There is plenty to be excited for as we quickly switch gears for 2025. While we don’t have the numbers done quite yet (you’ll have to come to the annual meeting to get them!), this was nothing short of another tremendous year. We’ll talk about the year as a whole at the annual meeting in a few weeks, but in the meantime we had a rather eventful December to reflect on.

First, our annual Christmas market in Des Moines was another major success this year. Shaun, Julie, and Tami ran the hut over the weekend and Sarah McDonald volunteered to help on Friday. We loaded up a 15-foot uHaul with as much product as we could, built more displays to be used outside, and sampled about 500 servings of gløgg. The weather was unseasonably warm and people came out in droves. Between 11am and 9pm on both Friday and Saturday, there wasn’t even a moment to step away from the register.

We knew going in that it was going to be a very busy four days, but we didn’t expect this. Last year we grossed over $26,000 in sales and averaged a transaction about every 2 minutes. This year, we hit $36,000 and 1,100 transactions in 30 hours of our hut being open. For perspective, that’s more revenue than we had in the entire month of June this year, at the peak of Summer travel. To go through that much product in a short time is exhausting work and we’re thankful to have the staff on hand willing to make that possible. Additionally, and this should come as no surprise, we are looking to have 2 to 3 additional people with us next year to help. As fun as this festival is, we found the limit for what 3 people can do to manage something like this. It continues to grow every year and we are already looking forward to next year.

What’s even more impressive between our recent successes during both Julefest and Christkindlmarket is how we managed to achieve so much with what we had. As those following along already know, our Denmark shipment was delayed significantly this year. It’s the first year we hadn’t received our goods by Thanksgiving, and the bulk of it didn’t even arrive by Christmas. Much of what we ordered had been intended for these events specifically, and while it is a little disappointing to have to shelve these items for next year, we can’t help but be excited at the results regardless.

And yes, our shipment is finally here. It arrived in three parts and in a manner we hope to never repeat again. First, when we placed our orders in September, our Danish suppliers had not yet received all of their goods yet themselves from the manufacturers. This meant we would have to plan for a secondary shipment in late-October / early-November by air. The typical time for an air shipment is 1-2 weeks, so that wouldn’t be an issue. It would arrive by the second week in November and we would be fine... but that’s not what happened. Our sea shipment arrived in Chicago on November 3rd where it remained detained by US Customs for nearly 2 months while we waited for each Danish supplier to come up with the appropriate paperwork for the special exam that was to take place.

In the meantime, coordinating the air shipment also took longer than expected. The goods arrived later than initially planned and coordinating with businesses 7 hours ahead is difficult itself without factoring in how busy these companies are during the holiday season. Beyond these reasons, and we still aren’t sure as to why, our air shipment was delayed by an additional month, and we didn’t receive these goods until 6:30 AM on Christmas Eve.

The second Christmas miracle occurred when we received word on Christmas Eve that Customs had released our main shipment. 12 pallets arrived at the windmill on Friday from a driver that didn’t know where the windmill. He also didn’t have a pallet jack. Shaun was able to push 11 of the pallets to the back of the truck where Julie and Jo, as well as Cloid Farley and Andy Anderson, were ready to carry boxes inside.

And finally, the last of our shipment arrived last Monday: an 11-pound box of vimpels that our exporter sent by sea, by itself, by accident. In case anyone is wondering, it costs approximately $1,000 to ship a singular 18 x 12 x 12 box from Denmark to the US by sea. Thankfully we were able to have most of that waived due to the shipper’s error(s).

As we write this, there are towers of boxes in all directions. The shipment arrived just as we start our annual inventory count, so it is taking a long time between processing what has just arrived for orders and finalizing counts in the store before we can move everything around to make it all fit. It’s a long process, but we will get there. Plenty of our new stuff has already been added to the store and we encourage everyone to stop down sometime to see it all for themselves. From LED candles to model ships to teddy bears, we have quite a bit of new merchandise this year that we know people will be excited about. It will take a little more time before the store is more presentable again, but we have some fun changes coming very soon.

Finally, our annual meeting is coming up and will be held on Monday, January 27 at the Elk Horn Town Hall, 7pm. This event is completely free to attend and will feature a presentation by Shaun on the state of the organization, notable events of 2024, and plans for 2025 and beyond. We’ll have two new board members to elect or re-elect, and there will be smørrebrød to snack on, too. This is a great way to learn about our membership program, volunteering opportunities, and more. Come join us for the evening and learn more about what we do and the help we need to make 2025 an even better year.

Pictured below: Julie and Faye after we got the shipment unloaded. Not pictured: another room full of boxes behind the camera. 

Another Julefest is in the books and we could not have asked for a better turnout! As part of our grant with the Iowa Tourism office this year, the windmill had billboards in Atlantic, Carroll, and Denison advertising Julefest throughout November. The results spoke for themselves as people came in droves on Friday and surged again on Saturday in numbers we haven’t seen in recent years. Multiple businesses reported extraordinary traffic and sales and there were times that it seemed there wasn’t a parking spot in town.               

We experienced this at the windmill as well, grossing over $14,000 in sales between Friday and Saturday, far exceeding last year’s totals and more than double of most previous years. Although we didn’t get enough wind for the sails to turn much, visitors enjoyed free admission into the chilly mill before warming up with some hot drinks in the video room. This year we expanded our selection, serving hot chocolate, Østerlandsk tea, two mixes of gløgg, and coffee. In addition to sampling some creamy Havarti cheese, we also offered tastings of our Lakrids by Bülow premium Danish licorice which proved to be extremely popular. Staff worked very hard to keep everything stocked and check out orders swiftly and we could not thank them enough.

We also held another new event for Julefest this year, Santa in the Forge. Our Vikings dressed the vikinghjem for the holidays and spent Saturday operating the forge and giving out handmade trinkets and candy canes to kids that came down to see Santa. It was a great time and they are looking forward to coming back next year and making this a regular event.

               We’re especially happy, if not relieved, by Julefest because our container from Denmark never arrived, another first. Unfortunately, our shipment from Denmark spent the entire month of November detained by US Customs in Chicago where it remains as we type this. The only explanation we have been given is that US Customs and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have intensified examinations of incoming goods this year, particularly for children’s items and baby toys. They are primarily concerned with stopping imported goods that have lead paint, failed general safety exams, etc. However, what constitutes a baby toy? While we do not import all that many children’s items, there are many that can be construed as such on paper when agents are going by item descriptions and import harmonization codes. For us, the main items slowing this down are our classic Anne Beate Design figurines. These are listed as “Christmas dolls” on the Danish invoice, owing to the messiness of translations in all of this, and correspondingly have harmonization codes that flag when Customs processes a shipment. As a result, we have been stuck waiting for Customs to examine these items and determine they are not in fact meant for children. Until this very slow process is complete, we cannot do anything but wait.              

               Navigating this in the store has been tricky with scores of people waiting for these items for their online orders. We’ve lost a few customers over this, but thankfully most have been very understanding and patient with us. It will make for an interesting Christkindlmarket in Des Moines as well where we sell a month’s worth of items in just 3 and a half days. We are doing what we can to ensure the best turnout possible and we are expecting another successful event. Between all of the great vendors and food available, we always encourage people to come check it out. This year it will be December 5 – 8 in the Northeast parking lot outside Principal Park, Des Moines. Kringle Man Pastries will also be there and we look forward to another fun festival.

               As we look to round out the year on a high note, be on the lookout for upcoming sales events to help push some of our shipment from Denmark out when it finally arrives. We’ve had to compensate for the delays by ordering more products from domestic vendors, which means we will be sitting on a substantial inventory by the end of the year ahead of 3 very slow months. We ask our local supporters to come visit us before the year is over. Don’t forget members get 10% off, and there will likely be a few sales days coming up to help ensure we can pay the bills over the next few months.

               In the meantime, we wish you all a very happy holiday season to close what has been yet another remarkable year. Glædelig jul og godt nytår!

There is so much news to give and so little time! It has been a whirlwind these last few weeks between preparing for the holidays and executing Phase 1 of our Back on the Grind capital campaign. We’ll try to unpack it all here, but know that a full recap of the restoration work will be coming soon and available for viewing at danishwindmill.org.

First, we are extremely excited to announce that the repairs and improvements made by Møllebygger Petersen could not have gone any better. The two serious repairs we needed, repositioning the sliders on the cap frame and repairing the windshaft, both took significantly less time than expected. And as a result, Erik Batenburg and Ronald Scheltens were able to spend more time focusing on other detailed repairs than we initially planned for including re-shimming both wings, fixing the alignment of the gearboxes, replacing floors, adjusting teeth, and more. Everything went according to plan without issue and we could not have asked for better weather during the entire process either. We even had some steady winds before the millwrights left that allowed them to really test the mill and even grind a few bushels of rye! They left us for Denmark on October 26 and the mill is in the best shape it has been in for a very long time.

