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Apparently 63 million households have streamed “Bridgerton” since it debuted in December, and the numbers keep going up. Shonda Rhimes is one of the executive producers — you know, the fabulous lady who created “Grey’s Anatomy” and produced “How to Get Away with Murder” — so I knew this show was going to be good. Boy was I right. I was hooked from episode one, and like most shows I watch, I binged the whole show in two days. This show takes place during the Regency Era in England and follows eight siblings as they attempt to find love and their own paths in life. From start to finish you fall in love with all the characters and who they are becoming. The beautiful outfits of this era, along with the music they have re-done, makes for a beautiful binge-worthy show.
Available on Disney Plus Review by Tyler Julson
Let me start by saying that I’m a shill for Marvel content. The way they intertwine all of those storylines is magical to me. “WandaVision” is the first of many series planned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It details the lives of two Avengers, Wanda, aka Scarlet Witch, and Vision. They have only released four episodes as of my review and will release five more. The Easter eggs in the first episodes alone are almost enough to give the show a try. The only reason I’m giving this four stars instead of five is because I haven’t seen the entire thing yet. It will likely jump to five stars when it’s all released.
Available on HBO Max Review by Tyler Julson
This two-part documentary series on HBO Max goes into detail about the rise, fall and return to glory of Tiger Woods with a heavy emphasis on fall. I know what he did was wrong, and I can in no way defend his actions, but it shouldn’t define the man. This documentary focuses on his, at times, turbulent relationship with his father, and, of course, the infamous scandal with his then wife, Elin. I’m probably a little biased because I love Tiger; I cried when he won the 2019 Masters. The documentary focuses a little too hard on Tiger’s personal “scandals,” but if you’re looking for cool old footage of young Tiger, this series is probably for you.
“The Wilds” is a drama series that follows a group of teenage girl plane crash survivors struggling to stay alive on a deserted island, but little do they know the island holds secrets. As each episode goes on, we watch as the girls struggle to survive on this island with each other, and we find out exactly what led these girls to take this trip that presumably could cost them their lives. I found this show to be quite interesting. Each episode takes you through the lives of a certain character in the show, and we see that each one has their own trauma they have brought to the island. Each episode left me wanting more, and with just 10 episodes, it was an easy binge-worthy show. Thankfully Amazon Prime has given the green light for a second season.
I’m on the fence as to whether I’d watch it.
Available on Peacock
Review by Deanna Rochleau
Escape to the Chateau is a very British show, complete with soft narration, in a British accent, and beautiful cinematography. The show centers around Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree, a thoroughly British couple that decide to buy and renovate a French chateau in hopes of starting an events destination business. It’s a little bit about the renovation, a little bit about Angel’s “quirky” design style, but mostly about the couple and their family as they navigate their way through building the business and life they desire. The seasons vary between 3-8 episodes, so they are not long. It’s an easy watch suitable for the whole family.
Available on Netflix Review by Kim Ehrich
“Surviving Death” is a short series that explores the question that most everyone has thought about in their life — what does it mean to die? The episodes provide new innovative research and interview people who have had firsthand near-death experiences. They explore premonitions, serendipitous moments, different types of mediums and reincarnation. This series may not give you the answer that you are looking for, but it filled my curiosity of the afterlife. I would have enjoyed to see more medium sessions and the connections they make with complete strangers. This type of communication with spirits fascinates me and makes me wonder how they come to reveal such unknown details.
Have a series you want us to review?
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably had a little bit of extra time to check out a new series on Netflix or Hulu during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you had one you enjoyed that would be worthwhile for us to review, contact Sarah Stultz at 379-3433 or sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com.
3 area artisans share how they got started with their craft
Story by SARAH STULTZ Photography by HALLIE CANTU
Albert Lean Tammy Fink was a young child when her mother taught her how to sew her own clothes.
From there, she expanded into quilts and other home decor, and in the years since, she has dabbled into sewing everything from table runners to aprons and pillows. She has learned upholstery, repurposing furniture, sublimation printing and making jewelry, among other crafts.
