BY: BEN HANSON • MR. FULL-TIME DAD
A few weeks ago, I got accused of being a helicopter parent. Why? Because I wouldn’t allow my then 15-month-old son, Macklin, to run around with a plastic fork in his hand. I calmly explained to my foresight-deficient friend that while said fork may be a harmless, utilitarian eating device to us adults, it’s nothing more than an unsheathed, medieval eye-poker for an uncoordinated toddler who only learned to walk two months prior. It wasn’t helicopter parenting. It was parenting. Parenting with an eye for potential disasters, and so far Mack still has two intact eyes, as do all of his playmates. I doubt I’ll ever receive the thanks I most definitely deserve, but it made me realize something. If forks are no longer forks, what else has changed since the introduction of toddlerhood into my life? The short answer was a lot. Some things have even taken on new meaning now that we have a walking, handsy toddler meandering his way through the house. And it’s not just things. A lifetime of carefully cultivated comfort is being systematically dismantled under the Mack Administration.
prefers to ride in to and from the car? My left, which means there’s no way to both carry him and access my keys. It’s a real problem. So just put your keys in your right pocket, you’re thinking. I guess I have to. I guess my son—whom I love more than anything, but has only been a part of my life for about 1/17th the amount of time I’ve routinely kept my keys in my left pocket—now gets to dictate where I store my personal items. Fine, but now I’m going to have to find a new place for my wallet, which will undoubtedly force my phone to find a new home. I just want to know where it will end. I’m worried this is how fanny packs came into existence… Oh, you got kids? Here, wear this and forget you ever had pockets. Everything Gets Taller
Ruined Routines
I remember the day we brought home our entertainment center. Miraculously, it matched the sofa table we already had in the downstairs living room. Same color wood, same finish and even the same height. The DVD player, receiver, record player, etc. all looked like they were custom made for this piece of furniture. I remember thinking we did it. We completed the basement, and with it, the house. Everything was perfect.
I’ve never lost my car keys. Why? Because I follow a routine. I always (used to) put them in the same spot—the left hand pocket of my jacket. Well guess which arm Mack
Then we brought Mack home, and that veil of perfection started to show just how thin it really was. The more mobile Mack became, the more that perfection rubbed
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off our house… and in one specific way. Those perfectly matching tables have one fatal flaw— they’re not six feet off the ground. Which is normal. They’re normal tables. With normal things on them. For normal people. But toddlers are not normal people. As such, the new definition of perfection in our house is “a realistic expectation to be able to sit for more than one minute before having to get up and move something up and out of Mack’s reach.” You’d think as a stay-at-home dad who spends most all day playing this game that eventually I’d win, or at least get a glimpse of the final move. Nope. Honestly, I think the only way to win this game would be to move and start fresh. Kitchen Dowel Rods One challenge to the “Raise & Save” game showed itself early on: shelf space. We do not have an abundance of shelving in our house, so we quickly depleted all the easy moves. (Plus, just because something is out of arm’s reach by no means makes it out of site, and that game… let’s just say that game has no winners.) You also can’t take the entire lower half of your kitchen and move it up, at least not easily. Securing the cabinets was simple enough with your standard kid-proofing gear, but I had to get a little DIY when it came to the drawers. One dowel rod placed vertically down through a row of drawer handles joins them together into one, child-proof mega-drawer. So along with essentials like measuring cups, extra garbage bags and assorted can koozies, you’ll also find a few dowel rods in our kitchen should you ever need to… um, dowel something. They don’t match the rest of our decor in any way, but they cost $0.98 a piece and do a fine job of keeping Mack out of my koozie collection. The rods also do a great job of destroying the finish on the drawers, ensuring a future kitchen remodel. You’re welcome, Dear! A lot has changed in a short amount of time. I can only imagine what it must be like for Macklin, for whom everything is not only changing, but everything is new. It’ll be a long time before he understands why I locked up the good filet knives behind a dowel rod immediately after he discovered them. But one day, I hope he’ll shake my hand —with all five fingers—and say thank you. • urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 3
Contents VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 5 MARCH-APRIL 2017
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02
MR. FULL-TIME DAD EVERYTHING'S AN EYE-POKER THE CHANGES A TODDLER BRINGS TO YOUR LIFE
06
CHEF JUDD MORE THAN A TASTING ROOM • THE PROOF IS IN THE FOOD
10
HEAD OF THE CLASS A DAY IN THE LIFE OF 4TH GRADE TEACHER BRANTON BAARSTAD
14
HAVING A BEER WITH ... MIKE McFEELY
18
ON THE COVER SISUFAB'S JOE KARVONEN REVS UP
24
BEFORE YOU PULL THE TRIGGER THE NEED FOR PROPER GUN PROCEDURES
30
LOCAL HERO WILBERT SCHEFFLER - KOREAN WAR VET
The
GOOD LIFE MEN’S MAGAZINE
PUBLISHED BY Urban Toad Media LLP www.urbantoadmedia.com
OWNER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dawn Siewert dawn@urbantoadmedia.com OWNER / PHOTOGRAPHER Darren Losee darren@urbantoadmedia.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Meghan Feir Brittney Goodman Ben Hanson Krissy Ness ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Darren Losee / 701-261-9139 darren@urbantoadmedia.com
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More Than A Tasting Room • The Proof is in the Food BY: KRISSY NESS • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Justin “Judd” Eskildsen has been cooking for over fifteen years and like most cooks he started at the bottom and worked his way up. With no formal training Eskildsen has proven he has style and talent in the cooking world. He began his journey at a young age in his mom’s kitchen. From there he worked at fast food restaurants and local restaurant Coaches before working his way to Red Bear in Moorhead. After taking a ten-year hiatus from cooking, Eskildsen then spent a year working under Chef Steve Schulz at The Toasted Frog as his Sous-chef. He mentioned that chef Schulz is his biggest local influence, “He never really sat down and taught me things, but he
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asked questions about dishes our crew would create that would encourage ideas that I already knew, but didn't put much importance in.” Eskildsen stated. The Coteau des Prairies Lodge in Havana, ND hired Eskildsen for his first gig as a stand-aloneChef. He created a 5-course beer dinner featuring Drekker Brewing Co. and it was an immediate hit. He has been called back to do many dinners since then. One of them being the “Tapas and Cocktails” featuring Proof Artisan Distillers before being officially hired as Proof’s head Chef. What an honor it must be to have someone taste your work and immediately want to hire you as their head Chef!
“I like to have few good drinks, lots of great food, and too many laughs with the people who are close to me! FAMILY! Whether it's my real family, my close friends, my crew or Joel, John and the Minions... I love those people, and being able to have a free day with a group of any of those people is THE definition of The Good Life.�
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“One of my favorite things since I've started cooking again, is when I see my food set in front of people, and they immediately reach for their phones to take pictures.”
Eskildsen has taken the knowledge that he acquired on his own and from those he has worked with along the way and brought that with him to Proof Artisan Distillers. Working beside Eskildsen is his Sous-chef, Erik Johansen; because of his help, it is not uncommon to see Eskildsen roaming around Proof’s tasting room. “One of my favorite things since I've started cooking is when I see my food set in front of people and they immediately reach for their phones to take pictures,” affirmed Eskildsen. Among all the great food served at Proof, it is first and for most a tasting room for spirits, “It's irresponsible to serve cocktails without offering food; I created fairly large portions of appetizers meant for sharing.” The Tapas menu is meant for 3 or 4 people to share, but as the menu gained popularity Eskildsen expanded his menu to include entrées. When the people ask, he delivers.
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Every week Eskildsen prepares a special dish, The Chef’s Feature, which is an entrée he creates on his “days off”. These dishes usually feature fish of the highest quality and freshness available. Eskildsen revealed that working with exotic fish is one if his favorite dishes to prepare. All of the fish he prepares is, as I mentioned before, fresh - like shipped from Hawaii weekly—fresh! It is important to add that if you find yourself wanting to try an entrée but notice an issue with allergies, speak to your server and Eskildsen will personally discuss options with you. It is not often that you find yourself in a situation where the head Chef will take time out of his busy night to ensure you enjoy every part of your meal. Among all the food and cocktails served, there is an entire staff at Proof that makes sure you are taken care of - from servers, to the mixologists and cooks. Not only does the food compliment the cocktails, so do the fine people working there. Their knowledge on everything, Proof is
nothing short of an experience when you visit. The journey for Eskildsen has been that of hard work and dedication. It is truly exciting eating his food and experiencing Proof’s tasting room. If it is amazing cocktails, delicious entrées or maybe just a couple appetizers you are looking for - look no further than Proof Artisan Distillers. You will get the best downtown Fargo has to offer without the hustle and bustle of a busy, crowded restaurant. Keep in mind though; Proof is not a restaurant but rather a tasting room and one heck of an experience. •
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BY: BEN HANSON
When given the assignment to profile a local elementary school teacher, I expected the interview to be a mixture of guarded cynicism and outright fatigue. Just the thought of trying to hold the attention of 30 nine-year-olds for six hours a day makes me tired ... and a bit cranky. But Branton Baarstad, a third-generation teacher at the beginning of his career, surprised me. Halfway through his first year teaching 4th grade at Roosevelt Elementary School in north Fargo, Baarstad is neither exhausted nor jaded. Quite the opposite, in fact. His optimism and excitement about his chosen profession are as genuine as any parent could hope to find in their child’s teacher. “It’s been awesome,” Baarstad said of his first few months on the job. “My class has been great, the staff is amazing and so is this community.” So what’s it really like to teach the 4th grade? Baarstad filled me in on what his usual day looks like at the head of the class.
