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>>Hi I'm Jason Shoultz.
Ready for a little vacation?

I hope so because we're all
set to take you on a trip

"back in time" for
a little about

American history and a lot about
American agriculture.

We'll check out some
high winds in

the Hoosier state with
a man who collects

and renovates historic
American windmills.

Then, a "living" bit of
history in Florida

as cattle ranchers work to
restore a breed

of cattle dating back to the
1500s.

We'll take you from Farm to Fork
as Sharon Vaknin

serves up two unusual
mushroom recipes.

Amd then, we'll take you to
North Dakota where historic

rural churches facing demolition
get a new lease on life.

It's all coming up on
America's Heartland.

[bells]

>>♪You can see it in the eyes
Of every woman and man♪

♪In America's Heartland
living close to the land♪

♪There's a love for the country
And a pride in the brand♪

♪In America's Heartland♪

♪Living close
Close to the land♪

♪♪

>>Holidays to historic places
have always been popular.

Maybe you've been to
Independence Hall

in Philadelphia or the
Old North Church in Boston.

But touching the past in
rural destinations continues

to attract visitors from
this country and overseas

who want to know more about
how our food is grown or

how farming was done
a century ago.

Vermont reported that income
from agritourism nearly doubled

in the first two
years of this century.

And the Travel Industry
Association reports that

tens of millions of
travelers head, specifically,

to rural destinations when they
head out on holiday.

So let's take you on a
little rural vacation this time

to some spots where America's
agricultural past comes alive.

Rob Stewart found
a man in Indiana

giving new life to some
historic moving metal

that opened the heartland for
ranchers and farmers.

♪♪

>>Travel along this unpaved
country road in Poland,

Indiana and you will stumble
upon a showstopper.

Tucked inside the trees are
the wonders of windmills.

♪♪

This is The Windmills at
Riverside Farm.

Home to 60 historic treasures -
some dating back to the 1870s!

This historic hide-a-way
is the handy work

of windmill enthusiast
Neal Yerian.

Ten years ago,
a strange twist of fate

lead Neal on his
windmill journey.

>>When I lived in Texas
where windmills are, uh..

very numerous. Uh..
I happened to hunt

on a piece of property where
there was an old,

dilapidated windmill on a
portion of the property.

I- I had sat for countless
years, uh..

Occasionally glancing at this
windmill while I would be, uh..

deer hunting over the course of
an entire day.

And finally just something
hit me one day that

it would be something neat to-
to- to restore.

>>Neal has been wowed by
windmills ever since.

And in 2004 - he opened the
gates to this Windmill Park.

This one is really neat
looking and you say this

would have been the poor
man's windmill?

>>That's what they
called it, uh..

Back during the depression
in the '30s

this particular windmill sold
for, uh.. Less than 20 dollars.

>>Twenty bucks?

>>Yes, sir.

>>Wow, and it would be for
pumping water.

>>Pumping water.

>>There are metal
and wood windmills

standing tall at the park.

Just look at the
colors and creations

Neal has restored to glory.

>>I mean that's- that's one of
the things that's

unique about every single
windmill

as these windmill companies
uhm.. sought to find

a marketing gimmick or a
marketing edge uh..

They created different looks.

They created different color
schemes.

They added different
accessories.

♪♪

>>Neal scours the
heartland to find

windmill parts for
restoration.

He says it's a
treasure hunt.

And inside this barn are some
of his wondrous windmills,

many of these date back to the
1880's.

How do you find out the
colors that they were

because there wasn't even
color film back then?

>>Well in some of the uh..
literature that we've

collected they actually
talk about it.

They'll give specifications.

Uh.. We even know uh.. What
types of wood were used

whether it was uh..
Oak spokes or

cypress blades or
poplar girts.

Uh.. Each- each manufacturer
used uh..

Woods indigenous to the
area that they

were making their product in-
in- in many cases,

or what they believed was the

longest lasting material
available.

>>Neal's windmills show how
wind and water power played

a critical role for
america's cities and farms.

♪♪

>>Windmills played a
significant role uh..

Not only in industrialized and
settled parts of the

country, but also played a
hugely important role in the

growth of this country as it
moved west into the arid plains.

Land itself was really not
inhabitable uh..

Until people could find a way to
harness water.

"What you want to do is make
sure the angle of the incline."

>>Neal's collection is one of
the largest in the country.

He says it's almost
complete.

Which is why he's helping
other windmill lovers restore

their own mills by selling parts
and lending advice.

I want to see that letter
you showed me

earlier by the way
if you don't mind?

>>Oh yeah. Sure.

>>Uhm.. This says it all.

You got a letter from
someone who you recently

helped restore a windmill
and it says

"Dear Neal, the windmill is up.
Our four kids were all here

to help us and our friends
and neighbors.

Sure is fun to look out our
kitchen window and see it turn."

That's what makes you tick.

>>It's not about making a
dollar like I said.

>>Maybe I should say that's
what makes you spin.

[laughter]
>>That would be even better.

>>Windmills that
transformed the nation -

and transformed the life of a
man who was moved

by the beauty of this
moving machinery.

>>Well you know you
hear people say

"If I was only born
100 years ago."

Uh.. "If I lived in a
different time."

When I come out here to the park
I am living in a different time.

I'm surrounded with windmills
that date back to the 1870s.

Uh.. It is I guess my
way to step back

in time to a little
less hectic lifetime.

♪♪

>>The first windmills were
thought to have originated in

Persia and may have been brought
back to Europe by The Crusaders.

England is credited with many
improvements in windmill design,

as far back as the 12th century.

And, of course, the Dutch
refined windmill construction,

using the machines to pump water
in reclaiming farmland

as well as turning millstones
and grinding grain.

>>You know, when you're
looking into

America's agricultural history,
you have to include

Native Americans who were
growing crops like corn

and tobacco well before the
pilgrims arrived.

Spanish explorers showed
up in Florida

in the early 1500s and
later established

farms and ranches in that part
of the country.

Many of those ranches raised a
specific breed of cattle that's

a bit of "living" ag history in
the Sunshine State today.

[Cows mooing]

These cattle grazing in the
brushy Florida pasture have

a name and unless you're a
Florida native, that name

might just catch you off guard;
these are "Cracker cattle."

[whip cracking]

And William and Margaret
Broussard are proud

of this heritage breed of
cattle that they

are preserving here at the
Crescent J Ranch.

William Broussard is a 10th
generation cattleman.

Without his family's efforts,
and those of other ranchers

in the Sunshine State, this
historic breed might just have

ended up as a footnote in the
agricultural history of America.

>>We decided to take part in
trying to save

the breed which is
critically in danger.

There are not enough of them
to assure their survival.

So we got started in the
early 80's working on that.

>>The original Cracker Cattle
breed was brought to Florida

by explorer Ponce de Léon in
the 1500s.

They wandered the swampy,
brushy countryside

for hundreds of years.

Decades back,

ranchers used "Cow Hunters" to
work their herds.

Preserving that ranching story
is the job of Chester Newcomb.

At Lake Kissimmee State Park,
Chester takes visitors back

to the late 1800s when Cracker
Cattle roamed the countryside.

>>This part of Florida, we
look at almost 300 years

before man started to put a
brand on a cow.

I mean one of the reasons
they called us cow hunters,

you go out in the swamp here
trying to find a cow

be like trying to find hair on
the belly of a frog.

You know.

>>The "cracker" name actually
traces back to the way that

cow hunters rounded up these
bovine- by cracking their whips!

[whip cracking]

As other cattle breeds were
introduced

and breeding improved the
original "cracker cattle"

began disappearing... replaced
with larger animals.

It wasn't until they almost
were extinct in the 1960's

did an effort begin to save
the "cracker breed."

For the Broussard's,
preserving the cattle breed

and the ecology here, have a
deeply personal meaning.

In 1990, their 29 year old
son Allan died of an

infection following a
heart transplant.

Before Allan died,
he had a conversation

with his father in the hospital.

>>We got to talking a lot
about the land

just south of what is the
Crescent J Ranch.

Which was pretty much in good
natural condition

and how rare that was
getting and how

important it was to save
things like that.

And so he asked me if I couldn't
do something.

So that weekend I promised him I
was going to do my best to that.

[chatter]

>>That promise is realized every
day as visitors tour the grounds

of this nearly 5-thousand acre
ranch and preserve.

[screaming]

A low-environmental impact
adventure park helps

pay for the property and
helps ensure the

land will stay preserved for
future generations.

Would Allan be proud that
his dream was realized?

>>I would think so.

>>His widow said yes,
he would be proud of that.

But the thing he would be
most proud of is the way

he changed his father's
attitude.

[laughter]

A father's enduring love of
his son...

forever linked to the enduring
effort to save a breed of cattle

with a history that stretches
hundreds of years.

♪♪

Branding cattle didn't start
in the old west.

Early Egyptians were
branding their livestock

more than two thousand
years ago.

There are more than a
billion cows in the world...

India, alone, has
some three hundred million.

And just be glad that
cows don't drive-

cattle are red/green
color blind.

