Tallitha Reese

Quick. Think of an artist. Rembrandt, Picasso, Van Gogh might come to mind. If it’s music, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart certainly qualify. Maybe you think of dancers, writers, actors. All artists, of course. Maybe you didn’t need to think at all. Maybe you just needed to look in a mirror.  

What, me an artist, you ask? Sure, why not? “Everyone can be artist,” says Diane Knight. “All of us can create, at every age. It looks different for each person, from a little child arranging colorful rocks to young people and adults painting, crafting, doing needlework, dancing, writing, singing. There are so many ways to create. Even cooking is an art form.”   

Diane knows what she’s talking about. Now in her mid-80s, she lives in Whalan, Minnesota, (four miles east of Lanesboro), and has been an artist all her life. She studied and taught art and has worked hands-on with clay, wood, puppets, masks, and combinations of all of the above.

“I was born in Clinton, Iowa, and was blessed to grow up in a close, loving family,” she says. “People were always doing and making things. My mother was creative and inventive and liked to sew. My dad was a great fixer of things. My aunts were wonderful quilters. We never had a TV. My siblings and I were encouraged to be curious, to use our imaginations, to entertain ourselves. I guess I never stopped.” 

After first attending Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, Diane graduated from Iowa Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) and began teaching art. “It was the mid-1960s,” she says, “which helps explain why at one point I got in my VW bug and headed for the west coast. 

I ended up in San Francisco and one night I found myself at the Avalon Ballroom walking into the same restroom as Janis Joplin. Strange, interesting times.” 

Returning to the Midwest and accepting a job in the art/graphics department at the Mayo Clinic gave Diane’s life – and creative skills – new direction. “My kids joined Rochester’s Masque Youth Theatre and School with Sylvia Langworthy. I volunteered making masks and puppets out of clay and paper mache. It was a true community and I loved it.” 

In 1991, Diane purchased the former State Bank building in Whalan. “It became a perfect space to do and share art. My siblings got involved, too. I was making small figurines out of clay, one brother fashioned wood and wire into beautiful tree sculptures, my other brother was turning wood, and my sister re-designed old jewelry. In 2015 we opened as ‘The Old Bank Art Gallery’ and ran that together that for a number of years, adding other artists as we went along.”  

All that creative energy in one family makes you wonder – is artistic skill genetic, is it something you’re just born with? “Who really knows where that comes from,” Diane says. “But it starts with being curious. Curiosity leads people to creativity and finding ways to express themselves. It makes life more fulfilling.” 

Even through doodling. Doodles are easily dismissed as simple drawings people make while their attention is actually somewhere else. (President Ronald Reagan was a famous doodler). Diane was doodling long before she considered it art. “I took notes at work meetings. Afterwards I couldn’t read my own writing! So I started drawing little squiggles, lines, and shapes instead and found that it helped me remember things much better. 

“One day my little granddaughter and I were painting random lines and shapes and colors. Later I added black lines to my painting and that became my first ‘formal’ doodle. I find the whole process relaxing, even healing.” Having created hundreds of doodles, Diane has framed and sold many. 

Over the years her art has known different seasons. “One day I decided to let go of my kiln,” she recalls. “It was sad; I loved doing clay and I miss it. But it was time to move on. I noticed that in my journaling and dream-work, thought-provoking phrases jumped out at me. I never thought of myself as a poet, but I started writing poetry.” Diane’s first book, “Putting Down Words,” has sold hundreds of copies. 

Her art changes, but one constant is the delight and fulfillment that creative projects give her. “When I’m working on a project I wake up in the morning excited to see how it’s coming along and eager to continue,” she says. “It’s just fun! Every person can experience that joy, no matter what they’re doing or how old they are.” 

Diane also loves the way art can connect people. “The bank building is my home,” she explains. “I love welcoming people here to do art together. We had a group called the ‘Playful Creators’ who enjoyed all kinds of projects – clay, mosaic, painting, and more – wonderful times of talking, laughter, hands moving. Musicians and writers have shared here, too. I’m as happy and proud about bringing people together to create as I am of any piece of art I’ve ever done.” 

In her home sits the old bank vault that long ago secured money and valuables. Makes you wonder, though. What has more value? Long-faded dollar bills or the creative spirit Diane infused into this space? My money is on the art. It sparks joy. It fulfills. It connects people. And anyone can do it. Go ahead. Look in that mirror. Give it a try. 

 

Alfred was interviewed by his daughter, Heidi & two granddaughters, Kate & Andie

Alfred Ludeking was born in 1933 and raised in Waukon, Iowa. He was known in town by his middle name, Bervene. After time in the Air Force, multiple jobs and his education at Palmer College of Chiropractic, he and wife Shirley settled in Decorah to raise their three daughters. Alfred purchased the old railroad depot, converted it to his chiropractic office, and started his practice.

Alfred’s work ethic and desire to earn money started young. At the age of nine, he was setting up bowling pins. At 11, he became a paperboy for the Des Moines Register – you weren’t supposed to be a paperboy until age 12, but he impressed them. And by the time he was 13, he was holding three or four part time jobs at once. He would arrive at S&D Cafe in Waukon at 6:15 am to light the wood cook stove so they could start cooking by 6:30. He would start the fire, do his paper route, then go back to the S&D to fill the pop and beer coolers, empty the trash, do clean up chores, and eat breakfast. If he had time, he would help with dishes, otherwise he went off to school.

The local hotel got to know him through his paper delivery job, and hired him as the weekend clerk. On Friday and Saturday nights he would arrive at 4 pm, have supper, and then help out until 10 pm. He was also working at the repair shop, sharpening lawn mower blades and fixing bicycles. By then, he was so well known as a good worker that the owners of the cowboy theater drove out to Alfred’s house in order to hire him to take tickets on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Alfred is turning 89 in November. His family loves hearing his stories, as it reminds them about his perseverance, independence, and determination. 

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to go to college and that’s all I knew. People who went to college seemed to have a better life. I ended up going into the Air Force so that I could get the GI Bill, which would help me tend to four years of college. Once I got done with the Air Force, I went into the feed and milling business for two years and found out what it was like to have pains and discomforts, and the farmers who had pains and discomforts went to the chiropractor, so I went to Palmer College to be a chiropractor. 

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?

I worked at a repair shop that Carl Berg owned fixing bikes and sharpening lawn mowers and such. He was a real good guy and taught me how to work hard and stay away from trouble and drinking. 

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you? 

Coconut trees for the milk and coconut, a shady tree, and a fishing pole. 

Try to describe yourself in one sentence:

Be kind to everybody, be conservative and cautious. 

If you could eat anything every day for the rest of your life what would it be?

Vegetables 

A story from Alfred’s newspaper days: 

In 1947, as a Des Moines Register carrier, Alfred was given the opportunity to travel to Chicago with the other carriers, all around age 14. They took 90 cents per week out of his weekly $3.25 paycheck, which he noted was a pretty big hit for 36 weeks. There were 80 paperboys that went and the district representatives were their chaperones. They took a whole floor of the Stevens Hotel in downtown Chicago. 

They kept them busy! There was an informal restaurant for the help up the stairs where they would be served meals three times per day. Four days of entertainment included a Cubs game, the zoo and many museums.

When he got back to Waukon, he brought out the towel that he had taken from the hotel (as all the carriers had done), and his mother promptly cut off the Stevens Hotel logo. His family didn’t have a lot, but his mother would not have this type of souvenir in their house!

The carriers also received gifts every year, including a bike and a nice radio. He was a paperboy for 5 years from age 11 to 15 and that job gave him the money he needed as well as experiences he would not have had.

Read more probituaries here!

It’s easy to call yourself a lifelong learner when you work in education. That’s where Joy Miller started her career, before joining a farm family and co-founding Driftless Curiosity. The Wisconsin nonprofit hosts hands-on workshops, foraging adventures, wellness retreats, solstice celebrations and other activities.  

“Being a lifelong learner is just part of being a farmer, because you have to constantly solve problems,” Joy says. “You’re always keeping an eye on everything and wondering, ‘Oh, what’s this bug?’ or ‘What’s this thing going to do?’ There are so many moving parts. You have to be inquisitive and curious about your environment when you’re living on the land and trying to grow food for people.”

Joy grew up in Kendall, a small, southwest Wisconsin town along the Baraboo River, studied English and Spanish in college, and then moved to Alaska. After working for seven years as a teacher, youth mentor, and community program coordinator for a few Fairbanks nonprofits, she returned to her home corner of Wisconsin. 

Joy reconnected with Rufus Haucke, the man who is now her husband, and settled on the Viola-area property his family has farmed since 1976.

Here at Keewaydin Farms, a former dairy-turned-organic vegetable operation, learning took on a whole new meaning.

 Following a Thread

When she started helping on the farm, Joy was also earning a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. She joined the remote program on an English literature path, but eventually gravitated toward courses in environmental ethics, leadership, and food justice. Joy’s capstone project explored food culture in the Driftless and the connections between local farmers and consumers.

“I looked at why there is such a foodie community here, why there are so many organic farmers, and why people care so much about food,” she says. The bottom line, in talking to people, was that they had a connection with farmers. They had a connection to the land.”

Those conversations about consumer-producer connections stuck with Joy once she graduated and started applying for jobs. She thought about them early in the pandemic, when Keewaydin Farms’ community-supported agriculture (CSA) customers in Madison and Minneapolis asked about visiting the farm for some fresh air. When she and Rufus watched two summer interns from Chicago marvel at the color of a robin’s egg or get excited about an off-trail nature hike, it sparked long discussions of how they might share their farm with a wider audience. They wondered whether they could create a space that combined education, recreation, and back-to-basics community building.

“At some point one night, I looked at Rufus and said, ‘What if I just farm? And what if we just try to develop something here?’ Thankfully, we had the land and the farm and the infrastructure to start Driftless Curiosity,” Joy says.

Building Community Through Curiosity 

Joy and Rufus launched Driftless Curiosity with the goal of deepening people’s connections to the land through programs in experiential education, farming, social justice, the arts, and, of course, curiosity. It’s an ambitious mission, but one that is rooted in the simple act of asking questions and seeing where the answers lead.

“Coming from an academic background and having dabbled as an educator, I have seen that genuine curiosity sparks deeper and more impactful learning than just pushing a curriculum on someone,” Joy says.

She kept that in mind while planning the first of Driftless Curiosity’s seasonal experiences, launching in early 2021 with a maple syrup workshop. Nearly two years later, it’s still one of the organization’s most popular classes. Participants learn how to tap trees, collect sap, and process and package the syrup – and then, they sample fresh syrup over a plate of steaming pancakes. 

Since then, Driftless Curiosity has offered instruction in no-till gardening, birding, beekeeping, botanicals, fly fishing, Ayurvedic wellness, papier-mâché, and more. During this year’s Camp Curiosity, billed as a weekend-long summer camp for adults, guests experimented with pottery, copper working, glass beadmaking, mural painting, and even pyrotechnics. 

Julie Hanson first made the two-hour round-trip from La Crosse for a Driftless Curiosity maple syrup workshop and later attended a foraging workshop with her teenage son. They learned to spot and safely gather various ingredients, before lunching on spring greens topped with the types of plants they’d just collected.

“It was impressive because this is free food and it’s high in nutrition. That was over a year ago, and since then, I have tried to forage more and eat more wild food, in general,” Julie says.

She took part in the foraging workshop again this year, and she recently taught an herbal wildcrafting workshop that walked participants through the process of identifying wildflowers, harvesting plants, and creating simple tinctures. Julie has also joined the Driftless Curiosity board of directors and regularly volunteers with the organization.

“It’s just a wonderful gathering space. We’ve had a lot of participants who are new to the area and looking to meet new people. We also get a lot of people from Milwaukee and Madison who are looking to connect to the land. It’s a beautiful way to offer that connection and help restore people’s spirits,” Julie says.

Cathy Vosseteig drove from just up the road in rural La Farge for a perennials in agriculture workshop, and she’s also done maple syrup tapping and beekeeping classes. She recently helped teach a Driftless Curiosity food preservation workshop, as well.

“These events bring a variety of people together in a community setting. During the beekeeping workshop, I sat at a lunch table with a couple from the Madison area who were starting to cultivate mushrooms. I knew nothing about that, but there we were, having this side conversation. While learning from the workshops, we also learn from each other,” Cathy says.

Promoting Wonder

Since its 2021 launch, Driftless Curiosity has rapidly expanded its workshop mix by inviting local experts like Cathy and Julie to share their skills with community members.

“It expands the diversity of our offerings, but it also highlights the amazing group of artists, farmers, and other talented folks we have here in the Driftless. I’m excited to highlight them and offer them a platform to share their art or craft,” Joy says.

In addition to spotlighting the region’s makers and artists, the nonprofit showcases fresh Keewaydin Farms food grown right on site. Workshops typically include a lunch made with the family’s produce, and during some classes, participants head to the gardens to pick their own vegetables.

“I can’t tell you how often first-time visitors have come out here and said, ‘I’ve never seen a carrot pulled out of the ground.’ They’ve never had that connection,” Joy says. 

She encourages visitors to ramble along the farm’s rugged hiking trails, embark on their own foraging adventures, or get to know four fluffy new family members that moved in over the summer: two miniature sheep and two miniature goats.  

Whether they intend to unplug or arrive ready to learn new skills, visitors often experience a shift in thinking after spending time on the Driftless Curiosity grounds.

“People who come here get swept up in the beauty. It puts them into a different state of mind. They start to ask questions. Things like ‘Why do I do what I do?’ ‘Should I buy this food instead of that one?’ ‘Do I really want to do this job anymore? The Driftless is so unique and beautiful, and it’s a special place that encourages wonder and curiosity,” Joy says. “When people have those epiphanies or teary-eyed moments, that just makes it all worth it. You capture someone’s heart in that moment, and then they go out and spread that joy into the world. It ripples out and magnifies, and that’s just awesome.”

Plan Your Trip!

Driftless Curiosity is located at 15270 Haucke Lane, Viola, Wisconsin. Visit driftlesscuriosity.org to view a full event lineup and register for upcoming workshops. Here are a few highlights on the autumn and winter 2022 schedule:
Friday and Saturday, Sept 23-24: Natural Dyes
Sunday, Sept. 25: Building a Table Loom
Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1-2: Traditional Mexican Weaving
Saturday, Oct. 8: 2nd Annual Driftless Region Dia de los Muertos Celebration
Saturday, Dec. 17: Winter Solstice Celebration