Category Archives: Community

Community, Journalism, Life, Local, News, Uncategorized, Winona, Winona Friendship Center

Parking causes issues for Friendship Center

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The Friendship Center in Downtown Winona needs more parking as it is the number one complaint from members.  

The issue comes mostly because the Friendship Center serves the senior citizens of the area, many of whom have a harder time walking long distances or making it across the street in the time allowed. 

Roxy Kohner has been a member of the center for almost 11 years. She said sometimes she will come to the center an hour before an event to wait out a close enough parking spot. 

“I have driven by and without a place to park I had to turn around and go back because there wasn’t anything within the walking distance that I can do,” Kohner said. “I have also staked out parking. So I have come an hour ahead of time and I will park and do something in my car till I can watch and see someone pull out.” 

Malia Fox, director of the Friendship Center, said this is the most frequent complaint the center gets. 

A report from 2018 state there is adequate parking for the City of Winona. 

The report titled “Parking Study: Downtown Winona” was created by Walker Consultants. They studied an area of 42 blocks between the Mississippi River, Winona Street, Broadway Street and Kanas Street. 

Walker Consultants found that in the study area there were about 4,030 spaces available of which about 3,205 spaces were for public use. 

Parking continues to be a problem for the Friendship Center despite the findings in the Walker report.  

Across Fifth Street from the Friendship Center is the Main Street Square Development. The construction workers and equipment take up many spots that are closest to the center, which has caused more lack of parking.

Winona Major, Mark Peterson, said parking has been an issue for the center since it started 40 years ago. 

“The complaints are very real which is why the city has been looking at a solution to solving the problem,” Peterson said. “The past couple of years the city has seriously been considering moving the center.”

There will be a meeting on Nov. 13 to discuss parking further. 

There was talk from the city about knocking down the old middle school auditorium and creating a parking lot there. 

According to Kohner, that would not fix the problem.

“That is a band-aid because many of us have limited mobility. So even if we do have parking you’re talking two blocks away,” Kohner said. “I won’t be able to go two blocks either. I can go a block if a stretch it, half a block is perfect.” 

One quasi-solution the center had was making a deal with Wesely United Methodist Church which is next door to them. The Friendship Center can use the church’s parking area as long as the church does not have an event going on. 

The parking the church said the center can use is not reserved for the Friendship Center. It is public parking. 

The center has a membership of 1,000 people with an average daily attendance of 125. They also have staff coming in and out of the building every day. 

According to Fox, the Main Street Square Development across the street has hindered their membership. 

“In the last 6-8 months that this development has been occurring, we are watching our numbers drop for the first time in 25 years,” Fox said. 

Community, Family, History, Local, Outdoors, Uncategorized

The story behind Pickwick Mill

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The Pickwick Mill in Pickwick, Minnesota, started in 1856 by Thomas Grant and Wilson Davis. 

The building started as a sawmill but was later converted to produce flour. It is the oldest flour mill found in Southeast Minnesota. 

The mill was a water-powered gristmill on Big Trout Creek. 

In 1917 the roof was damaged by a cyclone. When it was repaired they put a flat roof on instead of the gable roof. 

When the historical society took it over they returned the roof to the gable roof it originally had. 

The mill has several flights of stairs each with the names of people who have worked there.

Now the mill is still intact but is no longer used to make flour. It stands as a historic site and museum. 

George Johnson, of Rushford, Minnesota, visited the mill on Saturday, Oct. 5. He said he thought it was a beautiful historic place. 

Jeff Wershofen started working at the mill as a child because it was where there was adult supervision. 

Throughout the mill, there are flour bags hung. On the top floor of the mill, they have many strung together with other artifacts.

Wershofen described his experience at the mill as part of a perfect childhood. 

To find out more about Pickwick Mill and Wershofen’s experiences watch the following video.

art, Community, Family, Food, Life, Local, Outdoors, Winona

Winona gets funky at the Levee

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Rhythm @the River was attneded by people of Winona and the surrounding area on Sunday, Sept. 15, at Levee park. 

