Brenda Winter
By Brenda Winter, columnistJune 13, 2023A chain link fence separates my backyard from the new Child’s Remembrance Garden in the northwest corner of Luverne. The formerly neglected space in Tonto – now Firefly Park – has been transformed into a stunning collection of brick paths, a stone wall, a labyrinth, a fountain, a pergola and lots of greenscape. The purpose of the garden is, “To provide a non-denominational safe area for people…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMay 16, 2023Forty-two years ago this spring, I ̶ 18-year-old sage that I was ̶ gave the student address to the Class of 1981. There were two speakers. I don’t remember who the other speaker was, and I doubt we made lasting impressions on our classmates. As a matter of fact, I doubt we made any impression on our classmates. Advice is like that. The inspiration for my address was a young, lost blackbird that…
By Brenda Winter, columnistApril 25, 2023A year ago at this time my family celebrated my mom’s 80th birthday, which was May 11. We pulled out all the stops and had a day-long party concluding with Mom serving cake to 34 of her favorite descendants. This year, we will not celebrate Mom’s 81st birthday on earth but will rejoice that she is celebrating her first birthday in heaven. A few weeks back, I announced an April date for the next “…
By Brenda Winter, columnistApril 04, 2023Like most of you, I have an opinion about the proposed 75-foot-tall plastic nutcracker intended to enhance tourism by drawing travelers off I-90. My opinion is, “Not in my back yard!” However, I live on the north end of Luverne and the nutcracker will be on the south end of Luverne, so it won’t be in my backyard. Therefore, I’m good with the whole plan. I’ve learned a great coping skill from my…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 21, 2023Many of you may recall elderly goofball sisters of the stage Marlene and Darlene from Leota, Minnesota. Over the years, the pair have attempted to save the Luverne Senior Citizens Center (now Generations) from certain demise. Always the pessimist, Marlene believes the end of the senior center is at hand and it’s her job to keep the doors open. Darlene thinks there are simply not enough single men…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 31, 2023The other girls recoiled in horror when Great Grandpa Gerald pulled back the plywood cover on his basement-based worm farm, but five-year-old Lillian leaned in, which is why she received a worm farm for Christmas. Grandpa’s worm farm is contained in a 100-gallon stock tank and holds several thousand worms. Lillian’s worm farm is far smaller than Grandpa’s. It’s not a stock tank, or even a 5-…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 10, 2023The frost on the trees bordering the cemetery Monday morning was spectacular. Blazing white branches sparkling against a brilliantly blue winter sky created a stunning scene worthy of the cemetery’s name, “Pleasant View.” My sister and I drove past the cemetery on our way to spend some time with Dad at the farm. We’ve driven by this cemetery thousands of times. With Mom at the wheel of a ’66…
By Brenda Winter, columnistDecember 20, 2022Last Christmas we gathered at Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve like we always do. We four adult kids and some of our adult kids and some of their little kids piled into Mom’s living room. The family has grown so large that we sometimes stack three deep to fit in the square 14x14 living room Grandpa Adolph and his brothers built in the ’40s. Last Christmas we began the evening by attending church.…
By Brenda Winter, columnistNovember 29, 2022First Snow has arrived replacing the garden’s fading colors of fall with a twinkling coat of brilliance. It covers the brown, lost remnants of summer with a blanket of hope. First Snow gives mortals a hint of the new creation described by John in the book of Revelation. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, … And I heard a loud voice…
By Brenda Winter, columnistNovember 08, 2022So, my dad has a worm farm. He’s currently runnin’ a few thousand head of red wigglers. It’s not 80 acres or anything like that. It’s just a galvanized stock tank in the farmhouse basement sitting under the old canning counter. The purpose of the worms is to produce castings (worm poop) to amend the soil in my parents’ organic, raised-bed gardens. Dad uses an Instant Pot to cook home-grown…
By Brenda Winter, columnistOctober 18, 2022I volunteer at Redeemed Remnants and you should, too. Redeemed Remnants is a thrift store ministry of ATLAS of Rock County. It’s located a block south of Main Street in the former Luverne Kawasaki building. I think volunteering to work the store’s back door is the most fun because opening each donation box is like opening a Christmas surprise. “What’s in this box?” Cars, vans, pickups – even …
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 27, 2022Rock County voters have a difficult decision to make on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. Two really nice guys are running to represent Minnesota District 21A. The Republican incumbent Joe Schomacker and the Democratic-Farmer Labor challenger Pat Baustian are both really nice guys. Both live in Luverne. Both are graduates of Luverne High School. Joe has held the office of state representative since…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 06, 2022Last week I saw a young woman with a flat, tan tummy wearing a cropped top. As I observed her exposed tummy, I reflected on why my tummy is not exposed. A long time ago my stomach, too, was flat and tan, but in 1988 the last weeks of pregnancy sent stretch marks like lightning bolts across that fruited plain. It was ’99 or maybe 2000 when I had my first abdominal surgery. The scar runs eight…
By Brenda Winter, columnistAugust 16, 2022Our dear Charlotte has gone to the big chicken coop in the sky. It was the madness of the Covid lockdowns in the spring of 2020 that brought her to us. I purchased chicks for my nieces and nephews, hoping the presence of new pets would help the children deal with the pain and isolation caused by remote schooling. What it actually did was distract them for about 10 minutes – leaving me with pet…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJuly 19, 2022I’ve seen flooding on TV and pitied the poor people who had to clean up after it, but I’ve never personally had to clean up after a flood. That changed July 5 when 6 inches of rain falling in less than an hour washed the gravel, garbage and grime off Cedar Street into the basement window of a small apartment building that my husband, Jim, and I own. We were made aware of the situation when one…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJune 28, 2022As you know, when I write these columns, I usually take a humorous look at an everyday situation. I start with the premise, “The column must be about something funny.” Sometimes, what’s funny is that I wait until the very last minute to write my column and turn it in to the dear editor at Tollefson Publishing. She has an obsessive focus on something she calls “deadlines.” After waiting too long…
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