May 16th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
My mother was 36 years old when she had to move back to her home town to raise six children on her own. We may well have been the first AFDC family in Upsala and one of the first in Morrison County. All six of us have paid a lot of taxes over the years so the government came out ok on their investment.
For that reason, the story in Thursday’s St. Cloud Times about a 4th grader in St. Joseph raising money to buy a Rainbow Play System for the low-income housing complex that he and his family live in, got my attention. Dominic Ballou, age 10, has raised $1,200 towards a goal of $2,000. He has been delivering a short speech to area businesses and asking for donations. Rainbow has agreed to match whatever amount he raises. Dominic is a Boy Scout and he has been selling popcorn for that organization for a while now.
It would be wonderful if we could help Dominic to reach his goal this next week. My check is in the mail and if you want to help, simply email his mother Amber Wies at wies8302@gmail.com She will call you and give you the details.
The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Special guests include one the country’s most respected voices, Suzy Bogguss, bluegrass guitarist Bryan Sutton, songwriter Lynn Peterson and organist Ken Double. Plus the Royal Academy of Radio Actors will fill out the bill. The News From Lake Wobegon will bring us up to date on the town in the county that the surveyors missed. Enjoy the show.
“Remember, what you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else, but what you are will be yours forever.” Henry van Dyke
May 9th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good rainy morning from Collegeville,
Yesterday was the first day that the earth worms were out on the parking lot and the sidewalks on campus. The smell of earth worms brings memories of fishing. The annual Osberg fishing trip is 4 weeks from tomorrow and the Minnesota fishing opener is tomorrow. I have never been an opener participant. My interest in fishing is only because of my son Erik. When we purchased a lake place 40 years ago I bought a fishing license for the first time in my life. Erik was not even two years old the first summer, but his Uncle Duaine made a special short fishing rod for him and soon we were casting for bass from our sail boat.
Earl Benson, the warehouse manager at General Office Products was the one that taught me how to fish for bass. Erik hated the process of putting a live frog on a number 2 hook with a slip sinker, but it did produce fish. Today it is almost impossible to find frogs anywhere . Minnows, leeches and night crawlers seem to work best for walleye. If you do choose to go out tomorrow, be careful. Wear a life jacket.
If you would like your own lake place, check this out: bemidji.craigslist.org/reo/4418268588.html
The APHC show this week is live from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Special guests include Brad Paisley, country music outsider Sturgill Simpson, mandolin maestro Sam Bush and fiddle player Stuart Duncan. A visit from Brian Dan Christensen plus the Royal Academy of Radio Actors and the latest News From Lake Wobegon complete the lineup. Enjoy the show.
“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating: there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of weather and bad clothes.” John Ruskin
May 2nd, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
Sump pumps fail. Alarm systems set up to alert you to a sump pump not starting can fail too. I am thinking of having the ancient cistern in the Parsonage filled in with dirt and or concrete. The only question is “where will the ground water go then?”. The person who designed and dug the cistern under the house built in 1892 is long gone, so where does one go to get advice on such a problem? Perhaps Dennis at the Farm Store will know.
Because of all of the rain, the garden has yet to be tilled, so no Yukon Golds will go into the ground this weekend. Jon and Colleen have told me that it is ok to dig up a plot in Millstream Village, so at least I will get that staked out. The Monticello gang is coming to St. Cloud tomorrow and we will be taking in the St. Cloud Symphony performance of “Overcoming Adversity” including “Fratres” composed by Arvo Part. The St. Cloud Police Chief WM Blair Anderson will narrate “New Morning for the World”. Go to S T Cloud Symphony.com for details and tickets.
The APHC show this week is live from the Des Moines Civic Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Special guests include songwriter and guitarist Dave Moore and pianist Nicholas Roth. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Fred Newman and newcomer, Kate Beahen will entertain us with a variety of skits. The latest News from Lake Wobegon will ground us.
“Well done is better than well said.” Benjamin Franklin
April 25th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
I met an Army Recruiter at the Business After Hours last night. Ever since Barby and I visited the Marine Museum in Arlington and the war memorials on The Mall in DC, I can’t help but introduce myself to someone in uniform. Sergeant Hart has been in the Army for 15 years already and he will go for 20. My dad served in the Navy during WW11 and sometime after they came home, he and his brother-in-law had a few too many at a bar and ended up enlisting in the Army. Dad was a recruiter in New Ulm and rose through the ranks to Sergeant in the Fifth Army. We shipped overseas to Vienna, Austria in 1950 and I celebrated my tenth birthday on the ship coming home in 1953.
