If you said that Lorraine and I grew up in the sticks, you wold be right! Lorraine grew up on a wild rice farm halfway between Waskish and Kelliher in northern Minnesota. We both went to school at Kelliher, a town of about 300. I grew up in the resort town of Waskish on the extreme eastern shore of Red Lake, 40 miles from the Canadian border. Waskish does not have a population sign, and never has.

Each year about the middle of July, we go back to our hometowns to sing at the Big Bog Festival in Waskish for the Sunday morning church service in Homestead Park by the river. This year we also had a table to show our ministry on Saturday in the Old School Center at Kelliher for Kelliher Days.

(Our table at the Old School Center in Kelliher, MN.  The center was set up with vendors from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Top of this page an image of a close up of our table banner and below is a more expanded view of the table.)

We handed out 18 free packets of newsletters, 15 plus letters in a packet. A couple people came up to the table asking,”Is this where you sign up for the newsletter?” Interesting . . . there is evidently some kind of buzz going on in the community about our monthly newsletters.

(The above image is the newsletter packets we handed out. It includes 15 plus previous newsletters.)

We were also selling some of Lorraine’s candy and the new CD version of the music album I did when I was 23 and in the Army at Fort Hood, Texas. In its first release as a vinyl album, about 4000 were sold. Since then it has been dormant for over three decades. Lorraine really likes it and thought we should get CD copies made and sell them. So we did . . . and we sold some on Saturday and Sunday.

(These two images are chocolate covered treats made by Lorraine. The box above is labeled with a sticker that has our logo and Website address.)

There is an intriguing story connected with this CD, entitled A Brand New Song. About a year ago, I got an email out of the blue from a collector saying he had found a copy of the original vinyl at the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. He wondered if I had more, because he wanted to buy them.

Shortly thereafter, Lorraine found a copy of my album on the internet, with a price of $50 on it. Now, I was really amused! Currently there is another web site that features vintage, 70’s music and there is my album, front and center, with a nice review written below it. I am flattered. It just goes to show, you never know what you are going to find on the web in present day America.

All of the songs on the CD are written by me except for one that was written by a fellow singer at Fort Hood, at the time. One of the songs, Lawyer on My Side, got some airplay on a major Minneapolis radio station back in the day.

For the month of August only (August 2019), you can receive a copy of this CD for a contribution to the ministry of any amount. Just make your contribution electronically on this website and leave a note in the email section where you want it shipped. It will be promptly shipped via USPS. You can also mail your contribution to Rise Up America, P.O. Box 41291, Plymouth, MN 55441, and request the CD.

Well, our table at Kelliher was a great success, and the worship service in the park Sunday morning was a great surprise. The surprise was that the attendance was over two times the attendance of the previous past few years. A pancake breakfast is served immediately following the service and my sister who runs it, reported they fed 237 people. Not bad for a town with no population sign!

(These two images are taken at Waskish, Mn at Homestead Park during the ecumenical church service.)

You should visit Waskish sometime. It is known for its superb Walleye fishing and when I was younger, I caught a 42-inch Northern Pike in Red Lake. I have to say that the area is truly a great place to grow up . . . or to visit. It’s a great place to enjoy nature and be at peace.