Nfld now 3 2018

Northfield

now

Long Division 20 Zabel stays in the game 26 NHS program has students helping students 32

L I V E / W O R K / P L AY

DOME SWEET DOME creating a place to play

Page 10 EARLY SPRING 2018 • ISSUE 1

A Great Place to Live, Work and Play Northfield Retirement Community residents enjoy exceptional living options and premier care and services, while having access to fabulous campus amenities.

Interested in making a move or joining our team?

LEARN MORE TODAY: northfieldretirement.org

Our staff works in a supportive environment, receiving competitive wages, excellent benefits and rewarding experiences.

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Northfield Retirement Community • 900 Cannon Valley Drive • 507-664-3466 • www.northfieldretirement.org

Northfield Retirement Community is an Equal Opportunity Provider.

This issue of Northfield NOW is delivered to all subscribers of Northfield News at no additional charge. Future issues will be delivered to subscribers for the low cost of $1.00 per issue, deducted upon delivery from your account balance. If you decide it’s not for you, you can opt out of future issues by contacting customer service at 507-645-5615 or kmorrison@ northfieldnews.com. Non-subscribers can purchase copies of Northfield News for $2.00 each.

Ames Mill on the Cannon River, Northfield, Minnesota (Evan Pak photo)

Welcome

TO northfield NOW Welcome to the first issue of Northfield Now, a new community lifestyle magazine of the Northfield News.

As a staff, we first started talking about a new magazine about six months ago. We planned how it would look, plotted what types of stories to include and considered the desired outcome for our new venture.

The result of all that planning is what you read here in the inaugural issue of Northfield Now. Inside this issue we hope you find the types of stories and photography that represents our community in a different way than we traditionally provide in our newspapers. We are looking to tell stories about the people you may have seen in your daily routine, but don’t necessarily know their name, where they are from and what they do for a living. What are their hobbies? What brought them to Northfield?

We also want to bring readers unique business stories, highlighting those that are lesser-known.

Others, quite possibly, you’ve never even heard their name, but they are still creating interesting products or services right here in our community.

Northfield Now is not like the newspaper. You won’t read government stories or breaking news here. It will be more focused on people, and feature stories will be the norm. Because of its unique size and glossy paper, it will go more in depth and offer a number of full color images and graphics.

This issue is just the start of our new venture, which you will see throughout the year. Northfield Now represents our efforts at showing off the community with a new medium. We hope you like what you see and read.

If you have story ideas or comments on how we can make Northfield Now even better, feel free to reach out and let me know at chjellming@northfieldnews.com.

Chad Hjellming Publisher

contents

6 Ophaug crossed milestone

with help from ‘aching’ friends

10 The Dundas Dome A place to play.

14 Ole photographer a true student of the craft

20 Long Division

Northfield’s downtown has grown while hardly changing at all.

26 Zabel stays in the game by

making the calls

28 Authors find support in the

Northfield community

32 Pair of NHS programs has

students helping students

36 DeLong finds the perfect

launch pad for post-teaching adventures

on the cover:

“Dome Sweet Dome” (Greg Davis photo)

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Wildflowers in Carleton College’s Cowling Arboretum, Northfield, Minnesota, 2017 (Evan Pak photo)

Northfield

now L I V E / W O R K / P L AY publisher: CHAD HJELLMING managing editor: Suzanne Rook advertising manager: JAY PETSCHE media consultant: KARI CLARK designer: Kate Townsend-Noet ad designers: Mary Jo Blanchard Kate McGillen Jennifer Schoenbauer Send story ideas to:

Suzanne Rook at Northfield NOW srook@faribault.com Volume 1, Issue 1

Northfield NOW 2018 Published Early Spring 2018 by: Northfield News 115 W Fifth Street Northfield, MN 55057 northfieldnews.com Š

All advertising contained herein is the responsibility of the advertisers. This publication is copyrighted by the Northfield News and no content can be reproduced without permission.

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northfield now calendar Guild’s Purple Door Youth Theater, featuring students in second to 12th grade, perform “The King’s New Clothes.” A short interactive theater game follows the performance.

Visit guides.mynpl.org

Easter Egg Hunt Easter’s almost here, and you know what that means: a big, smiling bunny and hidden colored eggs ready for youngsters to find.

There are two area hunts scheduled this year. Be sure to bring a basket or bag to carry home those eggs.

Dundas — 10 a.m.

Saturday, March 31 at Memorial Park for children up to 8 years old. Donation requested $1 per child. It’s sponsored by the city’s Park and Recreation Advisory Board.

Northfield — 9 a.m.

Saturday, March 31 at the St. Olaf College hill at Old Main. After they’re finished collecting eggs, the kids can take a peek at the Northfield EMS rescue truck that VFW Post 4393 organizers have arranged to have on site.

‘The King’s New Clothes’ 2-3 p.m. Saturday, April 21 Northfield Public Library, 210 Washington St. Family-friendly and free.

What more could you ask for? Northfield Arts

Serving Southern MN and South Metro

The concert features new work from composer Reinaldo Moya with trumpet soloist Manny Laureano from the Minnesota Orchestra and dancers from Northfield Art Guild’s Ballet Folklórico de México. An encore performance is set for 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the Paradise Center for the Arts, 321 Central Ave. N, Faribault. Tickets $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and students.

Call 507-645-8877 • Visit: northfieldartsguild.org

Book Sale April 24 to 28 Northfield Ice Arena, 1280 Bollenbacher Dr. The Northfield Hospital Auxiliary Book Sale is a tradition 57 years long that today fills the city Ice Arena with more than 65,000 books, DVDs, CDs and vinyl.

The Book Fair has raised over $850,000 to support hospital projects and scholarships. Donations will be accepted in beginning in early April.

Find more at Northfield Hospital Auxiliary Book Fair on Facebook.

Latin Inspirations concert 7 p.m. Friday, May 18 St. Dominic’s Church, 104 Linden St. N

We speak geek so you don’t have to!

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Helping individuals, couples, and families rediscover strengths and potential.

Graduation Commencement: the end of the beginning for area seniors starts with Northfield’s ALC at 7 p.m.

Friday, June 1. Graduation for the Raiders’ class of 2018 is at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 3. Arcadia Charter School is up next at 7 p.m.

Friday, June 8.

The city’s two colleges also hold commencement exercises. St. Olaf College goes first at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 27 on the Campus Green. Carleton College’s is set for 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 9 on the lawn west of Hulings Hall.

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Ophaug crosses milestone with help from ‘aching’ friends John Ophaug, left, and Stan Hup, are two members of the “Band of 10,000 Aches,” a group of marathon enthusiasts who meet weekly for dinner. (Philip Weyhe photo)

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A

By MICHAEL HUGHES mhughes@northfieldnews.com

fter nearly two decades of buildup, John Ophaug couldn’t help but laugh.

He had run either a marathon or a half-marathon in 49 states, and this January, traveled to Hawaii with plans to cross state No. 50 off the list. Then, the morning before the race, he received a text message alert that an inbound nuclear missile was headed toward him.

“I waited 17 years to do this and now I get nuked the day before the race,” Ophaug said he thought at the time.

“You’re in Hawaii and everything seems to run in slow motion,” he continued. “Apparently in some areas the people really became

upset and really freaked out, but where I was it was more a laid-back Hawaiian, ‘Well, we’ll see what happens.’ At the hotel I was staying at nobody got very excited.”

