Last Saturday was a beautiful fall day at The Clearing in Door County where thirty of us gathered for my annual one-day writing workshop that I call “Writing From Your Life.” Plenty of fall color. The waters of Green Bay were deep slate; the birch still showed some yellow and the sky was clear and blue.
The writers gathered to share stories—stories of early memories, of first toys, of growing up, of first jobs for pay, of joyous moments and many not as joyous as a few tears fell. These writers of several generations filled pages with tales from their lives—stories long forgotten, by some at least.
They shared their tales with each other and laughed and nodded knowingly, for though the details may have been different, the stories of each generation had many similarities as well.
Why do it? Why spend a gorgeous late autumn day writing stories? Because we are each a story, more accurately we are each a collection of little stories contributing to a larger one. Our stories make us human. When we forget our stories, we forget who we are.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It’s never too late to write down your stories.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
November 2, Cobb Library, 7:00 p.m. Old Farm
November 4-6, Dyersville, Iowa, National Farm Toy Show; Friday (5-8 p.m.), Saturday, (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) (Signing various book titles).
November 12, Barnes and Noble, Racine, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
November 14, Elmbrook Historical Society annual meeting and dinner. 5:45. Horses and Barns (For Elmbrook Historical Society members and guests.)
December 3, Fireside Books, West Bend. 10-2:00, speaking at 11:00.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sounds of Fall
The sounds of fall. Mysterious, interesting, sometimes even mythical. The calling of Canada geese winging south from their summer home in the far north. The “rat-tat-tat” of a Pileated woodpecker chiseling a hole in a dead white pine. The barking of a gray squirrel from the top of a naked black oak. The call of an owl echoing through the darkness on a quiet October evening, then its call returned—a late evening conversation between creatures of the night.
The sound of wind moaning through the tops of bare-branched oak trees on a windy day; the next day, in the same oak woods, the wind has gone down—the sound of silence.
Memories of the sounds of the old Aermotor windmill on the home farm, and how on the nights around Halloween when the wind was up just a bit, the old windmill squeaked and squawked and tried to turn, but its brake would not let it. In my upstairs bedroom I could hear the noise and envisioned ghosts and goblins and creatures of the nether world on their way to visit me.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Occasionally do nothing—and enjoy it.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 26, Sheraton Hotel, Madison. Foster Grandparents conference. “Writing From Your Life” workshop, 4:15 to 5:15; Keynote address, 6:30 (Remembering an Earlier Day).
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
November 2, Cobb Library, 7:00 p.m. Old Farm
November 4-6, Dyersville, Iowa, National Farm Toy Show; Friday (5-8 p.m.), Saturday, (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) (Signing various book titles).
November 12, Barnes and Noble, Racine, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
November 14, Elmbrook Historical Society annual meeting and dinner. 5:45. Horses and Barns (For Elmbrook Historical Society members and guests.)
The sound of wind moaning through the tops of bare-branched oak trees on a windy day; the next day, in the same oak woods, the wind has gone down—the sound of silence.
Memories of the sounds of the old Aermotor windmill on the home farm, and how on the nights around Halloween when the wind was up just a bit, the old windmill squeaked and squawked and tried to turn, but its brake would not let it. In my upstairs bedroom I could hear the noise and envisioned ghosts and goblins and creatures of the nether world on their way to visit me.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Occasionally do nothing—and enjoy it.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 26, Sheraton Hotel, Madison. Foster Grandparents conference. “Writing From Your Life” workshop, 4:15 to 5:15; Keynote address, 6:30 (Remembering an Earlier Day).
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
November 2, Cobb Library, 7:00 p.m. Old Farm
November 4-6, Dyersville, Iowa, National Farm Toy Show; Friday (5-8 p.m.), Saturday, (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) (Signing various book titles).
November 12, Barnes and Noble, Racine, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
November 14, Elmbrook Historical Society annual meeting and dinner. 5:45. Horses and Barns (For Elmbrook Historical Society members and guests.)
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Historic Sites
If you haven’t made the rounds of the Wisconsin Historical Society sites, you may want to plan such a tour. For the past three weekends, I’ve been speaking and or selling books at three of them. On Sunday, October 2, I was at Old World Wisconsin, near Eagle; on Saturday, October 8, Ruth and I were at Stonefield Village, near Cassville; and on Saturday, October 15 we visited Old Wade House at Green Bush (a few miles from Sheboygan).
