Behind the Lines: by David Heiller

David Heiller The old tractor is ready and waiting. Don’t write any angry letters now, but it is waiting for snow, and so am I. A lot of people would just as soon let this pretend winter slip quietly into the record books. It’s February, for crying out loud. We missed our chance at winter. Even Rick Voshart is ready to let his sleeping snowmobile lie. Allis and I will politely disagree. It’s hard to speak for a tractor, seeing as they are mostly steel and rubber. But I sensed it on Sunday. That was the day that I picked up the Allis WD at Andy Moen’s house at the end of Klondike Road east of Freeburg. Andy had modified a tractor blade that I bought from Kenny Schaller of Reno. Kenny had seen my ad in the paper looking for a blade. Turns out he had one for an Allis C, and with a little tap here and weld there, it should work for the WD, Kenny said in his gruff voice. The price was right too. I won’t say it here, but when Kenny told it, he paused and then laughed. It wa...

David Heiller Cold enough for you? That question usually starts the coffee shop conversation at this time of year. But lately people have been asking the summer version: “Warm enough for you?” These crazy balmy days are enough to upset a Minnesotan. Monday saw 48 degrees in Minneapolis 45 in Duluth, both new records. Tuesday was a repeat, with more new records. Rumors vary about how we are coping with the heat wave. Duque tt e General Store has had a problem with some Nickerson folks sleeping in the store’s chest freezers. Nickerson bodies can’t handle warm Januaries—their genes aren ’t used to it. Then Jean VanderWerf had to chase away a teenager who was lounging in the new walk-in coolers at Askov Grocery, wearing Bermuda sho rt s and sun glasses. It really got bad at Banning State Park, when ranger Randy Gordon ordered a bush pilot in from Nebraska to seed the clouds in hopes of producing snow for the ski trails. And Petry’s Baits in Finlayson has been saving empt...