• Above Martin Luther's Seal it says, "This is Most Certainly True" and below it the shirt is stamped just like a passport saying, "Confirmed Lutheran!" Good for today's confirmands as well as for those who "read for the minister" when memory work really mattered and "Public Questioning" or catechization was enough to make Lutheran boys' ... ... more

    Above Martin Luther's Seal it says, "This is Most Certainly True" and below it the shirt is stamped just like a passport saying, "Confirmed Lutheran!" Good for today's confirmands as well as for those who "read for the minister" when memory work really mattered and "Public Questioning" or catechization was enough to make Lutheran boys' voices squeak in public. Designed by Suzann Nelson and Janet Martin, Those Lutheran Ladies.
  • by Paul Engle
    Paperback
    This book is the 12th in the U/Iowa Press's series, "Singular Lives: The Iowa Series in North American Autobiography." This particular memoir is that of Paul Engle, noted American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is perhaps best remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as ... ... more

    by Paul Engle
    Paperback
    This book is the 12th in the U/Iowa Press's series, "Singular Lives: The Iowa Series in North American Autobiography." This particular memoir is that of Paul Engle, noted American poet, editor, teacher, literary critic, novelist, and playwright. He is perhaps best remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as founder of the International Writing Program (IWP), both at the University of Iowa. In the dedication to his loving account, Engle writes, "I had a lucky life. Such a way will never be lived here again. It has gone with the wild buffalo skinners and the Indian fighters, with my mother's hands whose tough calluses tore the sheets as she made my bed, with that marvelous rich reek of harnesses and saddle leather, of horse manure and sweat which I happily breathed each day." The anecdotes are rich and captivating. From family holidays with lively activities, uncles, aunts, and memorable foods to his job in the neighborhood drugstore dispensing castor oil, sodas, tonics, and liniments, Engle's absorbing stories capture the characters and atmosphere of life in mid-America at the beginning of the 20th century. In reviewing his childhood in Cedar Rapids, IA, Engle found "the raw materials that shaped him" not only as a poet, but as a person as well. A worthy successor to Edgar Lee Masters, Engle recalls his boyhood years in Iowa which were so different from "the tasteless, flavorless, homogenized world" of the present.
  • by Maxinne Rhea Leighton
    Paperback
    Although this children's book isn't about Scandinavian immigration, the circumstances — the long voyage, fear of the unknown, and reluctance to leave everything familiar — that Krysia, a young Polish girl, goes through are perhaps universal. Two things make this book special: the beautiful and captivating artwork by Dennis Nolan ... ... more

    by Maxinne Rhea Leighton
    Paperback
    Although this children's book isn't about Scandinavian immigration, the circumstances — the long voyage, fear of the unknown, and reluctance to leave everything familiar — that Krysia, a young Polish girl, goes through are perhaps universal. Two things make this book special: the beautiful and captivating artwork by Dennis Nolan that evokes the uncertainty, wonder and dreams felt by many young immigrants, and the fact that it is on Christmas Eve that Krysia spots the Statue of Liberty and realizes that this may be one of many great holidays in a New World. This book can easily be placed on the shelf with the holiday stories families come to treasure year after year. Recommended for ages 5 and up by the publishers, and recommended by this Web site's owner that it be read to children by grandparents or great-grandparents who can steal some quality time to tell another generation stories about their ancestors, embellished or not!
  • Photography by Doug Ohman and Story by Will Weaver
    Jacketed Hardcover

    NOMINATED FOR A 2006 MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD! This book pays tribute to these vanishing rural icons that symbolize a way of life on the land that was as strong and proud, as fragile and humble, as the barns among us. The rise of agribusiness and corporate farming ... ... more

    Photography by Doug Ohman and Story by Will Weaver
    Jacketed Hardcover

    NOMINATED FOR A 2006 MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD! This book pays tribute to these vanishing rural icons that symbolize a way of life on the land that was as strong and proud, as fragile and humble, as the barns among us. The rise of agribusiness and corporate farming has made barns nearly obsolete, and the old barns that once anchored family farms across Minnesota are slowly vanishing due to technology and a century of Minnesota's winters. This book combines fact with fiction: the 85 stunning color photographs by Minnesotan Doug Ohman of these once numerous barns are accompanied by a small, moving novel — written by Minnesota's own Will Weaver — about the life and death of one barn through the eyes of the family who built it. According to Weaver, barns "...are landmarks, they are icons, they are metaphors, they are symbols. There's so much meaning packed into those old barns... They're now as obsolete as the steamship, as the coal fired locomotive." A perfect gift for anyone over 20, these 125 pages (plus an Afterword by Weaver and Ohlman) stick with you long after you finish devouring the pictures and reading this uplifting, yet sad, story. This is still my favorite story, and that of many of my friends and family.
  • by Byron D. Halsted
    Paperback

    This ecologically aware manual was written in 1881 with the farmer in mind — during a time when a laborer earned a mere dollar a day. When it was originally released, it was titled Barn Plans and Outbuildings. Included are more than 250 illustrations and designs for nearly 100 structures spanning the gamut ... ... more

    by Byron D. Halsted
    Paperback

    This ecologically aware manual was written in 1881 with the farmer in mind — during a time when a laborer earned a mere dollar a day. When it was originally released, it was titled Barn Plans and Outbuildings. Included are more than 250 illustrations and designs for nearly 100 structures spanning the gamut of farm buildings: from monumental barns (four stories high and covering nearly an acre) to lowly hen coops, root cellars, dog houses and bird houses, The particulars of their construction, recounted in simple and practical terms, tell a tale of life lived amid the changing seasons and the natural world. Halsted's building theories are based upon qualities good builders still hold dear: light and air, space, cost, and beauty, as well as permanence, convenience, and workability. The anecdotal style in this facsimile edition of the 1881 book can truly engage a reader, and it would make a fun and useful gift for those hard-to-shop-for men on your holiday list.
  • by Curtiss Anderson
    Harcover
    A "robust" Norwegian-Lutheran family's summers at "The Lake" in the '30s and '40s in Northern Minnesota. Anderson, a nationally recognized editor of many magazines, unknowingly began his prestigious career writing notes and letters on a hand-me-down Underwood typewriter as a young boy. These saved letters are now compiled into a coming-of-age memoir that brings ... ... more

    by Curtiss Anderson
    Harcover
    A "robust" Norwegian-Lutheran family's summers at "The Lake" in the '30s and '40s in Northern Minnesota. Anderson, a nationally recognized editor of many magazines, unknowingly began his prestigious career writing notes and letters on a hand-me-down Underwood typewriter as a young boy. These saved letters are now compiled into a coming-of-age memoir that brings the reader back to his summers at The Lake. The funny and warm stories recall picking wild blueberries, first romances, loving neighbors, his numerous dogs, and porch chats with Dear Old Aunt Ingaborg, a heavily accented relative from the Old Country. "As a 100% Norwegian-Lutheran who lives in Northern Minnesota, the description of a "robust" family with this ethnic background rather throws me. I have yet to meet such a family, and I am not exactly young!" SN
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    by Bob Artley
    Hardcover
    These are tales of Christmas past as only artist and "former kid" Bob Artley can paint them. With fond reminiscences and nostalgic watercolor cartoons and his characteristic humor and insight, Bob takes us back to holiday life on the farm. Artley takes the reader to a long-ago Christmas ... ... more

    by Bob Artley
    Hardcover
    These are tales of Christmas past as only artist and "former kid" Bob Artley can paint them. With fond reminiscences and nostalgic watercolor cartoons and his characteristic humor and insight, Bob takes us back to holiday life on the farm. Artley takes the reader to a long-ago Christmas where we join the family at Grandma's house, celebrate the season at the country school pageant, shop for presents in a country general store, and learn the secrets of Dad's workshop. Artley's reminiscences are like a Christmas card filled with goodwill in which he shares his warmest memories making our own Christmas better. This is a great gift for older relatives who like to remember the past, and for younger ones who want to learn about life in the 1930s through the 1950s.
  • Marilyn Ziebarth & Brian Horrigan, editors
    Hardcover
    Christmas in Minnesota evokes memories of holidays past: a communal feast in the 1870s, holiday pageants accompanied by stage-fright, forgiving and reconnecting with relatives, the torture of writing the perfect annual Christmas letter, to a drummer boy in the Civil War who lifts other soldiers' spirits with a ... ... more

    Marilyn Ziebarth & Brian Horrigan, editors
    Hardcover
    Christmas in Minnesota evokes memories of holidays past: a communal feast in the 1870s, holiday pageants accompanied by stage-fright, forgiving and reconnecting with relatives, the torture of writing the perfect annual Christmas letter, to a drummer boy in the Civil War who lifts other soldiers' spirits with a spontaneous holiday celebration. The fifty short stories are accompanied by vintage recipes, old advertisements and cartoons, and black and white photos including holiday decorations of years gone by. Over 45 Minnesota authors, covering 150 years of the state's history, demonstrate the spirit of Yuletide cheer in Minnesota — in good and in tough times. This anthology, subtitled "a celebration in memories, stories, and recipes of seasons past", was co-edited by Marilyn Ziebarth (editor at at Historical Society Press) and Brian Horrigan (award-winning author and developer of exhibits at the Minnesota Historical Society). Their titles and access to information strengthen the accuracy of this treasured book. Christmas in Minnesota would make a wonderful holiday gift for those with a Minnesota connection, or for those who wish they had one.
  • by John McCutcheon
    Hardcover with CD
    "And suddenly in two tongues one song filled the night sky." John McCutcheon, nominated for six Grammy Awards, has been called "America's balladeer" and has been described as a cross between either Pete Seeger and Mr. Rogers, or a mixture of Will Rogers and Bruce Springsteen. In addition to kudos ... ... more

