Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and welcome to a somber Saturday, here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is March 21st. This week, our fellow Wannaskan Almanac writer-in-crime, Catherine Stenzel, aka Jack Pine Savage, passed away. In honor of her life, today's post is an article that Gretchen Mehmel and I wrote about our dear friend, Catherine, in 2016.  Fierce Women of Northwest Minnesota Interview – Part 4 – Catherine Stenzel By Kim Hruba and Gretchen Mehmel               For the last installment of the Fierce Women series, we introduce Catherine Stenzel, the author and inquisitor behind the great question: What is a fierce woman?  “I'm not the last one; there are plenty more out there,” Catherine is quick to point out, “I might even write a book about fierce women in the future.”               With such a rare opportunity to interview the interviewer, the first thing we wan...

  Aerial view of tiny book collection     Teresa was dusting in the library the other day when one of the shelves collapsed. It was the shelf that held our collection of miniature books, so it was surprising that such a light load would collapse. As she put the books back on the shelf, she suggested I write a post about this collection.    I used to be a bibliomaniac. I couldnt go past a bookstore without going in and buying something. I read more catalogues of remaindered books than I read the books themselves. Second-hand bookstores were my skid row.     I didn't collect miniature books on purpose. They were too hard to read.  But as they came in my way, I found a home for them as I would for a stray puppy. I just pulled the collection off the shelf to take a survey. The largest book is Familiar Fossils , followed by The Tale of Benjamin Bunny . I'm not familiar with many fossils but I'm very familiar with Benjamin Bunny.    ...

  wdaeaan, Kathirin وداعاً، كاثرين  

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for March 18, 2026, the eleventh Wednesday of the year, the thirteenth Wednesday of winter, the third Wednesday of March, and the seventy-seventh day of the year, with two-hundred eighty-eight days remaining. Wannaska Phenology Update for March 18, 2026 Spring Phenology Fever Just two days from now on the spring equinox, Wannaska transforms from a barren, middle-of-nowhere place  into a Nature Party. So much to look forward to as spring unfolds: migrating ed-winged blackbirds, Canada geese, robins, and, of course, hummingbirds; weeping willow buds, flowing tree sap, and the first mushrooms; emerging black bear, chipmunks, skunk, turtles, and peepers. What are your favorite signs of spring? 2026 Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Sightings — It's begun... March 18 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special : Potato Dumpling March 18 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch : Updated daily, occasionally. Earth/Moon Almanac for March 18, 2026 Sunrise: 7:31am; ...

If you’ve lived in Walnut Bend long enough, you know that the most permanent things we have aren't the buildings—they’re the ghosts of the buildings. We still give directions based on things that haven't existed since a chrome-bumpered ’55 Bel Air was the newest, shiniest dream on the road. "Turn left where the red barn used to be" is a phrase that has guided more people than a GPS ever could, even if there’s nothing left there now but some scorched stones and a memory. The red barn didn’t just burn down in the summer of ’98; it performed a grand exit. In a place where the biggest light at night is usually a bug zapper or the moon hitting a rusted silo, that fire was biblical. It turned the night sky into a bruised orange and made the gravel on the road glow like hot coals. We all stood there—me, my dad, Earl from the store, and about six other families—just watching. There was no fire department to call. Even if there had been, Millersville was 25 miles away. By the ...

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 ...