Her passion is to preserve country church in Lima

By Janell Bradley

LIMA – Many hands make light work as the old saying goes, and nowhere is that more true than at the Lima Church's annual "Lima Leaf Day" the first Sunday in October of each year. It takes many donations of pies and cakes to serve as many as 600 hungry folks.

But even with many helping hands, leadership is key to success.

A long-time leader for the cause of maintaining the Lima Church as a community center, and the Lima Cemetery as a peaceful resting place – is Patricia Baumler.

Pat, who's been a member of the Lima Ladies Aid since 1971,  has always felt an obligation to work for the good of the church because it's where her ancestors once were members. Three generations of Baumler's family attended church services there. Her love for the country church in what was once a thriving town which boasted a rail line, dates back to when Pat was just a little girl. 

"It's just a special place for me and our family," she explains. "My mother and father were married in that church and I started Sunday School there when I was three." She explains further, "Almost all of my Dad's siblings are buried in the cemetery. I remember Grace Popenhagen was my Sunday School teacher. We sat around a table in the kitchen area in little round-backed chairs that were a replica of the wooden round-backed chairs that are still used in the church."

An every-third-year reunion of the Jones family ancestors is held at the church. She says it gives the East Coast families and others from farther away, "a chance to feel the way we do about the church." There are horse and wagon rides to former homesteads that now are part of the Volga River Recreation Area.

The last services at Lima Church were in 1949. Now, there are still occasional weddings, funerals and annually, Memorial Day services and Lima Leaf Day held there.

When there are services and burials in the church cemetery, the Lima Ladies Aid serve escalloped potatoes and ham or sandwiches, depending on the season. In preparation for weddings, the membership makes sure the church is clean and ready for use.

In an effort to preserve the structure, a couple of women's clubs, the cemetery association and neighbors to the church volunteer time and resources. When club membership dwindled, the ladies' aid and Volga Valley Club combined to become Volga Valley Lima Ladies Aid. Pat and other stalwart supporters of Lima's existence, also make up the Lima Cemetery Association.

And when Leaf Day rolls around each year, Baumler helps organize volunteers that cook 90 pounds of hamburger on Friday, that will become 'Lima Burgers" on Sunday.

The women wrap table service and the men carry some church pews outdoors for use in the cake walk. Sunday, Baumler and her entourage of other volunteers begin arriving about 7 a.m. to begin warming in roasters,  the Lima Burger and – pork loin prepared and donated by Marty Stanbrough the last several years.

Although Leaf Day is the church's biggest fundraiser, volunteers also gather annually to host either a pancake breakfast, soup supper or ice cream social. Particularly in years when numerous mowings of the church and cemetery grounds are needed, the second fundraiser helps meet those costs.

Donations and memorials are also important to the church and cemetery's livelihood, Baumler says.

In addition to her volunteerism to benefit the Lima Church and cemetery, Baumler has co-chaired the sewing circle at Bethel Presbyterian in West Union,  and has served on the Diaconate and has served on the worship committee and as a Lay leader. Last year, she traveled with the youth group from Bethel, to a warehouse in Minneapolis to sort, pack and ship packages as part of the Shoebox program. It was so much fun, she participated again this year. 

With other sewing circle members, she's made diapers, and pillowcase dresses for children in Africa. This winter, the ladies intend to make quilts.

As a member of Fayette County Tourism, she's volunteered hours at the Little Red House in Fayette. She was a member of the Palmer Hospital Auxiliary - Fayette unit until it disbanded. She's also served on the hospital foundation, donating theme baskets for the annual auction and a quilt for the annual raffle.

As a Master Gardener, she maintains a garden at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette. She's also part of the rotation serving coffee and treats Sunday afternoons at Maple Crest. Over the years, she's helped with American Legion dinners in Wadena.

Although retired from a career as a rural postal delivery worker, Baumler hasn't let any grass grow under her feet. Her family – husband Charles and daughters Elaine Grimm, Leann Popenhagen and Stacie Gorkow and their families and children, would be the first to admit, their wife and mother is always putting others first and welcomes the opportunity to help out whenever she can.

Beating the Odds

By Janell Bradley

Weighing little more than a pound of butter, and no larger than a doll, Chase Peyton has survived the odds after being born at just 23 weeks. 

Chase is among the less than one percent of babies in the U.S., born earlier than 28 weeks when he came into the world on March 24, 2011. The chance of survival for babies born at 23 weeks, as Chase was, is just 17%, according to the March of Dimes.

Born at University of Iowa Hospital, Iowa City, Chase's skin was so thin, his parents could see his blood vessels underneath. And because he wasn't fully developed, he was covered in soft hair called lanugo. Later, as he developed, Chase was given a sponge bath by a nurse and the lanugo came off his body in clumps – enough so that when Meagan came to the hospital that day to spend time with her baby, she thought Chase had been given a haircut.

