The town is like a more than wee bit of Ireland, when counting its population percentages, in the midst of Wisconsin farm country. A little of the old, with lilt, near New Richmond.
So yes, plenty of clovers. But not harvesting potatos. That is mainly although prominent in the nation in the state’s central section. And sorry St. Patrick, as the man of such removal, they actually have snakes. Cool hoop snakes, as I digress, on many a local farmstead, hiding under piles of hay. So enter a church (and the image alongside shows a ghostly crypt with angels in its local cemetery) and pub, as the town’s pair of main forces, as say hey, this is Wisconsin, and there are two, or more, of each type at most every intersection in such smaller rural bergs of this, the Badger State — though only one each in Erin. (And as thusly named, such intersection of Church and taken broadly, State, as we’re talking Ireland heritage here, exists at one area pair of crossing-below-each-other street signs, in this bi-fold area much less than an hour removed, to the east, from the Twin Cities.)
All that being said, the small town of Erin Prairie has one of the highest percentages of Irish Catholics you’ll find in the Midwest, and the local parish is the center of the town, with its members lingering long after each Sunday service, and then most of them bringing their maybe-after-potluck celebration a wee bit across town to this in its truest sense social-center-and-neighborhood grill and Irish pub. Its been heavy on game rooms for both children and their families and a next step has been to install a quarters machine for them, and was run for decades by a family of parishioners. It has been known, fittingly after the proprietor, Mary’s Erin Corners and even has a rarity for localities of such size, a fully functioning and well-used softball field filled with Old School portions and even a small press box on five-foot-high wooden stilts and lots of log-built spectator seating. What’s new is that because of the oldsters being retirement age, but having promising to still be much a fixture, today’s most recent owners, also with ties to the pub, earlier announced plans to add on and keep the same old Catholic Irish lilt.
(Like this content? There is my much longer post to see of the same nature in the nationally-respected Irish Gazette based out of the Twin Cities, currently in their online edition and another version soon to be found in pubs and other Irish establishments near you if you live in the metro area. And that includes western Wisconsin. And the longer version can also soon be seen here, with another photo. And in both places you will soon see much more St. Patrick’s Day content, on what to do, and to paraphrase what they say, slay it!)
— It’s now March and are you still marching along with your New Year’s resolutions?
The owner of the Spirit Seller has seen both, although adding that the turnabout of turns usually occurs about three weeks into January, with things like stopping smoking, at least for a time. My other bud, Mr. Comp, said last month that the re-deviation had not kicking in yet, so behind the times. (Not that you couldn’t add in using some of the 40 percent-and-much-more carb and protein supply that we’re all supposed to have each day. Minus any residual tar in that energy bar. More on that in a post below.)
At typically about Jan. 20 smokers who quit are back to one or maybe two packs a day — as in one or two humps of Joe Camel — taken in that order, get back off the bandwagon. Or back on the bandwagon now that Lent is here. Give it up for Maraboro! And thus The Seller will sell cigs again.
But this year, people gave been more diligent with holding off on their habit. Maybe pandemic considerations of stringiness. Or something filled the void. And that might be that since-now annual offering you could get, in very limited editions, at The Seller aside the counter. It is a holiday and thus post-holiday, if it lasts, big bottle of special Christmas brew put out by a bigger brewer out of The Cities, as thus all decked out. And it goes for about the size of your Christmas bonus or more, but people still snap it up, leaving some who wander in shortly after The First emptihanded.
So if you dropped all that specialty money, maybe its coal in the stocking for the kiddies. But plan ahead this year, starting in early fall, and get you finances shored up and put in order by the time the snow (usually) flies. —
Around the town …
Erin Prairie was settled by Irish Catholics as one of the first localities in the state, and the cemetery at St. Patrick’s still has many of their founder’s tombstones, and some of these hard working farmers only lived into their 30s, and by present day it has many thousands of gravesites — several times worth the number of people in the entire town, at several hundred. But the church, in the heart of mostly greater populated and commuter-based St. Croix County, is popular enough to require a second parking lot with several dozen spaces across a main county highway through town.
Some of the tombstones are crumbling, whether small squares in the grass or steeple-shaped spires that are rarely higher than a basketball hoop, or things in-between and an effort is underway to refurbish the old cemetery, with a first phase already having raised $10,000 — a figure from back in early 2023 — among this relatively small congregation.
In the midst of the cemetery is a large crypt-like structure built of hundreds of small rather nondescript as-in-back-in-the-day stones, open at the very front, that shows a U.S. flag with the crucified Christ below, then below that, two lifesize women who appear to be the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene shown facing each other, and in front of them two likesize stone angels blowing trumpets.
At the front corner of the cemetery is a series of about a dozen gravestones bearing the name of the family Gavin. Such identification is a theme, throughout the cemetery that dates back well over a century, probably closer to two. Prominent on them is an engraving of the date of birth and death, and spelled out is the age they achieved. About every Irish name you can think of is represented.
Right up at the front of the church yard is a statue of Mary that again, is surrounded on three sides by walls made of football-size rocks.
At the front door itself is another statue, of St. Patrick, again with its own twist. It incorporates not only the usual full green color in its clothing, but mostly light gold and a twist of light lime tones.
St. Patrick’s is called a “quaint” country church, seated amidst the lush farmlands of St. Croix County, and also the much bigger McKenna Farms west of the Erin Prairie church. “It is one of the founding parishes of the Diocese of Superior. The Parish was built on the Faith and Hope of Irish immigrants, and has survived many challenges over the years. This day finds it a thriving community of Faith and Fellowship,” says plat book information about the town found online and backed up by the parish and township websites.
The pub that’s just down the road from St. Patrick’s is a stopping place, especially later on Sundays, for snowmobilers who run the circuit from Roberts and Hammond, and many of them are parishioners at its main church, that being Immaculate Conception there, like its namesake in New Richmond. On a recent Sunday mid-afternoon when the St. Patrick’s people were filtering in, they were joined by several snowmobilers.
“This is my third time here,” said one of the women, but a man standing next to her had the familiarity of the local history of an oldtimer, such as a fire that burned the pub down 20 years ago. “I’ve been coming here (to the pub) for a long time.”
At the pub, a sign that is the gateway has shown a green leprechaun superimposed over a green state cutout of — oops — Minnesota. A sign on a bathroom door advertises a Friday fish fry at Immaculate Conception in New Richmond, and a summer goal at this classic community pub is to have more offerings for games for local 4-Hers. Its main room is heavy on tables that seat families. The main photo on their website just looks vintage, and shows all those very classic Irish spirits stacked in front of a big mirror supported with wood hewn logs. Another vintage but large picture shows an old time major league ballfield — and there’s also that real one for current games.
A last photo of note shows someone who presumably is the longtime proprietor sitting at one of her tables all decked out in Irish garb. It is not there just for St. Patrick’s Day, and the recent Irish holidays have been celebrated with the usual corn beef and cabbage and even more green.
A recent patron was wearing a T-shirt that said “Praise” and she said it just made her feel good to be sporting it.
The newer manager, Cassie Sahnow, who for years has lived kitty-corner across the street, was just as likely to haul out a pizza to a family as pour a drink to a customer — and many times they get a large water or pop for them and the kids. “I’m a bit Irish but mostly German,” Sahnow said. A teenage girl recently was seen with her a bit younger sister going to the popcorn machine more than once, after first checking with dad.
The owners have opened a bigger game room in the back, the size of several large rooms, with pool tables and video games, and also a patio, that cater to families and their age-appropriate children. There also was a recent snow kickball tournament.