Lake Wobegon
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Lake Wobegon is a fictitious town in Minnesota, claimed to have been the boyhood home of Garrison Keillor, who reports the News from Lake Wobegon on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion, broadcast live every Saturday afternoon over Minnesota Public Radio and public radio stations throughout the US. Keillor was actually born and raised in Anoka, Minnesota.
The 800 residents are proud of the statue of the Unknown Norwegian. The town is the home of the Leonards baseball team. It is served by Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery and the Sidetrack Tap. Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility parish and the Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church are there, although Keillor identifies the founders of Lake Wobegon as New England Unitarian missionaries who came to convert the Native Americans through interpretive dance.
Tuna hot dish, snow, Norwegian bachelor farmers, ice fishing, tongues frozen to cold metal things, and lutefisk are common elements of the local culture. Keillor characterizes Lake Wobegon as a place where "the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."
Despite not existing, the town sounds appealing to many people and some have humorously gone off in search of it. A book of photos, co-authored by Mr. Keillor, documents images which could have in fact come from there.
Keillor has also written several semi-autobiographical books about life in Lake Wobegon.
See also
External links
- Stearns County, Minnesota has named a bike trail after the fictitious town (http://www.lakewobegontrails.com)
- the December 2000 issue of the National Geographic magazine included an article (In search of Lake Wobegon) (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0012/feature5/index.html) devoted to this place ; the web page contains links and nice black and white photos