In my humble opinion - by Deb Bently

Truly a privilege to share their stories

For the sake of the New Richland Star Eagle and this edition of the Pioneer, I have interviewed two breast cancer survivors this week. I feel truly privileged to have been given an excuse to meet with Hartland’s Ronda Staloch and Waseca’s Bea O’Brien and have a rich conversation about their...

Conversing in the field

He had me at “sandhill cranes.” For the sake of this week’s paper, I interviewed a couple of Steele County sportsmen who took part in the governor’s pheasant hunting opener. One of them, Al Steinbauer, was in the field with Governor Walz and his companions. Al was impressed, by the way, with...

Moments in time, some faster than others

The other morning I had a ceramic “coffee” cup in my hands. I had just brewed some tea and was crossing the kitchen, filled with anticipation for the nice warm beverage on what was a rather chilly morning. I have no explanation why, but the cup slipped from my fingers: The next fraction of a...

Newspapers in the 'before' times

I notice that Eli’s column this week focuses on telling readers about what it takes to put together a newspaper. I also notice that Dave Zika’s writing talks about Waseca forty years ago. Voila! I am the perfect person to bring those two ideas together. A member of Waseca High School’s...

Every person has a story worth hearing

Something interesting about assumptions is that we often don’t even realize we’re making them. Let me offer a trivial example. Once a month or more, I visit an aunt who lives in an elder care facility. As I finish my visits and want to return to the parking lot, I must follow a series of...

Things that made me smile

Things that made me smile on my drive to work: When I turned on my car, the airflow from my air vents was impressive. My husband had done me the favor of changing the “cabin” air filter, and it made an amazing difference. The hummingbirds on my yard were buzzing around the feeders; they’re...

Are you a fan of fireworks?

As I write this, I am in OshKosh Wisconsin at the national convention of the Pyrotechnicians’ Guild International (PGI). If you are a fan of fireworks (and who isn’t?) you wish you were here. This is where pyrotechnicians (“pyros” for short) come to learn more about what they do…and to show off...

WILDFOWL - Photos Deb captured on a northern Minnesota lake.

My fixation on area wildfowl

Perhaps my largest fixation for watching wild animals is for hummingbirds; it’s almost mystical to see them hovering in one place, their wings only a blur around them. It is no effort but rather a pleasure for me to make the concentrated sugar water that goes in their feeders and to keep the...

GIVING IT A TRY - Waseca County Pioneer writer Deb Bently at the wheel of a school bus.

Behind the wheel

I would like to extend my thanks to the six folks from the Palmer Bus Service who put up with me this past Saturday. First, I walked up and started asking all sorts of invasive questions: How many buses do you have? How many bus routes? What do you do when the regular driver can’t make it?...

What, exactly, defines who we are?

One does not normally expect deep philosophical observations from superhero movies–which is just as well, because one does not normally find them there. But after one particular Batman movie I felt compelled to make a small banner: “It is what we do that defines who we are.” The banner has...