First Day of School

My one-room school, west of Wild Rose, long closed. Photo by Jerry Apps.

With schools starting, I remember my first day of school years ago. There was no kindergarten, so I was destined for first grade. I had just turned five in July. I stood by our dusty country road waiting for the neighbor boy, Mike Korleski to come by. He was in sixth grade, and my mother had talked with his mother and asked if Jerry could walk with Mike to school... I stood with my lard pail lunch bucket, two new yellow pencils and a five-cent pad of writing paper, waiting for Mike. Finally, he appeared and we began walking toward the school.

Elderberries hung heavy along the road, which was heavily shaded with elm and oak trees. As we walked along, we watched a squirrel scamper up an oak tree. We saw goldenrods’ yellow heads hanging over the road. Mike was more interested in these things than I was. My thoughts were all about school and what it would be like. What other kids I would meet, and would I be able to learn all that kids were supposed to learn?

When we got to the top of Miller’s hill, we heard the school bell ringing, echoing down the valley and rolling up the hills that surrounded the school. Mike told me we had to hurry for that was the eight-thirty bell and we didn’t want to be late. Once there, Mike pulled the big schoolhouse door open for me and I entered. My life would be changed forever.

THE OLD-TIMER SAYS: So much was learned at the one-room country school that was not in books.

ANOTHER WRITING OPPORTUNITY:

WHAT: A “Telling Your Story Workshop”
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019—9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: Wyocena Community Center, Wyocena, WI
REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Wyocena Library (608-429-4899) or Portage Public Library (608-742-4959)
Workshop fee includes a copy of my book, “Telling Your Story,” and a catered lunch.
Sign up soon, limited seats available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 12, 7:00 p.m. Belleville H.S. Auditorium, Belleville. “Simple Things: Lessons From the Family Farm.”

September 18, 9-4 Writing Workshop, Wyocena Public Library, Wyocena (see above for details)

September 20, 12:30 p.m. UW-Platteville, Baraboo Campus, 1006 Connie Rd., Baraboo, WI. “History of WI Agriculture”

October 5, 10-2:00 p.m. Dregne’s, Westby. Book signing.

October 12 1:00 p.m., Fox Cities Book Festival, Menasha Public Library

October 22, 6;30 Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, WI

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Friends of Muehl Public Library and Outagamie County Home and Community Education Assoc. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 349 N. Main St. , Seymour, WI “Rural Wit and Wisdom”

November 9, 9:00 a.m. 2nd Sat. Plymouth Art Center, Plymouth, WI. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. “Farm Winter With Jerry Apps”

November 18, 1:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, Kiel, WI “Wisconsin. CCC”

To learn more about country schools, read my book ONE-ROOM COUNTRY SCHOOLS.

Available for purchase from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

The County Fair Evokes Memories

Merry-Go-Round at Waushara County Fair. Photo by Jerry Apps

What would Wisconsin be without its fairs? The first one opened in Waukesha in 1842, six years before we became a state. We’ve had fairs almost every year since, somewhere in the state—or better said, about everywhere in the state.

Last week my brother Don and I attended the Waushara County Fair—and the memories began flowing. I showed cattle at that fair from 1946-1955, the years that I was a 4-H member. All summer long during those years, I couldn’t wait for the fair to open, as I not only showed my 4-H calves there, but I got to stay overnight. My 4-H Club purchased a surplus tent left over from World War II—I think we paid $25.00 for it, and several used army cots for around $5.00 each. And it was in that old tent where the boys slept so we could take care of our calves.

It was my introduction to cotton candy and the Merry Go Round, plus a ride on the Ferris Wheel. It was my first look at a harness race and a horse pulling contest. It was the first time that I saw an airplane up close as a “barnstorming” pilot with a double-wing open cockpit plane offered rides. “See your farm from the air,” the pilot announced. I didn’t begin to have the money he wanted. So I watched as the plane bumped along the cow pasture just to the east of fair grounds and climbed into the air.

So much more. Fairs are as Wisconsin as cheese.

THE OLD-TIMER SAYS: What could be more fun than attending a fair?

ANOTHER WRITING OPPORTUNITY:

WHAT: A “Telling Your Story Workshop”
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019—9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: Wyocena Community Center, Wyocena, WI
REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Wyocena Library (608-429-4899) or Portage Public Library (608-742-4959)
Workshop fee includes a copy of my book, “Telling Your Story,” and a catered lunch.
Sign up soon, limited seats available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 7, 5-8:30, (Cancelled) Autumn with the Al Ringling Theater.

September 12, 7:00 p.m. Belleville H.S. Auditorium, Belleville. Simple Things: Lessons From the Family Farm.

September 18, 9-4 Writing Workshop, Wyocena Public Library, Wyocena (see above for details)

September 20, 12:30 p.m. UW-Platteville, Baraboo Campus, 1006 Connie Rd., Baraboo, WI. History of WI Agriculture.

October 5, 10-2:00 p.m. Dregne’s, Westby. Book signing.

October 12 1:00 p.m., Fox Cities Book Festival, Menasha Public Library

October 22, 6;30 Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, WI

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Friends of Muehl Public Library. Outagamie County Home and Community Education Assoc. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 349 N. Main St. , Seymour, WI Rural Wit and Wisdom

November 9, 9:00 a.m. 2nd Sat. Plymouth Art Center, Plymouth, WI. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. Farm Winter With Jerry Apps

November 18, 1:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, Kiel, WI Wisconsin. CCC

To learn more about my prairie restoration project, read my book OLD FARM: A HISTORY.
Available for purchase from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

Prairie Restoration

Daughter, Sue in Roshara Prairie. Photo by Jerry Apps.

When my two brothers and I first got our farm in 1966, we decided to grow corn on the only field that wasn’t too steep for cultivation. It was about six to eight acres. We asked our neighbor and longtime friend, David Kolka if he’d be interested in planting corn in the field for a share of the profits.

For three years, if I remember correctly, David planted and harvested corn from this sandy, stony field. Our goal was to make enough money from the corn to pay the taxes on the place. David made little money. We made little money. We pulled the plug on corn growing on the field.

A few years later we divided the farm into three equal pieces, and later I purchased my brother Darrel’s share, which included most of the old cornfield.

Along the way, I had been researching the history of the place, discovering that Tom Stewart, a Civil War veteran, had homesteaded the farm in 1867. I wondered what he saw when he first broke this land. I began calling the former cornfield “the prairie.” I set out to restore it by doing nothing, except keeping out the brush and trees that wanted to grow there. For a couple of years, we had weeds, but then, slowly the native grasses and wildflowers began returning.

Now, some forty years later, we have a prairie of wildflowers and grasses. Something new almost every week as new wildflowers come into bloom.

THE OLD-TIMER SAYS: Nature has its own way of healing—if given a chance.\

ANOTHER WRITING OPPORTUNITY:

WHAT: A “Telling Your Story Workshop”

WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019—9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Wyocena Community Center, Wyocena, WI

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Wyocena Library (608-429-4899) or Portage Public Library (608-742-4959)
Workshop fee includes a copy of my book, “Telling Your Story,” and a catered lunch.
Sign up soon, limited seats available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 7, 5-8:30, Autumn with the Al Ringling Theater, Wild Rose Ranch, E12311 Cty. Rd. W, Baraboo, Wisconsin. Circus stories.

September 12, 7:00 p.m. Belleville H.S. Auditorium, Belleville. Simple Things: Lessons From the Family Farm.

September 18, 9-4 Writing Workshop, Wyocena Public Library, Wyocena (see above for details)

September 20, 12:30 p.m. UW-Platteville, Baraboo Campus, 1006 Connie Rd., Baraboo, WI. History of WI Agriculture.

October 5, 10-2:00 p.m. Dregne’s, Westby. Book signing.

