Jillian: No one in my family was a farmer. My dad was pretty much a workaholic. He worked all the time. He runs his own business in Dubuque. My mom, she always valued cleanliness and a hard-work ethic and made it clear that everybody needed to pitch in. Looking back, I think they somehow rubbed off
“It really feels like the community is making this farm happen.” Read More »
I grew up in La Farge and had a paper route in the ’80s. I remember delivering the Sunday paper, and on the front headline there’d be weekly stories about dairy farmers committing suicide. The dairy farming industry had bottomed out, and these farmers were losing their century farms. Photos by Megan Monday “Originally, every
“I wasn’t comfortable with Wisconsin being a culinary flyover zone.” Read More »
https://vimeo.com/159543899 When we met with Opal, she was all fired up to be interviewed for Wish for Wisconsin. We soon realized that Opal is a joyful ball of energy. Her love and excitement about animals was infectious. We loved getting to know her—and we know you will, too. Share This Post Share on facebook Share
Opal Thinks Small Family Farms are Pretty Magical Read More »
We met all sorts of interesting folks on a visit to the Wausau Farmers Market. Each and every one impressed us with their dedication to their businesses and to the land. Stacy’s farm is called Red Door Family Farm. When we met Stacy, she was seven months pregnant, had black earth under her fingernails, and
Faces of the Wausau Farmers Market Read More »
Kathleen: We were looking to live sustainably, and moved to Viroqua. We love the landscape, but then we found community there. And we really value the people around us. I mean, really the only true sustainability is in the community, not in individuals. Photo by Megan Monday Kelvin: We’re both professors, and I taught geology and environmental
“We found true sustainability in the community.” Read More »
https://vimeo.com/151813626 Sylvia is crazy about animals. Like, really, really nuts about them. Her family has two dogs, two cats, and eight snakes, and she loves all of them. Her whole family loves animals, and they also brew beer, which might seem unrelated except that they name a lot of their animals after beer styles. Sylvia
Sylvia’s Wish? All the Dogs. All the Cats. All the Snakes… Read More »
https://vimeo.com/151813571 We’ve known Noah since he was four. When we first met him, he had a deep obsession with Legos and big love for a new little sister. He’s 10 now, and both of those things are still holding strong. Another thing Noah loves is the wilderness. His dad’s family has a cabin in Hayward,
Noah’s Big Day Fishing Inspires His Wilderness Wish Read More »
Wisconsin…we get a lot of the normal jokes about Cheeseheads and stuff, but people we know come up to where we live and fall in love with it. Photo by Megan Monday “We’re deep in the Driftless area, and it’s just stunning. And the community…it’s like back in the early ’50s and ’60s, where neighbors
“We’re deep in the Driftless area, and it’s just stunning.” Read More »
Photo by Megan Monday “I remember as a little dude on the farm, we had threshing groups, threshing grain. My dad owned a threshing machine and one year we threshed with 15 different farmers. One guy would have 30 acres of oats, and you had 40, and I had 15…we’d all change work. For me,
“All these farmers all helping each other…I was in awe.” Read More »
https://vimeo.com/151813479 Riley is growing up on a pretty amazing farm called Stoney Acres. His family not only grows all their own vegetables and raises all their own meat, but they make enough of everything to feed lots of other families through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. In the early spring, they also tap 3,455 trees on their
Growing Up on a Small Family Farm is Sweeeeeet Read More »
