Mankato Magazine, October 2018 Issue

DIRTY JOBS! Someone’s gotta do ‘em, right?

Try DIY for Halloween We scored

MIKE SULLIVAN A farewell from

THE MAYOR

Bret Bauer OCTOBER 2018

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2 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

FEATURE S OCTOBER 2018 Volume 13, Issue 10

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Dirty Jobs They handle animal waste, dip their hands in motor oil get the bats out of our attics. They are heroes, and they do the dirty jobs.

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DIY Halloween

He scores!

Sure, you could order your costume online again this year, or buy it from a pop-up mall store. Or … you could do it yourself!

As Minnesota State University’s hockey teams prepare to hit the ice for another season, we catch up with the voice of the Mavericks, Mike Sullivan.

ABOUT THE COVER Bret Bauer is the newest mechanic at Miller’s Modern Garage in Mankato.

He was photographed for our cover by Pat Christman.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 3

DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor 8 Faces & Places 12 This Day in History 13 Avant Guardians Rick Esser

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14 Beyond the Margin Food, drink and good intentions 16 Familiar Faces Eric Anderson 28 Day Trip Destinations A Frank Lloyd Wright gem 30 Deep Valley Book Festival 32 Then & Now Church Norse festival

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37 Food, Drink & Dine 38 Food Halloween cookies 40 Wine A French excursion 41 Beer Kato hoppery 42 That’s Life It’s not my funeral

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44 Garden Chat Perfect pumpkins 46 Your Style Ladyguns 48 Night Moves Wow! Zone 51 Coming Attractions 52 From This Valley Kato music legends

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 5

FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

By Robb Murray OCTOBER 2018 • VOLUME 13, ISSUE 10 PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Robb Murray EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Amanda Dyslin Ann Rosenquist Fee Bert Mattson Bryce O. Stenzel Diana Rojo-Garcia James Figy Jean Lundquist Nell Musolf Pete Steiner Rachel Hanel PHOTOGRAPHERS Pat Christman Jackson Forderer

PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Danny Creel SALES Joan Streit Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Marianne Carlson Theresa Haefner ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey CIRCULATION Justin Niles 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. $35.40 for 12 issues.

For editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray at 344-6386, or e-mail rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.

For advertising, call 344-6364, or e-mail advertising@mankatofreepress.com.

6 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Dirty jobs, DIYs and hockey games!

I

used to love to watch that show, “Dirty Jobs.”

Remember that one?

Host Mike Rowe, who has that incredible baritone and an even more incredible ability to come up with a different facial expression each time he wades into hog manure or crawls under a house with a small animal removal specialist.

Seeing the people who did those jobs every day go about their business with utter professionalism in less-than-ideal conditions was always a treat. Then again, it shouldn’t be surprising. Some people just like what they like, and the same thing that would cause you and I to vomit could be ho-hum to them.

My daughter had a dirty job once. During her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, she snagged a job as a kennel cleaner at the animal hospital. This meant she would arrive at 7 a.m. and “deal” with all the business the kenneled animals had done overnight. (The silver lining was that, as an animal lover, she was able to chill with the kenneled animals when her shift was over, a silver lining that, to her, made the job worth it.)

This month in Mankato Magazine, we introduce you to three different occupations where hands get dirty, the air is ripe and the work is, well, not for everyone. But you’ll find no sourpusses here. Whether it’s a mechanic who goes home with grimey hands, an exterminator who hunts for guano or the gals who clean out the kennels at the animal

shelter, all find purpose or passion — or both — in what they do.

Also, as it’s the season of scare, we’re doing a public service by giving you ideas and inspiration to come up with your own DIY Halloween costume. The staff down at Vagabond Village was nice enough to throw together a few looks for us to pass along to you, our dear readers.

And speaking of seasons, it’s time for hockey! And if it’s time for hockey, it’s time for many of us to welcome Mr. Mike Sullivan back into our cars and home radios. The voice of the Mavericks for about 20 years, Sullivan’s smooth voice is his livelihood. A few years back, though, Sullivan had a health scare that jeopardized his career.

Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to our Familiar Faces feature. This month we hear from outgoing Mankato Mayor Eric Anderson. Next month brings election time, and for the first time in quite a while, Anderson’s name will not appear on the ballot. He’s stepping away, he says, confident that he served the city well.

Robb Murray is associate editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at 344-6386 or rmurray@ mankatofreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @freepressRobb.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

United Way Tug of War

1. Dr. Mark Dehen, mayor of North Mankato, pulling for his team.

2. The United Way Tug Of War Trophy.

3. Team “Pump In the Park” pulling against their competitors.

4. Tom Clements, KEYC Meteorologist, pulling for his team.

5. A team from Consolidated Communications competing in the challenge.

6. Teams checking in and registering to compete in the Tug Of War challenge.

7. Spectators enjoying the action.

8. The winners of the event, Mankato Marauders Rugby.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Breakfast on the Farm

1. A cow being painted on Keldee Hansen at the face painting table.

2. Kids gather around to pet a friendly horse, one of the many animals at the farm.

3. The kittens getting lots of love from the kids.

4. Curt Roberts from “Chris Cakes” flipping a large batch of pancakes.

5. Kids exploring and climbing on all of the large equipment.

6. Madelyn and Julianna Martin posing for a photo.

7. A great turnout for the pancake breakfast!

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

North Mankato Triathlon

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1.Kai Sill crossing the finishing line.

2. Spectators watching people from the side of the road participating in the North Mankato Triathlon 2018.

3. Volunteers posing together for a group photo.

4. Tom Wilson cycling down Butterworth Street, North Mankato, MN. 5. The men take first dip in the water.

6. Mark Bongers, Race Director, being interviewed by Ryan Sjoberg, KYEC Mankato.

7. An overview of this mornings race about to begin at Hiniker Pond, North Mankato, MN.

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Celebrating Minnesota Authors and Books

Authors and Appetizers Gala

Deep Valley Book Festival

FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

October 12 5:30pm

October 13 10am - 4pm

Mankato Event Center

FREE

in the Mankato Mall PARKING in the Cherry Street Ramp

Where Keynote Author

Lorna Landvik

readers and authors meet

Meet Lorna and David at both the Gala and Book Festival!

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• Delicious Appetizers • Wine & Tea Tastings • Music by The Frye • Live sketch by David Geister • “Letting it Fly” comedy

by Lorna Landvik $40 Advanced Ticket Tickets available NOW www.deepvalleybookfestival.com 7 The Free Press Blue Earth County History Center

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David Geister

Festival is FREE Saturday

• Meet Authors, Illustrators & Publishers • Book Sales & Signings • Speakers and Programs • Used Book Sale • Raffle • Young Writer & Illustrator Contest Awards

The Authors & Appetizers Gala is a fundraiser for the Deep Valley Book Festival

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Art Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

Fun For All Ages!

For more informationMANKATO MAGAZINE www.deepvalleybookfestival.com

SPONSORED BY:

The Free Press MEDIA

SUPPORTED BY

• OCTOBER 2018 • 11

THIS DAY IN HISTORY Compiled by Jean Lundquist

Your Printing Solutions Company

Monday, Oct. 29, 1945 Bits of News n County W.T.C.U. holds rally The Blue Earth County Women’s Christian Temperance Union holds a oneday meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at the Centenary Methodist Church in Mankato. The theme of the day is, “The American Family, Working, Playing, and Worshipping and Abstaining Together.” n Sharon, Jerry Jakobe entertain group at halloween party Along with the guest list, including those invited but not attending, was the information that the party was held in the basement recreation room.

Decorations included orange and black balls, streamers, and Halloween emblems. Each guest received a horn. n Personals T. L. Pope of Ramsey Street had an operation Friday for an attack of appendicitis.

Saturday, Oct. 4, 1902 Four men seriously injured late this afternoon Four men working on the Carnegie Library at 120 South Broad Street were buried in the basement of the building under brick and mortar, the building under construction, when a steel beam in the roof gave way. Word on the street was that they had died. All were seriously injured and were gathered from under the debris and taken to the fire station where they received the attention of doctors. All four were carpenters. The building is badly damaged. Over 100 years later, the Carnegie building still stands, and is home to exhibition space and art studios for the visual arts, crafts and design, rather than as a library Tuesday, Oct. 17, 1989 City: Golf couse won’t jeopardize dakota powwow The land now known as Land of Memories Park in Mankato was purchased by the City in the early 1970’s. A $70,000 grant was received in 1976 to develop the land into a city park, which was called West Sibley Park. Two years later the Intertribal Council requested the name be changed to Wokiksuye Makoce (Land of Memories).

In 1989, talk grew of placing a golf course in the park. A U of MN law instructor said that would be like putting Disneyland in the middle of a church.

Carol Chumsky told the city council the land should be treated like the sacred place it is for Native Americans. Public Works Director Paul Baker said the course would be shut down during the annual powwow, so the city would be respectful. A decision was made, and today, park-goers are limited to disc golf in the park, even though the old TCF building was hauled to the park to serve as a golf club.

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AVANT GUARDIANS

By Leticia Gonzales

A hands-on

artisan

Rick Esser, one of the minds behind Mankato Makerspace, says artists work better when they work together

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ick Esser, co-founder of Mankato Makerspace, is a visionary. When Esser acquired the space for the non-profit in September 2017, “it was vacant except for three outlets.”

Located at 1700 3rd Avenue in Mankato, the empty warehouse has since been transformed into a playground of sorts for artists. Whether you want to take a run at the space’s 1947 model sewing machine, which Esser said, “sounds like a Buick,” or use the paint booth for a mural project, there is no shortage of outlets for creativity.

“The woodshop is kind of my realm,” said Esser, which is clearly marked with a personalized sign inscribed, “Rick’s Woodshop.”

Esser, who came up with the concept for the space with painter and artist Kendrick Daum, said it was a four-year process before they even opened their doors this past February.

It all began when the two struggled to find adequate workspace for themselves. Esser was running out of room making musical instruments out of his crowded basement in his apartment building, a plight faced by other artists in the community.

“Where do people do their art?” asked Esser. “They do it on their kitchen tables, they do it in their basements, they do it in their back bedrooms; and so, instead of renting out a spot and just doing things on their own, we thought let’s make this really complicated. Let’s get a whole bunch of people to agree on stuff and help us fund and support this place where all of the artists can come get out of their back bedroom, and off their kitchen tables, and get down and work together.”

You will find anything from a screen printing press, a

traditional Norwegian loom, 3D printers, pottery wheels, and even a metalworks area for welding, plasma cutting and glass blowing.

“We found so far that when creative minds are working in community, it’s much more beneficial than when they are off on their own,” Esser added.

Esser himself utilizes the space to design variations of his custom wooden box drum, the Cajón, which is his favorite item to make. Having built more than 80 so far, he has become quite the expert when it comes to the craft.

“Sometimes I electrify them, sometimes I put snares,” he said.

His vision for community and handiwork stems from growing up on a permaculture farm in Iowa. From the time he was seven years old, Esser helped renovate the property, which included a 1900s style family farm, big garden spaces, nut and fruit trees, and farm animals.

“As a result, I can fix automobiles, I can fix buildings, I can fix just about everything there is to fix,” he shared.

“We couldn’t just go out and buy new stuff. We had to salvage what was there, make things work, repurpose.

That is what really carried on into this. I’ve never been much for malls or going out and buying new things. I make due with what’s laying around and make something new out of it.”

With that concept in mind, this past summer Esser introduced a monthly maker’s market event, where members and guest vendors can sell their locally sourced and handmade creations.

