August 4

Saints o' the Day are Saint Molua, Saint Sithney, and Saint John Baptist Vianney.

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Yasser Arafat turns 72 today, Helen Thomas (whom I admire wholeheartedly) celebrates her 81st, Billy Bob Thornton (who must remind Angelina Jolie of her brother) becomes 46, and The Queen Mum (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite) celebrates 101 years as a British Royal. I'll bet she has never once in her entire life awakened in an empty house.

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Homemade Pie Capital of Minnesota

Not the homemade pie capital of the country or the world--just Minnesota--Braham is a modest little town that must have served as the model for Garrison Keillor's Lake Woebegone. From the beautiful pie mural on Tusen Tack to the office of the Mayor, where a big muskie or pike or something hangs on the wall, to the town motto, "Pie for Strength," this place is as close to fictional as it could possibly get.

Of course, it may have been modeled after Lake Woebegone, which would have involved more humor and organization than Mr. Keillor attributes to his Minnesotans. Still...."Pie for Strength?"

And how about this from the schedule of events for today: "3:50 Frank Hanwright, "Easy Listening Balladeer." More evidence: a Pie Day Poem and a Pie Day Song ("Remember the Alamode"), "Pie Tin Alley," and the Tusen Tack Variety and Fashion Show.

(Don't miss the Braham homepage, which has a link to the Virtual Tour. The Braham Pie Page doesn't link back to the homepage.)

Contrived or purely innocent, you have to hand it to those Braham residents. They have found a way to draw about 3000 extra people (the population is normally around 1,100) to an unremarkable town located 60 miles from anywhere for a one-day festival that pulls in enough money to support a lot of activities, doesn't attract the Hell's Angels, and utilizes only renewable resources. Maybe their motto should be "Pie for Brains." Or not.

Onward to August 5
Back to August 3
Back to the Farm

© Marilyn Jones 2000-2008