Unlike many other young people their age who can live for the moment, Meagan (Swenka) Peyton, 28, and her husband, Chad, 30, have already faced plenty of adversity.

Meagan and Chad's first child, a daughter, Remie Bliss, was stillborn at 21 weeks. When Meagan learned she was pregnant again, she began seeing an OB-GYN specialist in Waterloo. Then, one day in March as she went about her work as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette, Meagan didn't feel right, but she tried to shrug it off.

It was a co-worker, Penny Lane, a mom herself, who insisted Meagan call her physician. Later, at University Hospitals in Iowa City, Chase Michael Peyton was born Thursday, March 24. He weighed a mere 1 lb., 3 oz. and was 11.6 inches in length.

Delivered by C-section, Chase's legs were quite bruised as he had entered the birth canal legs first before doctors were able to get Meagan prepped for the Caesarean delivery. His skin wasn't fully developed and was sticky to the touch. 

Although Meagan was released from the hospital three days later, baby Chase called the neonatal intensive care unit at UIHC his home for a total of 125 days. Meagan stayed at the nearby Ronald McDonald House.

"It was the same routine every day," she says, remembering. "It's sad, but after awhile it becomes home." With some of the other families living there, Meagan participated in a parent group for an hour on Tuesdays and did some of the crafts, including a memory box that now holds memorabilia from Chase's very long hospital stay.

Back home in Fayette County, Chad continued to work, making the drive to Iowa City Saturday mornings to spend the weekends with Meagan and Chase before driving back Monday morning. For four months, Chad packed his own lunches, did his laundry and kept up the house while longing for the time when the trio would become a family living under the same roof.

"The last six weeks was the worst for me," he says of returning from the weekends in Iowa City to an empty house.

Because premature babies are too immature to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time, they are fed by IV until they develop such skills, and given supplemental oxygen. They often can't yet cry and they sleep most of the day.

Born 17 weeks ahead of his due date, Chase was so tiny, the preemie diapers used in the hospital were still too big. Nurses found a cotton ball sufficed in place of a diaper.

In the days following his birth, doctors determined there was a small hole in a valve near Chase's heart which was later repaired in surgery. The infant had some trouble with his bowel that required he be fitted with an ostomy bag for about a month. Meagan says their little boy is considered to have a 'short gut' as two centimeters of his intestine were removed. But, she says the issues with his bowel and intestine resolved themselves as Chase grew and continued to develop.

Before Chase could be released to his parents' care, he had to maintain his body temperature while being outside his isolette. He also had to be able to take a bottle without his oxygen saturation rate dropping and prove his bowels would function properly once he began taking formula.

Meagan remember that first bottle of just 5ccs of milk that she fed a then, six-pound Chase.

"He'd had a feeding tube for most of his life," she says, "and hadn't had hardly any milk." She laughs and explains, "He slammed it down and wanted more!"

As the time neared for Chase to go home, Meagan left Iowa City for a weekend. With her cousin, Shelby Schultz lending a hand, the two painted Baby Chase's room. Because she'd purchased baby items after learning of her first pregnancy, Meagan says Chase's early birth hadn't left her totally unprepared. 

But what Meagan didn't anticipate, was the adjustment she'd have to make once Mom, Dad and Baby were all at home again together. For the first four months of Chase's life, he had constant nursing care. "I wasn't used to having to get up with him. While he was in the hospital, the doctors and nurses were always analyzing what his needs were," she explains.

So the couple made the decision that Chad would quit his job and stay home with Chase, who still required close care, and supplemental oxygen for the first year of his life.

It was during "Daddy's Day Care," that Chase rolled over for the first time, began to crawl and started to walk. He also said his first word, which was, 'Da-da.'

Meagan admits missing some of those milestones was difficult, but after spending more than four months in Iowa City with Chase and away from Chad, she recognized the importance of father and son needing time to bond.

On Aug. 28, 2011, friends and family hosted a baby shower for Meagan and Chase, who by that time, was five months old and weighed seven pounds. Although his parents can say the 'Build-a-Bear' outfit they bought him was once a little too big, he has outgrown that and wears mostly 12-month clothing now. He's a short little guy, "but he was never going to be tall anyway, unless he takes after my Dad," says Meagan, referring to the Swenka and Schultz family bloodlines.

Now, as the year 2012 draws to a close, both Chad and Meagan have returned to work and Chase goes to daycare. The couple says their son is a good eater: "if it's on Daddy's plate, he'll eat it, including sardines in mustard sauce and oysters," says Meagan. Apple Jacks cereal is another favorite.

Although Chase has battled anemia (another characteristic of preemies) and they've discovered he's lactose intolerant, overall "he's pretty much a normal kid," Meagan says.

