Saturday, August 21, 2010

Ponemah, MN

Mission Ponemah complete. 
Thankfully my car made it there and back again.  The drive was beautiful though long.  The car endured much better than me.  The last thirty miles home was struggle; I had to break out some power chow - apples.
My idea was to leave this morning at eight, but I didn't wake up until 8:30 am.  When I finally got ready, and went downstairs, there were issues that delayed my start.  Two hours later, I drove out of my driveway at exactly 10:32 am.  The morning was gloomy and fog laid amiss the fields of corn and soybean along County Road 50. Yet, I was not disheartened.  Actually, it felt like a good sign.  
Foggy morning in my front yard
My estimated time of arrival (ETA) was 4pm.  It would be 694, MN15, 371, US2, 71, Commant, Pioneer, County Road 104, 23 and Res18.  I drove through St. Cloud, Fort Ripley, Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa, Pequot Lakes, Shingobee Island, Walker, Bemidji and finally arrived at Penomah roughly at 3:49pm.  The drive was long, but it was rewarding.  Res18 basically drove right through Penomah.  Then it looped right up to Red Lake and back again.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could see most of the lake as I drove along Res 18 and in Penomah.  The town is exceptionally small, as I had gathered.  I found myself amazed that everything centered around the road.  Houses branched off the main road into their cozy corners, and there was only one short strip of homes near the center of town. 
Ponemah welcome sign
When I got out of my car to take the picture of the welcome sign, it was stiffly quiet.  I could hear the gravel crunching under my feet as I walked from my car to get a good shot of the sign.  There was no wind or sound, and the sun beat down making the temperature stuffy  and hot.  There were no cars on the road, but a good amount of healthy fat crows that picked at some garbage laying wayside from a nearby dumpster.  However, with the sunny skies, I felt no worries though I was a bit anxious to finally see my destination even though there were no sound, no sight or smell that could give me any clue to what Ponemah was going to actually be like.
I drove another five miles on, and started seeing houses.  Small ramblers with worn out driveways.  Most of these homes had items scattered about the yards such as kid's toys, lawn chairs, old furniture and the usual stuff people no longer have use for in the home.  There were some houses that looked haggard, but most of the homes are well kept.  I drove on, and saw no people.  Only the lake accompanied me on the straight road.  Red Lake is large, beautiful and glistening blue.  The water was still as the air.
I drove on, and finally came upon a cluster of homes across from a baseball field and some circular outdoor arena, which I'm not certain what its used for.  Next to the wooden arena stood a plain and square building labeled Penomah Center.  Behind the center was a school, and next to the center was a fire department.  A very short block from the fire department was the gas station/market/laundromat.
I stopped in the market for a sandwich and ice tea.  I was starving by now, but more so, I hoped to chat with the attendant to get a feel for what the town is like, and attitude toward strangers.  The woman inside was very nice.  I asked her how to pronounce the name of their town and she said, "its Poneema."  My next question wasn't so slick.
"Its very quiet here.  Is the town safe?"
"Yeah," she said with trace of humor.
"Would you mind if I parked my car in your lot and took a walk around?"
"Oh, sure.  Go ahead."
I pulled my car around to the side of the market, and decided I'd walk over to look at the clinic, community center and possibly the school.  For the most part, the people were nice, but they probably don't get a lot of Asian girls walking around their small town which is tucked away in the corner of Beltrami County.  I got some lasting stares from two girls going into the laundromat, and people driving by in their cars turned to look at me.  I am not unfamiliar with getting second glances from small town residents as I know that outside of Minneapolis there aren't a lot of Asians.  Heck, even in Corcoran (my current city of over ten years) people some times stare. 
Residential area in center of Ponemah
At this point, I thought I'd let someone know I had made it to Ponemah.  I put on my backpack, and called a friend to let her know I made it to my destination just fine.  She was astounded to find out I had actually made the trip, and that my car made it that far.  I took a few pictures, but her warning me of cultural norms/expectations made me put my camera away.  She also suggested I check out the community center as I would probably be able to chat with someone there about the town.
I stopped over at Ponemah Center.  There were a few people that had just come out of the center and were standing outside the door:  a couple with three kids, a woman in a purple tie-die shirt and black denim and two young girls, possibly her daughters.
"Is this the community center?" I asked the couple.
Ponemah Clinic
"Yeah," answered the husband.
"Great," I said and walked in nonchallantly.
I walked into the building to find that it was quite small.  The bulk of the building was a gymnasium freshly mopped.  From the gymnasium was an entrance into a game room, and that was it.  There was not an office or a person inside.  So, I stepped back outside to where the people were waiting.
"Is there anyone working?"  I asked the couple.
"Not on the weekends," replied the older lady in the tie-die tee shirt.
"I was wondering why you went in there," said the man who answered me earlier.
"We just had a feast," added the woman in the tie-died shirt.
"Really?" I asked somewhat excitedly.  "What for?"
"A memorial," she replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"We're waiting for someone to come and lock it up."
"Ok," I said lingering to see if anyone would ask me why I was there.
A short moment went by and no one said anything. Not to seem too odd, I said to the woman, "This is a nice town."
"Yeah," she said not completely convinced.
"It's very quiet and quaint.  I'm just driving through some small towns in Minnesota and saw Ponemah."
"Oh," she replied.  "If you go seven more miles [west] it'll just be a dead end at the lake."
"I guess I should turn back around then," I said.  "Where does that road lead?"
"That takes you out of the res and to Saum.  You been there?"
"No, I haven't yet."
Another few short moments pass.  The young couple just smile and look on.
"How long have you lived here?" I asked the woman.
"Ponemah is my home," she answered.
"Its so nice here, I can see why you'd make it home.  How many people are there in this town?"
"I don't know really," she answered.
At this point a car pulled up to the building, and a woman with larger bifocals came out of the car.
"Anyone come to lock up yet?"  she asked the tie-die shirt woman.
"Not yet."
"Well, thanks for your time," I said and walked back toward my car.
A few steps away I hear the newly arrived woman ask the tie-die shirt woman, "She lost?"
"Some thing like that," replied the other.
I got in my car and drove back the way I came.
In a way I felt a bit guilty like I was intruding on their lives though every person that I spoke to was very kind.  I couldn't help but feel as if I had no business being there, a feeling I've become all too familiar with.
Above Ground Burial Sites
Above Ground Burial Sites along main road
After stopping to take a few photos of Red Lake, I hit the road again.  As I drove along, I noticed that in front of some houses were wooden boxes with thatched tops like long little houses.  I also noticed that some were adorned with flowers, and some had other things such as empty bottles, toys, and remembrance-like objects, that were placed in front of them.  I wondered what they were, and realized (well, more like assumed) that these were burial sites.  Small clusters of above ground burial sites nestled amount trees in front of homes.  I'm not sure if these just happen to be burial grounds, or if its is customary for people to bury their loved ones in front of their homes.    I was amazed to learn something new (but of course, I wasn't certain).  I had never thought about different culture's burial rites and customs.  I only know a little about Christian burials and Hmong burials - and even then, I don't know the origins of it all.  I don't know if it has always been customary for Hmong people to bury their dead in the ground, or if that's something adopted in America.  And, I surely don't know anything about Native American burial rites or customs.  I'd have to google it, or ask a friend.
I drove on out of Ponemah back onto the bumpy gravel road that winded through open farmland and between a large red barn and Jensen's market, which was closed.  The gravel was extremely bumpy causing my car to shake and jump, which worried me a little since the car is quite old.  I didn't know if that much shaking might cause damage to the engine.  I felt relief when I finally reached paved road again.  I tried to think more on what I saw in Ponemah, and what lessons I can learn from accomplishing what I set out to do in that one day, but nothing significant came to me except that I might want to find someone to go with me on the next trip.  I was happy on that thought.  I turned up the volume on the car stereo, and started singing along ..."Mary is my bright red star..." 
Red Lake on tip of Ponemah

2 comments:

  1. I just randomly came across this post while wasting time at work randomly checking out Minnesota towns (I'm from MN). Wow, posted just over 3 years ago, so I'm a little late (okay very late) to the party.

    I always wondered what Ponemah was like; the small town that sits on the narrows between Upper and Lower Red Lake. As a kid, I spent some time fishing Upper Red Lake near Waskish. If I recall, that small portion of Upper Red Lake was the only place an outsider could fish. The rest of Upper Red Lake and all of Lower Red Lake were off limits.

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  2. ideal getaway! recommended!

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