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307 McKinzie Street So. Mankato, MN 56001 507-345-4828 507-289-4874 www.paape.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 1
HI, I’M JOE TAYLOR. Overton, Texas. What keeps me coming back to the Trail? It’s just absolutely sensational.
I have people tell me what they’ve spent playing one round at Pebble Beach and a night at the hotel, or going to Pinehurst for a couple rounds. We do the entire week, travel, hotel, green fees, good meals and everything for the price of one day at these places. And it’s absolutely a sensational place to come. TO PLAN YOUR VISIT to Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, visit rtjresorts.com or call 1.800.949.4444 today. facebook.com/rtjgolf twitter.com/rtjgolf
ANKATO M
FEATURE S october 2014 Volume 9, Issue 10
magazine
16 Fair game
Traxler’s Hunting Preserve in Le Center has come a long way since its birth in a shed in 1987.
20 An ode to twangy country tunes
Aren’t our country and western music artists capable of so much more?
28 The couple that
hunts together ... Instead of going their separate ways during hunting season, this couple sticks together.
About the Cover
Scott and Marisa Lehmann of Winnebago, photographed near Delavan by John Cross.
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 3
MANKATO
DEPAR TMENTS
magazine
6 From the Editor 8 This Day in History 9 The Gallery
9
12
14
32
Andew Judkins
10 Chit Chat 12 Introductions Aleksandra, Mistress of the Dark 14 Day Trip Destinations Albert Lea’s Big Island Rendezvous 24 That’s Life What kind of people are we? 31 Food, Drink & Dine 32 Food Ice cream sandwiches 34 Wine Mixing wine and game 35 Beer Autumn brews! 36 Happy Hour Don’t be afraid of Vodka 38 What’s Cookin’? Squash 40 Then and Now New Ulm’s Oktoberfest 42 Garden Chat Garden grows family 46 Your Health Protect your vision 48 Coming Attractions 49 Faces & Places 52 From This Valley Lessons from a drill sergeant
Coming in November
40 4 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
46
We turn our attention to the concept of things locally grown or made. We’ll take a closer look at the St. Peter Food Co-op and introduce you to a local cheese maker.
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MANKATO
From The Associate Editor
magazine
october 2014 • VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 PUBLISHER James P. Santori EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Robb Murray EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Nell Musolf Pete Steiner Jean Lundquist Sarah Johnson Heidi Sampson Leticia Gonzales Leigh Pomeroy Bert Mattson Nicole Helget PHOTOGRAPHERS John Cross Pat Christman PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Ginny Bergerson MANAGER ADVERTISING Jen Wanderscheid Sales Theresa Haefner ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey
CIRCULATION Denise Zernechel DIRECTOR
Mankato Magazine is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South Second St., Mankato MN 56001. To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $35.40 for 12 issues. For editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray at 344-6386, or e-mail rmurray@mankatofreepress.com. For advertising, call 344-6336, or e-mail mankatomag@mankatofreepress.com.
6 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
By Robb Murray
Hunting for a good read? We’ve got it
I
’ve never hunted. Never even wanted to try. The whole thing seems messy and loud and, truth be told, it’s just not for me. I’m also clumsy and forgetful. Can you imagine the irony of a hunter stumbling to the ground in the woods with a gun in his hand and accidentally hitting the trigger, only to realize he’d forgotten to load the thing? So yeah ... I’ll be over here, not holding a gun. Ever. However ... Maybe it’s the trace amounts of Native American in my blood, but I’m amazed by people who really live and breathe the idea of hunting, people who get into the spirit of why hunting has existed for millions of years, people who on some intellectual level truly respect the animal, and understand and appreciate the role they play in the circle of life. We’re bringing you stories from the Great Outdoors this month. And I think you’re going to love our piece on a pair of married couples who hunt together. (Although, in reading Heidi Sampson’s piece, I thought to myself there are more than a few couples out there who I’d never want to see heading into the woods with firearms!) Their story reminds us that there are often better ways to spend time together than in front of a screen. And speaking of hunting, we’re also giving you a peek inside Traxler’s Hunting Preserve just outside Le Center. What started as a small business out of a shed has grown into one of the Midwest’s best known hunting preserves. And don’t forget the food. Traxler’s is known for outstanding food (I can personally attest to the amazingness of the blueberry-cheddar venison brats — to die for.) And the dining area isn’t just a feast for the palate. The eyes won’t leave hungry either. Traxler’s is famous for lining its interior walls with taxidermy from around the world. Taking our outdoors theme a different direction, local author Nicole Helget is back with us again with a fantastic essay about the state
of country music. Trust me: You don’t want to miss this one. Helget is a southern Minnesota treasure, and I can honestly say I don’t personally know a better writer (and I know a lot of writers.) This essay is a keeper, especially if you’re a music lover, and especially if you’re a music lover who has always wondered why all those country songs sound the way they do. October is also a time for Halloween, and we’re introducing you to the brand manager at one of the area’s most interesting companies, BuyFun. Aleksandra Sobic (her folks call her Aleks) makes a living in an industry of make-believe and fantasy. In our “Introductions” section, Sobic talks about how she came to work in Mankato and what the current state of Halloween commerce says about American culture. She also gives us a little insight on why there’s a “sexy” version of even the most harmless of costumes. Our Food, Wine and Dine section enters its second month. In addition to another fine wine column by Leigh Pomeroy, we’re introducing you to Bert Mattson — manager and heir apparent to the Mickey’s Diner empire in St. Paul — as our new beer columnist. He’s uber qualified to give you all the tips you need to pair the perfect beer with fall meals. And that section wouldn’t be complete without our food writer, the incomparable Sarah Johnson, who in addition to her regular What’s Cookin’? column is also bringing us up to speed on one of the latest dessert trends: gourmet ice cream sandwiches. Our regular columnists, as always, are back — Pete Steiner, Nell Musolf and Jean Lundquist. And, as always, we keep you in the loop on where to travel locally and what pieces of local history are worth remembering this month. Thanks for reading! M
Robb Murray is associate editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at rmurray@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6386
M-F 10 to 6 Saturday 10 to 4 Sunday 12 to 4
Shelly Scholtz is at the head of her class with her new fall outfit and authentic Kate Spade purse A+
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311 N. Riverfront Dr., Mankato 507.386.0861 encoremankato.com
Global
CONNECTIONS C O N F E R E N C E
OCTOBER 9 - 10, 2014 A variety of concurrent sessions begin at 9 am on both Thursday and Friday. There will be sessions on religion, education, art, cuisine, politics, and much more. These days truly offer something for everyone. Conference registration is FREE and includes keynote speakers, a variety of breakout sessions, and global vendors.
Performer
Iny Asian
Dance Company THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014 AT 7:30 P.M.
South Central College is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The college is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and Educator. SCC has ADA accessible facilities. If you need a disability accommodation to access this event, contact the Academic Support Center at 507-389-7339 or through the Minnesota Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-627-3529
ADVANCE TICKETS
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Students: $5.00 | Non-Students/Adults: $8.00
IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL COLLEGE BOOKSTORE
SOUTH CENTRAL COLLEGE CONFERENCE CENTER | 1920 LEE BLVD., NORTH MANKATO | WWW.SOUTHCENTRAL.EDU/GLOBALCONNECTIONS MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 7
Carving A NEW LOOK ? PriNt SOLutiONS tO Fit yOur NEEdS Brochures annual reports catalogs magazines posters hard cover Books soft cover Books print on demand direct mail and more . . .
This Day
in
History
By Jean Lundquist Saturday, October 5th, 1960 Petitions against two Blue Earth County youngsters were filed in county juvenile court Friday on the two who drove off in a State highway truck Oct. 1. The two, 14 and 17 years old, took the truck from the site of construction of the Red Jacket Bridge on highway 256 southwest of Mankato. They were apprehended by a Blue Earth County sheriff’s patrol car as they came toward Mankato. Thursday, October 22nd, 1953 The Mankato free public library now has a record collection of 580 recordings of the 45 RPM type, and 156 of the long playing recordings, as reported by librarian Isadora Viegel. For a small rental fee, the recording could be taken home. Or, for 20 cents per hour, they could be played in the library listening room. Among the most recent additions were several classical recordings by internationally known orchestras, but also “Liberace at the Piano,” “Selections from Naughty Marietta,” “Fortune Teller” by Herman, and “Overtures, Marches and Polkas” by Strauss with the Normandy Philharmonic Orchestra. Saturday, October 6th, 1888 “A Card to the Public” was published. “I am told some of the hardware dealers in Mankato are selling their Oak stoves on the reputation of the Round Oak, telling their customers they are the Round Oak and when detected they get out of it by saying they are the same thing as the Round Oak. Do not be deceived by such talk, but while you are out and about it, why not get the genuine Round Oak and then you are sure of a good stove. I have a full stock of all sizes of the Round Oak and they are as cheap as the other poorer stoves. Dealers who will deceive you about the name of their stoves will deceive you about other things. Beware of them. B. Tuttle” Tuesday, October 31, 1899 Mrs. Lillian Haling of West Mankato complained to the county attorney today that her neighbor, Mrs. Jessie Huntley, had struck her in the face and choked her during the forenoon. She claimed, also, that the Huntley children broke the window panes in her house. The county attorney turned her over to the police and Officer Bienapfl took a walk into West Mankato this afternoon to make an investigation. Friday, October 8th, 1920 A runaway car created some excitement on Walnut Street. Running amuck after being cranked while in gear, an automobile belonging to Willard Vogel of New Ulm plunged across Walnut Street at noon today and leaped onto the sidewalk, crashing through one of the glass windows in the A.M. Stein clothing store. All of the bystanders yelled “Whoa!” but the car, like an unruly mule, kept snorting and plunking ahead. Luckily, no one was injured. Saturday, October 6, 1934 Notes From The Police Blotter Fred Barrett of Lone Rock, Wis., John Glasbrenner of Minneapolis and Dick Longstein of Rochester, all charged with being drunk to which they pleaded guilty, were sentenced to 10 days apiece in the city jail on bread and water. Judge Hiram S. Goff ordered the sentence suspended tomorrow morning on condition they all leave town at once after their release.
Corporate Graphics Your Printing Solutions Company 1750 Northway Drive North Mankato, MN 56003 800-729-7575 www.corpgraph.com
Tuesday, October 7, 1930 Declaring that the alley paving between Jackson and Cherry streets behind 408 South Front Street is the most rotten piece of paving in any alley in town, C.G. Swanson appeared before the city Council yesterday and requested that the road be improved. “If private citizens did that kind of work we would sick the dogs on them,” said Swanson of the work done several years before. Council men nodded their heads in assent, and agreed to fix the road.
