Saturday, June 4, 2022 | Country Acres South • Page 3
Welcome to Country Acres South As you receive this paper in your scenic pastures overlooking the Missismailbox for the first time, we would sippi River. like to welcome you to Country Acres Rounding out our first issue of South! You’re about to experience what Country Acres South, we take a look our Country Acres readers in Central into the history of a dairy tradition that Minnesota have been enjoying since started in Olmsted County and has since 2012. This is our premiere issue in caught wind across the state. southeastern Minnesota that includes Equally important to the stories and the counties of Fillmore, Goodhue, other content of each issue of Country Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha and WinAcres South are our advertisers, who by Diane Leukam ona. Editor, Country Acres will become a growing family with the As our name might indicate, we’re passage of months and years. all about the country and the people We encourage you to look closely at who live here; every issue is packed with their each and every advertisement, because these busiunique stories. You will read about people of every nesses bring the paper free to those of you with 15 age and walk of life who share the bond of country acres or more in our six-county area. Not only that, living in southeastern Minnesota. but our advertisers are the backbone of our rural Our writers love nothing more than to get out communities. They are our friends and neighbors there and meet new people. They come back from who pay local taxes, donate to the many organizainterviews inspired, ready to introduce these peo- tions that come calling, and welcome our support ple to you, our Country Acres South family. You in return. Be sure to tell them you saw their ad in will read about farm life, nature, hobbies, animals, Country Acres South. collections … you name it, you’ll find it here. Country Acres South is scheduled to run 24 isYou’ll meet people like the Bishop family of sues a year, the first and third Saturdays of each Harmony, who own and manage Niagara Cave, month. where underground trails wind through stalactites, Here at Country Acres and now, Country Acres stalagmites and 450-million-year-old fossils. An South, we love what we do and it’s all driven by underground stream and a waterfall that plunges the people we’ve been blessed to call our family. 50-feet only enhance the story that only enhance Now, our family is growing and we are excited to the attraction that was discovered in 1924 when be growing with you. several pigs on the farm disappeared. Many things have changed since we hit the The Baughmans, of Cannon Falls, encourage ground running back in 2012; rural living and agpeople to ask goat questions; they are always will- riculture itself have evolved to a degree. But one ing to mentor those looking into raising goats. They thing remains the same, and that is the amazing, started their goat endeavors 15 years ago as a way vast, wonderful array of people who live and work to clean buckthorn from their woods and to provide in the country. a source for ethnic food interest in the area. And so, to all our new readers, welcome In Winona, Dave and Gail Griffin started rais- aboard; welcome to the premiere issue of Country ing bison on a dare in 1992, and now, they graze Acres South! their herd of 100, along with their calves, on their
Country Acres SOUTH
Published by Star Publications Copyright 2014 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6577 Fax: 320-352-5647 NEWS STAFF
SALES STAFF
Mark Klaphake mark.k@dairystar.com Diane Leukam, Editor diane@saukherald.com Jennifer Coyne, Writer jenn@dairystar.com Kate Rechtzigel kate.r@dairystar.com Sarah Colburn Staff Writer Grace Jeurissen Staff Writer Christine Behnen Freelance Writer
Julia Mullenbach, 507-438-7739 julia@star-pub.com Laura Seljan, 507-250-2217 laura.s@dairystar.com Missy Traeger, 320-291-9899 missy@saukherald.com Mike Schafer, 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Warren Stone, 320-249-9182 warren@star-pub.com Jaime Ostendorf, 320-309-1988 Jaime@star-pub.com Bob Leukam, 320-260-1248 bob.l@star-pub.com
Story ideas send to: mark.k@dairystar.com grace.j@star-pub.com
PRODUCTION STAFF Pat Turner Amanda Thooft Nancy Powell Maddy Peterson Cheyenne Carlson
Deadlines: Country Acres South will be published the first and third Saturday of every month. Deadline for news and advertising is the Thursday before publication.
ST R
Publications bli ti “Committed to being the eyes and ears of our communities.”
Bishop from front
Your local residential and commercial experts since 1922 PHOTO BY KATE RECHTZIGEL
Four porcelain pigs sit outside of Niagara Cave’s lodge on May 5. These pigs mark the discovery of the cave in Fillmore County by Phil Todd’s three pigs.
ness from the lights in the cave to the water in the well pumps, is 100% powered by solar energy.” The cave itself is believed to have been formed 450 million years ago when much of North America was covered by what was called the Ordovician Sea. While it was still submerged, sediments settled onto the floor and began to pile up. And then as it rose and shifted northwesterly, the sediments hardened and formed the limestone bedrock which covers the cave.
The limestone used to cover much of North America but was eroded from wind, flowing water, rain, ice, deposition of new materials, tectonic activity and other geological factors. Due to the solubility of limestone, dolomite or marble carbonate rock, they are more likely to have near surface caves. The cave is located in what is known as a driftless area, as it was not covered by ice in the last ice age and exposed to surface activity.
Bishop page 4
SERVICES: • Jetting clogged or frozen parlor lines • Jetting clogged or frozen pump and gravity manure lines • Vacuuming out large settling tanks • Clearing trench drains • Hydro excavation We can clean anything from 2” to 60”
2840 Wilder Rd. NW Rochester, MN 55901
(507) 289-1613
rochph.com
CZ-Jnune4-24-B-JM
The explorers leased the land from Kennedy and made improvements to the cave such as leveling the walkways, installing staircases and bridges. They powered electrical lights with a diesel generator and eventually, in 1934, the cave became accessible to the public. “There have only been two times when it was closed, once in World War II and once during COVID-19 in 2020,” Bishop said. The three cavers ran the business from its inception until Al Cremer and his family bought them out and operated the cave until 1981, then Ron Vikre and his family bought and operated the cave until the Bishops bought the cave in 1995. Not long after the Bishop family took over, they added LED lights and updated the electrical power from rural electricity to solar energy. “We were the first cave in the U.S. to be entirely powered with solar energy in 2015,” he said. “Every aspect of the busi-
