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A hunter at heart
Dirkes is passing on hunting traditions to the next generation
By BRYAN ZOLLMAN Staff writer Osakis-When most people go hunting they load up their pickup, fill their tank with gas, hit the highway and head north. But Jamie Dirkes simply walks out his back door. Just behind the Osakis home he shares with his mother, Sue, are rows of corn, tall trees, and a substantially-sized pond. The corn is great habitat for pheasants and deer, the woods for all kinds of creatures, and the pond for a wide variety of duck and geese. Thats the nice thing about growing up out here, said Dirkes. You walk 30 yards out the back door and you are right in the thick of it. Dirkes learned to hunt when he was 11. His father, Jerry, who passed away a decade ago, taught him the tricks of the trade, and he fell in love with it immediately. These days he bow hunts for deer four to five times a week and then duck hunts Friday through Sunday. He works in quality control during the day at Lind-Rite Precision Company in Osakis. But once he punches out, its usually off to the deer stand. Because he works four 10-to-12-hour days he gets Fridays off. Thats when he rises early and heads DIRKES continued on page 6
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Jamie Dirkes sits in his duck blind on his 180-acre property in Osakis. Dirkes is an avid hunter and taxidermist who enjoys teaching children how to hunt.
ment when the project was complete is still vivid in my mind, said his mom, Shannon Koenig. His love of Halloween stemmed from his interest in Disneys Pirates of the Caribbean movies, explained his dad, Erik Koenig. Skeletons were a large part of the series and naturally, he linked them with Halloween, Erik said. This year, two years after losing his two-and-a-halfHARVEST continued on page 4
Six-month-old Nicholas Koenig carves his first pumpkin with his dad, Erik, in 2007.
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Country Acres
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Pumpkin Days
By HERMAN LENSING Staff writer AvonA sure sign of autumn is the annual 4R Ranch Pumpkin Days three weekends in mid-October. For 14 years, LeRoy and Eileen Ritter have opened their farm, about three-and-ahalf miles south of Avon, to guests. Those attending have a chance, rain or shine, to enjoy an afternoon of activities. It started 14 years ago when we had a lot of pumpkins. We picked them all and had them for sale, said LeRoy. The next year they decided to encourage visitors to pick their own pumpkins. From that idea came the concept of various activities. Today, a horse and wagon
For 14 years, LeRoy Ritter has greeted people as they attend Pumpkins Days at the 4R ranch.
PHOTOS BY HERMAN LENSING
4R Ran h
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A swamp monster appeared along the trail as visitors took a hayride.
shuttle service brings people from a parking lot to the activity area. Once there, visitors find games for children, with some of them challenging for even adults. A corn maze is cut into an 80-acre cornfield. If you go through without hitting any dead ends, its a three-quarter-mile walk, said LeRoy. If you hit all the dead ends, its a three-mile walk. Other activities include a petting zoo, where people can view farm animals close up, a hay bale maze for younger children, a lunch counter, pony rides, games and a hayride through the woods. The latter features interesting characters. Nothing really frightening, said LeRoy, but there is a wolf and a witch. There is also a pumpkin patch, where people can select their pumpkins for carving, decorating or baking. This
year, because of the spring and summer weather extremes, the pumpkins were smaller then usual, but visitors still appreciated the chance to pick their own.
Pumpkin Days usually attracts between 275 and 300 people each day. In 2012, there was one day with 450 guests. Visitors are not necessarily just local residents. They come from Alexandria, Glenwood, Melrose, St. Cloud, even some from Norway and Germany, Eileen said, checking the guest register book. While LeRoy keeps tabs on outdoor activities, Eileen monitors events in a store, which also serves as a pick-up and drop-off point for wagon rides to the activities area. Inside, visitors can find homemade goods for sale, a guessing contest, the guest book and refreshments. A popular item on cooler days is hot chocolate. Pumpkins Days gives people a chance to enjoy an afternoon in rural central Minnesota. Eileen said putting it together also shows another attribute of the area. We couldnt do it without the help of our friends and family, she said. They are a big help.
Eileen Ritter checks the guest list from the day. They have kept the book for a number of years. In 2012 over 400 visited in one day. www.apolloinsurance.com
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Kalie Ritter and the pony, Tub, provided rides for children during the day.
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did. This years Autumn HERO Festival will be held from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25, at The Great Blue Heron in Cold Spring. The event features dinner, live music, kids activities, a Jack Sparrow impersonator, a silent auction and more. We find that people feel good about buying a pumpkin knowing it is for a good cause, said Shannon. That makes the foundation proud. The tradition of pumpkin carving in the Koenig home still carries on year after year with Nicholas three-and-ahalf-year-old sister Maggie, who, like Nicholas, loves to make people laugh. Seven-month-old Andrew,
carry that on. The foundation has established its primary fundraiser as the Autumn HERO Festival, which will be held at the end of October, annually. Along with Bill and Cheris careful watch over the patch, Erik and Shannon and the committee members of the foundation have stepped in to assist. Rock picking, planting and weekly weeding kept the committee of over 20 members busy. Hot days, mosquitos and busy schedules did not get in the way of a successful yield. It never would have turned out this way without
the extra help, said Cheri. The fact that so many people are pouring their hearts into the success of the pumpkin patch gives me peace that Shannon and I are not alone, said Erik. On a sunny afternoon in late September, the committee gathered to start the first round of the pumpkin harvest. They picked, washed and stored nearly 1,800 Connecticut field pumpkins along with squash, gourds and miniature pumpkins. Our specialty pumpkins like blues, whites and super freaks will need a little more Members of the NPK H.E.R.O. Foundation carefully spray and time, explained Bill. scrub a load of pumpkins. The pumpkins will be sold at this years As they work in the pump- Autumn HERO Festival on Oct. 25.
