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Inspirational Gloria WahrenBrock
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Stillwater Nutcracker Turns 20
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Re-inventing the wheel For Carlton Calvin ’79, SPA awakened the character and curiosity required to found an innovative company. Razor is a $200 million company that challenges the traditional concept of scooters, bikes and skates. Resilience, critical thinking and creativity are hallmarks of the SPA graduate. Carlton Calvin is one more example of the way that SPA shapes the minds and the hearts of the people who change the world.
JAnUARY 2015 ADMiSSiOn eventS: JOin US! Lower School Open House | Grades K-5 1150 Goodrich Avenue, St. Paul tuesday, January 13, 2015 | 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Middle/Upper School Open House | Grades 6-12 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul thursday, January 15, 2015 | 6:30-8:30 p.m.
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PHOTO BY CURTIS DALE
contents
December 2014
STUDIO TIME Transporting Audiences to New Worlds By Syndie Sorenson
ON STILLWATER Legacy in the Making By Peter McNiff
PHOTOS BY CURTIS DALE Our Favorite Works FEATURE FAVORITES Some of Our Most Commented On Stories WWW.STILLWATERLIVING.NET 3
editor’s note The Grateful Dead VOLUME 10, NUMBER 12, DECEMBER 2014 4th Annual Benevolence Issue january / February • 2010 $2.95
Norm!
Mush
everybody knows his name
Urban Explorer
3
water
generous neighbors
Lessons in Community Living
New Horizon Acacemy • Stillwater Turf & Power
E
MARCH/APRIL 2013 $2.95 PREMIER ISSUE • JULY 2005 • $2.95
MAY 2013 $2.95
JANUARY 2006 • $2.95
SEPTEMBER 2013
DECEMBER 2006 • $2.95
TheChristmasIssue Will Santa Bring Us An Arts Center?
Brennan Swanson is the Back Flip Kid
It’s Wedding Season !
Lake Cottage Renovation
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
A New GeNerAtioN of fArmers
Arcola experience
the
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
JAN/FEB 2013 $2.95
NOVEMBER 2013
APRIL 2014
E FRE
E
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FRE AUGUST 2013
FastForward WiFi
Casanova Glass
ArtReach St. Croix
Jerry’s Auto body • rotAry’s district Governor Leiser • hoG dinners
may • 2010 $2.95
august • 2010 $2.95
december 2005 • $2.95
Home on the
South Hill
3
Bring on the Winter Wonderland
Marx
Do you hear what I hear
generous neighbors Lessons in Community Living
FRE
Chef Driven Bistro
Laurie Schneider The Pollinators
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
JAN/FEB 2012 $2.95
JUNE 2014
The Persistent Elegance Of Patricia McDonald, Afton Press
Guide to Professional Services • Living Well With Diabetes • Literary Arts
FRE
JUNE 2013 FREE
E
SEPT/OCT • 2011 $2.95
Valley Voices
E FEBRUARY 2014
DECEMBER 2013
Inspirational Gloria WahrenBrock
Merry Christmas!
Rustic Beauty
She Awaits...
3
Love in the Old Barn
generous neighbors
Lessons In Community Living
Stillwater Nutcracker Turns 20
Lake Elmo Wine
Rev. Grace’s Greatest Hits NOVEMBER 2014
SEPTEMBER 2014
MAY 2014
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER • 2010 $2.95
OCTOBER 2006 • $2.95
JUNE 2006 • $2.95
PETER
MAYER
A Wing, a Prayer and the River Experiments in Aviation at EAA 54
River Market Refresh How To: Healthy Soil
HELLO
Spring
Meet the Pole Barn Studio
yoga on the
water
Marine/Scandia in the Buff
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
AUGUST • 2011 $2.95
Fishing the Croix Marathon in the Far East Idol Fever Strikes Stillwater
Redevelopment
Valley Chamber Chorale Turns 35
EnvironmEntal architEcturE
through gardening
Peak Kid Season
victim-cEntErEd juSticE
Stillwater Rickshaw
Summer’s Last Days
JANUARY 2014
SEPTEMBER 2005 • $2.95
AUGUST 2013
Valley Chamber Chorale Potters Without Kilns
E
MARCH 2014
E
E
april • 2010 $2.95
NOV/DEC 2012 $2.95
FRE
OCTOBER 2014
World Class Care
MARCH/APRIL 2012 $2.95
JULY 2013
Choral Voices SpikE thE cobblEr
PLUS INSIDE: • •
Distinctive Dentists
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
Q & A with Dr. Corey Lunn
FRE
Caminito Art Gallery
FRE
•
•
E
Good Design Meets Environmental Responsibility
•
Mallards on St. Croix
• Writers On Writing
FRE
Young Lives
Merry Christmas SEPTEMBER 2009 • $2.95
MAY 2008 • $2.95
ARCHITECTURE GOES GREEN
Darla Goble Mentors With Love
Three Chords and the Truth
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
november 2009 • $2.95
Along the way we worked with a handful of graphic designers who made the magazine look great – award winning great. Rob Johnson, with help from Laura Schmitt, set the tone for Stillwater Living’s initial style. His full time job and young family were more important, and rightfully so, than this project so we went in search of a suitable replacement. Kelly Milner took the reigns for two issues before introducing us to Rhonda Schrader who only lasted three issues (not a good idea to take a tone with Maureen), and finally we found Julie Thibodeau, whose babies trumped the magazine and she was gone after three issues. In the first year we bounced from designer to designer until we found Mark Raney – the man. He was a gem to work with, quality designs at 2:00 AM, I don’t know how he did it, but he absolutely did a wonderful job – for years. Mark even hung in there with us during the early months of the recession – it was a scary time. Julie Bourman is credited with keeping Stillwater Living alive in 2010. She not only designed the ads, at that time she also took control of the design of the entire magazine. An angel with the soul of an artist.
the
june • 2011 $2.95
JULY/AUGUST 2012 $2.95
Stillwater Living found its voice largely through the efforts of a group of locals that would gather and discuss story topics, we credit that group for getting us “in-tune” with this community. Teri Brine, Cheryl Larson, Kevin Nyenhuis and Harry Ireton joined Curtis, Adam and me to brainstorm topics and concepts fit for Stillwater Living coverage. We appreciate all of their time and attention, we could not have found our way so quickly and accurately without them. Adam Swenson is an immensely talented man and he learned the craft of periodical editing right here in our sleepy little riverside hamlet. We established a rather high editorial bar in Adam’s time with us and the readers paid notice to the quality editorial product crafted under his watchful eye.
yoga on
Afton’s Arctic Explorers
Dana Maltby
FEBRUARY/MARCH • 2011 $2.95
SEPTEMBER 2014
march • 2010 $2.95
september • 2010 $2.95
June • 2010 $2.95
FRE
e launched Stillwater Living magazine ten years ago with high hopes of later launching Hudson Living magazine. If, after a few years of getting to know the community, we were successful then we planned to launch Visit The Croix which would service the tourism market up and down the St. Croix. Alas it wasn’t meant to be. We have felt loved from readers from the first issue through this one, but the business side of this publication has a short memory. After the recession advertisers were keen on social media and anything digital (read cheap) leaving those companies no budget to support a publication which cost so much to write, edit, shoot, print and distribute. So be it.
FRE
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What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been…
Merry Christmas sit in on the
Landscapers roundtabLe
Hand Crafted in Dutch Town
3
generous neighbors
Lessons In Community Living
Copy Editor Maureen McDonough
PETER MCNIFF SYNDIE SORENSON
LAURIE SCHNEIDER Laurie Schneider Photograpy
From the first cover to this issue we have Curtis Dale photography to thank for so many great images. He, along with his wife Jan, offered editorial concepts and support at events and throughout the community in ways that are too vast to cover in this small space – we owe Curtis a huge debt of gratitude. Along the way we met Verna Pitts, Aimee Christensen and Laurie Schneider who have contributed mightily to Stillwater Living’s aesthetic – best looking small-market lifestyle magazine in the world. We are grateful to Curtis, Verna, Aimee and Laurie. As you can see – a great many people have played a role in making Stillwater Living magazine happen. The above mentioned names are just the folks that worked with us month in and month out. We’ve had so many freelance writers, Kelli Billstein, dive into stories and tell the tales that have graced our pages – too many to list. We are grateful to all of them. What a long, strange trip indeed. As we close the magazine we choose to focus on the people and groups that came to our aid, the readers that took the time to write to us about a story that touched them, for us it was all about connecting with the readers – it was a good run. Real Good Then
JEFF BAGGOT STEVE (SHOWCASE) SKALMAN HAWK Copyright 2014 Watershed Publishing, Inc. all rights reserved. Stillwater Living is published by Watershed Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 2302 Stillwater, MN 55082 651-430-3143 inquiry@stillwaterliving.net
Jon Whitcomb would like to Thank all of his customers & property owners for a great 2014!
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letters to the editor
Missing the Mark
DECEMBER 2006 • $2.95
Dear Editor, When I opened my mail the other day I was shocked to see that the Nov/Dec issue of Stillwater Living had the phrase “Merry Christmas” on the cover. It struck me as insensitive and exclusionary. In philosophical terms, I am a free thinker and we reject the notion of deities. Critical thought brings to light a significant lack of empirical evidence in support of deities and those of us that understand intelligent design call into question an all-mighty creator.
TheChristmasIssue Will Santa Bring Us An Arts Center?
december 2009 • $2.95 Presorted Standard US Postage PAID St. Croix Press
Merry Christmas Stillwater Nutcracker Turns 20
Lake Elmo Wine
In terms of social grace, this phrase is offensive to any person that is enlightened, Jewish or simply non-Christian. It is a terrible headline!
Rev. Grace’s Greatest Hits NOVEMBER / DECEMBER • 2010 $2.95
David K. Stillwater
Merry Christmas Dear David, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and feelings about Stillwater Living magazine’s annual Christmas issue. We’re very proud of the Christmas issue, sorry that you find it so offensive. A quick bit of research tells me that roughly 2.3% of the world’s population are Atheists, and while I don’t have any empirical evidence to support this notion, I believe an even lower percentage of folks in this community share your beliefs. I’d like to tell you to go start your own magazine and then print whatever you want – but I won’t. That would be insensitive and opinions are like belly buttons in that we all have one.
6 STILLWATER LIVING
DECEMBER 2014
NOV/DEC 2012 $2.95
Merry Christmas
EE
real good then, -Peter McNiff
Merry Christmas!
FR
We are not a product or branch of a bureaucracy that overreacts to a lone voice. We hope you can appreciate that we celebrate the Christmas season in our way and you are welcome to stand along side of us and celebrate it in your way. If you want to send us your address I’ll pull you from the magazine’s distribution list next Christmas so you won’t be offended – we’re likely to continue publishing a Christmas issue.
NOV/DEC • 2011 $2.95
DECEMBER 2013
Merry Christmas!
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