The Silver Lake Leader is the weekly newspaper of Silver Lake, Minnesota that was continuously published by the Merrill family from 1901 to 2011. In early 2010, the Merrills graciously agreed to let me try my hand at writing an experimental newspaper column to serve as a platform for sharing local history and genealogical information on the immigrant families who settled the Silver Lake area some 150 years ago. The title of this column is "Pavučina Corner"; "pavučina" is the word for ‘spiderweb’ in the Czech language. It is my affectionate nickname for what the family tree diagram would look like for the Silver Lake community, given all of the family links and connections that have developed over the years.
In December 2011, The Glencoe Enterprise newspaper of Glencoe, Minnesota, took over the publishing of the "Pavučina Corner" column.
