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[gentle music]

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- Andy Soth:
Picture rural Wisconsin,

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and for many,
a familiar landscape emerges,

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one of farms
with fertile fields,

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cornstalks,

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and cows.

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This landscape can be
an idyllic image,

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but it doesn't reveal the ways

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many rural areas
struggle today,

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as a slow economic recovery,

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population decline,

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and fleeing industry
has led some

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to worry
that a quickly changing world

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may be passing them by.

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How people's lives
are affected

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by these many changes

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may be hidden
in the landscape

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but revealed
in personal stories,

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in portraits,
as in these

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<i>Portraits from</i>
<i>Rural Wisconsin.</i>

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? ?

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- Female announcer:
Support for this program

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has been provided
by the O'Brien Fellowship

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in Public Service Journalism
at Marquette University

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and by the Friends of
Wisconsin Public Television.

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- The portraits
you're about to see

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and the people you'll meet

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come from a yearlong search
for stories,

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stories about rural Wisconsin

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and the challenges
its small farmers,

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small-business owners,

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and small-town residents
are facing

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and the ways
they're meeting them.

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[tranquil music]

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The portraits come
from travels

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across western Wisconsin

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up and down
its winding roads

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on an alphabet of highways,

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through summer, fall,

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winter, and spring.

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I met people working hard
to improve their communities

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and people whose hard work
might not be enough

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to keep their farms.

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- Some way.
I just didn't know how.

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- As you'll see,
their stories are varied,

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but they all share
a single sentiment.

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- Rural life is still
the best life there is.

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? ?

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- I began the search
at the end of summer

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in Pepin County,

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a place whose rustic beauty

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seems the ideal image
of rural America.

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In a way, you could say
that image was born here,

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as the county is home
to the revered birthplace

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of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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- Laura was born here

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in 1867.

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- <i>Little House in the Big Woods</i>
is set here,

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the first book of Wilder's

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influential
Little House series

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on pioneer life.

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[bell ringing]

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- Any boys and girls
that want to come in

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for a quilt block story...

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- Thousands come annually
to celebrate the author.

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- People come from all over.

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- They're drawn by the chance

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to get a taste of the past.

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- Doing what Laura did.

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Run through the fields

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with your bonnet flying off

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and having a good time.

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- If you could, would you try
living like a pioneer?

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- Yes.
- She would.

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[laughter]

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- But it may be more
than playing pioneer

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that brings out Wilder's fans.

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The book's celebration

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of simple virtues
also resonates,

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according to
celebration organizers

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like 92-year-old
Maxine Johnson.

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- Well, I think they like
that homespun philosophy

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that Laura had.

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She always pointed out

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that even though many years
have gone by,

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those principles
that were taught at that time

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are still the things
that we should rely on today.

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[marching band playing]

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- Today the village of Pepin

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celebrates their connection
to Wilder and her legacy

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in classic small-town fashion.

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The community puts on
a parade

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and they hold
old-fashioned events

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like fiddle contests

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and spelling bees.

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- "Chocolate."

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- "Chocolate."

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C-H-O...

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C-O-L-A-T-E.

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"Chocolate."

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- Okay, I guess

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we have our winner.

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[applause]

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- Children learn
about Wilder's

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hardscrabble life
and then make

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a mad scramble
for Life Savers and lollipops.

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[slow fiddle music]

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It's easy to see
all that's changed

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since Wilder's day,

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but her influence remains.

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- And the values.

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I think her values are just

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what families and the world
needs to get back to.

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- The Little House Wayside

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isn't the only place
you'll encounter

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these traditional values

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when exploring Pepin County.

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You'll also hear them
expressed on your radio.

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[radio static crackling]

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- Well, haven't played
this one for a while,

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and here's Tim McGraw

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with "Humble and Kind."

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It's 11:06.

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[Tim McGraw's
"Humble and Kind" playing]

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- ? You know there's a light ?

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? That glows
by the front door ?

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? Don't forget the key's
under the mat ?

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- We play
traditional country music.

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- ? Always stay humble
and kind ?

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- You know, work hard and...

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mind your own business

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and respect your--
your neighbors,

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respect your elders...

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all the basics.

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The golden rule
really resonates

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with a lot of these--
these people

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in our part of the state
or in--

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really in anywhere
in rural America.

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- ? Always stay humble
and kind ?

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- The county seat of Durand

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is inland and upland
from the village of Pepin.

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- Here at Reel Country
1430 WRDN,

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clouds, 66,

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with Conway and Loretta.

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- And providing the soundtrack
for the city and surroundings

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is station WRDN.

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Station owner Brian Winnekins
and cohost

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Martha Gingras know
that much of their audience

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listens from dairy barns
and tractor cabs,

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so they provide them
with the news they need.

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- Market update
being brought to you...

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- And often, they've been
the bearer of bad news.

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- Really, the biggest
challenge

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has been the low prices.

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It's really been a challenge

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for some
of these smaller operations

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to be able to survive,

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because they don't have
that economy of scale

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of-- of producing
a lot of milk

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to be able to--
to make up for it.

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- When the numbers tell me
that milk is down,

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if-- if I could be lying media,

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trust me, I would say
that milk ended $25.

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July, milk down four
at $15.52.

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August, down 14 at $16.41.

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[laughing] I wish I could,

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because I know
that would help my community.

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- And the long, steady decline
has had an impact

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on Durand's downtown.

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- Half of our downtown

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has empty buildings.

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- I still look

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this way,
wondering whether or not

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somebody's coming
off the bridge,

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and I realize, "Oh.

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There's no bridge there
anymore."

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- That's among many changes
to downtown

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that Martha has seen
over the years.

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- My parents had
the flower shop,

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and when the economy
started taking a turn

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and we really couldn't support
two flower shops,

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um, my parents sold.

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- Brian sees
this economic stagnation

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as a major factor
in people's dissatisfaction.

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- In rural America--
it doesn't matter

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if it's Wisconsin,
Minnesota, wherever--

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they're like, "What about us?

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"We seem to be working hard,

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"but we don't get any extra--
we don't get bailouts.

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"We don't-- you know,
if our bank goes down,

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"it doesn't get bailed out.

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"It gets bought up
by a big chain

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or ordered to-- to close."

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- There's a lot of upset people
when they go to the bank now,

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and it's like,
they don't know who I am,

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or don't they?
Why don't they know who I am?

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It's just based
on my social security number,

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my income, and numbers.

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It's changed.

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- These changes
to the local community

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come at the same time
as broader changes to society,

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some of which challenge
long-held beliefs.

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- People in rural America

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also feel threatened

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that their beliefs

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are wrong

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and that they're being told

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that their beliefs are wrong

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from someone who lives
in the Twin Cities

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or an expert that lives
in the Twin Cities

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or New York or Chicago
or the media.

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- An example is gay marriage.

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Brian says he knows DJs
uncomfortable

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playing music
for same-sex weddings.

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- They've gotten
out of the business

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because of that,

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because they're like,
"You know what?

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"I'm not even gonna
take the chance.

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"To heck with it.
I'll just--

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just won't do it
for anybody anymore,"

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and that's sad.

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[rustic music]

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? ?

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- Beyond social issues,
other changes in rural areas

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could increasingly
become matters

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of life or death.

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- These rural areas
are totally dependent

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on volunteers.

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- As director
of Durand's ambulance service,

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Peter Pillman has witnessed
a steep decline in volunteers

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for emergency
medical positions.

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- We have seen

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that the number of people

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that we have responding
to calls

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become less

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and the burden on our staff

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that we do have
responding to calls

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increasing greatly.

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- The same issues
that challenge

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Durand's downtown

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are factors
in the volunteer shortage.

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Many residents now commute
out of town for work,

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while others are holding down
multiple jobs.

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- So, we used to have janitors

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or others
that could leave work

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to go
on an ambulance call

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and had flexible hours,

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and that's no longer the case.

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- Even after offering
hourly wages

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for what had always been
volunteer positions,

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as well as helping

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to pay for EMT training,
the ambulance service

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has had a hard time
getting fully staffed.

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- So that's number six.

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- But Peter believes
the reasons

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fewer people make
the commitment to get trained

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and to give of their time

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is not only due
to economic factors

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but cultural ones as well.

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- So what society
is changing--

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we used to have a lot more
where--

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say, a small farm, and I'm

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using a barn-raising analogy.

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We have a lot of Amish
in this area,

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and you'll still see it
with some of them.

266
00:09:47,921 --> 00:09:49,857
When they need
to put up a barn,

267
00:09:49,923 --> 00:09:51,024
they invite over
all their neighbors

268
00:09:51,091 --> 00:09:52,860
and they all pitch in.

269
00:09:52,926 --> 00:09:54,194
[melancholy music]

270
00:09:54,261 --> 00:09:56,330
- For Peter, the Amish
remain much closer

271
00:09:56,396 --> 00:09:57,698
to the type of community

272
00:09:57,764 --> 00:09:59,800
that rural Wisconsin
once was.

273
00:09:59,867 --> 00:10:03,170
- It's built
on that agrarian foundation

274
00:10:03,237 --> 00:10:04,538
of farmers,

275
00:10:04,605 --> 00:10:06,039
neighbors helping
each other out,

276
00:10:06,106 --> 00:10:07,341
and that's something

277
00:10:07,407 --> 00:10:10,444
that I think even us
in these rural communities

278
00:10:10,511 --> 00:10:12,279
have lost that
and have lost

279
00:10:12,346 --> 00:10:14,314
understanding that.

280
00:10:14,381 --> 00:10:16,517
As that is lost
in the community,

281
00:10:16,583 --> 00:10:17,818
as that is lost
from the fabric

282
00:10:17,885 --> 00:10:19,052
of our society,

283
00:10:19,119 --> 00:10:21,154
we see that there are
less people

284
00:10:21,221 --> 00:10:23,757
being willing
to sacrificially serve.

285
00:10:23,824 --> 00:10:25,158
- No, no.

286
00:10:25,225 --> 00:10:26,560
- Okay, y'all ready?

287
00:10:26,627 --> 00:10:28,395
- Yep, ready.

288
00:10:28,462 --> 00:10:30,130
- Back at the radio station,

289
00:10:30,197 --> 00:10:31,465
sacrificial service is a topic

290
00:10:31,532 --> 00:10:32,866
for Martha and her guests.

291
00:10:32,933 --> 00:10:34,735
- Um, I have

292
00:10:34,801 --> 00:10:37,938
Heather Wittig,
Jenni Patnode--

293
00:10:38,005 --> 00:10:39,740
I'm gonna say
the Johnson sisters.

294
00:10:39,806 --> 00:10:41,208
[laughter]

295
00:10:41,275 --> 00:10:42,376
- The Johnson sisters

296
00:10:42,442 --> 00:10:43,710
is how Martha knew these two

297
00:10:43,777 --> 00:10:45,279
when they were in high school.

298
00:10:45,345 --> 00:10:47,281
Today they're guests
on her radio show

299
00:10:47,347 --> 00:10:48,515
to talk
about their mission work

300
00:10:48,582 --> 00:10:50,184
in Central America.

301
00:10:50,250 --> 00:10:52,553
- Women
in third world countries

302
00:10:52,619 --> 00:10:55,155
don't have anything
to manage their monthly cycle.

303
00:10:55,222 --> 00:10:57,424
- When we can give back
to them

304
00:10:57,491 --> 00:10:58,725
and give them
a pair of underwear

305
00:10:58,792 --> 00:11:00,460
and these hygiene solutions,

306
00:11:00,527 --> 00:11:01,929
they are able to stay
in school.

307
00:11:01,995 --> 00:11:03,864
They're not sex trafficked.

308
00:11:03,931 --> 00:11:07,000
- This is a whole movement.
- Mm-hmm.

309
00:11:07,067 --> 00:11:09,236
- I thank you both
for coming today.

310
00:11:09,303 --> 00:11:10,671
- Thank you for having us.

311
00:11:10,737 --> 00:11:12,372
- After the show,
Martha catches up with Jenni

312
00:11:12,439 --> 00:11:14,208
about how her husband, Weston,
is doing.

313
00:11:14,274 --> 00:11:16,410
- And then someday,
you guys will have to come in

314
00:11:16,476 --> 00:11:18,645
and talk about
your farm journey.

315
00:11:18,712 --> 00:11:20,180
- Yeah, we will.

316
00:11:20,247 --> 00:11:21,615
[rustic music]

317
00:11:21,682 --> 00:11:23,483
- The farm journey
Martha is talking about

318
00:11:23,550 --> 00:11:25,319
began on Patnode Road,

319
00:11:25,385 --> 00:11:29,556
where Jenni's husband,
Weston Patnode, grew up.

320
00:11:29,623 --> 00:11:30,958
When the road bears your name,

321
00:11:31,024 --> 00:11:32,125
it likely means

322
00:11:32,192 --> 00:11:33,594
you've lived there
a long time,

323
00:11:33,660 --> 00:11:36,363
as the Patnodes have
for four generations.

324
00:11:36,430 --> 00:11:37,931
? ?

325
00:11:37,998 --> 00:11:39,900
- Yeah, at eight,
I bought my first calf,

326
00:11:39,967 --> 00:11:41,268
or my dad bought it for me,

327
00:11:41,335 --> 00:11:42,469
and from there,

328
00:11:42,536 --> 00:11:44,638
it just kept growing...
[laughs]

329
00:11:44,705 --> 00:11:47,174
And the love and the passion
just kept taking off,

330
00:11:47,241 --> 00:11:49,843
I guess, from there on,
you know?

331
00:11:49,910 --> 00:11:51,211
- It was love and passion

332
00:11:51,278 --> 00:11:53,714
that led to meeting
the love of his life.

333
00:11:53,780 --> 00:11:55,816
- I didn't come
from a dairy farm.

334
00:11:55,883 --> 00:11:58,485
I didn't grow up on one,
but all of my friends

335
00:11:58,552 --> 00:11:59,920
showed cattle.

336
00:11:59,987 --> 00:12:03,056
- Jenni wanted
to be like her friends

337
00:12:03,123 --> 00:12:06,793
so showed her borrowed cow
at the county fair.

338
00:12:06,860 --> 00:12:08,362
- We met there,

339
00:12:08,428 --> 00:12:10,163
and he claims

340
00:12:10,230 --> 00:12:12,266
that I was, like,
spraying him with the hose

341
00:12:12,332 --> 00:12:14,468
to flirt, but I just
didn't know what I was doing.

