Beans & Banter
We are Keith and NiCole Fischer, owners of The Mill in Bonduel, Wisconsin. The Mill is a coffee lounge, bourbon retailer, and boutique. But more than that, it’s a gathering place for numerous people, full of countless stories. Join us as we dissect our
Beans & Banter
Miss McClone: Bonduel's Agriculture Teacher
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What does an agriculture teacher actually do?
We talk about FFA, farming, livestock, the greenhouse, the county fair, student safety certifications, and why agriculture education is about much more than farming.
This is a funny, candid conversation about teaching, agriculture, and small-town life.
Grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and get to know Miss Mandi McClone with us.
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I hired a new lady. Her name's Patty and she's a nurse. The 60-year-old.
SPEAKER_00I saw your post.
SPEAKER_05What?
SPEAKER_00I'm free on the weekends.
SPEAKER_05I would hire you in a harpy. I know. I just And it doesn't mean like listen to me. Like, does it have to be in September?
SPEAKER_00Because like coming back to school, I'm just nervous. I'm so excited.
SPEAKER_05No, you could be like, I am only available this Saturday in October. Okay, yeah. Because it's when all the students want off. Is like we get like this weekend, we're all working. Like Keith, me, Cubby's missing football practice.
SPEAKER_00Because like I bartend at the lumber yard like once or twice a month. So like it's like I'll hire you.
SPEAKER_05I'm happy you didn't have your mom ask you for a job.
SPEAKER_00I can call her quick.
SPEAKER_05No, I totally would. I was like, I have to make sure I don't look stupid. I mean, I what about me? Oh yeah, I look fing hella god. Yeah, like hella god.
SPEAKER_00I like never wear headphones. Like I always have airpods. Cammy's like, can we get going back?
SPEAKER_04I've been recording this whole time. Have you really? Yes. Great. Carry on.
SPEAKER_03We'll see what the reel is gonna be.
SPEAKER_05We're gonna be checking ourselves out on the phone. I look hella good. And me threatening to break the kids other arm off the airbox.
SPEAKER_02You know George Phil and Freely Walk in your own.
SPEAKER_05Hi, um, my name is Nicole Fisher, and this is my husband, Keith Fisher. And today we This is me.
SPEAKER_02This is Mandy McClone and Millie.
SPEAKER_05Mandy McClone and Millie.
SPEAKER_02Did I say it wrong?
SPEAKER_05You see clone. Like I'm sure someone had to rewind it to hear what you said, I bet.
SPEAKER_02Oh, hypercritical today. All right. Okay.
SPEAKER_05Um go ahead.
SPEAKER_02Starting off really good. So we know we know Mandy's whole family pretty much. Just about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Kami actually asked me when I walked up here, like, how do you know Keith and Nicole? And I'm like, how do we know? Think of it.
SPEAKER_05Can you took pictures with me?
SPEAKER_00I know. And that's why I was like, I'm trying to think of my earliest memories. Yeah, too. Like not. But I think I remember, like, shortly after you bought this place, and you made that boudor area in the back, and I came with I came back there a couple times and it was freezing cold.
SPEAKER_05Oh girl, it was so cold.
SPEAKER_00And like this was not she didn't get boudor pictures. No, no, I was I was I was helping she was young.
SPEAKER_05I think you were underage at that time. I was. Yeah, so let's get that record straight.
SPEAKER_00But like it was so cool to me to like watch that. I've never like, you know, yeah, like just seeing. I remember the first one I came to, you're like, okay, you're gonna see some things with the Buddha pictures, yeah. Yep, but like don't make it weird. Yeah, like if you don't make it weird, they won't make it.
SPEAKER_05You were of age then, right? Yes, okay, good. Let's clarify that.
SPEAKER_00I was of age the whole time. I was out of high school.
SPEAKER_05Oh, okay, good. I was like, I had a minor taking bud pictures with me. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think I was more so there, like for support, like like moving the hair and like. It's super helpful.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and you were interested. I have you in my phone as Mandy Pictures still because then shortly.
SPEAKER_00Because she took pictures with me. Well, maybe not, because that was in the summer. I went to opacate with you for a wedding. You did, yeah.
SPEAKER_05The O'Brien wedding. Yeah, and it was Grant O'Brien's family wedding. Oh he wasn't there though. I don't know why Grant wasn't there or Lincoln. What a bunch of you did. You came to a wedding. I remember and are girl. We still have that minivan. Oh, I know. He drives it now. He's the loser. I saw it parked outside of the police station.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, oh, is Keith not coming today?
SPEAKER_05Guess I'm not special enough.
SPEAKER_02She's trying to wrap a couple things up before I got here.
SPEAKER_05Um, Mandy, do you regret not getting into photography? I still do it. Oh, you do? That's good. I do.
SPEAKER_00I Cammy's like, oh, so you're a photographer? I'm like, I don't know if I call myself that, but I just took my brother's senior pictures um with like he wanted the combine in the wheat field, so my brother dad was combining. So we went out there and I just do like little things, not anything crazy. The biggest thing I do um is at the fair. Like I just do all the ring shots and stuff, which is so hard.
SPEAKER_05It it is moving subjects are very hard.
SPEAKER_00And like the lighting in there is so hard.
SPEAKER_05When you can't control it, yeah, it's tough.
SPEAKER_00But so I just kind of do it for fun.
SPEAKER_05But what is it that you do? Let the audience know what is it that you do now?
SPEAKER_00So I'm an agriculture teacher at Bondwell here. Um, I have like a weird story how I got there. Like I went to college for elementary education. So um I went to UW Oshkosh, but that was during COVID.
SPEAKER_05So I never got that experience.
SPEAKER_00You did? No, because of COVID.
SPEAKER_05You got ripped out.
SPEAKER_00We literally were prison inmates. Maybe that's let's talk about it.
SPEAKER_05No, I wasn't what was it like to go to college during COVID?
SPEAKER_00It was terrible. I mean, um, I had a roommate from she was up by from Crivets, um, full circle moment. Now she teaches at Bondable too. But really, Miss Geezy. Well, Taylor Geezy, she's in 4K.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I didn't know that. So my college.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and Oshgosh, but we literally, um, like I was telling you before, we had to get um like the nose swabs every single day. And um, sometimes when they were invalid, you had to go in more than once. It was it was awful. But um, they brought you like your lunch, breakfast, like in a to-go container. Like you had to the day before fill out a menu card of what you wanted, slid it under your door, and they like knocked and dropped it off at your door. And like you had to wear a mask in the hallways to go to the bathroom. Like, I remember we were so happy our dorm room was like literally right across from the bathroom, like you didn't have to go far. And I got written up, like I got a um notice from my what are they called? RA's, yeah.
SPEAKER_05I think RA's, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because they caught me on the cameras at 1 30 in the morning without a mask going to the back. It I'm not kidding. Right across the hall still have like the ticket that was slit under my door.
SPEAKER_02Bad girls do bad girl things at 1 30 in the morning.
SPEAKER_00Like I just had to pee. I was like, they probably saw me like in my t-shirt. I don't even know if I had pants on, like curves. Yeah, and I'm like, God, you're watching the cameras.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, wow, you need to frame that diligence. That's historical.
SPEAKER_02They should work for the IRS, whoever that person is that was watching cameras. Probably are at 1 30 in the morning.
SPEAKER_05I'm writing this one up, not a single person in the hallway.
SPEAKER_00And it was like a Wednesday too. It's not like we were like a Saturday night where you're just getting home drunk. Again, like there were literally no like parties, which I never would have gone to anyways.
SPEAKER_05Yes, you would have. Maybe. Are you? Did you party?
