Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

“Love your neighbor” as the Rice County Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign kicks off November 18, 2025

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People gather for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign Kickoff. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

MINI RED DONATION KETTLES decorated tables in the Faribault Lutheran School gym, site of the annual Rice County Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign Kickoff on Sunday, November 16. I was among the many who showed up to support this faith-based social services organization serving people in need. It is a non-profit that takes the biblical words, “Love your neighbor,” and puts them into action.

Via this kickoff event and also from donations received throughout the holiday bell-ringing campaign and into 2026, the county chapter aims to raise $100,000. Those monies will provide assistance for food, clothing, housing, travel expenses and more in addition to emergency aid for those in need and/or during a natural disaster. If the goal is reached, $88,000 stays in the county with the rest going to the larger Salvation Army organization for administrative costs.

Volunteer Mary Sanborn greets people as they arrive for the event. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

The all volunteer-run county chapter works with the Community Action Center, Three Rivers Community Action and Rice County to provide assistance. The organization does a lot with housing and helping the homeless, according to local board members who spoke.

Additionally, Rice County’s Salvation Army unit offers a shoe program for school-age children, free camping adventures and Shop-with-a-Cop providing free winter gear to eligible elementary school students. Personal care items are also given to local organizations offering meal programs. All of these require lots of dollars and the need is anticipated to grow.

At Sunday’s event, donations flowed as county chapter secretary Rose Marraccini encouraged the crowd to give to their neighbors. “Do what you can with what you have where you are at.” I like that simple, clear directive recognizing that some can give more than others, but that every gift helps no matter how big or small.

Mini donation kettles with a message of gratitude. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

Atop each tabletop red kettle, a thank you message read, “Gratitude is the music of the heart, when its chords are swept by the breeze of kindness.”

Old Country Boys provided musical entertainment. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
Signage identifies the band playing on the gymnasium stage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
The music got this couple up and dancing. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

Music by the Old Country Boys was part of Sunday’s fundraising event. From Simon & Garfunkel to Johnny Cash, the tunes created a fun and relaxing vibe as folks visited and enjoyed complimentary slices of homemade pie purchased from and made by the Trinity Piemakers.

A volunteer helps with the pies. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
A woman carries a variety of pies to her tablemates. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
Auctioning off pies. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

Later, whole pies were auctioned off. An apple pie fetched a winning $100 bid. A peach pie got $55. Strawberry-rhubarb, Dutch apple and cherry got $50 bids. On and on the bidding went of blueberry, apple-cranberry and more with all monies going to the Salvation Army.

Looking at and dropping raffle tickets in baskets. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
A string of raffle tickets stretches along a tabletop. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)
A large poster on the gym wall thanks supporters of the kickoff event. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

And then the basket raffle, with items donated by businesses and individuals, raised even more funds to help our neighbors in need in Rice County. Strings of tickets covered tables and even flowed onto the floor as donors compared the numbers on their tickets to the winning numbers called. My hopes of winning a one-hour massage did not come to fruition. Randy and I won nothing.

Karen Twiehoff listens and watches during the event. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

But in a way we did. We, like others attending, won by giving. We experienced the satisfaction which comes in knowing that, in some small way, our monetary contributions will help our neighbors in need. Thus far in 2025, the local Salvation Army unit has assisted 274 Rice County families in crisis.

In reality, we are all only a crisis away from needing help. And that’s important to remember as we go about our daily lives while some of our neighbors struggle just to put food on the table.

Randy Twiehoff has been a long-time volunteer and leader with the Rice County Salvation Army. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

FYI: Volunteers are still needed to ring bells during the holiday season. Sign up at RegisterToRing.com. A local office with a social worker is based at 617 Third Avenue Northwest in Faribault.

Additionally, there’s another opportunity to “love your neighbor.” Little Prairie United Methodist Church, 2980 130th St. E., rural Dundas, is hosting a Fall Ham Dinner from 4-8 pm Saturday, November 22. All profits will go equally to the Community Action Center food shelves in Faribault and Northfield. The Masonic Lodge of Northfield is matching donations to the CAC at this event, up to $10,000. For details on the dinner, click here.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Flamingos inspire me to escape this Minnesota winter March 9, 2023

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Framed in the front window of Fashions on Central, this tropical display was created by volunteer Ann Meillier for the Buckham West (senior center) retail store. Ann also crafts displays inside this primarily volunteer-run business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2023)

DECIDEDLY NONTROPICAL MINNESOTA seems an unlikely place to find wild or captive flamingos. And it is…with the exception of the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley and Como Park Zoo in St. Paul and their resident flamingos. While those two zoos are not all that far from Faribault, we have our own flock right here. Not real, of course, but fake flamingos, which are good enough for me in the midst of a particularly long and snowy Minnesota winter.

The Fashions on Central Facebook page features this post about its flamingos: Walk like a flamingo! Walk WITH flamingos! YOU ARE FLAMAZING! (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2023)

In the storefront window of Fashions on Central, a fashionably-dressed headless mannequin grips the leashes of five plastic flamingos wading in a sea of gauzy fabric. With two fish among them and a starfish to the far left, I recognize this as a tropical scene. Yet my imaginative snowbanked mind drifts to snowdrifts enveloping those warm weather birds.

Enough of that thinking.

Fashions on Central, located at 325 Central Ave. N. in downtown Faribault, is open from 11 am – 5 pm Tuesday through Friday. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2023)

I appreciate the creative efforts at Fashions on Central, a women’s clothing store owned and operated by Buckham West. Proceeds from the sales of gently-used clothing, shoes and accessories go directly back to the local senior center. I love this environmentally-friendly mission of recycling donated, used clothing. I’ve shopped here and, in fact, found a like-new gray wool pea coat for a bargain $7. It’s kept me warm for multiple Minnesota winters already.

While I’m not in the market for beach clothes like those worn by the store-front mannequin, I know others may be as they plan spring break vacations. No matter, this tropical scene gives me a visual respite. If I focus hard enough and long enough, I can imagine myself ocean-side, hot sun warming my skin, leis layered around my sweaty neck, fish swimming, flamingos flaunting.

This streetscape scene shows snow along the sidewalk and street curbs, a contrast to the tropical scene at Fashions on Central. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2023)

And then, if I walk several blocks south from Fashions on Central to Division Street and aim straight ahead rather than turn right to Buckham West, I can escape, too. Inside Buckham Memorial Library, books set in tropical locations await me. Yes, there’s always a way to flee winter in Minnesota, even when you can’t leave.

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Raising monies for Jaws of Life at a small town pork chop feed March 28, 2013

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Pork chop dinner take-out at the Vesta Community Hall.

Pork chop supper take-out at the Vesta Community Hall.

SMALL TOWN, MINNESOTA, on a Saturday night, and I am snapping pictures at a pork chop supper in the community hall.

This could be Any Town, rural Minnesota. But this is my hometown of Vesta, population around 330, situated half way between Redwood Falls and Marshall along State Highway 19 on the southwestern Minnesota prairie.

Volunteer firefighters, including my cousin Randy, left, grill pork chops outside the hall.

Volunteer firefighters, including my cousin Randy, left, grill pork chops outside the hall. The firemen served about 250 meals.

Outside the hall, several volunteer firemen, including my cousin Randy, are grilling chops over an open charcoal pit for the annual Vesta Firemen’s Relief Association Pork Chop Supper.

David Widman sells tickets.

David Widman sells tickets.

Harlan and Karen step up to the serving window, where Erin, center, and other volunteers dish up food.

Harlan and Karen step up to the serving window, where Erin, center, and other volunteers dish up food.

The grilled pork chop meal.

The grilled pork chop meal.

Inside, Randy’s wife, Erin, and others are scooping up baked beans and potato salad and parceling out chops while other volunteers sell tickets and pour beverages. My nearly 81-year-old mom, whom we are visiting for the weekend, is treating my husband and me to supper.

I knew most of the diners.

I knew most of the diners.

As I mingle among diners, chatting with aunts, an uncle, cousins, and locals I haven’t seen in awhile, I’m cognizant of the importance of this event to raise funds for the Vesta Volunteer Fire Department. Proceeds will go toward a new $25,000 Jaws of Life device, already purchased with a $5,000 grant, past Pork Chop feed dollars and a loan.

Volunteer firemen remove the windshield from a junk car.

Volunteer firemen remove the windshield from a junk car.

After finishing my meal, at 7 p.m,, I step outside the Vesta Community Hall to observe several volunteer firemen remove a windshield and peel open the doors of a junk car using that new Jaws of Life.

About 30 onlookers gathered outside the hall to watch the Jaws of Life demonstration.

About 30 onlookers gathered outside the hall to watch the Jaws of Life demonstration.

Bracing myself against the stiff wind in a “feels more like 15 than 30 degrees,” I question my judgment in roving around the “accident scene” taking photos. Why would this crowd of about 30 stand outside in this raw weather watching this demonstration?

Because they care. Because they support their local volunteer firemen and First Responders. Because they know this could be them or their next-door-neighbor or their sibling or some stranger off the highway in need of rescue and emergency care.

Peeling away doors with the new Jaws of Life.

Peeling away doors with the new Jaws of Life.

The fire department typically responds to 12 – 15 fire calls annually in a 61 square mile area covering the City of Vesta, Vesta Township and part of Underwood Township, according to Fire Chief Travis Welch. In 2012, firefighters fought a major shop fire. They also responded to two head-on crashes which left three dead. Eight of the volunteer firemen serve as Vesta First Responders.

To the 18 volunteer firefighters—Travis, Jeremy D., Dallas, George, Randy, Tony, Aaron, Jeff, Jeremy K., Jon, David, Brian, Jason, Andrew, Neal, Jordan, Ryan B. and Ryan E.—thank you for being there for my hometown of Vesta.

Standing in front of the community hall, I watch the sun set in my hometown.

Standing in front of the community hall, I turn and watch the sun set in my hometown.

FYI: If you wish to donate monies toward the $5,000 balance owed for the Jaws of Life, mail your donation to:

Vesta Fire Relief
c/o David Widman
Box 104
Vesta, MN. 56292

The new Jaws of Life replaces jaws more than 20 years old and “unable to cut some of the new high tensile steel in today’s cars,” according to a letter from the Vesta Firemen’s Relief Association.

© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

One year later: A thank you party in flood-damaged Hammond September 21, 2011

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An aerial view of Hammond during the flash flood of September 2010. Photo courtesy of Micheal and Tina Mann.

NEARLY A YEAR AGO, residents of  Zumbro Falls and nearby Hammond were evacuating their homes during a devastating flash flood.

They were not prepared—could not have been prepared—for the rapidly rising Zumbro River that would inundate their homes and businesses on September 23/24, displacing them for months and many of them permanently.

Within three weeks of the flooding, while on a Sunday afternoon drive to view the fall colors, my husband and I drove into Zumbro Falls. There I met Jackie, Tracy and Susie. Just down the road in Hammond, I met Katie.

Tracy Yennie of Zumbro Falls, whom I photographed shortly after the flood which left her without a home and living temporarily in a shed.

These four women shared their stories and frustrations and worries with me. In return, I published what I today consider some of the most powerful posts I have ever written. Click here to read this flood series published on October 11, 2010.

Flooding in Hammond, one year ago. Photo by Susie Buck.

My coverage of the flood did not end then. These women so impressed me with their fortitude, their strength and their outspokenness that I continued to follow one of them, Katie Shones of Hammond, throughout the year. Katie was my go-to person any time I wanted an update from her Wabasha County community of 230. Not once did she suggest that I was intruding into her life. In fact, she has gone above and beyond in answering my many questions. She also introduced me to her dear friend, Tina (Marlowe) Mann.

Tina and I have never met, but we’ve corresponded numerous times via e-mail. Like Katie, Tina has always, always, been forthright and open with me. She allowed me to share her story in a March 13-19 series. Click here to read the first of those six posts.

Via my connections with Katie and Tina, I was able to inform you of the need for volunteer help in Hammond. And at least two readers responded with crews to assist in Hammond. Others of you may have responded in ways that I’ll never know.

This weekend Hammond is celebrating its recovery with a “Thank You” party. “We would like anyone who was impacted, donated, volunteered, or showed compassion for Hammond to come back down and see how far we’ve come and allow us to show our appreciation – the Hammond way!!!” Tina wrote in a recent e-mail. She invited me to attend and said I could spread the word.

So, if you fall into that “impacted, donated, volunteered or showed compassion for Hammond” category, make your way to this picturesque riverside berg on Saturday, September 24, to celebrate with Tina and Katie and their families and the other residents, and former residents, of Hammond.

The first day back into their flooded Hammond home, Vicki and Dallas Williamson had 20 minutes to grab whatever they could carry on the back of a four-wheeler. The family did not move back. Photo by Sheri Ryan.

Tina, who now serves on the city council; Hammond Bar co-owner Janice Farris; Hammond Café co-owner Cindy Campbell; former Mayor Judy Radke; and flood-affected resident Beau Mischke did the initial planning for the party and pulled in many local residents to help with activities, according to Tina.

Here’s the schedule of events:

  • 2:30 p.m., park dedication
  • 2:45 p.m., Kiddy Carnival
  • following the carnival, horseshoes at the Hammond Bar & bean bags at the Hammond Cafe
  • 3 p.m., corn husking in the park
  • 5 p.m., free sweet corn and hot beef sandwiches
  • Also, live music by Led Penny and Bad Logic and fireworks at dusk.

As you might guess in a small town, the entire event and door prizes are being covered by donations from businesses, residents, friends of Hammond and clubs. I’m not going to list them for fear of omitting someone.

Suffice to say you would be impressed.

And just one more thing. Tina tells me that by the end of the month, 12 crab apple trees will be planted on Main Street and in the east end of the park in honor of the children of Hammond affected by the flood.  Those, too, have been donated, by a Rochester nursery and garden center. Click here to read an earlier post about the affect of the flooding on Katie Shones’ children.

I never doubted that the folks of southeastern Minnesota would rebound from the devastating flood of September 2010. I knew it when I met Jackie, Tracy, Susie and Katie. These are strong, determined women. Nothing would stop them from reclaiming their communities.

The bridge connecting east and west Hammond is barely visible during the flood, which also overtook the town's park. Photo courtesy of Micheal and Tina Mann.

CHECK BACK FOR A POST tomorrow in which Tina Mann shares her thoughts on the past year and how her community has worked toward recovery. As in the past, Tina speaks with an honest, open voice that will touch your heart.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Part VI: The future for Hammond and Tina March 19, 2011

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This post marks the final in a series of six stories that focus on a Hammond, Minnesota, family forced from their home during a September 2010 flash flood. Today we look at Hammond, its recovery and how you can help.

“WE HAVE A LONG ROAD ahead of us and none of it can really start until spring,” says Tina Marlowe, assessing the work that still needs to be done in Hammond. Her family returned to this town of (once) 230 residents shortly after Christmas.

This southeastern Minnesota community exists in limbo as residents await the arrival of warmer weather, and money, to begin rebuilding their community. Many homes must be gutted and rebuilt or torn down. Hammond needs a new city hall and new maintenance equipment. The river bank, river bed, parks and canoe landing need to be cleaned and rebuilt.

“Everything…everything is left to be done,” says Tina, who plans to help form a park committee that will raise $200,000 to update and rebuild the town’s parks. Tubing, canoeing, a horseshoe tournament, camping, fishing, motorcycling and more draw locals and visitors to this quiet river valley, “a beautiful gift of nature that we like to call ‘Our Valley’,” Tina says.

