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FEATURES

OCTOBER 2022

17, Issue 10

Pets!

We got more submissions than ever for our annual pets issue. So get ready for 20 pages of pooches, kittens, goats, turtles and more.

ABOUT THE COVER

Each year for our pets issue, we choose a reader-submitted photo. This year the cover model is the purrrfect Finn, owned by Wendy Allen of Mankato.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2022 • 3 Leslie Lloyd - Worf the water buffalo

From the

Avant Guardians Mirella Noeli Torres

Beyond the Margin Farmers, cows and hedge fund managers

Day Trip Destinations Amery, WI

Let’s Eat! Swiss & Madison

On Tap Brown Ales

Wine A visit to Alsace

Lit Du Nord: Minnesota Books and Authors From St. Peter to SLA

Comic Pumpkin carving

Ann’s Fashion Fortunes Kilts? Yes. Sandals? Nope

Garden Chat If I grow it, I eat it

From This Valley I think that I shall never see…

Coming Next Month

annual holiday issue.

MAGAZINE EDITOR Robb Murray

DESIGNER Christina Sankey

PHOTOGRAPHER Pat Christman

COPY EDITOR Kathy Vos

CONTRIBUTORS James Figy Jean Lundquist Leticia Gonzalez Ann Rosenquist Fee Pete Steiner Nick Healy Dana Melius Renee Berg Michael Lagerquist

ADVERTISING SALES Danny Creel Jennifer Flowers Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Theresa Haefner Tim Keech

FROM THE EDITOR

By Robb Murray

‘Each one is special to someone’

It’snatural to think nothing of it. Makes all the sense in the world to glance at a nicely walking dog, smile and go about your day. Pets are common. They’re everywhere. They’re not exactly “news.”

But here’s another thought. Every golden retriever fetching a ball in the park, every cat tiptoeing through your vegetable garden, every rabbit, ferret, goat, turtle or water buffalo cuddling with a doting owner each one of them is someone’s family member.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the pages of Mankato Magazine this month.

would make us a great dog. His name came from Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is wrong with this dog. He is my absolute best friend and the greatest dog anybody could hope for.”

This is one of those situations where it’s good to be me. I came up with the reader-submitted pet photo issue because I had a hunch that there were a lot of people out there who were just as in love with their pets as I was.

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Christina Sankey

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Barb Wass CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Justin Niles

PUBLISHER Steve Jameson

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Joe Spear

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

To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $59.88 for 12 issues.

For all editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray 507-344-6386, or email rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.

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

This issue is, by far, my favorite one of the year. Seeing how much people love their pets is heartwarming, and it reminds us that each one of them means the world to someone.

Here are a few comments that came in with the pet submissions:

n “Here is Wallace, a loud 2-yearold golden retriever who is always hungry and in need of attention.”

n “Meet Flynn from Eagle Lake. If you couldn’t tell, his favorite place in the whole world is the great outdoors (especially the North Shore). Thomas and Alyssa Delgado are his owners. Thanks for the opportunity to share his fun little personality!”

n “This is Tango. We adopted him from Underdog Rescue out of Minneapolis. We fostered him first and he drove us nuts. Three days in I called my wife and told her this dog needs to go away cause he is bat shit nuts. This was at noon, by the time she got home at 4:30 I was convinced that he would make somebody a great dog so I thought he

And I wasn’t wrong. From the moment we let readers know it was time to start submitting, my email inbox started lighting up. And I have to admit: When it comes to work emails, these are my favorite ones. Each submission comes with love. These cats and dogs (and tortoises and birds and goats, etc.) each, in their own way, have made the lives of their owners a little better.

And they don’t ask for much. All they require is shelter, kindness and a little food. (Or, in the case of certain beagle I know, breakfast at 5:30 a.m., beg for whatever I’m eating for breakfast at 7 a.m., treat at 9:30 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m., beg for whatever I’m eating for lunch at noon, supper at 4:30 p.m., beg for whatever I’m eating for supper at 5 p.m., and ice cream at 8 p.m. Yeah. He’s a tortured animal.)

So please enjoy the pet issue. You’ll find nearly 170 pets here, and they are all special. Each one will make you smile. And that’s why we do it.

Enjoy!

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

Penny and Edna

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Compiled by Jean Lundquist

New sorghum mill producing the goods

Oct. 11, 1911

Described as “an enterprising hardware merchant” in Eagle Lake, Fred Day went to Mankato to “renew acquaintances” and sell his sorghum molasses to the fine citizens of Mankato at 70 cents per gallon.

His mill could crush and grind out 300 gallons per day. All sorghum producers from around Mankato and Eagle Lake, as well as surrounding counties, were bringing their cane to Day’s facility for processing.

The citizens of Eagle Lake were very proud of this new facility in their village. It was said to be able to provide enough syrup to sweeten all of southern Minnesota.

Corn husking bee in Mankato

Oct. 27, 1959

It was hoped that a growing divide between rural and urban Mankato could be healed by a corn husking bee to be held within the city limits. The coming of farm machinery was blamed in part for the divide because it caused the once-popular event to pass from the scene.

The picking site was a 3-acre plot of corn planted near the intersection of East Main Street and Highway 22. The hope was that a church would one day replace the cornfield, in part, with money raised from the bee.

All money was pure profit: The land was donated, the seed corn donated and no machinery was needed as all the labor was by hand and donated..

Tax tilts field to online competitors, retailer says

Oct. 29, 2011

It may seem like a long time ago that online sales carried no sales taxes. Brick-and-mortar establishments began to take notice and called it an unfair advantage. Locally, a manager at the Mankato Scheels took notice and called foul.

After sending letters to local representatives asking for relief, the only one he heard back from was then-Sen. Al Franken, who said the matter was being looked into.

Brandon Scheel was confident the issue would be resolved, saying it could be because governments were always after more money in taxes.

In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that sales taxes must be applied to online purchases.

MSU urged to hire professional security

Oct. 4, 1990

In all, 37 recommendations were made by a Security Program Review Committee looking at how campus security could be improved at Mankato State University.

Undergraduate students were hired to work security part time on the campus, but they were unable to keep pace with the day’s problems.

Increasing alcohol use was considered a major problem of the day.

While funding was procured for a professional force, students would still be useful as building and parking patrol and as escorts around campus. Officials estimated it would take three years to implement a professional force to replace the student force.

MSU Vice President of Operations Joe Metro said the student force was doing a good job. At issue was that the turnover as students graduating meant two-thirds of the force was new every year. Hiring and training this student force was an inefficient system, he said.

FACES

PLACES:

North Mankato Taylor Library Bookmobile Story Time

1. Bookmobile Librarian Amy Bowman Hunt checks out books.

2. Aboard the Bookmobile Morgan Kingsley helps find books.

3. Taylor Library Bookmobile Librarian Amy Bowman Hunt gives high-fives to the excited kids.

4. Kids aboarding the bookmobile with their library cards to exchange books.

5. Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Commisioner Dr. Heather Mueller reading to the young people.

United Way 2023 Campaign Kickoff

1. Matt Atwood with wife Jeney and kids (from left) Benton, Emmersyn and Cohen.

2. Even the puppies can’t help but smile while enjoying provided Subway and live music from Neon Live.

3. Conetta Family enjoying the 2023 kickoff.

4. Conetta Family Children dancing to the live music.

5. Neon Live perfroms for the 2023 United Way Campaign Kickoff.

6. United Way Members present their goal for 2023.

FACES & PLACES: Photos By

Sports

Alive after 5

1. Marne Stover (left) works the Vagabond Village stand at Alive After 5.

2. Mary Waston, Evelyse Waston, Theodore Waston, Adeline Waston and Jenna Waston (left to right) listening to live music at Alive After 5.

3. The community gathers together at the Civic Center Plaza for Alive After 5.

4. Dana Arlt and Arnie Arlt (left to right) show their love at Alive After 5.

5. Nate Chandler, Whitney Chandler, Drew Chandler, and Bree Chandler (left to right) enjoy a family night out at Alive After 5.

6. Brain Klebig and Madison Klebig (left to right) enter a raffle at Alive After 5.

7. Caitlyn Bell (left) owner of Stone Hearth, creates a floral arrangment for customers at Alive After 5.

8. Carli Wagner and her dog Klaus (left) play with some kids at Alive After 5.

9. Dancing to live music at Alive After 5.

10. Don and Charyl Korrpal come back to the Clivic Center Plaza to enjoy the live music at Alive After 5.

FACES

Y’s Club Corn Roast

1. Lolo Nelson and grandmother, Carol Nelson (left to right) hand out tickets for the Y’s Club Corn Roast.

2. Craig Seppmann, Emily Seppmann, and Clayton Seppmann (left to right) take a seat on the hill and enjoy their corn at Y’s Club Corn Roast.

3. The community comes together for the Y’s Club Corn Roast.

4. Rudy Coleman and his daughter, Tricia Stenberg (right to left) grill hot dogs for the Y’s Club Corn Roast.

5. Madison Mullen, Mya McGuire, Emery Hollich, and Porter Hollich (right to left) give out refreshments at the Y’s Club Corn Roast.

6. Hadley Pattison plays with buddles as she waits for the corn to roast at the Y’s Club Corn Roast.

7. Kinzey Anderson plays soccer at the Y’s Corn Roast.

8. Father and daughter, Nick Peterson and Hazel Peterson (right to left) ejoying the Y’s Club Corn Roast.

By Leticia Gonzales

Inspired to connect

Mirella Noeli Torres uses art to reach BIPOC community

Likemany people, Mirella Noeli Torres tried to make the most of the isolation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by picking up a new hobby.

“There wasn’t anything to do so I just started to get some paints and some canvases,” she said. “I decided to paint what came to mind and what I saw that was inspiring.”

Torres, 21, always had an interest in art while growing up in St. Peter. Despite art being her favorite subject, she never had the chance to study the craft outside of school.

Creating art continued to fill her free time after the COVID restrictions were lifted. She displayed her art for the first time last October during the Dia de los Muertos festival in Mankato. She also sold her first piece at the event. It was there that she met

Brenda Byron, the executive director of the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council.

“She offered me a scholarship through the PLRAC to buy some art supplies,” Torres said. “I bought some paints and more canvases and have been painting more.”

Since then, she has created about 35 paintings.

“It’s a mountain with the sun. It’s an abstract painting. It’s a lot of patterns and bright colors.”

Some of her favorite subjects revolve around flowers and butterflies. Since her debut selling her art at the Dia de los Muertos festival, Torres has begun selling her latest creations on her Instagram page, as well as at a local yoga studio.

“Just trying to spread my art has been kind of hard.”

Trying to get people to engage in what they like to

purchase has also been a struggle, as Torres said it would be helpful to receive more feedback from potential buyers.

The backgrounds of her art often feature spray paint. Torres also likes to incorporate glitter at the top of her paintings and adorns her paintings with foils to give them a shine factor.

This past summer, she worked with the Spark Mobile Art Studio throughout the St. Peter community. The program targets the BIPOC community (Black, Indigenous and people of color).

Torres said she spent a lot of time visiting mobile home parks in the city, bringing different art projects to children there each week. From collaging to printing and sculptures, Torres said the program provided multiple art activities.

“It was a very significant experience for them,” she said. “I could see the curiosity and the joy that it brought them. A lot of these kids don’t have the opportunity to do art from home for fun.”

The experience brought Torres back to her own upbringing, which didn’t allow for much art creation at home. The mobile art program is a positive change for children.

“I could see a lot of the kids enjoying it. This is

Mirella Noeli’s work uses vibrant colors and bold lines.

something they can do to feel happy and spread joy.”

With more experience under her belt, Torres is working on larger pieces, with hopes of creating a mural in the near future. She would also like to make stronger connections within the art field.

“Collaborating with more local artists and working on things together would for sure help with learning and growing with what I can do with my art and how I can share my art.”

a

BEYOND THE MARGIN

By Joe Spear

For being 1.3% of the labor force, farmers sure have a lot of influence. And branding power, too.

While politicians generally try to avoid debating each other, they come out in droves at Farmfest to do so. There may not be a lot of votes to get as much as there is good will. If you do well in front of farmers, everyone else thinks it’s good. The hard-working, stoic farmers have been iconic American images for decades.

But it’s not so much the population of farmers that matters, it’s the population of the animals they produce and the amount of food they harvest. Blue Earth County has nine hogs for every person. It has five acres of crops for every person, evenly divided between corn and soybeans.

Farmers power your vehicle with ethanol and make sure that steak you’re eating has plenty of protein. They know when to feed cows and when to give politicians feedback.

I came to understand the influence of farmers while working for an internationally circulated agriculture publication called Feedstuffs. It was my job to know everything that went into livestock feed, how the price of it played out and how the Fibonacci (an Italian mathematician) curve might affect corn and soybean prices.

Ruminating on and hedge fund

I know more about meat and bone meal than anyone would ever want to know. It sells for $360 a ton in Minneapolis, according to the USDA, and it was basically a very efficient byproduct of livestock slaughtering. Whatever was left from slaughter — fat, meat parts and bone — was ground up and mixed with a protein to make meat and bone meal.

So my job was to track 20 ingredients for Feedstuffs including beef tallow (a kind of fat that gave that special flavor to McDonald’s french fries you might remember from the 1970s).

The company switched to healthier soybean oil sometime in the late 1980s because of a single man’s lawsuit and publicity about what beef tallow actually was and could do to you.

From atlasobscura.com: “McDonald’s original french fries were cooked in beef tallow. For that fact, they were bullied out of production by a well-funded, well-intentioned businessman and self-proclaimed health advocate named Phil Sokolof, who unknowingly dethroned what many fans claim was the greatest french fry to ever meet mass production.”

