GaryOsberg.com

Good crisp morning from Collegeville,

Another very nice weekend in store for those of us in central Minnesota. My best friend in high school was another transplant from the Twin Cities metro area, Bob. When we were seniors, he had a 51 Chevy and I had a 54 Chevy. We both lived in town and yet of course we had to go for a ride every morning down to Krupa’s Korner to smoke one last cigarette. Quite often Miss Krier, our English teacher, had to send us to the Principals office for a tardy slip.

Sunday was a very nice day for a drive in the country so Barby and I drove up to visit Bob and his wife Shirley, another classmate from Upsala class of ’61, at their home in the country. We drove past the homestead of Shirley’s folks and I pointed out to Barby the garage where Bob and I got into his father-in-laws moonshine. It was the first time I experienced a “black out”. The Holdingford area was famous for their moonshine. Sunday, Ken Burn’s will present his latest PBS special “Prohibition”. Congress passed the Volstead Act on October 28, 1919. It was repealed on December 5, 1933.

If you would like to visit the home of Congressman Volstead, you can attend the Meander Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl kick-off event today from 4 PM until 8 PM in Granite Falls, Minnesota. There will be a historic walking tour of downtown Granite Falls starting at the Historic Volstead House proceeding to the Walking Bridge, which was designed by the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, and ending at the Popcorn Stand. Music, food, art and history all in one night. The Meander Art Crawl goes on all weekend. It is an annual event, a free self-guided tour of 33 art studios in a four county area around the Upper Minnesota River. For details go to www.artsmeander.com

The show this week is a live broadcast from The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Special guests include internationally celebrated Tenor Raul Melo, the premier male chorus in the USA, Cantus and vocalist Heather Masse. Enjoy the show. You may still be able to get tickets or don’t forget the “Rush Line”. Tomorrow should be a nice day to stand in line. Many a friendship has been struck up in a line waiting for a “heck of a deal”.

Here in the St. Cloud area, you can catch jazz singer Jane Monheit at the College of Saint Benedict tonight. Call 363-5777 for tickets and information. I will be there with a “gift basket” drawing. Hope to see you there.

“If your cat has kittens in the oven, do you call them muffins?” Kaye Gibbons