Nery & Kasandra Perez visit from Guatemala.

Nery and Kasandra visited Fergus Falls to meet people and look over the situation as they plan to come to Fergus Falls to start Hispanic ministries here.  Nery is a Nazarene pastor and District Superintendent in Guatemala City.

Sue is displaying the method for Five-Minute Bread.  This a no-knead method of bread making that was covered in our August 2012 post on Five Minute Bread.

Sue and Al place the dough into cloches in an oven set for 500F.  

The finished product!

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Later we went to Pelican Rapids to consult with a pastor there about Hispanic ministries.

First we had to do some sightseeing.  Here is a pelican for the town.  

The Pelican River gives the town its name.  Here is a really big pelican.  While we looked on, some fisherwomen caught a large snapping turtle and let it go for another day.

We visited this church to assess their interest in combining efforts with the Nazarene church in Fergus Falls using Nery as the pastor.

Kasandra, Nery and Pastor Bob Satterlie at Calvary.

 Sue, Nery, Kasandra, Leo, Marta and Pastor Steve Hoffman going in for lunch.  Little did we know that this would be Pastor Steve's last day as pastor of our church for two days later he was elected District Superintendent of the Prairie Lakes District comprising Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

A visit to Park Rapids and a Finnish legend.

We made a trip to the Jasper Theater in Park Rapids.

Ruth, Tom and Lolly joined us for this trip.  This family run show is close to Branson quality.

We passed through Menagha,  MN, where we came upon the statue of St. Urho.  Now this fellow, the Finns tell us, saved Finland from grasshoppers as St. Patrick did by driving out snakes from Ireland.  That is a grasshopper on the pitchfork he is holding, a pretty big one!

You can read about him here.

2014 West Otter Tail County Fair

Again we joined the Carlisle/French 4-H club as they took over the food stand on the fairgrounds.  But first a quick tour of the fair.  

Pretty standard stuff and because we were there to serve breakfast, not too many people around.

The area clubs rotate in assignments for operating the club.

Tessa and Natalie taking an order.

Al taking a turn on as a fry-cook.  Really neat apron, what?

His critic and helper, Sue, gives advice on the proper methods.  This is serious business!

Ruth preparing food for the noon meal.

A helper cleaning the kitchen.

Another young fellow doing the tables.

By lunchtime, we had the opportunity to view the 4-H exhibits.

Lots to look at.

The local Republican party stand.  In the back are seats from the time that this was the ice arena.  Now it is in a new facility at the high school.

A little Ole & Lena humor.

Of course, one cannot visit a fair, state or county without visiting the animals.

Phelps Mill Days

Each year a festival is held on the grounds of Phelps Mill.  This mill was established in the 19th century and ground wheat into flour from wheat supplied by nearby farmers.  It operated until the 1930's when competition from the Minneapolis mills put small mills out of business.  Now a county park, it provides year around fishing and picnicking along the Otter Tail River.

Water driven turbines provided the power to operate machinery in the mill.

The unusually heavy rainfall has resulted in massive flow over the dam.

A float trip on the river.  Floating long enough, the party will arrive in Fergus Falls.

We drove past some parking offered by entrepreneurs near the park.  We drove on to free parking and rode to the event on these wagons pulled by tractors.

Three dollars a person is a moderate charge.

First stop is at the Underwood, MN, Lions Club pork chop sandwiches.  Five dollars results in lunch with a huge pork chop done to perfection.

Lots of volunteer labor cooking the pork chops.

Each year this fellow demonstrates wood turning.

Some of his turned bowls and other wood crafts are for sale.

A booth selling custom signs.

The owner is set up to custom-letter the signs a little distance away.  They did good business.

A singer based in Ely, MN, performed for passers-by.  

A fellow selling lampwork beads.  Perhaps something that Al could sell?

Fanciful bird houses.

Decisions, decisions.

Entertainment.

Time to go home.

Carlisle Band at the Otter Tail County Courthouse

Every summer the Carlyle Band performs in a patriotic concert near the Fourth of July.

This band has been in continuous operation since about 1894.  Carlisle, MN, was once a little town serving nearby farm families.  Now it has a 40 MPH speed zone as its asset. 

People come out for this free concert and sit in their lawn chairs.

The Carlisle-French 4H club sells food for the concert goers.  Our cool summer is evident in the jackets worn, except for a few hardy ones.

Employees of the Otter Tail County Courthouse join in the purchase of food and drink along with the concert goers.

Last minute emergency after the sloppy joe mixture was used up and turkey and cheese were used to make up for expected customers.

After the concert, the band members were treated to free food.

The Otter Tail County Courthouse dates from about 1920.

In 1919, a cyclone, now called a tornado, swept through Fergus Falls killing about 90 people and demolished the court house as shown here in an oil painting done at the time.