I was folding clothes this morning, and I came across the t-shirt in this picture. It took me back, ten years exactly, when the Jorasz Family Dairy got to be part of something really, really special in the summer of 2010.
In the fall of 2009, a contest was announced as part of Campbell’s ‘Help Grow Your Soup’ campaign, in which family farms could enter their dilapidated, but historic barns for up to a $250,000 restoration. One of the families who’s land the Jorasz Family Dairy rents, entered their barn for the contest! The entries came from all over the country, so imagine how excited we were when the Fudala’s barn was chosen as one of the winners!
A couple of ‘before’ pictures-
Before work was well underway, photo credit to FFA.Before work was well underway, photo credit to FFA.
Andy’s dad, John on the left, photo credit to FFA.
It was before we had branded ourselves the Jorasz Family Ranch, but we were five years into our journey here. I had a 9 and 5 year old at home and a full time job at OSF St. Francis Hospital, so I mostly just visited in the afternoon, but Andy, his dad, and brothers were on-site with the FFA crew (from all over the country, link for info on FFA- an awesome organization) each day as they resurrected the Fudala barn to its previous glory.
Andy on-site, photo credit to FFA.
The work had to be done in only a couple days, so John helped to make sure that the surrounding property and supplies were prepared for the FFA team to arrive and get to work. The barn had good bones, but had fallen into disrepair, as many do when they are not used anymore. The Dairy rented the land at that time, but had no need for the buildings on the property.
Here’s the link to a really cool time-lapse video of the project.
And here is the after!
Fudala Barn after, photo credit Campbell’s.Fudala barn with all who made it possible. Photo credit Campbell’s.
Well, I better get back to folding before I get buried in the laundry again, but I wanted to share this quick memory with you. It made me smile, thinking of how people came together from all over the country to support a family farm, and I thought it would make you smile too!
If you’d like to see more, here’s a link to a Flikr photo album too.
3 responses to “Augie Fudala Barn- Campbell’s/FFA Restoration- 6/9/2010”
JoAnn Stotz
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing!
Linda Fudala-Tucker
How nice to see this. My Dad, Augie Fudala, would be pleased to see this. My sister, Barb, was responsible for entering the barn in the contest. I, Linda Fudala, was not able to go the grand opening due to the cancer I was dealing with at the time, which was successful. About three weeks after the barn was finished, my husband, Jim and I went up to the farm. We were both so impressed with the work done. I’m grateful for the Jorasz family interest and friendship with our family farm. God bless all who participated in this project.
atjorasz
So happy that your treatments were successful! I only got to meet Barb a few times, during the project but I know she knows John. I remember your Dad too, I worked at the grocery store in Bark River and he came in often. He was something else, in a good way! God Bless you too, and your family ? Teri
3 responses to “Augie Fudala Barn- Campbell’s/FFA Restoration- 6/9/2010”
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing!
How nice to see this. My Dad, Augie Fudala, would be pleased to see this. My sister, Barb, was responsible for entering the barn in the contest. I, Linda Fudala, was not able to go the grand opening due to the cancer I was dealing with at the time, which was successful. About three weeks after the barn was finished, my husband, Jim and I went up to the farm. We were both so impressed with the work done. I’m grateful for the Jorasz family interest and friendship with our family farm. God bless all who participated in this project.
So happy that your treatments were successful! I only got to meet Barb a few times, during the project but I know she knows John. I remember your Dad too, I worked at the grocery store in Bark River and he came in often. He was something else, in a good way! God Bless you too, and your family ? Teri