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Good Life: First off, why 4th grade? Why not middle school or high school? Branton Baarstad: Initially, I wanted to be a music teacher, but halfway through college I decided I didn’t want to focus in just one area and wanted to teach all subjects. So I went to the elementary level and loved it. From practicums to time in the classrooms, I realized I could give back to my students what my teachers gave to me in the elementary classroom. It really felt like I was in the right place. GL: What do you hope your kids learn from you? BB: I try to teach my students that in life it’s not always about getting the best grades or the best this or that. It’s about doing your best and pushing yourself to your limit. If you do that, nothing will get in the way of becoming what you want to be. I want to see my students succeed every day, becoming better people not just better students. I also try to show them that they are not just loved by their family, but they’re also loved here at school by the teachers and faculty. GL: What does a normal day look like for a guy teaching the 4th grade?
7:00 am
I get up and get ready. My commute only takes about ten minutes, and I usually get to work around 8:00. [Baarstad earlier admitted he’s not a morning person, which might explain why, despite the short commute and lack of breakfast, he requires 50 minutes to muster the wherewithals to get out of bed and into the car.]
8:00ish am
I make coffee in my classroom … I’ve got a Keurig in my room. [Again, not a morning person.] I have all my stuff ready to go from the day before [it’s impressive how well he knows himself], so I just check the kids have what they need.
8:20 am
The bell rings. All teachers stand in the halls to greet their students in the morning, so I’m out there talking with them as soon as they roll in. Once they settle in, they start their morning work and get their brains going for about 15 minutes. I take a lunch count and attendance at that time and go around to make sure students are working and doing what they’re supposed to be doing.
8:45 am
We start in with large group reading time for about 20 minutes or so ... maybe a story from a book we read together or vocabulary or spelling words.
9:00 am
We work on writing for about 45 minutes … we’re working on personal narratives now, then it’s off to gym or music for 40 minutes. This is my prep time to get ready for the next part of the day.
10:40 am
I pick up my students and we grab milk and juice on the way back up to our classroom to start our “dailies” … we rotate through every 15 minutes for one-on-one time, so every week I get at least 15 minutes with each student to check in.
11:50 am
Lunchtime and recess! I take them down for lunch and then I’ll usually go to the teachers’ lounge to see the other teachers and some parents if they’re there. I sit and talk and eat lunch … [I asked what he eats for lunch, and he said “some snack foods.” A dietary i n t e r ve n t i o n may be needed.]
“My class has been great, the staff is amazing and so is this community ... the students have a knack of knowing ‘hey this guy’s not ready, we got five minutes to go crazy!” 12 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
12:30 pm
I pick up students at the lunch room and head back up to classroom for 15-20 minutes of silent reading time. I let them choose their own book to make sure they enjoy the reading, then we break into small group and large group math, for 70-80 minutes.
2:00 pm
We close out the day with either social studies or science. At 2:45, I have my students write in their planners, clean up their area and the bell rings at 2:52 and I hand out my high-fives.
3:00 pm
Sometimes I have meetings after school; every Tuesday and Wednesday I have meetings for sure, and some Mondays.
AFTER SCHOOL
During the weekdays, I usually go home after preparing for the next day. I’m not coming in early to do prep work! I go home and run to train for Fargo marathon, then it’s Netflix and chill with my two dogs. It depends on how wired my brain gets on when I fall asleep. Sometimes it’s 10 p.m., sometimes it’s midnight. There you have it. A day in the life of an elementary school teacher in Fargo, ND. Not as crazy as you might expect, but perhaps that’s due to Branton Baarstad’s enviable professionalism and enthusiasm for his job. Still, he readily admits he has to keep a keen eye on his class to avoid a potential derailment. “You have to be on the ball all the time,” he said. “If you don’t, the students have a knack of knowing ‘hey this guy’s not ready, we got five minutes to go crazy!’” •
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“Living the good life to me means having enough time aside from my job that I love to have some free time to relax with my family, my dogs and my cats.�
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BY: MEGHAN FEIR • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
As the radio announcer of “The Mike McFeely Show” on 970 WDAY and a columnist for the “Fargo Forum,” Mike McFeely has been a recognizable voice in the community since the ‘90s, soon after he graduated from Moorhead State (MSUM) in 1989. On a typical, blustery Tuesday in Fargo, I had the opportunity to sit down in Drekker Brewing Company and pick McFeely’s brain about things besides politics, but President “The Donald” still got brought up, so don’t worry. Good Life: Are you nervous for the weird questions that are about to hit you? Mike McFeely: Should I be nervous for the weird questions? I’m in talk radio, so you never know what’s going to come. It’s usually people, who I often envision living in their mom’s basement, calling me, so I think I’m prepared. You don’t live in your mom’s basement, do you? GL: I actually don’t, though it’s a nice basement. So, what’s your favorite family tradition? MM: Well, I’m blushing because I thought it was going to be all, like, political, weird questions. My favorite family tradition is going to Itasca State Park in the fall to look at the leaves. It drives people crazy because they can’t believe it. I’m the guy who’s always ripping people and being mean to people on the radio, and I like to go to Itasca with my wife, daughter and our dogs and look at the colorful leaves. It’s my favorite day of the year.
GL: If you could meet anyone from the past or present, who would it be? MM: Oh, my... Again. GL: I told you these were going to be tough questions. MM: I know, but who thinks about these things? GL: I do. Darren Losee: Meghan does. MM: Is this supposed to provide a window into my soul? GL: Yes. MM: I would like to meet Donald Trump because that would be absolutely fascinating. How could you not want to sit down and absolutely question everything about him, just to set him off? He clearly has a very thin skin and is very narcissistic and insecure. GL: I’d also like to ask him these questions. GL: What’s your biggest pet peeve—when people call from their mothers’ basements? MM: My biggest pet peeve in the world is that people don’t seem to trust anyone. Facts don’t matter anymore. You can tell facts to somebody, but if they don’t want to believe it, they just won’t believe it. They’ll go on the internet and find other facts that they think are facts, but they’re not facts, and then they’ll pretend it’s a fact. You can’t reason with people if they disagree. GL: Where do you get your facts? MM: I get my facts from credible news organizations. As much as people don’t want to believe them or think it’s all fake news out there, there are still journalistic
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“I would like to meet Donald Trump because that would be absolutely fascinating.” standards, like the “Washington Post,” “The New York Times,” “Minneapolis Star Tribune,” “LA Times,” “Fargo Forum”—there’s lots of actual news organizations that still try to find facts and present them as facts, but people just don’t want to believe it. GL: How do you know those are credible sources? MM: Because they employ real journalists. At some point, you have to trust institutions. If you don’t trust any information, unless it’s information you agree with or that solidifies your viewpoints of the world, how do you go forward? GL: How do you decide which journalists are credible and trustworthy? MM: Maybe it’s old school, but I believe journalists that are trained at reputable universities are trustworthy and at least attempt to be objective. Are any of us always objective all the time? We all have our biases and see the world through our eyes, but if you are a trained journalist and understand the role of a journalist, then I should trust you. GL: If two journalists attend the same reputable university and one of them goes to work at a news organization you don’t particularly like, would you still trust them? 16 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
MM: I would probably lose trust for them if they go to a Breitbart.com. I don’t believe that’s a credible news source. It clearly has a slant that goes one direction and has an agenda or a purpose behind it. If you’re going to go work for that organization, then can I trust you anymore? GL: What is something people do that you love and always catches your attention, like someone opening a door for another person, or someone giving you a napkin with a beverage? MM: I like how people cannot resist petting a dog. When a dog walks up to somebody, I know it’s a good person if they instinctively reach down to pet the dog’s back. Somebody that blanches, ignores, or shoves the dog away—I have questions about them. GL: If someone wrote an article about you, what do you think would be a fitting headline? I don’t get this option because the headline is always relatively the same. MM: “He’s not as big of an a**hole as you think he is.” GL: Whose radio talk show would you want to listen to more, Batman’s or Superman’s?
“My biggest pet peeve in the world is that people don’t seem to trust anyone.” MM: Batman. He’s more of a broody and introspective guy, and I picture myself as being broody and introspective, though I don’t know if that’s how I’m seen or not, so how could you not want to listen to a broody and introspective talk show host? GL: What’s been your worst date scenario? MM: Any date I’ve been on because I’m a bad dater. GL: What was the worst and most uncomfortable one? MM: Every date I’ve been on. I’m not kidding. I’m a terrible dater, and I’ll give you my wife’s phone number and you can ask her. GL: So how did that progress? How did you get a wife? MM: Alcohol. I’m not joking. God put alcohol on this earth for bad daters like me to actually have a shot. GL: Hah. A shot. GL: Favorite breakfast food? MM: Bacon. But I’m trying to not eat a lot because I’d like to live beyond the age of 55. I mean, I hope that’s everybody’s answer. If somebody says oatmeal, they should be shot. GL: Chewy or crispy? MM: Not crispy, but cooked beyond the point of rawness. Chewy, but not to the point of crispness. GL: That’s a very good place to be. MM: And pre-cooked, microwavable bacon should be outlawed. GL: What does living the good life mean to you? MM: Living the good life to me means having enough time aside from my job that I love to have some free time to relax with my family, my dogs and my cats. I don’t have any aspirations of being wealthy or jet setting across the world. I just like to spend time with them, cooking steak on the grill, mixing a drink and relaxing with the dogs in the backyard. I’m a simple man. •
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BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Joe said he has “always” been into power sports and motorcycle racing, since childhood. And now, he added: “I’ve had the luxury and misfortune of turning my hobby into my job. It’s both the best thing and the worst thing in the world.” Joe wants to keep the excitement in power sports and motorcycles: “They’re toys. I work in an industry of ‘big people toys.’ So many of us still tap into our youth mentality of wanting to have that toy ... And I am the same way. I still get excitement out of it.” He especially likes getting other people into these sports as a hobby: “My job is fulfilling because I can see the passion growing in someone else.” 18 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
“I work in an industry of ‘big people toys.’ So many of us still tap into our youth mentality of wanting to have that toy ... And I am the same way. I still get excitement out of it.”
Joe, 28 years old, started Sisufab in 2013, building his own shop in West Fargo, after a lifetime of motorcycle and power sports devotion, education, and also paying his professional dues. In addition to attending the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, specializing in Harley-Davidson early and late models and Honda Hontech, he also has HarleyDavidson dealership experience and factory training, Triumph Motorcycle technician training, and extensive training and experience with Indian Motorcycles. Beginning with riding a dirt bike as a kid, Joe went on to work for an Arctic Cat ATV dealer as an adolescent
and then worked at Ma’s Cycles in West Fargo during High School. Attending what Joe called West Fargo High School’s “excellent recreational engines program,” he is a two-time state winner in the Skills USA Motorcycle Service Technology program. Skills USA promotes vocational competitions for high school and college students across the United States. During his junior year he placed third nationally and in his senior year he won first place in the national competition, which also landed him a scholarship to the Universal Technical Institute – Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) in Phoenix, Arizona.
After college at MMI, Joe worked for the local HarleyDavidson dealership and then also what is now Legendary Motor Sports (formerly Indian Triumph of Fargo). In 2013, Joe explained, “I thought I was going to get out of the motorcycle industry, but that didn’t happen.” While he was working in electric motor sales and service for a friend’s company, he built a small shop in West Fargo solely to work on motorcycles on the side, “and after a little while work came to me, and it really took off, and now we are where we are today.” Joe gives a great deal of credit to what he gained through 20 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
Skills USA and West Fargo’s programs: “Those pinnacle game changing points steered me in the right direction to go to college. Both of these programs are ones that I do not want to see go away as they are huge assets to this industry” and provide opportunities for young people. Currently, one would describe Sisufab as “very busy.” Joe smilingly said, “There’s no lack of stuff to do.” “Since we’re a smaller shop – there is constantly a struggle in balancing how much work one can do,” Joe explained. But he added, “It’s not a bad problem to have.” He described the local motorcycle culture as “strong:” “It
is better than it was in the early 2000s and it is also more diverse – we work with every kind of brand.” Although Joe described that a heavy part of their business is working on cruisers, such as Harley-Davidson and Indian, his shop also “branches away from that too.” Looking around the shop, there is often exotic motorcycles, like Ducati and Aprilia, mixed in with more common foreign motorcycles, like Honda and Kawasaki.
challenge, as it was more work than anticipated: “We are technically the US end of the company and the sole distributor. It’s been a good thing but a daunting task. It is fun and it also opens us up to the nationwide market.”
Something new for Sisufab has been becoming the sole US distributor for the German motorcycle company, Krämer Motorcycles, specializing in road racing machines. Joe described this as exciting but also as a
Joe lives with his girlfriend of six years, Brittany Taplin, who in addition to her work with a local architecture firm, helps out Sisufab with graphics, web site, computer work and in organizing andurbantoadmedia.com facilitating special events. Joe said / THE GOOD LIFE / 21
The name of his company, Sisufab comes from the Finnish word “sisu” which means “courage, resilience and determination” and “fab” for “fabrication.”
“I find myself concentrating more on making other people happy than on anything else. Making money is just a byproduct. If you concentrate on making money, you aren’t very happy.”
that Brittany is also into power sports and has plans to explore road racing this year. In their spare time, Joe and Brittany love to go ice racing: “We put studded tires on our dirt bikes, haul them to a friend’s lake place, plow a track on the ice, and go ride.” Joe also enjoys non-motorized recreation, of the bicycle kind, as a way to keep in shape and relax. What’s on the horizon for Joe and Sisufab? First off, he is helping to organize an indoor motorcycle flat track race at the Schollander Pavilion at the West Fargo Fairground this April 29th. Flat track racing is highly competitive and fast-paced and is also sometimes 22 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
referred to as “dirt track” racing. The last time flat track racing happened in West Fargo was in the 1980s. Joe is hoping this event will help spark excitement for motorcycle racing in this community again. For his business, Joe said, “Our future goal at this point – our achievable goal – is to try to find a new building to grow our business in size physically. Our shop is new, but it is small. We keep it tidy and clean but it is too little for what I have on a day to day basis.” Joe looked forward: “We have the hopes of expanding into doing more of a dealership set up, but not on a big scale. We have a strong market here. I am pretty
confident in the future that we will continue to grow at a steady and manageable pace.” When asked “What does The Good Life mean to you?” he explained: “To me, ‘the good life,’ is to be able to enjoy what I do on a day to day basis – through my business, being able to enjoy what I do with power sports and motorcycles and to help other people with the same thing. It makes my life enjoyable. It is a reason to get up in the morning and go to work. I find myself concentrating more on making other people happy than on anything else. Making money is just a byproduct. If you concentrate on making money, you aren’t very happy.” •
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Ready. Aim. Fire. Actually, wait. There is a lot more to shooting a gun than just pulling the trigger and looking like you just stepped off the set of “Duck Dynasty” or “Lethal Weapon” (one, two, three or four). As a woman who has never worn pink camo and has not hunted much of anything, besides deals on clearance racks, my experience with guns is solely comprised of one game of Annie Oakley with a rifle and a handful of clay pigeons in a forsaken field. To familiarize myself with the basics, Brent Brattlof, the general manager at Bill’s Gun Shop and Range in Fargo and Moorhead, graciously taught me a few pointers about gun handling and safety. Every current and potential firearm owner should practice the steps mentioned in this article faithfully. To put the lesson into action, I was allowed to carefully use a 9mm handgun in the range, which was an exhilarating experience. I just wish I had been wearing my prescription glasses. Before you buy Whether you are a collector, a hunter, a safety activist or a combination of all three, it’s important to know the purpose behind the purchase before making your final selection. “You have to have a knowledge of the firearm to know what you want,” Brattlof said. “There should be intent behind every purchase.” The staff at Bill’s Gun Shop and Range not only helps customers choose the right gun for their specific situations, they give in-depth training, illustrate
how to take apart a firearm for field tripping and cleaning, offer classes, and sell safety equipment and safes for secure storage. Guns in the home As is the case with numerous Midwestern residents, Brattlof grew up in an environment where hunting meant spending some quality time with his father. “I probably started shooting when I was 8 with just a little .22 bolt-action rifle,” Brattlof said. “It just kind of progressed as I got older into hunting long guns, and I bought my first handgun when I was 22.” Every responsible gun owner knows that education begins in the home. In order to prevent accidents and the mishandling of weapons, parents need to educate their children about the proper treatment, power and potential dangers of weapons. “In my house, they stayed locked up in a safe. I didn’t even know where the key was until I was 16. I had zero access to the firearms, unless my dad was involved. Once I turned 16, I knew where the guns were, just in case I would need access to be able to protect or defend myself.” Although the risks of owning precarious weapons are real and must be taken seriously, the chance of accidents and incidents occurring can be greatly reduced with proper training.
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As shooting becomes more of a sport, this type of education can be taught in entertaining ways, whether your child is participating in trap leagues or going to the range with your supervision and companionship.
If you are going to carry a gun, you need to know how to correctly handle it. 1. Never point a gun at someone “Always keep it in a direction where you know that if it goes off, it’s not going to hurt anybody or go where somebody could potentially be hurt.” 2. Act as though the gun is loaded “Never underestimate the power of a firearm, and never underestimate the person handing you the gun. You don’t know if somebody keeps it loaded or not. When you pick it up, always treat it like it’s loaded. Keep the gun pointed down, clear the chamber to make sure it isn’t loaded, and even double check to make sure you didn’t miss something.” 3. Don’t get too friendly with the trigger “Never have your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.” 4. Hold the gun firmly in your hand “Make sure you have a firm grip so the recoil doesn’t force the gun from your hand.” 5. Point in a safe direction “Make sure it’s pointed in a safe direction before you fire, and always know what’s behind your target as well, especially for deer hunting.” 6. Store ammo separately from the firearm “When we transport firearms, the ammo and the guns are never in the same case. They’re always separated.” 26 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
7. Communicate and store your firearms in a safe place “There’s sometimes a lack of communication as far as what needs to happen after the purchase. If you take the gun home in the case that you got, make sure to move it to a safe or secure location.” Bill’s Gun Shop has six locations (five that have ranges) in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They host special nights for youth, ladies, and college students at discounted rates. See their ad on the back page for more info. •
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HOW TO TIE A BOW TIE IN 7 EASY STEPS (maybe 8 or 9)
STEP ONE
STEP TWO
STEP THREE
Begin with the bow tie facing up with the left side (A) slightly longer than the right side (B) and cross A over B.
Bring A under B and bring up through the loop. (Throw it over your shoulder to get it out of the way.)
Form a bow shape with B by folding the crease to the right and then folding to the left. (Don’t let go!)
STEP FOUR
Bring A over and down the middle of bow shape created in step 3.
STEP FIVE
Fold A into a second bow shape and hold.
STEP SIX
Push the new bow A through the loop behind bow B. Make sure folded ‘bows’ are on opposite sides of the tie.
STEP SEVEN
STEP EIGHT
STEP NINE
Tighten by pulling the folded sides of the bow. Adjust bows evenly.
See step 1. Start process over because you are frustrated and not happy with your first attempt.
Optional. Take a selfie and post it online because you are proud that you accomplished such a grown-up task.
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RETHINK AQUAVIT: TRY IT IN A COCKTAIL Aquavit is starting to make a splash in the states. Not only for toasting or special occasions, our VänSkap Aquavit can be enjoyed alone or in a cocktail. PHOTO BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
HISTORY:
FRIENDSHIP COCKTAIL
Aquavit is a flavored spirit that has been produced in Scandinavia since the 15th century. To honor our deeply rooted Scandinavian heritage, we bring you our VänSkap (Swedish for friendship) Aquavit.
• 2 oz MINIONS VänSkap Aquavit • 1 Teaspoon Honey • 2-4 Dashes Orange Bitters Pour all ingredients over ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a martini glass or cocktail coup. Garnish with braided orange.
TASTING NOTES: Sweet notes of citrus, fennel, and star anise are balanced with spicy notes of caraway, coriander, juniper and a slight hint of dill.
HOW TO ENJOY: Aquavit can be enjoyed chilled in a small glass or provide a unique twist in a traditional cocktail. To friends new and old, we raise our glass and say "VänSkap".
RECIPE: Try this simple and tasty recipe you can make at home.
www.proofdistillers.com
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BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN • PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
87 year old Barnesville native, Corporal Wilbert Scheffler of the US Army 7th Infantry during the Korean War, is a local hero worth getting to know. This reflective and grateful farmer and television repairman’s life was greatly influenced by his time in service in Korea. Wilbert is the recipient of many honors for his time in service, including the Bronze Star, Korean Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and the National Defense Service Medal. He entered Basic Training in 1952 at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. Wilbert described his fellow soldiers as “all farm kids, all the same people like I am.” After basic training, Wilbert said that where the soldier was assigned was “alphabetical”: “If your last name began near the beginning, you went to Germany. Mine was later, so I went to Korea. That’s that.” During his time in Korea, one of his duties was guarding a prisoner of war camp. Wilbert explained, “We spent two years guarding prisoners. Years later we learned it was a leper colony.” He did not end up with leprosy. Wilbert was also struck by the poverty of the Korean people, especially the children: “What really got me over there were those little orphan kids — they were starving. How they survived I don’t know. Many soldiers threw crackers to them and they fought over them.”
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He recalled one time early in the time in Korea: “I was so lucky … I was on the north side of Arsenal Hill – I moved out in the open so that I could see and I no more than moved and a mortar round came. I was buried under the rubble and dirt and I was protected. I was on guard duty all by myself. I was all alone and it was a bad place. But I was protected.” Wilbert was dismayed by the lack of attention paid to the veterans coming back from the Korean War. With emotion, he said, “When I came back from Korea, nobody gave a darn.” But something happened in October 2016 that brought tears of joy to his eyes – he was one of the
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veterans selected to travel to Washington DC on the WDAY Honor Flight. Wilbert exclaimed, “The Honor Flight was like living in another world! People were so nice. And after the flight, returning home, seeing all those people at the airport when we came back, it got to me.”
During the Honor Flight, Wilbert met many people and saw much. He described being kindly wheeled around in his wheelchair by Mike McFeely who took him to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. Wilbert enjoyed his time with Tracy Briggs, Forum Communications and founder of the Honor Flight back in 2007: “We got along really well. I could say anything to her and she understood. She wheeled me to the Vietnam Wall, the Korean War monument, and the Lincoln Monument.” Wilbert then got up to get something from another room and returned to proudly show me the thank you note he received from Briggs, smiled, and said: “She’s a nice lady.” When I asked Wilbert about the movie “Pork Chop Hill” he said, “It was a good movie. Gregory Peck is very good in it. But nothing can accurately show what we went through.” Wilbert says that circumstances and people saved his life while in Korea. Wilbert asserted, “Other people stepped in and saved me. I didn’t ask for any favors.” One of those that stepped in was his best friend at war, Jim Cunningham, who assigned Wilbert to the Commo (Communications) Unit because of his knowledge of working with radios and other devices. Wilbert always had a radio: “I kept
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the radio going, guys loved the music. It helped us all. I carried the radio on my backpack. I made a case big enough for six flash light batteries and made it go 24 hours a day so that the guys had music. Music was just a life saver.” One time Wilbert left his radio at the prison camp he was guarding. When he got back to his unit, it was gone, and he figured it was lost forever. Then Jim Cunningham said, “Did you know they shipped your radio, it’s in supply?” Wilbert explained, “Getting that radio back was a life saver for me. It was a Zenith. It was high quality.” Another person whose intervention perhaps saved Wilbert’s life was the officer who decided to send him to the rear of the line during the Pork Chop Hill battle. Wilbert emotionally explained, "My best friend in the Army, Jim Cunningham, died on that hill. Somebody was looking out for me." He described the battle: “The last battle – out of the clear blue sky – I had about 40 points and I was supposed to go home. The guys with that many points went back in the rear. The Chinese hit Pork Chop and they were bound to take it, they just swarmed into battle. And then, us guys in the rear, we heard that we were going to counter attack. They lined us up. So many guys were so afraid, they just collapsed. They did not even have enough officers to make a company. We went to Hill 200, and they had decided to abandon Pork Chop.” And finally, there was a doctor at the M.A.S.H unit where he was recovering from a very bad fever. Wilbert remembered that the doctor asserted, “Stay another day. It’s really bad out there.” Wilbert thinks his chances of survival were greatly increased by that kind doctor: “My company went into it. It was really bad, but I stayed another day or two, and was saved.” He asked, “Why did
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a doctor go out of his way to say ‘stay another day?’ He was kind of like Alan Alda from M.A.S.H., a young guy. I don’t know his name. I think he saved my life.” Coming back from the war, he lived his life as a farmer and a television repairman on the side: “Back in the stone age, I fixed everyone’s television.” Wilbert misses Jim Cunningham and communicates with a relative of Jim’s via email and letters. After the war he became friends with fellow veteran, Dick Mosca, who was an officer in the Navy and a Minnesota highway patrolman who died a week before the October 2016 WDAY Honor Flight: “He accepted me for what I was. We would go to veteran’s funerals together. I really miss him.” A major reason Wilbert went on the Honor Flight was to honor Dick. Wilbert has been married to Mary Ann since 1976. They have two children. Their son, Bill, works in the IT department at MSUM and who Wilbert encouraged with computers. His daughter, Peggy, lives in Carrington. She has given him two grandchildren. Evidence of his pride in his children and grandchildren are in the many photos in their Barnesville home. Mary Ann and Wilbert are active in the Barnesville VFW chapter, where he is a Quartermaster. Wilbert’s son, Bill said this of his dad: “I think the war affected him in some pretty profound ways. He values all life and living and, consequently, none of our family members are hunters, which is unusual for this area. He often feels guilty eating meat. We grew up on a farm with pet cats, dogs, a pet chicken that lived in the house for a while, even a pet calf that roamed our farm yard at one point that he had to bottle feed to keep alive. He values home and hearth above all else and was never much for travel or similar excitement that most people crave after he returned home. I don’t think any of us who weren’t there with him can ever fully understand what he saw and what he went through… As a listener to his stories, it is hard to process it all, I couldn’t imagine
living through and surviving it. All he wanted was to be home and ever since he returned home, it’s where he wants to be and where he is happiest - surrounded by everyone and everything he values most.” Bill continued: “We did not have a lot growing up but he’d still go the extra mile for friends and people in the local community by helping them with their TVs and electronics much like he did maintaining radio for friends back in Korea. Without realizing it at the time, I followed in his footsteps by continuing the tradition and helping people in my community with computers and still do even today in my free time.” Bill credits Wilbert for his career in computing after his dad brought a very early Apple II Plus computer home one day for Bill: “I hooked it to one of the many televisions in my bedroom (one of the perks of having a dad who fixed TVs!) and it was love at first sight for me when I realized I could program it to do whatever I wanted.” When asked about how he keeps all of these memories clear, Wilbert said, “I eat a lot of blueberries. It keeps your mind sharp.” He is proud that the only pill he takes is for high blood pressure. When asked what he considered “The Good Life,” Wilbert thought a bit and said, “I don’t know ... After I got back from the war and I owned a farm and I was helping people with their machinery and television ... That to me was a good life. All that I went through in the war and I was not wounded and I am alive. That is a good life.” •
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