342
00:12:14,535 --> 00:12:15,636
[both laugh]

343
00:12:15,702 --> 00:12:16,970
So that's how we met,

344
00:12:17,037 --> 00:12:19,072
and then he gave me
a ride home after the fair,

345
00:12:19,139 --> 00:12:20,874
and we've been together
ever since,

346
00:12:20,941 --> 00:12:22,342
so... what is that?

347
00:12:22,409 --> 00:12:24,411
- 19 years.
- 19 years.

348
00:12:24,711 --> 00:12:26,380
Yep.

349
00:12:27,114 --> 00:12:28,649
It was a little bit
of adjustment

350
00:12:28,715 --> 00:12:31,151
going from not growing up
on a dairy farm

351
00:12:31,218 --> 00:12:32,319
to-- his work hours

352
00:12:32,386 --> 00:12:33,554
were from 5:00 in the morning

353
00:12:33,620 --> 00:12:35,155
until about 7:30,

354
00:12:35,222 --> 00:12:36,490
8:00 at night.

355
00:12:36,557 --> 00:12:38,859
- 365 days a year.
[laughs]

356
00:12:38,926 --> 00:12:40,060
- Weekends, Christmas,

357
00:12:40,127 --> 00:12:41,562
so it was a little bit
to adjust,

358
00:12:41,628 --> 00:12:43,564
but that was our life.

359
00:12:43,630 --> 00:12:45,899
- Yep.
- That's-- that's what we knew,

360
00:12:45,966 --> 00:12:48,936
so we made it--
we made it work.

361
00:12:49,002 --> 00:12:50,504
- But making it work,
they say,

362
00:12:50,571 --> 00:12:52,272
started getting harder
and harder.

363
00:12:52,339 --> 00:12:53,607
[cow lows]

364
00:12:53,674 --> 00:12:55,375
- The financial part
was the big problem.

365
00:12:55,442 --> 00:12:57,711
Milk prices are the same
as they were

366
00:12:57,778 --> 00:12:59,713
in the '70s or '80s.

367
00:12:59,780 --> 00:13:02,382
Things got really tight, and...

368
00:13:02,449 --> 00:13:05,118
we... [laughs]
Paid the bills when we could

369
00:13:05,185 --> 00:13:07,287
and hoped we could continue
to pay them,

370
00:13:07,354 --> 00:13:08,989
and then we kind of started
to fall behind,

371
00:13:09,056 --> 00:13:10,791
and it just got...

372
00:13:10,858 --> 00:13:12,292
to where we weren't
gaining ground.

373
00:13:12,359 --> 00:13:14,428
- Yes!
That's how high I can go!

374
00:13:14,494 --> 00:13:16,129
- They talked to bankers
about expanding

375
00:13:16,196 --> 00:13:19,466
and came close to signing
for a $2 million loan

376
00:13:19,533 --> 00:13:21,435
but didn't want to risk
losing their land

377
00:13:21,502 --> 00:13:24,071
or burdening their children
with debt.

378
00:13:24,137 --> 00:13:25,839
- They're nine and five,

379
00:13:25,906 --> 00:13:28,108
so I don't want to tie them
down right now,

380
00:13:28,175 --> 00:13:30,711
but, uh...
- That was part of it, too.

381
00:13:30,777 --> 00:13:32,446
When we were asked
to expand,

382
00:13:32,513 --> 00:13:33,780
they said they're nine
and five.

383
00:13:33,847 --> 00:13:35,182
They can't make
that decision.

384
00:13:35,249 --> 00:13:36,950
You know, if they're 20
and they said,

385
00:13:37,017 --> 00:13:38,385
"Yeah, we want to go all in,"

386
00:13:38,452 --> 00:13:40,654
we probably could've, but...

387
00:13:40,721 --> 00:13:42,356
whatever they decide to do,

388
00:13:42,422 --> 00:13:45,425
they're just responsible
and kind, caring people.

389
00:13:45,492 --> 00:13:47,594
At the end of the day,
that's what we're hoping for.

390
00:13:47,661 --> 00:13:49,329
[rustic music]

391
00:13:50,664 --> 00:13:52,032
? ?

392
00:13:52,099 --> 00:13:53,333
- It's been only a few weeks

393
00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:55,636
since they made
the decision to get out.

394
00:13:55,702 --> 00:13:57,204
The memories are still raw,

395
00:13:57,271 --> 00:13:59,573
and it's hard to talk
about that last milking

396
00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:00,807
and saying good-bye.

397
00:14:00,874 --> 00:14:02,910
- I'll talk.
[laughs]

398
00:14:02,976 --> 00:14:04,178
I'll talk.

399
00:14:04,244 --> 00:14:05,913
? ?

400
00:14:06,246 --> 00:14:07,481
Uh, it was hard.

401
00:14:07,548 --> 00:14:09,883
It was something that we knew
would be hard,

402
00:14:09,950 --> 00:14:11,218
but we didn't realize
it would be

403
00:14:11,285 --> 00:14:12,853
as hard as it was,

404
00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:14,588
and, um,

405
00:14:15,255 --> 00:14:18,559
we didn't realize
how hard it would still be.

406
00:14:18,625 --> 00:14:20,127
? ?

407
00:14:20,194 --> 00:14:21,295
So, I wrote a blog,

408
00:14:21,361 --> 00:14:23,397
kind of to just tell everybody

409
00:14:23,463 --> 00:14:26,567
for our family
and friends to know.

410
00:14:26,633 --> 00:14:27,935
Tomorrow morning,
the alarm clock

411
00:14:28,001 --> 00:14:30,470
will go off early, 4:30 a.m.,

412
00:14:30,537 --> 00:14:32,673
to board our dairy cows
on trucks and trailers

413
00:14:32,739 --> 00:14:35,042
for them to live
on other farms.

414
00:14:35,108 --> 00:14:36,810
There isn't a book for this.

415
00:14:36,877 --> 00:14:38,011
There probably should be,

416
00:14:38,078 --> 00:14:39,713
but no one wrote
about what to do next

417
00:14:39,780 --> 00:14:42,316
when you sell your
fourth-generation family farm.

418
00:14:42,382 --> 00:14:44,017
No one wrote a book
about how to get

419
00:14:44,084 --> 00:14:45,652
through that last milking,

420
00:14:45,719 --> 00:14:47,454
tears never seeming to end

421
00:14:47,521 --> 00:14:48,622
as you hold each other tight

422
00:14:48,689 --> 00:14:50,757
with no words to be spoken.

423
00:14:50,824 --> 00:14:54,127
No one wrote a book
about where to go from here

424
00:14:54,194 --> 00:14:56,029
or how to get over
the emotions of the loss

425
00:14:56,096 --> 00:14:57,731
you feel in the pit
of your stomach,

426
00:14:57,798 --> 00:14:59,266
the heartbreak.

427
00:14:59,333 --> 00:15:00,767
No one wrote a book
that tells you

428
00:15:00,834 --> 00:15:03,103
how to get over
that feeling of failure,

429
00:15:03,170 --> 00:15:04,872
even though you know
you gave it your best

430
00:15:04,938 --> 00:15:06,507
to the bitter end.

431
00:15:06,573 --> 00:15:08,542
- Through Facebook,

432
00:15:08,609 --> 00:15:11,345
Jenni's post was shared
thousands of times.

433
00:15:11,411 --> 00:15:13,046
- Yeah, our phones
were blowing up that night...

434
00:15:13,113 --> 00:15:14,214
- Yeah.

435
00:15:14,281 --> 00:15:15,516
- Or for, like, the next week,

436
00:15:15,582 --> 00:15:18,118
just text messages,
phone calls,

437
00:15:18,185 --> 00:15:19,586
um, and then like you said,

438
00:15:19,653 --> 00:15:21,088
uh, messages online

439
00:15:21,154 --> 00:15:22,289
from all over the country

440
00:15:22,356 --> 00:15:23,457
and the world.

441
00:15:23,524 --> 00:15:25,192
Um, it was...

442
00:15:25,926 --> 00:15:27,394
quite amazing,
I mean, the outpouring...

443
00:15:27,461 --> 00:15:28,562
- Yeah.

444
00:15:28,629 --> 00:15:30,297
- Of support.

445
00:15:31,298 --> 00:15:32,733
- Witnessing
the widespread interest

446
00:15:32,799 --> 00:15:33,967
in their story,

447
00:15:34,034 --> 00:15:35,536
Jenni and Weston say
that much more

448
00:15:35,602 --> 00:15:38,238
than their dairy herd
was being lost.

449
00:15:38,305 --> 00:15:40,274
- I think a sense
of the culture

450
00:15:40,340 --> 00:15:42,109
of America.
[laughs]

451
00:15:42,176 --> 00:15:43,710
I mean, really, the--

452
00:15:43,777 --> 00:15:45,212
they say, you know,
like, Wisconsin,

453
00:15:45,279 --> 00:15:48,081
America's Dairyland, and...

454
00:15:49,650 --> 00:15:52,119
- I think growing up, the...

455
00:15:52,186 --> 00:15:54,721
family helping the next family
down the road,

456
00:15:54,788 --> 00:15:58,425
the responsibilities
we learned as kids,

457
00:15:58,492 --> 00:15:59,793
the work ethic--

458
00:15:59,860 --> 00:16:01,628
I don't know
if you see that as much.

459
00:16:01,695 --> 00:16:04,364
- While Weston weighs
his work options,

460
00:16:04,431 --> 00:16:05,632
they all enjoy

461
00:16:05,699 --> 00:16:07,868
the unexpected family time
together.

462
00:16:07,935 --> 00:16:09,937
- Even if our kids
aren't gonna grow up

463
00:16:10,003 --> 00:16:11,605
milking cows,

464
00:16:11,672 --> 00:16:12,940
it's still important to us

465
00:16:13,006 --> 00:16:15,209
that they still get
the same work ethic

466
00:16:15,275 --> 00:16:17,110
into them that you did.

467
00:16:17,177 --> 00:16:19,613
- I still want to be able
to raise my boys

468
00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:21,648
in the 400 acres here we have

469
00:16:21,715 --> 00:16:22,850
tucked back in this valley.

470
00:16:22,916 --> 00:16:24,418
Now duck down.

471
00:16:24,484 --> 00:16:25,886
Get down.
There you go.

472
00:16:25,953 --> 00:16:27,621
? ?

473
00:16:31,592 --> 00:16:33,393
- As the calendar turned
to fall,

474
00:16:33,460 --> 00:16:35,262
the search for portraits
moved south

475
00:16:35,329 --> 00:16:36,563
to the Kickapoo Valley.

476
00:16:36,630 --> 00:16:38,098
? ?

477
00:16:38,165 --> 00:16:39,933
[excited screams]

478
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:41,668
? ?

479
00:16:42,236 --> 00:16:43,504
Fall in the valley kicks off

480
00:16:43,570 --> 00:16:46,073
with the Gays Mills
apple fest.

481
00:16:46,139 --> 00:16:47,975
A true harvest festival,

482
00:16:48,041 --> 00:16:49,910
it celebrates
the literal fruits

483
00:16:49,977 --> 00:16:51,144
of seasonal labor

484
00:16:51,211 --> 00:16:52,579
from orchards ringing
the valley.

485
00:16:52,646 --> 00:16:54,348
? ?

486
00:16:54,414 --> 00:16:55,916
This year's version
of the fest

487
00:16:55,983 --> 00:16:57,818
took place
under a blistering sun

488
00:16:57,885 --> 00:17:00,687
with triple-digit
temperatures.

489
00:17:00,754 --> 00:17:02,956
The year previous,
the event was canceled

490
00:17:03,023 --> 00:17:04,491
due to flooding.

491
00:17:04,558 --> 00:17:06,960
The Kickapoo often dictates
or disrupts

492
00:17:07,027 --> 00:17:08,729
the rhythm of life
in the valley

493
00:17:08,795 --> 00:17:11,765
as it flows and floods
along its winding course

494
00:17:11,832 --> 00:17:13,734
through many river towns,

495
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:15,269
and it's given rise

496
00:17:15,335 --> 00:17:17,905
to responses from both
the people and the government,

497
00:17:17,971 --> 00:17:20,574
each with their own way
of providing help.

498
00:17:20,641 --> 00:17:22,309
? ?

499
00:17:23,544 --> 00:17:25,045
[cash register rings]

500
00:17:25,112 --> 00:17:27,281
The Last Kickapoo Hillbilly
is in the house.

501
00:17:27,347 --> 00:17:28,749
- Hi, Ray.

502
00:17:28,815 --> 00:17:30,450
- Or rather, Crazy Frank's
Flea Market

503
00:17:30,517 --> 00:17:31,685
in Readstown.

504
00:17:31,752 --> 00:17:33,587
[rustic music]

505
00:17:33,654 --> 00:17:35,656
Musician Ray Hadley
sits in the corner,

506
00:17:35,722 --> 00:17:37,124
strumming
and sharing stories,

507
00:17:37,191 --> 00:17:38,592
like his time spent

508
00:17:38,659 --> 00:17:41,562
on leave from
Fort Campbell, Kentucky...

509
00:17:41,628 --> 00:17:45,098
- We went to Nashville
every Friday night.

510
00:17:45,165 --> 00:17:49,269
- Where he saw country legends
like Hank Williams Sr.

511
00:17:49,336 --> 00:17:50,771
- Old Hank, he--

512
00:17:50,838 --> 00:17:53,640
he got pretty mean
when he got drunk, and...

513
00:17:53,707 --> 00:17:54,808
? ?

514
00:17:54,875 --> 00:17:56,910
He was always drunk.

515
00:17:56,977 --> 00:17:58,645
[laughs]

516
00:17:58,979 --> 00:18:00,414
- Which just might lead Ray

517
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,382
into an old Hank Williams tune
that suits the setting.

518
00:18:02,449 --> 00:18:04,585
[playing "Kaw-Liga"]

519
00:18:05,452 --> 00:18:07,120
? ?

520
00:18:12,125 --> 00:18:13,794
- ? Kaw-Liga was ?

521
00:18:14,695 --> 00:18:15,996
? A wooden Indian ?

522
00:18:16,063 --> 00:18:18,198
? Standing by the door ?

