(bright music) - [Instructor] Funding for Off 90 is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

- Cruising your way next, Off 90.

A wood craftsman in Rochester, an antique toy show in Albert Lea, the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in New Ulm, and a doggy day care in Rochester.

It's all just ahead, Off 90.

(bright music) Hi, I'm Barbara Keith.

Thanks for joining me on this trip, Off 90.

Located in polka country, the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in New Ulm features all kinds of Minnesota musicians.

It honors dozens of inductees from polka practitioners like Mollie B and Whoopee John to internationally known musicians such as Prince and Bob Dylan.

Let's listen in.

(bright music) - The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame of Minnesota musicians that are voted in by the board of directors.

The people who started the Hall of Fame, I think originally they wanted to start a polka Hall of Fame but they got the bright idea that the best thing to do was to expand it to all different kinds of music from Minnesota.

- The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame Museum is supported by membership and by endowments people living in States, and that's how it's supported.

- We get a fair amount of local people, but a lot of people from the Twin Cities and with Google, obviously, it's, "I'm coming to New Ulm, "what's interesting to do a new Ulm?"

We're near the top of that list if not the top thing to do here.

- Some people they hear about a certain night of like, we have a beautiful poster display and they'll spend hours looking at the, "oh, I was at that ballroom, "oh, I remember that group."

- The music program for kids in elementary through high school in New Ulm was particularly strong.

So there's a lot of musicians that grew up in this town and a lot of professional musicians.

The Musicians Union had more members in New Ulm than any city in the United States even more than Nashville.

So you had a really, really strong concentration of professional musicians all in one town.

So like the everything of Hall of Fame for hockey, the musicians were all in New Ulm.

Well, the Hall of Fame started in the cafeteria of a grocery store in New Ulm and eventually moved into the basement of the old library and we've got this really great space now over 33 years, there's 186 different inductees.

Some of are big and they have a bigger exhibit.

Some of them are smaller.

But yeah, Bob Dylan and Prince are the two bigger ones.

Judy Garland and the Andrews Sisters are very well known.

Eddie Cochran, Bobby Vee and the list goes on and on.

- Sherwin Linton has a beautiful display.

Lorie Line who's going to be here this evening, she's got a beautiful display.

And somebody asks, why are some larger than the others?

It's whatever we get.

- Some of them are donated by well wishers to the museum, the artists themselves will give us things, we'll find stuff here or there on the internet sometimes and we'll put stuff in.

But try to keep the place changing so it's always evolving and anybody who's ever been inducted will always have a space in here, but we've always gotta make room for the new ones.

That's what we're doing right now.

And so, putting in the next six that we're inducted the last different vote.

- I let 'em look around the museum.

That's what tomorrow's about.

It's called the Showcase day.

But the Showcase day is basically for the inductee, 'cause we're showcasing that to them.

Look it over, see what you can provide for your corner and your corner will be as big as you make it.

- Anybody can nominate somebody in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame and if you go to the website, there's a button that says, "inductee nomination form."

It's a one page form, you fill out.

- You send a picture with a story of that person's life in music and why you feel they should be inducted, you send it to us.

We have a file and I have to see it.

It's well over a 100 and every year, all of them come out, get laid on the table, and certain things strike.

- The criteria to be in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, you don't have to be born here.

But if you perform music here at one time or another and you had an impact on the Minnesota music scene in any way, that's the most important thing.

We have an awards banquet and a lot of people get together.

They come in and we have a big formal event and it's kind of like the red carpet situation for a New Ulm.

That's the event of the year here.

- This is like the Grammy Awards in Minnesota.

And there's a lot of people who don't realize it.

And if you get to stay and watch any of it, it is a performance that you're never gonna see.

And to tell you the truth from the very first award to the 200th one that's gonna be, we have not changed the production when I awe them - I'm the record guy.

I came from the record business.

I was in the record business for years and years.

For record stores, record distribution, record labels and I end up in New Ulm.

And I end up living here two blocks from the Hall of Fame.

I have this passion for this area, Minnesota and their music.

And this place is like a parallel universe because it's so much more old time music and educators.

There's so many teachers that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and orchestral music, things like that that I didn't have much knowledge about.

And that's what makes it interesting for me 'cause it's not the stuff that I already know.

It's a great parallel to what I already knew.

(cool music) (bright music) - Sean Archer of Rochester needed a change.