That alert, of course, caused much panic on the islands, but proved to be a faulty test warning. The next day, Ophaug, 67, crossed state No. 50 off his list, making him the third runner from Northfield that he knows of to accomplish the task.

Another of the three, Stan Hup, 63, was with Ophaug at the marathon in Hawaii. They’re both members of the “Band of 10,000 Aches,” a group of marathon enthusiasts who meet each Wednesday evening at B&L Pizza in Northfield to share stories from various distance running excursions.

“We have beer and pizza and lie about our accomplishments,” Ophaug said.

On a more serious note, Ophaug, an attorney with the Northfield law firm Schmitz, Ophaug & Blumhoefer, said the group has driven and helped him run more marathons.

“For me that was big, knowing that you could go every Wednesday if you wanted to and show them what you had done and talk to them about it,” Ophaug said. “Or you could talk to them about a particular state. ‘What would you recommend is the best race in Alabama or Texas?’ or something. That was fun. Having them there, it wouldn’t be correct to call it a support group, it’s more of an encouragement to keep you going.”

Robert Aby, a retired physician who lives in Northfield, is also part of the club and joins with Ophaug and Hup in being able to say he’s run a long-distance race in every state. For Aby, 72, that’s meant running marathons, half-marathons and 10K races in every state.

After Ophaug joined the club, he started run-

From left to right, Brian Cloherty, John Ophaug and Chick Woodward pose after running the Death Valley Marathon on Feb. 4, 2006, in Death Valley, California. Ophaug has run at least a halfmarathon in all 50 states. (Photo courtesy of John Ophaug)

ning in the area around his property.

“I like it, you can do it 12 months a year and you don’t have to go anywhere,” Ophaug said. “I just do it outside my house. I live in the country and it works just fine. It’s something I enjoy doing. I’m not good at it but I enjoy it.”

As he started ticking off states, he said he was

running about a marathon a month. Unfortunately, after 12 states, that rate started to have debilitating effects on his knee, which required serious surgery in August 2006.

“There’s a correlation between running a marathon every month and hurting your knee,” Ophaug said.

He returned to running the next April, but did so with a warning from his surgeon: No more marathons. So, after initially wanting to run a marathon in every state, Ophaug shifted his goal to at least a half-marathon in each state.

The knee injury hasn’t been the only ailment to limit Ophaug, but it’s certainly been the most major. He can rattle off a list of limitations, from a painful inflammation of the heel known as plantar fasciitis to Achilles tendinitis.

Still, Ophaug said if he wouldn’t go back in time and choose a different hobby.

“There’s a lot of things that are beat up and not working so well on my physical body, but no I have no regrets for doing it,” Ophaug said. “It’s a wonderful thing.”

The quest

Jeff Eggers, left, and Stan Hup, right, take a photo with a pair of pirates before running in the Jacksonville Marathon. Hup is one of three Northfield residents who has run at least a halfmarathon in every state. (Photo courtesy of Stan Hup)

Initially, Ophaug wasn’t a distance runner. As a student at Carleton College, he played basketball and ran sprints for the track team.

Then, as he began to grow older, he noticed his body wasn’t responding well to those activiCONTINUED ON PAGE 8 NorthIeld

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Dennis Easley, left, and John Ophaug pose with their medals after running the Adirondack Marathon in Schroon Lake, New York. (Photo courtesy of John Ophaug) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

ties with needs for quick cuts and accelerations.

So, he transitioned into distance running as his form of staying active.

“You don’t have to make an appointment with somebody or be at a place that’s open,” Ophaug said. “You just go home. If I get delayed at work it’s always there for me.”

Then, as he began to up his distances, he started hearing about the Band of 10,000 Aches from some friends in the group.

That’s the reason why he started running marathons in the first place, and the driving factor for the quest to knock off all 50 states.

“These people are my friends and they kind of talked me into it,” Ophaug said. “It’s one of those things where you get in with a bad crowd and things happen. It’s a lot of wonderful people.”

Other than Ophaug, Hup and Aby, there are 8

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a couple other members nearing the 50-state plateau.

For Hup, who’s one of the owners of Northfield Insurance Agency, he said the group made it

Northfield.”

Hup passed the mark long ago. Ophaug called Hup the best runner of the group, particularly because of his knack for never picking up a serious injury.

Hup started ticking off states when he moved to Northfield in 2004 and joined the Band of 10,000 Aches. He had run a handful of marathons before moving, and now, he’s not even sure what the total count is.

He also couldn’t tell you when he reached state No. 50, only that he’s pretty sure he did it in Wyoming.

“I’m not one of those guys that keeps track of everything like a lot of runners do,” Hup said. “I couldn’t even tell you how many marathons I’ve actually done. It’s probably up over 300, but I don’t keep track of it and don’t keep track of my times. I just go out and run them.”

It’s more than just running, though, Hup said.

It’s more an excuse to travel.

For instance, for his marathon in New Mexico, Hup competed in the Bataan Memorial Death March, which takes place in the highdesert terrain of the White Sands Missile Range.

“It gives you a chance to see a lot of places of the country that most other people have probably never seen,” Hup said.

Ophaug agrees, citing the ability to travel to different parts of the country as a bonus for completing his 50-state checklist. He keeps a scrapbook of photos from the marathons he’s run, complete with memories from the accompanying sight-seeing trips, in a storage cabinet in his office.

In those photos you’ll see a smattering of different faces, who all helped Ophaug on his journey to run in all 50 states. It’s the members of the Band of 10,000 aches.

“I couldn’t have done it without that,” Ophaug said. “Being able to talk to them every week about what you were running and who was running which race where — it’s a tradition that after each race you bring the T-shirt and the medal in the next Wednesday and show anyone. I could not have done it without that. It would have been too much of a drag.”

“These people are my friends and they kind of talked me into it. It’s one of those things where you get in with a bad crowd and things happen. It’s a lot of wonderful people.” - John Ophaug easier for him to reach that point.

“There’s always somebody available,” Hup said. “We’re all getting older so it’s getting less and less. There’s probably not quite that many people doing those types of things anymore in

Reach Sports Editor Michael Hughes at 645-1106. Follow him on Twitter @NFNSports. ©Copyright 2018 APG Media of Southern Minnesota.

All rights reserved.

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The

Dundas Dome a place to play “It wasn’t an easy process, but we just constantly had this vision of the dead of winter, when it’s 30 below zero, and we can have kids and adults inside playing, being physical, burning energy and having fun.”

- Sherry Foster The Dundas Dome, which sits just south of the Northfield line on Hwy. 3, is open six months out of the year, from Nov. 1 to May 1. (Grace Webb photo)

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Sherry Foster, is flanked by her sons, Dawson, left, and Brandon. Their involvement in lacrosse was the spark that led Foster and her husband to open the Dundas Dome. (Grace Webb photo)

I

By GRACE WEBB editor@northfieldnews.com

t can be discouraging for summer sports lovers to live in Minnesota. Once temperatures drop below zero and a foot of snow buries your favorite playing field, keeping your athletic skills honed for sports such as soccer and lacrosse can be a real challenge.

Local residents Mike and Sherry Foster know firsthand the challenges of participating in fair weather sports when everything is frozen outside. That’s why they created the Dundas Dome — an all-purpose sports facility that offers sports enthusiasts the chance to play lacrosse, soccer, softball, baseball and football regardless of the Minnesota weather raging outside. The dome houses an artificial turf covered full-length soccer field, which also doubles as two baseball fields, and batting cages along one wall. A giant skylight provides natural light throughout the facility.

