The many cultures of Mountain Lake, Minnesota

Some friends from Mountain Lake, celebrating a birthday

 

     From August of 2000 to June of 2003 I had the pleasure of living in the small town (population around 2,000) of Mountain Lake, Minnesota.  During those three years I discovered this southern Minnesota town had a plethora of different cultures jam-packed into it's 1.55 square miles.  This town has no stoplight, but two schools (public and Christian).  Walking down residential streets, one can smell Laotian spring rolls wafting from one home and pungent Borscht soup floating from the next.  One can visit a Mennonite church one Sunday morning and later that afternoon witness a Laotian monk clad in bright orange robes sitting on his step waiting for his evening meal to be brought to him!  One can hear traditional organ music at one church and then cross the street to hear mandolins and harmonicas playing Bluegrass gospel tunes in another.  Walking through the local cemetery beside the infamous lake, you can see familiar names like Yoder, Fast, Harder, Adrian, Klassen, Stoesz, Dick, and Bargen.  These are the resting places of many of the relatives of my former students.  But, walking past the bright pink, purple, and blue houses, you'd know that Hispanics, Hmong, and Laotian people also abound.

Everyone gathering around me for prayer after my baptism

     My three year experience in Mountain Lake made me appreciate "culture" in a new way.  I grew up in Alexandria, Minnesota (population about 11,000).  We were mostly Norwegians and Germans who talked about lefse, lakes, and Lutheran churches!  I LOVED growing up in Alexandria.  And, I like living in Becker now too.  But, Mountain Lake had so many different cultures for such a small place.  The "small-towness" of it intrigued me.  At times I wanted to burst into the Cheers themesong.....”Where everybody knows your name.....”

     The Norwegians have lefse (yum) and lutefisk (yuck!).  The Russian Mennonites have Zwiebeck, Peppernuts, Vereniki, and Borscht!  I had all those things..... more than once!  The Christian school has a huge Borscht supper fundraiser every year.  The whole building smells of cabbage and beets for days!  If you come early to the bake sale, you have your pick of freshly made Zwiebeck (rolls shaped like a snowman with no head), and Peppernuts (also known as Pfeffernusse, which are delicious, soft Christmas cookies the size of a dime).  To have Vereniki, I had to go to a restaurant that was having a special Vereniki dinner, but I know people who make it in their own homes, too.  Basically, Vereniki is like breaded chicken patties, with cottage cheese inside instead of chicken.  And, they have a rich, creamy sauce you put on top.  They are quite tasty!

     The Mennonites I knew were just like all other Protestants I knew.  The ladies didn't wear head coverings or long skirts.  The men didn't grow long beards or farm with oxen.  They drove cars and used electricity!  They sang praise songs just like my Baptist church does in Becker.  They had Vacation Bible School and youth group and Sunday School just like the Alliance Church nearby.  They were farmers and teachers and business owners.  They baptized believers, (but did it by sprinkling instead of immersion).  The only big difference I noticed between the Mennonites and any other Protestant church was their strong belief in Pacifism.  Even after 911 in 2001, I didn't know ANYONE who thought we should go to war.  I knew people who had been conscientious objectors to military service in Vietnam.  I also knew people who didn't want our students singing patriotic songs at school.  Coming from my experience of annual trips to the patriotic town of Medora, North Dakota each summer (where we sang God Bless America at the top of our lungs at the evening musical), this was quite a change for me.

One of the best classes I've ever had!  What great kids!

     I taught 2nd grade at Mountain Lake Christian School.  I had 10, 11, and 12 students during my three years there.  I absolutely LOVED teaching in a Christian environment.  I adored "my kids" and felt like I was truly in a partnership with their parents to educate them.  Daily prayers, praise songs to our God, discussions about Bible stories, and memorizing scripture together were just a few of the highlights I enjoyed regularly.  My students had such knowledge of the Bible and such faith in our Great Big God!  I felt so close to the Lord.  Bible verses ran through my head all the time.  I had friends to pray with right next door.  It was a wonderful time in my life.  I didn’t belong to a specific church, so the school family became my church.  I was baptized in May of 2003 in Mountain Lake.  The Christian school had a refreshing culture - one of infusing God into every area of our lives and teaching.  