523
00:18:18,999 --> 00:18:22,035
? He fell in love
with an Indian maid ?

524
00:18:22,102 --> 00:18:24,671
? Over in the antique store ?

525
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:28,509
? Kaw-Liga ?

526
00:18:31,712 --> 00:18:33,247
- Ray has lived
around the valley

527
00:18:33,313 --> 00:18:35,816
for most of his 85 years,
performing

528
00:18:35,883 --> 00:18:38,018
as the Last Kickapoo Hillbilly
many times

529
00:18:38,085 --> 00:18:40,354
with his father, Merle,
by his side.

530
00:18:40,420 --> 00:18:42,990
Ray was born
into the musical family

531
00:18:43,056 --> 00:18:44,591
in the 1930s.

532
00:18:44,658 --> 00:18:46,426
- Ma and Dad always said

533
00:18:46,493 --> 00:18:49,129
that I come
with Roosevelt's New Deal

534
00:18:49,196 --> 00:18:50,664
in 1932.

535
00:18:50,731 --> 00:18:52,966
- ? We're working today ?

536
00:18:53,300 --> 00:18:54,968
? Boys ?

537
00:18:55,836 --> 00:18:57,504
? On the WPA ?

538
00:18:58,739 --> 00:19:00,707
- Merle Hadley sang this song

539
00:19:00,774 --> 00:19:03,076
in praise
of New Deal programs.

540
00:19:03,143 --> 00:19:05,312
- It was a godsend, actually.

541
00:19:05,379 --> 00:19:06,713
? ?

542
00:19:06,780 --> 00:19:08,849
- The quality of life
for Ray and his family

543
00:19:08,916 --> 00:19:10,784
improved
through the New Deal.

544
00:19:10,851 --> 00:19:12,953
Work, loan,
and rural development programs

545
00:19:13,020 --> 00:19:14,288
from the federal government

546
00:19:14,354 --> 00:19:16,523
played a vital role
in keeping people afloat

547
00:19:16,590 --> 00:19:18,358
in the Kickapoo Valley...

548
00:19:18,425 --> 00:19:20,994
- ? 'Cause I got them
bad ol' ?

549
00:19:23,430 --> 00:19:24,865
? Bad ol' ?

550
00:19:24,932 --> 00:19:27,167
? Kickapoo River blues ?

551
00:19:28,836 --> 00:19:30,337
- And the Kickapoo River's
frequent flooding

552
00:19:30,404 --> 00:19:32,339
has brought
the federal government there

553
00:19:32,406 --> 00:19:34,074
many times since.

554
00:19:35,843 --> 00:19:37,110
- We're going backwards.

555
00:19:37,177 --> 00:19:39,313
We're getting closer
to the day it happened.

556
00:19:39,379 --> 00:19:41,782
- Charley Preusser
is the editor

557
00:19:41,849 --> 00:19:44,651
of the <i>Crawford County</i>
<i>Independent & Kickapoo Scout.</i>

558
00:19:44,718 --> 00:19:48,388
He has his own
vivid memories of floods.

559
00:19:48,689 --> 00:19:50,624
- See, this is all--

560
00:19:50,691 --> 00:19:52,926
this is all we have
for our paper.

561
00:19:52,993 --> 00:19:55,295
Here's-- in this canoe
right here.

562
00:19:55,362 --> 00:19:57,164
- A canoe
lent by a neighbor.

563
00:19:57,231 --> 00:19:59,266
- And he said,
"You can take my canoe

564
00:19:59,333 --> 00:20:01,001
and get down to your office
in my canoe."

565
00:20:01,068 --> 00:20:02,903
Then he saw how clumsy
I was in the canoe

566
00:20:02,970 --> 00:20:05,472
and said, "I'm going with you,"
thank God.

567
00:20:05,539 --> 00:20:06,707
Yeah...

568
00:20:06,773 --> 00:20:08,475
- That was just
the first kindness...

569
00:20:08,542 --> 00:20:09,710
- It was pretty tough.

570
00:20:09,776 --> 00:20:11,245
- At a time
when many neighbors

571
00:20:11,311 --> 00:20:12,746
came to help the newspaper.

572
00:20:12,813 --> 00:20:13,914
- [sighs]

573
00:20:13,981 --> 00:20:15,349
The community showed up.

574
00:20:15,415 --> 00:20:17,017
Wow.

575
00:20:17,084 --> 00:20:19,486
People from out of town
showed up.

576
00:20:19,553 --> 00:20:20,787
And I get
a little emotional

577
00:20:20,854 --> 00:20:23,090
thinking about it, and, um,

578
00:20:23,156 --> 00:20:24,992
they just helped us

579
00:20:25,058 --> 00:20:26,593
carry everything out,

580
00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:28,562
stack it on the curb,

581
00:20:29,129 --> 00:20:31,131
and everything we had

582
00:20:31,665 --> 00:20:34,067
was thrown
in a giant Dumpster.

583
00:20:34,134 --> 00:20:36,770
All the furniture-- everything,

584
00:20:36,837 --> 00:20:39,840
um, except those bound volumes.

585
00:20:40,641 --> 00:20:43,243
- Bound volumes
that surely absorbed

586
00:20:43,310 --> 00:20:44,745
some of the dank humidity

587
00:20:44,811 --> 00:20:46,246
of Kickapoo floodwater,

588
00:20:46,313 --> 00:20:47,514
as well as sweat

589
00:20:47,581 --> 00:20:49,283
and a few tears.

590
00:20:49,349 --> 00:20:50,517
- [sniffs]

591
00:20:50,584 --> 00:20:51,785
I-it was unreal.

592
00:20:51,852 --> 00:20:54,288
It s-seemed it wasn't
really, like--

593
00:20:54,354 --> 00:20:55,455
wasn't normal.

594
00:20:55,522 --> 00:20:56,957
It was like--

595
00:20:57,024 --> 00:20:59,493
mm, like living in a novel.

596
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:00,827
So...

597
00:21:00,894 --> 00:21:02,629
- A story told
in the next week's paper.

598
00:21:02,696 --> 00:21:04,264
- We were under duress,

599
00:21:04,331 --> 00:21:06,767
which is exactly
how we felt.

600
00:21:06,834 --> 00:21:08,969
We lost everything we had

601
00:21:09,036 --> 00:21:11,939
and made our Tuesday deadline.

602
00:21:13,841 --> 00:21:16,543
- After devastating
back-to-back floods

603
00:21:16,610 --> 00:21:18,278
in 2007 and 2008,

604
00:21:18,545 --> 00:21:20,547
it was clear
something needed to be done,

605
00:21:20,614 --> 00:21:22,649
and only the federal
government would have

606
00:21:22,716 --> 00:21:25,719
the resources
to make it happen.

607
00:21:25,786 --> 00:21:28,555
- We're sitting here
'cause of federal dollars.

608
00:21:28,622 --> 00:21:30,257
- Oh, absolutely, yeah.

609
00:21:30,324 --> 00:21:31,525
[gentle music]

610
00:21:31,592 --> 00:21:32,860
- The newspaper
shared its building

611
00:21:32,926 --> 00:21:34,962
with Robert E's Barber Shop.

612
00:21:35,028 --> 00:21:37,030
- Uh, I went
to East Moline, Illinois,

613
00:21:37,097 --> 00:21:38,966
Lincoln Barber College,

614
00:21:39,032 --> 00:21:41,802
and then right straight
from there to Milwaukee.

615
00:21:41,869 --> 00:21:44,905
- After many Milwaukee years,
Robert Lee

616
00:21:44,972 --> 00:21:46,607
packed up
his Braves souvenirs

617
00:21:46,673 --> 00:21:48,475
and moved back home.

618
00:21:48,542 --> 00:21:49,710
Over time,
the downtown flooding

619
00:21:49,776 --> 00:21:51,011
in Gays Mills

620
00:21:51,078 --> 00:21:52,746
took its toll.

621
00:21:53,247 --> 00:21:54,381
- Mm-hmm.

622
00:21:54,448 --> 00:21:56,583
- The sidewalk was, like,
a inch from the door.

623
00:21:56,650 --> 00:21:58,685
- Well, that building sat
right in a little swale.

624
00:21:58,752 --> 00:22:00,087
We-- we got the water first,

625
00:22:00,153 --> 00:22:01,822
no matter what.

626
00:22:02,289 --> 00:22:03,824
- FEMA bought out
the old building

627
00:22:03,891 --> 00:22:05,826
and brought it down.

628
00:22:05,893 --> 00:22:08,128
A new structure was built
with federal funds

629
00:22:08,195 --> 00:22:10,664
to create
a new business district.

630
00:22:10,731 --> 00:22:12,933
It's called
the Gays Mills Mercantile,

631
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,735
and it's safely removed
from the Kickapoo,

632
00:22:14,801 --> 00:22:16,036
but like the old town,

633
00:22:16,103 --> 00:22:17,604
with its now-empty lots,

634
00:22:17,671 --> 00:22:19,072
the Mercantile has had

635
00:22:19,139 --> 00:22:20,707
some trouble
filling its slots,

636
00:22:20,774 --> 00:22:22,509
leading some
to jokingly call it

637
00:22:22,576 --> 00:22:24,244
"the ghost mall."

638
00:22:25,179 --> 00:22:26,947
But the newspaper moved there,

639
00:22:27,014 --> 00:22:30,217
still sharing a building
with the barber.

640
00:22:30,284 --> 00:22:31,852
- I don't know.

641
00:22:31,919 --> 00:22:33,020
I knew we would never get

642
00:22:33,086 --> 00:22:35,556
the feel of
the old Main Street back.

643
00:22:35,622 --> 00:22:36,857
- Well, true.

644
00:22:36,924 --> 00:22:38,258
- Toby, it's Charley

645
00:22:38,325 --> 00:22:40,160
at the <i>Crawford County</i>
<i>Independent.</i>

646
00:22:40,227 --> 00:22:42,596
I'm extremely thankful

647
00:22:42,663 --> 00:22:43,897
to have this

648
00:22:43,964 --> 00:22:46,767
office provided
by the village

649
00:22:46,834 --> 00:22:49,436
through-- through the work
of the federal government.

650
00:22:49,503 --> 00:22:52,873
Federal government response
is generous,

651
00:22:52,940 --> 00:22:56,610
and... I think the people here
are thankful for it,

652
00:22:56,677 --> 00:22:58,345
but, um...

653
00:22:59,179 --> 00:23:01,515
it is... kind of generic.

654
00:23:03,517 --> 00:23:06,620
- While the Mercantile had
a big taxpayer price tag,

655
00:23:06,687 --> 00:23:09,489
Charley sees it as also coming
with a social cost:

656
00:23:09,556 --> 00:23:11,325
the loss of character

657
00:23:11,391 --> 00:23:12,626
and sense of community

658
00:23:12,693 --> 00:23:14,695
that the old town inspired,

659
00:23:14,761 --> 00:23:18,198
the same community
that helped out in the crisis.

660
00:23:18,265 --> 00:23:20,534
- They were standing there
in the mud with us.

661
00:23:20,601 --> 00:23:23,637
Mostly, the federal government
was not.

662
00:23:23,704 --> 00:23:25,372
[gentle music]

663
00:23:26,707 --> 00:23:28,375
? ?

664
00:23:34,715 --> 00:23:36,950
- While rivers
can be unpredictable,

665
00:23:37,017 --> 00:23:39,887
the change of seasons
is inevitable.

666
00:23:39,953 --> 00:23:41,622
? ?

667
00:23:41,955 --> 00:23:44,024
In this hilly region,

668
00:23:44,091 --> 00:23:46,693
fog collects in the valleys

669
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,097
before burning off
under the low sun.

670
00:23:50,163 --> 00:23:52,466
The colors change,
and temperatures drop...

671
00:23:52,533 --> 00:23:53,667
? ?

672
00:23:53,734 --> 00:23:55,469
And many in the area
look forward

673
00:23:55,536 --> 00:23:58,205
to the coming of deer season.

674
00:23:58,872 --> 00:24:00,974
It's what brings
the large crowd

675
00:24:01,041 --> 00:24:02,843
to the last day
of hunter safety training

676
00:24:02,910 --> 00:24:04,845
at the Gays Mills
Community Center.

677
00:24:04,912 --> 00:24:07,814
Young kids get ready
to join their families

678
00:24:07,881 --> 00:24:09,816
at deer camps
just weeks away.

679
00:24:09,883 --> 00:24:11,952
- Go ahead
and cross the fence.

680
00:24:12,019 --> 00:24:13,453
- So, there's a
lot of things involved

681
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,289
in what to do
in the field

682
00:24:15,355 --> 00:24:18,325
and how to be responsible
and ethical and safe.

683
00:24:18,392 --> 00:24:19,493
- Each shell goes

684
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:20,794
to a certain type of gun,
right?

685
00:24:20,861 --> 00:24:22,296
- Okay.
- 'Cause you know if you...

686
00:24:22,362 --> 00:24:23,564
He's eager to learn

687
00:24:23,630 --> 00:24:25,632
about how to do things
the right way.

688
00:24:25,699 --> 00:24:27,434
I told him he needed
to pass hunter safety

689
00:24:27,501 --> 00:24:30,604
before he could even come out
with me.

690
00:24:30,671 --> 00:24:33,173
- If you teach youngsters
how to hunt and fish

691
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,142
and give them a focus

692
00:24:35,209 --> 00:24:36,743
on the outdoors,

693
00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:38,645
they're less likely to get
into other kinds of problems.

694
00:24:38,712 --> 00:24:40,848
[gentle rustic music]

695
00:24:41,715 --> 00:24:43,383
? ?

696
00:24:46,587 --> 00:24:48,055
- With Thanksgiving
approaching,

697
00:24:48,121 --> 00:24:50,858
many in the area
think of those less fortunate,

698
00:24:50,924 --> 00:24:52,559
including
the local motorcycle club.

699
00:24:52,626 --> 00:24:54,595
[The Lost Crows band playing
"Gimme Three Steps"]

700
00:24:54,661 --> 00:24:56,964
- ? Ask one favor from you ?

701
00:24:57,030 --> 00:24:58,699
? ?

702
00:24:59,099 --> 00:25:00,601
? A-won't you give me
three steps ?

703
00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:02,603
? Give me three steps, mister ?