Mike Foster explained the idea came about because of their family’s involvement in lacrosse. With two sons participating in the sport, both parents spent hours driving to similar sports domes in St. Thomas, St. Louis Park and other metro locations.

“We thought, ‘We need to build a dome. There’s nothing down here,’” he recalled.

“Being able to do stuff in the winter, it’d be a great benefit,” Sherry Foster added.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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THE DOME 901 Cannon Road, Dundas Phone: 507-366-3663 Website: www.dundasdome.com Facebook: Dundas Dome

The University of Minnesota lacrosse team played its home games at the Dundas Dome in 2017. Here, the Gophers take on the University of Minnesota Duluth in a Feb. 12, 2017 game the U won 10-4. (Ann Nash Photography)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

She said they broached the idea with their friend, Paul Whiteman, who works as a contractor and builder. Whiteman said he’d check around to see if any properties were even available, and, within a week, he had options and ideas to get the ball rolling.

“We just tackled one thing after the next,” Sherry Foster said. “Things fell into place. And we decided to make it happen. It’s for the community, for the kids, for adults … for everybody. We really wanted it.”

Planning got underway around two years ago, with construction starting in the summer of 2016 and the facility opening that November. The Fosters co-own the dome with Whiteman and his wife Shelly, employing six part-time employees and facility manager Kevin Hazlik.

“It wasn’t an easy process, but we just constantly had this vision of the dead of winter, when it’s 30 below zero, and we can have kids and adults inside playing, being physical, burning energy and having fun,” Sherry Foster said. “It was really rewarding, and we’re really proud we were able to provide this space for the community.”

On any given day, it’s not unusual to see a team practicing some sport there, whether it’s soccer or lacrosse. According to Hanzlik, most of their business comes from the south metro area, with accounts such as the Lakeville Soccer Association and the Minnesota Thunder Academy youth soc12

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Northfield’s Payton Fox tries to make a tag on a Tri-City United base runner at the Dundas Dome in February 2017. Northfield was one of eight teams playing in a Sunday league at the dome. (File photo)

cer club. Carleton College and St. Olaf both use the field at times during the year, as does Northfield High School. The University of Minnesota lacrosse team has played there, too. In addition,

college showcases can draw players and coaches from across state lines.

All that traffic can benefit surrounding businesses as well, Hanzlik pointed out.

“We have so much potential for this place,” he said. “I’m absolutely blown away at how this affects the local economy. People have come in from five different states … [and] they have to stay somewhere, they have to eat. We’re always getting questions: ‘Where’s a good place to eat?’ From an economic standpoint, it’s a huge asset.”

‘Bigger and better’ The dome is open six months of the year, from Nov. 1 to May 1. Mike Foster explained that the facility doesn’t meet all the guidelines to be a year-round facility, which is why they can’t rent the space out in the summer.

“People don’t rent in the summer anyway, because they want to be outside,” he said, adding that it would have cost $2 million just to meet all the requirements to run a year-round facility. “We’ve had some interest, but it just wouldn’t be worth the amount that it would cost to keep it going, compared to what we’d bring in.”

Foster added that originally, the city of Dundas told them that they would need to tear down the building every summer, which would cost about $40,000 (and another $40,000 to rebuild it). However, Foster was able to convince the city to allow them to keep the building up after all.

“It’s really safer to just leave it up and keep the fans going,” he said. “We are very lucky that Dundas has been very generous in allowing us to keep it up and unoccupied in the summer.”

During its open season, the Dundas Dome is open seven days a week, most days of the year (with exceptions such as Christmas, Easter and New Year’s Day). While most of the business comes from practicing sports teams, the dome is also available for birthday parties, exercise enthusiasts, pre-school groups and other visitors.

In addition, there are also “open dome” times where a $5 admittance fee lets people participate in bounce houses, bubble balls, bean bag tosses and other games. Participants can bring their own sports equipment to play games as well. Hanzlik said these “open” times have brought crowds of 200 to 300 at a time.

“There are so many benefits to this,” he said.

“And I think it’s only going to get bigger and better.”

Grace Webb is a freelance writer based in Mankato. ©Copyright 2018 APG Media of Southern Minnesota.

All rights reserved.

Submit your recipe for Southern Minn Girlfriends’

Let’s get 2018 cookbook Southern Minn

Girlfriends

Girlfriends Magazine is publishing a cookbook with the region’s best recipes – submitted by our readers – in advance of our 10th Anniversary “Let’s Get Cooking” show and expo on Oct. 18, 2018.

recipe categories: Apps, soups and salads // Main dishes // Desserts Submit as many recipes as you’d like. Our guest chef will select one recipe for inclusion in the cooking show and that individual will receive a $250 prize package! If we use one of your recipes in the cookbook, you’ll be eligible to purchase discounted tickets to Let’s Get Cooking.

To submit your recipes, visit southernminngirlfriends.com and follow the recipe submission link.

Watch for more information on Let’s Get Cooking and for your chance to pre-order the cookbook at a discounted price.

Southern Minn

where local women

turn

Girlfriends NorthIeld

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If possible, St. Olaf junior and Northfielder Evan Pak would like to incorporate photography into a career. (Sergius Hannan photo)

ABOVE: St. Olaf College Natural Lands, Northfield, Minnesota.

TOP RIGHT: Dead Horse Point State Park, Moab, Utah.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Big Woods State Park, Nerstrand, Minnesota.

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Ole photographer a true student of the craft

E

By SUZANNE ROOK srook@faribault.com

ven before he had a camera of his own, Evan Pak was a student of photography.

As a sixth-grader, Pak, now 20 and a junior at St. Olaf College, decided it was time to move on from his parent’s digital camera and start saving for his own equipment. But Pak didn’t sit around waiting for the dollars to accumulate. He spent that summer going back and forth to the Northfield Library, borrowing every book it and the library system it belongs to had on the subject.

He pored over each page, learning about aperture, ISO, the rules of composition, exposure and more.

Those lessons, along with a love of nature and an innate curiosity have served him well. He’s taken some incredible snaps in places as far flung as Japan, Death Valley National Park and his parents’ east side yard.

Pak and his parents moved to Northfield in 2003. A few years later, a project of his mother’s took the family to Tokyo for 10 months. There, his CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 NorthIeld

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

love of photography flourished. He was infatuated with the beautiful open spaces, the exotic flora and the variety of trains he could focus on.

He calls it “an inspiring place to live.”

In Northfield, Pak, a 2015 Northfield High grad, has no shortage of inspiration. He grew up near Carleton College and spent hours discovering its Cowling Arboretum. But at St. Olaf, where he’s majoring in environmental studies, Pak believes he may have an even better place to shoot.

The college’s Natural Lands provide the photographer not only with an array of subjects, but a place where he can decompress.

His advice? Find a place where you’ve noticed wildlife. Then wait. Before long, he says, animals will slowly make their way back as they get used to a human in their presence.

Then, he says, take a “ton of pictures and don’t be afraid of the ones that don’t turn out.

Look at (those) and work on improving them.”

And, he adds, study. Use whatever resources

are available to learn more about your craft: the library, internet, Youtube, blogs and more.

Also critical, he said, is to stop worrying.

