Cracker Barrel

40 years ago - Oct. 6, 1977 (Photo) Father Foster, current pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Heart in Crosslake, welcomes Father John Dolsina, founding pastor, to the church's 20th anniversary celebration on September 25th. Sharon Ricks, a senior at Pequot Lakes High School,...

Some folks collect Vikings paraphernalia. Others gather old oil cans or vintage recipes or movie posters. I have a fondness for quotes and would like to share some with you, dear reader. I hope you'll find them interesting. "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what...

A few weeks ago, my wife purchased a book by Jim Gilbert titled "Minnesota Nature Notes." According to the blurb on the back cover, Gilbert has been observing the changing Minnesota seasons for more than 30 years, and has done it "with the accuracy of a trained biologist and the rapt...

Like most Americans, I love cars. I've owned, enjoyed and occasionally cussed at my share of the critters. I learned how to drive in my parents' 1950 Studebaker, experienced the rock-solid safety of a '47 Hudson pickup truck and the wind-in-your-hair enchantment of a '53 MG-TD, and,...

Anyone who's lived in the woods for more than a year or two is familiar with the magic of midsummer. The magic is made of a mixture of all sorts of things. The temperature, for starters. In midsummer the warmth of midday nudges you toward water. A swim, a ride in the boat, maybe a...

Recently my wife and I drove south to Winona for a family get-together. As expected, we had a lot of fun catching up with cousins and others we hadn't seen for a long time. We all stayed at the same motel, had our own meeting room for meals and crafts and puzzles and general palaver,...

Rummaging through the shelves for something good to read I came across a book I hadn't seen in many years: "On Being Human," by Ashley Montagu. "On Being Human" is a small book, a mere 118 pages. But those pages are packed with the kind of ideas that make your mind crackle and spark...

I grew up about 50 miles north of Chicago, surrounded by lakes. The name of the county was Lake. Our little village was called Long Lake, as was the body of water around which it sprawled. Chamber of commerce brochures stressed the interconnectedness of our famous Chain O' Lakes -...

One hundred and fifteen years ago this week, in the sleepy California village of Salinas, John Steinbeck was born. Sixty years later he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Six years after that, he died. He left behind a legacy of writing that continues to fascinate readers...