He was tired of sitting in front of a computer.

So his background in carpentry guided him to a new career.

He's now a wood craftsman and makes handmade furniture and other wood items.

Let's visit his workshop.

(bright music) - I kind of describe my tools as they're like musical instruments.

I've played guitar and drums and each tool like has a, you gotta learn to play it.

You gotta learn to use it.

Hi, I'm Sean Archer and I'm a wood craftsman.

(bright music) With my parents we would do housework, we built our own deck, so we know we did some projects.

It wasn't like what I'm doing here, but it's gave me an introduction to that I suppose.

(bright music) I didn't know what to go to school for, just jumped into automotive engineering actually.

My last year of that was focused on a lot of programming work and testing.

Right after school I spent a year in Taiwan learning Chinese before I came back and got into the full-time real job thing.

Multiple weeks in a row just sitting in front of the computer, I was doing testing and design.

My office didn't have windows and you know Minnesota winters can be tough.

Go to work in the dark, get home in the dark, and I think there was one month I realized I hadn't seen the sun for a month and I started taking my lunch just out to the park just to get some sun and it was tough.

(wood cutting) And at some point I guess I started with this idea that I'm gonna quit my job because I wanna get outta this computer thing and I wanna start something better.

(bright music) My lifestyle should be more appropriate to what my body wants and needs and what my mind needs.

I just started doing like more physical work.

Or you could say like hand tools, like my woodwork, doing things by hand, doing things the hard way is some people say, but I found more appreciation with it.

(bright music) Woodworking it's definitely a hard place to be successful in because so many people do it, but it's available and there's always gonna be wood around.

It's our number one resource.

I try to help customers understand how it's made and why I make it this way, which I think is important.

If you walk into a room and you see one lovely piece of furniture that's great, but why can't it all be lovely, handmade furniture and why can't everything around you be?

Have that creativity and that value to it.

(bright music) - The first thing I do when I grab a piece of wood is I check the grain.

I have to cut with the grain, I can't cut against the grain.

I'm always looking at the grain, I'm always looking at what the wood is doing.

I can't just grab a piece of wood and make it into something.

I have to see what the wood is doing and how that'll affect the work.

Well, you can get to the point where you can look at a board and you can say, okay, what part of the tree is this?

And where did it go?

And that affects how it's gonna work, which is, it just takes my mind on the trip maybe.

(bright music) The great thing about engineering is you get to create something, and that's an awesome feeling.

The terrible thing about engineering is you never get to really see what you created in action.

Sometimes you don't even get to see the final product.

You create all this stuff and then it just disappears and there's that like empty whole.

There's no conclusion to the project.

I think there's a value with creating things and when you get into using your own hands to create versus draw it on the computer and hit a button.

(wood cutting) The learning is never gonna end for me.

And I say that like, now I understand better how the takes 30 years for a craftsman to become a master is, I can see how that applies.

I've been doing this for a while, but I don't have 30 years under me.

And in 30 years I expect I'll still be letting new things probably.

(bright music) - A large toy show in Minnesota has a long name, but let's just call it the Tiger City Toy Show.

It's been held each year in Albert Lea and features everything from antique farm toys to Legos and Barbies.

For 30 years, the show has also had a social component.

Let's go to the mall.

- It started out initially as old antique farm toys and trucks.

And it's kind of grown from that.

And with that so did the name, the Tiger City Farm Toy Truck and Collectible Show.

It's a mouthful.

So it's all every range of toys from modern toys, Legos and Barbies to rusty gold, old antique farm toys, pedal cars and the sorts.

I mean just about everything under the sun and supplies to work on those types of things or find that extra wheel you might need for a project piece to fix up that kind of stuff.

The founder of the show Don Gross, he was a teacher.

Elementary school teacher in Albert Lea for 34 years and has passed away.

And it looked like at the time that no one was gonna take over the show and that it might come to an end.

I was offered the opportunity and thought, I'd give it a try.

I've done shows before, not as a promoter, but on the other end of the aisle for years and had been set up at the mall, seasonal with my other business was familiar with the mall and for a couple years did the show with Don as one of his vendors and thought, I'll give it a try if it works out and we can make it happen and keep working, then we're gonna keep doing it.

And it's been about 10 years and we're still doing it and going strong and hopefully this never ends.

It's a real fun event for the community in general.

It's the largest toy show in Minnesota now.

For years we called it the largest toy show in Southern Minnesota, but it is the largest toy show in Minnesota.

And we're very proud of that fact, especially when you consider that 30 years ago when it started it was 12 guys and 24 tables.

It's really taken off since 1990.

We had 87 vendors and just under 300 tables.

And from time to time we have more room in that mall where we've done it in the Northbridge Mall, but it's to a point where it's right now it's working for the vendors.

So even if I could bring in 50 more vendors, I don't think I would for their sake.

But if we had the space then events that we could do, whether it's legal building or someone setting up a train display or whatever.

We're always looking to expand in other ways.

But I think vendor wise, we've just about reached capacity.

We have vendors from six different states.

They come from North Dakota, they come from Illinois, they come from Wisconsin.

It's a big event that draws a lot of vendors from a lot of area.

A good portion of them are from here Minnesota, and a number of locals from the Albert Lea area as well.

It's so much fun just to kind of be a fly on the wall and listen to the stories because it's all the same.

It's grandfathers with their grandkids pointing out to the kids.

"That's what we used to play with you know, "it wasn't Nintendo, it was a string."

But that's what we had on the farm and this one rusty truck.

And you'll hear the stories and it's really fun to see it, and it's multi-generational in a sense of, we have gentleman just retired this year he's done this show since day one for 30 years and bless us heart, he's 94 years old.

He still comes out but now the sons have taken over officially.

It's like, "we're not letting dad come out next year."

It's like he might be able to get the visit, but it's just getting to be too much.

But this drive and passion that the toy collectors have is such a, no one's gonna tell you to give it up.

I've had one guy retire who was in it for a good, long haul.

In fact, was Don Gross's partner.

He retired and within three months he called me back up there.

I just went to an auction.

I'm gonna need three tables again next year.

It's like, you're never really out of it.

You don't stop collecting.

Don Gross our founder when he passed, his wife and family didn't have any interest, the same passion that he did and his collection was warehouse full of stuff.

And they did an auction and I still see some of his toys, some of his original price tags on items from 10 years ago.

But they're not just staling on the same table, I've seen him move around from vendor to vendor, to vendor.

It's interesting how much horse trading goes on between the actual vendors themselves and eventually gets passed onto the hands of a private collector.

It's funny again, that fly on the wall scenario.

How many times as I walk through that mall during our event, I hear people say, "oh, wow, Hey, how are you guys doing?"

The whole family's out here, I haven't seen you guys since last year at the toy show.

It's an event that really brings out the locals and it really has become a community thing to the point where it's not just a bunch of gruff collectors that are all serious.

These guys are fun.

They have fun.

They enjoy talking about their passions.

And we have things like face painting and balloon animals free for the kids.

we encourage the family versus some of the paid admission shows where you just got people that are almost too serious to enjoy themselves whereas we are more casual and where everyone have fun come out, bring the family and just make the most of it.

And it's not just the toys, there's antiques and collectibles to the appeals to a wider range of people in the family too.

So everyone has a good time.

Fun way to build your collection and meet like-minded people.

Toy people love to talk about their toys.

They love to talk about their collection and whether you buy or not and sell trade people bring in things all the time.

"Hey, we had this in the attic, we had this in the garage."

Those guys out there.

If they had similar type things on their table, ask them more often than not they're like, "Hey, I'll give you a couple bucks for that."

Or talk to that guy down there, he knows more about that than I do.

These guys are a wealth of information and they share, and it's a good way to learn more about your collection.

Even if you don't plan on purchasing, get out there and talk to people.

As a coordinator of the event, I have the opportunity to get sneak peaks of things as people are setting up their tables and that kind of thing.

And I'm always on the hunt.

And the big part for me is, I sell out there too, but firstly I'm taking care of the guys and the other vendors, it's secondary.

But this year I was on the hunt for the simplest little thing.

Either it's very small train or a very small bus, a little micro thing.

And it's for a pinball machine I'm working on but at the end of the day, at the end of the weekend, I found my little bus and nothing could make me happier.

So the holy grail is just what you're looking for that time.

The rough part for me is not going home with more stuff than I came with because there's so many unique things and it happens.

(cool music) (bright music) - If you walk past a certain shop on Second Street in Rochester, you'll find the store alive with the sounds of dogs barking.

This is the home of Central Bark, a doggy day care.

It's staff makes sure the dogs are safe and comfortable and are enjoying themselves.

Let's go sniff around.

(dogs barking) - [Instructor] Hi Clara.

- [Instructor] Hi.

- I am the Manager, one of two here at Central Bark.

We are coming up on our third year here in Rochester.

(dogs barking) Really Central Bark is about providing a safe and healthy, happy environment for the dogs while their humans have to go and work or run errands.

We also have grooming and overnight boarding if parents need to go away.

Some of my favorite things when the owners come in with their animals is how excited they are to be here.

They get really excited to get here.

And I hear the owners talk about, 'yep, when we round the corner, "they can't hold themselves still, "they're up in the window, "they're they're panting, "they're excited to come here."

(bright music) - The dogs that are going out right now at this very moment are more active ones.

So you'll see a lot more playing, a lot more wrestling, but you'll also see a few small ones that come pretty often know each other very well.

And some of them will be comfortable enough just to lay down in the sun and sleep.

- We're not breed restrictive at all.

When a new dog comes to us, we do what we call a behavior assessment.

So it doesn't matter how old a dog is, how new the dog is.

Doesn't matter if they've been to a day care before, if it's their first time with us, we're gonna do a behavior assessment.

(bright music) Because we're in Rochester we have a lot of Mayo people.

So therefore we've got your surgeons, your residents.

We've got people.

Honestly, we have a lot of people that are coming from out of State because they need medical care.

There's several hotels in the area that are pet friendly.

Families wanna bring their entire family when they have to visit Mayo Clinic.

Usually though when they want to go to the clinic, the hospital, go somewhere else, they're gonna need somewhere for their pet to stay during the day so that they don't leave their pet at the hotel alone.

That's where we come in and we can have them hang out here for a few hours, for the whole day, whatever they need and give them again, that peace of mind that their pet, their extra family member is taken care of.

(bright music) As soon as they're busting through this door and trying to get to the back, find their friends, I can tell you right now that we have several friends like they're groupings, and we separate our dogs into smaller groups.

So we keep it at about 12 dogs per group that go out on a rotation together.

That way we can keep an eye on everybody while they're having fun.

- There are a few dogs that when they come in for their very first day are pretty nervous, which is understandable.

Their senses are so much more heightened that this whole new environment is a lot to go through and experience all at once.

And watching these dogs go from maybe being a bit nervous or even super nervous to all of a sudden coming in one day and being the life of the party.

Getting to watch that nice gradual build to confidence and being comfortable is so rewarding and it makes you feel real good.

(bright music) - The routine for the dogs each day is when they get here in the morning they go hang out in their kennel just to kind of hang out for the morning, calm down a little bit.

Then they get to go out for an hour of play.

Then they hang out in their kennel, they get snack time and then they get to go back out and play for two hours and then after that they come back in.

If their parents decide to bring them a lunch, we get to be the lunch crew here and it's kind of fun to go down the roads of the dogs and hand them their lunches.

And then after a two hour rest, they go back out for another hour of play until they come back in and then they're hanging out until parents come pick them up.

- My favorite thing about working here has to be all of the relationships you get to build with the dogs.

You walk in it's kind of like you have 70 new dogs that are part of your family.

(bright music) Well, we got our big cuddlers, the ones that are the biggest dog and a sea of puppies.

We've got our little dogs that think that they're the big dogs.

We've got our shys, our energetics.

We've got our louds, our quiets.

Puppies to the oldest ones that just wanna sleep all day.

We've got a pretty solid mix and we have a group for every single one of them.

We love every single dog here like they're our own.

We definitely talk to the dogs like they're our own.

(bright music) - We've reached the end of this tour.

Thanks for riding along.

See you next time, Off 90.

♪ We're gonna have the polka celebration ♪ ♪ You bring your friends and I'll bring mine ♪ ♪ We're gonna have a polka celebration ♪ ♪ We're gonna party and have a good time ♪ (polka music) ♪ We're gonna have a polka celebration ♪ ♪ You bring your friends and I'll bring mine ♪ ♪ We're gonna have a polka celebration ♪ ♪ We're gonna party and have a good time ♪ - Clap along ♪ We're gonna have a polka celebration ♪ ♪ You bring your friend and I'll bring mine ♪ ♪ We're gonna have a polka celebration ♪ ♪ We're gonna party and have a good time ♪ (polka music) - Thank you so much.

(bright music) - [Instructor] Funding for Off 90 is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(cool music)