“Many people have used equipment far worse than what you have in your cell phone,” Pak said. “Gear is important, but it’s not the end all, be all.”

Reach Regional Managing Editor Suzanne Rook at 507-333-3134. Follow her on Twitter @rooksuzy. ©Copyright 2018 APG Media of Southern Minnesota.

All rights reserved.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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TOP LEFT: Heath Creek, Northfield, Minnesota.

TOP RIGHT: Holland Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.

ABOVE: St. Olaf College Natural Lands, Northfield, Minnesota.

RIGHT: I snapped this shot of a cedar waxwing while walking to class last spring. It sure pays off carrying my camera all the time!

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

BEHIND THE LENS Career goal: Ideally, he’d like to find something which allows him to combine his major, environmental studies, and photography. Perhaps, he says, something with the National Park Service or guide companies.

Favorite place to photograph: St. Olaf College’s Natural Lands.

Not only is accessible for the Ole junior. “There’s so much variety within a few minutes of walking, from a wide open prairie, a maple grove, a natural stream,” he said. “There’s so much wildlife living there.”

Extracurricular: St. Olaf Outdoors Club Board and captain of the St. Olaf Cycling Club His camera: Canon EOS 80D. His go to lens depends on what he expects to photograph.

Social: Evan Pak Photography on Facebook and evanjpak on Instagram

TOP LEFT: This is my favorite photo that I have ever taken. My family was driving through Rocky Mountain National Park when we saw a group of elk near the side of the road. Stopping in a turnout, I was able to get this shot within just a few minutes.

BOTTOM LEFT: Death Valley National Park, California.

TOP RIGHT: Bridge Square, Northfield, Minnesota.

LEFT: Hannah.

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Long Division

Northfie 20

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Northfield’s downtown serves as the heart of the city. Its centuries-old style and architecture, paired with a modern polish and presentation, makes it a favorite destination for residents and visitors. Decisions made 40 years ago helped make it happen. (Evan Pak photo)

D

By PHILIP WEYHE pweyhe@northfieldnews.com

ocumented in the pages of the 1978 Northfield News archives is proof that a bit of foresight can impact a community for decades.

The conversations that took place in the Northfield community 40 years ago were centered around improvement, repair and preservation.

Community leaders saw their downtown at a turning point. And instead of replacing it with a shopping mall or letting it modernize and blend in with the rest of the city, Northfield revitalized.

“A lot of downtown areas all over the country essentially become ghost towns as businesses moved out,” said Northfield resident Cliff Clark, who served on the Heritage Preservation Commission for many years, starting in 1984. “There were a whole group of people in Northfield that didn’t want this to happen, that wanted the community to maintain a sense of identity with its vibrant downtown.”

In 1978, the city of Northfield established the Heritage Preservation Commission and submitted an application to register its downtown as a national historic district. That application was accepted in 1979, and over the next four decades, the city’s downtown grew in stature by hardly changing at all.

In an Aug. 10, 1978 Northfield News article, former Faribault City Attorney Tom Dillon iterated the kind of long-term thinking that many of the country’s most beloved downtowns benefited from. Dillon believed preservation was more than a trend, more than an “aesthetic nicety.”

It wasn’t about changing for the future. It was about preparing the past for the future.

“Northfield and Faribault must capitalize on these historic structures they have,” Dillon said. “Not by modernizing them but by preserving them.”

ield’s

Starting a community

John Wesley North settled on land in the Cannon River valley in 1855, believing the area could be successful with its access to water and abundant natural resources. With his brother-in-law, George Loomis, North built a sawmill, then a grismill and a bridge.

North and his wife, Ann Loomis North, were soon joined by many in their small community. According to the city’s recollection of history, these CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

downtown has grown while hardly changing at all NOW

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The Archer House back when it was known as The Manawa shows the former brick exterior. (Photo courtesy of the Archer House)

The Archer House was renovated in the 1980s, under the ownership of Dallas Haas, to regain some of its 1877 form. It was further renovated by the current owners around 2010. (Photo courtesy Archer House)

mercial structures. Examples are the Bjoraker Building (1870), the Scriver Building (1878) and the Scofield Building (1878).

Between 1880 and 1900, downtown Northfield assumed much of its current configuration. Substantial new brick structures were erected, reflecting Victorian Italianate, Romanesque Revival and Neo-Classical influences. Near 30 buildings remain from this period.

There was a small boom of new stories on Division and Water streets on the west side of the Cannon River between 1900 and 1910. Exterior remodeling, rather than new construction, was common after the turn of the century. An institutional exception is the National Guard Armory, built in 1915, which is currently recommended for addition to the Northfield Historic District.

Deterioration and revitilization Division Street in Northfield, looking north from Sixth Street in 1876. Many of the buildings on the street today retain the same exterior materials. (Photo courtesy of the Northfield Historical Society Collection) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

people were brought together by common lines of thinking — among them women’s rights, temperance, the abolitionist movement and education.

In 1856, the first school in Northfield was founding. The Northfield independent school district was established in 1874, the same year as St. Olaf College. Eight years before that, Carleton College (formerly Northfield College) was founded.

Retaining its agricultural roots and

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spurred on by its educational institutions, the town of Cows, Colleges and Contentment was born.

Bridge Square was established in 1856, but Northfield’s downtown didn’t start taking shape until the 1870s. Several buildings started popping up, including the former Lockwood Opera House (419 Division St.) in 1872, the French Building (317 Division St.) in 1872 and the Archer House in 1877.

Soon, dozens of buildings lined Division and surrounding streets, forming around Bridge Square and

next to the Cannon River.

According to a 2016 historical survey conducted by Carole Zellie and Amy Lucas, of Landscape Research, masonry commercial structures, dating from 1868 to 1910, were the primary building type in Northfield’s early downtown.

Three periods of Northfield’s growth are represented in the historic district, according to the survey. The earliest, from 1856 to 1880, resulted in a compact downtown focused on Bridge Square — many frame and a few stone and brick Italianate com-

Northfield resident Bob Will remembers heading into Northfield by train, waving his GI Bill in his hand.

“I had just gotten out of the Navy at the end of World War II,” he said.

“Northfield was a modest community, and I wondered if I really wanted to stay here. And now I’m still here.”

At this time, according to Will, the downtown was not at its pristine best.

“I remember the downtown area buildings were not in good shape,” he said. “With the great depression and the war, there hadn’t been much opportunity to improve them. The buildings needed some updating in terms of their physical structure.”

Fellow longtime resident Clark agrees with Will about the condition of

DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENTS At the same time the preservation movement took hold in Northfield, city leaders were planning improvements to the downtown.

Articles from the 1978 Northfield News archives describe the efforts to design a new Bridge Square with more greenery and pedestrianfriendly walkways. That design can be seen today in the city.

Buildings, lining the Cannon River in Northfield in the 1960s, were quickly falling into poor condition and disrepair.

(Photo courtesy Jim Herreid)

the downtown in the 1950s and ‘60s.

He remembers specific flaws.

“The front of the variety store next to First National Bank had a fake tin front that really looked poor. A building at Division and Fifth had all the

windows covered and had a false front.

And a number of other buildings had not been maintained well,” he said.

