It was very rewarding talking with members and volunteers who attended our Volunteer Recognition and Annual Meeting recently. For those of you unable to attend we missed you but hope you will visit us at the farm to meet our new Park & Program Manager, Jennifer Harper. It was most enjoyable to listen to our speaker Jerry Apps as he shared fond memories of his life on the farm.

I was very happy to honor our lead volunteers: Bob Bennin for his work with the chicken program, Rosemary Houdlik and Barb Johanningmeier for computer archiving, Steve Keip for his work with our food venues and Mike Schucha for taking the lead on the prairie. We also thanked Rona Neri-Bergmann and Peter Bergmann for their help with our computers.  We expressed gratitude to Mary Collet for her past three years as our head heritage gardener.  We will miss her, but appreciate all the time and talents she shared with us at the farm. Each of the above volunteers was given our newly designed T-shirt as a small token of appreciation. Without our volunteers it would be impossible to maintain the farmstead, prairie and programs. 

The board recognized retiring board members John Gaska and Mike Sphan. Both have given much to the success of Schumacher Farm Living Museum. The board will miss them but are pleased that they will be available to volunteer. We welcome two new board members Rena Ripp and Jim Koltes and look forward to working with them.

Please enjoy our new electronic newsletter to learn of our recent events and plans for the future. Letter continued below...

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? To Get to Schumacher Farm Park!

Last year we had a flock of 8 hens and one rooster taking up residence at the chicken coop on the farm from April-October. The eight hens and their rooster provided entertainment, eggs, and education. We had hoped that they would also provide us with baby chicks to add to the mix.  They decided otherwise, as none of the hens turned "broody". That is, none of the hens sat on the eggs 24/7, as would be required. Some breeds are more "broody" than others, and in some of the egg producing breeds, it is considered an undesirable quality.

Last year, we had some black and white barred chickens that were similar to the black and white barred Plymouth Rocks that Marcella Schumacher Pendall talked about in the story "The Independent Hen". This year, Paul Hellenbrand, of Lodi, has again graciously agreed to provide us with our chickens.  We will have some black and white barred hens, but will have more of a variety, and maybe some different breeds that may have been available in the 1930's on the farm. We are still interviewing for the rooster, and have several candidates in mind, so that we may have a brood of baby chicks. 

 We will be looking for volunteer "Chicken Wranglers" to help take care of the chickens. Each volunteer individual, family, or group, will be responsible for one day of the week. Responsibilities include feeding and watering the chickens and gathering the eggs, which the volunteer for that day takes home for good eating. Volunteers are also encouraged to let the chickens out of the coop to free-range. This free-ranging fun time is best done an hour or two before sunset, so that they head back inside on their own. Please watch the "2015 Calendar of Events" for more chicken events. Anyone interested in being a "Chicken Wrangler" this season, please contact the farm at 849-4559 or email:  [email protected]

Cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members.  

Registration is limited so sign up now!

President's Letter continued...

Spring and summer are our busiest times at Schumacher Farm with garden preparation and planting, welcoming our chickens, and continuing an expanded Sunday at the farm "open house".  Please stop in the third Sunday of May, June and July and join in the programs.

We plan to keep programs you enjoyed and to create new opportunities for our visitors and volunteers.