By Tim King Easter has always been a disappointing time for me. The problem is advertising. Just before Easter comes there are ads showing people dressed in clothes that convince you that the weather will be so soft and mild that you’ll want to roll in the green grass and sniff dandelions. Then, the holiday arrives. You’re decked out in lightweight spring clothing so you can go to grandma’s for baked ham after church. But outside there’s a blizzard howling. Bunnies, dandelion

By Marlys Hagstrom of Hutchinson Mom in front of our house on Dupont Avenue in Hector after the street was plowed out taking pictures of our home after the St. Patrick’s Day blizzard of 1965.  Contributed photo Winters in Minnesota can be unpredictable. Not a lot of snow had fallen in the early months of the winter of 1964-1965, but as winter turned the corner in 1965, a series of snowstorms blanketed our area leading to about 45-55 inches of snow on the ground. The forecast

By Jim Palmer In February, the country’s most popular groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow, meaning we are in for another six weeks of winter. Mark March 15 on your calendar. That is when spring will officially arrive this year. Of course, this old folklore, which dates back to settlers in the 1700s, has not ever been considered an accurate tool in our meteorologic toolbox. It’s been correct only about 40 percent of the time. The groundhog’s prediction also gears us u

Today’s Wisdom: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.” –Virgil By Bill D. Ward Most of our readers are finding themselves in the late half of their lives. We have run the good race, done most of our great accomplishments, and made our most impact on those around us. We are now slowing down, cruising to the finish. We still have our roles, and we still are busy. But for many of us, the big stuff is back in that 70-year chunk of time we have already lived, not in the

By Jan Stadtherr Spring is the long-awaited season between snow shovels and mosquitoes. By the time spring arrives, most of us are emotionally prepared for it long before Mother Nature gets around to it. Spring is that hopeful time of year when we look out the window, see a patch of bare ground, and announce with confidence, “Winter is over.” This statement is usually followed within 48 hours by a blizzard, but optimism is part of the tradition. When we were young, spring mea

By Rhea Eblen of Belgrade My mom and dad were married in the 1930s. I don’t know how they met. After they were dead, I asked my mom’s sister how my mom and dad met. “Why didn’t you ask them when they were alive?” she said. My mom died when I was eight or nine – couldn’t ask her. My dad worked so hard, doing his best to raise a daughter all alone. Then I was growing up and not interested at the time. I knew my mom was raised on a farm. It was in Iowa. They moved two or three t

By Gary Schafer of Gibbon Back in the days of 1960-1961, a group of young men/ boys in Buffalo Lake and Hector, Minn. formed a car club. Those were the days of the loud mufflers, drag racing and “squealing tires.” They called the club “Turtles,” as S. Reuber had a ‘52 green Chevy that wasn’t the fastest car “on the block.” Thus, the “Turtle” became the logo for the club. The club had 10 members, many of whom were brothers, cousins or just guys in town who loved cars. They wer

By Rachel Barduson It was the winter of 1966 that dad brought home a flying saucer for my sister and I. It was the newest thing in “sliding” – as in sliding down our hill in the pasture. It was a round disc, made of shiny, sleek aluminum, and could go down a snow-covered hill faster than the ancient and traditional toboggan sled that stood next to the house. Maybe dad caught us using the shovel (not a snow shovel – just your one farm shovel of the era) as we tried to use it a

By Cheryl (Rostad) Barry of Underwood Prior to a knee replacement in 2018, I purchased a cane at a local thrift store. After surgery I went to a rehab facility for a few days. I was required to label my belongings, including my cane. Fast forward to 2025, I had my other knee replaced. On occasion I used my cane for added support. In July, I visited my brother in Kodiak, Alaska. On my return trip, I had a six-hour layover in Anchorage. To bide my time I read, made phone calls,

By Jan Stadtherr I’m very thankful that I don’t have to learn English again! When my husband and I took a river cruise a few years ago, we visited the countries of the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Hungary. I was amazed how many of the citizens of these countries spoke English fairly well. There were many sighs of relief when we were able to converse with them as we didn’t know their languages. But they know ours, at least to a point that we could converse. There are ove

Today’s Wisdom: A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. –David Brinkley By Bill D. Ward I recently got to spend some time catching up with a bunch of college friends and roommates. Some I hadn’t seen in 53 years. A lot had happened in everyone’s lives since the early ‘70s. There was no shortage of stories of the old days. Some were familiar because I was there. Others were new to me. Thankfully I had been elsewhere the

By Tim King “You can’t go home.” That’s what Mike Tuomala told me a half a century ago. Mr. Tuomala was my supervisor on a 10 day U.S. Forest Service job in the late summer of 1971. We spent our days in the deeply physical work of clearing and repairing portage trails in the Boundary Waters. Mr. Tuomala taught me, and two other young fellows, how to lay a stepping stone staircase on the down-hill slope of a forest trail so that it prevented erosion and so it looked as though

By Nancy Leasman We’ve had a house guest for nearly three weeks. One whom we’ve never seen. She’s been reclusive, elusive and stealthy. She’s left signs of her passing but has spoken not one word. Child #7 and her fiancé live in St. Paul. They have two cats. Then a third one appeared outside their patio door. They fed it. As the weather turned cold, they took pity on it. They made a shelter but she refused it. One cold morning, they brought her in. That process wasn’t without

By Gwen Hanzlik of Dassel The storm arrived like a door slammed by winter itself — sudden, unannounced, unforgettable. In February of 1972, the snow didn’t fall so much as it claimed territory. Towns across central Minnesota and the surrounding counties found themselves paused inside the same white silence. The roads disappeared first. Then the familiar sounds of engines, school bells, and daily errands all faded into muffled waiting. What remains now are not weather charts,

By Jim Palmer I am writing this on Jan. 24 --  also referred to as “Blue Monday.” The third Monday in January was given this designation by a psychologist years ago because of multiple negative factors that stack up this time of year -- specifically post-holiday letdown, gloomy weather, financial stress from Christmas bills, and (for most) a time when they realize that New Year’s resolutions aren’t sticking. While some experts consider this formula less than scientific, menta

By Carrie Classon “I miss our conversations!” Marilyn wrote to me. I don’t know Marilyn well, but I like her very much. “You want to get a coffee sometime after Christmas?” I asked. Life starts to pick up and get moving again in early January. After hibernating in a cookie-induced coma for two full weeks, we’ve had a brief reprieve from normal. Now, with enough cookies consumed to keep us safe from a sudden cold snap and make the zipping of our trousers just a little more cha

By Tim King We generally have a small Christmas tree with modest ornamentation. The few ornaments that we do display have sentimental value. Among them are tiny colored bird ornaments with actual feathers. The colors range from scarlet to turquoise to yellow to improbable. Often their wing colors will contrast with a birds body feathers, adding to the little ornaments colorful brilliance. Our mothers purchased these birds 70 or so years ago. Their feet are made from strong wi

By Rachel Barduson of Alexandria One of my son’s favorite cereals when he was growing up was Honey Bunches of Oats. Mine was an occasional bowl of Corn Flakes; Frosted Flakes with Tony the Tiger was a luxury. I only had Wheaties on top of oatmeal. Rice Krispies was definitely a crispy treat of snap, crackle and pop. If I remember right, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Wheaties were the only thing in our kitchen cupboard. We ate at the kitchen table and I actually don’t remembe

by Jan Stadtherr For many seniors, the memories of using a dial phone evoke a sense of nostalgia. These sturdy devices had a rotary dial where you would spin the dial to connect your call. Phone numbers were often a combination of numbers and letters, like “OR4-5678,” where “OR” represented “678” on the telephone keypads. For urgent connections, you’d go through a local operator, who’d seamlessly connect calls and help with directory inquiries. The party line system was also

By Jim Palmer Around Mother’s Day, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announces the most popular baby names of the previous year. For the SSA, which I can only guess is a fairly serious/low-frill place to work, this announcement has to be one of the more fun and exciting things that happens all year long. But since it is the end of one year and the start of a new one,  other organizations always jump in every December to release predictions on the top names from the yea