704
00:25:02,669 --> 00:25:04,471
- The band The Lost Crows

705
00:25:04,538 --> 00:25:06,673
includes members of the club.

706
00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:08,175
- Well, tonight
we're having a food drive,

707
00:25:08,242 --> 00:25:10,344
uh, for our local community

708
00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:12,012
at the Societies' Sons
Clubhouse

709
00:25:12,079 --> 00:25:13,680
in Gays Mills,

710
00:25:13,747 --> 00:25:15,949
and we get a lot of response
from the community

711
00:25:16,016 --> 00:25:17,718
with a lot of donations.

712
00:25:17,784 --> 00:25:20,053
Cash donations,
food donations--

713
00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:21,755
we'll take anything
that you want to give us.

714
00:25:21,822 --> 00:25:23,924
- ? Go on,
take the money and run ?

715
00:25:23,991 --> 00:25:25,659
? ?

716
00:25:26,026 --> 00:25:28,028
? Go on,
take the money and run ?

717
00:25:28,095 --> 00:25:30,497
- We're all connected
with the communities

718
00:25:30,564 --> 00:25:33,367
around us
and help when we can.

719
00:25:33,901 --> 00:25:36,236
You know, we all want
to get along.

720
00:25:36,303 --> 00:25:37,571
- All right.

721
00:25:37,638 --> 00:25:38,906
- Societies' Sons--

722
00:25:38,972 --> 00:25:40,307
you know, they wanted people
to see

723
00:25:40,374 --> 00:25:42,442
that they weren't just
a motorcycle group,

724
00:25:42,509 --> 00:25:46,146
you know, that--
riding around or whatever.

725
00:25:46,213 --> 00:25:47,714
- Retired teacher
Renee Salmon

726
00:25:47,781 --> 00:25:50,250
volunteers
at the Gays Mills food pantry

727
00:25:50,317 --> 00:25:52,986
where the Societies' Sons
donations will end up.

728
00:25:53,053 --> 00:25:54,588
- They donate

729
00:25:54,655 --> 00:25:57,224
with the usual organizations:

730
00:25:57,291 --> 00:25:59,693
the Lions,
the Lionesses,

731
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,762
churches, of course.

732
00:26:02,196 --> 00:26:04,831
- Churches provide
the volunteer staff.

733
00:26:04,898 --> 00:26:06,533
- The Methodists have
two months.

734
00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,902
The Lutherans have two months.

735
00:26:08,969 --> 00:26:10,838
The Catholics have two months.

736
00:26:10,904 --> 00:26:12,873
- Renee is filling up
backpacks

737
00:26:12,940 --> 00:26:14,174
to be sent home

738
00:26:14,241 --> 00:26:15,709
with hungry students
at a nearby school

739
00:26:15,776 --> 00:26:17,110
over the weekend.

740
00:26:17,177 --> 00:26:19,313
The pantry has become
a focal point

741
00:26:19,379 --> 00:26:20,681
of community giving.

742
00:26:20,747 --> 00:26:22,449
The motto is

743
00:26:22,516 --> 00:26:25,185
"Doing whatever it takes
to be a good neighbor."

744
00:26:25,252 --> 00:26:27,654
- It's definitely--
that's the way people feel,

745
00:26:27,721 --> 00:26:29,189
and-- and I think our--

746
00:26:29,256 --> 00:26:32,392
our-- our clients
are so appreciative.

747
00:26:32,459 --> 00:26:33,894
- The need is great,

748
00:26:33,961 --> 00:26:36,263
as witnessed
by the numbers who use it.

749
00:26:36,330 --> 00:26:38,398
The pantry's located
in the same new building

750
00:26:38,465 --> 00:26:40,434
as the barbershop
and newspaper office,

751
00:26:40,501 --> 00:26:41,835
and it's said

752
00:26:41,902 --> 00:26:43,337
the one day a week
the pantry's open

753
00:26:43,403 --> 00:26:45,906
is the only day
the parking lot fills,

754
00:26:45,973 --> 00:26:48,275
particularly as the snow
begins to fall.

755
00:26:48,342 --> 00:26:49,576
- We do see

756
00:26:49,643 --> 00:26:51,411
an increase, a tick up.

757
00:26:51,478 --> 00:26:53,981
- Renee sees
the lack of job opportunity

758
00:26:54,047 --> 00:26:57,184
as a major factor
in the area's food insecurity.

759
00:26:57,251 --> 00:27:01,421
- Well, we don't have
very much, um, industry.

760
00:27:01,488 --> 00:27:02,923
It's more seasonal.

761
00:27:02,990 --> 00:27:05,025
I think people
get laid off,

762
00:27:05,092 --> 00:27:07,895
or they need
the little extra help

763
00:27:07,961 --> 00:27:09,630
in the winter.

764
00:27:11,265 --> 00:27:13,267
- Just down the road
from the Mercantile,

765
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:15,235
one business is trying
to change ideas

766
00:27:15,302 --> 00:27:18,272
about industrial potential
in rural areas.

767
00:27:18,338 --> 00:27:19,673
The Applewood Business Park

768
00:27:19,740 --> 00:27:21,074
has streets
named after apples,

769
00:27:21,141 --> 00:27:23,310
so you could mistake
the name BAPI

770
00:27:23,377 --> 00:27:25,045
for a new variety,

771
00:27:25,379 --> 00:27:27,714
but the inside
of BAPI's facility

772
00:27:27,781 --> 00:27:29,550
looks much more like
the Silicon Valley

773
00:27:29,616 --> 00:27:31,151
than the Kickapoo Valley.

774
00:27:31,218 --> 00:27:33,153
Ritch Stevenson
is the founder.

775
00:27:33,220 --> 00:27:35,989
- We're a high-tech business
in a...

776
00:27:36,056 --> 00:27:37,691
"low-tech market,"

777
00:27:37,758 --> 00:27:40,561
uh, and--
and we do quite well.

778
00:27:41,028 --> 00:27:42,963
- They do well
as a global leader

779
00:27:43,030 --> 00:27:44,998
in sales and manufacturing
of sensors

780
00:27:45,065 --> 00:27:46,800
and climate-control products.

781
00:27:46,867 --> 00:27:50,037
BAPI, or Building
Automation Products, Inc.,

782
00:27:50,103 --> 00:27:51,471
has their technology used

783
00:27:51,538 --> 00:27:54,308
in buildings
on every continent.

784
00:27:54,374 --> 00:27:56,076
Take a tour,
and Ritch will emphasize

785
00:27:56,143 --> 00:27:57,544
that BAPI jobs include

786
00:27:57,611 --> 00:28:00,047
much more than what's seen
on the plant floor.

787
00:28:00,113 --> 00:28:01,748
- We employ
all the different

788
00:28:01,815 --> 00:28:02,983
career functions,

789
00:28:03,050 --> 00:28:04,818
so we have accounting;
we have marketing.

790
00:28:04,885 --> 00:28:06,587
Manufacturing engineering,

791
00:28:06,653 --> 00:28:08,255
and engineering management.
[speaks to staff] Wave!

792
00:28:08,322 --> 00:28:10,190
Mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering.

793
00:28:10,257 --> 00:28:11,358
We have drafting.

794
00:28:11,425 --> 00:28:13,026
Tech support,

795
00:28:13,093 --> 00:28:15,329
and, uh,
professional fly fisherman.

796
00:28:15,395 --> 00:28:16,897
- Mentioning
the fly fisherman

797
00:28:16,964 --> 00:28:18,065
isn't just trivia.

798
00:28:18,131 --> 00:28:20,167
It's more of an HR strategy.

799
00:28:20,234 --> 00:28:22,002
- It's
a lot more quiet lifestyle

800
00:28:22,069 --> 00:28:24,605
than you have in the city,
but there's plenty to do.

801
00:28:24,671 --> 00:28:26,874
My passion is bow hunting.

802
00:28:26,940 --> 00:28:29,276
Canoe, bike, fish, hike,

803
00:28:30,210 --> 00:28:31,478
bird-watch.

804
00:28:31,545 --> 00:28:32,946
- The rural setting
and remote location

805
00:28:33,013 --> 00:28:34,181
of Gays Mills

806
00:28:34,248 --> 00:28:35,649
could be seen
as an impediment

807
00:28:35,716 --> 00:28:37,217
for many businesses,

808
00:28:37,284 --> 00:28:39,853
but BAPI makes it
a selling point.

809
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,855
- We took being
in Gays Mills

810
00:28:41,922 --> 00:28:43,524
as an asset.

811
00:28:43,590 --> 00:28:45,425
We're looking for talent
that wants

812
00:28:45,492 --> 00:28:47,327
to live in this type
of environment,

813
00:28:47,394 --> 00:28:49,396
which is, you know,
rural America,

814
00:28:49,463 --> 00:28:51,365
a good quality life,

815
00:28:51,965 --> 00:28:54,134
you know, an easy commute
to work.

816
00:28:54,201 --> 00:28:56,603
- Wouldn't live
anywhere else.

817
00:28:56,670 --> 00:28:59,773
- Michael McCarthy grew up
on an area chicken farm,

818
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,442
got an electronics degree
from a nearby

819
00:29:02,509 --> 00:29:05,412
tech school,
and settled in at BAPI.

820
00:29:05,479 --> 00:29:06,580
- It is beautiful out

821
00:29:06,647 --> 00:29:08,081
when I'm driving
back and forth to work.

822
00:29:08,148 --> 00:29:09,716
I'm not stuck in traffic

823
00:29:09,783 --> 00:29:12,252
or anything, and-- and...

824
00:29:12,753 --> 00:29:15,455
just gotta watch out for deer.

825
00:29:15,522 --> 00:29:17,758
- If Ritch thinks
he can sell recruits

826
00:29:17,824 --> 00:29:18,959
on a small-town life,

827
00:29:19,026 --> 00:29:20,661
it's because
it's what he values

828
00:29:20,727 --> 00:29:23,197
and what he wants BAPI
to play a part in preserving.

829
00:29:23,263 --> 00:29:24,932
[spacey music]

830
00:29:25,499 --> 00:29:27,201
- Growing up as a kid,
I remember

831
00:29:27,267 --> 00:29:28,936
it was a vibrant community,

832
00:29:29,002 --> 00:29:31,939
and with all the small farmers
in the area to support it,

833
00:29:32,005 --> 00:29:35,075
it, you know,
was a bustling little town.

834
00:29:35,142 --> 00:29:36,810
When, uh, we saw

835
00:29:37,211 --> 00:29:39,580
the small farmers
shutting down,

836
00:29:39,646 --> 00:29:41,515
you could also see
the local businesses

837
00:29:41,582 --> 00:29:43,083
closing as they were leaving,

838
00:29:43,150 --> 00:29:47,321
and you could see
the community constricting.

839
00:29:47,387 --> 00:29:48,922
You have to hit the bottom

840
00:29:48,989 --> 00:29:50,524
before you start
building back up,

841
00:29:50,591 --> 00:29:54,361
and I'd have to say we're
right close to that right now.

842
00:29:54,428 --> 00:29:57,664
- But Ritch is confident
BAPI can play a role

843
00:29:57,731 --> 00:29:58,932
in a revival.

844
00:29:58,999 --> 00:30:00,834
- It takes effort
and there is

845
00:30:00,901 --> 00:30:02,503
a lot of effort to rebirth

846
00:30:02,569 --> 00:30:04,905
and pioneer a new Gays Mills

847
00:30:04,972 --> 00:30:06,507
and get us

848
00:30:06,573 --> 00:30:08,942
back on the track
of growth and prosperity

849
00:30:09,009 --> 00:30:11,011
that, you know,
some of the old-timers

850
00:30:11,078 --> 00:30:12,813
remember from when
they were kids.

851
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:14,081
? ?

852
00:30:14,147 --> 00:30:15,849
- And he encourages others
to follow

853
00:30:15,916 --> 00:30:17,518
the BAPI model.

854
00:30:17,584 --> 00:30:19,019
- We have room
in the business park,

855
00:30:19,086 --> 00:30:20,587
if anybody wants to come.
[laughs]

856
00:30:20,654 --> 00:30:22,322
? ?

857
00:30:25,492 --> 00:30:27,561
- Upriver from Gays Mills,
in the village

858
00:30:27,628 --> 00:30:28,829
of Soldiers Grove,

859
00:30:28,896 --> 00:30:30,864
their economic development
efforts

860
00:30:30,931 --> 00:30:32,132
take on a different flavor.

861
00:30:32,199 --> 00:30:34,635
[smooth percussive music]

862
00:30:34,701 --> 00:30:35,903
It's written
right on the board

863
00:30:35,969 --> 00:30:37,070
at the very top:

864
00:30:37,137 --> 00:30:38,305
Hipster Picnic,

865
00:30:38,372 --> 00:30:40,574
a strong dark Belgian brew.

866
00:30:40,641 --> 00:30:43,810
What could be more hipster
than a craft brewery

867
00:30:43,877 --> 00:30:46,613
serving some local
artisanal cheeses

868
00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:48,182
holding a celebration

869
00:30:48,248 --> 00:30:49,383
for the end of fall?

870
00:30:49,449 --> 00:30:50,984
? ?

871
00:30:51,051 --> 00:30:54,555
It's a solstice open house
for Driftless Brewing,

872
00:30:54,621 --> 00:30:57,724
a small operation
looking to expand.

873
00:30:57,791 --> 00:30:59,960
A familiar face
walks into the party:

874
00:31:00,027 --> 00:31:02,262
Steve George, treasurer

875
00:31:02,329 --> 00:31:03,530
of the Societies' Sons
Motorcycle Club

876
00:31:03,597 --> 00:31:05,232
that put on the food drive.

877
00:31:05,299 --> 00:31:06,600
Here Steve is better known

878
00:31:06,667 --> 00:31:09,469
as the village president
of Soldiers Grove.

879
00:31:09,536 --> 00:31:11,305
He doesn't see much difference

880
00:31:11,371 --> 00:31:14,107
between
the two elected positions.

881
00:31:14,174 --> 00:31:15,576
- Like both places,
you always have

882
00:31:15,642 --> 00:31:17,177
your public, uh, input

883
00:31:17,244 --> 00:31:18,679
where you get your complaints.