This Christmas, the couple anticipates a relaxed atmosphere in which they can watch their 21-month-old son, Chase, tear through the gift wrap as he revels in the joy and happiness of the holiday.

"It was a long road, but we wouldn't change a thing," says Meagan.

(Look for a second story on Chase Peyton's story being born as a preemie in the Fayette County Union's Health Issue to be published in January.)

North grad Deb Winter brewing new business in Elkader

By Janell Bradley

ELKADER – Buying an historic brick building in this town and renovating it into both her business and residence, has been a welcome adventure for Deb Winter.

She's only lived in the town the past year, but Winter grew up in nearby West Union and graduated from North High School in 1977.

Having just opened 'Deb's Brewtopia' – a homebrewing equipment and supply shop, Winter probably couldn't have ever imagined that a passion for home-brewing and entering competitions with her wine and beer would be the thing to bring her full circle and closer to her family.

The oldest in a family of seven children, Winter married her high school sweetheart and for all of the 34 years of her marriage, worked as office manager for a court reporting firm in Waterloo – a job she loved.

But with a divorce, came her decision to leave that community and move back closer to her parents and several siblings. As she readjusted to single life, Deb stayed alternately with her parents in West Union and youngest brother, David, who with his wife and children, live west of Elkader.

She admits at first, she didn't know which direction her life was headed.

"I had put in applications at several places, but then one morning I just knew. I woke up and thought, 'What's my passion? What do I know? What do I love'?" She had her answer.

Having gotten her start with brewing in 2007, Winter first entered her brews at the Iowa State Fair competition in 2009. She took first place gold with her pale ale and second with a Vienna lager. Since then, she's been entering competitions in California, Tennessee, Kansas City and other locales. She took first and second place honors in Vail, Colo. in January 2010 at the Big Beers & Barley Wine competition and participated in the Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing – an event for which she had to first qualify.

Winter admits there is a secret to the beer she's been most successful with, the American red pale ale. Acquiring pieces of discarded Templeton Rye whiskey barrels, she has a process to transfer the flavors of oak and Templeton Rye whiskey – to her beer. 

Another top award-winner is a bourbon oatmeal stout.

"No," Winter says with a grin and a laugh, "I don't do the 'chick' beers!" 

Winter also grows 18 varieties of hops. In all, her brew shop offers 46 varieties of grains to potential brewmasters. The combinations are limitless, she says.

While she offers kits for beginners, Winter also offers everything an experienced beer brewer or wine maker might need.

At any given time, she's likely to have seven or eight varieties of wine 'cooking' and another 10 or so completed and available for tasting in a 5 gallon kegs in a chiller. 

As for brewing beer, Winter is still establishing that area, but once it's up and running, she hopes to offer beers for purchase – by the growler, or by the keg, to area restaurants. If enough interest is shown, she will begin scheduling classes to individuals, on both brewing and winemaking. She estimates a person can get started spending as little as $30 or could spend up to $200 if purchasing all equipment and ingredients.

Overall, Winter is excited about her new venture.

When she started to look for a place from which to operate her brewing supply business, she says the former Clayton County Register building wasn't a tough sell. It had everything she needed: character emanating from the brick walls and floors, a storefront, a potential living area in the back and a garage where she eventually hopes to set up her own brewing tanks.

"What's not to love? There's the Turkey River, the downtown ... it was love at first sight."

Admittedly, there was a lot of work involved in renovation before Winter was ready to open shop. She says she used 100 tubes of caulk alone, closing gaps in the wood ceiling in what was once the composition/paste-up area of the long-time newspaper office. With help from her brothers and her Dad, Dan Winter,  Sr., she tore out walls and opened up the area that once separate the front office from the composition area.

As construction progressed and Deb was able to use the building as a residence, she found a calico cat in the alley that barely weighed a pound.

These days, "Ophelia the cat," joins the dog, "Louie," in having the run of the place, since Winter has rehabbed the one-time job-printing area into a studio apartment. The overhead balcony was once an office for newspaper employees. Now, it's a loft bedroom where the original pipe railing is still in place, as are the concrete steps leading upward.

Having the project as a goal was tremendous motivation for Winter. Nieces Jessica and Kate Winter helped with selecting colors for paint and getting a website in place. Other family members helped with construction and de-construction – and they frequently offer opinions on new brews she's trying, too.

"The support of my family has been unbelievable," she says. "It's really helped me believe in myself."

Deb's Brewtopia is open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 5 and Saturday from 10-2. The shop at 106 Cedar Street is closed Sunday and Monday. She can also be contacted at 563-245-3737 or toll-free at 855-210-3737. Her website, is: www.debsbrewtopia.com.

