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Daughter Elizabeth and Tim move into their temporary home

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Guest Columnist
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Lovina’s Amish Kitchen
Lovina Eitcher,
Old Order Amish
Cook, Wife &
Mother of Eight

First of all, a thank you to all of you readers that attended my book signing at the Plain and Simple Craft in Shipshewana, IN. It was a pleasure meeting all of you! Even a reader from California attended. She was out visiting her sister. It’s always an encouragement to meet and talk to readers and hear all the kind words. Sometimes I feel like time is so limited with being a mother and also grandmother to thirteen precious grandchildren. It makes my time worth it all when I hear the encouragement. To me this is the only life I have known. It saddens me to hear of others that have never experienced the family life I do. It does make me appreciate it much more. I was very surprised to have Uncle Melvin (my dad’s brother) and Aunt Kathryn come to visit awhile at the signing. It is always a good feeling to visit with your deceased parent’s siblings. So many fond memories, and once they are gone the memories are all you have and you treasure them even more.

Wednesday I had a short but sweet visit from my oldest sibling Leah, age 65, and her son Paul Jr. They also brought sister Verena along. With everyone’s Christmas card to family and neighbors I sent along a slip of paper with a week out of the year to have them do something special for sister Verena such as sending a letter, a phone call, a visit or whatever they wanted to do in the week they were sent. Verena has many lonely days living alone and her health not permitting her to work. I thought this would be a way of cheering her up. This was Leah’s week so she hired a driver and drove the 2 hours to Michigan. After leaving here she picked up sister Emma and took her and Verena out to eat in town. Verena then stayed at Emma’s house for a few days. She sometimes spends a few days at Emma’s or here to help pass time.

Plans are to move sister Susan’s belongings over here to our pole barn on Friday evening. Sister Emma’s family and our family plan to all help. Susan had accumulated lots of things in her 44 years. Susan has been gone over 4 years now and Verena wanted this done sooner but is just not able to. It’s never easy parting with a dear one’s personal property. Rest in peace dear sister.

On Wednesday evening our church is having a farewell supper in honor of our deacon Sylvan and Martha and family. They are packing up and moving to Montana to make it their new home. May God bless them in this new adventure. We moved 2 hours from our home to our home in Michigan in 2004. I can’t imagine moving that far but I did find out home is where the heart is.

Daughter Elizabeth and Tim have finally been able to move out of their house and into their garage. They made living quarters in their garage making three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen area and living room. This will be their temporary home while they tear down their toxic mold infested home and build a new one. Their home isn’t that old but experts say it was already started with mold between the walls when Tim bought it before their marriage. This was a great disappointment to them and also expensive as they were advised to dispose a lot of their belongings that can’t be treated from mold. They have had a lot of sickness due to living in the house with mold. We hope life will start looking brighter for them and good health returns. Elizabeth said it’s not easy going from a three-story house to a small garage and finding room for everything with a family.

The dandelion greens are up everywhere and my husband Joe keeps reminding me that we haven’t had Dandelion Salad yet and before we know it the yellow flowers will be popping up making the greens too bitter to use. We use the young greens for the salad. We love the dandelion salad on top of steamed potatoes along with fresh bacon or ham.

God Bless!

Dandelion Sour Cream Salad

4 cups packed young dandelion greens

4 hard-boiled eggs, diced

Sour cream dressing:

1/2 cup whipped salad dressing or mayonnaise

2 cups of milk 

1 cup apple cider vinegar

salt to taste

Place the eggs and dandelion greens in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them.

Dressing: Combine whipped salad dressing or mayonnaise with vinegar and mix well then add milk and salt. I use a shaker bottle to make dressing or a quart jar. Any unused dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or more.

Variation: Substitute in season fresh from the garden lettuce or endive or spinach for the dandelion greens.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, The Cherished Table, The Essential Amish Cookbook, and Amish Family Recipes, are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email [email protected] and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.

It’s official. After 50 years, Kansas has a new record buck.

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Guest Columnist
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A 23-year-old Kansas man’s roughly eight-year effort isn’t over but just hit another milestone — getting his father’s 1995 buck recognized as the largest typical shot in the state.

Matthew Daniels said the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks updated its website Friday, showing his father, 67-year-old Albert Daniels, now with the top spot . He shot his deer with a compound bow while sitting on a limb of a cedar tree in Franklin County.

