Iron Range Communities

From the Mesabi Daily News - January 29, 2009

Authors to be at event

Laskiainen will have area writers on hand on Feb. 8
By LINDA TYSSEN, Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:33 PM CST

PALO — Last year Bill Thompson organized a reunion of the Flying Finns track team from Embarrass for Laskiainen.

This year, Thompson’s project is authors from the area.

The Authors’ Room will be featured at the 72nd annual sliding festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, in room 107 of the Loon Lake Community Center in Palo.

There will be 19 authors attending, said Thompson, and their books cover a wide variety of topics. “This is a wonderful opportunity for local folks, and especially readers, to come out to visit with these authors at Laskiainen,’’ he said.

The list is as follows:

• Marvin Lamppa, longtime history teacher and coach at Mesabi East and highly regarded local historian, wrote “Minnesota’s Iron Country: Rich Ore, Rich Lives.’’ A description of the book reads, “Northern Minnesota has treasures — a land of beauty and heritage but also a land overflowing in natural resources. This story reveals the lives of a remarkable people and the industrial and political forces that built a region and a nation.’’

• The Rev. Frank Perkovich of Chisholm, well-known and popular Catholic priest and the author of “Dancing Your Way to Heaven,’’ a biography and a history of the famed Polka Mass.

• Larry Luukkonen, historian, brings trail and traveler to life in a well-documented and illustrated account of early Minnesota history. Hunters, warriors, voyageurs, fur traders, missionaries and explorers can all be found traveling over the Northwest Trail between Lake Superior and the Mississippi River in “Between the Waters.’’ The book reveals the rigors of navigating raging rivers and the colorful cast of characters who traveled the trail, a description reads.

• Ed “Dr. Z’’ Zottola, a retired professor of food microbiology from the University of Minnesota, wrote “Willie Walleye,’’ a collection of short sotries that show how all creatures learn from one another and work at living together. The book introduces youngsters of all ages to the ecology of the lakes. “The stories are fun and the life lessons are a bonus,’’ a reviewer wrote.

• Mark Munger, after practicing trial law for nearly 20 years, became a district court judge in 1998 and serves a four-county region in Northeastern Minnesota. He wrote “Suomalaiset,’’ a protrayal of life in the Northland at the turn of the last century. Munger also wrote “Mr. Environment: The Willard Munger Story,’’ about the longest-serving member of the state’s House of Representatives and one of the founding fathers of Minnesota’s liberal tradition.

• Bea Ojakangas, a well-known Duluth cooking author, has a new book called “The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever.’’ The book has generated excitement among local cooking enthusiasts, said Thompson.

• Mary Mulari of Aurora has traveled the country presenting sewing seminars since 1983. She grew up in Palo and began learning to sew as a member of the Loon Lake 4-H Club in the 1960s. She has written 21 creative sewing books and designs her own line of patterns. She is the most frequent guest on PBS’s “Sewing With Nancy.’’ Her apron and tote bag patterns will be available at the festival.

• Peter Leschak, a firefighter, is the author of several books and magazine articles and wrote “Ghosts of the Fireground,’’ a firsthand account of the lessons of tragedy, courage and faith in the epic struggle between man and fire.

• Tom Phillipich wrote “The 1951 Basketball Buccaneers.’’ In March 1951 the basketball team from tiny Gilbert battled its way into the Minnesota State High School Basketball Tournament, the state’s biggest sports spectacle of that era. The Buccaneers won the state title and captured the hearts of an entire state.

• Lora Lee Curtiss, Virginia native and elementary teacher for 40 years, has written a book for children who live and play in snowy climates called “Who Wants to Wear Boots?’’ She also wrote about her teaching experiences in “39 Years in the First Grade.’’ She also wrote “Life Goes On,’’ about the adjusting to retirement.

• Marcia Homer and Flossie Strickland teamed up to write “Harry’s Heavy Suitcase,’’ which a librarian described as the reading adventure of the decade. The book is illustrated by Nancy Scheibe, who also illustrated “Willie Walleye.’’

• Christine Moroni wrote “Perspectives Through Black Ice.’’ It is her hope that readers will be renewed and energized by observing and participating in the seasons of the Northland. The book is designed to be read in the early light of sunrise or in the evening twilight.

• A first-ever comprehensive look at the phenomenon of fish houses and winter fishing can be found in the “The Fish House Book: Life on Ice in the Northland’’ by Duluth photographer Kathryn Nordstrom. The book contains more than 200 color photographs.

• Complex issues of immigration and the co-operative movement are explored in the poetry of Jim Johnson and images by Marlene Wisuri in the book “The Co-op Label.’’ Immigrants struggling to attain a piece of the American dream banded together to found the co-operative movement. During the years before the Great Depression, the co-ops were aided by communists and communist sympathizers who were later rejected by the co-ops. “The Co-op Label’’ poses the question of the relevance of co-operative ideals to contemporary society.

• Boyd Rahier of Aurora authored “Dreaming With Teresa,’’ which has been described as “a celebration of the human soul, a true story of soul discovery and study into its evolution.’’ Rahier also wrote the book “Kissing the Old Hag.’’