To the Editor:
Mike Wartman's September docu-mentary about Victoria's Alley was per-fect except for one small detail:  All the homes along the first (north) section were on the east side, except for mine -- above the "Old" Post Office -- that was the only residence on the west side.  Did anyone else sometimes think that Victoria (Stieger) Lake was south because it was downhill from town, like south on a map?
Rod Nordberg
Golden Valley, Minnesota

To the Editor:
Dave and I just returned from a pleasant trip to Branson, Missouri, where we visited with my sister and her husband, Nancy and Len Lind from Brighton, Tennessee.  Len spotted the fishhook on page 26 in the Prairie Lawn & Garden ad in your October Gazette.  It's the stem of the three-leaf artwork on the lower right. 
We enjoyed your trip to Alaska.  We hope to go there soon.
Rosie Williams
Victoria, Minnesota

To the Editor:
I was proud to co-sponsor the land-mark decision to ban partial birth abortions and am grateful for the efforts of all those who helped to make this day possible.  Abortion is a difficult and divisive issue, but putting an end to partial birth abortion is where most of us share common ground.  A large majority of Minnesotans and Americans support a ban on the gruesome procedure.  I am pleased that its day will soon be over.
Senator Norm Coleman
State of Minnesota

To the Editor:
I wish to extend my thanks to friends for their prayers and cards during my recent hospital stay.  The surgery was successful, my recovery is going well, and I can't wait to drive again!
Nancy Sohns
Waconia, Minnesota




To the Editor:
We get your Gazette each month and have enjoyed your journey to Alaska.  I had just finished editing all of our slides from our five years there, putting them on disc, so your story was so timely to me.
On a recent trip through northern Kentucky we were confronted with views of ancient windmills, long ago abandoned along with the farms that were powered by this technology from the past.  Stand-ing in nearby fields were modern wind-mill farms, turning in the wind, man's attempt to harness the natural energy all around us.  Beautiful as they are, it took being in the eye of Hurricane Isabel to remind me that we are capable of harness-ing nothing if the wind really wants to blow.
We had prepared as much as we usually do, living two hours from the shores of Virginia.  The batteries were fresh; the camp stove and propane were within reach; the water bottles were full; the bathtub was full of water; lawn furni-ture was safely stored in the out building; and the Uno cards were on the dining room table.
As the darkness engulfed our home, the power failed by 5:30 p.m. and we retreated to the battery radio that tracked the wind to sustained 30 then 40 mph with gusts of 60 and 70 mph.  At 8:30 p.m. we heard the thud and like all foolish people we ran outside to survey the damage.
As the wind and rain drove us back into the shelter of our dining room, our flashlights showed a limb of our maple hanging to the ground, and a limb of our neighbor's oak resting on the herb garden.  Not to bad, we thought.
Then the flashlight moved left and at the end of the deck we faced the  8-foot brown mass.  A quick run to the bedroom window said it all.  The root ball of our 70-foot southern pine was what we saw from the deck.  The tree now was resting on what had been our outbuilding (where we had stored the patio furniture to keep it safe), the tree extending into our neighbor's yard to darkness that was beyond our flashlight's ability. 
We spent a restless night waiting for the first light, worrying about our neig-hbor's four young children and what possible damage had been done.  By 6:30 a.m., first dawn light appeared and we ventured into the lingering gusts to feet our fears.  The fallen branches kept us from getting all the way into the backyard, but at least the neighbor's roof was attached.
Despite the loss of our outbuilding, a couple of fishing poles, a tackle box, 40 to 50 crank baits, and a trolling motor, we lost nothing.  Our tree missed our neigh-bor's house by inches.  The tree missed all the gardening tools, the patio furniture, and the camping equipment when it land-ed.
We were able to make coffee for the neighborhood for the few days we were without power.  The cell phones held their charges until the regular phone service was restored, and nobody missed the cable.
We had never seen an oak tree lie down in the wind, only to stand erect again once the storm passed.  The wind took with it, trees, homes, cars, and even windmill farms.  What cannot be harnessed must simply be honored.  What the wind didn't take was the power of the human spirit.
There were those who complained that the power company had chosen to ignore their neighborhood, or that the cable company refused to reconnect the cable, intentionally denying customers access to the soap operas, but mostly people worked together and waited together and shared with each other.  Wasn't all bad.
Have a wonderfully cool day in Minnesota.
Mary Henrich
Colonial Heights, Virginiia

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