SPEAKER_00No, like there was nothing.
SPEAKER_05But like if you could have, would have you?
SPEAKER_00I don't know. I'm always like a just hangout. Like if it were people I know, but I'm not like a rager.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah, I don't like rages. I better, I better lick that person. Who is that?
SPEAKER_01They're taking their snacks to go. I don't know about that.
SPEAKER_05Okay, so let's in case people are wondering if this is your support dog or if it's a support dog. We don't want the audience to think you're a liberal.
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_05I'm kidding. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm joking. I'm joking.
SPEAKER_00I actually am so I just keep making eye contact.
SPEAKER_05Okay, yeah, but let's know, let's really do it. Let's talk about that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, she um, I'm very surprised how many people are like actually really good with like not touching her, like respective of it, but she's the opposite. So she's a therapy dog. Um, and her purpose is to like provide therapy to everyone, like not to me at all. Like, of course, I take it up on it.
SPEAKER_05Um, so Mandy brings um Millie. Millie's excited, she sees little people. Are they little people? Yeah, she loves kids, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Come here, Millie.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_05What?
unknownWere they?
SPEAKER_05What? What did I say wrong?
SPEAKER_02Nothing.
SPEAKER_05That you're not the little people. This is gonna be need to be edited along.
SPEAKER_02Or it doesn't.
SPEAKER_05They're not midgets, little people.
SPEAKER_04There's a show called Big, isn't it? Big World Little People or little.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I what is the correct way of saying it now? Someone's gonna get away.
SPEAKER_04There's a show that was been produced called that, and I think it's still on, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04You're fine.
SPEAKER_02I think you're supposed to say that, aren't you?
SPEAKER_05Little people, well, but we don't want people to think that we have little people, they can be here.
SPEAKER_02And a dog won't bark at you all the time. But maybe just sometimes it's children there.
SPEAKER_04Okay, this may or may not make it in. So we'll see.
SPEAKER_00Um, but yeah, she uh we went through over a year of training um through Pets.
SPEAKER_05She's so good.
SPEAKER_00She is. Um, she has her moments. Like she I I um I've been going to school, like setting up my classroom and stuff, and then she's like so confused why it's so empty. Like even when we go, she's looking for her. Well, I teach high school, but oh okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you're just my friends.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so she like is on edge sometimes just because she's like, okay, we're everyone. Um but yeah, we she comes to school with me quite a bit.
SPEAKER_05Um can you explain like some really good, feel good stories with that you've had with her? Like just seeing obviously you don't need to name kids, but like interactions.
SPEAKER_00I have a student that um she's in middle school. She literally comes in my room before and after every single class, like in between every single class period. And even if it's just like a hi Millie, and like leave, like just a little interaction. Um that's just one of helps her, yeah. Many. And like I have so many kids that have never taken a class, but they just take it to be with Millie. Like now the word's spreading that she's at school more. Really? But it's like actually Okay, time out.
SPEAKER_05Wait, I'm gonna interrupt you there. She's like a gay. I I know why some kids are taking egg classes now. Oh boy, because Miss McClone's pretty. We've heard that. Cubby said that.
SPEAKER_02Didn't Sawyer have a crush on her?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I know that's why I was like, okay, never mind, we can't talk about we can't. Well, we can't talk about what I want to talk about, but you don't know what I want to talk about, so let's just move on. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00Speaking of Sawyer, yeah, I just have to say his like trailer thing. Every time I see him, I'm like, so what went wrong today, Sawyer? And then I saw what he posted this morning and I was like What did he post? It was like a meme of like I didn't see it.
SPEAKER_05He had his espresso machines broke again.
SPEAKER_00That it was, it was a cat outside of like something that said of course it is a cat. And it would be nice if your espresso machine worked or something, but like the farmer's market with the hail, and then my dad was telling me about the axle, and he has had the absolute He's been he's been learning a lot.
SPEAKER_05He's still showing up, he's still showing up, and he gets like in Keith. I said to I said to Sawyer the other day, I'm like, something went wrong, and like tragic like crap went wrong, not like minor. And he's like, I'm like, Do you see why now Keith does not react to anything? Like, you will be like, Hey Keith, the mill's on fire. He'd be like, Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_02I'll go put it out, I guess. Like now it's just like I'm oblivious to any tra any trauma.
SPEAKER_05It's just that might be that owning a business coupled with being a cop. Yeah, like just kind of numb to sort. I said you're getting very calloused in a good way, in a business way, very young, because now he's like yeah, like size and like well, and he has your genetics, he has my genetics, so that doesn't help. It doesn't, and his dad's so like I'll say one thing or I say a lot of things.
SPEAKER_02I actually had to tell her, I'm like, hey, you can't you can't raise up at a time with your emotions when he's upset about it.
SPEAKER_05I don't I don't raise up.
SPEAKER_02We need we need him to chill.
SPEAKER_05There was an incident recently that we're not gonna name names that he was at a 10 and I had to go to an eight, which isn't normal for me because usually I'm your hype girl. I'm usually like, yeah.
SPEAKER_02She comes into the conversation at a time. I'm like she doesn't know what's going on.
SPEAKER_05What did what did what did he say? What did he say to you about this? And Sawyer's like this, and I'm like, what did Keith say? He's like, Keith's gonna handle him, like, let Keith handle it. Yeah, not because I'm not capable, because Keith is better at putting out fires than me. And then Sawyer has the disadvantage of having my genetics and his father, who's at a 12, too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, do you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_05So he's just like he's very calm. Like someone just complimented him today in the boutique. They're like, he's so charismatic and like kind and like such a good business guy. I'm like, he is until you cross them. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02Like goes wrong.
SPEAKER_05Until you cross them. Then it's like I didn't say that part, but I was thinking, I'm like, he is all those things. But when you cross them, there's this he's gonna take your firstborn and burn their house down there.
SPEAKER_02But Millie didn't like that.
SPEAKER_05Okay, so, anyways, let's get back to Mandy. Um, so how do you think staff have felt about Millie?
SPEAKER_00I even have teachers that come and oh, I'm just saying hi to Millie. I'm like, hi, I'm right here too. Like, what? You just get immune to it. Like, even so we also go to like nursing homes. Um, I like all the um patients are we call them client patients, patients, I think. Yeah, residents. Um they're like, oh Millie, and then they're like, and what's your name?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, like Mandy. You came too. I think I should get a name tag.
SPEAKER_00Millie's mom's here.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so your parents love him, her, sorry, with the girl.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, my dad is always like a tough cracker, but like anytime I go to the farm, oh Millie.
SPEAKER_05And you said you'll get in your car and Millie's gone. He's on yeah, she's on the tractor with grandpa.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like um, I was there not that long ago, and I left her in my car with it running. Just I was running in the house for something really quick, and I come back out and I'm like, where's the dog? And I'm like, a couple minutes later, here they come on the ranger down the driveway. Millie's just looking out. I'm like, okay. And like our um his red fox lab that they have gorgeous dogs, beautiful, yeah. And she's so well behaved.
SPEAKER_05They have she is so well, he had her well behaved. She was a puppy, yeah, ish, like younger.
SPEAKER_00Broader into the mill. A couple months apart, like shortly after I got her, and then um Remy came along. But at first, like she's through the training we did together, like she came really protective of me. So, like around other dogs, she's always like, get away, get away. Like, not I don't know, but um, now that she warmed up to Remy, they're like be effects.
SPEAKER_05Doesn't she kind of look like um like a cop dog alert? Like she could bite someone right now. I mean, I know she couldn't. She could not bite.
SPEAKER_00She's like sitting with her feet.
