Elmore Public Library

The town of Elmore is located on Highway 169 about as far south in Minnesota as you can get. Customers in the library said that  if I'd missed the turn to the library and gone south two more blocks, I would've been in Iowa. 

The town is proud of their new library, and I agree that it is a very nice facility. However, since it sprinkled or rained during the entire two and a half hours we were there on Wednesday, Nancy could not get a picture of the front of the building.

She did get a photo of the rain through the glass doors that exit out the back of the conference room where I did my Farm Heritage Program.

When we came to set up, a group of people were having coffee in the conference room. They made us feel especially welcome because they credited us with bringing the rain. It was the first rain they had in weeks and the area was really dry. They left while we set up, but the picture below shows that they kept their promise to return for my program.

We were expecting a group of small children, which is why I chose to do a program that included my book, If I Were a Farmer: Nancy's Adventure, but the rain probably kept them from riding their bikes or walking to the library. The older folks seemed to enjoy the show, though, and were kind with their comments and also purchased a number of books.

Everyone took time before or after the program to view and comment on Nancy's display of farm heritage photographs that we are preparing for our new book, A Farm Country Harvest.

Nancy and I wish to thank the librarian, Nancy Ziegler, for calling and inviting us to do our Farm Heritage Program at the Elmore Library. I also want to thank all the board members, especially Doris and Audrey, for taking time to chat and helping to arrange my visit. A special thanks to Doris Klein, who remembered me from when I did a show at Frost Library in 2010 and recommended my visit to Elmore. She kindly told me that she had purchased A Farm Country Christmas Eve after the show at Frost and brings it out to read at Christmas time.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Kenny Community School, Minneapolis MN

This morning Nancy and I drove to Kenny Community School in the southern part of Minneapolis to do three Farm Heritage shows for students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. We wanted to arrive at about 7:15 AM, and we were a bit worried about running into heavy traffic. We decided to leave by 6:15 AM.

Well, traffic turned out to be a non-issue as we crossed the river and turned at Lyndale Avenue without even one slowdown. As we unloaded, very light snow/rain fell, forcing us to cover our equipment as we took it into the school, but the weather, like the traffic, was not as we had feared.

We were greeted with a smile by a lady at the office, who contacted Charles, a custodian who showed us where to set up and carried in some chairs for the teachers. Library Media Specialist, Dianne Kersteter, who arranged our visit to the school, stopped by to chat and thank us for coming. After we set up, I talked with David Horne, who was substituting for the physical education teacher, and he told me some stories about his farm connection. His grandfather, Hans Horne, was the Chippewa County Agent in Wisconsin during the 1930s, a difficult time for farmers and a time that yielded many fascinating stories.

At 8:15 AM, kindergartners assembled, and I started my Farm Heritage Program, 

which included my story, If I Were a Farmer: Nancy's Adventure.

Kindergartners hold up two fingers as I demonstrate how to teach a newborn calf 

how to drink out of a pail (above), and (below) they wave to Nancy as she takes their picture.

First grade assembled at 8:45 AM as I begin the program (above), 

and (below) they hold up two fingers as I show them how to teach a calf to drink from a pail.

Second grade students assembled for the program at about 9:20 AM (above),

and (below) they wave and say "Hi" to Nancy as she snaps their picture.

All the students were great audience members, and I was especially pleased with the questions. Many students told stories about their link to the farm. I always encourage them to ask their parents and grandparents to tell their stories of farm life.

Questions by second graders followed by my shortened answers are shown below:

Q. Did you like growing up on the farm?

A. Yes, but there was always work to be done. We took no vacations. In my books I try to show the work and the fun for kids on a farm.

Q. How many pockets in the overall you have on?

A.  Two top snap pockets, a watch pocket, a pencil pocket, a two-in-one tool pocket (I showed him the pliers I carry), deep side and back pockets, a hammer holder.

Question from a first grade girl:

Q. Why do you do this?

A. I want to preserve farm heritage by telling fun stories so readers can see what it was like for kids on a farm in 1950. 

Then I encouraged her to ask her parents and grandparents to tell their stories.

Q. Do you still farm?

A. No I don't and haven't for 12 years. I'm too busy doing this.

Nancy and I wish to thank Mrs. Kersteter for inviting us to visit Kenny Community School, and we'd like to thank the entire staff for making us feel welcome. We had fun and I hope the students did too.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

Turkey march in March

I haven't seen too much of the turkeys all winter, but near the end of March they decide to march around the yard.

They seem to know where they are going.

But then, they stop and mill around a bit.

