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

Dakota County Fair, 2011

The first Dakota County Fair goes back to 1858, the year Minnesota became a state, and it has been going strong ever since. This year the seven-day event was helped tremendously by the very pleasant weather from Monday, August 7 through Sunday, August 14. Nancy and I displayed and sold our farm heritage books and tee shirts in Dakota Village, an assembly of restored buildings that displays the area's heritage. Buildings range from a train depot to a bank building and are open for the fair-goer to visit and listen to a volunteer in period costume explain and demonstrate the workings of a blacksmith shop or a print shop. It's an interesting place to visit.

The Dakota City Board allows us to rent this building to sell our books about farm heritage during the seven days of the fair. Since our two series of books reflect stories of farm heritage, it is a perfect spot.

The general store was next door to us and open for visitors.

The old Vermillion State Bank, built in 1918, was moved to Dakota City in 1985.

Visiting the bank brings back memories for me because my father and mother banked there.

I remember opening my first savings account here and going in with Dad as he took out loans for expanding farm operations.

The Dakota Drug Store was only half a block from us and it sold hot food, cold drinks, and ice cream.

An attractive and informational pamphlet called "A Fair to Remember" details the 150-year development of the Dakota County Fair from 1858 to 2008. The facts are fascinating and are presented in an interesting story form with photographs. The pamphlet is given away free at most buildings in Dakota Village.

Obviously, Nancy and I are at the fair to sell books, but what makes the seven fair days fun for us is the people who take the time to visit with us. Old friends, neighbors, relatives I've never met, classmates from high school, and people with farm backgrounds from all over the country who compliment us on our efforts to preserve farm heritage. 

The fair has not forgotten its agricultural and small town roots and, I think, that's why so many people come from so far away to visit the livestock barns, the midway, eat the food, visit Dakota Heritage Village, watch the threshing, enjoy the live music, and watch the tractor parade every day at 1:00 PM. 

competition

Starting the straw pile

Singer and songwriter Ben Aaron stopped by to introduce himself to us. He played a few songs and moved on to pay at the Drug Store and the entertainment tent. Ben is a local talent from Farmington.

A fiddler played in from of the depot at Dakota City

The tractor parade is about half an hour long and features tractors of all makes and models. Maynard Ohm, Chairman of the Machinery Men's Club, does a live narration that describes each entry. The parade includes horseless carriages donated to Dakota City.

And I got to sign lots of books, which is my favorite thing to do.

Above is a picture of our first visitors and customers during the fair. On Monday before Dakota City officially opened a visitor stopped by to talk and bought a book.

Notice the free sticker from my book covers on the young man's shirt. To see more photos with children and other visitors, click on Read More below.

Nancy and I attended our building from noon to 9:00 PM on Monday, 9:30 AM to 9:00 PM on Tuesday through Saturday, and 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.

The hours were long but what made the stay worthwhile were all the friendly visitors and the hard-working volunteers at Dakota City. Below is a photo of Carl, one of the many Dakota City Volunteers. Carl displays one of my books that he bought for his granddaughter.

I wish to thank all the people at Dakota City for having me be part of their Heritage Village. It's a fun place to be during the fair. For more pictures of visitors and customers of all ages, click on Read More below.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Farmfest 2011

The crowds of people at this year's Farmfest at Gilfilland Estates, Redwood Falls, MN, were treated to warm but pleasant weather, which was far better than the unbearable heat during the first two of the three days during last year's event.

Although Farmfest is a showplace for the newest and biggest farm machinery and all of the serious activity related to agriculture, the large tent called the Toy, Craft, Home and Garden Pavilion housed a variety of vendors displaying and selling things like Watkins Products, maple syrup, leather crafts, and toy tractors. And that is where Nancy and I had our Collector series of Farm Heritage books for sale.

As you can see, customers range from folks my age (above) to the very young (below). 

The young man on the left won the trophy he is holding in the pedal pull competition.

