Karl Oskar Days is here; we say goodbye and good luck to a very dear friend

It is here. Finally a summer celebration! It took forever for summer to finally arrive, but now that it's here, let's try to get out and enjoy it. Karl Oskar Days is just the solution to get your summer time fix. There is something for everyone, every day of the celebration. Beginning today with the Farmer's Market and Harmony in the Park. The weather is supposed to be spectacular, so please bring a lawn chair or a blanket. Also, Wednesday, the great hunt for Karl Oskar's snuff box began. Be the lucky finder and win $150. If you have a Press subscription prior to July 12, win another $100. Clues will be posted here at the Press, Wally Carlsons BP, Lindstrom Foods and Lindstrom Antique Mall. Please remember the snuff box will only be hidden on public property. That means you don't have to smash my or any other business’s shrubs.

Public means parks, publicly owned right of way, not private. Clues will be posted every day at noon until found. Good luck! Thursday night (tonight) you are cordially invited to the Chisago Lakes Library for the unveiling of Ian Dudley's new masterpiece "Nelly Gustafson". Nelly was abeloved Swedish Pioneer Midwife. Ian has created a beautiful statue that depicts Nelly in the truest sense. The unveiling takes place at 6:30 p.m. Friday is your chance to meet with Ian and ask him questions. Ian is a great guy and if you are worried about making small talk, don't be. He is very approachable and if you are interested in art, you are set. He will be at the Library from noon until 2 p.m. Also on Friday at the Library is a great Civil War Documentary. Executive producer Richard Oxley will be on hand to answer any questions about the documentary named "From Wasioja to Washington". The showing will be at 3:30 p.m. and admission is free. I have only listed a few events, because we have a nice three page spread in this Press.

Another cool innovative way that we have brought Karl Oskar Days to you is on your smartphone. simply scan the QR code below and you will be pushed each and every Karl Oskar Days event directly to your phone. The good folks in the Karl Oskar Days Committee have brought Karl Oskar Days technologically up-to-date. Give it a try, it’s really cool. Every year in Lindstrom’s Memorial Park there is a wonderful arts and crafts fair. You will find the park filled with many vendors selling their goods and services, information displays, as well as some terrific food to sample. The craft fair will run every day until Sunday evening. Now that Karl Oskar Days is here, the Chisago Lakes Triathlon is just around the corner. You can register for the triathlon on the Chisago Lakes Area Chamber website. For those of you who need to start training (like myself), there is a group ride this Saturday that begins at 8 am in Paradise Park in Chisago City. We definitely still need volunteers for the triathlon. If you would like to help at the park, run a water station, or just lend your time, please call the Chamber at 651-257-1177. Thank you.

If you have been by Moberg Park on a Friday afternoon, or St. Bridget's parking lot on Saturday morning, you know how popular farmer's markets have become. Locally, they both offer amazing home grown vegetables and fruits as well as some wonderful food and art vendors. If you have not tried the farmer's market, you have no idea what you are missing. If you read the article in last week's paper about Anvil and Company, you would know that it is a really cool new business that specializes in diesel conversions. But what you might not know is that Anvil & Co. is quickly becoming a garage hangout for gearheads. Every second and fourth Wednesday, they invite the public in for a night of pizza, truck talk and demonstrations. If you have ever watched the Velocity Channel, you would know the kind of hang out Anvil & Co. is.

We recently took our daughter and some friends to Wild Mountain for a day of water slides and go-karting. As usual they had the time of their lives. As we were sitting there, we noticed a very large platform with a blue blow up mat at the base. As we looked even closer, there were people (kids included) jumping off the ledge onto the blow up mat. Think of a stuntman falling onto inflated padding. Wild Mountain has created a freefall adventure where you can jump from either 18 or 27 feet. People were having a blast jumping off the platforms. Where was this ride when I was young jumping off cliffs into the St. Croix River? (This is illegal now by the way.)

Congratulations to WineHaven for the Grand Opening of the stunning new facility. If you are like me, you have been monitoring the progress of the beautiful building on the hill overlooking Little Green Lake. Saturday you are invited to come tour the new facility and be the first to try this year’s raspberry wine. There will be music, wine tasting and tours. The “reception” is free.

While it seems like every week I am writing an homage to a deceased local icon, this week I am writing an homage to a very much alive local icon. Sherry Stirling is retiring. She will unlock the Chisago county history center for the last time on Friday. She has been our local top historian for the last 15 faithful years. Sherry has been part of and reated countless programs over the years and we are so grateful for all of her time and effort. If you know Sherry, you know what an absolutely amazing woman she is. She is one of the kindest, most caring, and compassionate people you could ever hope to meet. We have the old newspapers here at the Press, so Sherry has been here countless hours researching historic events. Over the last 10 years, I have gotten to know Sherry very well. We have shared some great times together and some very tough ones as well. Sherry has always been one of the people that I and a lot of other people could confide in. She will be missed at the Historical Society, but at the same time, when you do bump into her, she will have a lot more time to stop and chit chat. Congratulations Sherry!