March 6: Tim Spitzak, editor & publisher of the “St. Paul Voice” has written a book called The Messenger. Spitzak, who holds a B.A. in journalism from UW – River Falls, and has been in the journalism business for over 20 years, says of his book, “It tells the story of a young journalist, John Jenkins, as a dull obituary assignment opens his eyes to just how remarkable a small town life can be… It’s about a guy whose life is transformed by the life of another… I wanted to write something about a real human experience… Community journalism has always been a passion for me… Everyone has a story to tell.”

Bill Wittenbreer, Public Service Librarian at Augsburg College and scholar of 19th Century Art in Minnesota has written a chapter in The State We’re in: Reflections on Minnesota History. Wittenbreer’s chapter is about how people in early Minnesota made predictions about the future. The predictions are interesting and sometimes humorous. Bill Wittenbreer is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in history and holds a M.A. in history from St. Cloud State University and a M.A. in library science from Dominican University. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Minnesota Museum of American Art and is the author of several articles on Minnesota painting and painters.

April 10: Gunda Davis, a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa, tells her story in Pumpkin Soup and Shrapnel – Growing up Under the Third Reich. She studied at the Universities of Berlin and Heidelberg and West Virginia Institute of Technology. She is an avid gardener and volunteers in community service, especially for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. The Quad City Times says of Gunda’s book, “In clear, concise prose rich with detail, Gunda Davis writes of the conditions that spawned the rise of Hitler, the hold that he had on people and the pain and suffering that his dictatorship ultimately brought. The riveting narrative takes readers into Davis’ comfortable, cultured world as it turns into hell marked by gas mask drills, bombings, starvation and frequent moves to escape the chaos.”

Eric Dregni, Assistant Professor of English at Concordia University, St. Paul, and a Fulbright Scholar to Norway has told of his adventures in his book, In Cod We Trust. In this cross- cultural memoir, Dregni tells the hair-raising, hilarious, and sometimes poignant stories of his family’s yearlong Norwegian experiment. Among the exploits he details are staying warm in a remote grass-roofed hytte (hut), surviving a dinner of fermented fish thanks to 80 – proof aquavit, and identifying his great grandfather’s house in the Lusterfjord only to find out it had been crushed by a boulder and then swept away by a river.

May 15: Cindy Thury Smith and Shirley Dalaska have spent countless hours doing research on their just-published book, Civil War Veterans: Hastings, MN: A Documented List with Selected Biographies. Hastings at the Mississippi River was the point of embarkation for thousands of Minnesota men who enlisted in the Union Army. These men were sometimes mere children who insisted on becoming drummer boys while others were professional people who left wives and children back home so that they could fight for a cause that was a passion for them. There are fascinating, warm, and sometimes heart-wrenching biographies composed by other historians from Hastings. All these stories put the Civil War into perspective and add such human interest to one of the nastiest wars of all time.

David P. Page is Chair of the Journalism Department at Inver Hills Community College and possesses an impressive and extensive knowledge on the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He will speak and do a power point presentation on Fitzgerald and the Civil War. He has co-authored The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald and F. Scott Fitzgerald in Minnesota. Mr. Page comes to us with a rich background in teaching at all grade levels and with Masters’ Degrees of Arts in the Professional Writing Program from the University of Minnesota and in public Affairs from the University of Iowa. His presentation at the LeDuc Historic Estate is co-sponsored by the Hastings/Prescott Area Arts Council.

The LeDuc Historic Estate is owned by the City of Hastings and managed by Dakota County Historical Society along with help from a local group called Friends of LeDuc.
Classic Rosewood Inn in Hastings is a member of the Friends and would like to encourage attendance at these events by offering a 20% discount for guests staying at the inn either the Saturday night before the event or the Sunday eve of the event. Just mention Authors’ Sunday at the LeDuc when making your reservation.

When you travel on snowshoes, you travel the way humans have for thousands of years. Historians believe people developed snowshoes in Asia, perhaps imitating the broad, thickly furred paws of animals such as lynx and snowshoe hares. One recent guest at Classic Rosewood Inn described their snowshoe adventure at Afton State Park like walking on clouds in fluffy slippers. Snow shoe rental is available at the park for $6 but it is a good idea to call ahead and reserve. Another adventure that is avaialable even in winter at the park is a four stage geocache adventure with GPS units provided. It is a good idea to call ahead for the use of the GPS units as well especially if planning on coming out on a weekday.  Winter Wonderland packages are available with R & R after S & S (snowshoeing or skiing) at nearby Classic Rosewood Inn and Spa with an insuite massage and soup supper for only $120 in addition to the room price.  

R & R at Classic Rosewood

A helpful guide to Minnesota State Park Trails is available by calling 651-296-6157 or emailing  info.dnr@state.mn.us. Combining trail adventures with a B & B in Minnesota is a natural way to enjoy the state. Minnesota innkeepers are quick to share the best trails for hiking, x-country skiing &snowshoeing.Visit this MBBA website under Find Lodging and scan down to trail information.