Eight years after Lands' End closes, employees reunite in old workplace

Pictured in a sitting area inside the new addition at Stoney Brook Village, are these women who gathered for a reunion of Lands' End employees. The women manufactured soft luggage for Lands' End, inside the building that was renovated in 2005, and reopened as Stoney Brook in 2006. Seated, from left: Sheryl Sievert, Calmar; Dina Hackley, Clermont; Missy Shindelar, Waucoma; Julie Lerch, Wadena; Kris Moser, West Union; Cheryl Olson, Eldorado; in back: Edie Daniels, West Union; Darla Wenthold, Ossian; Marilyn Brincks, Ossian; Arlene Molokken, West Union; Anne Mae Schlatter, West Union; Cindy Jacob, Sumner. 

By Janell Bradley

WEST UNION – Like the Real Housewives of reality TV, they laughed, cried and shared stories of marriage, divorce and children. They knew the names and faces of one another's children. Their workplace was like a neighborhood. As they worked, the women's frequent chatter competed with the hum of industrial-type sewing machines on which they sewed together soft luggage.

When one-time employees of manufacturer Lands' End gathered for a reunion Oct. 13, they remembered their days working together in an industrial building at West Union's southeast edge. 

They were competitive in the number of pieces they could turn out each week, but when the work day ended, several gathered socially at a local bar where everybody knew their names. Some worked at Lands End for just eight or ten years, while others marked 20+ anniversaries with the company. 

When the Wisconsin-based company closed its doors in West Union in April 2004, the 80-some employees were left  to decide if they'd change careers, find other employment, or take the company up on its offer to provide financial aid toward education in a new field.

Eight years later, a group of the women from Lands' End, held a reunion inside the one-time industrial building where they had worked together and caught up on the twists and turns one another's lives had taken.

Dina Hackley, Clermont, used the college aid package offered by Lands End to earn a degree as a registered nurse. Arlene Molokken, West Union, did likewise, and with her RH/IT degree, now works from home, for Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Sheryl Sievert, Calmar, is an HR assistant at Luther College in Decorah. Darla Wenthold works at Rockwell Collins in Decorah. Cindy Jacob, Sumner, went to work at Rockwell Automation in Sumner, but after five years, she saw that company close its doors, too. Now she's back in college, studying to attain an administrative assistant degree at Northeast Iowa Community College.

Missy Shindelar, Waucoma, went to work at another West Union manufacturer, Rupp Air Management. She says her co-workers there laugh when she tells them she's going to get more 'thread' – when what she means is 'wire' in her job at Rupp.

Edie Daniels and Anna Mae Schlatter, West Union, are both retired and enjoying time with their grandchildren. Kris Moser works in the dietary department at the Good Samaritan Center in West Union. 

Others who worked at Lands' End but didn't attend the recent reunion, have taken custodial positions, one went to John Deere, and another has her own embroidery and custom sewing business.

Although she worked various jobs over the past eight years, Cheryl Olson, of Eldorado, actually parks back in the same parking lot as she did in her days working for Lands End. For the past year, she's been activities director at Stoney Brook Village – the entity that resulted with the purchase of the Lands' End industrial site.

Unlike some manufacturing sites that sit vacant once a business shutters its doors, the  22,000 sq. ft. Lands' End building was purchased by four local business people of aging parents, with a dream to make the structure an assisted living center. Where 85 women once sat at sewing machines, an assisted living center offers up to 72 people needing living assistance. Twenty-five apartments were constructed originally, with another 11 added to Stoney Brook earlier this year.

As the women toured Stoney Brook Village and tried to remember how the building had looked when they worked there, they hugged and chatted as the volume of their conversations grew more animated.

While some of the women said they'd stayed in touch via social media, several others admitted they hadn't seen one another in months or even years.

Still, said Hackley, "From our days working here, we still have those ties to one another. We're still family after all these years."

Ossian couple's wedded bliss 'welded' in togetherness

Amber (Kahler) Linderbaum begins welding on a bottle tree she's making in the welding shop of her husband, Scott, and father-in-law, Darwin Linderbaum, in Ossian.

By Janell Bradley

OSSIAN – Within the period of a few months, Amber Kahler graduated from Upper Iowa University after earning a degree in elementary education, and while looking for a teaching job, planned her wedding to Scott Linderbaum, which was Aug. 9. 

As the wedding neared, Amber was suddenly offered a third grade teaching job at Carrie Lee Elementary in Decorah, just a week before she was to say her vows with long-time sweetheart, Scott. Teachers were to report to work on Friday, Aug. 8, but school administrators agreed Amber could report to in-services on Monday, Aug. 13.

As a young couple that rolls with the punches, Amber and Scott scrapped their plan to honeymoon at the Iowa State Fair. After all, they had their jobs to work around, and the next eight Saturdays they were slated to be attending the weddings of other friends. 