“We have been very fortunate for the people to come together to make this something; to make this a viable thing.”

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 13

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BEYOND THE MARGIN

By Joe Spear

October: Food, drink and good intentions O

ctober offers a preview of Thanksgiving with its weather and harvest.

There should be a togetherness vibe running through October as those of us lucky enough to be in sight of farm fields can see the importance of what farmers do every day.

October also offers an outdoors environment that is a calming answer to the incessant political ads that will soon offer their bombardment.

Harvest begins in October and so do festivals that celebrate the harvest like Oktoberfest. It’s a fest we can thank Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and his lovely bride Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen for starting in 1810. It was a way to allow the entire city of Munich to celebrate their nuptials. The party lasted for seven days.

Munich’s Oktoberfest continues today and an estimated 6 million people will visit the festival and consume 1 million gallons of beer, according to history. com. It is hosted on a large fairgrounds-like site with amusement park rides and entertainment galore.

New Ulm has its own answer to Oktoberfest with two weekends of celebrations and parades in downtown.

The event was bolstered a few years ago when August Schell Brewing Co. opened its beautiful grounds to an Oktoberfest event during the second weekend, mirroring other celebrations like Bock Fest and Fasching.

At Oktoberfest, Schell’s President Ted Marti rides up in a horse-drawn carriage and taps the first keg.

Established in 1860, Schell’s is the second oldest family-owned brewery in America. It is second only to Yuengling brewing of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, established in 1829.

As far as I can tell, Yuengling has a total of nine beers.

Schell’s has upwards of 25 if you include the sours. So there’s a win for the home team.

Schell’s also has a better sense of humor. In a post titled “Facing Adversity” on its company history, the brewery says: “Throughout the years, the Schell’s family faced adversity. The light beer craze. Disco. Low-carb diets. Their brewing tradition persevered and as the brewery evolved, so did the beer.”

You’ve got to love a company that notes that Disco music was an “adversity.”

Yuengling also perhaps unwisely ventures into politics where Schell’s steers clear. Just google “Yuengling and Trump.” That Schell’s doesn’t endorse candidates is a plus for all of us, who want to mostly drink beer together but not talk too much politics.

Food, drink and politics don’t mix all that well, but we seem to be relearning the lessons on trade wars again, like we did when President Jimmy Carter embargoed U.S. grain sales to Russia in 1979 in response to their invasion of Afghanistan.

The legendary Solidarnocs union leader and Polish President Lech Walesa, who knew Russians well when he established the first trade union in an Eastern Bloc country, spoke at Minnesota State University a few years ago and the most profound thing he said related to international trade. Trade, he said, makes each country inter-dependent on the other for food and things that bring prosperity to their people.

It is the ultimate peacekeeping tool. Words that ring true today. If one country relies on another for food, and another relies on its neighbors for fuel, they’re less likely to start wars.

But food security also can be about making sure you can get some food without crossing international borders.

Though agriculture is much more of a world market today by necessity, the local foodie movement has been growing. You can now walk into Hy Vee and see a cutout of the local farmer who is providing the store with sweet corn, tomatoes or cucumbers. It’s a nice return to the past.

The St. Peter Food Co-op is a shining example of this resurgent trend. It’s what they’ve been doing for about 40 years. The organization works with dozens of local family farms in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

Some of the organization’s “hyper-local” food is harvested the same day it arrives in the store. Its website notes the importance of local food.

“Eating local is good for the economy because money from each transaction stays in our region. It connects community members to the people who grow or produce their food, while helping to support family farms.

Eating local is respectful of the environment because food doesn’t travel far, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions.”

And a few years back, Schell’s figured it could find a local farmer to grow barley for a new special beer.

They didn’t have to go far. Just a few miles down the road from Schell’s along Nicollet County Road 5 (The Fort Road) the brewery found Nate Gieseke, a local farmer willing to give it a try. He grows barley (about 80 acres in 2017) that is harvested to make the beer at Schell’s. The brewery then brings back the “spent grains” from brewing to be fed to Gieseke’s livestock.

Schell’s called its Bavarian style beer the Fort Road Helles Pale Lager. So you could say the road to Helles was paved with good intentions. And it’s paying off. It’s a nod to things that keep us connected, like food and drink, which will always be more important than politics.

Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine.

Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382. Follow on Twitter @jfspear.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 15

Familiar Faces

So long, Mayor!

Eric Anderson prepares for life after the Mankato City Council

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Photos by Jackson Forderer

Name:

Eric Anderson Age: 52 Education: BS – Economics, Minnesota State University Job Title: Mankato mayor and owner of Anderson Financial Services Brief work history: Have owned and operated my own financial advisory service in Mankato for 26 years Family: Wife, Colleen

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fter serving the past eight years, Eric Anderson has learned a great deal as mayor of Mankato. One of the things that was not so much learned, but reinforced, was why he and his wife decided to join the scads of others who made Mankato a permanent home after going to college at Minnesota State University.

“People in our area’s past, including so many that staked their business claims here, set in motion what she and I value,” he said. “Hard work, fundamental fairness, independence and a willingness to lend talents and work together were my precepts to taking office and continue today.”

There were many reasons Anderson felt called to serve, he said, and among them were interests in history and political discourse, a burgeoning volatile political landscape in 2008 fueled in part by the financial crisis, and a desire to share perspective locally on potential outcomes of the recession.

Now on the verge of ending his run, Anderson reflects on eight years as mayor.

Mankato Magazine: What surprised you about the role that first year? Were there aspects about the job that you didn’t anticipate?

Eric Anderson: Too many to mention, but the speed at which new information needs to be digested and put into context is one that could not be properly anticipated.

The way I describe it is that city government is like the flow of a river: oscillating rates of speed but heading in a direction. As a new member, particularly on a board at that time comprised of many experienced people, was akin to jumping on a raft mid-stream on the river.

The initial period is really about pointing your own raft in the same direction as the flow, batten down the hatches and then think about steering it. The learning curve was extensive, and I laid out three objectives I hoped to achieve the first year: I wanted to understand the process in which the business of the Council was conducted, learn and retain as much about the responsibilities to which the city obligates itself, and I wanted to make immediate relationships with those at the Minnesota Capitol.

What surprised me was how encompassing that can be.

Ancillary to this is learning how to budget time between the role, personal life and business obligations. I want to publicly thank my wife, Colleen, for her patience and understanding as I poked and prodded around the landscape trying to figure it out the best I could.

MM: How do you think you’ve changed our city for the better?

EA: That is hard to answer because we all have our own perspectives, but working with others, certainly the future welfare of our great city has been at the forefront of most everything I did while trying to help shepherd through an exciting but challenging present.

I’d like to think I provided significant influence related to bringing to light and addressing the challenges, opportunities, constraints and rules of engagement going forward between the City and its citizens and helped set a tone for others outside the city to view Mankato in a positive light. I had great resources to work with, namely the good people of Mankato, city staff and fellow council members, but I feel good about my tenure.

MM: Was there an opinion you had at one time, or perhaps a decision you made, that you regret or feel differently about now?

EA: Just imagine if we could package hindsight how valuable a commodity that would become. There have been around 2,000 different items we have been asked to vote on over the past eight years, give or take.

Most of the votes (actions) taken at a council meeting never migrate into broad public discussion where temperatures can be gauged. Many actions adopted are building blocks for future actions. We are asked to provide guidance and temperament towards this, often with significant reservations.

MM: What were the best and most frustrating aspects of being mayor?

EA: Over the years, from time to time people have expressed to me that they could not or would not seek office because they would be frustrated in dealing with different personalities on a board, the public as a whole, city administration, etc. I think this thought is universal, by the way, and not specific to Mankato.

I have not found any of this to be even a bit troublesome in comparison to the mental gymnastics I have done in reconciling matters in my own mind. My largest frustrations swim around that rock that occupies my head.

These frustrations are borne of not knowing if you have used the right words, carried yourself the best or used the best judgment you could.

The best aspects are many, including seeing good outcomes on items worked on, getting to know so many people, including city employees and seeing longer range objectives accomplished. The very best, of course, is having the privilege to interact with fellow Mankatoans and those in our surrounding communities. It’s been an outstanding opportunity to see the great people we have here.

MM: Why did you decide now was the right time to end your run?

EA: Among the reasons, I believe that a lot of the things I set out to work on have been objectively reached, and four additional years, assuming the public would say yes to another term, would not necessarily add much more to the docket of things I thought needed some fine-tuning or

addressing.

I do fundamentally agree with the proposition of rotation in elected office also. Lastly, it seems the right time to exit the stage and focus more on some matters utilizing the knowledge gained and the relationships formed, particularly outside of Mankato, without the associated responsibility of representing the city and the body of the council.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank Mankato citizens for affording me the opportunity twice to serve in this role. Thank you very much.

MM: What would you say your legacy will be as you step down as mayor?

EA: I am frankly uncomfortable with the term legacy with respect to holding office as I believe that legacies are best determined by those whom you share the most with in life; family and good friends. Every day you offer a hello, hold a door open for someone, visit an infirmed, mentor a kid, be a good neighbor you do something no elected official can do by edict or policy. I’ve had a front seat to see many things and help guide what I believe is one of the, if not the, best positioned cities in the upper Midwest for years to come. Many, many people deserve acknowledgement for their parts in this, and I hope my contributions to this end were seen as purposeful, earnest, intellectually sound and made with solid character.

MM: What are your plans for the future?

EA: I will probably need a little time to transition from being “on the go” frequently with a multitude of different considerations and concerns on my mind and reposition my energy toward more specific endeavors. I have a few irons in the fire that may materialize relatively soon.

I certainly plan to spend more time with family, friends and clients and look to make the most out of the many friendships I have made, particularly with legislators and other elected officials to work on some good things.

I have a much firmer basis now to work with than I did eight years ago, and I hope to lend this where it may be beneficial. Before you know it, I’ll be back “on the go” again but with more time in the boat in the plans!

MM: What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?

EA: Aside from catching a 54-inch muskie which I hold over my fishing partners’ heads, I won a collegiate foosball tournament representing MSU and was voted the best dancer of my graduation class. Ask me to bust a move, and I just might!

Also, I am a better fantasy football manager than a certain MSU professor and Chief Deputy of the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office. Much better.

Lastly I was the “detective” trying to determine the secret sauce recipe that makes Jake’s Pizza great in their television ad campaign 25 years ago. It only made sense that I would follow Sarge Carstensen in becoming mayor when you think about it.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 17

Y T R I D JOBS! In every community, there are brave men and women who do the jobs that would make some of us cringe

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By Robb Murray | Photos by Pat Christman and Robb Murray

is name was Terry. And as lovable as he was, Terry’s reputation was the kind that kennel cleaners still talk about. When a discussion of dirty dogs and legendarily messy kennels comes up, Terry’s name is the first one discussed at the Blue Earth Nicollet County Humane Society.

Terry was a coonhound. And we’ll let Kat Masberg tell you about him.

“There was one time when I started, we had a dog, who has since been adopted, he was not potty trained and he had really bad diarrhea when he got here, and it was – sorry, it’s graphic – there was poop, like, caked on the walls, all over the floor, and I’d probably spend like half an hour cleaning just that one pen.

“That was pretty gross. That was when I first started.

And he was a longer resident, he was here for quite a while. Man. And he would like to jump on you, too, so 18 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

he’d get poop all over your scrubs and everything. I’d have to clean his pen first, then go change, then do everyone else’s. He was a coon hound. His name was Terry.”

Such is life at BENCHS. They’re doing great work, work that needs to be done. But anyone who has ever had a pet knows, some of the time they’re cute and fluffy, and some of the time they leave you with some mess. BENCHS’s animal care technicians are just a few of the folks in our community who have dirty jobs to do. While some go to work in offices and wear suits and fancy shoes, others do just the opposite. Whether they’re chasing bats out of attics or digging in the bowels of a car engine, we found a handful of people who do the dirty work, but you’ll never find them complaining. Quite the opposite, actually, they love what they do (or at least the reasons they do it).

Diane Phillips removes litter boxes from the Cat Cabanas at the Riverside Regional Pet Shelter.

(Below) Laundry piles up every day at the shelter.

Poo patrol

Think about the mess your dog creates. Now, multiply that by 100, and you’ll understand how keeping BENCHS clean can be a full-time job.

Mikayla Miller is down the row of kennels from Masberg. She’s pushing a mop speaking in cute tones to all the barking adoptables.

Miller walks calmly down the row of dogs, and as she passes each kennel, a cacophony of barks follows.

“Looks pretty glamorous!” a snarky visitor says.

“It is very glamorous,” Miller says, trying not at all to hide her sarcasm.

When asked about her preferred method of removing feces from the dog pens, she smiles.

“Pooper scooper and mop,” she says. “Then you have your explosive puppies where there’s poop everywhere.”

In short, she says, you do what you have to do to get it clean.

“Scrape, mop, let it soak,” she says. “I like saving puppy kennels for last because they’re the

poopiest.”

Laurel Viera, manager at BENCHS, says the dirty aspect of working there is something that comes up during job interviews.

“We have people who come in and work for a day or two and say, ‘I can’t do this,’” Viera says.

“When I first started, four years ago, there was a time when literally

every dog was sick with diarrhea, and it would take me and Josh until 1 o’clock to clean just the dogs. Bad diarrhea, and then they jump around so it’s all over the walls.

And it’s stinky. Horribly stinky.”

All the dogs had caught the same bug, she said. It’s a common phenomenon at animal shelters.

“And it went on for weeks,” she MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 19

said. “It was horrid.”

Then there’s the laundry.

“It never ends, and that’s pretty nasty too because they poop on it, pee on it, throw up on it. All kinds of nasty stuff!” she said.

It’s also a dangerous job.

Viera shows a scar on her arm, a badge of honor to an animal shelter worker. It came from a dog.

But dog bites, she says, aren’t nearly as bad as cat bites.

“Cat bites, if it’s a deep puncture and anywhere near a joint, we send them up to the hospital right away for antibiotics,” she said. “Puncture wounds from cat bites tend to get infected real easy. There was a gal at (a vet hospital in Mankato) where a cat bit her on her hand and she went into the hospital and took care of it and then within, like, 24 hours her flesh was starting to come off. So it can be pretty nasty.

So yes, cat bites are the worst.”

Also, it’s not uncommon for shelter workers to contract ringworm. Which is, like, gross.

Batman

Mike Coughlan climbs into the bucket of his boom truck and pushes the “up” button. Slowly, the bucket ascends. With a glue gun in his grip, he steers the bucket close to the roof’s ledge and begins the hunt.

What’s he hunting for, exactly?

“I’m looking for bat poop right now,” he shouts down.

He’s also looking for crevices big enough for a bat to crawl in and set up shop.

And let’s face it: nobody wants bats in their house. As much as we’ll concede the fact that bats do good work by keeping the mosquito population in check, no one wants these environmental do-gooders crashing on their proverbial couch.

So when that happens, we call a guy. And in Mankato, more often than not, that guy is Coughlan.

Coughlan owns American Pest Control in Mankato. He’s an exterminator. A pest control expert.

A guy who’s not afraid to get dirty.

He doesn’t get scared by a little guano. You won’t find him running in the other direction when your house has a bed bug or centipede infestation. When others run out of termite-infested houses, Coughlan runs in. When ants build a colony in your house, Coughlan builds a plan to get them out.

Bugs and bats are his business.

20 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Mike Coughlan owns American Pest Control. He deals with cockroaches, centipedes, termites and, yes, bats.

It’s a dirty job, for sure. And Coughlan loves it.

As for these bats on this job, Coughlan says his plan is to get them out quickly and get them out alive. Let’s not forget: even though they don’t make great roommates, bats are beneficial.

“I don’t want to kill them,” he says. “And actually, you know, after the young ones are flying, that’s when I really want to do the job.

That’s part of being bat certified.

August is when the moms take off,” he says.

Which is true. Bats, it turns out, are mammals and close relatives to primates. They have one baby at a time (sometimes twins) and they’re

born all pink and cute and helpless.

They nurse from their mothers and, around August, as Coughlan said, mom and kid go their separate ways.

“They’re beneficial, eat insects,” he says. “Yeah, they’re intelligent little creatures. And they’re communal. A lot of times the guys will hang out in one group and the girls will hang out in the other and, you know, let the other moms nurse their babies and all that kind of stuff.”

In most bat cases, though, Coughlan doesn’t have to get too dirty. The same can’t be said, though, for some of the other jobs he’s done.

“I fumigate grain,” he said. “That is like … mold, green mold, and you’re going through it. You’re walking up the hill (of grain) and it’s like walking through mold. And it’s like quicksand and you go about half a step for every two steps that you go. Yeah, it’s just a lot of work.

And you’re probing and there’s deadly gas in there with PH3 (a toxic gas). So that’s a dangerous job doing grain fumigation. Back in the late 70s I was doing millions of bushels.”

Then there’s fleas.

“People ask me, ‘What’s the worst thing you do?’ It’s fleas,” he said. “People say, ‘Oh, I moved out two weeks ago because the fleas were so bad.’ And then you walk in there and your pants just turn brown because they’re hungry.

They want blood right now. And they just crawl up your your legs, you know, and I mean your your socks turn brown because they can play that game that quickly. You just say ‘Good job.!’”

Mr. Goodwrench

Bret Bauer is no stranger to workin’ dirty.

The National Guard veteran spent two tours in the Middle East driving a giant contraption designed to trip landmines. Yes, Bauer’s job in the National Guard, when he was deployed to Afghanistan, was to literally drive over and trip landmines.

“Basically if it involved moving dirt, that was us,” he says of that work, “so when you talk about dirty job, I mean, that’s a good definition.”

The North Dakota native is in Mankato, now, working as the newest mechanic at Miller’s Modern Garage. He and his wife moved to town when she got a job with Mayo Clinic Health System.

After that, he went door knocking at various repair shops and eventually got hired on with Miller’s.

And no matter how dirty the underside of an old pickup truck can get, Bauer, 24, says that’s the kind of place where he feels right at home.

“Doing some of the more handson dirty work — to me I couldn’t see myself doing anything but that,” Bauer says. “Just for a simple fact I grew up working on motorcycles with my dad and working on his old Camaro.”

He says his life’s work was clear

Bret Bauer isn’t afraid to get a little oil on his hands. Good thing, too; he’s a mechanic for Miller’s Modern Garage. to him at an early age when his grandfather gave him an old Briggs and Stratton engine that didn’t work. He was 9 years.

“He didn’t care if it got messed up or whatever. It didn’t run,” Bauer recalls. “I had it running about six hours after that. … I pulled it apart to see how everything worked and put it all back together.”

Bauer worked in a few different mechanic shops during and after high school. He even learned to do transmission work. His experience, both in and out of the military, is what got him his job at Miller’s, actually. (Fun fact: Bauer also worked as a welder, but he says he got tired of coming home with “black snot.”)

Bauer says his least favorite mechanic task is the common oil change. While it may be one of the

most important things a person can do for their car, the task’s repetitiveness and simplicity, he says, is kind of a drag. He’d rather be piecing back together someone’s transmission or digging through a carburetor.

Newer cars, obviously, aren’t as “dirty” to work with. It’s the older ones, the ones that leak stuff.

“Over time gaskets leak oil down and it cakes on, bakes on, and it gets all greasy,” he says. “I’ve had my arms from about here on downward completely black. …

Newer cars with less than 10,000 miles can be super clean. But if you get something that’s got 200,000 or 300,000 miles on it, it’s going to be dirty, nasty.” MM

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 21

DIY Halloween costume ideas, as modeled by the staff at Vagabond Village: (From left) Olivia Sirek as an 80s girl, Lily Hewitt as a 70s girl, Azelea Macho and Liberty McBride in workout attire, and Dwella King in a dance costume.

Hey GUISE!

Looking to do something a little more DIY this year for Halloween? We’re glad you asked Story by Diana Rojo-Garcia | Photos by Pat Christman

T

he pumpkin spice flavor has fully embraced us, and each day we inch closer to All Hallows Eve. Halloween is the time that allows people to dress up. It’s also the time of year that gives everyone the privilege to emulate a favorite character from a beloved children’s book, a superhero, or even take on 22 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

the guise of the most visually grotesque being.

Most importantly, it’s the opportunity to let those creative juices flow in order to recreate the look and persona of a favorite character — from Harry Potter to Pennywise.

However, a lot of the costumes out in the market are

pretty bland. Yeah, you could pick up that $60 Harley Quinn costume made from polyester, but what if we told you that you could make it yourself?

Even better yet, there’s a good possibility you could reuse the costume in your daily wardrobe.

DIY is definitely the best way to go for Halloween costumes.

Natalie Pierson, owner of the Mankato vintage shop Vagabond Village, says Halloween costumes don’t necessarily have to be precisely like the character.

“It can be close enough,” she said.

“The costume has a lot of the person’s personality.”

And, well, if the you’re the type of person who is looking to perfect every detail of a character, you should instead be doing cosplay, said Liberty McBride, Pierson’s intern.

But before we delve into the specially curated costumes by Vagabond Village and some tips on creating the most unique and envyworthy looks, let’s Dwella King as Lydia Deetz from the film “Beetlejuice.” Get this look with a black Hampton Niles dress, take a look at cardigan by Deb, choker necklace, black boots, older film camera. some of the most Don’t just take our advice, trending costumes of 2018 to get n Harley Quinn from 2016’s though. that Halloween costume idea “Suicide Squad” Pierson’s suggestion on finding generator going. Here are some of n Pennywise, from the most recent the best Halloween costume idea is the top hits found on the internet portrayal of Stephen King’s “It” scouring the internet for via Google and Pinterest: n Harry Potter’s series characters inspiration, and look for something n The 80’s (the era, of course) that resonates with your n Wonder Woman n Up and coming rapper, Cardi B personality … or something that is n The characters from the Netflix (skr, skr) the complete opposite. series n Emojis “Stranger Things,” especially She has hundreds of fashion Eleven books where she gets many of her MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 23

Top: More ideas: (From left) Liberty McBride as a cheerleader, Azelea Macho as a boxer, and Olivia Sirek as a Luchador.

Right: Lily Hewitt as Olive Oyl from the cartoon “Popeye.” Get this look with a vintage dress by Kollection Knits and Sailor boots by Underground Shoes. fashion advice from, but she says Pinterest, for example, is a great way to piece together the perfect costume.

Pierson and McBride agree that most of the articles for the costume are basic pieces that are typically a staple in everyone’s closet — t-shirts, blouses, pants. Some characters McBride has seen work for many people are cartoon

characters because of their basic wardrobe.

“Everyone understates simple costumes,” McBride said.

An easy place to start are costumes that are “era” themed.

