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Good morning from Collegeville,

I truly enjoy my role as “sidewalk superintendent” here on the campus of St. John’s Abbey and University. This summer they replaced the metal roof on the Quad with a copper roof. The Brothers always think long term. A copper roof may last up to 150 years. I managed to pick up a piece about the size of a calling card. Very impressive.

In the fifties, the Abbey hired Marcel Breuer to design a new church. It was dedicated in October of 1961. Even today it is too contemporary for some folks. Breuer studied at the Bauhaus in Germany with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. In all he designed ten buildings on the campus.

A few years ago a renovation created a Blessed Sacrament Chapel designed by the architect firm of VJAA headed by Vincent James, FAIA. During the construction I noticed workers were applying a thick layer of plaster on the ceiling. I am not a construction expert, but it struck me that they had not applied any steel mesh first. Sure enough, the next morning most of the plaster was on the floor of the new chapel. The next week the workers were securing steel mesh. The set back did not detract from the outcome. The ceiling is finished in a metallic fashion and it adds greatly to the special feeling of the room. Recently the work received yet another award from The American Institute of Architects. http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2013/interior-architecture/bsc/

Tomorrow you may choose to attend the Saint John’s Arboretum’s presentation of “Living in the Avon Hills; a Conference for the Whole Family, here in The Great Hall.
Simply Google “Saint John’s Arboretum”

The APHC show this week is live from The Fitzgerald Theater in frosty downtown St. Paul. Special guests include big-voiced New Orleans vocalist Topsy Chapman and Butch Thompson and His New Orleans Orphans. Plus the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman. Enjoy the show.

“It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad. It is remorse or bitterness for something that happened Yesterday and the dread of what will happen Tomorrow.” Robert J. Burdette

Category : General

Comments Off on February 1, 2013

Good morning from Collegeville,

Tuesday was the forty-sixth birthday of Minnesota Public Radio. On January 20, 1967 at 3:37 PM, St. John’s University received a telegram from Ben F Waple, the Secretary of the Federal Communications Commission, authorizing KSJR-FM to transmit “effective radiated power of 37 kilowatts” on the 90.1 frequency. It took us a couple of days to get on the air. The first words uttered on MPR’s airwaves by Dan Rieder, was “Heed my words, Earth People. You have 10 minutes to live.” We started as Minnesota Educational Radio and in 1974 the name was changed to Minnesota Public Radio.
The telegram was chosen as one of the “10 objects that define the St. Cloud area” by a panel of judges in February.

Today, Minnesota Public Radio® (MPR) operates a 43-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states. Reaching nearly one million listeners each week, Minnesota Public Radio produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences, and is home to the largest and most experienced radio newsroom in the Upper Midwest. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio’s parent company, American Public Media™, reach over 17 million listeners on more than 800 public radio stations nationwide each week. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be found at www.minnesotapublicradio.org.

The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin. Special guests include close-harmonizers The Krause Family Band and good friends, Robin and Linda Williams. Dean McGraw sits in on guitar with the Guy’s All Star Shoe Band, plus Garrison will report the news from Lake Wobegon. Enjoy the show.

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” Johnny Cash

Category : General

Comments Off on January 25, 2013

Good morning from Collegeville,

The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog has arrived. It is hard to believe that the seed potatoes are supposed to go in the ground in ten weeks. Good Friday is early this year, so maybe that won’t happen. This year I am supposed to be able to garden with the Sisters of St. Benedict in St. Joseph. All residents of Millstream Village will have the option of gardening there. For the last couple of years my landlord allowed me to garden in an empty lot north of Millstream Shops and Lofts were I abide.

Last Sunday, Barby and I made squash soup using the last of the butter cup squash from my garden in St. Joe. We used 8 cups of squash instead of the 6-7 called for in the recipe and it was wonderful.

Here is the recipe: Alyssa’s Vegan Squash Soup Note: Butternut squash is the easiest to cube. Remove the skin from a squash along with the seeds. Be sure to scrape the fibers from the center with a spoon. Cube the squash meat. Start with ½ cup chopped carrots, ½ cup chopped celery, 1/3 cup chopped onions, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large soup kettle and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 4 cups of vegetable broth, 6 or 7 cups (8 is better) of cubed squash and 2 peeled and sliced medium apples, and simmer for 40 minutes. Blend in a blender. Serve with croutons or walnuts on the side. Salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to enjoy with someone that you love.

The show this week is live from ASU Gammage in Tempe, Arizona. Special guests include songwriter and cowboy poet Gail Steiger and old time bluegrass outfit Run Boy Run. Enjoy the show.
Note: No more repeat broadcasts on Sunday night at 6 PM.