The National Historic Preservation Act was enacted into law in 1966. The act was established to help preserve

historical sites in the United States, creating the National Register of Historic Places. This was part of a wave of preservation post-WWII, when Americans were mourning the loss of historic buildings and sites, partially

Articles also detail the Division Street reconstruction in 1978. The entire street was torn out, a new foundation was put in and the road was repaved. Meanwhile, business leaders, like Jim Herreid, were remodeling interiors and clearing up exteriors, helping to ensure the city’s primary business district remained healthy.

caused by the new highway system built across the country.

In the 1970s, seeing its own downtown becoming vulnerable, Northfield leaders started seriously contemplating CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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We are a community who is committed to the philosophy that whatever the date on your birth certificate, you still have a fire in your belly and a twinkle in your eye. This is a great time in your life. You know what you want.

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There’s a buzz of activity in every corner of the building — a place where you’ll always feel welcome and at home. Whether you are 50 or north-of-50, this is a great place to work out and hang out with like-minded folks involved in a wide range of affordable, fun and healthy pursuits, including:

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Before renovations took place, the old site of the Rueb N’ Stein in Northfield looked a bit worn. (Photo courtesy Jim Herreid)

BELOW: This map of the Northfield Historic District, produced in 1978, was submitted with the city’s application to the National Historic Register. The district was approved for historic status in 1979. (Graphic courtesy National Historic Register)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

historic preservation. By 1978, they were actively pursuing the topic.

An article in the Jan. 26, 1978 Northfield News — located just below an article about a building in town reaching 100 years in age — notes that former city administrative assistant Brian Oschwald was undertaking an historical survey of the downtown. Later, a June 15, 1978 article describes Oschwald’s success.

“City administrative assistant Brian Oschwald caught the imagination of City Council members and a large audience by showing scenes of Northfield’s exciting architecture from the late 1800s, contrasted with presentday scenes,” the article reads. “… Oschwald was loudly applauded when the presentation ended. The council voted unanimously to direct the staff to submit the application for historic district status.”

The district was granted its historic status the next year.

And over the next several decades, the Northfield Historic Preservation Commission encouraged and helped business owners to revitalize and improve their buildings to ensure long-lasting quality and retain the architecture of old.

Northfield resident Jim Herreid owned seven buildings in the downtown in the 1970s and ‘80s. He was also on the City Council when it approved the application for historic status. He doesn’t recall a community-wide interest in preservation, but he doesn’t remember much resistance either. He believes Northfield benefited from individuals strongly engaged with the movement.

“I think people interested in preservation had excitement. I know I had some,” Herreid said. “I think maybe we had 20-25 architects in town at that time. We were lucky to have those kinds of people around that promoted that whole idea of an historic district.”

A lasting downtown Today, Northfield community members are still advocating, defending and initiating preservation. In early

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2018, the Northfield City Council accepted recommendations from the Landscape Research survey and from the HPC to add four buildings to the historic district, including the old Armory on Division Street.

If approved by the National Register, it will be the first major addition or change to the district since its establishment 40 years ago. City Planner Scott Tempel believes it was overdue.

“Things change over 40 years, so we didn’t really know what we had,” he said. “Buildings are improved, modified. The review standards and inventory standards have been refined and modernized.”

What community decision-makers hoped, 40 years ago, was for Northfield to keep a sense of itself and its origins, even as it grew and expanded.

They believed in their downtown, and while working to improve it, they sought to keep its core.

Their focus and efforts paid off.

In many small communities across the United States, downtowns are quickly dissipating, already deteriorated or gone completely. Some of those towns and cities have made do, leaving behind the past and forging a new identity. Others are crumbling, stuck between what they were and what they have yet to become.

But not Northfield. Northfield has continued to grow, both in physical size and population. And its downtown remains at the heart of its success. The buildings, lining Division Street and its arteries, call back the past but with

Residents and visitors await the Defeat of Jesse James Days parade in 2013. Behind them, buildings with late 1800s and early 1900s architecture display prominently. (Northfield News file photo)

a polished, modern presentation. And it’s not just for looks.

The businesses within the district survive and, more often that not, thrive. The downtown streets hustle and bustle for the city’s biggest events, like Defeat of Jesse James Days and Winter Walk.

Things could, probably would, be different if the community ignored preservation decades ago.

“With the [HPC], people said we should look like a community that shows our roots,” Will said. “Now, you walk around the downtown and you see the front of the buildings and

say ‘Yes, this is what our history looks like.’”

Reach Associate Editor Philip Weyhe at 507-645-1115 or follow him on Twitter @ nfnphilweyhe. ©Copyright 2018 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Longtime Northfielders may have noticed the heading on this story, “Long Division,” and remembered it as the name of a longrunning column by former Northfield News Editor Maggie Lee. Lee, a true townie who worked for the News for 68 years, wasn’t just a Northfielder, she was a living, breathing advocate for all things Northfield. Her column, Long Division, which ran for years, started with a trip through downtown and included tidbits she picked up along the way — whether it was what new line a particular shop was carrying or whether a store owner had hired a new salesperson.

It was Lee who helped pushed for a historical society separate from the county, who urged Chip DeMann to make the JamesYounger Gang more authentic and who, on a trip to San Antonio, decided that Northfield, too, should have a Riverwalk. A portion of the Northfield Riverwalk is named in her honor.

Lee, the quintessential Northfielder, died in July 2013. It’s with a tip of a purple, cat-covered cap that we resurrect Long Division, our nod to our dear friend, Maggie Lee. Maggie Lee poses along the Riverwalk she envisioned. (News file photo) NorthIeld

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Zabel stays in the game by

Northfield resident Russ Zabel works a girls basketball game. Zabel has worked as a referee for 20 years. (Photo courtesy of Phil Sinn/ PhilSinnPhotography.com)

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making the calls

N

By NICK GERHARDT ngerhardt@northfieldnews.com

o matter the playing field, Russ Zabel has remained in the field of vision for many at any Northfield

High School athletic event.

Zabel spent much of his time watching his three children grow up playing sports in Northfield. First his daughters Bri and Morgan participated in three sports growing up and then son, Nic, followed suit.

But when Zabel wasn’t playing referee at home, he was doing so on a football field or a basketball court.

Zabel helped coach his kids and many others in Northfield through the youth ranks for a number of years while also serving as the ninth-grade basketball coach until 1997. After that he turned toward refereeing as a way to stay close to game but reduced his time commitment.

“I really enjoy it,” Zabel said. “I still get to be part of the game and help the kids.”

How a referee can help a kid may not come through upon first glance because referees often receive more than their share of criticism, but it’s evident with Zabel.

A lot of time referees like Zabel use their calls on the court as learning experiences for players when they explain their decisions. It’s all so the kids can understand the rules and the game better.

“We usually tell them we’re approachable,” Zabel said. “Just come and ask us.”

Zabel referees in the same calm manner he uses when talking about refereeing.

As black and white as a call can be, so can the approach to refereeing.

A refereeing crew is trying to send the right message and get everyone on the same page, Zabel said. The less confusion on how a game is called or why something is called makes it easier to officiate.

There’s less to interpret or argue. Being proactive and having good communication makes interactions between players and coaches smoother for Zabel.

“We as officials can help train a coach,” he said.

Having experienced both sides of each role also helps Zabel, a Fredricksburg, Iowa, native who grew up playing football, basketball, golf and baseball in the town of nearly 1,000, an hour and 15 minutes east of Mason City.

Zabel and his wife, Lori, moved to Northfield in 1986 to raise a family. Lori, also an Iowa native, and Russ, settled on Northfield because of the proximity to her job in St. Paul and his work at Holden Farms. Russ spent 18 years with Holden before moving to Veterinary Services nine years ago.

He started refereeing games at the middle school and freshman levels before registering with the Minnesota State High School League in 200405. Since then he’s worked games across the state. Last year, he worked the boys’ basketball state tournament for the first time and this season he’ll add a section tournament title game.

Zabel has witnessed many of Northfield High School ‘s athletic highlights by watching his kids play. Bri became the all-time leading scorer in Northfield basketball history, only to see Morgan later break the record. The all-time school scoring record has since been broken by Luke Harris in 2016. Morgan helped lead the

Russ Zabel signals a foul call during a girls basketball game. Zabel has worked as a referee around the state for nearly 20 years. (Photo courtesy of Phil Sinn/ PhilSinnPhotography.com)

Raiders to just their second state tournament in school history in 2010. Five years later, Nic helped Northfield reach the Class 3A baseball tournament for a second consecutive year.

“I really enjoy it.

I still get to be part of the game and help the kids.” - Russ Zabel As the kids grew up, Zabel put in his time working on the youth association boards for softball and basketball.

The Zabel children grew up in the Sibley View Lane neighborhood next to several other families like the Mauses, the Mathisons, Malechas, the Hansons and the Lymans. At one point there were 43 kids in the neighborhood within eight or nine years of each other.

Must’ve been good to have a referee nearby. ©Copyright 2017 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Referee Russ Zabel, of Northfield, signals a 3-pointer in a game he referees. Zabel has stayed active in local sports through officiating. (Photo courtesy of Phil Sinn/PhilSinnPhotography.com) NorthIeld

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Authors find support in the Northfield community Content Bookstore features an entire shelf dedicated to Northfield authors, including Benjamin Percy, Mary Blechwehl and Kaethe Schwehn.

(Kelsey O’Hara photo)

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By KELSEY O’HARA kohara@northfieldnews.com

M

ary Bleckwehl never saw herself as a writer.

Bleckwehl grew up on a farm in northeastern Iowa with a large family, and doesn’t recall her parents reading to her before bed or preaching the importance of literature at home. Instead, she experienced stories in the classroom.

“I was a farmer’s daughter and never met a writer until I was in college, although I had a great journalism teacher in high school and wrote for the school newspaper in high school and college,” Bleckwehl said.

Eventually, Bleckwehl moved to Northfield with her family and taught students of her own. As a teacher, she saw ideas for stories that related to children in her classroom but never had time to put the pen to paper.

“I got into writing children’s books rather unexpectedly when I had some health problems following emergency surgery,” she

said. “I wasn’t able to teach anymore, so I filled my days with writing. I would start a story with little plan of where it would take me. My characters simply took over and wrote the story.”

Now the author of three children’s books, Bleckwehl is a part of the growing community of authors in Northfield. But what is it about Northfield that attracts authors to the area or stimulates local residents to become authors?

Content Bookstore owner Jessica Peterson White connects with local authors through events including book launches, book signings and pre-orders for large releases.

To Peterson White, authors are drawn to Northfield for the same reasons most visitors are.

“Like everyone who visits Northfield, authors comment on our vibrant downtown, our sidewalk poetry and the many other signs that this is a community that supports the arts,” she said.

The support for the arts is apparent through businesses and organizations that display local artists in their projects and

through the general reaction of Northfield residents for local authors’ works.

“We hear from visiting authors and New York City publicists that they are amazed at the audiences we draw for author events at Content,” Peterson White said. “It’s wonderful to see how enthusiastically people in this community support all things local, including locally created literature.”

Community Three are authors who have released books recently, see similar advantages to the Northfield community, including the strong presence of the arts and a value on education, coming from the city’s two private colleges. Benjamin Percy, author of “The Dark Net,” and his wife moved to Northfield due to its optimal location between Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and the Twin Cities.

“Northfield felt like the best fit. A small town that was a short drive to the airport (since I travel constantly) and to all that Minneapolis/St. Paul has to offer,” he said. “We’re a progressive, educated community with a thriving downtown, great schools, and many cultural and artistic opportunities,” he said.

Percy released his newest novel, “The Dark Net,” in August 2017 and held the official launch at Content Bookstore. The book was also named a finalist in the Minnesota Book Awards in January in the Genre Fiction Minnesota Book Award

Mary Bleckwehl, center, makes visits to local schools, including the Northfield Montessori School, to read her stories and talk to children about the importance of books. (Kelsey O’Hara photo)

category.

The writer and his family have lived in Northfield since 2012. He said the environment is conducive for writing.

“It’s a good place to think and work. It’s quiet in the woods just outside of town and I can retreat

into my books. Or I can head downtown and meet up for coffee or beers with some friends and trade ideas,” Percy said.

With its blend of artists and educators, Percy CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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Kaethe Schwehn used details of Northfield and southern Minnesota as inspiration for the communities built in her new novel, “The Rending and the Nest.” (Kelsey O’Hara photo) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

suggests Northfield is the perfect community for writers and booksellers to thrive; he mentioned that Peterson White works to bring guests and local authors to the fore. The colleges and public library also host their fair share of author events.

“People show up for these events. They’re hungry for words,” Percy said.

Inspiration For Percy, the community offers the right resources for writers to flourish. St. Olaf Professor Kaethe Schwehn found that the community inspired aspects of her writing, especially for her first novel, “The Rending and the Nest,” released in February.

In the dystopian novel, Schwehn offered a world that is familiar yet strange: she uses real locations like a deserted Barnes & Noble and the amusement park at the Mall of America. Characters in the story even walk down a version of Cedar Avenue from Northfield.

“At first, the book was set in Florida, and I realized that I knew nothing about Florida. If I am writing a book about weird things, it should be grounded in the familiar,” she said. “And Northfield is what is familiar to me.”

Along with setting details, Schwehn spoke 30

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with Northfield residents and local artist Jennifer Wolcott about other aspects of her work. Schwehn said Wolcott brought a unique perspective of what objects would be left in the piles and what would you need if the “world ended.”

Schwehn studied creative writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the University of Montana and earned a bachelor of arts from Gustavus Adolphus College. Although this is her first novel, she has written a memoir, “Tailing: A Memoir” and a poetry collection, “Tanka & Me.” “The Rending and the Nest” addresses themes of community and how to build community when

Support Although Bleckwehl wasn’t directly inspired by the city, her experiences in Northfield have shaped her books. Bleckwehl said her interactions teaching elementary students influenced how she incorporated lessons into her books, including her newest release, “Claire’s Hair.”

“Children’s books really let you explore subtlety messages while still reflecting the childhood innocence,” she said.

The story focuses on two friends, Claire and Albert. Claire is known for her long, red hair. But

“Like everyone who visits Northfield, authors comment on our vibrant downtown, our sidewalk poetry and the many other signs that this is a community that supports the arts.” - Jessica Peterson traditional institutions don’t exist. For Schwehn, the book acts a way to show her gratitude toward her own community, Northfield.

“The book is very much about the community and Northfield is an incredible community. I’m very grateful to be a part of it,” she said.

when Albert gets sick and goes to the hospital, Claire tries to cheer him up, only to find he lost his hair from medicine he had to take. She ends up donating half of it and brings the other half to Albert, who uses it in ways that make him laugh again.