The rack measured at 200 inches.

The Eagle wrote in December about the years of effort Matthew Daniels put in to find and try to buy the rack or a replica . Daniels wrote and made several dozen emails, letters, messages and phone calls over the years to the owners of the rack as it went from the owner he tracked down at the time, a Maine collector, to an Ohio collector and then to Bass Pro Shops, which now owns it.

Daniels, an avid bowhunter himself, was eventually able to get a replica and surprised his father with it on Christmas Eve.

In the article, The Eagle also talked with the previous record holder, Denny Finger, who shot a 198 2/8-inch buck in Nemaha County in 1974.

Finger still holds the record for largest Kansas deer shot with a rifle.

Kansas is known for its trophy deer, but a 200 inch typical is more rare than Wi-Fi on a mountain peak.

The Daniels buck is one of 20 known typical racks to reach 200 inches, according to the Boone and Crockett Club, which keeps track of records . Typical antlers follow a standard pattern for the species and are scored on size and symmetry, while non-typical racks are scored on sheer size.

Matthew Daniels said he’s now trying to get a replica of the buck on display at hunting stores in Kansas for hunters in the state to appreciate.

Daniels learned in 2019 that his father’s buck had been on Boone and Crockett Club’s list of record whitetails, showing it as the largest known typical in Kansas history.

Now it is recognized by Kansas too.

“I feel proud, happy, and successful,” he said in a message. “A lot of work has went into this process and journey and to have things ending the way I had hoped for feels great.”

Daniels, in the WHTL podcast that aired Thursday , talked about the effort and his father’s reaction to all his son has done. Daniels said the podcast airing the day before the record was updated was coincidence and that he had been working with the state for months.

“I think he’s more proud of the journey of me,” Daniels said on the podcast. “The journey I went through, then he is of getting recognition for the deer. He doesn’t care (about) the record … that was on me to kind of, ‘You deserve it, dad.’”

Kansas growers encouraged to enter National Wheat Yield contest

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Guest Columnist
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Is this the year for a bin-busting wheat crop? Kansas wheat producers are encouraged to scout their best fields for entries in the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest.

Now in its 10th year, the National Wheat Foundation’s contest offers producers an opportunity to win prizes and learn from other producers across the country how to maximize their management to improve yields and quality.

“The goal of the National Wheat Yield Contest is to recognize the best management practices that help growers achieve high yield and high-quality harvests,” said Aaron Harries, Kansas Wheat vice president of research and operations. “With the addition of the pilot digital yield category, Kansas wheat producers have another way to demonstrate their ability to adopt and utilize cutting-edge technology, showcasing how innovation can drive both yield and quality advancements in our industry.”

Four main categories

The contest includes four main categories: dryland winter wheat, irrigated winter wheat, dryland spring wheat and irrigated spring wheat. Contest fields must be at least five continuous acres, planted with professionally produced, certified, branded, newly purchased wheat seed. All contestants must retain a 10-pound bag of grain for shipment and quality testing. If an entry places nationally, that sample will be milled, baked and evaluated by a panel of industry experts.

The top three yield entries in each category by state will be recognized. National winners will be recognized and awarded with a cash award, along with travel and registration expenses to attend the 2026 Commodity Classic in February in San Antonio, Texas. Top industry-desired quality will be recognized with an additional cash reward.

Digital yield plot category

A new highlight for 2025 is the expansion of a digital yield plot category, which is open to Kansas producers who raise dryland winter wheat. Producers can enter the category using digital technologies such as John Deere Operations Center, Climate FieldView or Bushel, alongside calibrated grain cart scale data, to submit yields from a designated 20-acre area. Producers can enter up to three fields in this category.

“We are so pleased with the growth of the contest and look forward to continuing to share the lessons learned as farmers work to produce high-yielding, high-quality wheat,” said Anne Osborne, NWF yield contest director, in an article for DTN/Progressive Farmer. “U.S. wheat plays a critical role in the world food supply, and the benefits of having the crop in the rotation cannot be overstated as farmers look to improve their productivity and profitability.”

