Lake Wobegon
Encyclopedia
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town in the U.S. state
of Minnesota
, said to have been the boyhood home of Garrison Keillor
, who reports the News from Lake Wobegon on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion
.
Lake Wobegon is characterized as the town where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." The Lake Wobegon effect
, a natural human tendency to overestimate one's capabilities, is named after the town.
The term could also be a compound word: composed of "woe" "be" and "gone", as in "woe, be gone".
, it also resembles many small farm towns in the upper Midwest, especially western Minnesota
, North Dakota
, and to some extent, northern Iowa
, eastern South Dakota
and northeastern Montana
. These are rural, sparsely populated areas that were settled only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, largely by homesteading immigrants from Germany
and Scandinavia
, especially Norway
. One of these, Holdingford, Minnesota
, which Keillor said is "most Wobegonic" and like Freeport is on Stearns County
's Lake Wobegon Regional Trail, advertises itself as the "Gateway to Lake Wobegon" and even hosts a "Lake Wobegon Cafe."
Keillor formed most of his ideas for Lake Wobegon while working for MPR at KSJR on the campus of St. John's University
in Collegeville, Avon
where he lived, and local towns such as Albany
, Freeport
, Cold Spring
, Richmond
, Rockville
, St. Joseph
, St. Stephen
, St. Wendell and Holdingford
. Stearns County was predominantly German and Catholic in the 1970s, and the second most Catholic county in the USA (second only to New Orleans). In order to balance the religious and ethnic demographics of the physical location in Stearns County
with the rest of Minnesota
, Keillor 'imported' the Lutheran and Scandinavia
n elements into the mythical town, making it more identifiable and therefore more interesting to the rest of the state.
of Mist County, Minnesota, a tiny county near the geographic center of Minnesota that supposedly does not appear on maps because of the "incompetence of surveyors who mapped out the state in the 19th century". The town's slogan is Gateway to Central Minnesota.
Lake Wobegon is occasionally said to be near St. Olaf, Minnesota, another fictional town referenced in The Golden Girls
television series. (There is actually a St. Olaf College
in Northfield, Minnesota.) The town's school and amateur sports teams compete against the Uff-das
of Upsala
, a real town in southwest Morrison County
, which is close to Holdingford. The town residents drink Wendy's Beer, brewed in St. Wendel
, a real town in northeast Stearns County
. The nearest good-sized town referenced in Keillor's monologues is St. Cloud
.
Microsoft Virtual Earth now returns a location when Lake Wobegon, MN is entered into their search engine. The place is a little north and somewhat east of St. Cloud. The programs distributed at live performances of A Prairie Home Companion in 2005 have a map showing Lake Wobegon about two miles north of Holdingford, north and west of St. Cloud.
Keillor often references a cafe in downtown Lake Wobegon called the "Chatterbox Cafe". There is a real cafe and gas station in Olivia, Minnesota by the same name. Olivia is located in north-central Renville County.
.
Keillor identifies the original founders of what became Lake Wobegon as New England Unitarian
missionaries, at least one of whom came to convert the Native American Ojibwe Indians through interpretive dance
. A college was founded at what was then called New Albion, but the project was abandoned after a severe winter and numerous attacks by bears. The project had only one survivor, a very practical woman who married a French Canadian fur-trapper who fed her in exchange for her help with the chores. This pragmatic couple were the founders of the current settlement.
The founders of New Albion decided to settle at Lake Woebegone because they had gotten very lost and did not know how to get back to where they had last been. To celebrate this, the colony's motto was Ubi Quid Ubi (Latin
> "We're Here!...Where are we?"). Later the motto in the Lake Woebegone incorporated town seal is described as Sumus Quod Sumus (Latin
> "We Are What We Are").
Most of the current population is made up descendants of German immigrants, who are mostly members of the Catholic
parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, and descendants of Norwegian and Swedish immigrants, who comprise the Lake Wobegon Lutheran
Church. Keillor describes his family as members of the Sanctified Brethren.
The 800 residents (1950 Census: 728) are proud of the Statue of the Unknown Norwegian (so called because the model left before the sculptor could get his name). Lake Wobegon is in competition with its rival, St. Olaf, for having the most descendants of the same common ancestor (aka "Stearns County Syndrome"). Lake Wobegon became a secret dumping ground of nuclear waste during the 1950s.
The town is the home of the Whippet
s baseball team, tuna hotdish
, snow, Norwegian
bachelor farmers, ice fishing
, tongues frozen to cold metal objects, and lutefisk
- fish treated with lye which, after being reconstituted, is reminiscent of "the afterbirth of a dog or the world's largest chunk of phlegm." But it is also the home of the Mist County Fair, old-fashioned show yards with flowers "like Las Vegas showgirls", sweet corn, a magnificent grain elevator, and the pleasant lake itself.
The Mall of America
had a "Lake Wobegon, U.S.A." store which sold products connected with Keillor's program, and also with selected NPR and PBS
programs. This store closed January 31, 2009.
In the episode "Don't Make Me Over" of Family Guy
, in an attempt to calm a crowd of angry rioting prisoners, Peter begins to tell a "funny about Lake Wobegon". The story starts "It was the day of the tuna hotdish jamboree..." when he is hit by a chair and stopped.
In the animated PBS adult television series Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns
, the "News from Lake Wobegon" segment is jokingly revealed to be an outsourced radio show from India. Garrison Keillor
provides his own voice.
In the 30 Rock
episode "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001," Jack (Alec Baldwin) says that "Kenneth's been out there for an hour telling cleaned-up Garrison Keillor stories," referencing the wholesome style of Lake Wobegon stories.
In April 2009, satirical news source The Onion
released an article detailing the discovery of several grisly murders in Lake Wobegon, possibly committed by Garrison Keillor himself.
In "Garfield in the Rough
", Jon Arbuckle, Garfield, and Odie, go on a camping trip in a park near Lake Woebegone, before being attacked by a black panther.
In the April 2010 premier of the HBO series Treme
John Goodman's character, after becoming irate during a phone interview with NPR regarding the rebuilding of New Orleans, slams down the phone and exclaims "Lake Wobegon. God-dammit."
The name of the cryptographic computer program Pretty Good Privacy
was inspired by Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, one of the businesses in Lake Wobegon, reportedly modelled after (Ralph) Malmbergs General Store in Marine on St. Croix, MN.
The song "Whatever it was" by folk artist Greg Brown (himself a frequent guest on A prairie home companion
) on his 1997 album Slant 6 mind
has one verse going: "The little towns are lying on their faces/All that's left are fading parking spaces/It's been quite a week, There was a drive-by shooting in Lake Wobegon/I was looking for what I love, whatever it was, it's gone"
The closing scene of The Office episode "Christening" (season 7 episode 7) has Erin driving Michael, Andy and a young man home. Erin excitedly turns on Lake Wobegon where Keillor says "Well, the Lutherans brought their banana bread, but Fred Norquest had no appetite. He was thinking about his pair of new boots. Been ten years after all, and as he told Mrs. Norquest, it would take two years, to get comfortable with the new boots."
, where all or nearly all of a group claim to be above average, has been observed among drivers, CEOs, stock market analysts, college students, parents, and state education officials, among others.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, said to have been the boyhood home of Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
, who reports the News from Lake Wobegon on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
.
Lake Wobegon is characterized as the town where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." The Lake Wobegon effect
Illusory superiority
Illusory superiority is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate their positive qualities and abilities and to underestimate their negative qualities, relative to others. This is evident in a variety of areas including intelligence, performance on tasks or tests, and the possession of...
, a natural human tendency to overestimate one's capabilities, is named after the town.
Name
On the show Keillor says the town's name comes from a fictional old Indian word meaning "the place where we waited all day in the rain [for you]." Keillor explains, "Wobegon" sounded Indian to me and Minnesota is full of Indian names. They mask the ethnic heritage of the town, which I wanted to do, since it was half Norwegian, half German." The English word "woebegone" is defined as "affected with woe" and can also mean "shabby, derelict or run down."The term could also be a compound word: composed of "woe" "be" and "gone", as in "woe, be gone".
Models
Although Keillor has revealed that his original model for Lake Wobegon was actually Marine on St. Croix, MinnesotaMarine on St. Croix, Minnesota
Marine on St. Croix is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 689 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Minnesota State Highway 95 serves as a main...
, it also resembles many small farm towns in the upper Midwest, especially western Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, and to some extent, northern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, eastern South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and northeastern Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. These are rural, sparsely populated areas that were settled only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, largely by homesteading immigrants from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, especially Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. One of these, Holdingford, Minnesota
Holdingford, Minnesota
Holdingford is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon", the fictional central Minnesota town created by Garrison Keillor.Holdingford is part of the St...
, which Keillor said is "most Wobegonic" and like Freeport is on Stearns County
Stearns County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 people per square mile . There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
's Lake Wobegon Regional Trail, advertises itself as the "Gateway to Lake Wobegon" and even hosts a "Lake Wobegon Cafe."
Keillor formed most of his ideas for Lake Wobegon while working for MPR at KSJR on the campus of St. John's University
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...
in Collegeville, Avon
Avon, Minnesota
Avon is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,396 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area....
where he lived, and local towns such as Albany
Albany, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,796 people, 708 households, and 436 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,287.6 people per square mile . There were 732 housing units at an average density of 524.8 per square mile...
, Freeport
Freeport, Minnesota
Freeport is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Freeport is located in Oak Township, T125N R32W §3...
, Cold Spring
Cold Spring, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,975 people, 1,116 households, and 785 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,431.1 people per square mile . There were 1,145 housing units at an average density of 550.8 per square mile...
, Richmond
Richmond, Minnesota
Richmond is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census. Richmond is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Rockville
Rockville, Minnesota
Rockville is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,448 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,681 people, 1,120 households, and 712 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,517.4 people per square mile . There were 1,147 housing units at an average density of 616.8 per square mile...
, St. Stephen
St. Stephen, Minnesota
Saint Stephen is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 860 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Saint Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, St. Wendell and Holdingford
Holdingford, Minnesota
Holdingford is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon", the fictional central Minnesota town created by Garrison Keillor.Holdingford is part of the St...
. Stearns County was predominantly German and Catholic in the 1970s, and the second most Catholic county in the USA (second only to New Orleans). In order to balance the religious and ethnic demographics of the physical location in Stearns County
Stearns County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 people per square mile . There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
with the rest of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Keillor 'imported' the Lutheran and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n elements into the mythical town, making it more identifiable and therefore more interesting to the rest of the state.
Location
According to Keillor, Lake Wobegon is the seatCounty seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Mist County, Minnesota, a tiny county near the geographic center of Minnesota that supposedly does not appear on maps because of the "incompetence of surveyors who mapped out the state in the 19th century". The town's slogan is Gateway to Central Minnesota.
Lake Wobegon is occasionally said to be near St. Olaf, Minnesota, another fictional town referenced in The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
television series. (There is actually a St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
in Northfield, Minnesota.) The town's school and amateur sports teams compete against the Uff-das
Uff da
Uff da is an expression of Norwegian origin adopted by Scandinavian-Americans in the 19th century...
of Upsala
Upsala, Minnesota
Upsala is a city in Morrison County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 427 at the 2010 census. It was named after Uppsala, Sweden by Swedish settlers in the 19th century.-Geography:...
, a real town in southwest Morrison County
Morrison County, Minnesota
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 31,712 people, 11,816 households, and 8,460 families residing in the county. The population density was 28 people per square mile . There were 13,870 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
, which is close to Holdingford. The town residents drink Wendy's Beer, brewed in St. Wendel
St. Wendel Township, Minnesota
Saint Wendel Township is a township in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 36.1 square miles , of which, 35.8 square miles of it is land and...
, a real town in northeast Stearns County
Stearns County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 people per square mile . There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
. The nearest good-sized town referenced in Keillor's monologues is St. Cloud
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
.
Microsoft Virtual Earth now returns a location when Lake Wobegon, MN is entered into their search engine. The place is a little north and somewhat east of St. Cloud. The programs distributed at live performances of A Prairie Home Companion in 2005 have a map showing Lake Wobegon about two miles north of Holdingford, north and west of St. Cloud.
Keillor often references a cafe in downtown Lake Wobegon called the "Chatterbox Cafe". There is a real cafe and gas station in Olivia, Minnesota by the same name. Olivia is located in north-central Renville County.
History and character
Keillor chronicles a number of bizarre incidents in the town's early history, akin to the events in Black River Falls in Wisconsin Death TripWisconsin Death Trip
Wisconsin Death Trip is a non-fiction book by Michael Lesy, first published in 1973. It has been adapted into a film.The book is based on a collection of late 19th century photographs by Jackson County, Wisconsin photographer Charles Van Schaick, mostly in the city of Black River Falls, and local...
.
Keillor identifies the original founders of what became Lake Wobegon as New England Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
missionaries, at least one of whom came to convert the Native American Ojibwe Indians through interpretive dance
Interpretive dance
Interpretive dance is a family of dance styles that seeks to translates particular feelings and emotions, human conditions, situations, or fantasies into movement and dramatic expression combined...
. A college was founded at what was then called New Albion, but the project was abandoned after a severe winter and numerous attacks by bears. The project had only one survivor, a very practical woman who married a French Canadian fur-trapper who fed her in exchange for her help with the chores. This pragmatic couple were the founders of the current settlement.
The founders of New Albion decided to settle at Lake Woebegone because they had gotten very lost and did not know how to get back to where they had last been. To celebrate this, the colony's motto was Ubi Quid Ubi (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
> "We're Here!...Where are we?"). Later the motto in the Lake Woebegone incorporated town seal is described as Sumus Quod Sumus (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
> "We Are What We Are").
Most of the current population is made up descendants of German immigrants, who are mostly members of the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, and descendants of Norwegian and Swedish immigrants, who comprise the Lake Wobegon Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
Church. Keillor describes his family as members of the Sanctified Brethren.
The 800 residents (1950 Census: 728) are proud of the Statue of the Unknown Norwegian (so called because the model left before the sculptor could get his name). Lake Wobegon is in competition with its rival, St. Olaf, for having the most descendants of the same common ancestor (aka "Stearns County Syndrome"). Lake Wobegon became a secret dumping ground of nuclear waste during the 1950s.
The town is the home of the Whippet
Whippet
The Whippet is a breed of dog in the sighthound family. They are active and playful and are physically similar to a small Greyhound.- Description :...
s baseball team, tuna hotdish
Hotdish
Hotdish is a variety of baked casserole that typically contains a starch, a meat or other protein, and a canned and/ or frozen vegetable, mixed together with canned soup. The dish is popular in Minnesota...
, snow, Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
bachelor farmers, ice fishing
Ice fishing
Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities.-Locations:It is a popular pastime...
, tongues frozen to cold metal objects, and lutefisk
Lutefisk
Lutefisk or Lutfisk is a traditional dish of the Nordic countries and parts of the Midwest United States. It is made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye . It is gelatinous in texture, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor...
- fish treated with lye which, after being reconstituted, is reminiscent of "the afterbirth of a dog or the world's largest chunk of phlegm." But it is also the home of the Mist County Fair, old-fashioned show yards with flowers "like Las Vegas showgirls", sweet corn, a magnificent grain elevator, and the pleasant lake itself.
In popular culture
Despite its fictional status, fans have made trips "to" the town. A book of photos, co-authored by Keillor, documents images which could have come from Lake Wobegon.The Mall of America
Mall of America
The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the...
had a "Lake Wobegon, U.S.A." store which sold products connected with Keillor's program, and also with selected NPR and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
programs. This store closed January 31, 2009.
In the episode "Don't Make Me Over" of Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, in an attempt to calm a crowd of angry rioting prisoners, Peter begins to tell a "funny about Lake Wobegon". The story starts "It was the day of the tuna hotdish jamboree..." when he is hit by a chair and stopped.
In the animated PBS adult television series Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns
Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns
Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns is an animated television series that follows the adventures of the brothers Click and Clack from their auto repair shop Car Talk Plaza. The program stars Tom and Ray Magliozzi , also known as the Tappet Brothers, from National Public Radio's Car Talk...
, the "News from Lake Wobegon" segment is jokingly revealed to be an outsourced radio show from India. Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
provides his own voice.
In the 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
episode "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001," Jack (Alec Baldwin) says that "Kenneth's been out there for an hour telling cleaned-up Garrison Keillor stories," referencing the wholesome style of Lake Wobegon stories.
In April 2009, satirical news source The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
released an article detailing the discovery of several grisly murders in Lake Wobegon, possibly committed by Garrison Keillor himself.
In "Garfield in the Rough
Garfield in the Rough
Garfield in the Rough is a half-hour animated television special based on the Garfield comic strip. It once again featured Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield. The special was first broadcast October 26, 1984 on CBS...
", Jon Arbuckle, Garfield, and Odie, go on a camping trip in a park near Lake Woebegone, before being attacked by a black panther.
In the April 2010 premier of the HBO series Treme
Treme (TV series)
Treme is an American television drama series created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer that premiered on April 11, 2010 on HBO. It takes its name from Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans...
John Goodman's character, after becoming irate during a phone interview with NPR regarding the rebuilding of New Orleans, slams down the phone and exclaims "Lake Wobegon. God-dammit."
The name of the cryptographic computer program Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is often used for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts, E-mails, files, directories and whole disk partitions to increase the security...
was inspired by Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, one of the businesses in Lake Wobegon, reportedly modelled after (Ralph) Malmbergs General Store in Marine on St. Croix, MN.
The song "Whatever it was" by folk artist Greg Brown (himself a frequent guest on A prairie home companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
) on his 1997 album Slant 6 mind
Slant 6 Mind
Slant 6 Mind is the title of the fourteenth principal album release by American folk singer/guitarist Greg Brown, released in 1997.At the Grammy Awards of 1998, Slant 6 Mind was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album....
has one verse going: "The little towns are lying on their faces/All that's left are fading parking spaces/It's been quite a week, There was a drive-by shooting in Lake Wobegon/I was looking for what I love, whatever it was, it's gone"
The closing scene of The Office episode "Christening" (season 7 episode 7) has Erin driving Michael, Andy and a young man home. Erin excitedly turns on Lake Wobegon where Keillor says "Well, the Lutherans brought their banana bread, but Fred Norquest had no appetite. He was thinking about his pair of new boots. Been ten years after all, and as he told Mrs. Norquest, it would take two years, to get comfortable with the new boots."
The Lake Wobegon effect
The characterization of the fictional location, where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average," has been used to describe a real and pervasive human tendency to overestimate one’s achievements and capabilities in relation to others. The Lake Wobegon effectIllusory superiority
Illusory superiority is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate their positive qualities and abilities and to underestimate their negative qualities, relative to others. This is evident in a variety of areas including intelligence, performance on tasks or tests, and the possession of...
, where all or nearly all of a group claim to be above average, has been observed among drivers, CEOs, stock market analysts, college students, parents, and state education officials, among others.
Businesses and organizations
- Jack's Auto Repair, including Jack's School of Thought (correspondence), Warm Car Service, Dry Goods Emporium, Jack's Fountain Lounge, and Jack's Home, "a rest spa for people of all ages"
- Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery; "If you can't find it at Ralph's, you can probably get along (pretty good) without it."
- Bertha's Kitty Boutique ("for persons who care about cats")
- The Sidetrack Tap, run by Wally and Evelyn; "The dim little place in the dark where the pinball machine never tilts, the clock is a half-hour slow, and where love never dies."
- The Chatterbox Café, "The place to go that's just like home."
- Café Boeuf, "Where the elite meet to greet and eat," with maitre d' Maurice.
- Art's Baits & Night o' Rest Motel (Art got sick of people being around, so you can't rent rooms there these days.)
- Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Church; Father Emil (retired), Father Wilmer (current) - Lake Wobegon LutheranLutheranismLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
Church; Pastor Ingqvist (transferred), Pastor Barbara Ham (Interim Pastor), Pastor Liz (current) - Bunsen Motors (FordFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
dealer), run by Clint and Clarence Bunsen, local Lutherans - Moonlight Bay Supper Club
- Buck's Rent-a-Tux
- Krebsbach ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, run by Florian Krebsbach, local Catholic, and his son Carl. - The Herald Star, town newspaper run by Harold Star
- Skoeglin's 5 and Dime
- LuAnne Magendanz's Bon Marché Beauty Parlor and Salon
- Co-op Hardware (formerly Bigger Hammer Hardware, from the joke: "If at first you don't succeed, try using a bigger hammer.")
- Clifford's (also known as "The Mercantile," which many residents still call it)
- The Sons of Knute Temple, Norwegian fraternal organization
- The Whippets, town baseball teamTown Team BaseballTown Team Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played in the United States. In Town Team baseball, sometimes also called townball, the teams represent either a given city or town, or a commercial enterprise which sponsors the team...
- The Herdsmen, champion church ushering team
- The Curl Up and Dye, another local salon
- Tentative Point
- Sons of Pitches, a mens chorus made up of the Original Main Street's finest in the Home of Sinclair Lewis
- Lake Wobegon Piles ("twin 18-foot-high islands in the center of Lake Wobegon" created in 1956)
- Mist County Historical Society Museum
- Wally "Old Hard Hands" Bunsen Memorial Field
- Lake Wobegon Leeches (baseball)
- Lake Wobegon Loons (five-man football)
- Powdermilk Biscuit Plant (on the road to WorthingtonWorthington, MinnesotaWorthington is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nobles County.The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St...
) - Lake Wobegon High School
- Municipal Sanitary Landfill
- Statue of the Unknown Norwegian
- Farmer's Union Grain Elevator
- Bob's Bank, in the green mobile home
- World's Largest Pile of Burlap Bags (created by Earl Dickmeyer to fund his and his wife's move to Fort Myers, FloridaFort Myers, FloridaFort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, and the centerpiece for a mysterious cure to ailments, such as kidney stones)
In literature
Keillor has written several semi-autobiographical books about life in Lake Wobegon, including:- Lake Wobegon DaysLake Wobegon DaysLake Wobegon Days is a novel by Garrison Keillor, first published in hardcover by Viking in 1985. Based on material from his radio show A Prairie Home Companion, the book brought Keillor's work to a much wider audience and achieved international success...
(1985) - Leaving HomeLeaving Home: a Collection of Lake Wobegon StoriesLeaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories is a short story collection written by Garrison Keillor, a humorous fictional account of life in small-town Minnesota set in the fictitious heartland town of Lake Wobegon. It was first published in hardcover by Viking Penguin, Inc...
(1987) - Wobegon Boy (1997)
- Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 (2001)
- Pontoon: A Novel of Lake WobegonPontoon: A Novel of Lake WobegonPontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon is a novel by Garrison Keillor, a humorous fictional account of life in the fictitious heartland town of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. It was first published in hardcover by Viking Press in September 2007....
(2007) - Liberty (September 2008)
- Pilgrims (2009)
- Life Among the Lutherans (September 2009)
External links
- Lake Wobegon Trail in Stearns County, Minnesota
- In Search of Lake Wobegon from National Geographic, part of an article plus links to related sites
- Hiring: The Lake Wobegon Strategy, Peter Norvig, Google Research Blog
- News From Lake Wobegon podcast, National Public Radio
- A Prairie Home Companion
- Lake Wobegon Monologues, American Public Media's Pretty Good Goods