check back for more photos from this southern Minnesota community.

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My observations as autumn teases Minnesota September 14, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: autumn, rural Minnesota, seasons, thoughts, winter

As I passed Kamp Dels near Waterville recently, I noticed how the campground is emptying.

AS MUCH AS I DON’T WANT to admit it, summer is fading into autumn here in Minnesota. I like fall. I really do. But I don’t appreciate what follows. Winter.

Just down the tree-lined road from Kamp Dels, leaves are changing color on lakeside trees.

The shift in seasons began already in August with a subtle hint of color tinging select trees. Now more leaves are changing color and dropping. A leaf here, a leaf there. And before we know it, the trees are bare.

Between Waterville and Elysian sits the Cannonville Community Church.

But I am getting ahead of the days.

Fields line a back county road between Waterville and Elysian.

Crops are changing color along a back county road between Waterville and Elysian.

For now, corn fields are morphing from green to golden. Flowers that once bloomed in vivid hues are browning, dying. Gardens are ripe with produce.

Ripening crops unfold before me near the Cannonville church.

In the rolling landscape near the Cannonville church, corn fields ripen.

The sun fades earlier. A definitive sharpness in the evening air hints of colder months ahead.

Fields and roadway stretch between Morristown and Faribault in rural Rice County.

I feel a certain sense of melancholy mixed with anticipation as autumn evolves, as harvest approaches. The sights, sounds, smells and tastes of September delight me. I welcome cobalt skies, splashes of red in tree lines, piles of pumpkins, candles flickering warmth and light, the comfort of a well-worn sweatshirt.

Hints of autumn are visible everywhere along this rural roadway between Morristown and Faribault.

But I see winter knocking at the door, suitcase bulging with snowflakes.

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A photo essay: Aerial agricultural spraying up close August 9, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: aerial spraying, agriculture, chemicals, corn field, Faribault, farming, helicopter, photo essay, photography, Rice County, rural Minnesota

IN THE DISTANCE, down the gravel road, a helicopter swept across the fields and then disappeared.

“Did it crash?” I asked my husband, worry lacing my words.

“Do you see a fireball?” he responded, answering my question.

I didn’t. And it was obvious to me then that the rise of the land was blocking my view of the helicopter.

But I needed to visually confirm, to see this flying machine up close. So Randy turned off the asphalt county road onto 230th Street East, aiming toward a hilltop dairy farm marked by five looming silos.

Before we made it to the farm, though, the chopper was back, skimming and spraying chemicals upon acres of corn at this location southeast of Faribault. Randy braked our van to a stop and I was out the passenger side door before the wheels stopped turning, eager to photograph an aerial application up close.

The helicopter files over a hill in the corn field.

Whether you agree or not with the spraying of chemicals upon the land to control weeds, fungus and insects or to fertilize crops, you have to admire the skills of these pilots. This appears a dangerous undertaking as the copter zooms above the fields, the pilot simultaneously spraying, guiding his aircraft and watching the ground for obstacles—like silos, power lines and hills.

While the pilot’s skills impressed me, I was especially fascinated by what I saw as we crested the hill next to the Tatge dairy farm.

The helicopter had landed atop a truck in the middle of the country gravel road.

The helicopter lifts off from the mixing truck, ready for another round of spraying.

I’d never thought about this—how an aerial spraying helicopter refills with both chemicals and fuel. We didn’t stop to ask questions. I wasn’t about to distract the team of men focused on their work.

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More than a car show at St. John’s, rural Faribault August 3, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: car cruise-in, car show, country church, faith, Faribault, rural Minnesota, St. John's United Church of Christ Wheeling Township, tractors, trucks, vintage cars

At the St. John’s car cruise-in.

I’VE ATTENDED CAR SHOWS in parks, along city streets and at a fairgrounds. But never at a church or in the country.

A vintage car arrives for the cruise-in car show at St. John’s, 19086 Jacobs Avenue, rural Faribault.

A tractor trophy awarded at the show reflects the rural region.

A tractor trophy awarded at the show reflects this rural region of southern Minnesota.

Across the road from St. John’s, a truck pulls a grain bin.

Saturday morning I wheeled to a country church northeast of Faribault for St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township’s first-ever Cruise-In Car Show. It’s a peaceful rural setting among farm fields and farm sites near Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

An overview of the car show next to the church.

This congregation knows how to draw folks in for events ranging from the annual The Last Supper Drama on Palm Sunday to Lenten soup luncheons to an ice cream social to a September Germanfest to the Big Woods Run and more. Many times I’ve gone to St. John’s activities, where I always feel welcomed by a friendly group of people like 90-year-old historian Elsie, Lynn (who’s usually in the kitchen) and the Rev. Lora Sturm.

My husband’s hands clasped in prayer.

