Todd County Museum Annual Meeting

The annual meeting and banquet of the Todd County Museum was held at the American Legion Club in Long Prairie, and Nancy and I were invited to do our Farm Heritage Program, which included my book, A Farm Country Picnic.

The audience came early and before dinner they had plenty time to check out Nancy's Farm Heritage Photo Display, which featured pictures of farm activities from the mid-1900s.

As we waited our turn to eat, Nancy and I visited with a number of members who had lots of interesting stories. Shirley (Rhoda) Lano (above) expained that her grandfather, Albert Rhoda, came over from Prussia in 1850 and got into the banking business in 1890 in Long Prairie. Her father, also named Albert, followed his dad into the banking business by 1905, and her mother worked in Hart's Department Store in Long Prairie as a milliner.
When she found out that I directed plays when I was a teacher, she asked me to name a few. When I mentioned The Egg and I, she laughed and said that when she was 14 she had met the author, Betty MacDonald, when she was living on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Stories always go best after a good dinner, and I had fun doing my show because the audience was ready to reminisce, laugh, and allow sentiment into their hearts. 

Thanks to Shirley and De for arranging my visit and to Charlie for the great introduction. Special thanks to those wonderful people who bought my books and intend to pass on farm heritage by passing those books on to the generations of the future.

Oak Ridge Senior Community, Hastings

Hastings is only a short drive from our home, and we looked forward to doing my Farm Heritage Program for the residents. It's a really nice facility that offers a variety of care choices, including independent living, assisted living care, and facilities for folks who need more care.

My Farm Heritage Program included my projecting and discussing pictures from the past in my Prologue, realistic illustrations and events from my books, and my story, A Farm Country Picnic, which contains the episode where the Watkins salesman helps the family round up the herd of cattle that have escaped into the neighbor's cornfield.

After my one-hour program, Ann Krauth, Activities Director (left), and Emily Renfrew (right) chat with me as I sign a few books. Thanks to all who purchased books. I hope they are enjoyed and passed on down through many generations of your family.

Nancy and I want to thank the residents at Oak Ridge for being such a great audience. We especially thank Ann Krauth for arranging our visit to Oak Ridge, and, along with Dorothy Endersby, for providing a nice welcome.  Thanks to Gordon Hanson for helping us set up and for attending the sound system. And a special thanks to all who stopped by after the show to express their kind comments about  my program and share their farm stories, including Mr. Christie, Mr. Dempsey, Mrs. Renfrew, and several others.

Nancy and I had fun at Oak Ridge and we hope to return soon.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

New Ulm Public Library

For Nancy and me, the best greeting after driving an hour and a half is a warm smile and a hearty handshake, which is exactly what Katy Kudela, the Children's Librarian at the New Ulm Public Library gave us. Her enthusiasm lifted our spirits and made us feel really welcome.

Katy gave me a short introduction that called for the audience to give me a 

warm welcome, which they did by applauding. 

The audience was a mixed group, ranging in age from 2 years or younger to young adult, middle age, and old-timers, like myself. To appeal to this range of people, I tried to mix nostalgia, humor, sentiment, with stories about animals for the little ones. It's a tough challenge, but I have to admit I love the audience with the mixed ages.

Katy laid out the rugs and that helped focus the little ones. With the rest of the audience, I felt that I was preachin' to the choir again. It was clear to me by the head-nods and the grins that these folks had farming in their background and their blood.

You can see by the above photos that after the program the children and their parents were open, warm, and willing to tell their stories as they visited with Nancy and me and Katy while I signed the books they purchased.

Nancy and I had a particularly great time at the New Ulm Public Library, and we want to thank everyone who attended, especially those who took the time to visit and to buy books. A special thanks to Katy Kudela, the Children's Librarian, who arranged our visit and who clearly deserves a great deal of credit for hosting a "Family Night" program that successfully encourages families to attend. 

Hey, Katy, you have a good thing going here!

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Augustana Care Center

On Friday noon we had to leave the North American Farm Power Show at Owatonna to do a Farm Heritage Program at Augustana Care Center in Apple Valley.
The audience at Augustana Care Center was made up of people with farm and non-farm backgrounds, but they all seemed to relate to my story of 1950s farming. Several residents came early, and I had the opportunity to chat with them and learn of their farm background. Others stayed after the show to pick up order forms, visit, or comment on my program, which included my story, A Farm Country Picnic.

After the show, we were delighted to discover that Glee Hubbard from Apple Valley had driven over to the Care Center especially to see my program. Glee is one of the many great people who have taken the time to send us farm photographs for my new book A Farm Country Harvest, which we hope to complete in 2013.

Nancy and I had a good time doing the show and visiting with residence, and we'd like to thank them for being such a great audience. Also, we'd like to thank Jeff Strunk, Activities Director at Augustana Care Center, for arranging our visit.

Stillwater Reading Club

The Stillwater Reading Club was founded in 1886 by Mrs. McClure as the "Stillwater Woman's Reading Club," according to Pat Johnson, the club's historian. Pat told me that the incorrect singular "woman" instead of the plural "women" is still used today because that is the way the original charter reads. Mrs. McClure organized the club as a way to discuss current matters of politics and other important events.

On the far left, Pat Johnson, club historian, stands to take a photograph.

I can imagine the club members were a pretty impressive group back in 1886, as are the members of today, who are filled with good humor, a desire to share their stories, and a keen sense of history. Doing a Farm Heritage Program for the group on March 5th was an absolute joy for me and Nancy. The group was with me or ahead of me on every piece of nostalgia or humor, and they expressed their interest in preserving Farm Heritage by telling stories after the program and buying books.

Some told brief stories from their chairs in the audience. Others came to the microphone if they had more to say. In the above photo, Dorothy Gerson told of working on the farm during the 1930s and pumping water outdoors in the winter time.

Others told me stories as I signed books. Myrtle Janilla explained that when she was a small child her father would give her two cent to hold the cow's tail as he milked the animal. I'm sure that not only served the purpose of keeping the tail out of his eyes, but also of keeping his eyes on Myrtle.

 Nearly every one of the members stopped by to chat after the program. Ellen (above right) brought me coffee and others offered us cake and cookies.

Ellen Campbell, who arranged my visit and presided over the meeting, posed for a photograph with me.

This small group was particularly fun because they were enthusiastic and eager to share their experiences. Nancy and I want to thank everyone in the Reading Club for their kind comments about our program, and we especially thank Ellen Campbell for arranging our visit.

We hope that those of you who purchased books will proudly pass on our Farm Heritage as the books get passed on to future generations.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Preble Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Annual Meeting

Last August I got an Email from Dale Krage, board member at Preble Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, inviting me to speak at their annual meeting on February 25, 2012. Although the insurance group is from Lansboro, the meeting was scheduled to be held at the Greenfield Lutheran Church in Harmony, Minnesota. Of course, I was interested, but when I read on to discover the invitation included lunch, I answered a quick, "Yes."

Not only do Nancy and I appreciate eating the fine food at an annual banquet, but also we know that where ever there is good food, we will find lots of good people who are in a mood to have some fun, and those are the qualities of a really good audience. We were not disappointed.

About 90 people attended the meeting and provided an audience that was ready to laugh and reminisce about those days on the farm, as I did about a one-hour program that included my story A Farm Country Picnic.

The group made up a really fun audience and after they asked a few questions, they were in no hurry to leave, and many took time to chat with us, tell us their stories, and buy books. Nancy was so busy helping people with purchases and visiting that she didn't take many pictures after the event, but we sure enjoyed ourselves.

After most people had left, I got to chat with David Meyer, whose wife Marie could not attend because she was not feeling well. David told me that Marie's father was a Watkins driver, who sold products to farmers, and when she heard that my book,  A Farm Country Picnic, showed a Watkins driver helping farmers when their cows get out, she wanted to see the show. 

Nancy and I thank Marie and David Meyer for their interest in my stories and for suggesting to the board at Preble Farmers Mutual that they should invite me to speak at their meeting.

Also, we thank Dale Krage and all the board members for having us at the meeting, and we thank the Harmony Relay for Life for serving the fine noon meal. We especially thank all those folks who purchased one or more of our stories about Farm Heritage, and we hope the books get passed on with pride to future generations.

As Nancy and I headed home after the meeting on Saturday, we reflected on the past week. On the previous Monday we had driven northeast to Crookston; Tuesday, from Crookston to Clearbrook and on to Baudette; Wednesday, from Baudette to Crookston; Thursday, from Crookston to Bagley and back to Crookston; Friday, from Crookston to Gary and then home to Lakeville; and Saturday, from Lakeville to Harmony, which is in the southeast corner of Minnesota.

In the course of just six days, we'd visited four schools, one nursing home, and one annual meeting; and we'd traveled 1475 miles, performing 20 programs for 990 children and adults. Not bad for a couple of old people like Nancy and me. We're left with lots of good memories and a close-call story to tell about our wheel almost falling off (see blog for Clearbrook-Gonvick Elementary).

Thanks again to everyone who helped make our trip possible and especially to those who gave us a kind word or two during our journey.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson