inMagazine Winter 2014

Life

Community

in Family

Winter 2014

Love

Buena Vista?

Meet the family behind Bemidji’s popular ski destination

The lure of ice fishing Learn what draws people to local lakes in the wintertime

Conflicting priorities?

Tips for improving your work-life balance

Life

Community

in Family

Cover story

12

Meet Suzanne Thomas, director of operations for Buena Vista Ski Area.

A BEMIDJI PIONEER PUBLICATION

Staff BETHANY WESLEY Editor

ABBY RANDALL Creative Director

DEBORAH BRADSETH Design Lead To contact in magazine email inmagazine@bemidjipioneer.com

Consulting Committee Mollie Burlingame Christopher Johnson Jillian Gandsey Larisa Severson Tim Webb Sarah Winkle

To Advertise 218-333-9200 inmagazine@bemidjipioneer.com

Administration Dennis Doeden, Publisher Matt Cory, Editor John Svingen, Advertising Director Tammie Brooks, Business Manager 1320 Neilson Ave. SE Bemidji, MN 56601 Volume 1, Issue 1

Copyright Š 2013 Bemidji Pioneer in magazine

All rights reserved. Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that prior permission be obtained.

4 | in magazine

Winter 2014

Cover photo by Kristen Purrington, Purrington Photography

Come on in!

inside

Welcome to in, a new lifestyle magazine celebrating life in north Winter 2014 central Minnesota.

As a regional magazine, in is dedicated to sharing the lives and interests of the people who make the Northwoods home, from those who spend their winter days skiing down the Continental Divide to those huddled in an ice shack atop a frozen lake.

But while we’re a generally hardy people, willing to tolerate extreme weather conditions, we also find great joy indoors, particularly this time of year, when many of us begin preparing for holiday guests and Karen Gaasvig welcomes us into festivities. her home to show off her holiday In this inaugural issue of in, we invite you inside the home of Karen decorations Gaasvig, who this season decorated seven Christmas trees, discriminately placing them throughout the rooms of her house. Her enthusiasm for Christmas is obviously quite fervent (and a bit contagious too, judging by Join us on the hills of BV and all the Christmas talk that spread throughout our office in mid-October). learn about its history Also, as many of us prepare to gather with family and friends this winter, we explore the Anishinaabe traditions of feasting, looking at how the Ojibwe today incorporate their historical foods and culture into modern-day gatherings.

How technology is changing We also look at the pros and cons of children and technology, the sport knowing that, for many, this time of year brings wish lists full of electronic gadgets, devices and accessories.

That said, you won’t be overwhelmed with Christmas content in these pages. For example, as we begin looking toward 2014, we How young is too young? also have tips on fashion, finances and fitness. Because even if How much is too much? you don’t establish a New Year’s Resolution per se, I think most of us can always find room for small life improvements.

A similar mixture of features and information is planned for future issues of in, a complimentary quarterly publicaExplore the cultural foods and traditions long tion to be made available throughout the region. enjoyed by the Anishinaabe people But while we won’t have a fresh issue at the newsstands every month, we pledge to keep the conversation going between issues. So find us on Twitter, Facebook and at our home page, where we not only accept, but welcome, feedback and content suggestions.

Because while this may be our product, it is your magazine.

Featured stories

Holiday decor 10

Buena Vista 12

Ice fishing

16

Babies and iPads? 20

Ojibwe feasting 22

Finance tips

6

in style 8

Bethany

in shape 28

Life

in

Community

Work-life balance 26

in editor

Join us online and share with us what you would like to see in your magazine!

Family

Chattin’ with Dennis 30

inmagazine.areavoices.com Facebook “f ” Logo

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Wine & cheese Easy entertaining ideas

twitter.com/inMagBemidji Winter 2014

in magazine | 5

Fun with

FINANCE We asked people around the office “What are your favorite easy money-savings tips?”

“Plan ahead for work lunches. Preparing your lunch at home and bringing it with to work is often healthier and a lot less costly than eating fast food every day.”

Crystal Dey, reporter

“A 52-weeks-of-saving challenge: Save $1 in week 1, $2 in week 2, all the way to $52 in week 52. In the end you have $1,378 saved.”

Christopher Johnson, prepress supervisor

52 Week Savings Plan WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK ...

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6

Balance-$1 Balance-$3 Balance-$6 Balance-$10 Balance-$15 Balance-$21

WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK WEEK

#46 Balance-$1,081 #47 Balance-$1,128 #48 Balance-$1,176 #49 Balance-$1,225 #50 Balance-$1,275 #51 Balance-$1,326 #52 Balance-$1,378

“One thing I learned a long time ago was to buy enough at one time because that limits the times you go back to the store to pick up a little something and wind up spending more than you had intended.

“Only buy in bulk if you can use the stuff before the use-by date — I used to belong to a neighborhood co-op and we ended up buying more than we could use just because we thought the price was good at the time.”

Patt Rall, reporter

“Set aside a minimum of $10 every paycheck. Even if you’re living paycheck-topaycheck, you can do this.

By the end of the year you’ll have $260 set aside.”

Deborah Bradseth, graphic designer 6 | in magazine

Winter 2014

“No-spend days. In our house, when the budget gets tight we have a ‘no-spend day’ ... we make meals with food we already have, go for walks, play board games we own, watch movies we own, etc.

“Also, consign. Get money for items you no longer need. There are many consignment shops in Bemidji.”

Abby Randall, in creative director “One thing that has helped me over the years is to have an automatic monthly withdrawal from my checking account to my savings account. You can choose whatever amount you wish and have it arranged with your bank.

It’s a nice ‘emergency fund’ and a quick way to get some money into savings without even really realizing it.”

Sarah Winkle, executive advertising sales assistant

“I collect change and dollar bills in a giant wine jug. It’s called the ‘vacation fund.’”

Jillian Gandsey, reporter “I have a swear jar that I contribute to, every time I swear out loud at home. It fills up pretty fast.”

John Svingen, advertising director

kids corner

FINANCE

check it out!

Want to talk about money and finance with children?

The Bemidji Public Library has a variety of titles available that can help children learn about personal finance.

easy reader

Arthur’s Funny Money by Lillian Hoban

children’s non-fiction

Money Matters for Kids by Larry Burkett with K. Christie Bowler

children’s fiction

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen Katie, batter up!

by Coco Simon

more ideas to check out

Alexis and the Perfect Recipe by Coco Simon Dog Days by David Lubar The Everything Kids’ Money Book: from saving to spending to investing by Diane Mayr

Winter 2014

in magazine | 7

in

style with Caitlin 8 tips for a fashionable winter

Caitlin Blowers is a

recent Bemidji State University graduate who has a passion for fashion, particularly during the fall and winter seasons.

1

As the impending winter cold sets upon Bemidji, you make a point to go to your basement and unload your winter gear. You know, the totes of hats, mittens, scarves, snow pants, jackets, you have them in multitudes like a true Northern woman. Actually, maybe you never packed them away in the first place, knowing temperatures below 30 degrees could happen even in the “warm” months.

You dread this activity, “Another winter of being a shapeless mound of wool.” Also, is there anything worse than taking off your boot and stepping sock-footed in a puddle of cold snow?

Fear not, my women of the Northwoods! You can look fashionable when the temperature drops. I consulted my Russian friend, Oksana, for a list of how-tos. Okay, I don’t actually have a Russian friend named Oksana but I have lived in Bemidji long enough to offer some ideas.

Unless you’re going back and forth to the garage, throw away the UGGs. They have no support and they are aptly named, they’re ugly. I’m sorry, but women everywhere need an ugg-tervention. Buy a quality pair of wool socks and a pair of boots; that is much more fashionable.

Outfit: brown shirt, infinity scarf and boots found at Yellow Umbrella downtown Bemidji

Red coat found at Urbanesque downtown Bemidji 8 | in magazine

Winter 2014

2

Tights! I cannot emphasize enough how much I love tights.

You can still keep your summer dresses and skirts out and pair them with tights and boots.

They even make ones of the wool variety. Endless options and they basically double as Spanx. Win-win.

Never wear pajama pants in public. EVER.

Sweater and scarf found at Tk’z Clozet downtown Bemidji

Fingerless gloves found at Urbanesque downtown Bemidji

3 4

Fleece-lined leggings. Yes, these exist and they’re wonderful.

Knits. Although chunky sounds like an ugly adjective, it’s not when it comes to sweater-wear. The chunkier the better, like baby-face cheeks. Warning: If you’re going chunky on top, make sure you pair it with leggings or skinny jeans, not baggy pajama pants. Which leads me to…

Grey shirt and infinity scarf found at Yellow Umbrella downtown Bemidji

Coat & scarf found at Tk’z Clozet downtown Bemidji

5

NEVER WEAR PAJAMA PANTS IN PUBLIC. EVER. I don’t care if you’re just going to the grocery store.

Because you know what’s going to happen? That’s going to be the time you see everyone you know. I know pajamas are wonderful. I wear grown-up footie pajamas regularly, but they are for home use only.

Tights found at Urbanesque downtown Bemidji

6

Now that we’ve settled that, let’s discuss beanies and knit hats. No, these are not reserved for that trendy barista you’ve come to love. You can rock a hat.

I always hear women saying, “Oh hats looks stupid on me.” Hats do not look stupid on anybody; they make you unique and hide static hair wonderfully.

Boots and boot cuffs found at Yellow Umbrella downtown Bemidji

7

Infinity scarves.

I have an entire drawer full at home.

I have a problem.

What can I say, they’re functional and fashionable, all good things.

You can rock a hat.

Sweater and scarf found at Urbanesque downtown Bemidji

8

Coats. This is an obvious one. Invest in a quality quilted coat. I also enjoy thrift shopping for unique ones and adding my own twist by replacing the buttons or belt. Also, if any of you have found a way to wear a white winter coat without looking like you’ve been dragged behind a four-wheeler all season, please let me know.

Winter 2014

in magazine | 9

by Jillian

Gandsey staff writer

Pictured on opposite page by Karen herself, the most formal tree in her home is in the dining room. At left, in a photograph taken by staff photographer Monte Draper, Karen is pictured alongside the two tree that greet visitors as they come into the home.

s

he gets it from her mother.

Karen Gaasvig’s love for Christmas roots back to when her mother would wait for her and others to exit the school bus outside of the General Store her parents owned in Wirt, Minn. Her mother would be waiting with a cigar box filled with nickels and dimes and each child every Christmas season was given 15 cents to choose a bottle of pop from inside.

Because of memories like this, Karen’s home is filled with a little more Christmas warmth than the average Bemidji home.

About seven Christmas trees’ worth of warmth actually.

Each of them decorated with meaning.

In 1988, there was just one tree. Slowly, that number edged upward until it grew into what it is today, in the home Karen shares with her husband, Craig, and their two sons, Jon and James.

Her trees — even the one in the laundry room — all have their own theme and feel.

When you enter the house, you are first greeted by joyous snowmen, about 50 of them hanging from two trees each decorated in colorful lights.

The tree with the most meaning is in the family room. It is the largest and most fully decorated.

A white snowflake garland wraps around it, embracing the tree with multi-colored lights, a select number of them flashing, but not so many that it is overwhelming.

The tree is topped with Karen’s grandmother’s star. It was featured on her tree for decades and then passed down through the generations.

“There’s probably a story behind every ornament on that tree,” Karen said recently, offering a tour of her house.

Years and years of memories hang on this tree’s branches. Some of the ornaments are 40 years old, including Karen’s favorite, a twinkling glass hexagon featuring an affectionate Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“It’s always in the same spot every year,” Karen said.

Karen received it in the mail from a friend of her mother’s when she was just 4 years old.

“So it’s just a few years old,” Karen quipped.

Most of the remaining ornaments on the tree are

all handmade, by either Karen herself, her sons, or her mother.

Her Coca-Cola themed laundry room hosts its own 4-foot tall-tree. Hanging on this tree’s branches are white lights, glittering Coca-Cola bulbs and bottle caps framing the face of Santa.

“I’ve got Coke cans from Spain and Turkey and Germany,” Karen said.

Another tree is planted at the landing of her staircase.

This slim tree accents poinsettias and old-fashioned Santas.

The master bedroom features a tree glimmering with tinsel, standing tall and reflective of the past. Decked out in oldtime Christmas candy ornaments and a cranberry-beaded garland, it presents an essence of antiquity.

Wrapped in red sheer ribbon and speckled with bows, the most formal tree stands in the dining room. Adorned in red and white sparkled ornaments, the tree also features pine cones hidden between its branches.

Karen’s love for Christmas spreads beyond her trees, as she also creates her own stationery to send to family and friends each season.

Through the traditions she maintains, passed down through the generations, Karen continues to celebrate family memories.

“So that’s where I get my love of Christmas,” she said of her mother, who passed away in 1992.

Winter 2014

·

in magazine | 11

A family S tradition

uzanne Thomas’ office overlooks Buena Vista Ski Area, offering panoramic views of the hills, whose colors change with the season, transitioning from lush green in the summertime to the orange and red palette of autumn to wintertime white.

But where most people see downhill runs, chairlifts and tow ropes, Suzanne sees the past.

“This is home,” she said.

by Bethany

Wesley staff writer

Photography by Kristen Purrington, Purrington Photography

12 | in Magazine

Winter 2014

Raised on horses and skis, Suzanne has for years been the director of operations for the ski area, whose foundations were laid in 1936 when her grandfather, Leonard Dickinson, cleared the first downhill run, what would become known as the Big Hill and then later as Beltrami Bowl.

Suzanne recalled stories from her relatives, sharing how neighbors were invited to herringbone — side-step — up the hill on old skis to simply zip straight down. “‘Don’t hit anything,’ they’d always have to say that,” she said, laughing. “But, from there, the skiing became more popular.”

“We always had skis,” recalled Richard “Dick” Dickinson, Suzanne’s uncle and one of Leonard’s two sons, interviewed about a month before his passing. “Skis and horses. We had plenty of horses running around.”

While Leonard — a successful businessman who ran the Dickinson Lumber Co. and would become a state representative and senator — was the one who initially carved out the initial run, it was really his sons who developed the ski area, officially opening to the public on Christmas Day 1949.

There was no snow-making then. They relied on natural snow and would take snow off the lake with a scraper, carry it up the hill and spread it out with a small Caterpillar. Dick, too, would walk up, down and across the runs on snowshoes, packing down the snow in anticipation of skiers.

“Usually, any kind of activity involved some kind of work,” Dick said. “My dad saw to that. We were going to have fun, but we were going to have to work.”

Together, Dick and Earle ran the business until the 1960s, when they decided to dissolve the partnership.

Dick, in 1954, had established Dickinson Realtors, which later would become Century 21 Dickinson Realtors, and he chose to focus on real estate, letting his brother take over the ski area.

“That was before we had snow-making equipment,” Dick said. “We ran it for years when we got very little snow. The ski area was not making any money. I talked with my brother and said, ‘We probably should close this place up.’”

But Earle stayed on, committed to running a successful business. It was under Earle that Buena Vista Ski Area saw its greatest expansions. Snow-making was added in 1970 and the first chairlift was installed in 1975. The current chalet was constructed and the hill was raised another 80 feet.

“The ’70s, that was really the popular time for every-

body,” Suzanne said. “It was big then. If you can believe it, I think the crowds were bigger back then.”

The electronic distractions today — smartphones, iPads and video games — they didn’t exist at the time, and while business is still steady at Buena Vista, Suzanne admitted there is more competition for kids’ attention today.

“There’s more to do in this day and age,” she said. “We, well, we grew up with it. We know it’s healthy to be on the hill. It’s exercise, it’s being with friends, it’s fresh air, it’s fun, it’s wholesome. It’s a family tradition.”

When Suzanne, one of Earle’s five children, married Don Thomas, who runs Thomas Sand & Gravel Co., the families began collaborating.

“Don had all this equipment,” she said. “He still has it and he and Dad, they would take on most any project. If Dad mentioned something, Don said, ‘Well, I’m sure we can get ‘er done.’ And they’d figure it out.”

When Earle began planning for Buena Vista Village, the family pitched in to get the church “We know it’s healthy built, to move in an to be on the hill. It’s old schoolhouse and exercise, it’s being with later, train cars as well. friends, it’s fresh air, it’s “Don had all this fun, it’s wholesome. equipment so it was It’s a family tradition.” kind of like they ~Suzanne Thomas were partners,” Suzanne said. “I’d look outside at one, two in the morning and they’d be out in the shop, talking about their next projects. I just took it all in stride. If there was a will, there was a way.”

Suzanne often finds herself reminiscing about the past.

Here, she points to a photo of her late father, Earle, photographed while driving his favorite team of horses.

Earle Dickinson died unexpectedly on Oct. 8, 2006.

In grief, the family mourned together.

“When he passed away, we thought it was only natural that we would take our (family) trail ride,” Suzanne said.

“We did a lot of that, riding.”

In fact, the day before Earle died, Suzanne had caught up with him at the Lumberjack Hall of Fame Museum, part of his Buena Vista Village, a tribute to the historic town. Family friends had been in town and Suzanne had Choko, her dad’s horse.

Winter 2014

in magazine | 13

“I asked him, ‘Do you have time to take a quick ride?’ and he had his Cat running, but he said, ‘Oh, just a short ride,’ and so he jumped on Choko and rode him around.

But then he had to get right back to work,” Suzanne recalled. “He was hauling dirt with his scraper, working on a new trail over in the meadow.

“There was never a lack of things to do because he always had a long list. We have his list that we’re continuing to work on, but we have our own list now, too.”

The family, they all continue to help and visit as their own schedules allow. Suzanne’s sister Diane lives in Barnesville, Minn., and was out this year for the fall color rides; brother James works on snowmaking and has also been working in North Dakota; brother John has a sawmill and is working in Bagley; and sister Liz went back to school to be a counselor but pitched in this year with special events.

The business also has been blessed with devoted employees, such as Carol Perish, the longtime ticket manager, and Bev Knutson, food service manager.

“Suzanne, she’s wonderful,” Bev said. “She may be the boss, but she’ll clean toilets, she’ll do it all. She was up at 2 a.m. the other day making a dessert.”

“It takes a special kind of person to do it, like Suzanne, someone who’s worked with it all her life,” agreed Wendell, Bev’s husband and a longtime Dickinson family friend. “I mean, she’d be up on the hill with Earle running the ‘dozer or the Cat herself, helping to build the hill

14 | in magazine

Winter 2014

up or repair it. I think Suzanne could do anything.”

It’s a lot of work, running the ski area. The equipment all needs to be maintained and inspected; employees need to be trained and available; the public needs to have the desire and passion to continue to want to be there.

“We’re trying not to live in the past, but remember the past while enjoying the present.” ~Suzanne Thomas, quoting her father, Earle Dickinson

“It’s hard,” Suzanne said, speculating on what the future holds beyond her generation. “We’re all kind of like Dad, because we grew up in that era.”

That drives what she does today, as she works to not only keep the ski area operational and successful, but to maintain the lifestyle her grandparents and parents cultivated.

“I do hope that they carry on trying to preserve what we’re trying to preserve,” she said, referencing the next generation. “We’re trying not to live in the past, but remember the past while enjoying the present.”

She smiled, openly admitting that was actually a favorite quote of her father’s.

Suzanne and Don have four daughters who all help with the business as they can. Laurie Shaper — who was married in 2012 at Buena Vista — and Lisa do group sales and Michelle is the ski school director. The youngest daughter is Sarah, still in school.

All were started on skis as soon as soon they could walk. Lisa said she was 6 months old when her mother strapped her into a back carrier and skied down the hill, something she, herself, would not recommend doing today. Lisa’s son, Riley, was 18 months old when he was first set into his own pair of skis. Now 7, the boy got a new snowboard for his birthday.

“Last year, it was the first run of the season and somebody made a jump out there on the bunny hill and on the first run — the very first run — he goes off the jump,” Lisa said, laughing.

He landed it.

“This is just what we did,” Lisa said, from her office atop the Chalet. “We skied every day in the wintertime and in the summer, we’d go horseback riding up on the hill.”

It begged to be asked then, whether the land and the life calls to the girls as it does their mother.

“We’ve talked about it,” Lisa said carefully, pondering the what-ifs of the future. “Honestly, I don’t know if my mom will ever stop working. I just don’t see her doing that.”

This time of year, it brings back memories.

“We had sleigh rides all the time,” Suzanne said. “Every Christmas Day evening at the ranch, Dad, he would kind of sneak outside and go get the team, hitch the team up.

The last time he did that, it was a cold, cold moonlit night and he pulled out right in front of the ranch out on the lawn. “‘Anybody want to go for a ride?’ he asked.

“It was like ‘White Christmas’ and that was our favorite movie. It was so very cold that night but Dad still went out, caught the horses, hitched them up. We had a cutter sleigh, a simply beautiful sleigh, and Grandma went and got some of her old wool coats, her long wool coats, and we bundled up together.

“I’ll never forget that.”

Michelle Thomas, 22, is one of Suzanne’s four daughters. All the girls have active roles in the operation of the ski hill.

·

Winter 2014

in magazine | 15

by Zach

Kayser staff writer • Photo by Monte Draper

G

arrison Keillor has repeatedly described ice fishing as “an alternative to divorce.”

But if you ask the people of Bemidji why they ice fish, they will tell you that rather than running from their spouses, it’s about running to a whole variety of things.

Ron Bostic owns Taber’s Bait near the western shore of Lake Bemidji. He sees hundreds of people out on the lake in the wintertime, hoping for a bite.

“On a typical, 28-degree day, clear skies, (when) there’s good ice, you could easily have 1,000 people out there,” he said.

Of them, though, only about 200 would be hard-core anglers, he estimated.

“The rest are just partying,” he said.

On weekdays, when the weekend partiers stay home, the fish aren’t as spooked, Bostic said. Then, the truly calming elements of ice fishing come into focus.

16 | in magazine

Winter 2014

“It’s peaceful,” Bostic said. “You can get out there, drop your lines, set up your rattle reels and sit back with a good book.”

Generally, ice fishing is “far more relaxing” than fishing in the summertime, he said. The wintertime angler does not have to worry about others spotting a successful catch and zooming over to get in on the action.

“You’re not having to watch for other boats,” Bostic said. “If you’ve got a bite going… you’re not trying to sneak him into the boat.”

Bemidji angler Vince Beyl also loves ice fishing for the peace and relaxation it offers.

Beyl, a Vietnam veteran, said it is difficult to pursue more active pastimes like trapping now that he has a titanium disk in his back and pins in his ankle.

Ice fishing is therapy, he said.

“For me, it’s highly therapeutic,” he said. “I look forward to it every year.”

The Hardwater Classic catch-and-release ice-fishing tournament is held annually on Lake Bemidji, raising funds for Bemidji State University Athletics. The event, set for Jan. 26 this year, draws hundreds of participants each year. Photo courtesy Bemidji State University Photo Services.

There are also ice anglers who take the sport seriously because the fish they catch supplement their families’ food supply and income.

“There (are) still families in “For me, it’s highly this community, like a lot of other therapeutic, communities, where I look forward to it they need that meat every year.” to stretch their money out,” -Vince Beyl Bostic said.

“That’s the way they make ends meet… simply by producing 10, 12 fish a week.”

Beyl agreed with Bostic in that there likely are about a thousand people on Lake Bemidji on a nice winter day.

He said ice fishing in general is attracting more people and gaining momentum as technologies — like portable ice houses — become more prevalent.

“I don’t see it going down one bit,” Beyl said.

But rather than railing against the gradual extinction of his old-school methods, Bostic is excited for what the rise of fancy gadgets in ice fishing means for the sport.

He said technology is making ice fishing more accessible to beginners as modern inventions, like fish-finders, increase the potential for actually getting a bite.

“Electronics has opened up fishing so much,” he said.

“That’s why a lot of people never ice fished … because it was too difficult.”

Henry Drewes, fisheries manager for the regional Department of Natural Resources office in Bemidji, said ice fishing is one of the fastest-growing elements within the Minnesota recreational fishing culture.

He agreed that new equipment, like portable ice houses, are contributing to its growth, as are better heaters that keep anglers more comfortable.

New gadgets, new interest Bostic has been ice fishing for decades, long before the days of fish-finders and line cameras. He still uses a method where the angler unrolls a tape measure until it hits the bottom of the lake. By listening to the vibrations that travel up the tape, the angler can tell what material the tape is scraping against — like sand or solid rocks — and figure out what kind of fish are likely to be hiding there.

Winter 2014

in magazine | 17

“It’s becoming a lot nicer to spend a day or evening on the lake,” Drewes said.

A popular spot Lake Bemidji itself is popular for ice fishing in large part because of its proximity to town and Bemidji State University, Drewes said.

People fish on the lake because it is close to BSU, and people attend the university in part because it is close to the lake, he said.

“I know one of the big draws for students to attend Bemidji State is the outdoor recreation around here,” Drewes said. “It’s not just because the lake’s there that they’re going to take advantage of it. These are young

Photo courtesy Bemidji State University Photo Services.

18 | in magazine

Winter 2014

people who like to hunt and fish.”

Will Hauge, a junior at BSU, said the appeal of ice fishing lies in the challenge of it. As opposed to switching spots during summer boat fishing, with ice fishing, you drill a hole and stay there.

“It’s fun to get out on the ice and chase “You just have to fish,” said Hauge, get out earlier and from Delano, Minn. hope nobody’s on “It can take weeks your spot” to figure out where the walleyes are -Will Hauge at on a new lake, so you kind of have to piece together different clues of where the fish are, what they’re eating, when they bite.”

Hauge has to jockey for a good spot since the lake is so popular.

“Especially on a lake like Lake Bemidji, you just have to get out earlier and hope nobody’s on your spot,” he said.

Although there is a lot of young blood being injected into the sport, Drewes said the coming decades may see significant impact from climate change on the seasonal window when ice fishing is possible.

“The reality is, our period of ice coverage is getting shorter,” he said. “Fifty years out, ice fishing may look way different than it does today.”

·

kids corner supplies

- canvas - buttons - printed scrapbooking paper

CRAFT IDEA

button wreath wall art

- acrylic paint - ribbon - 527 multi-purpose glue - foam brush

directions

Be sure to color coordinate materials when selecting buttons, paint, ribbon, and paper.

1. Using the foam brush, paint the canvas with an acrylic paint in the color of your choice.

2. Set aside and let dry.

3. Trim the paper by cutting it into a square to fit the size of the canvas.

4. Then, cut out a square from the paper to create a border.

5. Once the paint on the canvas is dry, glue the paper to it.

6. Begin gluing the buttons onto the canvas. If you need a guide to lay the buttons down, use a pencil to lightly sketch a circle.

7. Use ribbon to make a bow and glue it to the top part of the button wreath.

Project idea courtesy Ben Franklin in downtown Bemidji

Winter 2014

in magazine | 19

TECH

Toddler

Experts weigh in on kids and screen time

by Crystal

Dey staff writer

Kids’ Christmas lists used to include dolls, rocking horses, Supersoakers, things that didn’t cost a parent’s weekly wage.

Now tots, even those under the age of 5, are requesting iPads, Kindle Fires and Nooks.

Devices like LeapPads and Kurio Kids are marketed to children. Kids can play music, videos, games, surf the web, and use tablets for educational purposes.

“I would say the toy versions are fading fast as parents are going more with the tablets, iPad, Nexus, Nook, Kindle, etc.,” said Tara Gustafson, a mother of twin 4-yearold girls in Littlefork. “Kids are learning on these, why not give them a jump start?”

Getting schooled with e-tools

Students used to play Oregon Trail and Number Munchers on floppy disks during computer lab time in elementary school. Today, they are learning computer-aided design and drafting and Photoshop.

“Our students are introduced to technology at all levels,” said Tony Andrews, Bemidji Area Schools technology coordinator.

Andrews said students are learning basic computer skills and keyboarding from kindergarten through fifth grade. In higher grade levels, teachers bring students into computer labs to work on projects and conduct research.

“This is not to say that technology is integral, but that it is used to support what students are learning daily in all of our schools,” Andrews said.

Students are not required to bring their own devices,

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Winter 2014

but Andrews said many do and the district is looking at ways to leverage the availability of mobile technologies for all students in grades 6-12 to provide more opportunities to connect with the classroom outside of the regular school day.

“I still contend … and always will … that the best electronic device is still inferior to a good teacher,” Andrews said.

Vicki Wangberg with Early Childhood Family Education said computers are used in some preschools.

“It is a choice like the art center, dramatic play center, book corner or science table,” Wangberg said. “We don’t use it before the child is 4.”

In preschool, computer activities are generally games that reinforce concepts that have been introduced in the classroom. However, Wangberg emphasized that since screens are so prevalent in the home lives of children, the school strives to provide other ways to learn and promote the development of social and emotional skills.

“Children can learn and play by themselves on a computer, but need a group of children to learn how to function in a group,” Wangberg said.

Screen scene

The old adage “moderation is key” proves true with what is referred to as screen time.

“Whether it’s a handheld device, a computer or video games on the TV, we recommend they take frequent breaks,” said Dr. Sara Fredrickson with Sanford Bemidji Downtown Eye Center and Optical.

Fredrickson has two sons, ages 2 and 3 ½. Both her boys use iPads and LeapFrog devices.

“They don’t get to use it every day,” Fredrickson said.

“If I allow them to use it, it’s normally just on weekends.

I let them do puzzles and learning activities.”

Fredrickson recommends toddlers use electronics no more than 30 minutes a day, twice a week.

For adults, the recommendation is to look away from the screen for 20 seconds at something 20 feet away every 20 minutes.

But for kids, a break needs to be more than that. Fredrickson said they should get up and move around.

Elementary-aged kids need to look away from their game across the room or outside for at least two minutes

so their eyes can readjust.

Fredrickson said playing video games on a television screen is better for the eyes than using a handheld device because closer distances will affect the focusing system more than if it is further away.

“Not that I’m encouraging kids to do that, because I’d still have the same rules,” Fredrickson clarified.

When eyes become fixated on a device, the focusing system locks in and causes spasming. Once the eyes look away from an iPad, Fredrickson said, vision becomes blurred. Eyes take time to readjust to a different distance.

“When the eye gets locked in, the eye itself can change shape and size,” Fredrickson said. When the eye focuses on a nearer object it pulls on the muscles that are against the eyeball which can lengthen the eyeball, Fredrickson explained. Lengthening of the eyeball can cause nearsightedness, or myopia, which means it is difficult to see objects far away.

Fredrickson said people who didn’t have nearsightedness as children are coming into her office in their 30s after developing nearsightedness from computer work without taking breaks.

“What we probably will see is because these devices are being used in younger and younger children now, that we very well could see that there is that increase in nearsightedness,” Fredrickson said. “So we’re probably going to see a lot more kids who are becoming nearsighted and myopic because of these devices and not necessarily because of the genetic part of it.”

·

Winter 2014

in magazine | 21

Returning to their roots Celebrating a traditional Ojibwe feast

by Bethany Wesley staff writer Photos by Monte Draper A steady stream of passers-by poked their heads into the Leech Lake Tribal College kitchen as three women worked to prepare a five-dish meal.

“What are you making?” students asked, hopeful, their noses lifted to best catch the scents of bacon, deer meat, white fish, wild rice and squash.

The women were preparing a meal, inspired by traditional feasts that long have been enjoyed by the Ojibwe, before Europeans stepped foot on this soil.

Today, such feasts are held in honor of holidays — Christmas, for example — but even before such occasions were introduced to the Anishinaabe people, they often feasted together, perhaps in tandem with a funeral, to celebrate a birthday, or to mark a milestone, perhaps a young man’s first deer kill, demonstrative proof he now is able to help provide for his family.

“These types of things (feasts), they still occur in our families,” said Joanne Mulbah, SNAP education program manager with Minnesota Chippewa Tribes.

Much of the traditional Anishinaabe activity was dictated by food, but not strictly to the act of eating. It was harvesting and preparing wild rice; it was seeking and gathering leaves for swamp tea; it was hunting and sacrificing animals to feed the people.

“A feast is what you make it,” Mulbah said. “It is more about the offering, the gathering of people. That part of it can get lost nowadays.”

But tribes are looking to change that.

The meal Mulbah and two of her colleagues were preparing that day was planned to honor volunteers who helped produce a new video promoting the use of cultural and historical foods among tribal members. It is not only about eating more wild rice and deer meat, but about adopting the behaviors that go into collecting those foods, encouraging more physical activity and embracing healthful native foods.

“We’re trying to work at it from a cultural aspect,” Mulbah said. “This is food our 22 | in magazine

Winter 2014

people has eaten for centuries.”

Mulbah said the creation of reservations limited tribal members’ access to their cultural foods, which harmed the Ojibwe people and their health. Today, they have higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

SNAP, the supplemental nutrition assistance program, works with its clients to not only present more healthy food options, but to teach clients how to easily prepare those foods and save money in the meantime.

“Nationally, we’re finding that young families … they lack basic cooking skills.

They’ve lived in a microwave world,” Mulbah said. “That only makes everything more expensive. So we teach people to cook, to save themselves money, by reintroducing non-boxed foods to people. They’re used to pizza? We teach them to make their own pizza crusts, to make their own pizza sauce.”

That works in tandem with tribes’ efforts to honor their cultural roots.

The meal, being prepared in early November, was reflective of what would be on hand that time of year. For example, butternut squash was roasted and prepared alongside lemon-seasoned white fish, which, locally, was on the move at that time in the waterways. A recipe for beef bourguignon was modified to substitute deer meat, also in season at that time.

“When I was growing up, we were fishing and netting,” Mulbah said. “We went out collecting sap as a family unit and we tarped and jigged the rice.”

‘Would you like more?’

Mulbah spent four hours in the kitchen alongside two other women, Sadie Cooper, SNAP education program secretary, who was responsible for the bourguignon, and Lavender Hunt, who prepared the butternut squash and blueberry scones.

Both recalled being raised in the kitchen, watching their mothers perfect their continued on page 24

kids corner

COOKIES

gingerbread cookies Recipe courtesy Molly Miron 3/4 cup molasses 3/4 cup butter 3 2/3 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. ground ginger 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 1 egg

directions

Heat molasses in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Cool.

Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, add brown sugar, mix well and stir into molasses mixture. Add egg and mix well.

Chill 2 hours or until dough is stiff enough to roll out.

Divide dough in half and roll out 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick on floured board or countertop.

Keep remaining half of dough chilled.

Cut out cookies with a gingerbread man cutter.

Decorate with raisins for eyes (or, later after they’ve cooked, you could use icing) to indicate eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, belt, etc.

Place cookies on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or lightly greased.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.

share with us

Share your favorite holiday cookie recipes and photos with us. Send to inmagazine@bemidjipioneer.com

Winter 2014

in magazine | 23

continued from page 22 culinary skills.

Hunt is the nutrition education manager at the BugO-Nay-Ge-Shig School. There, she introduces students to healthful foods and encourages them to live active lifestyles.

She works to incorporate the Ojibwe culture into her lessons, perhaps demonstrating the act of gathering berries as she encourages her students to eat more strawberries, but not so many as to make waste.

“As Anishinaabe people, we believe we are connected to every living thing,” she said. “We honor their spirit.”

Hunt grew up in Cass Lake and went to culinary school at the Le Cordon Bleu in Minneapolis. She returned home and for seven years worked at the Northern Lights Casino through Leech Lake Gaming.

Last December, the position opened up at the Bug-ONay-Ge-Shig School.

“I’ve always felt I wanted to make a difference for my people, to offer my gifts, my skills, for the betterment of my people,” Hunt said.

Working with children will help improve the long-term health of the tribe, she said.

If she introduces to her students a jicama, the next time a fifth-grader is at the grocery store with his family, he might ask his mother to buy one. She may not be familiar with it so he teaches her what it is and she then passes it throughout her entire extended family.

“Fresh, healthy food, it nourishes your mind, your body, your spirit,” Hunt said.

·

Recipe for: Braised Venison Bourguinonne

From: Adapted by Sadie Cooper and Joanne Mulbah from Chef Jude of North House Folk School

Makes 8 Servings | Active Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 4 Hours

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. venison (roast or steaks) • 1 cup herbs de provence rub • 1 tbls olive oil • ½ lb. thick but bacon diced • 1 lb. carrots peeled and cut into chunk (can use baby carrots) • 2 lg. sweet onions (leeks can be used white part only) • 8 cloves minced garlic • 3 cups grape juice (burgundy wine) • 3 cups beef stock or broth • 1 tbls tomato paste • 2 sprigs fresh thyme (dried can be used) • 2 cups peeled pearl onions (frozen) • 2 cups quartered mushrooms (shitake, baby bella, wild are examples) • 2 tbls flour • Salt and pepper to taste Prep all vegetables prior to starting meal.

Herbs de Provence Rub: • 1 cup olive oil • 3 tbls minced garlic • 2 tbls herbs de provence

• Salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients by whisking

Preparation:

Rub venison that is cut 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick with Herbs de Provence Rub. Let rest while browning bacon.

Heat olive oil and add bacon and cook until crispy in dutch oven.

Remove bacon with slotted spoon.

Add beef in batches and sear to brown on both sides. Set aside with bacon. Add carrots, sweet onions (leeks), garlic, pearl onions and stir occasionally until onions and carrots caramelize. Add tomato paste and stir well for one minute. Sprinkle flour over all and stir to thicken.

Add in juice (wine) and beef stock (broth). Add mushrooms, thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil cover pot with lid and place in 350 degree oven for about 2 (up to 3) hours until meat is tender. Do not open until the 2 hours is done. Serve over the wild rice side dish can also use polenta, mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Recipe for: Wild Rice Side Dish From: Joanne Mulbah Makes 8 Servings (1/2 cup) | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients • • • • • • •

1 cup wild rice ½ cup finely chopped celery ¼ cup finely chopped onion ½ cup finely chopped carrot ¼ lb. bacon Salt and pepper to taste 3 cups water or broth

Prep – Go to the lake in fall and harvest rice, clean it, parch it until a kernel is shiny on inside when broken in half, winnow it, and it is ready. However if you don’t want to do that take already prepped wild rice and thoroughly rinse.

Cook time will be affected if using paddy rice as it will increase.

I prefer naturally lake grown wild rice for its subtler flavors. Rice from the Nett Lake area is larger and darker while rice from the

24 | in magazine

Winter 2014

more southern regions is lighter in color. Both have unique flavors.

In medium saucepan sauté bacon to crispy. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of grease place in carrots sauté for 3 minutes, place in celery sauté for 3 minutes place in onions. Cook all until onions are opaque (clear). Add rice and water or broth. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes till water is absorbed.

Rice should burst and be fluffy.

Stir and serve.

This rice can be made into a meal by adding meat of your choice. It can also be vegetarian by eliminating the bacon and using a vegetable broth or water. Vegetables can be increased and varied.

Asimple spread

entertaining with cheese

Here are two of my favorite, never-fail ways to entertain with cheese. Both recipes take just minutes to prepare and are sure to be well-received by your guests.

You should give cheese an hour or so at room temperature before serving. This brings out the flavor, and the cheese softens a bit so it is easier to serve.

For both these recipes, I like to offer a water cracker. They are crispy, but not flavored so they do not detract from the flavor of the cheese and what they are paired with.

I also have suggested white wines as pairings. Red wine tends to intensify the taste of whatever it is paired with, so when it is paired with a strong cheese, it will make those flavors even stronger. White wine will balance out the flavors of the cheese, but if you want them to really stand out, red wine is a great option.

Further, I encourage you to experiment on your own. Try different cheeses and accompaniments for pairings. Becoming a cheese aficionado is fun and a great way to offer something new at your next gathering.

Castello Noble Blue cheese wedge with fresh pears, apples and grapes Ingredients

• blue cheese or aged cheddar • pears • apples • water crackers

Instructions

Take a wedge of blue cheese out of it’s package and place

on a tray. Slice pears and apples for a colorful presentation. Serve with water crackers.

For those who are not fans of blue cheese, a nice aged cheddar works just as well. I sometimes serve both blue and cheddar together with fresh fruit.

President brie topped with Rotchschild’s hot pepper raspberry and hot pepper peach spreads Ingredients

• brie • Rothschild’s hot pepper raspberry • Rothschild’s hot pepper peach slices • water crackers

Instructions

Take a wedge of brie and cut down the center. Lay both pieces with the rind on the bottom. The rind is edible.

Top with Rothschild’s spreads, garnish with raspberries and peach slices, and serve with water crackers.

Mike McNiel is the store director of Marketplace Foods, where all these ingredients can be found.

Mike can be reached at mike.mcniel@mpfoods.net.

Winter 2014

in magazine | 25

When work

and family

COLLIDE

Work, whether in or out of the house, can become not only an occupation but also a preoccupation. When this happens in a family, the preoccupation can steal a piece of us that belongs somewhere else.

So this becomes the challenge: when work and family collide.

We have a critical need to find balance in our lives.

How do we achieve our goals outside the home when faced with the critical task of partnering and parenting at home?

The list of responsibilities is endless. Each competes for our attention. So we compromise. We allocate our time the best we can but somebody’s going to feel cheated. Unfortunately, that “somebody” is usually a person we care a great deal about. Often times, our families are cheated of our time for the sake of our career goals.

To reduce the collisions between work and family we need to discover the things that contribute to the collisions and then We have figure out ways to reduce those a critical collisions. need to find Listed are factors that contribute balance in to work and family collisions: fear our lives. of losing your job, unhealthy competition, conflicting values between husband and wife, growing expectations at work and home, poor time management, unresolved conflicts at home, and lack of communication skills.

These are some questions to ask when attempting to reduce collisions: What are my priorities?

Am I in agreement with my spouse on these priorities?

What can be negotiated at work and what is out of my control?

Am I making the best use of my time at work?

Am I allowing unresolved conflicts at home to affect my efficiency at work?

Am I 100 percent engaged with my family when I am at home?

Am I aware of the ongoing needs of my family?

Your choices at work should reflect your values in life. Success at home contributes to success in the work place. Achieving balance in this is worth all the hard work it requires. I encourage you to sit down with your spouse and think of ways you can reduce collisions and gain better work/life balance.

Doug Giese is the pastor of family life at Evangelical Covenant Church of Bemidji.

He can be reached via email at doug@bemidjicovenant.com MEDSAVE FAMILY PHARMACY 3x2.290 000995042r1.EPS3328753

26 | in magazine

Winter 2014

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Winter 2014

in magazine | 27

shape

your needs.

That leads me to your second step: Take responsibility.

Only you can honestly find what works for you and what doesn’t. You need to experiment. I am not saying a professional such as myself is worthless, because we certainly are not. Professionals are a great source of information, we understand how the human body works, and we understand all the fine intricacies of your body.

But while we can guide you, that is all we really can do.

It is up to you to actually put what we say into action and report back to us on how it worked.

Step three: Do the work. Test yourself. Pay attention to the things you do and assess how they make you feel.

“Before my first baby, I didn’t have to try to stay skinny.

Did going low-carb make you actually lose weight? For But after I had kids, I can’t seem to lose the weight.” some people, it doesn’t. Did adding an extra run in the “I used to be able to lose weight by jogging for a couple mornings make your joints hurt? Is the pain worth the of miles but it doesn’t seem to work anymore.” results? These are questions you must answer yourself.

“Low-carb/Atkins/South Beach/Weight Watchers used to Right now, you have a couple of options as you prepare work for me but it just stopped and I can’t figure out why. to move forward: Am I not doing it right?”

One, start researching on your own, on the Internet, These are complaints I hear every week as a personal ask your friends and family for advice. You could even trainer. take an online course on nutrition/exercise/lifestyle /body Marcia is a great example. After working on her own transformation. Then, come up with a plan and begin and getting some success, but not enough, she knew that working on your body, one step at a time. in order to continue to see real results Or, two, ask a professional. While the and reach her goals, she was going to Justin shares 5 tips for first option certainly is very viable, you need to make some changes. The same improving your fitness in can drastically cut the learning curve by ol’ just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. the New Year. Find them getting advice from a professional. Seek The reality is, you are not the same on our blog at inmagazine. help and input from someone who has the person you used to be. areavoices.com. education and experience to help you with The things that worked for you back your goals. then may not work for you now. You are Marcia sought me out as a professional and within a not the same person you were a couple of months ago. At few months has made changes that will last her a lifethat moment you had a hormonal, age, stress and physitime. Yes she has lost a significant amount of weight, but cal profile that worked with whatever you did. It gave you more importantly, she has developed new eating and exgreat results. But those stars are not lined up anymore. ercising habits that will be with her for the rest of her life, Your body is not the same. regardless of where she is at or who she is working with.

So what are you to do?

First, you accept it. Accept you may not be able to do Justin Cox, a certified strength and the same things you used to do, no matter how hard you conditioning specialist, is the owner and try. founder of Elite Performance & Fitness in You must accept that as you age, as you transform, as Bemidji. He can be reached via email at your life circumstances change, so does the hormonal justin@elitefitnessbemidji.com. soup that is your body. As your conditions change, so do

in

A new plan

new you for a

28 | in magazine

Winter 2014

Chattin’ with Dennis “... And the BEAVERS go on the POWER PLAY!” Tom Kaplan is the voice of Bemidji State University men’s hockey. He’s been the PA announcer for home games since he was a freshman at the school.

“I’ve always felt it was an honor and a privilege to get to do what I do and to stay involved with the best college hockey program in America,” Kaplan says. “I love my wife, my family and Beaver hockey. Not always in that order.”

We visited with Kaplan about his years behind the microphone.

Bemidji Pioneer Publisher Dennis Doeden, a news reporter at heart, interviewed Tom Kaplan, right, the PA announcer for Bemidji State in: How did you get this PA announcing gig?

University hockey. Photo by Monte Draper.

TK: The primary announcer when I was a freshman at Bemidji State in 1973 was hospitalized for a in: Who are your favorite all-time Beaver players? couple weeks and I was asked to fill in. It was like one of TK: So many great ones on the ice and even more those lineups where they ask for volunteers and everyone great ones off the ice. From my era, Bryan Grand, Jim took a step back, making it look like I stepped forward. I McElmury, Mark Eagles and Gary Ross. The 80s: Joel was assured that the sound system was so terrible that Otto, Mike Alexander, Drey Bradley and the great Galen no one would be able to understand what I was saying.

Nagle. From the 90s: Scott Johnson, Brent Tookenay and That was about 90 percent true. everyone from Nipigon, Ontario. And in the D-1 era, Mar-

in: What has been your most exciting moment during a Beaver game?

TK: The national tournament in 1986 when Bucky Lescarbeau scored in the final seconds in the semifinal and the Beavers beat Rochester Institute of Technology in overtime. I remember the RIT players all showed up for the championship game, sat with our cheerleaders and cheered for the Beavers to win. Not sure if their motives were 100 percent sportsmanship related. The Beavers defeated Plattsburgh State for the title.

30 | in magazine

Winter 2014

ty Goulet, Jarod Hanowski, the Methven brothers, Matt Read, Brad Hunt and Frank Udovich. I could fill this page with names, there are so many more deserving mention. in: Any embarrassing calls that you’ve made?

TK: Not so much embarrassing as fun. I like to time the end of a Beaver penalty by starting the call with a long timed out “Beaversssssss” followed by “full strength”.

One night I started too early and the whistle blew with one second remaining. Without missing a beat I added “still one man short.” The crowd loved it.