August 12th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
I love it when a plan comes together. Last year I met a fellow at The Local Blend who volunteers as a veterans advocate. He served in the Navy during Vietnam and worked in the VA Admin system for most of his adult life. He mentioned that he was traveling to Little Falls to meet with some folks from the American Legion. I told him that my brother Bill was the Post Commander. From that beginning, I got involved in the Veterans Educational Historic Art Monument.
Now I watch my son’s television show every Saturday at 8:30 in the morning on Fox Sports North. I noticed that he was running a Public Service Announcement for the `clean your boat’ campaign. So, I thought maybe he would replace that PSA with a PSA for www.vetsart.org Yesterday the owner and founder of Whiskey Creek Media, the producer of The Outdoor Report on Fox Sports North, my son Erik, drove from Wadena to the first Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery and shot some video. One of the original backers of the art project, Jack Peck, voiced the spot and here it is. https://youtu.be/gcOEvxkesZw I am not sure when the spot will run, maybe as soon as next Saturday.
The APHC show this week is another rebroadcast of a show which aired on July 2, 2011. Special guests included the new host of APHC, Chris Thile and his Nickel Creek bandmate, Sara Watkins. They will team up with the Everly Brothers. Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele blow the roof off of the Koussevitsky Music Shed at Tanglewood with “This Will Be an Everlasting Love”. Christine DiGiallonardo sings a few duets with Garrison. The News From Lake Wobegon will bring you up to date on the town that time forgot.
“Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men.” George S. Patton
August 5th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
Today is a “10” for sure. Low humidity, cool breeze from the north, not a cloud in the sky. It is hard not to feel great about being alive on a day like today. I was able to sit by my bubbling boulder, with my second cup of coffee and watch the sun come up. I bought a couple of Adirondack chairs from the St. Johns Wood Shop. These are very comfortable chairs and they are slowly aging to a very natural grey. One is made from ash and one is made from cedar. When my ship comes in, I plan on buying another cedar one and donate the ash to a lakeside cabin. I knew a guy who, when his ship came in, was at the train station waiting for a bus.
Episode 6 of The Outdoor Report airs tomorrow morning at 8:30 on Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Wisconsin. `Walleye Willie’ will be in this episode also. The episode is titled “Bottoms Up”, all about bottom feeders. If you miss it, you can go to www.theoutdoorreport.com and watch in on YouTube. It is possible to subscribe to the show on YouTube.
The APHC show is another summer rebroadcast from July 3, 2010 which was from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. Special guests include John Prine, Howard Levy and Andra Suchy. In the News from Lake Wobegon, the Women’s Bible Group goes skinny-dipping. Enjoy the show.
“All that a man does outwardly is but the expression and completion of his inward thoughts. To work effectually, he must think clearly; to act nobly, he must think nobly.” Channing
July 29th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
The Yukon Gold potatoes are awesome. Jon Ness represents the St. Joseph Farmers Market and he suggested that I plant the seed potatoes whole. No cutting and letting them heal over before you plant them. Just stick them in the ground. Much better results. Also, I moved the rows to a different spot in the garden. This year there are no brown spots to cut around. I recommend buying the seed potatoes from Woods Farmer Seed & Nursery in Waite Park.
The new `used’ tiller, that I bought from a neighbor, is much easier to run. Even with the bad shoulder, I have been able to stay on top of the weeds. I donated the `man killer’ green monster tiller to Becca and Ryan in Princeton. They have a 10 acre hobby farm. Becca writes a great blog. www.littlearrowsfarm.com
The Outdoor Report TV show tomorrow includes footage from the Camp Confidence Fishing tournament that Walleye Willie, his dad and I were able to participate in at Maddens. We placed third in the `mixed bag’ category. If you miss the show on Fox Sports North at 8:30 Saturday morning, you can catch it on YouTube or at the website, www.theoutdoorreport.com
The APHC show this week is one more fall rebroadcast from the Fitzgerald Theater which first aired in October of 2000. Special guests include Greg Brown and The Nashville Bluegrass Band. Last week’s show was a good one. The News From Lake Wobegon will bring back Pastor Ingvist who encounters Merle Sanderson, one of the Lutheran pastors who was with him during an infamous pontoon boat incident. Enjoy the show.
