It is Sunday morning and I do believe it would be Day 2 of Prairie Pioneer Days in an earlier time in Morris. Definitely a sense of something important going on. A sense of exhaustion from yesterday maybe.
I remember when First Lutheran decided not to have the usual coffee hour downstairs and sent people to the park instead. Rolls and coffee there. First Lutheran had its "Luther's Eatery" of course. Did you know that Martin Luther was one of the worst anti-Semites in world history? His language contributed to the holocaust. I try to overlook this as I continue being an ELCA Lutheran.
Political conservatives look down on us ELCAers. This led to the creation of the church just outside of Morris on the north end. I can walk past the trees at the rear of my property and see the steeple. I guess the steeple was installed after the building was moved to Morris from south of Alberta. I heard of quite the hefty pricetag for the steeple. I might object but so what?
Is the steeple sort of golden calf? Well, I probably shouldn't ask that.
My family attended lutefisk suppers in the fall when the building was south of Alberta, quintessentially rural. And that became a problem with demographic shifts.
I'm sure the conservative churches are moving mountains to encourage prayers for Donald Trump today.
So it's Sunday and I can imagine myself with Mom and Dad at East Side Park for rolls and coffee. Not sure why the community needed to end the tradition at the park. Traditions do give way to new ways of doing things.
And on the subject of change, we might give scrutiny to St. Cloud State as a microcosm for higher education, at least the old brick and mortar model for higher ed. What a much different world we have today compared to when UMM was like a fawn trying to stand up for the first time in 1960. The fawn found its legs. Then it lost its spots. Then it bounded about with zest.
The wildlife analogy is apt because of where we are situated out here in western Minnesota, n'est-ce pas? So I must ask: Is that a liability? Is my imaginary deer nearing the end of its lifespan?
Just take a look to the east of here: The sky is falling at St. Cloud State. Who could have imagined it getting this bad? I fault the State of Minnesota for allowing the process to become so embarrassing. And what might this indicate for our own publily-funded college? Inquiring minds want to know.
The old parade
Sunday of PPD, day of the big parade of course. The parade route lined with chairs leading up. Confined to our memory now. Remember the giant Coborn's "shopping cart" in parade? Remember Coborn's? Was the town better off with two full-service grocery stores? Again, inquiring minds.
Museum should have an exhibit on the old PPD at park. Remember Jack Fuchs giving carriage rides?
Many other towns continue on with their summer celebration events. We have the old standby county fair on our calendar. We might look forward to the welcome UMM picnic also. That would be at East Side Park just like the old PPD. What does the stage get used for there now? It costs the city $ to maintain that building.
I express more PPD nostalgia on my 'Morris of Course" blog site. The headline is "Do you need reminding of this void?" It's the midsummer void with no PPD. Oh and I might add, there is a void of activity at the park stage now that we no longer have the Morris Community Church. I remember the days of Sunday morning music wafting over from that place, so pleasant. I'd be at my Sun Tribune office. Those days are gone too. Sigh. I invite you to read:
Heard at church coffee this morning:
Democrats came six inches away from winning yesterday.
Touching base
I broach the St. Cloud topic in an email I sent to Del Sarlette a few days ago:
Del - Well, the news about St. Cloud State has gotten so bad now, it is almost comical. Buildings are set to be torn down. Holy mackerel. Sherburne Hall? Big dorm that has stood out on skyline. Education building? Incredible. And the new president just talks about how more "open space" will be nice.
So I think it's ironic that UMM is lobbying to get funds for the elevator for the multi-ethnic place.
I sent an email to Liz Morrison yesterday. I wondered if the HFA could be designated for closure or even demolition here in Morris. The "albatross" building. Huge hallway, too-small recital hall. While our public school has the opulent "concert hall." Stranger than fiction, really.
Boon for Morrison Center?
Well, I'll share here the email I sent to Liz too! The Morrisons and my Williams family are both UMM benefactors. I will never look back re. this. The U has given my family everything, although I did sock away a little $ when I was with the Morris newspaper, incidentally owned by the Morrisons. I can say with confidence that Jim Morrison and I walked away from the newspaper with a fair amount of $ legitimately gained of course. Not everyone left there with $ legitimately gained but that's a whole other topic.
I mention Tony Hansen in my email to Liz because he's a MHS 1971 grad just like Liz. Yours truly is '73. My email was titled "Boon for Morrison Center?"
