Lakewood Memorial Chapel

It never ceases to amaze me…the chapel at Lakewood Cemetery, on Lake Bde Maka Ska (previously Lake Calhoun). My paternal grandparents, and a beloved aunt, are buried in this picturesque cemetery. That is how I discovered the chapel. I didn’t know about it before I went to the cemetery to see the family graves. Since my discovery, I do visit the chapel occasionally, and often bring friends or out-of-town guests there, if they have not seen the stunning chapel.

My paternal grandmother’s gravestone.

The cemetery itself seems like an extra special place. Two Hundred and Fifty acres of mature trees, lush grass, and rolling hills with magnificent tombstones and monuments.  I learned on my last visit, the grounds of the cemetery are an accredited arboretum. I would assume my grandparents chose to lie in rest at this cemetery because of its beauty and proximity to a city lake. I know my grandmother loved the water, as do I. And as did Auntie Ag.

The Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel.

The Memorial Chapel was completed in 1910. It is the centerpiece of the cemetery.   It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is a work of art; an excellent example of Byzantine mosaic art. I’m not sure why more attention isn’t given to this edifice. It is said, if this chapel were in Europe, thousands would visit it. 

“The dome is 40 feet high and ringed with 24 stained glass windows, set in copper and serves as a sundial. Twelve angels adorn the door, relating to the Old Testament’s 12 sons of Jacob, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gates to the Holy City and the 12 disciples of Christ in the New Testament.” There is a lot of symbolism within the artwork, explained in the brochure.
A zoomed-in image of one of twelve angels in the dome…all small mosaic tiles.

The chapel at Lakewood Cemetery is open to the public daily, when not reserved for special events, such as weddings or funerals. When we were there with our son and his family recently, there was a sound check going on so it was closed to the public, however a woman came over to us and said if we kept silent, she would open the doors so we could peak into the chapel to see the magnificent dome, its amazing walls, and its beautiful mosaic. 

From the brochure:

"In 1906, Lakewood’s trustees formed a committee to guide the chapel development and solicit design concepts from leading architects.

In 1908 the Lakewood Building committee hired Harry Wild Jones, a prominent Minneapolis architect.

In 1909 the Lakewood Board of Trustees commissioned New York interior designer Charles Lamb to design the interior. He suggested a Byzantine mosaic design based on the interior of the San Marco Cathedral in Venice.

Lamb traveled to Rome to enlist six of Italy’s most accomplished mosaic artists, who had just completed a project at the Vatican. In Venice they created more than 10 million mosaic pieces, from marble, stone and glass fused with gold and silver [for the Lakewood Memorial Chapel].

The tiles, no larger than a fingernail, were attached to gummed cloth and shipped to Minneapolis. The artist themselves arrived in the summer of 1909 and painstakingly assembled the masterpiece inside the chapel."

The chapel was completed in 1910.
“The alcove at the front of the chapel is lined with entwined mosaic olive trees, whose fruit is known for healing properties.”

Today the chapel stands virtually unchanged in appearance from the day it was completed.

One of four large mosaic figures that represent the virtues of Love, Hope, Memory and Faith. They adorn the side walls below the dome. This particular figure is “Hope”.

If I lived close to this impressive – dazzling – spectacular chapel, I’m confident I would find myself visiting more frequently, just sitting inside and being still.

 

Copper doors and mosaic tiles and lots of detail are in this architectural masterpiece.
Be still and know that I am God.  
Psalm 46:10

July 2024

The month of July was a very unusual, emotional month for us –  dramatic negatives interspersed with unique positives…

A Negative:
A family member has been very sick.
A Positive:
My second cousin and his wife from Norway stayed with us for five days and we enjoyed our time together.
A Positive:
Our youngest son and his wife and two children, Zoey & Ezra, came for a three-week visit.
A Negative:
I tested positive for COVID, and needed to curtail some activities. Thankfully I didn’t get very sick, it didn’t linger, and no one else caught it.
The camping cabin.

