Wannaskan Almanac

Every so often, Chairman Joe mentions his Bottle Run trips to Thief River Falls. I admire his environmental consciousness, and I smile when he describes the biscuit-and-gravy breakfasts he eats there with Steve, Joe, or whoever happens to be his latest partner in crime. Deep down, though, I cringe. When it comes to recyclable glassware, I have a complicated relationship. When I was little, I always loved the Zarex bottles—the clear ones with the inviting jug handle. One gracious pour of fruit syrup into a simple glass of water could transform a sweaty summer day. Another favorite was the Ovaltine jar. The cardboard carton of Nesquik—powdery and overly sweet—tried, but failed, to cure my aversion to milk. Because, in those days, children were required to drink it, my mother finally took a risk and bought the more expensive chocolate Ovaltine instead. The squat, brown jar that held those crunchy, malted granules delivered the heft of security, saving me—day after day—from standoffs over ...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 2 Number 2 Man Covers Old Scar   Joe McDonnell, 78 and residing in Palmville TWP, MN, recently repainted a corner of his TV room. "It's a small room," McDonnell tells the press. "It's really just a big bay window. The TV is at one end and there used to be a PC on a built-in desk at the other    end. Once the PC was gone the desk became redundant so we ripped it out last summer and put a recliner in its place. We always planned to fill in the nail holes and repaint the wall where the desk had been and we found a couple of spare hours this weekend to do the job. The most difficult part was the heavy lines the carpenter had drawn on the wall to make sure the desk was level. He never foresaw that the lines would cause a problem 25 years down the line." McDonnell showed a reporter the faint lines that are still visible after painting. "I'll be putting another coat over those lines tomorrow," he says. Man Uses Ladder To G...

Hello and welcome to our second Lego League Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is February 7th. Yes, Wannaskan fans, we've been here before. Two weeks ago, to be precise. Our teams stayed at the same hotel. The kids had a blast swimming, hot tubbing, and ping-ponging just like last time. A mom brought huge tubs of cookies and her famous seasoned pretzels. The adults enjoyed lounging and chatting on the indoor patio furniture. While others are vacationing in Florida, Arizona, and Hawaii, we're enjoying a bit of terrarium warmth at the C'mon Inn. So, while we wait to see how today goes, I'd like to tell you about my neck. Yesterday, I looked in the mirror and noticed the skin under my chin was looking sort of saggy. "Oh my gosh, 'I feel bad about my neck' is now happening to me." I'm referring to Nora Ephron's book, I Feel Bad About My Neck , a collection of essays on aging.  I remember reading this book at book club when it came out. ...

       My friend and fellow writer Ginny Graham asked me to write posts about the towns mentioned in the New Testament (NT). In early December I had posted about the city of Tyre because I had heard an interesting account about Tyre's resistance to a siege laid by Alexander the Great. Ginny found my post interesting and suggested that I write about other cities that appear in the NT..     I’m always game for the strange and the weird and imagined my posts about the NT towns could be turned into a pamphlet later to be sold or given away at churches. Logically, I should have written about Sidon, Tyre’s sister city. But with Christmas coming up I opted for Bethlehem and Nazareth. What interests me most about these cities and towns is what it's like there today and could I go there. Many people are leery about visiting Israel today though it’s fairly safe if you use a guide and avoid protests and demonstrations.     Next was Jerusalem. This ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for February 4, 2026, the fifth Wednesday of the year, the seventh Wednesday of winter, the first Wednesday of February, and the thirty-fifth day of the year, with three-hundred thirty days remaining. Brought to you by Bead Gypsy Studio’s 20% off leather bracelets Happy Valentine’s Day Sale , where you can register to WIN A GIFT BASKET: 101 Main Avenue North, downtown Roseau. Wannaska Phenology Update for February 4, 2026 Groundhogs Having just recelebrated Groundhog Day on Monday, today we tip our phenological cap to the very same, Marmota monax , akakojiishi in Anishinaabe, also known as the woodchuck, a rodent of the family Sciuridae , belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other common names for the groundhog include chuck, wood-chuck, groundpig, whistle-pig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack, weenusk, red monk, land beaver and, among French Canadians in eastern Canada, siffle...