SPEAKER_05But she's like suspiciously looking around everywhere.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, does P and Carl do that? Very seldom. Very seldom. She lays with like her most prim and proper females.
SPEAKER_05No, her badge is just on the couch. We're gonna have someone complain about that. I hope you shampooed that when you're done. If they knew what this couch has been through. And it's in its lifetime, in its life in our lifetime with it.
SPEAKER_02What our grandparents did on that couch.
SPEAKER_05What our grandparents got it's not Millie's is not your concern. Um, how did you decide to get into egg besides the obvious? Because it's obvious to us, but not to the others.
SPEAKER_00So we kind of got off track, but like I graduated after Oshgosh, I only stayed there because the whole COVID thing and just politics in general and being in the city, like one-way streets at campus, I was like, yeah, this is not for me. I I need to get out of here. So I transferred to um NWTC, did an online semester there, and that's kind of when like COVID was fizzling out. Um, and then all of my uh credits transferred to UWGB, so that's where I finished out, and I graduated with my elementary education degree. Um, I did my student teaching here in Bonduel, and it was the year that Nash was in 4K actually, because I had him with Teacher Geezy. Yeah, so I I was um her eight or like student teacher. Student teacher, yeah. And um that year at Bondewell, I don't know if you remember that, but there was actually four 4K classrooms.
SPEAKER_05His class is huge, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And um and they had like a retired teacher on one of them and a like short-term sub on the other. So like Teacher Geezy, Miss Hiska, and then the other two were like just short time. So um I graduated at Christmas, and at the time Mr. Gravels offered me the position. He loved you, didn't he? Yeah, you loved him, yeah, and then Kennedy, um, Miss Stose was the other one. So we just recently hired I she told me about the boutique you should come work with me.
SPEAKER_05Yes, you should. I would take you in the coffee shop though.
SPEAKER_00I would. Okay, or anyway, we'll go because like bartending, I feel like Yeah, you'd be great.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, okay. Um hire all the teachers, keep the kids in line.
SPEAKER_00So um, but yeah, so after I graduated, he pretty much was like, hey, like, come on, you you're gonna teach. So I did the like from Christmas to the end of the school year in 4K, and I absolutely loved it. Like, dream job. That's I always said I'm gonna be a teacher between kindergarten and first grade. Obviously, 4K is a little younger, but I feel like the things you did, I didn't even realize because we like 4K wasn't as big when I was in school.
SPEAKER_05Right, and it was more like daycare. Yeah, now it's like school, yeah, like playing.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, just the advancements that I saw the kids make in that half year, I was just amazed by it. So I was like dead set on coming back, like being a 4K teacher again. And then um, Mr. Battenberg, who was the high school agriculture teacher at the time, was like announced his retirement or whatever, and they internally posted it. So like they sent an email out to all the teachers saying, like, if anyone's interested. And I remember telling Kennedy at lunch one day, like, oh, I should just just like see what it's about, you know. I don't know. Like, I never ever was like absolutely not never teaching high school, ever. Like, oh my god. And I um replied to the email to Mr. DeWitziac. I was like, hey, I'm just like curious, like interest learning more about this point.
SPEAKER_05Did he know you were a farm kid? Yeah. And you were were you fairest to the fair at the time?
SPEAKER_00No, that would have been after.
SPEAKER_05No, I think you were fairest to the fair.
SPEAKER_00I might have like that summer, yeah. Oh, you were going to be. Because I was in 2023.
SPEAKER_02You handed off, you handed off the the crown of the fairest of the fair, which is pretty cool.
SPEAKER_05Okay, sorry.
SPEAKER_00Um, but yeah.
SPEAKER_05Because it would have been a time like, do you know who I am?
SPEAKER_00I feel like like my dad is pretty involved in the school. Like, I think he knew who I was, not in like a cocky way, yeah. Just like a farm experience. Yeah, yeah. And um, I literally sent that email and he called my classroom phone that afternoon and is like, can I stop in your classroom and talk?
SPEAKER_05Oh, that's such a great thing.
SPEAKER_00And I was like, oh god, I I literally remember going into Kennedy's room, like almost crying. I'm like, what did I do?
SPEAKER_05Like you're in trouble? No, just like, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00I love my job, but like I've always said, like growing up, I was telling Kami too, like, my dad kind of encouraged us kids to like try something away from the farm. Because I told myself I want to be in agriculture, I just don't know how. Like, I want to be involved in the world. It's such a cool thing. Yeah. So, like, when I learn more about it, and then I talk to Mr. Battenberg, because he was my egg teacher.
SPEAKER_05Like, when I was in a side note, and I think if you're watching this, she does not look like an each yeah. Does she?
SPEAKER_02Well, I think that's a little presumptuous.
SPEAKER_05I will totally stand by that comment. You don't look like your typical, you don't look like a typical egg teacher.
SPEAKER_00Do you know that like especially in our like section, like the state in the e world is like split into sections, like girl to guy egg teacher ratio right now is like I'd say 95% of teachers in the egg world right now are girls in our area. Like what Clintonville's a girl. So I'm wrong. Jired two young girls. Like that's impressive.
SPEAKER_05Okay, I was wrong. We need to edit that out. I can never be wrong on air.
SPEAKER_00No, but isn't that I think it's kind of cool. It's so cool.
SPEAKER_02Like I think we could make a reel of the times that we've been wrong on air.
SPEAKER_05How about all liver conversation? All the bloopers. I'm pretty sure they saran wrap it. Um, okay, so it's a female dominated like, yeah, I don't know why.
SPEAKER_00If that's because I feel like even my FFA officer team, like right now I have one guy who happens to be my brother, and the rest are girls. Like, I don't know if I don't know.
SPEAKER_05It's weird. Okay, it's a misconception that I had then.
SPEAKER_00Which I'll get to eventually. The FFA, like everyone. Has a misconception oh farmers, right? Tough, strong boys, but like I don't know, they actually like technically switched the name from Future Farmers of America to just like national FFA organization just because of that like stereotype, because people thought you had to be a farmer to be in it, which is like not true. I have I'd say probably 75% of the kids that are in FFA don't even live on a farm or know next to nothing about farming. Really? Yeah, like it's a lot of leadership and like I don't know, some of my judging teams, yeah, eventually like we learn about the different meat cuts and they go compete in it, but like something that they never would have like known beforehand. Like they're willing to learn about it. But I'd like to like, if I stay in this profession long enough to see like how many kids afterwards go into like an ag job. I don't think a lot of people realize like how much can be considered related to agriculture. Oh yeah, you know, like even food, like sort of coffee, yeah. Like coffee's an a commodity. Like I don't know. It's it's been interesting. So coming back, like he um when I said, Yeah, I'm interested in learning more, and I basically had my interview like the following week. And I'm like, oh my god.
SPEAKER_05What did that look like? Who was in on your interview?
SPEAKER_00It was actually like a more it was over the summer at this point. So like it was towards the end of the summer or the school year um when I said I was interested, he reached out, I um did more like digging, and then over the summer I had like a phone interview with him and then the current principal at the time, and then it was just like a lot of collaborating with Mr. Battenberg and just like seeing if I was like motivated enough, like it's a very demanding job. And Mr. Battenberg told me, like, I'll never forget, just don't quit. Like, that's all he ever said, just don't quit. Like it's gonna be a lot, but just don't quit because like it is it is a lot. Um, we do a lot all throughout the year, but it's like it has its moments where it's like, okay, this is why I do it. So um, because it's not only just like the teaching side of things, but like then we have the greenhouse. Yeah, you guys do them.