Their own wedding gifts still cover the floor in the couple's home as neither has yet had time to unpack much. Scott works with his Dad, Darwin, at Linderbaum Auto and Amber's days are filled teaching her classroom of 21 students.

But even as busy as she is, Amber still finds time to drop by the auto repair shop where her husband and father-in-law keep busy making farm repairs, doing welding jobs and working on automobiles.

And she does so even though she knows the famed "board of directors" will likely tease her while she's there. The "board" – a group of locals who fill the audience of chairs at Linderbaum Auto – often have advice for anyone who stops in.

Darwin and Amber share a laugh though, when they explain how the board had plenty of advice for Scott about getting married. And Amber says the board has even suggested to her that if she isn't able to discipline her new class of third graders, they might be able to help. She smiles and says she's pretty sure she'll handle that task on her own.

How she got started welding

Together for more than five years, Amber says when she took an interest in a bottle tree lawn ornament Scott had made, he suggested she'd have to learn to make one herself, or they would construct it together.

Scott had earlier made one for Amber's mother, Deb Kahler, of Elgin, for the couple to give her for Mother's Day. But then Amber wanted one for herself.

Scott gave Amber a welding helmet and then showed her how to ground the item on which she was working before beginning an actual weld. She uses half inch hot roll rod, which she first cuts to length and then uses a rod bender to crimp the metal so it better resembles the branch of a tree. Then she sets to work adding branches by welding them to the "trunk."

Scott Linderbaum learned to weld from his Dad, and Darwin learned from his father, Art Linderbaum. That makes three generations of Linderbaums to have operated the repair shop on Ossian's Main Street. 

In a farming community, there is always a need for good welders. Amber explains that Scott and Darwin purchased an older rescue vehicle not long ago, which they use to make their welding service portable. They travel to farms to do work where needed.

"Unfortunately, we had to do the work at Knutsons, twice though," says Darwin about the straight line winds that took down a brand new dairy set-up just as it was going into operation. "The welds held," he says, but the winds pulled the anchors right out of the cement as the building went down."

It's been two years since Amber started welding the 'bottle trees' and since then, she's probably made 30 such pieces of yard art. She said most people learn about the lawn ornaments through word of mouth and/or because they've seen one in someone else's yard.

That's been the case in the front yard of Body Kneads massage and hairstyle shop in Clermont.

"A lot of people have seen the one I made that's there," says Amber. While she has made the trees in different sizes, her favorite is one that holds 13 bottles.

"I leave the bottles on mine year round and it hasn't been a problem – none of them have broken," she says. But, Sarah Lehmann, in Clermont, changes out the bottles for large Christmas ornament balls which are also an attractive addition to the welded tree.

Amber says Scott and Darwin are also creative minds when it comes to making yard art. A little dog they welded together was fashioned from a small LP tank, a car spring, a fan blade and then wrenches for the feet. The dog even has a little spring tail.

"We see a picture of something and then we try to make it," she says.

In fact, for the couple's wedding, Scott and Darwin welded several "bare branch trees," that stand 2-1/2 feet tall that decorated the reception tables. The trees were decorated with glass votive candle holders. Once the candles were lit, the trees glowed with a warmth that added a lot of ambiance to the wedding reception.

While this past summer has been particularly warm for anyone to do welding inside the Linderbaum shop, and particularly under a welder's hood, Amber says she doesn't plan to hang up her welding mask now that she's married.

The skill is one she enjoys and it allows her to spend more time with her husband, even if he's working.

Upper Iowa professors, can 'Talk Turkey' after tour of Istanbul in June

A variety of foods sampled by the group from Upper Iowa University that traveled to Istanbul, Turkey in June 2012.

By Janell Bradley

FAYETTE – A favorite quote of UIU associate professor Dawn Jacobsen is, “If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn" – Haim Ginnott.

Jacobsen believes there's always more she can do to improve the way her students learn. And for more than 20 years, she's been an advocate for those with learning disabilities. Jacobsen was a preschool through 12th grade  special education teacher for 17 years before she joined Upper Iowa five years ago. She currently teaches classes in individual behavior and classroom management at the university in Fayette.

"In my classes we talk a lot about cultural acceptance," she says. Jacobsen lives with her husband and youngest daughter on a farm near Clermont. All five members of the family are either working as teachers or pursuing careers in the field of education. Oldest daughter, Molli Steffens, will teach 9th grade English at North Fayette this fall, and daughter Kelli, just began her career in Phoenix, Ariz. where she teaches third grade. Dawn's husband, Kirk, is a third grade teacher in the Valley School district, Elgin. Youngest daughter, Shannon, just began classes at Upper Iowa where she will be studying early childhood special education.

This past June, in her first travel outside the United States, Jacobsen weathered a nearly nine hour flight to Amsterdam, and then another three hours to her group's destination: Istanbul, Turkey.