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Shannon Koenig tosses a Connecticut field pumpkin to her husband, Erik, on Sept. 29. It was one of 4,000 pumpkins harvested in Nicholas Pauls Pirate Pumpkin Patch, grown in memory of the couples son, Nicholas.
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out. I enjoy getting kids into it. It is the same values that have helped shape him as a man ever since he went on that first trip with his dad when he was 11 years old. It is an appreciation for the land and the creatures that inhabit it. Its a calling to a simpler time. I enjoy the peace and quiet, he said. I can turn the phone off and just sit there with nature. Its therapeutic. And he only has to walk out his back door to find that perfect place. I dont have to travel far, he said. I definitely live in the right place.
Jamie Dirkes likes to take his beagles, Norm and Dag, out into the woods where they track shed antlers.
can see what is lurking through his food plot when he is not there. When he isnt hunting or working, he does taxidermy work in his garage, putting the finishing touches on a deer or pintail, or even a raccoon or a fox. I hung my shingle in 2002, but did my own stuff for years before that, he said. Northern Redneck Taxidermy is a home-
based business. Inside his home, which sits on 180 acres, he has several deer mounted, including 140-inch 10-pointer that was his first bow kill. When asked where he got his prized buck, he said, right out back. His garage is full of shedded antlers he and his two beagles, Norm and Dag, discover in their walks through the woods. The home also features several birds
When he isnt hunting or working, Dirkes spends his time as a taxidermist, creating displays like the duck shown above.
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A happy harvest
Zirbeses pick first crop of grapes, with help from family, friends
By CAROL MOORMAN Staff writer He explained the idea to grow grapes came from his sister, Paula Chapulis. Chad had the farming knowledge and some of the equipment, said Paula, also picking on this day. In 2007, Chad and his brother, Eric, were looking at buying land. Paula said the land would be perfect for growing grapes. We laughed it off, said Chad. But the grape-growing seed had been planted. When the land purchase fell through, we thought we have a couple of acres, so why not grow grapes here, said Chad. So what was once a Zirbes family farm, where Bobbi and Chad live, became a vineyard, giving Chad another way to work off the land, which he has always loved doing. Chads brother, Brian, graduated from Melrose High School with John Thull, who is the vineyard manager at
MelroseAsk Chad Zirbes if he likes drinking wine, and he smiles. We used to sit around and drink beer. Now we drink wine, he said Sunday, Oct. 6, as he clipped a clump of purple Marquette grapes from a vine his and wife, Bobbis vine. Four years ago, the Zirbeses planted 816 grape plants on 3 12 acres of land near their home northwest of Melrose. This year they harvested their first crop. Seven rows of Marquette grapes were picked as a light mist turned into a heavy rain, but it didnt dampen the spirits of pickers, who ranged in age from youngsters to the young at heart. Among the pickers were Bobbi and Chad, excited to pick their first crop of grapes.
Netting prevented birds from eating the grapes. Here, Mike Zirbes holds grapes he picked.
Last year the birds got our grapes, so this is our first year, said Chad.
Chad and Bobbi Zirbes were excited to have this group of people picking their first crop of grapes on Sunday, Oct. 6. Picking were (standing from left) Brandon LeClaire, Butch Neussendorfer, Roger and Sommer Althaus, Doreen Wenker, Sara Luebesmier, Eric Zirbes, Mike Zirbes, John Neussendorfer, Joanie Tegals, Jordan Zirbes, Dick Tegals, Tanya Middendorf, Jason and Julie Rausch, Rebecca Zirbes, Kyle Kampa, Vonnie Zirbes, Vinnie Zirbes, Austin Pundsack, Kathy Imdieke and Jacob Lebens; (kneeling) Paula Chapulis, Jada Rausch and Chad and Bobbi Zirbes.
the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center. Thull and wife, Jenny, and his parents, Marian and Dick Thull, grow grapes on their property south of Melrose. Chad talked to John Thull, who shared his knowledge to help this new grape grower join what is becoming a growing niche in Minnesota. Now Chad is doing the same with other grape growers who have questions. The camaraderie between grape growers is super, said Chad, adding, We appreciate all the help we got from the Thulls. In fact, the camaraderie is such that the weekend before the Zirbeses picked their grapes, they were at the Thulls helping them pick grapes also with rain falling, at times heavily.
Grape growing While the Zirbeses are in their fourth year of grape growing, the Thulls are in their seventh year. Half of the grape plants are seven years and the other half are six years. Your peak production plateaus out at about 10 years, so its cool to see how nice the grapes are setting on the vines, said John Thull, adding, Its a lot of fun from planting to harvesting. The Zirbeses are finding that out. In 2009 Chad and Bobbi planted grape plants by handMarquette, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc and LaCrescent. This year they planted another 1,500 plants. Its a nice variety, said Chad. Raising grapes is a yearlong process that includes pruning in January, February