SPEAKER_05Let's talk about the greenhouse because I I think people need to know what you guys have to offer there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we um I the kids do a lot of it. Like, yes, I'm there on weekends sometimes. Like I have kids that will help, but um, in the fall into winter, we do poinsettas. Um, and we actually have like two or three churches reaching out to us now, like to do the poinsettas for them, which I'm a little nervous about, but um, because like I I have to remind, like, I try on Facebook and wherever else, like these are student grown, like literally, like we're not a business, right?
SPEAKER_05We are no, we so we are taking no complaints, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like they might look beautiful this year and next year.
SPEAKER_05I think your poinsettas look beautiful.
SPEAKER_00They were really good this past year. Like, I had so many people, what'd you do? What'd you do? I'm like, I have no idea. That's yeah. We're just going by the seat of our pants here. No, they were great. Yeah, so we do that. Um winter we have like a little dead stretch, and then um in February, March time we already start planting for our spring plant sale. So in May, like right around Mother's Day, we have hanging baskets and then like the plugs to like make potted plants and stuff.
SPEAKER_05So when is it that the doors open and people are like they're long?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh my god. I went to that one. I advertise the day. Um, it's usually like that Mother's Day weekend, but Friday after school, I I don't start it until like four, just so I have time to like after school gets out, the kids help clean up a little bit, sweep one last time, set the money up, whatever. And like the line is like wrapped outside the greenhouse. Most of it is teachers, but there are a lot of community members too.
SPEAKER_05But I a lot of community members.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And um and then you're looking at them, what they're grabbing, you're eyeing it up, you're like, Yeah, I wanted that one. That was me. Everyone's like, Oh, you're so lucky.
SPEAKER_00Like you get to what is it?
SPEAKER_02Come near house taking it hanging off right off your porch.
SPEAKER_00Just hold on. I think there's something wrong with that. Bring that back. Right. Um, everyone's like, oh, do you get like, oh, you're so lucky? You get to get first grabs. I'm like, I I really don't. Like, I honestly I take the like ones that need the TLC at the end of the time. You feel bad for them.
SPEAKER_05That's how I feel with feelings close.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I'm like, I'll take you home.
SPEAKER_00Nobody wanted to wear you. Yeah. So, but no, I I love doing it. I've learned so much about plants. Like, I was never, I was always an animal person, like not a plant person. I when I show at the fair, when I used to show at the fair, my grandma is like a plant guru.
SPEAKER_05Like the grandma at baseball games?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Oh, good to know. I'll have to get some advice from her.
SPEAKER_00Maybe I shouldn't tell the audience where she lives. But if you drive by her house, it's like a Hallmark movie. Is it? Oh my god, you should just take a drive one day. Like, especially right now, her flowers. She's out there. I always make fun of her that she cuts her lawn with a scissors.
SPEAKER_05Like, it's that perfect.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god. Full-time job. How is she doing now? She's doing good. Yeah, we recently um lost my grandpa, but she in the probably sounds bad, but like it happened in a good time because it was like right in spring, so now she has flowers. Like, yeah, she keeps herself busy a lot. She does a lot of like antiquing and stuff. She's in Oshgosh today. Um, I called her last night. She's like, I'm gonna go look at flowers in Oshgosh with so and so. So like she has this little clan of not old. Oh, yeah, experienced experienced women vintage. They like the Carols and her, like they just they they go and do stuff all the time.
SPEAKER_05So, but yeah, so Kim brings her around a lot too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but I used to so she would bring, she brings flowers, like car loads of flowers to the fair, car loads of like cut flowers, potted, like every and sells them? No, you just bring them to the fair and a judge looks at them and says, that's a good plant. Does she win? She does. She gets like merit awards and stuff. Really? Oh my gosh. It's actually really competitive with the experienced ladies.
SPEAKER_02Do they like legit beat each other up outside if they didn't?
SPEAKER_00That flower. Did you see that? Flower's wilted. Like I I walk through the barns with her, like during the fair, like after everything's judged, and she's like, a red? Are you kidding me? Like, really? Yes. In her antiques, like, that's a huge thing.
SPEAKER_05I don't know. You bring antiques to the fair.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and literally at her house, I'm probably exposing her.
SPEAKER_05Does she listen to this?
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_05She might listen to this one because I've heard Kim say on their podcast.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So careful. She has a lot of antiques, and she literally, like, you know, those rummage sale stickers you she like puts on the bottom what year she brought it to the fair because like she doesn't repeat it forever at all. So like to yeah, but like the crystals and stuff she has, it's crazy. But yeah, she she gets into it. It's interesting.
SPEAKER_05I like that. I like that.
SPEAKER_00But I used to, so she would have so many flowers, and I think there's like actually a limit of how many you can bring. But she'd be like, Oh Mandy, you should show flowers. I'm like, Oh, sure, okay. So literally in the parking lot of the fair, like before we're walking in the building, because for the kids, like you had to bring a pot up and say, Oh, this is a petunia, and like tell the judge. She's like, Okay, this one's a petunia. I have one's in geranium, like coaching me, like because I had no idea. So now I'm like, I was just taught, I was out visiting her the other day, and I'm like, This is a full circle moment. We're walking around with flowers. I'm like, Oh, look at that, look at that. She's like, She was so funny. Yeah, so that's so cool. She comes in the greenhouse and I like periodically, especially during the spring, because that one's a little more challenging with all the different varieties of flowers. And like I said, I I'm learning as I go here. She's like, Oh, you have to deadhead these or like do this. So she's a huge help, and I just that is so cool, yeah.
SPEAKER_05So that's like a really good hire for Bondo L because look at like how many resources you have, and you said that too. You're like, I know my dad will be a good resource for the school, and for me with the sign him up for so much, really.
SPEAKER_02Oh, he loves it.
SPEAKER_05So if you would see her dad, you'd be like, This guy is a mean, yeah, scary farmer.
SPEAKER_02But he is he's a great guy, he's such a great guy.
SPEAKER_05He has a soft heart, always willing to help. Yeah, yep, soft eyes, like he has the kindest heart, but like I literally will call him.
SPEAKER_00Hey, I don't really know what I'm gonna teach my class next week. Like, can we just come out for a field trip? It's like, oh yeah, sure, come on out. So, like, we go out there. Um, it's cool to like, because he's in the cattle buying industry, so it's like keeping like current trends into what I'm teaching too. So, like, some of the curriculum I adjusted a little bit um when I got in to more of like the beef side of things, not that the dairy industry is not important because obviously we still talk about that, but I feel like sometimes the beef industry not left out, but people don't understand like that a good steak isn't coming from your dairy cows, like it's coming from a fat steer. Um, so just knowing like having his expertise in that, and then like I don't know, there's a really cool field trip that we do there. Like, we the kids we learn about like how to evaluate carcasses, and you can only teach them so much like on a PowerPoint slide, but then we go out there, evaluate the live cattle, like how we think their meat would be, and then he sends them to the packing house, and then we actually like evaluate the carcass slip. Yeah, so the kids like seeing it from start to finish, they like that's like my favorite. That's my favorite class to teach because I love large animal vet signs. Like, that's my favorite.
SPEAKER_05Okay, so I'm gonna go off a little bit of track here, but not far because I want to ask your opinion. Oh boy, I recently posted um a video and I did it accidentally on the mill page, but it was okay. I was like, oh the dog one.
SPEAKER_00I actually opened Facebook. I'm like, oh shit. Yeah, she's and then I'm like, I'm just frisky today.
