They put me in the paper...again?

I sent this letter to the paper in town last week. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

To the Editor,

A little more than a year ago, my wife and I moved here from Minneapolis, MN. As people in our twenties moving from a city to a small town, we seemed to be travelling against the current of others our age. We came, however, because the people of my hometown were coming together to open a community-owned coffee shop. They were investing in the community and we wanted to be a part of it.

I grew up here, and I know first-hand how valuable the small town way of life is to our country. That is why I have been so disappointed by the failed policies of the past eight years that have greatly underserved rural America. On November 4, we have an opportunity to invest in our future by voting for Barack Obama.

Barack Obama has given me great excitement for the political process, and great hope for the future. I urge everyone to learn more about his plan to give new opportunity to small towns like North Manchester. He wants to match the ingenuity of rural Americans with federal policies that will give us the power to compete. Here are a few highlights: He will encourage rural economic development by establishing a small business initiative that provides training and technical assistance for rural small businesses, as well as a 20 percent tax credit on up to $50,000 of investment in small owner-operated businesses. He will also work to ensure that people in small towns have access to a modern communications infrastructure, so we can better connect with the rest of the world.

In his plan, Obama points out that rural America is “poised to produced and refine more American biofuels and provide more wind power than ever before,” and by bringing green industry to small towns he will create millions of new jobs across the country.

Barack Obama will ensure economic opportunity for family farmers while promoting sustainable agriculture and local food systems, and establish a new program to encourage young people to become farmers. He wants to bring doctors and nurses to underserved rural areas by creating a loan forgiveness program, and to bring teachers by increasing their pay. Under his leadership, I wouldn’t be surprised if people my age moving from cities to small towns find themselves moving with the current, rather than against it.

As a senator from the rural, Midwestern state next door, Barack Obama knows the importance of investing in the small towns that create the foundation of this country. Please join me in supporting him.

Sincerely,

Zach Hawkins

They put me in the paper?

Guess so: Bread-baking barista leads coffee, pastry shop

Winter time

Winter has settled in here in Indiana. Zach and I have been very busy throughout the season with a variety of events! We're working hard to keep ourselves busy while we wait for the shop to open . Starting where we left off last fall, the run of Cinderella was a huge success. The show became such a tribute to our director who passed away during the rehearsal process, and it was so exciting for me to be a part of the professional theater world...I was surrounded by people my age working so hard to do what they love full time. Many of them knew what project or show was coming up next for them, or drove back and forth to Chicago for auditions during our performance run. It gave me a taste of the incredible sacrifice and determination that is required to make a performing career work. I have such an admiration for professional artists!






After Cinderella was through, our thoughts turned toward Christmas. As a newly married couple, there was no picking and choosing which family we would spend the holiday with for us. Therefore, we got to look forward to SEVEN Christmases! It was wonderful. We started on Dec. 21st by having our first Christmas, just the two of us together. It was wonderful to start thinking of ourselves as a "family". We continued that day by celebrating the traditional Hawkins "Christmas Eve" a bit early, which normally would consist of Pizza Hut Pizza (when Jeff was the pastor at Zion, Christmas Eve was one of the busiest days of the year so the family only had time to gather between services Christmas Eve night. Zach actually wrote an article for "Edible Twin Cities" about this tradition!) This year Zach decided to update the tradition by making homemade pizza, one of his favorite things to create. It was quite a step up from Pizza Hut. We feasted on pepper-medley pizza with roasted red peppers from the farm and purple pesto pizza, both on homemade crusts topped with cheese made from milk from a local dairy. We ended the night celebrating our second Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins.



We woke up the next morning for Christmas number three with the Hawkins family. After a nice breakfast, we got the car packed up and went to East Lansing, MI to celebrate with Kathy's parents, the Boettcher's. Our first stop was the Murlick Family Christmas in Saginaw (which is Zach's grandma Joanne's family). Joanne is one of fifteen siblings, which means that my "initiation" to the family was celebrating with 192 of my new relatives! It was quite a sight to see an entire banquet hall filled with 192 of the 209 people that came from the union of one couple. Wow!


