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REFLECTIONS

grinch, christmas in the village, steele county historical society
Enjoying holidays at Christmas in the Village
By
Howard Lestrud, Contributing Writer
Howard Lestrud, Reflections

Santa Claus and Mrs. Santa Claus put out their own shingles this past weekend, inviting those young and old to visit their temporary headquarters set up at the Steele County Historical Society.

Santa was located in the General Store and Mrs. Claus was located across the street.

The occasion was Christmas in the Village at the Steele County Historical Society.

That pesky Grinch was hiding out between the two buildings housing Santa and Mrs. Santa. The actor was a member of a high school drama crew and had volunteered to portray The Grinch. He was “spot-on” in that portrayal.

“We caught him,” hollered one youngster as he held onto The Grinch to show his parents that he was real.

The weather was cooperative, with the sun shining brightly and the temperature edging over 45 degrees.

Steve and Nancy Hunt drove their two Belgian horses around a prescribed route outdoors near Gus’ Station. Miranda Heddberg also drove the horses to relieve the Hunts.

The Dunnell House was featured on Friday night with carolers and Santa holding court.

On Saturday, visitors would enter the front of the Steele County Historical Society building to hear recitals being performed by youngsters from the area.

As visitors wandered the museum, hot chocolate was offered to take the chill off the cool air waves.

Volunteers worked with youngsters in making little snowmen and other Christmasy items.

Those who stepped into a work room found Audrey Hollins and Sue Olson making homemade lefse. The two lefse makers said they were conflicted because one was from Norwegian heritage and the other was from Swedish roots.

“What is lefse?” Believe it or not, that question was asked by a couple who said they had recently moved to Owatonna from northern California.

The lefse makers told Marc Boyett and Jen Perry that lefse is a traditional Norwegian flatbread. It is made with riced potatoes and can include all-purpose wheat flour and butter, milk, cream, or lard. It is cooked on a large, flat griddle.

Special tools are used to prepare the lefse, including a potato ricer, long wooden turning sticks, and a special rolling pin with deep grooves.

Marc and Jen were encouraged to eat a small sample prepared by the Scandinavian artists.

“How did you like it?” the guests were asked. “Fantastic,” said Marc.

Marc and Jen then revealed to this columnist the reason they were visiting the lefse stand.

“We are hoping to open a fish and chips shop at 311 N. Cedar,” Marc said. He said he has been in the restaurant business for more than 31 years.

“We love this town and love all of the parks they have here,” he added.

Marc and Jen also visited other key spots on the Christmas in the Village tour. Music could be heard coming from the Salo Church. Gloria Coulter was playing the organ, and Jim Joachim was the vocalist displaying some loud tones as he sang a variety of Christmas tunes.

I also met up with Steele County Historical Society executive director Jennifer Thiele. She is a distant cousin of Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele. Jennifer is from Mason City, Iowa.

Former Historical Society executive director Kellen Hinrichsen was gracious enough to take me and my friend Jack Heather, also a Blooming Prairie resident, around the key stops at Christmas in the Village.

Kellen was also playing the role of a roaming Christmas caroler.

Steele County is very fortunate to have such a great historical center in Owatonna. Owatonna dedicated a nearby veterans memorial just recently on Nov. 11. “We were there for that,” said Marc.

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