SPEAKER_05I am, yeah. I I was like, I'm gonna leave this. Yeah, because I just did post about the beagles that were tested. So I'm like, I thought it was on my private page or whatever. It could have been worse, it could have been political, you know what I mean? And um, but some lady came at me yesterday. I was walking out of Costco and she's like, So, so with this being said, wouldn't this mean you should become 100% vegan? Just saying, and I'm like, no, not at all. No, I I said that's not that's not accurate. I think so. It was a video about not testing on animals because a lot of your cosmetics get tested on beagles and stuff like that. How do you feel about that? How do you feel about that comment? How do you justify? I know how I justify in my mind about like eating a cow, but yet still wanting animals to have rights.
SPEAKER_00So we actually talk about it. Like one of the first things in either my small animal or large animal class, like animal rights, animal welfare, like and I actually give the kids like the freedom to come up with an argument and we have like an open class debate. Really? And sometimes, like at first I was really nervous because you know, like I don't want them to go home and be like, oh, Miss McClellan said, you know, like told me I had to do this, so that's why I leave it up to them to like pick their side and kind of just talk about it. Um, but more so for that, I just it's like the food to table, farm to table thing that I'm always like bringing up to kids. I'm like, yes, obviously there's there's bad people in the world that do bad things to animals, but I have to look at it, and I share the experiences with like when I showed cattle and like Lindsay Johnson touched on this. I hear it's the saddest day.
SPEAKER_05Oh my god, a fair day.
SPEAKER_00Like, it's a hard thing to like justify. Like you spend all year getting those animals to trust you and to like, you know, like you build that relationship, but like it's it's a hard concept to wrap your head around, but like it's reality, it's their purpose, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Like that's their purpose, it's their purpose, and it and I mean that in a loving way because I love cows, but like I think you can treat an animal really good in terms of it.
SPEAKER_00And it's like you see those TikTok. I'm not I'm not a TikToker. Okay, I'm not either. Like if I see a video about a dog, I cry instantly. And there's those ones that say like they don't like take them along because they're like their whole journey is the only thing they know, you know what I mean? So it's like I think of that as the cat like with the cattle too. Like, I treated them like those things. I've taken pictures okay.
SPEAKER_05I took pictures at the McClellan farm, and what cow Kim was really sad about that past. Um they know you guys, and when you come out there, oh my god. Kim was saying like they recognized your voice, and your one girl blue blue came out to see. I'm like, I I think if you aren't aware of like cows, you don't realize how smart they are. Yeah, oh my god, but and your cows are treated like royalty, yeah. So, and like that's what I think.
SPEAKER_00Even our beef cows, like our beef cows are treated good.
SPEAKER_05Yes, um yes, but like that's yeah, and so that's kind of like where I'm at with like I think it's okay. I don't think it has to be all or nothing with anything in life, politics, animals, nothing. I think it's okay to say I don't want beagles to be tested on for your makeup. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01I understand that really needed, yeah.
SPEAKER_05I understand that not when you're pretty, right? I understand veterinarian school, you do have to test on animals. I do get that. Like you do need animals for something, but like if you really look at like the receipts of all where the animals are going and what their life is, like, you're like, this is we need to do better.
SPEAKER_00Like this is totally a rabbit hole, but like if they treated them well and were like doing little tests on them, yeah, I'd look at it totally differently. But you can put them in a cage, yeah.
SPEAKER_05You can because that you have to control the whole environment on the test subject. You know what I mean? They can't eat grass, they can't do this. I know, I know.
SPEAKER_00It's like I get it's a rabbit hole that I try to stay out of.
SPEAKER_05Like you can you can be not anti, you can anti-animal testing and still want to eat them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I feel like that's totally like we have two separate classes for it, like small animal, like companionship animals that has nothing to do with livestock, right? Like livestock animals, I feel like are is a totally different alleyway. Is it hard to eat your cows? It is. I mean, honestly, we really don't eat our own. You're right. And like we do more so of like, so we have the beef cows on pasture, um, where like we'll feed out those steers. Um, and then if they're heifers, we keep them for like breeding stock and stuff like that. Um, but my dad also is like buying for different packing houses. So we have animals.
SPEAKER_05He's told me that you guys are pretty big.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he I mean, yeah. Tyson buys their meat, you said. Yeah, he um is in with Tyson and some other packing houses, but um Wow, I'm like I've been spoiled with meat. Yeah. Like I go to a cookout and I'm like where did this come from?
SPEAKER_05Walmart. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I didn't even grow up on a beef farm, but like we became beef snobs later. What is this? Um, can have you ever not butchered a cow because you got too attached? You were your dad, or nope?
SPEAKER_00I have like you have to because it's not healthy for them. You're right, like and then Can you explain that to the audience? Like, there's a prime age for like maturity of an animal, and after like you're eating the muscle. So if you think of like as the the more older they get, they're walking around more, their muscles are getting stronger, and their meat's getting less tender. Um, so like the more mature an animal gets, the value of their meat actually goes down. And just if they keep eating, like their sole purpose is to eat and get fat, and their bones can't. Look at a fat dog. Yeah, exactly. Now make it a cow. Right? Literally, like the steers at the fair, like a lot of them, people are like, especially for the fair, you know, like your end date, you want your steer to be like the finished fattest best at that date. So people are like pouring on the feed at the end there. Like a lot of them are uncomfortable at the fair. Not like in a bad way, they're just like they lay out and they're like, uh literally. But I don't know, it's it's something that like nothing if you're not in it, it's a really hard concept to like put your head around. And I try to bring that aspect into the classroom as much as I can, just so it's not like, oh, we are killing them. Well, yeah, we are, but like it's their purpose, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Again, like not sounding insensitive, but you said that the other day. You're like, it's their sole purpose.
SPEAKER_02It is about your classroom. I love I want you to know this, and I I probably have already told you, but I'm gonna tell you again on the record, because I love it so much. The idea of bringing like a safety certificate class to school as a parent, and like as law enforcement is the best. I think it's so awesome. What are you doing? So cool.
SPEAKER_00So last year, um, it's really like interesting. So this is I'll be starting year three. So year one was like surviving. Yeah, I remember you were like, I miss little kids. I don't know if I made high schoolers, but I'm like, those kids looked up to you every morning, like you were their rock star all day long. I don't get a hug all day. The high schoolers look at you like, what? What's it today? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Um, but they uh first year survival, you were saying.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Second year, I like was like, okay, that went well, that didn't. I'm gonna make this change, like just little changes, and that was one of them. Um and what is that? The first year we had an aquaculture class at school, and I only had like four or five kids in the class. So it wasn't like a high demand, and that's like fish learning about fish. Not that that's not important, just in our area, I didn't feel like it was prominent at the time. Um, not saying that I couldn't come back if people were interested in it, but I saw the lack of like safety certif certifications, so like snowmobile, boater safety. Oh, you offer that? So I posed it to the school board and to the my principals and stuff, and I said, Would you be okay if I took away this class? But offered this, and the DNR is amazing, like they are always looking for volunteer like instructors. So there's actually a couple schools around here, and I talk to their teachers. We have like a really cool um ag teacher like conference every summer that you get to collaborate, and I talk to them and they're like, Yeah, you basically you just have to like over the summer, you have to take some time and go through the trainings yourself to be certified. Um, but yeah, now I offer it's in like a half a semester class, they get hunter safety, boater safety, snowmobile safety, and ATV, UTV safety, and for cheap.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. It is so cool. Yeah, I and especially in this area exactly where it's so prominent. And the demand is probably ultra high. Is there a waiting list now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I have last year.
SPEAKER_05I bet your parents love that.
SPEAKER_00Last year I I ran it both semesters and it was capped out at 25 kids for both classes. And I haven't looked at my class numbers. I'm not in school mode yet. That's okay, girl. I haven't quite looked at my class numbers.
