Wannaskan Almanac

  Equanimity    Newcomers say it's hard to meet people and make friends when they move to Roseau County. Getting to know the locals was not a problem for Joe and Catherine Stenzel when they moved here twenty years ago. Roseau County is in a remote part of the U.S. And Beltrami Island State Forest where the Stenzel’s cabin is located is in a remote part of Roseau County. But that’s a good thing because the hardy souls who live in the Forest get to know each other for survival.     Joe and Catherine jumped into the Forest with eyes wide shut. They had seen an ad in the Minneapolis paper for a hunting cabin and drove into the Forest in a blizzard to inspect it. It was love at first sight. It took them five years to wrap up their affairs in the Twin Cities and settle into their new nest in 2004.  The cabin had a wood stove and an outhouse. Over the coming years they moved their things up and civilized the cabin without losing the coziness. They continue to...

  "Sven and Ula snoozed, their legs stretched out into the aisle, their old-man butts fairly gripping just the edge of the chair seat for dear life; their heads tipped back, eyes closed, mouths open; their fallen lower jaws jutting back against their bearded wrinkled necks."    “Einar iss drivin’ to Saint Paul, Minnesoter to catch a plane 'ome tonite,” said Ula, his face looking like a large strawberry from all the mosquito bites. A few beard hairs protruded from each puffy reddish welt across his face and inside his nose; his eyes almost swelled shut. Living close along Reed River as he does, his yard has been a virtual malaria-infested jungle these past couple weeks as is most everyone’s in northern Minnesota where mosquitoes have been so thick that the whine of re-purposed snow blowers and leaf blowers are heard from every quarter section as residents get creative removing mosquito carcasses from their sidewalks and doorsteps. Great billows of smoke f...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for March 25, 2026, the twelfth Wednesday of the year, the first Wednesday of spring, the fourth Wednesday of March, and the eighty-fourth day of the year, with two-hundred eighty-one days remaining, sponsored by Bead Gypsy Studio , 101 Main Avenue North, Roseau, March Madness sale: Purchase any bracelet or necklace at full price and get a pair of earrings 50% off. Wannaska Phenology Update for March 25, 2026 Sandhill Crane Here at Word-Wednesday headquarters, we're all ears for the first call of Antigone canadensis — ajijaak in Anishinaabe — as one of our favorite harbingers of spring, and we heard our first song on Monday. This comes as no surprise; in Anishinaabe oral history, Ajijaak is the leader tasked by the Creator with finding a suitable home for the people, ultimately guiding them to the Great Lakes region. Sandhill cranes are social birds that live in pairs or family groups throughout the year. During migration and ...

If you want to understand the history of Walnut Bend, you don’t go to the library in Millersville. You go to Earl’s and wait for the "Council of Three" to convene near the kerosene heater. These are the men who have sat in the same mismatched chairs for so long they’ve practically become part of the floorboards. I was leaning against the counter, nursing a soda that tasted vaguely like the metal cap it came under, when the topic of "The Old Miller Run" came up. To a stranger, it’s just a stretch of washboard gravel that ruins your alignment. To Walnut Bend, it’s a legend with three different beginnings. Silas spoke first. He was seventy-five, which made him the "kid" of the group. He claimed the name came from a horse race back in the days when a '55 Chevy was still a drawing on a board. "Old Man Miller had a stallion that was more lightning than muscle," Silas said, staring out the window at the dust. "He bet a man from the city that th...

Woman Thinks About Soda Bread Ginny Graham, 78, and a former Bostonian of Irish descent, was recently thinking about Irish Soda Bread. "I love it so much, and when St. Patrick's Day comes around, I always say to myself, I should make this kind of bread more often," Graham continued talking about her obsession, saying, "I love the dense, crumbly texture and the way, at first, you think it's stale, but it's not." When encouraged to say more, Graham admitted that her favorite part is the raisins. "Without raisins," she explained," I don't really like it. I have a sweet tooth and love the way raisins balance off the other pretty plain ingredients." Acknowledging that raisins are not part of the traditional Irish recipe, this enthusiast said, "Adding raisins doesn't bother me. I first learned about soda bread from a woman born in Ireland, and she packed her loaves full of them. That's good enough for me." Surprisingly...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 2 Number 8 Man Creates Healthy Snack Joe McDonnell, 78 and a resident of Palmville Twp, recently developed a unique snack with all healthy ingredients. "My wife likes nuts, cinnamon and honey on her oatmeal," McDonnell tells the press. "She also likes half a banana. The other morning as I was absentmindedly eating my half of the banana I notice the walnut crumbs on the cutting board and pressed the end of my banana onto the crumbs picking them up. The taste reminded me of a banana split without the ice cream, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. I sprinkled a little cinnamon over the nuts, but skipped the honey." McDonnell was asked if he was going to patent his idea. "No," he replied, "the world needs all the healthy snacks it can get right now." Man Struggles With Air Compressor Joe McDonnell, 78 and a shade tree mechanic, recently inflated a friend's tires to the correct pressure. McDonnell tells reporters, ...