A Refuge From the Storm: New Leaf Center | January 2022

PLAIN VALUES

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Our Story WHO WE ARE...

From 2007 to 2012 we, the Millers, adopted our first three children, a preschooler on the autism spectrum and two babies with Down syndrome. We published our first issue of Plain Values in 2012 to highlight Biblical ministries, share the beauty of adoption, and to cultivate anchored community. In 2018 we welcomed our fourth child in a surprise adoption, this time a baby with Mosaic Down syndrome.

WHAT WE BELIEVE...

Our values are plain values, steeped in the rich traditions of yesterday. We enjoy the simple things in life. Gathering eggs from the coop, getting our hands in the dirt to grow food, and cooking meals from scratch. Sometimes we sit around a fire and share life. We strive to walk humbly to strengthen authentic relationships with our families and neighbors. And, yes, we have taken a fresh pie to a front porch and surprised a friend… we didn’t even text them before! We just stopped by, walked up the steps, and knocked on the door! Just the way our grandparents used to do on a Sunday evening. They called it living in community.

We seek to serve our neighbors. Plain Values began with a prayer, hoping to play a small role in connecting a child with Down syndrome to his or her forever family. We have checked that box nearly a dozen times in the last ten years, and we will not stop until the orphanages are empty! We will rest in Heaven!

HOW YOU CAN HELP...

Subscribe today. Join us as we pursue a more authentic life. By subscribing to Plain Values, a portion of each subscription goes directly to Room to Bloom, our non-profit that supports children with special needs.

Our Team PUBLISHER Marlin Miller

ADVERTISING Matt Yoder, Ohio sales advisor Aaron Stutzman, Indiana + Michigan sales advisor

OFFICE + PRODUCTION

EDITORIAL

Bethany Troyer, bookkeeping

Nic Stoltzfus, editorial manager

Jan Schlabach, customer service

Sabrina Schlabach, quality assurance

Isaac Hershberger, production manager

Reuben Shetler, contributing writer

Seth Yoder, graphic artist

Rory Feek, Roots + Wings

Landon Troyer, photographer

Merissa A. Alink, Homestead + Roots Joel Salatin, Confessions of a Steward Ferree Hardy, The Widow's Path Elam Stoltzfus, Our Heritage Jim Zumbo, All Things Outdoors

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January 6, 2022

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contents

January 2022 // Issue 103

feature 13

A REFUGE FROM THE STORM New Leaf Center words by: Reuben Shetler "New Leaf Center is a clinic for children with special needs formed by Dr. Olivia Wenger and others in January 2013 with a mission of striving to “improve the quality of life for people with special needs caused by inherited disorders through cost-effective medical care, education, research, and advocacy."

simple living 37

HOMESTEAD + ROOTS Homemade Saltine Crackers column by: Merissa A. Alink "Making crackers from scratch is so much fun and the homemade versions taste SO much better and fresher than the boxed ones at the store."

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CONFESSIONS OF A STEWARD Animals Move column by: Joel Salatin "Some of the worst animal situations I’ve seen around the world are not in industrial confinement facilities, although those are the most notorious and receive the highest negative publicity.

No, some of the worst I’ve seen have been the backyards of homesteaders who have their animals confined in filthy conditions and debilitated forage. If this sounds like a sermon, it is."

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ONE MINUTE WITH MARLIN

ON THE COVER

FUNDS AND BENEFITS

Thoughts and ramblings from Marlin Miller, publisher of Plain Values.

Rory Feek with his daughter, Indiana, on their home farm in Tennessee.

Every month we provide a listing of opportunities to help out those in need.

photo by Michael Hayes

community 27

ROOTS + WINGS Planting Roots column by: Rory Feek "The first few stories I’ll be sharing monthly in this column are about some of the profound changes for the better that have occurred in my life that brought me here to this moment."

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THE WIDOW'S PATH Changing the Calendar column by: Ferree Hardy "I don’t know everything you’ve gone through, but I do know that the past year was difficult. I’m glad, though, that we get to change the calendar."

history 55

OUR HERITAGE Printing the Ausbund

(part one)

column by: Elam Stoltzfus “The 1583 printing contains 130 songs; today’s American printings of the Ausbund have 140 songs."

outdoors 61

ALL THINGS OUTDOORS Ice Fishing column by: Jim Zumbo "Ice fishing is enjoyed by millions of anglers across America. Give it a try if you haven’t already, be safe, and don’t be surprised if you catch more fish than you ever have before in open water."

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one minute with Marlin

I DOUBT MANY WOULD ARGUE that 2020 and 2021 lean in the direction of tougher seasons on the see-saw of good and bad years. We can most likely all think of friends, family, or both walking through dark valleys these days. I have talked and prayed with friends in the middle of strained family relationships, a few watching family members slide down seemingly endless wormholes. I have a friend whose wife is fighting cancer, one taking care of her husband of decades with Alzheimer’s, another who buried his father.

Tucked away in the second chapter of Exodus, beginning with verse 23, are these words: "During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.

Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel — and God knew."

God hears, remembers, sees, and knows. Voddie Baucham’s recent comments on this passage are too powerful not to quote, “When that cancer diagnosis came, God was watching. When that child went astray, God was watching. When you were maligned and mistreated, God saw and when that loved one died, God saw that too. When your family was shattered into a million pieces, God saw that too.”

He goes on to say that this doesn’t sound too hopeful… until you consider the alternative. What if we served a God who missed things? Who cast his eyes away from us, seeing us as unimportant and insignificant? Mercifully, we serve

MARLIN MILLER

publisher, always looking for more friends

a God who works all things to our good and for His Glory.

We all have days where we wonder or ask the question, “where was God?” In the midst of cancer, Alzheimer’s, death, and pain — God is present, watching over us with love and care. May we never loosen our grip on the truth…

God hears, He remembers, He sees, and He knows that our Deliverer — His son Jesus — is coming.

As always, may you find joy in the simple joys of life. //

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Wishing two very special little ladies (both having GM3 Synthase deficiency) a very Happy Birthday!

On the 4th of November Anita turned 9 and Lena will be celebrating her 6th birthday on January 27.

Thank you Jacob and Norma (dad and mom) for taking such wonderful care of them!

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feature NEW LEAF CENTER

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A Refuge Storm from the

—

NEW LEAF CENTER

—

words by:

REUBEN SHETLER

THE WAVES ROCKED the boat. Water sprayed into the air. The wind was whistling, shrieking, roaring around them.

The men hunkered down on the deck, shielding their faces from the foamy spray.

“Help! Mercy!” They desperately steered the boat through the waves.

Then one of them thought of the man in the rear. He scrambled over the jumbled fishing nets and grabbed the sleeping man by the shoulder.

The anxious man cried, “Master, we perish!”

Jesus stood up. He looked out over the seething waters and turbulent sky and held out his hand. “Peace! Be still,” Jesus said.

Immediately the waters were calm. The sky was silent, and the boat was on the other side. The storm was over—there was no more reason to fear.

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The scenic farmland of Mt. Eaton, Ohio

Amish Country Holmes County is one of the most beautiful places

they doing here? What is “New Leaf Center?”

in the world. Farms dot the rolling hills, cows and

New Leaf Center is a clinic for children with

horses graze in the fields and pastures, woodlands

special needs formed by Dr. Olivia Wenger and others

stretch across the peaceful horizon, and buggies and

in January 2013 with a mission of striving to “improve

bicycles move leisurely along winding roads.

the quality of life for people with special needs

This is Amish Country. Holmes County is home

caused by inherited disorders through cost-effective

to one of the largest Amish communities in the

medical care, education, research, and advocacy.”

world. More than 37,000 Amish people live here,

So why the name “New Leaf?” The moniker was

from old men with bald heads and white beards to

given to the clinic by a mother of a child with special

barefoot children splashing in the creeks.

needs. A new leaf represents hope. It represents

Mt. Eaton is in the heart of it all. With several

a fresh start. It even hints at cost savings. It just

stores, a gas station, a school, and offering pretty

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sounds so right.

much any commodity that makes living in a small

The month following the clinic’s founding, Dr.

village pleasurable, Mt. Eaton is the epitome of an

Wenger’s fourth child was born, but being a new

Amish town.

mom didn’t stop her from serving as the clinic’s

If you visit Mt. Eaton, you may come across a

pediatrician. Though operating with minimal time

stately new building on one of the back streets. A

and space, the Center was a success from the start.

sign out front proclaims, “New Leaf Center.” The

But as more and more Amish families became

door to the entrance may swing open, revealing

aware of what it had to offer, New Leaf developed

a young Amish family stepping outside. What are

a problem. It needed more help. The Center was in

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"they strive to improve the quality of life for people with special needs caused by inherited disorders through cost-effective medical care, education, research, and advocacy.

need of another doctor. So, in 2019, New Leaf Clinic hired Dr. Ethan Scott as the second full-time doctor at the clinic.

Since the clinic opened, 1,200 people have been served by New Leaf. Currently, about 750 people with special needs are active patients.

After an initial visit, patients return for illness, developmental checkups, medications, or other needs related to their disorder. The only care New Leaf doesn’t provide is well-childcare, meaning they don’t do your typical doctor visits for otherwise healthy children.

Facing the Storms Imagine you are a young Amish mother. You have a newborn baby, and that baby is sick. You take the baby to numerous doctors, but no one has any answers. “Test for this,” they say. “Check for that,” they recommend. You are tired, overwhelmed, frustrated. You are heartbroken from seeing your baby suffer. The storms of life are threatening to capsize your boat. You long to hear the words, “Peace! Be still.”

Willis and Amanda Weaver were such a couple.

In February of 2021, their daughter Deborah was born. Deborah had poor muscle tone, no gag reflex, and couldn’t suckle. At birth, she was transferred to Akron Children’s Hospital. The storm had begun for the Weavers.

At one-month-old, Deborah was diagnosed with Prader-Willi. This is a very rare genetic condition.

Prader-Willi is an eating disorder that affects a child’s ability to develop normally. As a result, Deborah, the Dr. Olivia Wenger 15

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youngest of the family’s seven children, needed a feeding tube and a ton of time and attention.

The Weavers were discouraged. The toll of the stress and expenses was wearing down on them.

Then one day, someone made a suggestion to Amanda.

“You should try New Leaf Center.” This was news to them. A center for children with special needs in Mt. Eaton? It sounded too good to be true.

But Amanda gave the Center a call and scheduled the first appointment.

“We went in there and met with Dr. Ethan Scott,” Amanda says. “And we were so very well pleased with him. Dr. Scott took the time to listen to us. He was not in a hurry. He gave information about Prader-Willi and offered to help obtain medications and hormones Deborah needs for her brain development. I think we were in there for 2 1/2 hours! Not once did Dr. Scott push us along. He was so down to earth. And the best part was, he had a connection directly with Akron Children’s! We didn’t have to spend a lot of time on paperwork and medical records. Because New Leaf is affiliated with Akron Children’s, Dr. Scott had all our information with several clicks on his computer.”

The Weavers walked away from that first appointment feeling like the waves were calming down. The peace of Jesus could be felt at the New Leaf Center. And although being there had been helpful, the benefits didn’t stop there.

Over the next several weeks, Deborah was sick from time to time. Amanda would call New Leaf, and almost always, either Dr. Scott or Dr. Olivia Wenger were available. Instead of having to go to the ER, Amanda could figure out what to do by talking to the doctors on the phone. New Leaf would even offer to come out to their home, if necessary.

“To me, having that assurance means all the world,” Amanda says. “I know I can call, and even if it is after hours, someone will be there. If I do need to go there, it’s local, and I don’t have far to go.

And if needed, they will come to us. New Leaf has offered to help us monitor Deborah as she grows up and assist with her development however they can.

“I would advise anyone with a genetic disorder to definitely go to New Leaf.”

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Dr. Ethan Scott

Meet Ethan On a quiet summer day in Holmes County, a car creeps slowly down a dirt road. It crests a wooded hill and descends into a valley dominated by the huge red barn of an Amish farm. Behind the barn, a black horse munches grass. “Look, Daddy! Another one!” The little girl in the backseat points out the window. The lady in the passenger seat smiles at her husband, driving. “How many is that, honey?

Are you still keeping track?”

Dr. Ethan Scott chuckles. “If I counted right, that’s the twenty-sixth horse we’ve seen. And we’ve only been driving for half an hour!”

Ethan’s family loves to travel Amish Country. In fact, Ethan loves EVERYTHING about Amish Country.

The newest doctor at New Leaf Center, Ethan has fallen head over heels for the community. Was his decision to work for New Leaf the right one? Ethan has no doubt.

A graduate of Kent State University, Ethan received his medical doctorate from Northeast Ohio Medical University. Like founder Olivia Wenger, he completed his pediatric residency at Akron Children’s Hospital. Ethan was working at the hospital and occasionally seeing patients who went to New Leaf Center.

Ethan’s curiosity was piqued. What is New Leaf?

So he did the best thing he knew to do. He hopped in the car and drove to Mt. Eaton.

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The friendly New Leaf staff enjoying some cute assistance behind the front desk

“Ethan was an answer to prayer,” executive director Barb Reinford says. “We were busy at the Center, seeing people and taking care of all the follow-up. All of a sudden, this doctor from Akron pops in. He has questions for Olivia and me. At first, we weren’t sure what to think. But as Ethan came around more and more, we realized what an amazing opportunity God was giving us.”

Indeed, God had provided another method to help quiet the storms. Ethan Scott offered new expertise for New Leaf Center. He spent three months going in and out the door, then was hired in July 2019.

“Working at New Leaf is a unique intersection of culture and science,” Ethan says. “This opportunity has given me the ability to practice a more old-fashioned version of medicine. I can be more creative than at an academic hospital. There’s no script of what you have to do. You can take time to get to know people and truly understand their conditions. The Amish people are so friendly and refreshing. If they do not agree with what I recommend, they still are respectful and courteous. I’ve had so many meaningful conversations, with both my patients, and the staff at the Center. Barb, Olivia, and the rest of the employees are all awesome. Truly, God has led me here, and I don’t wish to be anywhere else.”

That’s the reason that, even when he’s not working, you just might find Ethan Scott traveling the Holmes County countryside. “I love it all. I spend all the time in the area that I can: meeting people, counting horses, getting chased by dogs; it’s all a part of serving the Plain community.”

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The Woman Who Shook the World

far enough away for the Amish in Holmes County

There are many people in this world who just

that it was inconvenient for the Amish to get to

take life as it comes to them. Then there are people

the hospital. Instead of traveling over an hour for

who look life in the eye, determined to make a

medical care, why couldn’t there be a clinic located

difference. These people are the kind who leave a

right in the heart of Ohio Amish Country? Olivia

lasting legacy.

decided to make that clinic happen.

Olivia Wenger is one of these people. Quiet and

There’s an Amish man who lives in Berlin,

unassuming, gentle and kind, Olivia is hardly the

Ohio, who also is the type to leave a legacy. This

type of person you would think would shake the

man, Atlee Raber, was moved by the hand of God

world. But shake the world she has — especially the

to connect with Olivia Wenger. Atlee had heard

world of Holmes County.

through some local connections about the clinic that Olivia was proposing.

Olivia Wenger is the sole reason New Leaf Center exists. And she is one of the reasons it

“There are families with children needing special

continues to be successful. She has yet to have a

care all their life. It is our responsibility to do what

patient who has not fallen in love with her caring,

we can to support them,” Atlee says. So Atlee called

thoughtful manner.

Olivia, and that phone call forever changed the future of local Amish children with special needs.

A Team Effort When Atlee Raber connected with Olivia

"Working with genetic disorders among the Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonites ignited a fire in Olivia’s heart."

Wenger about establishing the Center, he knew one thing was certain: getting the clinic off the ground would have to be a joint effort. Olivia could be the doctor, but somebody was going to have to be the hands and voice of the Amish community.

Thus, several boards were formed. Atlee helped establish an Amish bishop advisory committee to provide a voice for the Amish as the Center moved forward. He also helped put a governance board into

Olivia grew up in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. She

place. This governance board takes care of assisting

was familiar with the Plain community as a child.

New Leaf in making decisions and raising funds for

After completing school at Elizabethtown College,

the Center.

getting her medical doctorate from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completing a pediatric residency at Akron Children’s Hospital, Olivia began her journey as a doctor by observing at a clinic for children with special needs in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

Working

with

genetic

disorders

among the Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonites ignited a fire in Olivia’s heart. She grew to love her job and her people.

After two years in PA, Olivia returned to Akron Children’s to serve as a general pediatrician.

But she couldn’t forget her work at the clinic in Pennsylvania. Olivia was aware that Akron was just

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James Troyer of Baltic, Ohio, is on the governance board. “The board is the link between the Center and the community,” James says. The catalyst of James’s involvement was his son Micah, who was born with a translocated chromosome.

Because of the translocation between his chromosomes 9 and 15, Micah is physically and mentally disabled. He’s a one-year-old in a seventeenyear-old body. Micah is in a wheelchair and cannot talk. His lower body is very weak, but his upper body is stronger, and he can wheel himself around.

“Micah was born in Orrville and immediately transferred to Akron Children’s Hospital,” James relates. “You can imagine how scary this was for a young couple like us.”

The Troyers were pleased with Akron Children’s, but when they met Olivia Wenger, the next step was a no-brainer. “We went to New Leaf as soon as the Center was started,” the Troyers say. “The Center is very homey and low-key. Olivia goes the extra mile to spend time with you. It’s also cost-efficient. A test that would cost $1,000 at a hospital might cost only

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"Yes, there are sacrifices, but the blessings are bigger than the challenges." $100 at the clinic. Also, New Leaf will not require

sacrifices,” James confesses. “But the blessings are

you to take more tests than necessary. They are very

bigger than the challenges. Our other children have

understanding of your financial needs. They will ask

learned things from Micah they never would’ve

before they do a test.”

learned otherwise.”

“All-in-all, Micah is easy to care for,” the Troyers

“Micah can be so much fun,” Mandy adds. “He

say. “He has an easy-going personality. He eats by

loves to shower. He has a hand-held shower he uses,

himself but does also use a tube. New Leaf arranged

and he’d spend all evening in there if we’d let him.”

the surgery to put the tube in. The biggest issue for

“Having a child with special needs can be hard

Micah is he doesn’t like crowds. If we’re in public, he

to accept,” the Troyers admit. “But still, we wouldn’t

becomes agitated and wants to go home. He loves to

trade it for anything. With God’s help, we don’t have

travel but just isn’t comfortable when we get there.”

to see it as a burden. Micah is a blessing.”

How does a family cope with the challenges of

Just as James labors to help New Leaf, so the

caring for someone so dependent? “Yes, there are

Center labors for him and his family. Dr. Scott helps

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with Micah’s care and provides medications for him.

The Amish community needs to know New Leaf

“Micah’s condition is not treatable,” James says.

is where to start. New Leaf knows what conditions

“But New Leaf will do everything they can to make

to look for. There are some conditions within the

his life more comfortable. Not only that, but they

community that will not be picked up on a newborn

ease the burden for my wife as well.”

screening. New Leaf could even potentially offer

Mandy agrees. “I used to spend hours on the

testing for young couples if that is what the

phone making arrangements with all the various

community wants. New Leaf wants to get involved.

specialists at the hospital. Now New Leaf makes

They want to help. They want to be there.

those arrangements for me. The care and savings

There Is Hope

are a huge relief to a Mom with specific needs, and that is priceless.”

There is so much unnecessary worry that can be eliminated by going to the right source. When

The Sum of the Matter

the wind and the waters were unruly, the disciples

New Leaf Center currently has nine staff

had only to turn to Jesus. He was the one who stilled

members; two pediatricians, Olivia Wenger and

the storm.

Ethan Scott; and they have a brand new facility. New

Jesus can also bring peace to those who

Leaf also hosts specialty clinics, where specialists

struggle with special needs. New Leaf Center is the

from Akron Children’s and Cleveland Clinic come

avenue God established to serve those in Wayne and

to the Center to meet with families to offer expert

Holmes County and the surrounding vicinity. When

advice, treatment, and research. The clinics are for

the storm is at its strongest, when the winds are

cardiology, pulmonology (cystic fibrosis), neurology,

wild and unrelenting, when you are certain there

gastroenterology

is no escape, remember there is hope; there are

(glycogen

storage

disease),

people who will care. //

and vision. This is a wonderful opportunity for Amish families with limited transportation to get information from an expert.

Patients fund only about 15% of New Leaf’s cost

For more information about the New Leaf Clinic or to send a donation their way so they can keep up the good work they are doing, here is their contact info:

of operation. The community provides the other 85% through church and business donations, the annual benefit dinner, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of those who care. In this way, the burden truly is shared among the people.

New Leaf Center 16014 E. Chestnut St. / P.O. Box 336 Mt Eaton, OH 44659 / 330-359-9888 www.newleafclinic.org E-mail: info@newleafclinic.org

Reuben Shetler lives in Walnut Creek, Ohio, and is a member of the Old Order Amish Church. He has been blessed with a wife and three children.

Reuben strives to preserve the culture and customs of the Amish church in every way he can. Reuben has numerous hobbies, with writing at the top of the list. You might also find him birdwatching in the spring, gardening and beekeeping in the summer, hunting in the fall, and making firewood in the winter. Reuben loves books, home cooking, books, anything outdoors, family time, and books. Reuben sees life as a continuous succession of 24-hour adventures. (Getting some sleep is exciting too, right?) He seeks to glorify God in all that he does, and bring honor to His name.

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community ROOTS + WINGS

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column by:

rory feek

JANUARY always feels like not only the beginning of a new year,

planting roots

but a new opportunity. To do things better, to be better. To do the thing you’ve always wanted to do. A chance for real and lasting change. The first few stories I’ll be sharing monthly in this column are about some of the profound changes for the better that have occurred in my life that brought me here to this moment. First, to share a little about who I am and the story God has given us.

january 2022

In 1995, my two daughters­– Heidi and Hopie – and I climbed into our ’56 Chevy, put Dallas in our rearview mirror, and finally headed east on I-40. Our destination was Nashville. I had been on

"FIRST, TO SHARE A LITTLE ABOUT WHO I AM AND THE STORY GOD HAS GIVEN US."

my way there for almost twenty years, but it took this long to finally make the decision, pack the car, leave everything I knew behind, and drive towards a future I was uncertain of.

I was thirty years old, and in the past, I was leaving not only Texas, but a lifetime of moving from town to town and state to state. First with my mother and four siblings, always trying to survive after my parents’ divorce when I was still too young to remember. And then two stints in the Marine Corps, traveling from duty station to duty station.

The middle child of five, I had grown up highly influenced by my railroad-working father’s unfulfilled dream of moving to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. And when he had passed away a few years before, I drove away from his funeral committed to seeing his dream, and mine, through.

Rory Feek is a world-class storyteller, songwriter, filmmaker, and New York Times best-selling author. As a musical artist, Rory is one-half of the Grammy-award-winning duo, Joey+Rory. He and his wife, Joey, toured the world and sold nearly a million records, before her untimely passing in March 2016.

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When my girls and I arrived in Music City, we

radio. With that success, I was told that somewhat

stayed with a friend and his family for a couple of

of a financial windfall was headed my way. Through

weeks and then settled into a one-bedroom/den

the wise counsel of others who’d been in my boots

apartment on the outskirts of the city. With the kids

before me, I was encouraged to do something good

enrolled in public school, I tooled up and down the

with the earnings. As far back as I could remember,

famed music row in our two-toned rattle-trap Belair,

my family had never owned a house. Growing up,

convinced that if the powers-that-be didn’t know

we’d lived in a long string of trailer parks and

who I was, they would at least know I was there.

apartments and rental houses, and all these years

I had been writing songs since I was fifteen and

later, my daughters were used to much the same, so

had always known that Nashville and music row

I had my heart set on using that money to buy my

were where the great writers were. And not long

girls and me a home of our own.

after arriving, through a friend of a friend, I met the

There was a homemade ‘for sale’ sign at the

legendary Harlan Howard (writer of "I Fall To Pieces,"

end of a winding driveway, and on the hill above it

"Tiger By The Tail," and hundreds of other classic

sat a massive old farmhouse that needed more work

country hit songs). That meeting led to me signing

and love than I would know for some time. I called

a publishing deal to write songs for Harlan and his

the number and soon after, knocked on the door. A

wife’s company. And so, day after day, song after

farmer named Harold opened the door with a big

song, I learned the art of writing well-crafted songs.

smile. A few minutes later, we were loaded in his

Three years later, in the fall of 1998, hit country

pickup truck, bouncing through the backfield and

artist Collin Raye recorded my song “Someone You

around the farm, with him pointing at this and that.

Used To Know,” and it became a big #1 hit on the

He told me that the homestead was built in the 1870s.

He’d lived there since 1936, and his wife’s health was in decline, and—although he didn’t really want

Ror y, Heidi, Hopie at the

ir farm

to — they needed to move into town. A handshake later, he was handing me the skeleton key to the side door. That key would, in time, represent more than I knew. Though the bones of the structure were solid, the house was in serious disrepair. Over the next two years, I spent pretty much all the money we’d made from the song fixing the old place up, and yet for all we’d done, it looked about the same.

I spent many a day grieving, wondering if I’d made the wrong decision. What had I gotten myself into?

I had no experience on a farm, no experience fixing up houses, no idea where we were, and honestly no friends in the area to even talk to.

But I buckled down and kept working on it.

All the while, as I was working on that old house, God was working on me. In me. Fixing and rewiring much of how I thought and believed. And day by day, as I gave my heart to Him and let Him guide my hands and feet and mind, things started changing.

First off, my family all started moving here.

First my mother, then a sister, then another sister, and soon all my siblings and family were living

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The farmhouse when Rory bought it in 1999 (right) and what it looks like now (above).

within thirty minutes or so of this old farm we’d bought. So it seemed that when I finally planted myself in fertile soil, they were ready to put down roots nearby, too.

For the first time, meaning in my life was starting to come together, and I could feel it. I was beginning to feel grounded in a way that I never had before.

"FOR THE FIRST TIME,

Not only was I rooted in a place, but I was also rooted in values that would sustain me better than just the

MEANING IN MY LIFE WAS

dreams that had blown me around the country like the wind. But still, as far as I’d come in such a short

STARTING TO COME TO-

time, the big thing that was missing in my life was love. I had dreamed of being part of a wonderful love

GETHER, AND I COULD

story and even written dozens of songs about being

FEEL IT."

part of one, but I had yet to even come close to being part of something good; I mean truly good. Not just fun or exciting for a while, but deep, pure love. The kind I had seen in movies or dreamed of but wasn’t really even sure was possible to have.

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And then, one evening, all of that changed. And I didn’t even know it at first. It happened at a show that I was playing in the famous Bluebird Cafe. As I sang my songs and shared my stories to the audience that night, someone was in the audience who was about to change my life and how I looked at love forever. Her name was Joey, and she was unlike any girl I’d ever met before. Like me, she had moved to Nashville from the Midwest to follow her dream of being like her idol Dolly Parton. She had been in town a short while when a friend invited her to come and see a songwriter’s show at the Bluebird. She said that sitting there that evening watching and listening to me, God whispered into her ear and said, “him Joey…That’s the man I’ve chosen for you to spend the rest of your life with.”

Believe it or not, the first time I got to talk with her, that was the first thing she ever told me. And though at first, I wasn’t sure what to make of it, something inside me knew that she was right. A few months later, we were married.

To be honest, the first year or so wasn’t easy. Mostly because we didn’t really know each other. We had married on faith, and of course, there were a few expectations that each of us carried into the relationship that God was going to need us to let go of so that we could trust Him completely. But over time, in spite of some fears and more than a few tears, we let those things go, and on the other side of that leap of faith was love like I had never known.

By the time we’d been married for five years, I couldn’t imagine our lives or our love story being any better. The seeds we had planted in this new life were starting to take root. God had brought a wonderful woman into my life and a mother into my girls’ lives. Little did we know, our story was only beginning… //

"GOD HAD BROUGHT A WONDERFUL WOMAN INTO MY LIFE AND A MOTHER INTO MY GIRLS’ LIVES. LITTLE DID WE KNOW, OUR STORY WAS ONLY BEGINNING…"

Rory and Joey on their wedding day (right). Rory, Joey, Heidi, and Hopie on their very first date together (below).

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simple living HOMESTEAD + ROOTS

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homestead

+

roots

column by: MERISSA A. ALINK

Homemade Saltine Crackers MAKING CRACKERS FROM SCRATCH is so much fun and the homemade versions taste SO much better and fresher than the boxed ones at the store. Homemade saltine crackers are very inexpensive to make and are perfect for pairing with cheese, tasty dips, or just for munching. These homemade saltine crackers aren’t a perfect match for store-bought saltine crackers, but they are nice and basic which makes them a great substitute.

Ingredients: 1 cup flour 2 tablespoons butter 6-7 tablespoons water 1

/2 teaspoon salt

plus a little more salt & butter for the tops

I NSTRU CTIO N S : 1. Melt the butter and mix it well with the flour and salt.

2. Add the tablespoons of water slowly, one at a time, and mix them in well. Don't add too much water so the dough is too sticky. You want a nice smooth dough.

3. Roll out the dough until it's very thin, about 1/8in. Transfer the rolled out dough to a greased cookie sheet.

4. Score with a pizza cutter. Brush the tops very lightly with butter and sprinkle with a little salt. You can leave out this step if you want unsalted crackers. Bake these at 400ºF for about 15 minutes. They will harden more once they start to cool.

For Best Results: Lightly butter the top, score with a pizza cutter, and bake on a pizza stone.

5. Enjoy these plain or with a dip.

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simple living CONFESSIONS OF A STEWARD

Confessions of a Steward Joel co-owns, with his family, Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. When he’s not on the road speaking, he’s at home on the farm, keeping the callouses on his hands and dirt under his fingernails, mentoring young people, inspiring visitors, and promoting local, regenerative food and farming systems. Salatin has published 15 books, and he is the editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer, granddaddy catalyst for the column by:

JOEL SALATIN

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homesteading movement. He passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm.

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IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY and livestock production, probably the most common violation of God’s design is failure to mimic animal movement.

Whether it’s a horse paddock, dog run, or a 1,000 cow herd,

Animals Move

keeping animals requires intentional and managed movement.

Studying God’s design in nature reveals a remarkably sophisticated animal choreography. In the wild, animals don’t stay in the same place; they move — dramatically.

Migratory patterns stamped on the landscape are some of the oldest and most indelible features archeologists study.

The largest ones still existing occur in Africa on the Serengeti.

However, based on both written and oral records, we know that these animal movements existed all over the globe, including here in North America with massive bison herds.

Captain Jim Bridger, dispatched to explore the Black Hills in the 1800s, wrote that his regiment fell in behind a 7 million head herd of bison and could not find enough forage to feed

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their horses for several days due to the devastation in the herd’s wake. How he knew the herd numbered 7 million, I’ve never been able to discern, but even if he was off by half, that’s a big bunch of critters.

In 1870 an early pioneer into Arkansas recorded that he came upon a herd of bison 50 miles long and 20 miles wide. He said they were bunched tight enough that he couldn’t see any prairie between the animals. Again, even if he was off by a factor of half, that is still a herd almost too big to imagine.

My mentor Allan Nation, founder of Stockman Grass Farmer magazine, said that if you could have flown a drone over North America in 1800, you would have thought people were controlling the bison with electric fencing. Native Americans routinely lit fires to freshen up the grass when too much old material accumulated. The bison would adhere to these burned-over areas, avoiding the unburned, creating a landscape mosaic of palatable and unpalatable areas. These lines guided the herds in their grazing as precisely as fencing.

The iconic naturalist John James Audubon recorded in his diary in the early 1800s that he couldn’t see the

"The bison, the

sun for three days because it was blotted out by a flock of passenger pigeons. Imagine a flock of birds that

birds, and all

huge. Oral Native American tradition says that these

wildlife moved

to break down all the branches, creating a forest of

across large

flocks would come in and roost in trees thick enough bare trunk spires.

These birds did not live in Tyson chicken houses.

expanses. They

They didn’t eat human-planted grain. The bison, the

certainly didn’t

They certainly didn’t pick a spot and live there, in

pick a spot and live there, in their own excrement, for days on end."

birds, and all wildlife moved across large expanses. their own excrement, for days on end. This movement accomplished several things:

1 – SANITATION Because

animals

aren’t

potty

trained

and

don’t wear diapers, they create hygiene by walking away from their excrement. Fortunately, birds love herbivore manure; it contains helpful digestive enzymes for the birds. Today the egret on the rhino’s nose and birds following cape buffalo show the symbiotic relationship between herbivores and birds.

An animal’s first line of defense to stay healthy is to stay away from its own dung. Parasites and pathogens thrive in manure. Getting away from it and giving that soiled area time to decompose and incorporate into the soil maintains a sanitary environment for the animal.

2 – FERTILITY The natural gravitational movement of minerals, sticks, leaves, and other organic material from higher ground to lower ground creates fertile valleys and barren ridges and slopes. One of the most important environmental contributions from animals is to defy this gravitational translocation of nutrients.

By eating in the fertile valleys and climbing up to high ground to chew their cud, the herbivores move fertility from low ground to high ground. Predators make the animals want to find high ground for lounge areas. This is God’s way of democratizing soil development. Without the animals to eat and carry low ground material up to high ground in the form of excrement, the landscape would gradually show barren high ground and overly fertile low ground.

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3 – REST

4 – FRESHNESS

Forage grows in a sigmoid curve, meaning it starts

Constantly seeking fresh, rested forage kept

slow, gains speed, and then goes into senescence. This

animals moving toward new areas. Imagine a salad

whole process can take as few as 50 days on some

bar. Who wants to eat at an unreplenished, stale salad

species. Because short forage has a small solar panel

bar where everything is wilted and the favorite items

(leaves), it grows slowly. An herbivore can and will eat

are unavailable? With their heightened sense of smell

forage far below its optimal solar panel size. In other

and eyesight, animals sense freshness far more acutely

words, an animal can eat forage short enough to stunt

than humans.

its growth.

Moving onto fresh ground and fresh forage

Because these wild herds and flocks moved long

kept these herds and flocks of wild animals well-fed

distances, rest periods were long enough to make sure

nutritionally. Animals eat more when feed is fresh and

that the forage had enough rest time to build back blades

not stale or soiled. Finding pristine grazing areas was

and energy reserves in the roots. Most domestic livestock

the ultimate objective of these legacy migration routes.

producers in the world never allow their forages to get

5 – DIVERSITY

out of first gear, so to speak, because the plants stay

Native American prairie contained 40 varieties of

short due to continuous grazing. In God’s design, animals

plants per acre at any one time. Over a season, up to 100

visit and then leave an area long enough for the forage to

different kinds of plants occupied an acre. Movement

grow back toward peak physiological expression.

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facilitated that variety.

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"I hope this short foray into animal movement explains why it’s important for both animal health and the health of the soil and vegetation covering the soil.

All parties benefit. "

Animals have a palatability index just like humans. I like ice cream. In a pasture setting, some plants are ice cream to the animals and some are bitter herbs. Animals always eat ice cream first; they don’t pace themselves. They eat dessert first, every time. Animal movement, then, ensures that the favorite species do not get eaten into oblivion. The rest period ensures that all plants have an equal opportunity to recuperate prior to their next defoliation.

Here we have five key reasons why animals move. But we live in a culture that does not believe animals move. In our industrial mechanically-minded cultural paradigm, we lock them up in houses, make them live on their own excrement their whole life, breathe in fecal contaminants, and put them in tiny cells where they can’t even stretch their limbs. We put horses in paddocks by the house where they eat the grass into the ground, create manure campsites, can’t get away from flies, and never enjoy fresh ground.

I hope this short foray into animal movement explains why it’s important for both animal health and the health of the soil and vegetation covering the soil. All parties benefit.

Violating animal movement principles, likewise, hurts animals, soil, and vegetation.

Obviously,

in

our

owned

and

fenced

properties, these ancient movement patterns are problematic. Starbucks doesn’t want a herd

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"I want to drive home the basic idea that nothing and no one wins when we leave animals in a stationary setting."

of 5 million bison running through the parking

Prior to plastic pipe, electric fence, and

lot. Likewise, a flock of 10 million passenger

shade

pigeons roosting on cars in a car park would be

movement was almost impossible. Thomas

a bummer. But appreciating the importance of

Jefferson lamented routinely that he couldn’t

animal movement, within the modern context,

control

how do we duplicate it?

complained about his pig operations because

I’ll drill down into the practical how-to of this in next month’s column, but for now, I

cloth,

his

duplicating

animals.

natural

George

animal

Washington

he could never count them because he couldn’t corral them.

want to drive home the basic idea that nothing

Those deficiencies are all in the past. We

and no one wins when we leave animals in a

now have options our great-grandparents

stationary setting. That includes, by the way,

could only have dreamed about. In fact, we can

a milk cow field, horse paddock, chicken run,

now keep large commercial flocks of pastured

or goat pen. If the grass is always short; if the

chickens more hygienically than a backyard

pasture or paddock has dirt showing through,

flock a century ago. Next month, I’ll explain

unprotected by forage; if the animals can’t get

some of the infrastructure and techniques that

sunshine and fresh air — none of these scenarios

have made this ultimate duplication of God’s

delivers health.

design on a domestic personal property doable.

Some of the worst animal situations I’ve

We live in exciting times! //

seen around the world are not in industrial confinement facilities, although those are the most notorious and receive the highest negative publicity. No, some of the worst I’ve seen have been the backyards of homesteaders who have their animals confined in filthy conditions and debilitated forage. If this sounds like a sermon, it is.

Fortunately, we now have the technology to duplicate God’s animal movement protocol on a domestic and commercial scale. We have water pipes to deliver clean water anywhere on the property. We have electric fence that’s easy and cheap to install. We even have portable electric fence that allows us to literally “drive” the animals around our property. We have nursery shade cloth and lightweight reflective roofing to enable portable shelters. For the first time in human history, we can build portable shade trees for our animals.

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community THE WIDOW'S PATH

Changing the Calendar column by:

FERREE HARDY

and other such things

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DO YOU RECALL what your life was like one year ago

What will a new year hold? What changes will we see

today? Where did you live? Who were you living with?

and experience this time? Is there anything good to

How were things going? Has life changed much for you

come? Let’s talk!

since then?

Where did you live last year?

If you are reading this because you’ve been widowed or are bearing another type of loss, please know that

Last January, I was getting settled into a new house

you have my deepest sympathy. I don’t know everything

that we’d recently bought. Before that, my husband, Tom,

you’ve gone through, and I certainly don’t know

and I had lived in a one-bedroom apartment for eleven

exactly how you feel, but I do know that the past year

months. (Most of our belongings had to go into storage).

was difficult. I’m glad, though, that we get to change

We had moved from Florence, SC to North Augusta, SC

the calendar. As we do so, it’s good to reminisce and

for Tom’s job, and I didn’t know a soul. But then COVID

evaluate the past and then look ahead to the future.

restrictions hit, and I couldn’t even meet anyone! So last

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JANUARY 2022

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January, as I unpacked box after box of stuff that I hadn’t seen for months, I was very relieved and happy to finally have a place to call “Home Sweet Home.”

What changes did you face?

This January, I am shocked to be in yet another new house! If you follow this monthly column, you know that Tom took a different job — a thousand miles to the north of North Augusta! We moved just a few weeks ago, and Christmas was a blur. Life sure changes! As I write this, I almost cringe at the thought of unwanted changes that might happen this year. I need to stay put, in my opinion. The Lord and I will have some conversations about giving me a rest. But as much as I question and wonder, the only place I really want to be is where God wants me.

How about you? What will this next year hold for you?

Are you making any plans?

I’m looking forward to continuing to write. I love doing this column and connecting with some of the greatest and kindest people in the world — the readers of Plain Values. I’m so pleased that Rory Feek will be writing here, too. I often get notes from widowers who remind me not to forget them, since I focus more on widows. But Rory is a widower. I’ve never met him, but I followed his blog and read and wept along with him as the life of his beautiful wife, his dearest musical partner, slowly ebbed away from cancer in 2016. Rory’s column

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JANUARY 2022

won’t be focused on grief like mine is, but I think that having him on our team of writers will add a meaningful perspective for many widowers.

I’m also looking forward to making new friends in my

"...when you hang up your 2022 calendar, look ahead and designate days for some changes that you do want—changes you’ll look forward to with happier anticipation."

new town, Ticonderoga, New York. It’s Tom’s hometown.

His parents have lived there for over sixty years. Tom lived there for over forty years, and then, sadly, his first wife passed away from ovarian cancer. When Tom met and married me two years later, he moved to Ohio, and it seems like we’ve not stopped moving since! Finally, we are ready to settle down and call Ticonderoga home.

Do you have something to look forward to?

Sometimes unwanted change knocks us down. The death of our loved ones can be heart-breaking; it’s like we crumple to the floor and don’t even know what hit us. Moving can uproot and isolate us. Whether we’ve lost a loved one or lost a home, we head into a season of sadness and unwanted change.

To

counterbalance

unwanted

change

you’ve

experienced, when you hang up your 2022 calendar, look ahead and designate days for some changes that you

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do want — changes you’ll look forward to with happier

I’m also a Christian Life Coach. When people need

anticipation. Write down birthdays and other special

a change in their life, I can help them discover their

occasions you don’t want to forget. Are there things

strengths and ambitions. I help widows figure out what

like reunions, vacations, visits to special places, or get-

they really want to do, and from there, we begin to

togethers with people in different areas of the country?

rebuild their life. Some want to work on the foundation

Circle those dates with a smiley face or sunshine. As I

of their faith. Others need building blocks for things like

have written in my book, “Life stops for a time, but it will

organization, relationships, or remarriage. Everyone is

pick up again... The timing is different for each of us, but

different, but it’s an amazing journey. It’s like watching

the point of change is a universal certainty…” Changes

someone step away from the cemetery and step onto a

happen, but good things can, and do, still happen too.

new path. That’s something to look forward to on your

Perhaps I can help you with your life changes

2022 calendar!

in ways other than beyond this written page. Start

What other changes do you face? If you’d like to

planning now to attend “Widow’s Journey” retreat on

write and tell me about them, I’d be happy to hear from

March 4-6, 2022, at Sandy Cove Ministries in North

you. Just use the new address listed at the end of this

East, MD. You’ll have a built-in friend there because I

article. As you take down the old calendar to put up the

will be one of the speakers, and I would love to meet

new, let’s face these changes together. //

you! For more information, see www.sandycove.org Until next month,

and look up “Widow’s Journey.” Or call 800.234.2683

ferree l

for rates and information.

NEW ADDRESS: To learn more about widowhood, order a copy of Postcards from the Widows’ Path—Gleaning Hope and Purpose from the Book of Ruth. It’s a gentle, biblical guide for widows that has many saying, “This is the best I’ve ever read!” Mail a check for $14.99/copy (paperback, 248 pgs.), along with your address to: Ferree Hardy, 76 Grace Ave., Ticonderoga, NY 12883. Or order online at www.WidowsChristianPlace.com. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. Free shipping for all Plain Values readers!

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JANUARY 2022

history OUR HERITAGE

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PA RT ON E

Printing the Ausbund ORIGINS column by: ELAM STOLTZFUS

IT'S SUNDAY MORNING, your family and community arrive to worship and be together at church. You take your place on the church bench or pew. You open your songbook and join everyone else in the church in song. Singing together is foundational for our emotional expression, and we teach Christian doctrines in the form of worship through song. Today, we take it for granted that Sunday morning worship will include all of us lifting our voices together in song.

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On the eve of the Reformation in the early 1500s, it was taboo to sing together as a group of worshippers, and the Catholic church did not provide or support congregational singing.

Even Christians

as

the

Reformation

practiced

their

changed

faith,

some

how early

Protestant groups limited singing in the church: Ulrich Zwingli, leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, prohibited music altogether, while John Calvin, a French theologian, limited singing to Psalms without musical instruments.

Martin

Luther,

however,

encouraged

congregational singing. Luther composed music and lyrics for the worship experience of the churches that believed in salvation, grace through a believer’s faith, and Jesus Christ as a Redeemer from sin. Even today, many sing songs written by Luther, a popular one being A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (“Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott”), which is also my all-time favorite hymn.

Singing was also important to the Swiss Anabaptists. In the early years, they had to meet in secret for fear of persecution. They met in forests, barns, and caves to sing together and to listen to teaching and preaching. Music was used to worship, encourage believers, and tell stories. The believer’s songs contain a rich desire to experience the

Elam holding an Ausbund dating back to 1564

Holiness of God’s presence in their lives, even as they suffered.

And how the early Anabaptists suffered! In the 1500s, hundreds were persecuted and martyred for their faith. Some Anabaptists took to writing songs, sharing their hearts amid many tribulations. The core of the Ausbund — the first fifty-one songs — was written by a group of Swiss Anabaptists who were imprisoned in a castle in Passau from 1535-1540.

Many of these Anabaptists were later martyred for their beliefs. Their songs were collected together and printed in 1564, likely in Cologne. This was the first printing of the Ausbund. Today, only one known copy exists, and it is located at the Mennonite Historical Library in Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. This first edition actually didn’t contain the word “Ausbund” in it; this 1564 hymnbook was titled Several Beautiful Christian

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Modern-day printings of the Ausbund songbook used in Anabaptist worship services around the world

"Their songs were collected together and

Songs Which Were Written and Sung Through God's

printed in 1564, likely in

Grace by the Swiss Brethren in the Passau Castle Prison (“Etliche schöne christliche Gesäng wie

Cologne. This was the first

dieselbigen zu Passau von den Schweizer Brüdern in der Gefenknus im Schloss durch göttliche Gnade

printing of the Ausbund.

gedicht und gesungen warden. Ps. 139”).

The hymnbook was printed again nearly twenty

Today, only one known

years later, but with over twice as many songs. The 1583 printing contains 130 songs; today’s American

copy exists, and it is located

printings of the Ausbund have 140 songs. This printing from nearly 500 years ago contains all

at the Mennonite Historical

the songs still printed today in America, minus ten added in later editions.

Library in Goshen College

Ausbund means “paragon” or “virtue” in German, and the songs reflect early Anabaptists’

in Goshen, Indiana."

desire to be virtuous. Quite a few of the songs were written by Anabaptists who were martyred: Felix Mann (Hymn #6), Michael Sattler (Hymn #7), and Hans Hut (Hymn #8) all wrote songs included in the

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Ausbund. The songs mainly come from Anabaptists all over Europe, reflecting the shared experiences that many were dealing with: persecution by state and religious leaders who refused to accept their beliefs.

For example, one of the most well-loved songs of the Ausbund, the Song of Praise / “Lob Lied” (Hymn #131), was not written by Swiss Anabaptists in Passau, but rather a German Mennonite minister who later settled in the Netherlands; his name was Leenaerdt Clock. This hymn is the second song sung at every Amish worship service.

Here are the lyrics to the first verse of this hymn:

O God Father, we praise You

O Gott Vater, wir loben dich,

And Your goodness exalt,

Und diene Güte preisen:

Which You, O Lord, so graciously

Die du, o Herr, so gnadiglich,

Have manifested to us anew,

Un uns neu hast bewiesen,

And have brought us together, Lord,

Und hast uns Herr zusammen g’führt,

To admonish us through Your Word,

Uns zu ermahnen durch dein Wort,

Grant us grace to this.

Gib uns Genad zu diesem.

As in any worship service, when many human voices blend together in sounds of praise, God is honored.

Music has a way to pierce into the inner parts of our soul, and singing unites us as a body of believers. As the apostle Paul wrote, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace…” (Col. 3:16).

The songs in the Ausbund contain important statements about our Christian faith and heritage. When I was a young and restless Amish boy, I viewed this nearly 500-year-old hymn book as tired and irrelevant. I questioned why I had to sing these dusty old songs that felt more like a funeral dirge than an upbeat worship song. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gained a new appreciation and respect for the richness of these old songs.

In a time when missionaries are under attack, being held hostage, and killed, the Ausbund and its songs of persecution are more relevant today than ever. May you find renewed interest and worship in the collection of Ausbund songs and the interpretation of our ancestors’ journey in the Christian faith.

Let us end by reflecting on the 30th verse of Hymn #112 in the Ausbund. This song was written sometime between 1535-1537 by one of the leaders of the imprisoned Anabaptists in Passau, Hans Betz, who died in prison.

To this end may the eternal God help us,

Sources of research and quotes: Wikipedia – Ausbund; Song of the Ausbund at the Ohio Amish Library; The Earliest Hymns of the Ausbund – Pandora Press.

Who rules everything.

What He has begun in us,

Elam Stoltzfus currently serves as caretaker of the Nicholas Stoltzfus

He wants by grace to complete.

Homestead in (Berks County) Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. In 2018, he

Lord, this is our prayer to you.

traveled to Germany to document the history of the Stoltzfus family—this research is documented in German Lutherans to Pennsylvania Amish: The

Keep us always in your peace

Stoltzfus Family Story. To order a copy of this book, you can mail a $30

Unto eternity.

check to Elam Stoltzfus, 1700 Tulpehocken Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610.

Amen. //

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JANUARY 2022

outdoors ALL THINGS OUTDOORS

—

ALL THINGS OUTDOORS

—

Ice Fishing column by: JIM ZUMBO

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MENTION THE SUBJECT of ice fishing to someone who has never participated in the sport, and you’ll likely get a negative response.

The sport is perceived to be one of serious discomfort caused by winter weather and enjoyed by lunatics who are tolerant of bitterly cold temperatures.

That’s an unfortunate perception because fishing through the ice can be not only enjoyable and comfortable but highly productive as well. Technology has enormously improved the gear we use for ice fishing, from portable shelters to fishing tackle, electronic equipment, ice augers, clothing, and many other items.

One item that should be included in your gear list is a pair of cleats for your boots. They easily attach to your boot. If the ice is smooth, you’re apt to have difficulty in walking without slipping and sliding if you have smooth soles. Be certain to remove the cleats when you leave the ice. They can easily dull on rocks and gravel, and absolutely do not forget and wear them on someone’s nice hardwood floor! You could be in big trouble!

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Because lakes and ponds form safe ice during

WHITE ICE or “snow ice” is only about half as strong

periods of prolonged cold weather, the sport is possible

as new clear ice. Again, DOUBLE the above thickness

only in the north, though rare cold spells can produce

guidelines when traveling on snow ice. Many factors

safe ice in more balmy regions for short periods of time.

other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe.

Notice I say safe ice. Tragically, each year people drown

Be aware that many conditions may affect the

because the ice is too thin to support their weight or

relative safety of ice, such as air temperature, currents,

the weight of their vehicles, including snowmobiles,

underwater springs, and others. Ice is seldom the same

ATVs, cars, and pickups. Here’s a rule of thumb from

thickness over a single body of water. Once, a buddy and I were riding on his ATV on a western Wyoming

the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources that’s

lake that had 18 inches of ice. We were a half-mile from

widely accepted. Minnesota is probably the top ice

shore when I saw some ducks land on the ice several

fishing state in the country, given its thousands of

hundred yards away. As we slowly approached, we

lakes and the huge number of participants. I’ve seen a

saw the ducks were not sitting on ice. They were on

number of ice safety charts, but this one is undoubtedly

open water the size of a quarter acre. We immediately

the most credible.

backed off and chose another route. Obviously there was a warm water spring at the bottom of the lake

FOR NEW, CLEAR ICE ONLY:

under that spot. Another time several of us fished

•

UNDER 4” - STAY OFF

the huge Fort Peck Reservoir in eastern Montana. We

•

4” - Ice fishing or other activities on foot

were several miles from shore, sitting in our shelters,

•

5”- 7” - Snowmobile or ATV

oblivious to weather fast approaching. Soon we were

•

8”-12” - Car or small pickup

in the middle of a white-out blizzard. We hurriedly

•

12”- 15” - Medium truck

packed our gear and drove to shore, but visibility was less than 20 yards. We knew that there was a large

Double the above thickness guidelines when traveling on white ice.

area of open water near the dam close to our return route, but we couldn’t see it. Using GPS, we were able

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to slowly navigate our way back to our vehicles parked onshore. I firmly believe prayers helped us out of that dangerous situation.

Some personal items that can save your life if you break through the ice include a pair of awls. Attach them to the ends of a two-foot string and hang them over your collar, one on each side of your chest. If you fall in, it’s exceedingly difficult to climb back out because the edge of the broken ice allows nothing to grip on. Using each awl to punch into the ice will allow you some leverage to lift yourself out. There are also specialized garments that will allow you to float if you break through. Of course, a regular lifesaver vest will work as well, but they’re bulky and used by very few anglers.

So now that you’ve determined the ice is safe, how do you keep warm on a frozen lake when the air temps are on the chilly or frigid side? When I was a kid growing up in upstate New York, my buddies and I simply wore our warmest clothes and stuck it out as long as we could,

comfortable wearing only a lightweight shirt. The sun

especially if the wind was blowing. If your time on the

reflects heat off the ice, creating ideal conditions.

ice is flexible, you can “pick your battles,” as they say.

But what if it’s subzero and the wind is ripping? A

Go out only on balmy, calm days, but that’s not always

human can stand only so much extreme cold if clothing

possible with our daily schedules. Interestingly, you can

and boots aren’t up to the task of protecting you.

be on the ice when the temp is in the 30s, the wind is

Frostbite can quickly cause serious injury. In extreme

calm, and the sun is shining brightly, and be absolutely

cases, you can suffer from hypothermia. Nowadays, many winter anglers have portable shelters that are compact and stow easily. Most can be quickly opened and set up in minutes. With the shelter in place, you then cut holes to fish from and put in some chairs and whatever electronic fish finders and devices you care to use. A portable heater makes your shelter warm and comfortable. Portable shelters have been on the scene for the last few decades. Prior to that, there were (and still are) wooden “shanties” that are complete with a door, windows, and other interior items. Most shanties are simple, with a place for a stove and comfortable chairs. Some shanties are elegant, consisting of two or three rooms with sofas, a kitchen, plenty of lights, and even a TV, all powered by a generator outside. When the ice is safe, shanties are towed out on a lake with an ATV, pickup, or farm tractor. If laws allow it, they remain on the ice all winter. Portable shelters can offer plenty of room as well. I spent several days and nights in one that was 12 by 16 feet. Though the wind gusted at 40 miles per hour and the temps were 30 below outside, we fared very well with a couple generator-powered heaters.

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the pipe to affix the all-important rope. The rope was looped around your wrist, so if the bar punched through the ice and you lost your grip, it wouldn’t plunge to the bottom of the lake. My uncle was a welder and made spud bars for family and friends. One time I was using my grandfather’s spud bar and didn’t have the loop of the rope securely around my wrist. When the bar broke through the ice, the rope slipped off my wrist and sunk in 35 feet of water. I didn’t make that mistake again.

Probably the worst tool you can use is a hatchet or axe.

Once you’ve chopped through enough ice to reach the bottom, water will surge into the unfinished hole, and you’re apt to get soaked by freezing water splashing on you as you continue to chop.

Spud bars have been replaced by other tools, though they’re still used by some folks. The bars gave way to hand augers that were used to drill the hole.

Many years ago, my buddies and I rented a shanty

Augers make short work of cutting a hole, provided it’s

every year on Lake Champlain shared by New York

extremely sharp. If it’s dull, you’ll have your work cut

State and Vermont. It was equipped with a wood stove,

out for you. It wasn’t long before power augers appeared

benches to sit on, and a half-dozen holes already cut.

on the market. At first, they were powered by gasoline,

The ice was 30 inches thick. We fished for yellow perch

but now there are types that run on propane and even

and smelt and paid $5 to rent it for a day. Of course,

lithium batteries. You can also convert a standard power

even though heated shanties or shelters will keep you

drill into an effective auger.

warm when you’re inside, you may still need to bundle

A big question is where to cut the holes. An

up if you fish outside the shanty (if the fish are biting

easy answer is to look for the crowds. Anglers will be

better elsewhere), but at least you have the option of

concentrated over the best areas. Most ice anglers are a

returning to the shanty to warm up.

friendly lot and are willing to share information. But if

One big difference between ice fishing and open

you’re on an unfamiliar lake or a farm pond and there’s

water fishing is the necessity of cutting a hole in the

no one fishing, you can cut holes in different areas

ice. It’s been interesting to watch the evolution of tools

and different distances from shore and experiment. By

used to cut the hole. When I was a youngster, my father,

knowing your quarry, or primary target species, you

uncles, and grandfather cut holes with a “spud bar,”

can eliminate places not inhabited by the fish you hope

which is basically a chisel about five feet long. It was

to catch. Most serious ice anglers will not fish “blind”

usually a one-inch pipe filled with sand to add more

but will use a fish finder to locate fish. These devices

weight. The cutting end was a sharp chisel, and the top

use sonar to pinpoint the fish and the depth they’re

end was welded closed, but it had a hole at the end of

swimming in. If you want to use even more technology,

"Ice fishing is enjoyed by millions of anglers across America.

Give it a try if you haven’t already, be safe..."

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you can use an underwater camera that will actually

small red flag is triggered and springs straight up. You

show fish on a screen. Some anglers will punch a single

don’t need to tend a tip-up. You can set out as many as

hole and fish it. If there’s no action, they’ll cut another

the law allows. When you see a flag up, you race over,

hole. Other fishermen will drill several holes — up to a

ease the tip-up away from the hole, and set the hook.

couple dozen or more­— and work their way around until

Then you bring the fish up hand-over-hand. When I was

the fish are located.

a teenager, the only sport I participated in at school was

Fishing rods used for ice fishing are highly

speed skating. Since the first person to the hole usually

specialized. They’re about 24 to 30 inches long with

caught the fish, I wanted to be the first guy there. My

ultralight reels. This allows the angler to sit closer to

buddies were skaters as well, so it came down to the

the hole and work the lure up and down, which is called

fastest person on the ice. Too much fun.

“jigging.” Fishermen usually cut two holes — one for the

Ice fishing is enjoyed by millions of anglers across

lure and one next to it for the cable that dangles under

America. Give it a try if you haven’t already, be safe, and

the sonar device, allowing the fisherman to watch the

don’t be surprised if you catch more fish than you ever

screen and manipulate the rod according to what the

have before in open water. //

fish is doing. Lures are very small and are designed to be fished straight up and down. It’s common to hook a small grub or worm to the lure to make it more attractive

Jim has hunted all fifty states for deer, has fished in most states, has hunted elk

to the fish.

in all the major western elk states, and has hunted on four continents. He worked for fifteen years as a forester, game warden, and wildlife biologist. Jim draws

Another device is the “tip-up,” which has an

on these experiences for his monthly column “All Things Outdoors.” For more

underwater reel and sits on the ice over the hole. When

information, visit www.jimzumbo.com.

a fish strikes the bait, almost always a live minnow, a

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funds & benefits

PLEASE NOTE If you are conducting a fundraiser to assist with medical or hardship expenses, please let us know and we will be happy to feature it for one month at no cost.

Funds must be payable to a bank, church, or charitable organization.

JONI AND FANNIE SHROCK FUND Joni, 73, is a victim of polio and very limited to what he can do. Fannie,70, has also had many health issues through the years. Recently their home tested positive for mold, which they now must vacate. A new home is being built for them, although many items need to be destroyed from the current house. Any help will be much appreciated. May God bless all who share. Make checks payable to: Northeast Middlefield Church #27. Memo: Joni and Fannie Shrock Fund. Mail to: Chester Mast, 14419 Hayes Rd, Middlefield, OH 44062. Thank you!

LUCY MARIE YODER FUND A fund has been set up for Levi & Betty Sue Yoder. Their daughter Lucy Marie had a bicycle accident in July. She is now out of the hospital, but still needs to wear a helmet. Once her tests show clear, she will need another surgery to put in the part of her skull that had to be removed. Expenses are high and ongoing. Thank you for your Prayers and Support.

Make checks payable to: Mt. Hope Charities INC., Attn: Brush Run West Church #1, PO Box 19, Mt Hope, OH 44660.

MRS. ANDY (MARY ELLEN) TROYER FUND A fund has been set up for Mrs. Andy (Mary Ellen) Troyer. Andy, age 41, passed away October 19 from a large bleeding mass on his brain. Let’s help Mary Ellen and her 7 children, ages 8 months to 14 years, with their mortgage loan.

Thank you for the prayers and support. Tax deductible donations can be made to: Mt Hope Charities Inc., PO Pox 19, Mt Hope, OH 44660. ATTN: Wise East Church District #41.

DETWEILER CANCER FUND A fund has been set up for Paul and Kathy Detweiler from Huntsburg, Ohio Church District #127. Kathy, the mother of seven children from newborn to 14 years, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer that has advanced to other areas. She is currently being treated at the Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio and has also started an alternative medicine program. Expenses are high and will be ongoing. Any financial support along with prayers is greatly appreciated. May God receive all the glory. Checks can be sent to: Detweiler Cancer Fund C/O Middlefield Banking Co., Po Box 35, Middlefield, OH 44062.

IRENE KAUFMAN FUND A fund has been set up for Irene Kaufman, age 57, who was recently in the hospital with pneumonia, blood clots, A-fib, and on oxygen. She is still dealing with the blood clots and A-fib and has ongoing tests to keep watch on these conditions. As a result, there will continue to be bills to pay and they would appreciate any help. Irene still needs to take care and rest. Thank you for your kindness in sharing. Make checks payable to Irene Kaufman Fund. Send to: The National Bank, PO Box 368, West Union, OH 45693.

HARVEY WEAVER FUND Harvey Weaver, 56, passed away Sept. 26, 2021 from health issues. He left behind a wife and 8 children at home. The family has hardly any income. Let’s help them with their mortgage and living expenses. You can drop off or send donations to Community Bank, PO Box 10, Clymer, NY 14724-0010. Makes checks payable to “Clymer Center Church; Harvey Weaver Fund.”

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