The Gallery — andrew judkins
Landscapes give sense of place By Nell Musolf
A
ndrew Judkins has been painting Southern Minnesota landscapes for several years and enjoys painting rivers, such as the Blue Earth, the LeSueur, the Maple and the Cobb. He also likes painting nearby waterfalls and has recently started to paint scenes from around Faribault, the Mississippi valley in Southeastern Minnesota and the North Shore of Lake Superior. “After years of going on the North Shore for visits, I finally felt like I could paint it well,” Judkins said. Judkins, who attended Gustavus Adolphus College and received an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, said he doesn’t really have a “dream” landscape. Instead, the landscapes he paints are what he calls “real” moments — places he has been and in the conditions he saw them in. “I try to bring that experience and sense of place to the viewer. Every new landscape is a challenge and a dream in its own way. Lately, I’ve been getting more interested in
clouds, sky and sunsets and have been doing some small works focused mostly on sky,” Judkins said. Judkin’s artistic process involves going out into nature to collect ideas as well as to observe and experience the landscape. He takes photos to help remember what he saw as he later begins to work. “Photography has many strengths as a preliminary tool but also weaknesses that are easy to fall into,” Judkins observed. “So I have to be aware of the limitations of photo references and use my memory and experience and knowledge a lot. But I think if old landscape painters, such as the Hudson River School guys, were around now they would not hesitate to use our color photography as reference material.” When Judkins begins to paint, he works directly on his panel without a sketch and has been known to paint an entire work in one layer. He doesn’t do sketches or preliminary painting and said that
in his opinion those take away the fun, excitement and spontaneity of the process for him. Judkins feels that he is an oldfashioned painter who prefers making images by spreading “colored goo” on a surface, a process that might seem almost primitive in today’s technologyobsessed world. “It’s just what I need,” Judkins said. “I think painting and other forms of hands-on arts will always feed a part of people that gets starved by technology and modern things. In a way, I think being a landscape painter feeds people what they are often missing in our society — connection to nature and handson, handmade, one-of-a-kind things.” Judkin’s landscape paintings were recently on display at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault. Also, selections from his Roy Orbison series were shown for the first time in September at the Carnegie Art Center.
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 9
Chit Chat - Ask the Expert
Homemade costumes: You can do this, people – Get creative! Costume Maker | By Nell Musolf
H
alloween is coming and while many parents will happily purchase an off-the-rack costume at WalMart or Target, there are also willing moms — and occasionally dads — who’d rather make their child’s costume themselves. Betty Nelson, mother of three, is an old hand at making Halloween costumes and has some tips for would-be costume makers. 1) Keep it simple. “Costumes can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. For example, you can throw together an easy princess costume with a pink leotard, a ballerina tutu and a tiara from the dollar store, or you can make an intricate gown that could rival any wedding dress. My advice is to stick to simple unless you are a skilled seamstress or have some particularly special reason for it to be fabulous. It’s tempting to want to go overboard but important to remember that by the next year your child will have outgrown it and, more importantly, by tomorrow she may have decided that princesses are passe,” Nelson said.
2) Have fun when your kids are really little. “Babies and toddlers are particularly easy. You can turn one-piece fleece pajamas into almost anything with the right accessories, such as a lady bug, a Dalmatian or a bear. For a lady bug you can sew a few black felt spots on red pajamas, buy some wings and head band with antennae and you’re ready to go,” Nelson said. “For animals just add ears and whiskers. Of course you can add a tail if you’d like but for little ones those almost always seem to get in the way too often to be worth it.” 3) As they get older, you can still have fun. “As your kids grow, it’s easy to do the same thing with a plain sweat suit. Just choose the right base color and add accessories. Super heroes are fun to do this way. Just add a cape and a mask and they are ready to go. Or stuff an orange sweat suit, draw some stripes on it, paint their face and they are a pumpkin. Kids 4-10 years old still have fabulous imaginations and rarely care about details. A basic sweat suit with the right mask and their imaginations fill in the rest. While costumes are fun for adults to go overboard on, the most important thing about Halloween as far as your kids are concerned is the amount of candy they take home — and your willingness to join them in their version of reality for one entire night,” said Nelson.
From D student to Math tutor Math Tutor Fran Long | By Nell Musolf
M
ath tutor Fran Long didn’t always love math. As a matter of fact, her affection for the subject didn’t begin until she was an adult. “I never struggled with mathematics until I found myself in Algebra in high school,” Long recalls. “Then I was a goner. There was nothing that the teacher said that made any sense to me. To make matters worse, he was an impatient, dreadful man who refused to answer most questions because he insisted that questions meant we weren’t listening properly the first time.” Long failed Algebra and had to take it a second time from the same man. “The second time I took the class I finished with a D because, and I’m quoting the teacher here, ‘You’re too dense to ever get math so I am going to do both of us a favor and just pass you.’ I spent the next 15 years believing he was right,” Long says. Long’s feelings toward math changed after she was hired to help students with English and Social Studies at West high school. She noticed many students were struggling with math but there were very few paraprofessionals able to
10 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
help. Long decided to prove her former math teacher wrong and that she was indeed smart enough to “get” math. “I ran around constantly bugging the math teachers at West to help me learn what I needed to know and every single one of those teachers was beyond helpful,” Long says. Once she understood the basics of high school math Long went on to take college courses in Statistics, Pre-Calculus and Calculus. “The kids who come to me for help often start off with a negative attitude, mostly due to fear. They ask, ‘When am I ever going to need this in life?’” says Long. “It was the same thing I used to believe. However, my struggle with math has been an incredibly valuable tool when helping teenagers. I have an empathy for them that many math teachers don’t have because so many of those teachers seem to have been born knowing and loving math. As soon as I admit that math scared the hell out of me in high school, my students open up.” Long sees a tendency in kids to believe that if they don’t “get” math right away, they never will. Long does her best
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4) Masks versus Make-up. According to Nelson, “This has to be a matter of personal preference, I suppose. Some kids seem to like them but it makes me claustrophobic to even see a child wearing one. It seems to me that make-up adds a little more reality to their make-believe persona. From a practical standpoint any parent knows that too much makeup will end in a mess but a couple whiskers and a pink nose go a long way toward turning that little darling into a kitty cat.” Now that your child is outfitted, make sure to tag along with them and bring an extra bag for all that candy. Happy trick or treating!
to disprove that tendency. “It’s not an innate talent for math that makes people successful; it’s an understanding that math is a subject like any other that requires a simple desire to know it, an appreciation of the importance of knowing it and some tenacity,” Long says. One area of mathematics that Long believes should be consistently practiced is fractions. “High school students tend to think of fractions as something they learned in elementary school and can just forget about but I assure you they pop up over and over and over again in high school math and in life,” Long says. M
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 11
Introductions
Interview
by
Robb Murray
ALEKSANDRA Mistress of the dark
I
Sobic right at home at Halloween-centric employer
t’d be pretty easy to be jealous of Aleksandra Sobic. She’s got youth, of course. And every time you see her she seems like she’s the happiest person in the room. But that’s not what would really make you jealous. It’s her job. Sobic works in a land of make believe, a place where your inner child is encouraged to come out daily and be a part of the action. She’s the brand manager at BuyFun, the local costume retailer with the worldwide reach. As it turns out, Sobic fits right in. The places oozes fun, and so does she. 12 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
MANKATO MAGAZINE: Tell us what led you to a life of “Fun.” ALEKSANDRA SOBIC: I enjoy the story of how I came into this job more than any previous place of employment, because it lends credibility to the familiar adage, “everything happens for a reason.” I lived and worked in New York City for about a year after college, then back in Wisconsin for about the same, enjoying great “jobs” in both cities but seeking more of a long-term “career.” Cue a fortuitous series of events: After a long day of moving little sis into the University of Minnesota, the Sobic gals treated ourselves to some
retail therapy. It was just after Halloween so I snagged a cute Spider-Man purse at 50 percent off, which I proudly sported at a local eatery that evening. This geeky accessory attracted the attention of a fellow patron, who proceeded to regale us with tales of how much fun his Halloweencentric company was to work for. I researched the company the next day and they happened to be hiring for a full time marketing/PR position. I interviewed, rented a U-Haul, moved to Mankato and became the newest member of the BuyFun family — all in about a month. MM: Tell us about the wild world of costumes. Obviously, you’re in the busy time of year, no? AS: It has been so rewarding witnessing the Halloween industry, and costume culture as a whole, expand so robustly over the past several years. This applies to countries outside of the United States as well! More people are decorating their homes, dressing in costume, and trick-ortreating, than ever before! Between themed parties, school plays, fun runs, pub crawls, and comic book conventions, our company is bustling year-round. That being said, YES this is our busiest time of year. Each Halloween season we tack on another “0” to our roster of 120 permanent employees and become an army of 1,200. We enjoy opening this opportunity to members of the Mankato community, and we’re open 24/7 during October so we need the extra hands! MM: What will be the most popular costume this year? World Cup soccer teams? Ice bucket challenger? Something out of “Guardians of the Galaxy”? AS: A lot of the most popular costumes on any given Halloween stem from the year’s most popular movies, so this year you’re spot on with the Guardians of the Galaxy theme. To that, I’d add costumes from Frozen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Maleficent. This year’s offerings are especially great because they’re versatile! They can be worn as an individual, and just as easily become a couples costume, or a group theme for you and your friends/ family. Besides choices based on movies, we always see examples of “pop culture event turned costume.” 2013 was the year for twerking Mileys and “What Does the Fox Say” foxes, and 2014 will surely bring ice bucket challenge costumes and Sharknados aplenty. MM: What do you think costume sales can tell us about American culture? AS: Many US holidays are devoted to spending time with immediate family. Halloween is unique in that it’s widely celebrated with friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, etc. To me, the steady rise in Halloween costume and decor sales is indicative of a growing desire to be social and connect with one another on a larger scale. Americans are seeking out ways to create a sense of community and belonging, and taking part in Halloween fanfare is a fun and simple way to do so. Neighborhoods forge an air of
fellowship when multiple homes decorate their yards, and Halloween partygoers instantly unearth common ground by selecting costumes based on shared pop culture references. People are discovering that, and they’re enjoying it! (Increased costume spending also tells us that Americans are obsessed with their pets. Last Halloween alone, 22 million Americans dressed up their animal friends!) MM: Is there a “sexy” version of every costume? AS: If I have anything to say about it, there will be — partially because as a costume enthusiast it’s fun figuring out the alterations/modifications required to make these “sexy versions” a reality, and partially because these sorts of unexpected sassy adaptations were our most popular blog posts last Halloween! “Sexy Walter White” from Breaking Bad and “Sexy Uncle Si” from Duck Dynasty earned us the attention of some very large media outlets. This year we’re trying our hand at creating a “Sexy Lego” and a “Sexy Rocket Raccoon” from Guardians of the Galaxy, among others. I’m convinced that creating a seductive costume rendition of any character save for Jabba the Hutt is possible. We realize these ideas aren’t for everyone, but if you can’t be a little silly and unconventional on Halloween, when can you? MM: What does Aleks do in her free time the rest of the year? AS: We’re a young and super active business as a whole, so no matter the season we’ve always got recreational sports leagues running. I’m an active (and ultra competitive) member of our FUN.com volleyball and softball teams. Beyond that, I’m a theater girl and have performed with The Merely Players as well as The Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis. Any remaining time is spent socializing with friends downtown, walking BENCHS puppies, watching scary movies, visiting family (spread throughout Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), and of course: crafting crazy costumes! I’m currently piecing together a “Sexy Ronald McDonald Zombie” for this year’s Zombie Pub Crawl. Stay tuned. M
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 13
Day Trip Destinations: Big Island Rendezvous
By Leticia Gonzales
Native American culture is just one of the pieces of history the event touches on.
