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Putting a price on a memory (jug)

Lifestyle Columns

Can you put a price on memories? This memory jug sold for $1,125 at Slotin Folk Art Auction. Memory jugs like this one, with decorative items embedded into the surface, are a famous African American art form. They are believed to have originated in Central and West African traditions, where graves are decorated with broken objects or vessels of water. Broken objects are said to represent the breaking point between the afterlife and the land of the living, allowing the deceased’s spirit safe passage. Water was believed to be the path to the spirit world. Enslaved Africans continued ...

Hulke hitting stride, fitting in with Vikings

Lifestyle Feature

MANKATO — Every player's journey to the collegiate basketball court is a little different. The pace-of-play expectations often remain the same, but not every player has the comfort level their freshman year that Bethany Lutheran College’s Morgan Hulke has. And while she originally had to ...

A Bicentennial Year

Lifestyle Columns

2026 marks two hundred fifty years since the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. As countries go, we’re relatively young in culture and identity. On the bright side, our form of government has endured for two and a half centuries – much longer than many other modern countries. As you think about the year ahead, consider some of these great nonfiction titles in our collection that can help you better understand, appreciate, or celebrate the events that started a nation. You may have seen them posted on a classroom wall or framed in a school hallway, but when was ...

Citizens State Bank celebrates 150 YEARS

Lifestyle Feature

With 800 people, the village of New Ulm was need of more banking services in 1875. Citizens State Bank opened Feb. 1, 1876 in downtown New Ulm. Citizens was not the first bank in New Ulm. There were a handful of older banks in New Ulm prior to 1875. A new bank building made of stone, ...

Color combinations make for fashionable vases

Lifestyle Columns

Two-toned glass where one color shades into the other was fashionable in the late 19th to early 20th century. It started with amberina, which shades from red to amber and was made by reheating part of a piece of amber glass. Many companies made it, but usually under different names, since amberina was patented for the New England Glass Company. Other color combinations were made by adding a thin layer of flashed glass to the interior of a piece of transparent colored glass. Bluerina, a blue-shaded glass whose name is influenced by amberina, was made this way. Collectors use the name ...

Winter fun at the Library

Lifestyle Columns

Looking for fun activities this winter? The Library of Things (LOT) is an excellent starting point. Whether you want your children to learn new skills or are looking to boost family physical activity, many LOT items—available to check out with your library card—can help you achieve your goals. Check out a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activity to strengthen logical thought processes and problem-solving skills or try a board game from the library’s extensive collection to stimulate the brain areas responsible for memory and complex processing. Explore the Library ...