A stand-out activity with our two grandchildren from North Carolina, was a camping trip. We made plans to go camping with Zoey and Ezra when we knew they would be visiting us in Minnesota. Their parents had planned a getaway by themselves to celebrate special birthdays, so we made reservations for a camping cabin in a state park, about an hour away.

We enjoyed two campfires.

Camping never disappoints to create unforgettable memories. And we created memories. The biggest problem we encountered were the mosquitos, of course, and it also rained a couple of times. But we were able to do all we wanted to. We ate well (and outside)…blueberry pancakes, roasted hot dogs, s’mores, hobo meals… and we sat around the campfire, relaxed and read in the screen porch, had ice cream for lunch…we had fun.

We made hobo meals to cook over the open fire.

One of my favorite activities with Zoey and Ezra was writing and creating a book about our camping experience after we returned home. Zoey took notes as we all sat together and made suggestions as to what to write about our two-night camping trip and all the mishaps…much like The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation. Both Ezra and Zoey got into this activity and we spent several hours on it. And I must say, it turned out well. 

Busy at work, creating our book.

Ezra dictated as Zoey typed it up in a Word document. Then I edited the six chapters, and it “went to press”. We printed copies to present to the parents when they arrived home from their mini-get away. 

The end product.

The book, The Very Crazy Camping Trip, became an instant success!

Visitors from Norge

For five days my second cousin and his wife, Heine and Kari, from Norway, came to Northfield. We had a nice visit, and we were able to, once again, show off our town and southern Minnesota.

First we took them to a small town 4th of July celebration – the oldest ongoing celebration in Minnesota. North Morristown has put on a 4th of July celebration for 131 years, serving homemade pie, food offerings at concessions stands and live music. We enjoyed listening to the blue grass band Monroe Crossing, and traipsing over muddy paths for food, in-between rain storms. 

Fireworks in Northfield were delayed until the next evening due to the rain. We walked down the street from our house to watch them on Friday, July 5th .

We visited other relatives in the area…our grandfathers are the link. They were brothers…one went to America, the other stayed in Norway. 

Me, Kari, Heine, my cousin Cindy and my aunt (in front).

Scheel’s, in the Eden Prairie Center, was a fun place to look around, especially for a hunter, which Heine is. But the home décor portion of the store is lovely to peruse too.

Outside Sheel’s sporting goods store.
A beautiful field of coneflowers in the gardens outside the Marine Art Museum.

Eating outside, when possible, either on our deck or at a restaurant is always nice in the summertime and it was possible much of the time Heine and Kari were with us.

Heine & Kari playing at Lark Toys.
Lunch along the Mississippi River in Winona.

We went on a day trip to Winona. We stopped at Lark Toys in Kellogg for fun, and had a picnic lunch on the banks of the flooded Mississippi River.

Outside the Marine Art Museum.

We enjoyed the gardens around the Minnesota Marine Art Museum and went inside for a look around.

Lake City Marina.

We stopped at Lock & Dam #5 north of Winona, and meandered around Lake City’s marina on our way back to Northfield. 

Valley Grove Churches.

We showed off the Norwegian immigrants historic Valley Grove churches and cemetery.

We hiked to Hidden Falls in Big Woods Nerstrand State Park.

Heine & Kari celebrating their 45th anniversary in Northfield, Minnesota.

We shopped downtown Northfield and celebrated Heine and Kari’s 45th wedding anniversary at the Reunion in downtown Northfield. 

The last stop was at Lakewood Cemetery to visit the graves of my grandmother and grandfather and beloved Auntie Ag.

My grandfathers gravestone at Lakewood Cemetery. He was the brother to Heine’s grandfather, Johannes.

We were able to get in to view the beautiful Lakewood Chapel, with 10 million 3/8 inch tile mosaics throughout.

One of the many angel mosaics in Lakewood Chapel.

Time flew, conversation and laugher abounded, family ties entwined.

Oxbow Park and The Depot

After we left Kasson and our mini-history tour, we continued on our day trip to Oxbow Park in Olmstead County, near Byron, Minnesota. It is a surprisingly special place with a picnic area, a nature center, a zoo, a discovery playground, and camping facilities.

One relaxed cat!

The small, but amazing, Zollman Zoo is aligned with Oxbow Park and houses over 30 species of wild animals native to Minnesota. Many of the animals at this zoo have physical injuries so they cannot be released back into nature, and some other animals come from other zoo facilities that have surplus animals.

I told this guy I was going to take his picture…

My favorite was seeing the cougar looking very relaxed in a tree trunk, watching us from his perch. When I told him I was going to take his picture, he moved his big paw under his chin and posed for us!

I forgot to tell him to smile!

The nature center, also a part of Oxbow Park, is only a year old. It is spacious, modern and well done. A few more small critters are inside, as well as a lot of displays and information on nature.

Gobble, gobble.

There was a bird watching station too. We sat for a few minutes and saw multiple hummingbirds drinking from a couple of feeders hanging outside the large windows.

This hidden gem is a place we hope to take our grandkids to, sometime this summer. Did I mention it is free? Donations accepted.

The Depot, Goodhue, MN.

And what day trip is complete without ice cream? Surprisingly, we had to search many small towns to find some. But we didn’t give up, and found The Depot, a renovated train station, in the small town of Goodhue. The new owner served delicious ice cream cones in a refurbished, old railway station, with friendly folk willing to give us a tour of the station’s renovation.

Old railway sign at The Depot.

Fun adventures and discovery awaits when you take the back roads of Minnesota.

Painted Rocks

I like to find small, painted rocks (especially with encouraging messages) in unexpected places. On a recent day trip, we found one, big painted rock! 

It’s amazing how the artist captures the folds in the flag…it looks three dementional.

I didn’t know there was a The Freedom Rock project but according to its website: the project has a “goal of at least one Freedom Rock in every state in the union”, to honor America’s Veterans. 

Signage for the Freedom Rock.

A Freedom Rock is a painted boulder depicting “unique to the state” military scenes, painted by Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II. Minnesota has seven Freedom Rocks in seven different areas throughout the state.

A photo of a photo of the original boulder for this Freedom Rock.

When we arrived in Kasson, Minnesota I noticed a huge, painted boulder across the street from the Clock Shop, at the American Legion on Main Street. It caught my eye because on our way to Kasson we had to take a road detour…and on that detour we noticed this stout, old limestone building on the side of the road, with a plaque and flag flying high. We stopped to check it out and discovered it was an old military recruitment station for the Civil War. 

Civil War Recruiting Station in Wasioja, Minnesota.

We didn’t know such buildings existed. I also had forgotten the important role Minnesota played in the Civil War.

Minnesota Historical Society plaque.

The plaque states that Minnesota was the first state to offer and send troops to aid the Union cause.  Recruits from this station in Wasioja, MN totaled 200. The building, built in 1855, has been beautifully restored, and is there for all to see and remember.

One scene on the Freedom Rock, of the Wasioja Recruiting Station.

So, I was surprised when I stepped out of the car in Kasson and noticed the building we had just seen an hour earlier painted on a huge rock! We walked over to explore some more!

I liked this depiction of a soldier holding the SPAM can. The SPAM museum is a great place to visit too.

On another side of the rock was a painting of a WWII veteran holding a can of SPAM. Good old Minnesota SPAM. There were 100 million pounds of Hormel SPAM shipped to our troops during WWII. 

A painting of the world famous Minnesota artist, LeRoy Neiman.

Another side of the rock was dedicated to a St. Paul man who was a cook in WWII and became a world-famous artist, LeRoy Neiman, when he got out of the service (although I had never heard of him.)

One more scene depicted “Kiddy Car Airlift” which was organized by Minnesota US Air Force Chaplain Colonel Russell L. Blaisdell. He rescued orphans and staff from Seoul during the Korean War. This was another mission I had not heard about.

“Doc Kelly” My father’s army picture, 1943.

And amidst this day of military blitz I thought of my own father. A few days before this day trip, while talking with family, I learned my father, who served in WWII, had the nickname of Doc Kelly.  Apparently, the troops usually choose nicknames from last names, therefore “Kelly”, and my dad was a medic, assisting doctors, therefore “Doc”. I had not heard this before.