The event included dance lessons, live music, craft beer, and food trucks. 

Organizers spent between $12,000 and $15,000 to organize the event. 

Lee Gundersheimer, arts and culture coordinator at WINONArts said many sponsors believe in WINONArts and helped pay for the event, in addition to fundraising. 

Rhythm @ the River is an expanded 2018 version of “Swinging in the Streets.” 

Organizers said the event was moved to Levee Park and made it bigger because last year 400 people participated on Third Street.  

Molly Breitlow (left) helps a couple with their salsa turns. Breitlow and her husband taught both of the lessons at Rhythm @ the River.

Rhythm @ the River was created as a part of a series of events that WINONArts puts on according to Gunersheimer.

“The event is part of the Dance Plein Air events in WINONArts, the City’s initiative to bring as many folks together with the arts and through as many different art forms as possible, dance being one of them,” Gunersheimer said. 

Winona State Students Emma and Scout were on their way to study at Blue Heron and decided to see what was going on. 

The two got snow cones at one of the food trucks and sat down in the grassy area of the park to enjoy the music. 

“I really like the Spanish music,” Emma said. “I think we definitely would come to this again.” 

Golpe Tierra was the first band to perform during the night. They are from Madison Wis., and are an Afro Cuban Jazz and Salsa Band.

Rhythm @ the River was also the kick-off to Project FINE’s Welcome Week.

Welcome Week helps create a more welcoming community for immigrants and people who have relocated to Winona, according to Gunersheimer. 

Community, Events

Racial issues exhibit visits Rochester

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By: Erin Jones and Andrew Schouweiler

A smaller version of the Science Museum of Minnesota’s RACE exhibit is on display at the Rochester Public Library until April 30, 2019.

Before the library, Rochester’s Apache Mall hosted the RACE exhibit.

The mini versions of the RACE exhibit, according to the Science Museum of Minnesota, are 500 square-feet and include easy-to-set-up displays for smaller venues like the library and the mall.

The content of each display is created to be easily understood, so people of all ages can participate in the walk-through exhibit.

Kim Edson, head of readers’ services at Rochester Public Library, explained the goal of the RACE exhibit.

“It takes it from both a scientific point of view – looking at race from a biological level, by the way, there’s no such thing – and it also explores the sociological concept of race and how it has had many impacts in our culture,” Edson said.

Rochester was home to the RACE exhibit for eight months in 2010. The exhibit was brought back this year through grants from the federal government.

Dee Sabol, executive director of Rochester’s Diversity Council, explained how the grants allowed the Science Museum to work with the Rochester Public Library to bring the RACE exhibit back to Rochester.

“They were able to create the smaller, traveling versions of the RACE exhibit and bring them out to the community through those grant funds,” Sabol said.

According to Winona State University’s Associate Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity Jonathan Locust, funds toward the exhibit’s return were also donated by the Inclusion and Diversity office.

“There were donations from my office in particular for the amount of $500, as well as a donation from WSU-Rochester in the amount of $500,” Locust said.

Locust said donating to the exhibit was beneficial to Winona State and to people in communities surrounding the exhibit who may not know the history of race and racism.

He said much of the history people have learned over time is not inclusive of people who are of different races, genders, ethnicities and abilities.

“Our history has been completely whitewashed,” Locust said. “Having people go out and doing some digging on their own [then being able to say], ‘What information has been left out of the history that I’ve learned?’ And then maybe ask those deeper questions, ‘Why has it been left out?’”

Edson and Sabol both said getting people to ask those hard questions and generating conversation about race and racism is another part of the RACE exhibit’s purpose.

“We believe this exhibit gives people an opportunity to think a little bit deeper about the topic,” Edson said. “Our goal is to engage community conversations about this issue and hopefully impact change.”

