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Borrego Springs, CA

Monday, July 29, 2013

A couple of gems in Little Falls, MN

After visiting Crane Meadows and Sherburne National Wildlife Refuges yesterday, I headed back to the rig with a stop in Little Falls along the way.  I had seen a sign along the roads advertising the Minnesota Fishing Museum.  I’ve heard of a lot of different kinds of museums, but a fishing museum?  I decided I had to check it out.

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I took their invitation to “Stop in and step back in time to experience the evolution of fresh water fishing in Minnesota.”  This small museum contains over 10,000 fishing artifacts.

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The lady volunteer who greeted me on my arrival was most enthusiastic about what I was about to see.  There are all kinds of lures, fishing poles, and motors dating back to 1913.  The folks working there truly have a love for what they are preserving.

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Among my favorite displays were the Minnesota record size fish, where they were caught, and by whom that were displayed along the walls.  These taxidermied fish and replicas covered every kind of fresh fish caught in the state.  I don’t ever expect to catch a 54 lb. Muskie, but I sure would enjoy hooking a big old sunfish.  Open-mouthed smile 

I’m not much into the history and evolution of boat motors or lures for that matter, but I did get a chuckle out of the lighter side of their displays like the ‘record’ fish, and big bobber.  There was also a large diorama that depicted a spearing dark house on a frozen lake.  Carving lifelike wooden fish decoys to lure big fish in to spear through a hole in the ice is something I didn’t even know existed.  It’s not likely I’d ever do ice fishing…too cold for me…, but the story I read of a twelve year old ‘coming of age’ in a dark house was riveting. 

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My absolute favorite lure display was this one depicting the history of the fishing lure from one million B.C. to the present.  I sure hope if you click on this pic that you will be able to read the captions.  They are a real hoot!  I even remember carving one of those red and white lures like the second one from the bottom when I was about 17 years old.  Never caught anything with it, but what fun I had, way back when, dreaming about catching a ‘big one’.  Living in the city of Chicago at that time, I thought northern Wisconsin with all of its lakes was heaven.  I even talked my best friend, Carolyn (aka: bigfoot), into letting me cut off several locks of her brilliant red hair to use on one of my lures.  Those lures that I carved and tied are long gone, but their dreams still remain.  Some day, I’ll land that big one… if only in my dreams.

The $4.00 fee to see the museum was well worth it for me.  It brought back many happy memories from my youth.  By the time I got there, I had less than an hour to visit before they closed, but they allowed me to stay parked in their lot after closing so I could take advantage of a celebration that was going on very nearby.  The Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church next door was having an old time bazaar going on.

There was a huge crowd attending, and parking spaces were at a premium.  There was a live Polish Polka Band performing, and that kind of surprised me for a northern Minnesota community.  I would have expected a Norwegian festival.  However, I had one thing in mind when thinking of a church bazaar.

IMG_9265I don’t sew or crochet, and I have been in need of some of those dish towels that have a method of hanging around a fridge or stove handle.  The best place I know of to find them is at a church bazaar.  I was not disappointed.  I bought these three towels from (I hesitate to say) a little older ladies group that supports the church.  They do such fine work, and these were just what I was looking for.

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I also found these hand embroidered pillow cases at a reasonable price.  I don’t have the patience or talent for this kind of work, but I sure do appreciate it.  The fishing museum and a church bazaar.  With those two gems and my visits to two refuges, the day was a resounding success from my point of view.

Last, but not least, I added a new tee shirt to my collection at the MN Fishing Museum.  I just couldn’t pass it up.  As I purchased it, I thought of Where are the Dixons Today?  I think it would be the perfect shirt for Jim.

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(As an aside, crappie is a fish whose name is pronounced differently depending on where you live in this country.  In Minnesota, it’s pronounced ‘croppie’, but in New York it’s called ‘crappie’.  The NY pronunciation is how I interpret this shirt. Winking smile)

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

37 comments:

  1. I love finding those funny little out of the way museums. Sometimes I enjoy them more than the big fancy well known ones.

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  2. That bazaar reminded me of the Sandwich Fair....If you ever get the chance you need to come down for it...Love tha T-shirt...and right now I DO HAVE A CRAPPY (Crappie) ATTITUDE!!

