Essays

"...a flowing stream, a crackling fire..." foster companionship along the Root River. (Photo by John Gaddo)

Essay | Campfire Truths

Writer Ken Lubinski advocates replacing the annual business conference with a tribal campfire.

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Essay | Scottish Highlands South of Highland

A Big Woods amateur homesteader raises Scottish Highland cattle.

The Power and Control Wheel (The Duluth Model) is a comprehensive wheel that outlines patterns of abuse encompassing physical, emotional, psychological, and financial aspects. It includes tactics such as intimidation, isolation, threats, coercion, and manipulation.

Essay | Listening is Doing Something

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Gardening teaches us life lessons about death and life. (All photos by Loni Kemp).

Essay | Harvest, Death and Life

The garden harvest is a metaphor for life and death

Bulbs and rhizomes produce familiar annual blooms in southeast Minnesota gardens. Some, like these baby iris, are hardy and relatively carefree—whereas other varieties, more tender and less winter-hardy, must be dug up and properly stored until spring. (Photo by Nancy North)

Essay | Storing Tender Bulbs

Tips on when to dig and store your tender flower bulbs

Sterling Drug currently owns what originally had been the family-owned Slindee Pharmacy in Harmony; prior to its purchase by Sterling, the pharmacy was owned by Witt Pharmacy, a community chain based in Rushford. (All photos courtesy of Luke Slindee)

Essay | Pharmacies in the Root River Valley | A Recent History

Luke Slindee documents the disappearance of small town drug stores.

PHOTO 1 GIRL

Essay | The Boys and Girls of Summer

John Torgrimson writes about the national pastime.

The 1936 barn was built by Ole Peterson and once served more than 20 milk cows. (Photo by Greg Schieber)

Essay | Little Barn in the Big Woods

Greg Schieber explores the small barn on his farm in the Big Woods.

Members of the Harmony Garden Club attend their annual progressive dinner and garden tour. (Photo by Loni Kemp)

Essay | Gardens Offer Freedom of Expression

Loni Kemp takes us on a Harmony Garden Club garden tour.

Essay | The Wave

The friendly small town “wave” is a curiosity to outsiders

Our devices sometimes make real conversation difficult and may leave us isolated. Real conversation requires face to face interaction. (Photo by Rene Bergrstrom)

Essay | Hungry for Conversation

Julie Little thinks we need to learn to talk to each other again.

The Fillmore County Historical Society in Fountain has a vast collection of historical data. Former Executive Director Sara Sturgis is pictured here researching information for a society project. (Submitted photo)

Essay | Going Down the Research Rabbit Hole

Sara Sturgis explores the challenges researchers face documenting the past.

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