The entourage from Upper Iowa University pictured while touring the Asian side of Istanbul, includes, from left- Joe Elsinger, Summer Zwanziger Elsinger, Sarahh Scherer, Jason Knight, Gary Waters, Don McComb, UIU Pres. Alan Walker, Dawn Jacobsen, and Cindy Waters.

The trip was part of the UIU Faculty Internationalization Program, to which Jacobsen had earlier applied to be a participant.

It didn't take the group long to realize how much they were in the minority as tourists in a country that is situated across both Europe and Asia.

Not speaking any other languages but English, she said she was initially frustrated in Istanbul: a city that is a melting pot of many cultures.

"I couldn't read the street signs, the menus, or even the newspaper."  After just those first few hours, she says she better understood the challenge for UIU's international students when attending classes on campus in Fayette. Because UIU has centers all over the world, the trip gave Jacobsen a new awareness of cultural contrasts.

"It really broadened my horizons about the differences and how we can accommodate those kids in our classrooms," she said.

The group of nine from UIU traveled from June 1-9. In addition to the professors, UIU President Alan Walker joined the group. As his father was in the military, Walker lived in Turkey while in high school. He was able to provide other insights and suggestions about sights to see.

During their Turkey experience, the group toured General Electric Headquarters. A CEO spoke to them about GE innovation, the Turkish work force and the local economy. The educators toured Big Blue Denim Factory, where they saw men working alongside women in sewing, distressing, achieving a 'prewashed' look and conducting quality control.

Jacobsen said the average monthly income for a denim factory worker is about $1,800 – not enough for a family of four on which to subsist.

She said over half the population of Istanbul is aged 29 or younger. Many of the older generation still reside in the rural areas of the country where labor isn't as mechanized. There appeared to be a strong work ethic in Istanbul, she said. At the denim factory they saw a lot of technology used as part of the process. The group also visited a leather goods' factory.

The group stayed in an historic area of the city where the streets were still cobblestone. Jacobsen said the presence of armed guards wasn't unusual on some street corners. She also marveled at the open air restaurants and lack of insects and bugs due to the proximity to the sea.

When dining out, the group did as the Turks do, and ordered 'meza' or starter appetizers. This often included bread, and perhaps fish such as calamari or smoked mackerel. There was bread, and then the main entree – sometimes they chose foods like lamb kebabs or there was the day they chose a restaurant where guests pick their own fish.

Jacobsen describes how a large platter of raw fish – yes, most had the heads and eyes intact yet – was brought to the table from which they were to choose. 

"They weigh it at the table and then you haggle for the price you want to pay per pound," she said. Seafood offerings included seabass, scorpion, and shrimp.

They also sampled "raki" an anise liqueur. Served in a six-inch tall, slender glass with a glass of water, when the water is poured into the liqueur, it turns milky and is referred to as, "lion's milk."

As most travelers to Turkey will do, the group went to a Turkish carpet and rug store. The owner took the Americans to an upper level where they sat on benches situated around the perimeter. Hundreds of carpets were rolled, folded, and stacked there. They were able to watch as a woman wove a rug on a loom. The tourists were offered a beverage and then provided a verbal history on Turkish rug making. As he spoke, assistants literally rolled out rugs demonstrating the techniques, styles and patterns from the various eras, peoples and regions.

During their eight days away from the U.S., the group cruised the Bosphorus on a 35-foot pleasure boat, at dusk. The Bosphorus is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia and connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. 

They saw the Blue Mosque and toured the Hagia Sophia, a former Orthodox basilica and now a museum in Istanbul. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople, except from 1204-61, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire.

Also during the week, the group walked through the Grand Bazaar, bought nuts at the spice market, saw the underground Basilica Cistern and they dined on the Golden Horn, a large inlet off the Bosphorus Strait that divides old and new cities.

As she reflected on the week, Jacobsen said she realized just how many more accommodations there are for the handicapped in public areas in the United States due to the American Disabilities Act. 

The group was unable to get access to any primary or secondary schools in Istanbul, but they did visit a nursery/preschool because their guide's child attended there. The curriculum used a project-based approach so there were numerous examples of art, sculpture and projects around the room.

"We didn't see any accommodations or evidence of students with any signs of disabilities," said Jacobsen. The building was on four levels and there were no elevators or ramps.

Beyond the education experience of the trip, Jacobsen is unlikely to forget the historical aspect of visiting Istanbul, and haggling to reach a price before making a purchase. She said it was a common joke amongst the group when determining the cost of an item in American dollars as they converted the price given in lyra: "how many doctorates does it take to convert money from the American dollar?" they good naturedly joked.