Bleckwehl said that although she loves North-

Northfield author section of Content Bookstore. (Kelsey O’Hara photo)

field, she would still write if she wasn’t here because “being an author is simply an extension of what I was already in love with as a reader, a teacher, a mother and grandparent-sharing stories that connect.”

But being in Northfield helps artists and writers feel valued by other residents because of their support and opportunities to talk about their passion.

Bleckwehl often visits with local elementary schools to discuss her books and writing with young students.

Northfield’s support is the primary reason to Bleckwehl that there is an author community currently ‘forming.’

“Many organizations, like Content Bookstore, Northfield News and KYMN Radio give local authors a platform to share their stories …,” she said. “So, it might not be that the author community is growing in Northfield, we just have more venues to be heard than ever before.”

We’re bringing the power of possibility to people with special needs.

Reach Reporter Kelsey O’Hara at 507-645-1117 of follow her on Twitter @APGKelsey. ©Copyright 2018 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.

BUY THE BOOK Percy, Schwehn and Bleckwehl’s new releases are available at Content Bookstore, 314 Division St., Northfield.

“The Dark Net” Also available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound and Powell’s.

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Austin Bauer, second from right, welcomes a student into the Northfield High School Study Center. While students who serve as tutors are available throughout the day, Bauer and fellow AmeriCorps Promise Fellow Greg Gianopolis assist students and help oversee the program. (Suzanne Rook photo)

S H N f o r i a P s a h s m a r prog

T

ucked away along a Northfield High School corridor is a room that welcomes collaboration and conversation.

Sun floods the room, shining light on cozy furnishings — plush wingback chairs, a futon and blue fabric saucer chair — along with your standard classroom tables and chairs. Hanging from the ceiling are paper lan-

N terns in bright yellows, oranges and reds, matching panels of color on the classroom walls. A low murmuring of voices is heard throughout the room. It’s the sound of encouragement, of student coaches working alongside their peers.

By the door, an invitation: Study Center, it reads.

It’s not your typical classroom.

Now in its third year, the Academic Coaches at Northfield High School is just one of two peer helpers programs in which students assist their schoolmates. One focuses on academics, the other on emotional and social well-being.

Its success comes at a time when schools and communities across the nation are grappling with ensuring no student is left behind, along with how to support students on a social and emotional level.

g n i p l e h s t n e d s u t n st e d u st

By MEGHAN ROOK editor@northfieldnews.com

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Sophomore Charlie Chambers chats with NHS academic coach Joan Kornkven, right. Teachers can also schedule to have a coach come to their class.

(Suzanne Rook photo)

Finding academic success Academic Coaches is a team of students selected based on their academic performance and availability, and who have dedicated themselves to the academic success of their peers. The coaches, who have an array of specialties, spend

their study hall period in the center, available for whoever stops in. Teachers can also schedule coaches to assist in their classrooms.

“I didn’t like study halls so I decided to try it,” said Anne France, a senior, one of 28 who are serving this year as academic coaches. “I started

this year and have been going twice a week. Students usually come to me for help in physics and English.”

Students who seek help usually self-identify, though sometimes teachers will intentionally CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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Closed Mon • Tues-Thurs 3pm-10pm • Fri/Sat 12pm-11pm • Sun 12pm-8pm 507-366-BEER (2337) • 103 Water Street North, Northfield, MN 55057 NorthIeld

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Filled with light, the Study Center at Northfield High School, with its comfy furniture and bright colors, feels more like a lounge than a classroom. Pictured studying at the table are Ally Lee, Charlie Chambers and Joan Kornkven. (Suzanne Rook photo)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

pair a student with a coach. Oftentimes, kids will leave class after a lesson to go and get one-on-one help from a student coach.

That flexibility and individual attention is helping students at NHS. “We see that when kids are connected to either students/adults in the building or exhibit some form of school connectedness, they perform better,” said NHS Principal Joel Leer. “This is the reason we push so hard and are so purposeful in this endeavor. There is a major connection between connectedness and academic success.”

Research supports the idea. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, students who feel connected to their school not only perform better academically, they have fewer absences, are less likely to engage in dangerous or illegal behaviors, and less likely to have emotional problems.

Among the CDC’s recommendations to enhance school connectedness: “provide students with the academic, emotional and social skills they need to engage in school, and create trusting and caring relationships that promote open communication among administrators, teachers, staff, students, families and communities.”

Where to turn In 2017, the Northfield school district vowed to improve the level of emotional and social support 34

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it was offering high schoolers. Given the success of the Academic Coaches program, it adopted another peer helping model, called Students Supporting Students in which coaches are trained to offer a listening ear and support using a Hazelden Betty Ford model called Peer Helpers.

Northfield’s Students Supporting Students gives students a place to turn when they’re worried, concerned or frustrated. Just as with Academic Coaches, student mentors pledge that all their interactions remain confidential unless a student is in danger of harming themselves or others.

Used by a number of schools across the state — including Lake City, Marshall, Pipestone, Wabasha-Kellogg, Browerville and Pierz — the Peer Helpers initiative has expanded into schools as a way to close the gap in services that teachers were able to provide to the student body. It’s also logical.

“Research indicates students often communicate their problems to their peers rather than to parents, administrators or school counselors,” according to the American School Counselor Association in a 2015 document on peer support programs. “Through proper selection, training and supervision, peer support can be a positive influence within the school and community. Research indicates peer-support programs are helpful when focused on assisting students with social/emotional or academic problems.”

“Through proper selection, training and supervision, peer support can be a positive influence within the school and community. Research indicates peer-support programs are helpful when focused on assisting students with social/emotional or academic problems.”

- American School Counselor Association in a 2015 document on peer support programs

Selecting the helpers Once NHS settled on forming Students Supporting Students, school leaders faced their next question: How to come up with a group of teenagers willing to commit to a year of peer helping?

They asked those who know best: other students.

In an effort to gather students from different friend circles, NHS leaders asked students to write down the names of three classmates they would confide in. The results were tallied and the students whose names appeared most often were invited to meet Carrie Duba, school psychologist and head of the Peer Helpers program.

“We wanted students who we knew were credible,” said Duba. “We didn’t want it to look like the same kids who are in leadership all the time.”

The ratio of boys to girls was almost perfect: 49 percent female, 51 percent male. The 26 students chosen were more than committed to the program.

“Mental health gets overlooked a lot,” said junior Keara Cooney, a member of the SSS team.

“I was excited that the school wanted to create this resource and make it student led.”

At the beginning of this school year, the 26 students — along with five academic advisors — attended a two-day training led by Hazelden Betty Ford instructors. With origins in chemical health, the model has expanded into schools as a way to help young people develop skills to resolve some of the common concerns of adolescence.

The kids dove right in, using the opportunity to make themselves vulnerable to the instructors.

“These kids just impressed them, and they impressed us all. I think what took the trainers by surprise was the depth of the discussion,” said Duba. “They told us that in 26 years they had never taught a group like this.”

The two days flew by. Students learned to demonstrate active helping skills, implement a plan of self-care and identify ways to show concern for their peers. The big takeaway for many of the SSS team was the importance of listening and letting their peers come to their own realizations.

And while research shows that many students feel more comfortable coming to their peers for emotional support, the helpers are required to give a confidentiality agreement with anyone who talks to them. This ensures that their voice remains private, and doesn’t become a topic of gossip around the school.

In addition to the two-day course, monthly trainings have gone on through the year. Instructors from various institutions have been brought in to teach stress management, breathing techniques and lessons in the neuroscience of helping.

