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Memories

None of it was perfect, but what is?

For Mary and Sue and Sue

For Mary and Sue and Sue

Memories, StearnsOctober 25, 2024

You’d be crazy to cross Mr Smith’s garden. But one night I had to.

Candles In Memory

Candles In Memory

Cuisine, Memories, StearnsOctober 23, 2024

All families have secrets. As people get older or pass away, the secrets come to light. Like Grandma Lena’s.

Pickled Parts

Pickled Parts

Cuisine, Memories, StearnsOctober 8, 2024

We creatures of the earth shouldn’t eat each other’s lips. That’s my firm view.

Dairy Queen Delights

Dairy Queen Delights

Coffee Klatsch, Cuisine, Memories, Stearns, Wobegon TrailSeptember 1, 2024

Some things change, some stay the same.

Pancake Wisdom

Pancake Wisdom

Coffee Klatsch, Cuisine, Memories, Stearns, Wobegon TrailJuly 20, 2024

We were always happy with pancakes straight from Mom’s pan, not too thick or too thin, drizzled with some homemade jam or jelly or sugar or maple syrup from the Piggly Wiggly.

Nights at the 10-Hi

Nights at the 10-Hi

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Oh Ja, StearnsJune 9, 2024

We live in media-rich times, but streaming services don’t compare to summer nights at the 10-Hi.

Memorial Day Remembrance

Memorial Day Remembrance

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Occasions, Oh Ja, Stearns, Wobegon TrailMay 27, 2024

May 27 is a good day to spend at cemeteries, tidying the graves of veterans and other loved ones, and sharing family stories.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

Coffee Klatsch, Cuisine, Memories, StearnsMay 9, 2024

Lois Thielen, the famous Minnesota baker, is making rhubarb crunch this week. With her recipe, we all can.

Buttons & Rickrack & Wrestling, Oh My!

Buttons & Rickrack & Wrestling, Oh My!

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, Oh Ja, StearnsApril 28, 2024

We didn’t have jewels in our family but we had buttons. And Verne Gagne.

Glanville Wynkoop Smith

Glanville Wynkoop Smith

Coffee Klatsch, Memories, StearnsApril 26, 2024

Artist, architect, musician, journalist, poet, naturalist, medieval calligrapher, granite artisan, historian. His friends called him Glanny.

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The LenaMina Record

Join to receive our secret MN recipes, bullcrap, and Stearns style news. Enjoy it over a little lunch. Or something. Sometimes.

We of Wobegon

Lena and Mina were my grandmothers – Stearns County, Minnesota women who grew up and raised families in small towns around the Lake Wobegon Trail. Born in the USA, they spoke German and had German accents. As did my parents, who spoke only German until they went to school. As do some of my cousins, who have never lived anywhere but Stearns County. We’re quirky folks, like those in Garrison Keillor’s fictional Stearns town of Lake Wobegon. I’m Laurie Hilsgen, and if you’re reading this, you might be Wobegonian, too. Let’s celebrate our loony ways. Oh ja!

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