Think the ‘50s or even the ‘90s.

“Anything that’s stereotypically from that era,” McBride said.

It could be as easy as a peasant top paired with a skirt for a pilgrim

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look, as Pierson suggested. Or even a button up shirt with a sweater and denim capri to pull off a paper boy.

The best advice for anyone looking for a DIY costume is to start early, Pierson said.

“Check out the small thrift stores that no one goes to,” she said.

More often than not, the smaller thrift stores receive hundreds of

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If the inspiration isn’t coming naturally or you become overwhelmed with how to piece together your outfit, Vagabond Village will be hosting themed dress up parties all month.

They’ll also help you curate an outfit from the store.

“Let us play dress up with you,” McBride said.

“Yeah, come play with us!”

Pierson said.

The most important thing, though, is to be creative.

“Don’t cop out,” McBride said.

“Who’s judging your costume, anyway?”

Featured looks include Lydia Deetz from “Beetlejuice,” a luchador (a person who competes in lucha libre wrestling), Olive Oil from “Popeye,” and a boxer. MM

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REFLECTIONS

By Pat Christman

P

eople always seem glad to see a monarch butterfly dancing around the backyard. Since 2014, the monarch’s habitat has been threatened by pesticides and a reduction of the plants so popular with the butterfly. The monarch’s scarcity hasn’t gone unnoticed in Minnesota during its migration to its winter habitat in Mexico.

It would seem the monarch is trying to make a comeback, at least in southern Minnesota. The skies anywhere near a stand of blazing star flowers seem filled with the orange and black fluttering of dozens of monarchs. It won’t be long when the butterflies will have moved on to their winter home, hopefully to return next year. MM

26 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 27

DAY TRIP DESTINATIONS: Taliesin

By James Figy

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wis., is one of the best examples of the architect’s unique style.

Travels in Taliesin W

Experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture at the home he built for himself

henever one of the nine remaining Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes in Minnesota goes up for sale, it makes the news — partly because they’re so rare, partly because they’re so spendy.

One St. Louis Park home hit the market at about $1.5 million in 2016, and this spring, another on Cedar Lake in Minneapolis listed at $3.4 million.

Getting into these houses requires deep pockets, but getting into the modernist architect’s sprawling estate in Spring Green, Wis., does not. Taliesin invites visitors to tour the property year-round to explore Wright’s 100-room, 24,000-square-foot home and other unique structures along the Wisconsin River.

“Guests are always surprised by how large Taliesin and the Taliesin estate is,” said Aron Meudt-Thering, communications developer for Taliesin Preservation.

“We have 800 acres and 7 different buildings designed 28 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

by Wright.”

Taliesin stands in the area where Wright’s Welsh ancestors settled and not far from the town where he was born in 1867. The estate is known as “the most complete embodiment of Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture,” according to the Taliesin Preservation website. This is the third version of Taliesin, built in 1925; two previous iterations were destroyed by fire.

The buildings at Taliesin represent different phases of Wright’s career from the 1890s to the 1950s. This includes the Romeo & Juliet Windmill completed in 1897, the Hillside Home School in 1903 and Tan-y-Deri, the home designed for his sister and brother-in-law built in 1907.

The Hillside Drafting Studio built in 1932 and Hillside Theater built in 1952 are part of a complex of buildings that housed the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and its Taliesen Fellows. The architecture students led

he innovated organic architecture techniques, he taught them to others.

He believed that “form and function are one,” meaning a building’s design should fit how it will be lived in.

“No house should ever be on the hill or on anything,” Wright wrote in his autobiography. “It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.”

From the mid-1930s onward, he subscribed to a style of architecture called “Usonian,” a borrowed term that means “of the United States of North America.” This style placed every aspect of family life in a home’s open center.

“Created for the emerging middleclass, post-Depression family, Usonian houses feel spacious despite their small floor plans. ‘Turning their backs’ on the street and opening up to the yard, the houses offer floorto-ceiling bands of glass with doors oriented to natural views that open onto private terraces,” the website states.

There are many other structures d e s i g n e d b y Wr i g h t a ro u n d Wisconsin, and besides Taliesin, there are eight other residences, schools, churches and offices on the Frank Lloyd Wright trail across southern Wisconsin. These can be viewed at WrightinWisconsin. org, but if you’re passing through Milwaukee, there’s one site where Meudt-Thering recommends stopping.

“The Burnham Street Houses are not to be missed,” she says.

“These are a fine example of Wright trying to design modest homes for everyday people.”

If you’ve got the time, Taliesin offers a four-hour tour that hits just about every corner of the compound.

tours of the Hillside Home School to practice talking to the public about design, Meudt-Thering said.

The newest structure is the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center.

Designed to be the Ridgeview Terrace restaurant and office space, it was finished in 1967, after Wright’s death in 1959 brought construction to a halt.

Most tours explore different parts of the large estate, focusing on the hillside area or the home itself, and few allow children under the age of 10. The only tour that visits every structure is four hours long.

Reservations should be made in advance, and accessible tours can also be arranged with a few weeks’ notice.

With nearly 25,000 visitors from 25 countries in 2016, the Taliesin Preservation staff prepares for guests who are experts on Wright and those who know next to nothing about his legacy, according to Meudt-Thering.

“Our tours are designed for the novice traveler, but those with a deep knowledge of Wright and his work always walk away from the tours learning something new they didn’t know before,” she said. “We have a historian on staff who is constantly fact-checking and training our tour guides so they have the most accurate information possible.”

Wright designed more than 1,100 structures across the United States during his career, and as

IF YOU GO:

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S TALIESIN Where: 5607 County Road C, Spring Green, WI 53588 When: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily from April-October, but tour times vary Admission: Prices range from $7 for children under 10 on the Hillside Tour to $100 for the ages 21 and up Taliesin at Twilight tour Visit taliesinpreservation.org for more information MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 29

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Deep Valley Book Festival Keynote Author

offers chance to interact with authors and readers

Lorna Landvik

L

By Rachael Hanel

orna Landvik, a writer and comedian who is headlining this year’s Deep Valley Book Festival and Gala, says getting out and mingling with fellow writers and readers serves as the perfect antidote to the solitary time it takes to write.

“It’s great to be out among people and tell stories, to entertain and to illuminate those who want to hear about my own writing process,” she says.

Landvik will perform at the Readers and Writers gala, held 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, at the Mankato Event Center. She also will be on hand for the book festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 13, also at the Event Center. The free book festival also features a return appearance by beloved Minnesota author Faith Sullivan, who headlined last year’s Deep Valley Book Festival.

Tickets for the Friday night gala are $40, which provides admission to Landvik’s performance as well as an appearance and live sketch by noted historical illustrator David Geister. Geister’s sketch will be raffled off at the end of the event. Attendees will also get hearty appetizers, wine and tea tastings, mingling with other book lovers and music by Mankato duo The Frye.

The gala is a fundraiser for the book festival and keeps the Saturday event free for the public.

Landvik has found widespread success as both an author and performer. She’s the author of acclaimed novels such as Patty Jane’s House of Curl, Oh My Stars and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons.

Minnesota has something special going on in terms of the number of people who appreciate literature and the number of writers who call the state home.

“Something’s in the water, and we have a lot of water in this state,” Landvik says.

She says she’s proud of Minnesota’s literary landscape.

“Our citizens value reading, they value theater, they value the arts. That makes Minnesota a real shining jewel among states. It’s a very special state that has always valued the power of art.”

Landvik, a Minnesota native, lived for several years in California as she pursued a career in comedy. It’s

30 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Keynote Illustrato r

David Geister

those comedic roots that come out in her performances. She’s known for her regular appearance at Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, where she makes margaritas on the stage as she improvises based on ideas shouted out from the audience. Gala participants could expect something similar, sans margaritas.

Like Landvik, Geister enjoys talking with literature lovers at events like the gala and book festival. Because of the historical nature of his work, he also finds himself connecting with fellow history enthusiasts.

“Literature and history are joined at the hip,” he says.

“The best history books are not just a recitation of numbers and facts and dates. The best ones are the well-written stories.”

At the book festival, Geister and his wife, author Pat Bauer, will appear in historical costume and read their children’s book, B is for Battle Cry. They bring props and other costumes and ask for audience participation.

“Children or adults, it doesn’t matter. We give them a canteen or throw a jacket on them or a shawl and have them act out various scenes from the book,” Geister says.

Geister is happy to answer questions from book festival attendees about history or writing or the illustrating process.

“I’m always happy to give advice and point people in the direction of various organizations that support writers and illustrators,” he says. He also offers visits to his studio in Minneapolis to help people demystify the artistic process.

“I’m genuinely interested in nurturing that desire, that talent and hope that someone will want to pick up the mantle,” he says.

For Landvik, the gala and book festival marks a return to Mankato, where she visited the Betsy-Tacy houses years ago.

“I loved it. It was so fun to compare how you see things in imagination to what you see in real life. The big hill was so vivid in my imagination, and in reality it came pretty close to that.”

Landvik is excited to once again be among people who understand the power of stories.

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“We are living in such tumultuous times. Anytime you can gather with likeminded people who understand how stories bring us all together is great,” she says.

•••• Tickets for the gala can be purchased online at http://www. deepvalleybookfestival.com or at these Mankato locations: Blue Earth County History Center (424 Warren St.) or the Free Press (418 So. 2nd St). Tickets purchased online will be waiting for you when you arrive at the event. Tickets should be purchased by Oct. 5.

The free book festival on Oct. 13 features more than 40 authors and exhibitors. Attendees can also attend main stage events as follows: 10:30 a.m. mystery writers panel; 11:30 p.m. Shelley Tougas’s program on Laura Ingalls Wilder; 12:30 p.m. Faith Sullivan presentation; 12:30 p.m. Young Writers’ and Illustrators’ awards; 1 p.m. Authors from the Past panel; 1:30 p.m. David Geister and Pat Bauer performance; 2:30 p.m.

Lorna Landvik presentation; 3:30 p.m. drawing and raffle winners.

There also will be a children’s activity and reading room and a used book sale.

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THEN & NOW: “Nordic Bazaar”

By Bryce O. Stenzel

Bethlehem Lutheran Church’s

“Nordic Bazaar”

B

ethlehem Lutheran Church’s annual “Nordic Bazaar,” (first Wednesday in November) has been a long-standing tradition in the Mankato area; to the point that so many generations of people have grown up with it, that many don’t even know for sure when, or where, it began.

The first Nordic Bazaar was held on Oct. 23, 1919, shortly after the merger of three, smaller Norwegian Lutheran congregations (Our Savior’s, Trinity and Le Sueur Lutheran) merged to form “Bethlehem Lutheran Church.” This would not have happened at all had it not been for the interest of uniting several local synods together to form the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America, two years earlier.

Individual congregations within those synods were encouraged to consolidate themselves into larger units, as well. On Sept. 11, 1919, the Bethlehem Ladies’ Aid voted to hold a bazaar with supper on Oct. 23. The menu for the 1919 bazaar gathering consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes, cabbage salad, apple pie and egg coffee (a concoction that involved placing a raw egg into the coffee grounds when boiling—the result was a richer, smoother coffee, in which the sharpness and the bitter taste from 32 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

the grounds was removed).

This menu became standard bazaar fare for many years afterward. Proceeds from the $.35 per plate supper, as well as from the sale of handiwork, Christmas items, centerpieces, canned goods, and Scandinavian baked goods netted $160.88, and were donated to the Mission Outreach.