♪♪

>>As long as we're talking about
history and tradition,

let's focus on the tradition of
great meals that come

from heartland crops and
produce.

Our Sharon Vaknin has some
thoughts on some

special recipes that take us
from farm to fork.

♪♪

>>If you're looking to take a
break from meat,

mushrooms are the ideal
substitute.

They've got a meaty texture,

they're savory,

and they're willing to take on

just about any flavor

you throw at them.

And as a bonus, they're good
for you.

So what I've got here for
our wild mushroom pasta

are three different
types of mushrooms.

So, cremini, which I'm
chopping right now,

and you'll see I'm not
removing the stems,

because cremini mushrooms
actually don't have very

woody stems, so you can
actually eat them.

I'm also using oyster
mushrooms,

which have a more delicate
flavor, and porcini mushrooms.

With these porcini
mushrooms,

I had to reconstitute them
because they were dry.

And to do that, I put them
in a bowl of hot water and

let them sit there for about
twenty minutes.

Then I actually reserved
that water,

and you'll see why in just a
few minutes.

But first we need to prepare the
rest of our components, so leeks

which have a nice delicate
flavor that

goes really well with mushrooms.
And of course, garlic.

Mushrooms and garlic are a
great combination.

So our prep is done, and now
it's time to head to the stove.

So the first thing we want
to do is sauté the mushrooms.

Now, to the olive oil I'm
going to add some butter,

just so that I can get the
high cooking temperature

from the olive oil but that
flavor of the butter.

The first mushrooms I'm
going to add are the

cremini mushrooms, because
they're a little meatier and

they'll require a little bit
more cooking time.

So the creminis have browned
a bit,

now we'll add our oysters
and porcinis,

this looks like a lot of
mushrooms,

but these guys will reduce
pretty quickly,

so it's always better to buy
more than you think you need.

Now we'll remove these,
they reduced a ton.

Put them in a bowl, and now
it's time to prep our leeks

and garlic, so I'll lower
the heat a bit,

add some more olive oil,
throw in those leeks.

And I can hear my water's
boiling for our pasta.

So I'm going to add
pappardelle pasta,

which is a wider pasta, and
I like to go with a wider

pasta like pappardelle or
fettuccine,

because it allows the
mushrooms to shine and boil

them until they're al dente,
not completely soft,

because we're going to
finish cooking them here in

this pan with the mushroom
and the leeks.

Our leeks look good, they're
picking up some of that flavor

from the mushrooms we sautéed in
there.

Hit it with a little salt...

Now let's get these mushrooms
back in.

And now we have to spice
this dish.

I mentioned that there
was a reason

why I saved that
porcini mushroom liquid...

first I'm going to
add a little flour

because it's time to
build our sauce.

So once the flour has coated
these ingredients,

it's time to add that liquid
from the reconstituted porcini.

So I've got half of that,
plus chicken stock.

And once that simmers, it'll
thicken

because of the flour that we
added.

Now if you don't want to use
chicken stock,

you can either substitute it
with veggie stock

or just more of that
porcini liquid.

So our sauce has thickened,
it's kind of like a gravy now.

And now it's time to add the
pasta.

We brought in some of that pasta
water to further enhance this
sauce.

We're adding two types of
cheese.

We've got fontina, which is a
great melting cheese,

and parmesan cheese.

Our wild mushroom pasta
looks good,

and now it's time to plate it.

I could eat this right this
second,

but I do want to add a few
finishing touches to it.

But before I do that, let's
talk about portabella mushrooms.

These are some of the biggest
mushrooms

you'll find in grocery stores.

First I'm going to put some
slits in these,

and by adding these slits
they're going to soak up

a little bit more of the
marinade we're going to make.

Now we'll take each
portabella and coat it in

this mixture, and we'll let
them sit for about ten,

fifteen minutes so they can
really absorb that flavor.

Remember, mushrooms will
take just about any flavor

you give them and this is
going to be delicious.

Our portabellas have
soaked up all of those

delicious spices and that
olive oil,

and now it's time to grill them
on our cast iron.

So if you have a barbecue or a
grill at home,

these go great on that too.

But if you're trying to make
dinner in a pinch,

and all you've got is a
stove-top, this will work.

So add a little bit of
olive oil,

then we'll add our
portabellas straight to the pan.

We'll give them about four
to five minutes on each side,

flip them halfway through,
and they'll be good to go.

We grilled up these portabellas
and they are definitely ready.

Nice and dark brown, you can
see they shrunk a little bit,

but not quite as much
as the smaller varieties do.

And now, they're ready to be
put in a burger,

you can slice them up and
put them in tacos,

or you can eat them as is,
as a side dish.

Now I mentioned we had one final
finishing touch for the pasta.

So what I want to do there
is add a little bit of

fresh parsley,
I'll also add more cheese,

and for a garnish,
a little sprig of thyme.

We've cooked with four types
of mushrooms today,

oyster, porcini, cremini,
and of course,

the king of the mushrooms,
portabella.

And with so many varieties
to choose from,

mushrooms make for a great
meatless meal.

♪♪

>>You know, as Americans moved
west to new farms and ranches,

settlements sprouted up on the
vast open prairies

of Kansas, Nebraska
and the Dakotas.

Those pioneers brought with them
their families,

their wagons, their livestock
and their faith.

As those communities grew,
hundreds of churches

were built in the far flung
corners of the heartland.

Over the past century, however,
many of those churches have

fallen into ruin, but our
Sarah Gardner traveled

to North Dakota where an
effort is underway

to save those rural
houses of worship.

♪♪

>>It's been a
prairie landmark since

right after the
turn of the century.

>>Trinity Church was once the
spiritual center

of this North Dakota farming
community.

But population shifts
in the 20th century

moved families from rural
communities to the city.

Congregations grew smaller,
and like many other churches,

Trinity was left behind.

>>Of course, the building
sat abandoned.

Giving in to the wind and the
rain and winter,

it just kind of fell apart.

>>There were approximately
2,000 church buildings

in the state still standing.

>But Trinity's plight and those
of other churches kindled

a movement to save this part of
America's rural heritage.

>>So these churches
were closing.

We had a closure rate
of about ten churches per year.

So we became very worried
about what was going to happen

to these buildings if the
congregations continued to

disband and close and move on to
other communities.

>>Those realities prompted
a group called

"Preservation North Dakota"
to seek funds and establish

grants that could be used for
renovations.

>>We gave our first round of
grants in 2002, and through 2009

we have assisted 27 churches in
preserving their buildings.

>>In the late 19th and
early 20th centuries,

immigrant families from
Europe established

farmsteads all across
North Dakota.

Their diversity of worship
is one reason

the state has such a large
number of rural churches.

So obviously
it was in disrepair.

It takes a lot of money.
It takes a lot of dedication.

Was there ever a time
when somebody said,

"Let's just tear it down?"

And you said you're not going to
do that, but why?

>>Because it meant so much
to the heritage

that our forefathers
worked so hard to bring it here.

And they just felt that
we needed

to continue this because we
didn't build it up.

But we want to preserve
it because

it meant that much to
the whole family.

>>Working with congregations and
those interested in

preserving important examples of
the state's history,

the grants sparked local
support and brought

communities and memories
back to their churches.

>>I got baptized here...
confirmed.

We were the last ones
to be confirmed here.

Went to Bible school here.
It was a home church.

I grew up just a mile
west from here.

And you didn't miss
church unless you

were awfully sick
or the roads were blocked.

>>Like in the summer, we had six
weeks of German school.

Six weeks every summer.

And that's the way
they kept that.

They didn't want to lose that.

>>Sam Kautz and his parents
were among the immigrants

who transplanted their Lutheran
and Evangelical faiths

to their new home
in North Dakota.

>>They believed in having
a church- a place to worship.

And they brought their children.

They made sure that their
children were brought up

like, I suppose, they was
brought up.

And that was a good thing, you
know, that they did.

♪♪

>>The all-volunteer efforts
have not only prompted

the restoration and renovation
of historic buildings

in the state,
but they've also shown locals

that real change can come
at a grass roots level.

>>The grants require
a local match.

So that means the community
still has to come up

with some kind of money or
donated labor

and materials to get their
project done.

But then also the technical
advice...

showing them how to properly
do preservation

and restore different aspects
of their building.

>>Well, faith was very important
to them.

And I've always marveled
that one of the first things

they would do is build a church
and call a pastor.

And to have that heritage
to pass on

to other generations, I think,
is fascinating.

♪♪

>>That's gonna do it for this
time.

Thanks for travelling
the country with us

on this edition of
America's Heartland.

We're always pleased that you
can join us.

>>We know that we pass on a lot
of information to you

in every program, so in case you
missed something or

you just want to check out our
videos from this or other shows,

we make it easy for you.

Just log on to our website
americasheartland.org

And, of course, there's a lot
going on

in our social media arena.

You'll find us there as well.

Well, we'll see you next time...

Right here,
on America's Heartland.

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♪♪

♪You can see it in the eyes
Of every woman and man♪