Sokolof took out full-page ads in major newspapers calling out McDonald’s for its fatty hamburgers and fries.

But beef tallow fries will forever have a place in my heart, though they weren’t very good for it.

I had become an expert on livestock feed ingredients in six months or so, and all manner of financial analysts, hedge fund managers and others who could not find honest work would be calling me to find out what direction the market might take. I wrote a column every week with mostly anonymous sources who

would give their predictions for prices.

Commodity traders would set their positions after the news was published in print on Mondays.

These folks were a colorful group of characters. Some were from small commodity trading firms and others were from giants like Land O’ Lakes. They had all kinds of descriptive clichés and catchphrases. “Rain makes grain” was a phrase to suggest the prices were going to tank because rain would boost harvests and supply.

farmers, cows fund managers

Of course, traders knew the mantra. “Buy the rumor, sell the fact.”

So, it became a skill to know what was a rumor and what was a fact. Unlike today’s political environment.

And then there was the precise analysis of the eating habits of cows and the weather.

Many a farmer and feed seller would tell me that when the weather got cold, cows got hungrier and therefore would eat

more, mostly corn and soybeans or their processed byproducts.

I was never quite sure if this was an “old farmer’s tale,” but it sounded halfway reasonable. And for what it’s worth, purinamills. com, a company that profits from selling animal feed, advises farmers to up their feed rations 20% when it gets cold.

This obviously would affect demand and prices should rise. One man from a very fine financial firm called me up and asked if it

was true that cows ate more when it was cold.

I said, of course, it was true. Have you ever asked a cow if it was more hungry when it was cold? You just get that look. Cow eyes.

So I told the man from the fancy financial firm Drexel Burnham Lambert (pronounced Lam Bear silent “t”) that of course the cows ate more when it’s cold.

He apparently bet the life of his firm on this as it soon went bankrupt.

Of course, it may not have been the predictability of cows eating in winter as much as the infamous junk bond entrepreneur Michael Milken who put Drexel on the line for billions in debt and broken promises. But one can never be too sure.

Drexel and Milken pleaded to felony fraud and agreed to pay $650 million. Milken was indicted on 98 counts of securities fraud and racketeering among other crimes. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison but got out in two after agreeing to assist authorities.

There was nothing in the indictment or SEC filings saying one of the company’s traders relied on unreliable information from an anonymous journalist who claimed he knew about the eating habits of cows. Such public disclosures could be helpful in the future.

But farmers did quite well that year. Soybean prices hit $11 a bushel in June of 1988, a record high, because farmers knew, definitively, that cows eat more when it’s cold.

Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382. Follow on Twitter @jfspear.

Greetings from

Amery, Wisconsin

By Renee Berg

Asmall

hamlet in northwest Wisconsin, Amery is “the best of what small towns have to offer,” said Katie Johnson, a longtime resident.

“We have outdoor recreation for all ages in all seasons, shopping, a wide variety of restaurants and visual and performing arts, all in a beautiful setting

nestled in between five lakes and the Apple River,” Johnson says. “It truly has something for everyone.”

April Ziemer, editor of the Amery Free Press and president-elect of the Amery Community Club, describes Amery as a small town with big offerings.

“A combination of multi-generation-owned family

The Ale Works Restaurant is a cozy spot in Amery. Photos courtsey of Amery Chamber

‘The best of what small towns have to offer’

businesses and new entrepreneurs provide Amery with a unique blend of staple and specialty shopping,” she says. “Amery is filled to the brim with community events. Once you visit Amery, you are bound to schedule a return trip.”

Sitting on the banks of the Apple River, Amery began as a lumberjack town. The community grew around a sawmill and, in its early days, it was known as “Big Dam.”

In 1887, the Soo Line Railroad depot was built as well as a hotel. Small stores and homes followed. The city was named Amery after William Amery, who was born in England in 1831. Amery learned the carpentry trade in London and ventured to the U.S. in 1861.

He died in 1887, after which the town was renamed Amery. The town boomed from 1888-1893, adding implement and furniture stores as well as a doctor’s office, hardware store and post office. Those years also saw many saloons opening their doors in Amery.

The town isn’t as rowdy as it once was, but there is still plenty of fun to be had, Ziemer says. In the early years since the lumber mills, canning and cheese factories established the roots of a city where people could work, live and play. Products may have changed, Ziemer says, but the industry itself has remained a constant.

When it’s time to eat, Johnson said it best: There are plenty of options. There’s the TAC Two Bar & Grill, The Village Pizzeria, Garibaldi’s, Birch Street Bar, Amery Ale Works and the Amery Family Restaurant. You can also check out Club 53 Bar & Bowling Center, which is a tavern and bowling alley all in one. Farm Table Foundation is a favorite of locals, much like The Mix Up.

For outdoor recreation, you are in the right spot. There are 14 local parks in Amery and plenty of opportunities for fishing or, if you’re visiting in the colder months, ice fishing on the lakes and on the St. Croix and Apple rivers. Wapogasset Lake has three access points and is just outside the city limits. The Apple River is a 70-mile tributary of the St. Croix running through town.

For those coming in the winter, don’t miss the St. Joseph Catholic Church-sponsored ice-fishing contest the last weekend in

Farm Table Food makes great burgers.

January. And there’s always the option of cross-country skiing at Balsam Branch Ski Trails and the Stower Seven Lakes State Trail. Or you can downhill or crosscountry ski at Trollhaugen Outdoor Recreation Area, which is nearby.

Amery is in Wisconsin’s Polk County, which has more than 350 miles of groomed snowmobile trails. These range from remote trails to the Gandy Dancer Trail and Cattail State Trail. Snowshoeing and hiking are other popular winter pursuits in the area.

Amery is among just a few northern communities designated as a “bird city,” with a rich habitat for both migrating and nesting birds. Birding fans should check out York Park, as well as the Stower Seven Lakes Trail with its abundance of birds and other wildlife.

For lodging, Johnson recommends the Forrest Inn and area resorts, including Apple River Resort, Ginger-Rogers Resort and

the Hunky Dory Farms-Resort. If you prefer an Airbnb, Amery has plenty of scenic options available right on area lakes.

When it’s time to shop, Amery’s downtown is a hub for commerce. A notable shop to check out is Northern Style & Gift Co, which is a salon that doubles as a boutique.

Stems From the Heart has floral and gifts, Proverbs 31 Boutique LLC features women’s fashion and ArtZ Gallery is a gallery with art on display by local budding artists.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite for dessert, drop into Ellie’s Ice Cream & Coffee, where you can enjoy gourmet coffee and ice cream treats.

“We have so much to do for a small town,” Johnson said. “We have recreation, dining, shopping and the arts.”

Renee Berg is a general assignment reporter for The Free Press. A graduate of Minnesota State University, she is mom to two teenagers and two cats.

Remember

that one-hit wonder song by Baha Men “Who Let the Dogs Out”?

Of course you do. And in this month’s issue we have an answer to that timeless question: Mankato Magazine let the dogs out — and the cats and birds and turtles and water buffaloes and goats more.

When we asked for submissions, we knew we’d get a lot of submissions, but this year the response was ridiculously adorable and plentiful. More than 170 pets adorn the following pages, each one precious and perfect worthy of the cover of any magazine.

This issue is a personal favorite for the folks who put bring you Mankato Magazine every month. So thanks for answering the call and making it out best pets issue yet!

Teri & Preston KolsrudKaylaFern

Luevano - Stella Rose

Don & Carrie RobbAllisonRosie

Baseman - Ruby

Kayla Luevano - Henri

Lauren AtchleyJaredSage & Shannon Hahn - Buddy Lauren Atchley - Willow

Allison Baseman - Esther

Jake Thom - Murphy

Rich & Judy Walania - Gretzky

Maggie & Ryan CardenasJulieLeo & Tom Frederick - Tommy & Leonard

Laura Burns - Chance & Wallace

Brandon & Amy Viland - Tyson

Nolan & Marilyn Wright - Mr. Calli & Little Miss Muffet

Emma MurrayRobbPenny & Amy Murray - Mongo

Jason & Mary Lamb - Loki

Harrison Mwangi & Co - Busch

Charles Whitney - Coco

Robb & Amy Murray - Henry

C. Sankey & Family - Meesha

Cindy Rutherford - Flint

Nancy Rodahl - Coconut

Curt and Pam Priem - Sammy

Rick and Shirley BornekeKariDakota

Betz - Ace

Valerie Maldonado - Louise AKA ‘Fat Cat’

Jr. Schulte & Ericka Powell - Furgie & Achilles

Pam Bartholemew - Dusty

Emily Nelson - Lil Red

Jr. Schulte & Ericka Powell - Sammie

Emily Nelson - Bodie

Emily Nelson - Gabbie

Jr. Schulte & Ericka Powell - Tutu

Don & Carrie Robb - Rosie

Darrell & Diane Rauchman - Windsor

Keith & Karen - Sammy

Matt Nesius - Abu

Austin & MaggieClaireBenny Richie & Tyler Goettl - Arya

Jayne & Ben HeintzJayneSable & Ben Heintz - Ayva

Hazel Fisher - Belle

Jeremy, Sarah, Jaxon & Jason Goettl - Millie

Lee LaurischDanielleGruffy

Smeed - Diggs

Mark & Sharon Nesius - Max & Lexi

Charlotte Giese - Patches

Lee LaurischLeeSalsa Laurish - Frankie

Lee Laurish - KeKe

Diane Rauchman - Windsor

Ellie RathBrittRoxy & Peggy Fleming - Ziggy

Whitney Hlavac - Winston

Shelby & Chad Wolf - Kato

Whitney Hlavac - Tater

Casey Hasher - Lou

Karry & Greg Meyer - Duke

Kathy Madrid - Wonder

Derek Baca - Cheeto & Storm

Corey & Stephanie JahnkeSusanTater

Hirvela - Dr. Oscar Anderson

Elaine JensenMistyCharles Ellingworth - Goldie

Janine & Jeff Carlstrom - Oakley

Jeffrey Eaton - Corky & Winston

Maloree Gartner - Kathy JuneBelle

Wayne & Connie Baumgartner - Rex

Tim AbdoWendyHazel Allen - Finn

Henry Timmerman - Mango

Henry Timmerman - Suzie

Judi Wendt - Dudley & HeidiIzie Bednarchuk - Loki

Mike and Becky Carlberg - Penny

Hannah & Jake Thom - Murphy

Jay & Bre Landsteiner - Vinny & Howie

Katherine Nelson

Poppy

Linda Schriock - Billie Jean

Mike and Karen Lloyd - Lilee

Dave & Cyndie Rositzke - Hank

Kylie Krause - Scout

Sarah BouldinSarahEllie Bouldin - Piper

Mike and Karen Lloyd - Baylee

Missy and Chad RaganSpeedy

Aran & Miranda AugustinWalter

Marsha Rink - Chevelle

Roger & Cheryl KannistoLayceBentley

Johnson & Nick BornekeSloan Regan Amy Haigh - Isabel

Cassie GospeterTannerPiper & Emily Nepp - Maia & TannerNash & Emily Nepp - Wynter

Jon Franz & Alex Foster - Gordy

Melinda Emery & James PeeperDapper Dan

Melinda Emery & James Peeper - Fop

Leigh Schofield - Sparky

Layce Johnson & Nick Borneke - Harvey, Sloan, Denver, Fenny

The Fosters - Ensio Elvis

Hayden Ettesvold - Dan Boltowski

Sawyer Ettesvold - Gertrude

Leigh Schofield - Beatrix

Brenda Allen - Louis & Henry

Sawyer Ettesvold - Petunia

Molly Page - Fergie

Marvin Topp - Mazy

Charmaine Jans - Sadie

Krystal Grisim - Remi Roi

Joanna Yanez - Penny

Lamont Family - Gilbert

Charmaine JansCharmaineDaisy Jans - Harley

Alice Peterson - Max

Michelle Artmann - Ava

Jack & Jane Kolars - Violet

Anna Terhurne - Bear

Rebecca Roiger & Santos Jasso - Sophie

Amanda Williams - Skye

Judy Stadick - Louie

Teddy Borth - Sadie

Maria Beranek - Monkey

Maria Beranek - Lily

Glenn & Mary Klaus - Buster

Becca Spurr - Murphy

Katie Kassube -Joplin

Heather Marquardt-Hohertz & Eric Hohertz Jack, Beatrix, Griffin, Puckett, Phoenix, Mayo, Olive Bean, Cupcake, Rosita

Becca SpurrBeccaCoco Spurr - Reko

Liz Heimer - Rue Bug

Thomas & Alyssa DelgadoMolly,Flynn Corey & Parker Kleinow - Chet

Bill & Ann ReinboldChrisAyla

& Bob Freyberg - Molly

Maloree Gartner - Andre

Mary Styndl & Vance Stuehrenberg Molly, Dolly & Lucy

Jyl Gartner - Trustworthy, Astilbe & Dinosaur

Jyl GartnerJylAspen Gartner - Bandanna

Miriam Webber - Victor

Jyl Gartner - Paisley Joy

Ashlyn LeddyAshlynZoey

Leddy - Auggie

Jamie & Sara WillKariLeo

Betz - Ace

Norm & Sherry Wandersee - Chica

Carol & KorrieGregTango Kirby - Willow

Ashlyn Leddy - Rudy

Sue and Dale Fredrickson - Oliver

Heidi Bednarchuk - Mobius & Sylvie

Jonah Nielsen - Roy

Mireille & Khiap - Midnight

Rachel Shoenecker - Charlie

Trisha Hood - Bosco

Reese Carlson - Lucy

Janelle Miller - Nugget

Casey & Katie Boone - Koda

Sharyl Vant Hul & Roger SchmidtZack

Laura Fries - Luna

Mark & Randi ManderfeldCourtneyKona and Ben Zwicke - Ernie

Laura FriesLauraHarvey Fries - Lulu

Shaylynn Anderson - Marley

Megan ForsterTannerChloe Isakson & Allie Bigbee - Emma

LET'S EAT!

By Dana Melius

& Beer

Family tradition keeps Charley’s alive and well

Oneyear into her Swiss & Madison restaurant career, Nicole Wood believes it fits nicely into the Mankato eatery scene.

While it’s a far cry from the bustling San Diego landscape in which Wood spent over a decade following her high school days at Mankato Loyola (2006), it’s home. Born and raised in Mankato, she grew up watching father Charles Sadaka turn Charley’s into a Madison Avenue fixture.

Sadaka, a Lebanese immigrant to the U.S. in 1973, opened Charley’s in 1987. But his death to cancer in 2015 at age 61 tossed the restaurant into a difficult transitional period. The COVID pandemic temporarily closed the business; Sadaka’s son Pierre, who had taken over operations, defied state orders briefly and reopened the restaurant, then closed Charley’s again and its future was up in the air.

Enter Wood, 34, with a desire to continue her father’s legacy. She opted for a name change to Swiss & Madison, citing a San Diego tradition in which restaurants named

their businesses after their street location.

But just weeks before a planned Swiss & Madison opening, vandals struck and caused some $40,000 in damages and loss on July 19, 2021. Entering through the roof, the burglars took TVs, computers and other products.

And Wood wondered how to move on. “It was horrible. It was heartbreaking,” she said.

At the time, Wood thought it would take months again to rebuild. But a September 2021 opening put Swiss & Madison on the Madison Avenue landscape. And Wood, along with brother Charles “C.J.” Sadaka Jr., solidified the restaurant’s place in the Mankato business scene.

C.J. mans the kitchen. He previously was head sous chef at the acclaimed Butcher & the Boar restaurant in downtown Minneapolis before moving on to open a new Butcher & the Boar in Charleston, South Carolina, staying there for three years.

“Let me put some steaks on,” C.J. said during a recent visit to the Swiss & Madison kitchen, as the flames soared

mn

Swiss & Madison is the newest kid on on Mankato's culinary block.

high from the wood-fired grill and seared the steaks. He moves around the kitchen like a master.

Uncle Tony Sadaka continues to be a part of the operation, mingling with guests and flashing a big smile. He encouraged his niece during the business’ uncertainty following the burglary and vandalism to keep moving forward.

“I told her, what sucks is when we lost Charley,” Tony said at the time. “This you can rebuild and reopen.”

Wood also appreciates the support she and family have received from the Mankato community, particularly after the break-in that delayed the Swiss & Madison opening.

“The people who come in here have been so understanding and so supportive,” she says. “I just love being around the people.”

Wood credits her brother’s kitchen expertise and specialty with highend meats for the restaurant’s firstyear success. It’s allowed the family to slowly build its hours and menu through their first year of operation.

“We’re just a different kind of restaurant,” Wood says. “I don’t try to compete with the fast-food restaurants. I just can’t.”

But, Wood adds, “his burger blows everything else out of the water,” using ground filet.

One major change since the days of Wood’s father and his Charley’s restaurant has been the need to change the menu often. It’s a necessity in today’s industry, Wood said.

“When we started, we started with a very small menu,’ she said. “Since we’ve grown our kitchen staff, we’ve also grown our menu. And we change it often. My dad hardly ever changed his menu.”

While Wood, like other restaurant operators, has struggled at times with supply-side issues and staff shortages, she credits a flexible collegiate staff in the front of the house.

“Kitchen business is a hard life,” Wood says. “But the MSU students (as servers) have been great. I feel lucky to have them.”

And Wood also thinks she is fortunate to have a chance to be back in her hometown and in the industry she grew up in and around.

“It’s in your blood,” Wood says. “It’s a difficult business, but I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Swiss & Madison

Where: 920 Madison Ave., Mankato

What they’re

great burger

When: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.;

Fri.-Sat. Closed Sun.-Mon.

a.m.-10

Nicole Wood, who runs Swiss & Madison, said the name comes from a San Diego tradition of naming restaurants after their street location.

ON TAP

By James Figy

The basics: brown ales

Overall,

ales have continued to gain prominence in recent years. But the brown ale tends to be seen as boring, when it’s not simply overlooked.

Maybe it’s the name, which is simultaneously obvious and nondescript. Maybe it’s a perceived guilt by association with Newcastle, which isn’t the coolest brand. Or maybe it’s that brown ales fall into a “no man’s land” — not abrasive enough for hopheads, not dark enough for porter people, not light enough for lager lovers and so on.

There are notable Minnesota browns: Bald Man Brewing’s Tupelo Honey Brown Ale, Maniacal Reality Imperial Brown Ale from Lost Sanity Brewing, the reliable Leaf Raker Nut Brown Ale from Mankato Brewery and Bad Weather Brewing’s Ominous Double Brown Ale, among others. Still, the market’s attitude seems to be summed up best by Venn Brewing Co.’s offering, No One Cares Brown Ale.

Debbie Torgersen, head brewer and COO of Torg Brewery in Spring Lake Park, has a different

perspective. The brewery’s Squirrel Nutkin English Brown Ale epitomizes the best features of the style. Our conversation, edited for length and clarity, discusses why brewers and consumers might start to give brown ales another look.

James Figy: What is a brown ale?

Debbie Torgersen: Brown ales are a big category. The style is usually brown in color, malt-forward — with caramel and toffee flavors rather than roast — and varying hopping levels.

Originally, most beers from the British Isles were brown. To kiln their grains, they would roast them over an open fire. It wasn't a very homogenous malting process. Some grains were still pale with plenty of sugars while others were really roasty. People started using the term “brown ale” toward the 1700s with the introduction of paler grains to the brewing process, but it's kind of the grandfather for all British-style beers.

Today’s brown ales primarily include American craft

Based on perspectives, the brown ale either resides in a happy medium of many flavors or a “no man’s land.” (James Figy)

brown ales and the two British versions. American brown ales tend to be hoppier, more bitter and have slightly higher ABVs. The northern English brown ale tends to have a drier finish. The southern English brown is less attenuated, a little sweeter and has a fuller body.

JF: Where does Squirrel Nutkin fit?

DT: It’s modeled after southern brown ale. I started brewing Squirrel Nutkin when we were still homebrewing. After researching that style and visiting the British Isles, I was really intrigued, so I tried to kind of replicate that. It’s sweeter and maltier, but not heavy like stouts. Some American browns fit that style as well as English Milds. Squirrel Nutkin actually won a homebrew contest, the Minnesota Brew Ha Ha, for that style. It’s a flagship beer and a consistent seller in the taproom.

