GROW FOOD, GROW HOPE

This Issue: Pumpkin Run Running Q&A A Short History of Scarecrows Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

October Newsletter 2012

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In this Issue
2 Contributors The Fred Krisher Grow Food, Grow Hope Endowment 4 5 6 7 Pumpkin Run 5k Thank You Friends and Donors Feature: Running Q&A: Pat Carroll Feature: More than Just Fluff: A History of Scarecrows Recipe: Pumpkin Seeds
Grow Food, Grow Hope is an AmeriCorps sponsored project. AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for more than 45 years.

To Learn more, or to find potential volunteer opportunities, visit: www.americorps.gov

Contributors Editor Max Webster Writers Marissa Rodgers Max Webster

Interested in contributing to Grow Food, Grow Hope Publications? Contact Max Webster at maxwell_webster@wilmington.edu or call at 937-382-6661 ext. 693

THE FRED KRISHER GROW FOOD, GROW HOPE ENDOWMENT FUND

In 2012, we lost a cherished member of our community garden family. Fred Krisher, a Wilmington College alumnus and trustee, had been with our program since the beginning, sharing his knowledge and love of gardening with our participants as a mentor. Fred not only enjoyed sharing his knowledge of gardening but also his love for the land and the personal satisfaction one receives from working in service to others. He imparted his passion for gardening and for his community to those around him. Always eager to contribute to the community garden, we are incredibly grateful he chose to spend his time with us. In memory of Fred, an endowment was established, which will create enduring operational support for our program. For information on how you can make a contribution, please contact Grow Food, Grow Hope at (937) 382-6661 extension 321, or send us an email to at: growfoodgrowhope@wilmington.edu

FARM TO TABLE
A DINNER TO BENEFIT GROW FOOD, GROW HOPE

Thursday September, 20th 2012 5:30 PM Friends of Hope Community Garden on the Campus of Wilmington College Tickets $25
If you wish to attend, please RSVP to Bev Carpenter and the Office of College Advancement by Sept. 13 937-382-6661, ext 273
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Thank You Friends and Supporters FARM

TO

TABLE
Thank you to everyone who attended the Farm to Table Dinner to Benefit Grow Food, Grow Hope. Through your support and generous contributions, we were able to raise XXXXX enough to make our dream of building a pavilion to host programming at the Friends of Hope Community Garden a reality.

Springfield Friends Meeting

The Springfield Friends Meeting donated all the proceeds from their recent Sustainability Conference to GFGH. This money will be put to direct use in our gardens, making sure that the next season is as bountiful as the last.

The America the Beautiful Fund is giving away up to 6,000 free seed packets to qualifying gardening organizations and charities, all we need to do is cover the cost of shipping. A $20 donation gets us 200 seed packets, more than 10 times the amount $20 would normally buy. Help GFGH plan for the long-term future of our gardens by making a donation today. 5

RUNNING Q&A: PAT CARROLL

Local speedster and 2012 Wilmington College graduate, Pat Carroll, holds six school records in cross country and track and field. Here he is to take on the tough questions and help you get your fitness plan rolling.
When did you start running? I started running to get in shape for basketball as a high school freshman. I quit basketball to run indoor track a year later. What was your first race like? my body recover properly between workouts. I eat frequently in order to maintain good energy levels throughout the day and to be ready for the next run. Eating poor quality foods in excess will notably decrease your energy levels which definitely wont motivate you to get out the door and exercise. There is no better way to get in touch with nature while getting a killer workout. What advice do you have for someone who is just starting out as a runner?
Start slowly and try to find a route or type of run that you enjoy doing. Maybe that is a slow run on a set of hiking trails or a hard run around the track. Everyone has their preference. Find yours and do what you can to enjoy every step; take walking breaks, wear headphones, run with friends, or just enjoy nature. Wilmington has a lot of wonderful dirt, grass, and paved running trails that offer a safe and enjoyable place to run. Can't find them? Ask the local cross country teams, they will be more than happy to help.

In my first race, I was clueless. I remember there not being a lot of other runners around me, so I must What foods give you that extra have been pretty close to last place. boost? Talk about your regular running Cliff Bars are amazing. They are routine. great for a post-workout recovery I run 6-7 days a week, sometimes and theyre all natural. I like to eat twice a day. I include two hard the mint chocolate chip flavor with workouts a week and one long run a cup of coffee before a difficult run that can exceed 17 miles. A good or race. The caffeine helps me training week will add up to around prepare mentally and offers a great 80+ miles. performance boost. How does eating right figure into your fitness routine? I notice that eating healthy helps Describe your ideal run. Nothing compares to an early morning trail run up a mountain.

MORE THAN JUST FLUFF

A History of Scarecrows
Marissa Rodgers, WC Student

A staple symbol of Autumn and the upcoming harvest, the scarecrow has been around throughout history. The straw-filled fellow has appeared over and over again and not just in your garden, but in folklore and legend all over the world. And while anyone could tell you that the dummy in the cornfield is there to frighten birds away, very few know the origins of this farm field favorite.
Some believe that the Ancient Egyptians were the first to use scarecrows along the Nile River. They used them as decoys, not only to protect their wheat fields, but also to trap flocks of quail. The farmers would put up wooden framed scarecrows and then hide in their fields with nets. When the birds came to investigate the wooden dummies, the Egyptians scared the quail into nets and onto their dinner plates. Across the Mediterranean, Ancient Greeks built repulsively ugly carvings in their fields of Priapus, the horribly disfigured son of Aphrodite. The Greeks believed no birds would dare to set down in any field where Priapus stood watch. The Romans adopted the practice soon after, spreading the use of the scarecrow across the western world. Scarecrows also appear within the pages of the oldest surviving book of Japan as Keubiko, the ancient deity of knowledge and agriculture that knows everything about the world but cannot walk. Many different types of scarecrows appeared in the rice fields of Pre-feudal Japan. A popular favorite, sometimes used today, was the Kakashi Scarecrow. Kakashi, means something stinky, and they were
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Kakashi Scarecrows watching over a rice paddy in Japan

Other names for Scarecrows from around the world: Tattie BogalScotland BwbachWales EstantapajarosSpain BijukaHindi Tao-taoPhilippines

made of old dirty rags and noise makers like bells nailed to a pole. Rice farmers hoped to drive pests away with the smell of the old dirty rags and the loud noises. Some Kakashi Scarecrows were even lit on fire to deter the birds. Over time, farmers began to build scarecrows with more human features, dressing the rag poles with raincoats and hats. Sometimes, farmers even gave them weaponry in the hopes that they would ward off any brave and hungry fowls. In the Americas, Native American tribes used scarecrows to protect their cornfields. Sometimes, the scarecrow would actually be a man. He would sit in the fields and shouting at the birds and chas-

ing away any that dared to land. More of a day job than the carefree modeling gig we see with our modern day watchmen. In the southwest, scarecrows were closer to the straw-filled, rag-dolls we know today. These scarecrows were made of grass-stuffed animal hide tied to poles in the fields. But, it wasnt until the Europeans arrived that the scarecrow got fashionable. European immigrants brought with them the old ideas they had of stuffing old, ragged clothes with straw and fixing them in fields. When all of these traditions began blending together in the American melting pot, the scarecrow began to take on his modern look.

Before the end of World War II and the introduction of industrial pesticides, the scarecrow was enormously popular in the fields of American Farmers. So, from Greece to America and everything in between, the scarecrow has worked its way through history and into our fields. While there is no sure answer on who exactly invented and brought the scarecrow to America, its safe to say that a grand mix of cultures have all contributed something along the way. Before we know it, the scarecrow might just win a Nobel Prize. That is, for being Out-Standing in his field!

RECIPE: PUMPKIN SEEDS

Halloween is the one good time a year when playing with your food is not an issue. Carving Jack-O-Lanterns at harvest time has been a favorite activity for Celtic cultures for hundreds of years. In the olden days, farmers from across Britain would carve little face lanterns from turnips and rutabagas to decorate their homes on All-Hallows-Eve. It wasnt until Irish and Scottish immigrants came to America that they decided that the pumpkin was a much better substitute. But there is more than fun and games to get out of pumpkin carving. If you take the time with those goopy innards and pumpkin guts to do more than toss them at your friends and family, you can find a tasty snack. Cheap, easy and delicious, pumpkin seeds are a treat enjoyed all over the world.

Oven-Baked Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients: Raw Pumpkin Seeds Butter Salt Pepper Directions: Clean the seeds by immersing them in a bowl of warm water and rubbing off the pumpkin residue. Place the seeds on a towel to dry for 20-30 minutes. Next, drop the seeds into some melted butter and place them evenly on a baking sheet. Add salt and pepper or what ever seasoning you like to flavor. Cook the seeds for 10-20 minutes at 275 degrees, being sure to stir them around once or twice so that they cook evenly. Remove from the oven and snack on them warm or cool just like sunflower seeds.

Did you know?

Recent research suggests that pumpkin seeds may help you relax. Pumpkin seeds contain glutamate which is an anti-stress chemical in the brain.

Grow Food, Grow Hope is a Wilmington College sponsored initiative dedicated to building a sustainable and food secure community in Clinton County by teaching small-plot gardening. Drawing on the areas rich agricultural traditions, we believe that we can use local knowledge and resources to make fresh and nutritious foods more accessible to a community suffering from the hardships of economic decline. By growing a little food, we can sow a lot of hope.
937-382-661 ext. 321 www.growfoodgrowhope.com growfoodgrowhope@wilmington.edu

Grow Food, Grow Hope Garden Initiative 1145 Pyle Center 1870 Quaker Way Wilmington, OH 45177
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