Ivan Blenker and his son, Neil, sat in my office one day in mid-May 2021. On the Blenker agenda after being interviewed by me for a Minnesota fishing opener article was fishing — of course. …

A big-wheeled tricycle along the Lake Wobegon Trail as it goes through Holdingford recalls a time when big wheels were considered the way go in the cycling world. The image of the big-wheeled …

We were talking about the amount of work that goes into showing an animal at the Stearns County Fair. Our granddaughter, Eve, who loves seeing cows from a distance, was at first terrified at seeing …

Most businesses, to some degree or another, advertise they can be trusted. There are any number of stories throughout area histories of how businesses or individuals helped out those needing a …

One of my favorite photos is of Grandma Bernadine Kemper and Grandma Mary Moorman standing in a garden between their two houses on the east side of Melrose. Grandma Moorman was leaning against a hoe, …

Cars are so common today that we sometimes forget there was a learning curve in dealing with them. To some degree, there still is. A century ago, the Albany Enterprise provided education on how …

Throughout the history of the world, and locally, there have been interesting reports of thieves and what they took. The Bible reports Jacob stealing his brother’s birthright, the ancient …

Steps really do add up — if you take them. I had no idea how many steps I took each day until I signed up for a step challenge at Melrose Fitness with fellow gym members. Starting July 1, …

I sat back in a comfortable seat at the Marit Elliott Performing Arts Center in Melrose July 12, anxious to watch the Melrose Stages Inc. production of the musical “The Wizard of Oz” — and I …

The Holdingford Mill fire this year was not the first severe fire in the community’s history. A century ago, members of the community had businesses taken out or at least damaged by fire on …

Having a featured food fundraiser is pretty much a tradition in many area communities. There are chicken dinners, pancake dinners, sausage dinners and dinners of all kinds. Most have traditions, …

It seems the older one gets, the faster time flies. And that isn’t just me saying that. Just recently, someone who is in his 80s told me he felt like he was just sixty, and now, it’s 20 years …