Pictured above, Barbara Miller presents her donkeys to residents at Skaalen nursing home in Stoughton, WI.
Interview with Barbara Miller, Rock Energy Cooperative Board Member and Board Vice-Chair.
Q: How long have you lived on Rock Energy lines? A: Over 50 years, since 1963. I grew up on our family farm in Center Township in Rock County on co-op lines, and for 25 years with our own farm in Porter Township, Rock County.
Q: How long have you been a Rock Energy board member? A: Since 2017.
Q: What is your family history with Rock Energy? A: I grew up on our family farm in Center Township, Rock County which was at the time on Rock County Electric Cooperative energy lines. We had a transmission line that went along a farm lane to the next paved road. I saw lineman needed access to those lines at times. I remember that that line energized the Carrol farm, which is one of the founders of REC back in the day. My mom, Jo Miller, was the first woman to be elected to serve as a director on the board and served for 26 years. We attended the Annual Meetings, and member appreciation events.
Pictured above, Barbara Miller prepares two of her donkeys before a presentation at Skaalen nursing home.
Q: Can you share some history about Festive Donkey Ventures (FDV)? A: FDV was started in 2018. FDV started with a donkey friend and mentor, Jill Coussens of Timber Lane Acres Miniature Donkeys, who got me started in miniature donkeys 10 years ago. Then Covid hit, and we shut down for a few years and she had to move out of state back to her family. My husband retired and has grown to enjoy the donkeys and continues to do the events. Back at the farm, “Kelly” is our ‘critter sitter’ who loves on the donkeys and takes care of them when I have to be away from the farm for cooperative meetings. Our son, Joseph, also helps us on the farm when it comes to baling hay and getting it tucked away in the hayloft of the barn. In 2017 our donkeys were being shown in a National Miniature Donkey Association show that was at the Wisconsin State Fair. While receiving high honors in that show, for conformation, Grand Champion, it was the “Costume Class” that was the highlight. It is a fun class, where you enter in a themed costume that you create. Our son, Joseph, was a well dressed, handsome groom in a black tux, complete with bow tie, tails, and boutonniere and lead our donkey Dream as the bride. She was dressed in a jeweled, reconstructed, Goodwill bridal gown, complete with train, veil, flowers and pearl necklace. As we left our stall exhibit area, to get to the arena show ring, we were mobbed with people all wanting to pet and take pictures. The judge was equally impressed and gave a blue ribbon to the donkey bride! As we made our way out of the arena, back to our stalls and exhibit area of the barn, we were approached by several people again. We were able to take time to talk with them. I remember some of them asking if we do weddings. They explained that the barn venues were really the new thing in the wedding world. After the show, back at home I researched it. I saw how people in California were using donkeys in the social hour, or just in a great outdoor setting photo op. The next year, my mentor and donkey friend, Jill, got a call, asking if we rented out our donkeys. And after that conversation, arrangements and the wedding we did, FDV was launched, as we got some great photographs to show and others to see, it has really caught on! There are more barn venues these days too!
Pictured above, Barbara Miller with her Grand Champion donkey!
Q: What about your current operation, what services do you provide? What kind of private events are you usually hired for? A: We started out in 2017 to do just weddings during the social hours, but now we deliver adult beverages at the lake Geneva Country Club Sailing Regatta, golf outing, birthday parties. The donkey wears a saddle pack where ice and beverages are carried. However, we also do educational exhibits like the Education Center at the Stoughton Fair, school visits, farm days, and other events.
Q: When you take the donkeys to nursing homes or hospitals, or similar locations, do you do that as a way to give back to the community, voluntarily? A: Yes, our ‘educational’ events, are done as a community service. I look at it as an opportunity to educate people about them. They are not like cattle or horses and the concern I have is that people think they are cute, and “want to get one." So if they pursue, it is important that they know about the animal.
Q: Where do you care for the donkeys? What specific/unique skills have the donkeys been trained to do? A: The donkeys have a woody pasture, dry lot (no grass), and a stall in a barn, fresh water daily and manure picked up daily for fly prevention and healthy hooves. Each donkey is trained in halter manners, which means that they lead, stand when tied which is helpful for farrier work and Veterinarian care. They know the commands of “walk”, “trot”, “turn”, “stand”. Most of the small herd of 7 have been trained to be in a harness and pull a cart. You cannot ride on them, you ride behind them as they can pull 3 times their weight. (That is why I like to do educational events, share whenever I can, as I see things like Donkey Basketball as a fundraiser in our schools. Ugh!). Other training is to jump! It is called “Coon Jumping”, where a donkey from standing at the jump, completely still, will lift up front legs, spring all their weight onto their hind legs and spring up and over the jump. Horses have to run up to a jump to go over. It is called Coon Jumping because years back, riding donkeys were used to hunt coon. The rider comes upon a fence and dismounts, and then leads the donkey to jump over the fence (as the rider would climb over and continue the hunt). It is a competing class in the show ring.
Q: Rock Energy is governed by the 7 Cooperative Principles. One of the principles, probably the most important, is “Concern for Community.” With that in mind, how do you feel this principle fit into how you operate your farm? A: Certainly Concern for Community, as when we visit a nursing facility, assisted living home, memory care facility or a traumatic brain injury facility, it is the reaction of those patients or residents as well as the staff that make our hours of preparation worth those few minutes of interaction. Also Support of Education - as we visit festivals, weddings, nursing facilities, we are always sharing any information about the donkeys, as not many people know about them. Especially important is the educational events as we can talk in more depth about the care, history, the unique characteristics, personalities, and religious legends. There is much to know about donkeys for a successful, rewarding placement on a farm, in a home, with a family. If people get them and do not care for them correctly, they are put on social media for sale, and flipped through many placements. They are so much more like a dog, loving, bonding to their people that it becomes quite sad for the donkey when they end up in auction sales, or kill pens. Mostly because of misguidance, misinformation. I am always willing to share, work with or mentor any new donkey owner. I have had people reach out to me asking me to take a donkey they no longer want. I train the donkey their halter manners and then find a forever home, the right fit, and continue to support the donkey and family in the new placement. Fostering and getting new donkey friends!
Q: On a final note, are there any heart-warming stories you can share about a time(s) when you felt that what you’re doing at Festive Donkey Ventures is a good and positive thing for kids, families and the community in general? A: So many to share as each event we have something that was rewarding.
- The facility where residents with traumatic brain injury receive speciality care, is probably the place most heartwarming. The residents are of a wide range and degrees of abilities, as some are ambulatory and some are confined to a bed. We visit those in their rooms, and see pictures from our last visit on their walls. We see staff members remarking how they have not seen a resident smile until they interact with the donkey, like when they touch the velvet muzzle of the donkey…. Or when we arrive, and one resident loudly articulates clearly for all to hear, (no need for the PA system)“ is that Dream? My favorite donkey coming to see me?” The staff has to remind her that she has to “share” the donkey with others.
- One resident, a 16-year-old young man, injury from a car accident, would never leave his room, which was on 2nd floor. A staff member was using the donkeys as an incentive for him to come down to the first floor. They tried to talk him into coming to the elevator all the while we were there visiting others. After an hour, we had visited with everyone except this particular resident. At the end of our visit, they sadly told me he would not be coming down. I offered to try to get Dream, our best, most willing to try anything donkey, into the elevator to go see him. I didn’t know how she would react, but I was willing to try. Just as we pressed the “UP Button”, waiting for the door to open up, we heard the “Ding”, and as the door opened up and the young man, was there, coming to see us. The staff was so pleased that they had made a breakthrough with him as there was not anything else they tried that resulted in success. It just took a donkey. We stayed for a while longer. Dream was willing to oblige.
- One night, I got a call from a woman wanting to “celebrate a special birthday”. She explained that she has always thought donkeys were quite special. She was wondering if donkeys could come to help her celebrate. As I learned more, the location was a 2 hour drive, really not a good thing for donkeys to be in a hot, bumpy trailer ride that long. She explained why it was so special. She had not celebrated her birthday since she was in her teens. It was back then when on her birthday, she was driving, with her younger brother as a passenger, and were in a car accident. Her brother did not survive. She had processed the event for decades, and now that she was turning 40, she was willing to have a small gathering of her family members to acknowledge her birthday. Hearing that, how could I not accommodate something for her with the donkeys, right? We came up with the idea of her inviting the family to picnic with the donkeys here on the farm. Easier for the guest to travel two hours than the donkeys! It was a lovely day, we set up a pop up shelter, provided chairs among the oak trees in the donkey pasture, on a sunny, breezy September fall day as they picnicked the whole afternoon. The donkeys would mingle around them grazing, getting pats, and scratches. It was very cool to see how entertained the family members were in having the whole herd naturally hanging out with them. I was watching from the house, proud that the donkeys were on their best behavior and happy that the donkeys were a part of a very special birthday, to put a difficult past behind her.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to mention? A: Come see donkeys! There is so much more! Right now I have a veteran who I met at the VA hospital in Madison this January when my dad was in hospice there. He likes to come and hang out with the donkeys. He has some PTSD and pain issues, and he lives alone, not any family that he associates with. He shows up at 9 a.m. to brush, hug, and just be with them. The whole herd surrounds him, pushing each other so they can get attention from him. He says, “It is so peaceful being with them.” So, sometimes we do therapy away from the farm… now I see we can do therapy on the farm. "I know this is my happy place," said Chad, Desert Storm Veteran.