884
00:31:18,745 --> 00:31:20,414
[laughs]

885
00:31:20,814 --> 00:31:22,983
- He's retired
from his mechanic career,

886
00:31:23,050 --> 00:31:25,252
but Steve still does
custom bike work

887
00:31:25,319 --> 00:31:27,888
for Harley riders
who want a little more oomph.

888
00:31:27,955 --> 00:31:29,957
He has hopes
that Driftless Brewery

889
00:31:30,023 --> 00:31:33,660
can inject some fuel
into the village's economy.

890
00:31:33,727 --> 00:31:35,062
- We've been
very much supported

891
00:31:35,128 --> 00:31:36,530
by our village here,

892
00:31:36,597 --> 00:31:37,731
our village government.

893
00:31:37,798 --> 00:31:39,233
They gave us a low-cost loan

894
00:31:39,299 --> 00:31:40,734
for our small system,

895
00:31:40,801 --> 00:31:42,402
and they're working with us
on a grant

896
00:31:42,469 --> 00:31:45,005
for the bigger system
for our expansion.

897
00:31:45,072 --> 00:31:47,074
- We always try doing
and looking

898
00:31:47,140 --> 00:31:49,610
as promoting business
in our area,

899
00:31:49,676 --> 00:31:51,211
and we'll help you
get started

900
00:31:51,278 --> 00:31:54,214
so we can create businesses
in a small town,

901
00:31:54,281 --> 00:31:57,384
'cause, well, small towns
are losing that.

902
00:31:57,451 --> 00:32:00,354
- Steve is well acquainted
with that loss.

903
00:32:00,420 --> 00:32:01,755
[rustic music]

904
00:32:01,822 --> 00:32:03,090
In the late 1970s,

905
00:32:03,156 --> 00:32:04,958
he went through
what people in Gays Mills

906
00:32:05,025 --> 00:32:07,160
experienced in the 2000s:

907
00:32:07,227 --> 00:32:08,996
seeing his town
of Soldiers Grove

908
00:32:09,062 --> 00:32:11,198
moved out of the flood zone.

909
00:32:11,265 --> 00:32:13,333
- That little town
down there had, uh,

910
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,769
three gas stations,
a car lot,

911
00:32:15,836 --> 00:32:17,504
a hardware store,

912
00:32:17,571 --> 00:32:19,239
seven bars,

913
00:32:19,706 --> 00:32:22,676
and they were all full
on the weekends

914
00:32:22,743 --> 00:32:24,311
with people coming to town
at that time.

915
00:32:24,378 --> 00:32:25,979
? ?

916
00:32:26,046 --> 00:32:28,415
Many businesses
simply closed down,

917
00:32:28,482 --> 00:32:31,118
but one bar
made the slow uphill climb

918
00:32:31,185 --> 00:32:32,853
to higher ground.

919
00:32:33,887 --> 00:32:35,522
- Somebody said
he'd build a tavern,

920
00:32:35,589 --> 00:32:37,024
somebody else said
they'd build something else,

921
00:32:37,090 --> 00:32:38,959
and the IGA store said
he was going,

922
00:32:39,026 --> 00:32:40,694
so we started in.

923
00:32:42,396 --> 00:32:44,598
- Soldiers Grove's citizens
started in

924
00:32:44,665 --> 00:32:46,166
by emptying out
the old store

925
00:32:46,233 --> 00:32:47,534
and then stocking

926
00:32:47,601 --> 00:32:49,503
the same shelves
they'd later be shopping from.

927
00:32:49,570 --> 00:32:51,271
? ?

928
00:32:51,338 --> 00:32:52,773
- Oh, I-I think
it's got a future,

929
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,775
if we can get things
booming again.

930
00:32:54,842 --> 00:32:56,343
[quiet music]

931
00:32:56,410 --> 00:32:58,178
- The tavern known
as the Wonder Bar

932
00:32:58,245 --> 00:33:00,380
has remained a fixture
since the move.

933
00:33:00,447 --> 00:33:03,417
The grocery store survived
against the odds for decades,

934
00:33:03,483 --> 00:33:05,419
before shutting down
not long ago.

935
00:33:05,485 --> 00:33:07,054
? ?

936
00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,423
If the village
and Driftless Brewing

937
00:33:09,489 --> 00:33:11,091
can secure funding,

938
00:33:11,158 --> 00:33:13,060
including state
economic development funds,

939
00:33:13,126 --> 00:33:14,361
the space

940
00:33:14,428 --> 00:33:15,629
the grocery once occupied

941
00:33:15,696 --> 00:33:17,865
will have a new tenant.

942
00:33:17,931 --> 00:33:19,366
The writing's on the wall

943
00:33:19,433 --> 00:33:21,201
for construction
to increase production

944
00:33:21,268 --> 00:33:22,469
15-fold

945
00:33:22,536 --> 00:33:24,171
and, no matter
how you spell it,

946
00:33:24,238 --> 00:33:25,906
a biergarten.

947
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:30,444
- Cynthia Olmstead: It's gonna
be a destination brewery.

948
00:33:30,511 --> 00:33:31,745
If we have a 70-seat taproom

949
00:33:31,812 --> 00:33:33,680
and a full-scale
production brewery,

950
00:33:33,747 --> 00:33:36,283
it's gonna be a pretty exciting
addition to this area.

951
00:33:36,350 --> 00:33:37,951
It's gonna help
the gas station.

952
00:33:38,018 --> 00:33:39,419
It's gonna help
the restaurant.

953
00:33:39,486 --> 00:33:41,121
It's gonna help
the B&Bs.

954
00:33:41,188 --> 00:33:44,091
Everyone's pretty excited
about the potential here.

955
00:33:44,157 --> 00:33:46,159
- We loan them the money
to get started,

956
00:33:46,226 --> 00:33:49,062
and you're taking a chance,
is it gonna go or not?

957
00:33:49,129 --> 00:33:51,999
And it is. They're--
they're doing very well.

958
00:33:52,065 --> 00:33:54,034
That's good
for the community,

959
00:33:54,101 --> 00:33:58,338
so that was a good investment
for the village.

960
00:33:59,806 --> 00:34:01,508
- As the holiday season
approached,

961
00:34:01,575 --> 00:34:03,577
the search for portraits
moved upland

962
00:34:03,644 --> 00:34:05,445
from the valley to Seneca,

963
00:34:05,512 --> 00:34:07,080
one of a series
of ridgetop towns

964
00:34:07,147 --> 00:34:08,815
along Highway 27.

965
00:34:09,483 --> 00:34:11,084
[tranquil music]

966
00:34:11,151 --> 00:34:12,753
Its downtown consists largely

967
00:34:12,819 --> 00:34:15,322
of the sprawling
Johnson's One Stop.

968
00:34:15,389 --> 00:34:17,157
Walk it end to end,
and you'll pass through

969
00:34:17,224 --> 00:34:19,526
a supermarket,
shoe seller,

970
00:34:19,593 --> 00:34:21,061
farm supplier,

971
00:34:21,128 --> 00:34:23,030
and hardware store.

972
00:34:23,830 --> 00:34:25,799
[Seneca High School
Pep Band playing]

973
00:34:25,866 --> 00:34:28,435
Nothing brings out the town
like a home game.

974
00:34:28,502 --> 00:34:30,637
Seneca's distance
from other communities

975
00:34:30,704 --> 00:34:31,939
has protected its schools

976
00:34:32,005 --> 00:34:34,341
from having to consolidate,
like rival

977
00:34:34,408 --> 00:34:36,076
North Crawford,

978
00:34:36,743 --> 00:34:38,745
but like other schools
in the region,

979
00:34:38,812 --> 00:34:41,381
Seneca has a high share
of students on free

980
00:34:41,448 --> 00:34:43,116
or reduced lunch.

981
00:34:44,685 --> 00:34:46,486
It's really the youngest
who suffer the most

982
00:34:46,553 --> 00:34:48,355
from hunger,
and the school

983
00:34:48,422 --> 00:34:49,957
and community
is doing something extra

984
00:34:50,023 --> 00:34:51,658
for them.

985
00:34:51,725 --> 00:34:53,594
["Jingle Bells" playing
on speakers]

986
00:34:53,660 --> 00:34:56,597
Seneca's single kindergarten
is a high-energy classroom,

987
00:34:56,663 --> 00:35:00,067
especially during
the countdown to Christmas.

988
00:35:00,133 --> 00:35:02,636
- Two little Christmas trees

989
00:35:02,703 --> 00:35:03,937
standing all...

990
00:35:04,004 --> 00:35:05,539
- When teacher Deb Benish
noticed

991
00:35:05,606 --> 00:35:06,974
some students couldn't keep up

992
00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:08,308
on Monday mornings,

993
00:35:08,375 --> 00:35:10,844
she initiated
the backpack program.

994
00:35:10,911 --> 00:35:12,446
The packs filled
by Renee Salmon

995
00:35:12,513 --> 00:35:13,747
at the food pantry

996
00:35:13,814 --> 00:35:14,948
wind up here,

997
00:35:15,015 --> 00:35:16,617
given to select students
to take home

998
00:35:16,683 --> 00:35:19,620
in a way that won't let
other students know

999
00:35:19,686 --> 00:35:21,021
they're getting help.

1000
00:35:21,088 --> 00:35:22,322
- The amazing thing

1001
00:35:22,389 --> 00:35:24,491
is that it's completely funded

1002
00:35:24,558 --> 00:35:26,193
by the community.

1003
00:35:26,260 --> 00:35:28,729
There's no government funds.

1004
00:35:28,795 --> 00:35:30,731
It's just the people
that care

1005
00:35:30,797 --> 00:35:32,132
about the students
in our school

1006
00:35:32,199 --> 00:35:33,734
and the families.

1007
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:35,402
While this extra care is taken

1008
00:35:35,469 --> 00:35:37,804
to fill in gaps
in childhood nutrition,

1009
00:35:37,871 --> 00:35:40,340
there's one segment
of the area population

1010
00:35:40,407 --> 00:35:43,510
that's fed
with scientific precision.

1011
00:35:43,577 --> 00:35:45,245
[rooster crows]

1012
00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:47,948
[gentle music]

1013
00:35:49,283 --> 00:35:50,951
? ?

1014
00:35:52,686 --> 00:35:53,921
- Eh, you know,
you got people

1015
00:35:53,987 --> 00:35:55,622
that tell humans
what to eat.

1016
00:35:55,689 --> 00:35:57,191
Well, I do the same
for animals.

1017
00:35:57,257 --> 00:35:58,926
? ?

1018
00:35:59,259 --> 00:36:00,561
- Ben Olson
helps manage nutrition

1019
00:36:00,627 --> 00:36:04,131
at Olson Feed Service,
just outside Seneca.

1020
00:36:04,198 --> 00:36:05,399
The feed mill is the provider

1021
00:36:05,465 --> 00:36:06,834
for many of the area's

1022
00:36:06,900 --> 00:36:08,035
dairy herd.

1023
00:36:08,101 --> 00:36:09,536
They whip up portions
of grains

1024
00:36:09,603 --> 00:36:11,538
and protein
through something

1025
00:36:11,605 --> 00:36:13,674
like a giant Vitamix.

1026
00:36:13,740 --> 00:36:15,642
- What I try and do is,

1027
00:36:16,443 --> 00:36:18,645
in the most
cost-effective way,

1028
00:36:18,712 --> 00:36:21,615
just try and make sure
that animals get

1029
00:36:21,682 --> 00:36:23,317
the best diet that they can.

1030
00:36:23,383 --> 00:36:25,052
? ?

1031
00:36:25,886 --> 00:36:28,188
- That mixed feed
is loaded into trailers

1032
00:36:28,255 --> 00:36:29,690
and onto trucks,

1033
00:36:29,756 --> 00:36:32,593
with each farm getting
their own custom mix

1034
00:36:32,659 --> 00:36:35,295
based on
a nutritional analysis

1035
00:36:35,362 --> 00:36:38,699
of what the farmer has grown
on their own for feed.

1036
00:36:38,765 --> 00:36:41,568
- Including, oh, corn silage

1037
00:36:41,635 --> 00:36:43,737
or forages
that are already on the farm

1038
00:36:43,804 --> 00:36:46,473
to, again,
kind of help reduce cost.

1039
00:36:46,540 --> 00:36:48,809
That's kind of
what it boils down to is--

1040
00:36:48,876 --> 00:36:50,444
is trying, hopefully,

1041
00:36:50,511 --> 00:36:51,845
help people make a dollar.

1042
00:36:51,912 --> 00:36:53,647
? ?

1043
00:36:53,714 --> 00:36:56,316
- A dollar that's been getting
more and more elusive

1044
00:36:56,383 --> 00:36:58,519
as milk prices
remain depressed.

1045
00:36:58,585 --> 00:37:00,420
- You see that cage
that they lower the calf?

1046
00:37:00,487 --> 00:37:01,822
- Ben's mom, Tammy Olson,
has heard

1047
00:37:01,889 --> 00:37:03,223
her customers asking them
for help

1048
00:37:03,290 --> 00:37:04,525
to trim expenses.

1049
00:37:04,591 --> 00:37:05,893
- Put towels, and they...

1050
00:37:05,959 --> 00:37:08,328
- They will pore
over those rations.

1051
00:37:08,395 --> 00:37:09,630
They'll try to come up
with something

1052
00:37:09,696 --> 00:37:10,931
that might be
a little less expensive,

1053
00:37:10,998 --> 00:37:12,232
or maybe you don't have
to feed

1054
00:37:12,299 --> 00:37:14,067
quite so much of something.

1055
00:37:14,134 --> 00:37:16,303
- But the real barometer
of hard times

1056
00:37:16,370 --> 00:37:18,005
has been what she hears
from customers

1057
00:37:18,071 --> 00:37:19,306
and the small dairy farmers

1058
00:37:19,373 --> 00:37:21,041
who gather
for a little coffee

1059
00:37:21,108 --> 00:37:22,843
many mornings
at the feed mill.

1060
00:37:22,910 --> 00:37:24,211
- Farming can be very lonely.

1061
00:37:24,278 --> 00:37:26,013
Sometimes you're
the only one in there milking,

1062
00:37:26,079 --> 00:37:29,049
and maybe you don't have
a lot of conversation

1063
00:37:29,116 --> 00:37:31,018
with anybody
outside your family,

1064
00:37:31,084 --> 00:37:33,554
so sometimes I joke
that we're the feed mill

1065
00:37:33,620 --> 00:37:34,821
but sometimes
we're the rumor mill

1066
00:37:34,888 --> 00:37:36,690
or the conversation mill.