We have several community members to thank for their help in this project as well including Logan Aalbers, Kodie Haas, Colton and Eric Juelsgaard, and Mike’s Welding of Kimballton for getting us materials we needed as well as the fabrication of our new grease bank. We also want to thank Mike and Lisa Riggs for their hospitality in housing the millwrights during the two weeks they were here, no matter how much grease they tracked back with them at the end of the day. Finally, we wish to extend our deepest gratitude to Mike & Lou Howard. Their $50,000 donation made this critical project possible. We are grateful to have such a strong community of supporters and could not have taken this project on without their help. We extended this appreciation by hosting a banquet following the last day of work where locals, the millwrights, and our own board of directors and staff gathered for a night of Danish food and music. Bill Peterson and Nate Kemperman came to town to play some folk music and tell Dwight Lamb’s famous story while Shelli Lange of Master Griller Catering prepared a delicious frikadeller meal. Shaun gave a brief overview of the work accomplished and took the time to explain that we do still have work to be done to get our mill to where it needs to be, and we know we’ll get there with this community behind us.

Meanwhile in the store, the holiday season has quickly crept up on us. We’ve already stocked up on some of our signature Danish companies including the gingerbread mouse house from Maileg, felt Christmas decorations from Gry and Sif, new ceramic figurines from Klaborg, and refreshing winter flavors of Lakrids’s chocolate-coated licorice. Our shipment of gløgg is also here and we anticipate our container arriving from Denmark within the next two weeks. We have a lot of new and exciting items coming this year including some long-awaited restocks such as our tapered dinner candles. We’ve greatly expanded on our selection of Brink Nordic glass-blown ornaments and are also bringing in a number of sharp LED candles for everyday or advent-related use.

For those still waiting, our 2024 Gifts & Collectibles Catalog is going out very soon! It is already available for viewing online and we can tell people are excited with all of the new brands we’ve added for this year. View our catalog here!

Finally, Julefest is almost here and the annual brochure is now out and about. View the brochure online on our new event page: JulefestDV.com. We’re doing something completely new this year called Santa in the Forge which will feature a Viking-themed Santa and some blacksmith demonstrations in the Vikinghjem. Don’t miss it!

Summer is over and Fall is officially here as we roll right into October. Much has happened at the Mill since our last news update and there is plenty to be excited for in the coming months. First and foremost, thank you to those who have already donated to help support the Daily Grind. We sincerely appreciate the support and hope more may join in so that we can continue putting these issues out.
         Our container shipment from Denmark is officially on its way, and we’re hopeful that there won’t be further delays as our goods cross the ocean. World-wide shipping delays have really put a wrench in things this year and we have had to resort to scheduling a follow-up shipment by air in just a couple of weeks to ensure we can get everything in. There is plenty of new stuff one the way as well as some vital restocks that we have been waiting on. We have a new supplier for our high-quality Danish dinner candles (now made in Denmark!) which means our red candles will be back soon. We also have the wooden rullepølse press coming back and will have both wood and stainless steel options this year. Other items of note include LED pillar and advent candles, new glass-blown ornaments, and lots of new and returning Danish trinkets and souvenirs.
The one casualty this year is our Danish hard candies made by Almuegaarden, which we will no longer carry due to complications specific to importing food. On the plus side, though, we are excited to announce two other Danish brands we will be carrying. The first, Lakrids by Bülow, we picked up this Summer. This is premium Danish licorice available in a number of flavors in licorice form and chocolate blends. Our Winter selection has recently arrived including Raspberry, Double Chocolate, and Mint, and we are expecting their beautiful advent calendar box very soon. We’re sampling these in the store, so stop down sometime to try them. The second is something completely new and you won’t be able to get it anywhere else in the country, Østerlandsk Tea! These teas, produced by a company that has been in business in Copenhagen since 1889, come in beautiful, ornate tins that are as unique as the flavors themselves. We anticipate these coming soon and supply will be limited until we can make a bulk order next year, so keep an eye out for that announcement when they arrive.
We have also recently picked up a new brand of Havarti cheeses from a small dairy farm in Massachusetts. These are available in 8oz blocks and come in five flavors including: plain, dill, garden vegetable, habanero, and smoked. The smoked Havarti is especially good and we might already have sold out by the time this news update airs. But don’t worry, this farm specializes in Havarti and regularly has new batches made, so getting more in is quick and easy. Best of all, this is raw milk cheese that is lab-tested. What that means is that these cheeses are made using traditional methods that rely on bacteria in the cheese to produce a more complex and richer flavor. This bacteria is normally removed during pasteurization, but don’t worry, each batch of cheese is lab tested to ensure it’s both safe to consume and extra delicious compared to pasteurized Havarti blends.
Looking ahead, we have a few very busy weeks coming up. We anticipate this year’s holiday catalog to be sent out in a couple weeks. And on October 11, workers from MøllebyggerPetersen will arrive to work on the windmill. The crew plans to begin repairs right away, starting with re-adjusting the cap frame gliders to make the windmill more secure and safe going forward. From there, the group will move onto the windshaft, and once addressed, we can get into the upgrades and renovations that we’ve been waiting for. Please allow us to extend sincere thanks to those who have donated to help us undertake this project so far. It is no easy feat, but we are doing what we can to make this work. We realize this is very sudden work, but we can assure everyone this was the best path forward for the mill and our organization’s preservation. No one here is a stranger to how difficult our windmill is to look after, and we appreciate the support we’ve received to keep it in its best possible condition.
To cap things off, we will be hosting a banquet at the Elk Horn Town Hall on Friday, October 25^th to send off our Danish millwrights, there will be Danish food and folk music just for the occasion, so save the date and be ready for a night to celebrate this year’s accomplishments and send off our visitors in the best way possible. More information will be out very soon, so keep a watch out for that announcement as well.