“I walked for miles at night along the beach, searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind
that that person could be me.” Anna Quindlen

Category : General

Comments Off on January 18, 2013

Good morning from Collegeville,

This morning I strapped on my “Hi-Tech” ice walkers. I have no desire to repeat my fall of Leap Day 2012. Be careful out there.

Chevrolet has dumped the “Chevy Runs Deep” slogan in favor of “Find New Roads”. In 1952, Dinah Shore introduced the 1953 Chevrolet with a song, “See the USA in your Chevrolet”. The music and lyrics were by Leo Corday and Leon Carr in 1949. It was first sung by husband and wife duo Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy on the show “Inside USA with Chevrolet”. Chevrolet was the sponsor of the Dinah Shore TV show for a decade. On February 6, 2011 the cast of Glee did a take-off of the song during the Super Bowl. Simply Google “See the USA in your Chevrolet.”

My first car was a 1954 Chevy, purchased from Hagstrom Chevrolet in Upsala, Minnesota. My uncle Duke Hagstrom was one of the owners. I had to get my grandmother to co-sign a loan at the Farmers State Bank for $300. I needed the car to get to work in Little Falls, painting houses for my step grandfather the summer between my junior and senior year. It burned oil so bad that I had to carry a case of oil in the trunk. I once tried to check the oil without shutting the engine off. Not having a father in your life can provide some unusual learning experiences. After a couple of accidents, I had it painted 58 Chevy Sierra Gold. A classmate called it “Gary’s pink car”.

The show this week is live from the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Special guests include singer-songwriter-fiddler Sara Watkins, plus the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman. Enjoy the show.

“It’s ok to make mistakes, as long as they are new ones.” Seen on a billboard in Maryland by a man featured in a story on This American Life aired Jan 6th.

Category : General

Comments Off on January 11, 2013

Good morning from Collegeville,

There are many aspects to this neck of the woods. The Benedictines arrived in what was known as “Indianbush” in 1856. In time it became known as Collegeville, home to St. John’s Abbey and University. Saint John’s Arboretum is a partnership between the Abbey and the University, encompassing over 2,800 acres. The Arboretum is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the diverse native habitats, including prairie, oak savanna, wetlands, and hardwood forest. Additional support comes from the College of Saint Benedict, members and volunteers.

If you enjoy hiking, you are welcome to stop in at the Great Hall and pick up the Saint John’s Arboretum Trail Map. No dogs or other pets are allowed. For winter time enjoyment , there are cross country ski trails and a sledding hill. In the spring there will be maple syrup cooking in the Sugar Shack. I plan on joining so that I can help with the tapping and the cooking.

In the mean time you can enjoy the maple syrup in a new brew from Third Street Brewhouse, “Sugar Shack”. Details at www.thirdstreetbrewhouse.com
Arboretum membership information can be found at www.csbsju.edu/arboretum

The APHC show this week is live from the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Special guests include bluesman and jam-master Elvin Bishop, conductor Michael Tilson and singer Laurie Lewis. Enjoy the show.

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Category : General

Comments Off on January 4, 2013

Good morning from Collegeville,

The most important book that came my way this year, came from my son. I now read four pages every morning from “The Four Agreements” written by don Miguel Ruiz.
Here are “The Four Affirmations” based on The Four Agreements. I do not mean to imply that you do not do these now, I simply want to share what works for me.

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.

I will not take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of me. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When I am immune to the opinions and actions of others, I won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

I will not make assumptions. I will find the courage to ask questions and to express what I really want. I will communicate with others as clearly as I can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With this one agreement, I can completely transform my life.

I will always do my best. My best is going to change from moment to moment. It will be different when I am healthy as opposed to when I am sick. Under any circumstance, I will simply do my best and as a result, I will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

If you would like to have a letterpress copy of these to use as a bookmark, just ask.
Happy New Year, may 2013 be the best year ever for you and your family.

The APHC show this week is the best of 2012, including visits from Joshua Bell, Brad Paisley, Suzy Bogguss, Steve Wariner, Heather Masse, Aoife O’Donovan, Sam Bush, Emmylou Harris, Punch Brothers, Sara Watkins, Joe Ely, Chuck Mead and His Grassy Knoll Boys and much more. Enjoy the show.

“I am in love with the world” Maurice Sendak, author of “Where The Wild Things Are”

Category : General

Comments Off on December 28, 2012

Good morning from Collegeville,

Four days until Christmas. I have all of my shopping done and now I simply have to pace myself on the cookies and candy.

