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FEATURE S May 2013 Volume 8, Issue 5

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18

Partners like no other

The legacy of Lowell and Nadine Andreas

14

Partners at play

Mankato gets together to make sure everyone has a good time

22

Putting together the Panic The makings of a semi-pro football team

28

Day Trip Destinations

From Winona to Red Wing on the trail of the 100-Mile Garage Sale

About the Cover

Callie Syverson, a Minnesota State University student and lead actress in its April production of “Legally Blonde,” is pictured on the set of the play in the Ted Paul Theatre.

Photo by The Free Press Media photographer Pat Christman.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 3

MANKATO

DEPAR TMENTS

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6 From the Editor Partnerships weave the Mankato fabric 8 Odds ‘n’ Ends 10 Introductions Barbe Marshall Hansen of

10

12

12 The Gallery Renee Erdmann, Speechless Film Festival 30 That’s Life Birth (and graduation) of a salesman 32 Garden Chat Overcoming hoop house woes 34 Then and Now Beers over the years 36 Coming Attractions May events calendar 38 Your Health Ice or heat?

40 Your Tastes Salad days of the farmers market 42 Your Style Dress cool for warmer weather 44 Happy Hour Rum plays up, and ignores, its roots 52 Remember When The boys of summer,

32

22

Twin Rivers Council for the Arts

and other recollections

Coming in June We’re turning up the music.

We’ll see what it sounds like to be backstage, as well as on the leading edge of Mankato’s music scene. We’ll enjoy some musically inspired literary diversions and chat with a few personalities you’re sure to recognize.

Join us, and we’ll dance in the street until July.

42 4 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

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MANKATO

From The Editor

magazine

May 2013 • VOLUME 8, ISSUE 5 PUBLISHER James P. Santori EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Tanner Kent EDITOR CONTRIBUTING Nell Musolf WRITERS Pete Steiner Jean Lundquist Marie Wood Sarah Zenk Blossom Wess McConville

PHOTOGRAPHERS John Cross Pat Christman PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING David Habrat MANAGER ADVERTISING Karla Marshall Sales ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey

CIRCULATION Denise Zernechel DIRECTOR

Mankato Magazine is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South Second St., Mankato MN 56001.

To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $19.95 for 12 issues.

For editorial inquiries, call Tanner Kent at 344-6354, or e-mail tkent@mankatofreepress.com.

For advertising, call 344-6336, or e-mail kmarshall@mankatofreepress.com.

6 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

By Joe Spear

Partnerships weave our fabric

I

f the Hatfields and McCoys had started out in Mankato, they might very well be best of neighbors by now.

The storied West Virginia vs.

Kentucky feud emanating from Civil War rivalries has come to be used generically as a description for any two groups that don’t get along.

You’d be hard-pressed, possibly, to find two such groups in Mankato.

Having seen every controversy possible in the last 25 years as a local newspaper editor, I can’t think of such a feud continuing for long.

I’ll take nominations if you think you have one.

But given the narratives in this month’s “Partnership” issue, the stories of cooperation and mutual admiration dominate the social and cultural environment.

The partnerships are big by many measures. Some involved large amounts of money. Take the partnership the evolved between Lowell and Nadine Andreas and the Mankato community and Minnesota State University.

Lowell, a founder with his brother Dwayne of Agribusiness giant ADM, appeared to have fondness for living in Mankato, where he and his brother got their start with Honeymead soybean processing.

While Dwayne moved away to bigger cities were ADM was located, Lowell stayed and ended putting up $4 million for the cancer center at Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital, now known as Mayo Clinic Health System.

He and his arts-loving wife Nadine donated another $1 million to build MSU’s black box theater. They left millions more for an arts and humanities program at MSU that funds all manner of high quality artists and performers.

Longtime KTOE radio newsman Pete Steiner has particular perspective on the Andreas family as he grew up in the same west Mankato neighborhood they lived in at the beginning. It’s a great story and one longtime residents and newcomers will appreciate.

The partnerships also reach in a lot of different directions. The Andreas family was not the only partner for MSU, its arts and theater.

Consider that over the years, numerous local businesses have donated and sponsored productions at the MSU theater. From HickoryTech to Blethen Gage & Krause to Mayo Clinic all manner of businesses partner with those who would bring us the arts.

But there are many smaller partnerships as well. Dozens, even hundreds, of ordinary family folks donate their time and energy to YMCA youth sports every year. It’s a real partnership between volunteers, parents, kids and the Y that promotes healthy living and healthy youth.

Other partners also find a certain satisfaction in joining with local organizations that develop youth.

Gene Lancaster helps coach youth baseball at the Y. “It’s hard not to smile when one of those kids make their first basket.

The celebration and high fives they give each other are priceless. I guess that’s what keeps me coming back.”

Barbe Marshall Hansen, executive director of the Twin Rivers Council for the Arts, landed in Mankato last fall to run one of the biggest partnerships and arts collaborations in the region. The Nebraska native helped rebuild support for various arts organizations in the Twin Cities — including the Penumbra Theatre — as well as performing herself.

She sees value for a community in not only experiencing the arts, but helping create them. Partnerships help make that happen.

“I love directing because you get to be a part of a team that creates something amazing and ephemeral” she says. “The experience of creating the play is as important as performing it. And if it is done well, everyone changes for the better as a result.” M Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at 344-6382 or jspear@mankatofreepress.com.

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Odds n’ Ends

By Tanner Kent

This Day in History May 1, 1925: On this day, The Free Press reported that “there was cussing and swearing and laughing and kidding at Mankato’s oil stations as autoists paid the 2-cent gas tax this morning.”

After Oregon became the first state in the country to levy a gas tax in 1919, Photo courtesy of Nicollet County Historical Society Minnesota followed suit Minnesota enacted its 2-cent gas tax in 1925, not long before not long after with a tax Haugdahl’s Gas Station opened in St. Peter in 1930 (pictured). that amounted to about 10 percent of the pump price. The Free Press reported that several autoists laughed, or muttered oaths, that they had not filled up the day before. One farmer remarked to the reporter: “That darn legislature ought to have waited a year. We’ve paid for our licenses this year and now they’re soaking us again.” By 1959, every state had its own gas tax.

May 9, 1955: The Free Press reported that four individuals escaped any serious injury after an emergency landing in a farm field 11 miles east of Le Center. The pilot of the single-engine Beechcraft was Harry Beske of Minnesota Lake. One of the passengers was Haakon Nordaas, owner of American Homes in Minnesota Lake. The other two passengers were unidentified. According to Nordaas, the four left the Mankato Airport and went first to St. James. On their way to Minneapolis, they were forced down at 10 a.m. when a faulty gas gauge showed an empty tank as full. Nordaas went on to praise the pilot for his skillful job in landing the plane in a field of oats.

May 12, 1921: Mankato’s Automobile Club offered a $25 cash reward — the equivalent of more than $300 in today’s dollars — for information that would lead to the arrest of the individuals who “scattered tacks and broken glass throughout the streets of this city.”

May 26, 1898: The baseball club for the State Normal School expressed outrage over a public challenge issued by the Mankato High School baseball team. In a letter to The Free Press editor, team captain W.R. Williams claimed the two teams had already agreed not to play a fourth game (Normal already held Photo courtesy of MSU photo archives the season series lead Pictured are five members of the the State Normal School of 2-1). Williams said in Mankato’s athletic club around 1900. the letter: “We deprecate their action in trying to put us in a false light before the public.” The challenge was, however, accepted

by J.T. Biede, captain of the Normal School’s second team.

Ask the Expert: Pamela Weller Finding a job after college It’s May and along with Memorial Day and Mother’s Day, this month marks the end of college for many people and the beginning of that often elusive thing — finding a job.

Pamela Weller, director of the Career Development Center at Minnesota State University, has some advice for the brand-new college graduate. Weller recommends people start looking for a job before graduation.

“There are many things a student can do even two years prior to graduation to stay on track,” Weller said. She suggested that students could mentor other students, join professional and community groups, and gain experience through internships.

Networking is another strategy Weller stresses.

“Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job and what you are looking for,” Weller said.

MSU offers students a wealth of career planning and job/internship search resources for students in all majors.

Some of the tools offered include career interest assessments, one-on-one help with career path planning and finding employment. Career events, job fairs and a comprehensive online system for identifying employers and job opportunities are also available.

After landing an interview, Weller said that it is smart to dress professionally and conservatively.

“A suit is always appropriate for both men and women.

If you don’t have a suit and can’t get one prior to the interview, wear the most professional outfit you can come up with,” W e l l e r recommended.

“You can’t go wrong being overdressed but John Cross you can go Pamela Weller is the director of the Career wrong being Development Center at Minnesota State University. underdressed.”

Weller also advises freshly minted graduates to hold on to the job they have until they find another.

“It is always more appealing to hire someone who is employed versus someone who is unemployed. Put your heart and soul into your search for employment, be patient and know that rejection is part of the process for everyone. You’ve put four-plus years into pursuing your degree. Now give the same level of investment into your job search!”

News to Use: Give babies a head start with motor skills

By Nicholas Day Slate

CHICAGO — The small humans of America are the most razzle-dazzled, overstimulated, bugged-out small humans in the world. It’s not working out so well. I suggest we shift our focus: from cognitive development to motor. And at least in the short-term, I guarantee results.

Evidence from around the world shows that early work in motor development actually has effects. Kipsigis infants in Kenya are famously trained to sit by being placed in muscle-stressing dugout holes. Nso babies in Cameroon are taught to walk, toddling along poles for balance.

Practice makes perfect: The Kipsigis sit up earlier than we do; the Nso walk earlier. (The psychologist Philip Zelazo ran roughly the same experiment on his own son. It worked.)

We cannot prod our children toward genius. But we can prod them toward seriously precocious roller-skating.

That’s not nothing.

A little less than a century ago, this country was riveted by the spectacle of Jimmy and Johnny Woods, twins who were from birth the subject of a very simple experiment: What would happen if you gave Johnny massive amounts of physical stimulation, if you treated him like a future Olympian — and if you treated Jimmy like a normal kid?

The project of the psychologist Myrtle McGraw, it was sensationally successful almost immediately. Johnny swam

underwater at 9 months. He roller-skated at 12 months. Just shy of 14 months, he dove headfirst into a pool. At 15 months, he swam 20 feet with his head in the water. It was all captured on film. Time magazine covered it.

Against the all-or-nothing perspectives of the time — neural maturation is all; no, learning is all — McGraw favored complexity. She thought that neural maturation and learning both mattered. They interacted. Before a baby would get around to something on his own, his environment — a team of relentless psychologists, or a dug-out hole — could inspire it.

Johnny’s training, five days a week for two years, was intense. Then the workouts stopped. By the time the twins were 6, Jimmy had pretty much caught up. Johnny was still more coordinated, though, and more confident. All those months at the gym had paid off.

If you are not willing to consign your child to an infancy spent at LA Fitness, there is a slack option: Spin her in an office chair. In what may be the most entertaining experiment in the developmental literature, babies who are spun in a chair — 20 times twice a week, for a month — score higher on later motor development measures than babies who are not. It only looks like silliness. It is actually vestibular simulation.

This is my contribution to overstimulated, passiveaggressive, hyper-anxious American parenting: If you really love your child — if you want to give her a head start in life — then twirl her around without mercy.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 9

Introductions

Interview

by

Tanner Kent

John Cross

Barbe Marshall Hansen is the new director of the Twin Rivers Council for the Arts. She comes to Mankato with a long and diverse history in art and theatre.

Bonding agent Meet Barbe Marshall Hansen, the recently hired executive director of the Twin Rivers Council for the Arts In business terms, Barbe Marshall Hansen’s title is executive director.

In plainer terms, she’s a supporter, encourager, collaborator, organizer and catalyzer for greater visibility and support of artistic endeavors in the Mankato area.

Since her official start date in October 2012, Marshall Hansen has been bringing her wealth of professional theatre experience and arts organization management to the Twin Rivers Council for the Arts, an organization whose mission she summarized as “connecting people to arts and culture.”

10 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Mankato Magazine: You’ve been involved in all kinds of arts and theatre over the course of your career. Can you give me a quick sketch of your background?

Barbe Marshall Hansen: Grew up in Beatrice, Neb. (population 13,920). My grandfather was a farmer who was a huge opera fan, so his records were always a part of my childhood. I love opera.

The other side of my family is Welsh, so we grew up singing a lot. Men who can play the piano are sexy. We can all play piano in my family. My mom loves music theater, so she would take us to many musicals a year -- from the local community theater, to tours that stopped in Lincoln and Omaha, and to Kansas City, Chicago, and Broadway. I still love really good music theater.

Got a BFA in music theatre at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (always will be a huge Husker fan).

Lived in San Francisco for five years, directing, assistant directing, and teaching. Moved to Minneapolis in 1995 to get MFA in stage direction with Lou Bellamy. I have been freelancing as a stage director in the Twin Cities since 2000.

I spent a lot of time on adjunct faculties teaching viewpoints movement, Meisner technique, business skills for actors, acting, and directing. I spent four years as the lead fundraiser during Penumbra’s successful turnaround that retired $600,000 in debt and built a $3.2 million cash reserve. Then, I did the same thing at History Theatre.

I have always continued to direct, which is my medium and my voice.

MM: What led you into theatre? When, and how did it become a passion of yours?

BMH: I started taking dance lessons at age 4 and have always loved to sing and dance. I wasn’t able to get into many shows in high school, but loved the speech team, band, orchestra, and show choir. In college, I really began to get serious about theater, and got a BFA in Music Theatre performance with a dance minor. I acted for a while after college, including a tour of Japan as Eunice in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

Then I moved to San Francisco and started getting serious about directing, working with the Artistic Directing team at The American Conservatory Theatre while I taught theater and produced my own work at small venues.

I love directing because you get to be a part of a team that creates something amazing and ephemeral.

The experience of creating the play is as important as performing it. And if it is done well, everyone changes for the better as a result.

MM: What’s your style as a director? Who were your influences, and can you share a piece or two that were particularly special for you?

BMH: I love to do reinterpretations of classical works.

“The Duchess of Malfi” and Charles L. Mee’s “Orestes” remain two of my favorite projects. I also love musicals -- “Jesus Christ Superstar” has been my favorite to date. I work with viewpoints movement Work, Meisner technique, and musicians to create collaborative adaptations with integrated soundscapes.

MM: What led you to accept the position as executive director for Twin Rivers Council for the Arts?

BMH: History Theatre was out of debt with a hefty cash reserve in the bank, so I was casually looking for the next challenge. I was also on the board of another group in St. Paul that is dedicated to building arts audiences, and discovered that I have a real passion for helping artists become more successful.

So when I saw the listing (for the Twin Rivers positions), I thought it might be a good fit. I believe it is.

The city is beautiful, the people are friendly and supportive, I’m surrounded by art, and I have a big, beautiful office with a huge window overlooking historic mansions. I love going to work every day.

Working this job fuels me, and the days are flying by. I could use a 36-hour day.

MM: Before coming to Twin Rivers, you also played a key role in orchestrating financial turnarounds for Penumbra Theatre and History Theatre. How useful is that experience in your role with Twin Rivers?

BMH: There are a lot of similarities between digging a company out of debt and building a healthy company.

Both are essentially reorganizations designed to build capacity.

Fortunately, Twin Rivers has no debt, so they aren’t in need of a turnaround. However, Twin Rivers is at an exciting crossroads, and is poised for explosive growth.

The board and staff have successfully founded a young arts organization, and now they are working to create a strategic plan to take the company to the next level, increase capacity and ensure sustainability.

Strategic plans are critical, in my opinion, if you want to take an organization to a higher level of success. Both successful turnarounds that I was involved with in St. Paul began with a process of strategic planning. In this way, my work here will be similar. Although, walking into a company without debt is a lot more fun than starting by digging yourself out of a hole. I have had the pleasure of hiring a number of extremely talented young professionals, which is very different than the way I started my tenure at companies in need of downsizing to reduce debt.

MM: What are your impressions so far of the arts community in the Mankato area?

BMH: As an outsider, I was surprised to find such a visible, thriving arts community here. The CityArt Sculptures send a strong message that this community values art, but that is only the beginning. TRCA has 58 arts organizations who are affiliates, and there are many more arts organizations and independent artists in the region who are not yet affiliated with TRCA. There is more art to see and do than anyone could possibly do here. And there is such a wide variety of arts opportunities available that there really is something for everyone. I’m impressed with the arts community here in Mankato, and especially delighted to find such robust support from local governments and business leaders. Without this support, none of the arts would be possible. M MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 11

The Gallery

By Tanner Kent

Leaving Mankato ‘Speechless’ Inaugural Bethany film festival features film screenings, local winner and music video premier

T

he inaugural Speechless Film Festival kicks off May 3-4 in the theater at the Mankato Place mall.

Speechless is an international film festival for students and professionals inspired by the universal art of visual, but not silent, storytelling. The inaugural event received 86 entries from 24 countries.

The festival springs from Bethany’s highly competitive media arts program, which boasts a long record of regional and national accolades, including a 2010 Emmy nomination for “Maverick Hockey Weekend.”

In addition to screening submitted films, the event will also include the debut of the stop-motion music video that Bethany media arts students created for “Midnight on the Interstate” by Trampled By Turtles.

The festival winners, which were announced before the event began, include:

• Professional Long Form: “Indrivaren,” directed by Michael Rendell (English title: “When The Man Comes Around”). A 23-minute film produced in Sweden and Poland, “Indrivaran” tells the story about an anonymous bureaucrat who works for Death — collecting the souls of the departed. Stuck in a monotonous work routine, the collector starts to question his vocation after an encounter with a terminally ill girl named Amanda. The more he learns about her, the more he starts playing by his own rules.

• Student Long Form: “Walker,” co-directed by Eero Heinonen and Paco Bouazza. “Walker” is a 30-minute philosophical short film set in scenic background of the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal. It asks the questions of balanced existence and searches for ultimate happiness in human life. The film provides an impressionist and meditative portrayal of a young man’s journey to Nepal and India.

• Professional Animation/Experimental/Other: “Sleight of Hand,” written and directed by Michael Cusack of Australia. In this 10-minute film stopmotion film about illusions, a man yearns to know his place in the world and how he fits in when, sometimes, it’s better not to know.

• Student Animation/Experimental/Other: “18 Minutes,” by Savannah College of Art and Design student Christopher Mennuto. Mennuto wrote of his three-minute short film: “This animation is the story of my father’s survival on September 11th. Although I was only 10 when my father narrowly escaped the fall of the towers, my recollection of the events of that day still resonate in my mind.”

• Professional Short Form: “Later than Usual,” written and directed by David Hovan of Canada. This 6-minute film shows a day in the life of an elderly couple. This couple has lived so long together that they have nothing left to say to each other. The non-verbal interactions 12 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

between the two make for sometimes funny and at other times poignant moments throughout the film.

• Student Short Form: “Enveloped,” directed by Bethany Lutheran College student Landon Brands and co-written

by Grace Merchant and Brands. This film is about a man working in a crazy, colorful post office who wants to propose to his girlfriend. But when his bumptious boss and a mail mix-up get in the way, he’ll need to sort through the mess so she can say “yes.”

Professional winners will receive $1,000 while student winners receive $500.

Judges included: Lars Johnson, associate professor of English at Bethany Lutheran College; Don Larsson, professor of English at Minnesota State University; Jeff Boortz, assistant professor of graphic design at Georgia State University; and Tim Lind and Shelley Pierce, KMSU radio morning show hosts.

To purchase event passes or find more information, visit www.speechlessfilmfestival.com. M

Self-taught stitcher After two decades of quilting, Nicollet’s Renee Erdmann has become an expert

R

enee Erdmann has been quilting for at least 20 years but has been a crafter for as long as she can remember.

“My mom and my grandma were crafters,” Erdmann said. “They did everything, but I always wanted to know how to quilt. So, one day I decided that I was going to teach myself how.”

Since that day, Erdmann has made countless quilts ranging from baby blankets to king-sized bed covers.

She estimates that baby quilts can be made in a few hours while the larger items take at least 45 hours to complete. To get her quilting done, Erdmann uses a Gammill quilting sewing machine.

“I admire people who quilt by hand but I’m not one of them,” Erdmann said. “I think it would take the patience of Job to do that and I’m afraid I just don’t have that kind of patience.”

Erdmann’s sewing machine has taken over the master bedroom of the Nicollet home she shares with her husband and children.

“The master bedroom was the only room in the house that was big enough for the machine. It’s quite

large,” Erdmann said.

In addition to her own quilts, Erdmann also quilts for other people who give her their completed quilt tops that she then sews patterns into, connecting the quilt top to an all-cotton backing. The patterns she uses are freehand and usually depend on the kind of mood she is in while sewing.

“I look at a block and decided what it needs,” Erdmann said. “I might put a flower pattern in it or something else. Some days are more creative than others.”

Erdmann has fun with her quilting too and enjoys hiding the names of her children in the quilts she has made for them.

“I like to secretly put their names in their quilts,” Erdmann said. “They have to look for it and are always excited when they find it.”

Erdmann said her hobby is always on the forefront of her mind.

“I’m always looking for patterns that I can use in my quilting. I look at a brick wall and see a pattern, or (when I look) at a piece of carpeting.

My mind is always seeing patterns.”

Photo by John Cross

Renee Erdmann has turned the master bedroom of her Nicollet home into a quilting workshop, the centerpiece of which is her Gammill quilting machine.

M

Quick hits: Herbach’s new release, area playwright gaining exposure • Geoff Herbach’s literary star continues to rise.

After the Minnesota State University English instructor won the Minnesota Book Award in April for the second installment of his Felton Reinstein trilogy, “Nothing Special,” Sourcebooks will release the final installment this month.

“I’m With Stupid” is summarized on Herbach’s website thus: “Felton Reinstein has never been good with stress.