SPEAKER_02I have to imagine if people know that it's there. Keep talking.
SPEAKER_05I just want to record Millie falling asleep while we're talking.
SPEAKER_02Um she's been she's been closing her eyes a few times already. She's like, this is boring. Oh boring.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It is really cool, um, though, because even some of the kids that take it, they're like only taking it for the um ATV side of things or whatever.
SPEAKER_05But then you get them in the classroom and then they might take more of your classes. Yep.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Because they're like, Ms. McLuhan's cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And like they like coming to class and learning about boating. Like it's like it's something that it's an easy sell to them. That is like how did you come up with that idea? I talked to a lot of other teachers that do it in Wisconsin and so network. Like you said, I just I there were that that year, there were a lot of like incidents um close that hit families. Oh yeah. I'm just like, not that that's like why, like, because I'm not sure. So adds another layer of reasoning. You said it's just everyone's riding e-bikes, everyone's riding ATVs, and why not get them certified so it's legal and they actually understand the like my brothers grew up, like we all did. We grew, I until like say it.
SPEAKER_05Whatever you're about to say is gonna be funny.
SPEAKER_00Um my brother, my dad would zip tie like a block of wood to the break pedals so you can reach. Sounds terrible. But like we needed help. We must go in on the tractor and figure it out. Sorry, Dad. I promise we're safe. Like they all are certified and not all the stuff now. But um farming.
SPEAKER_05Farm life's different.
SPEAKER_00It is.
SPEAKER_05That's why employers love hiring farm kids, though.
SPEAKER_00Like just giving them that background knowledge of like, and I tell my kids all the time, because high schoolers are always invincible. I'm like, you don't think that this can happen to you, but it seriously can happen to anyone. Like that's the sad reality of it nowadays, that it takes a second. Those things are designed to go fast quickly. Like so, just I just tell myself that if I can at least get them like thinking about it a little bit before making a dumb decision, then I've hopefully made a difference. But yeah, no, it's really cool. Um, the kids love it. I love it. It's a fun class to teach, and it's very cost efficient. They don't have to pay for it unless they want the DNR certification.
SPEAKER_05Oh, so they can just take that's a good perk.
SPEAKER_00I they still have to like take the tests and stuff. So, like, for example, I have some kids that already have hunter safety, but they want the other three. You can still take the class, you just don't have to pay the ten dollars to get the DNR.
SPEAKER_05I'm sure there could be a fundraiser for that, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but they still need to take it for like their Bonduel grade. Like, I still grade their tests.
SPEAKER_02I know a I know a business in town that's really supportive of that type of stuff.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, we would support any kid that's in one of that is really cool. Yeah, I like it. Also, before I forget, before Christmas comes, you can sell your point setters here anytime. And if the school's listening right now, they need to set up a Venmo. So if people want a Venmo, it goes directly to a school account. Because I think um Ben Kral has issues, maybe he doesn't have issues, but he had something with the t-shirts. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, so there's some type of QR code or something that can link payment to a school.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So you don't have to worry about payment issues, it could be like cash or Venmo school. Um yeah. If you're setting up, but I you probably think you're gonna have that many.
SPEAKER_02So last year like churches gonna clean you out.
SPEAKER_00I don't so it I'm in like planning stages for points set, is like August is when you have to order them and figure that all out. Um, so I'm gonna contact the churches hopefully this week just to get a little background knowledge. But last year I actually over-ordered, and thankfully some of those churches came through and were like, hey, do you have some left? We'll clear you out. So that was nice. I was getting a little nervous. We were getting close to Christmas break, and my goal is to have them gone before Christmas break, so I don't have to come in and water them.
SPEAKER_05And we don't have a kid in band or choir anymore, so we're not gonna be able to buy them there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we saw them there. That's a usually a good place to put them. Um, and then just social media. I've really upped our um FFA Facebook page, and that's how I get a lot of things like online ordering and stuff out through there. But um, but yeah, I'll for sure bring some. I think I did connect with you like when I was getting nervous. Yeah, and then you had their bottom.
SPEAKER_05And I think you still have sausage patties or ham patties for me. I do.
SPEAKER_00Okay. I keep forgetting those.
SPEAKER_05Those are freaking car, are they bad leftover Canadian bacon? Um, the fair. Let's talk more about the fair and the FFA because I live, sleep, eat, you do breed the Shawnee County Fair. I know you. You were the fairest.
SPEAKER_00What does the fairest of the fair mean? It's like the official ambassador for the Shano County Fair. So, like the whole year of your reign, you go around. Um, I was, I think, in every parade in Shawnee County that summer. Um, but you just kind of go around and talk about like what the fair is, why you should come to it, and just like advertising for it. Um I don't know. The fair is like I don't want to say what like got me into agriculture because obviously like the farm, like being on the farm did like.
SPEAKER_05Who got you in involved in the FFA?
SPEAKER_00So actually, I was not, which is so like even my kids asked me this at school, and I'm like, I really wasn't like a active FFA member, um, because I was more of like the school to work. Like I did a lot of working in high school, which looking back, I really regret. I wish I was more um involved in the FFA, but I was in FFA for showing, is really why I was. What did you show in the fair? Um, I started with pigs.
SPEAKER_02Besides besides your uh plants and flowers that you stole.
SPEAKER_05That grandma had to tell you what to say because you didn't know what you were talking about, besides that. Fraud, fraudulent times.
SPEAKER_00Um that's not a good look. Fair so the fair frog at the OM. Grandma, what is this? Um, I showed pigs for a long time, which I don't know how or why. We never had pigs at the farm other than for the fair. Um, but then I got more interested in beef my last three years of showing, um, which I kick myself. I wish I would have got involved like with the beef project sooner. Um, but that was like my pride and joy. I loved showing cattle, and I still I still do. Last year I showed open class with my cow blue and her little calf. Um just to like and blue's still around, right? Oh yeah, yeah. She um she just had another shorthorn calf. She sued. Really? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And so why won't you eat blue?
SPEAKER_00Because she's like a breeding cow.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_00Like she her her purpose is to like have babies, like genetics. Okay. She's good genetics. Yeah, she actually she was one of like the early young cows that um our farm got into like AI, not not chat GPT AI, like artificial insemination.
SPEAKER_05Um not like an AI data center. No. Oh.
SPEAKER_00I you would be amazed. I would bring that, I would bring up like we talk about AI in the classroom, and the kids are like, oh, so like we're learning about chat GPT. No.
SPEAKER_05No.
SPEAKER_00Nope. This is a little different, a little dirtier. Um, but yeah, she was when we got into AI a little bit more on our farm, she was one of like our not test subjects, but it was one of the cooler, like colorful breeds, and yeah, she has good genetics. Not like a she's more of like a crossbred type of deal, um, like a blue roan. But um, yeah, she's she's just my my my girl.
SPEAKER_05She's a she's a cool girl. Yeah, all of our cows though, I just like you said, we literally go out on the pasture, my dad come us, and they'll like running across the it was the coolest photo shoot ever with all of your cows out there, and then our donkey gus. Um was the donkey out there during the photo shoot?
SPEAKER_00I think so. Probably like thinking does he think he's a cow? Is that he's like the protector of the herd. So this is a funny story. I had a fair steer that was very wild one year, and we could not like break him. And one of the things that they um that you can do is actually like tie them to a donkey because donkeys are insanely strong. Um, they can like carry two or three times over their body weight. So you like attach the halter to of the cow or the steer to the donkey, and then they like eventually learn that okay, I have to follow this donkey around. Um, so I reached out to one of our um Dean Nolan, who has horses uptown, and I was like, Hey, do you have a donkey that I can just borrow? He's like, Yep, sure, I'll be there in a couple hours. He dropped off this donkey, and it's been on our farm since. My dad's like, what the hell? Is that he was so mad.