Sabol said so far, the exhibit has been successful in generating community discussion.

She said when the RACE exhibit was in Rochester in 2010, people left angry and disagreed with the information presented in the displays.

“They would come back more than once and it would at least get them involved in a discussion and I think that’s really the point is to look at something a little bit differently,” Sabol said.

Traffic to the exhibit this year has been high as well, according to Locust.

With the exhibit in the mall during the holidays, the flow of visitors was heavy, which carried over into the following months.

“We know we got some heavy traffic right around MLK Day, we know we got some in February for Black History Month because there are some people who did some programs in there,” Locust said.

Edson and Sabol said with conversation about race being generated within the community, they are working on trying to find a permanent home in Rochester for the RACE exhibit.

Grant funds have given Edson and Sabol the opportunity to put on additional programming, so members of the community can take advantage of other resources to learn about race.

“We’ll have speakers and presenters now who will talk about different aspects of race and racism,” Sabol explained. “There are other learning opportunities, some workshops and things like that [and] we hope to have a couple film screenings as well.”

Community, History, Local, Winona

Pieces of Winona’s Past

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By Zach Bailey

 

The stairs creak with each step as Pieces of the Past owner, Cheri Peterson, walks down the stairs toward the basement office.

With each step, the temperature drops by a fraction of a degree as the smell of cold, damp air begins to flood the senses.

Peterson reaches the office, walks to the far end, and opens the large metal door separating the office from the rest of the building’s cellar.

She fumbles for the switch, and as she finally finds the chain and pulls it, light floods the room of the storage center.

She rounds the corner and takes a left, so that she is standing directly below the front room of the store.

“This is where most of the activity happens,” Peterson says, glancing across the scattered Christmas decorations and shelving units.

She pauses for a moment, taking in the view, then turns around and begins walking deeper into the building’s underbelly.

She reaches a thick, metal, sliding door at the far end of the room, and, showing the effort it took to open the door, explains that she does not enter this room often.

A rush of cold air passes by as the door finally slides open and the temperature drops another half-dozen degrees.

She walks into the open space, which houses only two pillars and an old vinyl sign. She is now standing under the back room of the store, where most employees and customers say they have experienced something… abnormal.

“Customers quite frequently say there’s something strange going on in the back half of the store, like someone was standing behind them,” Peterson says. “[I have even] had a customer send photographs of faces reflected in glass. Usually it’s feel but every once in a while, [customers/employees] get a sight [of something strange].”

Peterson quickly walks out of the room, takes one last look at the cellar, then closes the inch-thick metal door, not to open it again until the next curious ghost hunter wants to take a look.

Peterson first opened Pieces of the Past in downtown Winona in January 1995. The store, which began as a wooden furniture shop, made the transition to the home-decor side of sales after moving to the Second and Lafayette streets location in 2000, where they have been since.

This was where the strange happenings began.

The building that now houses Pieces of the Past was built in 1852 and plays quite a role in the haunting’s dark history.

The front half of the store is the oldest building in downtown Winona. The only brick structure downtown, it was the only building to survive the fire of 1856, which destroyed nearly all of downtown Winona, and most of Winona as a whole.

But according to Peterson, there’s more to the building’s history than just its age.

“We’ve found evidence that the building itself was tied to five different deaths,” Peterson said. “Before we moved in, the building had been a bar and brothel in the red-light district.”

Peterson recounted how after moving to their Second Street location, two men who had worked as bartenders in the building came in one day and told her stories of strange things they had seen while working.

The men told of pool balls rolling across the table by themselves and noises being heard when there were no customers around, but they ended with one story that stuck in Peterson’s mind.

“The two were working one night and had to walk downstairs to change a keg or grab something. As they were walking down the steps, they both paused, looked at each other, and said, ‘When we get upstairs, let’s both write down what we saw,’” Peterson said. “They got back upstairs, wrote down what they saw, and showed each other. Both had seen a woman in a pink dress walk past them on the stairway.”

