Estelline, SD

The Northwest Area Foundation conference I attended in MN was non-stop education!  Many partners in addressing poverty were there, my favorite speaker about poverty was Tom Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa.  The number one speaker about strategy, Chip Heath (author of the book Make it Stick , which I brought home to share), explained making messages memorable and motivating.   Peter S  from Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina was most entertaining and effective with programs making financial issues riveting; their TV production Nuevo Barrio could be a great asset locally.

Lots of things I can hardly wait to tell you about, including their endorsements of local foods, and many fund-raising ideas.  The amusing byproduct of registration enmass by SDSU for everyone in SD was that Estelline was hometown on all our nametags…would that this little town had that many interested volunteers……

“Project; Sweet Corn” won funding as a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant for Troy D.  He plans to raise corn in the Community Garden and market the produce at the Farmers’ Market demonstrating profitability of locally grown foods and evaluating the most efficient way to grow the corn.

You can expect to patronize his market offering mid-August.

Watch for the education component of his project after harvest and sales are complete in the Estelline Journal.   Congratulations, Troy.

• Water Lines and Electricity are in the trenches;  there will be some settling in the trench area so drop the sod bits and more soil in there,  and WATCH YOUR STEP AROUND THE GARDEN  -THE GROUND IS UNEVEN-
• Children’s Garden plans this year are bolstered by grants from Homemakers (FCCA) for seed and equipment and the Master Gardener Program for programming;  congratulations to Mary B for success in bringing proposals to fruition.  Watch the newspaper for specifics of the Pumpkin Patch Kids 8 weekly sessions, 2 hours each, for students in grades 3-5 to be held at the Community Garden.
• Applications for garden plots are now available at Country Corner and Reliabank.  There are 23 plots tilled, and more space available.  Please send your application in as soon as possible to make planning speed along-  We hope to complete assignments before the middle of May. 
• Conquering the sod in this inaugural year will take effort — for optimal growing conditions we will try to till the garden and remove the grass (please bring your rakes) every 7 to 10 days before the crops go in.
• First garden work day: May 3rd  4-5:30pm        Bring rakes and a trash bag.  We’ll collect ALUMINUM that day as well, so magnets will be helpful.   Bring your own beverage — we’ll have cookies. 

Does anybody know how to put on a counter? Faith SD has one and it would be nice to know how many people checked out the Estelline page.

I feel the meeting went well tonight. Lots of discussion on the farmers market–it is more than you think it is.  You must learn about it to truly understand it’s a process.

We are looking for a few good men and women to help head up the boys and girls club.  It was talked about running for a term so you don’t feel trapped in to staying for the rest of your life. If you have any questions or want to help out leave a comment at the very bottom of the page in blue writing where it says “No or 1,2,3,4, and so on, comments “–click on that.

Let’s remember this is truly a community effort and we all need to step forward when the time is right for the individual.

At the school cafeteria we will start an effort to get some monetary support for your interests.  Bring writing materials and, if you have some idea or proposal already, bring it along.  We will be presenting basic information from the experts, a glossary, and some suggestions for funding sources.

You do not have to be aiming your effort towards a Horizons project to participate, but we surely welcome your help and a community orientation. 

Introductory evening everybody will get the vocabulary and some “moral support” so we can move ahead with preparing a preliminary draft.  There will be some sample materials to work with, and teamwork is encouraged – a few of the ideas are for individuals though, and some are for youth age 8-18.  Then we have one week to think and work on the project.

On the second session we will have some of the experienced assess our efforts.  And remember, a full proposal is usually months in the making, so consider this community work just a beginning in the process of asking for help in reaching our dreams.  Also remember that over 80% of funding supporting non-profit agencies comes from individuals ( that is you and me buying memberships, making donations, sharing our aluminum cans, eating at fundraisers and patronizing sales, and putting our charities in our wills), so our begging from people/foundations with deep pockets is the tip of the iceberg when all is actually done.  And grant agencies expect the applicant to have a plan to continue the good work after their participation is complete.  Northwest Area Foundation expects Estelline Horizons to move forward on our own after June 2008, for example. 

Additional sessions will be arranged — Horizons will fund professional assistance as we progress in the preparation process.  We have several volunteer editors in our network wanting to help, and at least one has multiple projects he wants to see funded through his program.   

Light supper provided; child care provided in the Kindergarten room (more kids have more fun).

Estelline Named Blog of the Week!

March 20th, 2008 by Cheryl Jacobs

Estelline is the latest Blog of the Week! This prestigious award was given to the community of Estelline for giving their blogs a new jump start! We held a blog training on March 11th and had several new users get signed up. We have seen a lot more traffic and some new posts in the last week or two.

Thanks to technologically savvy Karl S. they have a shiny new header with images from Estelline and they added the minutes of their monthly meeting. New blogger Ron O. has also been putting in his 2 cents worth and Don G. shared some photos. Thanks for your renewed efforts and we hope to see lots more as you get some of your strategic plan projects started!

The Estelline City Council voted to allow vendors who live in South Dakota to participate in the Estelline Farmers Market without having to obtain a city Peddlers License. This action removes another burden from Dakotans who wish to sell their produce in Estelline’s Farmers Market.

April 19, 2008 the excellent presentation by 4 well-spoken students of ‘permanent agriculture’ will be reprised in Brookings. 

‘Makes you see your world through a different lens is right!’ and ‘well worth the trip and more than worth the time’ were heard after the talk.  My opinion,  more farmers and gardeners and well-intended citizens need to hear it!  We’ll arrange a bus to attend. 

A number of skeptics have questioned the proposition that you should plant your potatoes on Good Friday. Thanks to the Internet and Google, the first hit on this subject is this article by Kathy Anderson. In the article she states that planting potatoes in the upper Midwest on Good Friday is an old wives tale, but she goes on to say many people have followed this practice even though they had to chop their way through icy soil.

Naturally, common sense is always useful and while potatoes don’t mind cooler soil they do better when the soil workable. Kathy goes on to describe potato planting in some detail and her article is well worth reading if potato planting is your thing.

Happy Easter!