Feature Stories

12 Roller derby

Roller derby is making a resurgence in several Minnesota communities. If you haven’t seen these women play, you might be surprised at what you see.

16 Spring migration

The Lake Wobegon Regional Trail in central Minnesota attracts a wide variety of colorful birds. See what spring brings to the trail in this final installment of a four-part series.

On the cover

Photo of an Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) Nester, earliest sighting-May 10, identified along 13 sections. Photo by Russ Russ Ergen/Bird Lovers Nature Photography. See page 16..

departments
& columns

4 Calendar

5 Letters

Eileen Ritter, Avon
Deb Cottew, Sauk Rapids
Charlie and Evelyn Eckroth, St. Cloud
Proud Parents Ted and Karla Nett, Albany

6 Glory Days

A history lesson
I HAVE NEVER considered myself a historian. In fact, if I knew that was what I would one day be called, I would have paid closer attention in history class as a student.

7 Moments in time:

Caution: Potty humor ahead
THIS MIGHT BE my nuttiest topic of all time. Maybe I won’t even have the courage to have it published. But, then, wait a minute, you are reading this, so I had better offer a warning, especially to the fairer sex. Caution: Potty Humor Ahead. Next 450 miles, er, words.

Actually, the word “humor” might be overselling it a bit. I was schoolmarm-serious when I first went online, pulled up a browser and typed this into the Google search bar: “Wiping your butt.

8 Meet your neighbors

Granite Falls’ salty history
by les bergquist

EVER SINCE 1922, folks in the Granite Falls area have looked forward to a salty summer ritual. The Granite Falls Popcorn Stand located on the corner of Prentice Street and Seventh Avenue has been in continuous operation— on the same corner — for 80
years. This year will mark its 81st anniversary

Remembering the St. Cloud Orphan Home
by mart ha youngblood

MY FATHER, LEONARD Koska, was born in Avon, Minn. on March 10, 1923. His parents were James and Martha (Klescz) Koska. He and his four brothers were able to live with their parents until the morning of Nov. 30, 1926.

That morning, Martha was starting a fire in a stove and the kerosene can exploded, severely burning her and the children. James was at work at the peg factory in Avon.

24 Cooking in the Country with Chris

Pass the peas, please! GROWING PEAS IN your garden is easier than you think. Peas have been around for centuries. The old -fashioned English pea is the most common.Other edible pea pods include the snow pea and the sugar snap pea. You can also eat pea vines; those are the tender shoot tips harvested and steamed or sautéed. Peas also can be dried for soups. They are a most versatile vegetable with many ways to prepare them.

28 Back in the day

Mississippi River Crossing

Universities are known for traditions. Long ago students would swallow gold fish, see how many folks they could cram into a phone booth or Volkswagen Beatle, or steal the neighboring school's mascots and hold it hostage.

But over the years many of these traditions have ended for one reason or another. At St. Cloud State University, a unique tradition is remembered by some who are old enough to have been around to witness it.

30 What’s in your boathouse?

1939 Chris Craft
MY FEATURED BOAT this issue is a 1939 Chris Craft Deluxe Utility 17, owned by Sherwood Heggen of Wyoming, Minn.

Heggen is one of Minnesota’s renowned boat restorers. He saw this boat during the summer of 1990 upside down on a trailer in a storage area at the Vermilion Dam Lodge on Lake Vermillion.

31 Crossword puzzle

32 Picture this.

Picture This

This photo was taken along a remote back road in Becker County, in the northern lake country. In mid-to-late spring, the yellow lady slippers bloom about two or three weeks prior to the white/pink variety, which is the official Minnesota state flower. They are the northernmost growing orchids. The soil conditions for them to grow are very unique and virtually impossible to duplicate in a man-made setting, and thus they are only seen in the wild and cannot be successfully transplanted. In fact, lady slippers are protected — it is against the law to pick or dig them up on public land in parks and along roads. They are a rare and beautiful wonder of the northern Minnesota spring and early summer, and their existence is threatened with the increasing loss of proper habitat.

Frank Kundrat has been an avid photographer of nature and other wonders of life about as long as he has been a member of the legal profession, since 1976. He currently is a Minnesota state district court judge chambered in St. Cloud, but on occasion presides in court in the land of lakes and lady slippers in north central and north west Minnesota. He can be contacted at fjkphotography@gmail.com.

FYI If you’ve got a special photograph you’d like to share with the readers of Minnesota Moments, send it to us at E-mail: info@minnesotamoments.com or mail to: Picture This; Minnesota Moments, PO Box 436, Cold Spring, MN 56320. Photos will not be returned, unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.