Jerry Apps's Blog, page 46

A Walk in the Rain

I walked in the rain yesterday, the quarter mile down the hill from my cabin to the pond, just before dark.  I wore my knee high rubber boots, a decent rain coat, and my old Filson hat.  Soon water dripped from it, and the sound of the rain drops on that old hat reminded me of the many nights I spent in a tent, with raindrops drumming on the canvas.
As I walked through the falling rain I spotted woodbine, a brilliant red vine that had crawled all the way to the top of several trees along the wet trail, a reminder of the many fall colors to come.
When I arrived at the little field just west of the pond, I spotted a flock of turkeys, a half-dozen or so.   Mama turkey and this year’s brood ran like racehorses through the wet grass when they spotted me, into the dense brush near the pond, and disappeared, one by one.
A few of the aspen leaves showed yellow, and a scattering fluttered to the ground around me, dislodged by the rain.  They added to the smells of fall that I so much enjoy.
Arriving at the pond, I watched the raindrops on the pond’s surface, each one made a subtle little tinkling sound, and each one created a little circle that widened and then disappeared.  One circle after the other, appearing and disappearing; nature’s magical artistry.
And through the mists I spotted a maple tree on the far side of the pond, in full fall splendor—a brilliant red among mostly green leaves.  Turning red early this maple, avoiding the competition from all the other maples in my woodlot that will soon follow with brilliant yellows and reds. Showing off.
A glorious walk in the rain, when the landscape offered a special set of sights, sounds, and smells.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Take a walk in the rain; you won’t melt
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 1, 6:00 p.m. UW Memorial Library, Room 460, Wis Public TV “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps.” Book signing, A Quiet Season. Free and open to the public. Parking in Lake St. Ramp.October 4-5, Heartland Fall Forum (Book Festival), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chicago. O’Hare.October 13, 1-4 P.M. August Derleth Celebration, Circus World Museum, Baraboo.October 17, 5:30, Park Falls Library, Park Falls.October 20, Noon. Rib River Ballroom, Marathon City. German-American Group. Limping Through Life.October 22, 3:00 p.m. Brillion Library. Limping Through LifeOctober 23, 2:45-3:30, Wisconsin Library Association, Green Bay. Letters from Hillside FarmOctober 26, 10:00-2:00 Grafton Book Festival, Liberty Memorial Library, Grafton.November 2, 9:00-4:00 The Clearing, Door County. Writing From Your Life WorkshopNovember 6, 3:30 UW PLATO group, Oakwood West, Madison.  Quiet Season.November 7, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Public Library. Ringlingville U.S.A.November 9, 9:30, Sheboygan County Research Center, Plymouth, Limping Through Life.November 10: 2:00 p.m. Books and Company bookstore, Oconomowoc, The Quiet Season.
FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “A FARM STORY WITH JERRY APPS” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

The Quiet Season: Remembering Country Winters

MY newest book, The Quiet Season: Remembering Country Winters, is now available in bookstores, and also may be ordered from my website, www.jerryapps.com.  Wisconsin  Historical Society Press is the publisher.  One writer said this about the book.“[Jerry] shares stories of growing up and keeping warm on a farm in central Wisconsin in the 1930s and early '40s. His memories are of a quieter season, a winter world that existed before electricity when farmers milked cows by hand by the light of a kerosene lantern. It was an era when a major part of every winter's work was 'making wood' to heat drafty farm homes and rural country schools, and when a lack of indoor plumbing meant every morning began with a rousingly cold dash to an outhouse.  Wisconsin winters then were also a time of reflection, of planning for the next year, and of families drawing together, a "quiet season" that profoundly influenced those who grew up with harsh northern winters]The Quiet Season book is the subject for a hour-long TV documentary produced by Wisconsin Public TV and will be aired for the first time on Wisconsin Public TV stations December 4, 7:00 p.m.For those who want a preview of the show, stop by the UW-Madison Memorial Union for a showing on October 1, 6:00 p.m. or the Wild Rose High School auditorium, on November 13, 7:00 p.m.  I will speak briefly at each showing and answer questions.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Different from what many say, winter has a lot going for it.
 UPCOMING EVENTS: September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library. Limping Through LifeSeptember 26, 5:30 p.m. WPT, Premier Showing, “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps,” Green Bay, Rock Garden, 1951 Bond Street.  Book signing, A Quiet Season. Tickets required, includes dinner.September 28, 1:00 Barnes and Noble, Wausau, Book Signing. Limping Through Life and Quiet Season.October 1, 6:00 p.m. UW Memorial Library Commons, WPT “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps.” Book signing, A Quiet Season.October 4-5, Heartland Fall Forum (Book Festival), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chicago. O’Hare.October 13, 1-4 P.M. August Derleth Celebration, Circus World Museum, Baraboo.October 17, 5:30, Park Falls Library, Park Falls.October 20, Noon. Rib River Ballroom, Marathon City. German-American Group. Limping Through Life.October 22, 3:00 p.m. Brillion Library. Limping Through LifeOctober 23, 2:45-3:30, Wisconsin Library Association, Green Bay. Letters from Hillside FarmOctober 26, 10:00-2:00 Grafton Book Festival, Liberty Memorial Library, Grafton.November 2, 9:00-4:00 The Clearing, Door County. Writing From Your Life WorkshopNovember 6, 3:30 UW PLATO group, Oakwood West, Madison.  Quiet Season.November 7, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Public Library. Ringlingville U.S.A.November 9, 9:30, Sheboygan County Research Center, Plymouth, Limping Through Life.November 10: 2:00 p.m. Books and Company bookstore, Oconomowoc, The Quiet Season.

Southwest Wisconsin Book Festival

                I've just returned from the Southwest Wisconsin Book Festival in Mineral Point. People attending came from as close as across the street from the Mineral Point Library where the Saturday morning events were held, to Rockford, Illinois, Cedarburg, (the fellow said he left home at 5:30 a.m to arrive on time), New Glarus and many points in between.  Most of those who were attending were interesting in publishing their writing—a notable goal, and a rather confusing one as well.                I served on a panel:  “The Many Paths of Publishing.”  The four of us on the panel, each a published author, had quite different approaches.  One of the panelists was a highly successful self-published E-book author, which means her books were mostly sold on line and not in print.  Another panelist followed what he called a hybrid approach where he paid to have his book published, but the publisher helped with publicity and promotion (something many self-published authors must do themselves).
                The third panelist followed the more traditional approach, obtaining an agent, and then publishing her book as a paperback original with a New York publisher.  I explained how I do not self-publish and work almost entirely with regional publishers without a literary agent, although I did have one at one time.  I was the old timer in the group, reminding them that the type for my first book, which came out in 1970, was set with a Linotype machine—something the younger members of the group had never heard of.
                I sure those in the audience went away totally confused about which way to publish their books—but that’s the nature of the publishing industry these days.  More than a little confused itself.  But bottom line—people are still buying books.
                Hats off to Kristin Mitchell, Director of the festival and owner of Little Creek Press in Mineral Point for organizing the event.                THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Writers should be most concerned about their writing.
 UPCOMING EVENTS: September 16, Winchester Academy, Waupaca Public Library, 6:30 p.m. Limping Through LifeSeptember 18, Riveredge Nature Center, Newburg, WI 7:00 p.m. Farm StorySeptember 21, 12:00-2:00 p.m.  Old World Wisconsin, Book Signing.September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library. Limping Through LifeSeptember 26, 5:30 p.m. WPT, Premier Showing, “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps,” Green Bay, Rock Garden, 1951 Bond Street.  Book signing, A Quiet Season. Tickets required, includes dinner.September 28, 1:00 Barnes and Noble, Wausau, Book Signing. Limping Through LifeOctober 1, 6:00 p.m. UW Memorial Library Commons, WPT “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps.” Book signing, A Quiet Season.October 4-5, Heartland Fall Forum (Book Festival), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chicago. O’Hare.October 13, 1-4 P.M. August Derleth Celebration, Circus World Museum. October 17, 5:30, Park Falls Library, Park Falls.October 20, Noon. Rib River Ballroom, Marathon City. German-American Group. Limping Through Life.October 22, 3:00 p.m. Brillion Library. Limping Through LifeOctober 23, 2:45-3:30, Wisconsin Library Association, Green Bay. Letters from Hillside FarmOctober 26, 10:00-2:00 Grafton Book Festival, Liberty Memorial Library, Grafton.
November 2, 9:00-4:00 The Clearing, Door County. Writing From Your Life Workshop

Garden Info

                For those who might be interested in a follow-up of my grape vine story last week, the results are in—35 jars of grape jelly. All prepared in Ruth’s kitchen.  For those on our list for Christmas presents, expect some jelly.  Pretty good stuff, too, I might add.
                We are in the middle of the tomato harvest, an average crop this year.  So far we've picked about a bushel and a half.  Ruth is in the midst of making tomato soup, one batch of salsa already in jars.  Tomato juice to come.
                I picked the last of the sweet corn on Friday.  The early varieties were quite good, the late variety not so much as the recent dry,  hot spell has caused partially filled ears, and in a few cases ears devoid of kernels.
                The green beans continue to yield well, although the peak was probably in early August.  The beans seem to tolerate the dry and hot weather better than some of the other garden crops.  The broccoli was off to a slow start, but then perked up and has been yielding a quart or so every week.  Broccoli does not like hot and dry, but it continues to do well.  Same for the early cabbage.  It likes cool, yet I've had some of the best early and late cabbage that I've ever grown.  And for some reason, I've seen not one cabbage worm this year.
                We've harvested all the early red potatoes, an average crop. Maybe a bushel.  We've begun harvesting the late variety and so far it appears to be one of our best crops.  Cool and wet spring helped the late potatoes.
                Pumpkin crop struggles with the dry weather, crop will be light.  Same for the squash, yield will be average.  A half row of sunflowers are eight feet tall and nodding toward the sun.  Broom corn is pushing towards maturity.
                A respectable garden year, given the roller-coaster weather.  Cool and wet in early season, hot and dry from mid-season to now.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Gardening like life: you win some, you lose some.
 UPCOMING EVENTS: September 9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Community Center, 7:00 p.m. September 11, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14, Mineral Point Book Festival. 8:30-9:30 Writing Workshop, Mineral Point Library.September 15, 10:00-1:00 Book Signing, Machine Shed Restaurant, Waukesha.September 16, Winchester Academy, Waupaca Public Library, 6:30 p.m.September 18, Riveredge Nature Center, Newburg, WI 7:00 p.m.September 21, 12:00-2:00 p.m.  Old World Wisconsin, Book Signing.September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library.September 26, 7:00 p.m. WPT, Premier Showing, “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps,” Green Bay, Rock Garden, 1951 Bond Street, 7:00 p.m.September 28, 1:00 Barnes and Noble, Wausau, Book Signing.October 1, 6:00 p.m. UW Memorial Library Commons, WPT “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps.”October 4-5, Heartland Fall Forum (Book Festival), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chicago. O’Hare. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY WITH JERRY APPS” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

Grapevine

Some thirty-five years ago, when I decided how great it would be to make my own wine, from my own grapes, I planted one little Concord grapevine next to the split rail fence in my front yard.  The little grape vine struggled to live its first few years, but not nearly as much as my wine making struggled.  The cheapest jug wine was so superior to my meager efforts that I quit wine making (to the applause of my wife, I might add).
                I ignored the grapevine—what good are grapes if you didn't make wine from them?  But soon, that little vine, not so small anymore, was producing a few quarts of beautiful, purple grapes each year.  Ruth began making grape jelly from my grapes—a couple jars the first few years, then more jars.  Wonderful, beautiful grape jelly.  Who says grapes are only for wine?  You didn't hear it from me (even Germans will occasionally admit they are wrong).
                This year, that little grapevine, still only one, has a trunk the size of my arm and sends out vines to the end of the split rail fence and beyond.  And yesterday, with Sue and grandson Josh’s help, we picked nearly a bushel of grapes. Some of the bunches had as many as 30 grapes. How many jars of grape jelly in a bushel of grapes?  We’ll find out.
                Thoughts of making my own grape wine have long ago faded into history—it’s just too difficult to top home-made grape jelly smeared generously on a piece of toast, certainly not with a glass of awful home-made wine.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Grapes for wine?  Try home-made grape jelly instead.
UPCOMING EVENTS: September 7, Milwaukee Public TV 7:00 p.m.  A Farm Story with Jerry Apps. Live in Milwaukee.September 8, Milwaukee Public TV 3:00 p.m. A Farm Story with Jerry Apps.September  9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Community Center, 7:00 p.m. September 10, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14, Mineral Point Book Festival. 8:30-9:30 Writing Workshop, Mineral Point Library.September 15, 10:00-1:00 Book Signing, Machine Shed Restaurant, Waukesha.September 16, Winchester Academy, Waupaca Public Library, 6:30 p.m.September 18, Riveredge Nature Center, Newburg, WI 7:00 p.m.September 21, 12:00-2:00 p.m.  Old World Wisconsin, Book Signing.September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library.September 26, 7:00 p.m. WPT, Premier Showing, “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps,” Green Bay, Rock Garden, 1951 Bond Street, 7:00 p.m.September 28, 1:00 Barnes and Noble, Wausau, Book Signing.October 1, 6:00 p.m. UW Memorial Library Commons, WPT “A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps.”October 4-5, Heartland Fall Forum (Book Festival), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chicago. O’Hare.
 FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY WITH JERRY APPS” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

Egg Harbor Book Festival

 The Egg Harbor Book Festival, the community’s first, was off to any excellent start  thanks to Mary “Casey” Martin, who organized the event, and the good people of Egg Harbor who supported it.  Over two weekends, August 16-18 and August 24, authors who ranged from Wisconsin’s poet laureate, Max Garland, to a bevy of local writers showing off their wares at the Saturday p.m. author signings, to yours truly who had the keynote spot on Saturday morning.
            The weather was great; the setting was more than great.  I spoke on the porch of the famous Alpine Resort, which is right on the waters of Green Bay, with sailboats everywhere on Saturday morning.  The Alpine Resort, which has been in the same family since 1922, includes, in addition to the beautiful lodge and a group of guest cottages, a 36-hole golf course.
            Billed as “The Egg Harbor Book Festival—2013 Road Trip,” one of the purposes of the festival was to raise money for the Egg Harbor Library, described as being the size of a closet.  Much thanks to Mary “Casey” Martin, a native of Egg Harbor who now lives in Wisconsin Rapids.  She is a writer, a radio interviewer, a publisher (Home Brew Press) and an all-around friend of Wisconsin writers and the book publishing business.  Hats off to “Casey” for a job well done—we writers appreciate the work you have done and continue to do.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If you think books are dead, attend a book festival.
UPCOMING EVENTS: September 7, Milwaukee Public TV.  A Farm Story. Live in MilwaukeeSeptember  9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Community Center, 7:00 p.m. September 10, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14, Mineral Point Book Festival. 8:30-9:30 Writing Workshop, Mineral Point Library.September 15, 10:00-1:00 Book Signing, Machine Shed Restaurant, Waukesha.September 16, Winchester Academy, Waupaca Public Library, 6:30 p.m.September 18, Riveredge Nature Center, Newburg, WI 7:00 p.m.September 21, 12:00-2:00 p.m.  Old World Wisconsin, Book Signing.September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library.September 26, 7:00 p.m. WPT, Premier Showing, “Winter on the Farm,” Green Bay, Rock Garden, 1951 Bond Street, 7:00 p.m.September 28, 1:00 Barnes and Noble, Wausau, Book Signing.October 1, 6:00 p.m. UW Memorial Library Commons, WPT “Winter on the Farm.”October 4-5, Heartland  Fall Forum (Book Festival), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chicago. O’Hare.
 FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

Farm Story

I am continually amazed, surprised, and humbled by the reaction to the Farm Story documentary, which is now showing on some 60 plus PBS stations across the country.
Chicago’s WTTW will air the program Sunday evening (August 18) at 6:00 p.m. and I will be there in person to discuss the show.  Here is what the publicist for WTTW had to say about the documentary:
A Farm Story with Jerry Apps is a portrait of farm life seen through the eyes of a boy growing up in rural America in the 1930s and 1940s. Using archival photos and film, teacher, author and historian Jerry Apps tells the story of growing up in Wild Rose, Wisconsin - America's archetype rural farming community.
A Farm Story is the personal and family story of millions of Americans who grew up on farms. Like a family photo album for millions of Americans, the documentary takes the viewer through memories of 'things that aren't there anymore' and of experiences that created their values of hard work, determination and community -- values that drive a generation of Americans who grew up on the farm. The documentary carries the viewer from childhood on the farm in the '30s to the rural electrification that changed American farms and rural life forever.
 Jerry shares stories about the party line telephone, the one-room schoolhouse, the routine of work and chores and community of those family farms that built America into the agricultural center of the world. A Farm Story with Jerry Apps deeply resonates with viewers with rural roots, many who left the farm but who recognize that the experience made them who they are and can feel a kinship with Jerry when he says, 'Today I'm as proud as proud can be of having experienced what I experienced, and I wouldn't change it for anything. ' Jerry Apps Bio: Jerry Apps, born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of more than 30 books, many of them on rural history and country life. His nonfiction books include: Living a Country Year, Every Farm Tells a Story, When Chores Were Done, Humor from the Country, Country Ways and Country Days, One-Room Schools, Cheese, Breweries of Wisconsin, Ringlingville USA (History of Ringling Brothers circus), Old Farm: A History, Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days: A Century of Farming With Horses, and Campfires and Loon Calls.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Who would think that something old (like early farm life) would be of interest today?
UPCOMING EVENTS:August 18, 6:00 p.m. WTTW, Chicago Public TV. A Farm Story.August 24, Egg Harbor Book Festival, Alpine Resort, 10-11:30. All about writing.  Book signing 1-4.September 7, Milwaukee Public TV.  A Farm Story. Live in MilwaukeeSeptember 9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Community Center, 7:00 p.m. September 10, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14,  Mineral Point Book Festival. 8:30-9:30 Writing Workshop, Mineral Point Library.September 15, 10:00-1:00 Book Signing, Machine Shed Restaurant, Waukesha.September 16, Winchester Academy, Waupaca Public Library, 6:30 p.m.September 18, Riveredge Nature Center, Newburg, WI 7:00 p.m.September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library.
 FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

The Great River Road

            Ruth and I traveled the Great River Road from La Crosse to Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin’s second oldest city this weekend.  And what a great trip it was.  On Thursday I gave a keynote talk to the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (a great group) in La Crosse.  Then on Friday we headed south along the river, with huge bluffs to our left and the Mississippi River rolling along to our right, on our way to Villa Louis where on spoke on Saturday.  The views across the river are absolutely magnificent—with Minnesota first and then Iowa, each crowding up to the river, as does Wisconsin.  Wildlife everywhere.  Ducks, herons, I even saw a bald eagle soaring above us.
            Through the little river towns of Stoddard and Genoa, Victory and De Soto, Ferryville and Lynxville and onto into Prairie du Chein.  The occasional tow boat lumbered north, some pushing as many as eight barges in front of them, moving slowly, but never stopping.  Fishing and pleasure boats scattered as the tow boats approached, and then reappeared once the tow boat moved on.
            In places the mighty Mississippi was so narrow one could throw a stone across it (well maybe half way across).  Other places, near the locks and dams, the river was a half mile wide.
            Oh, how busy was the river.  Boats of every size, outboards, inboards, fishing boats, house boats, pleasure boats.  Little boats. Big boats.  Even a kayak or two and once in awhile a canoe.                        The Great River Road, a National Scenic Byway, is celebrating 75 years—it officially was officially established in 1938.  This famous piece of U.S. history is nearly 3,000 miles long, touches 10 states, 33 river towns and boasts 70 nature interpretative centers.  Want a great trip—give the Great River Road a go. 
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It’s good to leave the old home place once in a while, and see something new.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 18, Chicago Public TV. A Farm Story. Live in ChicagoAugust 24, Egg Harbor Book Festival, Alpine Resort, 10-11:30. How I became a writer.  Book signing 1-4.September 7, Milwaukee Public TV.  A Farm Story. Live in MilwaukeeSeptember 9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Community Center, 7:00 p.m. September 10, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14, Mineral Point Book Festival. 8:30-9:30 Writing Workshop, Mineral Point Library.September 15, 10:00-1:00 Book Signing, Machine Shed Restaurant, Waukesha.September 16, Winchester Academy, Waupaca Public Library, 6:30 p.m.September 18, Riveredge Nature Center, Newburg, WI 7:00 p.m.September 23, 6:30-7:30 Mount Horeb Public Library. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

A Farm Story Update

            I've just returned from Kansas City, Mo where I helped Public TV station KCPT with August fund raising.  They aired my documentary A Farm Story. During the breaks I talked about the background for the show and a little more about what farm life was like during the 1930s and 1940s when I was a kid.  I am always amazed at the response to the show— constantly the phones were ringing in the studio as volunteers recorded pledges.
            I discovered last week, that more than forty public TV stations are airing A Farm Story, from WGBY in Western New England to WKNO in Cordova, TN;  from KLRU in Austin Texas, to KVIE in Sacramento ,CA;  From WETA in Washington, D.C. to KUED in Utah.  From KBTC in Western, WA; to WUCF in Central Florida.  And many more.
            I am more than pleased with how many people across the country are interested in the history of the small family farm and how those who grew up and worked these farms contributed many important values to our present day society.  Values such as the importance of communities and neighbors, appreciating little things, working together as a family, and knowing that we all depend on the land. 
            I am also extremely pleased that people across the country are learning about little Wild Rose, WI, my hometown.  A publicist for KUED in Utah wrote “Wild Rose, Wisconsin is the archetypal rural farming community in America.”  High marks for my hometown indeed.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you have something good to say about something; say it.
August 6-7, Nebraska Public TV, Lincoln, Nebraska.  A Farm Story.August 8, Environmental Educator’s Conference, Noon. Keynote, UW-LaCrosseAugust 10, 2:00 p.m., Presentation Villa Louis, Prairie du Chein.  Horse Drawn Days.August 18, Chicago Public TV. A Farm Story.August 24, Egg Harbor Historical Society (details to follow)September 7, Milwaukee Public TV.  A Farm StorySeptember 9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Town Hall. (details to follow)September 10, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14, Mineral Point Book Festival. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.

Tasting Summer

I suppose you could say I’m old fashioned.  Probably very old-fashioned.  But when it comes to vegetables, well there is simply nothing fresher or tastier than what I harvest from my garden.  That’s especially true if I’m eating  green beans an hour after I picked them, eating early potatoes an hour after I dug them, or chomping on leaf lettuce (I guess cows chomp) but it still fits what I do when I fill my mouth with lettuce that’s not been away from the garden for more than an hour.
            So this is my feasting time of the year—cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, broccoli (I know President Bush—the first the first one didn't like it, but I do); zucchini, and soon sweet corn.  And the most wonderful feast of all—a red, garden ripened tomato from a plant that I started from seed and watched grow from a scrawny little thing that looked like it might die any day to one providing me with fresh tomatoes.  I picked the first one last weekend.
            Some will remember that I wrote that to taste a fresh radish is to taste spring.  Well, to taste the first tomato, you are tasting summer in all its glory.  Nothing speaks summer louder than a home grown tomato—well maybe sweet corn for some people.  For me sweet corn comes in second, a close second, but still second.
            So welcome to the taste of summer.  And enjoy those first tomatoes of the season. 
THE OLD TIMER SAW THIS THE OTHER DAY: Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 3-4. Kansas City, Missouri Public TV. A Farm Story.August 6-7, Nebraska Public TV, Lincoln, Nebraska.  A Farm Story.August 8, Environmental Educator’s Conference, Noon. Keynote, UW-LaCrosseAugust 10, 1:00 p.m., Presentation Villa Louis, Prairie du Chein.  Horse Drawn Days.August 18, Chicago Public TV. A Farm Story.August 24, Egg Harbor Historical Society (details to follow)September 7, Milwaukee Public TV.  A Farm StorySeptember 9, Byron Historical Society, Eden Town Hall. (details to follow)September 10, DTS Banquet talk, Deer Valley Lodge, BarneveldSeptember 14, Mineral Point Book Festival. FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984

(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.