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Poster provides glance into history of dry cleaning

Lifestyle Columns

This poster invites the reader to “Enjoy These Winter Days” with an illustration of a peaceful snow-covered path lined with trees. It’s not simply an encouragement to admire the beauty of nature, though; it also encourages the viewer to enjoy “your complete wardrobe dry cleaned in the modern manner.” The framed 48 1/2 x 28 1/2-inch poster sold for $65 at Ripley Auctions. As an advertisement for an unspecified dry cleaner, it suggests that its readers can enjoy the winter because of the convenience of someone else cleaning their clothes, and may also imply that the dry cleaner ...

Great Ways to Discover Books

Lifestyle Columns

Librarians always have their eyes peeled and ears perked in order to discover the next book to add to our to-be-read lists. Have you ever wondered how your New Ulm librarians discover all the books that we read and recommend? First, we’re always recommending books to one another, and to the public, through conversations, displays, and the TV display near the service desk. We also sneak our recommendations into our monthly News and Notes and weekly Wowbrary newsletters. News and Notes features the latest library news, programs, and staff book reviews. Wowbrary lists the newest items ...

‘It’s a pilgrimage’

Lifestyle Feature

Domeier’s German Store experienced a record breaking Christmas season in 2025, drawing customers from across Minnesota, the United States and abroad to the 91-year-old business at 1020 S. Minnesota St. “So many of them make an annual visit and to them, it’s like a pilgrimage to come to ...

Windsor chairs inspired by patriotic celebrations

Lifestyle Columns

With 2026 bringing the 250th anniversary of the United States, will we see a revival of interest in colonial American furniture? It’s happened with previous anniversaries. The Centennial celebration in 1876 saw furniture makers adapt early American styles to the manufacturing techniques of the Industrial Revolution and the tastes of the Victorian era. Windsor chairs were a favorite piece, but these spindle-backed chairs arguably never went out of style. They are believed to have originated in England in the late 1600s, but, like many English furniture styles of the time, they became ...

2025 IN PREP SPORTS

Lifestyle Feature

WINTER Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area’s Nick Slater becomes the third Nicollet wrestler to win a state championship, coming in first at 189 pounds while helping his team to a third-place finish in the 2025 team state tournament. On Jan. 17, 2025, Cedar Mountain’s Aubrey Steffl ...

Off the Shelf

Lifestyle Columns

Did you know that sharing a wordless picture book can be a powerful way to build important literacy skills? Wordless picture books are books without text that rely solely on the pictures to convey the story. They are often dismissed as being too easy for any age reader. But they are outstanding tools to promote comprehension, vocabulary, listening skills, and they aid in the understanding of character development and story structure. A good reader needs good comprehension skills. They need to remember what has already happened and be able to predict what may happen next. Wordless ...