Wannaskan Almanac

According to Fordes magazine, none of these events can be proven or unproven.  They can only be enjoyed.   1783 — The Continental Congress briefly considers adopting the turkey as the national bird. A noble idea, truly — nothing says “global superpower” like a bird that drowns in the rain because it looks up too long. 1841 — The first public library west of the Mississippi opens in a one‑room schoolhouse. This immediately becomes the quietest place in town because nobody wants to admit they can’t read. Sign was taken down due to locals thinking it was voodoo 1889 — A Kansas railway introduces the “luxury caboose,” complete with velvet seats and a tiny chandelier. Because nothing screams elegance like dangling glassware in a vehicle famous for violently shaking. 1912 — A French artist unveils the world’s first glow‑in‑the‑dark painting. Critics call it “revolutionary,” mostly because they can finally complain about art even after the lights go out. 1937 — A radio station i...

  I love the fact that before the invention of matches in the mid 19th century, among pilgrims there was a practice called fire keeping. In the morning, they would collect hot coals, place the live embers into a metal container or fire pot, pack them with ash for safe keeping, and carry them to kindle their evening flame. The Franciscan, Richard Rohr, knew something of this when he wrote that we open most to our truest selves by letting loving people rub off on us.  Before I opened my eyes this morning, the smell of lavender wafted up from my pillow. My sister grows it for fun, keeps a tray of sachets handy, and sent me off with two of them the other day on my way out her door.  When my sister-in-law came over the other night for dinner, before I could say hello, I was taken by the bouquet of pink, frilly edged flowers she held up to her chin then gave me along with her smile. A few days later, she led me into her yummy smelling kitchen and lifted a teatowel from two warm...

  The Palmville Globe Volume 2 Number 34 Man Replaces Critical Night Light Joe McDonnell, 79 and residing in Palmville Twp, Minnesota, recently replaced an outdoor overhead light. "Most people in my area let the electric company install a dusk to dawn light on a power pole in their yard," McDonnell tells the press. "But the owners can't turn the light off when they want to look at the stars or a comet or the northern lights, therefore we have a light on the front of the garage that we turn on and off as needed. There's a switch in the garage and also one in the house which is convenient. The light recently burned out so I brought my tallest ladder to the front of the garage, put a new bulb in my pocket, climbed up and made the replacement. A new bulb usually lasts four or five years." In a later communication McDonnell says he's glad he doesn't have to stand on the top step of his ladder. "I can reach the bulb while standing one step below the s...

Hello and welcome to a chilly Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is September 19th. Today, I'm packing my bags and heading over to Bayfield, Wisconsin for the week, making Chairman Joe's post yesterday, Madeline Island , perfect timing. Wisconsin also makes me think about my friend Jill Swenson, who grew up in the Twin Cities, but now calls Appleton home. This past summer, Jill published her memoir, The Land of Everlasting Sky: A Memoir of Loss and Legacy on Lake of the Woods.  The journey of this book started in the summer of 2014, when she returned to Warroad to visit her mother's childhood hometown. For folks in Wannaskaland, it's no surprise when I tell you that it was our beloved local librarian at the time, Barb Larson (aka "Babs" to her closest friends and in William Kent Krueger's Northwest Angle novel of the Cork O'Connor series), who connected Jill and me. "Kim, there's a lady in town you have to meet." And to Jill: ...

   Many years ago we pulled up to the ferry landing in Bayfield, Wisconsin and watched the ferry loaded with cars headed to Madeline Island two miles out in Lake Superior.  The three boys were little then. I think we had been driving back to Wannaska from a visit to my family in Boston. I resolved then we'd get back someday. After forty years, we finally did it last week. I found out after our trip to the island, that one of the boys beat us to it ten years ago.    Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands and the only one that has permanent residents. The island is fourteen miles long and three miles at its widest. Its irregular shape is replicated on post cards, carvings and pottery in the island gift shop. I even saw an island tattoo on a ferry passenger. The rest of the islands are part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. I thought the islands would be named Peter,  James and John, etc. instead of Oak, Bear and Devil. I thought Madeli...

   Boat Trip Up Mikinaak Creek  2020    “Looks like you found some quicksand there Ozaawaa,” I said to my nine-year old grandson, from the jonboat. “Neighbors always said there was quicksand down here.”    “What’s quicksand?” O asked, with both his rubber knee boots stuck in creek mud up to his ankles. “How do I get out of here?”    “Quicksand is a watery mix of sand and mud that’ll suck you down and drown you, the more you struggle,” I said, laying my paddle against a gunwale. “It’s sort of like the Chinese handcuffs that you get at the carnival. You know, the kind that you put your trigger finger and your pointer finger into, and when you try to get them out, the way they went in, it won’t let you go. That’s what you got there. Good thing you’re not alone. I’m here to help you should you get up to your chin . . . This is a good life lesson.”    “I can use my paddle,” O said confidently, leaning on it, this way and that, trying to ...