According to Peterson and Haunted Places, a website that documents haunted locations across the nation, Pieces of the Past is home to at least five spirits. Ghosts include the woman from the story, who was apparently shot to death on one of the staircases, and a young girl the ghost hunters identified as “Carol.”

“I’ve caught glimpses of a girl in a yellow dress before. I’ll see her out of the corner of my eye, then when I turn to look she’s gone,” Peterson said. “There was even one time where I was downstairs in the office and I felt a tug on my pant leg. I turned around and there was nothing there, so I went back to my business. A few minutes later it happened again.”

Peterson isn’t the only current employee who has experienced things in the building.

“Some staff members have said they have been tapped on the shoulder or hear things like someone calling their name, or hearing someone say hello, all when no one else is [in the building],” Peterson said. “Employees will come in during the morning to find pictures out of place or find that things had fallen down overnight.”

Trianna Douglas, one of the current employees at Pieces of the Past, recently experienced what she believes to be something paranormal.

“I was here later in the day. Business had been steady but slowed down in the afternoon,” Douglas said. “I was standing up front all alone when I heard it.”

Creak.

Creak.

Creak.

Off to her right, she began to hear footsteps walking toward her, moving down the stairs from the back section of the store, to the front section.

Creak.

Creak.

Creak.

The footsteps stopped at the bottom of the stairs, less than 10 feet from the front desk, then she heard them walk back up the wheelchair ramp next to the stairs.

Creak.

Creak.

Creak.

“For 20 minutes solid you could hear someone walking in circles,” Douglas said. “Up the ramp, then down the stairs.”

Though employees and customers alike have experienced things out of the ordinary, Peterson and staff do not believe there is any reason to be scared.

“Nothing has happened where it feels evil,” Peterson said. “There is no threatening feeling.”

 

 

Zach Bailey is a senior marketing and mass communication-journalism major from Winona, Minnesota. He is the editor-in-chief of the Winonan, the Winona State student newspaper, as well as a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. In his free time, he enjoys racing motorcycles, playing guitar, reading and watching movies. He hopes to one day work for the New York Times and become a published author.

art, Community, Life, Physical health

Tattoo Taboo: A Personal Narrative

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By Erin Jones

 

“You’re going to regret those tattoos someday.”

“Did your tattoos hurt?”

“You’ll never get a job with those tattoos.”

“What do your tattoos mean?”

Ahem, cue the eye roll, please.

And people say there’s no such thing as a stupid question.

OK, OK, so maybe they aren’t stupid questions, but they’re annoying to me nonetheless.

But it’s not just the intrusive questions and comments about my tattoos that are frustrating to me.

The line was crossed this past summer when I worked in the cosmetics department at Herberger’s.

I was helping a woman who asked to test a makeup color on my skin, which I thought was odd considering I wasn’t the one who was going to be wearing it.

Before waiting for my response, she grabbed my arm rudely and applied the color to my wrist.

She twisted my arm around awkwardly for a minute and finally decided against the color.

Just when I thought I was done being this woman’s Barbie doll, she pulled my arm back again.

“Your tattoos are beautiful,” she said, peering closely at the seahorse on my forearm. “I love them.”

“Thanks?” I said, trying to be as polite as possible while tugging my arm out of her grip.

Eventually she left, but even after she was gone I felt uncomfortable.

The incident reminded me of the other times that people had asked invasive questions and made unnecessary comments about my tattoos.

And it’s not just one or two of my tattoos that receive unwanted comments. It’s all 20 of them, and being asked feels more like an interrogation for a crime I didn’t commit.

“Those tattoos are going to look bad when you’re old.”

“How are you going to hide those on your wedding day?”

“Boys don’t like girls with tattoos.”

“Do you have any tattoos in hidden places?”

I started to wonder if there was anyone else who had the same cringy feelings I did when asked about their ink.

