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Empty buildings now just ghosts

For 90 years, summers in Sleepy Eye followed the rhythms of the Del Monte factory on the west end of town. Sights, sounds, and smells that everyone knew ebbed and flowed through the pea and sweet corn canning seasons. Now the lot that saw trucks and employees busily crisscrossing sits empty. Weeds grow from the cracks. The conveyors that carried ears of corn into the plant sit quiet, rusting. It’s still weird to drive by, even though it’s been six years since there were piles of sweet corn. Depending which way you go through town, Del Monte is the first or last of three prominent ...

A tough job

My wife and I recently provided day care for our 6-year-old grandson for a week. It will probably take me a month to recover. We had taken care of little boys before, obviously, although that was more than thirty years ago. We aren’t as young as we were back then, but little boys are still as energetic as tornadoes. My grandfathers were stoic, stately men who sat on the couch and drank black coffee and talked about crops and world events. They did not get on the floor with their grandkids and played with toys with them. But in their defense, they each had a score of ...

Varmint vexations

Wildlife must be doing quite well, judging by the volume of roadkill I’ve seen lately. There seems to be a season for each species to commit highway hara-kiri. For instance, a month or so ago skunks were the prevalent source of roadside gore. Most of the stinkers appeared to be fairly young, perhaps the skunk equivalent of teenagers. This leads one to wonder what drove these youngsters to seek this smushed state. Maybe peer pressure was a factor: “I dare you to cross that road! Are you a skunk or a chicken? Bwaak, bwaak! There he goes... Run, Pepé, run! No! Don’t stop and ...

Following the twist and time in history from Bohemia

A thing that comes with age is increased interest in those who came before. I wish I had asked my parents so many more questions about their lives. Our daughter Abby spent time doing ancestry work on both Pam’s and my side. Others have worked on the Krzmarzicks. Everyone’s work can build on others’ on websites like ancestry.com. Amazingly, we can go back to the 1500s with some lines that led to Abby. Of course, the further back you go, we only know names and where they lived. Earlier this summer, I got to visit a place that is important in my family story. We spent two weeks ...

First month in New Ulm as exchange intern packed with new experiences

My name is Sam Blomberg, and I have the privilege of serving as the Hans Joohs representative for the New Ulm Sister Cities Commission. Over the course of twelve weeks, I am living and working in Germany. This letter highlights events from the first four weeks. Arriving in Ulm, Germany, I wasn’t sure what to expect. As the sister cities representative, I hoped to gain professional experience and learn about German culture. In Ulm, I found much more: a welcoming host family, an engaging work environment, and a city rich in tradition and culture. My first month has been packed with ...

‘There is a place for us’

NEW ULM – The New Ulm Film Society (NUFS) continues to encroach on musical theater’s turf, with a screening of “West Side Story,” which could lead to a rumble. The film screening begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the New Ulm Public Library. “West Side Story” is the fourth film in the New Ulm Film Society musical film series and is often cited as one of the greatest film musicals of all time. The film won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It still holds the record for the most Oscars won by a musical. It was also the highest-grossing film of 1961, the year it was ...