Children love Christmas, as well they should. As with most families, some years, Christmas gifts were easy to come by and some years the budget would not allow for much. The Christmas of 1956 was a memorable one for me. My mother had to make a change due to Dad’s inability to handle alcohol. We were living in an apartment in Little Falls. That Christmas, Santa brought us six big Tonka Toy 18 wheel trucks. There was a cattle truck, an oil tanker, a freight truck and three more. This was a perfect gift for a family with five boys. For many years I had the impression that they were from some sort of social agency that served the poor. It turned out that the “Santa” was Dewey Johnson, a classmate of my mother from the Upsala High School class of ’37. Dewey’s friend was one of the founders of Tonka Toys. Dewey had already passed on before I learned the “rest of the story”, so I never did have a chance to thank him.

Perhaps you know of a family that has come upon hard times and they could use a “Secret Santa”.

Here is the link to getting the 24 foot Christmas tree into The Great Hall: http://bit.ly/7H3YDf

The APHC show this week is live from The Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include Broadway leading lady Kelli O’Hara, Bensonhurst harmonizers The DiGiallonardo Sisters, pianist and conductor Rob Fisher and cellist Anneke Schaul-Yoder. Enjoy the show.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Category : General

Comments Off on December 21, 2012

Good morning from Collegeville,

It feels good to feel good. Health is something that we sometimes fail to be grateful for, until we are taken ill. There are many viruses lurking and lying in wait. You can do all the right things and still come down with something. Time heals most wounds and patience is sometimes all that you need.

At my age, I know many folks that are fighting cancer. Why that terrible thing happens to some and not others is a mystery. There is not much that you can do, except, to offer to assist, send encouraging notes, and give to www.cancer.org/donate

Here is a link to another story about a special group that is raising awareness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkSQPX31T94&feature=em-subs_digest

The APHC show this week is coming to you from The Town Hall on West 43rd Street in Manhattan. Special guests include Itzhak Perlman, Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot and the Klezmer Conservatory Band plus roots-country singer and songwriter Iris DeMent, pianist Dick Hyman and vocalist Heather Masse. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors and The Guy’s All Star Shoe Band add to the festiveness.

Here in St. Cloud there are many shows to choose from including Kantorei and a “Messiah Sing Along” at The Paramount Theater on Saturday night, and “A Child’s Christmas” performed by Great River Chorale and the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota on Saturday and Sunday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

“All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty mercy, hope.” Winston Churchill

Category : General

Comments Off on December 14, 2012

Good morning from Collegeville,

There is nothing like the good old fashioned stomach flu to make you want your “mommy”. Shuffling from room to room in your robe, clutching a small white wastebasket, trying not to soil the oriental rug. Nothing to eat, but saltines and Jell-O. It started early Sunday morning and I still feel lousy. Better now than two weeks from now. We had an invitation to attend the Minnesota Center Chorale’s annual Cabaret dinner and concert in The Great Hall tonight and there is no way. You may still be able to get tickets by calling 257-0603.

Seventy one years ago today Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese and the next day war was declared. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it “a date which will live in infamy”. My dad spent months in the bowels of a destroyer escort in the Pacific. He was a radar operator. There is no doubt that this had a profound effect on his life. He never talked about it.

The APHC show this week is live from The Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include the silken-voiced jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall, conductor and pianist Rob Fisher and harmonizing siblings The DiGiallonardo Sisters Plus the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott and Fred Newman. The latest News From Lake Wobegon will bring us up to date on the talk at The Chatterbox Café. Enjoy the show.

Tonight there is a lighting of the Christmas tree outside of my window on the Bello Cucina patio. Treats will be provided by the St. Joseph community.

“Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences.” Robert Louis Stevenson. (1850-1894)

Category : General

Comments Off on December 7, 2012

Good morning from Collegeville,

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on this day in 1835. He is better known by his pen name Mark Twain. His family moved to Hannibal, Missouri when he was 4 years old. When he was 16 he began working as a typesetter and contributor of articles and humorous sketches for the Hannibal Journal. In 1867, he published his first book, a book of short stories called The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Two years later he published The Innocents Abroad, a humorous book of travel writing. It was an immediate best-seller. Mark Twain is best known for his books Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Barby and I visited his home and museum in Hartford, Connecticut this past summer. He was famous for entertaining and the home was often filled with admirers. He lost his only son at 19 months and two of his daughters died before he died on April 21, 1910. He invested in a automatic typesetter, the Paige Compositor and he was forced to file bankruptcy. In 1905 he held a huge party at Delmonico’s restaurant in New York City to help him to celebrate his 70th birthday. He had a tough life, but he lived it fully.

The APHC show this week is live from The Town Hall in New York City. Special guests include, masters of many musical moods, The Bacon Brothers and composer Peter Schickele. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Sue Scott, Tim Russell and Fred Newman will join The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. Enjoy the show

“The secret to long life is to only smoke when awake and avoid exercise at all costs.” Mark Twain. (1835-1910)

Category : General

Comments Off on November 30, 2012