Local Couple Brings a Bit of History Home to Share

Photo by Shelly Weigelt

Frank Hockridge knows what he's talking about as he explains the photographs reproduced on this unique quilt.

The first photo is from 1902 and shows a band of Native Americans at the North Dakota State Fair, then held in Mandan, ND.

The State Fair apparently moved around a bit back in the day before settling itself in Minot in the 1960s. There are photos from both Fargo and Grand Forks, who took turns hosting it for years.

There are photos of County Fairs from the early 1900s on through more recent years.

Too many of the photos have sad endings ... 'doesn't exist any more' ... 'went bust' ... 'no longer there' ... 

The photos are enchanting, but some of the Fairs they represent will only ever live again through photos such as have been preserved in this quilt.

On the bright side, Frank and Glenda Hockridge have been collecting Fair things for quite a while. One of the photos of the Quilt they found in Iowa. Glenda laughs and says, 'You just never know what you're going to run across!'

And just exactly WHY is this local couple so fascinated by Fairs?

Oh. Well. It's what they do, you know.

Both of them were brought up in the industry, love it, and love to share with others (like us!). They had businesses facing one another at the State Fair in Kansas lo these many years ago, became good friends, and eventually married. Their kids are carrying on the family tradition, the fourth generation to do so.

Locally, the pair is well-known and well-loved.

Frank is our go-to person about anything having to do with our fair, and now we know he can also be our go-to person about much of our state's history as well! Glenda's big smile and happy laugh can often be found at our local (and internationally famous, made so by anyone who's eaten there and gone anywhere else in the world) Rosa's Pizza where she gives a hand when she has time.

Their affection for one another is palpable in the air around them. You can't see them, together or apart, and not grin. And they've brought us a most wonderful gift, besides their own selves.

The ND Fair Quilt is currently hanging at Close to Home, a shop that carries gifts of local origin. Owned and operated by Deronda O'Neill of Deronda Designs (also known all over the world for her 'OMG I can't believe you MADE those!' lampwork beads, enamel pieces, and metal-worked jewelry), Close to Home has expanded to include the work of other locals or people with local connections - all unique and individualistic pieces. So it's a great place to hang this ND Fair Quilt. 

Close to Home is located in the old Quarve Building at 97 South Main Avenue in Fessenden, ND USA - the same Fessenden of the book called 'Small Town USA' written by another local, Shiela Branson.

If you happen to be driving Highway 52 in ND, swing in and grab a coffee (or any of the creative beverages the Coffee Shop is becoming noted for). The town of Fessenden is located smack at the end of Highway 15, which begins near the MN border at a little town called Thompson near Grand Forks, ND. If you're traveling from the Forks to Bismarck, give yourself a treat and take 15 for a lovely change of scenery - and stop in Fessenden along the way for yet another treat! Shelly Weigelt carries an amazing variety of vintage and just plain interesting things; Ann West has clothing and accessories; Eldredge Publishing has an office; Carson's Computer store comes in mighty handy, and Justin's Stuffitorium has antiques and is a dangerous place to visit (very difficult to walk out of without having added something you didn't even know you HAVE to have - don't say you weren't warned); and soon a hair stylist will be joining us in that old Quarve Building. (that building will be getting a story of its own in due course, so hang onto your hats folks - we're in for a bit of a ride here I think).

If you come through before June 1, 2015 you will find the ND Fair Quilt on display at Close to Home; it will then go to other places in the state, including coming back here for our own County Fair in mid-June. It's slated to go to Bottineau, Jamestown, and up to Pembina County before it gets much of a rest. 

AND, best news of all (from my point of view) Frank and Glenda are talking about bringing more of their collection out of storage. They have enough to put together a museum of their own! Hearing about it is fascinating; seeing it all would be a wondrous thing. My personal favorite of the things they talked about (one of the photos of the Quilt has an example) are what they call the Funny ...something or others... (shhh, it's my memory slipping again) ... where different scenes are painted and there are face holes for people ... anyway, THOSE would be tremendous fun, and Frank and Glenda have a collection. For that matter, we could certainly make a few of our own, now that I think of it. Maybe not in time for this year's Fair, but almost certainly for next year! So bring your smiles and your cameras.

To close, here's a photo of the ND Fair Quilt with Glenda and Frank by it. If you zoom in you might be able to see some of the photos better. Or you could wait a few days to give us time to take close ups of them all, pair them up with Frank's explanations, and post them on line! This is one awesome couple and their inspiration has produced an awesome Keeper of Memories for our state. 

Thank you so very much, Glenda and Frank, for everything you do and for simply being the great people that you are. We love you.

Photo by Deronda O'Neill

Our Little Place is Growing!

