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