A trip back in time Albert Lea’s Big Island Rendezvous has a little bit of everything for history lovers
14 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
W
hether you are a history buff or just want to get a glimpse of how life was like for early settlers in the United States, the Big Island Rendezvous and Festival in Albert Lea will take you back in time to the 1800s. Event founder and coordinator Perry Vining described the annual event as “the living history of early America.” The two-day festival travels in time “from fur trade to the revolution, to the development of America through Civil War, and all the way through 1880,” said Vining. We will have a Civil War camp, an Indian wooden village, we will have a frontier town, which focuses on 1880s and development and for the railroad and pioneer life.” Referencing the time frame of the Little House on the Prairie, Vining said the festival has “expanded the entire spectrum of the event so people have the chance to experience life from all different viewpoints;” namely, early explorer and early pioneer. Vining was asked to plan the historical festival in 1987 after he had organized a similar event near New Ulm. “It started off with 33 people, participants who camped in the fairgrounds,” said Vining. “Now we have over 1,200 people, so it has grown over the past 28 years.” The festival began offering education days to school groups three years later, starting with a classroom of 28 children from Albert Lea. “Now we have over 3,000 students attend over two school days two days prior to the event,” Vining said. Over the last 24 years, Vining said close to 100,000 have gone through the educational program and have experienced the living history of America at the festival. “ Many of the hands-on activities include re-enactors and storytellers who travel to Albert Lea from all over the United States. One can expect a run-in from a Abraham Lincoln — played by a real Illinoisan — and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln, or maybe even Thomas Jefferson. “We go all over trying to find the best people that can communicate with the public and have fun and make a character come alive,” he said. Festival visitors can interact with more than 60 stations throughout 10 acres of tents, which feature an interpreter or storyteller. “We have people who do specific characters; we have people who are real skillful with a particular type of colonial craft like a potter who can throw pots on a wheel; we have woodworkers; we have people who teach games that the kids played in the 1800s,” said Vining. One of the popular activities is learning how to throw an atlatl, which was used by primitive man. The event also features live cannon rounds three times a day, courtesy of the New Ulm Battery. “New Ulm Battery is one of the few places that can take a Civil War cannon and put in a live round and shoot a target 100, 150, 200 yards and hit it,” said Vining. Re-enactor John Fritsche, a 1st Lieutenant in the New Ulm Battery, is one of about 30 active members of the group who perform the cannon rounds. Fritsche, like other re-enactors, dresses in period uniform. You will find him in an 1860 artillery shoulder, blue pants, red piping and hat. He has been bringing cannons to the festival for the past eight years and has been a part of the New Ulm Battery for 48 years. “You’ve got to learn your past history to prevent it from happening in the future,” said Fritsche. M
If you go What 28th Big Island Rendezvous and Festival Albert Lea, Minn. When Oct. 4-5, 2014 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday Admission Adults, $12, Kids (6-11), $7, Children (5 and under) free; Parking is free at Freeborn County Fairgrounds, 1031 Bridge Ave., Albert Lea Visit www.bigislandfestivalandbbq.org or call 1-800-658-2526.
BIG ISLAND RENDEZVOUS STAGE ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM 2014 Saturday, October 4: 10 a.m. Greenwood Tree 11 a.m. Dick Kimmel & Adam Granger 12 p.m. Kevin Locke, Lakota Hoop Dancer 1 p.m. Wild Goose Chase Cloggers 2 p.m. Pop Wagner & Bob Bovee 3 p.m. Kevin Locke, Lakota Hoop Dancer 4 p.m. Roe Family Singers 5 p.m. Wild Goose Chase Cloggers Sunday, October 5: 10 a.m. Bob Bovee 11 a.m. Roe Family Singers 12 p.m. Greenwood Tree 1 p.m. Bob Bovee 2 p.m. Roe Family Singers 3 p.m. Greenwood Tree Clover Valley Hoedown will play throughout the festival grounds
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 15
Jeff and Kathy Traxler are the pair behind the success of Traxler’s Hunting Preserve.
High on the Wild with the
Traxlers Story by Robb Murray | Photos by John Cross
16 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Hundreds of mallards are there, just waiting for you.
J
eff Traxler puts the Cadillac in park and chuckles at the sight before him. Several hundred mallard ducks – maybe a thousand – are just standing there, glancing cautiously (but not really) at him as he exits the car to enter their midst. They move a little to the side as he walks 10, 20 paces through the flock. Then, busting into a slow jog and waving his arms, he spurs a few dozen to flight, their wings audibly cutting the air, lifting their bodies off the ground and soaring across a pristine lake. Traxler watches, smiling like a child as the birds circle back and land a hundred yards away. Those birds like it here. “They don’t need much,” he says, gazing at a flock of mallards waddling noisily about. “They got enough food, enough sex – that’s all a mallard really wants.” The mallards aren’t the only ones who like it here. Traxler’s Hunting Preserve, one of the most well-known businesses of its kind in the region, has been pleasing customers for more than a quarter century. What started as a wild-eyed entrepreneurial spark in Jeff Traxler’s mind has grown into a business that, for area hunters, is nearly a household name. When hunting season starts, Traxler’s is the place to be for many area hunters. As a preserve, it gives hunters everything they need to conveniently plan for a day of shooting ducks or pheasants. But Traxler’s has become much more than a simple place to hunt for a few hours. Non-hunters can rent a cabin and spend the night soaking in a hot tub. Ice anglers can come out in January and spend a day and night in a farm house perched quaintly near the shores of a man-made – and nicely stocked – lake, complete with fish house. And if you’re hungry after a hunt (or, heck, just hungry) the clubhouse has become one of the region’s best known purveyors of wild game. Traxler’s, which now boasts 350 members, has come a long way for a business that started out in a shed in 1987. Today, people from across the nation come here to hunt. Back in the day Jeff Traxler had a big idea in the mid-1980s. He wanted to
Pheasants live in this enclosure until, as Kathy says, “It’s their day.” start a hunting preserve in rural Le Center. He had the idea. What he didn’t have was the money. He borrowed $5,000 from his grandmother at 7 percent interest. It took him five years to pay it back. “We just started with nothing,” he says. That first year they started with 900 pheasants (a far cry from the tens of thousands they do today.) Things started slowly. Very slowly. “After the third year we were going to quit,” he said. “It was slow. It was hard. It took a few years.” But soon enough, things took off. Traxler says one of the things they always tried to excel at was customer service. Give customers a good experience, treat them like family, get to know them: that’s where Traxler’s shines today, and they’ve been trying to treat people that way since the beginning, Traxler says. By the early 1990s, Jeff and wife Kathy were contemplating a move. In 1994 they built the first iteration of the what is now the clubhouse. His father sold him 20 acres of land and Traxler built it. Ever since, it’s been getting bigger and bigger. The backbone of the business, Traxler says, has always been the fact that it’s a members club. Membership revenue ($525 for individuals, $1,900 for corporate memberships) keeps everything moving. It’s what allows the business to continue to be progressive and make the customer experience a special one. Which is not to say they won’t allow non-members to hunt. Traxler’s has non-member rates, but membership has its MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 17
privileges. For members, a simple phone call — even a detailed voicemail — sets in motion a machine that reserves a portion of land, readies ducks or pheasants for the hunt, can have a hunting dog waiting for you when you get there and a table in the restaurant waiting when you’re done with the hunt and have worked up a hunger. Indoor safari One of the things that’s hard to not stare at is the formidable trophy collection inside the clubhouse. It’s a taxidermical tour de force, including – but not limited to – deer, elk, caribou, giraffe, elephant, rhinoceros, monkey, zebra, boar and many, many more. If you can shoot it, it’s on
the wall at Traxler’s. The most eye catching pieces – the giraffe and elephant, among others – were shot by Kathy. Her father is a lifelong hunter and loves the pursuit of the wildest game. His daughter shares that passion and has been on a handful of African hunts. Jeff, on the other hand, says he’s got no interest in such endeavors. So the largest and most dramatic trophies in the Traxler’s clubhouse belong to Kathy. “It was an amazing experience,” she says of the African hunts. With several hundred members, a destination restaurant and clubhouse and a certain amount of star power – Traxler’s
Traxler’s Hunting Preserve is a members-only club, although they do have non-member rates for hunting. And the restaurant, which regularly features wild game, is open to anyone.
18 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
routinely hosts celebrity hunting outings, and was the site of the filming of “Memorial Day” starring James Cromwell – Traxler’s has come a long way from that shed in 1987. Happy members Dick Kakeldey, a Mankato attorney, said he’s been going to Traxler’s for about 25 years and has been hunting for about 50 years. “I’ve hunted pheasant ranches in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin,” he said. “Traxler’s is the best place I’ve ever been to. They focus on the hospitality side. They treat everyone that comes in the door like family, they make sure they have a great hunt, great food.” In the team of Jeff and Kathy Traxler, Jeff is for sure the public relations guy. He gives a friendly wave to every diner in the restaurant and seems to know many of them by name. That kind of focus on the customer, Kakeldey says, is definitely noticed by people. “Jeff will sit down with every single customer and ask every single one of them if they had a good hunt, if they enjoyed themselves,” Kakeldey said. “They operate the clubhouse and the field like it’s a family, and they have an incredible knack for making you feel like you’re part of their family.” Over the years, Kakeldey says, the “Traxler’s experience” has only gotten better. M
JACK’S HAD OUR BACK For 16 years on the city council, Jack Considine has been a strong force in Mankato’s development as a dynamic area for families, businesses and students to thrive. His experience, know-how and vision are what Mankato and Eagle Lake deserve in a state representative. Learn more about Jack at jackformnhouse.org.
PAID ADVERTISEMENT. Prepared and paid for by the Considine Campaign Committee PO Box 3544, Mankato MN 56002-3544.
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 19
say s E
Helget recently moved from North Mankato to a place in the country. The move laid bare the failings of the genre that such locales inspired.
Beautiful country, ugly music Isn’t it time we demanded more from country and western music? By Nicole Helget 20 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
“Gone is the magic and complication of lyricism and diction and poetry of metaphor.”