Which is why he’s seriously freaking out. Announcing his college choice on national TV? It’s a heart attack waiting to happen. Deciding on a major for the next four years of his life? Ridiculous! He barely even knows who he is anymore without football. And so ... he embarks on The Epic Quest to Be Meaningful.”

• Eagle Lake playwright Tom Barna has a busy month.

Barna, who publishes under the name tdbarna, is debuting a pair of plays in May. During the Northfield Very Short Play Festival on May 4, the 22-year Marine Corps veteran will share a personal reflection on war and its effects in a 10-minute short play: “The memory recounted in this play is from 20 years ago and I can still vividly remember the night in that bunker.”

Also, tdbarna will have a staged reading of “Partial Disclosure: The Bradley Manning Interview” during the prestigious Last Frontier Theatre Conference on May 23 in Valdez, Alaska. The play synthesizes the real-life actions and words of the Army soldier who passed confidential information to WikiLeaks in 2010 into a fictional prison interview: “I found it to be a fascinating story. He enjoys this worldwide popularity. ... Others consider him the traitor of the century.” M MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 13

Partners at play Mankato gets together to make sure everyone has a good time

By Nell Musolf

P

artnerships come in all different shapes and sizes. In Mankato, partnerships vary from the one-on-one variety that occur between volunteer coaches and ballplayers at the YMCA to larger scale partnerships between Minnesota State University and a variety of sponsors who help put on the theatre department’s dramas, comedies and musicals. Whatever form a partnership takes, there are always advantages to teamwork.

14 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Photo by Pat Christman

Mankato lawyer Herb Kroon is one of MSU Theatre’s staunchest supporters, and his family sponsors the Phyllis and Clif Kroon Memorial Scholarship. The 2012-13 recipient was Callie Syverson, who earned a handful of leading roles in the past performance season.

For many years, the Mankato Symphony Orchestra has partnered with Mankato Area Public Schools to bring music into public classrooms. According to Sara Buechmann, MSO’s director, one of the longest partnerships MSO has is the Music Education at the Elementary School Level program, which began in 1969. When the program first began, MSO musicians went to the elementary school to demonstrate instruments for the students. The program has changed so that now the high school band and orchestra students do the demonstrations.

“The students donate their time and their teachers give up a day of class to make it happen,” Buechmann said. “Our orchestra pays for buses to transport the elementary school kids to the high schools and our volunteers train the high school students.”

Dave Urness, music teacher for Mankato schools, agreed that the partnership between MSO and the school district has been beneficial and said that since the high school students have a good command of their instruments, the younger students want to emulate that command. The performance gives the older students the chance to show how much they have learned and accomplished musically since first starting in the orchestra. The partnership also lets the younger students see stringed instruments up close, something that many of them have never before had the opportunity to do.

“My students do enjoy performing for the younger kids,” Urness said. “They love to show them what they know. These students are closer in age to the third grade kids than the adult performers are, and the younger kids relate to the high school students much better than adults.”

Hearing orchestra instruments up close and personal can occasionally surprise some of the new listeners.

“I did get a huge reaction this year from the kids when I had one of our bass students bring his bass out to the front so the kids could see it up close. They let out a collective ‘woooo!’”

Mike Lagerquist, MSU theatre department’s director of public relations, credits partnerships with helping the college have the opportunity to present the community with highcaliber productions.

Over the years, the theatre department has developed a diverse list of corporate partners, many of whom sponsor specific productions. Such sponsors have included HickoryTech, Express Personnel Services, Blethen, Gage & Krause, General Mills, Hale Associates, Gislason & Hunter, Mayo Clinic Health System of Mankato, MSU TRIO Program, MSU Women’s Center, Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic, Eide Bailly, Farrish Johnson Law Office, Community Bank, Radio Mankato and Mankato Ford.

“Sponsorships greatly increase the department’s ability to MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 15

present recent productions whose royalty costs are quite prohibitive while keeping funds available for other things, such as student scholarships,” Lagerquist noted.

Businesses and foundations that partner with the theater department do more than help entertain Mankatoans; they also gets perks such as being able to attend the final dress rehearsal to the show that they are sponsoring.

During the dress rehearsal presentation, sponsors can host a reception before and/or at intermission and are also recognized in a speech before the show where they are thanked and presented with a plaque. Lagerquist said that sponsors may invite whomever they like but tend to ask employees, current business associates and potential business associates.

“The people who come to sponsor previews are oftentimes not regular theatre-goers, so it gives us great visibility with a potential new audience base. It’s a great night out and a great opportunity for sponsors to thank those who help make them successful,” Lagerquist observed.

One of the staunchest supporters of the MSU theatre is lawyer Herb Kroon. Kroon’s involvement with the MSU theatre department dates back to the days when he was in junior high in Mankato and began attending productions on a regular basis.

His family ties to the department go back to the 1970s when his mother appeared in the department’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore” and “The Sound of Music.”

On an individual basis, Kroon does his part by publicizing MSU theatre department productions on his KMSU-FM radio show, “Best of Broadway,” via interviews with each show’s director and actors. In addition to such personal touches, Kroon’s family has sponsored the Phyllis and Clif Kroon Memorial Scholarship that is presented annually to a single theater student.

“Recently an MSU theatre department graduate landed a role in a Broadway musical,” Kroon said, referencing Claire Wellin, who landed a role in “Once” in March when the original actress took a break from the production. “She was a recipient 16 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

of the Kroon scholarship. Many MSU theatre department graduates can be seen in excellent theatre work in the Twin Cities.”

Over at the YMCA, partnering often comes in the shape of people who donate their time as volunteer coaches. According to YMCA program director Laura Diaz, volunteer coaches come from a variety of sources including the community, MSU and parents of children who are participating in various activities.

“All of our volunteers go through a background check similar to our staff’s. They also participate in a meeting for the particular sport they are going to be working with,” Diaz said.

The YMCA allows volunteers to pick their practice time as well as the day and location of outdoor activities. Such flexibility helps the volunteers to work around their schedules while giving the youths focused coaches who help them build their skills.

Angela Kilmer has been a volunteer youth volleyball at YMCA for the past three years. Kilmer has coached the third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade groups during that time. Kilmer got involved with coaching at the YMCA when her daughter signed up for the third grade volleyball group and Kilmer offered to coach the team. She has been coaching her daughter’s team ever since.

Being a partner with the YMCA as a volunteer has had many benefits for Kilmer. In addition to having the opportunity to become a part of the YMCA community, she also has gotten to see the kids she’s coached learn and grow through each season of volleyball. Kilmer said that some of the kids she has worked come have come in with only a basic knowledge of volleyball while other have come to the group already knowing how to do an overhand serve.

As the coach, she has had the privilege to see the joy on the faces of the kids as they’ve achieved whatever goals they’ve set out for themselves.

“I enjoy working with the kids the most,” Kilmer said. “They really make this experience worthwhile. They are so excited to

File photos

The Mankato Symphony Orchestra has sponsored instrument demonstrations for Mankato elementary students since 1969.

get out there and learn. You get to celebrate their accomplishments with them and encourage them when they are struggling. It is truly rewarding to work with the young people at the Y.” Gene Lancaster has been coaching youth basketball teams at the YMCA for about nine years. Lancaster became involved with coaching when his oldest daughter signed up to play on one of the youth teams. He said that one of the biggest benefits of being a coach is spending practice time with his own children as well as the other kids he coaches.

Watching the kids grow and develop is another enjoyable aspect of coaching.

“If you want a good chuckle, show up at that first game of the season and watch one of the younger teams show off their moves. The fulfilling part comes at the last game of the season and those same kids are running an offense and playing pretty good defense. It’s hard not to smile when one of those kids make their first basket. The celebration and high fives they give each other are priceless. I guess that’s what keeps me coming back.” M

Read us online!

MANKATO magazine

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 17

Photo courtesy of Andreas family

Lowell and Nadine Andreas at their granddaughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner.

Partners like no others The legacy of Lowell and Nadine Andreas

By Pete Steiner

L

et’s fill in the blanks: The WORLD knows Mankato above all for _____.

The people most responsible for that legacy are _____.

The name is pronounced _____.

I suppose there’s room for disagreement about that first blank, but I would fill it in with “soybean processing.” After all, Mankato, which was once the largest soybean processing location in the world, still ranks among the top few in that

18 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

category.

Then the second blank would be filled in with “the Andreas brothers.” (Developers of Honeymead, now CHS. Lowell would keep a Mankato address from the late 1940s on, Dwayne would live elsewhere.)

And that third blank would be “ANN-dree-us.” (Many try to pronounce it differently.)

The Andreas legacy locally may have begun with soybeans,

Photos by John Cross

In addition to the $7.5 million Nadine Andreas Endowment in Arts and Humanities, Minnesota State University bears evidence of the Andreas legacy in the Andreas Theatre and the Andreas Observatory.

Elsewhere in Mankato, Mayo Clinic Health System is home to the Andreas Cancer Center. but it certainly does not end there. Go to any local artistic or entertainment venue, read the program, and the list of donors almost always begins with Lowell and Nadine Andreas, or a grant from the Andreas foundation. Perhaps only Glen Taylor comes to mind to rival the Andreases’ generosity when it comes to philanthropy in Mankato.

•••• Friends remember Lowell and Nadine as generous and exceedingly loyal. That may explain why, even though Lowell’s business ventures eventually took him to ag giant Archer Daniels Midland headquarters in St. Paul and Decatur, Ill., the couple kept returning to Mankato, where he retired in 1973.

“Fun” and “very smart” are adjectives friends use to describe Lowell, who was renowned for his boisterous, infectious laugh and his outlandishly loud sportcoats.

Comfortable with his wealth, he rarely flaunted it beyond the fact that he drove the only Rolls Royce in town. Nadine was quieter, behind the scenes, but the two were an inseparable team. Son David says, after Nadine died, Lowell observed, “When you’ve been together 63 years, you aren’t really two people.”

I was only 5 or 6 when they moved into our West Mankato neighborhood. Within

a decade they built a larger house on the south edge of town, but our families remained close, with Fourth of July pool parties at their place, and holiday gatherings featuring the kids performing folk music, David on guitar.

And of course, there was daughter Pam’s wedding, with 500 guests poolside, including then-Vice-President Hubert Humphrey. I knew Lowell was very successful, yet as a teenager, I found him more approachable than many other adults — it was probably that ready laugh.

•••• Recently I asked David what his father was like in business dealings.

“He always thought of the long-term effects. ... He was a tough trader, but understood each party in a transaction has to have some benefit. ... His way of doing business required quick decisions. ... Often when someone wanted to meet him, he would have already made up his mind what he was going to do and present them with the deal he was willing to make ... He insisted that any presentation take no more than one page.”

Lowell had gone to the University of Iowa, majoring not in business, but in philosophy. He had a lifelong interest in

theology, and David points out his dad had many theologians as friends and served on the Westminster Theological Seminary board. David says Lowell and Nadine always remembered their Iowa roots (Nadine was born in West Liberty) and their modest beginnings. Maybe it was that memory, and that theological bent, that spurred their generosity. David puts it simply: “They did believe in giving back.”