It has once again been a while since our last update, but we hope it was worth the wait. Please allow us to introduce the inaugural issue of our newest publication, the Daily Grind. As noted, Rolling Hills Community News is on an indefinite hiatus. We hope to see another local newspaper take its place as soon as possible, but in the meantime, we are happy to provide this new format as a service to the community. While this paper is expected to be produced monthly, followers of our own news column can still expect a digital “News From The Mill” column every two weeks or so like before. Some entries will appear in this paper as well, while others will remain purely online. The quarterly newsletter will also remain the same.

It hardly seems real that Summer is on its way out. The windmill, like tourism attractions around the state, suffered a downturn in visitors this year. Insiders speculate this is mostly do to the chaotic and extreme weather patterns throughout the state that has left many Iowa towns limping along. We’re thankful that the Danish Villages, and the windmill itself, have largely avoided these unprecedented storms. We’re also thankful that despite the lack of visitor traffic, gift shop sales continue to climb.

In other news, Shaun made a return trip to Denmark in August. While at Formland he negotiated orders with our two largest Danish souvenir suppliers, Det Gamle Apotek and Godtbergsen’s, along with a number of other Danish companies. While many of these orders can be done by email in this day and age, it always helps to meet face-to-face and see new products, and you never know what new companies you might come across. This time, Shaun met with business reps from IB Laursen, a company that we haven’t bought from in about 10 years. He also had the opportunity to sample a new flavor of Dansk Mjød, our mead from Billund, coming to the US next year and we will do everything we can to convince our distributor to pick it up because it is delicious. We’re still in the process of organizing the container shipment and can’t wait for everyone to see what we have coming.

Shaun also had the opportunity to have dinner with Morten Petersen and Erik Batenburg in Ribe. They talked about Møllebygger Petersen’s progress with the institute they are developing to train a new generation of millwrights as well as upcoming plans for our windmill when Morten and Erik arrive in October. We’re very excited to have them here to help repair our windmill and ensure its safety going forward. Please don’t forget that we are still fundraising for this project. It will be costly, but it ensures we get the repairs we need and will help us maintain the windmill going forward. We need all of the community support we can get to make this happen and ensure we can keep the lights on next year.

As we transition into Fall, several new items are in the store including some nice decorations from the Danish felt company, Gry & Sif. Our licorice has been restocked and back again is Wilson’s Orchard Apple Cider Donut hard cider. We’ve also brought in new long-sleeve tees for the changing weather and don’t forget we have hoodies, too. Don’t forget to check out our new windmill puzzle either!

Finally, we want to acknowledge the departure of Elk Horn’s own Alissa LaCanne from her position with the Museum of Danish America. Alissa has moved on to teaching and we wish her the best of luck. We also want to recognize her unparalleled service to the community. Her devotion to the development of fun and innovative youth programs coupled with her vested interest in showcasing local history will be irreplaceable. We have no doubt she will excel in her new position, but we are saddened to see her move on in a professional capacity. Her energy, drive, and passion will be sorely missed.  

Click here to view the Daily Grind. 

It has been a very busy Summer at the windmill and quite a while since we’ve been able to provide an update on everything going on! Despite the travel season being slightly down compared to last year, sales have continued to reach new heights at the mill. We’re hopeful that trend sticks through the rest of the year. More improvements have been made to the gift shop and we are in the process of preparing our next import shipment from Denmark.