“If you do not sow, you do not reap; no investment, no dividend. It’s as simple as that.” Alfred Armand Montapert
July 29th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
“We’re having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave.” I don’t remember the name of the singer, but I heard this song a lot when I was young. Last week we were at The Cabin on Amelia. We checked in on Sunday at 4 and checked out on the next Sunday at 11am. My niece and her husband live in Phoenix and they purchased the cabin, which is only 5 miles from Glenwood, so that they would have a place to get away from the 110 degree temps in Arizona. They decided to rent it to others on a weekly basis when they were not using it. The cabin has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms plus a great room with `state of the art’ entertainment in case it rains. The beach toys include two kayaks, a canoe, a paddle boat and two paddle boards. You can find the details on Facebook.
Episode 4 of The Outdoor Report, which airs tomorrow on Fox Sports North at 8:30am, is “Walleye, walleye walleye”. You can find the first three episodes on YouTube or at www.theoutdoorreport.com
The APHC show this week is another summer rebroadcast which first aired in the fall of 1999. Special guests include New York folksinger Dave Van Ronk, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Bluesman Geoff Muldaur will sing “Drop Down Mama” and “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You?” The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will perform “The Story of Bob, a Young Artist.” In the News From Lake Wobegon, Darryl and Marilyn Tollerud reminisce about the early years of their courtship. Enjoy the show.
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Benjamin Franklin
July 8th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
I managed to injure my shoulder while working in my daughter’s yard last Friday, so I spent the last two hours of the day at St. Cloud Orthopedics. The doctor and the PA were quite sure that I had ruptured my bicep tendon. We have two, so we can get along without the one that goes over the shoulder blade. For that reason, my participation in the 31st Annual Osberg/Hagstrom Golf Tournament was limited to one long putt on the final green to try and get `Team MING’ to even par. I did get it close, but no cigar. Brother-in-law Duaine’s team won for the third year in a row. Maybe they should get the name `MING’.
As for the first episode of The Outdoor Report, it was fabulous. The quote from the man at Fox Sports North was: “It was one of the highest rated shows in the Minneapolis/St. Paul DMA in the outdoor block on Fox Sports North.” Here is the You Tube link if you want to learn about fishing near Duluth. https://youtu.be/jgL8gRkJ-SY
Tomorrows episode will air at 8:30 am. It is “Pike week”. Tune in if you can or catch it on You Tube later in the week or on theoutdoorreport.com
The APHC show this week is the first of the summer rebroadcasts. It will be the 40th Anniversary Celebration at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Special guests include Old Crow Medicine Show, Gillian Welch, Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele, Robin and Linda Williams, The Wailin’ Jennys, Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan, Los Texmaniacs, Iris DeMent, Joe Newberry, Howard Levy and Butch Thompson. In the News From Lake Wobegon, the town’s parents deal with high school and college students who are home for the summer. Enjoy the show.
“The only difference between me and Bill Gates, is that his idea worked and mine didn’t” Recovering Entrepreneur
July 1st, 2016 by Gary Osberg
We have had many days in a row of great weather. The forecast for the long weekend is fabulous. Here in Minnesota we are very lucky to have the occasional cool breezes from the north. I sure hope that you will have a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend.
Tomorrow is a big day in the Osberg family. At 8:30 in the morning the very first episode of “The Outdoor Report” airs on Fox Sports North. My son Erik has been working day and night to launch this new venture. “The Outdoor Report” is a different kind of hunting and fishing show. No famous personality, just “real people made to look real”. This episode will focus on Duluth. You will get to meet some great fishing guides and share in the fun of catching big lakers. The show will air every Saturday morning in July, August and September.
In the afternoon the Osberg and Hagstrom clan will tee off at the Little Falls Country Club. We have been celebrating this family event for almost 30 years. My cousin Kevin and I named our team “Ming” , in the early years we won a lot. Not so much lately. Maybe this will be our year. As the old man sang in “Fiddler on the Roof”, “tradition”.
The final APHC show with Garrison as the host is being performed today at The Hollywood Bowl. It will be broadcast tomorrow as the usual time. The guest line-up is filled with most of Garrison’s favorite female singers. There will be many duets with the host. Enjoy the show. The rest of the summer will be re-broadcasts and on October 15th, Chris Thile will host the first new show.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with the cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
June 30th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
Last Saturday was one of the best days of my life. I was supposed to be at the lagoon at 6:45 for the `Osberg Fishing Team’ photo opportunity, but the front desk didn’t do the wake-up call. My cell phone was in the car charging because I forgot to pack my home phone charger. I woke up at 6:42. I knew that the 33rd annual Nick Adams Memorial Camp Fishing Classic tournament did not kick off until 8am, so I was able to get there in time to join my son and my grandson for the start. Erik took us to the same bay that he went to last year. It was the best day of fishing that I have had in many years. Erik let me use the $300 JT Custom rod and the suspended Rapala. (JT Custom Rod is one of The Outdoor Report TV show sponsors). I caught a 25” northern and a 16” bass. `Walleye Willie’ did not land any walleye, but he did catch a rock bass. The rules allowed for rock bass to be used as a substitute.
Our wise guide decided to go for the “mixed bag” category. We had three bass and we had three northern in the live well, but they were not all big fish. At the weigh-in Willie stuck close to the judges and he announced “We got 6 pounds 14 ounces.” We never dreamt that this would be enough to win, but we placed third. Now we have a new family tradition.
You can help by going to the Camp Confidence web site and send your donation in by mail. Next year, you should sign up to be a participant in the tournament. Who knows, you might get to fish with `Walleye Willie’. Go to campconfidence.com/fishing to get more information.
The APHC show this week is the second to the last show with Garrison as the host. The show is live from the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Special guests include The DiGiallonardo Sisters and Heather Masse. Old friend Rob Fisher will offer his encyclopedic knowledge of American song. The usual cast from the Royal Academy of Radio Actors will join Richard Dworsky and the band. Garrison will bring us up to date on the latest News from Lake Wobegon. You can watch it live at prairiehome.org.
“What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.” H.P. Liddon
June 17th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
Sunday is Father’s Day. In 1998 Dad moved from his high rise apartment in downtown St. Paul to my house in Upsala. He had been a city fellow for most of his life, but he was raised in Upsala. I was working in Minneapolis as a sales manager with a Xerox agency and I was gone most of the week. It wasn’t much of an inconvenience to have him there. His passion was cooking, however I told him in no uncertain terms that I hated the smell of fried foods and I did not eat leftovers.
In July of 1999 the Xerox agency and Xerox parted their ways and they no longer needed a sales manager. I spent the summer painting old buildings and garages in the Upsala area and started working here at MPR in October of that year. If I did not leave a post-it note on the counter in the morning that said “NO SUPPER”, there would be a home cooked meal on the table when I arrived home. The food was awesome. The baked potatoes were done in a special way. He boiled them 10 minutes first and then baked them for one hour at 400 degrees.
As Dad struggled with old age and cancer, sometimes the quality was not up to the usual standards. Also, many times the smell of burnt food or worse, burnt plastic, from the tea pot handle, would greet me at the back door. He burned three tea pots, with plastic handles, in the last six months. It got so that the only time I did not leave out the post-it note, “NO SUPPER”, was on Fridays. On November 18, 2004, I came home and he greeted me with “I have to go to the hospital, but you can eat first” I responded “No way” and I put on the oven mitts and grabbed the baked potatoes and dish of meatballs from the oven and shoved them in the frig and we drove to the VA in Minneapolis.
That was Dad’s “Last supper”, he never did come home. That weekend I ate the leftover meatball supper. It was a very tasty meal.