•••• Give back they did. Rick Kimbrough, chief development officer at Mayo Clinic Health System of Mankato, was not yet on board when the Andreases worked with Norleen Rans, Bob Weiss and Dr. Bill Rupp to secure the $4 million lead donation that led to completion of the Andreas Cancer Center in 2009, shortly after Lowell’s death. But Kimbrough confirms that the Andreases had a longstanding relationship with the hospital, and “the family had received care locally and were grateful. They stepped up to the plate very generously.”

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 19

Photos courtesy of MSU Theatre

Lowell and Nadine Andreas at the groundbreaking for MSU’s black box theatre that bears their name. The $1 million that Lowell and Nadine donated for that project was the first-ever seven-figure donation to a MnSCU institution. In the photo at right, Paul Hustoles is pictured holding the microphone.

Kimbrough says the $14 million facility serves thousands annually and notes, “the (Andreas) family continues to support the Palliative Care Program within the Center.”

He confirms that lead donors are critical in signifying “worthy community investments”, yet notes, “it doesn’t have to be a million-dollar gift. Ten-thousand dollars can have an impact (and) advance a legacy.”

•••• Paul Hustoles had arrived at then-Mankato State’s theatre department in 1985 with the mandate to get a new theatre built to expand performance opportunities. But with no state or MnSCU appropriations forthcoming, and with total private donations around $20,000 a year, the so-called “black-box theatre” was “really a pipe dream.”

But Hustoles saw the Andreases were responsible for 75 percent of that annual giving and he soon learned Nadine, who had done theatre in college, represented “the heart of art.”

So he decided to ask Lowell to endow a new theatre addition.

Hustoles recalls the response: “You guys don’t know how to handle money,” and that the couple would prefer the annual $15,000 gift.

When Hustoles subsequently learned the Andreases would fund a new observatory on campus, he sighed, “They’re giving for REAL stars, not our kind of stars!”

Dean Jane Earley, however, urged him to continue pursuing the theatre project. In the early ’90s, he took a new approach: 20 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

“We don’t want the (big) money now. ... We need $30,000 for a study.”

Lowell liked that idea. Later, with new President Dick Rush, Hustoles went to the Andreases’ home for lemonade. They astounded their hosts, saying the study had cost just $20,000, so they were refunding $10,000. Lowell burst out laughing, “No one’s ever done that before!”

However, Hustoles, like a matador then pulled back the red cape: “But we do want to ask you for $2 million (to build the theatre).”

Before long, Lowell revealed, they would fund half the theatre.

That became the first-ever $1 million gift to any institution in the entire Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Other gifts began pouring in. Hustoles says, “That lead gift triggered a huge surge in giving. ... It was Lowell and Nadine that did that.”

•••• There’s an interesting coda: The theatre that would bear the Andreas’ name ran $200,000 over estimate. Hustoles and MSU Vice President Ron Korvas flew to the Andreas’ winter home in Florida. Never shy, Hustoles told Lowell, “You said you’d pay half. You owe me a hundred grand!”

Lowell erupted with his famous laugh. Eventually he wrote a check.

•••• An even larger gift was to come after Nadine’s death in 2005. According to Hustoles, Dean Earley had wanted “something more profound,” and in 2007, Lowell, along with son David and his wife, Debbie, delivered: $7.5 million for the Nadine Andreas Endowment in Arts and Humanities at MSU to fund student and faculty development and bring significant cultural events to the campus and community.

•••• We’ll give Nadine the last word.

After the Andreas black box theatre opened in 2000, Paul Hustoles offered Nadine “a golden ticket.” That ticket would be good for a free pass to any show the theatre-lover ever wanted to attend at MSU. Nadine’s reply? “That’s stupid — you NEED the money!” M

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 21

The Panic host its first home game on May 4 at Nicollet High School.

Putting together the Panic The makings of a semi-pro football team

By Tanner Kent | Photos by Pat Christman 22 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Stan Legg (at right, in hat) is the owner and coach of the Panic semi-pro football team. In his inaugural season in the Southern Plains Football League, Legg has amassed partnerships with a physical trainer, wellness coach and dozens of community sponsors.

T

he players are huddled at midfield.

The late March air is damp, swamp thick and still crackling with the snap of their shoulder pads. This is their first practice outside after months indoors and built-up aggression has punctuated every collision for the last 30 minutes.

At the center of the huddled mass is Kerry Sorensen. He is tall and thickly muscular with a beard that, at 41 years old, announces his stature as the team’s elder statesman. He is glowering at the younger men, his voice commanding rapt attention. Towering above his teammates, he could be a Viking — in both senses of the word.

He is, after all, wearing a helmet and shoulder pads and preparing for an eight-game season as a member of the Panic, a locally based, semi-pro football team playing its inaugural year in the Southern Plains Football League.

But he recalls something, too, of the Old Norse seafarers of legend. The mist in the air has turned to heavy rain now, and his words stream forth from plumes of hot breath. With his proud and menacing stature, he would seem just as well on the prow of a longship, guiding 30 young warriors toward some gridiron siren and their Valhalla of football redemption. “Every day, I see my life wilting away a little more and a little more,” Sorensen booms into the earholes of their helmets. “What you guys have in front of you is an opportunity to do something you’ll never do again.”

A

s one of nine teams in the nine-man football League, the Panic will play a full schedule with rules modified only slightly from the pro game. Home games will be held at the Nicollet High School football field.

Team owner and head coach Stan Legg got into the league

after working with another team last year. Displaying the same tenacity and ambition that led him to open Audio Addix — a state-of-the-art music recording and media studio in St. Peter that he assembled in fewer than two months in the winter of 2012 — Legg wasted no time putting together his own team.

There’s Sorensen, a father of four and former truck driver who’s gained respect for outworking men half his age. There’s a few like Garrett Mensing and Wes Berninghaus, former prep standouts with collegiate skills; and many more like Matt Sharits, a 2003 Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial graduate who last played for a one-win high school team and is willing to sacrifice his body for one more chance to play.

Caleb Huls, the team’s defensive captain who played formerly for Gustavus Adolphus College and proved himself a dominant player in the league last year, summarized the driving motivation for many of the players.

“I wasn’t ready to quit,” said the 2010 Mankato East graduate. “I have a lot of fight left in me.”

When Legg had a team assembled, he lined up a scrimmage last December — in the Metrodome, of all places — and began investing more than $10,000 in helmets, pads, jerseys, merchandise and team apparel.

His vision is of a family-friendly, minor league-style atmosphere. He’s secured food vendors for home games, bought a T-shirt cannon, recorded a team anthem and put together an in-game soundtrack of more than 40 songs and sound effects. Legg has secured more than 20 local sponsors and is emphasizing the same community-mindedness he’s made part of his mission at Audio Addix.

But his vision also includes a winning team — and not only that, but a team that looks, acts and performs like it’s composed of serious athletes.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 23

Panic 2013 schedule May 4 — host Dodge County Outlaws, 7 p.m. at Nicollet High School May 11 — at Buffalo Ridge Wildcats May 18 — at Minnesota River Valley Shock May 25 — host North Iowa Bucks, 7 p.m. at Nicollet High School June 1 — host Tri-State Buffaloes, 7 p.m. at Nicollet High School Quarterback Garrett Mensing (in red, above) is a former Blue Earth Area standout who played two years at the University of Minnesota-Morris: “Playing in this league is all about the love of the game.”

June 8 — host Albert Lea Grizzlies, 7 p.m. at Nicollet High School June 15 — at Steele County Warriors June 22 — at South Central Hawgs For more information on teams and schedules, visit www.myspfl.com.

To that end, he’s recruited a team trainer and a wellness coach. He’s demanded participation in thrice-weekly practices and has set a high standard of dedication for his players.

“Nate and I feel a lot of pressure,” he said, referring to his fellow coach and business partner Nate Showalter. “We feel pressure to make sure the fans have a great experience. But there’s been so much hype — we feel pressure to win, too.”

T

he smells, sights and sounds of pain fill the Lincoln Community Center gymnasium. This is where the team practices indoors, and where its players experienced regular 45-minute plyometric workouts delivered by Jo Ann Radlinger, a powerlifter, personal trainer and slightly built but muscle-bound dynamo who is the team’s physical trainer.

These are frenetic, highly intensive, muscle-destructing regimens that break down the sculpted bodies of football players into a soup of lactic acid, metabolites and soreness.

They include hundreds of crunches, hundreds of plyometric jumps, several long periods of planking exercises, pushups, jumping jacks, burpees and other core-strengthening and agility drills.

After the workout, dozens of young men are strewn about in various stages of exhaustion. Some are sucking wind through red, huffing cheeks. Others are pale and sallow, scanning the room for the nearest trash can.

Privately, she praises the players and ranks this role as one of the highlights of her training career. But, in the midst of this crowd of mostly 20-something testosterone-laden jocks, she yields nothing.

Her mission is clear: “I want these players to be fast, explosive and injury-free.”

And there’s only one way to do it: “If they’re looking for a patty-cake, pansy trainer, that isn’t me. ... On scale of 1-10, this workout is a 10-plus. I want them to not like me.”

24 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Later, the players will visit Rhonda Anderson, a wellness coach with Symmetry Nutrition in Mankato. Each player on the team has regular body scans and counseling sessions about diet and nutrition. Anderson sets individual targets for each player, carefully weighing their calorie intake against body fat percentages, physical activity levels outside football, and a host of other factors. For instance, after discovering that a number of players were actually losing muscle mass because of strenuous day jobs combined with Radlinger’s workouts, she recommended ways to boost protein intake.

“We have had everyone on the spectrum. Everyone has a different goal,” Anderson said. “We are working together to get these guys in tip-top shape.”

The season begins soon. Pressure is mounting. Urgency has crept into the practice proceedings at Gault field in St. Peter.

Since Sorensen’s pep talk at midfield, players have responded by ratcheting up their intensity. Legg is prowling the field, watching every move, alternately offering encouragement and criticism as players fight to earn his favor.

The team is coming together, he says. The workouts with Radlinger and the wellness counseling sessions with Symmetry are paying off. Players are in the best physical shape of their lives and are starting to look like a serious outfit.

Legg has big goals for this team. He hopes to build it into a stable and profitable entity, one that could perhaps someday afford its own stadium and offer the Mankato area a unique entertainment option. But, he knows he must take one practice, one game, one season at a time.

Still, he can hardly contain his ambition. The national championships are in July, he says, eyes flashing with excitement.

“I’m serious about a winning team. I want a team the community can be proud of.” M

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 25

Reflections

By John Cross

T

he annual give-and-take battle in Minnesota between winter and summer is better known as spring.

Two years ago, summer triumphed early on, leaving south-central Minnesota residents basking in record warmth already in March.

This year, however, winter has maintained the offensive advantage, delivering snowstorms and unseasonably chilly weather throughout the month of April.

Nevertheless, the outcome of this seasonal conflict is pre-ordained: When May rolls around and under the strengthening gaze of the sun, snowbanks and lake ice will be in full retreat.

Soon to follow will be an army of emerging greenery accompanied by explosive displays of flowery color.

Summer, most would agree, is a much kinder occupying force. M

26 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 27

Day Trip Destinations: 100 Mile Garage Sale

r e v E

a

E

By Sarah Zenk Blossom

e r e h yw

e l a S

ach year, during the first weekend in May, thousands of shoppers — in fact, about 50,000 of them — descend upon the picturesque Mississippi River valley for the annual community garage sale.

This is not just any sale; this is the 100-Mile Garage Sale.

It extends from Winona to Red Wing on the Minnesota side of the river and from Fountain City to Prescott on the Wisconsin side. The sale is organized by Mississippi Valley Partners.

Entire streets are blocked off. There are The 100 Mile Garage no maps, because, according to Larry Sale from Winona to Red Wing takes plac Nielsen, president of Mississippi Valley e May 2-4 Partners, “You don’t need a map. There are signs up, and it’s T h e re real obvious where all the sales are. You won’t have one iota of are pet supplies. There are trouble finding the sales. You’ll see signs along the highway. baked goods and beverages. If you can imagine it, you can Everything’s identified. You just show up and start driving probably find it at the 100-Mile Garage Sale. One of the down the road, and you will find garage sales. reasons the sale is so popular is its setting.

“As near as we can tell,” Nielsen continued, “it’s one of the “It’s a really scenic drive,” Nielsen said. “Everybody really largest garage sales in the United States” enjoys it. It’s one of the more scenic places in North America.”

When asked exactly how many sales there are, Nielsen said: The Mississippi valley between Winona and Red Wing is “Boy, I tell ya. I would say each town might have 100 or 200 nationally known for the beauty of the river, its bluffs, its water, sales, and the towns are about 10 miles apart up and down the and its natural surroundings. river, maybe 16 of them, so it’s approaching 2,000 sales in the “It’s world-class scenery,” Nielsen said. Shoppers from the whole region. You can walk 30 or 40 sales in just a few blocks.”

Twin Cities, Chicago, Rochester, Mankato, and many other Anything conceivable is for sale — clothes, household nearby cities gather for the sales, and while it’s possible to find goods, art, antiques, even cars and boats. There are sporting lodging on short notice, Nielsen recommends making goods and hunting equipment. reservations in advance.

“Bowflexes are gone in 10 minutes,” Nielsen said.

This year will be the 15th annual sale, and it takes place There have been RVs sold. There is gardening equipment.

May 2-4. M

28 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Along the Way

Red Wing In addition to endless baragins, visitors to the 100 Mile Garage Sale can count on pictaresque Mississippi River Valley scenery.

Pictured is downtown Red Wing.

One of the best-known oddities along the river is the Red Wing Shoe Museum, located at the northern end of the sale route in Red Wing. It is housed alongside the Red Wing Shoes retail store and is home to world’s largest boot, a 16-foot-tall, 20-foot-long ... foot. The Aliveo Military Museum is also in Red Wing.

At the other end of the 100-mile garage sale lies Winona, home of the Watkins Museum. Exhibits tell the story of the J.R. Watkins Company and the traveling salesman, and the museum architecture features marble, glass tile mosaics and semi-precious stones.

Winona is also home to Winona County History Center, the Polish Cultural Institute and Museum, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, the Pickwick Mill and others.

In Wabasha, visitors can dine at Slippery’s Bar and Restaurant, featured in the movie “Grumpy Old Men.” Here, it is possible to boat up to the 200-foot dock, and boat parking is offered. Many interesting restaurants can also be found in Winona and in Lake City, and all along the river. Along the 100-mile sale route, it is also interesting to note that Lake City is where waterskiing was invented in 1922, and that Dennis A. Challeen was the first judge to sentence with community service hours, which started in Winona before spreading nationally.

Rochester and Mantorville

The drive from Mankato to the Mississippi valley yields a variety of attractions in Rochester such as the Mayo Clinic, the Mayowood estate, Assisi Heights chapel, and the Rochester Art Center.

Between Mankato and Rochester is the historic Hubbell House restaurant, located in Mantorville, just north of Kasson. In 1854, John Hubbell constructed the original Hubbell House, a hotel and popular stagecoach stop. Two years later, the current structure was built.

The three-story building is now home to a restaurant where history is tangible, and plans to restore the entire village of Mantorville have been under way since 1963.

Most will take Highway 14, which is the Laura Ingalls Wilder historic highway. Maps are available from Explore Minnesota that detail the historic sites associated with her life and writing.

Rochester

The Red Wing Shoe Museum is home to the world’s largest boot.

Fountain City Winona The Rock in the House

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester is one of many attractions in that city.

Just north of Winona is Fountain City, Wis., home of the Rock in the House.

Not to be confused with the House on the Rock (an architectural site in Spring Green, Wis.), the Rock in the House is a 55-ton boulder that rolled down a hill in 1995 and came to rest in the middle of Maxine and Dwight Anderson’s master bedroom. The rock, still inside the house, is now a roadside attraction. Even more curiously, the house and the rock stand on the exact site of a similar incident that occurred in 1901. In that incident, homeowners Mr. and Mrs. Dubler slept next to one another in the same bed. The boulder that rolled through their home killed Mrs. Dubler but left Mr. Dubler unscathed.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 29

That’s Life

By Nell Musolf

Birth (and graduation) of a salesman I

t’s that time of year again when school fundraising sales campaigns are in full bloom. It’s the time of year when neighborhood children are about as popular as fire ants and moms spend their weekends trudging said children from doorstep to doorstep, silently promising themselves a nice, big glass of wine and sole possession of the remote control when the day is finally through.

Out of all the things I’ve pulled out of my kids’ backpacks over the years, I don’t think there was anything that scared me more than pulling out a hot pink sheet of paper announcing, gulp, yet another fundraiser.

While I understand why the schools need to resort to fundraisers, especially during these dismal financial days, I also have to say that the day our sons graduated from the public school system a n d would no longer be called upon to help prop up sagging budgets with their generally futile attempts at selling was a very good day indeed.

Our oldest son Joe introduced us to the dreaded world of candy bar sales on the second day of kindergarten when 30 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

he came home with an enormous cardboard box filled to the brim with chocolate bars along with a brochure that explained Joe’s job was to sell those candy bars and win points for his class and possibly “fabulous prizes” for himself.

He already had his “fabulous prize” picked out: a teeny, tiny radio that promised “stereo quality sound.”

To win such an awesome prize, he needed to sell a mere 400 candy bars.

After a few hours of doing the door-to-door bit under the hot September sun with the chocolate bars melting and my nerves fraying, Joe was more than ready to retire from the glamorous world of door-todoor sales and I was more than ready to buy him is own teeny, tiny radio with no strings — or candy bars — attached.

When the candy bar sales were over, novice that I was, I assumed that we were done selling for the year. Not quite. From candy bars we segued into popcorn. November brought wreaths to unload, and in December it was pizzas. January and February gave us a few months off for good behavior or perhaps bad weather. Finally, the last call came in the spring in the form of magazine subscriptions that were sent home with thoughtful instructions to try and sell them to out-of-state relatives and friends, undoubtedly because even the school administrators realized by that point that small children knocking on neighborhood doors in our town were no longer greeted with smiles but with grimaces. When school let out in June, everyone on the block breathed a sigh of relief as they were finally able to let their checkbooks cool off.

I have often wondered what the point of having children sell things — other than the obvious — might be.

To teach initiative? That seemed

fairly doubtful to me especially since I had to practically sandblast our kids out of the house to get them going on their sales route.

As an opportunity to teach children the fine art of door-to-door salesmanship? I never saw that happening, not with my children at any rate. Even after several years of selling, both of my sons still rang the doorbell and then darted back to the safety of the sidewalk, leaving me standing alone to face the hapless homeowner who answered the door.

Their sales pitch was delivered in tones that only a passing ant could hear and I always suspected that they sold more on the pity factor than anything else.

Willie Loman never had anything to fear from either of my offspring.

Of course, they come by their lack of salesmanship honestly. I still recall wandering around our neighborhood as a timid 8-year-old, my Girl Scout cookies sales sheet clutched in one sweaty hand as I tried to work up the nerve to ring at least one doorbell with the other. The pity factor helped my sales record exponentially, although I’m sure the Thin Mints didn’t hurt. Selling anything has never come naturally to me so it was hardly a surprise when neither of our children ever showed an inclination toward becoming the next Salesperson of the Year.

Thankfully, those days are over.

Joe and Hank are out of high school and when they got their diplomas, I graduated from pushing my last pail of popcorn, my final fudge nut medley, my closing cache of candles.

To paraphrase Scarlett O’Hara, with the PTO president as my witness, I’ll never help sell candy bars again.

Until the grandkids come along, that is. M Nell Musolf is a mom and a freelance writer from Mankato.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 31

Garden Chat

By Jean Lundquist

Overcoming hoop house woes T

here are two dates gardeners of all ilk need to keep in mind. The important one for this time of year is the last usual date of frost.

In 2013, that date is May 20. If climate change is real, it will likely change to an earlier date, at some point. But for now — burn it in your brain — May 20 is the last date of frost. Usually.

That is a week after the fishing opener in Minnesota, so it’s easy to remember. The 20th this year is a Monday. I will either have to take vacation from work, or push the envelope just a little and set plants and sow seeds the weekend before.

This year I started seeds in the basement right on time — the Ides of March (that’s March 15). I used the heating mat again this year, and the plants I set out will never have been bigger. I really believe it’s because of the warmth from the mat.

Our basement is beneath a house that is more than 50 years old. The basement is unfinished, and minimally heated. I had expected the mat to help with germination, more than anything.

But I start my seeds in Solo cups, and yes, most of them are red. The seeds near the top of the cup, close to the surface of the seed starting mixture, are several inches from the seed mat.

Germination was not aided in the least. But once the little plants sprouted and sent down roots, did they ever grow! Usually in late April or early May, I transplant them each to their own Solo cup, to untangle their roots. This year, I had to transplant them the first weekend in April to untangle their root systems.

Was the seed mat worth $100? I’m not sure. But it certainly didn’t hurt anything. Several years ago, I had a seed heating mat, and it melted the solo cups and the flat they were set into. I was happy I found that before the house caught fire. I don’t know why I tried it again, but I’m not sorry I did.

When I transplanted my seeds in past years, I always tried to choose a rainy, cool day. I’d sit in Carol and Dale’s hoop house with the doors shut, in a nice, warm environment, and listen to the rain fall gently against the plastic. I always felt cheated if I had to do it on a sunny day, with the doors open, and no rain.

When finished, I’d step out into the rain, shiver, and run for my car.

This year, of course, I have my own tiny version of a hoop house. It’s so small, it’s portable, and it’s perfect. Or so I hope.

I set my hoop house up in early April, and planted some 32 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

My Brussels sprouts and Brandywine tomatoes have benefited from the use of a heating mat. mesclun and some spinach for the chickens. When I went out to actually plant the seeds, a few hours after it had been up, I stepped inside, and discovered it was raining — inside the hoop house. Humidity and condensation were definitely a problem.

A few hours later, I visited again, and was rained on again. I unzipped one of the doors a little and left it for the night. The next morning, it was still raining in there. I unzipped the door some more.

It was below freezing that night. When I went to check the next morning, I found that when the plastic hoop house was disturbed, it was hailing on me. The temperature was down to 20 degrees, just like outside. Later, of course, it rained some more when the temperature was 80 degrees.

I started to wonder if I was smart enough to figure out how to make this little hoop house work without having all my seedlings just mold to death.

I whined to Carol about my woes, and she told me to get a cross-breeze going in there. So I unzipped the opposite door a little. No more rain!

Carol has graciously invited me to use her hoop house again this year while I figure things out. One of the loneliest things about not using her hoop house was not seeing her or Dale on a daily basis.

Still, I think I am going to put a few “extra” seedlings in my hoop house, and work out the process. The worst that can happen is that I’m successful, and friends get some extra garden seedlings. M Jean Lundquist is a master gardener who lives near Good Thunder.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 33

Then

and

Now:

Story

and

Photos

by

Sarah Zenk Blossom

Artist depiction of the old Bierbauer Brewery in Mankato. The front gate still stands at the eastern terminus of Rock Street in Mankato.

Beers over the years

Mankato Brewery revives local beer-making tradition

T

im Tupy shows me two small jars filled with grain.

The contents of one are milquetoast plain; the contents of the other are rich and dark. They look like ... chocolate? Coffee?

He explains that only a small proportion of the grains used in craft brews are specialty-roasted like these; most are base malt. The base malt is beige and looks like health food.

Tupy co-owns the Mankato Brewery, and once these grains are ground, they are fed into the mash tun just on the other side of the wall. From there, the wort is made, fermented into beer, filtered and tested, and packaged. Of course, at the Mankato Brewery, this is done using modern technologies, but Tony Feuchtenberger, co-owner, explains that, “historically, [breweries] were built on hills because everything was run by gravity.”

Everything started at the top of the hill, and then “they’d literally roll the barrels out and store them in caves at the base of the hill.”

Tupy and Feuchtenberger founded the brewery on Jan. 5, 2012.

“Mankato intrigued us,” Tupy explained. “It had not 34 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

had a production brewery since 1967. The brands (in the area) at that time were Kato Beers, Jordan, and Regal. If they’d had a local market, things might have gone differently, but at that time, there were Hamm’s and the big national brands taking over and cannibalizing some of the small regional breweries. That’s also when you see beer being made cheaper, and prices were dropping significantly.”

Marge Leiferman, whose father owned the Mankato Brewing Company during its final years, explained that there were internal difficulties, while a Free Press article from 1967 lists a litany of problems, both internal and external — with management, with money, with taxation, with local support.

The Mankato Brewing Company had been founded in May 1933 by Gerald R. Martin of Minneapolis in an attempt to revive its predecessor, Bierbauer Brewing, which had closed during Prohibition. Bierbauer had been in business since 1857, and despite heavy competition during the 1870s and 1880s, thrived right up until beer was banned in 1920. When it closed, the Bierbauer brewery could produce 25,000 barrels per year.

After 13 years of Prohibition, the building reopened, but not without some changes. As the Bierbauer brewery was transformed into the Mankato Brewing Company, 80 men worked to refurbish and expand it, and its new capacity was around 90,000 barrels annually. It has been noted that the Mankato Brewing Company’s purchase of the Schutz and Hilgers brewery building in Jordan overextended the company significantly and, in 1951, the Cold Spring Brewing Company took over.

Cold Spring used the brewery building for three years and in 1954, Mankato Brewing Company came back under new ownership. Lieferman has collected some artifacts from this time period and from the previous incarnation of Mankato Brewing Company.

“The chairs were three-legged,” she said, displaying the last remaining set of them. “They were a little tipsy when you were a little tipsy.”

There are several different bottle labels, each bearing the Kato Beer griffin logo. There is a bottle opener, a tasting glass, stationery. Inventory slips.

“Artifacts are difficult to find,” Leiferman said.

“People who have them are usually not interested in selling them.”

Mankato Brewery does have a keg on display from the old Mankato Brewing Company.

“Our distributor gave us this as a gift,” Tupy said.

The keg sits in the tasting room, which is a space that reflects Tupy and Feuchtenberger’s commitment to the community; it is furnished with stunning wood countertops, handmade paddles that hold four tasting glasses, and a tap for 1919 Root Beer. Most of the brewery supplies are sourced locally, too: boxes, labels, bottles, and grains all come from suppliers based in Minnesota.

The tasting room is open 4-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Tours are offered at 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

The old gate of the Bierbauer Brewing and Mankato Brewing Company building is still visible on Seventh Street and Rock, and the extensive Jordan Brewery ruins appear on the National Register of Historic Places. M

Brewery paperwork from the 1940s and 1950s.

Mankato Brewing Company bottles and memorabilia from the 1950s and 1960s.

A three-legged stool from the tasting room of the previous incarnation of the Mankato Brewing Company.

A Mankato Brewing Company ration book holder, circa 1943.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 35

Coming Attractions: May

By Wess McConville

3 • Lafayette Charter School’s “Twilight Trot” 5K & 1K run/walk Registration and packet pickup at 5 p.m. • $25 registration for 5K, $10 for 1K • Begins and ends at Lafayette Charter School • 351 Sixth St., Lafayette • www.lafayettecharter.k12.mn.us 3-4 • MSU Spring Dance Concert 7:30 p.m. May 3, 2 p.m. May 4 • Earley Center for the Performing Arts • $10 general admission, $9 discounted, $8 MSU students • www.mnsu.edu/dance 4-5 • MSU presents “Gianni Schicchi” opera 7:30 p.m. May 4, 3 p.m. May 5 • Halling Recital Hall • $12 general admission, $11 students with MavCard • www.mnsu. edu/music 4 • MACS Night 6 p.m.• 145 Good Counsel Drive • free • 388-2997 4 • MAD Girls vs. Moose Lake Mafia Roller Derby Girls 6 p.m. • Verizon Wireless Center • $10 in advance, $12 at the door, free for children 10 and under • greatermankatoevents.com 4 • Mankato Ballet Performing Company presents “Stars & Stripes” 1 p.m. & 5 p.m. • Mankato West High School • 1351 S. Riverfront Drive • $8 adults & children, children under 2 admitted free • www.twinriversarts.org 4 • The Gustavus & Vasa Wind Orchestras’ Spring Concert 7:30 p.m. • Bjorling Recital Hall, Gustavus Adolphus • free • www.gac.edu/music 4 • Arthritis Walk-Southern Lakes 9 a.m. to noon • Spring Lake Park • 609 McKinley Ave., North Mankato • free • www.greatermankatoevents.com 4 • 7@7 Trail Race/Fun Run 9-11 a.m. • Seven Mile Creek Park • Highway 169 between Mankato and St. Peter • $35 for 7-mile run and 5K, $14 kids run • www.mankatomultisport.com 5 • Walk MS: Mankato 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Myers Field House, MSU • free • www. greatermankatoevents.com 7 • “Fingerprints and Footnotes” walking tour of Front Street 6-8 p.m. • Blue Earth County Historical Society Heritage Center • 415 Cherry St., Mankato • free • www.bechshistory.com 9-12 • Gustavus Adolphus presents “Machinal” 8 p.m. May 9-11, 2 p.m. May 12 • Anderson Theatre, Gustavus Adolphus • $9 adults, $6 seniors and students • www.gac.edu/theatre 36 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

10-12 & 17-19 •Merely Players present “The Taffetas” 7:30 p.m. • Lincoln Community Center Auditorium • 110 Fulton St., Mankato • www.merelyplayers.com 11 • 14th Annual Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk Registration at 9 a.m., walk begins at 10 a.m. • Minnesota Square, St. Peter • Participants are asked to raise $125 for a T-shirt and lunch • 507-327-7431 11 • Mother’s Day photos at Cambria Studios 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. • Cambria Studios • 44 Good Counsel Drive, Mankato • 952-944-1676 14 • Senior Expo 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. • Verizon Wireless Center • free • www.greatermankatoevents.com 15 • The Choir of Christ Chapel Home Concert 7:30 p.m. • Christ Chapel, Gustavus Adolphus • www.gac.edu/music 16 • The Lucia Singers & St. Ansgars Chorus in Concert 7:30 p.m. • Christ Chapel, Gustavus Adolphus • www.gac.edu/music 18 • The Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra in Concert 1:30 p.m. • Bjorling Recital Hall, Gustavus Adolphus • www.gac.edu/music 18 • SSND presents Wine and Chocolate Soiree 5:30 p.m. • Our Lady of Good Counsel Campus • 170 Good Counsel Drive, Mankato • $50 • 507-389-4231 18 • Mankato Symphony Orchestra presents “Mozart in Me IV” 11 a.m. • Mankato YMCA • 1401 S. Riverfront Drive • $10 adults, $5 youth under 18 • 507-625-8880 19 • Mankato Symphony Orchestra presents “Lonely Planet” 2 p.m. • 170 Good Counsel Drive, Mankato • $12 in advance, $15 at the door • www.mankatosymphony.com, 625-8880 21 • Taste of Home Cooking School 7 p.m. • Verizon Wireless Center • Premium $39.91, General $16.18 • www.greatermankatoevents.com May 24 • Whacking Dead Golf Tournament 6:30 registration, 7 p.m. dinner, 8:30 tournament • Terrace View Golf Course • $75 • www. whackingdeadgolf.com 25 • Downtown Shopping Spree in Benefit of Relay for Life 9:30 a.m. • City Center Hotel • 101 E. Main St., Mankato • free • www.greatermankatoevents.com

25 • Second Annual Lake Crystal Duathlon and Kids Fun Run 8:15-11 a.m. • Lake Crystal Recreation Center • 621 W. Nathan St.• free • www.lcrac.com 29 • Bethany Choir Homecoming Concert 7 p.m. • Trinity Chapel, Bethany Lutheran College • free • www.blc.edu/music#

7@7 Trail Race/Fun Run to involve mud, fun and charity

MANKATO — Run through wooded trails and have the chance of winning $500 toward the charity of your choice at the Greater Mankato MultiSport Club’s 7@7 Trail Race/Fun Run, May 4 at Seven Mile Creek Park.

“We’re now in the third year of the 7@7 run,” said Chris Crocker of the Greater Mankato MultiSport Club. “We’re pretty excited we can keep it going, help charity and get people physically active.”

The 7@7 Trail Race/Fun Run will have a seven-mile course, a 5K fun run/walk and a onekilometer kid’s run. The top male and female finishers of the seven-mile race will win $500 for charity.

In addition to the race, there will be a babysitting service for children older than 3 and Dance Express will have activities to offer.

For more information, visit www.mankatomultisport.com.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 37

Your Health

By Lenny Bernstein

|

The Washington Post

Ice or heat?

C

The debate continues to inflame opinions

onventional wisdom favors icing after a hard workout to reduce inflammation and begin the recovery process. Many athletes, including pros, swear by the idea. But the science behind cryotherapy might be a little shaky, and some experts recommend warmth as a more natural way to begin healing overworked muscles.

I asked the opinions of two people who confront this issue every day.

Robert Gillanders is a physical therapist in the District of Columbia and a spokesman for the American Physical Therapy Association. Steve Hays is the track and cross-country coach for Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md., and a 2:52:19 marathoner.

Q: Your athlete or client has just completed his hardest workout of the week. What is your advice about recovering quickly and effectively?

Gillanders: I generally recommend movement, compression and elevation. This could come through a structured cool-down after the workout that includes active stretching. It could come through wrapping a painful or swollen area with compression garments. It could come by elevating the involved areas.

If I were forced to choose heat or cold, I would say warm. A warm tub, say body temperature, can provide an environment to get some hydrostatic pressure, an in-place stretch and active movement. It is not great for elevation, but you can get that later by putting legs or other heavily worked areas higher than your heart.

Recovery is key to preparing the body for the next workout. This includes restoring the calories expended and rehydrating, as well as ensuring adequate sleep before the next workout. A hard workout will create inflammation because it is the body’s way of starting the healing process for the micro-injured area.

Jumping in an ice bath will stop inflammation but also postpone the healing process.

Hays: I normally tell my athletes to use both ice and heat — two cycles of 10 minutes of ice, alternated with two cycles of 10 minutes of heat. Ice slows blood flow and heat has the 38 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

opposite effect, increasing blood flow.

The increase in blood flow helps to flush out the byproducts created by the workout, and the ice helps to reduce inflammation.

During a hard workout, blood rushes to your muscles, carrying oxygen and the needed energy to complete the workout. After a hard workout, muscles are inflamed and you have countless micro-tears in your muscles. You want to flush out all the waste that is the byproduct of this process.

The cooling part of this process doesn’t need to be an ice bath; 65 to 75 degrees is fine. The cold water reduces the blood flow to the muscles and reduces the inflammation while still allowing for waste products to be flushed. Athletes experience less post-workout soreness after a cool bath.

Q: Have you tried other methods? What led you to the practice you recommend today?

Gillanders: In physical therapy, the use of ice has been long-standing.

Post-injury, the standard has been RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation. What caused me to change was that the relevant research really did not support RICE, especially rest and ice.

We know movement is good. No longer do we recommend bed rest for back pain, or staying in bed after surgery. In fact, we recommend the opposite. Whether it is post-whiplash or post-knee replacement, we know that appropriate movement is good.

It brings nutrition to the joints, which maintains range of motion and health in the area.

Ice also is discouraged mainly because it stops the body’s natural path toward healing. The body has three stages of healing: (1) inflammation (2) repair and (3) remodel. Without inflammation, we do not proceed to the other stages of healing. So the use of ice to control inflammation makes no sense. Why stop the first stage of healing?

The same thing goes for taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. Because they block the inflammatory cycle, they can limit the body’s natural process of healing itself.

Hays: I have not tried other methods. Though I have not seen much data on the effectiveness of ice baths, my own anecdotal evidence suggests that they are effective. One year at running camp in Colorado, we finished a run around Turquoise Lake near Leadville (elevation 10,152 feet). It was about a 14-mile run, fairly hilly and in the middle of July.

When we finished we went down to the snow-fed lake (the water temperature must have been below 60) and soaked our legs. The next day I experienced very little soreness.

Since then, I often soak after long runs, and always soak after completing a marathon. I find that I am able to return to my training faster and ramp up my miles again.

Q: Are there exceptions? What about someone who has a minor, nagging injury, for example?

Gillanders: There are always exceptions. People are going to have pain, and ice makes them feel better.

Ice can be good for muscles in spasm, or even as a security blanket, if someone has done it all his life.

Pain is usually a sign from the body that something is amiss. You can exercise through slight pain, say zero to three on a scale of 10, as long as it is stable. Pain above those levels usually results in compensations that lead to other problems.

If someone is taking care of himself, with regular stretching and appropriate strengthening, a hard workout is no big thing. In the clinic, I usually see people injured when their bodies are not prepared for the stress of training, Take care of the body and it will take care of itself.

Humans did quite well for thousands of years without ice or heat, just the natural healing process, which included lots of movement.

Hays: The body’s natural response to an acute injury is inflammation, to protect the injured area. So to reduce the pain and swelling, I would recommend ice during the first 24 hours. After that, though, it’s time to find the cause of the injury and see a sports therapist. I wouldn’t recommend trying to run through an acute sports injury by just icing after each run. You need to find the cause of the injury. M

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 39

Your Tastes

By Elaine Gordon | The Washington Post

These are the salad days of farmers markets W ith all the recent interest in locally grown, farmfresh and organic foods, it’s no wonder the number of U.S. farmers markets has more than tripled in the past 15 years. There are now more than 7,175 across the country, according to the Agriculture Department.

Buying local means products are picked at peak ripeness, providing the top freshness, flavor and nutrients.

The foods are transported fewer miles and are coming directly from the people who grow them. And you can feel good about supporting your local economy and strengthening the local food system.

Now is the time to get exploring, to discover new produce and fresh or potted herbs that your supermarket might not feature.

Feeling inspired? The accompanying salad recipe makes use of seasonal greens including peppery arugula and watercress, buttery bibb lettuce and velvety mache (also known as lamb’s lettuce). Spinach is also in season starting in April and works well with this salad. Kale is available starting in May. This salad gets a sweet and earthy flavor boost from another farmers market favorite: beets, a nutrition powerhouse. Beets are full of phytonutrients, iron, fiber and folate. They are most often found in the deep purple variety, but farmers markets might also carry golden yellow, pink or white varieties. It is best to purchase smaller beets, as they are more tender and sweeter — one to 1 1/2 inches is the ideal diameter. You want the green leaves to be fresh and not wilted. As soon as you get home

Farmers Market Salad With Herbed Vinaigrette — 2 servings Don’t worry too much about the measurements of the produce in this recipe; have fun experimenting with different proportions that are to your liking. Other seasonal produce that works well with this salad: sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, kale, spinach and any kind of onion.

Note: The beets can be roasted, cooled, peeled and refrigerated a day or two in advance. The vinaigrette can be refrigerated a day or two in advance. Bring to room temperature before using. From Elaine Gordon, a master certified health education specialist and creator of EatingbyElaine.com.

Ingredients For the salad: 4 small red and/or golden beets (unpeeled; about 12 to 14 ounces total) 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil Sea salt 2 cups packed arugula, rinsed and dried 1 cup watercress, rinsed and dried 1 cup mache, rinsed and dried 6 to 8 radishes, cut into thin rounds 1/4 medium red onion, cut into thin slices 8 bibb lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried Flesh of 1/4 ripe avocado, cut into small chunks, for garnish (optional) 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese, for garnish (optional) 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted, for garnish (optional; see NOTE)

For the vinaigrette 1/2 teaspoon honey or light agave nectar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup packed fresh dill 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 1 large clove garlic 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, or more as needed 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed 40 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Steps For the salad: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Combine the beets, oil and sea salt to taste in a glass baking dish; toss to coat evenly. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Cool completely, then trim the beet ends; use a paper towel to slip off the skins (and discard them). Cut the beets into thin rounds and place in a stain-proof bowl.

Combine the arugula, watercress, mache, radish slices and red onion in a mixing bowl.

For the vinaigrette: Combine the honey or agave nectar, lemon juice, dill, chives and garlic in a blender or mini food processor. Pulse to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream to form an emulsified vinaigrette. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Add about 3 tablespoons of vinaigrette to the bowl of greens; toss to coat evenly. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter so they are fairly flat. Top with the dressed salad greens, beets and some or all of the optional garnishes: avocado chunks, goat cheese and pine nuts.

Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette just before serving.

NOTE: Toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent burning, until the nuts are golden brown and fragrant.

from the market, trim off most of the greens, leaving only one inch attached to the bulb. This prevents the leaves from stealing moisture from the bulbs. You can then store the bulbs in a plastic bag in your refrigerator for up to three weeks. Be sure to wash them thoroughly before using them, as they probably will be covered in dirt. They are, after all, root vegetables.

In addition to salad greens and beets, this recipe features an herb dressing loaded with dill and oniony chives. Nothing flavors a dish better than fresh herbs, which boost flavor and add depth to dishes without overdoing sodium, sugar and fat. Plus, many herbs contain disease-fighting antioxidants. To prevent spoiling, make sure they are dry when you store them in the fridge. Wrap them in a dry paper towel and they’ll last up to a week.

And one last bonus: The olive oil from the dressing not only ties all those herbs together but also helps your body absorb those nutrients and feel more satisfied.

Get ready for the market Proper preparation can help make a good experience great. Follow these guidelines to get the most out of your farmers market: • Bring reusable, clean bags to carry your goodies home. Use separate bags for raw and cooked foods.

• Bring storage containers for delicate produce such as berries and cherry tomatoes that might otherwise get crushed when combined with other products.

• Arrive early in the day before the crowds for the best selection. That perfectly plump tomato will be the first to go.

However, if you do go toward the end of the day, you might get some good deals.

• Bring cash in small bills with a bag for change.

• Go in with an open mind. My first experience with garlic scapes was because one of the vendors pointed it out to me and said you could make an amazing pesto out of the twisty, curly plant. Garlic scapes are now something I very much look forward to and can’t find anywhere but at the market.

• Take the time to scope out the entire market, as different farmers offer different selections and prices of the same items. And be sure to ask the farmers how long produce will stay fresh to make sure you don’t overbuy. They also usually can provide good storage tips.

Gordon, a master of public health professional and a master certified health education specialist, is creator of the healthful recipe site EatingbyElaine.com.

M

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 41

Your Style

Jennifer Barger | The Washington Post

Bright, black or white: Dress cool for warmer weather

N

eons. Warm-weather leather. Enough black and white to outfit a million Coco Chanel clones. So many trends are buzzing around this spring, a stylista could suffer whiplash. To avoid visits to the fashion emergency room, we suggest a prudent treatment.

Dose your closet with a single new item at a time: tropicalprint shoes, a lace top, maybe jeans in “it” color mint.

“Yes, a few of these ideas can be mixed, say lace shorts with a bright print,” says Julie Egermayer, owner of the Violet Boutique in Washington. “But the easiest trend?

Black and white. It’s something we come around to again and again.”

Sort of like spring itself.

Lace Formerly prim, lace gets racy when sewn onto short shorts. Black Sheep shorts ($68, South Moon Under stores and www. southmoonunder.com; Timing striped top ($29, Willow boutique in Washington and Arkansas City, Kan.); and Melissa “Prism” wedges ($145) and Alexis Bittar bangles ($155 each), both available at The Shoe Hive in Alexandria, Va., and TheShoeHive. com.

Neon Tame the shades of traffic signs and 1980s Madonna videos by pairing them with crisp white. Tibi peplum top ($350, B l o o m i n g d a l e ’s ) ; Hudson jeans ( $ 1 6 5 , Bloomingdale’s); vegan “leather” clutch ($49) and faux gem necklace ($24), both from Violet Boutique; CC Skye bracelet ($315, Bishop Boutique in

Alexandria, Va., and www.bishopboutique.com; and Kate Spade sunglasses ($138, couture.zappos.com.

