Travel on the Gravel

A new feature in local programming on Prairie Public Television is Prairie Pulse, airing Thursdays at 9:00 PM (rebroadcast Saturdays at 5:00 PM). I’ve taped some pieces for PP, one of which, I gather from the program guide, will run Thursday the 5th. I’m not sure which one, but it’s either about the Fall Supper at Canaan Moravian Brethren Church or the Corpus Christi Festival at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

I'm not going to get into a chest-thumping mode about our hardiness in withstanding this week's deep chill. Instead I've been thinking about a new fact of life on the northern plains--the technologies of human comfort. Compare our situation to that of the South a half-century ago. Who then would have considered Houston or Atlanta or Phoenix a suitable location for a corporate headquarters? And yet these places became the growth nodes of the late 20th century. Air conditioning was the reason. Something similar, making possible the current in-migration here, has happened on the northern plains. The changes are incremental, and they span various aspects of life, but consider just two: clothing and transportation. Although I still wear a lot of wool, it is the new synthetics that have built comfort into winter wear for all. I'm talking about polypropylene, polar fleece, Gore-Tex, and the like. Daily life is comfortable, and winter sports are pleasurable, because of these. Personal transport benefits particularly from two things: fuel injection and 4WD. Vehicles parked on the street start at 35 below; the family station wagon, now an SUV, rolls right through the snow, and smoothly, not like a clunky old Bronco. Nowadays, if we want to show that we're tough, we need to find some other way besides just braving the cold. (Those of you feeding livestock or otherwise employed outdoors for extended time this morning, please ignore these remarks, as I know long exposure and working encumbered by gear is rough. I'm talking about the rest of us, who merely have to get about in the course of work and play.)

Here's the first of what will likely be an extended series of postings having to do with the virtues of life on the plains. Things like snowshoing across a powdery landscape. On Monday following the weekend's impressive snowstorm, we played hookey during the afternoon to take house guests from Texas snowshoeing in the Sheyenne National Grassland. Photos: Snowshoe 1 - Snowshoe 2 - Snowshoe 3 - Snowshoe 4.

Over the next couple of weeks I'll have the pleasure of visiting with several groups on lecture and concert dates. Wednesday 4 February at noon I'll be doing a luncheon address for the annual meeting of the Northwest Farm Managers; that's in the Great Hall of the Holiday Inn, Fargo. NDSU Extension is handling arrangements for that. The following Monday 9 February I'll be at Marshalltown Community College, Marshalltown IA, for the Shear Symposium. The symposium is devoted to the state of rural life in the midwest and plains; I'm up at 10:00 AM Monday. My old friend Tom Colbert is handling arrangements there. Then when I get back to NDSU I have the happy honor of singing at the rededication of the Little Country Theatre placque in Askanase Hall. The ceremony begins at 4:00 Tuesday afternoon 10 February. I thank Don Larew for the invitation. I'll be singing a song called "Prairie Town" (it's in my song site), which seems to me to resonate with the spirit of Alfred Arvold, founder of the LCT.

I've just posted a column having to do with "Lincoln's Little Girl" and some other things in Delphos, Kansas. Here are a few images from the locality.

Billboard along 81 Highway - featuring Lincoln's meeting with little Grace Bedell

Town square - with the Lincoln's Little Girl monument

Lincoln's Little Girl monument - devoted to Grace Bedell Billings

Zebulon Pike historical marker - Tell me that doesn't look like a barbeque grill!

Vista from the Pike site - looking back on Delphos

A cordial letter from Barry and Holly Mawby, Churches Ferry-Devils Lake vicinity, included the following strand of verse.

When next you look for that rural place,
the small community, the friendly face,
Only the ghosts of past residents you'll find
no lemonade Sundays, no peace of mind.

Rich history left vacant like bare winter trees
The town is deserted but wait a minute PLEASE!

A new life is beginning where the old used to be
A revival of sorts mounted by the City Council three!

The water couldn't wash the history away,
They're still holding on to the city today,

When next in the region or travelin around
looking for history or new stories found
please stop in and visit - our tale we will tell
a tale of a city not doing too well
until a small few willed it to live
please stop in and hear the story we'll give.

It sounds like it would be well worth the time to stop in and see what's going on in Churches Ferry!