Dec 21, 2023

Scenes from the Lawrence Welk Birthplace, Strasburg, N.D.


Picture yourself cruising through the rolling hills and farmland of southern North Dakota early on a late summer morning. 


The sun is still rising and the dew has yet to completely evaporate.  Passing cars are few and far between. 


Then, suddenly, without warning you pass this sign near a quiet intersection with an otherwise barely noticeable gravel road.  What would you do?  Would you speed up and try to get away as quickly as possible?  Would you simply be amused by the happenstance and continue on, accepting that it’s past “tourist season” to visit?  

Or would you do what this commoner did, find the nearest spot to turn around and check it out anyway?  Of course, you would! 

A commoner dines at Baumgartner’s Cheese Store and Tavern, Monroe, Wis.

I wasn’t sure a place existed that could be the perfect representation of Wisconsin life, but then I traveled through Monroe, Wis., one week...