Taking Lanesboro _____________________________________________________________________________________ A look at the simpler side of Lanesboro based on true stories. Some names and some events have been changed. Port Jefferson is situated along the north shore of Long Island, New York and was a nice place to raise a family, my family. I was a content child living there with my four brothers, two sisters, our dogs, cats and monkeys. In 1974 my happy world was turned upside down when my big family and our pets moved from the shores of the east coast to a small Midwestern farm town in Minnesota. The Hall family wasn’t ready for Lanesboro and Lanesboro wasn’t ready for us! This autobiography will take my reader back to simpler times when Lanesboro was in its originality, with true stories of humor (like chasing escaped monkeys) and true stories of nostalgia, like watching Lanesboro evolve from a tiny, close knit community into the most talked about bed and breakfast town in not just America, but internationally as well. Through these pages I will share memories of joys, memories of tears, and mostly some memories of Lanesboro’s legacies that we must never forget; like the steam engine that roared through town only decades ago, or when Little Norway was the quickest way to get to the Oxtrail, and the Arndt brothers ridding the town of many rattle snakes that at one time caused so much havoc. Lanesboro is an amazing town now, but was even more amazing then. These true stories should make you giggle and gasp. Enjoy! By Melody C. Hall-Swofford