“It’s easier to tell people what I don’t do,” Fink said with a laugh. “I don’t knit, and I don’t crochet.”
Fink worked for Mayo Clinic for 25 years until she injured her back and had to leave the position.
“I thought, ‘What am I going to do with my days?’” she said.
One day she went shopping at Junktion Market when it was still on Main Street, and she started talking to Penny Thompson, one of the co-owners, who also had previously worked at Mayo. Fink said she was looking for vintage fabric to use for some sewing projects, and Thompson told her they were looking for someone for the store.
“It exploded from there,” Fink said.
Tammy Fink makes gnomes and wooden signs to sell and also offers various kits where people can paint them and put them together.
Fink shows a gnome created to honor law enforcement.
Fink’s workspace includes all kinds of tools and supplies.
Fink began selling her creations there, and when Junktion Market moved downtown to Broadway, she also started teaching classes. She has taught classes on making gnomes and also has made kits for gnomes and signs that are sold through Albert Lea Community Community Education.
She estimated at least 800 to 1,000 gnomes have gone through the doors of Junktion Market, whether through classes or from people buying them in the store.
“I like to create, and I like to do many different things — whatever comes into my mind,” she said. “And other people seem to enjoy it, so that’s even better.
She says Junktion Market has been great to work with and says she enjoys being able to support a local business through her work. When she makes her gnomes, she also tries to support local thrift stores when possible, buying buttons, pins, jewelry and other items to use as embellishments and also enjoys repurposing other items.
Her work is sold under the name of Auntie’s What-Knot Shoppe, and Fink said she completes custom orders as well. People can reach out to her through her business page on Facebook.
She credited her mother, Louise Hagen, who helped get her interested in crafts from the start and who still helps her.
In February she expected to also start teaching classes through Northbridge Mall that would be set up for social distancing.
“That’s where my passion is — the teaching of classes,” she said.
Fink makes handmade leather earrings. Fink makes pillows from materials from local thrift stores.
Patti Hareid works on a scene with rocks she has collected from Lake Superior.
For more than 50 years, Albert Lean Patti Hareid has traveled to the North Shore: first with her parents, then with her husband, then with her children and now with her grandchildren.
One of the things she and her family have always done while there is dig around in the rocks on the beaches and try to find pretty rocks.
In the beginning, she said, it was agates that many people were after, but over time she has been more interested in the more unique rocks that are unpolished or bumpy or that may have holes in them.
“I’ve been collecting them, bringing them home for years — boxes of them,” Hareid said. “And one day I thought, ‘I should do something with these rocks, but what?’ What do people do with these rocks?”
About seven years ago, she started looking online for ideas and first started with jewelry — learning how to drill holes into the rocks and attach them to leather cords for necklaces. Little by little, she started buying beads and other things to add to the jewelry.
“That was really fun to create and try to decide what went with what,” she said. “At first, you messed up and the glue didn’t hold. It’s really a huge trial and error thing.”
She also bought a rock tumbler to make smooth, shiny rocks.
Then came the task of figuring out how to set up a website and catalog her items. Though she did have a website up and running, she has since transitioned into selling her creations solely on Etsy.
Hareid said she then started making family portraits out of rocks and also enjoys building scenes that remind people of their experiences on Lake Superior, which is taking up more of her time these days. She said the scenes are actually her best-selling pieces.
“That’s my favorite thing to make, different little scenes,” she said. “I try to pattern them out of things I’ve seen. … I call them Lake Superior on the Shelf. If people have fond memories, they can get a rock view picture and put on their shelf and remember, ‘Oh, I
Jewelry hangs on a board near Hareid’s workspace. Hareid makes rock portraits out of rocks she found on trips to Lake Superior.
Alyse Anderson started her business Always Alice in October 2019.
Anderson makes many different kinds of handstamped bookmarks.
remember when I was there.’”
