Country Acres 2019 - June 21 edition by Star Publications

Country

Friday, June 21, 2019

cres A

Volume 7, Edition 9

Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment

RAISING THE

BARN

PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM

A team of horses takes a break from grading June 7 in front of Amos Gingerich’s barn southwest of Long Prairie. When finished, a team will be able to drive into the upper level of the barn.

Amish tradition requires planning, many hands By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer PHOTOS BY CHUCK ANDERSON

LONG PRAIRIE – Many hands make light work. Well, lighter, anyway. “It’s amazing what you can do if a bunch of people get together,” Paul Swartzentruber said. Swartzentruber was talking about the process of a barn raising for his friend, Amos Gingerich. The two young men live and raise their families just a mile or so from one another southwest of Long Prairie. On June 7, they explained the process of a traditional Amish barn raising, which took place on Gingerich’s farm the morning of June 4. “We do a lot in a day but in a way not as much as it looks because it’s all ready the day before,” Swartzentruber said. “That day [is when] we put the puzzle together.” What came together on June 4 was

An Amish barn-raising crew (left) works April 4 at the Amos Gingerich farm southwest of Long Prairie. The photo at right was taken just hours after the Amish barn raising event began.

the product of much planning and preparation, under the direction of a foreman who organizes the project. “Pretty much since May 1st we’ve been working on it to get everything done and set up,” Gingerich said. “It takes that time to get the framework and everything done, so the day of the barn raising you can just set it all up and it all fits together.” The process began with a decision to build the barn. At that time, pine logs were located by a logger and then cut at a sawmill partially owned by Gingerich. Prior to the day of the barn raising, a crew of six to eight men did preparation work. They laid the foundation, and cement work and block work was done. Inside

This month in the

COUNTRY

4 5

on the lower level, the heavy beams were placed using a mortis and tenon construction. The sub floor (of the upper level) was built, and the rafter frame units and rafters were assembled and ready to go. All pieces were cut and laid out in order. It was time to raise the barn. Around 6 o’clock in the morning, between 100 and 120 able-bodied men ranging in age from 16 to 70 began arriving on the farm. Some came with horses and buggies, others on horseback. They came ready to work. Under the direction of the foreman, side walls were first built and installed. Next, the five large pre-assembled rafter frame units, on which the weight of the

rafters would rest, were raised and set in place. “As soon as we get a couple up, on each side we take the rope and pull up what we call the ‘pig trough’ in German,” Swartzentruber said. “It’s like an L shape and we put it in place, it’s fastened and we have the frames connected together.” This “pig trough” connected the top of the sidewalls to the bottom of the roofline. After the first two units were connected at that point on each side, they were connected again halfway up and then at the peak. While that process continued the

A little lunch, anyone? 10 Barn, father catalyst for 16 Creating Crow River Diane Leukam column Walter’s musical career Whitetails Osakis Atwater The restaurant farm Sauk Centre

12 Timber! New London

19 When Daddy hit the ball Poem by Herman Lensing

RAISING THE BARN continued on page 2

21 Country Cooking 22 Country Acres according to: Claire Ohman

Page 2 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019

Country Acres

Diane Leukam, Editor diane@saukherald.com Ben Sonnek, Writer ben.s@saukherald.com Herman Lensing, Writer herman@melrosebeacon.com Laura Hintzen, Writer laura.h@saukherald.com Jennifer Coyne, Writer jenn@dairystar.com Danna Sabolik, Writer danna.s@dairystar.com Carol Moorman, Writer carol@melrosebeacon.com

Story ideas send to: diane@saukherald.com

RAISING THE BARN continued from front length of the barn, others began raising the rafters. For this, the older men stood on the ground holding ropes that were wrapped around a solid object, like a tree, and to the preassembled rafters. Raising the first rafter, they maneuvered the ropes, the foreman calling out instructions – higher on this end or the other, faster or slower and when they should stop. After the rafters were lifted as far as they could go, a traditional tool came into play. Spike poles are between 8 and 25 feet long, with a spike on the end of each. The higher the spot on the rafter, the longer the pole being used. With several men to each pole, they pushed and guided the rafter, lifting it to its final place on

the frame. “Sometimes it’s kind of a shuffle to get all your hands out of the way so you don’t get them spiked,” Gingerich said. “What’s interesting to me, is since we started the settlement, these poles have raised every barn up here.” The first rafter was leveled and then securely braced to the connectors, the ropes left on for safety. The next rafter was lifted and placed in the same way, from one end of the roof to the other. Theoretically, everything will fit into its place, and on this day all the pieces of the puzzle came together. “Even before all the big rafters are up, we’re putting the purlins between and we put the

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PRODUCTION STAFF Pat Turner Amanda Thooft Nancy Powell Brian Dingmann Maddy Peterson

sheeting on; before you know it we’re putting on tin,” Swartzentruber said, laughing. The majority of the barn is nailed in place, versus the mortice and tenon method that was used on most barns in the past. There are several barns in the settlement built that way, but this way is faster. “We started around 6:15, and by noon we had all the roof on except a few pieces, and we had pretty much all the siding on and some doors were hung,” Swartzentruber said. “I would say it was 90 percent finished by noon.” Noon was lunch time. Rebecca Gingerich had been working and planning to feed her husband’s barn-raising crew. Together with 30 to 40 women and girls, they served a lunch of chicken, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and salad, with pies, cakes and fig pudding for dessert. They served 250 people, with the men, women and small children. The barn raising was done, but Gingerich’s finish work will take him the remainder of the summer. “It goes up in a few hours but I have guys helping me do that,” he said. “After this I’m by myself, so it’ll be a little

A wall sheeted with used tin separates the two areas of the upper level of the Gingerich barn. On the left, loose hay will be stored and on the right, loose straw.

while.” Gingerich gave a tour of the barn. It measures 64 feet long by 36 feet wide with a 28-foot lean on the side. There is a 16-foot addition on the front, making a lower-level dimension of 64 by 80 feet. The upper level has space for storage of grass hay, with a granary on each side of the main structure. At threshing time, Gin-

Janelle Westerman Deadlines: Country Acres will be published the first Fridays of April, May, June, September, October and November, and the third Friday of every month. Deadline for news and advertising is the Thursday before publication.

PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM

Rubes Sponsored by Elmdale Mutual

“Committed to being the eyes and ears of our communities.”

The spike poles on this wagon have been used to raise every barn in the Amish settlement southwest of Long Prairie. The poles vary in length and are used according to the height of the spot on the The end of this pole is fitted with a spike that is used to guide rafter being guided into place. rafters into place.

gerich will be able to run grain directly into the granaries. A spout on the inside of each will allow the grain to flow down to the feed bunks below. Hay will be brought into the barn through a door on the end near the peak and dropped into place using a pulley system. Hay holes will allow for forking hay down for the animals below. A small door is placed on the end of the barn, something Gingerich wanted. “We never had it at home and I always wanted a little door,” he said. “When I’m forking hay it’s nice to have a little breeze going.” The lean will be used to store loose straw, separated from the hay in the main barn with a wall made of used tin. “In my way of looking at it, there’s no use in using new tin for some-

RAISING THE BARN continued on page 3

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 3 RAISING THE BARN continued from page 2 thing like that,” Gingerich said. The lower level of the barn will be cemented out, with the lean area to be a loafing shed for cows and sheep with a feed bunk along one side. On one end of the lean will be a chicken coop. The main side of the barn will have mangers and stalls built for horses. The addition on the

end will be an insulated room for milk and storage for buggies. Gingerich is more than pleased with his new barn, and said he is glad the raising is done. Raising a barn in one morning is a big undertaking but like Swartzentruber said, it can be done. “It’s like anything else; if you make up your mind

to do it and you’re determined enough, you can do it,” he said. Gingerich has a lot of work to do on his barn yet. By the end of summer, he expects to be finished with the barn that was started in May, and in early June, took just one morning to raise.

(above) The lower level of the Gingerich barn will house animals. On the far side will be a loafing area for cattle and sheep with chicken coop on one end, while the near side will be filled with stalls and mangers for horses. (right) Five large rafter frames, three of which are visible on the left side of this photo, hold the weight of the rafters. Hay will be brought in through the door at the peak and dropped into place using a pulley system. The structure at the lower left is one of two granaries within the barn.

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great story makes my day every time, and when they come to me it’s even better. That was the case when a reader let me know he had witnessed an Amish barn raising on June 4. With the help of Paul Swartzentruber and Amos Gingerich, both of Long Prairie, we now have a clearer picture of how the iconic tradition of a barn raising takes place. It is quite an interesting process. I am sure many of our analytical readers will enjoy figuring it all out. However, from a woman’s standpoint, what intrigued me almost as much as the barn raising was the lunch. This is like feeding an army. All told, there were about 250 for the noon meal. For supper, there were only about a hundred. Only. Most of the people left after lunch, though a good number remained to work on the inside of the barn during the afternoon while it rained outside. For most of us, it is hard to comprehend feeding that many people. I talked to Rebecca Gingerich last week and she explained the process of feeding the crew, along with the women and small children that were there for the day. To me, “lunch” sounded more like a feast. In reality the barn raising menu might be just that. Rebecca said it is very similar to the menu served at weddings. There was fried chicken, dressing,

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by Diane Leukam mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, coffee and for dessert, pies, date pudding and cake. Rebecca had a lot of help. Her crew consisted of 20 or more women with many more girls helping as well. The pies and cakes were made a day or so before the event. Somewhere in there, chickens needed to be butchered. The day of the raising, potatoes were peeled and the dressing and salad made. I don’t know how many chickens were used but there were two bushels of potatoes, along with five gallons of dressing and 15 heads of lettuce. Three ovens and additional kerosene stoves were used for cooking and baking. The women did the heavier and more specialized work, while the girls handled the desserts and light work. For supper, there was leftover mashed potatoes, dressing and chicken, put in layers and baked with cheese. For dessert, pecan pie and ice cream were

served. As far as logistics, the lunch was served in shifts, with long tables the length of the porch on the side of the house, and a number of large tables inside. Rebecca shared the recipes that were used for lunch. You may notice several of the recipes are for large crowds – keep that in mind before you start buying ingredients! A barn raising is just one of our stories with an Amish touch. With an eye on remodeling an existing home as well as a new addition, Roger and Judy Imdieke of New London harvested lumber from a beloved wooded property in Stearns County that has been in the Imdieke family since 1949. Roger is a friend of many in the Long Prairie Amish settlement, and commissioned their help in cutting the timber into lumber and fitting it for a mortise and tenon construction on the home. Farther south, Steve and Melissa Uchytil raise 140 whitetail deer on their farm near Atwater. Crow River Whitetails specializes in abnormal genetics, and grew last year’s largest buck in the world, Boo Boo. A monster deer, Boo Boo is 7 years old and getting bigger every year. The Uchytils enjoy educating the public on what they consider just another form of farming. Honestly, though, is there anything

much cuter than a pen full of fawns? Marlene Gwost of Tutti Fruitti in Sauk Centre has a bit of a novelty going on. Six days a week, people from all over come to the farm for breakfast or lunch, or depending upon the time of year, to buy fresh peppers, potatoes or pumpkins and other produce. Working with family on the farm is something she cherishes, as do so many of our readers. If you happen to go there on your birthday, Gwost is likely to serenade you with her concertina – maybe even in German. Finally in Osakis, we visit with Fred Walter, who has been involved in southern gospel music since he was raised on his family’s dairy farm near Westport. Fred’s father, Kenneth, might have been a touch sentimental, writing poetry on the walls of the old barn. Fred, a Nashville recording artist, was inspired to record three original songs using the poetry his father wrote on those walls so many years ago. After this issue we go back to once a month for July, August and September. Watch for our next issue in your mailbox on July 19. The summer is rolling along all too quickly. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy this issue of Country Acres!

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The restaurant farm Tutti Fruitti makes customers into family By BEN SONNEK Staff Writer SAUK CENTRE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; From the road, it looks like a normal farm with fields, a farmhouse and a barn. People might keep on driving if it were not for the sign, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tutti Fruitti Kitchen and Market Farm.â&#x20AC;? As it turns out, this dining destination just outside of Sauk Centre draws visitors from all over Minnesota â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the world. People come for more than just the food. Marlene Gwost, the owner of Tutti Fruitti, treats every customer like family who has just come to the dinner table. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We try to make it fun,â&#x20AC;? Gwost said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people come here to get a hug or a laugh of the day.â&#x20AC;? Marlene has time for everyone who comes in, even if it takes a while to go from one table to another. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the mood to talk to her,â&#x20AC;?

Cheryl Messer, Marleneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter, will say. The origins of the restaurant go back to 1984, 35 years ago, when Marlene and her husband, Kevin, purchased the farmland. The Gwosts and their children raised vegetables there from the start, selling them on a table under a tree. Later, Marlene bought a chicken brooder house at an auction sale, and the self-serve market started from there. By 2012, Marlene had been working full-time for Stearns County for 25 years and her two daughters, Victoria Jacobs and Cheryl, were working overtime to keep up with managing the fields and stocking the shelves of their market. Marlene left her job with the county to put her time toward the farm, but the family knew they would need a source of revenue during the winter when the fields were not growing. That was where the Tutti Fruitti Restaurant began. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided we were

PHOTO BY MARK KLAPHAKE

Marlene Gwost plays the concertina for a Tutti Fruitti Kitchen customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday March 4.

going to open a bakery to start,â&#x20AC;? Marlene said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The next plan was to make it a soup kitchen; we were going to offer soup and sandwiches. We started out small here. We started with three little tables, and eventually we went into meals, breakfasts and lunches.â&#x20AC;?

When it is not wintertime, Tutti Fruitti grows a little bit of everything, including pumpkins, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, asparagus, cucumbers, green beans, radishes, onions and potatoes. Everything grown on the farm is also used in the restaurant

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Tutti Fruitti opened March 12, 2012, and even though the family does not advertise, the restaurant was soon a full-time business, bringing in visitors from anywhere and

TUTTI FRUITTI continued on page 6

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Page 6 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019 TUTTI FRUITTI continued page 5 everywhere who have heard about the place from friends or relatives. The restaurant is a favorite of Sauk Centre locals, and people from all around Minnesota come often for meals and the ambiance. “Somebody came in here last week,” Marlene said. “They said, ‘You know, one thing that’s really different about this place is you don’t see a lot of people sitting here on their cellphones as customers. They’re all visiting, the way it should be done instead of everybody sitting on their cellphones.’”

Some of these visitors have come from farther away than Minnesota; people have found the restaurant from other states, including North and South Dakota, Washington, D.C., California and even Alaska and Hawaii. Other countries have been represented under Tutti Fruitti’s roof as well: Canada, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Germany. The Germans often find the restaurant to be more familiar than they might have expected. “Stearns County is known for its German heritage,” Marlene said. “My

husband speaks German and I know a little German. When I get the concertina out, we can play quite a bit of German music if they want to sing along with it.” Much of Tutti Fruitti’s workforce comes from other countries as well. One of the cooks is originally from Thailand, and many of the workers in the restaurant and on the farm are Hispanic. “I have some of the best hired help you could find, I think,” Marlene said. “It’s hard to find good help. If it would be easy to find good help, I would consid-

er being open for evening dinners, but it’s so good to find honest, hardworking people, and I have them.” All staff are considered part of the family – and that includes staff that are actually family. Marlene’s children, Lawrence Gwost and Cheryl, help with the restaurant, and Victoria is mainly responsible for the gardens. They all live close by, especially Cheryl and Lawrence; Cheryl gets the restaurant started every day, and Lawrence also ar-

TUTTI FRUITTI continued on page 7

Members of the farm-owning Gwost family – (from left) Victoria Jacobs, Marlene Gwost and Cheryl Messer – keep an eye on their dog, Duke, May 20 at the Tutti Fruitti Kitchen sign.

“I cook the way my mom cooked, we don’t get into a lot of seasonings, just the regular homemade cooking.” PHOTOS BY BEN SONNEK

- Marlene Gwost

Tutti Fruitti’s self-serve market sits in front of the barn.