On this Saturday morning, the reverend leads attendees in prayer. As I stand between a row of vintage cars in the church parking lot, I consider how wonderful to hear this prayer of blessing upon the vehicles and upon those in attendance.

This group of men visited for a long time around various vehicles.

While visiting with others, I note that most either belong to this congregation or grew up in this church. There’s a special closeness in country churches that comes from living in the same geographical area and gathering here to socialize, to celebrate, to mourn, to grow in the faith (although some admittedly have drifted away).

The oldest vehicle at the event.

Roots run deep through generations of families. German immigrants founded this congregation in 1856 as Minnesota’s first German Evangelical Church. They worshiped, nonagenarian Elsie tells me, in a log cabin before that burned and the current church was built in 1870 by German farmers from locally-quarried limestone.

I set my camera on the grass and aimed up to photograph this view of St. John’s. Yes, there’s a cross-topped steeple, just not in this image.

The “Old Stone Church,” as it is known, stands strong on the corner of a paved county and gravel road next to the church cemetery. A 4-year-old boy points to a gravestone and tells me God is buried there. I lead him to the stone, read the name thereon and explain to him that God is not buried here nor is He dead.

Cars parked right next to the cemetery.

I love that these kids have been together for hours—romping on the mini playground, playing hide-and-seek, searching for a geo-cache stashed in a treeline behind the cemetery… This setting invites such play, reminding me of my own upbringing in a small town Lutheran church.

The scene reflected in the shiny bumper of a car.

Guys chatted next to tractors.

Lovely crabapple trees edge the parking lot. St. John’s members make their famous apple jelly from these apples to sell at Germanfest.

On this Saturday, this cruise-in is not just a gathering of car, truck and tractor enthusiasts showing off their vehicles. This event is about memories and socializing, about slowing down and appreciating the beauty and quiet of this reverent country place. It’s about being neighborly.

Volunteers served up a generous plate of a BBQ pulled pork sandwich, potato salad and beans, all for $5.

That delicious food.

And it’s also about the food, this time delicious BBQ pulled pork sandwiches from the Rice County Pork Producers.

I always leave St. John’s feeling happy and smiling.

St. John’s, from my experience, has always nourished the body, soul and spirit. And on this late July morning, this cruise-in accomplishes that mission in food, setting and friendly conversation.

FYI: Check back tomorrow and the day after for more photos from the St. John’s Cruise-In Car Show.

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The rural influence in my writing & photography, plus a farm tour July 12, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: agriculture, barns, Eat Local Farm Tour, farm tour, farming, food, memories, photography, Redwood County, rural life, rural Minnesota, thoughts, writing

BARNS DRAW MY CAMERA lens like moths to a porch light.

My response is reflexive, this focal allure of barns while traveling through rural Minnesota.

Barns, to me, symbolize rural life. Growing up on a southwestern Minnesota dairy and crop farm, I labored in the barn—scooping silage and ground feed, scraping manure into gutters, carrying milk pails from barn to milkhouse, tossing hay and straw bales from the hayloft, bedding straw…

My hair, my skin, my clothing smelled always of cows and manure. I bathed but once a week. That seems unfathomable now. But it was the reality of then.

The barn on our family farm provided more than shelter for the cows. It provided an income, a way of life, a training ground for hard work. No matter what, the cows needed to be tended, fed and milked. Vacations were rare—only two my entire childhood, one to the Black Hills of South Dakota and the other to Duluth. On the occasion when my parents traveled farther, they left my older brother and me home to take care of the farm under our bachelor uncle Mike’s watchful eye.

I often told my dad I wanted to be a farmer. He discouraged me. He likely knew what I didn’t, that I wasn’t cut out to be a farmer. I am not a risk taker. And to be a farmer, you need to be a bit of a gambler. You gamble on the unpredictability of weather and of prices. Granted, technology has curbed some of the risk. But still, it’s there.

Instead, I pursued a degree and career in journalism. And then, eventually, I became a full-time stay-at-home mom, setting aside my writing to raise my three kids. Until I found time again to write.

In my writing today, unlike my past deliver-the-facts newspaper reporting, I have created a unique voice rooted in rural Minnesota. I may not smell of cow or manure, but those scents linger in my memory, infusing into my writing and photography. I bring a small town rural perspective to my work. I find my joy in writing about and photographing everyday life, everyday places, everyday people, mostly in Greater Minnesota.

The early 1950s barn on the Redwood County dairy farm where I grew up today stands empty of animals. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

And it all started in a Redwood County barn.

Fresh eggs and caged chickens attracted lots of interest.