Should you want to emulate Minnesota innkeepers’ cooking for breakfast or dinner,  a fine book for “grazing” is The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook published and organized by the creative inspriring nonprofit Renewing the Countryside. They have specialized in promoting small sustainable operations way before it became popular.     

Local food, local restaruants, local inns, local recipes

Try to imagine a meal (AM or PM ) more comforting than Featherbed Eggs, maple syrup glazed ham and rhubarb muffins and then finished off with Minnesota Chocolate Cake. Why is it called Minnesota Chocolate cake? Because one of the ingredients is a cup of good strong Minnesota roasted coffee (leftover from breakfast perhaps)  This menu from Ellery House in Duluth uses nearby Joel Rosen’s Park Lake Farm products.

Then imagine Maple Pecan French Toast slathered with local berries and syrup from the maple tree just outside the window of the Loghouse and Homestead in Vergas Minnesota. Sausages might be a potato sausage or a smoked country sausage also made and obtained locally or Suzanne Tweton’s own wild rice sausage. Hungry for another culinary adventure , try the seclections from Dancing Winds Farmstay (Asparagus with goat cheese and morels on fettuccine and yes the morels are from nearby forests and the the goat cheese from of course the goats at Dancing Winds); or how about an entree from Scandinavian Inn in Lanesboro (vegetarian quiche) ; or Classic Rosewood Inn in Hastings (wild rice zucchini pancakes with roasted green beans with sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese and olives on the side).      

Hungry yet? You have a few options: Buy the book and get cooking OR buy the book and simply enjoy a good read. Another couple options: tour the MBBA website for your next getaway. You might search for the inns with the Green Journey labels who at very least have a Green policy in place and visit their individual sites to see what that means to them and for you. Know that all the MBBA inns serve a wonderful breakfast and many innkeepers would share their “secrets” so you can emulate for breakfast or dinner at home. Another nice option and a really fun cookbook is the one produced by the Minnesota B & B Association and avaialable from this website. It is More Minnesota Mornings and Beyond.

Purchase online from this website

Inns of the Valley Holiday Tour

Halls and parlors and even some of the bedrooms are decked out in holiday glam Sunday, December 5, 2010 at the St. Croix Valley Bed and Breakfast Inns Holiday Tour. A group of 14 inns celebrate the holidays by sharing treats, recipes and decor this special Sunday from 1 to 5 pm.   This year the $20 tickets can be purchased for either the North or the South of the St. Croix region with seven in each tour. A portion of the proceeds benefit Second Harvest.

North Tour:  Asa Parker House, Marine on St Croix, MN ~ Outing Lodge, Stillwater, MN ~ Summit Inn, Center City, MN ~ Wissahickon Farms Country Inn, St. Croix Falls, WI ~ St. Croix River Inn, Osceola, WI ~ Pleasant Lake, Osceola, WI

South Tour:  Classic Rosewood Inn, Hastings, MN ~ Historic Afton House Inn, Afton, MN ~ Cover Park Manor, Stillwater, MN ~ Country Cove, Stillwater, MN ~ Waterstreet Inn, Stillwater, MN ~ Phipps Inn, Hudson, WI ~ Escape by the Lake, Hudson, WI

Purchase a Gift Certificate of $100 or more during your tour, and receive 20% off! Make a day of it by starting out with Brunch at one of the two inns in the group with restaurants. Choose from Historic Afton House Inn 651-436-8883 or Waterstreet Inn 651-439-6000. Presentation of Holiday Tour ticket will result in a free Mimosa with purchase of brunch that day.

Deck the Halls in the St Croix Valley

Or make a weekend of it with booking one of the Inns that Saturday and or Sunday. Many of the inns are offering special packages with discounts that weekend. The inns range in style from cottage to Victorian to lodge.  Come and visit the St Croix Valley Inns in their holiday glam and choose one for your next time away.

Ambiance at the romantic gothic LeDuc estate in Hastings will be complimented for the next few weeks by works of more than a dozen talented painters, potters, photographers and carvers.Beginning November 6th and continuing to November 14th, the show will run from 10 AM to 5 PM. This annual tradition has become the opportunity for many to begin holiday shopping or to drop hints for family in that regard. 

Participating artists include: Mel Agen, Anita Bahls, Audrey Ceran, Donna Christianson, Amy Deaver, Lisa Dolezal, Andy Hill, Emily & Dodi Hogstad, Pauline Johanik, Diana Langenfeld, Mecca & George Manz, Art Nordstrom, Al Peterson, and Al Todnem.

Holiday shoppping receipts valued at $50 or more at the LeDuc Estate from the Art Show or the Gift Shop or membership in Dakota County Historical Society will be rewarded with a $50 voucher to spend at the Classic Rosewood Inn in the future. Contact the Inn for more information.