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 7 TUTTI FRUITTI continued from page 6 rives early in the morning to start the buffet and help with short orders. “Cheryl is the first one here in the morning,” Marlene said. “She’ll arrive anywhere between 5-6 a.m., depending what we have for orders that day of course. She’s the one that makes fresh bread and fresh caramel rolls every morning. We open at 7 a.m., so she has a lot of baking already done by then. She makes dinner rolls every day and cinnamon raisin bread with the frosting on it for the buffet. She’s quite a baker for somebody who didn’t like

baking at one time.” Cheryl corroborates her mother’s assessment, but she enjoys baking now. “I never baked before this,” Cheryl said. “Never.” Tutti Fruitti is wellknown for its homemade bread, making varieties such as white, wheat, sourdough, cranberry-wild rice and rye. “We get a lot of compliments on our bread, especially with the breakfast when it’s toasted,” Marlene said. “You can’t beat homemade bread toasted, people say.” Minnesota agrees Tutti Fruitti’s homemade bread

cannot be beat; the restaurant took second place for best homemade bread in Minnesota, beating out Panera in third place. “I cook the way my mom cooked,” Marlene said. “We don’t get into a lot of seasonings, just the regular homemade cooking.” The way Tutti Fruitti cooks is no secret. The first thing visitors see when coming in the restaurant’s front door is the open kitchen. “Everything’s open

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Page 8 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019 TUTTI FRUITTI continued from page 7 so they can see,” Marlene said. “That was our main idea. We have nothing to hide.” The restaurant can seat 115 people, and the space is also available for after-hours parties such as weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. Tuttti Fruitti also does catering and deliveries in the area.

The market is next door to the restaurant. There, people can select produce from the coolers and shelves inside. There is no employee on duty in the market, so payments into the cash box are done on the honor system. “Most of the people are honest, and for us to have to hire somebody to

be in here at all times, it really doesn’t pay,” Marlene said. “Our regular customers are used to it, but we’ve had people come in from the cities that say there’s no way they could do anything like that down there.” Tutti Fruitti gets the most tourists in the summertime. Tour buses will come in, and Marlene

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A rooster poses on top of a goat while some ducks look on at the Tutti Fruitti farm May 20. The farm animals are a popular attraction on the farm tours, especially with children.

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Page 10 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019

Barn, father catalyst for Walter's musical career Local musician inspired by poetry By DANNA SABOLIK Staff Writer

OSAKIS – Fred Walter has music in his blood. Raised on his family’s dairy farm near Westport, Fred’s father, Kenneth Walter, wrote poetry on the walls of the old barn. Fred, a Nashville recording artist, was inspired to record three original songs, using the poetry his father wrote many years ago. Fred grew up in a musical home; both his parents played piano and a few of his sisters took lessons. “We didn’t have a TV, so the piano was the entertainment,” Fred said. Growing up in a Christian household, Fred’s father was taught to express his faith by example. “When he would milk cows, my father would get inspired and a rhyme would come to him so he wrote it on the barn wall so he wouldn’t lose it,” Fred said. “My mother had the foresight before the barn was torn down to copy them and preserve the good gospel meanings of

his words.” Fred has always been fond of southern gospel music. “My uncle and namesake, Fred Walter, had a lot of southern gospel records of quartets that were popular in the 50s and 60s, and when we went to his place we would listen to them,” he said. His parents also liked that kind of music and took their children to concerts when people would play in the area. One of the most notable groups he saw live were the Blackwoods Brothers in Glenwood at the old high school auditorium. When Fred was 10 years old, his parents bought a record player and he was able to listen to southern gospel records, instead of just the piano. Other than music

while growing up, Fred’s social life revolved around church. “We were there three times a week, whether I wanted to go or not,” he said. After graduating from Villard High School, he drifted away from his gospel roots until the age of 28, when he had a change of heart. “I accepted Christ into my heart and all that music stuff came back to me,” Fred said. Fred milked cows on the home farm for 30 years and for nine years was a lay pastor of a church in Clarissa. In later years, he was involved in bringing nationally known southern gospel groups – like the Stamps, the Florida Boys and Dixie Melody Boys to name a few – to the area, mostly in Osakis. Fred’s son, Nathan, took over the family farm in 2002, but the old barn had been torn down in 1975. However, the gospel meanings and words his

The barn and farm site where Fred Walter grew up near Westport. Fred’s father wrote poems on the walls of the old barn as he was inspired while doing chores.

PHOTOS BY DANNA SABOLIK

Local musician, Fred Walter, holds his latest CD, “How Sweet the Sound,” at his home near Osakis. He has recorded five southern gospel CDs – four in Nashville.

this would be possible.” Fred credits his wife to managing all his sessions, booking of other groups, keeping track of dates and doing paperwork. He says he just shows up to sing. They have done four CDs in Nashville. Two daughters, Grace and Jessica, did five of the 10 songs on the CD, “Get Ready For A Revival.” Fred and his daughters are performing a concert with the Needhams on June 28 at 7 p.m. in Osakis, at the high school. Fred is beginning to

think about slowing down. With plans to retire this summer, he is looking forward to spending more time on his music and with his family of five children – Nathan, Dawn, Jessica, Courtney and Grace – and nine grandchildren. “In southern gospel music and words, you can feel the presence of God - the Anointing of God is on the track - and there are a lot of testimonials that people have been helped

WALTER continued on page 11

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father wrote on the barn walls many years ago have now been commemorated in music. Fred created music for poems titled, “Right Living” and “Our Savior” from his father’s poetry. He was also inspired to record “That Rock,” which he wrote himself. Today, he lives near Osakis with his wife, Debbie, and they attend church in Alexandria. “One of the people in our church, Jimmy Jensen, had recorded a lot of music,” Fred said. “He still had a lot of recording equipment in his living room and he offered to record some songs for me. And, with Debbie’s encouragement, we made my first CD, ‘Songs I Love,’ in his living room.” One of the groups the Walters had become acquainted with was the Needhams, a southern gospel singing group from Nashville. “We had invited them up here three or four times to sing and we had planned a trip to Nashville to see them,” Fred said. “That’s when Debbie suggested that I record my own CD in Nashville.” The Walters phoned the Needhams to line up a recording session. “Dave Needham was the producer and Debbie took care of the legality of royalties for recording, lined it all up for me,” Fred said. “Most of the songs I sang are to professionally pre-recorded music, and I just add the voice to them.” Fred’s grateful for Debbie’s support and initial push to record. “Really, it’s all thanks to Debbie,” he said. “She’s the backbone of this whole thing. Without her, none of

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 11 WALTER continued from page 10 From dairy farming to music to his gospel roots, recording original south- on the family farm in rural ern gospel songs on Music Westport. Row in Nashville, Walter owes his long-time love of

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Page 12 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019

Timber! Imdiekes bring beloved woods into their home By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer

NEW LONDON – It was Christmas Eve 2015 and it was a busy day at Roger and Judy Imdieke’s home in New London. “We had to sing in the church choir and it was a mad rush to get to church; there was a lot happening that day,” Judy said May 15 as the two shared the story of their home construction adventure. That day in 2015, Roger had spent the day working with Reuben Stutzman and three of his sons as they used a crane to install the structure for a timber frame addition to the home. It was a warm day, for a Minnesota Christmas Eve, that is. Years of research, planning and hard work were coming to fruition as the frame for the structure began to take shape, one timber at a time. As the final large tim-

ber was installed, Roger made sure to take care of one piece of unfinished business. “It’s called a topping off,” he said. “I don’t know exactly where it got started but if they are putting up a sky scraper in a big city, as the superstructure goes up, the frame is done and they get to the top, they hang an evergreen tree.” That day, the Imdiekes’ home was topped off with a small pine tree Roger tied onto the beam before it was lifted in place, celebrating a milestone on the project. The project is a work of love and steeped in family tradition, with nearly every piece of wood in the new addition coming from Lake George Woods. The woods, located in Stearns County near Belgrade, were purchased by Roger’s parents, Bob and Mary Ann, beginning in 1949. Additional parcels were added over the years. Bob always used Lake

George Woods as a place to pasture dairy replacement heifers in the summer. Roger and Judy followed suit, raising heifers there for a number of years as well, only retiring from farming seven years ago. The woods were an important part of their lives and now, those woods have been brought home. An Amish alliance “I’ve known Reuben for quite a few years,” Roger said. In the late 1990s, Roger was driving through the Long Prairie area and stopped in to talk to members of the new Amish community about the possibility of selling them timber from Lake George Woods. Often doing his own harvesting, Roger would harvest during the winter, get the logs out to a landing where a truck could get at them and get them hauled up to the sawmill in the spring.

PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM

Judy and Roger Imdieke remodeled an existing home, then added a timber frame addition using lumber harvested from Lake George Woods. The woods in Stearns County were purchased as numerous parcels by Roger’s parents, Bob and Mary Ann, beginning in 1949.

“There are two or three barn buildings up there that were built with wood from Lake George,” Roger said. Forging a relationship that has lasted many years, the Imdiekes and the Amish have worked together on a number of projects, including building a cabin in the woods and the new addi-

tion to their home. At one point, Reuben talked about the possibility of the Imdiekes marketing some of the Amish furniture being made at the time, and another business was created. Ten years ago the Imdiekes opened a furniture and home décor store, calling it “Three Sisters,” on High-

way 71 near New London. Featuring Amish-made furniture, the store has grown to include many high-end furniture builders from Ohio and Indiana. “A lot of people think Amish [furniture is just]

IMDIEKES continued on page 13

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 13 IMDIEKES continued from page 12

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honey oak and mission style and it is anything but,” Judy said. “They’re working with designers and their furniture is not old fashioned, it is cutting edge.” Roger and Judy work together at the store, going on buying trips together and making sure they have unique, quality merchandise. Each has their own specialties that complement one another. Vision of home Those qualities are obvious when looking at the completed home, a home that began with a vision. “Judy always wanted to build a house but we were [in another home] for 25 years and we realized that this is going to be as close as we ever get to designing a house. It was fortunate that we had pretty much the same tastes in what we wanted the end re-

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IMDIEKES continued on page 14

Viewed from the loft of the original home is a timber frame addition, with lumber harvested from Lake George Woods by Roger Imdieke.

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Page 14 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019 IMDIEKES continued from page 13 where it was cut according to all the dimensions specified on the list. As Roger described getting the wood cut, stacked, dried and planed, it was obvious his love of the process is part of the attraction of the entire project. “It’s plane sawed in two senses of the word,” he said. “Plain as in ordinary and plane is in on the plane.” Once the wood was ready to go, it was time to put it all together. In 2014, the Imdiekes had purchased and completely remodeled a home as phase one of the overall plan. The timber frame addition was the second phase, a large new open room with dining, office and living sections, and another space that serves to connect with a patio outdoors. Using a design that was created to connect the two structures, a massive staircase, the focal point, was fitted to the existing home where a window that was already there then became a doorway. Most of the design was drawn up by Roger, such as size and placement of windows and what it would look like from the outside. The staircase was another story. For that design, they were more than willing to ask for help from an architect, knowing they would only have one chance to get it right.

PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM

Viewed from the Imdiekes’original home which was purchased in 2014 is the new timber frame addition, an open space which features dining, office and living sections, along with a stairway reaching up to connect with the loft of the original home.

“I had a good idea of what I wanted to do but I didn’t have the technical skills for it,” Roger said. “We needed to know what the height of the old floor was upstairs to even determine the height of the sidewalls because all of that had to match. He put the technical part to our vision.”

In all, at least a dozen area contractors were involved in the project. The timber frame construction is mortise and tenon, with joints that are connected to one another. A smaller end piece, or tenon, fits into a larger one, the mortise. Each has a precut hole, or draw bore, that lines up with the other,

with pegs driven into the draw bores to hold it all in place. All the cutting and fitting was done at the mill, taken apart and reassembled at the home. Beams of ash form the sidewall and ceiling frames and a large staircase that is the focal point of the addition. All are stained, except the ceiling boards,

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sults to look like.” The inspiration for that end result was borne of a trip to the North Folkhouse School in Grand Marais. At the school, artisan crafts are taught, like timber framing, making birch bark canoes and weaving textiles. Though they did not attend a timber framing class, they were intrigued. They began planning for their own timber frame home. “I was all about the process,” Roger said. “I liked doing the planning and going out and cutting the trees two years before we did the building and the construction. Of course, Judy wanted to get to the point where she could figure out what color paint she wanted to put on the walls and what pictures to hang, so I got to do my things first because I had to go out and harvest the trees.” Once a building plan was ready, finish carpenter Andy Illies of Elrosa created a list of how many logs and board feet of each dimension would be needed for the home. Armed with that list, Roger went through the woods to locate and cut the wood for their future home. “I was out in the woods most of that winter, every spare moment that I had,” he said. The wood was then hauled to the sawmill,

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several pieces of specially-made furniture are constructed of cherry wood from Lake George Woods. The roof and sidewalls are structural insulated panels, or SIPs. All of it rests on a slab foundation. The color and dĂŠcor finish off the welcoming space, compliments of Judy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like it rustic and I like it with a casual feel,â&#x20AC;? Judy said. The upstairs serves as a space for guests, often for daughters, Tracy, Katie, and Jacki, and their families. As for Roger and Judy, they plan to stay put. The home is designed to be handicap accessible, with everything they need on the main level, so they can stay for as long a time as possible. They should be more than comfortable in their home where every beam carries with it a part of their personal history. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no reason for us to leave,â&#x20AC;? Roger said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As long as weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re healthy enough to stay in our home, this is where weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be.â&#x20AC;?

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Creating Crow River Whitetails Uchytils delight in deer farm By DANNA SABOLIK Staff Writer

ATWATER - Cute newborn fawns prance toward Melissa Uchytil as she approaches with bottles of warm milk. “They are so cute,” Melissa said. “Bottle feeding the fawns is one of my favorite chores.”

Steve and Melissa Uchytil raise 140 whitetail deer on their farm near Atwater. They began in 2013 and have grown a herd over the years. The Uchytils were solely turkey farmers until 2013, when they added another venture to their lives. “We had a contract with Hormel that was set to expire in 2018, so we were

beginning to think about other farming options,” Melissa said. Anticipating an exit from the turkey industry, Steve and Melissa looked into raising sheep, cattle or goats on their 60-acre property. “I toured a few sheep farms and knew that wasn’t for us,” Steve said. “They are cute when they’re little,

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but they are so loud as they get older.” After a bit of research online, Steve stumbled upon a video of deer farming. “I thought it looked neat and wondered if people did that in Minnesota,” he said. “So, next thing I Googled was ‘deer farming Minnesota’ and sure enough, they have an association. The annual banquet was the next weekend in Alexandria, so we went to learn more.” They were also wary of starting a farming venture that would require a large investment upfront. “We couldn’t go out and start a new farming business with the costs of land and equipment, so we used what we had, 60 acres of lowland and trees,” Steve said. On their acreage, they have multiple pens of whitetail deer and a hunting preserve. The Uchytils received input from many deer farmers and came to the conclusion they needed a 40-doe breeding herd to generate a sustainable income. “That’s where we’ve been the last few years,”

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Steve and Melissa Uchytil operate a hunting preserve and deer farm, Crow River Whitetails, near Atwater.

Steve said. “If you have 20 busy with fawning, which does or less, you will need lasts throughout the sumadditional income, at least mer. that’s what we found in our UCHYTILS research.” continued on page 17 This time of year is

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 17 UCHYTILS continued from page 16

“We started getting busy in May and will be checking the pasture for fawns for another few weeks,” Melissa said. “Then we work with the babies and bottle feed them throughout the summer.” Bottle-feeding their herd is an effort to make the animals more docile and easier to work with. “When we were touring farms there was a big difference in the herds that were bottle fed versus not,” Melissa said. “We knew we wanted to put in the effort to do that, to make managing them easier in the future.”

Crow River Whitetails specializes in abnormal – or atypical – genetics, a decision the Uchytils made before entering deer farming to meet their farming goals. “People advised us to go with typical genetics, which is what you think of when you picture a whitetail deer,” Steve said. “But then someone else would tell us to go with atypical genetics, and we were getting a mixed bag of suggestions.” In the end, the Uchytils decided to pursue atypical genetics, meaning they breed for extra-large

multi-pointed antlers, hoping to find added revenue through this distinction. Last year, Crow River Whitetails grew last year’s largest buck in the world, Boo Boo, who measured more than 600 inches. “He’s a monster,” Steve said. “He has a huge rack and is a massive-sized deer. He’s 7 years old and the thing with deer is they keep growing until they die. They never stop growing, so he’s always getting bigger.” Boo Boo is well

UCHYTILS continued on page 18

(above) Boo Boo, the Uchytils’ prized atypical buck, measured more than 600 inches last year and won World’s Largest Buck in 2018. Boo Boo is a 7-year-old at Crow River Whitetails deer farm near Atwater.

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(above and right) Steve and Melissa Uchytil bottle feed baby deer June 11 on their farm, Crow River Whitetails, near Atwater.

