What a surprise to see the Winona ad during this year’s Super Bowl game. My reaction was What? Winona Ryder sitting on the ground by the Welcome to Winona sign? Well that was unexpected but a delight to learn the back story and then think of my childhood in Winona MN.

Our family moved to Winona when I was 3. My sandbox friend, Chris (who still lives there ) and I are still co-conspirators on crazy adventures and love to retell stories of growing up.

We would subject our siblings to summer time Kool Aid stands, circuses under the tent of clothesline sheets, wonders of the world in our breezeway ( with mirrors), costume parades down King Street, joining the neighborhood gang in “kick the can” and then plenty of hide and seek by the creek and our homes. As we got older, we biked to Lake Winona, hiked in the hills, brought picnic lunches to the park, swam and ice skated at the lake or Mississippi River. Winter was sledding & skiing in the back yard or nearby hills, playing ice hockey with a broom on the creek or ice skating down the road. Thank goodness for our Mom’s cookies and hot cocoa to warm up.

Entrepreneurship started with selling handmade pot holders door to door, Kool Aid stands and creating unique and funny (we thought) shows in the basement, usually to raise funds for Jerry’s Kids.

After my trip down memory since Super Bowl Sunday, I finally understand the connection to Winona and my life: (well maybe just the first part….)

“Surprisingly Weird, Incredibly Entertaining” https://visitwinona.com/