Decorah is getting good publicity from the chairperson of Rodale, Inc.

Pictures by Maria Rodale, reposted courtesy of Rodale, Inc.

Decorah has made quite an impression on Maria Rodale, the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Rodale, Inc., the largest independent book publisher in the United States, with a focus on health, wellness and the environment.

She was invited to Decorah to speak at the annual Seed Savers Conference in July and now has posted two articles about her visit on www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com.  She said she accepted the invitation from Seed Savers because she had been meaning to visit the farm for a while, and "(this was) a place that I had heard was beautiful."

After arriving at the La Crosse airport, Rodale says "I drove for about an hour toward Decorah looking for a place to stop for a cup of coffee. There were no Starbucks, no Whole Foods—not even a Hy-Vee!—no Barnes and Noble…just small towns with small main streets nestled within the most beautiful farmland I had seen since my childhood in Pennsylvania (before the farms all turned into housing developments and strip malls.)"

Rodale also writes about the cloud formations she and her husband saw while driving to Decorah and about the "fabulous" Dug Road Inn.

Rodale says after she gave her keynote speech, she was reminded that her father made the initial $5,000 donation that gave Seed Savers their start.  She also writes that, while she enjoyed all the activities at Seed Savers, "the highlight had to be the barn dance after my talk. In a beautiful old barn, my husband, our 3-year-old, and I learned to barn dance for the first time. It was terrific, sweaty fun. We were horrible at it, and I got dizzy. But it reminded me, as we went from partner to partner (each one having different proficiencies and a different feel), how we are all linked and need to work together to make everything turn out all right."

first article on Seed Savers visit
second article on Seed Savers visit

http://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com/

The cloud formations in Decorah made a strong impression on Maria Rodale