The Northfield Raiders won their one and only state football championship at the Metrodome on Nov. 22, 1997, by defeating Detroit Lakes 28-0. But

“We were built and now stand on the shoulders of Giants.” This was the shared sentiment of the St. Olaf College Department of Art

Let’s get this out of the way from the start. You can’t pay me enough to watch the 40 or more mostly mediocre (and

An almost palpable air of excitement has hung over the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault ever since July 20, opening night of

I wrote two paragraphs about Henry Talford Budd, known as “Tal,” in my third Historic Happenings column in April of 2007. I was writing about events

“Until Dec. 7, 1941, I thought I was a normal boy, a normal American. All of a sudden I was dirty. All of a

It all started with an extraordinary invitation by Minnesota Twins’ owner Cal Griffith 45 years ago. Sid Freeman, owner of a Northfield men’s store

Northfield could hardly have been more welcoming. It was front page news when the Northfield News announced on June 18, 1898, that “Miss Baker’s boarding

The opening game of the 1965-66 basketball season of the Northfield High School Raiders was to be played on the court of a new

On Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 Northfielders had a chance to experience what it would have been like to be in an “electric theater” audience

Northfielders reading Reed Whittemore’s memoir Against the Grain: The Literary Life of a Poet (Dryad Press, 2007) may have an irresistible urge to start with Chapter

Kenneth and Carolyn Jennings are my neighbors at Village on the Cannon. So, before they left for their winter sojourn in Arizona, it was

Plans were made in December of 1855 for the family of John North to move south from St. Anthony to the Cannon River where

It’s been a good year for New York City artist Ward Sutton, St. Olaf Class of 1989. Four of his cartoons were published in the New

“Robbery & Murder!” screamed the headline of the Rice County Journal of Sept. 7, 1876. “Desperate Attempt to Rob the Bank! J.L. Heywood Shot Dead at

In July of 2011 an open house was held at the Archer House River Inn to show off a $1.1 million renovation of the

The headline of the Northfield News ran across the top of the entire front page on Oct. 30, 1936: “New Postoffice Building Completed.” There were

“As we felt the necessity of the civilizing influence of music in our semi-savage state, a band of young men was formed, led by

When I moved to Northfield from New York in 2004 and took an interest in researching and writing about the history of the town

“What most typifies spring?” asked a writer in the Carletonian paper on April 6, 1965. “Is it the girls seductively sunning themselves on Myers Hill? Is

Carleton and St. Olaf have had a hot basketball rivalry since 1910 when  construction of Sayles-Hill Gym spurred annual clashes. They have battled for an

“Northfielders Have Forever Found Fun, Even in the Frigid Days of February.” That was the title of my first column for the Northfield Entertainment Guide in

A clause inserted into every deed of land by Northfield’s founder John North was “No intoxicating drinks shall be sold or in any manner

Researching historic happenings can be time-consuming. It can also be as easy as “googling” a  topic on a computer. Occasionally, it is a matter of

“Rising Waters Cause Concern” was the headline. “Recent heavy rains have pushed Cannon River levels to a near-critical stage.” Northfielders turned up in droves

L.K. (Larry) Hanson, creator of a popular St. Olaf comic strip in the ’60s and long-time StarTribune illustrator and writer, came to Northfield recently to talk

“Noted Organist Accepts Offer: Carleton Secures James R. Gillette, Nationally Known Organist.” This was the front page headline in the Northfield News of Aug. 24, 1923.

“It’s here!” This note, with a big smiley face drawn on it, was in my mailbox at St. Olaf late in the first term

Well, yes, we do have the smell of Malt-O-Meal wafting through our town on a regular basis. But for a “whiff” which says we

Way back in the historic mid-1960s, when I was attending St. Olaf, my friends and I would head down to Sayles-Hill Gym at Carleton

I never thought I would fall in love with a man named Hiram when I moved to Northfield in 2004. But I did. Just

I guess I am easily entertained, because my idea of a good time is to look at microfilm of old newspapers at the Northfield

Sayles-Hill Gymnasium, now used as Carleton’s Campus Center, was dedicated on Jan. 26, 1910. As the “March Madness” of the collegiate basketball season is

It isn’t often that Minneapolis’ major newspaper, the Associated Press and the CBS Morning News carry the results of a campaign for a college

Those of you who have been amazed at the magnificence (and length) of the Defeat of Jesse James Days parades will no doubt be

No doubt fans of football at St. Olaf looked enviously across the Cannon River during the first two decades of the 20th century when

It’s not too likely that the University of Minnesota will book Carleton as an opponent at its new TCF Bank Stadium. But Carleton’s football

Although individual instruction in art was present from the early years of Carleton (which was founded in 1866), there was no art department until

As I drove into the driveway of the hilltop home of Bryan Moon outside of Cannon Falls, I saw the first whimsical touch of

The Northfield Arts Guild will kick off celebrations of its 50th anniversary at the Aug. 15 performance of William Shakespeare’s classic popular play, “A

Within six years of the founding of Northfield in 1855, Northfield proudly flew its first U.S. flag. The Continental Congress had adopted the nation’s

Northfield’s rich musical heritage can be traced back to Ann North, wife of Northfield’s founder, John North. When it came to a choice between

In 1855, at the age of 40,  John Wesley North was ready for new challenges. A New Yorker by birth, he had moved to St.

Question: Who Are Northfield’s Quiz Show Aces? This year the Academy Award for Best Picture went to “Slumdog Millionaire,” the story of a teen

On June 16, 1899, more than 6,000 visitors streamed into Northfield on a dozen regular and special trains and marched in a mile-long parade.

John North President Abraham Lincoln never set foot in Northfield. Nevertheless, as the nation celebrates the 200th birthday of Lincoln on Feb. 12, Northfield

Just two months shy of being elected president of the United States, Ike Eisenhower gave the only college address of his campaign in Northfield.

“Speaker Ushers in Black History Month.” So read the headline of The Carletonian of Feb. 12, 1999. A picture with the story shows Barack Obama at

Dad, why doesn’t Carleton play metric football?” That question, from Carleton chemistry professor Jerry Mohrig’s teenage son David, sparked a very special and unique

When I lived in New York and told anyone that my alma mater was St. Olaf, more often than not the response was, “Oh,

“You’re listening to the new sound in town, KYMN radio. Let’s boogie!” The uplifting strains of “Up, Up and Away,” sung by the Fifth