This year the Valley Grove Preservation Society will feature “The Art of Valley Grove.” You are invited to bring your favorite painting, photo, sketch, or pastel of Valley Grove for the two-hour pop-up exhibit in the Stone Church. Coffee and treats, of course, will be served.

Congratulations to Steve and Barb Strack, neighbors to Valley Grove, who were the winners of the lottery draw. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to Valley Grove Preservation Society, PO Box 75, Nerstrand MN 55053, or online.

Update: Our Steeple Restoration project has been paid in full! The left over money that was contributed will go to painting one side of the wooden church this Spring. Thank you…

In September of 2018 we lost a 250+ year old oak bur. The base of the trunk looked as though it had exploded, its stump shattered into vertical spikes and shards. As it fell, the strong limbs slipped between the headstones, caught the great weight of tree, and eased it into an almost decorous repose doing surprisingly minimal damage on its way down.

Note:  The following piece was written prior to the tornado that swept the grounds on September 20, 2018. The grand old oak was taken in that storm and no longer stands. Please enjoy the photos and text below as an earlier piece of our story.

There are many layers to Al Quie and his relationship to our community, this church, Minnesota, the larger region, and the entire US, as a matter of fact. And to help you with a little agenda, our little strategy this afternoon, I'm kind of thinking of what it might have been like for Al when he was a student at St. Olaf and as a retired teacher.

Just to remind you that Al grew up on a farm that was just a couple of miles east of us here. The farm is still there, of course, but that's where he lived when he was a youth.