Aside from her Etsy shop, Hareid said she used to have some of her items for sale in a store that has since closed in Albert Lea, and she has some of her items for sale in a store in Spooner, Wisconsin, where they have another house. She also goes to craft fairs sometimes and sells items there.
Hareid said creating has given her a hobby.
“It’s not the money — making money doesn’t really have anything to do with it,” she said. “I just like to create. It gives me pleasure to be creative.”
Hareid’s pieces can be found on Etsy.com/shop/lakesentiments.
’It’s been really fun to finally have a hobby’
Alyse Anderson of rural Alden started her business in October 2019 when she was looking for a side hustle.
An anticoagulation nurse at Mayo Clinic Health System, she said one day she was shopping at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts when she saw supplies there for metal stamping.
“I thought, ‘Oh, that’s how you do it?’” she said. “I started watching YouTube videos and ordered some supplies and slowly started teaching myself from YouTube videos and groups on Facebook. I joined as many as I could to learn as much as I could.”
From there she started adding other things — everything from earrings and bracelets to rings and keychains.
Locally, her best-sellers are her earrings, sold at Homestead Boutique. Through her Etsy shop, her best-sellers are her handstamped copper and brass bookmarks.
She said it has been a huge blessing to have the Homestead Boutique to sell her items at locally.
Of her earrings she sells at the boutique, her most popular ones are faux druzy. She also sells wooden earrings and a variety of others.
Anderson said she usually does most of her creating between supper and bedtime so she doesn’t keep her children — ages 2, 5, 7 and 9 — up from her hammering.
She used to do all of her work in the kitchen, but as she accumulated
Anderson makes handstamped keychains. Anderson sells her earrings at Homestead Boutique.
Anderson uses a hammer to shape a bookmark.
more supplies, she moved to the basement to give herself more room.
In addition to giving her some extra money to spend as she initially intended, she said her creations have given her a hobby.
“I never really had a hobby before, so it’s been really fun to finally have a hobby,” she said.
In addition to her Etsy shop — in which she has sold items to 44 states — and her selection for sale at Homestead Boutique, which she updates every couple weeks, she also sells at the farmers market and tries to do a couple vendor shows. She hopes to sell at Wind Down Wednesday.
Her items are sold under the business name Always Alice — what she said came about because people are always mispronouncing her first name.
She said most of her items are made to order except when she massproduces items for shows.
“I always thought it would be something very small but it’s turned into something larger than I ever thought it would be,” Anderson said. AL
Anderson uses a tool to shape a bracelet.
Anderson works on a pair of earrings in her basement workspace.
GET IN THE LOOP
Knitters share fulfillment they have from their hobby
Story and photography by TYLER JULSON
Both Seberson and Long said their crafting fills a creative need in their lives.
The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged many to pick up hobbies and passion, such as knitting, crocheting and other crafts. However, for some Albert Lea residents, those hobbies have been ingrained in them for much longer than the past year.
For Sherry Seberson, knitting started when she was in junior high after watching her mother do it for quite some time.
“It must have been my mom,” Seberson said. “It wasn’t like we crocheted or knitted together for hours on end, but I think I picked it up from her.”
Seberson said she remembers one of her first big projects was a pink sweater she knitted to wear for her senior photos.
Now, Seberson said she knits more avidly, and the biggest reason for that is making projects for her grandchildren. One of her granddaughters requested a hat resembling the “Frozen” character Elsa, and the other wanted an Anna hat. She made both and has also made an Olaf hat, Wonder Woman, and puppy-themed hats, among others.
For Stephanie Long, her crafting hobby started when she was pregnant with her first child more than 30 years ago. She wanted to make him a crocheted clown she had seen. Long said her first project didn’t turn out as well as she would have liked. Teaching herself through books, she said she ignored her gauge and the clown turned out about three times bigger than intended.
“I thought maybe that gauge thing is important,” Long said. “So then I read up some more and got better and better and better at it. Then I started making baby outfits and layette sets for friends with newborns.”
Long works on and has completed a number of different projects including blankets, hats, clothing, plush toys and many other things.
