Winnipeg Folk Festival 2014

When we first started going to the Winnipeg Folk Festival it was a way to get away from everything and spend several days in Birds’ Hill Provincial Park 40 KM north of the city.  There were no phones. Even when I started carrying laptops and mobile phones the Winnipeg Folk Festival remained a black hole for communications, for a while.  I liked it that way.  There was no internet and no cell service.  After a few years cell service came to the site and a year or so ago there was wi-fi in the media area.  This year the festival … Continue reading Winnipeg Folk Festival 2014

St. Croix River Soo Line High Bridge

I love the iron and steel constructs built between the American Civil War and the First World War. Many were built by the railroads, the wonder train sheds of Europe. But the US has its share of railway architecture. The St. Croix River Soo Line High Bridge is a magical construct of steel latticework. I never tire of taking a boat down to the bridge just to marvel at how, more than a century ago (in 1909) folks made such a wonderful and beautiful structure.  I love how delicate the lacework pattern of iron and steel can look. Make sure … Continue reading St. Croix River Soo Line High Bridge

St. Olaf College

The family recently visited St. Olaf College.  (See two earlier posts, “Remembering WCAL” and “A Professor, an Art Barn and a Lifetime of Enjoyment.”) I had not been on campus for a while.  We went, specifically, to see what St. Olaf did to Boe Memorial Chapel to improve its acoustics and to look at the new Regent’s Hall Science building and find out what happened to the Flaten Art Barn and the old science center.  We liked what we saw.  The center of the campus is automobile free and the open lawn now has lots of shade trees and a … Continue reading St. Olaf College

A Professor, An Art Barn and A Lifetime of Enjoyment

Liberal Arts educations are often derided in the popular press today.  Today the reason for a college education seems to be to find a job not to find a life or a vocation.  I’ve never regretted the broad liberal arts education I got at St. Olaf College.  Sure, it gave me skills to function in the workplace but more than that it gave me insight in how to live an enjoyable life, in finding a vocation. When I look back at my college time from the perspective of 50 years the one course that stands out, providing me more lifetime … Continue reading A Professor, An Art Barn and A Lifetime of Enjoyment

A Prairie Home Companion 40th Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday Suzi and I were fortunate enough to to sit on the Macalaster College lawn surrounded by family — kids, grandkid, in-laws, nieces and nephews celebrating A Prairie Home Companion’s 40th anniversary. The whole weekend was kind of a PHC festival with outdoor stages and indoor concerts in the Macalaster Fine Arts Center and the chapel.  There were food booths, including great corn on the cob, and radio booths.  At one the PHC sound effects man recreated the sounds we all hear on the show and had kids help him create the effect of a creaking ship, a crackling … Continue reading A Prairie Home Companion 40th Anniversary Celebration

Target Field, July 4th weekend and Tanaka Pitches, what could be better?

A great way to spend part of the July 4th weekend is at a ball game.  For the second year we enjoyed watching the Twins loose to the Yankees at Target Field.  Our tickets were tagged “Skyline View” because we could see the Minneapolis Skyline probably better than the action on the field.  But it was a great day, nice crowd, a lot of fun and fireworks at the end. The one disturbing thing was the cost.  –our people, upper deck “Slyline View” Seats, 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks, 4 Cracker Jack and parking came to close to $275.   When … Continue reading Target Field, July 4th weekend and Tanaka Pitches, what could be better?

After 238 Years, Jefferson Still Lives

238 years ago in Philadelphia John Adams moved a resolution written by Thomas Jefferson.  It read, in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The 4th of July is a civic holiday, where people of all sorts gather to celebrate a common belief. I tell the same story every Fourth of … Continue reading After 238 Years, Jefferson Still Lives