Jerry Apps's Blog, page 35

Hunting for the Perfect Christmas Tree

After three days of clouds and rain, Saturday the skies cleared, the sun came out, and we went hunting for the perfect Christmas tree at our farm.  Our intrepid tree hunting crew included son, Steve, Natasha, two boys that she cares for on occasion, daughter Sue, and me, the guide.
One would think it would be easy.  At Roshara we have several thousand trees from which to choose.  We prune none of them so finding the perfect tree always proves a bit of a challenge.  Further, a tree in the wild is always taller than a tree in one’s living room.  Outdoors, the tree is compared to those fifty feet tall standing around it.  In your living room there is a ceiling to contend with.
So the crew runs through the trees, looking here and there: “This one’s too short. This one’s too tall.  This one is too skinny.  This one is too fat.  This one has a bad side” and so on.  I’ve long learned to stay quiet, letting the decision making evolve.
 For me, and I think it would hold for everyone in the tree hunting crew, the hunt is as important as the results.  Three generations outdoors on a sunny late fall day, enjoying the fun of it all, a quiet day in the out-of-doors, and a chance to be with each other.
For those wondering, we did find three decent looking Christmas trees.  But it took a while.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Cut your own Christmas tree.  And bring the family along.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
December 2, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.  Book Signing, Wisconsin Historical Society Headquarters building lobby.  Books on sale.
December 2, 7:00 p.m. All Wisconsin Public TV stations.  The Land With Jerry Apps. Hour-long documentary based on my book WHISPERS AND SHADOWS.  See grandsons, Josh and Ben in action, and with a lot to say.
December 19, McFarlane’s, 780 Caroline St., Sauk City, Wisconsin.  1:00 p.m. Discussion and signing of Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Deer Season: Tradition and Family

Opening day of deer season.  No snow at Roshara, but a cold damp wind digs through my many layers of clothing.  No deer to be seen.  A good time for thinking and relaxing, and a little shivering.
I’ve not missed deer hunting since I was 12 years old when I hunted with my dad in Adams County.  In 1946 there were no deer in Waushara County.  Now my son, Steve hunts with me and he has done so since he was 12, not missing a year.
Why do I do it?  Why do I get up at 5:15 on a dark, dank cold November morning and sit under a tree at my farm and wait for daylight?
For two main reasons: Tradition and Family.  Other reasons, such as being outdoors, watching wildlife—I saw two chickadees and a gray squirrel on Saturday morning—listening to the quiet, oh, and sometimes bagging a deer, come in second place.
This year Steve and I hunted with my brother, Don, and his sons, Marc, Eric and Matt, as we have for many years.  It’s a family tradition with many stories, and catching up with jobs, and news of kids and grand kids.
And for more than 40 years, we all gather for a chili supper with more stories, kidding, and smart talk.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Tradition and Family define deer hunting.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
December 2, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.  Book Signing, Wisconsin Historical Society Headquarters building lobby.  Books at reduced prices.
December 2, 7:00 p.m. All Wisconsin Public TV stations.  The Land With Jerry Apps. Hour-long documentary based on my book WHISPERS AND SHADOWS.
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Wood Piles and Piles of Wood

By this time in November, when I was growing up on the farm, the haymows were filled with hay, the silo was filled with silage, and the corn cribs ran over with cob corn.  
One major task remained.  Making wood.  Well, we didn’t actually make it.  Mother Nature took care of that for us.  What we did was find a dead oak tree or two in the woodlot back of the farm house, cut it down, haul the limbs and trunks to the house, and hold a wood sawing bee. 
A wood sawing bee was when the neighbors gathered to help each  other saw wood (with a huge circle saw) into manageable pieces, most of which we still had to split.  Oh, I should mention that in those days of the latter years of the Great Depression and into World War II, everyone in the neighborhood heated their farm houses with wood stoves.
Now as strange as this may sound today, one way we judged the quality of a neighbor’s work was the size of his woodpile and especially how well it was stacked.   We all knew and knew well the difference between a mere pile of wood, and a wood pile.  A wood pile had elegance, had a sense of art to it, was something to behold and even brag about, although it was not becoming of farmer to do much bragging.  A pile of wood was just that, an unattractive pile.  Awarded a zero on the elegance scale of 0 to 10.
We still make wood at my farm.  For a few weeks we had a rather elegant wood pile.  About an 8 on the wood pile elegance scale.  Then it fell over.  From an 8 to a pile of wood, and a zero.   Thanks to my brother Don, the pile of wood has once become a woodpile, and right close to a 9 on the elegance scale as well.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Always remember the difference between a pile of wood and a wood pile.
UPCOMING EVENTS;
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  A discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow. (Whispers and Shadows and more.)
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. 6:00 p.m.  Refreshments.  Presentation starting at 6:30.
December 2, 7:00 p.m. All Wisconsin Public TV stations.  The Land With Jerry Apps. Hour-long documentary based on my book WHISPERS AND SHADOWS.
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

The Demise of the School of the Arts

An old friend left us this past week.  The more than 50-year old School of the Arts held each year in Rhinelander, WI and sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is no more.  Robert E. Gard was largely responsible for starting the school.  Bob’s philosophy was—the arts are for everyone.  No matter what your income level, where you lived, or how much formal education you had.
 I attended classes there in the 1960s when I had the opportunity to learn from Bob Gard. I participated in a fiction writing workshop with August Derleth, and learned basic skills about writing a novel that have proved invaluable.  And much more.
Then in 1971, Bob Gard asked me to teach at the School of the Arts.  I did this for 32 years. It was there that I met such national writing figures as Archibald McLeash (three Pulitzer prizes), Dale Wasserman, Henry Mark Petrakis, Studs Terkel, Robert  Bly and Jesse Stuart, all writers of considerable note. All of whom taught workshops.  
But now the School of the Arts is dead.  Many of us are mourning. 
Mark Lefebvre, longtime friend of Robert Gard, said this about the School’s passing:
Learning about the demise of the School of the Arts is hard.  I broke down and cried.  I thought of the many summers I spent with Bob at the School of the Arts.  I think of all the people whose lives were awakened.  I think of the extraordinary faculty who in that very special place made real magic happen.  Bob taught me so much, most of all, how the unexpected can happen through simple belief.  I am so disappointed these days with the University of Wisconsin.  Belief is no longer part of its vocabulary.  No greater writer than Archibald MacLeish came to Rhinelander one summer.  A sophisticated guy.  He could not believe the world he had entered.  Imagine these "students" being exposed to this man who could not thank Robert E. Gard enough for putting him so close to the creative process.  Long may the banner of SoA wave over the battlefields of ignorance!  
THE OLD TIMER SAYS:     The arts make a life worth living.
UPCOMING EVENTS;
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church,  4329 Tokay Blvd., Madison, WI.The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows. The community is invited.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. 6:00 p.m. Refreshments.  Presentation starting at 6:30.Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Halloween From Yesterday

On this chilly, rainy Halloween, I’m reminded of how we celebrated the day back when I was a kid.  First, here is what we did not do.  There was no such thing as “Trick or Treat.”  Nobody walked from house-to-house dressed up like a zombie, or a ghost or some other “scary” creature like a presidential candidate.  The problem was that the farms were too far apart.  Our nearest neighbors were a half-mile away. 

What we did do was celebrate Halloween at our country school.  Regular school activities were suspended that afternoon.  The teacher arranged to have a big wash tub filled with water in the school’s entryway into which she dumped a bunch of ripe red apples.  We all bobbed for apples, meaning we tried to grab hold of one with our teeth, no hands allowed.  What happened was that we got a very wet head as we pushed the apple to the bottom of the tub in order to bite into it.
Then, blindfolded, one of the mothers—they were invited to the party—led us one at a time into the schoolroom and to the teacher’s desk where we were to identify scary objects: a ghost’s eyeballs (grapes), a witch’s brains (spaghetti), or a witch’s brew (vinegar).  We didn’t tell those who followed what we had experienced.  
I don’t recall that we made jack-o-lanterns—we all grew pumpkins in our farm gardens, but they were not wasted on a silly jack-o-lantern.
Some of the young men in the community saw Halloween as a time for mischief—tipping over outhouses was high on the list, and they were not difficult to find.  Every farm had one and the school and the churches generally had two---one for the boys and one for the girls.
I remember one of the more creative pieces of mischief.  Our closest neighbor to the north, Allen Davis, upon entering his barn to milk his cows the day after Halloween discovered that several of his cows were wearing horse harnesses.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Halloween, like so many things, is not like it once was.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
November  5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium (with Bellville Public Library).  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Making Wood

Saturday began cold and dreary with rain and wind.  Several weeks ago we declared the day our annual wood cutting day.  A little “ornery” weather, as my dad used to describe such a day, was not to interfere.  And it didn’t.  Steve and Natasha; Paul, Sue and Josh; plus Madison friends Halley and Andrew all gathered at Roshara to cut wood for our two wood burning stoves that heat our cabin. 
Earlier I had selected a black oak tree that a spring windstorm had torn apart.  It was less than a quarter mile or so from the cabin—which made hauling the cut wood a little easier.  Unfortunately, or maybe the right words are “it usually happens,” the chainsaws—two of them recently “tuned up” and sharpened started hard and one of them, I’ll not reveal the brand, wasn’t up to cutting such a big tree.
Finally, after a little loss of religion and a sore arm from too many pulls on the chainsaw rope, the big oak was cut into blocks, which Natasha loaded onto the tractor’s frontend loader and I hauled to the shed.  There Paul and Josh, using my electric block splitter, cut the blocks into firewood size pieces.  Sue, Halley and Andrew piled freshly cut sticks against the side of the woodshed for the winter.  We’ll let the wood cure for at least a year before I burn it.
At noon we feasted on corn and potato chowder (Ruth prepared it) freshly baked bread (thank you Andrew), cheese curds and chocolate cake.  By afternoon the rain stopped, and by 3:00 p.m. the job was finished.
What a great day it was, the wonderful smell of freshly cut oak wood, the opportunity for family to gather, tell stories of earlier wood cutting days—we’ve done it every year for many years—and be outside on a cool, albeit a little wet, October Saturday.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Making wood is one more way to bring family together.
UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown County Library, 515 Pine Stree. Premier of TV Documentary,” The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.
November 1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names (a Robert Gard book).
November 5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Door County Writing Workshop

It was a weekend for enjoying fall colors in much of Wisconsin, and especially in Door County.   The dark blue waters of Green Bay contrasted with the array of color—reds, yellows, subtle browns and greens.  Glorious.
Ruth and I were in Door County for my annual life story-writing workshop held at The Clearing near Ellison Bay.  Thirty-five of us gathered to learn about how to write our personal stories.  I’ve taught this workshop for 25 years and I’m still learning, probably as much or more than the students in the workshop.
What a wonderful collection of students who came from near and far—several from the Chicago area.  There was an engineer, a former Coast Guard member, a pastor, several educators. former and present, and a goodly representation of current and former farmers.   They drew pictures, wrote stories, and shared what they wrote.  They laughed and cried and got to meet some new friends.
And perhaps most importantly, they came to realize that their stories were special and worthy of capturing on paper and sharing with family and friends, and that they were writing history.
The Clearing also has a wonderful collection of my books for sale in their gift shop at the Jensen Center.  Stop by for a look.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When we forget our histories, we forget who we are.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 23, 11-12:00 a.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum (on the square). Whispers and Shadows.  Wisconsin Book Festival. (Note time change.)
October 23, 3:30 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium (On UW Campus) Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 25, 2:00 p.m. Schlitz Nature Center, Milwaukee with Boswell Books.  Whispers and Shadows.
October 29, Brown County Library.  Premier of TV Documentary,” The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.
November 1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names (a Robert Gard book).
November 5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Putting the Garden to Bed

We put the farm garden to bed a weekend ago.  No killing frost yet, which is most unusual.  Sue picked the remaining tomatoes.  I dug the last of the beets, pulled the rutabagas (not a good crop this year), and cut the remaining collards, which are still growing like everything.  I picked the last couple of the zucchini (what a run they’ve had this year), cut the last of the broccoli (also much better than average crop), and gathered up the remaining squash and gourds.
When we finished with the digging, pulling, cutting and gathering, we removed all the tomato and potato vines from the garden.  We had some late blight, and this is one way to keep the disease from the garden.
When this work was completed, Steve wrapped up the electric fence wire, and Paul pulled the little steel posts that had surrounded the garden.  Once more our two wire electric fence had successfully kept the deer (only one violation all summer), the turkeys and the raccoons away from our vegetables.
Now it was time to hitch the tractor to the disk and work all the remaining refuse into the soil—which Steve did.  He’s become the go-to-guy for driving the John Deere.  Once the ground was well worked, Steve and Sue broadcast winter wheat over the entire garden area.  Steve worked the wheat into the soil with the disk—and the job was done.  The garden is ready for winter.
With a little rain, the wheat will germinate, and the turkeys and the deer can feast on the new crop—our gift to them for keeping out of the garden all summer long.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Time to think of next year’s garden.
October 11, 10-12:00 a.m.  Heartland Forum, Chicago.
October 11, 4:00 p.m. Old World Wisconsin-Wisconsin Ag. History
October 12, 5:00 p.m. Coloma Historical Society.  Limping Through Life
October 15, 6:30 p.m. Prairie du Sac Library, Whispers and Shadows
October 17, 9-4 Teaching writing workshop at The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI
October 17, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The Clearing.  Book signing, Whispers and Shadows and Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
October 23, 10-11:00 a.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum (on the square). Whispers and Shadows.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 23, 3:30 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium (On UW Campus) Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 25, 2:00 p.m. Schlitz Nature Center, Milwaukee with Boswell Books.  Whispers and Shadows.
October 29, Brown County Library.  Premier of TV Documentary,” The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.
November 1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names (a Robert Gard book).November 5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Apple Time

It’s that apple time of the year.  Freshly picked apples in the stores, at the apple orchards, at the farmers’ markets, at the roadside stands.  As a kid, I looked forward to this time of the year as I am a great apple lover.  Few things taste better than a big, bright red apple.  The kind that when you bite into one it crunches a little and apple juice runs down your chin, mixing it up with your smile.
We had a small orchard on the home farm, a half dozen trees or so—Whitney Crab, Jonathon, Northwestern Greening are some of the varieties I remember.  We never pruned them, never sprayed them, mostly ignored them—until this time of the year.  Apple picking time.  My mother made apple pies, canned applesauce, and made apple pickles to store in the cellar and eat during the cold days of winter.
We stopped at an orchard the other day and bought a half bushel of Cortland and a half bushel of Macintosh.  Ruth is making apples sauce, and preparing apple pies.  Here is one way that she prepares apple pies for later baking.
FROZEN APPLE PIE--Mix your favorite apple pie filling together in a bowl. She uses tapioca for thickening.--Line pie pan with heavy duty foil, extending foil 5 inches beyond the rim.--Put pie filling in foil lined pan--Fold foil ends loosely over filling--Freeze until apple mixture is firm.--Remove foiled covered pie filling from pan.  Cover filling tightly and put pie filling including the foil covering in a freezer bag, labeling the size of the pan used.--When ready to bake a pie, remove filling from foil.  Do not thaw.--Place frozen filling in pastry-lined pan.  Dot filling with butter.--Cover with top-slitted crust.--Bake at 424 degrees until syrup boils with bubbles that don’t break.  About one hour.Enjoy!
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: An apple day is—a good idea, no matter what the doctor says.
UPCOMING EVENTS:October 7, 6:30 p.m. Reedsburg Library, Whispers and Shadows
October 11, 10-12:00 a.m.  Heartland Forum, Chicago.
October 11, 3:00 p.m. Old World Wisconsin-Wisconsin Ag. History
October 12, 6:00 p.m. Coloma Historical Society.  Limping Through Life
October 15, 6:30 p.m. Prairie du Sac Library, Whispers and Shadows
October 17, 9-4 Teaching writing workshop at The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI
October 17, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The Clearing.  Book signing, Whispers and Shadows, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
October 23, 10-11:00 a.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum (on the square). Whispers and Shadows.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 23, 3:30 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium (On UW Campus) Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 25, 2:00 p.m. Schlitz Nature Center, Milwaukee with Boswell Books.  Whispers and Shadows.
October 29, Brown County Library.  Premier of TV Documentary,” The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.
November 1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names (a Robert Gard book).
November 5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Dregne's in Westby

This past Saturday, Ruth and I helped Dregne’s celebrate 40 years on Westby’s Main Street.    When Dave and Jana Dregne bought the corner building in 1975, it was a full service hardware store with nuts and bolts and ropes and wrenches and all the rest that makes up a hardware store.
But now, 40 years later, it’s a gift shop worthy of a destination visit.  Not just a gift shop either, but a Scandinavian gift shop that shines a bright light on Westby’s Norwegian heritage.  If you want authentic Norwegian sweaters and a lefse grill or maybe some Swedish clogs and pair of Scandinavian mittens, this is the place.  And much, much more of course.
An enormous crowd trailed through the store on Saturday, coming from near and far.  A bus load of Norwegians arrived, 40 of them, each one with a camera and a smile.  I spent 15 minutes talking with a fellow from Oslo about Wisconsin’s barns and silos, and comparing pictures in my book about barns with Norwegian barns that he knew.
Dregne’s also have a wide selection of books by local authors, and not so local—I was there signing books, sharing a table with Tomah author, Larry Scheckel.
It was a busy, interesting day.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: No matter what your ethnic background, a visit to Dregne’s in Westby is a fun experience—even for this old German.
BOOK OF THE WEEK:
NORWEGIANS IN WISCONSIN, by Richard J. Fapso (Wisconsin Historical Society Press).  The book begins with the mass movement of Norwegians to Wisconsin in 1837 and continues with the history of this second most popular ethnic group in the state.
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals. Patterson Memorial Library500 Division StreetWild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 4, 1-3 p.m.  Readers Realm bookstore, Montello. Ag. History
October 7, 6:30 p.m. Reedsburg Library, Whispers and Shadows
October 11, 10-12:00 a.m.  Heartland Forum, Chicago.
October 11, 3:00 p.m. Old World Wisconsin-Wisconsin Ag. History
October 12, 6:00 p.m. Coloma Historical Society.  Limping Through Life
October 15, Prairie du Sac Library, Whispers and Shadows
October 17, 9-4 Teaching writing workshop at The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI
October 17, 4:30-6:00 p.m. The Clearing.  Book signing, Whispers and Shadows, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
October 23, 10-11:00 a.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum (on the square). Whispers and Shadows.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 23, 3:30 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium (On UW Campus) Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.  Wisconsin Book Festival.
October 25, 2:00 p.m. Schlitz Nature Center, Milwaukee with Boswell Books.  Whispers and Shadows.
October 29, Brown County Library.  Premier of TV Documentary,” The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.
November 1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names (a Robert Gard book).
November 5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November 7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November 10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public Library.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History
November 14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.  Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November 15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary)  plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November 17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe, Madison.)  “Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore.  Book signing to follow.
November 18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School Auditorium.  Whispers and Shadows book signing. (Time to be announced)