The inaugural bazaar was considered such a success that it was decided to make it an annual event. The first annual Bethlehem Nordic Bazaar was held on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1920, beginning the longstanding tradition of holding it on the first Wednesday in November. With just a few notable exceptions (in 1991, for instance, the Bazaar was held on a Saturday, so more working people could attend — this was not successful — although the tradition of the “mini bazaar” on the Sunday following the main one evolved from it), the Bazaar remained on Wednesday.

It also appears that since the early years, most of the ladies’ units (circles) had a booth at the bazaar and sold such things as: handiwork aprons, Scandinavian pastries, Christmas items, flowers and centerpieces. That tradition survives to the present. There were only two years where the bazaar was cancelled completely: 1942 (WWII) and

2016 (when the current church building was being remodeled).

In 1943, the supper portion of the event was cancelled, due to a sugar shortage; however, the ladies’ circles still served cake and coffee from 3-6 and 7-9 p.m. Beginning in 1953, the Ladies’ Aid was replaced by the Womens’ Guild and the ladies’ units became, officially, ladies’ “circles.”

Another major change came in 2006, when a Bazaar Committee was elected to be in charge of the event, rather than co-chairs, which had been used previously.

It is interesting to note that the first time the Annual Supper and Bazaar (as it was called) was held in Bethlehem’s “new” sanctuary, at the corner of Second and Liberty streets (not to be confused with the current structure, built in 1967-68) was on Dec. 12, 1924. Six hundred tickets were sold @ $.50 per plate, for three settings (5, 6, and 7 p.m.) The menu consisted of roast beef, meatballs, mashed potatoes, cabbage salad, baked beans, beet pickles, coffee and apple pie.

This raises the question: Where was the bazaar held between 1919 and 1924, before Bethlehem’s congregation had its own building?

Likely, it was held either at Our Savior’s, Trinity, an offsite location or alternating sites, since the Le Sueur Lutheran Church was located seven miles south of Mankato. Regardless of its location, the overall success of Bethlehem’s Nordic Bazaar in its earliest years set the bar for the tradition of excellence it still enjoys.

What makes it so special is seeing workers in their Scandinavian costumes; watching people make lefsa, flatbrod, krumkaka, and other delicacies; and being able to purchase these as well as rosettes, sandbakkels, candy, breads, used jewelry, books, and handiwork to take home.

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A special “thanks” to longtime Bethlehem members, Eunice Sassenberg and Ginger Erlandson for their assistance in providing source material and photos for this article.

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The man with the golden voice Mike Sullivan, the ‘Voice of the Mavericks,’ has been telling us who scored for 19 years Story by Robb Murray | Photos by Pat Christman

W

hen Mike Sullivan was in 10th grade, he remembers grabbing an old reel-to-reel tape recorder and, with his brother and a few buddies, they’d go around just … recording people.

Like, just for fun. Asking them questions. Recording their answers.

“We would do anything when we’d get a tape and we’d have a grand time with it,” he says. “We’d come up to people and they didn’t know we’re going to make them comment on something. We thought we were just hilarious.”

And occasionally, Sullivan (known by friends and coworkers at KTOE radio as “Sully,”) while his friends were playing old school box hockey, he would pretend to do sports play-by-play. Making up names or using the names of professional players, he’d do a running commentary while friends slapped a little plastic puck around a pretend hockey rink.

34 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

And then, as is often the case when a parent notices their kid is good at something, Sullivan’s dad made a suggestion. He told his son he should consider a career in broadcasting.

“I think you’d be pretty good at it,” his dad told him.

Recalls Sullivan, “And that sort of stuck in the back of my mind.”

This month, as the Minnesota State University men’s hockey team begins is 2018-19 campaign, Sullivan’s voice will once again be in the car radios and home hi-fi systems of hockey fans (for the record, he also handles broadcast duties for Moon Dogs games, Maverick football and other sports). Sullivan, the radio voice of the Mavericks, has been broadcasting the games for 18 seasons (this will his 19th). Despite a health scare that nearly threatened his career a few years ago, Sullivan is still going strong at 64.

Growing up in the late 1950s and early 1960s,

Sullivan was watching the world change. He says he Sullivan says no part of his job is more important, watched rock ‘n roll “kick down the door” of the music though, than the relationship and trust he builds with world, and saw the Beatles on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” his listeners.

Getting into a career that brushed shoulders with Sullivan takes that role seriously. He says he famous people, with musicians, with newsmakers understands that, for many fans, he’s their connection didn’t seem like a bad idea, so he did some to the team. It is through his voice that many get the research. Turned out one of the best information they need to be angry, schools in the country for excited, confused, elated learning the art of (sometimes all of those, all “Over the blueline, broadcasting at the in the same game, even Blueger out front, turns and shoots time, Brown Institute, the same period, was just down the maybe even the same — THEY SCORE!!! THE MAVERICKS road. shift!) He understands WIN IT IN OVERTIME ON A GOAL So Sullivan followed that telling someone his father’s advice and, when a goal is scored in

BY TEDDY BLUEGER!” after graduating from De an athletic event isn’t earth LaSalle High School in shattering; but nurturing a Minneapolis, he enrolled at Brown. fan’s relationship with a team they But it wasn’t easy. Sullivan says the program had love is meaningful in a world where people look for some built in “weeding out” periods designed to get rid escape and long to be a part of something. To the fans of people who weren’t cut out for broadcasting. And of a sports team, the act of following their wins and there really wasn’t any other good way to learn to do losses and learning about the players is important to play by play other than actually doing play by play. But them. And Sullivan understands his part of that grand instead of sending students to Twins or Vikings games, drama. they were sent somewhere a little less glamorous: His first time doing play by play for hockey was for men’s softball, 98th and Nicollet in Bloomington. an Austin, Minn. high school game. Eventually a “The first night we went there I told the other two United States Hockey League team came to Austin, the guys I was with, ‘Hey, I’ll go ahead and get the lineup,’” Austin Mavericks (which would later become the he said. “So I went down to the park and I asked one of Rochester Mustangs) and he broadcast those games, the guys, ‘Hey, can I get your starting lineup?’ and the too. guy said ‘Yes, but we’re short in left field if you want to “So that’s where I kind of cut my teeth for hockey,” go play.’”

Sullivan said. “And then it’s like anything else: The Instead of playing, Sullivan did his broadcasting and more you do the games, the better you get.” turned it into his instructor.

Still, there are times when hockey isn’t an easy beast “We made up stats, we made up stories about the to tame. The game is fast, and there are many names guys, and I remember the teacher goes, ‘Where did and numbers to memorize. Following the puck is one you get all this stuff? It was just great!’ And I said, thing; following the puck and knowing the names of all ‘Well, we made it all up,’ and he goes, ‘Well it helps the players is quite another. And speaking of that puck: quite a bit.’”

It’s little, and it can be difficult to spot sometimes, That may have been the beginning of the Sullivan we especially when there’s a scrum in front of the hear today. His broadcast style is like a combination of goaltender, and if that’s happening, there’s a decent follow-the-puck precision and tons of backstory and chance the puck will go into the net, which means an context — context rich with the experience and wisdom announcer needs to be ready to for that all important of a guy who has followed the team for nearly two goal call. decades. He’s been there during the lean years, “You’re part of a live event people to turn on the years when the Maverick hockey team radio to hear; you’re a connection to fought to stay out of last place. it,” he said. “It’s kind of like the And he’s been there during old ‘Star Trek’ or Spock “And C.J. Suess picks it the heyday, when the doing the mind meld. … up with a man to beat. Here’s team was ranked No. 1 I’m putting my hand on in the nation. He rides Sueuss, gearing in off the left wing, C.J. the event. I’m the with the team on their channel.” in on goal, the backhander, HE SCORES!!! Sullivan says he away games, gets to know the players and really became aware of There it is, shorthanded goal with one just coaching staff. how important that second left on the Maverick “Traveling in the planes, connection is when the trains, automobiles or buses. games began streaming penalty kill!”

You get to know everybody and online. they know you. I don’t know the best “Up until that point, you were word to describe it. It has a family feel. There’s no confined to the range of the broadcast towers,” he doubt about it. You learn to care for these people and said. “And that was your audience. Usually parents and they feel like family to you and you’re interested in fans, whatever, maybe a couple towns over. But when what they do and what becomes of them after they the (streaming started) I had people come up to me at leave here. And I’ll say that the people associated with the Verizon Center and they’d look at me and I’d never MSU are just the best. I mean they’re not just great seen them before in my life. And I’d kind of look at coaches, but great people, and it’s a privilege to be a them and they’d ask who I was. And I’d tell them. And part of that.” they’d say, ‘Yeah, we listen to you. I’m so and so’s MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 35

though.

“That was the first time I appreciated what an injured player goes through when they’re out of the lineup for a while,” he said. “It’s a lonely feeling.

You’re kind of off to the side. And I remember talking to a couple of the injured guys. We were joking, calling each other spare parts, because that’s what you felt like: a spare part. And those guys eventually all got back into the lineup. And I was the last of the spare parts. And then it finally came at the big series against Ferris State. … I was primed and ready to go.”

As a sports guy, Sullivan likes to talk stats on the air. But there’s one state he won’t mention, and it’s very meaningful to him. The other day, while getting his stats ready for a Maverick football game, he wrote down the number 248.

“This week written down my my sheets will be number 248,” he says, referring to the number of games he’s broadcast since his surgery. “Because I don’t take it for granted. I don’t take it for granted. And hopefully that all remains in the rearview mirror.”

MM

parents from British Columbia.’”

There was a time, though, when no one heard Sullivan’s voice. It was 2013, and Sullivan had been experiencing some hoarseness in his voice.

“That’s a bad bad thing for a radio guy,” he said. “That’s your bread and butter.”

Voice problems, he said, aren’t uncommon for people who make their livings with their voice.

Usually it goes away with rest. This one, however, persisted.

He found himself unable to finish a Maverick football game one night, and decided to get help. After doctors in Mankato couldn’t diagnose the problem, Sullivan went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where they found a cyst beneath his vocal chords. When surgeons went in to remove it, they found it was larger than they’d thought, which lengthened Sullivan’s rehab time.

He wasn’t able to talk for several days, as talking could damage the surgery area. A week later, he went to work. He still couldn’t talk, but he could do some of the off-air work his job requires. And he was doing voice rehab at Mayo. He was itching to get back behind the mic,

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Enjoy!

— Robb Murray, Associate Editor, Mankato Magazine

southern mn style

eave it to Northfield, right?

I mean, first of all, they’ve got one of the cutest downtowns in Minnesota, nestled as it is between two of the best small private colleges in the country (St. Olaf and Carleton). Also, it’s a town rich with history, and not just any history, cool history. It’s the place where the James-Younger gang, a band of outlaws who swung through Minnesota when outlaws swinging through states was a thing, tried to rob the bank in town and were foiled. Cool, right?

Well, now you can throw in the fact that they’ve got (in addition to great schools and quaint shops) a pair of breweries within walking distance of each other, each offering quality brews.

Our beer writer, Bert Mattson — owner of the famous Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul, accomplished chef and beer connoisseur — took a day trip to Northfield and gives us his review this month in Food, Drink & Dine.

And in a bit of a twist, our wine writer, Leigh Pomeroy, who was all but officially done with being our wine writer, is back! He and his wife took a trip to France where they tried ALL THE WINES. This month’s column is his first dispatch since returning stateside.

