Jessica Stradinger
Hi all, I’m Jessica and I’m a (really) small town girl. I grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota….in a town of 130 people. You read that right. 130 (counting dogs). And the nearest Walmart was 2.5 hours away…shopping trips were a BIG deal.
It seems appropriate I’ve been asked to write this in the spring as growing up, it meant long nights checking sheep and cows to see if they’d had their babies. Sometimes helping the mamas give birth or keeping everyone alive. On these nights, there was a camper set up in the barn that I would stay in right next to the sheep! I also got to care for all the “bum” lambs/calves (the ones whose mothers were unable to take care of them). And we’d always manage to find a couple orphan kittens that just HAD to be brought into the house to be cared for. It’s also about the time to start discing the fields and till up the garden. Spring is definitely one of the busiest seasons!
Summers were filled with various farm responsibilities. From raking hay at 3am (I swear there’s a reason for this) to all day rides with my dad moving cows to a new pasture with better grass. When we sheared sheep and branded calves, all the neighbors would come. We were especially popular because my mom would lay out a feast all day. She’d usually make donuts, bear claws, and egg coffee for a morning break and her famous lasagna for lunch. The one year she didn’t make lasagna, everyone was SO disappointed! It wasn’t all work and no play, though. We’d also find time to go to the lake or get into various shenanigans with 4 wheelers we shouldn’t have. And….I may have pig wrestled….
Fall was harvest time. Time for the annual hayride (appropriately followed by sloppy joes, hot apple cider, and a bonfire), picking fruit, canning, selling livestock, and usually a trip to the city to splurge after a long summer of work.
I loved winters most, though. They were cold, to be sure. -20 in December wasn’t unusual. But this is also when the night sky was incredible. Without any light pollution, you could really see how the Milky Way got its name. I recall northern lights that filled the sky like a dome with purples, greens, reds, and even blue. There was always something so pristine about these cold nights when the stars would compete with the glitter of the snow.
I’m very thankful I grew up this way. I didn’t have opportunities like gymnastics or dance, but what I did have, I feel was much more valuable. I think part of the reason I’m so happy at Sherpa 6 is that we embody a lot of the ideals I took to heart growing up. Work hard, support each other, and take joy in your accomplishments as a community and individual.