I’m gonna lay down that atom bomb Down by the riverside down by the riverside Down by the riverside I’m gonna lay down that atom bomb Down by the riverside study war no more
I ain’t gonna study war no more Ain’t gonna study war no more — Pete Seeger
Hug me, squeeze me, love me, tease me ‘Til I can’t, ’til I can’t, ’til I can’t take no more of it Take me to the water, drop me in the river Push me in the water, drop me in the river Washing me down, washing me down — Al Green via Talking Heads
The weather turned. It got warm. Almost 80 degrees F. So we took advantage of it and spent the day in Red Wing, a town on the Mississippi with a population of about 17,000. It has a great used bookstore and a Scandinavian shop along the several blocks of downtown.
They have an “Art Walk” downtown with several statues scattered around. One was of a young Rosie the Riveter: “We Can Do It!” Lee Leuning & Sherri Treeby, Bronze. They even had prices on them. This one was $25,000.
Red Wing is the home of Red Wing shoes founded by Charles H. Beckman in 1905. It was one of the primary companies manufacturing footwear for American soldiers fighting in WWI.
A whole section of town is devoted to pottery. When it was discovered that the glaciers had deposited large clay beds in the area, the clay was shipped to Red Wing and the Red Wing Stoneware company was founded in 1877. It changed hands several times but it and other pottery companies are still in business and welcome visitors from all over.
The architecture is eclectic.
If you are lucky and Memorial Park is open, you can see a view of the whole area from the top of the bluff. We were not lucky this time. But here are some views from last summer.
We did find a good restaurant – Home Plate Grill & the Dugout Lounge is a sports bar with live music, trivia, and comedy nights. The food is burgers and sandwiches with some salads and entrees. We had the spinach and artichoke dip and a couple of burgers with blue cheese and bacon. It was all quite tasty. Good atmosphere, good service. Fun place.
After dinner we walked down by the river where we found more statues.
Hastings was named the county seat in 1857. It is near the confluence of the Mississippi, the Vermillion, and the St. Croix Rivers. The advantages of the location are that it is not swampy and has good drainage, is a good riverboat port, and is close to the falls of the Vermillion River thus providing hydropower.