1067
00:37:36,757 --> 00:37:37,858
- You can always count

1068
00:37:37,925 --> 00:37:39,159
on plenty of conversation

1069
00:37:39,226 --> 00:37:40,961
about Seneca basketball.

1070
00:37:41,028 --> 00:37:42,663
- But the one game
down at North Crawford,

1071
00:37:42,729 --> 00:37:45,599
the big boy wasn't there;
he was sick with the flu.

1072
00:37:45,666 --> 00:37:47,067
We couldn't shake him.

1073
00:37:47,134 --> 00:37:49,002
We only beat 'em by ten.

1074
00:37:49,069 --> 00:37:51,772
- And also talk
about tariffs and trade.

1075
00:37:51,839 --> 00:37:53,207
- Well, we-- we gotta get,

1076
00:37:53,273 --> 00:37:54,942
you know, essentially,
milk out of the country,

1077
00:37:55,008 --> 00:37:56,376
grain out of the country, uh...

1078
00:37:56,443 --> 00:37:57,678
- Absolutely.

1079
00:37:57,744 --> 00:37:59,112
- Recently, though,

1080
00:37:59,179 --> 00:38:01,481
Tammy says conversation
has often taken

1081
00:38:01,548 --> 00:38:02,883
a darker turn.

1082
00:38:02,950 --> 00:38:04,384
- I'm like,
"How are you doing today?"

1083
00:38:04,451 --> 00:38:05,919
and I kept getting
the same answer

1084
00:38:05,986 --> 00:38:08,155
that,
"Well, why are we doing this?

1085
00:38:08,222 --> 00:38:09,556
"Who in their right mind

1086
00:38:09,623 --> 00:38:10,757
"works in an industry

1087
00:38:10,824 --> 00:38:12,960
"where not only
are you not making money

1088
00:38:13,026 --> 00:38:14,494
"but it's almost as if

1089
00:38:14,561 --> 00:38:17,831
you're paying to work
in this industry?"

1090
00:38:17,898 --> 00:38:20,133
[mechanical whirring]

1091
00:38:21,635 --> 00:38:23,303
- Low milk prices
can't keep up

1092
00:38:23,370 --> 00:38:25,372
with expenses like feed,

1093
00:38:25,439 --> 00:38:27,708
putting the squeeze
on dairy farmers.

1094
00:38:27,774 --> 00:38:30,811
Tammy started watching
the news more closely.

1095
00:38:30,878 --> 00:38:33,380
- And then I started reading
more and more,

1096
00:38:33,447 --> 00:38:36,850
and then I found out
that western Wisconsin

1097
00:38:36,917 --> 00:38:39,853
led the nation
in bankruptcies,

1098
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,723
and I'm like, "How can I
be proud of that statistic?"

1099
00:38:42,789 --> 00:38:45,759
We have somebody who wanted
to come out and play.

1100
00:38:45,826 --> 00:38:47,728
I'm proud of the fact
that I'm from Wisconsin

1101
00:38:47,794 --> 00:38:49,263
and that I participate

1102
00:38:49,329 --> 00:38:51,231
in our dairy production,
and...

1103
00:38:51,298 --> 00:38:53,834
Oh, he's healthy.
Look at him.

1104
00:38:53,901 --> 00:38:55,369
I can't be proud of this.

1105
00:38:55,435 --> 00:38:57,104
[desolate music]

1106
00:38:57,371 --> 00:38:59,473
- The Olson Feed Service's
Facebook page

1107
00:38:59,540 --> 00:39:02,376
had been tracking a bear
seen in the area...

1108
00:39:02,442 --> 00:39:03,577
? ?

1109
00:39:03,644 --> 00:39:05,112
But Tami
started sharing links,

1110
00:39:05,179 --> 00:39:07,214
including one
about the dramatic increase

1111
00:39:07,281 --> 00:39:09,049
in farmer suicides.

1112
00:39:09,116 --> 00:39:10,784
? ?

1113
00:39:11,051 --> 00:39:12,286
- And I found that

1114
00:39:12,352 --> 00:39:13,554
to be very disturbing

1115
00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:15,189
and heartbreaking.

1116
00:39:15,255 --> 00:39:17,491
I have a daughter
who works in mental health,

1117
00:39:17,558 --> 00:39:20,494
so I talked to her
about it, and...

1118
00:39:20,561 --> 00:39:22,296
she said,
"Every time you see somebody,

1119
00:39:22,362 --> 00:39:23,997
"it is-- that's depressed,

1120
00:39:24,064 --> 00:39:25,566
it's a-- you have to help them."

1121
00:39:25,632 --> 00:39:26,867
? ?

1122
00:39:26,934 --> 00:39:29,169
Normally we have
very upbeat, happy people

1123
00:39:29,236 --> 00:39:30,971
that walk through here,
and we're always

1124
00:39:31,038 --> 00:39:33,640
laughing and... joking around,

1125
00:39:33,707 --> 00:39:35,309
and it just hasn't been
that way.

1126
00:39:35,375 --> 00:39:37,044
? ?

1127
00:39:37,811 --> 00:39:39,913
Never have we had the sadness

1128
00:39:39,980 --> 00:39:41,782
that we've had now.

1129
00:39:42,082 --> 00:39:45,853
They're frustrated.
They're distressed.

1130
00:39:45,919 --> 00:39:47,588
It's despair.

1131
00:39:48,021 --> 00:39:50,757
- All things that led Tammy
to take action.

1132
00:39:50,824 --> 00:39:52,092
[chatter and laughter]

1133
00:39:52,159 --> 00:39:53,427
- We want to say thank you.

1134
00:39:53,493 --> 00:39:54,695
The support we've received
for this

1135
00:39:54,761 --> 00:39:56,730
has been tremendous,
so just

1136
00:39:56,797 --> 00:39:58,031
a few quick announcements...

1137
00:39:58,098 --> 00:40:00,234
Uncharacteristically,

1138
00:40:00,300 --> 00:40:02,269
I reached out,
and I made some phone calls

1139
00:40:02,336 --> 00:40:03,437
and sent some emails

1140
00:40:03,504 --> 00:40:06,306
to my state representatives,

1141
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:09,276
and much to my surprise

1142
00:40:09,343 --> 00:40:10,844
and much to my happiness,

1143
00:40:10,911 --> 00:40:12,880
then we are now having

1144
00:40:12,946 --> 00:40:15,649
our own town hall-type
meeting.

1145
00:40:15,716 --> 00:40:17,284
- Tammy put together
a panel

1146
00:40:17,351 --> 00:40:18,819
of politicians,
their aides,

1147
00:40:18,886 --> 00:40:20,053
civil servants,

1148
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:22,222
and industry representatives.

1149
00:40:22,289 --> 00:40:24,725
- And we have Kevin Walleser;
he just walked in

1150
00:40:24,791 --> 00:40:26,226
from the
Milk Marketing Board,

1151
00:40:26,293 --> 00:40:28,896
and I believe we have
a seat of honor for you too.

1152
00:40:28,962 --> 00:40:30,063
[applause]

1153
00:40:30,130 --> 00:40:31,231
- Before the first question,

1154
00:40:31,298 --> 00:40:32,799
Tammy gets
a round of applause.

1155
00:40:32,866 --> 00:40:34,535
- Thank you.

1156
00:40:35,202 --> 00:40:37,437
This has really been
a labor of love

1157
00:40:37,504 --> 00:40:38,839
right straight from my heart.

1158
00:40:38,906 --> 00:40:40,440
- The gathered dairy farmers,

1159
00:40:40,507 --> 00:40:41,808
whose livelihoods
are dictated

1160
00:40:41,875 --> 00:40:44,478
by the laws
of supply and demand,

1161
00:40:44,545 --> 00:40:46,647
have questions about both.

1162
00:40:46,713 --> 00:40:49,650
On the demand side,
ideas about schools.

1163
00:40:49,716 --> 00:40:51,385
- And my thought is,

1164
00:40:51,451 --> 00:40:53,620
get our kids
drinking good milk.

1165
00:40:53,687 --> 00:40:56,256
How do you get
good milk into schools?

1166
00:40:56,323 --> 00:40:58,258
- Well, then, Kevin,
go ahead and answer that one.

1167
00:40:58,325 --> 00:41:01,028
- Essentially,
they want kids to drink

1168
00:41:01,094 --> 00:41:03,730
chocolate milk
that tastes like dirty water.

1169
00:41:03,797 --> 00:41:05,499
Like, in your after-school
vending machines,

1170
00:41:05,566 --> 00:41:06,800
it says gotta be

1171
00:41:06,867 --> 00:41:07,968
a 12-ounce bottle.

1172
00:41:08,035 --> 00:41:09,136
Well, none
of the vending machines

1173
00:41:09,203 --> 00:41:10,470
work for 12-ounce bottles.

1174
00:41:10,537 --> 00:41:12,272
They work
for 16-ounce bottles,

1175
00:41:12,339 --> 00:41:14,208
so then everything's
gotta be retooled.

1176
00:41:14,274 --> 00:41:17,411
It's-- it's total government
is what it is.

1177
00:41:17,477 --> 00:41:18,712
- Okay, we have
a question here.

1178
00:41:18,779 --> 00:41:19,880
- There are worries
about competition

1179
00:41:19,947 --> 00:41:21,615
in the marketplace.

1180
00:41:21,682 --> 00:41:23,317
- We went to Wal-Mart,
my daughter and I,

1181
00:41:23,383 --> 00:41:24,618
the other day
just to check the--

1182
00:41:24,685 --> 00:41:26,420
check out the milk section.

1183
00:41:26,486 --> 00:41:29,189
Almond milk
all the way across the top.

1184
00:41:29,256 --> 00:41:31,024
That's not milk.

1185
00:41:31,091 --> 00:41:32,993
Seems like everybody's
against us.

1186
00:41:33,060 --> 00:41:34,561
They can take stuff
from a nut

1187
00:41:34,628 --> 00:41:37,030
and sell it as nutritious
for milk.

1188
00:41:37,097 --> 00:41:39,533
To me, that just blows
my mind.

1189
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,236
- Then the questioning
turns to supply.

1190
00:41:42,302 --> 00:41:45,138
- I wanna address this
to Kevin.

1191
00:41:45,205 --> 00:41:46,874
What are we overproducing
right now?

1192
00:41:46,940 --> 00:41:48,876
- Nationwide,
how much do we need?

1193
00:41:48,942 --> 00:41:50,043
- Yeah, nationwide.
Where--

1194
00:41:50,110 --> 00:41:51,778
- We're probably 15% long.

1195
00:41:51,845 --> 00:41:53,080
- We're 15?

1196
00:41:53,146 --> 00:41:54,248
- Yeah.
- Big number.

1197
00:41:54,314 --> 00:41:56,316
- We're probably 15% long.

1198
00:41:56,383 --> 00:41:58,986
Uh, we can't drink our way
out of this domestically.

1199
00:41:59,052 --> 00:42:00,687
- Make your way up
to the microphone, John.

1200
00:42:00,754 --> 00:42:01,855
- Oh.
- Yeah.

1201
00:42:01,922 --> 00:42:03,590
- Thank you.

1202
00:42:03,991 --> 00:42:08,262
- You know, I went
to short course in Madison,

1203
00:42:08,328 --> 00:42:10,230
and that was in 1988,

1204
00:42:10,531 --> 00:42:12,132
and they told me that

1205
00:42:12,199 --> 00:42:15,202
80 cows is enough
for one family.

1206
00:42:16,970 --> 00:42:20,007
If you got two families,
160 cows is enough for that.

1207
00:42:20,073 --> 00:42:21,875
So why--

1208
00:42:21,942 --> 00:42:24,378
why does everybody want
to overproduce?

1209
00:42:24,444 --> 00:42:25,612
You know?

1210
00:42:25,679 --> 00:42:28,048
Why can't we cut back
on numbers on cows?

1211
00:42:28,115 --> 00:42:30,117
This thing of always letting
the bigger farmer

1212
00:42:30,184 --> 00:42:32,686
get more cows
because they want more money,

1213
00:42:32,753 --> 00:42:34,855
then they can produce it
at $10?

1214
00:42:34,922 --> 00:42:36,690
For what?
You know?

1215
00:42:36,757 --> 00:42:37,925
We can't-- we can't even--

1216
00:42:37,991 --> 00:42:40,294
we can't even
buy equipment.

1217
00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:42,563
We can't do anything
to do our own stuff.

1218
00:42:42,629 --> 00:42:43,931
These young farmers here--

1219
00:42:43,997 --> 00:42:45,532
how the hell
do they start farming?

1220
00:42:45,599 --> 00:42:46,967
- Exactly.
- You know?

1221
00:42:47,034 --> 00:42:48,168
What-- what are they got--

1222
00:42:48,235 --> 00:42:50,137
what do I say
to my two young kids

1223
00:42:50,204 --> 00:42:52,005
that want to go into farming?

1224
00:42:52,072 --> 00:42:54,641
Do I say,
"Oh, no," you know?

1225
00:42:55,242 --> 00:42:56,677
- Some emotions
are close to the surface.

1226
00:42:56,743 --> 00:42:58,979
- And then I think we're all
looking for a silver bullet,

1227
00:42:59,046 --> 00:43:00,147
we're looking for a scapegoat,

1228
00:43:00,214 --> 00:43:01,582
and we're looking
for an easy answer,

1229
00:43:01,648 --> 00:43:03,650
and I don't think
any of those exist,

1230
00:43:03,717 --> 00:43:05,285
and I just made
a little note here

1231
00:43:05,352 --> 00:43:07,521
that kind of bad things happen
when people

1232
00:43:07,588 --> 00:43:10,057
get backed in a corner,
and you have a whole

1233
00:43:10,123 --> 00:43:11,258
room full of people here

1234
00:43:11,325 --> 00:43:13,126
who feel like they're backed
in a corner,

1235
00:43:13,193 --> 00:43:15,195
and so I think
we can all understand

1236
00:43:15,262 --> 00:43:16,830
the frustration that we have.

1237
00:43:16,897 --> 00:43:19,499
It's true
to everyone in this room.

1238
00:43:19,566 --> 00:43:22,269
- Tammy reminds the crowd
that those

1239
00:43:22,336 --> 00:43:23,604
feelings of frustration

1240
00:43:23,670 --> 00:43:25,339
are just what motivated her

1241
00:43:25,405 --> 00:43:26,807
to call the meeting.

1242
00:43:26,874 --> 00:43:28,375
- John, Judy, and everybody,

1243
00:43:28,442 --> 00:43:30,377
I don't know if you realize

1244
00:43:30,444 --> 00:43:31,912
how much we appreciate
your passion.

1245
00:43:31,979 --> 00:43:34,515
We do, and that's
what started all this

1246
00:43:34,581 --> 00:43:36,450
is when I started
seeing that,

1247
00:43:36,517 --> 00:43:37,718
so we do appreciate it,

1248
00:43:37,784 --> 00:43:42,055
and you have been asked
if you could stay after

1249
00:43:42,122 --> 00:43:44,191
a little bit,
because, um,

1250
00:43:44,258 --> 00:43:46,093
some of these people
would like to talk to you.

1251
00:43:46,159 --> 00:43:47,995
I-- and I hope you can.

1252
00:43:48,061 --> 00:43:51,431
- I'm pretty proud of him
for standing up and talking.

1253
00:43:51,498 --> 00:43:53,734
He spoke from his heart.

1254
00:43:55,335 --> 00:43:56,470
I-I was emotional.

1255
00:43:56,537 --> 00:43:59,540
I mean, I had to h-hold back
a few tears,

1256
00:43:59,606 --> 00:44:01,408
just because it's, you know--

1257
00:44:01,475 --> 00:44:02,743
I know the struggle.

1258
00:44:02,809 --> 00:44:04,478
[pensive music]

1259
00:44:05,812 --> 00:44:07,481
? ?

1260
00:44:08,782 --> 00:44:11,318
- John Nolan said he spoke
his piece at the meeting

1261
00:44:11,385 --> 00:44:13,220
and didn't have
anything more to say.

1262
00:44:13,287 --> 00:44:16,423
Besides, there was milking
to do.

1263
00:44:17,191 --> 00:44:19,026
? ?

1264
00:44:19,092 --> 00:44:20,761
But other members
of the Nolan clan

1265
00:44:20,827 --> 00:44:22,963
shared their stories.

1266
00:44:24,498 --> 00:44:26,200
- Well, we have eight children.

1267
00:44:26,266 --> 00:44:28,569
Uh, two of them passed away

1268
00:44:28,635 --> 00:44:30,971
in a ATV accident
in 2005,

1269
00:44:31,772 --> 00:44:33,273
so we have

1270
00:44:33,340 --> 00:44:36,410
Caitlin, Dustin, Preston,
Kirsten, Aaron and Ashlynn,

1271
00:44:36,476 --> 00:44:40,848
and the boys that passed away
were Austin and Justin.

1272
00:44:40,914 --> 00:44:43,483
- The Nolans are a throwback
to a time

1273
00:44:43,550 --> 00:44:45,152
when large families operated

1274
00:44:45,219 --> 00:44:46,453
small dairies

1275
00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:50,057
and the family was
a ready-made workforce.

1276
00:44:50,123 --> 00:44:52,459
It's been a tradition
for the Nolan family

1277
00:44:52,526 --> 00:44:55,495
since John's ancestors
came from Ireland.

1278
00:44:55,562 --> 00:44:57,231
- Family dairy farmers--

1279
00:44:57,297 --> 00:44:59,566
they want to stay doing
what they're doing,

1280
00:44:59,633 --> 00:45:00,968
and I know it means a lot

1281
00:45:01,034 --> 00:45:03,103
to generations and generations.

1282
00:45:03,170 --> 00:45:04,705
They want to keep going.

1283
00:45:04,771 --> 00:45:06,573
I know John, you know,

1284
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:08,208
he'd love to see his--

1285
00:45:08,275 --> 00:45:10,544
you know, his kids take over.

1286
00:45:10,611 --> 00:45:11,979
You know, after our boys died,

1287
00:45:12,045 --> 00:45:14,414
that was one
of the big life decisions

1288
00:45:14,481 --> 00:45:17,584
John made was, "Should I expand

1289
00:45:17,651 --> 00:45:18,752
"and keep this going,

1290
00:45:18,819 --> 00:45:20,387
"or should I throw in the rag

1291
00:45:20,454 --> 00:45:22,356
and give up?" but...

1292
00:45:22,823 --> 00:45:24,825
you know, when you see

1293
00:45:25,125 --> 00:45:27,027
how fragile life is,

1294
00:45:28,028 --> 00:45:30,831
then you want
to keep it going.

1295
00:45:32,499 --> 00:45:34,635
- Caitlin, now the oldest,

1296
00:45:34,701 --> 00:45:37,871
is eager to show her pride
in the family business.

1297
00:45:37,938 --> 00:45:39,673
- I just want to help out

1298
00:45:39,740 --> 00:45:41,775
and do anything I can do

1299
00:45:41,842 --> 00:45:43,644
to help the dairy industry.

1300
00:45:43,710 --> 00:45:46,914
- Seven years ago,
Caitlin promoted dairy

1301
00:45:46,980 --> 00:45:48,815
as Little Miss Squirt.

1302
00:45:48,882 --> 00:45:51,752
Soon she'll be competing
for dairy princess.

1303
00:45:51,818 --> 00:45:53,754
- Growing up
on a dairy farm,

1304
00:45:53,820 --> 00:45:56,023
you see many struggles,

1305
00:45:56,089 --> 00:45:57,824
and not a lot
of people understand,

1306
00:45:57,891 --> 00:46:00,093
and it's very emotional.

1307
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:02,529
He works very hard,
and he loves what he does,

1308
00:46:02,596 --> 00:46:03,830
and I love seeing him happy

1309
00:46:03,897 --> 00:46:06,567
and doing what he loves to do.

1310
00:46:07,501 --> 00:46:09,169
[warm music]

1311
00:46:09,570 --> 00:46:11,271
- Two hours north of Seneca,

1312
00:46:11,338 --> 00:46:13,040
an hour south of Pepin County,

1313
00:46:13,106 --> 00:46:14,908
is Arcadia,

1314
00:46:14,975 --> 00:46:16,243
its thriving downtown

1315
00:46:16,310 --> 00:46:17,444
a mix of English-

1316
00:46:17,511 --> 00:46:19,479
and Spanish-speaking
businesses.

1317
00:46:19,546 --> 00:46:22,850
- [speaking Spanish]
En el nombre del Padre, hijo,
espiritu santu, amen.

1318
00:46:22,916 --> 00:46:24,484
- Likewise, Holy Family Parish

1319
00:46:24,551 --> 00:46:28,021
holds separate Spanish
and English services,

1320
00:46:28,088 --> 00:46:29,923
and as with the town,
it can be a challenge

1321
00:46:29,990 --> 00:46:31,925
to integrate
the two diverse populations.

1322
00:46:31,992 --> 00:46:34,094
[organ music playing]

1323
00:46:34,161 --> 00:46:36,129
Father Fernando, from Mexico,

1324
00:46:36,196 --> 00:46:38,165
and Father Sebastian,
from Poland,

1325
00:46:38,232 --> 00:46:40,634
emphasize
what they all have in common.

1326
00:46:40,701 --> 00:46:41,869
- He chooses this setting

1327
00:46:41,935 --> 00:46:43,971
the last supper,
the Passover dinner...

1328
00:46:44,037 --> 00:46:45,873
I don't have to show people

1329
00:46:45,939 --> 00:46:47,074
the-- the things
that divide us,

1330
00:46:47,140 --> 00:46:49,343
because I think
we are all aware of them.

1331
00:46:49,409 --> 00:46:51,044
My job is to show things

1332
00:46:51,111 --> 00:46:52,446
that kind of unite us,

1333
00:46:52,513 --> 00:46:54,515
and-- and faith certainly
is one of those things,

1334
00:46:54,581 --> 00:46:55,682
the main thing.

1335
00:46:55,749 --> 00:46:57,417
? ?

1336
00:46:57,851 --> 00:47:00,454
- The faithful turn out
for Easter week services,

1337
00:47:00,521 --> 00:47:02,055
and Holy Family holds

1338
00:47:02,122 --> 00:47:03,624
them together.

1339
00:47:03,690 --> 00:47:05,492
All week, services
are bilingual,

1340
00:47:05,559 --> 00:47:07,261
with English
and Spanish speakers

1341
00:47:07,327 --> 00:47:08,428
seated together,

1342
00:47:08,495 --> 00:47:10,430
worshiping together.

1343
00:47:10,497 --> 00:47:13,300
- [speaking Spanish] Es una sola
fe celebramo lo mismo,

1344
00:47:13,367 --> 00:47:16,036
pero en lengua differente.

1345
00:47:16,103 --> 00:47:17,538
Es lo mismo.

1346
00:47:17,604 --> 00:47:19,239
- On Maundy Thursday,

1347
00:47:19,306 --> 00:47:20,874
the day before Good Friday,

1348
00:47:20,941 --> 00:47:23,877
priests humbly wash
the feet of parishioners,

1349
00:47:23,944 --> 00:47:26,013
and then they can look out

1350
00:47:26,079 --> 00:47:27,915
on something they rarely see:

1351
00:47:27,981 --> 00:47:30,384
the diverse flock
filling the pews

1352
00:47:30,450 --> 00:47:32,419
as one congregation.

1353
00:47:32,486 --> 00:47:33,687
- Spanish, American,

1354
00:47:33,754 --> 00:47:36,089
Spanish, American,
American, Hispanic.

1355
00:47:36,156 --> 00:47:37,391
Yes.

1356
00:47:37,457 --> 00:47:39,126
? ?

1357
00:47:40,060 --> 00:47:41,728
[rustic music]

1358
00:47:41,995 --> 00:47:44,364
- After Easter,
the renewal of spring

1359
00:47:44,431 --> 00:47:47,100
comes to western Wisconsin,

1360
00:47:47,668 --> 00:47:51,004
the high water's
hardly slowing anyone down.

1361
00:47:51,071 --> 00:47:52,739
? ?

1362
00:47:53,173 --> 00:47:54,608
The fish are biting.
- Pretty good day.

1363
00:47:54,675 --> 00:47:55,843
Better than being skunked.

1364
00:47:55,909 --> 00:47:57,144
- The softball fields
are full.

1365
00:47:57,211 --> 00:47:58,879
? ?

1366
00:47:59,513 --> 00:48:01,682
And the cornfields
are being planted.

1367
00:48:01,748 --> 00:48:03,417
? ?

1368
00:48:06,019 --> 00:48:08,655
Spring always brings
signs of hope.

1369
00:48:08,722 --> 00:48:10,924
At Driftless Brewing
in Soldiers Grove,

1370
00:48:10,991 --> 00:48:14,528
it comes in the form
of a state government grant...

1371
00:48:14,595 --> 00:48:16,263
- For $125,000.

1372
00:48:18,098 --> 00:48:19,800
[cheers and applause]

1373
00:48:19,867 --> 00:48:22,636
- And a moment
for Steve George to savor.

1374
00:48:22,703 --> 00:48:24,538
- And I know I'm not supposed
to carry on,

1375
00:48:24,605 --> 00:48:25,839
but I did write a big speech.

1376
00:48:25,906 --> 00:48:28,242
Well, I just wanted to say

1377
00:48:28,842 --> 00:48:30,177
congratulations.

1378
00:48:30,244 --> 00:48:31,912
[applause]

1379
00:48:33,247 --> 00:48:34,748
? ?

1380
00:48:34,815 --> 00:48:37,851
- It's Memorial Day
in Eastman,

1381
00:48:37,918 --> 00:48:40,153
another ridgetop town.

1382
00:48:40,487 --> 00:48:42,256
- Just think
about the persistence

1383
00:48:42,322 --> 00:48:43,891
of our dairy farmers,

1384
00:48:43,957 --> 00:48:45,859
who continue to do
what they do every day,

1385
00:48:45,926 --> 00:48:48,629
when prices are high
and when prices are low.

1386
00:48:48,695 --> 00:48:50,130
They really inspired me

1387
00:48:50,197 --> 00:48:52,132
to reapply to become
Alice in Dairyland,

1388
00:48:52,199 --> 00:48:54,501
and I hope that they
can inspire you as well.

1389
00:48:54,568 --> 00:48:56,937
- Incoming Alice in Dairyland
Kaitlyn Riley

1390
00:48:57,004 --> 00:48:58,238
is the featured speaker

1391
00:48:58,305 --> 00:49:00,007
at the Crawford County

1392
00:49:00,073 --> 00:49:01,608
dairy banquet.

1393
00:49:01,675 --> 00:49:02,910
The evening's highlight
will be

1394
00:49:02,976 --> 00:49:04,311
the crowning
of the dairy princess,

1395
00:49:04,378 --> 00:49:07,114
and Caitlin Nolan
is in the running.

1396
00:49:07,181 --> 00:49:08,682
But before that,
there's other business.

1397
00:49:08,749 --> 00:49:10,551
Kevin Walleser

1398
00:49:10,617 --> 00:49:11,852
from the Milk Marketing Board,

1399
00:49:11,919 --> 00:49:13,520
who also farms
in the area,

1400
00:49:13,587 --> 00:49:15,255
has a short
market report.

1401
00:49:15,322 --> 00:49:17,558
- Would be great
if the milk price would go up,

1402
00:49:17,624 --> 00:49:20,060
but it's not gonna
be strong for a while.

1403
00:49:20,127 --> 00:49:22,262
- Some farmers even use
apps on their phones...

1404
00:49:22,329 --> 00:49:23,730
- Each contestant
gives a short talk,

1405
00:49:23,797 --> 00:49:25,032
and Caitlin

1406
00:49:25,098 --> 00:49:26,800
raises some of the same issues

1407
00:49:26,867 --> 00:49:27,968
her father brought up

1408
00:49:28,035 --> 00:49:29,570
at the big meeting
in Seneca.

1409
00:49:29,636 --> 00:49:31,071
- Cows are producing

1410
00:49:31,138 --> 00:49:32,873
too much milk for ourselves

1411
00:49:32,940 --> 00:49:35,108
to handle
for American consumption.