Both Seberson and Long have some things in common in their crafts — one of the biggest is that most of their projects go out to other people. Whether it be donating to local hospitals or friends and relatives, both Seberson and Long don’t keep a majority of the projects they complete.
“I started thinking, ‘Gee, how many things do I have around that I’ve made and have stayed in the house?” Seberson said. “There’s a few,
Long enjoys making toys and blankets for her grandchildren and friends.
Stephanie Long started crocething over 30 years ago, making a clown for her newborn son.
but really not many.”
Both said they keep knitting to fill a creative need in their lives. Seberson said it makes her evening more interesting when she’s sitting down watching TV and can have a knitting project in her lap.
Long said it’s relaxing for her to be able to work on something intricate and detailed. She also likes to be able to help people when they need something.
“I like it because it keeps me sharp to a point that helps me relax, it really does,” Long said. “I have a friend that just had a little baby a little bit early, so I made him a hat. It’s just something to show, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of you,’ and I like stuff like that.”
Where Seberson and Long differ in the work they do is the number of projects each will have going at once. Seberson said she likes to be working on one project at a time, whereas Long said she likes to have multiple projects of varying difficulty going at the same time.
Long said her reasoning is that she likes to have projects where she can set it down in a moment’s notice and know exactly where she left off when she comes back to it. However, in the evening when everything is calmed down, she likes to work on things she can devote all of her attention to without outside distractions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed both Seberson and Long to not only increase the number of projects they complete, but also to try new projects outside of their comfort zone. Long said she has made her first attempt at making yoga socks, while Seberson has attempted making mittens in a Fair Isle pattern, which involves using two colors rather intricately.
For both women, the feeling of completing a tough project is a feeling of great pride.
“When you work on projects, especially ones that aren’t real easy, you learn a lot about yourself,” Seberson said. “With my mittens, I learned that if I have a project I really want to complete, I can and will stick to it. So I learned a lot through those techniques and skills, but also some things about myself.”
Long made a Spider-man blanket to the enjoyment of her grandson, who loves all things about the comic book character.
Both women have been a part of knitting and crafting clubs in town, and gathered with other crafters before the pandemic hit. Long said joining a club or finding a group on Facebook of other people working on the same type of things is the best piece of advice she can give to anyone thinking about starting a hobby.
“The groups are great,” Long said. “I know right now, with the pandemic and everything else that’s going on, I think it’s important to really have something to relax and something that can take your mind off some of the things that aren’t so nice right now…
“I needed something to do with my hands, to keep my brain occupied and those Zoom meetings with other people really helped. It’s great to feel that connection.”
““When you work on projects, especially ones that aren’t real easy, you learn a lot about yourself. With my mittens, I learned that if I have a project I really want to complete, I can and will stick to it. So I learned a lot through those techniques and skills, but also some things about myself.” — Sherry Seberson
Both Seberson and Long give away a majority of their completed projects, both to family and friends as well as area charities.
Long specializes in a number of different projects including hats, scarves, blankets, toys and clothes.
THE VOICES BEHIND THE LINE
Freeborn County dispatchers find purpose if helping others through their job
Jodi Olson, Cheyenne Lundak and Karina Arnold are dispatchers for the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office.
Individual signs — each a different color — are encased by plastic page covers. They hang on cabinet storage doors in this room at the Freeborn County Government Center.
The simple sayings, in the backdrop of a bevy of communication technology, minimize the complexity of the dispatch work done in the room, yet speak to the impact the daily effort has on them and their community.
Call lights in the dispatch room light up with a different color depending on the scenario.
For dispatchers Karina Arnold, Jody Olson and Cheyenne Lundak, they aren’t just words.
It’s what they do, what they believe, and who they are.
The job is hard. But they don’t want to do anything else.
— Olson’s words on a green sheet
There are three stations, or consoles, in the dispatch room. Each has six monitors — one to maneuver between audio channels; one that identifies calls by type and urgency; two for tracking incidents; one for searching databases; and one for mapping.
It’s an imposing setup, but the functions allow for the quick thinking needed for the job to be just a bit easier.
And that can make all of the difference.
“It’s a lot of multitasking,” said Arnold, who has been with dispatch for six years.
At one of the stations, at all times, is a 3-inch three-ring binder with dividers. It’s stuffed to the brim with paper. The outside, inserted cover reads “Dispatch Bible.”
Lights behind each of the station’s monitors stand close to 6 feet and
Inside the dispatch room shows all the equipment the dispatchers use to do their job.
An old machine previously used for paging and sirens sits in the dispatch room.
A map in the dispatch room shows how the the city is divided up for community policing.
A sign sits in the dispatch room.
have red, blue and green indicators. Different lighting combinations mean different things, such as availability or on a call.
The monitors are a lot like screens in many work spaces: sticky notes cover the edges with reminders and password hints.
The channel monitor is branded Motorola. There are tabs for the different local, regional and state channels, as well as paging options for specific officers.
Differentiated ringtones (for 911 and non-emergent calls) are duplicated on the call screen. It works through priorities for the calls, based on type and urgency.
The two incident monitors are similar, but one is more locally focused and the other focused on Minnesota. There are forms and fields to quickly fill to transfer information to the field — caller information, people involved, location, type of call, response needed and more. One window lists available units on duty; another serves as an instant messaging-like program to communicate sensitive information that shouldn’t travel over airwaves — like Social Security numbers or, if brevity demands it, a joke.
The state database monitor features search options that are standard. Among them: warrants, missing people, Interpol, license plates and gun registration.
The final monitor is dominated by Google maps. There’s also a smaller window with a link to the Department of Corrections (to check on parole issues). But the map helps dispatchers more often and includes the option of displaying moving law enforcement vehicles in the area.
A large box next to the station closest to the main door is a reminder of how dispatch work was done in the past. Lower on the technology end, and leaning heavily toward the big speaker and large white buttons end.
“For me,” Lundak said, “I was always interested in what (dispatchers) did and how they did it. I love it.”
This trio’s training was on the job.
Olson previously worked as an EMT and was recruited to the dispatch side by Arnold and Lundak.
“We were friends before, so it’s worked out OK,” said Olson, in her fifth year as a dispatcher.
And she had heard their stories and their pride.
“Most people want to go in and make a difference,” Arnold said. “It’s a great feeling that we are helping when people are calling on their worst day.”
Riverland offers a certificate in public safety dispatch that requires seven courses and 17 credits. But most of what’s required at the Government Center is on-the-job training.
“It’s not for everyone,” said Arnold.
“It depends how quickly you catch on, when you have that ‘ahha’ moment,” Lundak said. “For me, it was one year in.”
Said Olson, “For me, it was my first busy shift. It was hard, but I did it.”
The three spoke positively about the Riverland certificate option, but Lundak, the veteran of the group with 13 years behind the monitors, specifically pointed to a seminar offered by FBI hostage negotiators as key.
The Freeborn County crew rarely deals with hostage situations, but the techniques are similar for a range of situations.
“I’ve used so much from that course in normal calls,” Lundak said.
Notably, the course roadmapped options for dealing with the mentally ill, a regular component of calls to the center.
During the day, at least two dispatchers work the calls; at night, it could be as few as one.
If someone is working solo, the most used button in the room is mute. The dispatcher can be juggling multiple calls, multiple agencies, multiple officers. Verbal cues will tell a lot.
“Our tone sets the scene for the officers,” Lundak said. “They can tell by our tone if it’s big, if it’s serious.”
If there is more than one on duty, teamwork kicks in. As one takes the call, the other starts contacting the right agencies.
“We try to help gather more information,” Arnold said. “Who is there, which room are they in, are there weapons, what kind, where are the weapons?”
Dispatchers remain on the line until officials arrive at a scene, and they remain available until a scene is cleared. Oftentimes, that can last hours.
They check on on-site personnel, process database requests (for example, search warrants), and contact other agencies (in domestic situations involving children, Child Protective Services). All the while, the other calls do not wait.
“I don’t think people realize the number of calls in the county,” Lundak said. “When people say I’m ‘just a dispatcher,’ that really grinds me.”
“Most people want to go in and make a difference. It’s a great feeling that we are helping when people are calling on their worst day. — Karina Arnold
Lundak points to one of the many maps in the dispatch room.
— Lundak’s words on a yellow sheet
Olson was working the overnight shift on that infamous Sunday in late November in Albert Lea.
A noise complaint was called into the center at 2:18 a.m. Eight and a half hours later, one person was arrested for shooting three, including a police officer.
When asked what was the worst call, Olson, who is also a medical examiner, was the quickest to answer.
“That was the hardest, by far,” she said. “I’ve felt 100 times closer to everybody here since then.”
Added Arnold: “I don’t want to hear shots fired ever again. It may be only 30 seconds until we hear something else, but it feels like five minutes.”
The worst calls for the others were as unsurprising as they were difficult to hear.
A 2-year-old was not breathing. Mom could be heard in the background, as well as Dad performing CPR. A sibling talked to dispatch.
“I have a dream every now and then where I hear the counting as he’s doing CPR,” Lundak said.
A suicide at a family home. The family was there.
“I was fresh off training…,” Arnold said. “Even when we try to not show emotion, we’re all parents. It doesn’t go away.”
But the most difficult calls are still worth the feeling of helping others in their community when they need it the most.
“It’s hard in Albert Lea because everyone knows everyone,” Lundak said.
And there’s the variety, as well. No day is the same, and the calls will cover a wide spectrum.
“One call will be about a cow on the highway, and the next is a family finding their dad dead. Someone’s worst day versus something super minor,” Arnold said. “Life is short, and we see so much of that, knowing in a matter of seconds, your world could be turned upside down.” AL
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Business partners R. E. Barragan and T. F. Thurston, far right, operated a grocery store from 1902 to 1916. After Barragan’s death, Will Carlson joined the business, which continued as Thurston and Carlson.
GROCERY STORES — A PLACE IN HISTORY
By LINDA EVENSON Photos courtesy FREEBORN COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Grocery stores have been part of Albert Lea for generations. The types of stores evolved over time including neighborhood, locally owned, self-service, chain stores, supermarkets and convenience stores. Shopping methods changed, too. Clerks retrieved items from shelves and behind counters for customers in earlier years. With the dawn of self-service, shoppers selected the items and placed them in carts or baskets.
In 1939-40, there were 43 retail grocery and meat stores listed in the Albert Lea city directory. Stores were promoting the addition of coolers for fresh vegetables and freezer units for frozen foods.
Johnsrud’s Food Market, 118 S. Broadway, had two phone lines and delivery service. Customers phoned in orders and requested delivery. Shoppers visiting the store made their selections and sometimes requested delivery, especially if they were walking home.
Boyd and Jack’s Inc. purchased Malmer’s store, 130 W. Clark St., in 1944. In 1948, a new store was built at 525 E. Clark St. The building expanded in 1955, and a bakery was added in 1962. Two years later, fire destroyed the building. In the interim, the business operated under the grandstand at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds. The new store opened June 1, 1965.
During the 1950s, grocery stores promoted self-service, free parking and extended hours, evenings and Sundays.
In 1907, the Barragan and Thurston grocery store was in the Hewitt building at 148 S. Broadway. Two wagons and teams delivered customers’ purchases. A fire destroyed the building in 1942.
Charles G. Edwards works in the storage area of Fountain Street Grocery, near Summer Avenue, in 1944. He was manager of Western Grocer Company for 20 years before acquiring his own store. P.A. Nelson and Son grocery store, 118 S. Broadway, was in business from 1895 into the early 1920s. They featured groceries, a bakery and delivery.
The neighborhood Jack Sprat Food Store at 506 W. College St. was operated by Harold and Clara Thuesen from the 1930s until 1960.