     As mentioned above, I lived in three different houses while in Mountain Lake.  The first one was a tiny Mennonite house that belonged to one of the first settlers to the area.  Man, was it tiny!  The second was in the basement of a home of a kind old lady who needed someone to rent from her and "keep an eye on her."  The third was a medium-sized house one block from school.  Across the street from that house there lived a Laotian Buddhist Monk.  He had a bald head and bright orange robes.  The people of his church brought him meals on a regular basis.  He smoked a pipe.  He mostly stayed in his house, but sometimes he came out and sat on his steps.  I was afraid of him because I felt I couldn’t trust him.  I wasn't afraid of the Laotian children I saw around town, but I was afraid of him.  I prayed that God would protect me from the spiritual warfare that I knew was surrounding our neighborhood. 

The third house I lived in

     I had very little contact with the Laotians, or Hispanics, or Hmong.  But, my friend Rachel gave English lessons to one Laotian woman in the woman’s home.  And, my friend Miranda brought Laotian children to Sunday School on a regular basis.  No Laotian, or Hispanic, or Hmong child attended the Christian school while I was there.  I wish I had gotten to know some of them.  I missed an opportunity. 

     Another opportunity I wish I would have pursued is getting to know some of the Hutterite people in the area.  Hutterites are very similar to Amish.  They speak German as their first language and dress in traditional attire.  They have their own schools and their own colonies.  The Mountain Lake Gospel Singers performed for a group of Hutterites one Christmas and found out the hard way that Hutterites do not “do” Christmas trees.  As the singers sang out lustily, “Come On Ring Those Bells, Light The Christmas Tree.....” offended Hutterite men stood up and stomped out of the room coughing with annoyance.  Oops!  Another culture.  Only a few short miles from Mountain Lake.

    Then there is the culture of farming.  Almost everyone I knew was involved in farming in some way.  My students (particularly the boys) would “play” at farming when they had free time.  They’d use paper to make corn fields and hay fields and then drive their little tractors around.  When discussing the golden calf from the Old Testament stories, my students had plenty to tell me about the shots and testing that calves must endure when they enter this world!  It seemed that every student I ever had was an experienced rock picker!  Dads were up late combining.  Moms decorated with cow spot patterns and bright red roosters.  Sermon illustrations were about seed falling on the “good soil” and all heads would nod.  I visited a students' smelly pig farm and helped another student rescue baby turkeys when they tipped over at her family’s turkey farm.  I brushed horses and even sat on a hay bale!  It was definitely a culture of farming.  It was wholesome.   

         I began playing violin the summer after fourth grade.  Most of what I played was classical pieces, orchestra music, and church hymns.  So, when I joined TWO Bluegrass gospel groups in Mountain Lake, I was in for a cultural experience again.  The first group was called Joy Strings and it consisted of guitar, autoharp, hammered dulcimer, and fiddle.  Usually the guitarist sang and sometimes the rest of us joined him.  The songs were almost all about Heaven.  Most were happy.  The music was fun.  The second group was called The Mountain Lake Gospel Singers.  It consisted of two guitars, two harmonicas, an autoharp, a mandolin, a bass, a fiddle, and singers.  That group mostly sang songs like what you’d hear at a Gaither Homecoming Show.  The songs were fun and energetic too.  My favorite part about being in both groups was watching the way all the members seemed to love making music together.  We were having a good time.  Also, I enjoyed reaching the point where I could play along to the songs "by ear" since no music was written out for me.  I knew what chords were being played, but it was up to me to create fiddle parts.  It was a thrilling feeling to be able to play along and feel like I was adding to the two groups. 

     So, as I close this blog, I challenge you to look around you and appreciate the variety of cultures you discover.  Todd is from a small town near Wadena.  I have enjoyed getting to know the area (Staples, Bertha, and Browerville) and scoping out the different cultures there.  Maybe someday I'll write a blog about Todd's old stomping grounds.  We'll see!