Frederick, SD

So how are you all doing on the first day of the Local Food Challenge?! Have you found anything to eat?

Let me tell you about my day (it’s a little long, but don’t worry, future posts won’t drag on so):

7 a.m.: Push the snooze button.

7:20 a.m.: Jump out of bed, remembering I need to put gas in the car before I go to my sister’s to babysit. Shower, make coffee, pack bags, etc.

8:04 a.m.: Rush the kids out the door and into the car.

8:15 a.m.: Remember, as I’m driving and eating one of the whole-wheat bread and Nutella sandwiches I made for the kids and myself, that it’s the first day of the Local Food Challenge. Groan. Console myself that coffee and Nutella were on my exemptions list anyway.

8:45 a.m.: Get gas.

8:55 a.m.: Get to my sister’s house. Discuss what I’ll fix for the kids for lunch; wonder why in the world I didn’t bring any vegetables from our house! For a brief moment, believe the only local food in her house are a few sliced tomatoes. Eventually unearth corn and apple slices in the freezer — along with some local liver sausage. Realize that this “eating adventure” looks like it’s going to start with liver! But not for the kids. They get meatloaf and potatoes (not local).

9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Watch kids, fix lunch, etc.

12:30 p.m.: Lunch. Kids’ meatloaf smells very good. Liver sausage smells … well, just smells. Try some. Decide it’s OK. Remember Ol’ West barbecue sauce in the fridge. Add that. Am amazed once again how that sauce can make any food better! But decide I’m still not fond of liver.

1 p.m.: Put 1-year-old to nap.

1:15 p.m.: Send other three outside to play and do dishes. Recruit dog to help clean up under the table.

1:45 p.m.: Bring kids inside. Read stories. Put other three down to nap.

2:30 p.m.: Realize, as I hear the 1-year-old waking up, that her 3-year-old sister has fallen asleep. And that my two children have not.

4 p.m.: Brother-in-law gets home from work. Depart for local foods shopping trip. Think I hear something a little odd as I drive away; decide it’s just gravel in the tire (that’s happened to me before).

4:10 p.m.: Look at Natural Abundance. Find Mikkonen eggs and local honey. Buy them, along with the mac-n-cheese box that Sofi threw in the cart. Sigh. Remind myself that this whole local food thing “is the art of the possible.”Realize, as I’m carrying Erik to the car, that his diaper is now dirty. Change Erik in the car; wash hands with spray; put diaper in plastic bag and look for garbage. Don’t find one. Decide to drive by gas station to throw diaper away.

4:40 p.m.: Head for Palm Garden Cafe. Buy some focacchia bread that smells really good. Plan on having that with some corn chowder from the freezer for supper.

4:55 p.m.:  Decide I have just enough time (we have a preschool meeting for Sofi at 7 p.m. in Frederick) to go to Kesslers to check out their local wines. Find local wine and — score! — beer from Minnesota! It’s not in-state, but it’s far better than I was expecting, and I deem it acceptable for the food challenge. Head to the milk department. Read labels: Nothing resembling local at all. Miss, not for the first time, the great local creamery that supplied nonhomogenized milk to our grocery store in Iowa. Grab the gallon jug from Illinois and decide to do more research on local dairy.

5:23 p.m.: On the way to the car with the groceries, ask Sofia where her black jacket is. She starts to cry and wants to go back to her aunt’s to get it.  Get to the car. Swear. Ask Sofi to please stop fussing as we now have bigger problems: We have a flat tire. Put groceries in car. Realize Premier Auto is closing in about five minutes. Call them anyway. Get no answer. Call Dave. He says to call the Toyota dealer. I call; they give a number of a tow truck. Call Dave back. He tells me I shouldn’t need to get a tow truck; the instructions for changing the tire are in the manual. Get out the manual. Start looking for tools. Get frustrated the jack doesn’t move from it’s place. Try harder. Get the jack out. Get other tools out. Get spare tire cover off and spare tire off holder.  Start loosening lug nuts. Get three of five loose. See a police officer driving in the parking lot. Flag him down. He offers to help, even though he’s not supposed to (liability reasons). Starts to look at jack. Two Boy Scouts and their dad arrive. The dad offers to help. He finishes loosening the lug nuts. The two men put the jack in place. They remove lug nuts. Tire won’t budge. Kessler’s worker arrives, asks if he can help. “Have any WD-40?” Kessler’s worker gets some; tire still won’t move. Older Boy Scout suggests, several times, the policeman fire off a couple rounds at the lug nuts to loosen the tire. Policeman smiles, but doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Policeman calls tow truck, thinking he might have better tools. Crowd leaves. Kids and I munch on focacchia bread. It is good!

6:10 p.m.: Tow truck driver arrives. Tire still won’t budge. Driver hits the tire with the spare tire. After several tries, the tire gives! The rim had been quite corroded. Driver changes tire. Realize, as I get out the checkbook to pay him, I put down the lug nuts for the spare somewhere. Search car. Driver helps; he comes across the dirty diaper that I still hadn’t thrown out. Yech. Find lug nuts.

6:26 p.m.: Start driving for home! Realize we have just enough time to make it to Sofi’s preschool event.

6:40 p.m.: Pull over.  Light has come on on the dashboard. “Tire inflation pressure” warning. Check tires; they look OK. Keep driving, but more slowly.

7:04 p.m.: Get to preschool event. Realize I have cracker drool on my shoulders from babysitting and my knees are filthy from working on the tire. Decide not to dwell on it.

8:20 p.m.: Get home from preschool event. Forget the chowder, which is still half-frozen; decide to make scrambled eggs with vegetables. All local! Want to have toast and butter with the meal — but haven’t made bread yet. (We ate most of the focacchia in the car earlier.) Remind myself, once again, that “life is the art of the possible” and make toast.

8:46 p.m.: Enjoy the local eggs and vegetables. And look forward to going to bed. (Oh, and finally throw out the diaper.)

So what did I learn from all this? PLAN AHEAD! … And that my strategy has shifted — the local foods challenge has become a work in process. It’s a journey, and we’re just at the beginning — we’re going to learn as we go!

And tomorrow’s another day!

Frederick Forward is sponsoring the Three Rivers Local Food Challenge, which begins Sept. 1. Learn more about it at the Local Food Challenge website. Here’s a quick introduction:

Have you thought about where your food comes from? Unfortunately, for many of us, our food is trucked for many miles before it gets to our plates — and that distance means all sorts of things are lost in transit: freshness and healthfulness of the food itself, the vibrancy of our own local economies, and our knowledge of and connection to the land and the people that provide us our food.

The THREE RIVERS LOCAL FOOD CHALLENGE is a chance to see if we can make strides in a better direction! September is the easiest time to eat local in South Dakota, with our gardens brimming with produce and all the farmer’s markets well-stocked — but going local is likely to be harder than it sounds. How local can your food be for 30 days? Join us for this educational adventure in eating!

If you have questions about the Local Food Challenge, post a comment here! We will respond to you personally as needed or write further blog posts to clarify the issue for everyone.

Frederick will be highlighted on Dakota Broadcasting radio station tomorrow from 11:00 am - 1:00 am, May 4. Check out 105.5 or 107.7 and the Live feed from Main Street in Frederic

The 2nd annual Shoot For A Cure 3×3 tournament is coming soon. Don’t be left out of this VERY fun and successful event. If you love basketball and/or believe in the mission of the American Cancer Society then you’ll love this event. You can participate in the 3 on 3 tournament beginning in the morning for grades 3-8, boys & girls.

The event is followed by an evening of entertainment and fun at an All-Star game with many basketball greats (and not so greats)! If you are interested in volunteering as a referee or scorekeeper in the afternoon or have a team, let me know. If you would like to play in the game in the evening, let me know that also. 605-329-2029

DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD AT FREDERICK

By Breanna Helland

     Dodgeball—you know it, you love it and now you can play it.
For the first time ever, a dodgeball tournament will be held at the Frederick High School Gym with play scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 7. The competition’s proceeds will go towards the Frederick Post Prom Committee.
“This event should be a lot of fun and hopefully we have a decent turn-out,” explained Lisa Bretsch, one of the committee’s many members.
To compete in the tournament, a team consisting of six players and one substitute must complete a registration form and submit it to Bretsch by February 27. Along with the form, a $30 entry fee is also required.
Prizes will be awarded to winning teams of the divisions, which include 1^st through 4^th grades, 5^th through 8^th grades, high school and adults. Teams are also encouraged to dress uniformly, although any dodgeball attire is acceptable.
For any further information please contact Bubby Haar at 605-225-7085 or Bretsch at 605-329-2808. Registration forms can be found at fredericksd.com.
Concessions will also be served in conjunction with the tournament.

2^nd ANNUAL HEALTH FAIR IN FREDERICK
Visit Many Booths Free of Charge
ALSO
GET 26-panel test ONLY $30

   A Health Fair is being held at Frederick School Gym on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 7:30 until Noon.  Info on a variety of health topics, including free hearing and vision screenings. Some big hits last year were the beer goggles, like those being tested by Pastor Gaylen in the picture on the right.  The glasses simulate what it is like to walk when you’ve had a few too many, the Wii Hula Hooping and the Farm safety booth where attendees had to decipher the safe liquids from the not so safe!
Also available, is an excellent health deal.   For $30 you can have blood drawn between 7:30 until 10:30, which includes  cholesterol, thyroid, white & red blood cell count, blood sugar, and 20 more lab values.  You must fast for the blood work- no eating or drinking anything but water for 10 hours prior to having your blood drawn.
The event has been organized by Presentation College students along with help from Hub Area Vocational students involved in the health class, including Frederick Area  students.  The sponsoring organization is Frederick Forward.

All I can say about our “Day of Champions” is AMAZING!!!.  We had a tremendous turnout on Sat. April 25th.  We picked up 35 Northern University athletes and 2 coaches and brought them to Frederick, we served them rolls, fruit and refreshments to get them kick started.  We then divided them up into groups and sent them to various areas around town. Some of the projects they were involved in were:  Clean up the remnants left from the recent flooding at Simmons Park and the baseball field, Clean up the Frederick Area Historical Society building inside and outside, picked up items that were left curbside around town, cleaned up main street and painted mural panels for the bandstand.  These athletes were wonderful and so willing to help wherever we needed them, and I didn’t hear one word of complaining.  Some comments I did hear tho were that many of them requested to come to Frederick because our community members really know how to put on a feast for them.  One young man said the didn’t know Frederick was a town, he thought it was a park in Aberdeen that they were going to work on. The coaches come to work along side these men and women.  We are so gratefull for all the time and hard work they volunteered to do.  Also a big thank you to the local people who furnished equipment, food and their time.  So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Our community is blessed with the help of 35 Northern Athletes coming to help with the cleanup of our town.  We also need the help of local residents to work with these fine young men and women who are volunteering their time to support our cause.  There are many ways you can help.  We need people to furnish food, set-up and clean-up. Furnish rakes, shovels, wheel barrows, trucks and painting supplies.  We do have projects that don’t require heavy lifting or physical labor so if you still want to help out stop by Nick’s (our home base for the day) and find out where you can help.  We will begin at 8:30 a.m. with rolls and refreshments and then break for lunch.  Some of the areas we will be working in are, the Park, baseball field, community center, main street and picking up items curbside around town.  Please stop and thank any of the workers you see for volunteering their time.

    One of the concerns that came out of our Horizon meetings and brainstorming sessions was the need for transportation to and from appointments, shopping or other destinations for those in our community. Since most need to go to Ellendale or Aberdeen for their appointments and  are unable to drive, don’t like to drive or their vehicle is in for repairs.  The Ride Share program was formed for that purpose.  We have a list of drivers that we call on as the need arises.  The fee is whatever they feel comfortable giving the driver for their time and expenses.  Nobody will be turned down due to inability to pay.  The drivers can contact Frederick Forward if they feel they are not able to meet their expenses.  Most of the drivers will drop off the rider and go do their own business, then return for the rider. They are not required to stay with the rider.  Also if the drivers have any issues or problems they are encouraged to contact the Frederick Forward Helping Hands committee to help resolve any problems they may have.

To schedule a ride they can call Donna @ 329-2462 or email dsumption@gmail.com

We ask that they call at least one week in advance if possible.

I didn’t get much — OK, any — response on my last post on the store. But I haven’t given up hope! Perhaps I can still stir up some conversation.

With that in mind, here’s a question: What one thing could our community offer that would make your life better?

I’ve got two reasons for asking this: One is that I don’t think we, as “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” Midwesterners, mention our needs all that often, and we might just find that someone might be able to solve our problem in a way that also solves a problem of his or her own. Another reason is that, if we realize that we all have a similar problem that we’d like to have solved, we realize that we have a market for a solution to that problem. That makes the solution that much more feasible, and that much more likely to happen.

(If you’ve all done something like this as part of your early Horizons training, please forgive me for coming late to the party, and humor me by answering the question again!)

Comment on this post to join the conversation!