SPEAKER_05I didn't tell him. No, you just surprised him.
SPEAKER_00I was like, hey, Dean's dropping off like for my fair steers donkey gets off the trailer. The thing was just castrated, like he was not feeling well. And he's been with us since. Does it help though? Oh, so hello, my dad won't admit it, but yeah, now he's like, holy crap, like, especially during calving season, like sometimes coyotes and stuff, like that's your concern with because they smell the fresh calves and they come attack them. But we have not had a single issue. Like, he literally at night will sleep, like our pasture has a hill, he'll sleep on top of the hill, like watching over the herd, and like he loves when the calves are born because he'll just go like jump and dance around and play with them. Like, he really he's like a part of the herd now. Like, I don't know how we never had a donkey.
SPEAKER_05What's your donkey's name?
SPEAKER_00Gus.
SPEAKER_05Gus.
SPEAKER_02Gus, Gus.
SPEAKER_00Gus. He loves marshmallows and carrots. Like, he will, if he sees you walking like anywhere, like ee hee ha. Really? Oh my god, so loud, and I'll like wiggle the bag of marshmallows who come trotting over.
SPEAKER_05The cows like them?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. They're stubborn at times, they're like a married couple to the donkey.
SPEAKER_05Do sheep or um obviously not sheep dogs, but do you have herding dogs ever?
SPEAKER_00We don't. No. Our cows are so tame, we really don't need them.
SPEAKER_04Cammy, do you have questions for her? I do have a question. What's the best part about growing up in Bonduel and then coming back and working in like you're basically living your life throughout Bonduel?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I um it's been really cool to like. I was born and raised here, went to high school, elementary, like I've been here my entire life. Um, and people always joke, like, oh, you're never leaving Bonduel. And I I really don't think I would. Like, yeah, I don't know. I I don't know if like I associated it with our farm, like just having roots there, or like I it sounds so cliche, but like this community like built me. Like, I learned I went to different things around here, and like I've seen businesses like this bloom up, like I can't remember how many times I drove by the speed mill before it was this. So, like just being a part of it and watching it like grow, and I think being involved in the school is also like a huge thing that keeps me here because I know how good it is. Like, it is a great school, yeah. Especially being in like the 4K, like it's such a good program for young kids, and now like being a part of the high school, seeing full circle, like I don't know, yeah. I just I love it here. It is a great community, it is, and I we love it too.
SPEAKER_02We're not gonna leave either.
SPEAKER_00No, um, I just love the fact, especially my position now. Like, if I need something, I literally just ask, and most of the time people are like, Oh yeah, so and so, like, contact this person, or like if I need a guest speaker about, for example, the we have beehives at the school, and I don't I didn't know a thing about bees. Um, and Craig with Huffa Park Honey came in and just talked to my class for 10-15 minutes, but like just like little things.
SPEAKER_02He can't talk for 10 minutes.
SPEAKER_00I think he had like another presentation, and he stopped in to like help me with my bees and like pop in.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00He's an awesome guy. Yeah, I don't know, it's just like this small community, and then like moving away to Oshgosh, like I said, I just the horns honking and everything. I'm just like, I miss my small town. Like, I just want to go back to like where you know everyone, you smile. Like, yep, I feel like the Midwest is very friendly, and you know that you just go to Walmart and you can say hi to 10 people in there, you might know them or you might not.
SPEAKER_05Right there.
SPEAKER_00I know I have to go here straight.
SPEAKER_05Well, I went to Costco, so did you land on Costco? I went there first. Which one do you prefer, Costco or Sam's?
SPEAKER_00Maybe I shouldn't reveal my secrets, but Kim has a Sam's membership. My mom has Costco, so like Oh, so you're a hustle.
SPEAKER_02Who sponsors us? Maybe that will decide.
SPEAKER_05Costco or yeah, Sam's or the Sam's.
SPEAKER_00So I go to both, although I like don't really need that much.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, when you go, it's like you have to buy so much. Yes. For a year for you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like I it's just like some of those bigger things that you're definitely getting a better deal in bulk, but even like peanut butter for the mill.
SPEAKER_05I'm like, this is so much cheaper.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So much cheaper.
SPEAKER_03Where?
SPEAKER_00Huh? Where? Just like in bulk, either one.
SPEAKER_03Which one?
SPEAKER_05What are you saying? What way is your heart pulling you? For oh, Sam's or Costco? I haven't been into Sam's club yet for years. I don't even know.
SPEAKER_00I always remember like the free samples.
SPEAKER_05I like I filled up on those yesterday.
SPEAKER_02We had a Costco membership for years and never used it.
SPEAKER_05You have to re- you have to you automatically. No, you don't.
SPEAKER_02You sure?
SPEAKER_05They have good clothes. They do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_05They do.
SPEAKER_02Costco?
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_02Not a sponsor.
SPEAKER_05Not that I like it. They even have Columbia. Yeah, like Rebom. And Eddie Bauer.
SPEAKER_02And like Eddie Bauer still gap.
SPEAKER_05They have gap.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_05Eddie Bauer's still around? Eddie Bauer, yeah. Uh your kid has an Eddie Bower jacket.
SPEAKER_02Which one?
SPEAKER_05Nash. Or Knox. Nox has an Eddie Bauer jacket. That orange and blue one. It was actually not very expensive. Not because, like, whatever. Uh Mandy, we really like that you came on.
SPEAKER_02Was it as terrible as you thought it was gonna be? You're a really good talking.
SPEAKER_05She's really good at talking.
SPEAKER_00I I was like, I was telling Cammy, I'm like, I feel like once I just start talking to them, I talk to them all the time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05It's super we're not gonna like trip you up with stupid stuff.
SPEAKER_00I was I told Cammy. Oh, you didn't ask a weird question. I was we have to ask her. I'm so scared for these aliens. I've never been into like alien spaceships. And now that the government says like all these podcasts I can do.
SPEAKER_02Do you believe in write down that conspiracy theory? Rabbit hole.
SPEAKER_00I literally don't know. I was always like I watched one of the podcasts where you're like, you can't compare them to E.T. I was terrified of that movie growing up.
SPEAKER_05Oh, see, it was my favorite movie growing up.
SPEAKER_00I was always scared.
SPEAKER_05I I felt bad for him. I was scared of the the guys in the mass.
SPEAKER_01Now like watching them.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it is a scary movie though. Like it's definitely so Steven Spielberg's new movie that we I kind of watched before a bat came in. Can we do a little side clip about this bat situation three weeks ago? I was downstairs changing kitty litter box and feeding them, and something went like and smokey or a cat went like this, and I saw a bat flying around. So I went upstairs calmly because I'm a calm person when I'm like scared.
SPEAKER_02It was screaming.
SPEAKER_05I wasn't yelling. No, I swear to God.
SPEAKER_02I swear.
SPEAKER_05This is like in the house.
SPEAKER_02No, Millie doesn't like bats.
SPEAKER_05I went upstairs. I said calmly, I'm like, Keith, and there is a bat downstairs and it's flying around. You need to go down and get it. He was not uh I'm like, I swear to God, I hate bats. Yeah, he went down there for a long time and he's like, There's no bat.
SPEAKER_02I was I I hunted for a solid two hours.
SPEAKER_05Oh, he went down, and then the next night, I'm like, there's a bat. I'm not going down to feed the cats. There's a bat.