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Page 18 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019 UCHYTILS continued from page 17 known, and draws people to the farm. The Uchytils also enjoy hosting farm tours and sharing their passion. “We are both very into education,” Melissa said. “A lot of people don’t realize we’re out here and some people say it’s just high-fenced hunting. Well, in a way it is, but it’s also farming. They’re not as easy to harvest as you’d think.” Crow River Whitetails began offering hunts two years ago with just a few and have grown to 40 hunts planned for this season already. “It’s not what I was expecting to go into,” Steve said. “I was just going to farm, and sell some bucks to hunting preserves, but I

never thought about having hunts here.” He was approached by people who saw his deer from the road and were interested in hunting. Steve took their names and kept that possibility in the back of his mind. “It’s not a huge part of our business; we still sell a lot of our meat, but it’s a fun new way to do the farming,” Steve said. Because of their unique genetics, the Crow River Whitetails is a desirable place to hunt deer. It is also a way to save money. “We don’t have to buy a lot of A.I. genetics, because a lot of times we want the genetics we already have,” Melissa said. “We will be A.I. breeding again this year just to mix

it up a bit, but for the most part we keep our genetics in the herd.” As far as their turkey farm, they were approached last fall with a new contract, and opted to continue that venture, as they began their deer farm. “Our daughter, Samantha, manages that farm and we all will go help when there’s a big project, but for now she’s there and we do this,” Melissa said. “We love it.” From raising fawns on the bottle to arranging hunts, the Uchytils are proud to continue their farming passion through raising deer. Running a deer farm may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the Uchytils love the lifestyle it provides them. Mocha, a white deer on the Uchytils’ farm, eats a peanut treat from Melissa’s hand. Mocha is the only white deer on the farm. The Uchytils have trained their Whitetail deer to be docile by bottle feeding them in their infancy.

A Whitetail deer enjoys green pastures June 11 at Crow River Whitetails near Atwater.

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When Daddy hit the ball By Herman Lensing Then in the ninth Johnny, my sister’s favorite, hit a double off the wall, Slowpoke Sammy reached on an error, we got a break on that call. Kenny struck out swinging, then Harry took a strike three ball, Two runs to tie, three to win and my at bat would decide it all.

He said throw it down the middle, field that ground ball, Chase down the fly to right and don’t argue about the call. You can’t always be the hero, and sometimes you will fall, And if you want to win the game you have to hit the ball.

Ten thousand lakes, ten thousand stories, proud we are of all, Seasons changing all the time, winter, summer, spring and fall. The best of the year, the favorite time our family will recall, Was when Daddy played the game and Daddy hit the ball.

Our friends, we did grew older and With fall came red leaves and I took the bat, walked to the plate boyhood dreams came true, football ruled the day, Sometimes it was volleyball, or Daddy and his friends didn’t play as and Manager Tim called time out, He looked at the bench and then often, and we were so new. something else we’d play. the veteran’s name he did shout. Wrestling, hockey, basketball ruled Victories did not come easy, and The crowd said it was wrong and wins we seldom knew, when winter came, But always we talked baseball and Not like when Daddy took the field crazy and here comes the final out, Tim ignored them and to the vetwith a winning crew. how to play the game. eran, his hope he did spell out. PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING We’ve thrown down the middle, Daylight begins to fade at the Freeport ball park. Town team ball has been a favorite activity for decades Then came one whole season and Daddy said throw it down the in central Minnesota. fielded the ground ball, we never had a win. middle, field the ground ball, We chased down the fly to right The next year was the just same, Chase down the fly to right and and didn’t argue any call. like winning was a sin. don’t argue about the call. You can’t always be the hero, and Everybody gave up on us, but one You played with this team’s heroes ball-loving veteran, sometimes you will fall, and with them you stood tall. And if you want to win the game There’s another game, he said, and I want you to take the bat because I spoke Daddy’s words again. you have to hit the ball. know you can hit the ball. He said throw down the middle, field that ground ball, Chase down the fly to right and don’t worry about the call. You can’t always be the hero, and sometimes you will fall, And if you want to win the game you have to hit the ball.

Daddy’s friends and neighbors they made up our town team, Every summer Sunday we watched on a field – always green. We saw them hit, run and field and they’d throw that ball clean, Just to play with Daddy’s group, that was our favorite dream.

The veteran took just one swing – and he knocked the ball from sight. We’d won, we jumped, we cheered, we yelled with all our might. I know that I yelled louder – and I know I stood real tall, Because I had one more story … of when Daddy hit the ball.

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 21

COUNTRY COOKING

Date Pudding • • • • •

Recipes submitted by

REBECCA GINGERICH Long Prairie Todd County

1 cup boiling water • Pinch salt 1 cup dates, chopped • 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. soda • 1 cup sugar 1 Tbsp. butter • 1 1/2 cups flour 1 egg • 1/2 cup chopped nuts Pour boiling water over dates and soda. Let set until cold. Mix remaining ingredients and add water and dates. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares, and serve with whipped cream and caramel sauce. (See next recipe.)

Sauce for Date Pudding

The following recipes were used for a barn raising at the Amos and Rebecca Gingerich farm, feeding a total of 250 men, women and children. Some recipes are for large numbers of people and others, like the pie, for fewer people.

• 2 tsp. butter • 1 cup brown sugar • 3 tsp. clear jel

• 1 1/2 cups water • 3/4 tsp. vanilla • 1/2 tsp. maple flavor

Brown butter. Add brown sugar and 1 cup water. Mix 1/2 cup water and clear jel. Stir into butter mixture and cook for 10 minutes. Add flavor and a little salt.

Chicken Shake and Bake • • • • •

4 cups pastry flour • 3 Tbsp. paprika 4 cups cracker crumbs • 2 tsp. onion powder 4 Tbsp. salt • 2 tsp. garlic powder 2 Tbsp. sugar • 1/4 cup coconut oil 2 Tbsp. seasoned salt Combine all ingredients except oil. Mix thoroughly. Dip chicken in oil, then in crumbs. Fry in butter for about 20 minutes, then roast in oven until soft and tender.

Kentucky Pecan Pie • • • •

1 cup light corn syrup 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine 1 tsp. vanilla

• • • •

1/3 tsp. salt 3 eggs, slightly beaten 1 cup pecans 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Combine syrup, sugar, salt, butter and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle pecans over all. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Maple syrup (1/4 cup) may be substituted for the brown sugar. For oatmeal pie, use 1 1/2 cups oatmeal instead of pecans. For coconut pie, use 2 cups coconut instead of pecans.

Dressing • • • • • •

18 to 24 eggs • 3 cups chicken broth 12 cups milk (or more) • 3 tsp. salt 4 cups celery, chopped and cooked • 3 tsp. chicken base 4 cups carrots, chopped and cooked • 1 tsp. pepper 8 cups potatoes, diced and cooked • Parsley 16 cups chicken, cut up, from • 6 loaves toasted bread crumbs. stewing hens Mix all ingredients together and bake in roasters. You will need six batches for 112 families.

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Lettuce Salad

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2 gallons sour cream • 3 Tbsp. vinegar 2 quarts salad dressing • 2 Tbsp. salt 2 cups sugar • 15 heads lettuce* 4 Tbsp. mustard Mix all ingredients except lettuce together. Cut up lettuce. In large containers, place layers of lettuce, topping each layer with some of the cream dressing. *The 15 heads of lettuce was the number used for the barn raising lunch.

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Page 22 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019

COUNTRY ACRES ACCORDING TO:

Claire Ohman Sauk Centre

of the following species: beef cattle, hogs and sheep. Meat goats are also judged from time to time when they are locally available. After finalizing the placing, the livestock judges must give “reasons” in front of a specie expert, detailing why the animals were placed in that order. The reasons are generally 1-3 minutes. When placing any market specie, I’m looking for animals that are heavily muscled since muscle is what we eat. We also want them to taste good, so they need an adequate amount of fat; however, we don’t want livestock that is too fat either, since fat is wasted when in excess. It is also important to have animals that are structurally correct so that they can comfortably get back and forth to the feed, water and eventually onto How did you learn about judging the truck. livestock? When we’re looking at breeding I began judging livestock as a animals, my mindset shifts. We still 4-H member when I was about 12 years old. At that time, I was very shy need animals that have adequate and didn’t enjoy speaking in front of muscle and fat, but I am much more people. Livestock judging empowers concerned about their feet and leg structure. This determines their young people to make a choice and then defend that choice in front of an longevity and whether they will be able to consistently raise healthy expert. Our local judging coaches in young. I also choose animals that Sheboygan County, Wis., taught me to judge livestock. I judged with our have good maternal characteristics like evenly spaced teats on pigs. local 4-H team for almost a decade, Evenly spaced teats make the mother and with our FFA team throughout more able to raise even litters and high school. My love for livestock judging extended through graduate reduce the incidence of runts. school as a Teaching Assistant in What qualities do you look for in an livestock evaluation classes. ideal beef animal? Market beef cattle: Is there What types of animals are involved in adequate muscle? Is the animal livestock judging competitions? Livestock judging is a comparison finished (does it have enough fat for it to taste good)? Can it walk correctly between the animal that is in front of you to the picture of the “perfect” (this is called structural correctness)? Breeding beef cattle: Is she animal in your mind. Livestock feminine, meaning does she have a judging entails placing a group of tight, clean neck and is she attractive four animals in order of most to profiling? Or does she look like an least desirable, based on market ugly old bull? Does she have good foot readiness and quality, as well as and leg structure? Will she be able to specie and breed character. Market raise calves for many years? Or is her and breeding classes exist for each

What is your background in the agricultural community? I earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in Dairy Science and a master’s degree in Meat Science from the University of Missouri – Columbia. I’ve been working in west central Minnesota for the past five years as a Territory Sales Manager with Mycogen Seeds. What is your role within the Alexandria chapter of the FFA? I am the treasurer of the Alexandria FFA Alumni and have been coaching the Livestock Judging team for the past two years. Volunteering with the FFA is very important to me because I gained so much from my own time as an FFA member. I really appreciated all of the volunteers that helped me grow in leadership and understanding of parliamentary procedure and animal husbandry, and I feel that now is my opportunity to pass it on to the next generation of FFA members.

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What qualities do you look for in an ideal hog? Market: I want long-sided pigs. The bacon comes from the belly, so a longer belly means more bacon! I also want them to be deep in their side (again, more bacon!) and wide between their front and rear legs. All of these things lead to more muscle – more usable meat. Breeding: Most breeding hogs live in crates for their own safety. In order for them to live well in crates, we need them to have good foot and leg structure. Durable and broody. This means that they have big, strong bones and big muscles. Frail hogs generally have a tougher time raising babies. What qualities do you look for in an ideal sheep? Market: large leg and wide over the top. Lamb fat has an interesting flavor that can be off-putting so we don’t want them to get too fat! Breeding: good structural correctness, same as other species What qualities do you look for in an ideal goat? Market: same as lambs Is there something else about this topic that you feel is important for people to know? The most important thing to me about livestock judging was the confidence that it gave me to make a choice – to place a class and then to give “reasons” in front of an expert in that specie. That isn’t easy! But it’s a wonderful skill to learn as a young person. I’m so glad that I was a part of this, and look forward to passing on my passion to young FFA members.

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Friday, June 21, 2019 - Country Acres • Page 23

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Page 24 • Country Acres - Friday, June 21, 2019

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