How Does Your Garden Grow? Dear Friend, It's way past harvest time. The crops are in, the canning done. The fruits of your harvest are stacked and packed. The rake, the spade and the hoe are back in the corner of the shed, not to be used until Spring. The earth is bare and you're not thinking about your garden. Not at all. Now your thoughts are on the holidays and the winter months ahead. But imagine that you lived in Wisconsin in the 1800s. Imagine you were one of the pioneering immigrants whose lives and stories are memorialized at Old World Wisconsin. Let's further imagine that you've just come through one of the worst growing seasons you can remember. Your yields are down. Your pantry is not nearly full, and many of your canning jars are left empty. Chances are you're thinking ahead now. You're thinking how you'll get through this winter, and beyond. You're planning next year's garden - calculating the yields you need in order to survive the next winter, and beyond. It's so easy to forget about Old World Wisconsin after the museum closes for the season. It just lies dormant during the winter months - like your garden in the winter. Right? Wrong! Museum staff are as busy now as they were in July. Much of the preservation, restoration and maintenance work is planned for the off-season, so that it won't disrupt your summer visits. They also plan and strategize for the next season, sew new clothes, clean, store and care for the artifacts and continue to care for and feed the animals. Now, close your eyes and imagine the gardens at Old World Wisconsin. Is the earth moist and freshly turned? Are the shoots coming up? Can you smell fragrant herbs? Are the stalks and vines straining under the weight of their bounty? However you imagine it, it got that way because of planning, dedication and lots of hard work. Year-round work. Old World Wisconsin Foundation is like that garden. You can count on us to provide stable, solid ground where your gifts - combined with the gifts and talents of others - will flourish and blossom, producing real results for this special museum. Our support, made possible by your gifts, helps patch the roofs, fix the floors, feed the animals - and grow the gardens. Help us now to keep this treasured garden growing - for the coming season and for future generations. Please send your year-end gift today. Sincerely, Sandra Dionisopoulos Chair, Old World Wisconsin Foundation