See you at Shafer Days

Mark your calendars, in one week, you are invited to Shafer for their annual Shafer Days celebration. One of the very last of the summer, Shafer Days mixes in summer fun with a definite fall flavor. The celebration begins next Thursday and runs through Saturday. Thursday night at the Creamery, you are invited to the Shafer Days royalty crowning. On Friday, there is Bingo in the Creamery (with fabulous prizes) and later Uncle Chunk will be playing at Big Game Bar and Grill. Saturday, the firefighters would like to feed your family at their annual breakfast at the Fire Hall. The Hidden Clog treasure hunt begins at 9 a.m. and you will be $100 richer if you are the lucky finder. All along Redwing Avenue you will find arts and crafts vendors selling their goods and services. Also at 9 a.m., if you have been feeling a little “pent up”, you can take out your aggression on a car. for a small fee, you will get to slam a sledgehammer wherever you choose on a car. Shafer Days always has one of the best classic car shows in the area. It is really neat looking downtown Shafer and seeing it lined with beautifully restored vehicles. Make sure to bring the kids, because there will be an inflatable jump park by the trail head. Beginning at noon, one of the most popular events takes place. The garden tractor pull and modified mini rods will be laying rubber down Regal Avenue. If you have never seen this, it is a blast. The one of a kind bank robbery re-inactment happens at 2 p.m. in front of the old bank. Shafer residents dress in period clothes (along with their guns) as you get to watch an old fashioned bank robbery. Finally, like every great town celebration, Shafer Days is capped off with a street dance at the Fire Hall that features the popular band “Stooge”.

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There are a couple more fun things locally for you to take part in. First, Acres For Life, one of the most wonderful places on Earth is holding a “Barn Bash”. Acres For Life is a farm with whose sole purpose is to find a connection between animals and people that are in need of healing. It is one of the most moving, inspiring places you will ever visit. Acres For Life cares about one thing, happiness. Bringing joy into a person’s life that is in need of some. On Saturday, you and your family can enjoy hayrides, a maze, fun and games, a silent auction and much more. Acres For Life is located at 11720 256th Street in Chisago City, just off Lofton. Another fun event for you to enjoy is First United Methodist Church’s Pie Day. Held on Sunday, you will find everything pie under the sun. There is a pie eating contest (I heard Gary Gerke has backed out, so you definitely have a chance now), face painting, a pie in someone’s eye (not sure what that is but it sounds messy), a pie auction, a silent auction and other food and drinks. Pie Day is this Sunday and runs from 10:30 to 1:30 p.m.

+ + + + + + +  It seems we finally have received some good news on the cancer fight. As of this morning, researchers have found a crack in the pavement which could ultimately lead to saving a lot of lives. Researchers have broken down breast cancer tumors into four different DNA categories. "So what? It's still a cancer" you say. Well, by discovering the tumors molecular make-up, that will allow doctors to treat each category of tumor differently. In fact, one of the four tumors is almost an identical match with ovarian cancer. Thus the treatments that had been used in the past, should have been more like ovarian cancer treatments. Very exciting news, considering that specific tumor type has the highest mortality rate. When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer about 15 years ago, it devastated our family as I am sure it does every family. In the back of my mind I always held hope that if she could hold on as long as she could, a cure for breast cancer had to be right around the corner. Obviously that didn't happen and we lost my mom. But this news gives hope for thousands and thousands of families out there who otherwise would have experienced a loss like no other in their lives.

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As I walked down the middle of Highway 8 in Lindstrom today, I took some time to visualize. I visualized what this heaping pile of dirt and rocks might look like someday. Now that the curbs are in, it is a little easier to grasp the “new look Lindstrom” might resemble. I have to tell you, I think it might look really neat. Maybe I have been drinking the Kool-Aid too much, but I can sort of see trees along the downtown.  I can (hopefully) see park benches along the downtown. I don’t know folks, I am sure I have not taken a bad fall recently, but I think the finished product might actually be pleasing to look at. Pass the Kool-Aid.