Minnesota – Page 17 – Valerie's Voice

Vintage Band Festival

A welcome break in the weather, with lower temperatures and lower dew points, along with coming out from the long and cloistered pandemic, brought a large turnout to the Vintage Band Festival on Bridge Square in downtown Northfield, on Saturday.

The cover of the program for the music festival.

It was very comfortable Saturday morning when I went down with my camp chair and set it up to listen to the music. The music started at 9:30am. Different bands played all day long for 45-minute intervals and small breaks in-between sets.

Folks set up their camp chairs to listen to the music.

The weekly Saturday, Riverwalk Market Fair was also happening on Bridge Square, making it a very festive place to be. There was a lot of energy and I think people were ready to be outside and to be together. The Vintage Band Festival did not happen last year during the pandemic.

I heard the Jack Brass Band, Sheldon Theater Brass Band and Banda La Veradera (traditional Mexican music) with a break in-between to deliver Meals on Wheels. Later in the evening I went back to listen to more good music…the Copper Street Band.

One couple chose to dance to some of the music, and, of course, little girls were twirling around in the front. I would have been at their age.

Little girls twirling and dancing to the music.

All the bands I heard were very good but the Jack Brass Band, described as a “New Orleans-style jazz with added old-time blues, rock, hip-hop, pop funk and reggae” was one of my favorites. Another favortie was the Copper Street Band described as a “ blend of musical styles that fuses electronic effects and brass”. The Copper Street Band featured arrangements from 1770, 1870 and the 1970’s.

It seems to me a good time was had by all.

On a side note, as I was leaning against a tree, listening to the Mexican band when I returned (without a chair) after delivering Meals on Wheels, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and a kind woman pointed to a $20 bill at my feet. She wondered if it was mine…and yes it was. It had fallen out of my pocket. I was grateful she alerted me, and thanked her!

Literary Steps

It caught my attention while driving down Division Street in Northfield. Someone painted the steps leading up to the library. I stopped on the way back from my errand to take a closer look.

This caught my attention while driving past the library.

I stopped and immediately started photographing the steps while oohing and aahing over the fantastic idea and amazing artwork to a woman with a broom, tidying up the steps. I said I love this new paint exhibit and asked her if she knew who the artist was…she said, “Me!” She was a long-time children’s librarian in Northfield, and has since retired. She loves children’s books, as do I.

Kathy Ness, the artist, applied for a Main Street Artist’s Grant and was awarded monies for “Literary Steps”.

The art teacher from Spring Creek Elementary School (formerly Sibley Elementary) offered to help her and so the two of them painted this beautiful piece of art.

Kathy was putting the actual book near the step representing it. This is one of her favorite children’s books: *Stop That Pickle!*

She painted replicas of children’s book spines on the 16 steps going up (I counted more) to the Division Street side of the Northfield Public Library. She asked the community for suggestions for the book titles and chose 16 titles from the list.

Many of the books I have read, but I got a few new ideas to check out. One of my children’s favorites, “The Little Engine That Could” did not make the list.

I love this beautiful artwork on public display in downtown Northfield. It definitely adds to the unique and wonderful place we call home.

My Stargazer Lilies

A favorite flower of mine…the stargazer lily. They are in bloom now, and I am enjoying them in my garden.

My Hibiscus

On our deck, my beautiful hibiscus is blooming. I love the color.

Libraries

I like libraries. I like the looks of them. I like the smell of them. I like their offerings…books (and more). Our library in Northfield is wonderful. I walked out of the library the other day with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for our city library.

The updated entrance to the library (2016).

I go to the library often…to borrow books, and CD’s, and even DVD’s for myself. My husband does too. I am in the habit of making my request online, then having the librarians find the item -at our library or another connected to the library system – and put it on hold for me until I go pick it up.

When the grandkids lived with us, we went to the library weekly for story time. Now I get to be the storyteller over Zoom. So now, I go to the library weekly to pick out children’s books for my story time. The children’s librarians are always willing to help me and I usually leave with about 10-12 books. I come home, read them to make sure I like them, and then let the kids choose which ones we’ll read. It’s great fun.

Inside the original part of the Northfield library.

The other day I checked out an audio book and knew I wouldn’t be able to return the CD’s on the due date, so the librarian extended the due date for me.

A corner view of the original library building.

The library in Northfield is a Carnegie library. A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1882 and 1929.* So Carnegie libraries are older, and usually beautiful, brick buildings.

This is the original door to the Northfield Carnegie Library (no longer in use).

The Northfield Carnegie library was built in 1910. A large addition was added in 1985. Another renovation was completed in 2016. The 2016 renovation included many large windows that let in lots of natural light and it is lovely. There are some nice sitting areas where I sometimes go to write or read.

The newest addition to the library…bringing much natural light into the lovely space.

I remember during renovation the library moved to the city hall, yet they still were able to provide a limited, but wonderful, service to the community.

I like books. I like to read. I like the variety from the library without having to purchase. And, the library is available to anyone. I am grateful for our library system…a gateway to the world of reading.

*Wikipedia

Old School Cafe and the SPAM Museum

Antique, pull-down maps, chalk boards, pictures of George Washington and Abe Lincoln, and an aged, class photo decorate an old, country school building converted to a restaurant in Mantorville, Minnesota.

Front view of the Old School Cafe with bell tower.

The old school house is now the Old School Café, with good cooking, and a popular spot for town folks to eat. The portions were generous and the food was tasty and the ambiance was nostalgic and cheery.

Outside was also inviting. There were old wooden benches and a school desk on the wide, front porch. There was a bell tower with the bell intact and rope hanging from it. Sculptures of children were placed around the grounds…a lovely idea for a school house yard.

The children on the slide was my favorite sculpture.