S
ometimes on long drives, I simultaneously entertain and infuriate myself by tuning into the country music station. According to the songs, the place to be is always rural America, the season is perpetually summer, the day is continuously Friday, and the time is forever 5 o’clock. Sometimes, when I get home, I further my amusement and rage by YouTub-ing the music videos. In them, all the women are young, thin, tan, childless, and classy and sassy at the same time. The men work hard and play hard, and they are eager to make any changes necessary when they find the right gal. Nearly everyone is white. All over America, listeners trapped in traffic or offices or stores or ballgames or factory lines listen and absorb the myth of country life. If I am in a Georgia Florida Line, Eric Church, Dierks Bently, Jake Owen, or Brantley Gilbert song, I am sitting on a sunlit riverbank somewhere, wearing painted-on blue jeans but definitely not shoes. Barefooted is the only way to go. I am unquestionably drinking a beer though the brand isn’t specified. At first sight, I fall in life-lasting love as the full moon rises and crickets chirp. The radio plays my favorite Hank Williams song, of course, as I relax in the back of a truck bed, which has recently passed farm fields on dirt roads, possibly haunted by the ghosts of my own father, who was a war veteran or a farmer (probably both.) The music rips off Christian rock, which I fear is not a coincidence. It’s always walk-on-water epic, through verse and chorus, as though blood runs from drum sticks and loaves and fishes multiply from guitar strings. Nuance and subtely, a space for breathing, or a pause for thinking no longer exist. The lyrics shout glory to invisible and nonexistent entities and ideas in abstract clichés that insult intelligence and assault our language. Consider this gem from “Bottoms Up” by Brantley Gilbert:
She’s ridin’ shot gun like it ain’t no thing Turn the radio up so the girl can sing right Pull into the party like, “Y’all wassup” Tonight is bottoms up Throw it on down Rock this quiet, little country town Get up Drop a tailgate on ya truck Find a keg and fill ya cup up Kick it on back… Yeah tonight is bottoms up Get em up Tonight is bottoms up Get em up Damn Gone is the magic and complication of lyricism and diction and poetry and metaphor. Every song is in the first person, so when you sing along, you become the narrator, the experience becomes yours, or what should be yours. The songs individually might be fine and pardonable, but together, in their relentless replay, represent a fog of collective disconnect to reality. Because, in reality, migrant workers might be the hardest working farmers in the fields of America. Somali immigrants might be the ones breathing life back into dead small towns. Someone out there, just beyond the edge of the haze who has not ever stepped foot on a farm or in a small town, must be using this music to keep us listeners stupidly smiling, hypnotized into thinking everything is amazing. Stay drunk, stay in love, be satisfied. And for God’s sake, be grateful for your freedom to do so and your freedom to keep lapping this crap up. Whoa-uh-oh. Sing it, hands up high. MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 21
“If I wrote country songs, I’d write about the ragweed, tall as a scarecrow, tossing its irritating pollen into the wind, into the eyes of my allergic child.” The river flooded the week I moved to the country. Over the roads the water crept, closing the shortest way from town to home. In the weeks that followed, a great and ferocious gnat cloud rose up out of the soaked places. The backs of my children’s necks and ears erupted in welts the size of potato slices. If I were a songwriter, I’d write about that. I might add some details about how the gnats swarmed my humidityfrizzed hair or how they attacked our kittens’ ears and maybe even how they suffocated a local chicken. I grew up on a farm and memories of the privacy and space weighed heavily on my mind all the years I lived in town. Those memories eventually overwhelmed me and urged me to return to a country life more reminiscent of the way I grew up. I do like dirt roads. I like the sound of my shoes on crushed gravel as I walk to get the mail. But maybe a country song could also include something about the perpetual layer of dust resting on the outside and inside of the car. I am attracted to riverbanks, just like the songs suggest. Who doesn’t like the looks and sound of an easy current, nature’s own lullaby? But maybe at least one country song could tell how the water is often polluted with field run-off, chemicals. Maybe one could mention that we ought to think twice before getting in it. I, too, am a fan of farm fields, their greenness, their uniformity, their exceptional Americanism. But maybe one songwriter could step into the rows and inspect more closely. Maybe one of them could sing about how in early August a helicopter has to buzz these acres. Maybe one of them could note that the neighbor’s lush soybeans are saturated with aphids sucking the yield right out of that field. Maybe one of them could rhyme epically about the aerial hose-down of insecticide all over the land. If I wrote country songs, I’d write about the ragweed, tall 22 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
as a scarecrow, tossing its irritating pollen into the wind, into the eyes of my allergic child. I’d write about his scratching and wheezing, and I might sing a ballad to blessed antihistamine. I’d write a real doozy about the raccoon wars that startle me awake and the hornets that nest in the porch. I’d write about how the bees wander from their soybean flowers and sting the feet of my sons. I’d write about the deer corpse decaying in the ravine, the wild turkeys roaming the ditches, the wild onions growing among the cockleburs. I’d sing a song about the crabapple tree my daughters love so well, the tom cat lurking around the shed, the woodchuck hiding in the intake. Or maybe I’d croon about the soft pine floors of the house, the chipped enamel of the tub, or how the sunset lights up the reddening sumac in September. I’d probably write about drinking a Summit on the porch after the kids go to bed. Maybe I’d warble about the bats snatching mosquitoes out of the night air. I might sing about how the country hours pass so slowly when you’re waiting on a loved one to return. Oh, like those country music singers, I err on the side of sentimentality and nostalgia once in a while. It’s not difficult to do. And, it’s a forgivable offense if you measure it against a bit of honest observation. Sentimentality and nostalgia need balance to soar. I don’t have any evidence that the inelegance or the unintelligence of media we absorb is crippling American culture. Is it really a problem that so many untalented people are transformed into stars? Do we atrophy our progress every time a talented person is turned into a stooge for money? Is it really so bad when consumers want to listen only for escapism and pure pleasure? I think yes. As Brantley says, “Bottoms up.” Literally, folks. The bottom is up. Damn. M
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That’s Life By Nell Musolf
Figuring out what kind of people we are
M
y husband Mark and I recently traveled to our home state of Illinois for a few days of vacation. Our plans for entertainment were simple: pizza, pizza and more pizza. Although it isn’t everyone’s cup of mozzarella, the deep dish pizza that we grew up with is still what we crave most whenever we venture back to the Land of Lincoln. On our way to our first pizza stop, we took a wrong turn and wound up in what is known in northern Illinois as “horse country.” We knew we were in horse country not only by the many horses eating grass in front of country estates homes but also by the people, all of whom had the healthy, horsey look that goes with people who were born with silver stirrups on their heels and spend most of their waking hours in a saddle. After having our pizza we headed east toward Lake Michigan and our hotel. The closer we got to the lake the more we encountered another group of people — “water people.” While water people have several different categories ranging from kayakers to yacht owners, they all share the common trait of being able to turn any conversation into something nautical. My father was a water person and throughout his life talked in terms of knots as opposed to miles and often threatened to swab the deck with any of his offspring when we misbehaved. Water people are also known for their fondness of Happy Hour and often have sea legs even when they are on dry ground. Our next stop was our hotel, a nice place adjacent to a camp ground that provided me with my next category: “outdoors people” — the kind who read camping catalogues with the avid interest of a horse person studying a racing form or a water person reading a 24 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Coast Guard pamphlet on safety regulations. Like water people, outdoors people have a multitude of subcategories depending upon whether or not they prefer to be in the mountains or the woods or some other place with way too much scenery and not nearly enough conveniently located bathrooms. While eating at our next Italian restaurant, I considered the “food people” category. People who talk about a new recipe for macaroni and cheese made with homemade pasta and camembert in hushed tones typically associated with hospital zones or churches. Food people are especially puzzling because although they never stop talking about food, they rarely seem to eat it and are usually annoyingly thin. All of these different types of people left me pondering: what kind of people are we? We aren’t horse people (my few riding experiences have proven that horses are indeed smart creatures who are instantly able to detect a novice riding on their back as well as wily beasts who enjoy throwing novice riders against the nearest fence). We aren’t water people. When Mark and I were teenagers we took a raft onto Lake Michigan and were halfway across the lake before we figured out how to paddle the stupid thing back to shore — a trip that cures us of any kind of yearnings for water travel. Heaven knows we aren’t outdoors people. So what does that leave? After a little more contemplation, I figured out that the two of us are 1970s People. The bookshelves in our family room are crammed with DVDs from that era and neither of us are more content than when we’re sitting in front of the tube watching an old “Columbo” or possibly a “Streets of San Francisco” marathon. Of course, we don’t
exclusively watch television shows from that era. We also watch 1970s movies and listen to the soundtrack from “Saturday Night Fever” every time we take a road trip. I recall reading an article in the National Enquirer once about a couple of strange-o’s who wanted to live in the 1940s. They decorated their house in vintage furniture from that time, listened to the big bands on one of those old-fashioned radios and read books that were published between 1940 and 1950. “What a pair of lunatics,” I thought as I turned to a far more enlightening article on how Martians wanted to infiltrate the American high school system. But now it seems that Mark and I have turned into those lunatics, albeit a few decades later. We have begun collecting furniture and artifacts from the 1970s and I’m seriously contemplating avocado green or burnt orange shag carpeting for the living room. What is even scarier is that all that old 1970s stuff is now showing up in antique scores, grim reminders of just how old we have actually become. Personally, I’m glad to have discovered what kind of people we truly are. It makes gift giving so much easier, especially for our offspring who only need to go online to find Mom a TV Guide from 1974 to make her happy, all for around $1.99, plus shipping. Nell Musolf is a mom and a freelance writer from Mankato.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 25
Reflections
D
By John Cross
awn, for some people, comes at such an inconvenient time. But not for duck hunters. In fact, it is even earlier — the pre-dawn at onehalf-hour before sunrise when legal shooting time rolls around — that waterfowlers especially embrace. Dark forms descending into decoys, sometimes gently on whispering wings, at other times hurtling in on wings set, renting the air to the sound of tightly woven fabric ripped apart, they are the moments that quicken a waterfowler’s pulse. Late sleepers might regard such early hours as ungodly. Duck hunters would argue that the pre-dawn is a gift from that deity. M
26 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 27
“For us, it was uninterrupted time, not distracted time.” — Marisa Lehmann
If it’s
hunting season, it’s
DATE NIGHT! F
By Heidi Sampson | Photos by John Cross
or Scott Lehmann, hunting was something he learned to do from his father, which in time, grew into his own beloved past time. Scott would hunt everything from ducks, to geese, to pheasants, to white tail deer as he grew into an accomplished bow hunter. His wife Marisa Lehmann recalls going hunting with her father around the age of 6 or 7, but for whatever reason, stopped hunting as she grew up. At least, that was until she’d met Scott during her college years. During 2006, the two would go out bow hunting as an excuse to spend more time together. 28 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
The Lehmanns bow hunt out of the same tree, giving them quality, quiet time together. “We were both at school,” said Scott. “So, when I did come down on the weekend to see her, I would hunt and she would come with me. Hunting gave us three or four more hours in the morning to hang out versus me going off by myself to hunt. It was an excuse for us to spend more time together.” “For us, it was uninterrupted time,” said Marisa. “Not distracted time.” During the fall of 2007, Marissa began sitting by herself but she never took a shot at a deer that first year. However, she did spend a lot of time watching the animals in their natural habitat, learning from them as they interacted with each other. “For me, I enjoyed seeing the animals up close,” said Marisa. “They have no idea that you are there, it’s like you’re almost invisible. It really made me feel like I’d accomplished something because I was out there, and I didn’t get noticed.” Today, Scott and Marisa bow hunt mostly white tail deer since the couple started their own business, Backwoods Designs of Winnebago, a start-to-finish high-quality custom cabinet shop, in 2011. “Today, hunting has turned into more of a time issue with the business,” said Scott. “Bow hunting white tail deer takes a lot of patience and challenges one’s thought process, to be successful. I really enjoy the challenge.” For the most part, Scott and Marisa will bow hunt out of the same tree. While one of them is hunting, the other may be filming the animals in their natural surroundings as they watch for patterns within the animal’s lives to learn more about them. “We call it ‘hanging a set,’ a double,” said Scott. “So, there’s one tree and we will have two stands in the same tree. Marisa will be sitting in one stand and I’m sitting in the other. It allows us to communicate if we do see a deer, but it also allows for us to experience nature together, to watch for
the patterns within the animal’s lives, which helps us to learn more about them, how they move, where they bed and why.” Quality Deer Management This past year, the Lehmanns, began a local chapter of the nationally known Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), in Winnebago. QDMA is a non-profit conservation organization that works to ensure the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat, as well as the heritage of hunting. Since 1988 QDMA has strived to promote sustainable, high-quality deer populations, wildlife habitats and ethical hunting experiences through research, education, advocacy and hunter recruitment. “QDMA is a biology-based organization,” said Marisa, “which is what we are into as well. They put a lot of time and money into education, youth programs, and biology.” Recently, the Winnebago chapter of QDMA held a fundraiser banquet in which 130 to 140 local members of the community expressed an interest in deer hunting, promoting healthy deer habitats, as well as carrying the hunting legacy onto their children. “I think it shows what kind of people we are,” said Scott. “It also shows the type of community, in which we live. There are like-minded individuals who want more out of deer hunting here. QDMA allow us to come together while working for a common cause, rather than striving to only shoot the biggest buck and be done with it.” “For our banquet, a lot of the people who showed up were farmers,” said Marisa. “Many of them didn’t even hunt but they have some land that’s maybe not so great for crops. They were interested in putting something on that land for the animals. So, not everyone who is interested in our chapter hunts, many of them only want to help improve a deer’s natural habitat.” MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 29
Passing the legacy on Kristen Curry, a Good Thunder native, began hunting with her father around the age of thirteen, a past time the two enjoyed together on a yearly basis from that time forward. For Rob Curry, an Amboy native, he also began hunting with his father. By fourteen, Rob was bow hunting on a regular basis.
