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