I was born in Chicago. My family moved back up to the Bad River Reservation where my father is from when I was four months old. After a few years, we moved into the border town of Ashland, which is just to the west of the reservation. Photos by Stanley Schrock I went to the
“Basketry teaches me to be flexible.” Read More »
I have always enjoyed making things with my own hands and sharing them for other people to enjoy, and beer is no exception. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd I grew up in a beer-loving family, so beer has always been a passion of mine. But before we started the Wisconsin Hop Exchange Co-op, I mostly worked
I was born in Portland, Oregon, but we moved here to Central Wisconsin when I was about six months old, and I have been in the Stevens Point area ever since. When I was younger, I asked my grandpa why we settled here. He said, ‘The housing was cheap.’ So, I’ve been here for almost
“Cooking food is a sign of love.” Read More »
I think my earliest understanding of wanting to work with wildlife was probably when I was six or seven, and my parents had a guest visiting from out of town. Photos by Stanley Schrock Share This Post To this day, I have no idea who this lady was. I just remember they were sitting outside
Following a Master Naturalist Path Read More »
I grew up on the outskirts of Sun Prairie. As a kid, I spent most of my time on my granddad’s farm. It was a great time. I learned machinery and a work ethic, no doubt about that. Photos by Sterling Strathe I think it also laid a groundwork for a land ethic, even though
“That started a whole new chapter in my life.” Read More »
When I was a kid, I always wanted to live on a farm. I often asked my parents, ‘Can we at least live in the country?’ I loved animals more than anything. Photos by Hedi Lamarr Rudd But we always lived in town, in the La Crosse area. My dad’s a physician and my mom
A Century-old, Family-run Farm Perfects the Corn Maze. Read More »
I was an extremely lucky kid to grow up on a small farm. I’m the seventh of eight kids in a farm family from down in far southwest Richland County. Our home farm is right above the Wisconsin River. Photos by Andi Stempniak I grew up exploring the Driftless ridges where I could hunt and
“I want my grandchildren to have the same clear-water experiences I had growing up.” Read More »
I am called Paul DeMain, but my name is Skabewis in the Ojibwe language. I take the title ‘The Messenger.’ I speak for things that don’t have a voice. I speak for the water, and for our natural world that is impacted by water. Photos by Julian Emerson I grew up in Wausau and have
“I speak for things that don’t have a voice.” Read More »
I am a water girl, and absolutely love being on, in, or near the water. Just yesterday my husband, 16-year-old son and I spent a few hours in our boat fishing for smallmouth bass near Ashland on Lake Superior. This is one of my favorite places because the Big lake has a special beauty that
“I love living in this amazing place.” Read More »
The neighborhood I grew up on had a lot of green spaces. We were in the middle of Milwaukee but all around me, people were growing things. Photo by Jade Iseri-Ramos My great-grandmother had a garden four houses away from ours. Every spring, she would take her hoses out of the basement and attach them
“We can’t do anything without clean water.” Read More »
I grew up in a multi-generation dairy farm family. My parents got married at 18 and 19, and dad started dairy farming right away, a mile from where he grew up. Photos courtesy of Corey Geiger My dad had been studying to be a Catholic priest; but in 1966, when he was 16, his dad
The Dancing Dairyman Read More »
My canoe building goes way back to when I was born. I was born with a white streak in my hair and my grandmother predicted that I was a reincarnated elder. Photo courtesy of Tim Frandy The spirit of an old Indian went in me when I was born, and because of that, I will
“Canoe building was part of a long journey for me.” Read More »