All of Wisconsin historic sites are treasures, but these three are especially appealing to those interested in small town and rural history. Old World is a creation of ethnic farmsteads, with the actual buildings gathered from around the state (and much more). Stonefield boasts a re-created pioneer village, and has the largest exhibit of horse-drawn machinery in Wisconsin. Old Wade House, the site of an early stagecoach inn, has a wonderful collection of horse drawn wagons, from old milk delivery wagons to several horse-drawn fire wagons, and much more.
We met lots of interesting people and heard many stories about early farm life—I was talking about farming with horses and the history of farm machinery.
Go to http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/sitesmuseum.asp for more information, and put visiting these sites on your “must do” list.
CHECK THIS OUT: I’m talking about and reading from my book, CAMPFIRES AND LOON CALLS (Fulcrum Press) at The Wisconsin Book Festival on Sunday, October 23 at 4:00 p.m. Here are details:
Voices of the Water, Voices of the Trees: Apps & Andrews
Sunday, October 23 | 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Rotunda Studio/Overture, State Street, Madison.
Sponsor: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Presenter(s): Candice Gaukel Andrews, Jerry Apps
Whether you are preparing to travel or just want to be temporarily transported to some of the upper Midwest’s unique and precious environments, Andrews and Apps will offer you their deep, personal, and informed appreciations of Wisconsin’s forests (Andrews) and the Boundary Waters (Apps).
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Quoting from Bruce Springsteen, “We’d better start savin’ up for the things that money can’t buy.”
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red (free). 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop. Workshop fee $10.00. Call 920-898-5165 for signup information.
October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.
October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.
October 26, Sheraton Hotel, Madison. Foster Grandparents conference. “Writing From Your Life” workshop, 4:15 to 5:15; Keynote address, 6:30 (Remembering an Earlier Day)
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
November 2, Cobb Library, 7:00 p.m. Old Farm
November 4-6, Dyersville, Iowa, National Farm Toy Show; Friday (5-8 p.m.), Saturday, (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) (Signing various book titles).
November 12, Barnes and Noble, Racine, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
November 14, Elmbrook Historical Society annual meeting and dinner. 5:45. Horses and Barns (For Elmbrook Historical Society members and guests.)
All of Wisconsin historic sites are treasures, but these three are especially appealing to those interested in small town and rural history. Old World is a creation of ethnic farmsteads, with the actual buildings gathered from around the state (and much more). Stonefield boasts a re-created pioneer village, and has the largest exhibit of horse-drawn machinery in Wisconsin. Old Wade House, the site of an early stagecoach inn, has a wonderful collection of horse drawn wagons, from old milk delivery wagons to several horse-drawn fire wagons, and much more.
We met lots of interesting people and heard many stories about early farm life—I was talking about farming with horses and the history of farm machinery.
Go to http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/sitesmuseum.asp for more information, and put visiting these sites on your “must do” list.
CHECK THIS OUT: I’m talking about and reading from my book, CAMPFIRES AND LOON CALLS (Fulcrum Press) at The Wisconsin Book Festival on Sunday, October 23 at 4:00 p.m. Here are details:
Voices of the Water, Voices of the Trees: Apps & Andrews
Sunday, October 23 | 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Rotunda Studio/Overture, State Street, Madison.
Sponsor: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Presenter(s): Candice Gaukel Andrews, Jerry Apps
Whether you are preparing to travel or just want to be temporarily transported to some of the upper Midwest’s unique and precious environments, Andrews and Apps will offer you their deep, personal, and informed appreciations of Wisconsin’s forests (Andrews) and the Boundary Waters (Apps).
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Quoting from Bruce Springsteen, “We’d better start savin’ up for the things that money can’t buy.”
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red (free). 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop. Workshop fee $10.00. Call 920-898-5165 for signup information.
October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.
October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.
October 26, Sheraton Hotel, Madison. Foster Grandparents conference. “Writing From Your Life” workshop, 4:15 to 5:15; Keynote address, 6:30 (Remembering an Earlier Day)
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
November 2, Cobb Library, 7:00 p.m. Old Farm
November 4-6, Dyersville, Iowa, National Farm Toy Show; Friday (5-8 p.m.), Saturday, (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) (Signing various book titles).
November 12, Barnes and Noble, Racine, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
November 14, Elmbrook Historical Society annual meeting and dinner. 5:45. Horses and Barns (For Elmbrook Historical Society members and guests.)
Friday, October 07, 2011
Cranberry Harvest
Wisconsin is in the midst of its annual cranberry harvest. It reminds me of October, 1955 when my brother, Donald and neighbor boys, David and Jim Kolka and I experienced cranberry harvesting firsthand.