Our very own Small Town USA is having itself some fun, let me tell you!

At least I was having fun today ... *big smile* ...

                 

If you haven't heard, there's a good-sized two story brick building named the Viking on a corner of our Main Street that, back in the olden days, was a home furnishings and supply store called the Quarve Building (after the owners), using the main floor and lower level (basement) while the second floor was apartments. 

The building has been put to use in a few ways between then and now ... and recently became available again. Except the second floor has been closed for a very long time and the basement could stand some TLC, so it's now just the main floor - which is plenty ... for the time being ... 

The renovations of said main floor over the course of time have come in handy for our little community.

The big front display windows aren't so very different, and the front doors and steps are the same ... but inside ... the big entry area is flanked by the Couchs' Coffee Shop that has all kinds of things besides coffee (mm-mm good!) and a sort of Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe called The Melding Pot that has all kinds of things that you might not want to eat or drink but which you will most assuredly love looking at and taking home. Shelly Weigelt makes darned sure you'll find plenty of new things every time you stop by. AND she's got helium balloons on behalf of Perry and Laurie Anderson. Also up front and in the hallway are custom-made wreaths designed and handmade by Wendy Wagner of Wendy's Wreaths, in conjunction with the Coffee Shop.

As you walk down the wide hallway you'll find men's and women's rooms to your right.

To your left, along the side street length of the building, are what were offices and meeting rooms. They are now homes to a bunch of small shops. First in line you'll see Close to Home Gifts - all personally created by our local artists, spear-headed by Deronda designs, whose creative metalwork jewelry and lampwork beads are likely to make you ask, 'How does she do that?!?' West End Creations adds the bright colors of crocheted items plus earrings and rings that will catch your fancy and hold it. Shiela Branson (yep, that would be me) contributes artwork and the books she writes and illustrates, including the whole lineup of the 'They Are My Song' series. Add soaps and lotions using buffalo tallow (including a men's line) made by another type of artist, Mrs. Robert Fehr, and some pottery designed and handmade by yet another local artist, Kathy Tebelius, and an assortment of era items ... Close to Home is liable to become your 'go-to' place for some almighty special gifts. Fay Fandrich often adds plants and flowers for special occasions.

Next stop is Anne West of Bowdon's West N More for some exceptional clothing and accessory options. 

Then comes Eldredge Publishing's Fessenden facility. For your printing needs, whether a quick copy of a school paper or invitations to anything you can think of to leaflets or ... well, the list just doesn't really stop.

Moving on down the row you'll come to another 'extension', this time of the business-next-door The Computer Loft. For your computer needs, this is the place for you.

Last in line but certainly not last in interest is The Stuff-o-torium - looking for era pieces and/or antiques to pique your curiosity? This guy's got one heck of a lot of stuff, believe you me. Every time I walk in there, he's got all kinds of new (well, old, but you know what I mean) and fascinating stuff. It's downright dangerous and I'm intensely relieved to be totally broke - otherwise I'd be carting a lot of his inventory to my house ... and I'm supposed to be clearing my own stuff out, not adding to it!

So that's the line-up along the side street. 

On the other side, once  you're past the ladies' room and the men's room, you come to a bit of a division. First there's a one-step-up sort of platform room with a half wall that looks into a great big wide open space. Right now there's a desk and chair in that step-up room and that's about it. Michelle uses it at times for her publicity stuff. Kids play in it at times, and they can play in the big open space too (unless somebody else is using it).

The big open space is for general purposes. Every other afternoon a group uses it for sweat-producing workouts, for example. 

It also has a line of cubicles along the far wall that are for general use. Kids use them for doing homework, people can use them for on-line projects (The Computer Loft donates internet access), you can sit at them and read, work on your own craft projects ... whatever you might need a temporary desk for. 

Sometimes the big open area is filled with vendors for special occasions. It can also be used for birthday/anniversary parties and bridal/baby showers (non-alcoholic types of things I'm presuming, but don't quote me on that), meetings ... if you need a big space but not an auditorium, this comes in right handy.

The Coffee Shop is open 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and closes at three on Saturdays. The rest of us are mainly open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from ten-ish until maybe five-ish ... because, well, because we have creating to do and families to spend time with. On the other hand, this is Small Town USA - none of us are all that hard to find if need be.

So ... it's not been but maybe three months and already this Small Town USA is turning a historic building into something that's creating a new history of its own. 

It's called The Q.

Designs Incubating ...

These are a few of the cedar shake paintings I did some time ago ... love the colors flowing together, and have missed doing them. 

So ... drum roll please ... maybe it's time to do some new ones since the inventory on them is pretty well depleted!