Black and white The classic noncolor on noncolor combo looks fresh in new shapes and styles. Tracy Reese convertible silk pleat shorts ($248, www.tracyreese.com; Maeve black tank ($68, Anthropologie); Waverly blazer ($264, Zoe Boutique in Alexandria, Va.); Alexis Bittar black and white rings ($35 each, The Shoe Hive); chandelier earrings ($12, Violet Boutique); Charming Charlie belt ($8, Charming Charlie stores and www.charmingcharlie.com; and L.K. Bennett “Sandy” strappy heels ($365, Shopbop.com).

Tropical prints Are-we-in-Jamaica? patterns scream spring break — in a non-trashy-movie way. BB Dakota pants and tank ($78 and $78, South Moon Under); Remi & Reed belt ($42, South Moon Under); CC Skye cuff ($175, Bishop Boutique); long necklace ($16, Violet Boutique); and MICHAEL Michael Kors wooden “Josephine” wedges ($185, Zappos.com).

Mint Skin is now also in for hotter months. It’s especially nice paired with ice-cream-dreamy mint. Vince gray leather motorcycle jacket and gray T-shirt ($995 and $78, Bloomingdale’s); Modern Supply Clothiers mint-green chinos ($88, Bloomingdale’s); earrings and necklace ($10 and $20, Violet Boutique); and Target bracelet ($20, Target stores).

Accessories Nanette Lepore coral blouse ($228, Bloomingdale’s); Elaine Turner black and white clutch ($75, www. elaineturner.com; Jon Josef pastel blue raffia shoes ($140, The Shoe Hive); and J. Crew mint and teal bag ($295, J. Crew stores). M

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 43

Happy Hour

By Jennifer Kay | Associated Press

Rum plays up — and ignores — its Caribbean roots

W

hen you’re talking about rum, how much does the Caribbean really matter?

For the rum world, it’s a more serious question than it sounds, and the answer exposes a schism in the industry, a divide between massive producers who value uniformity in a global market and smaller players and connoisseurs who prefer nuanced production that reflects the time and place a rum is made.

A walk down the rum aisle of a liquor store sees this played out. While major companies like Pernod Ricard might acknowledge that its Malibu is a “Carribean rum” and has notes of coconut flavor, you won’t find specifics beyond that. Likewise, Diageo’s Captain Morgan doesn’t indicate which island port its jaunty pirate logo calls home.

44 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

That’s because the largest liquor companies have realized it’s not critical to promote their rums’ origins in their global branding, says Arun Sharma, professor of marketing at the University of Miami School of Business Administration. That allows them flexibility to produce their spirits where they need to meet demand on the mass market.

“The brand is more important than where it’s produced,” Sharma said.

At Bacardi, which sells more than 18 million cases of rum worldwide each year, consistency and quality are paramount, even as it expands its offerings of flavored, spiced and premium rums. “Our marketing approach and advertising hasn’t really focused on the Caribbean. ... It’s a lifestyle.

It’s a way of life,” said Bacardi brand master David Cid. Except that rums can vary greatly based on where and how they are produced, something aficionados have long known and smaller producers have begun promoting as a way to distinguish themselves. Cuba and Puerto Rico have lighter, more delicate rums; Jamaica veers to the full-bodied, darker liquors; and Haiti is known for the cognac-like flavor of its Rhum Barbancourt.

Blue Chair Bay Rum, which country music star Kenny Chesney is launching this spring, is a good example. Chesney chose a distiller in Barbados specifically to infuse the spirit with an authenticity he sought to represent his love for the island lifestyle, says CEO Mark Montgomery.

And as rum sales grow, you can expect to see more of that. Fueled by a cocktail revival on the food scene — as well as prominent billing on TV shows like “Mad Men” — liquors captured more than a third of the alcoholic beverage market last year, including sales of 25.5 million cases of rum in the U.S. alone, a 2.5 percent jump over the year before. Flavored and spiced rums account for more than half of that total.

“Every island in the Caribbean, every country in Central and South America makes ‘the best rum in the world.’ There’s a lot of pride in rum,” says Robert A. Burr, organizer of the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival that opens to industry professionals and the public this weekend.

“Every country has some sort of different history, equipment, preference. But now we’re in much more of a global world where it’s easier to try other people’s rum.” M

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 45

46 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Great Rides Deserve Great Rates.

IT PAYS TO BANK WHERE YOU’RE PART OWNER! www.mnvalleyfcu.coop

387-3055

THE CLASSIC CAMP ALL SUMMER LONG. ALL AGES. ALL KINDS OF CAMPS.

For backpacking preschoolers to skateboarding teens. From half-day camps to resident camps. The Mankato Family YMCA offers another great summer.

Bus transportation is provided as well as before- and after-care to make dropping off and picking up easy on parents.

Contact the Y at 387-8255 or at mankatoymca.org.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 47

Faces & Places

Photos By Sport Pix

MSU Alumni Family Rock climbing Event

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1. Dan Cole stops for a photo before continuing his climb.

2. Spectators watch others climb the wall.

3. Dan Cole climbs inverted on the most difficult part of the rock wall.

4. Molly Rorvig smiles as she skillfully makes her way up the wall.

5. Visitors wait their turn as they watch others climb the rock wall in Myers Fieldhouse.

6. Sam Steiger gives encouragement to a young climber during the event.

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Faces & Places

Photos By Sport Pix

YWCA Women of Distinction 1. Julie Vetter gives a speech while receiving her award.

2. Donna Norgren, founder of the YWCA Women of Distinction event, receives a standing ovation and a bouquet of flowers.

3. Mary O’Sullivan gives an introduction for her nominee Pam Determan.

4. Current and former Women of Distinction gathered before the event for a group photo.

5. Former Minnesota State University President Margaret Preska talks with some friends at the event.

6. State Rep. Kathy Brynaert chats with some friends during the social hour.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 49

Faces & Places

Photos By Sport Pix

St. Peter’s St. Patrick’s day parade

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1. Elizabeth Munick and Madison More get fully decked out in holiday apparel for the parade.

2. The St. Peter Crusaders entertained the crowd with a few tunes.

3. The Miss Arlington roaylty, Kimberly Kurtzweg, Jessica Garza and Sarah Shimota, wave to the crowd.

4. Connor Bjorling sports a green mohawk as he walks the parade route.

5. Adam Spector, who spends his days working for the St. Peter High School, waves to the crowd.

6. Sevyron Brandt, a member of the Govenaires Flag Team, had one of the brightest outfits of the day.

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It’s May. The sun is up earlier and so are we. We’re making delicious Hot Sandwiches on homemade cheddar biscuits. Grab one with bacon or sausage and the local eggs and cheese we are known for...it’s the most important meal of the day!

228 Mulberry Street, St. Peter, MN stpeterfood.coop Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Everyone is welcome everyday!

good morning breakfast at the co-op 7-11 everyday

MANKATO MAGAZINE • May 2013 • 51

Remember

when

By Pete Steiner

Boys of summer, and other recollections “We’re not raising grass, we’re raising boys.”

— Harmon Killebrew Sr., father of Twins Hall of Famer, quoted by Harmon at his Hall of Fame induction

G

rowing up in West Mankato in the ’50s and ’60s, we of course did not have video games for our amusement. What we did have was a big backyard, plus lots of imagination. That meant our backyard was sometimes a football field, or sometimes it was a make-believe World War II battlefield (and I wanted to be the general). But what I remember most was that just about every summer, for the better part of a decade, that backyard was a ballfield.

With nearly two dozen boys between 9 and 14 in a several block radius in our neighborhood, it seemed a majority of them often ended up in our backyard. In 1953, according to Wikipedia, David N. Mullany had invented the “wiffle ball” at his home in Fairfield, Conn. He had designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-yearold son.

A classic wiffle ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball, but it’s hollow plastic no more than 1/8inch thick, often perforated to help it curve, causing the batter to “whiff,” or strike out. For us, it didn’t matter whether the ball was “classic,” whether it was small or large, or whether the plastic bat was regulation size, or oversized with a giant 6-inch barrel.

We just wanted to get out in the backyard and swing for the fences. Or rather, swing for the poplar trees that bordered the yard, and constituted center field, or for the telephone pole that marked the left-center fence, or the “short porch” straight down the line toward the hackberry next to Berge’s garage that represented the left field foul pole. From June through August, we would be out there for hours every day, with pickup teams, tramping down the grass into 52 • May 2013 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

basepaths. I broke my wrist one summer racing into the small sapling that represented second base.

We kept rather meticulous records.

As avid baseball card collectors, we all wish we still had our Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle rookie cards. We had memorized our favorite major leaguers’ “stats,” and then went out to tally up our own. I think Davey Brown still holds the single-season home-run record, in the vicinity of 120. He had quick wrists, sort of like Aaron. Davey liked to turn on the ball quickly to take advantage of that short left field.

•••• By the time we reached high school in the early ’60s, we’d pretty much outgrown wiffle ball. But our poor backyard was still mostly dirt.

Rather than investing in grass seed, our dad decided to build an asphalt, 20-by-20 basketball court. That brought another decade of backyard joy. We’d even shovel off November snow if it wasn’t too cold, so we could go out hoopin’.

I’ve never before contemplated the psychology of parents’ forsaking the perfect lawn for basepaths and asphalt courts. But you know, I think Mom enjoyed knowing where we were much of the time — right out the kitchen window.

•••• In Minnesota Valley Business Magazine this month, I write about Mocol’s, the last surviving neighborhood grocery store in town.

There used to be similar stores in nearly every corner of town, and sometimes Dad would take us to the Farho sisters’ store on South Front, across from where the Mankato Ballet studio now stands (formerly Earthly Remains).

That’s me, swinging fo backyard sandlot ar r the fences in our ound 1960.

Annie and Jo were colorful characters and shrewd businesswomen from an era when many women still did not work outside the home. I remember they always had a big banana bunch hanging from the ceiling near the main counter. Dad, an insurance man well-versed in risk, would advise his young sons not to touch the bananas for fear there might be a black widow spider hiding somewhere in there. Probably prevented me from becoming a vegetarian. I seem to remember — of course, memory can trick us — the floors were wood. The grocery was torn down in the late ’70s or early ’80s, but the Farho sisters also operated a liquor store two doors down.

Dad insured the sisters, so he would also shop there. I tell this story as a reminder that small kindnesses are not soon forgotten. I was home from Army basic training early in 1970, about to ship out to Fort Dix for assignment.

Dad related this fact to Annie, who said, “Come over here,” and led me to a shelf. She grabbed a pint of Old Sunny Brook blended whisky and gave it to me, thinking I might have use for it. I remember going to great lengths to hide the contraband in my locker at Fort Dix. Annie was certainly right about having a use for it. M Pete Steiner is host of “Talk of the Town” weekdays at 1:05 p.m. on KTOE.

Quality When ooring is one of the biggest investments you make in your home, quality counts.