July 11th, 2008 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
The 24th annual Hagstrom/Osberg golf tournament took place last Saturday. The “Ming” foursome won again. That would be Cousin Kevin, Brother Brian and his wife Jean Marie plus yours truly. The pitching wedge and putter that I inherited from Uncle Bill were good karma as I had hoped. I did completely miss the tee off swing on the first hole, but my second swing connected and I was out there quite a ways but the hook or slice (to the right) was there as usual. This is a best ball tournament, so my approach shot was the one closest to the pin. (Not bad for someone that plays twice a year). Cousin Kevin sank a 40 foot putt and we were one under on the first hole. We went on to make three more birdies. The pot-luck at Brother Bill’s house was wonderful. The trophy will be on our mantle for part of the year.
The show this week is a summertime mix of three previous shows recorded in Ohio. Special guests include Sam Bush, Buddy Emmons and tenor Mark Thomsen, along with the usual cast of characters. Join them for a whirlwind review of performances from the Buckeye State. For details on the summer Rhubarb Tour go to www.prairiehome.org
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered”. G.K. Chesterton
July 3rd, 2008 by admin
July 3, 2008
Good morning from Collegeville,
Ah! Summertime is here at last. It looks like we will have perfect weather this weekend. I sure hope that you have plans for a picnic or watching fireworks.
The annual trip to Woody’s Fairly Reliable Resort was great. Sometime in the nineties, my youngest brother Craig was invited by his father-in-law, Jim, to go along on a fly-in fishing trip to Trout Lake in Canada. Over time, my other brothers, who were into fishing, were invited to go along. In 2003 brother Bill offered to pay the way for my son Erik, so I decided to go fishing too. I have never been much of a fisherman, but I always enjoyed fishing with Erik. There are five Osberg brothers and it was a wonderful bonding time. The next year we went to brother Brian’s cabin instead. Erik was a weekend sportscaster on 10/13 in Duluth and he did a story on fishing with Woody for his TV show. He suggested that we try Woody’s instead of the fly-in in 2005. We had a great time and the greatest part is that Woody has decided to keep the pub instead of turning it into more “cabin” space. In 2018 Craig’s son Grayson will be able to come along. Brother Bill will have to clean up his act a little bit with a 12 year old boy in the group. Check it out at www.fairlyreliable.com It is worth the drive just to meet Woody.
Breaking news: The asparagus picking season at the Community Church Asparagus Patch in Upsala has been extended two weeks to July 18th.
The show this week is live from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Ill. Special guests include Sam Bush, Suzy Bogguss, Howard Levy and jazz singer Jearlyn Steele. Enjoy the show.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver
June 27th, 2008 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
Barby and I drove through seven states in eight days. Our first stop was DesMoines to spend the night with Bob and Mari. That evening was one of the few beautiful evenings of the spring. The next day, Bob fixed us an early breakfast and we were on the way to Elbert, Colorado by 7 am. That leg was over 700 miles and took us 12 hours. The rest stops in Nebraska are very nice. In Elbert, we stayed with Barby’s cousin Suzy. Husband Dan and son Nate were traveling to Iowa to launch a homemade raft in which they planned to travel down the Mississippi River. Check it out at www.bearnakedrafting.com Suzy and her daughter Jordan treated us to a trip to the top of Pike’s Peak on the cog railroad. 14,000 feet high.
On Tuesday we left for Bozeman, Montana to visit Aunt Maggie. We simply sat in Maggie’s living room and listened to one great story after another. Maggie has decided to stay in the house as long as she can. There is a herd of deer, a pheasant and ducks that come to graze in her back yard. Uncle Bill is sadly missed. She did give me his putter and his sand wedge. Perhaps the karma will improve my game at the Osberg/Hagstrom Open next weekend.
I started out driving at 66 mph but I must admit that with the construction zone slowdowns, I reverted to setting the cruise on 75. I did get 34.8 mpg on the last tank of gas. I hope to return to my slow-down plan soon. It takes 21 days to form a habit and 2 days to break it.
The show this week is live from Tanglewood and the Koussevitsky Music Shed in Lenox, MA. Special guests include the Del McCoury Band, poet Donald Hall and jazz singer Inga Swearingen. Be sure to listen to this one.
“Learning to write, be a good person and get to heaven are all the same thing, but trying to do them all at once, is enough to drive you crazy.” Ron Padgett
June 5th, 2008 by admin
June 6, 2008
Good morning from Collegeville,
We had some of the asparagus from the Parsonage Asparagus Patch in Upsala this week. It was so awesome. The end of the picking season is July 4th and it must be picked everyday. Please consider a visit to 120 Church Blvd, Upsala, MN 56384. Go to Google Map and follow the directions carefully. Drive to the end of the blacktop parking lot and you will find eight rows of grass, look for the asparagus in the grass. I did mow it last weekend, so it should be easier to find. This is completely organic asparagus. It gets nothing but sunshine and rain. I cannot promise you that there will be some, but it is worth the effort. It is best to go in the early evening.
Barby and I are heading west to Denver to visit Cousin Suzette and then on to Bozeman, Montana to see Aunt Maggie. There will not be a note next Friday or the Friday following. I may post something on www.garyosberg.com
The show this week is live from The Greek Theater in LA with special guests’ blue-eyed soul singer Bonnie Raitt, actor Martin Sheen and gospel singer Jearlyn Steele. Enjoy the show.
Also, be sure to visit Art Ala Carte in the lobby of The Paramount Theater in downtown St. Cloud. The reception is Monday evening. It is presented by Visual Arts Minnesota. Bring your checkbook.
“Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs or cutting hair.” George Burns
May 30th, 2008 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
I did get the garden planted last weekend and now it is raining. I love it when a plan comes together. My daughter has promised to help with the weeding and of course Cousin Tom is always there if I need to ask for help. One year Auntie was able to get some seed potatoes from her cousin in Norway.
I am up to 31 miles per gallon doing 65 mph instead of 73. I have yet to pay $4.00 per gallon, but I am sure that will be coming. In any event, at least we will have some Yukon Gold potatoes and squash to enjoy this fall.
I read Leif Enger’s new book, “So Brave, Young, and Handsome” on Memorial Day. I called his dad Don Enger on Tuesday to tell him how much I enjoyed the book. Don was our band teacher in Upsala in 1959. One day he grabbed me in the hall and dragged me into the band room, set me down in a chair, stuck a tuba in my lap and said, “Blow”. I refused. I was a delinquent and proud of it and I wanted no part of being in a band. Not cool. Don is 83 and still very active taking pictures of hummingbirds in his back yard. For more details on the book go to www.leif-enger.com
Another website that you may want to view is www.garyosberg.com I will be posting all of my weekly notes on the website. It will take me a while to add some of the older ones. For now simply visit if you wish and let me know if you see any mistakes.
The show this week is a live broadcast from the Pan American Center at New Mexico State University. Guests include D’ette and D’anna, honky-tonk heroes Joe Ely and Joel Guzman, Prudence Johnson, mandolin maestro Chris Thile and man of steel Joe Savage. Enjoy the show.
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” Franklin Roosevelt 1882-1945
May 23rd, 2008 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
Monday we will celebrate Memorial Day. This holiday commemorates the men and women who have died in military service to their country. The first “Decoration Day” was celebrated in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston, West Virginia. The official birthplace of Decoration Day is Waterloo, New York where they honored those who had died in the Civil War on May 5, 1866. The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become common until after WW II. (source: Wikipedia”)
When I was a youngun in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service at the school and a parade down Main Street. Sometime after I left town in 1961, the practice died out. Then in the eighties, Lorna Koehn, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, brought back the Memorial Day celebration in Upsala. I can still picture her marching in front of a group of children holding bunches of lilacs. The Lions Club added the offering of a picnic at City Park where they serve hamburgers and pie with ice cream. The children still wait in eager anticipation for the chance to collect the spent brass shells after the 21 gun salute. They make good whistles. I hope to see you there.
Be sure to take the time to honor those in your life who have passed on. If you happen to meet a service member, simply say “Thank you for serving”. They deserve our respect no matter what your position is on the current war.
The show this week is a live performance from the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park in Vienna, VA. Special guests include the all American bluegrass girl, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage plus internationally adored tenor Raul Melo. Enjoy the show and the rhubarb pie with ice cream.
“Riches are not an end of life but an instrument of life”. Henry Ward Beecher
May 19th, 2008 by admin
May 16, 2008
Good morning from Collegeville,
Ok, so now I am one of those guys going 65 miles per hour on the freeway. You see, the loaner car that I got from Jeff and JuneMarie at CarCo Automotive has a display on the dashboard that shows the average miles per gallon and the current miles per gallon. There is a huge difference between the gas mileage at 73 mph and what you get at 65 mph. So, get over it. Just wave as you pass me by. On a happier note, I hope to get my Bonneville back today. I am very happy with the service from both Traveler’s Insurance and CarCo Automotive. Of course, both are sponsors of Minnesota Public Radio programming.
Be sure to get to the Visual Arts Minnesota Children’s Art Exhibit at The Paramount Theater in downtown Saint Cloud. It will be on display until May 28th. The closing reception is that evening and you will be able to vote for “Best of Show”. Look for the fish done by a young man from Holdingford.
The show this week is a re-dux from shows done last May at the historic State Theater in Minneapolis. Guests include Wilco; the uber-cool Chicago based alternative rock band, Texas troubadour Carrie Rodriguez and Bluegrass songstress Becky Schlegel along with Cowboy Jack Clement. Enjoy the show.
Garden update: The Leo Hartung family tilled it for me and I was able to get Yukon Gold seed potatoes at Wood’s Farmer Seed and Nursery. Better late than never.
“True affluence is not needing anything.” Gary Snyder
May 12th, 2008 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
“Bambi” ran out in front of my car this morning. My first deer. The scariest part was running across the highway so that I could tag the deer. The Bonneville is a tough car, nothing broken, just bent. I was able to drive it to Collegeville and Traveler’s Insurance will send someone out to give me an estimate of the damages. “CarCo Automotive” is the place to go.
Woody was on the airwaves this morning on the MPR news network. Our reporter Tim Post did a story on the opener and knowing that Rainy Lake was bound to have some ice, he called Woody. I am so looking forward to the third weekend in June. If you want to check the ice on Rainy Lake go to www.rainylakeonestop.com There you will find a webcam that gives you a picture of the bay in front of Woody’s Fairly Reliable Guide Service Resort and Bar.
This is the first Mother’s Day without Ma. We miss her greatly and for all of those who still have their mother’s with them, give her a hug for me.
The show this week is a live broadcast from The Milwaukee Theater with special guests The BoDeans and the most famous American performer ever to wear a bow tie and Panama hat, Leon Redbone. Enjoy the show.
“Teach your daughter respect for herself and to be a lovely lady. Teach your son good manners, how to be a gentleman and to be kind to the girls.” Bee Osberg
Gary M. Osberg
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