    by John McCutcheon
    Hardcover with CD
    "And suddenly in two tongues one song filled the night sky." John McCutcheon, nominated for six Grammy Awards, has been called "America's balladeer" and has been described as a cross between either Pete Seeger and Mr. Rogers, or a mixture of Will Rogers and Bruce Springsteen. In addition to kudos for his music, McCutcheon has won multiple Parent's Choice and American Library Association awards for his writing, and numerous awards from educational groups for this particular book — geared to all ages. Along with historically appropriate artistic illustrations (illustrated in beautiful, yet fittingly faded-appearing art by Henri Sørensen, Danish illustrator of many books), recipients of this book will receive the best of two McCutcheon's talents: his touching story about a Christmas Eve truce instigated by the soldiers who were in mud-soaked trenches 100 feet apart — a place called No Man's Land on the battlefields of Belgium, and an accompanying CD reading of this thought-provoking story that also features two of McCutcheon's songs. The book also has the sheet music for his song, "Christmas in the Trenches." The narrator ends the story with "...all too soon the dawn reminded us it was time to get back to our own sides. Back to the trenches. Back to the waiting."
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    by Bob Artley
    Hardcover
    Built in 1877, Bob Artley’s family farm in Hampton, Iowa, was without indoor plumbing and was heated by wood or a coal-burning stove. Yet, the air was filled with love and security, especially during the holiday season. It created a magical childhood that Artley wished every child could experience. Sharing his memories through ... ... more

    by Bob Artley
    Hardcover
    Built in 1877, Bob Artley’s family farm in Hampton, Iowa, was without indoor plumbing and was heated by wood or a coal-burning stove. Yet, the air was filled with love and security, especially during the holiday season. It created a magical childhood that Artley wished every child could experience. Sharing his memories through nationally syndicated articles, other writings, sketches, and 10 books was Artley's way of helping that wish come true. From the arrival of mail-order catalogues to perilous tobogganing sessions, Artley depicts a rural Christmas rich with simple activities that often go unnoticed. In loving detail, he describes the homemade gifts he and his siblings created for their parents, reminisces about sharing family popcorn evenings on cold winter nights, details delightful meals that marked the Yuletide season, and remembers selecting and cutting Christmas trees. This book, packed with watercolor painting and Artley's sketches, emphasizes the joys of family and friends over the excess of material wants and needs. A great holiday gift for those with an appreciation of the past, or those wanting to learn about "the good old days."
  • Edited by Dorothy Dodge Robbins & Kenneth Robbins
    Hardcover
    An excellent gift for people of many ages, regardless of their locale, that brings together unique geographic, historical, and cultural perspectives and memories about winter’s holiday celebrations and traditions. Reviewers of this book have called it "a thought-provoking and inspiring antidote to the dark and icy ... ... more

    Edited by Dorothy Dodge Robbins & Kenneth Robbins
    Hardcover
    An excellent gift for people of many ages, regardless of their locale, that brings together unique geographic, historical, and cultural perspectives and memories about winter’s holiday celebrations and traditions. Reviewers of this book have called it "a thought-provoking and inspiring antidote to the dark and icy days of December" and "a welcome reminder of the many connections we make with each other and the landscape" during the holiday season. The editors have included heart-warming stories by 21 Midwestern writers, some living and some not, and many who are or have been award winners for their contributions to Americana literature. Those of us who have read these short stories with topics ranging from lutefisk and julebukking to sleighbells and twinkling lights congratulate the editors for their choices and agree with yet another reviewer who wrote, "the stories in this collection unwrap like so many holiday packages, revealing a varied assortment of gifts" remniscent of December in the Midwest with days and experiences that vary from the magical to those that are depressing, but all which make for a a rich life.
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    by Ben Logan
    Hardcover
    "As one of my longtime favorite holiday books, I have recommended this book to Rural Route customers for several years, and started fretting two years ago when I could no longer obtain it." SN
    Two years ago I realized this endearing narrative, which combines the importance of nature and the environment on ... ... more

    by Ben Logan
    Hardcover
    "As one of my longtime favorite holiday books, I have recommended this book to Rural Route customers for several years, and started fretting two years ago when I could no longer obtain it." SN
    Two years ago I realized this endearing narrative, which combines the importance of nature and the environment on family life, might soon be out-of-print. I bought up as many as I could, and at that time wrote that it saddened me to tell you that what I had feared had happened; this uplifting book about Christmas holidays in the 20's and 30's in Southwestern Wisconsin, and the impact of surroundings, was no longer available. This year I have great news. It is again available with a new cover, but the same wonderful, touching story.