October 12 1:00 p.m., Fox Cities Book Festival, Menasha Public Library

October 22, 6;30 Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, WI

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Friends of Muehl Public Library. Outagamie County Home and Community Education Assoc. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 349 N. Main St., Seymour, WI Rural Wit and Wisdom

November 9, 9:00 a.m. 2nd Sat. Plymouth Art Center, Plymouth, WI. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. Farm Winter With Jerry Apps

November 18, 1:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, Kiel, WI Wisconsin. CCC

To learn more about my prairie restoration project, read my book OLD FARM: A HISTORY.
Available for purchase from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

Mid-Summer Garden Report

For my vegetable garden friends—time for a mid-summer report on how things are doing. In a word, quite well but first the failures—radishes just didn’t make it. Too hot too soon, I’m guessing. They immediately went to producing seeds and forgot about first making a radish. So zero radishes. Last year they were one of my best crops. Sweet corn doesn’t look all that great either. First harvest coming up.

Outstanding crops so far this year: Cucumbers, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, lettuce, kale, (especially Russian Kale that apparently finds Waushara County a good place to expand its influence), and early cabbage. Beets are tasty, but I’d put them in the average category. Onions are okay, but a bit small. Tomatoes average. None ripe yet.

Three unusual crops, unusual to me anyway. First climbing purple snap beans. Never saw any beans quite like these. They are pretty to look at as they grow. And guess what? When you cook them, they turn from purple to green. I planted some Red Gold early potatoes. New to me. Yield not great, but very tasty. Red on the outside, gold on the inside. And carrots, well my main weed-puller and harvester, daughter-in-law, Natasha, suggested we try some multi-colored carrots. That’s right, you can grow carrots that are white, purple, brown, everything but the orange color of “regular carrots.” They grow kind of long and skinny, to my mind they look like a cross between a poorly developed radish and a lead pencil, Guess what? When you cook them, they don’t turn orange. But they do taste like carrots, mostly.

No comment on my winter squash, pumpkins, and gourds. Patience.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you are gardening, remember to do first things first, but not necessarily in that order.

ANOTHER WRITING OPPORTUNITY:

WHAT: A “Telling Your Story Workshop”
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019—9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: Wyocena Community Center, Wyocena, WI
REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Wyocena Library (608-429-4899) or Portage Public Library (608-742-4959)
Workshop fee includes a copy of my book, “Telling Your Story,” and a catered lunch.
Sign up soon, limited seats available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 7, 5-8:30, Autumn with the Al Ringling Theater, Wild Rose Ranch, E12311 Cty. Rd. W, Baraboo, Wisconsin. Circus stories.

September 12, 7:00 p.m. Belleville H.S. Auditorium, Belleville. Simple Things: Lessons From the Family Farm.

September 18, 9-4 Writing Workshop, Wyocena Public Library, Wyocena (see above for details)

September 20, 12:30 p.m. UW-Platteville, Baraboo Campus, 1006 Connie Rd., Baraboo, WI. History of WI Agriculture.

October 5, 10-2:00 p.m. Dregne’s, Westby. Book signing.

October 12 1:00 p.m., Fox Cities Book Festival, Menasha Public Library

October 22, 6;30 Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, WI

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Friends of Muehl Public Library. Outagamie County Home and Community Education Assoc. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 349 N. Main St. , Seymour, WI Rural Wit and Wisdom

November 9, 9:00 a.m. 2nd Sat. Plymouth Art Center, Plymouth, WI. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. Farm Winter With Jerry Apps

November 18, 1:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, Kiel, WI Wisconsin CCC

Purpose a copy of THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN WISCONSIN, and SIMPLE THINGS: LESSONS FROM THE FAMILY FARM from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

A Wren Family in Trouble

The birdhouse was meant for bluebirds. It stood a few yards from our front window, and not far from a big maple tree. As it turns out, not far enough from the maple tree.



Almost every year a pair of bluebirds took up residence in the house, providing Ruth and me a treat watching them fly in and out of the little house, tending to the little ones there.



Not this year. No bluebirds—the birdhouse stood vacant. But not for long. A pair of wrens, searching for a suitable place to take up residence and raise a family, moved in. We watched them and listened to their early morning chatter and their saucy scolding if we walked too near their newfound home.



All was well until a stormy night in late July smashed off a major part of the maple tree, but mostly leaving the birdhouse untouched as the smashed limb surrounded it. A week later, when I assembled my little crew of chainsaw users and brush haulers, everything changed for the wren family. We couldn’t avoid it. A major part of the chain-sawed limb smashed off the birdhouse post and the house fell to the ground.



I hoped the wren family had grown and left, but not so. The little ones were still in the house, shaken, but alive. Steve gathered up the birdhouse—still in good shape, but without a support post—and fastened it to a pine tree. All the while the wren parents flew about, chattering their unhappiness of all that had happened to their little family.



A few days later, I once more watched the wren couple flying in and out of the house. Wren family life back to normal?



THE OLD-TIMER SAYS: Saving a wren family is the right thing to do.



ANOTHER WRITING OPPORTUNITY:

.

WHAT: A “Telling Your Story Workshop”



WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019—9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.



WHERE: Wyocena Community Center, Wyocena, WI



REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Wyocena Library (608-429-4899) or Portage Public Library (608-742-4959)



Workshop fee includes a copy of my book, “Telling Your Story,” and a catered lunch.

Sign up soon, limited seats available.



UPCOMING EVENTS:





August 8, 6:30 p.m. Galloway House and Village, CCC Barracks, 336 Old Pioneer Rd., Fond du Lac. CCC story.



September 12, 7:00 p.m. Belleville H.S. Auditorium, Belleville. Simple Things: Lessons From the Family Farm.

.



Purchase a copy of THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN WISCONSIN, and SIMPLE THINGS: LESSONS FROM THE FAMILY FARM from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

Wren Family in Trouble

The birdhouse was meant for bluebirds.  It stood a few yards from our front window, and not far from a big maple tree.  As it turns out, not far enough from the maple tree.

Almost every year a pair of bluebirds took up residence in the house, providing Ruth and me a treat watching them fly in and out of the little house, tending to the little ones there.

Not this year.  No bluebirds—the birdhouse stood vacant.  But not for long.  A pair of wrens, searching for a suitable place to take up residence and raise a family, moved in.  We watched them and listened to their early morning chatter and their saucy scolding if we walked too near their newfound home.

All was well until a stormy night in late July smashed off a major part of the maple tree, but mostly leaving the birdhouse untouched as the smashed limb surrounded it.  A week later, when I assembled my little crew of chainsaw users and brush haulers, everything changed for the wren family.  We couldn’t avoid it.  A major part of the chain-sawed limb smashed off the birdhouse post and the house fell to the ground.

I hoped the wren family had grown and left, but not so.  The little ones were still in the house, shaken, but alive.  Steve gathered up the birdhouse—still in good shape, but without a support post—and fastened it to a pine tree.  All the while the wren parents flew about, chattering their unhappiness of all that had happened to their little family.

A few days later, I once more watched the wren couple flying in and out of the house.  Wren family life back to normal?

THE OLD-TIMER SAYS: Saving a wren family is the right thing to do.

ANOTHER WRITING OPPORTUNITY: 

.

WHAT: A “Telling Your Story Workshop”

WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019—9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Wyocena Community Center, Wyocena, WI

            REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Contact Wyocena Library (608-429-4899) or Portage Public Library (608-742-4959)

            Workshop fee includes a copy of my book, “Telling Your Story,” and a catered lunch.

            Sign up soon, limited seats available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 8, 6:30 p.m. Galloway House and Village, CCC Barracks, 336 Old Pioneer Rd.,  Fond du Lac.  CCC story.

September 12, 7:00 p.m. Belleville H.S. Auditorium, Belleville. Simple Things: Lessons From the Family Farm.

.

Purchase a copy of THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN WISCONSIN, and SIMPLE THINGS: LESSONS FROM THE FAMILY FARM from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org