Vernon County could be leader in local farm and food economy

By Gregg Hoffmann

Vernon County is off to a good start in developing a local farm and food economy. In fact, it could have the potential to become a leader in what is developing into a nationwide movement.

Ken Meter, economist and president of the Crossroads Resource Center, based in Minneapolis, emphasized those points in presenting “An Update on the Southwest Wisconsin Local Farm and Food Economy” Thursday, May 21, at the Vernon Memorial Hospital community conference facility.

Meter developed his report for Vernon, Crawford, Monroe and Richland counties through funding by the Valley Stewardship Network’s Food & Farm Initiative in cooperation with the Vernon Economic Development Association and the Crawford County UW Extension Office.

“The discussion here has been one of the more advanced discussions I’ve had on local food anywhere in the country,” said Meter, who has done reports in 38 regions of 18 states. “With the success of CROPP in this county, and other organizations and people, you have a lot of foundation to work with.”

Meter is working with VSN in assessing how a food system that emphasizes more direct sales from local farmers to local consumers and institutions can be developed. Such a system requires a “collaborative network that integrates sustainable food production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste management in order to enhance the environmental, economic and social health of a particular place.”

VSN formed its Food & Farm Initiative in 2007 to respond to local food security issues. The Initiative’s seven-member Steering Committee is putting the finishing touches on an assessment and will soon make it available to the public.

Jessica Luhning, Projects Coordinator for VSN, gave a brief overview of the assessment before introducing Meter. Look for more on the VSN Initiative in the June Business Profile on the VEDA site.

Meter gave a rather sobering look at the farm and food economy in the four-county region and nation as a whole. “Most studies have been good at looking at commodities, but now looking as much as where the food is produced, and by who, and where it is eaten,” Meter said of conventional research into farm and food systems.

He said a local farm and food economy should build health, wealth, connections and capacity. The current system fails to accomplish these goals and instead often separates people from those who produce the food, and creates wealth for some and not for others, Meter emphasized.

Farmers in the four-county region that was studied steadily have been losing income for years, Meter said. They have experienced negative cash flow from 1994 to 2007.

They are not alone. Income for U.S. farmers in 2008, considered a decent year for farm incomes, was lower than it was in 1929 when adjusted for inflation. Wisconsin farmers ranked as the fourth biggest losers of income in the country.

Rising costs, such as fuel, labor and other factors, have contributed to those losses, but the overall structure of the farm and food industry has flaws that have hurt farmers in the region and nation, Meter contends.

Lending institutions, and to some degree the government, have encouraged farmers to get bigger, borrow more and ship their products farther. The average American lives at least 1500 miles away from the sources for much of his food.

Much like the recent problems in the housing industry, a farm and food system based on “bigger always is better” cannot be sustained because of high debt and other factors, Meter said.

The quality of food from such a system also cannot be guaranteed. Large farming operations also often create concerns about environmental impact and health, Meter said. So does food imported from China, Mexico, Chile and other countries.

Under the current system, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the U.S. could soon become a net food importer, Meter said.

A local farm and food economic system can change this, Meter contended. For example, consumers in Southwest Wisconsin spend $208 billion on food from outside the region. If those consumers would purchase 25% of their food directly from local farmers, it would produce $33 million of new farm income every year -- enough to offset current farm production losses.

Small farmers also could benefit from a local farm and food economic system, and 58% of the farmers in the region sell less than $10,000 of goods per year. Only 11% sell more than $100,000, according to Meter’s studies.

Direct sales in the region range around 0.8% of overall sales. As small as that is, it is twice the national figure, Meter said.

The VSN Initiative already has some of the building blocks in place for a local system. Five schools currently buy food from local farmers for lunch programs. There are 13 Community Supported Agriculture programs, through which local residents pay annual fees and get weekly boxes of produce from local farmers. More than 60 farmers sell products locally in Vernon County.

Meter praised the efforts in the region and added that he believes “local food may be the best path toward economic recovery.”

##

For more on this topic and other economic development stories in the Driftless Area, go to http://www.veda-wi.org.

WFSC Wi-Fi
 Because of a recent donation to the WFSC

toward the instalation of wireless internet by a very generous member, we will be able to offer wireless internet to all the members very shortly. My goal is to have it up and running by the annual meeting/election on Sat. June 6th. Please keep in mind of our annual meeting .Food and beverages will be served to all attendees.(free) Wi Fi is coming to Avalanche. My hope is to enhance the camping ratio during the slack time of July and August. This will help with our goal of supporting more conservation efforts. We need your support to spread the word of having the only wireless campground in a three county area. The summer newsletter will be out soon. Dates are available for cabins in June.

 

          Trapper Secretary WFSC

          Avalanche Wi –in the heart of the Driftless Area

Hello VSN Members and Friends!
 
Ken Meter speaks about our local food & farm economy tomorrow night at 6:30pm!
 

“An Update on the Southwest Wisconsin Local Farm and Food Economy”
Ken Meter, Economist and President of the Crossroads Resource Center

 

Thursday, May 21st from 6:30-8:30 pm
Vernon Memorial Hospital

(new medical office building)

Community Conference Rooms A & B

 

 

Did you know that we are losing $376 million every year here in SW Wisconsin (Vernon, Crawford, Richland and Monroe counties) with our current food consumption and conventional farming activities? Did you also know that we have all the assets and resources right here to turn this around to build healthy, sustainable communities based on viable family farms and businesses, a healthy environment and a strong workforce?
 
Everyone is invited to attend an upcoming presentation by renowned rural economist Ken Meter, CEO of Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis. Ken will discuss highlights from a new report regarding the Southwest Wisconsin's Local Farm and Food Economy compiled for Vernon, Crawford, Monroe and Richland Counties.
 
The Southwest Wisconsin Local Farm & Food Economy Report was funded by the Valley Stewardship Network’s Food and Farm Initiative in a cooperative effort with Vernon Economic Development Association and the Crawford County UW Extension office.

We hope to see you all there!! Pass this email on to others who may be interested. There is no charge to attend but donations are encouraged. Local beverages and snacks will be served.

Jessica Luhning
Projects Coordinator
Valley Stewardship Network
124 1/2 S. Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

(608) 637-3615
www.kickapoovsn.org

Join others concerned with stewardship of the Kickapoo Watershed
Become a member of the Valley Stewardship Network for all those who live, work and play in the Valley

Thawing the Cold War under the desks

The bell rang, followed by the air raid signal. It was time to go under the desks for Garrett Hartmann’s 6th grade class.

“OK, students under your desks,” said Mrs. Krahn, one of many teachers who had no first names back in the 1950s. “We’ll stay in that position for 5 minutes, then next week go down in the cafeteria shelter. Remember, we are doing this in case the Russians come some day.”

Garrett often thought the weekly exercise was kind of dumb. Tommy Schmidt and the other guys would make faces from under their desks. Mike Sands would find things on the floor, and if they looked edible down them. Yuk.

Some of the guys took advantage of the situation and would try to look up Suzie Wilson’s dress, as she sat crunched up on the floor. “Mrs. Krahn, Tommy is looking at my undies,” Suzie yelled. “Am not,” Tommy retorted. “Am too,” thought Garrett about Tommy.

Mrs. Krahn, the principal, the students’ parents all said the weekly drills were important. The Russians hated us Americans, they said. Some day they might invade this country or shoot missiles at us. We had to be prepared.

Even President Dwight Eisenhower said it was important. And, he had been a war hero before he became president, Garrett’s parents told him. So, he must know. Ike and other important people called it the Cold War. They had been to war and said it was hell. Garrett some times wondered how it could then be Cold.

Every week, as Garrett sat on the floor, he wondered about the Cold War. Why would the Russians want to come to Salem, Wisconsin? There was nothing there except a gas station, some bars and a lot of farm implement places. Maybe they didn’t have John Deere in Russia.

Garrett also wondered if kids in Russia were sitting under their desks, and in shelters. He thought of asking Mrs. Krahn, or his parents, or even Ike in a letter, but he never did.

“OK, students, get back to work. Open your math books to Page 12,” Mrs. Krahn said. Yuk.

**************************

A lot of years had passed since Garrett and his classmates went through those air raid drills. He had never asked Mrs. Krahn or his parents, or written Ike, about that question concerning whether kids in Russia did the same as he and his classmates every week.

The Cold War was basically over, thanks to the regimes of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. At least that’s why the governments of the two countries wanted you to think. Garrett thought it was more likely generations of kids from America and Russia, who had tired of sitting under their desks, grew up and thought it was all bullshit. So, they didn’t pay any attention to it anymore.

In the early 1990s, Garrett had a first hand opportunity to learn that he was, in part, correct. He was now a journalist and taught at a university. He was asked if he could host a Russian professor for a few days. The prof, named Oleg Rashokoff, was making the rounds of the Midwest, talking about the effects of the easing of relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Garrett has said he would consider it if he could interview Oleg one-on-one. Garrett’s wife, Patricia, looked forward to the experience.

So, Garrett went out and bought some vodka and Miller beer, and on a Monday night in April, Oleg Rashokoff came to visit. It was a little awkward at first, but Oleg was an out-going type who was willing to talk about his family.

His father, George, was head of linguistics at Kiev University, where Oleg also taught. Oleg and his wife has just had a son, who was actually born in Philadelphia, since Oleg was a visiting prof at Penn.

As the night went on, it became significantly less awkward. Garrett found himself pondering that question he never asked Mrs. Krahn, his parents or Ike. What better guy to ask than another Baby Boom generation representative, who had grown up in the Soviet Union.

“You know,” Garrett started after taking sip of his Miller. “Because of you guys, we had to go under our desks once a week and in the bomb shelter once a month when we were in grade school.”

Oleg looked thoughtfully at Garrett, hesitated for a minute and then said in a deep voice, “You know, because of you guys, we did the same.”

The question was answered, and Garrett’s suspicions were verified. Russian kids were indeed doing the same thing he and his classmates had to do, in large part because of fear of each other, fostered by propaganda.

That Q&A opened up a long night of wonderful discourse. Oleg eventually came to live with Garrett and Patricia for a summer, while he taught a comparative propaganda course at Garrett’s university.

Garrett and Oleg talked about writing a book on how two baby boomers grow up learning to fear and hate each other, largely because of the BS spewed out by their governments during the Cold War.

The two learned they had much in common. They became friends.

******************************

Not more than six months after Oleg had left Garrett and Patricia, and returned to Philadelphia, bad news arrived. Oleg, who was only in his early 40s, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He underwent treatment, but was not given a good chance of recovery.

Garrett and Oleg had already started on their writing project. It came to a halt. Garrett also was helping Oleg get some of his writing done before the split-up of the Soviet Union published, since Oleg dare not try to make it public before that time. That too halted as Oleg was too fatigued during treatments to edit the works.

“How unfair,” Patricia said when they heard the news. Garrett felt a deep disappointment, both because of the halt in his professional work with Oleg and because he really had come to know and like the man. He had gone to Philadelphia shortly after that summer was over, and met little Georgie, Oleg’s son, and Yelena, his wife. It was almost as if he knew them; Oleg has talked so much about them during the summer.

Over time, Garrett got back into his work routine. He kept up with Oleg’s situation through periodic phone calls, and through mutual friends. Then, one day, he received a call.

“Gar, this is Oleg,” the voice said on the other end of the phone. “Yeah, Oleg, how are you feeling?” a surprised Garrett said.

“Better,” Oleg said. “In fact, good enough to come to New York when you make your presentation next week.” Garrett was scheduled to make a presentation at NYU on how journalists get caught up in propaganda. It was work that had been started with Oleg.

Garrett had lost his enthusiasm for the presentation once Oleg became ill, but he felt a sudden surge of energy and a possibility. “Oleg, just how well are you feeling? I have two hours for the presentation, and I’d love if you could take an hour of it from the Soviet side, just like we planned that summer,” Garrett said.

There was a brief moment of silence on the other end. “You would do that for me,” the deep voice said. “Definitely, in fact, you’d be doing me a favor because two hours can be a long time,” Garrett said. Again, a moment, and then, “I think I can do it; see you in New York.”

For the next week, Garrett felt mixed emotions, of joy from the thought of working with Oleg again to concern that it might be too much for a man in Oleg’s condition. The second emotion took precedent on the night before the presentation when Oleg, patch on one eye, showed up looking haggard and fatigued from the train trip up from Philadelphia.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Garrett asked Oleg. “Yes, I’ll be fine with a good night’s sleep,” the deep voice said, fatigue evident.

“I’ve made a mistake; it’s too much for him,” Garrett told Patricia later that night. He hardly slept at all, largely out of concern for Oleg.

The next day, a different man from the one who came up via train the night before showed up. Oleg looked great, showed no sign of fatigue and was ready to go.

“Thank you, my friend, for giving me this chance,” Oleg told Garrett right before the presentation started.

To put it mildly, Garrett and Oleg knocked them dead for the next two hours. It was like they had rehearsed for days, which of course they had not. The 100 or so people at the conference gave them a standing ovation when they ended.

You could tell Oleg was thrilled as he shook hands with people. A man, whose work had to be kept secret for so long, had showed what he could do. Garrett was thrilled for him.

“C’mon, let’s celebrate with a Miller and vodka,” Garrett told Oleg. “I can’t drink alcohol with my medication, but a coffee would be good,” Oleg answered.

Oleg, Garrett and Patricia drank coffee for a couple hours at one of those wonderful sidewalk cafes in Manhattan. You would never had known Oleg was ill. It was how the two men had dreamed it could be during their summer together.

Finally, Garrett and Patricia walked with Oleg to Times Square. From there, the Russian had to go one way to catch his train, and the two Americans had to go the other to their hotel.

“Just think,” Oleg said in his deep voice. “Two boys raised to fear and hate each other, who went under their desks in fear they would be bombed by the other’s country, meet and become friends, and can be together in this place where the world meets.”

It was poetic. The three friends embraced and went on their ways. A block away, Garrett turned to watch Oleg disappear into the busy New York streets. He would never see his good friend again.

Oleg’s cancer came back with a rage. He died only a few weeks after he had parted with his American friends in Times Square.

Garrett some times finds himself imagining that Oleg is in heaven, sitting under his school desk, waiting for the day that his friend joins him.

##

** Wanted: Local Aspiring Food Entrepreneurs **
Survey to Assess Interest in Crawford Vernon County Community Commercial Kitchen

You are receiving this email because we thought you or someone you know might be interested in starting a food related business in the Crawford-Vernon County area. We have created a short survey to gauge interest in a community commercial kitchen. The proposed facility would be a fully certified, commercially equipped kitchen and would offer business support services to local growers and producers of food products, caterers, restaurants, chefs, special event food vendors, bakers, groups or organizations.

Please take a moment to complete the online survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2296KJGA8SF

(one per computer) or request a paper copy from Laura Brown, UW –Extension at 608-326-0223 or Laura.brown@ces.uwex.edu. Deadline for completing the survey is Wednesday May 27, 2009.

This survey was developed as a collaborative effort between the Crawford County UW Extension Office, the Opportunity Center in Prairie du Chien, the Vernon Economic Development Association, and the Kickapoo Kitchen Project. Your response will help us accurately assess potential community interest and use of a facility. Survey results will be posted online after May 27 at www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/crawford/cnred/index.html.

Please forward this email to others who may be interested in taking this survey. Thank you for your time and suggestions!

Laura Brown, Crawford County UW Extension
in collaboration with the Opportunity Center, the Kickapoo Kitchen Project, and Vernon Economic Development Corporation

We will meet at Christie's apiary on Saturday the 16th, 1-3pm. (between Westby and Coon Valley)
Write back or call if you need directions, this is where we met in March.
 
Mandy
489-2162
 
Those who got nucs through the club: Please remember to bring your empty boxes back if you haven't already done so, or made other arrangements with Kerry, so we can get our deposits back!

Hello VSN Members & Friends,

Interested in regional sustainability...check out the Kickapoo Green Builders Guild Meeting Thursday, May 14th at 6:30pm.


WHERE: Firehouse Restaurant (804 S. Main St., Viroqua)
WHEN: Thursday, May 14th - 6:30pm Gathering / 7:00 Discussion
WHAT: A Regional Sustainability Forum - a Facilitated Round-Table Discussion

This event is intended to provide a forum for collaboration between several groups all working toward a common goal of local energy and economic independence in our communities. A special invitation is extended to the newly-convened Vernon County Energy Planning Group.

Possible topics for discussion might include:

Creation/Administration of an OFFICE OF ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Creating a local green-built home for this office
Adoption of a framework for this regional sustainability initiative (e.g. The Natural Step for Communities)
Network and position our communities for Economic Stimulus Plan (ARRA) and other grant support
Revisit John Murphy's Green Drinks initiative

This event is open to the public and admission is free.

If you haven't done so, please bookmark their website www.kickapoogreen.org for more information, member pages, as well as ongoing announcements of upcoming events.

Thanks,

Jessica Luhning
Projects Coordinator
Valley Stewardship Network
124 1/2 S. Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

(608) 637-3615
www.kickapoovsn.org

Join others concerned with stewardship of the Kickapoo Watershed
Become a member of the Valley Stewardship Network for all those who live, work and play in the Valley

Hello VSN Members and Friends,
 
1% Wednesdays at Viroqua Food Coop
 
This Wednesday, May 13th 1% of all VFC proceeds will go to support the Valley Stewardship Network! Please consider stopping by the Co-op for your favorite local food item, cup of coffee, dinner fixins' or what the heck...all your grocery needs for the month!!
 
We are so very thankful to VFC and the community for choosing VSN as one of the local organizations to receive 1% Wednesday proceeds. Funds will go to support our important work here in the Kickapoo Region like water monitoring at your favorite swimming or fishing hole and making sure healthy, local foods are served in school lunches. Our work depends on your support!
 
We'll see you at the Viroqua Food Coop this Wednesday!! Tell your friends VFC is the place to be this Wednesday!!
 
Jessica Luhning
Projects Coordinator
Valley Stewardship Network
124 1/2 S. Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

A Boomer’s Stories

These stories are fictional short stories adapted from actual experiences of Gregg Hoffmann, who was born in 1949, thus putting him soundly in the middle of the Post-WWII Baby Boom generation.

At age 60, he decided to write them for several reasons: 1) people seemed to like to hear them over the years, and besides some were creatively-enhanced even during those oral tellings, 2) turning 60 had affected him emotionally and made him decide to start recording his own stories, not just those of others as he had for decades as a journalist, 3) they might spark memories and help build perspective on the experiences of a generation, and 4) for one of the few times in a 39-year writing career the author was having a bit of a writer’s block and felt somewhat disconnected from a craft he had thoroughly loved. So he decided to go back to one of the first bits of advice he had ever received -- write about things you know.

If these are never published, it’s fine. The author is not creating them strictly with publication in mind, since he’s had to do that for almost four decades. He’s doing it for the reasons already-related, and to regain the love for writing. No deadlines, no length limits, just the joy and reward of converting feelings and thoughts into words put in the right places.

Some of the pieces will be posted on the Driftless Writers Blog of Driftless web site.

******************************************

A Rainy Night In Lumbermen Haven.

By Gregg Hoffmann

It was one of those nights that the Pacific Northwest is known for. Steady rain fell, a cold rain, not the kind that brings wonderful aromas to the air in the spring or summer. This type of rain brought a stuffy nose and the chills.

Garrett had been traveling for a couple months with his two friends, the Marini brothers. They had promised they would travel for as long as they could afford it after they finished college, and before they had to join the working world for the next four or five decades. Thanks to failed draft physicals in two cases, and a stint in Vietnam by Roberto Marini, they could follow through on their promise, so packed the car with some tents and duffel bags of ragged clothing, and hit the road.

Garrett and his travel partners had learned early they were not alone. A generation of young people were on the road -- hitchhiking, putting along in old Volkswagen vans, living in makeshift communes. Garrett wanted to be a writer so he soaked up the atmosphere along the road.

 It was 1971, and distrust was the norm in America. Division over political views, Vietnam, length of hair, outlooks on gender and race, what it meant to be American was commonplace. But, when young travelers ran into each other on the road there was an instant connection.

In the Rockies, Montana and Idaho, the three travelers had been one step ahead of the snow, as October in the high country often brought. In the state of Washington, you had to be in real high country to get the white stuff in October. At lower elevations, near the coast, instead the cold rains came.

It would not be a good night to spend in a tent, with the likelihood of waking up the next morning with damp canvas drooping inches from your nose. Maybe they’d all cram themselves in the car, as they had when it got cold in Montana, for the night. But, before thinking of sleep, they needed food.

The rain was coming down heavy enough that it was hard to see along the highway. The time was closing in on 10 in the evening, so many places were closed, and in the Pacific Northwoods there aren‘t many places to begin with.

“Hey, that looks like a light up ahead on the right,” Richardo Marini shouted out, breaking what had been a long silence as the tired travelers squinted through the rain.

“What does it say? Can you read it?” Roberto asked. After a pause, Garrett said, “I think it says Olympia, the beer.”

“That’s the place for us,” Roberto exclaimed already pulling over onto the shoulder of the road. “I could use something to wash my food down.”

The three rushed through the rain and entered the log structure, called Lumbermen Haven. Inside, the place was empty. “Anybody here,” Garrett asked.

After a moment or two, a voice that sounded like a female’s answered, “yeah, hold your horses.” A woman, who had to tip the scales at 270, waddled out from a room behind the bar.

“What you boys want?” she asked. “How about some Olympia, and I’ll take a burger,” Garrett said. Roberto and Richardo wasted no time adding, “me too.”

Somehow you could tell the woman didn’t want to talk a whole lot. She might have been Native American, but it was hard to tell. She went to work on the grill, and soon you could hear the sizzling of the grease from fatty ground meat.

“Sounds good,” Garrett said. But, then another sound started that alarmed him. A deep, gravel-like, hacking cough came from the back room, where the woman was cooking. Once, twice, three times. In the next 10 minutes, she must have coughed 50 times.

“Do you hear that?” Garrett asked of the Marinis. “What?” Richardo asked. “That hacking cough this woman has,” Garrett returned. “Yeah, so what, it’s raining outside. She’s probably getting lugies she can’t get rid of,” Roberto hypothesized in not a very intellectual way.

“Hey, this is the Pacific Northwest. The highest incidence of TB left in the country is out here,” said Garrett, who was the factoid of the trio. “Bullshit,” Roberto said. “Don’t blow it away” Garrett came back. “Maybe we should sneak out of here,” Richardo added. “Hell no, I want a burger,” Roberto insisted.

So, the traveling trio stayed, and when the burgers came they were happy they did. Big thick, juicy burgers, with enough grease to add flavor.

“Great burger,” Garrett said. “Thanks,” the woman answered before being cut off by another round of hacking. The trio looked at each, but this time with a silence that said, “who cares.”

“Kinda dead in here tonight, must be the weather,” Roberto said. “It’s early yet,” the woman spewed out between coughs.

The three young men enjoyed their burgers and beer, and caught up on the day, and what they might do for the night. It felt good to be in a dry place and have it virtually to themselves.

About a half hour later, two big, strapping men with hair you could not have grabbed with a tweezers came in. “Hi Berta, a couple beers and burgers,” they yelled to the portly woman in the back room. “Coming up,” she said.

Garrett and the Marinis sneaked a peak at the two men in flannel shirts and jeans. The two men probably did the same at one point.

Over the next 10-20 minutes, 8-10 more guys who could have been clones of the first two entered. They obviously were lumbermen, and this indeed was their haven.

As mentioned earlier, it was a time of division in America, and one of the symbolic dividing points was the length of hair. Roberto Marini had long hair to his shoulders. Richardo had a big fro, and Garrett had bushy hair. All had straggly moustaches. All three were somewhat unkempt after almost two months on the road.

The lumberjacks weren’t exactly fashion plates, but their combined hair, if shaved, might not have matched the hair in the traveling trio’s staches. The three started to eat and drink their beers quicker. Roberto gave Garrett a look that said, “let’s get out of here.” They could feel the tension of the times.

But, before the trio could gulp down their last bites and swallows, one of the big guys from across the bar asked, “who’s the Cubs fan?”

All three of the traveling buddies had to think for a moment, and then Garrett remembered he had a trunk in the back of the car with a sticker on it that read, “Cubs In ‘69.” The hapless Cubs had gone into the last month in first place, only to lose the pennant that season to the New York Mets.

Garrett swallowed hard and said, “I am,” expecting to starting taking abuse that many heaped on once they found out you followed a team that was a perennial loser.

“I am too,” the big man said. “I was a steel worker in Gary before I got into lumbering and went to a lot of games at Wrigley.”

Several of his buddies started kidding him about being a supporter of a perennial loser, thus taking the target off Garrett’s back. What happened over the next couple hours could not have been more unexpected.

These three hippies, with long hair and two months of travel wear and tear on them, talked with these large men with bulging biceps and that shortly-cropped hair about first sports, then the Midwest and other areas of the country, on to family and other places you could get a good burger, you name it.

Vietnam, race and gender, politics, even the varying lengths of their hair didn’t really matter. When somebody did start down those paths, the group almost collectively put up a mutually-understood red flag, as if to say, “we know we won’t agree on those things so why go there.” It was as if they had all decided, for one night, to concentrate on the similarities they had as human beings, not what inevitably would have divided them.

They laughed, bought each other drinks (the lumberjacks did most the buying since they likely could tell Garrett and the Marinis had little money) and generally enjoyed a camaraderie in this relatively small log structure with the portly, coughing barkeep and cook named Berta. It truly was a haven, and not just for those lumbermen.

When Garrett and the Marinis finally ambled out of the bar, well after closing time, it had stopped raining and almost seemed to have warmed up enough to pitch the tents. It was almost like the Lumbermen Haven, for one night during a time of great division, had expanded its boundaries to include three young men who weren’t lumbermen and had extended its warmth and comfort beyond the log structure into the forest of the Pacific Northwoods around it.

##

Dear friends of the Vernon - Crawford Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club-


*** The Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club is moving from Gays Mills to Viroqua! ***

The club will now meet on the SECOND WEDNESDAY of every month, at Western Technical College and starting the program EARLIER, at 6:00 pm. Doors will open at 5:30 pm. We will no longer meet in Gays Mills. Since we don't have emails for everyone who attends please help spread the word by passing this information on. The next meeting will be held on

Wednesday, May 13th
6:00 PM
Western Technical College
220 South Main Street, Viroqua
“Turning Opportunity into Success” with Ivan Davis

Speaker Ivan Davis is back by popular demand. Davis is a serial inventor and has six businesses of his own. “Now is the best time to come out with new products and businesses,” according to Davis. He will talk about how to find and multiply new opportunities, identifying consumer trends toward quality products and his experience in how buying local and green really works. Ivan will have his usual array of new inventions and products to show and will share his perspective on how to work at marketing.

Join us for a dynamic evening of networking with lots of creative people. Everyone is welcome!

Hope to see you there!
Sue & Laura

Susan Noble
Executive Director, Vernon Economic Development Association
402 Courthouse Square, Banta Building Suite 207, Viroqua, WI 54665
608.637.5396
snoble@veda-wi.org
************************************************************
 
Laura Brown
Community Development Educator
Crawford County UW Cooperative Extension
225 N. Beaumont Road, Suite 240
Prairie du Chien, WI 53821
608-326-0224 Fax: 608-326-0226
laura.brown@ces.uwex.edu
www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/crawford

Hello VSN Members and Friends!
 
Mark your calendars for a special presentation on your local food and farm economy. Did you know that consumers in southwest Wisconsin spend $208 million buying food from outside the region every year? As local eaters, if we purchased 25% of our food directly from farmers, it would produce $33 million of new farm income every year – enough to offset current farm production losses! Revitalize Main Street, ensure adequate funding for our schools, keep small family farms viable...the possibilities are endless.
 
Everyone is invited to attend an upcoming presentation by renowned rural economist Ken Meter, CEO of Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis. Ken will discuss highlights from a new report regarding the Southwest Wisconsin's Local Farm and Food Economy compiled for Vernon, Crawford, Monroe and Richland Counties.


“An Update on the Southwest Wisconsin Local Farm and Food Economy”

Ken Meter, Economist and President of the Crossroads Resource Center

 

Thursday, May 21st from 6:30-8:30 pm
Vernon Memorial Hospital

(new medical office building)

Community Conference Rooms A & B

 

Ken is the creator of "Finding Food in Farm Country" studies. He examines food systems and creates reports using hard economic data to demonstrate the importance of developing local, sustainable food systems. His reports have been adopted in 38 regions in 18 states. These reports have transformed the discussion of farm and food economics, and launched a national discussion on local foods as economic development. Ken has made over 150 presentations nationally on local food systems. He has conducted state-wide analyses in Minnesota, Iowa, California and Hawaii to document economic losses suffered in America’s farm communities. He paints a picture of local food systems that can inspire people to take action to improve their own economies. Read more about Ken’s work at www.crcworks.org/econ.html

 
The Southwest Wisconsin Local Farm & Food Economy Report was funded by the Valley Stewardship Network’s Food and Farm Initiative in a cooperative effort with Vernon Economic Development Association and the Crawford County UW Extension office.

We hope to see you all there!! There is no charge to attend but donations are encouraged. Local beverages and snacks will be served.

Jessica Luhning
Projects Coordinator
Valley Stewardship Network
124 1/2 S. Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

(608) 637-3615
www.kickapoovsn.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

REMINDER: COMMUNITY FUND APPLICATIONS DUE BY MAY 1

The Crawford County Community Fund is accepting grant proposals for up
to $5000 for projects that help revitalize the economy of Crawford
County. Proposals must be received by May 1, 2009. The Crawford County
Community Fund supports economic development or infrastructure projects
which enhance the economic well-being of Crawford County residents,
including business growth and retention, product innovation, job
creation, tax-base improvement and personal development. Individuals
and private businesses are not eligible to receive funding.

Proposals will be evaluated based on: the project's benefit to the
county's economy on as wide a basis as possible including geographic
scope, financial need, and potential for success. Selected projects
will benefit residents of Crawford County regardless of race, creed,
color, sexual orientation or political views. Please find the
application attached or download it from the Crawford County Community
Fund website
http://www.cfsw.org/CrawfordCountyCF.asp or by contacting Sue Conley,
Executive Director, Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Inc.
800-995-2379. Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. May 1, 2009.

Members of the Crawford County Community Fund Board include Jim O'Meara
(President), Ron Leys, Nicole Fortney, Tom Martin, Alice and Gerry
Boehm, Eric Frydenlund, Bob Moses, Sherry Quamme, Pete and Nora Knapik ,
Nicole Fortney, Corrie Schmidt, and Carol Roth. Additional board
members are welcomed and are encouraged to contact existing board
members or Sue Conley of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin
800-995-2379 for more information.

The Crawford County Community Fund provides opportunities for
individuals and groups to contribute time and money toward the
betterment of Crawford County. The Community Foundation of Southern
Wisconsin, the fund's umbrella organization, is a tax-exempt, publicly
supported, nonprofit organization whose mission is to match personal
philanthropy with community need. Tax-deductible contributions may be
made payable to Crawford County Community Fund and sent to: PO Box 13,
Seneca, WI 54654-0013 or c/o CFSW, 26 S. Jackson Street, Janesville, WI
53548.

Please help spread the word by passing this on to others who may be
interested in applying.

Hello VSN Members & Friends,

PBS Frontline has created a television broadcast on the health of two of America's critical waterways. Tune in to this great production on Tuesday, April 21st (8-10pm CT). The broadcast is titled POISONED WATERS, a two-hour investigation and report card on two iconic American waterways, Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound. For more information and to view a trailer, please visit:

http://www.pbs.org/frontline/poisonedwaters/

Thanks!

Jessica Luhning
Projects Coordinator
Valley Stewardship Network
124 1/2 S. Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

(608) 637-3615

Hello everyone,

 

The focus of the April 21, 11:30-12:30 webinar is Local Food Networks: Food Localization as a Sustainability Strategy.

Learn about this rapidly growing sustainability strategy and how it's helping to reshape our food system and our communities.

 

As usual pre-registration isn’t necessary, however, if you believe you’ll be attending, would you send me a reply?

 

The workshop will be held as usual in the Conference Room next to the Extension Office – room 236.

 

Thank you,

 

 

Karen Snitker

Crawford County UW Extension

Program Assistant

225 N. Beaumont Rd.

Prairie du Chien, WI 53821

(608) 326-0223 Phone (608) 326-0226 Fax

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/crawford/index.html

Dear VSN Members & Friends,

Enjoy the sunshine and lend a helping hand at the Kickapoo Reserve this Saturday!

KVR is having their Spring Annual Clean-up on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 8AM – 11:30AM.

All volunteers are asked to pick up roadway litter (not just in the Reserve – anywhere in the area).

Stop at the Visitor Center for garbage bags, orange vests and a commemorative gift, while they last.

Advance sign-up is required.

Please call 608-625-2960 or email kickapoo.reserve@krm.state.wi.us

If you cannot make it on that day, we would be happy to supply you with bags and vests on a more convenient day. You can volunteer to clean up anytime between now and May 1st, when we open the trails for horses and bicycles. Just let us know you are coming.

Bonus Opportunity!

The Annual Midwest Crane Count is on the same day, Saturday April 18, 2009 from 5:30AM – 7:30AM.

Help the International Crane Foundation monitor the population of Sandhill Cranes as they return to their breeding grounds.

Again:

Advance sign-up is required.

Please call 608-625-2960 and ask for BEN JOHNSTON or email kickapoo.reserve@krm.state.wi.us

An organizational meeting regarding “how to count” will be at the Reserve on Tuesday evening, April 14th from 6PM – 8PM

 

Many thanks!

Just a reminder that this Saturday the 18th is our monthly meeting. We will meet at Organic Valley this month, around the back of the building. (If you are late they may be down at the hives, follow the walking trail down the hill and to the right) Anyone new who needs further directions, reply here or call 489-2162.

Our bees should be arriving later this month, so we will go over where to meet on pick up day, and how to install them when you get home. Hopefully everyone who ordered bees has their woodenware put together/painted, deep frames with foundation ready (10/hive), an entrance reducer, a feeder of some sort, pollen patties also recommended.

Reminder that dues are $40/family after your first meeting should you decide to join.

Bee seeing you!
Mandy