Contest deadlines

Growers must submit entries by May 15, for winter wheat categories, and Aug. 1, for spring wheat categories. Harvest data is due by Oct. 1. Entries must be completed online at wheatcontest.org. Each entry costs $100, but sponsoring partners have entry fee vouchers available.

Partnering sponsors for the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest include: John Deere, WestBred, BASF, U.S. Wheat Associates, Croplan, Limagrain Cereal Seeds, The McGregor Co., AgXplore, Eastman, Ardent Mills, AgriMaxx, Bushel, DynaGro Seed, Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association, Mennel, North Carolina Small Grain Growers Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat, PlainsGold, Siemer Milling Co., UPL, Corteva Agriscience, Climate FieldView, Grain Craft, Idaho Wheat, Kansas Wheat, Michigan Wheat Program, Miller Milling, Montana Grain Growers Association, North Dakota Mill & Elevator, and the Northern Crops Institute. DTN/Progressive Farmer is the official media outlet of the competition.

All entrants must be a member of a state wheat grower association—like the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers—or the National Association of Wheat Growers.

Find more information or enter the 2025 National Wheat Yield Contest at wheatcontest.org.

BIG KANSAS ROAD TRIP POP UP HEADED TO MORTON COUNTY

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Guest Columnist
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The Big Kansas Road Trip (BKRT) Pop Up will take place in Morton County on May 2-3, 2025. This new version of the BKRT is the second Pop Up planned by Kansas Sampler Foundation since changing the format last year.

While the BKRT Pop Ups are now single day events, they still have the same feeling of an open house in the targeted city or county. The attractions and locally-owned shops and restaurants are open and give explorers a time to travel back roads and take in short activities that help locals tell their story.

“Morton County has a unique blend of assets as seen through the 8 Elements of Rural Culture. We are excited for explorers to enjoy the variety of shopping, cuisine and attractions in downtown Elkhart and then get out around the county to explore the Cimarron National Grassland, including the Point of Rocks, and make stops in Rolla and Richfield,” said Marci Penner, Director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation. “Think of this Pop Up as the starting point for exploring and seeing Kansas with new eyes. We hope to help you grow your appreciation of this part of southwest Kansas.”

The best way to find the schedule for the Pop Up adventures is to join the Kansas Explorers Club or to follow the Big Kansas Road Trip on social media or visit the bigkansasroadtrip.com website. The public is always invited to attend the BKRT Pop Ups. Each person, family, or group attending can choose where they want to go and make their own schedule. These events are a favorite activity of members of the Kansas Explorers Club, also organized by the Kansas Sampler Foundation.

“Kansas Explorers love to be around each other so this new format helps us encourage people to get on the road more often and experience more places,” Penner said. “Members of the Kansas Explorers Club were first to learn about the other two locations and dates for BKRT Pop Ups the remainder of this year. We’ll be popping up in Halstead on September 6 and Hoxie/Sheridan County on October 4.”

The mission of the Kansas Sampler Foundation is to preserve and sustain rural culture. One way is to create a thoughtful audience for rural communities by helping people explore every region.

For more information on the BKRT, go to bigkansasroadtrip.com.

The Wurst! Over 22,000 Pounds of Contaminated Sausage Recalled

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Guest Columnist
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Johnsonville issued a recall on its popular variant of sausage.

On April 5 (Saturday), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall on approximately 22,672 lbs. of the brand’s cheddar bratwurst product.

After two customer complaints, the company issued the voluntary recall on its cheddar-flavored bratwurst, stating that the product “may be contaminated with foreign material, specifically hard plastic.”

The affected products are limited to “Johnsonville BRATS CHEDDAR Bratwurst” and bear the package code B9FOD. The potentially contaminated sausages were produced on February 5, 2025.

“FSIS is concerned that some products may be in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them,” the agency said.

“These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” FSIS continued.

The potentially contaminated products were shipped to stores in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Consumers with questions regarding the current recall may email Consumer Relations coordinator Amanda Fritsch at [email protected].

Johnsonville is no stranger to recalls. In 2024, the company recalled roughly 35,430 pounds of turkey kielbasa sausage due to potential contamination with pieces of rubber, according to The Hill.

Also, in 2012, the USDA issued a report that Johnsonville’s turkey sausage with cheddar cheese had to be recalled due to a batch of the product being contaminated with pieces of rubber gloves.

 

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