Wrenshall News: Quiz answers and the online teaching feels

Thanks to all for playing Wrenshall trivia this week. I had a videoconference with Dale Wolf and he told me all the answers. I wrote them down while dehydrating apples and now they are either in the compost or at the bottom of the stack of papers that I cleared off my desk to make room for my son’s new “classroom.”

So I called the next best resource, Jim Sheetz. Here are his responses:

QWhat was the total number of brickyards running in Wrenshall during the peak time of that industry here?

AThere are competing ideas on this one: Jim says seven, Dale says six.

QDid Wrenshall ever have a bank?

AYes. Wrenshall State Bank. Jim has some original checks, although they probably aren’t good anymore.

QName one of the justices of the peace located in Wrenshall prior to Dale Wolf.

A Barth Wolf (no relation).

Q Name two of the earliest Wrenshall grocery stores.

ALance Store, Nordenvall, Horner’s general store.

Q Where was the last of our brickyards physically located?

AThe Enterprise, on County 18.

QWhere was the first post office located?

ADown by the old train depot.

QWhat business took over in that location?

ANordenvall grocery.

And speaking of classroom spaces, I want to share some words of gratitude for the amazing work the teachers and staff at Wrenshall schools have taken on to make sure that the learning goals they set out at the beginning of the year can be championed at homes in the district over the next month.

I know a lot of us are trying to figure out new routines and new spaces for learning and work, and the words patience, empathy, kindness and humor have all come to mind as we adjust to the new normal.

My sister-in-law put it best in a social media post this week when she described getting her household up and ready for distance learning. With her husband also working from home, she says “Our house is now an office with cubicles, with cuter, but no less annoying, co-workers.”

It’s been tricky at our own house. While we haven’t gotten to the point where we are labeling things in the fridge, we are jockeying for the corner office. It seems the most ideal work surface is the kitchen counter, and my husband and I have shared dibs on the space during the working hours.

I’ve also noticed that while we as a community are doing our part to engage in physical distancing, there have been some really intimate moments as we share our living rooms and personal spaces through video chats with students and coworkers.

I’m normally a strong believer in the importance of boundaries, but I was surprisingly moved when I showed up for my first day of teaching online and got to see the living rooms and kitchen tables of my students.

I had sneaked away to the greenhouse to make sure my 3- and 5-year-old boys wouldn’t interrupt the lecture and my students got to see a different side of me as well. Later in the day on a video call with my administration, my children danced in the background to “Life is a Highway” and I realized how nice it was for me to bring my full human reality to work.

Occasional permeability to our boundaries in these times allows us to be vulnerable to grace. So, in the words of Rascal Flatts, via Tom Cochrane: “Life is a highway, I wanna ride it.”

If you have a Wrenshall-specific story idea, let me know. Call 218-310-4703 or email [email protected].