Leo and Mavis bought a book early in the day, and after reading it they returned later to buy the other two books in the series. I especially enjoy that kind of feedback. Good luck to them and their grandkids!

The young-people-but-not-little kids group bought books too.

This young fellow seems particularly pleased to be getting two books.

We had a number of young farm couples who were not yet married buying books for themselves, not for their future kids, because they were pleased and proud to be part of the farm heritage as shown in my stories.

On Thursday we took the two-hour drive home, and as we neared home territory, we stopped as dairy workers brought the cows back from pasture to be milked at Dave and Florence Minar's Cedar Summit Farm north of New Prague, which was the site of their annual Milkapalooza several weeks ago.

We enjoyed watching the cows cross the road and head to the barn.

Nancy and I wish to thank everyone at Farmfest for making the three days a great success.
I especially thank Troy Krause, editor of The Farmfest Gazette, for interviewing me by phone  before the event and then writing and printing a story about me and my books entitled, "Keeping State's Farm History Alive." The article appeared in the August 2nd issue of the paper and includes pictures of me and the cover of A Farm Country Picnic.
In his story, Troy thoroughly explains my purpose and goals for writing my farm heritage stories. I felt honored to be featured in an article of a paper that focuses on modern farming, and I felt that it showed an understanding by all those involved in agriculture of the importance of preserving their heritage in story form. Many visitors kindly stopped by our booth to explain that they liked Troy's story.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Enchanted Forest

Located in the historic and attractive Old Town Plaza area north of downtown Mankato, the Enchanted Forest sells quality locally-made crafts, Minnesota-authored books, a variety of other gifts, and ice cream. The store features Sitting Eagle Creations, which are locally made Native American crafts, some of which are made by the owners of the store.

Starting Saturday the store carries my books on consignment, and Nancy and I were invited to visit for a book-signing. The day was warm and windy and traffic was slow, but we met several people who took time to share their stories and buy a book.

The morning provided ample opportunity to visit with the owners and hear their stories. 

To my left above is Andrea and her sister Regina.

Below we see their niece Jessica behind the ice cream counter.  Jessica is a student at Mankato.

In the upper-right corner of the picture, hanging on the wall are Dream Catchers made by Andrea, which are just a few of the many unique items the store offers for sale.

In addition to the front entrance at 529 N. Riverfront Drive, the store has a handy side-door entrance off Elm Street which takes you right to the ice cream counter and the Sitting Eagle Creations display. 

I urge you to take a drive to Mankato, stop by the Enchanted Forest, visit with the friendly owners, and do a little shopping. You probably won't find a soda pop for a nickel as the large sign indicates, but you will find an interesting, historic atmosphere that offers unique selections.

Nancy and I wish to thank Andrea and Regina for inviting us to visit their store.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Grand Meadow Public Library

As we park by the  Community Center at Grand Meadow on Wednesday morning, we meet Alicia Baugh, the librarian who had arranged our visit to the Grand Meadow Library. It's about 9:30 AM and pleasant outside as we visit and she tells us some stories about growing up on the farm and her adventures with riding horses.

I'm doing a show that includes two of my books, If I Were a Farmer: Nancy's Adventure and A Farm Country Picnic. Some children come early and seat themselves on the floor.

A few gather under the projector table but move up after I start the show.

Families tell me they like the show and I get to sign some books.

Thanks to Librarian Alicia Baugh for arranging our visit to Grand Meadow and for taking the time to visit with us before and after the show.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

University of Minnesota-Rochester

Honestly, I felt honored at the opportunity to speak at UMR CONNECTS, a weekly outreach program that features Minnesota Authors during July of 2011. The programs are always scheduled to be held outdoors at the Peace Plaza on UMR Campus in downtown Rochester, but Tuesday's heat and humidity caused them to move the program to roomy, air-conditioned room on the 4th floor. No one complained.

 Director of Outreach, Teresa Puetz, introduces me before my program, which includes my new book, A Farm Country Picnic. Teresa grew up on a farm and lives on that same farm with her family today.

