The late night eagle flies

The Eagle has landed back at the Herald. 

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the publisher of the Chaska Herald was awakened by a couple of Herald hearties partying the night away at the annual 100 Club Christmas fundraiser held at the Hazeltine National Golf Club. They had boldly submitted a variety of bids in the Charity Auction and were in danger of actually winning one of them when they realized they had neither the company checkbook nor the authority to use it.
It was time to call the boss.
"We want to buy an eagle," the conversation began, quickly pitting the forces of alcoholic exuberance against a semi-conscious wet blanket. "So far we're in it for $400, can we keep going?"
"What? Hello!?" The groggy publisher stalled, blinking in the darkness, having absolutely nothing to reference this unique request, no schooling or experience to draw upon. Purchase a wooden eagle for $400? The background cacophony from The Hazeltine drowned any possibility of hearing the shouted description of the object or its intrinsic value to anybody, or where it came from, or how it was made or finished. So the publisher just wilted there in his pajamas, eventually resigning with something like, "Oh, what the hell, go ahead then."
The newly-acquired Herald Eagle soon took a proud place in the front office, on a custom-made perch assembled at further expense by Charlie the Carpenter. It's been up there now for at least a decade or so, never really did get a proper name. "Dusty" has been suggested as a possibility.
He was let out for the first time ever this summer to attend to the Chaska History Center's elaborate display marking the 150th anniversary of the local newspaper. The very first Herald editions, published during the Civil War, carried an eagle insignia, a symbol for the Union supported by the Herald. It's been a part of the logo since. The hoopla at the museum is over now and last week Editor Mark Olson brought the eagle back home, carefully escorting him for the few blocks back to the vintage newspaper office.
We think Mark's become kind of attached to the old carved legend, as have others, so in the interest of historical accuracy, we wanted to set the record on just how he came to be roosting there.

Katie's picks for today's noon NFL games

Must I do everything around here?

Winners:
Vikings beat Chicago!
Cincinnati over Oakland
Pittsburgh bests Cleveland
Indianapolis takes Buffalo
Denver
Seattle
Atlanta
Tennessee

Cat's Cradle

Our Florida knee warrior

Here's the tenth day of progress on the comeback trail, now with the staples gone. Go Al and Becky!

Present at Our Table

Jill, Mom, Jennifer and Katie.
Is the service satisfactory, Mrs. R.?

Jill brought Mom. Mom brought an appetite.
She ate Kathleen's turkey and dressing with ample whipped potatoes and homemade gravy and rolls, of course, skipping the cole slaw with Rudolph's dressing. She downed Missy's green bean casserole. Earlier she had sampled Jennifer's walnut/pecan pate on crackers and fresh tangerine slices, later at table she enjoyed her apple-trimmed kabocha squash, local steamed carrots and cranberries ala Greg. So did Mom have any room for dessert?
You bet.

Mom passed on Hai's pumpkin pie, opting for a large, refreshing slice of his Lemon Meringue.

Great grandma inspected the new tooth.
Emily admired the new glasses.

Mom used to bake rye bread for her family. Today Jennifer brought a half-baked loaf of raisin rye, finishing it after the turkey had been extracted from the oven and set aside to rest before carving. Did Grandma Bev ever put raisins in her rye? She thought back for a moment. "Oh yes, sometimes I did." Only then did Stan remember that this was so.
It was a joyful, memorable day at our bustling house, Mom's first Thanksgiving in a private home in many years. We're grateful for our many blessings, and said so. Mom's lead aide, Jill, graciously drove her 92-year-old charge from Mom's new place in Bloomington to her first ever visit to Stan and Kathleen's Shakopee location. Three willing guests eagerly boosted her chair up the front steps and inside a festive dining room, where she quickly became the center of attention.
Before dinner, we not only said a traditional grace, but then Mom led us in a gentle verse of "Be Present at Our Table Lord" in perfect pitch, as always, just like old times.
Our thanks to Jill for a smooth operation. The only lumps today were in our throats.

From left, Dan, Hai, Jennifer, Melissa, Emily, Kathleen, Jill, Beverly, Stan
18 pound turkey, nine for dinner. Leftovers for all.

Hey Jen, You bring the cranberries

Last year, we were over-cranberried.
Let's see if we can do better this year.

We've been calling Jennifer at work all day. She's busy, we can't get through. (She does work at a grocery store, after all.) Her voice mail isn't working. So no answer yet. Maybe she'll check the blog:
Jennifer, in order to avoid last year's mixup where we ended up with TWO cranberry offerings (the item isn't particularly esteemed here anyway), you are in charge of the cranberries this year. Missy will bring the green bean casserole. We'll do the turkey, potatoes and gravy. Hai will bring the pumpkin pie. Jill will bring Grandma Bev.

Bring back The Mint?

Beer and business mixed with pleasure tonight as two aging co-workers, one rusty and retired, the other just tired, hatched a mammoth deal to shake up the advertising markets in the southwest suburban area. A handshake and a six-pack was all it took to put the revival of the defunct Minnesota Valley Mint on the table. After all, Stan's non-compete is about to run out and State Senator Claire Robling, who used to write the front page Mint feature years ago, has retired, so it could be just the time to bring back the durable mass-circulation shopper that circulated the area for decades, before changing tastes and electronic media put it in the dustbin of history. Its iconic logo may now be in the public domain.

Will Stan be lured out of retirement to ramrod this throwback enterprise? Will Future Mint Sales Manager Bombastic Bob capture the Hostess Twinkies advertising account?
Watch for further adventures of "Mad Men on a Warm Porch."

Meet Mr. Mark

This kindly gentleman is Mom's night shift companion and Tuesday hairdresser at the Kell Avenue eldercare residence in Bloomington. Mark owns a haircutting business on Nicollet Avenue as well, established in 1994.

 

Mom has new glasses and we wanted to show you a picture of her wearing them today, but Mark hadn't worked his magic yet, so the reveal will have to wait for later when Mom's ready for her closeup. What couldn't wait were these four golden Cornish hens prepared by chef Marcia for today's luncheon. MMM.

Rest in Peace, Mike

Mike Bolin (back row with open shirt) celebrated a mini-reunion with
Jefferson High School classmates in our basement three years ago.

Mike Bolin, long-time St. Paul resident and noted artist in the Twin Cities area, died Saturday in hospice. He was Stan's classmate, a 1965 graduate of Jefferson High School in Alexandria as well as Concordia College in Moorhead. He attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul.
A talented artist, he created many of the wonders of the Dayton's Eighth Floor Christmas exhibition during the years it was a must-do part of the holidays for Minnesotans. His work also appeared in the restoration of the Foshay Tower as well as at the Mall of America.
He is the second son of the late Floyd and Lois Bolin of Alexandria, and is survived by his brother, Stan Bolin.
Other details of his passing and funeral arrangements are not presently available.

Good morning Stan,

Mike spoke fondly of his friends and youth in Alexandria.  We became friends in the 1970's.  Twin Cities Public Television has archived and posted on its website a profile/essay that I produced with Mike for the weekly arts magazine Wyld Ryce.  I am sure you will enjoy it.  To my great admiration, Mike lived without a computer or cell phone at least until two years ago when we last got together in Saint Paul with L.K. Hanson, a long-time artist and cartoonist at the Star Tribune.  We hung out together during the mid-1970's in Saint Paul galleries, apartments, saloons and studios.

Here's the link -

http://www.mnvideovault.org/advanced_search_results.php?keywords=bolin+&phrase=&keywords_OR=&keywords_remove=

Jeff Strate
Eden Prairie, MN