And march off in the other direction!

They are more brave than usual as they march around the yard for about ten minutes, managing to keep close to the tree line, of course.

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.

Norman County East Elementary, Gary, MN

Thursday night was our last night staying with our friends at Crookston, but on the way home Friday morning, we were scheduled to visit Norman County East at Gary, MN. We met Principal Krogstad, who opened up the room where we could do all three shows.
We also had time to visit with Mrs. Strum the school librarian, who expressed her enthusiasm for our visit.
Shortly after we arrived, we met the SPFFA members (pictured below) who arranged our visit to Gary.

From left to right are Brock Nelson, me, Dylan Sather, and Gabel Hoseth.

K-2 students were the first group of the day and they seemed to have fun with my Farm Heritage Program, which included my story f I Were a Farmer: Nancy's Adventure.

Below, the K-2 students enjoy waving to Nancy as she takes their photo.

And some hang around after the program to tell me a few stories (below).

 The next session was filled with fifth and sixth grade students (above and below)
 who listened and asked good questions after the program.

 The fourth grade group (above and below) was the smallest in number, but they did not lack in enthusiasm. The asked lots of questions and shared some good stories.

After the last program, the FFA members took time to eat lunch with us at the local cafe in Gary. Like many towns in rural areas, Gary's population has decreased as the size of the farms has increased.

The cafe served good food and we were able to visit with the students a little longer.

 Part of the Gary Cafe is an historic building that used to be a creamery.

Stop in. The food is good, prices are good, and the people are friendly.

Nancy and I wish to thank all the teachers who gave their class time with their students so we could do our Farm Heritage Programs. We thank Mr. Krogstad for approving our visit, librarian Mrs. Strum for taking the time to visit and the members of the Gary SPFFA for arranging our visit and taking the time to visit with us over lunch. 

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

From Lake of the Woods Elementary to Harmony, MN, in Five Days

Nancy and I like driving Minnesota highways and back roads, especially if our destinations are schools or other facilities that hosts our Farm Heritage Shows. In January, SPFFA (Sparsely Populated area chapters of Future Farmers of America) along with Collegiate FFA located at the University of Minnesota in Crookston arranged for us to visit four schools in Northern Minnesota.

Let me explain just a little about Sparsely Populated FFA Chapters. In farm country where farms had been several hundred acres but are now a thousand acres or more, there are fewer farmers and fewer farm kids. Consequently, although intense interest in FFA is still present for a few, the numbers of students interested in FFA has decreased dramatically. "Sparsely Populated" may refer somewhat to the entire region, but mostly the term describes the availability of candidates for FFA.

We were very excited about the opportunity to get our books and our program out to schools in farm country of Northwest Minnesota, and when we scheduled the visits for Tuesday, February 21 through Friday, February 24, we knew we had already booked a banquet for Preble Farmers Mutual Insurance at noon on Saturday, February 25, at Harmony, located near the Iowa border in Southeast, MN. When we left for the trek on Monday, February 20, 2012, we hoped Minnesota weather would be kind.

We arrived at Crookston just in time for supper at the home of our long-time friends, Lyle and Sue Westrom, where we would be staying three of the four nights during our trip. Lyle is an Agriculture professor at  the University of Minnesota, Crookston, and leads the CFFA (Collegiate Future Farmers of America) Chapters. He and his students and the SPFFA Chapters at the local high schools agreed to work together to sell my books as fund-raisers for their organizations and arrange for me to visit elementary schools in the area to boost interest in FFA.

Sue works for the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), but lucky for us, she had most of the day off and was able to demonstrate her abilities in the kitchen by cooking us a fine supper of roast beef and vegetables just the way we old-timers like it.

The four of us ate a splendid meal and then shared a short evening together.
Since their jobs require each of them to spend hours on the road traveling to meetings, this was the only evening the four of us spent together.

On Tuesday, Nancy and I arose at 5:00 AM so we could leave for our first show at Clearbrook-Gonvick Elementary in Clearbrook, MN, about a 1.5 hour drive away. Slippery roads and blowing snow slowed our travels, but we stayed on-schedule. No time for pictures, though, we were too busy worrying about a constant grinding coming from the right front wheel. I stopped to look twice, but with the snowing conditions and cold, we decided to just keep going.
We arrived at Bagley about 7:15 and as we turned north to make the last 15 miles of our journey, my brakes started to fade. We asked a man who was brushing the snow off his car if there was a garage in town. He directed us to Sorensen Motors, Inc., which we had passed about a mile back. With grinding becoming louder, steering becoming sloppy, and braking questionable we headed back the way we came, ready to put our faith in Sorensen Motors.

The truck handled poorly and I missed the turn by about 100 feet. Concerned how long my front wheel could hold out, I put my flashers on and backed up on the highway and limped into Sorensen's where a truck was plowing the lot. We parked our truck, and the driver, Bernett, came to talk to us. "The mechanics will be coming in about 10 minutes," he said. "We'll take care of it. Go in and have some coffee." Then he came in and brought me a cup. This lifted our spirits, but Nancy and I held little hope of making our destination in time for our first show
It was close to 7:30 AM when I called Jacob Melbey, the Dean of Students at Clearbrook-Gonvick Elementary to tell them our predicament. "So your at Bagley?' he responded. "I can come and get you right away."
In the meantime the mechanics had brought our truck into the shop and removed the wheel. "About another ten minutes of driving and the wheel would have fallen off," One of them said. "You were lucky to get here." Lucky, indeed, I thought.
The wheel bearing had gone out and some brake damage was done, but they were sure they could get the parts and have it ready by early afternoon. Things were starting to look pretty good as Mr. Melbey pulled in with the van and we loaded our equipment. It looked like we'd only be a few minutes late if we could set up quickly. Nancy and I relaxed and enjoyed a visit with Jacob Melbey as he took us to Clearbrook.
In tomorrow's piece, I'll describe our experience at the school.

Lafayette Charter School

What would have been a beautiful drive to Lafayette Charter School on Thursday afternoon, January 19, 2012, was spoiled by the bright sun--but what am I saying?! Think how it could have been spoiled by blowing snow or even cancelled by a blizzard! Nancy and I decided to squint and enjoy the view as best we could and feel lucky for the nice weather.

The occasion was called Ag Night and the local Parent Teacher Organization sponsored a really nice lunch and a program that focused on agriculture, which still is the leading industry in Minnesota.

My program on Farm Heritage included my story A Farm Country Picnic, and I spoke for a little over 45 minutes to the audience of students and adults.

Talking about Farm Heritage to the Ag-Night audience of kids and adults at Lafayette was like preaching to the choir. The adults were on top of every farm joke and bit of nostalgia I threw out, and kids of every age showed enthusiasm and interest.  Add the fact that they supplied a sound system that made me sound like a radio announcer and I have to say that for me it doesn't get any more fun than this.

The intergenerational audience is always great to see, especially when

 young students and their parents pick out books together to buy.

Connor, seated second from right, stopped to chat with me after the show.

He said he liked my books and enjoyed the show.

When I asked him about school, he indicated he wanted to learn as much as he could.

Pretty good attitude, wouldn't you say?

Many kind and interesting people took time to talk to me and to Nancy after the show. They wished us well on our endeavor to pass on Farm Heritage, gave positive comments about the show, purchased books, and shared a number of fun stories with us.

I signed books and talked to parents and students, 

and when Nancy wasn't busy, she snapped a few photographs.

I thank the Parent-Teacher Organization at the Lafayette Charter School for inviting me to speak at Ag-Night and for their generous donation for travel expenses. Everyone made Nancy and me feel really welcome at the event.

I especially thank Heather Winkelmann who arranged the event and Sandy Burger for ordering a full set of books for their library.  

I consider it a privilege to be involved with Farm Heritage and enjoy the opportunity to speak on the subject to farmers and non-farmers, alike.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

St. Mary's School in Owatonna

I received a warm greeting from everyone at St. Mary's in Owatonna.
First, June, who handles the many issues in the office, took time to show me where to set up and then she held the door for Nancy and me as we carried in our equipment. Kids in the hallway smiled to say hello and Sharleen Berg, Media Specialists, said hello and took a few moments to chat as we met her in the hallway.
Everyone we met offered to help, especially Tammy Barnes, who teaches grade 1 and who invited us to the school to do three programs of A Farm Country Christmas Eve to Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 students.
I can always tell when teachers and other leaders have "talked up" my visit because the groups of students are excited to see the show when they come in to sit down. This was certainly the case with these groups.
And they asked lots of good questions.
One second-grade girl asked me if I always wore overalls.
I told her I only wear them as a costume when I perform.
She replied with a big smile, "I thought so."

Kindergarten Students eager to answer questions (above)

and posing for a group photograph (below).

Students in first grade holding up two fingers to teach a calf to drink (above)

and raising their hands to answer questions (below).

Second Graders raising their hands to answer questions (above)

and lining up to feel the oats in the can after the show (below).

Administrators seldom are able to break away from their work to watch my show, but I was particularly pleased when Principal Hawkins stopped by to watch the show with the first graders. Later, she stopped by to tell my wife that she liked the show and then she thanked us for coming. 

Nancy and I thank Mrs. Barnes for inviting us to visit St. Mary's and arranging the whole event, and we thank Mrs. Prostrollo for the use of her room.

We also thank all the teachers for sharing their time with us and Mrs. Hawkins, the principal for allowing us to visit the school. 

As a former teacher, I never underestimate the importance of class time with students, and I will always strive to make my time with them valuable to their education. 

I also believe in having some fun during the show, and the students seemed to be right on top of it all! 

I found a great deal of pleasure performing for each group at St. Mary's, and I think the energy and joy expressed by the students are tributes to the entire workforce at St. Mary's.

Lubavitch Cheder Day School

Located on Ford Parkway in St.Paul, Lubavitch Cheder Day School is Pre-K-8 and provides an integrated curriculum of General and Jewish studies. Mrs. Armstrong, who teaches second grade at the school, met us at Dakota Village during the Dakota County Fair last summer and invited us to visit and do a show. I'm glad she did. the kids listened with great attention and responded with smiles as I read my stories If I Were a Farmer: Nancy's Adventure  and  A Farm Country Picnic.

The students eagerly listened and participated as I demonstrated how to teach a newborn calf to drink from a pail and how to call cattle. After the program each of them took a turn at sticking his or her hand in the can of oats.

We thank Mrs. Armstrong for inviting us to the school.  Students seemed to enjoy the show and have fun. I know I did.

Redwood Falls Public Library

We arrive really early for our program at Redwood Falls, which gives us plenty of time to meet Robin and Angie, both of whom helped arrange our visit to the library. We set up our equipment and spend some time looking around.

The library is an attractive, modern structure with plenty of room for books, people, and decorations.

Nancy set up a table for our books in a large community room.

In the back of the room workers made ice cream which they served to everyone after my presentation.

Lonnie Leske visited with us before the program and after the program she introduced us to her son, Steven Leske, who has recently written and illustrated several children's books, including the one I purchased from him called Wind Turbines.  The book is a soft cover book that explains wind turbines and uses pictures to convey what they do. The book doesn't try to sort out every detail, but it makes the topic interesting and fun. It has a short glossary at the end.

After my show I get to sign some books and Nancy and I share some stories with people.

We thank Robin Osland for inviting us to do a program during their city's Christmas by Candlelight Celebration, and we thank Angie for helping to arrange the details.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson

All Seasons Preschool & Inver Glen Senior Care

All Seasons Preschool and Inver Glen Senior Living are in the same building, and as one senior told me, "The children come to visit us every day." Other seniors around her nodded and smiled.

Many seniors arrived early at the large community room and visited with Nancy and me as we set up. Senior comments about the "children coming" were always accompanied with a smile of anticipation.

Teacher Amy Lemieux said that the key to daily visits is to have he Preschool and seniors in the same building. Otherwise, winter offers a special challenge of dressing up with coats and boots and headgear. Since the kids are in the same building, they just walk over to visit the seniors. "It's like a field trip for them," Amy said.

The seniors were all seated when the children, who are 3-5 years old, arrived and I could hear some greetings being exchanged. One child made the rounds of shaking hands with a number of his senior friends.

Performing for this mixed group was a joy for me. The children and the seniors were very responsive to everything in my show. Maybe visiting the seniors every day makes the kids more eager to hear stories. In any case, children came up with some of the best questions ever, and not just for their age-group but for almost any-age group.

Of course, I showed them how to teach a newborn calf how to drink out of a pail.

About ten minutes later, after the show, one child remembered that I had said we had to take the cow and calf back to the barn. She asked, "Why do you need to take the calf to the barn." Other questions included, "Why do people live on farms." These questions may sound basic, but understanding the answers are crucial to understanding anything about the food we eat. The audience listened intently to my answers.

Nancy and I had the distinct privilege to meet and chat with Kenneth Fritz, who has written three books and will soon see his fourth book published with Outskirts Press, Inc., Denver, Colorado. After the show Ken, his wife, and his friend stayed to chat with us for several minutes. Ken was a farmer, a soldier, an electrician, and a writer.

Ken holds a couple of my books and I hold three of his.

Nancy and I really enjoyed our visit to All Seasons Preschool and Inver Glen Senior Living, and we wish to thank Amy Lemieux of All Seasons and Sue Hastings, activities director at Inver Glen, for arranging our visit.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson