Country A Supplement to the Star Shopper
cres A Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Friday, November 16, 2018 • Edition 17 7
Raising the flag at Iwo Jima
PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM
Roger Tipka sits, cup of coffee in hand, Nov. 9 at Davis Motors in Litchfield, where it is his job to visit with customers five days a week. The 97-year-old WWII veteran was a radio operator on Iwo Jima during the famous battle in 1945.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
One of the most iconic photos from WWII was taken Feb. 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Roger Tipka of Litchfield took part in the historic battle. Later, the photo became the model for a national memorial in Arlington County, Va.
Tipka chronicles tour of military life By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer LITCHFIELD – Roger Tipka arrived at work at Davis Motors in Litchfield on a Friday morning, Nov. 9, like he always does. Walking down the hall, his feet shuffled, but he was fine, with a little help from the company’s owner, Chad Davis. Tipka’s chief function there is to visit with people, and often, those conversations turn to his time spent in the military. In a few days he would celebrate Veterans Day, something he has done now for nearly sevenand-a-half decades. At 97 years young, he is one of the remaining members of the WWII military. He says his knees are “shot,” but his mind is sharp and one must pay attention to keep up with him. His voice is quiet and he speaks quickly.
“This is America,” Tipka said. “If I don’t like the way Davis does things I can tell him.” Davis smiled, the camaraderie between the two obvious. “And you do, that’s for sure,” Davis said. “He’s a little spoiled.” Tipka bantered back. “That’s what they all say, I’m spoiled,” he said. “Don’t believe anything else anyone else tells you, it’s a lot of malarkey.” What is not malarkey is that Tipka was serving as a radio operator on Iwo Jima during the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest, lengthiest battles of WWII. The United States fought against Japan to capture the tiny strategic island about 650 miles southeast of Tokyo. Normally uninhabited and just under 10 square miles in size, the island was occupied by some 18,000 Japanese troops, heavily fortified and had three airstrips critical for
This month in the
U.S. firefighter planes. The battle raged from Feb. 19 through March 26, 1945. It was on Feb. 23, 1945, that a number of U.S. Marines were able to gain ground at the top of Mount Suribachi, and there they raised the American flag. A second, larger flag was then raised just a couple hours later, and captured on film by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. It was an image that will forever remain as a victorious moment for the military. Tipka has strong feelings about that photo and how it has been represented. But, that comes later. Tipka prefers his story to be told in the proper order. He has earned that privilege. Tipka’s parents, Fred and Marie (Zemke) Tipka, were from Cosmos. Tipka was born in 1921 and had five brothers and two sisters. He attended school through the eighth grade. Like many in
COUNTRY
PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM
Roger Tipka shows a pewter mold of the island of Iwo Jima, where one of the bloodiest battles of WWII took place Feb. 19 through March 26, 1945.
his day, he needed to get a job to help support the family. He was about to meet some men who would change his path in life. “[There were] two fellows who owned an independent shop in Litchfield,” Tipka said. “Every day I learned something about cars. I put the tools back on the shelves. They gave me a few cents for that. They were nice to me, like old Davis here.
They said to me, you’re not going to quit school, you’re going to graduate from high school. I thought they were nuts.” Back in school, Tipka wondered what class he should take, and his decision would become a part of his military history. He took typing, something very un-
TIPKA continued on page 2
4
Veterans, views and variety Diane Leukam column
6
Gourmet pork Watkins
12 Five hundred acres of care Sauk Centre
5
Antifreeze (ethylene glycol) poisoning Wendy Womack column
8
Coming up north to hunt pays off Grey Eagle
14 Back to the world Greenwald 16 Country Cooking
Page 2 • Country Acres - Friday, November 16, 2018
Country Acres Published by Star Publications Copyright 2014 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6577 Fax: 320-352-5647 NEWS STAFF Diane Leukam, Editor diane@saukherald.com Herman Lensing, Writer herman@melrosebeacon.com Liz Vos, Writer liz@albanyenterprise.com Laura Hintzen, Writer laura.h@saukherald.com Katelyn Asfeld, Writer kate@saukherald.com Carol Moorman, Writer carol@melrosebeacon.com
Story ideas send to: diane@saukherald.com SALES STAFF Jeff Weyer, 320-260-8505 jeff.w@dairystar.com Kayla Hunstiger, 320-247-2728 kayla@saukherald.com Missy Traeger, 320-291-9899 missy@saukherald.com Tim Vos, 320-845-2700 tim@albanyenterprise.com Mike Schafer, 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Brian Trattles, 320-352-6577 brian.t@saukherald.com
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TIPKA continued from front usual for his time, and finished high school. Later, like three of his brothers, he joined the United States Army. After basic training at Camp Roberts in California, it was on to what he thought was paradise. “Right after basic training, they shipped us right over to the Hawaiian Islands and you could not ask for any better duty than that,” Tipka said. “It’s the nicest place in the world. As a young man I thought, ‘we’re kings over here!’” He arrived in Hawaii in December of 1942, one year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He would spend two years there. “When I got over there they didn’t have anything for us to do,” Tipka said. “We didn’t have any guns, we were in that bad of shape. We didn’t have any money to make them. They weren’t available in 1942.” It was at this point in Tipka’s story that he posed his own question: How was the U.S. able to turn the war around and begin to win? “It was all the young ladies of the United States that went in on the assembly line,” he said. “If they wouldn’t have went on the assembly line we wouldn’t have won the war. They put them big airplanes, tanks together, everything we had. They delivered them, too. One gal, she flew one of them B29s over to France. Also to the islands in the Pacific. Without the young women in the United States, we would not have won.”
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Young men take part in physical exercise during basic training at Camp Roberts, Calif., in 1942. They were some of 16 million Americans that served in WWII, where more than 400,000 were killed and 670,000 wounded.
Hawaii was nice, but it was a war zone. One day he was told by a sergeant, “You’re a radio operator.” “I didn’t want that job; I wanted to go on those [military] vehicles,” Tipka said. “He told me, ‘you get ready. Tomorrow morning we’re flying you over to the island of Kawaii, to the Air Force Base’ and that’s we did.” As part of a small group of men who learned the top-secret codes used to communicate, Tipka had to learn a lot, and he had to learn it quickly. “The sergeant took me in the back room and said, ‘Here is what
you’ve gotta learn and you gotta learn it tonight,’” Tipka said. “I thought he was crazy. You don’t take down any notes – everything is upstairs. If that officer comes in in the morning and I am going on my shift and he gives me my orders, it’s all oral, from his brain to mine.” Using the typing skills he learned back in school in Litchfield, Tipka found himself typing messages, all in code, to various outposts and for all levels of the military brass. There are many of those messages he would like to forget. A diverse group of people made up his unit.
Pat Turner Amanda Thooft Nancy Powell Brian Dingmann Maddy Peterson Jennifer Coyne, Proofreader Andrea Borgerding, Proofreader
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Soldiers run from gas chambers during basic training at Camp Roberts, Calif., in 1942 before departing to Hawaii and then on to the WWII theater of Iwo Jima.
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“We had all brands, even Indians,” Tipka said. “We had one Indian who took care of our code. He could break any code – they couldn’t break his code, though. I think it was Dakota. No one else knew that language. He was a radio man with me.” Throughout the Battle of Iwo Jima, Tipka and his unit were in the middle of the fight. “The Marines were with us on the island,” he said. “We worked side by side. If they were on the front lines we were on the front lines with them.” It was only several days into the battle that the famous flag-raising on Mount Suribachi occurred. “The Japanese told the Marines, ‘nobody takes this island,’” Tipka said. “[The Marines] put a truck up on that mountain. I believe it was a GMC, a ton-and-ahalf. I thought there was no way they were going to put a truck up there. They went out and that was our flag-raising day you hear so much about. They put Old Glory right up on a piece of lead pipe up there.” The men raising the flag on Iwo Jima were all Americans, from different parts of the country. To Tipka, the story behind the event has been somewhat misrepresented, since the battle was not nearly over at that point. He feels the event should not have been glorified in that manner, since so
TIPKA continued on page 3
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Friday, November 16, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 3 TIPKA continued from page 2
to the camp, the bunks many men died there. The battle finally end- were empty.” Tipka could tell many ed 31 days later in victory for the United States. They more stories of his time in gained the island, but the the war, like how the Navy number of lives lost was used advanced technology for purifying enormous. Acocean water for cording to an Around the military to article on Bridrink on Iwo tannica.com, “Battle of Iwo 16 million Jima, or that it got to be 130 Jima” by Donand ald Sommer- Americans degrees they could make ville, the casuserved coffee anyalties were as where on the isfollows: U.S.: in WWII, land. Whatever 6,800 dead, his story of the 19,200 woundwhere day is, he has ed; Japan: perfect job. 18,000 dead, more than the Five mornings 216 captured. a week, he talks “That is400,000 to people at Daland, it wasn’t vis Motors. very big,” Tipwere For Roger ka said. “There Tipka, “Head were body parts laying aying all over killed and of Customer just ust covering Relations” is 670,000 the ground. he a fitting title. Marines. [We And at 97, he is lost] ost] over 6,000 wounded. thriving in his A 75MM gun is pictured in full recoi recoil at Camp Roberts, Calif., in 1942. off our boys.” place of work. It took its toll on Tip- A cup of coffee in hand, his ka. a. He still thinks of it ev- morning cookie lying close ery ry day. by, he is always happy to “We had some pret- tell yet another story. And, ty y good friends there,” he he has all the ammunition said. aid. “When you got back he needs.
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ccasionally, a column strikes a chord with someone. That was the case with my “‘Twas the Night Before the Hunt” column in the Oct. 19 Country Acres. In that column I talked about trophy bucks, wishing people good luck on the upcoming hunting season. I heard back immediately from a hunter with just the opposite idea. “Buck, buck, buck, it’s all about the buck,” he said. He presented an interesting theory about a herd management system whereby the big bucks, if left alone to dominate, would improve the genetics of the overall herd. Actually, I do plan to explore the idea in an upcoming issue. It is always fun to hear new thoughts on an old topic. You learn what others are thinking, which can then either change your mind or strengthen views you already had. Or, neither. We touch on a wide variety of topics in this paper and any number of them can present things that are new, or even controversial, to some. That’s OK. There are very few things, if any, that not everyone can agree on 100 percent. Often, I think of a mother cooking for her family. Mother might be a fantastic cook, but rarely would everyone in the room have the exact same opinion about the menu. That being said, we are not here to promote one viewpoint over another, except that we are partial to the country and its people. So, we can be talking about hunting, buffers, land management, types of agriculture, GMOs
(genetically modified organisms), organic, non-organic, big or small or what’s for dinner. We just love to introduce you to as many of our unique people as we can. On a more serious note, with Veterans Day just last Sunday, we wanted to treat you to a couple of related stories in this issue. Roger Tipka from Litchfield tells about his experiences during WWII that included being a part of the fierce Battle of Iwo Jima and the famous raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. The 97-yearold is employed part-time – to talk to customers at Davis Motors. He wasn’t shy about speaking with me, either. I also had the privilege of visiting with Mike Barten, a Vietnam veteran and semi-retired dairy farmer from Greenwald. I do not remember an interview that has been more thought-provoking for me than this one. A medic during the war, Barten’s memories and perspective will tug at your heart. In Kimball, Steve Mauch raises a small herd of Berkshire pigs which he crosses with Mangalitsas. Mangalitsas are pigs that look like sheep. Could you say they
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Antifreeze (ethylene glycol) poisoning
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s cooler weather rolls around, the risk of antifreeze poisoning for cats and dogs increases. The toxin in antifreeze is ethylene glycol and traditional antifreeze (radiator coolant) is about 95 percent ethylene glycol. It tastes sweet, so animals, and also children, find it pleasant to drink. What you may not know is that ethylene glycol is also found in windshield de-icing fluid, motor oil, hydraulic brake fluid, paint, solvents, wood stains and decorative snow globes. In our neck of the woods, people often put antifreeze in toilets when winterizing cabins. Upon entering a cabin, the family dog often races in and heads right for the toilet for a drink, which may be deadly. Ethylene glycol works incredibly fast, and treatment must begin within hours of exposure to prevent irreversible damage and death. It only takes a small amount of this toxin to be deadly – fractions of a teaspoon for an average cat or a few tablespoons for a dog, depending on their size. There are three stages of symptoms for ethylene glycol poisoning. The first stage starts within 30 minutes to 12 hours after exposure and is dominated by neurologic symptoms. It looks like alcohol intoxication – depression, stumbling gait, drooling and seizures with increased drinking and urination. If you were to check your pet’s temperature, it would be low – below 100 degrees. The second stage is the cardiac stage and occurs 12 to 24 hours after exposure. Your pet will seem to be improving because the above symptoms will be resolving but, on the inside, they are getting sicker. If you were to check their heart rate and breathing they would both be very rapid. The third stage is acute kidney failure and it begins 12 to 24 hours after exposure
By WENDY WOMACK for cats and 36 to 72 hours after exposure for dogs. At this point, chances of survival are slim. Pets will be severely depressed and not eating. They may have horrible smelling breath, vomiting, diarrhea and seizures. The most important information that will lead to quick, effective treatment is knowledge of possible exposure. There are specific ethylene glycol “bedside” tests that can be run, but some clinics do not have them, and they are only accurate in a small window of time after exposure because the body absorbs and breaks down ethylene glycol so quickly. More advanced diagnostic labs have better tests but the turnaround time from submitting a sample to getting a result can be too long to be used for decisions regarding treatment. Other tests your vet can use to determine if ethylene glycol may be the cause of your pet’s illness are blood tests for kidney function and acidity and a urinalysis to check for characteristic crystals that will form often within three hours (cats) to six hours (dogs) of exposure. If you see your pet consume antifreeze, induce vomiting and take them to your veterinarian immediately. Treatment for antifreeze poisoning must begin quickly – within hours after exposure to be effective.
There are two treatments. One is a drug called fomepizole (Antizol) which slows the breakdown of the ethylene glycol into the toxic metabolites which cause the damage; and the other is ethanol (that’s right, regular grain alcohol). Both are given intravenously. The veterinarian may perform additional decontamination measures such as washing out the stomach contents or administering activated charcoal orally to slow absorption of the toxin. Intravenous fluids will start and medications to combat changes in the blood and kidneys may be started. Your pet will most likely be in the hospital for several days. The best way to avoid this nightmare is to prevent exposure to this toxin. There are low toxin versions of antifreeze that have propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol and are formulated to have a bad taste. This chemical is less toxic but not harmless. Keep all products with ethylene glycol tightly sealed and stored out of the reach of pets and children. Clean up all spills and leaks from your vehicle immediately and dispose of cat litter or rags used for cleanup where they cannot be accessed. Repair any vehicle leaks promptly. Be wary of letting pets drink from puddles that may have run off from parking areas and consider washing your dog’s feet after a walk. Never allow pets access to an area where radiators are being drained. Cats often become poisoned after walking through a spill and then licking their feet. If you suspect a possible poisoning in your pet, call your veterinarian or local veterinary emergency clinic. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is also available 24/7 for phone consultation at 1-888-4264435. There is a fee for this service but it could save a life.
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A senior at Paynesville Area FFA Chapter. Tell us about some of the things you’ve done this year in FFA. As secretary of our chapter, I’m in charge of taking minutes. In September, our chapter did an Adopt-A-Highway cleanup. We did our corn drive in October, which is one of our biggest fundraisers and we recently started on our fruit sales fundraiser. For the first time, I attended FFA National Convention in October with nine other members from our chapter. I’m also on the floriculture career development event (CDE) team. Our team placed first at regions and I placed fourth individually. We will be going on to state convention this spring. I will also be competing in job interview leadership development in February and I’m involved in the state FFA choir. I am working on getting my state degree and I have a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) in diversified horticulture which I started last year. For my SAE, I’m putting together raised flower beds at the high school. I’ve been to State Leadership Conference for Chapter Leaders, which is a camp for chapter officers in Hackensack. We met for three days and went through training on how we can become better leaders. I was also able to attend a Washington Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. for a week. We went through sessions and packed over 55,000 packages of mac and cheese for people in the area. Name one current issue you believe will impact agriculture in the future. Getting young adults interested in agriculture. As the farming generation gets older, we need younger generations to become involved. I noticed how many jobs are out there, and agriculture is a really great area to get into. People need to take an active interest in our agriculture industry. How would you encourage an inactive FFA member to become more involved? I would invite them to FFA meetings and events, explaining to them what we do and how the leadership skills you gain in FFA will impact their life. I would explain to them that FFA is a good way to meet new people and make friends. What is the greatest benefit you have received from being involved in FFA? I’ve learned more about myself, as well as agriculture. I became a better public speaker and gained a better understanding of what it takes to be involved in agriculture. After learning about the industry, I want to be involved in it after high school. I plan to attend South Dakota State University for agribusiness and marketing. What do you enjoy most about FFA? I’m a really social person, so any new event I’m at, I try to start conversations. This organization is different than others because it gives you the opportunity to meet people from across the country that you wouldn’t otherwise have known.
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Friday, November 16, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 7 MAUCH continued from page 6 itsas and Berkshires grow slower than meatier breeds and tend to do better when they have a large space and access to pastures for grazing. “The two breeds perform well outdoors,” Mauch said. “They are foragers, constantly digging with their snouts in the ground for roots and other things to eat.” The breeds are making a comeback in high-end restaurants and grocery stores as more consumers are rediscovering the pigs’ flavor qualities and changing their perceptions on lard. The Berkshire, in particular, is very popular in Japan and European countries
and marketed at a premium price throughout the world. A boneless pork chop can cost $16-20. For a Berkshire or Mangalitsa ham, a consumer can expect to pay over $100. Mangalitsa meat costs slightly more than Berkshire – 12 ounces of Mangalitsa bacon can go for $26. Despite these high prices, the demand for the meat continues to grow. Mauch sells the pork at farmers’ markets in Minnetonka, Richfield and Chaska where disposable income is higher and the crowd is willing to pay the price for high-quality pork.
f
f
“The people at the otics, growth hormones or markets count on us to be vaccines are given to the there,” Mauch said. “We have returning customers who come back to buy week after week during the season. We also give out samples; when we start frying bacon, everyone comes over to our booth.” (above) A Berkshire-Mangalitsa Mauch is working on cross pork shoulder. creating an online store for The two pig breeds have dark his regulars at the markets red and heavily-marbled meat. Mangalitsa is considered the who want to purchase pork Kobe beef of pork. in the off season. On his brother-inlaw’s fourth-generation farm, Mauch keeps 19 Berkshire sows, a purebred Mangalitsa boar and two Berkshire-Mangalitsa cross boars for breeding stock. The pigs breed naturally and the sows rotationally give birth to keep a consistent stream of product available. “No antibi-
pigs,” Mauch said. “Male piglets are castrated to prevent the testosterone from tainting the meat.” The pigs are fed a mixture of distiller grains and corn, in addition to what they forage in the pasture. Pigs are processed at an average of 300 pounds live weight (typically at 9-10 months old) at French Lake Butcher Shop, a state-inspected facility where cuts are packaged and labeled, ready for the consumer. Beef cattle, chickens, ducks and Friesian horses
are also raised on the farm. As winter rolls around, piglets, along with their mothers, will burrow into the corn stalk bedding to sleep and stay warm, while Mauch begins planning for future growth. His goal is to build a hoop barn and repair the current barn the pigs are housed in. “I want to spruce up the place and bring customers out to visit the farm,” he said. “I think it’s important for people to visit the farm they’re getting their meat from, so they know that it’s the real deal.”
A litter of newborn Berkshire-Mangalitsa cross piglets displays stripes and spots. As they get older, the markings will fade.
PHOTOS BY KATELYN ASFELD
A Mangalitsa boar, owned by Steve Mauch of Watkins, is left in the pasture with Berkshire sows to naturally breed. The Mangalitsa breed originated in Hungary and is a stout, wooly, fat-type hog.
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GREY EAGLE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A lot of people go â&#x20AC;&#x153;Up Northâ&#x20AC;? to hunt. Texas resident and Greenwald native Troy Lensing took that phrase to a whole new level when he came to deer camp, hosted by Bill and Julie Berscheit (Lensingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aunt), who reside west of Grey Eagle. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have family in the area,â&#x20AC;? Lensing said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I also had plenty of vacation time to burn. So, this is a good way to see the family, take vacation and do some deer hunting.â&#x20AC;? Lensing, the son of Ray and Tammy Lensing, was born when the family lived in Greenwald. He attended St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s - St. Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic School, Melrose Middle School, and he was a member of the Dutchmen wrestling team before the family moved away from the area. Lensing graduated in 2008 from Swanville High School and about a year later, the family moved to Texas. Lensing has always liked the outdoors; when he graduated from high school, he received a lifetime ďŹ shing license. He makes use of it whenever he comes back to Minnesota. While in Texas, Lensing has hunted deer, boar and other game. Still, the call of going â&#x20AC;&#x153;up Northâ&#x20AC;? and hunting in Minnesota never really left him. When he heard the Berscheits were operating a deer camp
PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING
Troy Lensing returned to Minnesota from Texas for deer hunting and brought down a nice-sized doe Nov. 6 near Grey Eagle. Lensingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doe was the first deer taken by a member of his deer party.
during hunting season, he knew that was where he wanted to go. The trip to the deer camp started last year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is my second year,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought of coming here three years ago, but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the time.â&#x20AC;? For a while, Lensing debated this year if the 18hour trip and the hunting expense would be worth it. As an out-of-state resident,
he pays more for the privilege of hunting in Minnesota. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The resident hunting license is $35 and mine is about $185,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The non-resident bonus tags are $92.â&#x20AC;? Fees, however, do not guarantee bagging, or even seeing a deer. While seeing and visiting with
LENSING continued on page 9
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Friday, November 16, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 9 LENSING continued from page 8 the 15-member family and friends who make up the deer camp was fun, Lensing came to Minnesota to hunt for deer. He likes venison, and he likes the Minnesota deer. “They are bigger here,” he said. “Even a small deer around here is probably bigger than some big deer in Texas.” He recalled how he
once finished as runner-up in a local “largest doe contest” in Texas. In that contest, his dressed-out doe weighed 80 pounds. The winner was about 89 pounds. Lensing arrived in Minnesota Nov. 2 when firearms season began and planned to stay for the entirety of it. He stayed with family and was very deter-
mined to get in as much hunting as he could with the hopes of shooting a deer. “I was out the first weekend, but didn’t see any deer,” he said. “Yesterday, (Nov. 5) I saw one but never got off a shot. Today, (Nov. 6) I got to my stand a little later than normal.” Actually, Lensing never reached his stand; he
spotted a doe on his way there. “It was coming down the path and I was coming from the other way,” he said. “I was able to get a shot off.” The deer dropped fairly quickly and there was no need to pursue it. While not a trophy buck, Lensing was not about to complain about the size of the deer.
“It’s not big, but it isn’t little either,” he said. “It is a good-size deer.” Lensing is hoping it is not the only deer he gets this year. That is one of the things he likes about hunting with a party at the deer camp. “I’m staying here until the end of the rifle season,” he said. “I’m going to try to get more for the freezer. At
the deer camp, we all split up the meat. The more we get, the bigger the split.” For Lensing, bagging the deer capped off a good vacation for him. “It was a good time to come up,” he said. “I was able to visit with family members, hunt and get a nice deer out of the trip.”
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Page 12 • Country Acres - Friday, November 16, 2018
Five hundred acres of care Camphill Village fosters spiritual, cultural, agricultural renewal By BEN SONNEK Staff Writer
SAUK CENTRE – Care centers may tend to resemble hospitals or nursing homes, but if it weren’t for the signposts, Camphill Village Minnesota would look like a normal collection of farms. St. Martin’s Hall, the main gathering building, resembles a barn from the outside, but inside the walls are covered with artwork – all of it made by residents – and there is a distinct smell of pizza sauce. Stephen Briggs, a farmer at Camphill Village, had an explanation for the smell: It was pizza day for lunch. “Three days a week we have community meals,” Briggs said. “There’s a crew made up of people from all the different houses, and they use many of the ingredients from the farm as possible, and they make the meal and we all eat together.” Camphill Village Minnesota is located 10 miles north of Sauk Centre, and is committed to sustain-
ing a community where people with and without disabilities can foster social, spiritual, cultural and agricultural renewal. The 500-acre grounds include fields, pastures, gardens, barns, houses and other buildings where the residents live, work and care for each other. Briggs grew up in Camphill village. His family moved there in 1994 when he was 9, and after graduating from Long Prairie High School and getting a degree in sustainable agriculture in North Carolina, Briggs came back to Camphill to be a farm manager. Briggs lives at the Prairie Wind house with other Camphill residents including Mike Jennissen, who has lived at the village for 23 years and helps out with the farming. Jennissen grew up on a dairy of about 60 cows, and the experience helps with his current farm jobs. “Today we were stacking wood and bedding steers and heifers, so if they get in the barn it’s nice and warm,” Jennissen said. “The farm was pretty well; I like dairy cows so much.
It’s nice to work at a farm.” There is plenty to do on the Camphill farm for all residents and staff. “Usually we have crews made up of 5-10 people,” Briggs said. “They’re usually a mix of staff and those with special needs, and we all meet in the shop every morning and go through the list of things that need to get done. Every day is a little different.” There is plenty to take care of around the farm. PHOTO SUBMITTED For livestock, Camphill (From left) Christine Kowalenko and Debbie Wright work on Camphill Village’s herb crew. Camphill staff Village raises beef cows, and residents raise all kinds of livestock, fruits, vegetables and herbs. dairy cows, pigs and chickens. The beef cattle are grass-fed and the pork is non-GMO fed. During the growing seasons, the fields and gardens produce hay for the cattle, tomatoes, onions, peppers, potatoes, sweet corn, garlic, cucumbers, broccoli, green beans, peas and other fruits and vegetables. The greenhouses and herb shop also maintain produce, including herbs for teas. All of it is grown using organic and biodynamic farming methods.
CAMPHILL VILLAGE continued on page 13
PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK
Camphill residents (from left) Stuart Lantz and Lee Dowhower repair a fence on Camphill Village Nov. 9
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Friday, November 16, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 13 CAMPHILL VILLAGE continued from page 12
In the Adding Value ones that most people do Harvest Kitchen, a certified in the area, but then there’s processing kitchen, pro- also Candlemas, Whitsun, duce, sauerkraut, salsa and Advent, St. John’s Day and other foods are preserved. Michaelmas, so celebrating This year, potatoes did the festivals together is another big part of Camphill. especially well. “We had a big batch of Oftentimes there’s plays potatoes we planted back at that we do surrounding the our house,” Jennissen said. festivals, which is done by “When Stephen put com- one of the cultural arts and post on them, the potatoes movement group people.” Family and other visgrew like crazy, and the sweet corn was growing itors come frequently to Camphill during like crazy, too.” the holidays, Jennissen is By keeping open houses and glad about that its residents other special because one of active and events. his favorite foods participating “My mom, is sweet corn. brothers Along with in a healthy dad, and sister come those who stay farming here all the and work at lifestyle and time,” Jennissen Camphill, there supportive said. “Rick (my are plenty of staff who com- community, it brother) comes mute in every provides some here and helps out on open day day, as well as of the best with popcorn residents who care anyone and stuff.” hold jobs nearArtistic purby. Jennissen, could imagine. suits for Camfor instance, also works in Sauk Centre at the phill residents include town’s library, the grocery weaving, painting, drawstore and a nursing home. ing, woodworking and He participates in Special creating paper products Olympics in events such such as handmade cards. as bowling, swimming and Much of the artwork in St. Martin’s Hall and around track. It is not all work at the village is made by Camphill Village, though. residents under the direcThere are plenty of occa- tion of Ann Luloff. Cards, handmade rugs and scarves sions to celebrate. “We also celebrate a and other items are sold at lot of festivals throughout open house events and lothe year,” Briggs said. “We cal craft fairs. Camphill Minnesocelebrate Easter , Christmas and Halloween, the main ta is part of the Camphill
Movement founded by Dr. Karl Koenig in Scotland in 1939, just before World War II. His inspiration came from the work and teachings of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian scientist, philosopher and educator who inspired Waldorf education. This worldview upholds the spiritual integrity of all people and emphasizes responsibility for the earth and all life. There are over 100 Camphill communities in 22 countries worldwide, and Camphill Village Minnesota is one out of 12 that are in North America. The international presence can be felt in the diversity of Camphill Minnesota’s volunteers. A lot of guests come from other states and countries as volunteers and stay for a service year. “Another aspect is the multicultural aspect,” Briggs said. “Right now, there’s someone from Argentina, a few people from Germany, two coworkers from Brazil, one person from Jamaica and one from Uganda. There’s a Hungarian, a Korean, and a Russian and others from all over the U.S., too. That adds an element of diversity that’s really nice.” Age is also an aspect of Camphill’s diversity. Briggs has a son who is about 5 weeks old, and there are a few people over 90 years old living at Camphill as well.
Overall, Camphill Village Minnesota is not a cold, hospital-style care center. By keeping its residents active and participating in a healthy farming lifestyle and supportive community, it provides some of the best care anyone could imagine. PHOTOS BY BEN SONNEK
Ann Luloff (left) shows visitors bird-books during Camphill’s Fall Festival Sept. 9. These books and other art pieces were made by residents in art classes under Luloff ’s direction. (below) Button mosaics in St. Martin’s Hall during Camphill’s Fall Festival Sept. 9 show Camphill Village during the four seasons. Other kinds of art made by Camphill residents include painting, drawing, weaving and woodworking.
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Friday, November 16, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 15 BARTEN continued from page 14 for me; Hold me like you’ll never let me go… Johnny Moore was a minister’s son from Tennessee. He had a fiancée back home. Johnny kept pretty much to himself. He smoked cigarettes but he never drank. “We were allocated a can of beer a day; we had to pay 10 cents for that can of beer, so I’d always give him my 10 cents and he would get the beer,” Barten said. “He’d give me his can of beer and I’d give him my cigarettes all the time. When he got that Dear John letter
he didn’t bring that beer over to me that day. He was sitting by a tree and I walked over there and he showed the letter he had gotten from his fiancée and that just broke him up.” After that, Johnny wanted to “walk point” because that was the most dangerous position. About two months later, he was killed in action. Back to the world On Feb. 2, 1971, Barten boarded a plane; his time on the ground in Vietnam had
BARTEN continued on page 17
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Kalis when the explosion happened and he kept saying ‘roll me over, roll me over,’” Barten said. “And I can still hear him say that. And when I rolled him over I did not recognize him. I said to one of the other guys in the platoon, ‘Where is Doc Kalis’ and one of the guys came up to me and grabbed me and said, ‘you’re working on him.’ He literally died in my arms that day.” Dear Johnny When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring; So kiss me and smile for me; Tell me that you’ll wait
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Many of the Cambodia casualties were people Barten knew, including six medics. One of them, from the Twin Cities, was unable to handle the pressure, and had a breakdown in the midst of the chaos. “I don’t know how many people were medevaced out,” Barten said. “Everybody was hollering for a medic – ‘need somebody here,’ ‘need somebody there.’ He just broke down and when the helicopter was going to go up, he ran for it and grabbed the rung on the bottom. He was hanging on it as the helicopter was lifting up. I hollered at the radio man, ‘get that bird down, they are going to shoot him off.’” The helicopter came down and people tried unsuccessfully to pull him off. Soon they had to let him go because more lives were being endangered. The soldier was court martialed and sent back to the U.S., something that bothers Barten to this day. Though not killed, Barten considers him another war casualty. “He had a breakdown,” Barten said. “Not everyone can handle the same amount of pressure.” Another day from hell The day after the platoon returned to base from Cambodia, June 6, 1970, the soldiers opened 45 days’ worth of mail. One letter Barten received was from Bob Marthaler of West Union. The two were the same age and had gone through Advanced Infantry Training (AIT) together in Texas. Bob was writing to express how bad he felt that he was working in a hospital and that Barten was in the jungle. “I opened that letter from Bob, and right after that, I opened a letter from Mom and Dad and they had been to his funeral,” Barten said. “He had gotten killed on a mine the 20th or 21st of May.” That same day, June 6, Barten and another medic were waiting for a helicopter to pick up the body of a soldier who had died the day before in a particularly gruesome incident. The two struck up a conversation. Gerry (Doc) Kalis was from Elmdale. Barten was scheduled to get out Feb. 2, 1971, and Kalis was going to get out March 2, 1971. The two had been to the New Munich ballroom many times before they went in the service and had not known each other. They talked about what they would do on St. Patrick’s Day 1971. “We were going to meet at the New Munich ballroom and we were going to celebrate that we were home,” Barten said. “Less than a half hour later, he got killed.” Three Americans had come through an opening in the jungle. One of them accidentally dropped his backpack, detonating a Claymore mine, leaving a hole three feet in diameter and two feet deep when it blew up. Three soldiers and Kalis were killed in the explosion. “I went up to Doc
Page 16 • Country Acres - Friday, November 16, 2018
Bouja
COUNTRY COOKING The following are selections from the 1977 Butter ‘n Love Recipes cookbook from the residents, staff, family and friends of the Hilltop Nursing Home in Watkins. To protect privacy, the names of those submitting the recipes have been withheld.
Favorite Quick Supper Measure 3 cups flour into large bowl; answer phone, take a large bowl off small son’s head, sweep up flour. Measure 3 cups flour into large bowl, measure ¼ cup shortening, answer doorbell, wash shortening from son’s hands and face. Add ¼ cup shortening to flour; mix well. Rock crying baby for 10 minutes. Answer phone. Put son in tub and scrub well. Scrape flour and shortening from floor, adding enough tears to relieve tension. Open 1 can beans and serve with remaining strength.
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7 pounds potatoes • ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. salt 1 ½ pounds onions • 1 tsp. pepper 2 pounds carrots • 1 heaping Tbsp. pickling spice, tied 2 pounds cabbage in a cloth 1 small bunch celery • 1 ½ pounds beef 38 ounces green beans • 1 ½ pounds pork 46 ounces tomatoes • 1 three-pound chicken ½ pound barley Mix all ingredients together and simmer until done.
Chili for Two • • • • •
1 pound ground beef • 1 can kidney beans 1 large onion • Chili powder 1 cup celery • Salt 1 can tomato soup • Pepper 1 can whole tomatoes Brown ground beef and onion. Cook celery in salted water; drain. Add celery, soup, tomatoes and kidney beans to hamburger and onion. Add chili powder, salt and pepper to taste.
Shrimp Creole • • • • • • •
3 Tbsp. cornstarch • 1/8 tsp. garlic powder OR 1 clove ¼ cup onion, chopped garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. instant chopped onion • 1/8 tsp. pepper ½ cup green pepper, chopped • ½ tsp. leaf basil ½ tsp. salt • 3 ½ cups tomatoes, undrained ½ tsp paprika • 3 cups frozen, uncooked shrimp ½ tsp. chili powder Mix all ingredients together in a 2-quart casserole. Microwave: Cook covered, for 12-14 minutes. Stir occasionally during last half of cooking time. You may add ½ cup water if needed. Conventional oven: Bake, covered, for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally. You may add ½ cup water if needed. Serve over rice.
BERGMAN Automatic
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Friday, November 16, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 17 BARTEN continued from page 15 come to an end. “I’ll never forget that day,” he said. “That was the freedom bird. American Airlines picked us up and brought us out of Vietnam, out of Saigon. And you felt so sorry. There again, we were going out, and they brought a planeload of guys coming in. When that bird left Saigon and we were going home, you could have heard a pin drop until we got up high enough so that the seatbelt light came off. We almost blew the windows out of the plane then.” For Vietnam veterans like Barten, their time on the ground came to an end and they made their way home, but the war was not over. In a time of political unrest and war protests, the young men were warned their reception would not be a welcome home. “We were told when we left California to come home, ‘get rid of your military clothes and change into civilian clothes as quick as possible because the protestors are going to be there,’” Barten said. “They were when we got there.” Barten’s parents, Ray and Mary Ann Barten, brought a change of clothing along and Barten went straight to the bathroom to change clothes. They brought their oldest child, their 20-year-old son home Feb. 3, 1971. Barten went back to his job at Kraft in Melrose, and worked numerous others in the next few years. He met his future wife, Ann
Poepping of New Munich, in the fall of 1971 and the two were married in September 1972. They raised four children while farming, eventually ending up on the family farm near Greenwald. Like so many others, Barten relied on alcohol to dull the memories and numb the pain. After 11 years of heavy drinking, he was able to stop with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. It was through his connections there that he finally found the additional help he needed – something he had thus far refused to do, even though he had been asked to talk about his experiences. “Sometimes people would ask but you just dodged the bullet or just tell them minimal amounts, just enough to get people off your back,” Barten said. “And then in ‘82, when I quit drinking, I still never told anybody.” After several tries, a friend convinced him to go to the VA in St. Cloud and talk to a psychiatrist. “Once I got hooked up with the psychiatrist at the VA, a lot of that had worked itself out,” Barten said. “My psychiatrist said I’ve gotta get it out and it makes me feel better every time I can talk about it.” Barten believes that it was not the war experience that affected his family as much as the alcohol. And he knows there are many others who need help dealing with their own demons. He is willing to help in any way he
can, even if it is just to talk. Having had a mentor to help him out, he is happy to pay it forward. “The coffee pot is always on,” he said. He knows the suffering that can be alleviated by acts of kindness. The pistol he keeps is perhaps more a representation of such an act to him than the gun of an enemy. After leaving Vietnam and arriving in California, he had the pistol registered. He was told that once the flight back to Minnesota was well in the air, he should ask the stewardess what she would like him to do with it.
BARTEN continued on page 18
An American Airlines plane loaded with men and their bags in Vietnam prepares for a flight to California in 1971.
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Mike Barten stands in the field in 1970 during the Vietnam War. Barten was a medic.
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Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between 27 October 2018, to 31 January 2019. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial, for consumer or commercial use only. No down payment required. $16.67 per month for every $1,000 financed. Fixed rate of 0.0% APR for 60 months only. $500 off implement bonus is in addition to low-rate financing and requires the purchase of two or more qualifying John Deere or Frontier implements. In addition to implement bonus and low-rate financing, get $1,100 off 1025R Tractors, $1,800 off 3E Series Tractors, and $1,000 off 2038R Series Tractors. Prices and models may vary by dealer. Some restrictions apply; other special rates and terms may be available, so see your dealer for details and other financing options. Available at participating U.S. dealers. *All compact utility tractors purchased new from an authorized John Deere dealer come standard with a 6-year/2,000-hour (whichever comes first) powertrain warranty. See the LIMITED WARRANTY FOR NEW JOHN DEERE TURF AND UTILITY EQUIPMENT at dealer for details.
2
CA Nov16-1B-TV
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CA-Nov 16-MT-1B
Page 18 • Country Acres - Friday, November 16, 2018
DRIVE INTO SAVINGS!
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on remaining 2018 models CA_Nov16_1B_JW
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BARTEN continued from page 17
“I can still see her eyes getting about this big when she came up behind me and I had that pistol laying on my lap,” Barten said. “She went up to the front and talked to the pilot and came back and said ‘he wants me to take it and give it to him up on the cockpit, and when you get to Minneapolis you be the last one to get off.’ I was the last one to get off, and he handed it to me and he thanked me for my service.” Tears filled his eyes, thinking of the appreciation. They also filled his eyes as he spoke of what he sees as a lack of respect. “What really hurts is when you see sports people kneeling for the national anthem,” he said. “Especially if you saw somebody or knew somebody that got injured or killed over there, it makes it that much worse. Bob, Doc, Johnny? Do I think of them? Definitely. If they’d [non-vets, athletes] only see something like that they’d think twice about it.” As a 19-year-old, Mike Barten left for a war he knew little to nothing about. Knowing his draft number was about to come up, he enlisted, wanting to serve his country. “We were invincible,” he said. “We didn’t think nothing of it.” But, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane. Don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh Babe, I hate to go…
Snowman 50% OFF
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CA Nov 16_1B_WS
Bring Bri ng your kids and pets to get a free picture taken with Santa!
Page 20 • Country Acres - Friday, November 16, 2018
PRICES GOOD Nov. 16-29, 2018 STEARNS PACKAGING
SSTEARNS PACKAGING BIG GAIN
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REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE
Limited-Time Cash Rebates on Bobcat Loaders and Excavators
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One Tough Animal
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