That night we celebrated our fourth Christmas with G&G Boettcher. The next morning we started our trek to Minnesota. It was the Sunday before Christmas, and you might remember the weather that day if you're reading this from Minnesota. It was awful. We drove most of the way going 25 miles on the interstate being whited out by snow plows and passing the cars that dotted the ditch. Needless to say, it made my homecoming even more joyful. We arrived to a fire in the fireplace and homemade stew to calm us down. The next morning, we had Christmas number five with my family. We went to church at my Zion and watched Anna direct her fourth and fifth grade choir, and made our way to Richfield, MN to celebrate our sixth Christmas with G&G Lace. We feasted on our traditional meal of Lutefisk, Lefse, and Swedish meatballs over mashed potatoes. Zach teased that the only food I get this excited about is bland and of a cream hue. He's right!

We woke up early the next morning to head to Burnsville, MN. Zach joined in my family's tradition of providing the special music at my Grandparent's church on Christmas morning. Zach played guitar and even sang the hymns with us at the microphone. Then came our seventh Christmas at G&G Mudge's where we got to watch my little cousins Davin and Trever rip through presents, and enjoy more time with family.

The rest of our time in Minnesota was filled with using gift certificates at the Mall of America (even Zach went with me!), lots of Scrabble and Honey Weiss, getting together with my good friends Jenny, Sarah, Lacie and Madilynn, getting my hair chopped, celebrating yet another Christmas with our family from Kansas, watching The Bad Plus at the Dakota (amazing! Thanks, Rob), spending a fun-filled day in the city with my family, celebrating the New Year with amazing food and our good friends Pete, Jane, Sam, Marja, Ben, and others, and making our traditional pasties with my family (once again, that delicious bland food!). It was such an incredible break, and very hard to say goodbye to MN and our friends and family once more.




Once we returned to Indiana, our thoughts turned back to the coffee shop. We held two tasting events in January: one for our ever growing number of investors (we're up to 67 at the moment) where they could leave comments on the pastries Zach made for them to try, and one for members of the chamber of commerce (where we hope to build a lot of our daily clientele). They went really well, and it was surprisingly wonderful to have the shop filled with people and get a sense of what the place will feel like when it's open. We're getting pretty anxious for the preparations to be done. There are still quite a few things that need to happen: finish the kitchen floor, build the bar, buy kitchen and coffee equipment, buy all the utensils and odds and ends to go in the serving area, and establish a buying relationship with a food supply company. Zach has to take a test to be a food handler, we have to start hiring staff, finish the basement "office" area, put the finishing touches on the outside, and countless other little details. Quite a list! We're also entering a "contest" of sorts that could mean a lot more money from the state to help us with our three months working capital. We'll write more about that as it happens.

We've been busy with other things since Christmas as well. The production of "Once Upon A Mattress" that I directed at the high school was a great success, we had a fun weekend excursion to Chicago to celebrate Sarah's birthday, I've been rehearsing for a recital coming up at the end of February, Zach's been working on his band's new album with our friend Pete, they're beginning to plan a tour, I'm now in rehearsal for three more shows--two I'm directing at the high school and "Pirates of Penzance" at the college where I just got the role of "Edith"--Zach's been interviewed for the Fort Wayne paper for a column called "Cooks Corner", and we've been working hard volunteering to raise money for the Firehouse.

Now, we're dreaming of spring. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather when I can run outside, Zach's getting antsy to plant things and have fresh produce from the farm on our table again. It seems so far away, but we can't wait!

Hope all is well where you are! Keep in touch!

Fall Frenzy

Greetings friends! It's been a while since our last post, so there is a lot of catching up to do. First of all, there have been great strides of improvement made in the shop. We spent some 10-hour days sanding down the century-old poplar wood floor to get it back to it's original color. After a few coats of polyurethane on top of the newly-sanded wood, the downstairs was completely transformed into a livable, comfortable place. Paint on the walls, and finished ceilings add to the polished look. We held some open houses so people interested in investing could come and get excited about how the place is shaping up. We put candles in all the windows and hung artwork by a local artist, Britta Eberly. It was down-right cozy in this place that used to be a trashed work zone. The events went well and people are beginning to get excited about what this place could mean for the community. Now we're working on cleaning the exposed brick, finishing the serving area, and furnishing the kitchen. We still have quite a way to go, but things are happening!





Zach has continued with his bread baking endeavors. Broken Bread Bakery has a weekly subscription going that fills our apartment with heavenly smells every Thursday. He also has a weekly guitar student and he continues to play around with recipes for the coffee shop. His main focus right now, however, is the upcoming recording with his band Jayber Crow. We were fortunate enough to entertain our good friends Sam, Marja, and Pete a week ago so Zach and Pete could further their work on the album. They'll be recording in MN starting December 6th. We had so much fun sharing time with our good friends in North Manchester. We look forward to visits from friends in the future!




I have been quite busy the past week and a half. Last Monday was my first rehearsal for "Cinderella" at the Wagon Wheel. Right away I was so excited about the group of people I get to work with. This cast is made up of wonderful, kind, talented people. Monday and Tuesday's rehearsal went well, but on Wednesday I got a shocking phone call that our director had passed away from a massive heart attack in the night. Roy Hine had worked at the Wagon Wheel Theater for 25 years, and I had just had him as a director in "Hello Dolly". He was a talented, wonderful man, and this news was devastating for the community. Wednesday's rehearsal was cancelled, but the plan was to move ahead with the show. Our amazing choreographer Scott Michaels has taken the reins and we open this Friday after just 9 days of rehearsal. This show will be a tribute to Roy and the amazing productions he has given to this community for so many years.



Although we were saddened by Roy's death, Thanksgiving was a joyous celebration at the Hawkins Family Farm. It was hard to have my first Thanksgiving away from my family, but I feel so blessed that my in-laws are such amazing people to be with! Zach baked four different kinds of bread (in the pictures are his cranberry walnut celebration bread and french bread epis), Jeff and Zach had a "turkey cook-off," each cooking a turkey in a different way, my favorites--mashed potatoes and green bean casserole--graced the table, and Kathy made ribbon Jello with TEN layers...what more could you want? We had a rousing game of cards and it was so nice to be with Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins and Boettcher, Jeff, Kathy, Sarah, and her boyfriend Jesse. We truly had a wonderful time of family fellowship.




Other than Cinderella, I'm keeping myself busy with rehearsals for "Once Upon A Mattress" at the high school where I'm learning how to be in charge of 60 kids. The performance of "Spitfire Grill" that I directed on November 11th went so well - I'm hoping to continue in that trend.




Today I set up two of our three nativity sets. As this season of hustle and bustle begins, we pray that each of you has time to consider where the three wise men stood, how Mary and Joseph looked at their newborn son, which animals were there and how they smelled, and to remember the event that all this celebration is about.

Change your name, get a burrito

Hear ye! Hear ye! I have visited the county clerk, filled out the forms, payed the filing fees, published the notices in the local paper, attended a court hearing, and had the Order on Verified Petition for Change of Name signed by a judge of the Wabash Circuit Court. As of last Friday, my name is now officially Zachary John Lace Hawkins.

Before:


After:

I now join a line of J.L. Hawkins's (my great-grandfather John Leo, my dad Jeffrey Lynn) and I join a somewhat shorter line of people who take their wife's father's name (John Lace) and make it part of their own. The fun is endless...

Minnesotan teenager #1: Are you going to play in band this year?

Minnesotan teenager #2: I don't know. I'm a little intimidated by the astounding-yet-whimsical genious of the director, John Lace.

Out-of-place, twenty-something Hoosier: John Lace? Ha! John Lace is my middle name.

I wrote too much for the comments page

One of my best friends had some good thoughts about my last post on E.O. Wilson, and in the spirit of discussion (and a love of the sound of my own voice) I wrote a response that would be annoying to read if I had posted it on the comments page.

Sam,

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I felt pretty lucky to be able to attend Wilson’s lecture. As Jabin put it: it would sort of be like passing up the chance to hear Darwin. I do want to make it clear that I respect what Wilson had to say. Also, I have to believe that Wendell holds a lot of respect for him, too, as well as respect for the weight of his ideas—why else would he spend an entire book wrestling with them?

You mentioned not having read either Consilience or Life is a Miracle, but let’s face it—we’re all novices here, even Wendell Berry. In his book, he writes, “I am aware how brash this commentary will seem, coming from me, who have no competence or learning in science. The issue I am attempting to deal with, however, is not knowledge but ignorance. In ignorance I believe I may pronounce myself a fair expert.” I think this speaks to the point I am trying to make about Wilson and Berry, which is that there is a stark difference between the way each man proposes to know the world. In Consilience, Wilson describes a unified theory of knowledge that is based on the claim that science can contain all of the other “kinds” of knowledge. Furthermore, Wilson holds that science can explain all of these “other ways,” claiming things like art and religion are merely products of evolution—human strategies devised for survival. While I agree with your doubts that Wilson supports the idea of science “owning the world,” it seems to me that he believes science owns our understanding of it. When Wilson encourages us to explore the world he is thinking only of a material planet that can be reduced to its simplest elements, and understood completely by the human mind.

