Following the American Legion's lead this Memorial Day

There is an American Legion Post in the area that I cover for work. I usually take a few moments to think about the people who have served on Memorial Day, but do little publicly. This year, I went to cover the events and my daughter came with me. I hadn't expected to have so many of the mixed feelings that I did. This has been compounded by memories of my own service, my husband's and learning more of my father's.



The post did memorials and wreath laying at four cemeteries. At one, they joined a civil war reenactment group for the brief service. Unless they are civil war buffs, many do not realize that Minnesota lost so many soldiers during the Civil War. A month shy of its anniversary, Minnesota had not yet celebrated its third year of statehood when it was first to answer the call and offer troops to President Lincoln. Southeastern Minnesota was one of the more populated areas on the frontier and many men volunteered from the area. Though there are not many, there are civil war veterans buried here.


Minnesotans fought in many battles of the war; on July 2, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, the First Minnesota kept back the Confederates at Cemetery Ridge--probably saving the battlefield. During the bloodiest battle of the war, 82 percent of the units men died or were wounded. Out of 262 men, only 47 survived. The unit suffered the highest casualty rate of the entire war.


I have an incredibly hard time with military stuff. While reading names of veterans at the first cemetery, both my daughter and I noted that the first name read--determined alphabetically, happened to be that of a woman. When so many women are not acknowledged as veterans, it really moved me. Sadly, women have been hurt in ways many choose to not understand.


The pastor of the last ceremony read things from Sherman describing war for the hell that it is. It is tremendously difficult for me to hear so many glorify war--something routinely done especially on days around veteran's holidays. He recognized the families that also serve. I fought the tears when they came. I served during the Gulf War and my husband served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Military life is really hard on kids--how few people realize just how much. I am very grateful for the morning--it was a true blessing to spend the day with the Legion. Members of the post have been asking if we want to join them, perhaps the time has finally come.

The Hill Grandeur on Summit Avenue

Sunday afternoon, we went to the James J. Hill House on Summit Avenue in St. Paul after our failure at the Minnesota Children's Museum. This kids and I have been here more than once to discuss the industrial revolution and the importance of rail for American expansionism. However, John usually does not get to come with us. I had considered doing this Saturday afternoon while waiting for my daughter's zoo training to finish, but we burned some more energy off instead.



The James J. Hill house has 36,000 square feet of room in the building. No longer a private home, it is a museum owned by the Minnesota Historical Society. The beautiful sandstone home displays two shades of stone. The Archdiocese attempted to clean the stone when the building was in its possession--though they stopped when they realized the stone was being damaged by its attempts. The home overlooks St. Paul, and is impressive from both the font and the back.



The home had a school room, a boiler room, a naturally lit art gallery, an enormous two story pipe organ and a grand staircase. The area at the bottom served as a ballroom when special doors to the front were opened when the family entertained. The house also had a shower in each male bedroom--considered a form of massage at the time and a hybrid of gas and electric lights--considered innovations at the time it was built in 1891. Hill also made sure the structure used steel as its structure rather than wood, to help in fire proofing efforts. This steel is still visible above the art gallery. Also visible is Carnegie's stamp on the steel beams. Mrs. Hill did not entertain in the home again after her husband's death in 1916. It is a marvelous place to visit--though the envy drained from me quickly when the guide stated that it cost $19,000 to heat it two years ago before energy prices sky rocketed. Still a grand place to visit.

One last visit to the Children's Museum

It has been quite a while since my family has gone to the Minnesota Children's Museum. We always loved it there--it is definitely the best and the biggest one we have ever been in. Visitors can spend hours in the multi-floor museum. The last time we went, it was winter and the newest addition--a rooftop play area was closed for the season. It was something we always wanted to do. The museum has had funding to allow people to attend the museum the third Thursday of each month at no cost because of a grant from Target.



This past Sunday was beautiful outside and I thought it would be a perfect day to drive up there. We immediately went upstairs to the rooftop. It was a very cool area where kids could play; however, it was not what we had thought it was and was designed for much younger children. We looked around, snapped a few pictures and went downstairs.



The ant hill is a climbing and exploring area that has been in the museum for years. My daughter even remarked about how that was always her favorite part. We thought about playing one last time, but decided against it. Sadly, children grow up--and mine have definitely outgrown the Children's Museum. I am glad we went and saw the rooftop since we were curious, but we really only spent about 15 minutes or so in the museum. We decided it was a much better idea to find something else to do. My consolation for my kids growing up is that we get to do the things we used to not be able to. I was relieved that we only paid for parking in their ramp that day.