Those who live far from four lane highways and interstates must consider a new issue when we travel to distant appointments. In the past, you could figure a mile a minute on open highway in good weather. Tweak that for town speed limits and stoplights. Only during harvest season did you expect to deal with slow moving, oversized vehicles. Nowadays, travelers heading south down Highway 183 from Phillipsburg anticipate a slow jaunt not behind just one wind tower or blade in tow, but several. Fortunate drivers will cruise at a crawl until they pass those behemoths.

Recently, I’ve experienced instances heading to an appointment in Hays where I found myself thrilled that my family trained me to leave well ahead of time no matter what the reason. Here’s the dilemma. How early does one need to depart when caravans of wind turbine carriers take over a road designed for 65 mph traffic and roll along at 40 to 50 miles an hour?

The other day, my dentist worked me in for an emergency appointment at noon. I calculated mileage and slowdowns through the five communities along my path. Under perfect conditions, I’d arrive in 1 1/2 hours. In less than optimal circumstances, I’d need another 15 minutes, so I left 35 minutes early. You can imagine my chagrin when I spied slow-moving vehicle flashers at Glade.

Initially, I figured I’d pass the warning vehicle, turbine truck, and the pickup ahead of it with blinking yellow lights before Stockton’s city limit sign. No worries. I had yet to note two additional long, white, ultra-wide pillars and their escorts. My hopes sank when those became visible once I reached the region’s highest hill. Darn! I counted fourteen vehicles trapped ahead of me amongst these diesel tortoises’ creeping procession. I looked in the rear view mirror and noted at least four agitated drivers behind me. Nineteen of us were murmuring unkind thoughts about the economic benefits of wind generated electricity.

At Stockton, my bladder announced the arrival of that morning’s coffee. I’d passed one turbine team so there was no way I’d listen to nature’s irritating call. By Plainville, that organ screamed on high alert, but by then, I’d overtaken the other two units. Uncomfortable beyond belief, I writhed in my seat and set the accelerator for the speed limit plus tolerance once I exited town.

That 24 miles to Hays was miserable. Side roads called me to pull over until I glanced in my rearview mirror to see the bright orange end of that huge pillar trailing behind. In response, I squinched around until I found a tolerable position and maintained speed. No way was I letting either that convoy or a trooper slow me again.

By the time I reached Wendy’s, I had just enough lead for a pit stop that would permit me to stay ahead of my nemesis. I reached the dentist with two minutes to spare. That’s a close call for someone who’s been taught to arrive at least 10 minutes early to all life events.

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

San Diego, California. A package of delicious cherry rolls is being delivered to a customer. Would you believe, these baked goods were prepared by a family living half a continent away in rural Kansas?

Greg and Ruby Wolf are the owners of the Family Food Store, source of the cherry rolls that went to California. Greg grew up on a farm near Quinter during the farm crisis of the 1980s.

“I grew up thinking I was going to farm, but the farm economy took me away from that,” Greg said. “It gave me a desire to help farm families.”

Greg grew up in the Old German Baptist Brethren church. “We’re a conservative church somewhat similar to the Amish and Mennonite,” Greg said. “We drive cars, but we choose a simple lifestyle with no television, radio, or Internet.” It’s a close-knit fellowship, with lots of connections between churches.

Greg went to junior college in California and then transferred to K-State for a degree in agricultural economics. He took a position with a business in Ohio near one of those churches. There he met and married Ruby.

One day when they were visiting family back home in Kansas, Greg happened to pick up a copy of the High Plains Journal. He noticed an ad for Kennedy and Coe, offering a team consulting approach to their agricultural clients. It was the opportunity he had been seeking to help farm families.

Greg applied for the job and was interviewed by Kennedy and Coe representatives in Wichita. Then, out of the blue, they offered to place him in the company’s Pratt office. It was near the town of Sawyer which has a church from Greg’s denomination. Greg took the job and moved to Sawyer.

For 15 years, Greg commuted to Pratt. “Most days I would drive past the café in Sawyer,” Greg said. “I saw it reopen under new owners and then close again several times over the years, eventually remaining closed.”

Meanwhile, Greg and Ruby were dreaming of a business which could involve their growing family. By now they had six children, five girls and a boy. They wanted it to be a food business because of their ties to agriculture, but they were seeking something beyond the typical small town café or grocery store.

Ultimately, Greg bought that building and started his new business called the Family Food Store. In October 2012, it opened for business in Sawyer.

“The store had five divisions when we opened: Specialty groceries such as private label jams, jellies, and salsas; a bakery; bulk foods which we package ourselves; a deli with sliced meats and cheeses plus sandwiches and dining capacity of 35 people; and homemade foods such as frozen pizzas and casseroles,” Greg said. “People can buy food and eat it here or take it home,” he said. The store is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

“Recently we have added two more product lines: Household, non-food items such as aprons, homemade soaps, pillows, gift and boutique items, and outdoor furniture made from recycled polyethylene plastic,” Greg said.

A common theme is family. The kids help operate the store and pitch in to bake products on off days. “We wanted our family to learn the dynamics of customer care, and this has exceeded our expectations,” Greg said.

The quality and goodness of the product frequently draws visitors from Wichita as well as passing travelers or those visiting family in the area. “Literally every week there are people from the east or west coast in our store,” Greg said. “We’ve become a destination shopping experience for people in Wichita.” Occasionally there is even a request for their baked goods like the one from California.

That’s an impressive record for a business in the rural community of Sawyer, population 122 people. Now, that’s rural.

It’s time to leave San Diego, where a customer is receiving cherry rolls from rural Kansas. We commend Greg and Ruby Wolf and family for making a difference with innovation and initiative. “We are living the fulfillment of a dream, getting people more closely connected to food and family,” Greg said.