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News About Gordon

Honorary Chapter FFA Degree from the University of Minnesota Crookston Collegiate FFA for preserving Farm Heritage and promoting Agricultural Literacy through literature.

Article about Gordon in the Redwood Falls Gazette. Click HERE.

Review of A Farm Country Silo Filling
by Mary Ann Grossman in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sunday, December 20, 2015. Click HERE.

Article about Gordon in the
AgriNews. Click HERE.

Article about Gordon in the Pioneer Press. Click HERE.

Review  by Jeri L. Dobrowski in Cowboy Jam Session: Western Culture News & Reviews. Click HERE.

Article in St. Paul Pioneer Press, "A former farm kid shares his stories of growing up in Lakeville." Click HERE.
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Prologue to Farm 
Country Tales
Imagine an era
that’s diff’rent from now,
When times were not better,
but pleasing, somehow.
It’s the year 1950,
when farming was done
By Mother and Father
and Daughter and Son.

by Gordon W. Fredrickson

Read more...
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Reader Views Literary Award Winners

If I Were a Farmer Awarded first place in the children – toddler to 5 category

Farm Country Halloween Awarded second place in the children – early reader (6 to 8)

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September 20, 2021
After performing for over 52,000 kids and adults at over 1,000 schools, museums, historical societies, and banquets of all kinds, Gordon has decided to retire from public speaking and concentrate on writing. 
Presently, he is working on a trilogy of coming-of-age novels featuring the fictional characters he created in his Farm Country Tales series, which takes place in 1950. The trilogy takes place in 1955-56, when Jimmy is 15-16, Maggie 14-15, and Joey 10-11. The Carlson kids wrestle with the issues of adapting to attending a high school in town during the pre-boomer era of conflict between generations and the advent of the teen culture led by a number of factors, including the musical breakthrough of rock and roll. The books are intended to be a snapshot of the times from the perspective of rural kids, not kids from big cities.
Gordon continues to work on poetry and other genres and plans to publish books of fantasy, poetry, and memoir over the next several years.

What is an Event?​
​All events are Farm Heritage Programs that aim to pass on our farm heritage in an entertaining way, with humor, love, and accuracy.

Our programs are relevant to people of all ages and interests because we believe that “Eating is an agricultural act” (Wendell Berry, American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer).

We offer Age-Appropriate Programs for schools (grades pre-K through high school) about agriculture, past and present.

We offer Adult Programs for organizations of all types and focus, including historical societies, all types of banquets, museums, church groups, tractor clubs, 4-H clubs, nursing homes, libraries, and senior organizations.

My goals are always to entertain and to enlighten an audience with facts and stories about farm country life and enhance their Agricultural Literacy.

For adults, Agricultural Literacy (Ag Literacy) means understanding the complex relationships between agriculture and the food we eat, the environment, farm animals, the economy, our lifestyles, our agricultural heritage, and new technology.
Our programs for adults focus on our farm heritage and are described in the programs listed as BP-ADULTS and BP-HOLIDAY below.

For children, an Agricultural Literacy Programs is any program that introduces them to any aspect of those relationships.  We offer programs to your school at low cost because we believe students are interested in farming and farm animals, and we believe that telling stories about the farm and demonstrating some farm activities will pique their interest in reading, in general, and also will encourage them to learn more about farming and to enjoy reading about other topics too.
My books and programs about the farm serve to entertain students, increase their pride in their American farm heritage, and interest them in some of the many aspect of agriculture. They are described in the programs listed as BP-PRE, BP-ONE, BP-TWO, BP-THREE, BP-FOUR, BP-FIVE, BP-SIX, BP-HOLIDAY  below.

Pick a program that fits your needs from the list below:

BP-PRE- a shortened version of BP-ONE for small group of pre-schoolers
BP-ONE---K-1 Program:25-30 minutes. Includes introduction to all book series, prologue, demonstration, short preview, story:If I Were a Farmer: Nancy’s Adventure. Optional as time and situation allow: abbreviated background of author, other books,
BP-TWO--- Grade 2 Program or Grades 2-3 Program: 35-45 minutes. Includes introduction to all book series, prologue, demonstration, preview, story:If I Were a Farmer: Nancy’s Adventure, background of author, other books/questions

BP THREE---Grade 3 Program or Grades 2-3 Program: 45 minutes: Includes introduction to all book series, prologue, demonstration, preview, story: A Farm Country Picnic, background of author, other books/history of author’s farm/questions

BP-FOUR---Grade 4-6 Program: 45-55 minutes. The program is similar to the program I use for historical societies and adult banquets because the emphasis is less on a book’s story and more on the history and struggles involved with farming as based on my folks’ experience on the farm where I grew up. Includes introduction to all book series, background of author, history of author’s farm, prologue, demonstration, preview, story: includes selections from  A Farm Country Picnic  or A Farm Country Harvest  or A Farm Country Silo Filling, other books/questions as time allows

BP-FIVE---Middle School Program (mixed or individual grades): 45-55 minutes. Can be same as BP-FOUR (adapted for age-group) or it can be focused on poetry with book options including my poetry book, Farm Country Moments: Poems, Pictures, and Memories.
BP-SIX---High School Program (mixed or individual grades), also works for 7-12 together if classes are small and total does not exceed 100: 45-55 minutes or the length of a class period. Like BP-FOUR and BP-FIVE it can focus on history or poetry, but I can adapt it to appeal to literature and/or writing classes or a mixture.

BP-ADULT ---Varies in length and content according to group (historical societies, tractor clubs, nursing homes, banquets, 4-H clubs, etc.) 45-90 minutes. The program emphasis is less on a book’s story and more on the history and struggles involved with farming as based on my folks’ experience on the farm where I grew up. Those who have experienced farm life as a child or as an adult will remember and enjoy the nostalgia and references to the past and present farming practices. The program includes introduction to all book series, background of author, history of author’s farm, prologue, demonstration, preview, story( selections from  A Farm Country Picnic  or A Farm Country Harvest  or A Farm Country Silo Filling, other books/questions as time allows.)

BP-HOLIDAY- Time and content can be adapted for any age group from pre-school through adults. 30 minutes to 55 minutes. I do many holiday programs for schools (several schools have me back every year to do the same grade), but I also do many for adult banquets and nursing homes  during the specific time of year. Program includes introduction to all book series, background of author, prologue, demonstration, extended preview per specific holiday, story: a single holiday program usually includes just one of the following books: A Farm Country Halloween, or A Farm Country Thanksgiving,  or A Farm Country Christmas Eve,  but by request I can include two of the titles or all three of the titles in a longer presentation.

Please read the information below to see how easy it is to bring my programs to your school or facility:

Cost
Cost is $.50 per mile for round-trip mileage from my home in Lonsdale, MN to your school or facility plus $90.00 for the first program and $75.00 for each additional program done during a day. I can do up to four programs in one day. Programs can be up to an hour long.
If you pay for my hotel room, I can visit a school or schools over several days without incurring additional mileage cost.

COST FOR REPEAT CUSTOMERS WILL BE THE SAME AS FOR PREVIOUS YEARS. ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE ME VISIT EVERY YEAR.

The author requests that he be allowed to offer his books for sale before and after the programs.

FORMAT, SPACE, GROUP SIZE
All my programs are visual as well as auditory because for the entire program I stand by a large screen where I project images of farm scenes, farm history, and illustrations from my stories as I read or recite. This works for classroom settings as well as for auditorium settings, but it works best if audiences are under 75 and they are close to my screen and can ask questions after the show.

SPECIFIC PROGRAMS AND CONTENT
Teachers: You can read or discuss the book in advance if you prefer, but it is not necessary. Preparing the class to ask questions is always a good idea, and follow up lessons are a great idea.
Content and time can be very flexible to suit the particular class and schedule, but I’ve listed the basic programs (BP) above.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
The only things I require is that you provide an electrical outlet and a table on which we can set up our book display. If you want us to set up a farm photo display, please provide another table or two.

Other than that, I bring all my own equipment, which includes a large screen, a computer that has my programs, a high-intensity projector, a sound system, and some farm items for demonstration.
If your facility has an in-house speaker or a large pull-down screen, I will gladly use  them.  If you want me to hook up to a special screen in a classroom, I can probably connect my computer if you have an adapter for my Apple laptop. But I always bring my own equipment anyway to ensure that my program will work.

Although my high intensity projector projects even in lighted areas, it will not work in direct sunlight, and like most projectors, it works best if the lights directly above the screen can be dimmed while the rest of the room is lit so the audience can see the speaker by the screen. This is ideal, but we always seem to make it work regardless of the conditions.