from the publishers

Happy Holidays!

Welcome to this, our third holiday issue. That means this is the third year we’ve had a Minnesota artist paint a cover depicting a red barn. This year, Ruth Jensen McGrath of Sauk Rapids was chosen for the honor. Her painting not only graces the cover of this issue of Minnesota Moments, but as in the past, 100 limited edition prints, signed by the artist, will be sold with proceeds going to a charity of the artist’s choosing. McGrath chose the Boys & Girls Club of Central Minnesota.

McGrath chose the Boys & Girls Club in part because her husband, Tom, has been a long-time supporter of that organization. “It’s a valuable community organization,” McGrath said. “Tom has donated to it in the past and because of him I was able to delve into my art.”

To learn how to purchase one of the prints and help a charitable cause at the same time, see page 48.

Also in this issue are a number of essays about the holiday season that will warm you, including a delightful essay written years ago during World War II by a father who wasn’t able to be home for the holidays. The essay was submitted by Cara Freese of Little Falls. The author is her father, the late Robert Reed Bonar. Bonar not only was unable to be home for that holiday years ago, but he also was unable to shop for gifts for his children. So instead, he crafted a gift with pencil and paper. It’s a gift that has been read for years and years and now is being shared with the readers of Minnesota Moments.

We hope you enjoy it, and all of the other wonderful essays readers and writers alike have shared with us this holiday season.

Mike Nistler and Diane Wimmer