Oh, and we’ve got TONS of ideas for DIY cookies, just in case you want to do something creative in the kitchen this month but you have zero skills.

food, drink & dine

Breweries, French wine, DIY cookies

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 37

Food

food

By Amanda Dyslin

southern mn style

Easy can be cute, too Halloween cookies that will ‘wow’ with just one tool in your arsenal:

S

the icing eyeball

o, we all know that one person who brings the absolutely

pristine cookies to the party

painted with royal icing spider webs and intricately cutout jack-o-lantern faces.

38 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

T h e re i s n ’t a cookie cutter in the civilized world that can make a cut that small and precise, you think. This chick had the NERVE to use an X-Acto knife and put her plate of wonders next to my “Well, at least they taste good”s.

Enough! It’s time to take stand.

And the key, my friends, is to fake it till you make it with one super easy shortcut that will wow in a variety of different ways. (And, honestly, if this is too much for you, just throw in the towel and buy some store goodies, hon’).

Here it is: the icing eyeball. And here is the trick you’ll need to know as we go along: Fill one corner of a Ziploc bag with white icing and cut the tip. Fill one corner of another Ziploc bag with black icing and cut the tip about half as small as you cut the tip of the first bag.

Squeeze out a thumb tack size blob of white icing and push flat. Squeeze a tiny dot of black icing right in the center of the white blob. There you have it! An eyeball! And just wait until you see what you can do with this one-trick-wonder. …

Spooky Spiders

We’ve all got a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. Make whatever kind you prefer, and when they are cooling, press a mini Reece’s cup top down into the center.

Using your black icing bag (or brown is fine, too), on one side of the cookie, draw four lines starting from the base of the Reece’s cup to the edge of the cookie. Draw four other lines on the opposite side of the cookie (these are the spider’s legs).

Using your eyeball technique, make two eyeballs at the front of the cookie along the ridged edge of your Reece’s cup (these are the spider’s eyes).

Voila! Tasty spiders!

Little Monsters

Let’s start with the simplest one.

Whip up your favorite sugar cookie recipe (the chewy kind, not the flatfor-decorating kind). If you prefer chocolate, go with a basic chocolate cookie recipe.

If you elected for a chocolate cookie, just bake them up as you normally would. If you chose chewy sugar cookies, you can separate the batter into three different bowls and add a different food coloring to each so that you end up with green, purple and orange cookies for Halloween.

Once baked, simply add your eyeballs all over the tops of the cookies. They instantly look like google-eyed monsters.

Eyeball Cookies

Now we’re getting meta … drawing an eyeball on an eyeball to create an eyeball. It’s a whole thing. But it’s simple, I promise.

Bake up a batch of red velvet cookies and dust with powdered sugar, making sure the red of the cookie can be seen in the cracks and crannies of the chewy cookie.

To make an even spookier eye, use red icing instead of white, and blob a dime-size circle onto the center of your cookie and push to flatten. Add a black iced dot in the center of your red dot, and you’ll be sure to have the creepiest cookie at the party: blood-shot eyes staring back at that X-Acto knife baking goddess. Bwahahaaaaaa!

Happy Halloween!

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 39

Wine & Beer

wines

By Leigh Pomeroy

A

Vive la France!

southern mn style

fter taking a couple of months off — and being roundly criticized for it — I’m back. Et oui! I have a lot to say.

A confession: Since my last article I have been to France. And, strangely enough, I’ve returned, because I could have stayed there much, much longer.

Eschewing Paris, using it only as an arrival and departure point, Gretta and I began our trip on a Sierra Club expedition canoeing and kayaking on the picturesque Dordogne River, a placid, shallow, clear ribbon of water that meanders through lush countryside. Along the way we visited tiny, premedieval towns plastered to steep cliffs topped with castles dating back to the 12th century and earlier. All the construction is from local stone.

When not on the Dordogne, we explored the local cave art drawn and sculpted by the area inhabitants some 10 to 40 thousand years ago.

The river journeys were fun and the cave art educational, but for me there were the meals.

Dinner was always three courses, beginning with the entrée (first course), then the plat (main course) and culminating with the dessert. And the wine — you figured I’d get there at some point — always local.

Whites, rosés and reds from Bergerac, Pécharmant, Montravel and Duras.

The whites are made from sauvignon blanc and semillon; the rosés and reds from merlot, malbec, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc.

We bought the wines by the bottle in restaurants that did not sell by the carafe, choosing at least one of each color for our group of 13 to satisfy everyone’s taste. In restaurants that offered house wines by the carafe, we chose those, and they were almost equally as good. In the ancient and picturesque town of Carennac

40 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

at Hotel Fenelon, a relatively simple auberge with a lovely pool — I’m a water kind of guy — I was picturing that the carafes of white, rosé and red would come from small barrels behind the bar. Mais non! It was all box wine, yet it was splendid indeed — fresh, vibrant, crisp, dry and perfect with our meals of stuffed duck neck or warm Cabécou goat cheese salad, confit of duck leg or cep mushroom omelette. No doubt it came from the local wine co-op.

Speaking of co-ops, cooperativeproduced wines from France, as well as from Italy, Spain and other parts of Europe, are universally well made, often excellent, and always a good value.

These wineries, built and owned by growers who deemed it best to pool their grapes into a single production facility, show the strength of farmers working together.

In the Dordogne, we almost always ate at the hotels where we stayed, all family owned.

And the restaurants offered enticing local delicacies like fois gras (fatted goose liver), saumon frais mariné à l’aneth (fresh salmon with dill), magret de canard sauce moutarde violette de Brive (duck with mustard violet sauce), feuilleté de chèvre et poitrine fumée avec une salade de noix (goat puff pastry and smoked breast with a walnut salad) and ris de veau frit dans une marmite, sauce lactée à l’oignon et gratin de macaroni au cantal (veal

sweetbreads fried in a cooking pot, onion milky sauce and macaroni gratin with Cantal cheese).

These were just a handful of the choices, and I’m not even including dessert!

Almost as impressive but on a more modest scale were the lunches we enjoyed while visiting the area castles like Beynac and Castelnaud. Again, family-owned restaurants offering local foods, simpler than the dinners, and at modest prices. If you think you’ve ever had great French fries, forget it! Try those at Brasserie La Plage in Castelnaud. Unforgettable.

Our Dordogne trip ended in the city of Cahors (pronounced “core,” more or less) with a side tour to Château Lagrézette, a relatively new and thoroughly modern winery owned by Alain Perrin, whose family produces highly regarded wines from the southern Rhône, ranging from the ubiquitous and inexpensive La Vielle Ferme to the exclusive and highly sought out Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Cahors is synonymous with deep, brooding, long-lived red wines, but it also produces small quantities of rosé, both primarily from the dark, intense and tannic malbec grape.

(The winery offers some white, grown in the Dordogne from the viognier grape, an import from northern Rhône.)

The Dordogne was just the first leg of our France tour. Our next two legs — similar to a French meal: entrée, plat, dessert — took us to the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy, home of Pinot Noir, and to the Rhône, source of the great wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Hermitage, as well as the vast oceans of Côtes du Rhône.

We will visit those in subsequent articles. Can you be patient? À vôtre santé!

Leigh Pomeroy is a Mankato-based writer and wine lover.

BEER

By Bert Mattson

A tour of the Northfield breweries A t the end of August, Tallgrass Brewing Company announced they were suspending production indefinitely.

It’s said that Tallgrass expanded before the anomalous advance of neighborhood tap rooms. I’m torn.

I’m hoarding Buffalo Sweat like some folks did Hostess Cupcakes several years back. I simply adore tap rooms. Better yet when there’s a pleasant walk between them. This as the destination of a fall colors day trip? Get out!

Parking is free and ample in N o r t h f i e l d a ro u n d I m m i n e n t Brewing on Sunday at noon. The backdrop is collegiate, and the setting is historical — the garage of the attached armory building.

A spacious patio (dog noted) with a food truck port leads to floor-toceiling glass-paneled garage door facade. Orders are taken inside the door. It’s a friendly list for making a flight. Unstained wood and high ceilings spread with canvass manage the acoustics well. It’s a heavily windowed, sprawling space with varied seating. I take my flight to some low, cushioned seating around a coffee table. There’s tap coffee on the menu. Kombucha is offered, and Spring Grove Soda for the kids. It’s a deep list for anyone with a teetotaler in tow.

The description for Gateway Cream Ale jests “no need to raid dad’s fridge in the garage.” Spot on for a… selective friend. A friendly lady tells me they’re only open Thursday to Sunday, and fills me in on the Craft Beverage Festival, i n a d j a c e n t A r m o r y S q u a re , overlapping [Defeat of] Jesse James Days. A sip of Cannon Valley Pale Ale is citrus and pine, and rationally bitter. Aromas send me to the food truck. Jim Croce issues sound advice.

The West Coast Red IPA is the perfect step up from the Pale. Van Morrison.

Russell’s (food truck) nephew brings

me my fried Brussels sprouts and something called citrus-mayo: solid with the Pale, shines with the Red. The malt forward Kleines Dunkel finishes out a successful flight. Neil Young sings Looking Forward.

The river walk between Imminent and Tanzenwald Brewing Company is quaint with pretty plantings.

The outside of the building is an intriguing blend of glass, plate steel, brick and stone. Enter Tanzenwald past an intimate patio away from the drag. Three people greet me happily before I get to the bar. The staff is seasoned. There’s an open kitchen with a full menu, a Sunday deal on Bar Bites, and happy hour pricing. There is live music. The place is carefully curated. Rotating selections are chalked on planks suspended on railroad spike heads, a nod to watering services once done on sight and the adjacent railway.

Sepia photos on the wall flesh it out. Pressed copper panels, deep lacquer, and branch chandeliers lend a sultrier vibe. Maybe not as appropriate for the kids, this is the date destination.

I didn’t build this flight as well (ignoring advice). The Smithereen Hazy IPA, tropical and fragrant, was the beer of the excursion I especially longed for a pint of. I subscribed to the Funkydunk Sour Series. The clock ticking, I cut my cabbage pancakes short and vowed to return.

On that occasion, I’ll look up Chapel Brewing in Dundas, say a few words for Buffalo Sweat.

Bert Mattson is a chef and writer based in St. Paul. He is the manager of the iconic Mickey’s Diner. bertsbackburner.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 41

THAT’S LIFE

By Nell Musolf

It’s not my funeral I

don’t get a whole lot of invitations these days so I was more than slightly excited when one arrived in the mail not too long ago.

My excitement quickly evaporated when I opened the envelope and saw that it was an invitation for “Pizza and Preplanning” from a local funeral home. Up until that moment I thought nothing said “you are OLD” more than an invitation to join the AARP. I was wrong. Although I love pizza and free is my favorite four letter word, I didn’t go. I had something better to do that night. I can’t remember exactly what but I’m sure it was better—or at least not as depressing.

I know there are people who pre-plan their funerals, complete with the music they want played and the Bible readings they want read. True pragmatics, they’re all set for the Big Day and have tied up each and every loose end so as not to be a bother to their children or anyone else who might be involved with their final hurrah.

I find that admirable. I also find it very much not me.

I don’t want a funeral. I’d be lucky if maybe 20 people showed up and while I won’t be there to count noses, the thought of being unpopular at my last showing, so to speak, seems like one last cosmic slap in the face and one I’d rather not help plan, thank you very much.

Not that I’m keeping my head completely buried in the sand when it comes to the great hereafter. During a short-lived bout of maturity my husband and I considered donating our bodies to science, a noble and thrifty solution to the whole funeral problem if ever there was 42 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

one. We went so far as to get the necessary forms, filled them out, and stuck them in the filing cabinet with our wills. For a while we both felt quite competent as well as thrifty and noble. The feeling didn’t last. Mark was the first one to voice doubts over our plans.

“I’m not so sure I want to donate my body to science,” he said one evening after a beer or three.

“What do you mean?”

“Those papers we filled out donating our bodies to a medical school. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think I want to do it.”

“Come on. Medical science might have a gigantic breakthrough just by examining your brain.”

“They might also laugh at me.”

“You won’t be able to hear them,” I reminded.

He shook his head firmly. “You’re just being cheap.”

He was right so I got him another beer and changed the subject.

If we don’t give our bodies to science, we’ve agreed we don’t want to be buried. Which leaves cremation.

My parents both belonged to the Neptune Society, an organization that picks up your body wherever you happen to die, cremates you, and used to deposit the ashes in either the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, hence the organization’s name. I’m not sure why they changed their format but now they ship the ashes back to your loved ones, all for a very reasonable price.

That seems ideal except for getting the ashes back.

I don’t want Mark’s ashes. I don’t deal well with

anything remotely icky and having my husband’s ashes stored in the basement or attic or wherever he winds up being stored definitely falls under “icky.”

And if I go first, I can picture him doing something like putting the box holding my ashes on my recliner and talking to me while he watches television and hauling me to Christmas dinners and Easter buffets. I can’t do that to my kids.

I’d like to continue to put off dealing with pre-planning of any kind for as long as possible, but I know that isn’t realistic. My number could be up any day, a fact that becomes truer with each passing birthday. I’ve promised myself that by this time next year, provided I’m still here, my funeral plans will be set in stone, only not really because there won’t be a funeral to plan. But what to do with what’s left of me will be taken care of, paid for, and written instructions will be lying neatly next to my will. I just hope I get invited to another pizza party soon.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 43

GARDEN CHAT

By Jean Lundquist

It’s PUMPKIN season!

F

When it comes to these fall icons, timing and variety matter most

or some things, location, location, location is the issue. But when it comes to growing pumpkins for jack o’ lanterns and decorating, timing is everything.

Most gardeners go out as early as possible in the spring, plant our seeds and walk away with the garden planting done. And we go fishing.

However, if you want to have pumpkins ripen for Halloween and autumn décor, we need to pay attention to the timing.

Every seed packet includes information on “days to maturity.” It’s important to choose the date in September or October you want your pumpkins to be orange (or yellow or white or bumpy or green) and count backwards to find your planting date.

If you don’t, you could end up with ripe pumpkins in August. That’s fine for baking pumpkins, but may be too early if you expect ripe, firm pumpkins in September and October.

I always build in an extra week or so to account for adverse weather conditions that cut into growing days.

44 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Pumpkins are pretty forgiving, though, due to their thick walls.

When choosing a pumpkin, look for one without scratches that cut through the skin, as that wound will drain, and cause the pumpkin to wilt. Also, look for one with the stem still attached for the same reason.

One way to ensure your stem stays attached, is to cut the pumpkin from the vine with a knife or pruning shears, rather than just pluck it off the vine. Also, don’t treat the stem as a handle or a carrying aid.

The only time the stem should be a handle is when the top of the pumpkin is cut open for carving. Then, it’s handy to have it attached.

Some varieties keep their stems attached more easily than others. Connecticut field pumpkins and another variety called Wolf are two varieties that readily keep their stems. I’m sure there are plenty of others, but these are two I know about.

In fact, ignoring my own advice, I used to carry my Connecticut Field pumpkins around the yard by their

stems to place them at the base of poles, trees, and on the steps. But remember, do as I say, not as I do!

Some pumpkins grow to be pretty hefty. Generally, the more they weigh, the thicker the walls. The thicker the walls, the harder they are to carve. However, the thicker the walls, the longer they will last once carved. Carve your pumpkins a week before you plan to throw them out because they will be wilted.

It you want to grow bigger pumpkins, no matter what the variety, eliminate all but a few of the blossoms. Don’t cut the vines, as they will continue to feed the pumpkins that remain, but if you remove the blossoms, they pour all the energy into those one or two pumpkins, increasing the possibility you can grow the great pumpkin. Fertilizer doesn’t hurt, either.

All pumpkins are edible, however varieties that are intended for carving are not going to make good pies because of their texture and flavor. Smaller varieties of pie pumpkins make for better baked goods. They are also adorable when properly painted/decorated for fall décor.

One part of every pumpkin that is edible is the seed, or pepita.

Most seeds are quite flat and have a white outer hull. Inside, the seed is often green.

To roast the seeds, clean them off and dry them. Then in a bowl, add a little oil, and salt, garlic, or whatever spices you like. Put them flat on a cookie sheet, and roast in a low oven, about 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir often to prevent burning, and remove when done to your liking.

I love pepitas, but often decide after a while that the chore of taking the hulls off is not worth it.

Sometimes I eat the hulls (crunchy and not fun) or just give up and throw out the seeds.

There are varieties you can grow which have no hulls. There is the Naked Bear variety, a small, squat orange pumpkin. Another is the Kakai, an orange pumpkin with green ribs.

I’ve not yet grown either variety, but I found them as I’m already shopping for seeds to try next summer.

Enjoy pumpkin season!

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Jean Lundquist is a Master Gardener who lives near Good Thunder. gardenchatkato@gmail.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 45

YOUR STYLE

By Ann Rosenquist Fee

KEYC News 12’s Lisa Cownie, Tom Clements, and Kelsey Barchenger indulging my vision of a brave new newsroom.

Neo Newstyle So when did the news become a ladygun show?

W

e’re all watching a lot of television news right now, and I think it has us all thinking, when did news sets become a ladygun show? When and how did it become requisite for female news anchors to go sleeveless, while their manly counterparts continue to follow the same standards of neck-down exposure they always have, meaning that their silhouette is that of a suit jacket, not their personal shape at all, leaving us no way to judge how well they’re taking care of themselves?

Whereas we can damn well tell which lady-anchor is 46 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

and is not doing a good job with kettle bells and shower exfoliant and body oil.

Would we even want to see what it looks like the other way around? And, why? So we could email our local anchormen with reviews on their appearance, the way we let our anchorwomen know that whereas they looked fine last week, this week it appears they’re not getting much sleep?

True thing. Newswomen get a fair amount of unsolicited viewer mail about their appearance, far more

than newsmen. And to a degree, this makes sense, because looking the part has always been a part of the job. I mean think back. Think of any newsman, from back in the day, or now. You can’t say there was a “look,” ever, that distinguished him from a salesman or a businessman or a politicianman. Basically the look is just “the man.”

Whereas the anchorwoman look “was part of what we studied,” said KEYC News 12 morning anchor Lisa Cownie when we sat down for a hard-hitting interview about the evolution of this particular style.

“The shoulder pads, the hair… we could wear one of three blazer colors. Navy, green, black. And those (makes motion of round-neck no-collar blouse) shells.” Cownie’s first job was as a reporter at a small station in Quincy, Illinois, where after one emergency fill-in for a weekend anchor who didn’t show up, she was promoted to the anchor job. And you know what that meant.

“They sent me to get a haircut, a (makes motion indicating helmetshaped chin-length bob).”

Neither Lisa nor I could recall when or why the anchorwoman look went from blazers and bobs to sitting

up extra-straight with toned arms poking out of sleeveless shift dresses, plus shiny hair and shiny lips and some version of a smokey eye. We couldn’t figure out, either, if the new look suggests a healthy bodypositive separate-but-equal expressyourself zeitgeist, or if it points to something unhelpful to the cause (the cause of women respecting themselves, and expecting the same from non-women colleagues and loved ones and viewers). Like, a new version of showing cleavage?

Which is fine, if you genuinely feel like showing cleavage, but not fine if it’s requisite for anchorwomen-butnot-men in terms of credibility or ratings or both.

This whole epic question came to mind after I made a brief appearance on KEYC News 12 This Morning with Lisa and coanchor Kelsey Barchenger, to talk about arts events in the region. It was a live interview at 6:45 a.m., so the night before, I’d set about four alarms and also laid out my wardrobe. Which, my style instincts told me, absolutely had to be sleeveless. It wasn’t until later in the day, when I watched the video KEYC posted, that I realized Lisa and Kelsey weren’t following the same

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EMBRACE THE POSSIBLITIES OF TOMORROW.

CNN/Fox News/etc. style manual that had obviously dictated my tanktop-and-vest getup. They had both worn shirts with sleeves, and looked perfectly professional, and while my arms looked themselves looked fine, it was also a whole lotta skin compared to the two of them. And all I could think was wow, huh, visually speaking, I am the vulnerable one up there. On some basic visual predatorprey level.

I don’t know if this would have seemed the case, had it been me and two suited-up anchormen on screen.

In that case, I would’ve looked like women are supposedly supposed to look, right now, relative to men, on the news.

We have exactly one month until Sweeps — which, Lisa schooled me, is when station leadership and ultimately advertisers pay attention to who’s watching what, and when.

It’s possible they make changes accordingly. It’s possible you can make some zeitgeist-y noise during November, by emailing KEYC, or me, or someone, regarding your thoughts on the power and credibility dynamics in the photo above.

Also possible you can make no noise at all, about what anybody is wearing. Rather you could just consider the content of the local and regional and national and bigger stories our local real-people professionals are showing up every day to share with you, and do your best to celebrate what’s good, and cultivate more of that, and rise above the rest.

Ann Rosenquist Fee is executive director of the Arts Center of Saint Peter and a vocalist with The Frye.

She blogs at annrosenquistfee.com.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 47

NIGHT MOVES — Wow! Zone

By Diana Rojo-Garcia

Andrew Carson (left), 8, and Abe Carson, 10 play a racing game in the arcade at the Wow! Zone.

One stop shopping!

Mankato’s Wow! Zone Family Entertainment Center is great for date night or for just plain fun

M

y eyeglasses clink up against the glass of the rubber ducky claw machine located in the middle of the Wow! Zone, between the arcade games and the bowling alley.

The machine lures unsuspected victims to its hopes and promises of a guaranteed prize, but it’s been three minutes — I should have known that I wasn’t going to be able to get the coveted MineCraft rubber ducky. But I didn’t want to quit.

The machine’s sticker, brilliantly colored with a fun font, was encouraging — “Win a Prize Every Time!”

48 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

And gosh darn it — I will succeed.

If I don’t, I’ll just move along to the other highly addictive and slightly more satisfying game, Fruit Ninja. The swift motions of slaying fruit on the screen was almost enough to move on from the debacle.

That darn rubber ducky, though. He was still on my mind. nnnn

Henry Borgstrom throws his bowling ball down the lane at the Wow! Zone. Borgrstrom and others were part of a Minnesota State University fundraiser held at the Wow! Zone.

I know what you’re probably thinking.

“The Wow! Zone as a nightlife option?”

Unconventional, sure, but where does one even start? The venue obviously has arcade games and bowling. There’s also mini golf, food, adult beverages, live entertainment — it’s literally a one-stop shop for an astoundingly entertaining evening.

Nightlife in Mankato might have been altered by the partying culture. Don’t get me wrong, though — downtown Mankato has a lively atmosphere featuring patio games and live music.

However, there’s nothing quite like playing a few arcade games as an adult — sober or, y’know, after you’ve had a few.

But for those who aren’t necessarily looking for a night out on the town until bar close, the Wow! Zone offers the option for a conveniently located, easy and fun night. It also makes a great date night, like for example, Isaac Bahr and Lydia Culver.

This wasn’t their first stop of the night, but Bahr decided to take Culver to as many “dates” as he could in order fit in their limited time together.

“We try to get a bunch of dates in one day, and we ended up at the Wow! Zone,” Bahr said.

Although the couple were about to leave, Bahr mentioned they spent around $30 playing the games.

“I was trying to get her a prize, but we played games that didn’t give you points,” he laughed.

Despite the prize situation, Bahr said the Wow! Zone is an affordable date.

“I just wish there were more prizes,” he said. nnnn

“How much should I put in here?” I say, flicking the Wow! Zone card.

My husband and I looked at the pricing options on the ATM-looking machine. It was a no brainer — we decided on spending $20 which, by the way, gives you $3 extra.

The games vary from the traditional carnival games such as basketball shooting games to Skee Ball. There are some, though, that pique interest on the visual front with a massive glass and bright lights.

Pricing for the games is fair, too — $.60 to 1.50. (By the way, if you go in Monday-Friday from 4-7 p.m., you can get a $10 unlimited arcade card — no you don’t get points for prizes, but it’s still fun.)

Since my husband and I were high-rolling with $23 in our card, we dropped four bucks on the machine with a key that would “unlock” a prize.

We did not achieve that.

Disappointed, we walked around to find another game — how did we miss the massive screen walking into the building?

“Let’s play Space Invaders!” My husband exclaimed.

The game only was $3 for the both of us to play, and if there’s anything to cure a quarter-life crisis, Space Invaders is it.

Through some sportsmanship and a few yelps and semi-profane words, my husband and I completed each task.

It almost felt like I was a 9-year-old again. nnnn Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance (or time) to experience mini-golf, laser tag or bowling. It was a Saturday night, the same night there was a fundraiser MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 49

Ron Stanley looks over his 13-year old son’s Brian Stanley’s shoulder as the two played pool at the Wow! Zone on a Saturday evening. for the MSU bowling league and the Youth Pride Dance was taking place. Plus, we were having too much fun dropping money on games.

Needless to say, the place was packed and full of energy.

Jason Magnuson, a worker at Wow! Zone for a little over a year, said the place is typically busy, especially during the school year.

There are birthday parties, company events and specials that keep customers coming in, he said.

Especially on Thursday nights from 8-11 p.m. where there is bowling for $.99 and shoe rental for $2.99.

(Check up on their other weekly specials on their website, too. There’s a lot of great options.)

As far as night life, he says he typically sees it pick up earlier in the night before people head downtown.

“But there’s always something for everyone,” he said. nnnn Before we called it a night, and before I decided to drop another $20, it was time for redemption.

There were only a few bucks left on the card, and the rubber ducky was still calling my name.

I stomp over to the machine, ready to take my rightful ducky home. I swipe the card and begin strategically moving the claw over each duck. There was one in particular, a blue one on its side, that seemed like the right choice. It was easy enough, so I released the claw.

It clasped onto the side of the duck, and in the moment of excitement I celebrate … until I look back, and watch my duck tumble from the claw and into the sea of ducks. The claw swayed violently back to its 50 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

proper place, encouraging another round.

In my defeat, my husband took his turn and I decided to walk around the venue for a few minutes and agreed to meet in the restaurant.

I walked over to the table, and he’d ordered a combo platter of wings, cheese sticks and homemade tots.

After a humbling defeat, the food was comforting.

The waiter came back, and I ordered a well deserved Stella Artois.

Awaiting the food and beer, there was a hint of yellow behind my husband’s sleeve.

“How’d you even do that?” I was in awe — I was amidst the claw master.

“I just kept trying, and got it,” he said.

“Well deserved,” I said, taking a sip from my beer.

At least I got a beer.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: OCTOBER 2 Noah Hoehn 8 7:30 p.m. — Halling Recital Hall — Earley Center for Performing Arts — MNSU — Mankato — $15 general admission; $13 MSU students — mnsu.edu/music/events

2

Nobel conference concert 8 p.m. — Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall — Gustavus Adolphus College — St. Peter — free — gustavus.edu

4

Cirque du Crave 6-9 p.m. — The Capitol Room — 419 S. Minnesota Ave. — St. Peter — $700 table of 8, $75 individual — all ages — FeedingOurCommunitiesPartners.org

4-7

MSU Theatre presents: “The Music Man 7:30 p.m. — Ted Paul Theatre — MNSU — Mankato — $22 regular; $19 senior citizens (65 and older), children under 16 and groups of 15 or more people; $15 MSU students — MSUTheatre.com

5

Martin Zellar and the Hardways 7 p.m. — Mankato Brewery — 1119 Center St. — North Mankato — $10 advance — 21+ — mankatobrewery.com

5-6, 12-13

New Ulm’s Oktoberfest various activities and locations — newulmoktoberfest.com

Tami Morse and Tulio Rondón 7 p.m. — Trinity Chapel — Bethany Lutheran College — Mankato — $10 suggested donation at door — blc.edu/events

11

Good Thunder Reading Series: Nick White 10 a.m. workshop, Emy Frentz Gallery, 523 S. Second St. — 3 p.m. craft talk, First Congregational UCC, 150 Stadium Court — 7:30 p.m. reading, Room 245 CSU at MNSU — all events are free and open to public, gt.mnsu.edu.

11-14, 17-21 MSU Theatre presents:

“The Mousetrap,” 2 and 7:30 p.m. — Ted Paul Theatre — MNSU — Mankato — $16 regular; $14 senior citizens (65 and older), children under 16 and groups of 15 or more people; $11 MSU students — MSUTheatre.com

12

Authors and Appetizers Gala 5:30 p.m. — Mankato Event Center — 12 Civic Center Plaza — $40 advance, $50 at the door — deepvalleybookfestival.com

12

Gustavus Artist Series: An Evening with Artists from the Minnesota Opera 7:30 p.m. — Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall — Gustavus Adolphus College — $12 adults; $9 seniors and other students; $9 Gustavus faculty and staff; free for Gustavus students — gustavustickets.com or 507-933-7590

13

Schell’s Oktoberfest 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. — August Schell Brewing Company — 1860 Schell Road — New Ulm — $10 general admission; free for kids ages 12 and under — schellsbrewery.com/ events/annual-oktoberfest

17

Verizon Center presents: The Drifters, Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, And The Platters 7 p.m. — Verizon Center — 1 Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — $59.50, $49.50, $39.50 — verizoncentermn. com

23

6

Annie Mack with Anastasia Ellis 7:30 p.m. — Hooligans Pub — 1400 Madison Ave. — Mankato — $15 advance; $18 day of show — mnsu.edu/music/events

7

Basstory with David Ellefson (Megadeth) and Friends 7 p.m. — The What’s Up? Lounge — 118 E. Rock St. — Mankato — $15 advance, $20 at door — whatsuplounge.com

7

The OK Factor 7:30 p.m. — Halling Recital Hall — Early Center for Performing Arts — MNSU — Mankato — $12 General admission; $11 MSU students — mnsu. edu/music/events

25

Verizon Center presents: Randy Houser 7 p.m. — Verizon Center — 1 Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — $35, $27.50 — verizoncentermn.com

27

Erik Koskinen with City Mouse 7:30 p.m. — Hooligans Pub — 1400 Madison Ave. — Mankato — $15 advance; $18 day of show — mnsu.edu/music/events

Mankato River Ramble 7 a.m.-3 p.m. — Land of Memories Park — Mankato — $30-35 for adults; $45 after Oct. 4; $13-33 for groups of 4 or more; $15 for students ages 18-22; free for kids ages 0-17 — bikeriverramble.org MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018 • 51

FROM THIS VALLEY

By Pete Steiner

Mirror, mirror on the wall ... “...sometimes I can’t stand myself; it’s gonna take a whole lot of medicine, darlin’, for me to pretend that I’m somebody else!”

I

share with so many Americans the inability to resist rankings. Good and even great, don’t suffice. Thus as I perused Greg Duffy’s basement shrine to 50 years of rock and blues in Mankato (a topic profiled more extensively in an earlier edition of the Free Press), I couldn’t help asking, of all the superb musicians this town has produced, who’s the greatest? So we spin the wheel and play the game, but obviously, it’s a question that cannot be answered. Names come to mind, however: Jim McGuire. Dale Menten. Paul Durenberger. And one more, as I peak behind a door at a wall in Greg’s basement dedicated exclusively to a great singer-songwriterguitarist: Gus Dewey. nnnn He looks so young. They all do, of course, in posters and photos from 40 and 50 years ago. Gus’s high school portrait, sans his lion’s mane hair and beard, doesn’t seem to reveal the burning desire inside him to become one of rock’s great vocalists. (Don’t accuse me of exaggeration until you’ve listened to him sing “Let Me Down Easy” or Randy Newman’s “Guilty.” Success often isn’t so much about talent as it is about timing and circumstance.) Yet in his teens, Gus would reach the peak of his fame with the Gestures and “Run, Run, Run.” Greg Duffy produced a 50th anniversary celebration of the Gestures at the Kato Ballroom in 2014. (Of course, only two of the originals — Menten and Tom Klugherz — are still with us.) Their career had been jet-fuelled by the national success of “Run, Run, Run” in 1964. An unfortunate distribution problem with their Soma record label almost certainly prevented them from reaching an even higher level of success, but it didn’t prevent Klugherz and drummer Bruce Waterston from driving Corvettes — and Bruce was still in high school!

Even before the Gestures, Mankato had a long history of fine musicians — Spike Haskell, Leas Schwickert, Lowell Schreyer, McGuire, and Jerry Udelhofen were all national-caliber players. But the Gestures were transformational. My brother, Billy, of City Mouse and the Lost Walleyes, put it simply: “The Gestures were the reason we all decided to play in a band.”

52 • OCTOBER 2018 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

nnnn “There’s so many of these folks that are no longer with us,” Greg Duffy laments as he guides me past dozens of framed images. “Gus, Bruce, Lonnie (Knight), Jack (Marshall), Captain Don, Craig Black ... I think there’s 23 in all ... Danny Wessman just died. ...”

Captain Don was Bill Denison, the original drummer for City Mouse. As I wrote in this space several years ago, he was a character for the ages, including stints in the Haight in San Francisco at the height of “Flower Power,” and later as a dairy farmer in Missouri. Among musicians, he’s probably best known for his exit from City Mouse.

Playing a gig at the (unfortunately) long-gone Michael’s downtown, he laid down his drumsticks in the middle of a song, saying, “I can’t take it anymore!” He got up, walked out, and headed for San Francisco. nnnn Greg’s posters name quite a few once-thriving music venues that are no more, many victims of Urban Renewal in the ’70’s: the Rathskeller, the Hanson House, Friendlies.

One poster announces Don Scott and the Dust Bowl Blues Band playing the grand opening of the Burgundy Haus (now a city parking ramp at Front and Cherry.) Even more devastating than Urban Renewal was Disco, which replaced live bands at many venues for most of the 1980’s.

But then places like the What’s Up? Lounge and Red Sky began fostering a new generation of players and bands moving into the 21st century. Look at any Thursday Free Press entertainment guide, and it’s often hard to choose among many fine bars and coffee shops and restaurants featuring live music.

Mankato is once again, as Cowboy Bob Drengler has always liked to call it, “Music City Minnesota.”

Peter Steiner is host of “Talk of the Town” weekdays at 1:05 p.m. on KTOE.

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