Farmamerica seeking volunteers

“You’ll be glad you did,” is the message three persistent volunteers at Farmamerica have for anyone who would like to join them.

 

Janesville area residents Rita and Jerry Janish have been volunteering for more than a decade. Both in their mid-seventies, the two say they feel richly rewarded each time they come.

 

Jerry can’t help smiling as he tells of conversations with children. “A lot of them have no idea where milk comes from,” he comments. “Or most of their food in general.”

 

Born in 1949, Jerry remembers his grandparents’ home where “they were still living the old way,” meaning their home did not have electricity or running water. When he describes that to children, he says he usually asks how many of them would like to live that way. “And yes, some say they would want to,” he observes. “But I can’t help thinking no modern child would stay very long if they were truly experiencing it.”

 

Still, the conversations are lively and entertaining, and Jerry says he’s glad to have a chance to share his stories.

 

He expects to be rather busy doing so in the next couple of weeks, since Farmamerica will be the destination for children in grades three through six coming there on school field trips from September 29 to October 7. Program coordinator Kari Wadd names Lakeville, Northfield, Blooming Prairie, New Ulm and others as having signed up to bring groups.

 

“Children are fascinated by the farmsites and the animals,” said Wadd. “We use that as a sort of jumping off place to help them learn a few things about history.”

 

The more volunteers the facility can recruit for the field trips and for other larger events, the richer visitors’ experiences tend to be, she observes.

 

“We make it very easy,” says Hilary Kruger, who helps schedule volunteers and helps them find roles they will enjoy. “We have scripts and site descriptions. If they would like, we invite people to ‘shadow’ another volunteer before trying it themselves.

 

“And of course, if they have experiences of their own that are relevant to the site, we hope they’ll share them.”

 

During school field trips, children tend to cycle through the various settings at the facility in groups of 15 to 20. “So they’ll be working with small groups and giving a presentation that lasts about 15 minutes,” says Kruger.

 

She encourages people who think they might be interested to contact her, either by using the Farmamerica website or calling the facility at 507-835-2052.

 

Volunteer Ron Wood, 88, grew up in North Dakota. He says he enjoys seeing children and adults learn about “living the old way” because he remembers his father helping install the Rural Electric Authority (REA) powerlines so area residents could have electricity and the running water it made possible.

 

An overriding memory for him is “I spent many hours driving tractor.” Ron says nearly all his volunteer time has to do with the facility’s tractor collection, which includes 15 machines built from 1926 to 1964.

 

Ron enjoys choosing the day’s tractor and hooking it to the facility’s “tram” a shaded wagon with stairs for climbing on board and benches for seating. Then he enjoys endless people-watching as he sees and hears visitors’ reactions to the various locations and animals. 

 

An added bonus for him was pulling the tram into Waseca this past weekend to be part of the Marching Classic parade. Another reward is the chance to get his hands dirty doing maintenance work on the tractors. He says he keeps tools in his vehicle so he can do any needed work without having to borrow them from facility workers. “I really enjoy it,” he says.

 

“I get some great opportunities and I have a lot of fun,” Ron says of his time as a volunteer.

 

For Rita Janish, the biggest reward is “being part of something good and important.” She says most of her volunteer time is spent in the facility’s large interpretive center. “Whatever they need me to do, I do it,” she says lightheartedly.

 

For her, a favorite is helping with the frequent blood drives. “People come because they want to help other people,” she comments. “They’re good folks doing a good thing. It’s truly rewarding to help them.”

 

All three volunteers emphasize it is at least as enjoyable to help operate an event as it is to attend one.

 

“You’re part of something that’s simple and good,” observes Jerry. “Everyone should try it so they know much they’ll like it.”