I’m so grateful for all the amazing people who have helped me create this book about Saint Anthony for its 75th anniversary! I especially want to thank Barry Tedlund for all of his support and encouragement during the review process. We all need something fun during these strange times and I’m hoping this will bring people together – helping them to remember their own special stories that have happened in this unique Village!
The I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis will be bathed in red, white and blue tomorrow to mark the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in which nearly 3,000 people were killed after airliners were purposely flown into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the World Trade Center towers in New York City.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation lights the bridge for major holidays. A few examples are; orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas and pink for Mother’s Day.
The agency also illuminates the bridge for special events.
In 2016, the bridge glowed blue for 11 consecutive nights after the body of the then 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was found 27 years after he was abducted near his home in St. Joseph, Minnesota. That was an event that had such a huge impact on parents and children alike.
For the first time ever, the bridge was illuminated in changing colors to honor the 2020 graduates who were all so gypped because of the arrival of Covid-19.
When the new bridge was built to replace the old I-35W structure that collapsed on August 1, 2007, it became one of the first segments of interstate highway in the country be illuminated with L.E.D. lighting.
In Hennepin County, the arches on the Lowry Avenue Bridge connecting north and northeast Minneapolis also are fitted with multicolored L.E.D. lights.
Both of these bridges are mentioned in the book.
Do you remember where you were when the I-35W Bridge collapsed? Most likely, if you’re old enough, you know exactly where you were on 9/11.
Labor Day has historically marked the end of summer. It’s the last day of the Minnesota State Fair. And, it used to be the last hurrah before school started. Of course, in more recent years, schools (and, sports) opened well before Labor Day. Somehow, that seemed and still seems wrong.
Some families like to enjoy and take advantage of that very last day of summer either with gatherings or that last trip to the camp ground or resort.
For our young growing family, Labor Day signified that last trip to the Dairy Queen for a cool treat. Some years it was cold and rainy, others it was sunny and comfortable. It didn’t matter to us. It was our little tradition. We would still walk the stroller or wagon over for our cool treats.
I first stepped foot in the City of St. Anthony Village in 1989. Over the years, many things are still the same and quite a few things have changed.
Certainly, my own life evolved so much throughout the years. Time brings change no matter what! Now that I’m a grandmother, I had to start capturing these memories the best I could. So here I am sharing what I have recalled during these past thirty years. Can’t believe I’m writing this! Where has the time gone?
I became a wife, mother and happily lived out those new roles in the Village. Life was busy, but it was also simple because most all of everything we needed was located in close proximity of this small town neighborhood.
The shopping scene in the Village when I arrived was already beyond its peak years. But I didn’t really know that! Even though that may have been the case, I found what was left to be quite convenient and it worked well for our needs at the time.
Let me begin with South St. Anthony’s St. Anthony Village Shops at Pentagon Drive, which happens to be the very first strip mall built in the state of Minnesota! Did you know that? And, that very same mall still stands today! It survived.
The storefronts changed hands throughout the years, as to be expected with the passing of time. Many businesses came and went for a variety of reasons. Some lasted longer than others.
The local branch of our Hennepin County Library was one of our favorite stops we repeated every week. The kids loved having their own library card. That little piece of plastic was very empowering! We sure had lots of fun bringing home books, magazines, music, and movies. And, when the kids were younger, there was entertainment, read-alouds and puppet shows.
We were also blessed to experience one very special Mom and Pop store before it closed. Once it did close its doors, it marked the end of an era for many residents. Jerry’s Toys & Hobbies was owned and operated by Jerry and Pat Kelly. They raised their family just a few blocks from their store. Jerry was a large, friendly man who often entertained the youngsters with his wooden train whistle. He also performed coin tricks for his young audience. Pat, who was quite petite, had a large smile and sparkling blue eyes. Her eagerness in offering help was sincere and she always made time for small talk. I best remember how she stood behind the post office counter and waited on each customer as they stood in line. It was old-fashioned and there were even postboxes for customers. Pat seemed to know all of the customers and she consistently had kind words to share. At Christmastime, the lines were especially long. It was the only post office in South St. Anthony. Of course, in the earlier days Apache Plaza had a post office as well.