She and good friend Katie Shones will be setting up a Park Fund for donations to rebuild the parks.

 

Hammond's riverside park was all but destroyed by the flood. Marks on the shelter roof show how high the water rose. A baseball field next to the shelter, with a fence around it, is covered by receding floodwaters. Jenny Hoffman took this photo at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

“SINCE OCTOBER, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota has been very involved in the long-term recovery efforts in the Pine Island – Oronoco area and in Wabasha County,” says Caitlin Hughes, LSS Disaster Services administrative specialist.  “LSSMN assisted in the development of two community supported long-term recovery committees. These committees are working with the LSSMN Southeast Minnesota Disaster Response Team to help families locate the precious resources to rebuild their homes and their lives.  Presently LSSMN has a local staff of three disaster case managers, a volunteer and resource coordinator and a reconstruction manager.

Currently, the disaster case managers are working with over 250 families/ individuals and the rebuild team is assisting 25 clients in using volunteers to make their homes habitable once again.”

St. John’s Lutheran Church is serving as a base for LSS relief operations in Hammond. Contact LSS caseworker Mary Walker at 507-753-3057 business days. St. John’s has served, among other functions, as a site for distribution of food, clothing and other essentials to flood survivors.

INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED in helping with Hammond’s recovery should contact LSS Volunteer Coordinator Dan Kalstabakken at 651-741-7234.

Go to this link for the most up-to-date information on LSS efforts in southeastern Minnesota: http://www.lssmn.org/disaster/

Also visit the Zumbro Valley Disaster Relief Fund.

Tina says flood survivors could use cash donations and that skilled laborers are still needed to help with the ongoing rebuilding efforts.

HELPING THE CHILDREN

LSS also provides support for children who have been through disasters like the Hammond flood.

Camp Noah is a day camp for children impacted by disaster that offers children a safe, caring and fun environment where they can heal and process their disaster experience, according to LSS. The five-day camp is based on a curriculum that celebrates each child’s unique gifts and talents and provides them with an opportunity to share their story.

For more information about Camp Noah, call 612-879-5312 or go to http://www.lssmn.org/camp_noah/

 

This photo shows the destroyed road that goes from Wabasha County Road 11 to the business area on the east side of Hammond. A bar, bank, cafe, city hall and homes are located along this street. Waters are receding in this photo taken mid-morning on Saturday, September 25, 2010. All of the businesses, city hall and most homes along this road were flooded.

THE FUTURE FOR TINA

Tina and her fiancé, Micheal Mann, are planning a June 25 wedding. The bride will wear the wedding dress she saved from the floodwaters.

“I don’t know how we will get the wedding paid for now…it certainly won’t be all that I planned it to be,” Tina says.

But, despite the financial hardship, the setbacks, the challenges, this determined woman wants to move forward. And that means proceeding with the wedding as planned. Her wedding will give people a break, a reason to “take one night to celebrate all that is real in this life: friends, family and love.”

THIS CONCLUDES my six-part series of stories told through the voice of Hammond flood survivor Tina Marlowe. Thank you, Tina, for the privilege of sharing your story. I admire your strength, your determination and your resiliency.

Thanks also to Katie Shones, who has been my main contact in Hammond since last October. She is one strong, kind woman.

Thanks, too, to Susie Buck for pulling together the many photos featured in this series and to those who allowed their images to be published here.

Sheri Ryan, I am grateful to you also for the use of your photos, but, more importantly, for a deeply personal look at how this flood affected your mom. All too often we view blurs of faces and piles of debris, but we fail to see beyond, to the real hurt that runs deep.

I appreciate every one of you who have so willingly worked with me to tell the story of the people of Hammond through words and photos.

I also appreciate volunteers like Gary Schmidt from the Twin Cities who worked with a Woodbury church to bring volunteers to Hammond in late January and then again one day in March. Gary learned of the need through this blog. I hope to share Gary’s experiences with you in a future post.

I am grateful also to the folks over at Minnesota Public Radio who have plugged my flood series online. In the “Minnesota Today” section, Michael Olson included a reference to my stories in his March 16 statewide blog round-up. My post, “She just wants to hug her house,” was also featured in MPR’S “Blog Box.”

MPR columnist Bob Collins summarized my series and linked to my blog in the “5×8” section of his March 18 “News Cut” column. Bob also publicized my first set of flood stories back in October 2010, when I toured Hammond and Zumbro Falls about two weeks after the flash flood. Thank you, MPR, for helping Hammond’s story reach an even wider audience.

It is my hope, Minnesota Prairie Roots readers, that the flood stories I’ve shared with you this week will touch you. I hope you will be moved to help the residents of Hammond recover from a flood that may have damaged their homes, but has not destroyed their spirits.

These are strong, strong people who continue to need our support, our prayers and our help even six months after the flood.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Part V: Help after the Hammond flood March 18, 2011

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Minnesotans help one another. So when Tina Marlowe and her family needed assistance after a devastating autumn 2010 flash flood severely damaged their Hammond, Minnesota, home, volunteers were there to assist.

Today, in this fifth in a series of stories, read about the people who helped Tina’s family and the gratitude she feels toward them.

 

John Bemmert took this photo from the front deck of his house. It shows his flooded yard within the fence, his neighbor's house to the left and his father-in-law's yard on the right. This image was taken on the afternoon of Friday, September 24, 2010.

Floodwaters approach the home of John Bemmert in this photo he took the afternoon of Friday, September 24, 2010. He was one of the lucky ones. The water rose only to the base of the skirting on his home.

WITH A FLOODED basement and several inches of water on the main level, Tina, her fiancé, two children and future in-laws were forced from their home. When the floodwaters receded, volunteers pitched in to help the family move their belongings and gut their home.

The Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club immediately dispatched a crew to move furniture, clean the basement, and rip out flooring and drywall. A retired couple from the Rushford area, Sentence-to-Serve members and others helped the family. The Rochester Med City Crew MC treated the family to a Thanksgiving dinner.

“I am grateful they took care of us with such dignity and respect,” Tina says of all who assisted them.

Once their house was emptied and dried out, they immediately began the process of rebuilding.

NO FLOOD INSURANCE, BUT HELP CAME

Without flood insurance on their home which lies in the 500-year flood plain, Tina and her family depended on others and sought out programs that could assist them. They accepted a Quickstart Grant, shopped around, made good choices and spent money as wisely as they could to stretch it as far as they could, Tina says.

They also tapped into Cathy Mann’s retirement fund to buy appliances.

Yet, there is nothing to pay for replacing their personal belongings.

In the spirit of giving, people have pitched in—a grant from Tina’s company to help pay hotel bills; co-workers donating money and holding a bake sale and chili feed to cover hotel and food costs; the Plainview-Elgin-Millville School District, through a drive, provided clothes, bedding, other essentials and cash; and a cash donation from Cathy Mann’s (Tina’s future mother-in-law) co-workers helped pay hotel bills.

Through Lion’s Club, Eagles Club, church group and individual donations to the Zumbro Valley Disaster Relief Fund, the family received intermittent assistance with gas and grocery cards.

“The amount of help we received from the community is unbelievable and is something every Minnesotan can, and should, be proud of,” Tina says.

 

The floodwaters had receded when John Bemmert took this photo on the morning of Saturday, September 25, 2010. It shows the intersection of Wabasha County Road 11 and Second Avenue. The flood tore out the wooden fence. A waterline is visible on the house.

Susie Buck took this photo as floodwater from storm sewers began backing up from the street into her yard before 8 a.m. on Friday, September 24, 2010. Motorists had to drive through her yard to get out of town on the west side of the Zumbro River in Hammond.