After the show, Teresa had me draw the names for door prizes. Winners got to choose prizes which included a couple of my books and a gift certificate.

First prize winner has me sign a copy of Field Work while she tells me some interesting stories of growing up on a sandy farm in Wisconsin.

Nancy and I wish to thank Executive Office and Administrative Specialist Mary DeWitt for coordinating the event. Mary says she has fond memories of time spent on the farm of her grandparents.

Special thanks to Outreach Director Teresa Puetz for inviting us to the event and taking the time to visit with us before and after the show. It's good to know that people leading outreach programs have enthusiasm for the farm. 

Also, thanks to Greg, the on-duty technician who spent the evening ensuring that all things electronic worked in our favor. Greg grew up on a farm in Iowa and his father still farms the place. Nancy and I enjoyed visiting with him before the show as he helped set up the equipment.

It gave us real joy to experience the close connection to the farm with these UMR professionals.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

It's been a year.

It's been a year since David H. Jewell passed away on July 15, 2010. David illustrated three of my books in the If I Were a Farmer series. On July 19, 2010, I posted a short tribute to him, which is available to read in the archives.

Since Nancy and I daily sell books containing my stories and his illustrations, and since customers often ask questions about the illustrators, we talk of David often, lamenting his passing but expressing our good luck at meeting him and having him complete illustrations for three of my books.

David loved little kids and I often hoped he could come along with Nancy and me when we performed our show, but either he was busy working or "busy" recovering from an episode with his diabetes.

When I sign books for little kids, I often think of how David would've enjoyed doing so, but never have I wished him present at a book signing more than when Nancy and I were at the Lonsdale Library last Tuesday evening.

A very friendly, astute girl of about 9-11 years named Angela bought my book If I Were a Farmer: Nancy's Adventure and brought it to me to sign as I was talking to some audience members. Even though she seemed to be in a hurry, she politely waited before she asked me to sign it.  I recognized her as the child who had asked some pretty good questions immediately after my show. She asked me to address the autograph to her and her two younger brothers.

She seemed to really embrace the book and I thought how David would have been gratified at how much kids like the story and the illustrations. The character of Nancy in the story was the first thing David and I had worked on together. I loved the way he drew her as an assertive little girl who could tackle anything. Everyone, especially little girls, seem to love her spunk. Little boys seem to like her too.

On the drive home, my wife Nancy explained to me that Angela and her younger brother came on their own. She purchased the book with her own money by handing Nancy a five dollar bill, two one dollar bills, and then three hands full of change, each containing a dollar. She apologized for all the change, which included many pennies, but she had needed to use it to get the ten dollars for the book. Nancy had explained the change was not a problem, thanked her for the purchase, and sent her over to me to get the book signed. Before she left to get the book signed, she asked for another free sticker for her younger brother who could not come to the show.

The whole episode with Angela would have made David's day, as it did mine and Nancy's.

Lonsdale Public Library

Lonsdale has a beautiful new library with a large activities room. The library is connected to senior assisted living, which makes it handy for the seniors to use library facilities and attend any programs the library offers. The result was that we had quite a few of the seniors attend our show, A Farm Country Picnic,  in the library's activity room on July 12, 2011.

Before the show, Library Director Diana Tallent introduced me to the audience. She is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and seems to enjoy her role as library director at Lonsdale.

Audience members were a mixture of the very young to very senior, and they provided lively comments and responses throughout the show. It was a fun 45-50 minutes for me as they listened to me show them the real-life farm elements in each of my books.

After the show both Nancy and I answered lots of questions as people stayed to chat. Questions came from adults and from the very young. Since the library is conveniently located near family housing, young children and their parents walked to the show. Some young children came on their own. A wonderful child named Angela came with her little brother Jonathan and visited with me as I signed the book she purchased with her own money.

Nancy and I want to thank Kym El-Wailli for arranging our visit and helping us set up and Director Diana Tallent for greeting us, giving us a tour of the library, and ensuring that we had everything we needed. We had fun visiting with both ladies as we prepared our equipment before the show.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson