Country Friday, October 2, 2020
cres A Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 8, Edition 13
PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS
Amber Thesing admires her 3-year-old Bactrian/ Dromedary hybrid camel, Beefcake, on Sept. 23 at her home in Randall.
A love for the Thesing learning about camels as she goes
R
BY KAYLA ALBERS | STAFF WRITER
ANDALL – When Amber Thesing visited Safari Up North in Brainerd a few years ago, she saw a weanling camel and she instantly fell in love. Since then, she and her husband, Mike, have been on the hunt for camel memorabilia, members of the camel community and another camel to add to their exotic animal family on their property in Randall. “Once you start looking, there are camels everywhere,” Amber said. “You just have to know who to talk to.” When the Thesings travel, they try to find camel memorabilia on every trip. They start by going to antique stores and look from there. They have come away with gems such as a camel bone necklace and a camel cookie cutter. “I never would have seen it (the bone necklace) had I not asked the store owner,” Amber said. Over the years, Amber has also acquired camel figurines, a hand-carved basket, a child’s toy from the 1930s, leather camels and a dictionary page with a camel painted on it. One of the most interesting experiences Amber had when searching
ST R
Publications The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
exotic
for camels was when she was visiting Wyoming. She was told to go to a restaurant and ask to see Clyde on the board of directors. When she and Mike popped their heads in to see, there was a huge black-and-white photo of a camel named Clyde, who was elected to the restaurant’s board of directors. “It is our mission to find something camel related,” Mike said. Mike and Amber currently have one camel, Beefcake, who is almost 3 years old. They describe him as a bratty teenager at this stage in his life. With camels not being fully mature until they are 8 years old, Amber has five more years to train with Beefcake. Beefcake is a hybrid between two different types of camels: a Bactrian and a Dromedary. Bactrians have two humps, while Dromedaries have one hump, so Beefcake has one giant hump with a dimple in it. He will grow to be over 2,000 pounds in size; double what he is right now. Bactrians originate from Mongolia, which allows Beefcake to adjust to the weather very well, especially the cold Minnesota winters.
This month in the
COUNTRY
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Captain (from left), Donkey and Beefcake hang out at the Amber and Mike Thesing property in Randall.
“The first winter we had Beefcake, he was just out there rolling in the snow like a dog,” Amber said. “He is just like a giant lap dog, follows you around everywhere.” Amber has a trainer come out to the house once a year for a week to help work with Beefcake. He is currently working on ground driving in a harness and Amber hopes he will eventually be able to give rides and pull a wagon. “We want to get (United States De-
partment of Agriculture) registered so we can go in parades or go to birthday parties,” Amber said. “But I would really love to have field trips for little kids come here.” Beefcake came from north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. A second camel, Captain, that the Thesings just sold, came from Wisconsin.
3
Talents (and apples!) to share Eden Valley
8
Catching the eye of passersby Waite Park
4
How do they do that? Diane Leukam Column
12 A breed with history Royalton 15 The innkeeper at Carmel Staples
Camels page 2
18 “We like that Minnesota Nice feel” Long Prairie 21 Country Cooking