PLEASE JOIN MINNESOTA PRAIRIE ROOTS for one last visit with Tina Marlowe as she tells us what remains to be done in Hammond and how you can help.

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Photos Copyright 2011 by Susie Buck & John Bemmert

 

Gratitude from a Minnesota flood survivor January 14, 2011

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YESTERDAY I APPROVED a comment submitted by Tina Marlowe on my November 12, 2010, post, “An update from flood-ravaged Hammond & Floodfest 2010.”

Maybe you read the comment from this woman who survived the September flooding of tiny Hammond in southeastern Minnesota. Tina and her family fled their flooded home and lived in a hotel, then a rental house in Rochester, before returning to Hammond shortly after Christmas.

In case you missed Tina’s heartfelt comment, I am republishing it here because you need to read the words of this flood survivor. She writes with touching honesty, depth and emotion.

A child's toy lies among the tires and other rubble at a collection point in Hammond when I visited the small Wabasha County town along the Zumbro River some 2 1/2 weeks after the September flood. Seeing that child's discarded toy among all the flood debris depicted, for me, the personal side of this natural disaster.

You’ll hear more from Tina in the future. She sent me a four-page e-mail in response to additional questions I asked. Her answers will move you to tears. Once I’ve sorted through her missive—and that could take a week or three—I’ll publish Tina’s complete story in a series of installments.

But for now, read this portion of Tina’s story:

I AM THE DEAR FRIEND that Katie spoke of. My name is Tina. I am happy to report that my family: my father and mother-in-laws to be; my fiancé, Micheal; and my children, Cassandra and Christian, moved back into our home in Hammond the weekend of New Year’s Eve. We tried desperately to get back in by Christmas, but a couple of our snow storms and other glitches set us back a few days. But we are home, finally.

It has been a long, hard road to get here, and it is simply amazing how far we have come in such a relatively short amount of time. We are lucky, so very, very lucky. We are the third or so family home so far. But it is comforting to look out the window and see the contractors in our neighbors’ houses!

I know now what they don’t quite realize yet. Their homes are going to be beautiful once again, and most likely better than they were before! I cannot even describe the emotions of coming home to a beautifully rebuilt home, after all we have been through.

It would have never been possible, though, without the hard work, generosity, and compassion of all of our neighbors. Not just our neighbors in Hammond, Zumbro Falls, Mazeppa, Millville, Elgin, Plainview and Rochester, but also our neighbors in Rushford and Winona area who know all too well the nightmare we are going through, our neighbors from Minneapolis, Wisconsin, Iowa, and reaches farther than anyone will ever know.

From our school districts, to church groups, to motorcycle clubs, teen-agers, retirees, sentence-to-serve program…. the diversity of mid-westerners that rallied around us and embraced us and fed us and clothed us and held us and cried with us, and wiped our tears and told us we would be ok…

It has all been a truly amazing demonstration of humanity…. indescribable. I am very proud to live in such a wonderful place, and eternally grateful to each and every person who has already, and those who are still to come, for all of your help. There is still a lot, I mean a lot, of work left to be done, and I know that with such wonderful people surrounding us that it will be done.

Thank you and God Bless You All – The Mann Family

© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The snow angels of rural Minnesota December 22, 2010

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THEY ARE THE ANGELS of rural Minnesota.  The volunteer firefighters. The volunteer first responders. The volunteer ambulance crews.

If you don’t believe me, then spend some time in a place like Vesta, population around 330, on the southwestern Minnesota prairie where I grew up.  In small towns like this, the nearest clinic and hospital are often a 20-mile drive or more.

My mom still lives in my hometown and, because she’s getting up there in age, I worry about her. But that concern is offset somewhat by the knowledge that first responders will come to her aid in a medical emergency. And they have.

So when I read an article in the December 16 The Gaylord Hub, a community newspaper where I worked decades ago right out of college, I knew I had to share a story by reporter Lisa Uecker. She wrote about an ambulance trip from Gibbon to New Ulm during the December 11 blizzard.

Uecker is graciously permitting me to retell that story here. It’s worth your time to read for the lessons it teaches in dedication and care and how those in small towns will go the extra mile to assist their friends and neighbors.

In this instance, the miles, literally, were extra and a trip which should have taken perhaps 30 minutes became a 3 ½-hour ordeal.

The incident begins at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 11, during the height of the two-day blizzard. The volunteer Winthrop Ambulance Service receives a call to Gibbon some eight miles to the west. Once the crew reaches Gibbon and the patient, they backtrack to Winthrop knowing they must travel the longer, but safer, state highways rather than follow the shorter route along county roads. From Winthrop, they are headed 16 miles south along Minnesota State Highway 15 to the hospital in New Ulm.

A paramedic intercept is impossible, the crew learns, so snowplows are dispatched to meet the ambulance at the intersection of Highway 15 and Nicollet County Road 1 near Lafayette. One plow goes into the ditch. Another is low on fuel. The third has mechanical problems. None of the plows make it to the appointed rendezvous site.

 

If you're unfamiliar with Sibley and Nicollet counties, here's a map photo to show you the roadways and towns highlighted in this story.

The ambulance crew is on its own, traveling in white-out conditions near Klossner. The rescue vehicle soon becomes stuck on the shoulder. Because snowplows have been pulled off the roads, the Lafayette Fire Department comes to the rescue, freeing the ambulance with its pumper truck.

After passing Klossner, the ambulance gets stuck again, but the driver–ambulance captain and assistant Sibley County attorney Donald Lannoye–is able to rock the vehicle free.

Finally, at 6 p.m., the patient, who has been stable throughout the ride, is delivered to the New Ulm Medical Center.

The four-member volunteer ambulance crew spends the night in New Ulm.

In an interview with reporter Uecker, Lannoye says that once he passed Sibley County Road 8 right outside of Lafayette, he could never drive more than five miles per hour due to poor visibility and road conditions. The crew saw 11 – 15 cars in ditches and 4 – 6 cars stuck in traffic lanes near Lafayette.

Then Lannoye also reveals that his crew began their day at 5 a.m., transporting a patient on icy roads to Hutchinson.

If ever there was an outstanding example of the care and concern residents of rural Minnesota have for each other, then this would be it. We should all be thankful for volunteers like Lannoye, ambulance crew members Lisa Klenk and Todd Storms,  EMT-in-training Katie Uecker and Lafayette Volunteer Fire Department members who braved a blizzard to help their neighbors.

They are, indeed, snow angels.

IF YOU HAVE A STORY to share about how volunteers have helped you or someone you love, submit a comment. I’m certain there are many such stories out there.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling and Lisa Uecker

 

Flood clean-up help needed in Faribault and surrounding area September 30, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:26 PM
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Floodwaters flooded this rural home (left) at the intersection of Minnesota Highway 3 and Rice County Road 29 north of Faribault. This photo was taken late last Saturday morning from CR 29 by the Straight River bridge.

IF YOU’RE WILLING AND ABLE, you can assist residents of Faribault and the surrounding area with clean-up following last week’s devastating floods.

That’s according to a Code Red recorded telephone message I just received from Rice County Sheriff Richard Cook. After I got over the initial scare of hearing the words “Rice County Sheriff’s Department,” I listened, and then listened again to the request.

Here’s the deal: If you can volunteer with flood clean-up, report to the volunteer coordination center at the Rice County Fairgrounds 4-H building in Faribault. Or, you may register to volunteer by calling (507) 332-6234.

Those in need of clean-up assistance may also call (507) 332-6234.

Click here for flood information updates from Rice County.

If you can assist, please do. Organize your friends, your co-workers, fellow church members, neighbors, whomever, and help with the clean-up.

Rice County Road 29 northeast of Faribault was closed last week due to flooding in the area along the Straight River. The road and adjoining Highway 3 were reopened by Sunday.

The rushing Straight River touched the underside of the Rice County 29 bridge.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling