Back in my North Dakota days, I served a term on the Grand Forks Historical Preservation Commission.

Thus, when Dorette and I moved to Eden Prairie, Minn., I was impressed by the historic Smith Douglas More House.

This picture (above) was taken Monday.

The original building was constructed in 1877 to provide passenger services to a then-nearby railroad line. The community pitched in many decades later to save it from being razed. Now, it is supported by vendor rental payments, currently from the Rustica Coffee Bakery Cafe.

I enjoyed a dark chocolate mocha, then did some walking in perfect early spring weather.

Dorette bought a small condo in Eden Prairie while we still lived in Grand Forks.

She called it her “lake place,” and indeed it IS very near an urban lake. We’d stay there rather than in a hotel during our increasingly frequent visits to the Twin Cities.

A couple of times, I made the trip solo to do research for an exhibit I was organizing titled “When the Chippewa Owned Grand Forks County.” I arranged to borrow artifacts and images from the Minnesota Historical Society, and I used the free wifi at the Smith Douglas More House to do online research.

In 2011, we loaded a U-Haul truck with the remainder of our belongings and moved to the Eden Prairie condo as permanent Minnesota residents.

Dorette still owns the condo but in 2014, we moved again, to Bloomington, not that far away from E.P. but offering more convenient access to the amenities of downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

The Oxborough Road location has great neighbors and great dogs. Plus Dorette can indulge in her favorite hobbies — gardening and remodeling the house.

It doesn’t get better than this.