Turns out, I was right. After getting in contact with someone with similar experiences, we were able to talk out our frustrations together.

Rachel Carter, who is from La Crosse, Wisconsin, and is a Winona State University graduate, has her own collection of tattoos and talked about the uneasiness she feels when asked about her body art, particularly her Doctor Who tattoos.

“All of my tattoos have really deep, significant meaning to me,” Carter explained. “I’m a military sexual trauma survivor, so there’s a lot of trauma and personal history. Things that I’ve accomplished and overcome.”

Carter also said that some people continue to ask her questions about her tattoos, even when she’s expressed that she doesn’t want to share their meaning.

“I’ve had people who I don’t really know, or maybe I’m in a situation where I don’t really want to talk about it, say, ‘Cool, tell me about your tattoos,’” Carter said. “I’ll tell them they have really deep meaning to me, but they’ll just keep wanting me to tell them more when I don’t want to talk about it, but they feel like they have a right to know.”

In addition, Carter told me she’s also had an experience like mine, when she was touched by a person she didn’t know.

“I’ve been at the YMCA working out and I stopped to talk to a friend and somebody passed by and was like, ‘Oh, I really like your tattoos!’ and then stroked my arm because I have a full sleeve on my arm, very caressing, like you would think a spouse or a significant other would, and then just walked away,” Carter said.

We pondered for a few minutes, but neither of us could figure out why a perfect stranger would think it’s OK to touch another person without permission.

“I don’t know if it’s because they think, ‘Oh, people have tattooed your arms, so you must be fine with being touched’ or ‘Your tattoos are on display, so you must be fine with people asking,’” Carter said.

And yet, it’s not fine. People still grab your arm to get a closer look or ask questions and make comments that aren’t really necessary.

But for me, it’s not the strangers who do these things that bother me the most. It’s my family’s comments that get on my nerves more than anything else.

For my dad, Jeff Jones, his comments mostly concern professionalism and the ability to get a job after finishing college.

He added that in his career, he hasn’t met any professionals who are covered head-to-toe in tattoos.

“Most of the people I work with are old white guys and ladies,” my dad said. “In the corporate world, most of the people I refer to are managers, directors, vice presidents and junior vice presidents who make a lot of money and as far as I know, they don’t have any tattoos.”

Despite saying this, my dad did recognize that in certain careers, tattoos don’t seem to matter much.

“Look at professional athletes. A lot of them have tattoos,” my dad said. “They have a career for 10 or 15 years, so they don’t have to go out with their resume and find another job. It all depends on the profession.”

When I asked if he worried about me finding a job after college, surprisingly, he said he wasn’t too concerned.

“No, you’re smart, you’ll be fine,” my dad said. “As long as you don’t get any on your face or your neck or your chest or wherever.”

Lucky for him, I don’t have plans to get any of those places tattooed; however, I told him that the 20 I’ve gotten so far aren’t going anywhere.

He surprised me again by saying that he doesn’t mind the ones I have now. Well, most of them.

“[Your tattoos are] good,” my dad said. “I’m not sure about the gummy bear one. That one’s a little weird. And the Star Wars one, that one’s kind of weird too. But if you get a tattoo that means something to you, I’m not going to argue with that.”

Thanks, dad. After hearing the tattoo lecture 20 times, I’m kind of over it. And so is he. I’m glad we can finally sort of agree on the tattoo thing.

Now to get him on board with piercings. He is not much of a fan.

“Tattoos are tattoos, but what I don’t understand is people who put those big gauges in their ears. I definitely don’t want you doing something like that,” my dad said. “Hell no, I frickin’ can’t stand [gauges]. I’d rather have you get tattoos than put gauges in your ears or frickin’ things stickin’ out of your nose – That just looks stupid.”