Around 2007-2008, Kristen and Rob would cross paths and start dating. For the first few years, the two continued to hunt separately with their own families. By 2009, they began to hunt together. Today, the couple bow hunts primarily deer, pheasants and turkeys, while enjoying the challenge bow hunting brings to their favorite pastime. Preferring to hunt in a way that covers more ground, the two spend most of their days hunting in separate areas. This year, Rob and Kristen have a new addition to their family, as their
first child, Addison, was born in September. “We have plenty of discussions over who is going to teach our little girl to hunt,” said Kristen. “We are both very eager to pass on our passion for hunting to our child.” Despite having a child, Kristen plans to be out bow hunting with Rob this season, as even childbirth will not be able to keep her away from the great outdoors. M
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30 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
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southern mn style
“I’m maybe thinking about doing something on ice cream sandwiches,” our food writer, Sarah Johnson, said to me. This was a few weeks ago, back when we were trying to figure out what to put in this new Food, Drink and Dine section of Mankato Magazine. And then she offered to make a few of these gourmet concoctions and bring them up to the posh Mankato Magazine offices for me to taste and ... well .. how could I say ‘no?’ So I said yes. And boy, that was one of the better decisions I’ve made this month. Ice cream from Mom and Pop’s, cookies from Friesen’s Bakery ... does it get any better than that? Probably not. So check out Sarah’s ice cream sandwich feature in this month’s Food, Drink and Dine. You’ll also find a new columnist has joined us. Bert Mattson, a certified chef whose family owns a little greasy spoon in St. Paul called Mickey’s Diner (maybe you’ve heard of it?), has come on board to guide beer lovers through the complicated world of pairing porters with meats, ales with desserts or IPAs with, heck, other IPAs! And our wine guy, Leigh Pomeroy, has returned for a second straight month — I’m hoping we can keep him around for a while. His knowledgeable advice on what to drink with wild game will make us all better wine drinkers and perhaps even better Minnesotans.
food, drink & dine
Food and drink for the season of change ...
MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 31
Food
I scream, you scream,
southern mn style
we all scream for ice cream … sandwiches? Yep. B S J y
F
arah ohnson
ood trends come and go. Cupcakes became popular, then they exploded in a frenzy of cupcake shops and (oddly) reality TV shows. Cronuts – a crazily delicious cross between a donut and a croissant – were all the rage for a while. Everybody loved cake pops, those bite-size frosted cake blobs on a stick, for quite some time. And of course, the twin blitz of sea salt and caramel overtook the dessert universe a couple of years ago and never really retreated. But the next big thing in sweet treats, they say, is the gourmet ice cream sandwich. These ain’t yo mama’s ice cream sandwiches. These are sandwiches that pair an out-of-this-world cookie with the perfect premium filling to make a magical whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Chip and Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches, half-dipped in a chocolate-toffee coating, to get us started. Once the basic technique is learned, your imagination can create endless possibilities. • 20 chocolate chip cookies, homemade or store-bought • 2 pints premium banana ice cream, slightly softened • 2 ripe bananas, cut into very thin slices • 1 (11.5-ounce) package bittersweet chocolate chips • 1/4 cup vegetable oil • 1 ½ cups loose granola or English toffee bits (optional) Line baking sheet with foil; place in freezer. Place one cookie, flat side up, on work surface. Top with 1/3 cup ice cream; spread almost to edge. Top with single layer of bananas. Sandwich with another cookie; press gently to compact. Place on baking sheet in freezer. Repeat with remaining cookies, ice cream, and bananas. Freeze two hours. Using knife, smooth sides of ice cream sandwiches. Freeze
32 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
one hour. Place chocolate chips and oil in small glass bowl; microwave on medium-high until chocolate is melted, stopping occasionally to stir, about 1 ½ minutes. Let stand just until cool, about 10 minutes. Place granola or toffee (if using) on plate. Dip one ice cream sandwich halfway into melted chocolate; lift and quickly shake excess chocolate back into bowl. If desired, roll dipped edge in granola or toffee; return to baking sheet in freezer. Repeat with remaining sandwiches, chocolate, and granola or toffee. Freeze until firm, about two hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made two days ahead. Wrap each sandwich in foil; keep frozen. One great thing about making homemade ice cream sandwiches is: All the ingredients required can be found here in our own backyard at our local grocery stores, bakeries and ice cream parlors. Check out these scrumptious suggestions: • From HyVee, try Birthday Celebration ice cream with bakery monster cookies; cherry nut ice cream with HyVee’s new Intense Dark Chocolate and Almond cookies; and cherry lime sherbet with Oatmeal, Greek Yogurt and Cranberry cookies. • From Cub Foods, good picks are Stone Ridge Creamery’s Banana Split ice cream with bakery Reeses Pieces brownie cookies; Cinnamon Snickerdoodle ice cream with English toffee cookies; Caramel Sticky Bun ice cream with soft ginger cookies; and Peppermint Cookies & Cream with chocolate brownie cookies. • Cold Stone Creamery, Culver’s and Frozen Yogurt Creations all offer take-out in various sizes, available with their large selections of mix-in ingredients to create your own gourmet ice cream, frozen custard or frozen yogurt, respectively. And Insomnia Cookies near MSU offers freshly baked cookies for delivery or pickup. Try pairing Cold Stone’s Sweet Cream ice cream with Insomnia’s Smores cookies. Culver’s chocolate custard with Insomnia’s white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Frozen Yogurt Creation’s White Chocolate Mousse with Insomnia’s double chocolate mint cookies … In Old Town, Mom and Pop’s sells pints and quarts to go, with a rotating selection from their award-winning Madison, WI supplier. Co-owner and ice cream lover Erin Gatchell recommends letting your ice cream soften 15 minutes or so to make it more pliable, but don’t wait too long either: “It softens so fast!”
Some flavors are so full of goodies — brownie bits, cookie crumbles, cookie dough chunks, peanut butter bombs, caramel ribbons, fudge swirls, pretzel particles, nutty nubbins —“Every bite is different,” Gatchell mused on this sunny, breezy and ice cream-perfect autumn day being enjoyed by several families with big-eyed kids in tow. Not far away are two local bakers: Friesen’s (also in Old Town), and Flour Power (in the downtown Mankato Place mall). Build your dream creation with Mom and Pop’s Coconut Almond Bliss ice cream paired with Friesen’s Mounds of Joy cookies; or pumpkin ice cream tucked inside a Flour Power ginger, sugar or chocolate chip cookie fresh from the baker’s oven. Or you can even concoct my own personal stairway directly to heaven: Mom and Pop’s Fat Elvis ice cream (banana ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate) smushed inside … wait for it … Friesen’s butterscotchbacon cookies. Houston, we have liftoff. And finally, if making your own just seems like too much work, you can always scoop your most decadent ice cream into a bowl, add an equally flamboyant cookie on the side, and call it a “deconstructed” ice cream sandwich — a tad less portable, but who needs portability when you’re only traveling as far as the couch? Gourmet ice cream sandwiches are shining examples of (arguably) wholesome all-American decadence that can be enjoyed year round with all sorts of people, because 90 percent of us gotta have our ice cream, according to the California Milk Advisory Board. These frozen delights are expected to be the next hot thing on menus at upscale restaurants, caterers, street vendors and other food concessionaires, but you can create your own eyepopping treats at home today, using just a few premium, locally produced ingredients and your wild imagination.
Sarah Johnson is a cook, freelance writer and chocolate addict from North Mankato with three grown kids and a couple of mutts.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 33
Wine & Beer
Wines By Leigh Pomeroy
Wild and Wine
W
southern mn style
hen Mankato Magazine editor Robb Murray asked me to write about “What wine goes with wild game?” I thought, “Maybe he means the Minnesota Wild.” After all, hockey season is not too far away. But no. He meant wild game as in the stuff hunters bag — like deer, elk, bear, duck, pheasant, turkey and boar — although there aren’t a whole lot of wild boar in Minnesota. In flavor profile, one aspect of wild game is that it’s … well … “gamier.” That is, it has more aggressive flavors than the farm- or feedlotraised product like chicken, pork and beef that we find in our local supermarkets. For more aggressive flavors in meats you need more aggressively flavored wines to match. For fowl — duck, pheasant and turkey — a full-flavored, relatively high acid white wine is warranted. If you’re a Chardonnay lover, this more or less eliminates your favorite wine unless it’s from a premier Chardonnay producer like Mankato native Stephen Dooley, who makes terrific wines under his Stephen Ross Winery label sourced from vineyards in California’s central and south coasts. While his Chardonnays lack the crisp acidity that normally pairs well with wild fowl — a characteristic of the growing region — the wines more than make up for this deficit with their mouthfilling unctuousness. Another option is Gewürztraminer, a wine championed by Morgan Creek Vineyards co-owner Paula Marti. (By the way, if you’re lunching at Morgan Creek, more than likely she’s the one cooking your wood-fired pizza.)
34 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
To translate the German, “gewürz” means “spice” or “spicy.” Traminer is the name of the parent grape. Put the two together and you have an unforgettable wine with a racy zip that some people equate with rose petals, lychee (although who’s tasted lychee?) and … well … spice. It’s similar to wines made from the muscat grape and the Argentinian Torrontes, if that’s part of your winetasting experience. Because of its spiciness it is usually finished off-dry — that is, with a touch of sweetness — although the wine can range from bone dry to unctuously sweet, as in a lateharvest Alsatian vendage tardive, which is very expensive and can last for decades. But most producers, like Morgan Creek, choose the offdry rendering, which balances the inherent raciness and acidity of the grape with a sublime, fruity finish. As for red meats, in Italy’s Tuscany, home of Chianti, where wild boar is a staple on many menus, red wines made from the classic Tuscan grape sangiovese are the default choice for wild game dinners. These include not only Chianti but other sangiovese-based wines like Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montelpulciano (my favorite for flavor and value), Carmignano, Morellino di Scansano and Maremma — the latter two being relatively new and thus good values. One red wine I often turn to in times of need is Pinot Noir. The pinot noir grape is the basis of all the great French red Burgundies, many of which command astronomical prices. Growing it is a real challenge and making it is another: Just ask my winemaking friends. In color it is rarely intense — though some clonal variations grown in California do yield a heavily colored wine. Yet Pinot Noir, regardless of clone, done well from a great vineyard can yield a panopoly of flavors that explode in your mouth. In Minnesota an offshoot of the pinot noir grape is the marquette. According to the University of Minnesota Department of Agriculture, “Marquette is a cousin of Frontenac [more later] and grandson of Pinot noir.” It is one of the most recent iterations of French-American grape hybrids developed by the University designed to resist cold winters, which native European vines of the vitis vinifera species cannot do, while yielding wines similar to the subtler vinifera experience. (Most wines in the world are made from vinifera grapes.) For Minnesota vintners the challenge has been to produce vinifera-tasting wines from cold-hardy grapes. The bottom line is this: If you want a red wine of Minnesota origin to go with your deer, elk or bear, consider these two choices: The more rustic, wild cherryflavored Frontenac is found in Morgan Creek’s off-dry Puck’s Pride, or the subtler yet full-flavored Marquette as exhibited in Chankaska Creek’s Reserve Marquette or Morgan Creek’s Coulure. With any of these choices you won’t be disappointed.
Beer By Bert Mattson
Scaring up some good autum brews
A
utumn has strong associations. For many folks, it’s fall colors. More than a few people think of pumpkins. It’s about harvest, for others. To sportsmen, it signals the start of a hunting season. For some, it may simply be the scent of wood smoke on the air. Autumn stretches deep into December to the Winter Solstice. This last fact, for a few, makes for a melancholy feeling. The prospect of shutting things down and stocking things up for winter, can be oppressive. Fortunately, autumn also offers up a deep roster of seasonal beers. The local patches do pretty well at pumpkins and, chances are, you’ll encounter pumpkin pie this season. A general rule, with desserts, is that the beer should be at least as sweet as the treat. It’d be fair to attempt a pumpkin beer with pumpkin pie in search of something complimentary. Yet, they may mask one another. A balanced Porter, with elements of coffee and chocolate from roasted malts, presents a contrast. The flavor of coffee has a familiar place at the dessert setting. The same spices used in pumpkin pie are proven companions to chocolate in Mexican-style hot cocoa. Still, where bitterness from the roasted malts is a pleasant contrast, the bitterness from hops may be awkward. To me, a dollop of whipped heavy cream on the pie is where things get interesting. It has an effect not unlike taking cream with dark roast coffee. With that bitterness balanced, the subtler features of the pie and beer emerge.
The spices, sweetness and textures step forward. For this pairing I recommend Founders Brewing Company’s Porter and Summit Brewing Company’s Great Northern Porter. If you must skip the pie, try Pumking, Southern Tier’s seasonal Imperial Pumpkin Ale. When it comes to flavor, what happens on the tongue is one facet. Aroma is integral. Get a whiff of this stuff: crushed pumpkin, spices, pie crust. The flavor follows the nose. Pumking brings it home. If you’re passing on dessert, for reasons of quality, this beer just might salvage a gas station pie. Hunters know that grilling or searing deer meat unchains a new level of flavor. Technically, this phenomenon is known as the “Maillard reaction” and is responsible for the development of hundreds of flavor compounds. It transpires in the parching process of wild rice, and accounts for that distinctive nutty taste. It lends a savory quality to roasted sweet potatoes. In a nutshell, it makes foods complex. To match up to that intensity I like Leaf Raker, a seasonal Nut Brown Ale from Mankato Brewery. Leaf Raker brings hints of smoke, nuts and malt. It can stand up to the stronger herbs and spices used to tame gamy meat. Freshly cracked black pepper on a Venison Backstrap should only enhance the pairing. Autumn is an occasion to tap into those Porters set aside from a sampler packs, fall seasonal specialties, and more malty brews. That is something to be happy about.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 35
Drinks
Happy Hour
By M. Carrie Allan | Special
to
The Washington Post.
southern mn style
Bloody Mary usually best served with fresh tomatoes
O
n many food-related subjects, my inner grumpy old man is not to be heeded. He believes, for example, that everything was better years ago, including foodstuffs that were never great to begin with. He is still angry that Wendy’s Frosties now come in vanilla. “When I was a boy, Frosties came in one flavor, Barely Perceptible Chocolate, and we liked it!” he tells young people, who ignore him and continue playing Candy Crush on their phones. On the issue of tomatoes, though, the grumpy old man cannot be silenced. The year-round tomatoes, with no softness, no scent, hard from having been bred to survive long-distance shipping, do not deserve to be called tomatoes. “Get off my lawn!” I want to yell at them. I would support legislation requiring stores selling off-season tomatoes to give them a different name. “Impostoes,” perhaps?
We can get the true tomato — the red, dripping, luscious fragrant beauty — during August, when gardens start popping them out like mad and farmers markets offer an orgy of heirlooms. I’ve been waiting to make tomato sandwiches — August is when tomatoes are good enough to dance the lead in a sandwich, rather than being consigned to the mealy chorus — but also to start putting them into drinks. You’ll understand my surprise, then, when paging through awardwinning mixologist Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s terrific new “The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique,” to find the following in the “Tomato Juice” section: “Oh, to know the joy of a Bloody Mary made with . . . well, no, not with fresh tomato juice. . . . A truly ripe one is so luscious and intensely flavorful when you eat it out of hand, but once you process it into a puree and then extract the juice, it becomes vegetal, weak, and weirdly frothy.” He advises
juicing canned tomatoes instead. Befuddled, I called Todd Thrasher, general manager, sommelier and “liquid savant” at Restaurant Eve, PX and other establishments in the Washington area. I called Thrasher because his tomato-water bloody mary, a clear, pinkish drink that comes close to capturing the essence of a summer tomato, is a drink I look forward to every year during tomato season, which is the only time he makes it. I had barely gotten the words, “Jeffrey Morgenthaler says it’s better to juice canned tomatoes than fresh ones . . .” out of my mouth before Thrasher’s own inner grumpy old man cut me off. “Jeffrey Morgenthaler is a dummy,” he said. “I’ll say it to his face! He is a dear friend, but I think he’s been spending too much time in the Pacific Northwest rather than the mid-Atlantic. If I can get fresh tomatoes? No way I use canned. But then I’m also from St. Leonard, Maryland, where tomatoes and corn are king.”
The Matermelon 1 servings
This drink takes two classic summer picnic components, ripe tomato and fresh watermelon, and unites them with a touch of salt, the smoke of tequila and the brightness of lime. You can use simple syrup in place of agave syrup, and you can omit the cayenne if you don’t want the heat, but do not omit the salt — it brings the flavors together.
Ingredients 2 ounces fresh tomato juice 2 ounces fresh watermelon juice 1 ounce fresh lime juice 1/2 ounce agave nectar 1 1/2 ounces blanco tequila
Pinch salt Pinch ground cayenne pepper Ice Lime wheel, for garnish
Steps Combine the tomato, watermelon and lime juices, the agave nectar, tequila, salt and cayenne pepper in a cocktail shaker. Seal and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Add the ice; seal and shake for 30 seconds. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled Collins or pilsener glass full of ice (discard the solids).
As a member of the media, driven to find and pump up conflict wherever I can, I began envisioning a click-bait headline: “Embattled Celebrity Mixologists Brawl Over Tomato Juice. You Won’t Believe What Happened Next.” What happened next was I rang Morgenthaler and tattled that Thrasher had called him a dummy. “I bet he used a better term than that,” he laughed, before defending the Pacific Northwest’s tomatoes. “It does actually get hot out here sometimes.” Morgenthaler says his book aims to provide a range of technique options, from the quick-and-dirty to more intensive culinary approaches. He does talk about the method of roasting fresh tomatoes to puree and juice, he notes, “but if you want to whip up a bloody mary, roasting a bunch of tomatoes in the morning for an hour and then waiting for them to cool is a little tough.” I see his point. Plus, roasting fresh tomatoes intensifies the sugars and the savory, umami quality, much like what’s done to canned tomatoes already. When I tested, I was surprised to find the fresh juice didn’t have a huge advantage — at least not in a traditional bloody mary, where citrus, horseradish and Worcestershire complicate the flavor of the root fruit. (Throw in the fivepound buffet of seafood-veg-pork belly-grilled cheese garnishes propped on many bloody marys these days, and who’s going to notice a difference in the base?) But once you leave Mary’s soupy world, fresh summer tomatoes have advantages. Morgenthaler used to muddle cherry tomatoes into a tomato daiquiri, and Thrasher tends to use more tomato “water,” obtained by gently straining chopped tomatoes through a fine mesh bag, a slow process that leads to a thinner, clear solution rather than the gloppy texture bloody marys can get. I may use Morgenthaler’s approach for bloody marys come winter, when impostoes are all we can get. For now, though, you’ll find me and my grumpy old man ogling the market tomatoes, grudgingly admitting that right now, the world isn’t that bad. Even if the kids do need to pull up their pants.
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Food
What’s Cooking By Sarah Johnson
southern mn style
Squash: a gem in southern Minnesota’s generous food basket
I
f you had told the 8-year-old me that one day I would actually enjoy the taste of squash, I would have called you five cans short of a six-pack. Squash was my vegetable nemesis; between the squishy, stringy texture, the sticky sweetness and the distinct resemblance to baby food, it wasn’t getting past my juvenile lips, no way no how no ma’am. Fast-forward 30 and 40 years later to see me happily and hypocritically scarfing down squash whenever I can get it. My fickle taste buds can barely stop jubilating long enough to feel a bit guilty about the Early Squashless Years, wasted and never to be recaptured. What was I thinking? This stuff tastes like candy yet it’s supposed to be GOOD for you! What’s not to love? There are several types of squash. One is completely inedible: It’s a racket game hailing from Europe, originally called “squachen” from the French “esquasser”, meaning to crush or squeeze. The ball itself was originally called the “squash” due to its squishiness. Don’t eat this kind of squash. The vegetable version of squash comes from the Narraganset Indian word “askutasquash” meaning “things that may be eaten raw,” which I actually wouldn’t recommend doing at all. “Cook it first,” is in fact a good starter recipe for all varieties of squash. There are two types: the early-season ones with soft skins like zucchini and yellow summer squash, which we couldn’t care less about this late in the season; and the rough, often warty, oddly shaped, tough-skinned ones (that look like you could kick them across the grocery store and still take them home and eat them) available now called winter squash. Pumpkins and gourds also belong in this group, two other highly kickable vegetables for those so inclined. Squashes originated in Central America and have basically remained a Western food, having been widely adopted only in Japan, some tropical countries and a bit of Britain. Pity the rest of the world, but more for us then. Most canned “pumpkin” for pies is actually squash, which is richer and more nutritious than pumpkin, according to the Texas A&M Extension Service. Sounds like quite a scam to me, but try getting the FBI to listen? They act like they have better things to do. Squashes were some of the first foods domesticated because their large fruit was easy for even our most myopic, most bumbling ancestors to find with big, nutritious seeds, pulpy flesh and even their own carrying containers: themselves. Their beautiful yellow blossoms are a delicacy, dipped in batter and fried to a golden crisp, or stuffed with delicious fillings and baked, or used as an ingredient in soups and quesadillas. They could be easily stored for the winter, historically a time of hardship and even starvation in the pre-food-
38 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
security world. The first English-American colonists at Jamestown, having never seen a squash and feeling superior in every way, turned their noses up at the Indians’ squash gardens at first; but once the long, killer winter set in, suddenly it was all, “Cheerio, mates, let’s cook up some of these lovely squashes for tiffin!” and tragedy was averted. Except for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, which obviously ran out of squash (and let that be a lesson unto ye all). Along with corn and beans, squash was one of the “Three Sisters” of Native American cooking. The three plants grew symbiotically, with the corn plant providing a living trellis for the bean plant, the bean plant providing stability at the root level for the corn plant as well as fixing nitrogen in the soil, and the squash plant providing weedkilling mulch and prickly stems to deter pests for both its sisters. Let it be noted, not all sisters get along this well. Luckily Miss Squash, Miss Bean and Miss Corn hadn’t seen “Frozen” or this Three Sisters business might not have turned out so well. Bring out the flavors of fall with this tribute to all things ripening right here, right now in the generous food basket that is Southern Minnesota. Roasted Autumn Vegetable Medley Roasting veggies brings out their natural sweetness and adds a nicely browned texture. This earthy combination pairs particularly well with pork. 1 large acorn squash, peeled and cubed 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed 2 large white potatoes, cubed 2 large red potatoes, cubed 1 medium green pepper, julienned 1 medium red pepper, julienned 1 small onion, quartered 12 whole garlic cloves, peeled 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon pepper ½ cup olive oil In a large bowl, toss all ingredients until well coated. Arrange mixture in a single layer in two greased baking pans. Roast, uncovered, at 425° for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Yield: 6 servings. Sarah Johnson is a cook, freelance writer and chocolate addict from North Mankato with three grown kids and a couple of mutts.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 39
Then
and
Now: Oktoberfest
By Jean Lundquist
Braids are always in style at New Ulm’s Oktoberfest, which takes place this year Oct. 3-4 and 10-11 at various locations around New Ulm including the Holiday Inn and Schell’s Brewery.
The land of Deutsche bier O
New Ulm’s Oktoberfest in its 33rd year
ktoberfest has been an annual festival in New Ulm for 33 years. While that’s a long run for a community festival, New Ulm was actually very late in jumping on the Oktoberfest bandwagon. The celebration was born on Oct. 10, 1810 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. That’s when Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildberghasen. All the people of Munich and the surrounding area were invited. Eight thousand people attended the celebration, and it’s been growing ever since. In 1810 in Munich, as in New Ulm today, during Oktoberfest the music plays and the beer flows and revelers celebrate German customs and heritage. Terry Sveine is the New Ulm Convention and Visitor’s Bureau manager. He recalls that Oktoberfest finally came to New Ulm 33 years ago when Emmett Erpelding owned the local Holiday Inn Hotel. “A German band was passing through, and Emmett said if they stayed another night and play for him at the hotel, he’d put together some quick advertising to bring people in to see them,” Sveine says. That spur-of-the-moment event has grown in the ensuing decades. 40 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Sveine says the Oktoberfest is not just one event. It is instead four separate-but-related events in New Ulm. “The Holiday Inn was the sole venue for the first six or seven years,” he says. So many visitors were attending, the Chamber of Commerce collaborated with Erpelding to grow the festival into a city wide event spanning the first two weekends in October. Later, Morgan Creek Vineyards, owned by a family with deep ties to New Ulm, offered Oktoberfest events at the same time, including a grape stomp. Then, just three years ago, Schell’s Brewery added events at the brewery. “We’re not in competition with each other,” Sveine explains. “We all play well together.” Additionally, local attractions that usually close shortly after Labor Day will open for the Oktoberfest weekends. The Harken Store near New Ulm will be open, and weatherpermitting, people will be able to climb to the top of the Hermann Monument for a great view of the river valley. Although revelers have encountered both rain and snow during Oktoberfest, Sveine believes early October is the ideal time for a festival. “All the bugs are gone, and there are beautiful fall colors through the river valley. It’s a pleasure for people to drive to New Ulm.”
The city of New Ulm is often called the most German community in the United States. The building styles and traditions are uniquely German in the city. For a couple of years, the CVB tried to appeal to a younger crowd by bringing non-traditional bands to play. “We tried to bill Rocktoberfest, but one year the bands got snowed on, the other year it rained on the guys,” Sveine says. This year, a new dimension to the festival is the Taste of New Ulm during the second weekend. Six New Ulm restaurants will be offering their German specialties as people wander through the downtown area. Tickets are available at the CVB office. Locally brewed Schell’s beer has always been a staple of Oktoberfest in New Ulm. Three years ago was the first time festivities were organized for the event at the brewery location. Kyle Marti of Schell’s Brewery has been to Oktoberfest in Munich several times. The beer garden Schell’s Brewery hosts on October 11th will mimic what Marti experienced in Germany. “Sitting drinking a few beers in Munich, we said, ‘Why don’t
we replicate this in New Ulm? We can get a big tent and offer tables and chairs.’ So my brothers and I will put on our lederhosen and we’ll be waiting tables at Oktoberfest,” he says. The Schell’s Hobo Band will be the first band featured, and the first keg will be tapped about 11:00 a.m. The city of New Ulm is often called the most German community in the United States. The building styles and traditions are uniquely German in the city. And because of the German heritage and because of Schell’s Brewery, the community is closely tied to beer, a necessity at Oktoberfest. Schell’s Brewery has been a family-owned business for six generations, and is the second-oldest family-owned breweries in the nation. The Rathskeller Bar at Turner Hall in New Ulm claims to be the oldest bar in Minnesota. Oktoberfest seems like a natural fit in the city of New Ulm.
MANKATO MAGAZINE • september 2014 • 41
Garden Chat By Jean Lundquist
T
Local gardeners have a story of success
he picture you see below is of a well-planned, welltended garden. This garden is not mine. It is, however, the garden that put canned tomatoes, salsa and marinara sauce on my basement shelves for the winter. If not for the generosity of others, those shelves would be nearly bare this winter. The garden you see belongs to Jan and Ken Albrecht of rural North Mankato. For the Albrechts (as for many,) gardening began as a hobby. When daughters Elizabeth and Kirsten were young, the gardens were small. It didn’t take very long, however, before the garden plot grew into acres and acres, says Jan. In 1966, Albrecht’s Vegetables began. The girls set up a roadside stand to sell the veggies. When a local supplier of tomatoes to Madsen’s grocery Store had a crop failure, Albrechts filled the void. “They were delighted,” Jan recalls. And her daughters were able to pay for their college educations. With the aid of school kids they hired to help, it didn’t take long before the Albrecht Vegetables were being trucked to grocery stores in the Twin Cities area. They took tomatoes, squash, peppers and more. All gardeners know it takes a lot of time in the garden to be successful. While Albrecht’s Vegetables was growing, Ken taught at South Central College full time, and Jan was an occupational therapist in Mankato. So how big was Albrecht’s Vegetables? Jan says Ken sometimes exaggerates how many tomato plants they grew. “We had a thousand, but never two thousand or three thousand,” she says. The idea of a thousand tomato plants makes my head spin. What great opportunities to try as many varieties as you want! What an incredible amount of work! The most tomato plants I’ve ever cultivated were 45, and that was a struggle to keep up with. When customers in the Twin Cities decided to import tomatoes from California to get better consistency, Albrecht’s Vegetables retired. “But we cannot have a small garden,” Jan says, explaining the size of the garden today. My garden is not small, but it’s not the size of the Albrecht garden. Still, why was I begging for veggies from the Albrechts? I have four solid reasons for my failure. 1) It 42 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
was too hot. 2) It was too cold. 3) It was too wet, and 4) it was too dry. Every single one of these excuses is true and would hold water, EXCEPT that Jan told me her garden was under water in mid-June. Then she showed me the picture that proves it. “We went out and washed the mud off the leaves of the plants,” she said. I didn’t do that. Maybe my fifth excuse is the real one. I’m too lazy. Truth to tell, lazy gardeners don’t exist. So when Dale comes to mow the grass again, I’m going to ask him to mow down the proof of my apparent laziness, and have a clean slate for next spring. Now — the answer to the question I have been asked most this summer — Is it possible to grow peanuts in Minnesota? The answer is YES. I pulled the plants earlier than they should have been pulled, but Dale was going to mow, anyway. I got an average of a peanut and a half per rabbit-eaten plant. Nothing to worry Jimmy Carter, but not a bad showing for Minnesota peanuts! Both Larry and Carol told me they had grown them as kids, but I have the photos to prove my one and only success in the garden this year. Now I have to brine them, and lay them in the sun to cure somewhere inaccessible to chickens. Meanwhile, it can’t be long before the first seed catalog of the season arrives. Jean Lundquist is a master gardener who lives near Good Thunder.
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Your Health
By Christina Ianzito | Special
to
The Washington Post.