I know it's not even New Year's yet, but there are dozens of Valentine Designs running around in my head, with those colors flowing in the background and maybe some metallic pretties as little accents. 

After this weekend I'll have a few days to play, and am going to have a great time with all the playing I'm planning on doing! Got a bunch of cedar shakes from the roof of my 100 year old house, some brushes, some paints, and a lot of imagination just begging to be turned loose. Instead of (or in addition to?) landscape silhouettes, think designs maybe something like these I found in my internet roaming:

Here's where I found this version of a very old pattern:
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDDnhVPH16PdUX-PX_zwqI2HsMSWwU-0vRX2AKX5IKJE2NK2Td

Or something like this on a hand-painted card maybe:

Somebody's rendition of a fun design ...
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ_E5YvuEfuEE0TjFtLXMT2APaf6SIU6vRQ2HM9W-u5x0vGyIJoyA

This could get to be a whole lot of fun!

There are thousands of intricately carved stones still in existence from a very long time ago, and even more fancies to be found in the metal-work of old times. Over and under and around and through, repeat and repeat and repeat in the most amazing ways ... fascinating stuff I tell you! A person can 'create' a design that they think is new and complex, then turn around and find almost the exact same thing that someone else 'created' a few thousand years ago ... and the wheel goes 'round and 'round ... so wrap your mind around it and come up with a 'creation' of your own! It's a challenge, and it's fun.

Let's see what we can 'create', shall we?

Some of the new pieces that I'm bound and determined to 'create' ought to be at Close to Home in The Q on Main Street of Fessenden ND USA just after the dawning of 2015 - a year that's something to look forward to - only a few days away!

UPDATE! Small Town USA - Gotta Love The People!

Update to the below post!!!
I met the mother of the story at this evening's JuleFest Feast, a Norwegian culinary delight I have to say ... but the UPDATE is that this mother had TWO sons on the same mission, and the book was for her husband. One son was a little ahead of the other, and he's the one in the story below. It's just as well that was the last available copy, and that she and her sons communicate well, as otherwise that second son may have persevered until he'd succeeded in his quest as well - and the dad would have gotten two copies of the same book!


How oh how I wish I'd remember to never go anywhere without a camera!

Walked over to the local grocery store a bit ago, to get stuff for supper.

In I go, right?

They told me that someone from out of town had just left to go see if Close to Home was open because he wanted one of my books and the store is out.

Not only did I not have a camera, I had no keys to get into the shop, either.

Even so, I slip-slided my way the half-block over to The Q  just in time to follow this person in.

Turns out it was indeed the one who wanted a book. When I asked him if he had a couple of minutes, as I would have to slide the block and a half home to get the keys, he smiled and said, 'Sure.'

Then a friend who happened to be there sweeping and such said, 'Wait! I have a set of keys!'

And so into the shop we went and out he came with a signed book for his mom, who had asked him to bring her one since he was in Fessenden on another errand.

I would have loved to get a photo of the people who all pitched in to get the mom her book! The people at the grocery store who steered him to The Q and Close to Home, the ones at The Q who helped us out, and the son who went out of his way to get something that his mom wanted.

Serendipity is awesome.

But serendipity rarely works in a vacuum. Without everyone's being the kind people that they are, she might not have gotten her book for quite a while.

So yeah.

Ya gotta love the people of Small Town USA!

My Bit of the Shop

Here's the current look of my bit of the shop that my sister and I are opening in our little town.

There's a small painting 'Flight of the Wild Geese', 

a bigger textured painting I was going to 'finish' with colors only to realize I had better leave it as is because nobody who looked at it saw the same thing in it, 

circles using the same texture and metallic paint, 

the Mamm Books, 

a few pencil sketches, 

a few 'scapes in acrylic on 100 year old cedar shakes that came off the roof of my house when I re-did it, 

a few miscellaneous things,

and of course the kid books!

The Circles of Dunnottar are here too; can't possibly do without them.

There will doubtless be many rearrangements of this little space - that's part of the fun of it!

Looking at it, I want to move the Mamm Books to the space beneath the Circles, which is where they belong. And that, naturally, will mean the whole of it gets moved around ... but not tonight I think.

We want to put a work station where the chair now sits, so we'll have a designated 'projects in progress' spot ... where I can, for example, set myself up a good light and work on sketches or sculptures or paintings or design for things that the Characters might want (Alia likes pretties, the twins want arm and shin guards, and Caileen and Talorc are nagging me to remind everyone to watch their step on the spiral and put circles on my crosses for pete's sake ... not to mention the Younglings ... ) My sister can use it for whichever of her projects she might find it useful for. That way our desk top can stay pretty much cleared but for our computers.

At any rate, it's pretty fun to see our things on display, and to watch them leave the shop with happy customers!

To be totally honest, a major part of the fun of it all is that for every item that leaves here we get to make more to replace it!!!

As my stock of 'scapes on cedar shakes has recently diminished (Yay!) I've been focusing on replenishing it. And getting another Youngling book or two done. I've also got to get a bunch more paintings done in the embroidery hoops as I'm totally OUT of those ... 

Well, Monday will have to be soon enough for most of that, unless I can manage some more yet tonight. Starting tomorrow it's four days of part time shift-work for this woman.

One thing I particularly enjoy about being up here at the shop is that we have unlimited internet so I get to listen to Celtic Thunder the whole time I'm up here without tapping out my own data access ... *big smile* ... thank you to the computer store next door!!! (Yes we kick in for the fee, but it's still great!)

AND ... lest I forget ... the gal who runs the 'Melding Pot' (I call it a Little Curiosity Shop) found a big kettle that I'm going to snag tomorrow for mine very own. 

*contented sigh*

I kind of wish I could just stay here all night listening to these guys' fabulous Voices. They take me straight back to the writing of the Mamm Books when those Voices were constantly in my ears as the Story developed. Elements of their 'Mythology' Songs are throughout the books if one knows to search them out and recognize them.  Parts of certain Songs led me into research I might not have thought of, and from there to the development of related scenes both 'historic' and fictional.

I wonder if music artists ever even know the effect their gifts have on some of us.  I badly wanted to put the set of Mamm Books into the hands of George Donaldson at the first concert I could get to once they were done - because he's the only Scot, you know - but ... well ... they're done but he's gone ... 

And on that sad note I'm going to close this post ... 'Voices' has just begun and I want to listen to it.

A Lady Where I Work Had A Great Idea

At least I think it's a great idea!

Being unable to implement it my own self, lacking the requisite skills and history, I put out a Facebook post and we'll see what comes of it.

We were talking about the shop, Close To Home/Deronda designs, my sister has invited me to join her with at the local place that will soon be opening, called  ' The Q '  in our hometown.

This was a small group of elder ladies; we were talking about what kinds of shops would be good to have in our little town, and one of the ladies said, 'How about a Norwegian shop?'

The next lady added, 'How about a German one?'

Many of the early settlers in our area were of Norwegian or German origin; needless to say they brought with them their traditions - which are incredible (except for lutefisk) - and my eyes lit up at the thought of being able to see, taste, hear, touch, and smell a collection of the best of the best that the families of our settlers can and do still produce.

Being as I hadn't eaten in more than a few hours, my belly was the first to kick into high gear as I sat down to do the Facebook post - and just the thought of the awesome stuff that are traditional around here had my mouth watering. Minus the lutefisk, of course. 

Since I'm not Norwegian, and only a little bit German, and not at all German From Russia, I'm not the one who has what it takes to produce the wonderful stuff that many in this area kind of just take for granted.

And the smorgasbord my belly craves is only just the beginning.

Into my head popped some of the traditional costumes.

Into my head popped some of the music.

Into my head popped some of the artwork.

Into my head popped some of the sweater designs, and scarves, and mittens.

Into my head popped accents of the languages of those who settled here.

Just sayin'. 

Me, I think it would be an awesome project to collect family stories 'from the locals', and photos if they want, and pictures of stuff they make, and recipes of foods they prepare (with tips and helpful hints), and at least the words to some of the songs, and traditions, and ... and ... and ...

And put it all together into another local book about Small Town USA! 

Think of all the stuff I'd learn in the process! It would be a rare and priceless gift, I tell you true.

So I personally would LOVE to have all the Norskys and Krauts in the vicinity get together and present to the rest of us a cumulative collection of everything they've got to show off - which is plenty, let me tell you! 

I would love to do a full color book of it all, but that's cost-prohibitive in print form so only the cover would get to be colored - BUT Kindle does color without the added cost that goes along with print so a 'match' deal would probably be a good idea for using the color photos ... they'd be greyscale in the print books but full color in the Kindle version ... hmmm ... I think I like that idea.

But it isn't going to be up to me so there will be no getting up of my hopes here.

HA.

My hopes are already up for what could turn out to be so much fun I can't even think of it without grinning - not to mention the heaven my belly would be in if our friends and neighbors can be talked into it. Mmmmmmm ... 

Right.

It's past my bedtime right now.

What do you bet I'll be dreaming of kuchen and knoephle soup and kraut and sausage and krumkake and etc. and end up waking myself up with a growling stomach and drooling all over my pillow? 

WHY can't I write about this stuff in the daytime?!?!