These monthly sessions are crucial, not only from

a learning standpoint, but as a way for the helpers to bond with each other, said Duba.

“I had never met Keara Cooney until this year and now I feel like I can talk to her,” senior Yamille Hernandez said of her fellow peer helper.

“All of the helpers have formed a bond with each other.”

The peer helpers’ primary residence lies in room H107, which is open every Tuesday for students to go in and get advice from a peer.

For those students without extra time, easily accessible QR codes are also posted around the school and on student iPads so students can view a listing of the peer helpers. The helpers are listed by name, grade and picture, so that students can get a feel for who they may be more comfortable speaking to. From there, they can choose to set up a meeting outside of study hall hours.

With an option to chat online, most of the helpers said that in-person meetings are not always necessary.

Oftentimes their presence extends far beyond those four walls, with some students having gone so far as to send direct messages on social media.

“Not everyone has study halls,” said Duba, the school psychologist. “Once they’re trained, these students are out there in the student body with a different set of skills. This benefits the high school with just knowing that.”

Achieving goals and spreading awareness The Peer Helpers initiative runs on funding provided by five different organizations, includ-

ing WINGS (Women In Northfield Giving Support,) Northfield United Way and the Minnesota Department of Education. The school district has funding for a three-year cycle, generally the amount of time it takes for a school program to gain momentum and take root.

In order to build that momentum, the peer helpers keep in mind the goals set in place. Their primary goal? To help students.

Once a more formal procedure was in place, the school needed a way to keep track of the students helped. To do this, the peer helpers keep a log of the number of contacts they have. This includes students who set up formal meetings, as well as those who contact them over social media or stop by for a brief chat in the hallway.

So far this school year, the helpers have accumulated around 100 official contacts.

The Academic Coaches are even busier. Now in their third year, the coaches log around 2,000 contacts annually.

Staff will pull data from the Minnesota Student Survey, which is done every two years and asks students a variety of questions about everything from drug and alcohol use to school safety, in order to see whether or not NHS has reached their goals pertaining to social and emotional support.

For now, the group is focusing on spreading the word and raising awareness, not only about their group but also about mental health.

Smiling, Duba is more than satisfied. “We couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural group,” she said.

Meghan Rook is a freelancer writer based in New Prague.

ADVISERS Advisers for the Students Supporting Students team are: Carrie Duba (NHS school psychologist) Meleah Follen (Youth Boards coordinator) Greg Gianopoulos (AmeriCorps promise fellow) Ray Coudret (NHS math teacher) Kathy Wiertsema-Miller (NHS school counselor) Kari Prestemon (NHS school social worker)

Academic coach senior Anne France, left, watches as Northfield High School sophomore Ellie Warren works on school work in the school’s Study Center, a room where students can go to get extra help. France is one of 28 coaches available at different times throughout the school day. (Suzanne Rook photo) NorthIeld

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DeLong finds the perfect launch pad for post-teaching adventures

W

By NANCY ASHMORE editor@northfieldnews.com

hen Darla DeLong decided to retire early from teaching English and Spanish in Cumberland, Wisconsin, she didn’t need Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine to tell her that Northfield was one of the top 10 places in the country to base the next phase of her life.

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She grew up here, graduating from Northfield High School in 1976 and St. Olaf College in 1980. It was home to her father, her siblings and friends, and — just as importantly — it had served in the past as a launching pad for many great adventures.

‘It’s all about the journey’ DeLong celebrated her 50th birthday with lunch at the Eiffel Tower. She’s going to mark her 60th by traveling with her sister, Vicki DeLong Celander, and two friends in Rome and then take

a 10-day cruise through Europe.

“It’s all about the journey,” she says, adding that she has never been among those who lament getting older.

That outlook on life was reinforced when she was stricken several years ago with GuillainBarré syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. A rare condition that afflicts only about one person in 100,000, it left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. As she worked her way back to full mobility, she decided life was too short to spend it grading papers. She retired,

LARGE PHOTO: Darla DeLong tries to tempt a visitor into healthy eating at the Sunshine Café. (Photo courtesy of Nancy Ashmore) SMALL PHOTO: Darla DeLone volunteers last February at a community center in Costa Rica.

moved back to Northfield a year and a half ago and started planning where she’d travel to next.

Why does she travel?

“I like to think that the world is my home,” she says. “I enjoy meeting my neighbors, learning from them and helping out where I can. I grew up in a family culture that prioritized experiences and good deeds over possessions.”

DeLong’s passion for globetrotting began in high school with a trip to Spain. While at St. Olaf she studied in Mexico, went to Japan, Taiwan,

and Thailand as a member of the Term in Asia program, polished her Spanish skills in Panama, Ecuador and Peru, and satisfied her science requirement with an interim class in the Cayman Islands.

More recently she’s focused her attentions on Europe. After Sawyer FollansbeeDelong, the youngest of her three sons, graduated from a business program at the University of Limerick in Ireland (globetrotting runs in the family, it seems), the two of them traveled around that continent for two months, making up their itinerary as they went along.

“That experience was a gift,” she says. “Such an incredible gift.”

A woman on the go DeLong is on the go here in Northfield too — active in her church and active at the Northfield Senior Center. She’s taken some of the trips sponsored by the center, of course, including its excursions to Winona to attend performances of CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 NorthIeld

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MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS This story first ran in the Northfield News as part of the “Meet Your Neighbors” series.

The stories, which run monthly in the News, spotlight some of the interesting people at FiftyNorth, formerly the Northfield Senior Center.

The center, at 1651 Jefferson Parkway, specializes in programming that engages, empowers, and enriches the lives of people 50 and over.

Call 507-664-3700 or visit northfieldseniorcenter.org for more information and hours.

Darla DeLong (right) shares a laugh with Sunshine Café regular Al Warner. (Photo courtesy of Nancy Ashmore)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

the Great River Shakespeare Festival.

She also takes an aqua fitness class in the center’s warm water pool and classes in the Wisdom of History, a Great Courses series that explores everything from the birth of civilization in the Middle East to World War II. Each class session features a half-hour video lecture and half an hour of discussion among participants. Adding something special to the experience is the fact that the person guiding the discussion is her 89-yearold father, Orrin DeLong, who taught reading and English for many years at Northfield Middle School.

‘Everybody has a story’ Every Monday DeLong spends two to three hours volunteering at the Sunshine Café, which offers hot, nutritious meals and a la carte sandwiches and salads to members of the center and to the general public mid-days, Monday to Friday.

She tends to the cash box, helps people get seated, refills coffee cups, and busses tables. She also designs and crafts the centerpieces that brighten each table. What she enjoys most, though, is interacting with those who come to dine.

“I love it,” she says, laughing. “Everybody has a story – whether they’re 55 or 75 – and I love hearing them.”

She enjoys telling them too. She’s incorporating some of the lessons she’s learned during her travels as well as insights gained during the years

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Darla DeLong with her father, Orrin DeLong, on a Senior Center-sponsored trip that included a visit to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona. (Photo courtesy of Darla DeLong)

she spent teaching middle school and high school in another of her projects – writing interactive travel fiction for young adults.

What’s that? “My story,” she said, “would be read on an electronic device with links set up to

help readers explore areas of interest. My goal is to create a new genre of literature for a new generation of learners, providing an interdisciplinary approach to a multicultural world. Once again, it’s the journey.”

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