Dear Answer Man, where did the stained glass in the new Lourdes High School come from? I was told it wasn't created for the new school but was brought in from somewhere else.
It depends on which stained glass you're talking about. There are three stained-glass lancets, or tall, skinny windows, that were moved from the old school and are now in the library of the new building. They were produced by a studio in Milwaukee and installed in the old school in the early 1940s, paid for by the local Knights of Columbus. One window features St. Thomas Aquinas , Bishop John Carroll (the first Catholic bishop in the U.S.) and Plato, of all people; the center one shows Our Lady of Lourdes and also St. Bernadette ; and the third features St. Francis, Louis Pasteur , Hippocrates and the Plummer Building -- but not the Mayo brothers or W.W. Mayo, as some believe.
The more abstract and stunning stained glass panels come from the former Tau Center in Winona. When that building was sold several years ago, the panels were kept in storage at Assisi Heights, and the construction of the new Lourdes presented the perfect opportunity to give them a new home. They were designed by Robert Leader, a retired professor of art at Notre Dame, and made by the Reinarts Stained Glass Studios in Winona.
There's a lot more to be said about these windows, but for now, if you haven't taken a stroll through the new school, go there and check out the glass.
Dear Answer Man, what's the river or creek at the bottom of the Sogn valley, the beautiful area between Cannon Falls and Northfield?
ADVERTISEMENT
That's the Little Cannon River, which rises somewhere north of Kenyon, loops around, then heads north and winds up in the Cannon River in the city of Cannon Falls.
I agree, the Sogn Valley is one of the prettiest areas around, thanks to the farmers and landowners over the years who've taken good care of it. You wouldn't know it was 2013 as you drive through some parts of that valley.
The Answer Man always surprises and delights you. Send questions to P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903 or answerman@postbulletin.com.