Fresh eggs and caged chickens photographed at an event several years ago at Valley Grove Church, rural Nerstrand. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

YOU, TOO, CAN EXPERIENCE farming this Saturday, July 16, by touring agricultural businesses throughout the region during the annual Eat Local Farm Tour. From Simple Harvest Farm Organics in rural Nerstrand to Mississippi Mushrooms in Minneapolis to Hope Creamery in Hope and 26 other sites, you’ll discover Minnesotans and Wisconsinites passionate about local foods. You’ll meet beekeepers, cheesemakers, berry growers, cattlemen/women, trout farmers and more.

Click here for a listing of sites on the Eat Local Farm Tour, which runs from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Note: With the exception of my home barn, all barns and farm sites featured in this post are located along U.S. Highway 71 in rural Minnesota, from south of Redwood Falls to south of Willmar.

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The skies of summer in southwestern Minnesota July 8, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: landscape, memories, rural Minnesota, sky, southwestern Minnesota, thoughts

DECADES AGO, I LAY flat on my back in a Redwood County, Minnesota farm yard, eyes fixated on the clouds. I wasn’t a weather watcher. Rather, I was a girl with an imagination. As I lay there, I imagined a monstrous bird swooping from the sky to bite a chunk from the silo.

I’d just viewed a movie about a giant bird attacking the Empire State Building. It was no surprise then that I noticed frightening creatures looming in the sky.

That was then. This is now, decades later, when I am still fascinated by the clouds of summer. There’s nothing quite like the summer skies of my native southwestern Minnesota prairie. Traveling west on July 2 to a family gathering near Lamberton, I delighted in the perfect summer sky of white clouds suspended above the land in a background of blue.

Below, fields of corn and soybeans stretched for acres, broken only by farm sites, grain elevators, small towns and slashes of roadways.

The sky and land are so big here. I suppose to some, the vastness can unsettle. But for me it’s freeing.

My mind wanders from worries and difficult realities of life, of attacking giant birds, to a carefree state. I simply feel happy here beneath clouds that hang like wispy pulls of cotton candy above the greening cropland.

This land, this sky, this place, this rural Minnesota shall always claim my heart and my imagination.

TELL ME: What place claims your heart and why?

Note: All of these photos were taken on July 2 while traveling westbound on U.S. Highway 14 between Sleepy Eye and Lamberton, Minnesota.

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Serving up kraut at a Minnesota “feed” July 7, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: Buttered Corn Days, Del Monte, ethnic food, feeds, food, Kraut Feed, rural Minnesota, sauerkraut, Sleepy Eye, small towns

HOW DO YOU DEFINE feed?

In Minnesota, the word can typically be defined as an event in which large numbers of people are served food by a group of volunteers aiming to raise money for a cause. Not exactly a Webster dictionary concise definition.

This sign is posted at the intersection of U.S. Highway 14 and Minnesota State Highway 4 in downtown Sleepy Eye.

Often the featured food reflects the ethnicity of the region. Take, for example, the Eagle’s Kraut Feed slated for tomorrow at the Servicemen’s Club in Sleepy Eye. This southwestern Minnesota community has a strong German heritage. That would explain the Kraut Feed menu of all you can eat sauerkraut, dumplings, mashed potatoes and gravy, Landjagers (sausage), applesauce, bread and coffee and/or milk.

Even though I’m 100 percent German and do eat sauerkraut, I don’t like dumplings or sausage. But apparently a lot of folks do.

Downtown Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, photographed on July 2.

While searching online for info about the July 8 Kraut Feed, I also read that the Servicemen’s Club hosted a Ring Bologna Feed in February and a Bullhead Feed in March. I’m not surprised. I grew up in the county next to Sleepy Eye and my mom cooked both. I wasn’t fond of either ring bologna or bullheads. But those locally-sourced (from our farm and nearby School Grove Lake) cheap foods fed our family of eight.

Sleepy Eye’s Del Monte plant, located on the west edge of town along U.S. Highway 14.

In August, Sleepy Eye will serve free buttered sweet corn at its annual Buttered Corn Days. That event connects to the local Del Monte company, a community fixture since 1920. According to the Del Monte website, the Sleepy Eye plant “produces the largest case quantities of peas and corn for the company, planted by over 300 different growers on more than 26,000 acres.” That and the employment of up to 400 seasonal employees are good enough reasons to host a free community sweet corn feed.

TELL ME: What types of feeds are popular in your area? Or what is the most unusual feed you’ve come across and/or attended?

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Part II: So much to appreciate at North Morristown’s July 4 celebration July 6, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: celebration, festival, Fourth of July, holiday, North Morristown, rural Minnesota, Trinity Lutheran Church and School North Morristown

FROM THE COMFORT OF MY LIVING ROOM, I watched fireworks explode across the television screen in bursts of sparkling hues against the hazy New York City skyline. Simultaneously, smoke from neighborhood fireworks drifted through open windows in my Minnesota home, creating an enhanced sensory illusion.

Red, white and blue attired prevailed among fest-goers who settled in a gazebo, on lawn chairs and grass and on bleachers to hear musicians perform.