Right next door was Hardware Hank which was great for all of our home and gardening projects. We often ran over and grabbed this or that when we were in the midst of a project. Talk about handy!
Both those spots are now filled by Fitness Crossroad. This gym is utilized by many residents and non-residents alike. Memberships include work-outs, classes for all ages and a great place that supports keeping your body healthy and fit! They also happen to be great donors and supporters of so many Village activities and events!
Sentryz Town and Country Foods was another convenient stop. (Oldtimers may remember when it was originally a Red Owl!) They had the best double coupon offers ever! The grocery store had many customers, but the building had been slowly crumbling. The last time we shopped, they had large buckets in the aisles to catch the drips that came from the ceiling. There were puddles that formed on parts of the floor that hadn’t any buckets to catch the drips. Sadly, it became a place where you had to dodge both the buckets and the puddles. It was not too surprising when the store was closed and the building torn down. Many hoped that the new building would house a new grocery store. Instead, it was said that with Cub on Silver Lake Road and one that was being built in the Quarry in Northeast Minneapolis, it would no longer be profitable. The convenience and walkability was missed by many locals who wanted to go over for this or that.
What stands in the spot of the old grocery store today? Hannay’s Marine. Okay. Well, this is Minnesota. Land of more than 10,000 Lakes. And, Silver Lake is nearby. So if you’re in the market for a boat, you don’t have to go too far.
Snyders was great for prescriptions, greeting cards and small gifts. One Christmas, we did the majority of our Christmas shopping in that little space that had some cute ornaments and gifty things. We maybe dropped by Rosedale Mall or Toys R Us in nearby Roseville, for a few more items. But, overall we kept it fairly simple.
Snyders was replaced by the Salvation Army Thrift Store and after that it became Hidden Treasures. This became a great local place to drop off our outgrown donations. We also found some other things there to fill our home.
A stand alone Walgreens was proposed to be situated across the street from St. Anthony Mobil (now known as BLVD Autoworks.). Two new houses were placed on the plot of land that was vacated by a restaurant!
Are you enjoying these fun tidbits of St. Anthony Village history? I hope so! There are so much more in my NEW BOOK coming out November 2020 (pre-order will be available very soon)!
The Big Blue Chicken has been a busy whirlwind lately and it’s included phone calls, deliveries, pick-ups, marketing materials… amidst being a wife, mom, homeschooler and sometimes maid (you’d think 4 kids would eliminate this task…), it can be a lot of work. It can be exhausting.
We all have skills that we have been given, gifts that we possess, hidden talents that surface when we give ourselves room to breathe, explore and create.
So, I encourage you, whatever your passions, dabble, make time, do, try, create. You never know what you will discover about yourself or in what ways you are meant to shine to make the world a more beautiful place. When we do things with love & gratitude, amazing things can happen.
We delivered a round of copies of The Big Blue Chicken to Egg |Plant Urban Farm Supply in St. Paul. This store is the sweetest shop and has so many incredible opportunities for us city folks to grow their own in a variety of creative ways!
I’m so grateful for their support and I highly recommend that you go check out their awesome shop! It has a plethora of supplies and such great ideas to look into.
The Big Blue Chicken is being picked up by various stores in the Twin Cities, friends, family, community members… it’s surreal and so awesome!
Lauren, Designer. Thanks to Lauren for her long hours of piecing everything together and prepping materials for the printers & artists to finalize it everything for printing.
Joe, Ideal Printers.A huge thanks to Joe for showing me his first chicken that he was inspired to draw based on my story. I’m so grateful for his creativity and ingenuity with this project! His can-do attitude and willingness to make anything happen is such a gift and so great to work with. He helped keep my nerves and remain mellow with all of the changes and tweaks before printing. His patience and attention to detail really helped to finalize the designs & artwork.
Pam, Ideal Printers. Thanks to Pam for assuring quality and seeking out other available resources and connections to help this project get off the ground. Her belief and support are awesome and her sincerity in making sure this project succeeds has been so motivating and wonderful! I am grateful for her wisdom and understanding and her availability to meet and talk over project ideas, offering her support and helpful advice.
Mark Petersen, Absolute Print Graphics. Special thanks to Mark for his enthusiasm, support and creativity with this project. His printing services helped add so much to the final product and it was so awesome to hold the final copies in my hand after many late nights reworking and editing this book. Mark’s drive and passion for creative endeavors was inspirational during this process!
My clan. Most of all, I’m thankful for the clan who had to hear about chickens day in and day out. Thanks to Bridget, who helped edit and clarify the pages, methodically planning and scheduling everything in. To David who was always amazed and had such positive comments about my work and kept me going. For Pat, “the judge”, who helped critically listen “just one more time” from the top! His meaningful questions and eye-rolling helped with the revisions. Thanks to Colleen, my grammar queen. Her immediate response of taking notes and words that would come on long car rides was always so helpful. For Mike, who shook his head with a smiling “yes” or a grimacing, nose crinkling “no” with his approvals or disapprovals. For Casey, who waited week by week for this story to come together and offered his support, love and help in the process of putting this book together. There were many late nights and random discussions amidst the day-to-day family events. Thanks to my sissy, Mary, who was always there to give quick and honest pieces of advice via a phone call or e-mail. In appreciation for my other readers at the “shop”. Their critical ideas helped re-form the story.
Everyone had a part in making the “bread”, so to say. Thank you everyone for all of your help, support & love!
The Whispering Bluffs team has been busy organizing marketing materials and putting together packages for drop-offs & deliveries. If you’ve pre-ordered copies of the latest book, The Big Blue Chicken, thank you for your patience as we get everything organized!
There are a lot of moving pieces that go on behind-the-scenes to writing and publishing a book, but it’s so worth it and so exciting to see the late nights, emails with the illustrator, countless phone calls with the printer – all of it – pay off by holding the book in my hands. What a dream come true!
Currently, we’re scurrying around the Twin Cities making deliveries for local shops & bookstores to review the book and take a few to sell. I’m excited to announce that The Red Balloon Bookshop & The Bibelot have taken copies – so you can find my latest book around town!
More drop-offs and local stores are currently reviewing and we have some more fun spots to stop, but this is truly a wonderful time for Whispering Bluffs!
I want to thank you for all of your support as we continue to slowly build and grow. It’s a process – sometimes, it’s a frustrating, waiting game – but it’s so worth it and YOU make it so worth it, dear readers!
Excuse me, as I sign off now and do a chicken happy dance! Baawwk, baaawwwk!
It’s an exciting time for Whispering Bluffs! My third book, The Big Blue Chicken, is hot off the press and it’s been hard work finishing up the final stages of the process. It was so exciting to see the hard copy – and hold it in my hands! – for the first time. All those edits and final tweaks are done… sweet relief!
I’m really excited to share this piece with you. I was inspired by the story, The Little Red Hen, and my memories associated with that wonderful tale. Although the dedication to my mom in the release is short and sweet, I had a much longer dedication that I had considered publishing, but decided not to.
I want to share the original dedication with my followers and those interested to give a little more context to the inspiration of this latest book:
Dear Mom,
You were a wonderful Mother Hen to all your chicks. I will forever cherish the memories of the sweet moments we shared. I especially remember how we snuggled together as you read aloud to me. Books were an important part of our day. The old wicker basket held many hard-covered and paperback titles. One of my favorites was the “Little Red Hen”. Dad had to tape the lavender cover of the well-loved, worn copy back together for us. Even the pages of that pretty book had a distinct smell that was just plain good. I remain forever grateful for your patience as you read and re-read that story over and over again to me. Sometimes, when I listen carefully in the quiet solitude, I can still hear the sound of your voice. Thank you for being so loving. I wonder what you would think of this version with this ending? The writing of this story has been quite the journey for me and I can only hope that you would approve. I know your voice would be supportively telling me to write away and you may even encourage me by saying — “your heart knows the way”.
XO, From one of your chicks
Thanks for following along and for the wonderful support! It means a lot!