Artist Charles Kapsner is creating five 8 foot by 10 foot paintings that depict our Veterans through the ages. The paintings will be permanently displayed in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery north of Little Falls. Last Friday, Brother Bill and I visited Charles in his studio in Little Falls, (see attached photo). The second painting, honoring the Navy, is almost finished and it will be installed at the cemetery on May 20th at 4:30 PM. You will be able to see it at a ceremony on May 25th at 1:30 PM. You can help support the project at givemn.razoo.com/story/veterans-art-project
The APHC show this week is live from the newly renovated Northrop Auditorium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Special guests include The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the only full-time professional chamber orchestra in the United States, conductor Philip Brunelle and vocal powerhouses Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele, plus the Royal Academy of Radio Actors. The News from Lake Wobegon will focus on the welcome spring. When will the car on the lake fall through the ice?
Harper’s Chord, another Little Falls favorite, will be performing at Pioneer Place on Fifth tonight. It is a fund raiser and the show starts at 7:30. The Great River Chorale and the 34th Infantry Division, “Red Bull Band” will perform Sunday at 3:30 at the Paramount Theatre in downtown St. Cloud. Paramount Arts dot org for tickets.
“The bitterness of poor workmanship remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” Longfellow
April 17th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good afternoon from Collegeville,
A record snow fall in St. Cloud yesterday, 12 inches in Upsala. Hard to believe. If I did want to get the Yukon Gold potatoes in by tomorrow, I would have to hire a snow removal crew. By the way, you can purchase cubed sweet potatoes at Target Super Store and use them instead of Butternut Squash in the “Vegan Squash Soup” recipe. It saves a lot of prep time. Two bags worked for us. Let me know if you want the recipe.
I am amazed by Wikipedia and I encourage you to send them some money once in a while. I found a framed drawing of a war ship in the Parsonage basement. It belonged to my Dad. He was a radar man in the bowels of the USS Vammen, a destroyer escort. In his journal, he wrote that the two months off of Okinawa were tough. The ship was launched on May 21, 1944, named after Ensign Clarence E. Vammen, Jr. a fighter pilot who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, posthumously. He was in the Battle of Midway. He died on June 6, 1942, failing to return from a mission. He piloted a Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless flying off of the Enterprise. When I found a picture of the airplane, I was amazed at the resemblance to the old toy plane that is on my shelf in the cottage.
The APHC show this week is a spring rebroadcast of a show originally broadcast from The Town Hall in New York from April of 2011. Special guests include the Assad Brothers, Robin and Linda Williams, and the DiGiallonardo Sisters. In the News From Lake Wobegon, Pastor Liz organizes an outdoor procession to celebrate Holy Week. Enjoy the show.
“Riches are not an end of life, but an instrument of life.” Henry Ward Beecher
April 11th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
I was a “town kid” not a “farm kid”, but I learned the joy of “tilling the soil” through gardening. I got into it by helping a neighbor with his garden. He was confined to a wheelchair or a three wheeler because of bad knees. I offered to help with the tilling only to get yelled at for running over some of the seedlings. The rows that he planted were not straight and I did not know how to distinguish between weed and seedling. The next spring I drove stakes in the soil exactly 36” apart and used heavy string to define the rows. I didn’t get yelled at that year.
Now the snow has melted and the dirt is calling. There is no way that I am going to be able to get the Yukon Gold potatoes in by next Friday, Good Friday, as the almanac suggests, but maybe by May 2nd. There are few joys better than freshly dug Yukon Golds and real butter.
The APHC show this week is another live show from The Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include soprano Maria Jette and pianist and accordionist Dan Chouinard. Old friends Robin and Linda Williams along with classical pianist Stephen Hough will join the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman. Enjoy the show. Tickets are on sale for the 40th anniversary show on July 5th. prairiehome.org
“You are a unique creation of nature and there is something that can be expressed only by you and that can be experienced by others only through you.” Anonymous
April 4th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good snowy morning from Collegeville,
We did not get the 6 – 12 inches that were forecast and there is a 64 degree day in the five day forecast on my iPhone. What a winter. I sent the check for a down payment on a house in Sedona, Arizona for next March. Life is good.
We had a marvelous trip to D.C. Did you know that the Father of Our Country fathered no children? How did I miss that in American History? He married a widow who had two children and George and Martha had no offspring. We were able to visit Arlington Cemetery, Monticello, The Marine Museum, Mount Vernon and the mall. On the mall we got to the Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The World War Two memorial and the Corcoran Art Gallery and Museum on 17th Street. Chef Todd Gray at the Muse makes a very good salmon salad.