How to protect your vision as you age
O
ur eyes provide us with a window on the world, but that window gets a little foggy and fragile as we age. Close-up vision blurs, and cataracts lie ahead for many. Tear ducts function less well, and eyes can get dry and inflamed. Worse, glaucoma and macular degeneration can pose serious threats to vision, making reading difficult and jeopardizing independent living. Blindness is among the public’s top health fears, according to the National Association for Eye and Vision Research, an advocacy organization, consistently up there with cancer and paralysis in polls of health concerns, according to the American Foundation for the Blind, another advocacy group. As baby boomers age, more people will be confronted with vision problems. Among Americans older than 40, there are an estimated 41 million cases of blindness, low vision or age-related eye disease, according to the patient advocacy organization Prevent Blindness, which predicts that this number will grow to 64 million by 2032. So what can you do to keep your eyes working? While there’s no way to prevent presbyopia — the fuzzy close-up vision that requires reading glasses — doctors say you can do a few things to lower your risk for — or at least slow the progression of — other age-related problems. By the time they’re 80, more than half of all Americans have had cataracts, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “It’s a normal part of the aging process, like getting gray hair,” says Melanie Buttross, an ophthalmologist with Eye Associates of Washington. As time passes, the eye’s lens becomes more opaque and dense, eventually causing blurry vision. This condition is called a cataract. Just as some people go gray early, some get cataracts early. Daniel Pluznik, an ophthalmologist with Eye Physicians of Washington, says he has “a fair number of patients in their 40s” with cataracts. “The more nearsighted you are, the younger you tend to develop them,” he explains. The risk doesn’t appear to run in families. At first the blur can be counteracted with changes in prescription, but if it interferes with daily activities, doctors may recommend surgery — a generally safe, extremely common procedure that often takes less than a half-hour. The surgeon removes the cataract, then inserts a clear artificial lens. The lens can be customized to correct vision. Afterward many patients see better than they have in years. Prevent Blindness estimates that more than 2.7 million Americans age 40 and older have glaucoma. Most at risk are African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, smokers, diabetics and people who are severely nearsighted or have a family history of glaucoma. There is no way to prevent glaucoma — or to restore the vision loss it causes — but its progression can be halted with early intervention. That requires regular eye exams. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends 46 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
that adults without the risk factors mentioned above have a baseline exam at age 40, then evaluations every two to four years until 55. From that point on, they should be checked every one to three years, and one to two years once they’re 65. Those at risk for glaucoma and other eye diseases should be seen more frequently. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease where the cells in the central part of the retina — the part most important for central vision, called the macula — deteriorate. Though eyesight can be preserved when the disease is caught at an early stage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it “the leading cause of permanent impairment of reading and fine or close-up vision among people aged 65 years and older,” and says 1.8 million Americans older than 40 have the condition and another 7.3 million are at risk of developing it. Unlike glaucoma, AMD, which runs in families, is a greater risk for whites than for African-Americans. There are two kinds of AMD, dry and wet. More common is the dry, which can cause loss of central vision — essential for reading and driving — but so gradually that many people have it for decades with no obvious effect. Wet, or neovascular, is more dangerous. Abnormal blood vessels grow into the retina, in some cases leading to bleeding or leaking of fluid. Wet AMD is frightening, Pluznik says, because it may alter vision suddenly: “Patients can wake up one day and just see a central black spot.” The National Eye Institute’s Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found that people with AMD who take certain vitamins and minerals can slow the disease’s progression. Those antioxidants include vitamins A and E, beta carotene, lutein, zinc and copper; they are sold overthe-counter in pill form as the AREDS formula. The researchers recently altered the mix by adding lutein and zeaxanthine and eliminating beta carotene. Called AREDS2, this formula is what ophthalmologists often suggest now.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 47
Coming Attractions: October 2 -- Gustavus: The Inaugural Concert 8 p.m. -- Bjorling Recital Hall, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter -- free -- 507-933-7013 2 -- MSU Performance Series: John Solomon and Communist Daughter 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $15 regular, $13 current MSU students -- 507-389-5549
7 -- University Jazz Big Bands and Contemporary Ensembles 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $9 regular, $7 current MSU students -- 507-389-5549 9 -- Gustavus: Guest Lecture by composer Nissim Schaul 7:30 p.m. -- Bjorling Recital Hall, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter -- free -- 507-933-7013
2-5 -- MSU Theatre: “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday -- Ted Paul Theatre, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $22 regular, $19 discount, $15 current MSU students -507-389-6661
9-12 -- MSU Theatre: “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday -- Ted Paul Theatre, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $22 regular, $19 discount, $15 current MSU students -507-389-6661
3 -- Art Center of Saint Peter Fall Music: Larry McDonough Quartet 7 p.m. -- Art Center of Saint Peter -315 S. Minnesota Ave., St. Peter -$10 -- www.artscentersp.org
11 -- Taste of New Ulm 3 p.m. -- Visitors Center -- 1 N. Minnesota St., New Ulm -- $25 -507-233-4300
3 -- Gustavus: Kimberly Gedde, guest saxophone recital 8 p.m. -- Bjorling Recital Hall, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter -- free -- 507-933-7013
12 -- Gustavus: 2014 Family Weekend Showcase Concert 2 p.m. -- Christ Chapel, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter -- free -507-933-7013
5 -- Mankato Symphony Orchestra: Copland and Beethoven 3 p.m. -- Mankato West High School -1351 S. Riverfront Drive, Mankato -www.mankatosymphony.com
12 -- MSU Performance Series: April Verch Band 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $15 regular, $13 current MSU students -- 507-389-5549
7 -- Gustavus: 2014 Nobel Conference Concert 8 p.m. -- Christ Chapel, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter -- free -507-933-7013
14 -- University Orchestra 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $9 regular, $7 current MSU students -- 507-389-5549 16-19 -- MSU Theatre: “To Kill A Mockingbird” 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday -- Andreas Theatre, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $16 regular, $14 discount, $11 current MSU students -- 507-389-6661 17 -- Jake Owen concert 7 p.m. -- Verizon Wirless Center -$41.50 reserved on floor, $27 reserved riser seats -- www.ticketmaster.com
48 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
19 -- Concert Bands 7:30 p.m. -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $9 regular, $7 current MSU students -- 507-389-5549 23-26 -- MSU Theatre: “To Kill A Mockingbird” 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday -- Andreas Theatre, Minnesota State University, Mankato -- $16 regular, $14 discount, $11 current MSU students -- 507-3896661 24 -- Mankato Puppet Fest: Puppet Performance and Awards 7-9 p.m. -- Mankato Event Center -12 Civic Center Plaza #10, Mankato -the410project.com 24-26 -- Merely Players: “War of the Worlds” radio play 7:30 Friday to Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday -- Lincoln Community Center -- 110 Fulton St., Mankato -- $15 adults, $13 seniors, $10 youth -- 507-388-5483 26-27 -- Fall Choral Concert 3:00 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Monday -- Elias J. Halling Recital Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato -$9 regular, $7 current MSU students -507-389-5549 31 -- Art Center of Saint Peter Fall Music: Bill Staines 7 p.m. -- Art Center of Saint Peter -315 S. Minnesota Ave., St. Peter -- $10 -- www.artscentersp.org. 30 -- Storytellers presents Frank Abagnale 7 p.m. -- Verizon Wireless Center -- free -- 507-625-6169 31-Nov 2 -- Merely Players: “War of the Worlds” radio play 7:30 Friday to Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday -- Lincoln Community Center -- 110 Fulton St., Mankato -- $15 adults, $13 seniors, $10 youth -- 507-388-5483
Faces & Places
Photos By Sport Pix 1
Ribfest Rick Springfield & Collective Soul 1. The Vetter Stone Amphitheater filled up long before the headliner. 2. Rick Springfield and his lead guitarist show off their musical skills. 3. 80s rockstar, Rick Springfield, makes out to be the hidden pot of gold behind the cascading rainbow of lights. 4. Rick Springfield performed on the second night of the annual Ribfest at Riverfront park. 5. Collective Soul drew a large, enthusiastic crowd for their show at Vetter Stone Amphitheater. 6. Rick Springfield performs at Ribfest Aug. 8.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 49
Faces & Places
Photos By Sport Pix
Mankato Mud Run
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1. In order to get one of the trophies, you had to get down and dirty. 2. Mike Drummer chasing his son Jacob and trying to give him a big muddy hug. 3. Two participants brave the mud. 4. Some of the obstacles make you work together as a team in order to get to the next station. 5. There was multiple mud obstacles scattered around up on top of the hill by Loyola High School. 6. The Makato Mud Run is a great family event that is fun and exciting for everyone.
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50 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
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Faces & Places
Photos By Sport Pix
Vikings Training Camp 1. Fans hope for an autograph from current Viking and former Minnesota State wide receiver Adam Thielen. 2. Quarterback Matt Cassell signals touchdown as his receiver comes down with the catch during practice. 3. Fans and the Minnesota Vikings Cheer team greet the players as they enter Blakeslee stadium. 4. The tight ends get in some footwork drills during morning practice. 5. New head coach Mike Zimmer looks on as his player take reps on Minnesota State’s fields. 6. Vikings quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Matt Cassell take reps during afternoon practice.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • october 2014 • 51
From
this
Valley
By Pete Steiner
Lessons from Sergeant Peoples
W
e were a very odd couple. He a black high school graduate from the South, street-smart, having already finished two tours in Vietnam; I a naïve white college graduate opposed to the Vietnam War, but conscripted into the military nevertheless. I was tall and thin, he was squat and stout — about five-eight, maybe 260 pounds. He was profane; I had rarely before then ever uttered an “f-bomb.” He was in a position of absolute power, I was totally at his mercy. Sergeant Peoples was my drill sergeant at Ft. Bragg. Such men are often caricatured in movies and TV as one-dimensional sadists who rule by fear. But Peoples, intuitive, even inspirational, showed how one creates loyalty. •••• It was 45 years ago this month that I boarded a Greyhound at the old downtown bus station at the corner of Second and Cherry that would take me to the lowslung, gray Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis, to be inducted into the U.S. Army. My mother, usually good at controlling negative emotions, had tears streaming down her cheeks. My dad, a U.S. Marine WWII vet, kept his eyes straight ahead, remaining mostly expressionless. In 1969, America still had a military draft, but it had been ridiculously tweaked by a lottery: half the eligible young men would be allowed to continue their regular lives, half had to answer to Uncle Sam. I ended up in the unlucky half. I remember hoping that bus would somehow speed right by Minneapolis, leaving me somewhere in a Twilight Zone where the Army couldn’t find me. Instead, 24 hours later, a jet landed in Fayetteville carrying me and my new draftee buddies. Still in civilian mindset, I told myself, “Always remember who you are. The military will try to tear your soul down.” Beneath glaring mercury vapor lights, our transport bus pulled up at a two-story, WWII-vintage wooden barracks, one building among hundreds lining the sprawling avenues of Fort Bragg. I’d just spent four years in college being told how glorious each individual is. Suddenly screaming young men in olive-drab fatigues were rushing onto our bus: “Get up, [mofos], get your [bleeping] [rearends] moving, c’mon [mofo], RUN! Don’t want no walkin’ here!” Inside, no longer glorious, we were given instructions about what was to happen. We were also given two small green “memo” books, in which we could write what we needed to know. I recall we were up most of the night before being taken to have all our hair sheared off and military clothing issued, and given our assignment to a basic training company. There we met Sgt. Peoples. In my little green books, I would write not only information from classroom sessions on how to treat battlefield wounds or how to survive a biological warfare attack, but I would also write what I called “The Sayings of Sgt. Peoples.” ••••
52 • october 2014 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
“I am a soldier. My job is to make you a soldier. Half of you don’t want to be here no damn way, right? The only thing worse than Ft. Bragg is Vietnam…. You ain’t gonna die [in Vietnam]. You do exactly what you’re told, you ain’t got no worry.” Like all drill instructors, he let you know he now wielded complete authority. Yet he kept a humanity about it, often providing rationale: “There’s only one way to run a damn army, and that’s straight down the line… When you get to the point where you love everybody, somebody is going to [bleep] your [bleep] over. The place you can [crap] on your buddy and get ahead is in civilian life. In the Army, the guy you [crap] on today might be the guy who was gonna save your life next week.” Most of the guys in the three other platoons in our company despised their gung-ho D-I’s. Our platoon wanted to perform for Peoples after seeing him put our interests first. Like that shivering North Carolina November morning he deliberately defied the Sergeant Major, telling us all to put on our winter “pile caps” to cover our ears. As the other platoons stood there freezing their naked ears off, Sergeant Major publicly confronted our guy: “Sergeant Peoples, we did not give the order for pile caps!” “Sgt. Major,” he snapped, “it’s cold out here!” As we struggled to suppress laughter, Sergeant Major snarled, “Sergeant Peoples, see me in the office after formation.” With Vietnam having shown him how short life can be, Peoples did not waste his down time. Once lights were out in the barracks, he would head into Fayetteville to party. On night patrol duty, I would see him return at 2 a.m. But at 5:30 a.m., he was up and raring to go, challenging anyone who could not keep up with him. To this day, I remember his iron will. And his humor. •••• During one morning formation, Sgt. Peoples caught me in the back row. Busy scribbling notes, I only too late sensed the sudden silence. He had made his way to me and was now in my face: “What do we have here, Private?” He took the notebook and began reading. Everyone was fully expecting me to have to get down and knock out 20 or 30 pushups. Peoples began chuckling as he paged through, then returned the memo book to me: “Damn, Steiner, I’m pretty funny, ain’t I?” As they say in sports, “no harm, no foul.” •••• Yet another Army quirk eventually sent me to Europe, not Vietnam. I never saw Sgt. Peoples again. Yet in just nine weeks, he cemented his place as perhaps the finest leader I ever met.
Peter Steiner is host of “Talk of the Town” weekdays at 1:05 p.m. on KTOE.
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