As I enjoyed the live broadcast, I considered how different my observance of our nation’s birth. Hours earlier I’d roamed the festival grounds of the North Morristown Fourth of July celebration. At this rural southern Minnesota location, I experienced a down-to-earth grassroots event that is still going strong after 124 years.

In New York City, boats shot fireworks. In North Morristown, the only body of water was a kids’ wading pool holding rubber duckies for a carnival game.

Some 1,200 miles away on the East Coast, fanfare and orchestrated precision capped the evening. In North Morristown the day also ended in fireworks—shot from a farm field along a country road with fireflies dancing in the road ditches.

A couple listens to the music while sitting on portable bleachers under a canopy of trees.

What a contrast of parties.

Parked on the festival grounds following the parade.

This 1940 Farmall owned by John Krause was parked in the festival parking lot.

I’ve been to New York once, nearly 40 years ago. I have no desire to return. But I’ll return to North Morristown as I have many times for the Fourth or for the annual fall harvest dinner at Trinity Lutheran Church. This rural location suits me and my agricultural upbringing.

Cooper rides a vintage car while his mom watches. The homemade kids’ rides are signature North Morristown.

No fancy signage needed to deliver information.

Games, rides and the ticket booth are housed in this red poleshed.

Games, rides, the ticket booth and more are housed in this red poleshed.

A strong sense of community and of family, of nostalgia and of tradition define this place and this celebration.

The barrel train ride is by far the most popular of the kids’ rides.

There’s a certain comfort in the simplistic rustic charm of North Morristown on the Fourth of July. It’s a place you want to bring your kids and grandkids, where you come to meet friends and make new friends. It’s a place to reunite with family, to remember the past and to create memories.

The barrel train chugs away across the lawn.

You’ll see lots of duct tape used here, including on this vintage horse ride.

Games of skill draw many a player.

The carnival style rides are novel, the food homemade delicious, the atmosphere welcoming and kicked back.

Craig, whom I know from Faribault Car Cruise Nights, showed up (with his wife Kathy) dressed as Uncle Sam.

A biplane buzzes the festival grounds mid-afternoon.

A biplane loops over the festival grounds mid-afternoon.

The Rev. Juan Palma of Trinity Lutheran Church North Morristown teams up with his son to call bingo.

The Rev. Juan Palm of Trinity Lutheran Church North Morristown teams up with his son to call bingo.

Here you can strike up a conversation with a bluegrass fan from nearby New Prague; love up a 12-week-old puppy named Max; encourage Noah, Hannah and Jack in their search for the medallion; catch up with Rose whom you haven’t seen in years; delight in a biplane writing smoke across the sky; listen to the pastor’s son call bingo numbers…

An appreciative crowd listens to Monroe Crossing, a popular bluegrass band.

It’s nothing like NYC. And that’s absolutely alright by me.

BONUS PHOTOS:

This banner marks the intersection of two county roads near the North Morristown festival site.

Kids’ activities are to the left, food and beverage stands to the right and the entertainment stage straight ahead.

New to the skill games this year is the target shooting game using a spring-loaded gun.

A flag bedecked car passes the festival grounds.

Kids loved the blow-up prizes ranging from animals to an inflatable ice cream cone.

Kids love the blow-up prizes ranging from animals to an inflatable ice cream cone.

A fest goer crochets while musicians perform.

The names of all parade grand marshals are displayed on the main stage backdrop.

Next year will be a big year as North Morristown marks its 125th Fourth of July celebration.

FYI: Click here to read my first post on North Morristown’s 2016 Fourth of July celebration.

I’d like to thank all of the hardworking men, women and children who organize and volunteer at the North Morristown celebration. You are giving all of us a delightful way to celebrate the Fourth. Whether you grilled burgers, scooped ice cream, sold tickets, operated a carnival ride, picked up garbage, sold buttons and more, know that you are valued and deeply appreciated. These events don’t happen without your tireless efforts and dedication. So thank you.

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Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Autumn, Southern Minnesota’s season of harvest & hope October 4, 2016

A country moment from southwestern Minnesota October 3, 2016

A picture story from small town Minnesota September 27, 2016

My observations as autumn teases Minnesota September 14, 2016

A photo essay: Aerial agricultural spraying up close August 9, 2016

More than a car show at St. John’s, rural Faribault August 3, 2016

The rural influence in my writing & photography, plus a farm tour July 12, 2016

The skies of summer in southwestern Minnesota July 8, 2016

Serving up kraut at a Minnesota “feed” July 7, 2016

Part II: So much to appreciate at North Morristown’s July 4 celebration July 6, 2016

Follow Minnesota Prairie Roots via Email

An essay of barn photos & memories; In praise of preserving country churches; & Testing the track during a Soap Box Derby trial run in Faribault

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