Another Short Visit

My mom and dad stopped in Northfield on Monday for one of their typical short visits.  They arrived after lunch, stayed for dinner and drove back to Alexandria that night after attending Louisa’s high school band concert.

Some people might think my parents are crazy to drive three hours, one way, to attend a high school band concert.  The truth is, they are a little wacky, in a good way.  They don't let distance stop them from participating in the lives of their grandchildren.  I would have loved for them to stay longer, at least overnight, but they are busy retired folks who have places to go and people to meet for coffee.

My kids are lucky to have not just one, but two sets of supportive grandparents willing to endure winter road trips.  This weekend, the Lawler grandparents will be here to see Louisa – and Steve – perform in The Curious Savage at the Northfield Arts Guild Theater.

Monday was the beginning of tech week, when they run the lights, practice in costume and generally prepare the show for the Friday night opening.  Because Louisa has not yet found a way to clone herself, we had to whisk her away from the band concert as soon as her band finished playing so she could get to rehearsal.

Louisa did a great job with her mini solo during the band’s second piece, “The Old Red Mill” by Brant Karrick.  She told my parents and me afterward that she’d experienced the worst stage fright she’s ever had before playing the solo.  I was surprised to hear that, knowing how much stage experience she has.  I guess it’s a good thing she doesn’t play her French horn in the play (spoiler alert: Steve’s character does play a violin, which should be curiously amusing).

Before the concert, as is typical for these short visits, my dad and I briefly discussed the status of the G. Oliver Riggs project.  Dad gave me copies of his latest work – he’d assembled packets of the three presentations we’ve given in St. Cloud: G. Oliver Riggs Day in June 2008, the talk in Barden Park last summer, and my speech to the breakfast club at the Stearns History Museum in November.  Dad is giving the materials to the Stearns History Museum, to be included in the G. Oliver archives there.

It was a good feeling to look at those packets and reflect on what we’ve already accomplished, especially since I had been feeling discouraged about not having much time lately to spend on the blog or the research.

There may be another presentation in the works, although we have a while to put it together.  Dad’s other recent project was to put together a spiral-bound book of band photos, with accompanying text, that tell the story of G. Oliver’s career.  Dad sent the books to museums and individuals who have helped us with the project; last week, he heard back from Lynn Ellsworth, the archivist at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and the director of the Harlan-Lincoln House.

Dad had also sent Lynn a copy of the blog post I wrote a year ago, Party Like It’s 1895, about how G. Oliver performed at parties for Abraham Lincoln's granddaughters at the Harlan-Lincoln House.  Lynn wrote back to my dad and said she’d love to have us give a presentation on G. Oliver as part of the annual Harlan-Lincoln Brown Bag lecture series.  The 2011 dates already are filled, but we are penciled in for March 2012.

Dad and I last visited Iowa Wesleyan in June 2007.  It would be fun to return, now that we have learned so much more about G. Oliver.  We are still hoping to unearth a copy of the IWU Cadet March, a song G. Oliver wrote for the college band he organized and directed in the 1890s.

It would be nice to schedule a leisurely trip to Mt. Pleasant, but given our busy schedules and family tradition, it’s likely that it will end up being another short visit.