Minnesota Valley Learning Center

Minnesota Valley Learning Center provides alternative education for high school students in the Montevideo and surrounding area. When staff member Emily Dirksen contacted me to arrange a visit I was eager to work something out for a couple reasons: 1) I always jump at the chance to speak to high school students and 2) Montevideo was a new area for me to perform.

Instead of doing a show that contained a more sophisticated story, A Farm Country Thanksgiving, I decided to do a show containing my story A Farm Country Christmas Eve, which is a heart-warming story about young children awaiting Santa's visit on Christmas Eve. To the credit of the students, they seemed to understand the story's adult appeal and feel the family's bond.
The first show was a mix of 9-12.

And the second group had  a similar mix of 9-12 students.

Although students asked few questions, a few stayed to comment after the show, and to them, I want to say"Thanks."

Thanks to Emily Dirksen for inviting me to the school and arranging the visit. Thanks to all staff members and Director Raymond for offering assistance and showing interest in my books, to Mr. Smith for giving me the book of poetry by Leo Dangel, and again to Emily for allowing me to visit her Graphic Communications class, a group of truly inspirational young people. Enjoy those moments with that group, Emily.

Best to all.

On the three-hour drive home, we were treated to images of harvest as we met trucks full of sugar beets,

  snapped pictures of combines in corn,

 and viewed bales of cornstalks, giving pleasure to our journey home.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson