Long Live Local Journalism

Across the Fence #582

Before Door County author and journalist Norbert Blei died in 2013, he did a story on the importance of including local columns/writers in the local papers.

Times are changing as we all know. The day of locally-owned businesses, whether banks, grocery stores, hardware stores, clothing stores, or newspapers, is fading into the sunset. They’re being replaced by larger and larger conglomerates, that buy up and force out small, locally-owned businesses. It’s a fact of life. Stop for a moment and think of businesses in your community that have been lost because of this. 

The newspaper business has also changed. Most local papers were owned and published by a person or family that lived in the community. Today, very few weeklies are locally-owned. They’ve been bought out and are under the management of larger corporations that own and publish many newspapers.

Some of the larger papers have fallen on hard times. But I’m happy to report that local, weekly newspapers are alive and well, and are holding their own. 

Some have even increased their circulation base. I think this reflects the importance of the hometown newspaper. They’re the only paper that gives full coverage of the events and stories that are important to you. They cover local activities and photos accompany the in-depth stories. 

Many of those stories are clipped and What if your local high school’s sports team was in an important game and the only mention in the paper was the final score in the box scores listing? There were no details and no photos showing the action.

What if you held a big community event and the only mention in the paper was one, small paragraph of coverage? No photos of local people or activities accompanied the short paragraph.

 I recently came across some stories that my mother had clipped and saved from my 4-H days. It was great to see those photos that included friends, and to read the stories. I was glad our local Westby Times had covered those events from my younger years.

Having been in the advertising, marketing, and journalism business most of my working life, I have an understanding of the problems newspapers are facing today. We’re told that people have a much shorter attention span than they used to have. They want their information now, fast, and short. Think of a television newscast where each story receives a brief mention. There’s very little in-depth reporting. We’ve become conditioned to accepting short, sound bites.

But lets return to your local newspaper, the one you’re reading this column in. Chances are, you take your time and read many of the stories in their entirety, not just the intro paragraph. Why? Because this is your community. This is your paper. These stories are about your friends and neighbors. These are your people. The photos are of people you know. Even family members can be found on these pages. These are stories and subjects that mean something personal to you. This is where you check for upcoming events in your community, where you find an ad for a local pancake supper put on by a community organization or church; maybe even a lutefisk dinner is advertised; a benefit event for a local person may be listed; specials at local businesses, along with want ads and garage sales can be found, and the list goes on and on.

The local newspaper is very important to the community. It’s your voice. It’s your link to what’s happening in the community. I was witness to the importance of the local paper one day when I was traveling through Boscobel. I decided to stop at the Boscobel Dial office and say hello to Editor David Krier and the staff. The paper had just been delivered from the printer and was available for sale. There was a steady stream of people coming and going to get their paper hot off the press. Don’t tell me that a local paper isn’t important to a community.

Norbert Blei, a writer who lived in Door County, Wisconsin, was a champion of local papers and local journalism. He said that a community needs a newspaper that provides full news coverage, interesting features, concerned columnists, good writing, good stories, and an editor/publisher who knows the place, the people, the problems, and how to put it all down in words (and good photography). He said the past is the future when it comes to local journalism–which corporate owners of newspapers often fail to grasp. To maintain a viable, interesting, local paper, we need all those things, instead of shrinking the pages, the staff, the news, and starving the readership, by focusing solely on “bottom line” instead of the written line. Columnists need to be compensated for their stories. They can’t be expected to provide weekly stories for free. Unfortunately, many newspapers expect to run columns for nothing or they’re not interested. That’s like a slap in the face. They’re telling you your writing isn’t worth anything. Many people tell me my column is the first thing they read or one of the main reasons they subscribe. That should be worth something. Norbert Blei loved my column, which meant a lot to me because he didn’t give praise lightly.

We need to support our local paper with our subscriptions and advertising so they can survive. If a community loses its newspaper, it loses its identity and voice. No community should let that happen. Once its gone, it won’t be coming back. 

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Snow Globes

Across the Fence # 581


It had been an unseasonably warm December in the Kingdom of Driftless Beauty. It looked like the kingdom was in for a brown Christmas and New Year’s. Most of the children were worried that Santa wouldn’t be able to deliver their presents without any snow. Many children had asked for skis and sleds and there wouldn’t be any use for them without snow. 

That Christmas Eve there was still no sign of snow. Everyone was getting very worried. The sky was as clear as glass and not a snowflake to be seen. There was a lot of tension and negative energy in the air. All the children in the kingdom were staring at the sky for any sign of a snowflake. Christmas was almost here and unless it began to snow soon it was going to be a Christmas without any presents.

The only kids who didn’t care if it didn’t snow were with the Sherpe brothers. They had asked Santa for BB guns. They wouldn’t need snow to play with their Christmas presents. They didn’t believe that Santa brought their presents. They were sure that their parents bought them and hid them some place in the house until Christmas, when they brought them out on Christmas Eve and put them under the tree. They decided to start hunting through the house and see if they could find a couple of packages that looked like guns. They looked everywhere but they found nothing. They were beginning to wonder if maybe there was a Santa Claus and he still had their presents in his sleigh at the North Pole.

On Christmas morning they found skis and sleds under their tree instead of guns. Santa knows best what a person should have at Christmas. He knew it was going to snow and that they would want to ski and slide down the hills on their sleds with the other children. 

Suddenly there was a huge disturbance in the air, the earth began shaking, and snow began to fall, lightly at first, and then it became heavier and heavier. Soon there was a complete whiteout in the air as snowflakes filled the sky. Children of the Kingdom of Driftless Beauty looked out their windows at the wonderful sight of snow swirling through the air. They were filled with joy as they watched snowflakes settle gently to the ground and accumulate. They realized Santa would be able to use his sleigh to deliver presents after all. The negative atmosphere that had filled the air earlier had been replaced by positive energy. Suddenly, the darkness in the sky was lit by a bright light that appeared, and the image of a sleigh pulled by reindeer could be seen. It was Santa. He was going to make it. Now that there was snow, Santa would be able to deliver presents to all the good little girls and boys. The children would be able to use their new skis and sleds in the morning.

That evening the snow continued to fall gently to the ground and the air took on the appearance of glass again. Children of the kingdom who were looking out their windows at the falling snow, realized they could see images in the glass-like sky. There were happy, smiling faces looking at them through the glass sky. The children realized they were living inside a snow globe and were looking out at the world beyond the globe, instead of into the globe. Someone on the outside had finally picked it up and shaken it, causing the snow to arrive, making it possible for Santa to use his sleigh and reindeer to deliver their presents. What had been an unhappy, snowless Christmas was turning into a beautiful, wonderful, white Christmas for those who lived in the snow globe and for those who had made it all possible when they had picked it up and shaken it, releasing the magic within the globe. It was a beautiful sight as the snow gently swirled through the air and fell to the ground.

Never pass up the opportunity to witness the magic of a snow globe. Next time you look at one and shake it, think of someone living inside that snow globe and looking back at you. Maybe we all live in a giant snow globe too, and someone just needs to shake up our world to make it come alive. 

                                                             

                                                               

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s with all the magic of the season, and that it was also filled with snow globes. 

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Could You Live A 19th Century Style Life?

Across thee Fence #580


After my story about sitting in the Hauge Church on that quiet hilltop and reflecting on all the changes that have taken place in life since that time, My friend, Bob, who lives in Door County, brought up a great point to me in an e-mail. He said, “Life isn’t any less complicated and challenging today.” Bob and I have talked about this in the past. If the grid goes down, how will people cope?

How many people could go back to living in the 19th century? Would you know how to build a shelter and provide your own food? Have you ever butchered a pig or killed a chicken and prepared it for eating. What if you couldn't get to the supermarket to buy your food? What percent of the population today would be able to do those things? How many people still know how to can and preserve food? In the winter our cellar was filled with food in jars that lined the shelves. How many people know how to make lard to use in cooking? Has anyone made their own soap lately? How many people could use an old wood-burning stove to cook if the electricity was out? First you’d have to find an old stove and get it set up. There‘s a real art to knowing how to cook on a wood-stove. You needed to know where to place things for best results. 

Wood burning cook stove in the SummerKitchen.

How many people could function in the dark? Most people don’t even have a flashlight handy if the lights go out. We don’t have lanterns or candles handy to provide light if the power goes down. Without electricity our water won’t run and our garage door openers won’t open or shut, except by hand. 

I'm old enough to still remember my mother and grandmother using that old wood-fired stove and cooking on it. I can still see it and smell the aroma’s wafting from the things that were cooking on it.

The cooking stove had a heavy firebox on the left side where the wood went. On the right side was a reservoir that held water to be heated up. Above the firebox were usually six round openings of various sizes, covered with lids. This was where you placed your pots and pans that held your cooking materials. There was a large island in the center of the stove that was used for baking. Above this area were two warming ovens where food was placed to keep it warm. As I thought of the old wood-burning stove that was the central part of our kitchen, I realized how much my mother knew about making it work to perfection. I can see her making lefse on the top of that old stove and loaves of bread in the large oven. I remember the wonderful aroma of fresh, homemade bread that rose from the stove when Ma would open that large front door. 

It was also used to warm us on cold days. We’d open the door and heat would radiate out from the stove and help warm up the kitchen. When we came in from outside and were frozen, it was wonderful to sit in front of that open door, and put your feet up on the door. I can still feel the tingling in my feet as they thawed out. That wood-burning stove provided a lot of the heat for the kitchen area. It was also lots of work keeping the fires going. It took a lot of wood to keep the fire at the right temperature and knowing the right size of wood to use. Cutting wood took a lot of time in those days. You needed a large supply to get you through the winter. The left side of the stove over the firebox was the hottest and the area near the reservoir was used for warming. 

Wood was an important part of winter survival. That’s another thing that people don't need to worry about today. 

Washing clothes and taking a bath were also part of life that has greatly changed since those days. We didn’t have plumbing in the house until I was a sophomore in high school. We still had a two-holer outhouse. That was a real adventure on cold winter days. Taking a bath was an adventure. We used a tub that we filled with water and then added hot water from the reservoir on the stove. Saturday night was bath night. We four kids took turns. The tub was placed near the front of the stove so we had some heat during our bath. There wasn’t a lot of privacy. 

Washing clothes is another area that has changed in many ways. How many people would want to go back to using a wringer washing machine?

When I think back, it really wasn’t that many years ago that this is the way we lived. How many of you who lived through that time would want to go back to those old methods instead of the modern way we live today? It may have been easier in some ways, but it was certainly a lot harder in most ways. My friend, Bob, had a good point. We live in a crazy, fast-paced, high-tech world, but the world we grew up in was not easy either. 

If the electric grid went down, the Amish would still be able to survive, while most of us wouldn’t have a clue where to begin.

The things I’ve mentioned in this story just scratch the surface of the many things you’d need to know to survive.

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The Singing Branch

Across the Fence #579w (Christmas Extra from the Kingdom of Driftless Beauty)

One day many moons ago, a young Chippewa warrior named Wa Hoohega, got lost in the woods of Wolf Valley and couldn’t find his way out before nightfall. As the sun sank behind the wooded hills and the woods became dark, the Great Spirit hung the moon and stars in the sky to provide a light for those animals who needed to travel in the dark.

The young man, not wanting to become even more lost in the dark, sat down among the trees and wrapped himself in his blanket to ward off the chill of the evening and await the morning light when he could find his way out of the woods and back to his home. 

That evening, as he lay on the forest floor, he heard a sound he had never heard before. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. For several hours he listened to what sounded like the wind blowing across the branches of the trees and making wonderful music. He thought he would never get to sleep, but as he listened to the peaceful music, sleep finally overcame him and he drifted off to the dream world. In his dreams, Wakunka, the woodpecker, came flying through the trees and landed on his shoulder. “Follow me in the morning and I will show you where the beautiful music is coming from,” Wakunka whispered in his ear. The woodpecker then flew away and disappeared into the dark shadows of the evening.

In the morning as Wa Hoohega awoke, the sun was shining brightly just above the crest of the eastern hills. The young man heard a tapping sound in a tree near him and there sat Wakunka, the woodpecker, drilling a hole in the branch of a tree. He remembered his dream and stood up. As he did so, Wakunka flew off into the woods. Wa Hoohega followed the flitting woodpecker deep into the woods where they finally came to a Cedar swamp. There drilled in the branch of a tree were a series of holes that gave a whistling sound as the wind passed through them. It made such beautiful music that Wa Hoohega knew he must have that branch to take back to his village. However, the branch was out of his reach and there was no way to climb up the trunk to break it off.

Just then there was a crackling of leaves and sticks as Bjørnka, the bear, came through the brush and stood next to the tree. “I know your problem,” he said, “but I can help you.  I will climb up the tree and break off the branch so that you may take it back to your village. I only ask that you remember me each time you make music on the stick, for only with my assistance will you be able to make the stick come alive with beautiful music.” With that, the bear climbed high into the tree, broke the branch free and it fell to the ground at Wa Hoohega’s feet.

Native American flute created and carved by Bob McCurdy of Door County.

He picked up the branch and told Wakunka, “I will take this home, for you can make another.”  Without another word he left and climbed to the top of a high hill where he sat down on Sunshine Prairie to make the stick come alive with the beautiful music he had heard during the evening. He blew and blew but nothing he did would produce any sounds from the stick. Frustrated, he finally asked the Great Spirit for help. The Great Spirit heard his cries for help and sent Wakunka and Bjørnka to help him. Wakunka flew down from a tree and Bjørnka came lumbering up the hill.  When they came to where Wa Hoohega sat, Wakunka said, “You were very selfish in taking the only branch that sang and not leaving another to replace it. Not only that, but you left without so much as a thank you and you didn’t remember the assistance that Bjørnka gave you either, as you tried to make the branch come alive with sound.”

With the woodpecker’s words Wa Hoohega realized the error of his selfish ways and asked them to forgive him and show him how to make the beautiful music he had heard the night before. Seeing that the young man was truly sorry for his actions they agreed to help him.

Wakunka, the woodpecker, turned into a man and Bjørnka, the bear, became very small and climbed atop the branch now lying at the young man’s feet. Wakunka then picked up the branch and it turned into a finely crafted flute. “Watch me and I will show you how to make this flute come alive.” 

He moved Bjørnka away from a hole in the flute where he had been sitting and placed the flute to his lips. As he blew into it, the wonderful sounds Wa Hoohega had heard in the evening now filled the air once again. And so with Bjørnka sitting atop the flute, Wakunka taught the young man how to make the music. When the lesson was finished he also taught him how to make a flute. Bjørnka tore off another branch and Wakunka drilled the holes with his beak. Then with their assistance, Wa Hoohega made his own flute to take back to his village, and left the original flute in the woods so there would always be music for people to hear as the wind whistled through the branches of the trees.

This time he thanked his new friends for their help before leaving to return to his village. He practiced making music on the flute as he made his way home. That afternoon as he entered the village playing beautiful music on his flute, all the people came running to see what was making the wonderful sounds they heard.

Kiana, a beautiful young woman and daughter of the village chief, who was very shy and seldom talked to the young men of the village, listened to him play the lovely melodies on the flute. The young men of the village had tried for years to gain her attention but none had succeeded. Now as Kiana listened to the music, she was drawn to Wa Hoohega. Her brain told her, “Go slow, go slow.” But her heart was touched by the music and she found herself walking toward Wa Hoohega as if transported on a cloud of air.  Her brain again told her, “Keep your mouth shut, keep your mouth shut.” But again her heart won out and spoke for her. She said, “Send your father to my father, and offer a gift, no matter how small, whatever you can afford, for I wish to be your wife.”

Wa Hoohega, who had always loved Kiana, quickly left to tell his father that he had found his bride. His family, who was quite poor, had little to give that would be fitting for a chief’s daughter. They finally decided to offer the flute Wa Hoohega had made, to Kiana’s father in hopes it would be worthy of her.  The gift was accepted and a short time later, the wedding took place. After the ceremony, all the people of the village celebrated and danced far into the night to the beautiful music of the new flute. From deep in the forest they could also hear the same sounds dancing among the branches in the wind. As Wa Hoohega and his new bride sat together enjoying the music, a woodpecker flew overhead and dipped it’s wings as if in greeting. Wa Hoohega smiled and waved as the woodpecker circled over them before flying back toward the forest. 

  

It wasn’t long before all the young men in the village were making flutes, and with Wa Hoohega as their teacher, they soon were able to talk to the woman of their choice, through the magic music of the flute.  For where there is music, the notes will always reach the hearts of those who listen.

Many flutes were given as gifts during the Winter Solstice that year. From that time forward, there has always been beautiful, haunting, music coming from Wolf Valley in the Kingdom of Driftless Beauty.

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The Perfect Christmas Tree

Across the Fence #579


Have you ever gone from one Christmas tree farm or lot to another one, trying to find the perfect tree? You stand them up straight and rotate them around, inspecting them from every angle. Just when you think you found one, you notice it’s not even on every side. Then you discard that tree and move on to the next one.

One year I thought we had found a perfect tree, at least it was before we brought it home, but when I set it upright in the stand, it leaned considerably to the side. Then I noticed it took a 90-degree turn halfway up the trunk. Well, I may be exaggerating just a little on the 90-degree part, but it was very crooked. I decided to cut some of the trunk off to make it straighter, but then the bottom branches were uneven, so I sawed a little more off. By the time I got done sawing and straightening, our seven-foot tree was about four feet tall. But at least it stood up straight! 

Another time the trunk at the base was so thick it wouldn’t fit through the top of the tree stand. Again the trusty saw came out and once again our tree that had been $5.00 a foot was about $10.00 shorter by the time I finished cutting, trimming, and shaping. Uff da. 

Being a rather frugal Norwegian (Linda calls me cheap), I’d break into a cold sweat when I looked at the prices of artificial trees. I started calculating how many years of buying a “live” tree would add up to the cost of one artificial tree. Although, I don’t know why we call them live trees. When we cut a tree down, it’s pretty much a “dead” tree, at least in my mind. All the needles that dropped off and ended up on our carpet were testament to that.

I must admit, I like the “real” Christmas trees. I love the pine smell in the house. I hear some people buy those pine scent deodorizers you can get for a car, and hang them on the tree to get that natural scent. Somehow an artificial pine smell on an artificial tree just doesn’t seem very natural to me!

Around our house, a Christmas tree has multiple uses. I like to get my money’s worth. When we lived in Madison, after the holidays were over, the ornaments and lights were packed away for another year, and the tree was retired to our back yard. There it remained until spring to provide some shelter for the many birds that came to our yard to feed each day.

I didn’t let the other discarded trees in our neighborhood go to waste either. Before the city crews came around and ground them up, I’d carry, drag, or haul them down the street and into our backyard. Some years I had a regular pine forest to shelter the birds from snow and predators. Plus, they looked nice with all the snow hanging on their branches.

Our kids must have thought their father was deranged as I rescued discarded Christmas trees and drug them to the backyard, under cover of darkness of course. The neighbors probably wondered where their trees disappeared to overnight. Their suspicions were answered each spring when a pile of very dead Christmas trees appeared on our curb for pickup by the city crews.

I could tell we were one of the last holdouts in our neighborhood with a “live” tree, because each year my pine forest in the back yard got smaller. The last year we lived in Madison, I only had three live (dead)trees.

I understand why. It’s hard finding that “perfect” tree and the artificial ones become more real-looking each year. And of course, they’re all perfect! 
Even though I look for the perfect tree, I like the idea that a tree isn’t perfect, although those really crooked tree trunks did try my patience. I certainly have my share of imperfections so why should I expect a tree to be perfect? 

However, none of our trees could hold a candle—or ornament—to the one my mother’s family had when she was young. We have a photo of her brothers, LaMont and Cyril Hanson, standing in front of the most pitiful looking tree I’ve ever seen. It makes Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree look wonderful.

LaMont and Cyril

As I looked at the tree that had once served as the Christmas tree for my mother and her family, I noticed the decorations. They were as sparse as the tree. But, I imagine each one was lovingly placed on that tree. It looks like many, if not all of them, were hand-made. Those simple decorations may not have transformed the tree into a perfect tree in other people’s eyes, but I’m willing to bet it brought joy and the spirit of the Christmas season to their home.

I find the same is true with our trees. After the bare tree is decorated with ornaments and lights, it transforms even an imperfect tree into a near-perfect one. Each ornament has a history and a story to tell. Those memories of past Christmases return as each ornament is hung on the tree. 

Ornaments hand-made by our children when they were young; ornaments that once hung on our family trees when Linda and I were young; ornaments once made by my cousin Sandy each year; wood carved ornaments; special Hallmark ornaments… each one a story, each one a memory. All those things combine to transform our tree each year, into the perfect Christmas tree.

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A Simple Life

Across the Fence #578


There was a time when life, though very hard, proceeded at a much slower pace. It was a simple life. Much less complicated than the world we find ourselves in today.

Those thoughts ran through my mind on a visit to the Hauge Church, an old Norwegian Lutheran Church built in the mid-1800’s in Dane County, Wisconsin. I had sought out the solitude of the place after the unexpected deaths of a friend and a relative. I sat alone on the narrow seat of a pew and reflected on their lives. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts about them and life. As I looked out the window of that small pioneer church, I thought of the people who once sat there. I wondered what their lives had been like and what they would think of the life we lead today.

There was a poem hanging on the wall of the Hauge Church, established in 1852, called “A Simple Life” that talks about sitting on this hilltop and enjoying the quiet and solitude. Life has changed since that poem was written, but it was still peaceful sitting there alone, far from the hustle and noise of the city.

I thought of what a simple, stripped-down version that church was compared to the ones we build today. Multi-million dollar buildings that put a financial strain on the members who worship there, as they struggle to meet their own bills, not to mention those of the monumental structures.

I wondered as I sat there, is the religion taking place in our complex, fancy structures of today, any better than the religion practiced by our ancestors in that simple church? I suspect not. 

Outside the church the wind blew softly through the neighboring trees. The sun shone brightly through the two west-facing windows. I saw the corn standing tall in the field below the church. The rows stretched down to the valley below, where they met a row of trees. Hills stretched in rich, green splendor to the horizon where the color changed to blue and merged with the light blue sky. Clouds rolled majestically across the sky, taking on the appearance of snowcapped mountains in the distance.

The beauty of the land surrounds us and many of us are blind to it in our haste to get from one place to another. We’re too busy to notice… too busy to appreciate it. I think of the old saying, “Life is not a destination. It’s a journey.” What a shame that many people are too busy to enjoy the trip.