Brandon told me about WAZE.com, a wonderful APP for getting directions. That feature along with the Express Pass on the rental car made life a lot easier. Our use of the Metro was uneventful on Sunday when Brandon and Jen took us to Arlington, but on Thursday we could not find the first stop and we could not find parking spaces on the second station, nor could we find the third stop, so back to the first. WAZE was a bit off on that destination. If you go to Leesburg, go to The Old Town Grill at 15 South King Street for supper. Very nice. A huge thank you to Jill at Bursch Travel.
The show this week is a live broadcast from The Town Hall on West 43rd Street in New York City. Special guests include adventurous acoustic trio Nickel Creek, folk singing duo Pharis and Jason Romero and vocalist Heather Masse. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors along with Richard Dworsky will bring us the usual collection of skits and music. The News From Lake Wobegon will bring us up to date on the goings on in Mist County in central Minnesota.
“The time to be happy is now; the place to be happy is here; the way to be happy is to make others so.” Robert Green Ingersoll
March 21st, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
Barby and I are flying to Washington DC tomorrow morning and I actually forgot it was Friday. My son called me to make sure that I was ok and so this is a little late.
Getting everything done when you are going to be gone for a while takes your mind off the usual. Barby’s nephew works as a secret service agent for John Kerry, so we want to visit with Jen and the two beautiful little girls and then do the “tourist bit”. They say that visiting the mall during the evening is quite the experience. All of the monuments are light up. I will give you a full report in two weeks. Spring break is welcome no matter what the weather. Soon it will be time to go fishing with grandson Willie, better known as “Walleye Willie” The attached photo is with a couple of trout that he pulled out of a lake that name of which will remain secret.
The APHC show is live from The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Special guests include masters of Celtic music both ancient and modern, Battlefield Band,
Dan “Daddy Squeeze” Newton, blues singer Hilary Thavis and regular Butch Thompson. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will join Garrison in a number of skits and steel guitarist Joe Savage will sit in with The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. The news from Lake Wobegon will tease us with stories of spring.
“Every minute spent in planning will save two in execution.” Henry Kaiser
March 14th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good morning from Collegeville,
On June 12, 2005 Steve Jobs delivered the Commencement address at Stanford University. He told three stories from his life, “Connecting the Dots”, “Love and Loss” and “Death”. Steve was 50 years old. You can Google “Steve Jobs Commencement” and watch it on You Tube.
A year earlier Steve had phoned Walter Isaacson, author of biographies of Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. Steve wanted Walter to write his biography. Steve died in October of 2011 from pancreatic cancer. The book “Steve Jobs” was published in November of 2011. The book has 571 pages and it is a “great read”. Especially for all of you other recovering entrepreneurs.
The lessons from Steve’s address are: 1. “You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future”. 2. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. And 3. “Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
The APHC show this week will be live from The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Special guests include, sparkling Irish vocalist, Karan Casey, the French-styled sounds of Dan Newton’s “Café Accordion Orchestra”, singer Aoife O’Donovan, and pianist and clarinetist Butch Thompson. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors and The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band will join Garrison who will bring us up to date on the News From Lake Wobegon.
Tonight, I will be working a table at Gorecki Center on campus of the College of St. Benedict where the Soweto Gospel Choir will be performing. Tickets at csbsju.edu/finearts.
I hope to see you there.
“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” Back of the final of issue of the “Whole Earth Catalog”
March 7th, 2014 by Gary Osberg
Good ice walking morning from Collegeville,
I had to crawl on my hands and knees to the garage because my strap-on “Ice Walkers” that my son gave to me for Christmas were in the trunk. Two years ago I fell and hit the back of my head. I was nauseated and tired for four months and one half months.
“I will be impeccable with my word. I will speak with integrity. I will say only what I mean and avoid using the word to speak against myself or to gossip about others. I will use the power of my word in the direction of truth and love.”
This is the first affirmation of The Four Affirmations based on the book “The Four Agreements” by don Miguel Ruiz. I had these printed on a card using letterpress to hand out to friends. Yet, this week I managed to violate this agreement in a big way. I don’t know why I thought there was humor in my making a comment about a young man’s receding hairline in a staff meeting. Hopefully by the next video conference call in two weeks, the “Sorry” card and brownies will have arrived from Send Out Cards. As my mentor and business partner, Jimmy Dorr, used to say “No man is wise at all hours.”
The APHC show this week is live from The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Special guests include honky tonk harmonizers, The Cactus Blossoms, singers Bob Douglas and Susie Eldredge and old friend, pianist Butch Thompson, who has written a few pieces about the Minnesota winter blues. The usual cast of characters will entertain with skits and The News From Lake Wobegon will bring us up to date with life in central Minnesota.
“I believe we have two lives. The life we learn with and the life we live after that.” Glenn Close to Robert Redford in “The Natural”
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