Dan Goll of Garner feels blessed that he and his wife, Traci, are raising their three children in the house where he grew up in rural Garner.

“I always knew that I wanted to farm, but I started farming full time even sooner than I thought,” says Dan, who graduated from high school in 1987. He attended North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) for two years and started farming full time in 1990 due to his father’s health issues.

“I love putting in crops in the ground and watching them grow,” says Dan. “My favorite time of the year is when you just see the rows appear in the fields. It’s the same with livestock. I love it when calves and pigs are first born. You have to make sure that calf gets up and nurses and that the pigs get dried off and get something to eat. These times are what I love about farming.”

Dan grew up raising cattle and hogs still enjoys feeding them. He and his children also raise crossbred show pigs and Boer goats.

“Our kids have learned to accept responsibility at a young age,” says Dan, a proud father of three. The Goll’s oldest son, Alek, is a senior in high school. Erik is a freshman in high school, and Emma is a fifth grader. “They have to manage their time. They have school activities, extracurricular activities like sports, 4-H and FFA plus homework. They also have animals that require their time and attention, so they have to figure out how to find time to get everything done.”

Raising livestock teaches kids a lot about life. On the day before the Golls were supposed to leave for the Iowa State Fair, Alek’s barrow died. Any loss is tough, but it’s especially tough when a kid has spent countless hours working with an animal and preparing it for the show ring. Alek was disappointed, of course, but he also knew these types of things can happen. He told his dad, “That’s part of having livestock.”

Another advantage of being involved in 4-H and FFA is the opportunity to develop leadership skills. Alek has served as secretary and vice president of his FFA chapter. He has also served on the Junior 4-H county council and now on the Senior 4-H county council. Erik has been vice president of his 4-H group. He’s also been very active with First LEGO League, where youth in 3^rd through 8^th grades build and program robots out of Legos that perform multiple tasks, and with First Tech Challenge (FTC), a more advanced robotic program. Both Lego League and FTC are interests Erik developed through 4-H. Emma served as Hancock County Fair Princess in 2014. She enjoyed showing livestock for the first time at the 2015 county fair and is looking forward to her second year as a member of the Concord Challengers 4-H Club.

“The relationships you form through 4-H and FFA are so important,” says Dan. “You get to know people. You travel to places you might not otherwise go. And you learn to think about others and to get involved in your community.”

Giving back to his community remains important to Dan. He has served as an EMT on the volunteer ambulance crew for 22 years. He’s also very active in his church and has served as Sunday school superintendent, trustee, vice chairman, and chairman. He and his wife also led the senior youth for the past five years until a fulltime DCE (Director of Christian Ed) was hired this fall. In addition, Dan has traveled to Haiti on a mission trip where he helped build homes through the Global Compassion Network.

“Traveling to a place like Haiti really reminds a person just how blessed we are to live where we do,” says Dan. “I loved growing up on a farm. Even though my wife grew up in town and has worked her entire career as a nurse, she says she can’t think of a better place to raise a family than on a farm. I hope our children have fond memories of the time we’ve spent working together.”

One of the fondest memories Dan has from his youth is silage harvest with his father and cousins. They took turns eating at one another’s house, depending on where the fields they were harvesting were located. When it was her turn to provide the harvest meal, Dan’s mom always made Scalloped Eggplant. You might say it was her signature dish, so today Dan is sharing that treasured family recipe on TheFieldPosition.

A record $4,000 was raised for the Franklin County 4-H Foundation’s scholarship fund last week during the 5^th annual Brown Bag Burger Lunch. A record 796 pork burgers were grilled thanks to an outpouring of community support, including Franklin County Pork Producers, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds and Fareway. Special thanks also to Franklin County farmer and 4-H advocate April Hemmes for offering $1,500 in matching funds as a memorial to her father, who had served for years on the Extension council.

The weather on October 7 was absolutely picture perfect, so that helped encourage local business people to come to the Fareway parking lot over their lunch hours. Some people literally put down their end gates and enjoyed a picnic lunch on a beautiful fall day! Two local employers texted in orders for 50 burgers each. It was common for people to pick up orders of 12, 16 or 24 burgers to feed farmers in the field.

We thank each and every one of you, who come out and supported this life-changing youth organization! The inaugural Brown Burger Bag Lunch was held in October 2011, and I believe we sold about 250 burgers that year. The publicity for that event helped make county residents aware of our goal to endow a 4-H scholarship for youth here in Franklin County. Each year the lunch has grown.

Each year we grill more burgers, and each year we raise more money for local scholarships. Since this fund was established, we’ve been able to award six scholarships in Franklin County:

2012 – Jessica Buchanan

2013 – Ethan Meints and Karter Miller

2014 – Brooklyn Plagge, Joe DeVries and Jenna Borcherding

Below are links to Franklin County 4-Hers whom we’ve featured on our TheFieldPosition blog:

• 6 Reason 4-H is Fit for a King
• Franklin County Family Shares Favorite Bread Recipe
• 4-H Brought this Couple Together and Binds Their Family
• Van Wert Family Celebrates 4 Generation of 4-Hers
• 4-H and Farming are Plagge Family Traditions

In honor of National 4-H Week and National Pork Month – both of which are celebrated in October, today I’m sharing a recipe from the Hometown Potluck Favorites recipe book produced in 2009 for the 60^th anniversary of the Iowa 4-H Foundation.

Latham® dealers know her as the Sales Account Manager who answers questions about our online ordering and inventory system or helps schedule deliveries. You might hear her smiling voice leading SeedWare webinars, but Sandie Johnson is about to play a new role. Watch for her later this month when the Mason City Community Theatre presents Social Security by Andrew Bergman.

“Once you are bitten by the acting bug, it just stays in your blood,” says Sandie, who has been involved with theatre in many different ways over the years from prompting lines, sourcing props and acting. She played a few different roles in her twenties for Story Theatre, a variety of Grimm Brothers Collection and Aesops’ Fables.

“This is my first performance with Mason City Community Theatre,” adds Sandie. “Even though I have a background in performing, I haven’t had a stage role for about six years. I’m a bit nervous, but I have to say, I’m mostly excited!”

Sandie will play Trudy, a housewife who has been taking care of her eccentric mother. When Trudy decides she and her husband must intervene in the life of their daughter who is attending college, they take “Granny” to Manhattan where Trudy’s sister and brother-in-law own an art gallery.

“I didn’t audition for a particular role, although I hoped I’d get Trudy IF I was cast. She’s a character that is really a lot of fun to play,” says Sandie.

A lot of time goes into putting on a show, explains Sandie. There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes: set, props, costumes, lighting, music, and box office to name a few. But Sandie says it’s all worth it when the production comes together and the audience has a wonderful time at the show.

Make plans to see one of the upcoming shows at the Mason City Theatre: 7 p.m. on October 22, 23, 24, 29 and 31 or 2 p.m. on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 641-424-6424 between 1 and 5 p.m.

“There aren’t many things better than getting to see live theatre and catching a few laughs,” says Sandie. “It’s a great opportunity to take a night out before the snow flies and have some fun. Plus, it’s a really great play!”

Not only is Sandie involved with theatre, but her two children also were involved in theatre growing up. Her daughter even majored in theater in college. Today her son and daughter both live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, but they’ll make the short trip down I-35 to catch a show. You can bet her husband, Todd, also will be there. Sandie and Todd have been married for about 13 months, and with him, she has two more grown children and five grandchildren.

In her free time, Sandie enjoys cooking and especially trying new recipes. Today she’s sharing with us two appetizers that she has made for past cast parties, as well as one of her favorite fall comfort foods.