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  3. Love the t-shirt--nice needlework on your new pillowcases, too!

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  4. Great t-shirt. Love the sign "O-fish-L" gift shop. I need some of those towels, too. I'll have to keep a look out for a church bazaar.

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  5. I love the towel with the acorn nuts. Love the oak trees. The Paul Bunyan bobber was funny. You t-shirt is really cute but I hardly doubt that is true about you. :)

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  6. Love the shirt. Sorry we missed this museum.

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  7. This just might be the incentive I need to get Jim over that way. What a great museum. And that t-shirt is just perfect. We say croppie out this way also. Love quirky places like this.

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  8. What a great day, love the t-shirt!!

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  9. I love your shirt. I'm still trying to catch the big one too. I hate those fishermen that tell me last week they filled up their ice chest with fish. lol

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  10. love the shirt...its croppie in missouri too

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  11. Great finds for the day...I especially like the pillow cases! My great grandmother did that sort of embroidery. It's so pretty!

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  12. There's nothing like a "little old ladies' group" is there. The pumpkinseed sunfish looks good, but I wouldn't want to fall into Leech Lake. In SW Ohio it's "Croppie" also, and I love the t-shirt!

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  13. Sounds like an interesting place to visit. Great T-shirt!

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  14. Great t-shirt ... there have been some days when they would have fit my mood perfectly! I like those tea towels; haven't seen any like that before. Those pillowcases are beautifully crafted ... perfect for you.

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  15. Oh heavens, there is a museum for everything. Paul would be in heaven visiting this museum.

    The fishing lure exhibit is a hoot. I sent you blog to a dear friend of ours who loves to fish. I am sure he will be laughing all day over the lure photo.

    I love a good bazaar. The t-shirt is super!

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  16. Crappie or Croppie.... it says what it means!

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  17. oh goodness. . .love, love, love the shirt. . .

    also love to fish. . .but out of state license are so pricey, we don't do much of it. . .enjoyed your tour!

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  18. I was thinking like Marsha, there must be a museum for every interest.

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  19. What a great day you had. Love the t-shirt.
    My dad and I used to make fishing lures when I was a kid. When he passed I got his fishing stuff and was excited to see our lures. Not to be they were gone. :(

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  20. Only you would so proudly wear such a shirt! It looked like a perfect fit, too! :cD

    Are you sure that was a Sunfish mounted on the wall. It looked more like a Piranha to me and finding one of those on the end of my line would certainly give me a crappie attitude! ;c)

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  21. Love the shirt!
    You should have got one for yourself too, for those days when Life gives us a lot of crap! LOL

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  22. If the shirt fits - wear it!

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  23. Guess we didn't spend enough time in that museum--we didn't see all the funny things you did. Thanks for taking us back there.

    I've only seen those towels with crocheted tops but I couldn't find even those when I was looking for them for our rig. Maybe some RVer crafter should make a bunch to sell at RV shows. I think they'd go like hotcakes.

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  24. That sounds like a very fun day! I love your new shirt!
    I'm sure the "little old ladies" were very pleased you stopped by.
    Teri
    markteri.blogspot.com

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  25. I love the shirt...you are so right, it is pronounced many different ways. i really like the tour of the Fishing Museum...how unique.

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  26. Sounds like a great day to me. The fishing lure history was a hoot!! And so is your shirt. I do embroidered pillowcases and love to make them. I love them on my bed. The ones you bought are beautiful.

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  27. Way cool museum and that shirt is great! :)

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  28. Great shirt and what a cool museum. My grandfather had a giant tackle box and I used to love to play with those lures. I also find ice fishing fascinating. I would love to try it except I hate the cold :)

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  29. Loved the lure display and your finds at the church bazaar!

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  30. Great little fishing museum. I love the history of the fishing lures. LOL.

    Nice shirt! :)

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  31. I'm glad someone knows how the hell crappie is pronounced.

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  32. Love the shirt and see you are looking super too. Great post. Even if I never make it to that museum, I got to enjoy it though your post.

    And those pillowcases took me WAY back to when my Mom used to make me embroider. It didn't stick very well though.

    Thanks for the laughs and the memories.

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