The Faculty International Grant (FIG) is available annually to individual faculty and supports a group experience abroad each year. Group grants such as this one, allow up to eight full-time faculty to travel together to an international destination where they can conduct collaborative or independent research.

Any full-time UIU faculty member is eligible to apply. The travel group will give a presentation to to the UIU community, most likely in September.

When water is added to the anise-flavored liqueur known as 'raki,' it turns milky white, hence the nickname, lion's milk.

A wide variety of jeans were manufactured in the Big Blue Denim Factory. Those are washing machines above the jeans on hooks – used to distress the fabric, and/or provide a stone-washed look. (Photos courtesy of Dawn Jacobsen & Cindy Waters.)

Cluck, cluck, cluck went the broody hen . . .

     When I was a working girl, having to leave our little acreage in a valley the locals call, 'Frog Hollow' to sit at a desk all day, often left me wondering what I'd missed while I was away from our beloved pets and small farm animals.

How often did wild turkeys munch on the acorns under our neighbor's three majestic bur oak trees? Were those whitetail deer helping themselves to an afternoon snack of peas in my garden? If I can't be there, who will protect them all from the occasional coyote predation?

But now that I have most mornings to myself working from home as a free-lancer, sipping coffee from my favorite recliner in our screened sun room as I write, I'm finding all is not quite as peaceful as I imagined.

Instead of admiring hummingbirds doing their half-circled dance at the feeder or delighting in the cheerful song of my vibrant-colored orioles, the din of chickens squabbling and squawking is far more prevalent. 

Nearly every day of the week, the clucking begins as a small aggravation, but then evolves into such a clamor that I am unable to carry on a conversation with my husband over the telephone.

The source of the discord? Seemingly unhappy chickens, competing for the same nesting box.

While I've kept a variety of birds for five or six years, I was apparently missing the most active part of the birds' day while I was away at work. 

For years, I wrongly believed that as I sat at a desk editing news copy, my "girls" were quietly enjoying their free range of our acreage, chomping pesky insects from my tomato plants and reducing the mosquito population. As a bonus, we figured they were busy at work, providing my husband with the mainstay of his breakfast: eggs laid in those distinctive brown and blue-green colored shells.

Now I know the truth: there's a cacophony of cackles in our yard that can be heard by the nearest neighbor, a quarter-mile away. It begins about 8 a.m. and doesn't subside until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

Most days, my investigation into the reason for the squabbling reveals nothing more than anxiety in the coop.  Emmylou's intrusion into Big Red's moment of concentration while sitting on the nest – brings pandemonium. An hour later, when one chicken has left, another has resumed her place. But with Li'l Red finally settled into the nest, there's a braying that I fear will bring all the neighbors running. You'd swear a baby lamb had lost its mother. But no, it's just Li'l Red, warding off all intrusions by the likes of  Reba, Aretha and Jewel.

We've learned that no matter how many nesting boxes we provide, every chicken prefers the box that someone else has already chosen. I have even tried to lure the girls into another box with tasty treats like clover, but my efforts have been in vain.

Sometimes as I've peeked in the door, I've found as many as THREE chickens in the same nesting box, while two other boxes sit empty.

It's enough to make a farm girl weary.

Surprisingly, the discord amongst my 10 hens does little to disrupt life for my 15 lazy felines. The cats languish about the porch, back deck and yard as if there's never a reason for concern.

That is, until one of the pregnant mamas decided a nesting box in the chicken coop was the perfect accommodation for baby kittens.

Although it seemed a good idea to Mama Cat, imagine her surprise when one of the hens wasn't a bit dissuaded that something else occupied the nesting box one morning. The hen proceeded to share the nest with the cat, Tippy, until the chicken had laid the day's blue-green egg.

The kittens got a new home in a cardboard box on the porch and life in the chicken coop resumed some sense of normalcy.

But a few months later, when it was Lucy's turn to give birth, she too chose a nesting box in an old coop we hadn't been using for several months. Life went on as usual for about a week, until one of our Americaunas discovered the kittens.

At the sound of incessant squawking, I rushed to the chicken coop to find our perpetually broody hen, Clucker, attempting to mother six kittens. She'd managed to position herself over a couple of them as the others huddled nearby in a state of bewilderment. An agitated Lucy stood a foot away from the nesting box wondering what she could do about the situation.

I decided to lift Clucker out of the box. She retaliated with a sharp peck on my wrist. I tried again, and Clucker jabbed me hard enough to leave a slight bruise.

I covered my hand with my shirt sleeve and on the third try, Clucker was removed but not without voicing tremendous displeasure in the process.

Sadly, Clucker had to be locked out of the coop and a small hole was left in the top for the cat to enter and leave.

I learned an important lesson from my hen, Clucker, through that ordeal.

It's difficult enough to dissuade a broody hen from sitting on a clutch of eggs, but hopefully you never have to remove her from baby kittens.

