'Gingerbread Grandmas' share joy of baking

Their first baking project was making gingerbread cookies last December. In January, when the ladies returned to bake bread with the children, a girl met them at the door with a big smile and said "Hi, Gingerbread Grandmas!" and the nickname stuck.

Linda Hayle, a member of Esther Circle at Bethany Lutheran Church in Nevis, heard about the need for volunteers in the Head Start classroom at a church service. As the owner of a bed and breakfast in Nevis, she thought it would be fun to bake with the children and recruited volunteers from the Esther Circle at her church as well as friends to help.

The core group of bakers also includes Mary Jo Groehler and Ruby Kittilson of Park Rapids and three members from the Nevis community: Lynn Fietek, Milica Stanfel and Marge Mcewen (a "snowbird" who volunteers when she can).

The first visit was a memorable one. The weather was snowy and Hwy. 225, which is a series of curves leading to the little village of Ponsford 20 miles from Park Rapids, was icy.

"It was white knuckle all the way," Stanfel said.

"We kept going because we didn't want to disappoint the children," Hayle said. "I had not been out on the reservation before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The school is very nice. The kids were shy at first, but we had fun and were already talking about our next visit on the drive home!"

Hayle had prepared and chilled the gingerbread dough overnight, transporting it to the school in a cooler so children could get right to work making their gingerbread cookies. Once the cookies had cooled, children frosted and decorated their creations.

"That was a very messy process, with more frosting ending up on the children's clothes and faces than on the gingerbread men," Fietek said.

The final step in the gingerbread man project was making eyes, nose, mouth and buttons with gumdrops and other candies.

"They really loaded on the candy," she said. "One little guy put 10 buttons going all the way up from his gingerbread man's toes to the top of his head!"

Children got to sample one of their gingerbread cookies with their afternoon snack, with the rest being sent home in a Christmas gift bag for their families.

"The children were so proud that they helped make the cookies," Head Start teacher Jodi Bement said. "They couldn't wait to take them home."

Groehler, who describes her monthly visits to the reservation as her "kid fix," has special ties to the Pine Point community.

"My grandfather Dr. Thomas Rodwell, was a reservation doctor," she said. "I am Anishinaabe, just like the children who attend Pine Point Head Start. I'm a member of the tribe. They're not just a bunch of kids, they're part of my family."

Part of Groehler's volunteer mission is to help introduce children on the reservation to healthier foods along with the treats they are baking.

"I've been on dialysis, so I don't want to see any of them go through that," she said.

"I have now been off dialysis since October 13 after making changes in my diet and especially cutting back on salt. So many of those kids are being raised by their grandparents — oh my, goodness! Healthy food is more expensive. You can feed a lot of kids with a box of sugar cereal compared to meat and veggies and things like that."

On one trip out to the classroom, Groehler brought a box of food that included Harvest Snap Peas (similar to chips, but low in salt and made from peas), fruit and vegetables served with healthy dips, and a variety of berries and donated it to the Head Start class. She also donated a new cookbook for each child. It was filled with healthy, yet simple recipes that families could make together.

"If the children see us eating healthy foods, they are more apt to try them," Groehler said.

In addition to being a fun activity, baking teaches the children math and science concepts as well as the social skill of taking turns. It also has its humorous moments.

"There was one little guy who grabbed a handful of flour from the cup as soon as he came in," Groehler said. "He looked at me, spit it out and said, 'This stuff tastes terrible — are you trying to kill me?'"

Groehler said she told the little boy "Oh no, honey, wait until we get the eggs and the butter and the sugar and everything in it, and you're going to like it then."

The boy looked at her and said, "Do you promise?"

"I said, 'Yes, I promise,'" Groehler said. "We got that banana bread baked and he really liked it."

Another memorable moment for Groehler was when one of the young students asked her to marry him.

"I started laughing and said, 'Honey, I'm old enough to be your grandmother,' and he said, 'I don't care if you don't!'"

Stanfel said that the fun she has interacting with the kids is what keeps her coming back to volunteer.

"A lot of them haven't done baking before, but they are like sponges, so open to everything," she said. "Whatever you do for them is just great. They make me laugh and I like having fun so it's a win-win."

Kittilson was a school nurse in Staples and is now retired.

"I jumped at the chance to volunteer," she said. "Seeing those beautiful faces looking up at me just brings me joy."

After seeing how messy the first baking project was, members of Esther Circle purchased child-sized aprons and donated them to the class on her next visit.

"The children quickly learned that when the aprons come out, it's time to start baking," she said.

Each month's visit by their new "grandmas" was marked on the Head Start classroom calendar. New recipes were tried, Easter eggs were dyed and when graduation ceremonies were held last May two of the Gingerbread Grandmas were there in the audience to watch their young friends receive their certificates and meet their families at the potluck afterwards.

This fall, the volunteers came back to meet some new faces in the three-year-old group, along with the four-year-olds who returned for their second year of Head Start.

Fietek said she has been involved in other volunteer organizations, such as Meals on Wheels and helping students at area schools with reading and math and wanted to try something new.

"I really enjoy working with kids, and that's what keeps me going back," she said. "I know they really need the help out there and they enjoy baking with us so much. It's very rewarding!"

Stanfel agreed. "The only thing I don't like is the road out there but if the weather is bad we just reschedule. They really need a lot more volunteers out there."

Anyone interested in volunteering in the Head Start classroom may call 218-573-4109. Head Start students attend Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. from September through May.

The Boys and Girls Club at Pine Point School also needs volunteers to work with students in kindergarten through 8th grade from 3-8 p.m. during the school year to help students with homework, share hobbies (woodworking, sewing, crafts) bake or read with groups. Mentors willing to commit to work with individual students are also needed. In the summer, volunteers are needed from noon until 5 p.m. For more information, call Kelsey at 573-4108.