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What’s beckoning you?

As we meander through our days, have you noticed how many things are beckoning you? Heading into our hectic holiday times, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. We hurry to arrange all the needed ingredients for a Thanksgiving feast. Hurry! The day of the turkey is beckoning you, and it’s right around the corner. Have you gotten the decorations up? They are calling you! Have you gotten the green bean casserole ready to serve? Everyone loves that iconic dish so be quick about putting it together. Oh, and the needed wine to go with your turkey dinner? That turkey is asking for a nice ...

O’ lutefisk!

Food can transport you into the past or push you forward. But there are some situations where food can cause familial friction. At least that’s how it’s been for forty-some years with my wife and me. The foodstuff that’s been at the center of our domestic distress is lutefisk. My Nordic ancestors must have looked at some fresh cod and thought, “I bet I can make that better.” They began by drying the fish on open racks where it was exposed to the effects of sea breezes and seabirds. The desiccated fish looked like wooden shingles. The cod could be rehydrated by ...

First snow of the year creates anticipation for all ages

Early November is a time to look ahead; to the holidays, the upcoming new year and the first snowfall of the season. People were talking about the first snowfall a week ago. It looked like the Marshall area might get at least one or two inches. It wasn’t supposed to be a snowstorm, just a bit of snow as a start to winter. On Saturday morning the prediction appeared to be coming true. I woke up to snow flurries. The first thing I did after getting dressed was to have some coffee. I enjoyed just having coffee and watching the flurries. The snow accumulated on cars but not on the ...

Living with the paranoia of DEI

When I was young, diversity meant that I knew some Lutheran kids. Around here, we were mostly German descended with a scattered few Irish and British. Norwegians lived by Hanska. Native Americans lived on the reservation. The Sleepy Eye of my youth is gone. Hispanic families started coming for work forty years ago. Thank God, they did. Otherwise, the economy around here would be significantly less than it is. Hispanics are indispensable in every occupation now. We all grew up learning that America is a “melting pot.” It was a point of pride. As kids, we understood that America ...

On the Porch

On Nov. 29, 1891, a disastrous fire struck the town of Tracy. The fire was discovered at 10:45 a.m. and the alarm was given. It is written that the flames had gained considerable headway. The fire started in the basement of a store building, and when discovered, the flames had made their way to the wooden sidewalk in front and spread to the window sills of adjacent building. In the 1912 “History of Lyon County,” Arthur P. Rose wrote that had there been a water supply and apparatus to get it to the fire, the flames might have been quenched, but Tracy at that time did not have the ...

The Vietnam War – Marland Burckhardt – War College and brigade command

We have been following Marland Burckhardt, a Russell High School graduate who married his Russell sweetheart in college and began an Army career focused on Military Intelligence and Special Forces operations. He deployed to Vietnam in January 1970 and then he and Barb had assignments at multiple Army posts across the United States, including battalion commands at Fort Hood, Texas ,and Fort Douglas, Utah, before being selected for promotion to colonel and to attend the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Marland had a family mission to attend to before leaving command ...