Turning annoying wind into renewable energy near Hawkeye

A Terex crane with a lifting capacity of 660 U.S. tons, and using 11-ton counterweights raises the lower mid-section to place on the base, Wed., Aug. 15 near Bahr Park. 

By Janell Bradley

HAWKEYE – Folks in Bethel township, Fayette County, have long been challenged by wind that blows snow into drifts that close gravel roads and whips the laundry from the clothes line on summer days. Here, the wind is almost always blowing across the prairie.

But now, harnessing the wind will boost the local economy in this town of 451 as the $45 million Hawkeye Wind Farm goes online in October.

The project began in 2008 when a test tower began recording meteorologic statuses. Determining the atmosphere was adequate, RPM Access LLC, West Des Moines, started negotiations with landowners to lease property. 

Construction on the Hawkeye Wind Farm began last November. Six turbines were up as of Aug. 15, with the remaining nine in various stages of progress – but all 15 and a meterorological tower should be erected within the next week.

RPM purchased the property on which its substation is located, but all other land is leased from land owners for a period of 30 years. Landowners receive various payments – $200,000 annually, as a whole. Over the life of the project, landowners receive $7 million, says Kevin Lehs, project and construction manager for RPM.

The West Des Moines company has a 20-year contract with Central Iowa Power Cooperative, to buy the wind power. RPM estimates the Hawkeye project should generate enough electricity to power 4,000 to 6,000 homes each year.

While the wind farm was developed, the community benefitted from 200 temporary construction jobs as workers dined in the local cafes, stayed in area motels and shopped in local businesses. Two to three permanent maintenance and operations jobs result once the project is complete in a few weeks.

Diane Ungerer, owner of Diane's Cafe in Hawkeye, said her family will miss the workers when the project is complete.

"They stop in here at all times of the day. Sometimes it's for breakfast, or they take out sandwiches or baked goods," she said. "Other times they call ahead to have us prepare something for them."

Because it's a tradition in Diane's Cafe for those celebrating an event to treat, she said some of the wind farm construction workers have also treated the locals – one requested a peach upside down cake to share.

"You can't ask for more polite people," she said.

This is a view of the inside of one of five sections that make up each turbine tower. Notice the light bar at bottom left, the ladder, and then at right, cables that carry power from the generator. Each section also has a platform from which workers can stand to tighten the bolts from the inside on the upper sections as it's built.

For most of the year, RPM rented two apartments above the Hurd Museum in Hawkeye, to use as an office and for sleeping quarters for RPM employees traveling from afar.

Kevin Lehs (seated) and Kirk Kraft, production managers for RPM Access of West Des Moines, are pictured working from the Hawkeye Wind Farm temporary office in the upper level of the Hurd Museum in Hawkeye.

The company leased four acres of the town's industrial park on which to locate trailers used as temporary offices by the contractors from out-of-state. RPM purchased one acre at the site, on which it will build a permanent maintenance/operations center – constructed by a local builder.

Hawkeye Economic Development Corporation president Leon Dietzenbach said RPM's purchase of property in the industrial park allowed HEDCORP to finance extending utilities to the property – something the site lacked for the 25 years since it was established as an industrial park.

The wind farm, said Dietzenbach, "has put Hawkeye on the map." 

Now that utilities are extended, it makes the property more marketable to potential new business or possibly even additional housing on the property, he says.

"Our emphasis as an owner of this wind project is to get as many local people involved as we can," said Lehs. "When we walk away, we want everyone happy. By the end of the project, it's like one, big, family."

RPM paid the Fayette Firecracker 4-H club to cater a picnic supper for the landowners. The same youth served a safety recognition breakfast for 80 employees of M.A. Mortenson, of Minneapolis, the company constructing the turbines.

Additionally, Hawkeye Wind Farm pays taxes on the real property, valued at about $1 million per turbine. Fayette County will receive an estimated $1.8 million for the first seven years of operation, and $10.5 million over the next 18 years.

Just 15 acres of cropland was taken out of production as a result of the project. Nearly 12 miles of underground cable was laid to connect the fiber optics to the substation, located across from St. John's Lutheran Church-Richfield, six miles west of Hawkeye. While a picnic was hosted Thurs., Aug. 9 for the 43 landowners holding contracts, rain delayed a planned 'blade signing' event. Landowners will still get an opportunity to put their names on a blade that will turn 490 feet above ground while generating wind power.

RPM is also constructing a 41 megawatt Elk Wind project in Delaware County and a 50 MW project near Rippey. In 12 years, wind farms developed by RPM in Iowa, now generate 700 megawatts.

The company expects to energize the Hawkeye Wind Farm turbines by the end of this month. Commercial operation is set for Oct. 1. A ribbon-cutting event with local legislators is planned.