Hello Liz - I still have not heard if the new U president plans a visit out here soon.
We can't help but be a little nervous now as we see the sky falling at St. Cloud State, another publicly-funded school. We'd all like to think UMM is blessed being part of the U. Maybe that's true, maybe it's overblown. The U has gotten a pretty serious black eye with the retracted research reports recently. "Retraction" is pretty serious. And research is supposed to be the U's trump card for selling itself.
Anyway, this morning I researched more about St. Cloud and was astounded at the plans for razing certain buildings. Sherburne Hall? That's a big residence hall, built like a high rise apt. building, the most distinctive feature on the skyline. Gone soon. And these plans are set in stone. The education building? Again I am astounded. Historically education majors have been important at SCSU and this building seemed very important. Other buildings are on list too, and the best that the new president can spin it, is that all the new "open space" will be nice. He actually said that.
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| Our wonderful UMM campus |
I can't help but think of the HFA, that monstrous building with the freakish design, was maybe fashionable once like in the 1970s. Huge hallway but with a recital hall that is too small for major concerts. Meanwhile our public school has the concert hall. Amazing. I could easily envision a proposal to shut down the HFA. Where would those activities go? Well, the same place as in UMM's earliest days: Edson i.e. Morrison Center. In fact, the Morrison Center might become more prominent than ever due to this. I attended many music concerts there and even one or two theater productions. Where would music be housed? How about back at the multi-ethnic building which would be re-purposed. Some sort of multi-ethnic office would be established somewhere else on campus.
I would not rule out some sort of drastic announcement about UMM in the next few months. If the sky is totally falling at St. Cloud, we cannot rule it out here. If anything, the U might want to shift its resources to Rochester, and why not? The place is booming with population and development.
You maybe know Tony Hansen teaches meteorology at St. Cloud State. He's been spared.
Here's a link to article about St. Cloud State plans with buildings:
Continuing. . .
I touched base too with fellow UMM advocate Warrenn Anderson. And why not bring up the softball complex again? Here we go:
Hello Warrenn - Caribou Coffee is running pretty efficiently these days. They aren't short-handed as much.
I asked Sharon Martin if complaints had been heard about lack of fan seating at softball complex and she said "yes." I would be shocked if people weren't raising this issue. The Minnewaska fans came over here for the sub-section, and I wonder what they think of the place. Their athletic director gets paid $40,000 more a year than ours, or so I've heard. But our softball team beat them 15-0. Then again, their girls basketball team beat us by over 40 points. I feel sorry for Kaylee Harstad because she had the potential to do better. The whole team did. Lost in first round of tourney. Any time team loses in first round, adm. can consider shaking things up IMHO. It's nothing personal.
You asked a good question about how UMM's specific interests were served by the softball complex. I have told you this before, but the pre-existing UMM softball field was superior to what's there now. The fence was short enough that an average adult could watch clearly from over the top. Also the bleacher seating was generous. That field had the brick dugouts with "Cougars" painted on the back. I watched softball there. It's on my daily walking route so I would happen upon it. I also happened upon UMM softball at Big Cat Field when the spring weather was winter-like. I was surprised how good that experience was. I had Erin look into whether the Tigers would be eligible to play softball there and she said "yes" but personally I still have some doubts. She would not have wanted to tell me "no." I wonder if she even asked. Has Mary Holmberg pushed for this?
I'm still concerned that the newest of the fields at the complex has the batters facing the sun too much. That's where the old UMM field was, and that field was configured differently. I'm sure the previous field was planned with the sun angle in mind, whereas the new one had to have home plate close to the "press box."
The Wells Park fields were a superior place for watching softball compared to the complex.
So, "how are ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm" when the U of M has a branch in rapidly-growing Rochester? Oh I'm sure that campus has ambitious lobbyists! Star Trib had recent article on projected huge growth of Rochester in next two decades. The state has to recognize this and be sensitive to it. How much "clout" do we have out here where we can hear coyote packs at night?
Addendum:
Sharon Martin recently had her wonderful dog "Goldy" pass away. It is uniquely crushing to lose a pet of course. I'm saddened as I realize I will no longer greet "Goldy" out along the biking/walking trail. I'd shout out "Goldy!" as we came from opposite directions. Sharon unleashed Goldy and then the canine would scamper toward me. I'll never forget.
"All dogs go to heaven." We will miss you "Goldy."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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