SPEAKER_02I sat for how long? Did not find it. And our our basements at basement. We like they came to we don't have any finished area, it's all unfinished. Like and one side's cat stuff. Main part of it is a bunch of weights, and then another section for baseball stuff. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And um, so now let's fast.
SPEAKER_02All the all the ductwork is up in you know, inside of the joyce, like so. There's a lot of places to hide. Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_05So like picture so three weeks later, I'm just I'm I'm wrapping it up because it's almost new and I have to pick up the kids from Bible Camp. Um three weeks later. No. Three weeks later, we're laying on the couch watching what movie? What is it called?
SPEAKER_02I don't know. Oh disclosure day. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Yes, you know, because I want to see it. It's so good. Well, I fell asleep.
SPEAKER_02But not that good. It's so good. It's so good. So good, but not Keith is like to keep you up.
SPEAKER_05Keith is like, uh, and I saw something too. He's like, oh, there's a bat up here.
SPEAKER_02Before that, while we're like before that, I heard and she popped up like a and then I went over by the cat.
SPEAKER_05I'm like, what are you doing? And uh smoke or white cat, Sawyer's fat cat, was laying on the rug, and I'm like, what was he, what was he scratching? Because it was cloth, and it was like nails on one. And I'm like, okay, and I lay back down, I hear it again. I'm like, do you hear that? He's like, Yeah. And then probably a minute later, it came through the kitty door from the basement. Keith cut out a kitty in our door so the cats could only come in, and so the dogs wouldn't go down there and eat the cat food and poop. And so the bat climbed, I imagining like this, climbed through the three-week old bat. Oh my gosh. And so it was flying all around her house at 11:30 at night. So, what where do I run? Outside, because there's no bats out there.
SPEAKER_00No, never.
SPEAKER_05I'm watching from the patio, and Keith's trying to hit it with this broom, and it goes behind a painting a customer gave me, like a vintage old floral painting with a gold, beautiful frame. It's up in our hallway, and it goes behind there, and Keith's like, God, got the smashing the painting into the wall. I'm like, she's like, and then it's just he said, There's blood. I got it. Okay, I don't think we're supposed to kill bats, but we did try everything to get it out.
SPEAKER_04Did you take a video?
SPEAKER_05No, I was terrified. I was outside. I'm not scared of mini things. I'm really not. But bats, I don't like, I don't like, I don't like how they bats don't bother me.
SPEAKER_02I think they do a little bit.
SPEAKER_00I think they have like I don't want to be bit by it. Okay, this brings me back to like the question you always ask about the your oldest memory or whatever.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Like, do you have something? No, but I've had mini. Do you know how like what's your oldest memory?
SPEAKER_02It's my question.
SPEAKER_00You just hurt his feelings.
SPEAKER_02Oh, sorry, go ahead. It's too late.
SPEAKER_05You're gonna, you're gonna like sad.
SPEAKER_00It's a bee sting.
SPEAKER_05Oh my gosh. I know we need to do something about this. There is so there's something about this.
SPEAKER_00There's a little, there's I know your time crunch, but this is a I want to hear about you getting stung. So on the farm, we have apple trees in like the front yard. And every time before we went and like before dad would go mobile on, like, we'd help collect apples and put them in like those big um like barrels, those plastic like oil barrels, I guess. Um, because then sometimes we would go feed them to the cows or whatever. So um we had a cow named Bingie, which there's a backstory on her, but she would always come up by the fence and I'd no, no, no, no. I don't even know where the name came from, but I would always go on the barrel, grab apples, and go feed Bingie. So, me young, I don't even know how old I was. Like, I couldn't see over the barrel. Like, I would just put my arm in and grab. Well, I these are like rotten apples, and there were bees on the apples, and I went and picked and um got stung. And my dad said that he like remembers clear as day the bloody murder scream of like me just like screaming from getting um bit. But yeah, I don't that's like honestly, every podcast I'm like, no.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, there must must be trauma. It must be a trauma.
SPEAKER_02Think of how soft and tender kids and their little hands are and the stings are like especially wasps.
SPEAKER_00We live in like a old farmhouse too. Like one of my brothers, we were just talking about this with my dad. Like one of them, their crib was upstairs, and like there were always my room was upstairs, um, and there were always bees up there, and one of them got stung like in the crib. I remember like putting a shirt on and getting stung because the bee was like in my shirt. So, like, we always had bees like in the old farmhouse, but yeah, backstory on binge. Um, my dad actually I don't think he can get in trouble anymore for this. He he used to work for like a packing plant. Like, I'm talking probably out of high school, like early, like he was young, and um like on the kill floor, so um sometimes cows would come in and like they would still be pregnant, and he was working and there was a calf on the floor, and like you were supposed to just take care of them, like you know, kill them, and yeah, and um the baby, yeah, yeah. He grabbed the baby and he had an old car.
SPEAKER_05I love your dad.
SPEAKER_00Open the truck, he saved it. Oh he's and like they would they would like check vehicles like when you left, like it was like a house inspected like packing plant, you know what I mean? So he's just like driving.
SPEAKER_02Statue of limitations.
SPEAKER_00I mean, that's basically that cow lived on our farm. She was 26 years old. Come on, she had 28 calves, a couple twins in there. Cool story buried on our pasture hill. You buried her? Like, she was like my dad's cow, binge. We now like buttercup. We have a couple of like that's where I'm saying our cows are like our family.
SPEAKER_05Like, literally, I I love your family in their farm.
SPEAKER_00Another one that has been raised on our front lawn when I was a kid when my brothers were little, and now she's she doesn't have calves anymore because she's that old, but she's gotta be up in the 20s too.
SPEAKER_05But yeah, binge was that is such a great story.
SPEAKER_00So, like, yeah, there's trauma with like the beast thing, but it was for binge. Oh, binge, and I like your dad even more now.
SPEAKER_05I know. Ask him about it, he'll tell you about he's a hard guy not to like, he's a hard guy not to like, but like you see him though, you're like, smart. Not like he I don't want you to like think he's like homely scary.
SPEAKER_00No, no, you know what I mean? Like I always like like in high school when I would be like talking to a guy, like my dad is I don't want to meet my dad.
SPEAKER_05Like he'll yeah, dad always kind of like like when I'd be like, What are you drinking? He's like, I well, regular and half decaf, maple syrup, splash it's maple syrup, yeah, maple syrup, little little sugar-free chocolate. I'm like, duh. I'm sorry. Yes, yes, that's uh that's him. I love him, but thank you so much, Mandy, for coming on. Of course.
SPEAKER_03Yes, thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_05It was fun. It was fun. We'll have you again. Yeah, when you have like something you want to talk about with school too. Like there's not a girl.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we didn't even touch on FFA. There's nothing.
SPEAKER_05They could have you bring a student.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they love that. They love when I sign them up for things.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and then we could talk more about FFA.
SPEAKER_02Your dad see what other crimes he's committed.
SPEAKER_05That listen to the stealing cow maybe too. Stealing a cow that they were gonna kill. They were gonna kill.
SPEAKER_02I wouldn't worry about it if you get the story behind that.
SPEAKER_05That is such a good story. I can just like imagine him shoving hiding it in the trunk. Like a trunk.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I wasn't it wasn't. I wonder how long a shift was yet. How long did it sit in there? Where'd you guys go?
SPEAKER_00He probably called in sick or something. Yeah, you gotta go.
SPEAKER_05He probably said I gotta go.
SPEAKER_00Aww, a hard shell, but very soft.
SPEAKER_05Yep. Well, thanks, Mandy. We'll have you on again. Yeah. All right, see you guys next Tuesday. We didn't even clap. Oh, see you next Tuesday.