Wannaskan Almanac

Today we move into new waters with The One , picking up with Song 12, Memorial Day. Previously published episodes of The One  did not include complete versions of Song 12, so we begin from scratch with today's episode. THIRD MOVEMENT REMEMBERING SONG TWELVE MEMORIAL DAY I The sound is a cracking of long bones as the black hull shudders and splits against the ice The green sea essence rushes like blood through ripped flesh Far above on deck I hear the splintering impact I feel the wrench and tear as the ice drags and cuts a widening wound in the black-timbered hide It seems only a matter of time until the relentless sea engulfs and drowns my ship with green-frothing force pouring into the womb-like hold Only a matter of time to bring her down down and deep until darkness quenches her masthead light Yet, with all the seizures, crackings and booms I am oddly calm as I watch the brilliant raging waves relentless rolling and I am grateful for their converging. As the...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 2 Number 7 Trouser Press Heals Itself Joe McDonnell, 78 and a resident of Palmville Twp, Minnesota, was recently the beneficiary of a spontaneous repair to his trousers press. "Last year a friend gave me several trousers clamps that had belonged to her late father," McDonnell tells the press. "These clamps were made back in the fifties when people knew how to make such things. Very retro. Each clamp holds one pair of trousers. It takes a few tries to get 'the hang' of the clamps. One clamp however was hard to lock and unlock so I took it to my shop for repairs. With one thing and another it was several months before I got to work on the clamp, and when I did, there was no longer anything wrong with it." In a later report McDonnell writes that the clamp is back in service and is working perfectly. "I love these minor miracles," he says. Man Finds Lost Bolt Joe McDonnell, 78 and a self-taught chimney sweep, recently repla...

Hello and welcome to a St. Paddy's Saturday here at the Wannaskan Alamanc. There's a party tonight at Chairman Joe's! Kids and I have been adventuring in the balmy, culturally rich Brainerd this past few days. When I was in college, a friend I traveled with taught me that every trip should have something educational, something fun, and if possible, something that is both fun and educational. Queue up the educational: We got a tour of the local public utilities where my cousin works. She showed us all the inventory she orders and oversees. Kids marveled at the massive quantities of transformers and coiled cables of all colors and variegations. The funnest fun fact was learning that the individual stoplights - you know, red, yellow, and green - were bigger than our heads! Queue up the fun: We enjoyed an awesome escape room experience at the Copper Cat! Granny's gone missing, and the big, bad cooking company is on their way to her assisted living apartment to steal her re...

     St Joseph, Missouri is famous for three things: It was the jumping off point of the Pony Express, it was the city where Jesse James was killed, and it's the home of the Chase Candy company, maker of the beloved Cherry Mash chocolate and cherry candy bar.    The Pony Express only lasted 18 months. but it had a glorious run. It cut the time for a letter to reach San Francisco to ten days, a record at the time. It cost five dollars ($180 dollars in today's money) to send a 1/2 ounce letter by Pony Express. It was subsided by the government but lost twice as much as it earned and was put out of business by the telegraph.    The house where Jesse James was killed in St Joseph is just a ten minute walk from the Pony Express Museum. James had moved to St Joseph after the disastrous raid on the Northfield, Minnesota bank, planning to give up crime. He got restless though and took on new gang members, one of whom shot him in the back of the head while he w...

  "Yah, I seen a bus loaded vit' dem go by da town 'all 'ere, nut two 'ours ago," Sven continued."     “Did ya know da tin man’s 'omestead 'as been sold to a 'uge family of kids?" Sven said, cracking the last egg against the bottom of the skillet.       “Nooo," said Ula, his curiosity aroused. Coffee steamed from his mug aside his dish, as he pulled off his honkin' tall knee-high boots as he sat at Sven's table, and put them to dry on some newspapers spread on the floor.       “Yah, I seen a bus loaded vit 'em go by da town 'all ‘ere, nut two ‘ours ago,” Sven continued, watching his three eggs fry against a mountain of lean thick-cut smoked maple-flavored bacon. “I’d gone up to da mailbox ta put a letter in. Kids vere ‘angin’ out dem vindows. Dere vas a bunch of yellin’ goin’ on too. Caught me attention, it did.”       “Vere vill dey live dere? Dere ain’t been a livable space dere fer over ...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for March 11, 2026, the tenth Wednesday of the year, the twelfth Wednesday of winter, the second Wednesday of March, and the seventieth day of the year, with two-hundred ninety-five days remaining. Wannaska Phenology Update for March 11, 2026 Scurries On Their Way Tamiasciurus hudsonicus  — ajidamoo, in Anishinaabe — is one of three tree squirrels species classified in the genus Tamiasciurus , known as the pine squirrels, the others being the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii , and the southwestern red squirrel, T. fremonti . Also known as the pine squirrel, piney squirrel, North American red squirrel, chickaree, or boomer, ajidamoo defends its territory all year round, feeding primarily on pine cone seeds, and this time of year bearing kits. The collective noun for red squirrels is scurry. March 11 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling March 11 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Updated daily, occasionally. Earth/Moon A...