For my Father’s Day, my son surprised me with a fishing trip to Gull Lake. Erik along with his son `Walleye Willie’ and I are entered in the 33rd annual “Nick Adams Memorial Camp Fishing Classic” for Confidence Learning Center. It may rain, but over the years Erik has gifted me with first class rain gear for Father’s Day. It will be a great day.
The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. Special guests include Iris DeMent who will sing a few songs from the heartland, by way of Russia, and The Cactus Blossoms travel down from Minneapolis. Missouri native Joe Newberry will bring his banjo and his guitar to join the Royal Academy of Radio Actors and the house band. Garrison will bring us the latest news from the little town that time forgot, and the decades cannot improve. Enjoy the show.
“Enthusiasm is the key not only to the achievement of great things but to the accomplishment of anything that is worthwhile.” Samuel Goldwyn
June 10th, 2016 by Gary Osberg
Fishing was really tough. Too windy. Brother Craig ran into 4 to 5 foot waves on Monday. Erik and Walleye Willie arrived on Sunday and we did get out into the bay close to Brindley’s Resort. Willie landed two northern pike, but no walleye. He also caught three northern off the dock. Between seven of us in three boats we did manage to bring in enough fish for the Monday evening fish fry. The food sponsors for my son’s TV show, The Outdoor Report, are Smude’s Sunflower Oil (smudeoil.com) and Chef Robert’s breading mix (chefrobertsfoods.com). Erik brought the deep fryer and we had a feast. He used the Lemon Pepper mix. Try it you will love it.
After supper it was time to decide who would get the “Big Walleye Award”. Brother Brian said that he had caught a 15” walleye. No one else did any better. I told them that Willie had caught a 25” northern, so we all agreed to make it the “Big Pike Award”. Willie was so happy. Now, I am the only Osberg that does not have his name on the plaque.
The APHC show this week is a live show from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, home of some of the most well-crafted picnic spreads you will ever see. Future host Chris Thile will join Garrison with a few mandolin licks sure to amaze and astound. Pianist Jeremy Denk comes in for a program of artful classical pieces and singer Heather Masse is back for ballads, bluegrass and duets. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors team up with band leader Richard Dworsky to fill out the bill. Garrison will bring us up to date on the gardens of Lake Wobegon. Enjoy the show.
“Glory lies in the attempt to reach one’s goal and not in reaching it.” Mahatma Gandhi
June 3rd, 2016 by Gary Osberg
I have never been much of a fisherman. When I was young, Dad was not around and besides, I was too busy as a juvenile delinquent getting into trouble in Upsala to care about fishing. Then in 1973 we bought an old farm house on Cedar Lake west of Upsala and the next spring, I purchased a rod and reel. I still have that same rod and reel. The warehouse manager at General Office Products, Earl Benson, instructed me on the art of bass fishing. Erik was only 2 years old when we started fishing out of brother-in-law Jackie’s boat. We mastered the art.
Every June the five Osberg brothers, plus Erik and my grandson “Walleye Willie” go fishing on Leech Lake. There is a traveling trophy for the largest walleye. Needless to say, my name has never been on the trophy. But one year, Erik and I returned to Cedar Lake and I landed a 17 inch bass in front of the place that we used to own. I was going to have a ‘bass trophy’ made with my name on it and I planned on bringing it to Leech the next year, but alas, on Labor Day, 2014, my then 10 year old granddaughter Anna, caught a 19 inch bass on another Cedar Lake near Aitkin. We will be at Brindley’s Resort this weekend and maybe this year I will get the big one.
The APHC show this week is live from the air-conditioned Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia . Special guests include Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder with bluegrass melodies and lightning-fast picking.
Christine DiGiallonardo will sing a few songs with the aging host. Garrison will bring us up to date on the News from Lake Wobegon. Enjoy the show.
“What every child wants to know is: ‘Do your eyes light up when I enter the room? Did you hear me and did what I say mean anything to you?’ That’s what they are looking for. That is what everybody is looking for” Toni Morrison
Category :
General 
Comments Off on August 12, 2016 