It was a great morning of discoveries and learning.

Summertime

Yesterday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a time that marks the beginning of summer. Unfortunately, it rained the whole long day. Again.

A non-rainy day in summer, on Daggett Lake, Minnesota.

But here’s a fun children’s poem by Robert Louis Stevenson (published in 1915) to help celebrate summertime.

Bed In Summer

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Voilá

Several years ago I found a painting of red geraniums on a framed, window screen in a thrift store. I thought it was a clever idea and it would look good on our front porch, so I bought it. It has hung on our front porch many times over several summers, and it started to lose its pizazz.  

Our front porch, June 2024.

Instead of throwing it out I decided to try touching it up myself, with my acrylic paints.

My messy work area in the garage.

I put on an old t-shirt, squeezed paint onto a paint palette, and did my best. I filled in the reds, and mixed red and yellow paint for orange, and blue and yellow for green, and repainted the pot and added a bit of color here, and a bit there. It was a fun, creative endeavor! 

My rejuvenated geranium painting.

And I think it turned out very well. The painting has found new life and is hanging on my front porch once again.

A Gift of Water

A writing assignment was to answer this question… Has a stranger ever helped you at a difficult time? The answer is yes, and here’s the story.

Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. photo vb

In 2015 we visited our son and his wife and our first grand-baby, Zoey, in Mozambique, Africa. We planned a side trip to Cape Town, South Africa as a chance to see another part of the continent. One of our most exciting, but challenging adventures there was to climb Table Mountain.

Photo by Robert Huczek on Unsplash (free internet photos)

Table Mountain is a beautiful sight overlooking Cape Town, and from a distance it looks like a table, thus the name.

A view of Cape Town off one side of Table Mountain. photo vb

Gary and I are used to hiking and have done a lot over the years. We’ve hiked some difficult terrains. Table Mountain ended up being one of the harder hikes I’ve done, but I didn’t know that when we started out. We donned our hiking boots and hats, and filled our water bottles and started up the steep path. There were several other hikers on this trail. It was hot, it was rocky, and it was pretty much straight up.

On our way up the rocky trail to the top of Table Mountain. photo gb

We were struggling. About two-thirds the way up there was an outcropping that provided a shady area, so we stopped to rest. A fit, young man came from behind us and noticed I was overheated. He asked if we had water. Yes, we did, thank you. Then he said to me, hold out your hat. I did as he said, and he poured HIS water into my hat and told me to tip it over my head. I did, and it felt so incredibly good to drench my hot self with the cool water.

After that, the young man continued on his merry way, and I was so grateful for his random act of kindness, and soon we continued our trek upward. 

Note the cable car coming down from the station at the top of Table Mountain. photo vb

We rejoiced when we arrived at the top. We joined many folks enjoying the stunning vistas on this beautiful, sunny day (reaching the top by cable car or on foot). Then, as was our plan, we took the cable car down the mountain.

From the window of the rotating cable car, going down Table Mountain. photo vb

I was grateful for this young man’s random act of kindness that day on Table Mountain. What a delight to be treated so kindly… on a mountain trail… in a foreign country.

Thankfulness

A sentence from a reading shimmered for me the other day, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

“… no pleasure is really complete without expressing gratitude, to God, for it” (italics mine).*

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Septemeber 2021

I want to take that to heart. The wonderful events in our lives are made so much more pleasurable if we give thanks for them. They are not “complete” if we don’t. I do want to nurture this discipline in my life.

 *Jesus Always by Sarah Young

And then there were none…

Sad news…two days ago I was out in the yard and found the second baby robin (two of three – last week I found the first one) dead in the grass. I’m not sure what is taking them from their nest…someone suggested a Blue Jay.

On May 12 I noticed these three, beautiful blue eggs in a nest outside our window. Mama Robin has been caring for her young since then, and now all three have died.

Last night I took a photo of the last baby robin sitting contently in its nest.

And then I found it dead, this morning, under the tree where the nest is. I’m sad.

Now, I wonder if I’ll see Mama Robin anymore? I’ll miss her.