I was waiting to go into the army(not until January); my brother Donald was waiting to attend barber college, and I don’t recall what was up with the Kolka boys. We’d heard they were hiring workers at a cranberry marsh near Wisconsin Rapids—the pay was good ($1.00 an hour),and the four of us enjoyed working outside. Besides, this was something we hadn’t done before.
The cranberry industry at that time was just beginning to shift from hand harvesting (which is what we did) to mechanical harvesting (which is done now). For hand harvesting, we each received a rake, which is a little wooden box with an open end with tines on it and two bow handles, and a pair of hip boots.
The cranberry bog was flooded so that the ripe, red cranberries floated and thus could be more easily gathered with our rakes. The water was knee deep, sometimes a little more, and on chilly October mornings was cold, cold, cold.
In addition to the rake and the hip boots, we each pulled behind us a wooden box tied to our belts with a short rope. When our rake was full we dumped the cranberries in the box. And when the bushel box was full, we carried it to high ground that surrounded each bog. But before we got to the high ground we carefully navigated a narrow wooden plank placed across a water filled ditch. One misstep and we were in water up to our arm pits.
One inaccurate swing with the rake, and a tine would puncture a hip boot and we’d have a wet foot all day. My hip boots had patches upon patches by the end of the season.
We worked in a long line, about eight or ten of us, with the person on the far right setting the pace—we had to keep up with that person, and often times, when our arms felt like they’d come out of our sockets, we considered drowning the guy.
Of all the many jobs I’d had, from working in a pea cannery, picking cucumbers, traveling with a threshing crew, working in a pickle factory, and doing all sorts of farm work, this proved one of the most difficult—and physically challenging. Of course quitting was never an option, so we all four toughed it out until the season ended. Army life proved a breeze compared to harvesting cranberries.
CHECK THIS OUT: See my book, CRANBERRY RED (University of Wisconsin Press, 2010) and learn all about the cranberry industry in Wisconsin, and much more.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: We often learn more from miserable experiences than those more pleasurable.
October 15, Wade House, Green Bush, WI. 1:00 p.m. Horse Drawn Days.
October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red (free). 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop. Workshop fee $10.00. Call 920-898-5165 for signup information.
October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.
October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
I was waiting to go into the army(not until January); my brother Donald was waiting to attend barber college, and I don’t recall what was up with the Kolka boys. We’d heard they were hiring workers at a cranberry marsh near Wisconsin Rapids—the pay was good ($1.00 an hour),and the four of us enjoyed working outside. Besides, this was something we hadn’t done before.
The cranberry industry at that time was just beginning to shift from hand harvesting (which is what we did) to mechanical harvesting (which is done now). For hand harvesting, we each received a rake, which is a little wooden box with an open end with tines on it and two bow handles, and a pair of hip boots.
The cranberry bog was flooded so that the ripe, red cranberries floated and thus could be more easily gathered with our rakes. The water was knee deep, sometimes a little more, and on chilly October mornings was cold, cold, cold.
In addition to the rake and the hip boots, we each pulled behind us a wooden box tied to our belts with a short rope. When our rake was full we dumped the cranberries in the box. And when the bushel box was full, we carried it to high ground that surrounded each bog. But before we got to the high ground we carefully navigated a narrow wooden plank placed across a water filled ditch. One misstep and we were in water up to our arm pits.
One inaccurate swing with the rake, and a tine would puncture a hip boot and we’d have a wet foot all day. My hip boots had patches upon patches by the end of the season.
We worked in a long line, about eight or ten of us, with the person on the far right setting the pace—we had to keep up with that person, and often times, when our arms felt like they’d come out of our sockets, we considered drowning the guy.
Of all the many jobs I’d had, from working in a pea cannery, picking cucumbers, traveling with a threshing crew, working in a pickle factory, and doing all sorts of farm work, this proved one of the most difficult—and physically challenging. Of course quitting was never an option, so we all four toughed it out until the season ended. Army life proved a breeze compared to harvesting cranberries.
CHECK THIS OUT: See my book, CRANBERRY RED (University of Wisconsin Press, 2010) and learn all about the cranberry industry in Wisconsin, and much more.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: We often learn more from miserable experiences than those more pleasurable.
October 15, Wade House, Green Bush, WI. 1:00 p.m. Horse Drawn Days.
October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red (free). 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop. Workshop fee $10.00. Call 920-898-5165 for signup information.
October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.
October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Garden Assessment
It’s time for my annual garden assessment. The vegetables are harvested—except for ten rows of potatoes to be a dug and a row of rainbow corn that’s yet to be husked.
One of the great joys of vegetable gardening is not knowing which crops will do well and which will falter. So, for some of the main crops, here are the scores for the 2011 season. A five means great, a one means not so good.
Sweet corn: (5) Best crop in years, harvested a couple bushels of plump ears.
Lettuce (3): Weather too hot too soon; crop likes cool weather.
Onions (3): Okay, but I’ve done better. Big family demand. Must plant more next year.
Cucumbers (5): Rave reviews for my new smooth skinned variety that also yielded well.
Zucchini (5): Kept right on producing right up to and even past the first light frost.
Pumpkins (4): Dry weather in August cut yield—and diminished size.
Green Beans (4): Good yield. High quality. But not quite as good as some year’s.
Squash (3): Dry weather about did in my squash. Have less than a half bushel. Pitiful.
Tomatoes (5): How about this year for tomatoes? Harvested several bushels.
Potatoes (3): Didn’t stop the enormous invasion of Colorado beetles in time—knocked down my yield. So far have dug maybe two bushels. Quality good. Size average.
Concord Grapes (5): Best year ever. Close to a bushel off of one vine.
Cabbage (1): Three scrawny heads. Failure. And I know how to grow cabbage, I thought.
Lesser crops such as beets, radishes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, gourds—average, not terrible, not good.
But as we old farmers grew up saying, “Next year will be better.”
CHECK THIS OUT: There are a few more slots available for my Saturday, October 29 writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. It’s all about writing stories from your life. Go to The Clearing’s website for more information: www.theclearing.org.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You are never closer to the land than when you are gardening.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 4, Union Grove Library. 1:30 p.m. Horse Drawn Days, 6:30 p.m. History of Cheese Making.
October 8, Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Speaking at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Horse Drawn Days
October 15, Wade House, Green Bush, WI. 1:00 p.m. Horse Drawn Days.
October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red. 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop.
October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.
October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
One of the great joys of vegetable gardening is not knowing which crops will do well and which will falter. So, for some of the main crops, here are the scores for the 2011 season. A five means great, a one means not so good.
Sweet corn: (5) Best crop in years, harvested a couple bushels of plump ears.
Lettuce (3): Weather too hot too soon; crop likes cool weather.
Onions (3): Okay, but I’ve done better. Big family demand. Must plant more next year.
Cucumbers (5): Rave reviews for my new smooth skinned variety that also yielded well.
Zucchini (5): Kept right on producing right up to and even past the first light frost.
Pumpkins (4): Dry weather in August cut yield—and diminished size.
Green Beans (4): Good yield. High quality. But not quite as good as some year’s.
Squash (3): Dry weather about did in my squash. Have less than a half bushel. Pitiful.
Tomatoes (5): How about this year for tomatoes? Harvested several bushels.
Potatoes (3): Didn’t stop the enormous invasion of Colorado beetles in time—knocked down my yield. So far have dug maybe two bushels. Quality good. Size average.
Concord Grapes (5): Best year ever. Close to a bushel off of one vine.
Cabbage (1): Three scrawny heads. Failure. And I know how to grow cabbage, I thought.
Lesser crops such as beets, radishes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, gourds—average, not terrible, not good.
But as we old farmers grew up saying, “Next year will be better.”
CHECK THIS OUT: There are a few more slots available for my Saturday, October 29 writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. It’s all about writing stories from your life. Go to The Clearing’s website for more information: www.theclearing.org.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You are never closer to the land than when you are gardening.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 4, Union Grove Library. 1:30 p.m. Horse Drawn Days, 6:30 p.m. History of Cheese Making.
October 8, Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Speaking at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Horse Drawn Days
October 15, Wade House, Green Bush, WI. 1:00 p.m. Horse Drawn Days.
October 18, New Holstein Library, 1:00 p.m. Book talk featuring Cranberry Red. 6:30-8:30 Writer’s workshop.
October 22, Toll/Londowski Family Farm, one mile west of Hwy 49/Co. Rd. J. Intersection, Green Lake, WI; “From the Land,” (A gathering of traditional crafts and skills with demonstrations) 11:00 a.m. Horse Drawn Days. 1:00 p.m. Lighter Side of Country Living.
October 23, Madison, WI. Wisconsin Book Festival. 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Campfires and Loon Calls.
October 27, Richfield Town Hall, Richfield, WI. 7:00 p.m. Horses and barns.
October 29, The Clearing. Writing From Your Life Workshop, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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