By Cheryl (Rostad) Barry of Underwood My brother and sister-in-law, Brad and Karen Rostad, have been missionaries in Jamaica since the late 1980’s. They’ve witnessed tropical depressions and hurricanes, Gilbert in 1988 and Ivan in 2004. Although these storms were devastating, they pale in comparison to the monster Hurricane Melissa, which destroyed 1/3 of the island on Oct. 27-28, 2025. It was labeled a Category 5, but was more like a Category 6 because of the widespread dest

By Jim Palmer When I was young, now was the time of the year when I would start making up Christmas lists for Santa, parents, grandparents, and any other relative who was willing to send little Jimmy some Christmas joy. This year, I have made up a wish list for Senior Perspective. Now and then we have people ask us what they can do to support us... so why not make up a list. There are some specific asks in here and some more general ones, but they are all things we would love

By Darwin Anthony of Trimont I am THE FIREPLACE that is within the wall at the end of the Anthony living room. It is now late fall and I know what must happen. I must be made ready as I am something of winter. I wait to be cleaned so that I can offer cozy pleasure to those who care for me. Such pleasure comes from seeing the varied color of my fire and hearing the crackling sound as the wood within me burns. It is a sound that only an actual wood-burning fireplace can produce

By Rachel Barduson of Alexandria It seems like everything was such a big deal when I was a kid. Maybe it’s because everything was such a big deal when I was a kid. Little things. As we approach another Christmas, I guess it’s a mixture of often-forgotten little things that, strangely, I am thinking about this year. Little things, like... sitting on the floor of the car while dad was driving and mom was sitting in the passenger seat, right there on the floor between my parent

By Bill D. Ward Today’s Wisdom: “Every life holds an epic tale, even if no one alive remembers it.” Greg Melville A good friend of mine is the caretaker at our town’s cemetery. He tells me that he occasionally runs into people who are touring cemeteries collecting gravestone encounters of famous people. Do we all need to up our game a bit on our monument design? We have two famous people in our cemetery, but most tourists are there for one special one. Hildred Olson was a lit

By Carrie Classon (Written in late September) It is the time of year for vegetable gluttony. The truth is, I am a vegetable glutton all year round. I blame my mother. My mom grew up on a farm, and when my sister and I were growing up, my mother was one of the first moms in our suburb to plant a big vegetable garden. We had beans and tomatoes and zucchini, and I don’t remember what else. I loved vegetables from a very early age. My mother would serve whatever we were eating in

Alexandria man served on USS Midway, discovers his photo at museum By Julie Parent A photo of Don Van Guilder when he was a Navy sailor is posted at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, CA. Photo contributed by Liz Winter Don Van Guilder of Alexandria, Minn. was watching a YouTube video about the USS Midway Museum when he saw one of two photos of himself on the bulkhead wall in the background. He was so shocked, he took a picture of the computer screen and showed it to his f

By Rachel Barduson of Alexandria Church basement ladies are historic figures. They go a long way back to the beginning of – in my case – time. Those historic ladies were, and still are, heroes in my estimation. They provide the magic after the sermon, the potlucks, the church suppers, the annual meetings, the ladies aid. Why would they be heroes? Because there are so many layers of detail and planning that goes into serving food at church. These ladies not only serve the foo

By Nancy Leasman of Long Prairie All work and no play….well, you know that adage well. So, Ron and I headed north, to Itasca. A relaxing time in one of the cabins at Itasca State Park. Photo by Nancy Leasman We’d rented a cabin for one night and the next day would attend the book release of the Jack Pine Writers Group’s annual Talking Stick collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Our daughter, Dawn, the conservation biologist, had won honorable mention in the non-fi

By Carrie Classon I’m driving back to my parents’ home from a state park on a beautiful summer day. My mother is riding shotgun; my dad...

By Chuck Vukonich of Fergus Falls The property in the hills of Erhard. Contributed photo I own some property up in the hills of Erhard...

By Jan Stadtherr Reconnecting with memories from my past has been an obsession for me in the past few months. Nostalgia is a bittersweet...

By Jim Palmer Over the years, I have thanked both our drivers and our writers in this column, but I have only given a tip of the hat to...

By Nancy Leasman It was a semi-coolish prelude to a warm and steamy July day. I was out early to put in 3,000 steps down the road and...

By Dale Zillmer of Henning After our marriage in January of 1960, we lived a life of newlywed love that can only be described as...

By Tim King Long ago, on warm August Sunday afternoons, we would tie the canoe to the top of the tan Volkswagen. Then we would drive...

By Jean Jungst of Morris There is one day in my life I will never forget. I grew up a child in England in the “war years.” World War II...

By Bill D. Ward Today’s Wisdom: “Coffee is the best thing in life because it brings people together.” – Unknown The other day I was with...

By Rachel Barduson Scenes from our Fourth of July get together. Photos by Rachel Barduson There’s something about the “board” games of...

BY JIM PALMER jim@srperspective.net Typically the most colorful page in the Senior Perspective each month is our Photo Album page. This...