1412
00:49:35,175 --> 00:49:37,744
During this time period
of low milk prices,

1413
00:49:37,811 --> 00:49:39,713
the best thing to do
is stay positive

1414
00:49:39,780 --> 00:49:42,149
and promote our dairy industry.

1415
00:49:42,216 --> 00:49:44,051
The more we promote,
the stronger we will become.

1416
00:49:44,117 --> 00:49:47,154
It's all in the hands
of our future farmers.

1417
00:49:47,221 --> 00:49:48,889
[applause]

1418
00:49:49,623 --> 00:49:50,858
[gentle rustic music]

1419
00:49:50,924 --> 00:49:52,359
- Soon the big moment
will arrive,

1420
00:49:52,426 --> 00:49:54,494
and the Crawford County
dairy princess

1421
00:49:54,561 --> 00:49:56,263
will be crowned.

1422
00:49:56,330 --> 00:49:58,165
- And we don't know yet
what's gonna happen tonight.

1423
00:49:58,232 --> 00:49:59,900
We don't know yet
whose name's gonna be drawn,

1424
00:49:59,967 --> 00:50:02,236
and I understand
if anyone's heart's fluttering

1425
00:50:02,302 --> 00:50:04,371
or if anyone's a little nervous
about what's gonna happen.

1426
00:50:04,438 --> 00:50:06,740
And your Crawford County
dairy princess

1427
00:50:06,807 --> 00:50:08,475
is Caitlin Nolan.

1428
00:50:09,309 --> 00:50:10,978
[applause]

1429
00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:15,148
? ?

1430
00:50:23,090 --> 00:50:25,459
- Thank you all,
and I hope to see you

1431
00:50:25,526 --> 00:50:27,160
at the, um, Crawford County

1432
00:50:27,227 --> 00:50:29,329
dairy breakfast
on Saturday.

1433
00:50:29,396 --> 00:50:30,631
Thank you.

1434
00:50:30,697 --> 00:50:32,366
[applause]

1435
00:50:32,966 --> 00:50:34,635
? ?

1436
00:50:35,869 --> 00:50:37,838
- June is dairy month

1437
00:50:37,905 --> 00:50:39,940
and the season
of dairy breakfasts

1438
00:50:40,007 --> 00:50:41,441
on the farm...

1439
00:50:41,508 --> 00:50:42,609
? ?

1440
00:50:42,676 --> 00:50:43,877
A chance to get

1441
00:50:43,944 --> 00:50:45,045
up close and personal

1442
00:50:45,112 --> 00:50:46,647
with some cows...

1443
00:50:46,713 --> 00:50:48,215
? ?

1444
00:50:48,282 --> 00:50:49,683
And have
a corny old time.

1445
00:50:49,750 --> 00:50:51,952
- Head up.
Get your face out of the corn!

1446
00:50:52,019 --> 00:50:53,687
? ?

1447
00:50:55,656 --> 00:50:57,691
- This breakfast
is on the family farm

1448
00:50:57,758 --> 00:50:58,859
of Kevin Walleser.

1449
00:50:58,926 --> 00:51:00,160
- I'm sure you know the drill.

1450
00:51:00,227 --> 00:51:01,662
You don't look at me.
At the camera.

1451
00:51:01,728 --> 00:51:03,564
- And it's a chance
to get the word out...

1452
00:51:03,630 --> 00:51:05,065
- All right,
what is your title?

1453
00:51:05,132 --> 00:51:07,734
- About the new name
for the Milk Marketing Board:

1454
00:51:07,801 --> 00:51:09,703
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

1455
00:51:09,770 --> 00:51:12,506
- It does invoke the image
of the family, because...

1456
00:51:12,573 --> 00:51:14,608
when you talk
about dairy farmers,

1457
00:51:14,675 --> 00:51:16,610
you're talking
about real people,

1458
00:51:16,677 --> 00:51:20,881
real people who are passionate
about their profession.

1459
00:51:20,948 --> 00:51:22,649
- The day
of the dairy breakfast,

1460
00:51:22,716 --> 00:51:24,284
milk is 5� lower

1461
00:51:24,351 --> 00:51:26,587
than what was reported
on WDRN

1462
00:51:26,653 --> 00:51:27,754
ten months before.

1463
00:51:27,821 --> 00:51:29,389
- Losses in the milk futures.

1464
00:51:29,456 --> 00:51:31,592
July, milk down four
at $15.52.

1465
00:51:31,658 --> 00:51:36,063
August, down 14 at $16.41.
September, down...

1466
00:51:36,129 --> 00:51:38,098
- Back in Durand
in Pepin County,

1467
00:51:38,165 --> 00:51:41,235
there's renewed excitement
on Main Street.

1468
00:51:41,301 --> 00:51:43,437
The Riverside Grill
is generating buzz

1469
00:51:43,504 --> 00:51:46,473
with its new expansion
into an adjoining building.

1470
00:51:46,540 --> 00:51:49,376
The first step was to break
through the walls

1471
00:51:49,443 --> 00:51:50,777
to build a doorway.

1472
00:51:50,844 --> 00:51:52,379
? ?

1473
00:51:52,446 --> 00:51:55,382
The construction revealed
a long-hidden circus poster...

1474
00:51:55,449 --> 00:51:56,917
[smooth saxophone music]

1475
00:51:56,984 --> 00:51:58,785
Unseen since 1887.

1476
00:51:59,186 --> 00:52:00,854
? ?

1477
00:52:07,427 --> 00:52:09,162
Now, with the poster restored,

1478
00:52:09,229 --> 00:52:10,464
the room is

1479
00:52:10,531 --> 00:52:12,566
newly opened
as an event hall.

1480
00:52:12,633 --> 00:52:13,901
They're busy preparing
for the Durand

1481
00:52:13,967 --> 00:52:15,669
Future Farmers of America
banquet...

1482
00:52:15,736 --> 00:52:16,904
- Right after
you called me...

1483
00:52:16,970 --> 00:52:18,372
- And supervising the setup

1484
00:52:18,438 --> 00:52:20,574
are Weston and Jenni Patnode.

1485
00:52:20,641 --> 00:52:22,976
- Texting and calling.
"Are we doing it or not?"

1486
00:52:23,043 --> 00:52:24,378
- In December, um,

1487
00:52:24,444 --> 00:52:26,847
his-- his old ag teacher
had called

1488
00:52:26,914 --> 00:52:29,449
and just said there's
this position opening up.

1489
00:52:29,516 --> 00:52:31,552
It's in the Durand FFA
school district.

1490
00:52:31,618 --> 00:52:33,320
- It's the school
that I graduated from

1491
00:52:33,387 --> 00:52:34,855
in 1999,

1492
00:52:34,922 --> 00:52:37,658
and to be able
to come back there and--

1493
00:52:37,724 --> 00:52:38,825
it's great.

1494
00:52:38,892 --> 00:52:41,128
And McKenzie can walk
up here with him.

1495
00:52:41,195 --> 00:52:43,130
It was an adjustment
to go from milking cows

1496
00:52:43,197 --> 00:52:44,565
to managing kids,

1497
00:52:44,631 --> 00:52:46,300
but it-- like I said,
they've been great.

1498
00:52:46,366 --> 00:52:48,135
- We want to bring joy
to the chapter

1499
00:52:48,202 --> 00:52:49,436
and, like, try and make it fun

1500
00:52:49,503 --> 00:52:51,738
for people that are,
um, already in FFA

1501
00:52:51,805 --> 00:52:53,140
and people that are joining.

1502
00:52:53,207 --> 00:52:54,575
- He's been very open,

1503
00:52:54,641 --> 00:52:56,877
especially
his dairy science kids

1504
00:52:56,944 --> 00:52:58,045
are like, "Mr. Patnode,
you know,

1505
00:52:58,111 --> 00:52:59,379
"our family said
you sold your farm.

1506
00:52:59,446 --> 00:53:00,747
What happened?"

1507
00:53:00,814 --> 00:53:02,649
And so, he's been really honest
with the dairy kids.

1508
00:53:02,716 --> 00:53:04,551
- There's so many avenues

1509
00:53:04,618 --> 00:53:05,752
that'll open up in agriculture,

1510
00:53:05,819 --> 00:53:06,920
not just on a farm,

1511
00:53:06,987 --> 00:53:09,056
but there's ag business
everywhere,

1512
00:53:09,122 --> 00:53:10,691
especially in
this rural community.

1513
00:53:10,757 --> 00:53:12,659
[smooth jazz music]

1514
00:53:13,627 --> 00:53:17,097
- Soon the chocolate milk
is flowing,

1515
00:53:17,764 --> 00:53:20,167
and plates are being filled

1516
00:53:20,234 --> 00:53:24,505
and Jenni and Weston
can share a moment together

1517
00:53:24,571 --> 00:53:27,241
before the special
guest speaker begins her talk.

1518
00:53:27,307 --> 00:53:28,408
? ?

1519
00:53:28,475 --> 00:53:29,743
- Hi, my name
is Brooke Brantner,

1520
00:53:29,810 --> 00:53:31,812
and it's truly a pleasure
for me to be here

1521
00:53:31,879 --> 00:53:33,714
with all of you this evening
and talk...

1522
00:53:33,780 --> 00:53:36,250
- Sharing her experiences,
which surely resonate

1523
00:53:36,316 --> 00:53:38,051
with Weston and Jenni.

1524
00:53:38,118 --> 00:53:40,287
- You know, growing up
in that county fair show ring

1525
00:53:40,354 --> 00:53:43,123
alongside my brothers
and sister, I learned some

1526
00:53:43,190 --> 00:53:45,993
of the most valuable
life lessons.

1527
00:53:46,059 --> 00:53:47,661
I think back
to my grandfather,

1528
00:53:47,728 --> 00:53:49,029
a dedicated dairyman

1529
00:53:49,096 --> 00:53:50,497
who invested his life

1530
00:53:50,564 --> 00:53:53,066
to that of a love
for agriculture.

1531
00:53:53,133 --> 00:53:54,535
He would silently stand there

1532
00:53:54,601 --> 00:53:56,370
at the edge
of that show ring railing

1533
00:53:56,436 --> 00:53:58,205
with tears rolling
down his face

1534
00:53:58,272 --> 00:54:00,007
because he was so proud

1535
00:54:00,073 --> 00:54:01,942
of the future of agriculture.

1536
00:54:02,009 --> 00:54:03,377
[rustic music]

1537
00:54:03,443 --> 00:54:04,745
And it's in those lessons

1538
00:54:04,811 --> 00:54:06,914
that really taught me
that it's important--

1539
00:54:06,980 --> 00:54:08,949
of doing what you love
with who you love

1540
00:54:09,016 --> 00:54:10,551
on the family farm.

1541
00:54:10,617 --> 00:54:12,286
[applause]

1542
00:54:13,620 --> 00:54:14,955
? ?

1543
00:54:15,022 --> 00:54:17,424
- Doing what you love
with who you love

1544
00:54:17,491 --> 00:54:19,459
on the family farm.

1545
00:54:19,526 --> 00:54:21,995
That's what's going on
in the 400 acres

1546
00:54:22,062 --> 00:54:23,597
tucked in this little valley

1547
00:54:23,664 --> 00:54:26,233
and in places
across rural Wisconsin.

1548
00:54:26,300 --> 00:54:27,534
- Farmers are

1549
00:54:27,601 --> 00:54:29,736
happy when they're working.

1550
00:54:29,803 --> 00:54:31,038
- Back at the feed mill,

1551
00:54:31,104 --> 00:54:33,006
Tammy reports
spirits have lifted

1552
00:54:33,073 --> 00:54:34,741
since the big meeting.

1553
00:54:34,808 --> 00:54:35,943
- We're trying to help.

1554
00:54:36,009 --> 00:54:37,744
We know we're in this
with them.

1555
00:54:37,811 --> 00:54:39,446
? ?

1556
00:54:39,513 --> 00:54:41,481
- From his perch
at the newspaper office,

1557
00:54:41,548 --> 00:54:43,617
Charley Preusser sees life
going on

1558
00:54:43,684 --> 00:54:45,586
in the Kickapoo Valley.

1559
00:54:45,652 --> 00:54:47,287
- People in the country
are resilient,

1560
00:54:47,354 --> 00:54:49,823
and they don't get gloomy.

1561
00:54:50,657 --> 00:54:52,059
They're still going
to the football game

1562
00:54:52,125 --> 00:54:53,594
on Friday night.

1563
00:54:53,660 --> 00:54:54,761
? ?

1564
00:54:54,828 --> 00:54:56,129
- Steve George looks forward

1565
00:54:56,196 --> 00:54:57,297
to riding with friends

1566
00:54:57,364 --> 00:54:59,199
to the new Driftless
taproom.

1567
00:54:59,266 --> 00:55:01,668
- In a small town,
everybody helps

1568
00:55:01,735 --> 00:55:02,903
each other,

1569
00:55:02,970 --> 00:55:05,939
and we don't forget
about people.

1570
00:55:06,006 --> 00:55:07,441
? ?

1571
00:55:07,508 --> 00:55:10,377
- After church,
there's time for fun

1572
00:55:10,444 --> 00:55:13,146
for the Nolan clan as the two
boys play on the playground

1573
00:55:13,213 --> 00:55:16,049
named for the older brothers
they never met.

1574
00:55:16,116 --> 00:55:19,253
- God gave us a second chance
with these two boys.

1575
00:55:19,319 --> 00:55:20,988
? ?

1576
00:55:22,456 --> 00:55:24,358
- They're all,
in their own ways,

1577
00:55:24,424 --> 00:55:26,193
trying to make rural life

1578
00:55:26,260 --> 00:55:27,861
the best life there is.

1579
00:55:27,928 --> 00:55:29,596
? ?

1580
00:55:37,604 --> 00:55:39,273
[gentle music]

1581
00:55:40,607 --> 00:55:42,276
? ?

1582
00:56:35,529 --> 00:56:36,864
- Female announcer:
Support for this program

1583
00:56:36,930 --> 00:56:38,632
has been provided
by the O'Brien Fellowship

1584
00:56:38,699 --> 00:56:41,935
in Public Service Journalism
at Marquette University

1585
00:56:42,002 --> 00:56:46,807
and by the Friends of
Wisconsin Public Television.