NEWSPAPER FRIENDS GET TASTE OF FREEMAN

July 8 gathering held as a prequel to international organization’s summer conference in Brookings; group of 20 experiences unique qualities of community

JEREMY WALTNER – PUBLISHER

Freeman was a gathering spot for a host of friends of The Courier earlier this month, and while the group of 20 was here for only 24 hours, the men and women from Nevada to Wisconsin to Kentucky to Maryland to the United Kingdom got a personalized look at some of what makes the community special.

The assembly was held Tuesday, July 8 in advance of the much larger 2025 summer conference of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) in Brookings July 9-13.

ISWNE was founded in 1955 at Southern Illinois University to help those involved in the weekly press improve standards of editorial writing and news reporting and to encourage strong, independent editorial voices. The organization also places strong emphasis on learning more about community understanding in whatever setting the group gathers.

The opportunity to visit Freeman was part of that and included significant involvement from Heritage Hall Museum & Archives. The local museum hosted an introductory program that focused on what led to the settlement of the community 150 years ago, with an emphasis on the Anabaptist theology that accounted for three distinct groups that immigrated to America eight generations ago: The Amish, Hutterites and Swiss Mennonites.

Guests spent part of the morning on a self-guided tour of the museum before enjoying an ethnic potluck-style meal that featured cheese pockets with a white sauce, stewed beef, kuchen, poppy seed rolls and pluma moos, all prepared by friends of the museum, staff and board members and served inside the Freeman Prairie Arboretum Interpretive Center.

Tim L. Waltner and Thor Aanenson visit with Nancy Slepicka and Vicki Canfield Peters inside the Natural World Gallery at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives. Waltner is the communication and education coordinator at the museum and Aanenson has played a key role in the development of the gallery. Slepicka is from Hillsboro, Ill., and Canfield Peters from Cape Coral, Fla. Both are retired publishers.

After lunch, the day in Freeman transitioned into a tour of two unique farming operations: Berrybrook Organics, owned and operated by Will and Sherilyn Ortman; and Prairie Roots Produce, owned and operated by Andre and Lillie Eisenbeis.

The visit to Berrybrook Organics included a brief history of the evolving 26-year-old endeavor, with an emphasis on its most recent development — USDA-certified ice cream.

At Prairie Roots Produce, the group learned about the Eisenbeis’s market garden, now in its eighth season, and what farming can look like on a small scale.

Finally, the group visited Oak Lane Colony southwest of Emery to catch an up-close look at Hutterite life.

Through it all, the idea of establishing community and carving out a small place in a  large world was central — and not lost on the guests.

Cheryl Wormley, a retired publisher from Lake Geneva, Wis., who attended the pre-conference gathering in Freeman with her husband, James, was particularly struck by Heritage Hall Museum and the adjacent Prairie Arboretum.

“It’s just awesome,” she said. “That the community can come together and do something to this level is beyond any other experience I have had. It’s incredible, and I think some of it has to do with your Mennonite background which says, ‘We do this in the spirit of community.’”

Wormley lives in a city of 25,000 and said that what she saw in Freeman is otherworldly.

“Imagining something like this getting pulled off in my community — it just wouldn’t happen,” she said. “We have a museum, but it is a mere microcosm of what you have here.”

Ken Garner, a publisher at the Maryville Forum/Grant City Times-Tribute in Maryville, Mo., was practically speechless after visiting the museum, calling it “a Smithsonian quality collection and presentation.”

“This is the best museum I have ever been in because of the variety,” said Roger Givens, who traveled from Morgantown, Ky., with his wife, Deborah. “You name it, you’ve got it.”

And this, from Vickie Canfield Peters of Cape Coral, Fla.

“The museum is an outward example of a community’s commitment to its history.”

Mary Waltner, who co-hosted the gathering in Freeman with her husband, Tim, felt the day left a positive impact on those who took part.

“I think the experiences that our guests had were eye opening, as many came from communities larger than Freeman,” she said. “The time they spent at the Ortman and Eisenbeis farms was especially enlightening, as they saw innovation and alternatives to traditional agriculture.”

“The tour of the Hutterite Colony was a unique experience for our guests,” she continued. “They were amazed at the dairy operation, and it gave them an intimate look at colony life that many said was totally new to them.”

On to Brookings

The July 8 visit to Freeman concluded following the trip to Oak Lane, and by Wednesday, July 9, the ISWNE conference on the campus of South Dakota State University was underway.

Hosted by the South Dakota NewsMedia Association and the SDSU School of Communication and Journalism (COJO), the conference drew more than 70 community newspaper journalists from North America, the United Kingdom and Nepal.

ISWNE members participated in sessions focused on the use of AI at community newspapers, newspaper start-ups, SDSU student media opportunities and much more, including a conversation with Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen about the importance of civil discourse in today’s democracy.

The conference started Wednesday noon at the SDSU Student Union and then gathered at McCrory Gardens, where they toured the grounds and had dinner.

On Thursday, the attendees also took a day trip to Sioux Falls where they attended a panel discussion at the downtown State Theatre that focused on local immigration challenges and then toured the EROS Data Center north of Sioux Falls in the afternoon.

They also participated in a half-day session dedicated to discussions and critiques of each other’s editorial writing and editorial pages, and also heard welcoming messages from SDSU COJO Director Joshua Westwick, SDSU President Barry Dunn, Brookings Deputy Mayor Nick Wendell and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken.

The conference concluded Saturday night with a banquet and awards ceremony at the SDSU Alumni Center.

“We were honored to partner with SDSU COJO to host the summer conference for ISWNE members,” SDNA Executive Director David Bordewyk said. “To meet and visit with community journalists from across the country and abroad truly was inspiring and insightful.”