There is something special happening in western Minnesota, where row crops of corn and soybeans give way to the Minnesota River Valley. The land is populated with artists, farmers, native people and immigrants, business owners and supporters who have a sense of place and a connection to their land and community that is powerful and contagious. Recently, a group of my friends and I spent a weekend on the 2011 Meander, an upper Minnesota River Art Crawl. We met interesting people who are living with humor and grace – people who see possibilities and who are making transformation happen with their own hands and hearts.

The weekend began Friday night with a kick-off event in Granite Falls, the childhood home of the Bush Foundation founder, Archie Bush (as he is still fondly remembered by the local citizenry). It turns out that Granite Falls and its abundance of prairie and crops had a great deal to do with Archie’s success. He suffered from asthma and allergies as a child and was sent to the University of Minnesota Duluth go avoid the heavy pollen zone and a life of farming. He studied accounting and got involved with some folks making sand paper, the rest is 3M history.

Saturday, we traveled to Montevideo to visit the CURE office. Our host and guide was Patrick Moore, the Executive Director of Clean Up Our River Environment (CURE) and a force of nature – Patrick is part bard, part historian, artist, musician, geologist, impresario and community organizer of social capital-building projects too numerous to name. Artist, Peter Johnson, shared his work made from the flotsam and jetsam of the Minnesota River.

Next stop was a visit to Dale and Jo Pederson’s Stony Run Woods timber frame studio. Their studio and guest house are elegant structures that blend native materials with clean design. A short jaunt later we arrived at Moonstone Farm and Handeen Pottery studio for conversation with Audrey and Richard about their commitment to forest products. Moonstone’s honey, cheese, apples and delicately crafted pottery were some of our favorites. Our next stop was the Milan Village Arts School, which Patrick salvaged for $50 when the town was about to tear it down. Patrick and the Milan Village Arts School board stepped in with the resources and human power to refurbish it so that it functions as classroom and exhibition space for the region. The Arts School was buzzing with artists, jewelers and Meanderers.

We had dinner at Earthrise Farm where Sister Kay Fernholz gave us a tour. She and her sister, Annette, both nuns, have returned to the family farm to build a center of radical hospitality and run a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture. They also host afterschool visits for elementary students so they can learn about raising food from gardens, making home-cooked meals and the power of intellectual inquiry. All the sisters need is a commercial kitchen to fully realize their dream.

We completed our Meander with a visit to a very powerful place on Sunday. High on a bluff on the Upper Sioux Agency State Park, we stood at one of the sites of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota Conflict. It is a beautiful and restful spot, covered with prairie grasses that dance in the wind. Lakota and Dakota people have lived in this place for over 10,000 years and I can appreciate their love of the land. I was moved by the history of peoples struggling to make peace and forge mutual respect. My hope is that by continuing to work through the conflict we can all grow stronger and more resilient. It is a multi-generational process.

The weekend was a mix of celebration, sing-a-longs, and pot lucks. It was a lovely example of cultural integration on a human scale. Real people sharing a moment in the river valley they all love. 

Many thanks to the artists and organizers of the 2011 Meander. You have given us a gift of your communities, farms and studios for a weekend. I feel nourished and renewed by the opportunity of meeting you.

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