December 2020 | www.AgeMedia.pub
Faith / Family / Friends / Farming
Meet the
LANGEL Family Robb, Mike, Kelli and Tim Langel. On the tractor: Will, Cruz, Brooks and Trigg. Story begins on page 12.
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of Sioux County PUBLISHERS Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media EDITOR & IOWA MANAGER Bob Fitch, AGE Media Direct advertising inquiries, story submissions and other correspondence to: 712-551-4123 bob@agemedia.pub © The Farming Families, Age Media & Promotion The Farming Families is distributed free exclusively to the farmers, ranchers and producers in rural Sioux, Plymouth and Lyon Counties. All rights reserved. Content in this magazine should not be copied in any way without the written permission of the publisher. The Farming Families assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Content in articles, editorial and advertisements are not necessarily endorsed by The Farming Families and Age Media & Promotion.
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December 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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SIOUX COUNTY FAMILY
BIG FAMILY AND BIG AMBITIONS AT THE BIG RED BARN by Bob Fitch
Twenty years ago, Shanna and Nate De Hoogh decided they wanted to raise their family in the country. They bought 10 acres northwest of Hospers. The acreage proved to very productive, becoming home to eight kids plus horses, goats – and now the Big Red Barn Goat Milk Soap company. Nate is originally from Sioux Center and Shanna grew up in Alta which is near Storm Lake. They met when both were students at Northwestern College in Orange City. Nate is the IT manager at Den Hartog Industries and is currently taking classes to become a paramedic. He serves on the Hospers ambulance team. “We had four biological children and then adopted a sibling group of four. So we went from four to eight in one shot,” Shanna said. “Right now the youngest is 15 and the oldest is 22 and we’ve got every number in between.” In 2013, the De Hoogh family of two adults and four kids had a weekend when four youthful visitors changed their lives. “God was leading their family into ours. They were in foster care and we had them for a long weekend. The four of them just fit in with our family.” At the time, their oldest biological child was 11 and the oldest from the group they adopted was 12.
Shanna De Hoogh with a jar of goat milk and some of the oils used to make soap. 6
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
Shanna homeschooled all eight children – Destiny, Bryant, Esperansa, Tyler, Gabino, Kylee, Mykah and Pablo. Destiny is now married to Graham Howerzyl; Bryant is serving in the U.S.
Marines; and Esperansa is married to Gabino Del Real (yes, there’s “brother Gabino” and “husband Gabino.”) The overlapping ages of the children made life interesting. For a month, there were actually eight teenagers in the house ranging from age 19 down to 13. The family is currently in the midst of a nine-year stint with kids getting learner’s permits. They’re at the tail end of the run now since the youngest, Pablo, is 15. “The bunch of kids led us to building a barn. We wanted them to have the experience of farm life and The De Hoogh family. Front: Shanna, Pablo, Destiny and Gabino. Back: Kylee, Nate, Tyler, and Mykah. Missing from the photo are Esperansa and Gabino and his son Oliver. interaction with animals,” Shanna said. “For some of them, it’s been Shanna said many of her customers have pivotal in developing in them a maturity and responsibility returned saying the goat milk soaps and lotions and just caring for others. That piece came because we she sells are good for their skin when others have had horses.” had harsh effects. “My hypothesis is it’s a ‘real’ product so there aren’t other things in it to make Bryant and Destiny graduated in 2017. Shanna said, “I felt like a your skinAge ‘angry.’ you away all the negative weight was lifted a little bit on the homeschooling. I was open Media Qtr If Page Colortake 1-8-20.pdf 1 1/8/2020 11:21:34 AM pieces and then you add positive pieces on top to something new. Kylee was very interested in goats and I realized if I was going to go down that road, I should do it now before she graduated. “I had always been interested in dairy, but I knew that production from a dairy cow would be too much volume for us to consume. So I turned to dairy goats. The summer after our oldest two graduated, I found a little herd from Hinton.” The herd owner sold them the goats as well as equipment for milking and making goat milk soap.
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“As we were packing up all of this, the lady asked me if I was going to make soap and I said, ‘No, maybe some cheese, but not soap.’ She said, ‘Well, you need to try this’ and gave me a sample. I took it home and tried it in the shower and realized it was a very different product than I’d used before.” If she could tell the difference in the soap as a person who does not have sensitive skin, Shanna figured there were probably a lot of people out there who needed her to figure out how to produce the soap. The Big Red Barn Goat Milk Soap company was born. Olive, coconut and palm oils work together to make her soaps nourishing. She described most traditional soaps as “compressed detergent” which is why they’re bad for your skin. Adding goat milk to the oils augments the moisturizing properties. “So you don’t leave the shower feeling like the soap shrunk your skin by a size.”
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of that, this product can provide a ton of benefit very quickly. Other products have chemicals in them that might make a person’s skin inflamed or angry.� Some of her customers are committed to the use of high end essential oils, while others just want pretty soaps and don’t care what the scent is. “We try to play in both fields,� she said. “There are many people who want quality natural products and also want to know where their products are coming from. If they can do business with the person who is actually doing the milking and chores behind the product, that’s some validation of what’s in it. That’s the niche I’m trying to fill.� A sample selection of the soap available from the Big Red Barn.
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She also is able to specially tailor products in unique situations. Recently, an adoptive mother she knows approached her because her son has terrible skin issues, including eczema and, on top of it, he’s allergic to many things that are in most lotions. Shanna suggested rice bran oil which the customer had never heard of. “So I made them a special batch. She came back and said it’s healing his eczema. Because I’m making the product, I can tailor it to these special allergies or situations, and make a product that isn’t breaking the bank for them.� Shanna takes part in a number of local seasonal gift and craft events, but most of her sales come through her website (www.brbgoatmilksoap.com) or social media channels including Facebook (www.facebook.com/BRBGoatMilkSoap). The company offers subscription packages and she’s particularly excited about her new “5-day challenge� offer which includes a starter sample set and Facebook Live discussions.
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“They can try the product and see what the benefits are. It’s not expensive. The Facebook Live sessions have been just so much fun. With the first one, it felt like I made 25 new friends.” Her children help with packaging and shipping the products plus assist with soap production when needed. Shanna said they are a big help with milking and chores in the barn.
Kylee, Mykah and Pablo showed four goats at the Sioux County Fair this year and did really well. “We had the overall champion. We don’t strive to have show-quality goats, but it’s fun to have a judge look at what we’ve got and say this is a good animal.” Kylee and Mykah were both in senior showmanship, which tests how much they know about goats and how well they present. Shanna said, “They were the only two in the category and you could just tell the judge was having a hard time choosing between the two of them. They were both grinning because they knew they were stumping the judge. That was a fun compliment to them. Both work with the goats every day and they knew their stuff.” Pablo was not be to be outdone. He received first place in the intermediate showmanship division. The family is currently milking three does. “I was hoping to expand this year, but we got mostly boys. I’m going to have to have a talk with the buck out there.” The goat breed is Saanen which, she said, is the “Holstein” of dairy goats. “They are just a very even-temperament, easy-towork-with goat; and they’re excellent with kids. They’re definitely still goats and they get pushy sometimes. But, on the whole, they’re just like dogs – they want to be with people, they want to be petted and loved.” The soap and lotion business has also been gratifying because so many customers seek her out at various shows. “People are looking for this type of product and if they can find it locally, that has appeal. I enjoy helping people.”
Shanna De Hoogh milking one of the goats at the Big Red Barn. Note the kitten in the lower right waiting expectantly. 10
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PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAMILY
The Langel family: Robb holding Will and Brooks standing on dock and Kelsey; Jeremy holding Nash, Kenadee, and Melissa holding Lenore; Kelli and Mike; Julie holding Hattie with Trigg, and Cruz on Tim’s lap; Jill, Davin, with children Maelyn and Drew. Photo by Chelsi Hector of C Starr Photography of Le Mars.
LANGELS ARE HERE TO STAY by Bob Fitch
Kelli Langel said her husband Mike and their sons have to be careful not to mess up too badly. Mike has 50 first cousins – most of them live in the area and many farm in Plymouth County – so someone is sure to find out if they make too big a mistake.
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“We’re pretty proud of the Langel name and we try to uphold it,” said Mike. His grandfather, Leo Langel, had nine kids, six of them boys. Leo’s brother, Frank, lived just threequarters of a mile away and also had six boys. “Most of those Langels stayed in this area. There are lots of Langels farming. I think the Langels are probably here to stay.” Mike and Kelli’s son Robb said the extended farm family provides some days of laughter. “Rain days during planting or harvest can be fun times. All the cousins like to get together in a shop somewhere and have a couple beers and hash things out. The next generation all comes, too.” On the serious side, Mike added, “Through the years, if
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
somebody gets hurt, we’re always willing to help out our extended family and our neighbors.” Mike said he, Robb, and his other son Tim have been working side-byside with him for over two decades. In 1994, Mike stopped feeding cattle and, in 1997, expanded on the hog finishing side. The boys were in grade school at the time. “The boys were young, but they started working it right away. They’ve helped me load ever since. Every load, I think they’ve been there.” Today, each of them owns his own custom-finishing barn. Robb said, “When it’s just a normal day, we do our own morning chores.” However, Mike said, “We help each other out
Julie and Tim Langel with their children Hattie, Trigg (standing) and Cruz. Photo by Chelsi Hector C Starr Photography of Le Mars.
when it’s time for loading or vaccinating. It’s nice that there are three of us. We don’t have to hire any help. We just get it done. And, of course, we help each other with harvest. We all get along really well.” The crew also gets along well with their equipment partners, Bob and Cory Puetz. Mike said, “I’ve shared equipment with Bob Puetz my whole life. That’s something that doesn’t happen too much anymore. Our dads, Don and Gus, did the same thing for years.
Robb and Kelsey Langel with their sons Will and Brooks. Photo by Chelsi Hector of C Starr Photography of Le Mars.
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“Dad and Gus were brothers-in-law and neighbors. They started helping each other and owning things together. Over the years, we picked corn together and helped with livestock together. Bob and I were raised in that environment, so we were used to working with each other and we’ve just continued. We’re together through harvest and somewhat through the spring work. It’s nice to have the extra help and the cost of equipment is half.” Mike said Robb is the technology guy along with Bob Puetz’s son, Cory, and that the pair does well keeping everything running. Robb said, “On the tech side of it, it’s nice to able to bounce questions off each other. Most of the time, the stuff should work and it doesn’t. So what now? Of course, the first thing to try is to shut it down and start it up again.”
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Another unique aspect of the Langel operation is that Mike has been coaching basketball every winter since 1997, starting at the junior high level. “I moved my way up the ranks and now this is my 16th season as the head coach of Gehlen boys basketball. We’ve had to work together as a family to fill in the voids when I’m not here and am at a practice or a game. While it’s a little challenging to both have livestock and coach, it’s also been rewarding. I got to coach both of my sons. I always said I’d be through when Robb was a senior, but now he’s 32 years old and I'm still doing it. I do enjoy it.” Mike added, “Somebody asked me where my wife and I were traveling to this winter, and I said, ‘Well, we’re going to go to Unity Christian and Hinton.’ A lot of people go south for the winter, we go to gymnasiums.” Kelli continues to cheer loudly at Gehlen sporting events, just as she did as a cheerleader there when she and Mike were high school sweethearts. Kelli is a farm girl from south of Le Mars. “Grandpa Ben always milked cows. So I always had to clean the bulk tank,” she said. Kelli has been working at Prime Bank in Le Mars since the day after she graduated from high school. Mike, Robb and Tim now farm the ground still owned by her dad, Larry Ruhland. Her dad and step-mother, Dorothy, “still bring meals out when we’re on their ground,” she said. And, Robb added, “Grandpa still likes to get in the combine every fall.”
Kelli and Mike Langel.
Mike said, “We come from a Catholic faith through the generations, the Langels and the Ruhlands. All of the kids went to Gehlen. We all feel that’s pretty important as a family for our kids to get a Catholic education.”
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In addition to growing corn and soybeans and customfinishing hogs, Tim and Robb also both own semi-truck grain trailers and haul grain in the off-season. Tim’s wife, Julie, is from the Sheehan family who farm south of Remsen. Up until this fall, she did stay-at-home daycare for family, friends and neighbors. Now she’s the head cook at Gehlen schools. They have three children, Trigg, Cruz and Hattie. Robb’s wife, Kelsey, is a partner at the Le Mars law firm of Bauerly & Langel. They have two sons, Brooks and Will.
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Mike and Kelli also have two daughters. Melissa works at Mark Crop Insurance in Le Mars. She and her husband, Jeremy Galles, live just across the field from them and have four children, Kenadee, Lenore, Nash and Owen. Daughter Jill and her husband, Drew West, live in Adal, Iowa. They have two children, Maelyn and Davin.
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The entire family likes to spend time together at Spirit Lake in the summer.
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Looking to the future of the farm, Tim said, “Hopefully we’ll be able to add more acres. We’re got four boys who might want to farm, so we might want to get a little bigger.” But growth will cost a little more than the $420 an acre Mike’s dad paid for the home 80 in 1960. Kelli said part of the farm’s success is because the family stays grounded. Mike added, “We’re a pretty calm bunch. Loading hogs can be stressful at times. But the three of us stay pretty low-key and calm, with what we do and in our lives. We take life as it’s handed to us.”
Mike’s late father, Don; Robb and Mike. Hunting and fishing are favorite pastimes for the Langel men.
Future farmers of America: Will, Cruz, Brooks and Trigg.
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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
DAYS END AT THE FARM PHOTO BY BRETT DAVELAAR, BRETT DAVELAAR PHOTOGRAPHY.
December 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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LYON COUNTY FAMILY
POSITIVE RESPONSE BUILDS SUCCESS OF FARM BRANDED FURNISHINGS by Bob Fitch
Farmer, truck driver and small business owner are among the good career options for a young person in northwest Iowa. Benji Moser of Lester finds time do all three.
Benji, right, farms with his brother, Kent, and his father, Don. 18
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
Benji Moser with two recently-completed projects, an entertainment center and a hutch.
In addition to his full-time job with Idlenot Farms of Larchwood, Benji is the owner of Farm Branded Furnishings and part-owner of Moser Brothers LLC, a small farming operation which he started with his oldest brother Kent. The two of them are now operating the farm of their parents, Don and Joyce Moser. “Balancing the business, my full-time job with Idlenot, and starting the LLC with my brother definitely keeps me busy. For now it all works, but it can be a lot of late nights.” After graduating from West Lyon High School, Benji was a carpenter with several different construction firms for seven or eight years. In the midst of that, he also received a diploma in carpentry from Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon. “Then I got called by the owner at Idlenot to drive truck and I took that because I’d wanted to get back to farming anyway.” He primarily hauls feed for them now. When his older sister was getting married in 2014, she asked him to build some backdrops for her wedding. “I built those and then rented them out to friends and other people. The business originally started as a wedding décor type of thing. I kept adding to the collection, whiskey barrels and wine barrels and tabletops.” By the late summer of 2016, he was getting asked to do other specialty orders. “The first request wasn’t that little. I built a 9-foot-long outside bar for some friends. Then I built a baby crib out of barnwood for some other friends. That one was interesting. I’m not sad I haven’t built another one since. It turned out good, but it was an experience, for sure.”
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As the orders kept coming, he created the company Farm Branded Furnishings in early 2017. “I’ve done a lot of end tables, dining tables and coffee tables when I first started out. That quickly become busier than the wedding décor, so I pivoted from the wedding stuff to focus on building furniture. Ever since then, it’s just been growing and growing and growing.” Initially, he was primarily building with reclaimed barn wood. “Recently I’ve been going to more hardwoods that I get from area sawmills. I’m doing more projects with hard maple and ash. I had stayed away from it because I thought it would be too expensive, but the price really is pretty reasonable. I’m trying to broaden out and give people more options if they’re looking for a smoother, more modern look compared to barn wood. “New ideas are really cool, things I haven’t done before. I’ve done a lot of tables, entertainment centers and hutches. The tables that extend out are trickier. For the longest time, I didn’t want to do tables with extensions, dealing with the hardware. But people kept asking and I thought I’d better try it.” He enjoys broadening his skill set by taking on new types of projects based on ideas from his clients. “First-time things are pretty sweet. I always try to keep an open mind and am willing to mix it up,” Benji said. Lately, he’s built several cabinet vanities.
The bottom of this piece doubles as a dog kennel.
Most of his orders come by word of mouth, repeat customers, or by the power of online marketing. Find the company on Facebook or at www.farmbrandedfurnishings.com. His customer base stretches west into central South Dakota, south into Nebraska and north into Minnesota. Follow the company on Facebook to enter in the promotional giveaways he does seasonally. Giveaways prizes have included small entertainment centers, planter boxes and benches. One of his first projects was a high profile one for Josiah’s Coffee Shop in Sioux Falls. “When they first opened, the owners found me on Facebook and wanted to know if I wanted to build a solid 18-foot harvest table for their coffee shop. I built it in my small, little shop.
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It was a beast to get in their door, but it worked out well. That was kind of a highlight to have a big statement piece in a downtown business like that,” he said. Because he didn’t have enough to do building tables and cabinets plus feeding pigs at Idlenot, he and brother Kent just completed their first crop year as Moser Brothers LLC. Besides corn and soybeans, they feed some cattle and also care for overflow pigs from Idlenot in the hoop barns at their parent’s place. Kent also operates an agronomy business called Moser Seed & Ag, selling seed and doing custom spraying. Seasonally, farmwork pushes back the carpentry sometimes. “In 2018 and 2019, I was really cranking the furniture out,” Benji said. “Those were productive years, but when it was just me building all those different pieces, I got dangerously close to burning out. It was a lot of early mornings, work all day at Idlenot, get some of my own farming done when I got home, and then building
Benji Moser has been expanding the types of projects he does, such as this bathroom vanity and shelves.
in the workshop till I was bleary-eyed at 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning. It was growing the customer base so I was willing to put in the late nights to really get this thing going. Just when I think I’m going to catch the top of my list and get a break, then four people will order in one day. Ever since it started, I’ve never caught the top of my list and, don’t misunderstand, I’m very thankful for that.” But the fact that people really like his projects keeps him going. He said customers really appreciate quality workmanship. “I’m always conscious of that and tend to overbuild to a degree. There's still room to grow on how I build my pieces and what techniques are best for certain kinds of furniture. It’s definitely been a long process of trial and error but it's all about protecting an image and improving every day. I want to always produce the best quality pieces I can for my great customers.”
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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE
REMEMBERING NOVELIST FREDERICK MANFRED Author Frederick Manfred was immersed in what he called “Siouxland, ” the region at the confluence of Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. He was born in northwest Iowa and much of his inspiration came from his upbringing there; his greatest work was based on an inspirational story from Dakota Territory; he had long-time ties to both the University of South Dakota and Augustana University; and he lived much of his life and ultimately died in southwest Minnesota. Frederick Manfred’s parents were immigrants to Iowa from The Netherlands. His father, Feike Feikema VI, couldn’t even read. Yet Manfred, born on a farm in Rock Township in northern Sioux County, grew up to be a Pulitzer Prizenominated novelist. Manfred – baptized as Feike Feikes Feikema VII – was born in 1912 east of Doon. His parents met while growing up in Orange City. Manfred wrote more than 20 novels plus works of non-fiction and poetry. The University of Iowa Press said: “The gently rolling slopes and wide horizons of the northwest Iowa plains created a landscape that permeated his writing.” His fiction vividly depicted life on the Great Plains, particularly the region for which he coined the expression “Siouxland." Manfred was raised in the Christian Reformed Church and attended Western Academy (now known as Western Christian High School) in Hull. He later graduated from Calvin College in Michigan. Calvin College emeritus professor James Bratt said Manfred rebelled against his Christian Reformed upbringing, being filled with "religious doubts and ethical chafings." But, Bratt said, the qualities of Manfred’s work included "earthy detail, metaphysical sweep, both set to biblical cadence - are precisely those of his native faith.”
Frederick Manfred was 6'9" tall. He's pictured here at his home at Blue Mounds north of Luverne in 1973. 24
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
While in high school, the 6-foot-9-inch tall Manfred excelled as a baseball pitcher and dreamed of becoming a professional player. After college graduation, the future author hitchhiked around the country for two years. He had jobs as a harvest hand, carpenter, basketball player and factory worker before becoming a reporter for the Minneapolis Journal. While there, he met future U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey and several years later was an assistant campaign manager when Humphrey ran for mayor of Minneapolis.
He soon set aside politics to become a full-time novelist. In 1954, trying to become more accepted by the literary establishment in the eastern U.S., he changed his name from Feike Feikema to Frederick Manfred. That same year, he published his most successful novel which was entitled Lord Grizzly. It became a national best seller and was a finalist for the National Book Award. The New York Times described the book as a "heady mixture of history made into first rate fiction."
For a time, Manfred lived in a house he built which is now the interpretive center of Blue Mounds State Park in Rock County, Minn. Frederick Manfred died of a brain tumor at age 82 in Luverne, Minn., in 1994.
Lord Grizzly tells the story of Hugh Glass, a real-life mountain man who was attacked by a bear in 1823 and abandoned in the wilderness by his companions who thought he would not live. With a broken leg and open wounds, Glass crawled hundreds of miles from what is now northwestern South Dakota to Fort Kiowa on the Missouri River to reach safety. Unlike other fictionalized accounts of Hugh Glass (including the 2015 movie The Revenant), Manfred’s story in Lord Grizzly moves Hugh Glass from an attitude of revenge to one ultimately of forgiveness towards the companions who left him behind. The University of Iowa Press said Manfred’s novels “captured the beauty of the Missouri and Big Sioux river valleys, whose grassy bluffs resembled ‘long windrows of huge sleeping mountain lions’ below the ‘creamy folds and rising towers of gold’ of wind-driven clouds. His characters' enduring connection to the land, from the untamed wilderness of his buckskin-clad pioneers to the plowed fields of his farmer-heroes, is a permanent reminder of the power of the regional novelist to preserve a sense of place.” A 1983 video portrait of the author can be viewed on the Twin Cities PBS website at www.tpt.org/american-grizzlyfrederick-manfred/. In the video, Manfred reads from his works; visits the site of his parent’s former farm in Sioux County (where he speaks Dutch with Mr. Brenneman who owned the farm at that time); and talks about when he ran 7½ miles every day from home to Western Academy in Hull. He said he was a writer because “I get a double take out of life.” Also available is a later interview conducted by his daughter which can be found at https://reflections. mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll38:15#/kaltura_video.
Sources https://www.tpt.org/american-grizzly-frederick-manfred/ https://sdexcellence.org/Frederick_Manfred_1985 http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=248 https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/frederick-manfred/ http://www.unl.edu/plains/publications/resource/manfred.shtml http://www.usd.edu/arts-and-sciences/english/frederick-manfred.cfm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Grizzly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Manfred “Siouxland: A History of Sioux County, Iowa.” By G. Nelson Nieuwenhuis
Young Feike Feikema VII writing "Boy Almighty" in 1944.
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fmiahull.com | 712.439.1722 Serving northwest Iowa farmers and homeowners since 1886. December 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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HEALTH AND WELLNESS
REBUILDING PHYSICAL ROBUSTNESS By Bob Fitch
The physical and occupational therapists at Orange City Area Health System are focused on helping patients rebuild their strength and reducing pain from either chronic conditions or injuries. Seeing patients of all ages, the team does in-patient and outpatient therapy, visits to nursing homes, job site screening and training, and provides care at high school athletic events. Brad Zwart is a physical therapist and manager of the Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Department at Orange City Area Health System. He supervises ten physical therapists and three occupational therapists plus support staff in the department. Equipment used in the clinic – such as a ladder, wheelbarrow and stairs – match many of the situations people face on the farm, at their job or in other parts of their life. “A lot of what we do is teach – teach about the problem and teach about pain and how the body works. The body is robust and we want to give people confidence and hope that it will get better. We’re stronger than we think sometimes.” Zwart said one of the keys to success is a positive therapistpatient relationship. “The therapeutic alliance – the ability to connect and trust each other – goes a long way to getting better.” The individualized, hands-on approach that characterizes physical therapist care is highly valued by patients. When a physical therapist sees a patient for the first time, he or she examines that individual 26
Henry Leusink demonstrates one of the exercises his physical therapist Monica Aaleers had him use to regain mobility in his shoulder and arm.
and develops a plan of care that promotes the ability to move, reduces pain, restores function, and prevents disability. The physical therapist and the patient then work side-by-side to make sure that the goals of the treatment plan are met. Physical therapist Monica Aalbers succeeded in building the therapeutic alliance with Orange City area farmer Henry Leusink after he slipped on the ice this past January and fell, injuring his shoulder.
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
Aalbers said Leusink did about three months of outpatient physical therapy at the clinic following his injury. They suspended therapy sessions when Covid hit this spring, but Leusink was already “at a good spot” and able to continue the necessary exercises at home. Leusink said even though no bones were broken when he fell, the damage was still substantial. Immediately following the injury, he could only raise his arm to about a
The right care. The right place. The right time.
45-degree angle and “couldn’t even lift a glass of milk” or reach across his body. He wanted to avoid surgery. Following physical therapy and related exercises at home, Leusink can now get his hand above his head. (He admitted it was helpful his wife Karen is a nurse and kept him on task with the exercises.) While Leusink hasn’t, and probably won’t, recover full strength in his left arm and shoulder, he’s happy with the recovery he experienced.
As places of healing, hospitals and
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Wernimont-Diehl has helped De Weerd with her kitchen ingredient mixing technique which, in turn, has applied to loading hogs. De Weerd said, “The process of adjusting the way I hand-mix has taught me to adjust and lift hog gates a different way when I have pain. It’s getting to the point it’s becoming natural to do it the new way. The back and wrist exercises have definitely helped give me more muscle and stability.”
the well-being of their communities. At Orange City Area Health System, patient safety has always been our number one priority. When
Aside from heavy lifting, he’s back to being fully functional on the farm. “Fall harvest went really well. The only thing I had a little trouble with was getting the mic for the two-way radio off its hook above my head.” Sue De Weerd farms with her husband Evan and works in the kitchen at Orange City Area Health System. Occupational Therapist Stacy Wernimont-Diehl is helping De Weerd make adjustments to reduce wrist, back and shoulder pain. Mixing ingredients in the kitchen has been causing ongoing pain and the same pain has been showing up in farm duties. De Weerd said, “Getting banged around by the hogs doesn’t help. They don’t like to go where you want them to always.”
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De Weerd noted that tape was also used for her wrist, back and shoulder to give those areas stability. “I have a bone that pops out of place in my wrist. If I wrap it with good tape, then I can keep it in place while I’m working. “They keep me moving and keep me in my job. They’ve definitely helped minimize my pain.” Pain reduction has helped not just in her work, but also in general life enjoyment. “You guys kept me driving motorcycle through the summer.” Zwart said back, shoulder and knee pain from overloading or from accidents are some of the most common situations they see with farmers who seek physical or occupational therapy at Orange City Area Health System. “Sometimes it only takes one or two visits with us teaching you some techniques and then you can progress on your own. Other times, it might take several months of appointments with us to guide you through disciplined incremental steps to get you there.” He also noted people who have arthritis don’t have to resign themselves to endless pain. “Exercise and physical therapy has proven benefits for arthritis pain. Any time you build strength, your joints feel better.”
Orange City Walk-In Clinic: 712.707.6070 Orange City Family Medicine: 712.737.2000 Hospers Medical Clinic: 712.752.8800 Mill Creek Family Practice: 712.448.2000
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December 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, or Parkinson’s disease; connective tissue injuries such as burns or wounds; cardiopulmonary and circulatory conditions such as congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; workplace injuries including repetitive stress disorders; and sports injuries.
Physical therapist Stacy Wernimont-Diehl, left, works with Sue De Weerd on an exercise which helps build strength in her wrist and also re-trains her movements.
Whether it’s chronic pain or recovery from injury, Zwart said, “Often, what we recommend will help people to rebuild their reserve and robustness for the next unexpected challenge.” Physical therapists help people with orthopedic conditions such as low back pain or osteoporosis; joint and soft tissue injuries such as fractures and dislocations; neurological
Occupational therapy is therapy based on performing the meaningful activities of daily life (self-care skills, education, work, or social interaction), especially to enable or enhance participation in such activities despite impairments or limitations in physical or mental functioning. Orange City Area Health System houses state-of-the-art equipment and technology in a spacious, naturally-lit environment. The facility also features therapy and resistance pools for safe and effective water-based exercise and
therapy. Services offered by the Orange City Area Health System Physical & Occupational Therapy Department include: • Individualized Therapeutic Exercise Programs • Manual Therapy including Mobilization and physical therapy joint manipulation • Job Function Analysis • Return to sport testing • Dry Needling • Warm-up Programs • Aquatic Therapy • Ergonomic Evaluations • Electrical Stimulation • Phototherapy • Iontophoresis Call 712-737-5234 for information, a tour, or to schedule an appointment.
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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
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OUR PHILOSOPHY There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year, he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked. “Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.” So is with our lives... Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. -Author Unknown
Call it power of collectivity. Call it a principle of success. Call it a law of life. The fact is, none of us truly wins, until we all win!
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:24-25
Photo by Brett Davelaar, BD Photography. December 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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FROM THE KITCHEN
OLD TIME SKILLET FUDGE From the kitchen of Virginia Rohmiller From the St. Joseph’s Ellendale Cookbook
INGREDIENTS: • 1 stick butter • 3 cups sugar • 3 tablespoons cocoa • 1 tablespoon corn syrup • ¾ cup milk • 1 teaspoon vanilla • ¼ cup chopped nuts
DIRECTIONS: Bring butter, sugar, cocoa, corn syrup and milk to a boil. Boil one minute. Set pan in cool water. Add vanilla. Stir candy until it is thick and loses its shine. Add nuts and pour into greased 9 x 9 pan.
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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020
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December 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | December 2020