Thus, Berry responds in Life is a Miracle, “But apparently it is dangerous to act on the assumption that sure knowledge is complete knowledge—or on the assumption that our knowledge will increase fast enough to outrace the bad consequences of the arrogant use of incomplete knowledge. To trust 'progress' or our putative 'genius' to solve all the problems that we cause is worse than bad science; it is bad religion.”

And furthermore, “If we lack the cultural means to keep incomplete knowledge from becoming the basis of arrogant and dangerous behavior, then the intellectual disciplines themselves become dangerous. What is the point of the further study of nature if that leads to the further destruction of nature? To study the "purpose" of the organ within the organism or of the organism within the ecosystem is still reductive if we do so with the assumption that we will or can finally figure it out. This simply captures the world as the subject of present or future "understanding" which will become the basis of further industrial and commercial optimism, which will become the basis of further exploitation and destruction of communities, ecosystems, and local cultures.”

Now, it’s clear that Wilson isn’t advocating the destruction of ecosystems. He is actively engaged in the effort to protect the biodiversity of our plant, for which I admire him (and I seriously hope he gets his hands on the person who doesn’t notice the leaves changing). He is working, however, in a world that—to him—can one day be fully known, a world that will be understood when the last species is entered into the Encyclopedia of Life. (Sadly, this is the same worldview that fuels the industrial economy that is killing off these species faster than we can write them down.) While Wilson is putting together the pieces of the world, I hope he stumbles across that which is greater—and much more mysterious—than the sum of all its parts. The humility that is necessary to live on this earth is one that recognizes the limits of our understanding, and seeks the knowledge of how best to live here, amidst all this teeming life. If we can figure that out, it will truly be a miracle.

E.O. Wilson, busting sidewalk

This past Tuesday, Dad and I drove to Goshen, IN to hear E.O. Wilson speak at Goshen College about biodiversity and conservation. Wilson is known globally as a leading scientist, but I must admit that I came to know of him through Wendell Berry, whose feathers were so ruffled by Wilson's book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge that he responded with his own book-length essay, Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition. (It's sort of like the intellectual version of Kanye vs. Fiddy.)

Wilson spoke to a packed auditorium filled with community members and students from Goshen and surrounding colleges. (My high school biology teacher, Jabin, brought a bunch of students from the course he is teaching at Manchester College. I was looking forward to this lecture, in part, because of his sheer excitement for it. That's him with Dr. Wilson in the picture.) Wilson's talk was well worth the trip, and I was thankful for the conversation it spurred during the car ride home. It won't come as much of a surprise to many of you that my dad and I soon found ourselves asking, "What would Wendell Berry have thought of the talk?"

Wilson's main focus was approaching the issue of ecological degradation--especially our planet's dwindling biodiversity--by doing all we can to learn about life on this planet (and, quite possibly, others). "This is a little-known planet we live on," he said, "and we've got to start exploring it." He added later, "We are destroying species and ecosystems before we even know they're there." In an effort to aid this quest, he has even helped to start an Encyclopedia of Life, a website that aims to catalogue every species, "making all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world."

I share Wilson's desire for humans to know more about the life that surrounds us. His assessment of this planet as "little-known" is an accurate one. Like Berry, however, I have to ask: how can we best know a place? I spent some time with this question as I did the morning chores on the farm, and later as Kira and I were prying up a cement walkway and digging up a tree stump in front of the coffee shop. In both situations I imagined the histories of the places I stood, seeing a solid trunk and leafy branches stretching from the stump, seeing an old forest rising above a leaf-littered floor where a barn now stands. And I saw what was there now, stubborn roots clinging to the earth, fescue, grown thick for winter feed, that grasped at my boots as I struggled to walk through it. Like Berry, I cannot accept that science can contain these things completely, that life--in all its forms--can be completely known. Life winds through mystery like a root through the soil, at home and nourished by the darkness that cradles it.