JF: Is it more popular in fall?

DT: We sell more browns, porters and stouts during the fall and winter months, although we keep them on tap year-round. There is a seasonal association, but those beers are great during the summer because they’re less bitter.

This summer, we brewed an English mild, Red Mare Rye, that’s effervescent and light bodied, just 4.7% ABV and has a little spiciness from the rye. So it's a great summer beer even though it's darker. We also have a really dark Caribbean stout, Selkie Shade, which is mellow and great for warmer weather.

Just like an IBU rating, color doesn't tell you everything about a beer. That's what's fun about the craft brewery scene. You can explain and introduce customers to different flavors.

JF: Do customers perceive brown ales as boring?

DT: Brown ales, and milds, are really overlooked. Often, you don’t even see them on brewery menus. Brewers tend to favor stouts and porters, playing with flavors to make them trendy. But brown ales are great, sessionable and really friendly for new craft beer drinkers.

JF: How do you see breweries innovating in this area?

DT : I don't know about people actively working to reinvigorate the brown ale. But that would be fun to reinvigorate it just by using different American hops or even New Zealand hops. Back in the ’80s, however, early American craft breweries did play with the style. So there's also a cyclical pattern, and maybe it's time to

come back to browns.

Most experimentation is going on with hazy IPAs, sours and seltzers. But you can do so many different things by switching up a recipe’s crystal grains or adding a little smoked malt — and it's actually more fiscally feasible. Hops are really expensive, and many of us have seen our cost of goods go up at least 30% over the past two years. The best option may be getting back to the basics.

James Figy is a writer and beer enthusiast based in St. Paul. In Mankato, he earned an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University and a World Beer Cruise captain’s jacket from Pub 500. Twitter and Instagram: @JamesBeered

Debbie Torgersen, brewmaster and COO of Torg Brewing, focuses on traditional styles at the Spring Lake Park brewery. (James Figy)

WINE

By Leigh Pomeroy

A visit to a winery in Alsace

Thissummer, my sons and I took a trip on the Rhine River via Viking River Cruises that included a visit to a winery in Alsace.

Domaine Seltz, like most wineries in Alsace and Burgundy, is just a small operation, almost indistinguishable from the residences, all packed close to each other, in the tiny village of Mittelbergheim. These are true medieval towns, constructed mostly of stone and often for defense. It seemed like there was at least one winery per block, all identified by stone or wood signs on the walls.

The front gate to the winery was open, revealing a small courtyard inside, grape crushing and pressing equipment and a cat lying on the cobblestones.

Our guide and owner of the winery, Albert Seltz, greeted us in rapid-fire, nearly unaccented English, “The cat’s name is Cat, and I had too much to drink last night.”

After a brief introduction to his winery and the winemaking process, he took us down a narrow flight of stairs to the cellar. Inside the first room were maybe 18 barrels and about half that number of large oval casks. Albert announced that he used the barrels only sparingly on a few wines — I would guess his Pinot Noirs — and that the casks were empty. In generations past they were used to age wine, but today he uses only stainless steel and glass-lined concrete tanks to create wines that are much fresher and long-lived.

He next took us into a second room that was filled with unlabeled bottles in bins and racks. I asked, “When do you label these?”

He answered, “When you’re ready to buy them.”

We then went to another room where in one alcove were six life-sized carved wood reproductions of ancient Chinese warriors. “I got a good deal on them,” he said. Other oddities in the cellar included 4-inchhigh Star Wars figures on shelves or bins lining the walls — Luke, Leia, Han, Darth Vader, etc.

Then we entered a large tasting room with several rows of heavy wooden tables that could have easily accommodated twice our group of three dozen. There was a single glass in front of each of us, and as Albert spoke, he began pouring.

His emphasis, he said, was the vineyard. That’s where the quality and essence of the wine are made. It’s in the terroir — the interplay of soil, climate, geomorphology and organisms in the soil and air — but mostly the soil itself.

He explained that his farming practices, as well

as those in much of Alsace, are moving away from artificial pesticides and nutrients toward a more organic way of farming, like those employed in the old days. Today, thanks to research, winegrowers know more about what the vines need, so they understand the natural processes that help the vines yield the best fruit — a blend of tradition and science.

We tasted four dry whites. The first was a Pinot Auxerrois, a rare grape that is grown primarily in Alsace, and a cousin of Chardonnay, that had a nice creamy feel.

Next, Albert poured a 2011 Riesling from the Rebbuehl Vineyard. Usually dry Rieslings, at least those made in the U.S. and in other warmer climates, lose their freshness after a few years, but this wine was lively and youthful, and had many years left to offer.

The third was a 2015 Riesling, this one from the Grand Gru Zotzenberg Vineyard, which lies just uphill from the village. The differences between the two dry Rieslings were subtle, though Albert explained the variation in the soil between the two, one granitic and the other clay-limestone.

The final sample was another Grand Gru Zotzenberg wine, this one a 2015 Gewurztraminer. Dramatically different from the first three wines, it showed the classic grapefruit and ginger spice of the grape with elements of rose petals in the finish.

Finally, Albert took us into the salesroom, also in the huge cellar, which must have filled the entire length and breadth beneath his property. There we could buy wines going back to the 1998 vintage, including not only those we tasted, but Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner and Pinot Gris.

I wanted to take home one of each, especially the older wines to see how they had progressed. But alas, flying restrictions allowed us just two bottles per person.

I would buy Albert’s wines here in the U.S., but they’re hard to find, as Albert’s distributor went bankrupt owing him lots of money.

Truth be told, Alsatian wines are hard to find anywhere in the U.S. unless you’re in a major market. Nevertheless, it’s worth looking for them in quality wine shops wherever you might be.

"There is no wine that you do not like. Only a wine that you do not understand." Albert Seltz, winemaker, Alsace, France

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

LIT DU NORD: MINNESOTA BOOKS AND AUTHORS

By Nick Healy

From St. Peter to the SLA

Two decades after discovering her, Rachael Hanel presents the story of Camilla Hall

Oneafternoon in May 1974, scores of law enforcement officers surrounded a Los Angeles house where a small band of wanted criminals had holed up. The people inside called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army, and they were a ragtag group of domestic terrorists wanted for crimes such as murder, bank robbery and, famously, kidnapping.

Among the SLA members who engaged in a shootout with police and federal agents that day was a particularly unlikely criminal. Her name was Camilla Hall, and she was a pastor’s daughter from St. Peter, an idyllic college town 1,800 miles away. Struck in the forehead by a police bullet, Hall died in the exchange, as did five other SLA members.

Rachael Hanel’s compelling new book, “Not the Camilla We Knew,” begins with a vivid account of that deadly confrontation, and from there, Hanel digs into the Hall family’s history to tell a story that has been neglected in the many accounts of the SLA’s brief, strange and violent spree.

Hall took to her grave some unanswered questions having to do with the central mysteries of her final months: How did she end up with a gun in her hand? How had she been radicalized? What had changed inside her?

As Hanel details in her carefully researched and engagingly crafted account, Hall was an idealist for most of her adult years. She had been a social worker and an artist. She had advocated for the rights of female municipal workers in the Bay Area. And then, somehow, she had served as a lookout while her comrades kidnapped the heiress

Patty Hearst.

The Hearst case has, of course, been a subject of fascination for nearly 50 years, but it was not the kidnapping that led Hanel to Hall’s story. Rather it was the 1999 arrest of a St. Paul woman known as Sara Jane Olson, a former SLA member who had assumed a new name, enjoyed a new life and escaped the notice of law enforcement for 25 years. A report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune included a brief mention of Camilla Hall, whose story was nearly unknown in Minnesota, and a photograph of her.

That photo captivated Hanel, a Waseca native who was then a reporter at The Free Press in Mankato. She decided to check into Hall and write a story about her

SLA involvement. And that was the beginning of a two-decade project that produced “Not the Camilla We Knew,” which will be published by the University of Minnesota Press in December.

“I feel like I had a book from the moment I saw her picture,” said Hanel, who is now a part of the creative writing faculty at Minnesota State University. “I knew there was a story there — that someone like her would’ve gotten involved with that.”

Early in her research, Hanel discovered the tragic history of the Hall family. Camilla was the third of four children born to George and Lorena Hall, and she was the only one who survived to adulthood. Her two brothers and one sister had all died as children or adolescents.

Not the Camilla We Knew by Rachael Hanel.

George Hall taught at Gustavus Adolphus College from 1938 to 1956, and Camilla attended elementary school in St. Peter before the family moved away. She later returned to town as a freshman at Gustavus, but she transferred to the University of Minnesota and never lived in St. Peter again.

Late in his life George Hall wrote an unpublished memoir, which he titled “I Remember Lorena — A Love Story.” Hanel found a copy of the manuscript among George’s papers stored in the Gustavus archives. The memoir and other documents in the archives provided a foundation on which she could begin to reconstruct Camilla Hall’s story.

Other accounts of Hall’s life would not be easy to find. Many of the people who knew her — and who might have explained her actions with the SLA — were long gone.

“That was a challenging part of the story, finding people who knew Camilla well — or at all,” Hanel said. “The people who would’ve been able to talk about her last months died with her.”

Hanel draws on letters, news accounts, academic papers, and interviews with people who knew Hall (including Sara Jane Olson, whom Hanel visited in prison) to tell her story. The book is written with empathy for Hall and her family, but it doesn’t dismiss or diminish the nature of the SLA’s crimes. Nor does it offer excuses for Hall’s participation in those crimes.

“I don’t think we can say for certain why she did what she did,” Hanel said. “She was the only one who could answer that.”

Nick Healy is an author and freelance writer in Mankato.

and

deserve and trust,

care

to home,

ANN’S

By Ann Rosenquist Fee

Kilts, yes. Sandals, nope.

DEAR ANN: My husband recently acquired a gently used Utilikilt. He loves it and I mean he loves wearing it without a hint of irony. I love it, too. This is not something I could have foreseen as a younger person. In my 30s, for instance, as a mom with young kids, I couldn’t have imagined feeling nonchalant about my husband parading around in a kilt as if he’s role-playing “Braveheart.” Now, however, it seems just fine. It seems like nothing. It seems like there are much weightier topics to think about or worry about or celebrate, more so than what my partner or any family member is wearing.

Can we just go on with our regular lives, per usual, with my husband occasionally wearing his Utilikilt as regular day-to-day wear, without making a big deal or a joke out of it? Am I missing something?

DEAR READER: Yes you can, and yes, you’re missing the barbed wire cloak of self-consciousness that lots of people wear without even thinking about it, until it falls off sometime in late adulthood due to lack of relevance and your sudden realization that it was never very flattering in the first place.

Congratulations and enjoy your new life of handing your husband things to carry around for you in his many pockets when you’re out and about.

DEAR ANN: I’m desperate for your help. Summer 2022 is now over and I think we can all agree it was a flop. Which reminds me of flip flops. Which brings me to the purpose of this letter.

Ann, would you be willing to use your considerable reach to convince men in our area to stop wearing sandals? I’m going to be entirely truthful: I have never seen a pair of men’s feet that were attractive enough to be exposed to light in open footwear. Their toes, especially, are objectionable and actually do resemble foot fingers, as many of my international friends refer to them.

I think we can also agree that women generally have much lovelier feet; if not, why would many men pay to view them? But, Ann, have you ever heard of a woman paying to gaze at a man’s foot? I have not and I’ve lived in Mankato all of my life!

I was at an enjoyable outdoor event the other night — it was a perfect 70 degrees, there were no mosquitoes or flies about, I was in the company of friends and other intellectuals.

But then, I made the mistake of looking down at the feet of men who walked by — wearing sandals. My idyll was destroyed. And what was even worse, Ann, is that some men wore socks with their sandals. Which would you say is the greater sin for a man? I say, “Don’t wear sandals at all.”

Ann, please don’t get me wrong. I do love and appreciate men. They have done so much for the nation during the last 246 years.

But I now have mere months before next April in which to get my own foot in the door (so to speak) of this kickup. What do you advise?

DEAR READER: The problem is how to accomplish the convincing.

How do detail-oriented people like you, or me, establish meaningful communication with someone who doesn’t care about the presentability of a bare body part? Do we just shout crude directives like “clean your feet” or “trim those now” because anything more nuanced or complicated would be confusing?

In short, yes. In my experience as a daughter, wife, mother, and friend of the man-footed, I can tell you that simpler is better, and you would be wise to separate “getting them to change” from “getting them to actually believe they’re doing it wrong.”

The former is easy, provided you’re firm, clear, and able to provide alternative footwear and/ or professional pedicure services (professional, not do-it-yourself — we are not out to prove anything here by way of masochism).

Getting them to understand and believe they’re doing it wrong other thing, one I’ll leave relationship columnists whilst to helping make the world foot fingers and other assaults.

Got a question?

Submit it at annrosenquistfee.com (click on Ann’s Fashion Fortunes).

Ann Rosenquist Fee is executive director of the Arts Center Peter and host of Live from Center, a music and interview Thursdays 1-2 p.m. on KMSU

GARDEN CHAT

By Jean Lundquist

I grow it, I eat it

many years ago when Lar and I first got married, I set about planting some flowers outside the house we were renting. My husband chided me a bit, looking at the sweat dripping from my brow, saying, “If you can’t eat it, why bother?”

Many,

For many, many years (read decades) after that day, those words stuck with me, and I became a pretty good vegetable grower, if I do say so myself. Pretty much the only flowers I grew then included nasturtiums, which taste peppery, and borage, which taste like cucumber, but without inducing burps.

I often threw in a pansy, and the occasional geranium to add some color. In the vegetable garden, I grew okra, which is in the hibiscus family and has a beautiful bloom. Unfortunately, I have always lived by the mantra that if you grow it, you eat it. (Just like for hunters: If you kill it, you eat it). I do not like okra and cannot eat it, so I quit growing okra.

This year I’m taking a big step out of those constraints. I decided color in the springtime is a very good thing, and I bought some flower bulbs to plant. I bought 150 tulip and grape hyacinth bulbs. I bought a “super bag” of each, with no idea where I would plant them.

As it began to sink in that I had 150 bulbs coming, which all needed to be planted, my back started screaming in opposition to the idea of what was ahead even before I received the bulbs.

So I found and bought a soil auger. It’s a cute little thing. It attaches to my cordless drill and makes swift work of drilling holes for 150 bulbs. No trowel needed, and no screaming back or knees.

If you haven’t planted your bulbs yet, you generally have until the middle of this month to get it done. Fallplanted bulbs mean a beautiful, colorful spring.

Garlic should also be planted by now, but if you get it in the ground as soon as possible, you will still have garlic next year. Depending on the weather to come, your garlic may grow to be near a foot tall this fall. I hear from a lot of people who think they did something wrong when it gets that tall, but that’s perfectly good and normal.

If you plant garlic in the spring, it still grows but will be very small — about the size of an onion set. Seriously, plant it this month and make yourself happy next spring/ summer.

If you plan it right, you can plant a little extra garlic

to use as “seed” in the fall. In my early days of growing garlic, I didn’t pull the scapes and let them mature into tiny little garlic seeds. I never planted them, however, and I’ve always wondered how they’d do. Maybe that’s a project for next year, if I remember.

A project I’ve started for this winter is growing ginger. It’s sprouted in water, just a bit from the grocery store. It took several changes of water for the soaking. I assume it may have been treated with “something” to prohibit sprouting, so that all had to be soaked out.

Then, white roots sprout before the ginger sends up green foliage. That’s the point when it gets put in a pot and under some lights.

Ginger is a tropical plant, so it can’t be planted outside here. I don’t know how fast it grows, but for as little as I’ve used in the past, I assume it will be plenty for us. Apparently it’s easy to dig into the pot and snap off a small chunk for stir fry, cookies or whatever you cook.

I’m harvesting the last of the cool crop seeds I planted in early August now. When the harvest ends, it’s time to start dreaming again and buy way too many seeds for plants for the garden next year.

As I munch on fresh radishes, kohlrabi, beets and zucchini, I’m anticipating my early-arriving seed catalogs, wondering what new thing I will find to grow in 2023.

Already, I can’t wait!

Jean Lundquist is a Master Gardener who lives near Good Thunder. gardenchatkato@gmail.com

FROM THIS VALLEY

By Pete Steiner

I Think That I Shall Never See…

have a contest to complete that line from a well-known poem. I think that I shall never see, “myself among the 1 percent be!” Or “myself at the top of Mount Everest be.” Something more mundane for me might go, “the end of walnuts plaguing me.”

Let’s

Don’t bail on me if you’ve read my walnut tree laments before; if you haven’t, you should know, I am the Sisyphus of walnuts. I have a lovehate relationship with the massive tree we inherited from the previous homeowners.

Every year, I start picking up in July and go until, well I still have more out there as you read this. I’ll get them all picked up and hauled to the compost site, then in nine months begin again. It’s been suggested: Why not just cut that tree down?

My answer provides the main theme of this month’s column.

nnnn

The full line from Joyce Kilmer’s 1913 poem is, “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree,” a line both beloved and belittled. Of course it is not Yeats or Eliot, but it did pop into my mind as I stumbled in my journal onto a yellowed and crisping newspaper photo by legendary Free Press photographer Bill Altnow.

The picture dates from October 1977, 45 years ago, and it captures majestic cathedral elm trees arching over the North Broad Street boulevard. But now it’s like a photo you would display at a funeral: How glorious their life was!

As Jean Lundquist noted in one of her “This Day in History” blurbs, by 1977 Dutch elm disease, first identified in Mankato in 1969, had exploded to infect most of Mankato’s elm canopy, which at the time made up 65% of the city’s shade trees. Within a decade, most of them would be fed to the chipper,

leaving much of the city naked as a new subdivision.

Today, of course, we face another monoculture devastation: Many of those elms were replaced with ash trees, themselves now mature, almost as majestic as the old elms, and themselves now about to be ravaged by the emerald ash borer.

So many of our yards and boulevards will again be empty of trees. So, I’ll keep my big walnut, keep bagging up its fruit; at least that tree will still provide shade, in addition to a feast for the squirrels.

Springs residents have proposed taking Minnesota/Midwest water so that they can continue to have green golf courses and wave pools out there in the desert?)

Glass half-full: Enjoy October’s special light, so crisp and vivid as it shimmers off colored leaves. And maybe it’s global warming, but Octobers have been trending milder here.

Glass half-empty: We had our first 90-degree day this year on May 12. By that calculation, it’s seven months until summer returns.

nnnn

By the numbers: As local boat owners put away their fishing boats and pleasure boats for the winter, consider this fact from Harper’s magazine. There were 14% more yachts sold last year than in 2020.

One-thousand super-yachts are on order, according to the New Yorker. Super-yachts (of footballfield length or longer) go for up to half a billion. Each one annually produces as much greenhouse gas as 1,500 passenger cars.

Related fact: There are 10 times more billionaires in the U.S. now than in 1990; the wealth of those billionaires has soared 70% since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

nnnn

October is a time for wistful thoughts:

Glass half-empty: Can’t go anymore to hear music or to dine at the Blue Boat or Busters.

Glass half-full : Another year of drought. Not good, unless you consider it means fewer mosquitoes and less frequent lawn mowings.

Glass half-empty: How long can our ancient life-sustaining aquifer last? (Did you know, some Palm

And probably about three months until we complain about the cold, having completely forgotten how intense Aug. 2 was: We hosted our neighborhood Night to Unite, and 40 brave souls (including 10 cops) showed up even though it was 95 degrees, dew point 72, heat index 108!

nnnn

Speaking of summer: Plenty of fun feedback on the June and August columns on “The Cruise” between the old root beer stands, the Oasis and the A&W. Tom Maertens

remembered some of his friends looking forward to flirting with the carhops at the A&W — one a homecoming queen!

But more practically, Tom extended the cruise: “I was driving my parents' yellow 1957 Olds '98 hardtop convertible, which made me the envy of my friends,” out to the legendary Neary's Nine-Mile Corner (on the curve off Highway 14) — another of those memorable places that are no more.

Longtime radio guy Pete Steiner is now a free lance writer in Mankato.

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