 

 

 

Erin Jones is the former copy editor for Winona State University’s student-run newspaper, The Winonan. She expects to graduate in May 2019. Before being copy editor, she was one of The Winonan’s news reporters. Jones is majoring in mass communication-journalism and minoring in criminal justice. After graduation, she hopes to find a career in which she can use both her major and minor. She is also interested in being a feature writer or an editor for a magazine.

 

Community, Health, Local, Physical health, Resources

Winona Home Medical Thrives in New Location

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Since its opening in 2015, medical equipment retailer Winona Home Medical has risen to occupy the void left by Bourne Medical Service, a fellow equipment retailer which closed in July 2018.

Winona Home Medical sells equipment like CPAP machines, wheelchairs, physical therapy products and more, and has the added benefit of being across the street from its parent organization, Winona Health hospital and clinic.

In an open house celebrating their six-month anniversary at their new location, Winona Home Medical demonstrates a wide variety of goods and services that are constantly adapting to their customers’ and patients’ needs.

The business’s website says its staff includes a respiratory therapist with “more than 30 years of experience in home respiratory care, along with other caring experts who will make choosing and using home health products easy and enjoyable.”

As the only home medical equipment provider in the city, director of retail services Bill Cota says the business has been increasing what it has to offer.

“Once Bourne Medical went out of business last July, we really saw the need to expand and offer more products,” Cota said.

The business’s current location was purchased two years ago by Winona Health, but Cota said the hospital didn’t have any plans for the property until the closing of Bourne Medical.

“As the home medical equipment sales had obviously risen on a very consistent basis, it made the most sense for us to take over this location and continue to expand,” Cota said.

Before taking over the location formerly used by Wells Fargo bank, Winona Home Medical was stationed in the hospital in what Cota described as an exam room.

In the six months since opening in their new location, Cota said the business has been finalizing what the product line is going to look like, as well as changing certain elements to ensure their services are the best for their patients and customers.

Cota said he expects business to keep growing and adapting to their customers’ needs.

“It’s going to continue to grow,” Cota said. “Because every month or two we’re adding new products, adding new services. Both of those have obviously continued to make us steadily grow.”

Campus, Campus, College, Community, Events, News, Winona State University

“Robert A. DuFresne Performing Arts Center” dedication gathers community

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A crowd of more than 50 people gathered on Winona State University’s campus on Monday, April 29, for the unveiling of the newly named “Robert A. DuFresne Performing Arts Center.”

Dufresne, who passed away in 2015, was president of Winona State from 1967-78, and was president during the construction of seven buildings on campus, including the PAC.

The dedication event began with various speakers, and was followed by refreshments in the PAC lobby.

University President Scott Olson spoke on the impact DuFresne had on the university as a whole, and on himself.

“He was a friend and mentor to me, and he was also a hero to me,” Olson said. “It’s entirely fitting that we gather here to remember Bob DuFresne and everything he meant to this university, and at last recognize what he meant to us.”

President Scott Olson speaks about the impact Robert DuFresne had on Winona State University at an unveiling event on Monday, April 29. The event was the official renaming ceremony of the building as the newly-named “Robert A. DuFresne Performing Arts Center.”

DuFresne’s wife and son, Barbara and Jeff DuFresne, also shared comments at the event.

Barbara DuFresne spoke mostly about her husband’s time as president of the university, as well as his time with Winona State after his presidency.

Jeff DuFresne focused on how fitting it was for the PAC to be named after his father, stating that he “was always a great supporter of the performing arts.”

Barb DuFresne, wife of Robert DuFresne, speaks about Robert DuFresne’s time as university president during the renaming ceremony of the “Robert A. DuFresne Performing Arts Center” on Monday, April 29.

The proposal for the name change, which had initially been brought up in December of 2017, was written by three former Winona State faculty members: Jim Reynolds, a retired sociology professor, Gary Evans, retired Vice President of University Advancement and George Bolon, a retired physics professor.

“This is a long overdue recognition, and entirely fitting honor,” Reynolds said. “This is a legacy that I think should be honored and celebrated.”

Bolon also spoke on how fitting it was for the PAC to be named after DuFresne, not only for his love of the performing arts, but also because the PAC was the first building to be constructed during DuFresne’s tenure as university president.

Bolon concluded his speech with thoughts about DuFresne.

“We are all better persons for having known Robert A. DuFresne,” Bolon said.

Following the speeches, the building was dedicated with the unveiling of a new sign by Olson, Reynolds and Barb DuFresne.

A crowd of more than 50 students, faculty and community members gather at the newly-named “Robert A. DuFresne Performing Arts Center” at the renaming ceremony on Monday, April 29.
Brewery, Community, Family, Life, Local, Off campus, Winona

Books and coloring in brewery

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The Winona Public Library brought children books to Island City Brewery for the monthly Tales on Tap event.  

On Wednesday, April 3 the Public Library hosted Tales on Tap at Island City Brewery.  

Tales on Tap occurs on the first Wednesday of every month. The library started the event in January.  

Samantha TerBeest, Winona Public Library librarian begins Tales on Tap by mentioning upcoming events and introducing volunteer reader, Leslie Albers. Terbeest also told the room of brewery patrons to enjoy the coloring sheets and a meat and cheese tray.

According to Douglas Irwin, CEO of Island City Brewing Company the library hosts the event for no cost.  

Samantha TerBeest, librarian, said the event is a fun and relaxing time for those who attend.  

“The purpose is to provide adults with, one relaxation, and second, bring them back to childhood,” said TerBeest.  

Leslie Albers, volunteer reader, read three children’s book that went along with the theme of coloring.  

The books were “The Day the Crayons Quit,” “The Day the Crayons Came Home,” and “Red: A Crayon’s Story.” 

Along with the readings, the library provided coloring pages, coloring utensils and a plate of meat and cheese.  

There was also a chance to win an adult coloring book and coloring utensils.  

Albers has been reading since she was a child. In college, she and her roommates would read English detective books aloud to each other.  

This was Leslie Albers’s first time reading at a Tales on Tab event. The event however started in January 2019. The event occurs on the first Wednesday of every month. There is also a different theme each month.

Now she reads to her grand children.  

“I have been gifted with the gift to gab,” said Albers.  

Because of that gift, Albers said she loves to be in front of a microphone. Especially, if she is reading something.  

She saw a poster in the library asking for volunteers to read.  

Albers said she did not even think before she volunteered to read at the event.  

There is not always an audience at Tales on Tab.  

On Wednesday there were three tables full of people. After the first book was read there were only a few people sitting at the bar. None of these people took the coloring sheets or participated in the drawing for a coloring book.  

TerBeest said some people find themselves at the brewery the same day the event is happening, and others mean to be there. 

“I was telling (Albers), people are not going to listen to you,” TerBeest said. “They are going to do their own thing. Like these guys over there and the guy behind us, they will listen sometimes.”  

Irwin said his staff has said the event is not very big.  

“From what my staff is telling me, it seems like there wasn’t a big turn out for that event,” Irwin said.  

TerBeest said in February the library had a pajama contest at the Tales on Tab event that she believed to have a good turnout. The prize was a $10 Target gift card.  

As of now, the library is not planning on doing the Tales for Tab event over the summer months, according to TerBeest.  

TerBeest said those who play Book Bingo want to have Wednesday nights back for that event.  

TerBeest said the library may bring Tales on Tab back in the fall.  

Community, Food, Life, Local, Winona

Beno’s in Winona

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By Zach Bailey

The bell above the door gave a little ring as Paul Lundquist, 14-year Winona resident, walked through the doors of Beno’s Deli’s quaint downtown location on a crisp fall afternoon. He turned and made his way over to the counter to order his usual, a Dutch Treat.

The counter worker looked up, gave a quick smile and greeted her new customer.

“No green stuff except a pickle, right, Paul?” the employee said.

Lundquist nodded and paid for his sandwich. He turned the corner and walked over to the row of booths set against the wall.

Admiring the fall decorations, he paused in front of the first booth, where a prop skeleton was seated, decked out in a fedora, coffee cup in hand, and copy of the “Winona Daily News” on the table in front of it. Lundquist gave a chuckle and made his way to a window seat, where two small pumpkins were seated on the ledge.

“It’s Beno’s,” Lundquist said after being asked why he first started eating here. “I came to town and everyone said I had to eat here; it’s just kind of a local institution.”

According to their official website, Beno’s Deli, which has been considered a Winona staple since its opening in 1984, was originally located in Lake City, Minnesota, with another located in Red Wing, Minnesota. Both were owned by Ron and Joan Shimbeno, where the name of “Beno’s” originally came from. After multiple years in business, both locations closed before Darlene Russell, a friend of the Shimbenos, opened the Winona location.

“The chain sandwich places are OK, but you don’t get the same quality and service [as at local restaurants],” Lundquist said. “It’s one of the benefits of eating and shopping local.”

 

Out of the three original locations, only the downtown Winona location was left — that is, until Corinne Loomis, who bought the store in 2014, took control of things.

Loomis, who had worked at Midtown Foods since 1998, with her final few years at the downtown location kitty-corner from Beno’s Deli, had been a fan of Beno’s while growing up and was able to watch the business move forward, as well as decide where she would like to take things.

“The clientele has changed a little, mostly people who work downtown, but lots of things have stayed the same,” Loomis said. “We still have the original menu from when the Winona location first opened, and we’ve tried to update the building by doing things like painting, but I like the old-time charm and history. I don’t want to make it ultra-modern; that’s not what Beno’s is.”

The one major change the business has gone through, however, is the recent addition of a second Winona location in the Winona Mall.

According to Loomis, the plans had been going off and on for about a year, and she had been approached by multiple customers that she should talk to the owner of the Winona Mall.

“I talked with [the owner of the Winona Mall] for months, then got the opinion of my husband, mom, and fellow workers and discussed if we could make it work,” Loomis said. “In the end, we decided to just do it.”

With the wheels turning to open their second location, different pieces started falling into place, as well as the appearance of new options.

Wine of the Bean, which had previously occupied the space in the Winona Mall now occupied by the new Beno’s Deli location, was open during the early morning hours each day. The downtown location of Beno’s, however, is known for being open only from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday. With a new location also came the option of a new set of hours.

“Wine of the Bean opened early each day so that other employees in the mall could get coffee as their businesses were opening, so we decided to take over the coffee part and hours of the location and just incorporate sandwiches as well,” Loomis said.

The Winona Mall has been a location for the past decade that seems to have trouble keeping stores of all types for an extended period of time, but Loomis believes that Beno’s is there to stay.

“[Wine of the Bean] struggled with staffing and quick products. [The location] needed a well-established business that could get people in and out quickly,” Loomis said. “We tried being open later at the downtown location in the past, but it didn’t always work, so we decided to give it a whirl out here.”

Over 30 years, three buildings, and one new location since first opening its doors in Winona, Beno’s continues to be one of the local staples for a bite to eat.

“We’ve been around since 1984, so now we’re starting to get children and grandchildren of people who were here at the beginning,” Loomis said. “Alumni from Winona State come with kids and order the same thing they always used to get, and they all tell me how everything is ‘just how we remember it.’”

After having gone through the recent addition, Beno’s currently has no further plans for future location changes.

“Now we’re going to try to perfect what we’ve got,” Loomis said.

 

 

 

Zach Bailey is a senior marketing and mass communication-journalism major from Winona, Minnesota. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the Winonan, the Winona State student newspaper, as well as a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. In his free time, he enjoys racing motorcycles, playing guitar, reading and watching movies. He hopes to one day work for the New York Times and become a published author.