TOURS AND ATTRACTIONS

You’ll be amazed by all you can discover and experience here! Whether that happens in a cave (there’s one of the country’s best here), in Amish country, on the Root River in a tube, canoe or kayak, by birding in the bluffs or by hiking or biking on the Root River and Harmony-Preston Valley State Trails, Bluff Country calls out for exploration! » lacc.mn/attractions

AMISH BACKROADS TOUR

100 Beacon St E | (507) 459-6999 amishbackroadstour.com Open year-round, Mon-Sat: Drive in your car to Amish shops and sites guided by pleasant narration. Rent CD at Amish Experience or Stone Mill Hotel and Suites or download at website.

CHURCH HILL SCENIC OVERLOOK

From the Visitors Center, go up Kenilworth Ave N to the summit of ''Church Hill.'' A cozy bench here provides a vantage point to enjoy a breathtaking view overlooking Sylvan Park and the Lanesboro Dam.

COFFEE STREET WALKING BRIDGE

Originally a 1893 railway bridge, restored for pedestrians to cross the river - continue over the bridge, through Gateway Park to the Poetry Parking Lot at the Bass Pond.

COLORS OF BLUFF COUNTRY COMMUNITY MURAL

206 Parkway Ave N | (507) 467-2446 lacc.mn/murals Peek behind the St. Mane Theatre to see a largescale mural honoring the community's heritage and creativity. Collaboratively designed and painted by locals, kids and artists, it's a great photo op!

DISCOVER SCULPTURE EXPLORE LANESBORO MEDALLION WALKING TOUR

(507) 467-2446 | lacc.mn/medallion A game of creative hide-and-seek and a social studies lesson! Find 20 iron medallions throughout the town. Pick up your map at the Visitors Center or Lanesboro Arts Gallery.

HISTORIC FORESTVILLE

21899 Cty Rd 118, Preston | (507) 765-2785 mnhs.org/forestville Come and explore the choices and changes that faced the inhabitants of this area - from ancient peoples to today's residents. Round out the visit with a game of croquet or horseshoes on the lawn.

HISTORIC LANESBORO SELF-GUIDED TOUR

Take a self-guided tour of historic Lanesboro landmarks, buildings, and B&Bs. Learn about the people and places of Lanesboro. All walkable from downtown. Pick up your map at the Visitors Center.

INTERNATIONAL OWL CENTER

126 E Cedar St, Houston | (507) 896-6957 internationalowlcenter.org Open year-round: Friday & Sunday from 10:003:30 & Saturday 10:00-5:30. Experience big and small live owls up close and personal at the only owl education center in the USA! Preregistration required. AD P. 15

LANESBORO 1868 STONE DAM

One of only 6 gravity arch dams left in the United States, was created by immigrant craftsmen using unmortared limestone blocks. Listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

LANESBORO POETRY PARKING LOT

(507) 467-2446 | lacc.mn/poetrypl A unique initiative that weaves poetry into the social and municipal infrastructure of Lanesboro. The 2014 Haiku contest brought in over 180 submissions and a local selection committee chose 15 poems.

LANESBORO STORYTELLING TELEPHONE BOOTH

105 Parkway Ave S This decommissioned phone booth was relocated to the Lanesboro History Museum and repurposed as as storytelling kiosk. Pick up the phone and press a number to hear a story about Lanesboro's rich past.

LANESBORO SYLVAN PARK

Sylvan Park (est 1881) with two trout stocked ponds, modern playground equipment, shelters, campground, and the beautiful bluff setting, is a center of Lanesboro Signature Events.

NIAGARA CAVE

29842 Cty Rd 30, Harmony | (507) 886-6606 niagaracave.com Seasonal. Rated one of the top caves in the U.S. and voted Best Family Destination. Underground waterfall, stalactites, fossils and 18-hole mini golf course.

STONE MILL HOTEL HISTORIC INN TOUR

100 Beacon St E | (507) 467-8663 stonemillsuites.com Open year-round. Free self-guided tours of the themed rooms and suites of our renovated 1884 historic hotel. AD P. 25

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JOIN US |SATURDAY OCTOBER 9th | LANESBORO

THE PHONE BOOTH

TRAVELS WITH AUSTEN, PHD (PRIVATELY HOME-SCHOOLED DOG)

Until recently the only phone booth in Lanesboro was located next to the Haugen building on Parkway Avenue. It’s a rarity and may well be the only phone booth in all of Fillmore County. The phone booth has been a source of entertainment for years. Austen feels that it’s unfortunate that such a legendary sidewalk feature has been moved to the History Center and has been repurposed as an interactive exhibit. It has a new life as a ‘Storytelling Kiosk’! The pay phone pretty much outlived its usefulness years ago, but Lanesboro is a town filled with old buildings; some are actually historic. To me, the phone booth falls somewhere between being old and being historic. Ironically it’s kept in working condition, but it’s actually never used. Most historic buildings in Lanesboro are from the pioneer days or the Victorian era. The phone booth, in gleaming aluminum, doesn’t quite fit the definition of a historic pioneer store-front or a stately Victorian B&B. But in a town where the Irish and the Norwegians rarely throw anything away (just because it’s obsolete), the phone booth has stood the test of time. Until recently Austen and I lived in an era when most modern pay phones would accept credit cards. Not this one. The pay phone on Parkway Avenue is a relic of another era, when phones were designed to accept nickels, dimes and quarters. Austen, being a millennial, wouldn’t recognize anything except an I-phone or an Android. To him, even flip phones are ancient devices. So, what’s the phone booth to him? It’s where he would occasionally . . . . . . . ! To the many tourists who come to Lanesboro in the summer, the phone booth had actually become the most photographed building in town. It had been situated inconspicuously on the sidewalk next to a building that’s owned by the local telephone company. Like the phone booth, the building is well maintained but never used. Unlike the phone booth, the building has never become a curiosity. The phone booth became a source of amusement for a group of retired old geezers who gather on the sidewalk across the street, in front of a popular deli. In the summer they gather every day about three or four o’clock for coffee and conversation (rumor control). Occasionally Austen and I join them for a friendly game of cards but we generally just enjoy watching people and passersby. The old geezers enjoy being ambassadors. They also enjoy being pranksters. Often, when they would see a group of tourists approaching the phone booth, one of them would reach for his cell phone and dial up the pay phone across the street. A gathering of people in front of the booth would stare at the phone inside, become confused, and wonder if they should answer the phone – perhaps to take a message for someone who had just missed a call. Once deciding that it would be OK to answer the call, they would be seen struggling to open the door. The door is a simple bi-fold door that any child can use if you push in on it at the center, but to the uninitiated it becomes totally frustrating – and funny. It would seem that we old geezers are easily entertained.

From Lanesboro, where it’s always 65 and sunny (except today).

Richard Wolfgramm: Pops, Dad,

Papa, Uchu, Uncle Richard, and Mr. R.