I recently read an essay by a guy who grew up in the same area I did. He was recalling memories of the people he knew in his hometown, Humboldt, MN. His memories made me both laugh and cry. I remembered a lot of those things from my own acquaintance with Humboldt through people my family knew through school and church, as well as distant relatives or family friends.

For example, I identified with his loving memories of Alfred and Clara Loer. They were, indeed, two of the nicest people I've ever known. They were compassionate, loving, had great senses of humour, and were very positive people in their outlook on life. Alfred was supportive to me as a young girl when I had a horse and had problems figuring out where to find hay for my horse, or transport it, offering his farm truck. I remember a golden lab dog they had later on that had belonged to one of their girls originally, but they took him on. Alfred taught him tricks that he would show off to guests like us over for a Sunday afternoon dinner. Toyvo, yes, I think that was the dog's name...

My own children, Eva (age 24) and Daniel (age 21) lived in St. Vincent with my parents from March 1985 to August 1986, almost 18 months, while we were transitioning from California to Fargo. During that time, they attended church and school there, and got a small taste, especially Eva, of what I, and others of the older generation, grew up with. Eva has never forgotten walking down Grandpa and Grandma Short's road to catch the bus, or the town dogs, or the playhouse, or the barn...or Grandpa and Grandma's workshop...Eva remembers the open fields and sky, and the security of small town life, and treasures those memories. I am thankful that out of a sad situation (the eventual breakup of my marriage) came a very positive experience, living with my parents. My Dad and Mom both told me later that it was a very very special time for them, having us living with them. People asked them how they could handle it, after being alone so long and being retired, but Mom surprised me later by relating to me how she felt at the time - i.e., she considered that time period as one of the happiest for her and Dad. Later, after I moved down to the Fargo area, they took the kids and I on two family trips to Medora and Mount Rushmore in the late 1980's. Those have become great memories for all us, too.

St. Vincent is a ghost town now, little of what it once was is evident except to those who know its history. Families still live and grow there, but it's more like a settlement, a cluster of homes, for those who farm in the nearby fields, than a town. Community is still in the hearts of the people there, no doubt, but it's changed.

One thing that I've always felt about the river towns, as I call towns like Pembina/St. Vincent, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks, and Fargo/Moorhead, is that they are less separate than together. You can't really separate them from one another. Today, the most northern twin cities on the Red River of the North have shrunken greatly, but they are still very important to the people that live there, and to those that don't - we depend on them to grow the food we eat, and caretake the land that provides it...