What is it that everyone is rushing around in search of? Is it peace, happiness, contentment, the American dream? Perhaps no one really knows. I’ll venture one thought. If that’s what we’re after, I doubt if we’ll find it as long as we travel blindly at full speed through life.

Every once in a while, we all need to slow down, look around, listen, and enjoy the journey we’re on. We need to tune in to the world around us.

As I sat on a bench in the shade outside the Hauge Church, I found a quiet shelter from the hectic pace of the city where we lived at that time. A peaceful place where I could quietly remember two lives that had been cut short. I could hear the wind talking to me as it wove its way through the leaves. The birds chattered happily all around me. A hawk circled lazily over the cornfield, rising and falling on an invisible shaft of air. The sounds of nature were all around, untouched by city noise and traffic.

Thoreau would have loved that hilltop. He said, “Not till we are lost, do we begin to find ourselves..."

I think not being able to find or live a simple life is a problem for many people today. We find ourselves going faster and faster. The faster we go, the more we accumulate, the heavier the load becomes, and the less we enjoy the trip. 

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify… even if just for a short time to refresh your mind and spirit. Take time to listen to the wind rattling the leaves in the trees. Hear the birds singing. See the clouds roll across the sky. Watch the sun paint the horizon with wondrous colors as it sinks out of sight. Watch as it gives way to the beauty and mystery of the star-studded evening sky.Watch for shooting stars as they briefly light up the night … beauty for just an instant in time. 

We also need to take time to know who our neighbors are, to talk across the fence with them, be there for them, and help them when they need encouragement in times of trouble.

We need to slow down and enjoy the moment. Enjoy each day.

I know we can’t turn back the clock to those days when people stood on that hill and worshiped in that simple church. Those days are gone forever. But somewhere between those simpler days and this complex, hectic world we now live in, there must be a place where people can slow down the race, tune into the world around them, and start to enjoy the journey. Sitting on that peaceful hilltop may not be the answer, but at least it's a start.

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First Snow

Across the Fence #577


Winter arrived on Saturday night, just in time for the opening of the gun deer season in Wisconsin. We awoke to a winter wonderland of white. I’m sure the deer hunters were thrilled. You need some snow for tracking and to see where they’ve been. It’s also easier to see them silhouetted against a white background.

I hope all you hunters had a successful and safe opening weekend. I enjoyed the morning kicked back in my La-Z-Boy with my blanket covering me. It was made by the Sew N’ Sews- Cashton Library Quilters. They heard that I was ill and this is something they do for veterans. It’s a wonderful “Comfort Blanket” and I use it every day. I can’t thank them enough for their generosity. 

As I sit under my blanket, I can look out the windows in the sunroom where I do my writing and enjoy the view of new snow hanging in the trees and covering the ground. The birds were busy scratching in the snow under the bird feeder as they looked for seeds. It was cold outside but I was nice and toasty, not freezing my butt off like I’ve done on opening mornings many times in the past.

This was the opening round of winter and we got around 2 or 3 inches here. It wasn’t that much, but it turned everything white and it was cold. There was just enough that we could have made a fox and geese track at Smith School when I was in grade school. It was too cold and not enough snow to make a snowman or snowballs and have a snowball fight. 

What kind of winter do the wooly caterpillars predict for this year? I think we’re looking at a mild winter because the wooly caterpillars have a long reddish brown strip in the middle and smaller black areas at either end. Last year the wooly caterpillars predicted the same thing, and they were right, at least around here in Sherpeland. I could use another mild winter, since I’m not so steady on my feet and don’t have  the energy for shoveling snow or horsing my big snowblower around.

I was doing much better until I did something stupid. The evening of our first snow, I decided to move the riding lawn mower to  the front of the garage since I wouldn't need it until spring, and move my snowblower to the back, next to the door, so I could just open the door and attack the big drifts that always accumulate in the driveway. I was pushing, pulling, and lifting, trying  to horse them closer to the wall. That wasn’t a very smart move on my part. The next day, I realized I had pulled some muscles in my lower back, that also affected my left leg and my balance. So now I have two more pills in my bag of drugs; pain pills and a muscle relaxant. To think that at the beginning of May, I was walking 3-4 miles each day, and only took a blood pressure pill and a baby aspirin. Now I add two large-doze chemo pills, anti-nausea pills, and steroids to keep the brain inflammation down, Metamucil for chemo side affects, and a stomach coating pill. All this for someone who never liked taking any type of drugs.

Life is interesting, and we never know what we may encounter around the next bend in the road, but I’m doing good and still fighting a positive fight. If I could just keep from doing stupid things I know I shouldn’t be doing, but then I am a Sherpe and a Norwegian-American, and that adds up to a stubborn, I’ll do it my way type of attitude.

The snow reminded me that winter has arrived. It won’t officially arrive until December 22. It likes to set its own timetable, not have someone tell it when to arrive. It comes blowing in on the north winds, as early as October, and sometimes doesn’t leave until April or May.

The arrival of winter also brings the buildup of ice on lakes and streams.That brings out the ice fishermen too. I’ve never gotten into ice fishing, but I know how to catch fish because I’ve listened to Garrison Keillor telling how they ice fish in Lake Wobegon. The first thing you do is cut a hole in the ice. Then you take a can of peas and spread them all around the hole. When a fish comes up to take a pea, you grab it. That’s a pretty racy joke you should only tell in the company of other ice fishermen.                                                                                                                                                  

One final thought regarding the first snow. If you don’t like winter, think positive. Remember, every winter day brings us one day closer to spring.

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Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

Across the Fence #576


There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about building fences and walls. Is a fence or wall between neighbors good or bad? I guess the first thing we need to ask is, “Why do we need the fence or wall?”

“Mending Wall” is one of Robert Frosts’ most quoted poems. He says, “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know, what I was walling in or walling out…”

When I think of the title of this column, “Across the Fence,” I think of fences in a positive way. It was where neighbors on both sides of the fence met and talked. The main reason for fences on the farm was not to fence your neighbor out, just his cows, and to keep your cows from straying onto his land. There’s nothing like a herd of cows, trampling and eating their way through a cornfield, to add a bit of tension between neighbors! Heaven forbid if they got in your tobacco field. If you think feral cats are at risk of being shot, a herd of dairy cows trampling my father’s tobacco field would have brought out the heavy artillery! Good fences do make good neighbors, and keep stray critters from being harmed too.
  
When we lived in Madison there were also fences. Most fences and walls in cities are to keep dogs or kids from getting into traffic or wandering off! That type of fence is also used for containment, it’s just not cows that are being contained. 

It helps to keep your cows from straying onto his land.. There’s nothing like a herd of cows, trampling and eating their way through a cornfield, to add a bit of tension between neighbors! Heaven forbid if they got in your tobacco field. If you think feral cats are at risk of being shot, a herd of dairy cows trampling my father’s tobacco field would have brought out the heavy artillery! Good fences do make good neighbors, and keep stray critters from being harmed too. 

Our neighbors on one side had a wire fence. It was used to keep their dog in their yard. The dog was long gone, but the fence was still there. Now It was just used to stand next to and talk across when we met in the back yard. Just like old times… minus the tractors! Although if I’d have had a riding lawn mower, a John Deere mower of course, I’d have felt right at home.  

Other people put up fences and walls to keep people out and off their property. This is my space and you’re not entering unless I invite you! No Trespassing! The neighbors who lived behind us had that type of fence. They had a lot of parties and company in their back yard, where they had a basketball hoop and a hot tub. We weren’t invited! But that’s OK, I’m not much of a party animal, and climbing into a hot tub with other people is not high on my list of “things to do!”

We had a lot of trees, brush, and vines along the back of our yard, and I let them grow thick in the summer. I guess letting nature take its course is my own way of walling out or walling in. It gave us a little backyard privacy in the middle of a city. It also gave a little protection and hiding places for all my wildlife critter friends! I think most of my neighbors would have liked to fence them out. Even I have to admit, they were be a nuisance and destructive at times. 

At one time the area where we lived was an apple orchard on the southwest edge of Madison. This was country and the critters and birds had free reign over the area. Today the city stretches miles beyond where our neighborhood was and the busy, crowded Beltline was only a couple blocks from us. That apple orchard is now full of houses, and much of the land that was home to the critters is now cemented over with highways and sidewalks. They were there first and people invaded their homes and confiscated their land. Is it any wonder the critters were a little ticked off about it and liked to make a meal of the gardens and flowers!? Who can blame them?

Larger animals, like deer, that used to call the area home, are now gone… forced out by fences, walls, and people. I don’t think that’s what Robert Frost had in mind when he said, “Good fences make good neighbors.”

I’m not advocating tearing down all fences! Some fences are needed.

G. K. Chesterton wrote, “Before you take down the fences, ask why they were put up in the first place.”

If you don’t want the neighbor’s cows in your cornfield, you better not tear down the line fence. If you don’t want the neighbors joining you in your hot tub, you better keep that fence up too.

I like to think of a fence as a barrier you can still see through or over. Most are user friendly. A wall is more imposing and blocks the view and the interaction between people.

There’s another kind of fence or wall that we don’t talk about. I once heard a quote that “Fear is the highest fence.” Politicians build a lot of those fences to scare us into following their lead. I think a lot of “fear fences” have been built lately. Now there’s talk about building a wall around the United States to keep people out. I would ask, “Are we keeping others out, or imprisoning and isolating ourselves within?” 

As Robert Frost said, “good fences make good neighbors,” but I think the type of fence you erect and the reason for erecting it, will determine how your neighbors look at you.  There’s a place and purpose for fences and walls, but always be aware of why you’re building it. 

One last thing, if there were no fences, I wouldn’t have a name for this column.

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Year Twelve Begins

Across the Fence #575


Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks for all that we’ve been blessed with. This Across the Fence column certainly falls into that category for me.

  

Thanksgiving week is the anniversary of Across the Fence. This week begins the twelfth year. I’m thankful for everyone who reads it each week. My thanks also to the newspapers that run my column. Thanks to the publishers and editors who have provided the opportunity for us to visit across the fence each week. I’m very grateful. If you like reading “Across the Fence” be sure to thank those publishers and editors for including it in their papers.  I feel that providing local columns in hometown papers is very important. I love reading the columns in the papers I receive each week.

Across the Fence deals mainly with taking you back in time to a world so many of you grew up in. I know that’s what you expect to find in my writings, but once in a while I like to throw in something about the future, or where we are today. We can’t just live in the past, although it’s always fun to take a trip back and remember. I also like to bring in observations about nature and the universe we live in. My friend, Steve says he likes my column because it’s like a box of chocolates. You never know what you may get.

It’s been harder to come up with ideas lately because my mobility is restricted. I haven’t been able to wander around the woods and fields because of my balance.  I use a cane, and I’m not allowed to drive, so Linda has to chauffeur me around. My life has really changed since May, but I’m hanging in here and doing great under the circumstances. I have much to be thankful for. 

I’m always thankful for readers who prime my pump by giving me ideas and subjects to write about. Sometimes the idea well gets pretty dry. For those of you who have never had to prime a pump, that’s when you tried to pump water from a well or cistern and nothing would come out unless you poured some water into the top of the pump first.

I’m thankful for all the things we take for granted. As I sit in our sunroom, writing, I can catch the sunrise in the morning and the gorgeous sunsets in the evening. Every one is different and inspiring. The same is true of the many cloud formations. The changing colors of the clouds as the sun reflects off them is always something to see.

During the wonderful fall evenings we’ve enjoyed lately, I’ve sat on our back deck and marveled at the sky filled with stars. I watched as meteors streaked across the sky. The darkness of the country really makes the night sky stand out. The billions of stars in the Milky Way gives me an appreciation of the beauty and size of the universe. Observations of the world around us are simple pleasures we can all enjoy. I urge everyone to take the time.

Thanksgiving - 2011.

Tim carves the Turkey.

 Thanksgiving - 2012 -Amy feeds Sean.

This is the time of year when we can sit down to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. I can smell and taste the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, spinach pinwheels, cranberries, and all the trimmings, and don't forget the pie. I love to eat, so this is a special time of year. The nice part is all the leftovers can be enjoyed for days afterwards too. We’ll be enjoying a visit and the meal at Tim and Amy's. Unlike the days when I was young, we all went to Grandpa and Grandma Hanson's for Thanksgiving. Now we are the grandparents and will go to our kids for the meal. Hopefully the weather will be great for travel. We won't be going over the river and through the woods in an open sleigh. We’ll ride in the comfort of a heated car.

As we celebrate and enjoy Thanksgiving, I'll take time to remember those Thanksgiving gatherings from my past and all the people who were a part of it. Most of them are gone now, but not forgotten.

One place you won’t find me, is out shopping on Black Friday. I will avoid the crowds and let others fight over the deals. After the big meal, I’ll probably be kicking back in a lazy boy in a turkey coma, as I wait to start round two on the leftovers. 

Erik in a Turkey Coma!

Most important of all, I’m thankful for Linda and our family; Erik, Amy, Tim, and Sean. And we can’t forget our granddog, Sweeney. They have been wonderful in all they do for me and I haven’t been very good at letting them know how much I appreciate them. I’ve really been blessed. 

When a person faces a life-altering experience, you realize what’s important. Every day is precious and you don’t want to waste any time. 

I continue to be thankful for having grown up on a farm, and now for the opportunity to live on a corner of that farm. There’s a lot  to be said for rural, small town living. 

I wish all of you a wonderful, family-oriented Thanksgiving.
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