Another sculpture of children at a drinking fountain.

There were many, pretty flower pots scattered throughout the yard. On one side of the café was a charming, old wooden house dated 1855, that looked occupied, and the other side of the cafe was a garden area. It was fun to look around, and a delightful way to start the day.

I love whimsey. This little troll was attached to the 1855 house outside wall.

An outdoor seating area along side the cafe, between the cafe and the old house.

There always seems to be a kitty cat hiding in gardens.

Our next stop was the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.

A well-done sculpture of a farmer and two pigs, outside the SPAM Museum.

An interesting, fun (and free!) museum dedicated to the story of Hormel’s specific product SPAM. Hormel began in the late 1800’s but SPAM was created in 1936 and became popular in WWII when the military ordered lots of SPAM to provide for the armed forces overseas… because it was convenient, and the shelf life was lengthy.

A life-size figure, a screen projection, was lamenting how he felt he had an overabundance of SPAM while in the army.

Some in the military might say the government overused SPAM. But it continues to sell today and there are multiple flavors of SPAM, and it is sold in multiple countries all over the world.

An interesting story on how SPAM got its name.

Free samples of SPAM were offered. We tasted the hickory smoked version and it was very good.

Of course, there is a gift shop featuring all things “Spam”, including flip flops that spell out SPAM when you walk in the sand!

A parting shot…a stunning blossom in the gardens of the Old School Cafe.

Lake Side

My friend and I spent a couple of days up at her place on Daggett Lake on the Whitefish chain of lakes in northern Minnesota. The weather was hot and humid, so being by a lake was a good place to be. Her husband liked to call their place “the porch with a cabin attached”.

There is a screened-in porch, with a dining table and two double beds in it…so it is large, almost as big as the cabin. We spent a lot of time on the porch, on the dock when the shade covered the dock bench, and under the shade trees.

My friend told me of a new “cabin” being built one lake over. She said it’s worth seeing, but only from the lake…so we decided to go take a look. We had two choices…an old-fashioned paddle boat or the jet skis.

I have been on her jet skis before… I kind of have a history of mishaps with them so I was a little nervous. Also, because of Covid I was not up at her cabin last summer so it had been a while since I had been on a jet ski. However, that seemed the most reasonable way to see the new cabin from a lake view…it was way too hot to paddle across the lake, through the channel and into another lake. So we decided to take the jet skis.

As I got on a jet ski, and got a refresher course, I asked my friend, “At what age are we too old to be doing this?” And we laughed.

But, we did it! And without a mishap too.

We backed out of the lift, accelerated fast, creating a refreshing breeze as we skimmed across Daggett Lake to the “no wake zone” to get through the channel and to the next lake. Once there, the new house stood out from the shoreline, big and beautiful. It was stunning…not a cabin at all, but a rambling, lovely lake home with amazing features, that you can only see from the lake (unless of course you are invited into this estate.)

We made our way back to my friend’s cute little cabin and I said, “So, really, what do those folks in the new mansion have that you don’t have in your cabin?!”

It was fun to be on the jet skis again. And it was fun to see the new “cabin” from the lake.

I don’t have any pictures documenting our jet ski ride, or the castle cabin. At one point I mentioned I should get my iPhone so I could take a picture, but my friend politely reminded me I should not bring any electronics near water. O yes, I remember…A few years ago I capsized in a kayak and ruined my camera, and then a few years after that, up at this same cabin, I was on the dock, pulled my iPad out of the cloth bag and it slipped right out of my hands into the water.

My Fairy Garden

While in Dubuque I mentioned to my friend that I’d like to place a small fairy garden among my flowers back home. Then, when we were in an antique store, she spotted a miniature porcelain table and chairs set…she wondered if that would work? We continued walking around the shop as I thought about it… and the idea took hold so I purchased the pretty, pink, green and cream porcelain mini-table with matching chairs.

A glass pebble trail leading to the table and three chairs.

The next day I bought a chubby little fairy/angel holding a cup of tea at a thrift store.

When I arrived home to Minnesota I rescued another lone fairy I had sitting outside (the one a squirrel carried off a few years ago and we found it up in the tree the next summer). I started planning the miniature set design.

I found a spot in the corner of my back garden, under my fragrant, white rose bush, and next to the public sidewalk that goes past our house. I set a trail of glass pebbles to the table and chairs and placed my fairies on two of three chairs. This is a start.

My fairy garden is tucked under my rose bush.

I enjoyed forming this miniature world. My hope is that people will spot the fairy garden and find a bit of whimsey for the moment.

To my satisfaction, through my upstairs window, I have seen a few people discovering it… and that makes me happy.

Morning Greeting

On my walk, early this morning, I was greeted by this huge turtle.

He stood still and watched me. I could get up close to take a look at him, and he looked old…maybe he was thinking the same thing about me!

His shell looked soft and scarred. I don’t know what kind of turtle he is, but he was big…at least the size of a basketball.

On my way home I circled back to see if he was still there, but there was no sign of him at all…not even a path through the grass to the pond.

Happy day, Mr. Turtle.

Emmaus Church

We attended church yesterday… for the first time since March 0f 2020 when Covid-19 shut everything down. We wore our masks and social-distanced ourselves inside the sanctuary, but the energy was there…the Spirit of God was there… building us up, and it was good to be together again.

Since we’ve been gone some updates took place…the sanctuary was painted, the podium platform was raised 10″ for better viewing, we got new, more comfortable chairs and brand new carpet…it looks great! And seeing it filled with people was even greater.

Outside Emmaus Church in Northfield, Minnesota.

It will probably one of those first times, always remembered, as to what it was like – attending church for the first time after a pandemic.

I’m thinking God saw it and thought it was good.