The windmill participated as a RAGBRAI vendor in July when riders came to Atlantic. From 8am to 11pm, Shaun and Julie managed a booth alongside Kringleman Pastries telling everyone our story and selling dozens of our bike-themed rubber duck.

We also debuted our new capital campaign: Back on the Grind, which readers of our newsletter have expressed much excitement for. We’re still a long way from our fundraising goal, but we’re hopeful we can get there before the end of the year. We’re at least relieved that this important work is being done and that the security of our windmill is assured from some serious threats. In case you missed it, head on over to danishwindmill.org/grind where we will continue to post updates about the project(s) as they develop.

Taking a different turn, our local area paper, Rolling Hills Community News, in which these updates have regularly appeared over the last two years, is on hiatus. In response to this, we are excited to announce for the first time that we are taking it upon ourselves to produce a paper in its place, the Daily Grind. This paper will be published once per month starting in September. You can expect the usual content from us as well as a number of other local columnists that were staples of the original paper. These papers will only be available locally in Elk Horn and Kimballton, but our distant followers will be able to access all issues online soon. We want to thank Steve and Dusty Turner for their work towards keeping the original paper going for as long as they did. We would also like to thank our contributors for sticking with us and Jack and Nancy Krogstad for taking on their delivery roles again for those that need it.

Finally, we have some very exciting news to share. Our virtual tour is finally ready! See and experience the windmill in ways that have never been done before and head over to danishwindmill.org/virtual-tour to check it out. We’re very excited about this new resource and its potential for our organization. We hope you are, too!

It’s hard to believe that Tivoli Fest is already behind us, but we hope everyone else had as much fun as we did! What a weekend! We had the mill turning, about 40 vikings camped outside, our usual troupes of folk dancers performed on our stage, and we met a lot of new people this year! We could not believe the crowds and this may have been one of our best festivals in a very long time.

Our staff has since recovered as we prepare for our two busiest months of the year, and we would like to thank some of our volunteers for helping us out during Tivoli. Nicole Butler, Jon Adams, and Sarah McDonald helped sell our craft sodapop outside during the festival which made a tremendous difference with lowering traffic in the gift shop. Lily Bricker was with us both Saturday and Sunday, donning her mom’s Danish dress to give guided tours of the windmill. We’re especially thankful to have Lily with us and look forward to working with her and other EEHK student-volunteers this Summer. Any one interested in volunteering should get in touch with us. We have a number of different opportunities for people to get involved and scheduling is entirely flexible.

We also sold out of Tivoli shirts almost immediately. In order to fulfill outstanding requests, we are working with the Tivoli Fest Committee to get one last order of shirts in until next year. Orders can be placed at danishwindmill.com or by calling us at 712-764-7472. We are accepting orders until June 15 upon which time we will order the remaining sizes needed and send them out. We also want to remind everyone this shirt isn’t a product of the windmill and all proceeds go back to funding Tivoli Fest and the Committee’s select fundraising campaigns.

In other news, work is underway to replace our entertainment building. Justin Nelson of Kimballton poured the concrete for us and we expect to have our new building installed soon. As anyone who has been in our basement knows, we do not have adequate storage onsite, and this new building will help us both provide better outdoor entertainment on our grounds and store equipment and other things that take space away from product for the store.

Finally, we are excited to announce that Møllebygger Petersen of Denmark will be working on our windmill again this Fall. Erik Batenburg and his associate, Roland, will be working on the mill for approximately two weeks in mid-October. Their first tasks will be to adjust the cap frame’s rollers which are riding too tight along the rail, and also to try and address the issues with our new windshaft that was installed in 2018. Once these issues are taken care of, we can go about improving the operation of the mill by adding a brake cable to our catwalk alongside the shutter chains, as the mill originally had in Denmark. We will also be adding a grease hub that will enable us to grease the external points of the fantail without having to climb outside. Finally, if there is enough time, the crew will help us install the new friction wheel for our sack hoist, rendering the mill fully functional in its original capacity. All of this work constitutes the first phase of our new Back on the Grind capital campaign, our final push to restore the windmill’s authenticity, make it safer to operate, and address the emergent issues from previous restoration work.

More information on this campaign including visual aids will be available at danishwindmill.org and we will be mailing out appeals soon to help with the cost. This kind of work is always very expensive and there are few capital fund grants that cover it including none of the ‘historical preservation’ grants currently offered by the state of Iowa. We are doing all that we can to make this work possible, but we need all of the help we can get and any amount helps. Learn more about this campaign and how to donate at danishwindmill.org.

One final note: we have changed our Sunday hours from 12 – 5 to 10 – 4. Please plan accordingly and we look forward to seeing faces new and familiar this Summer.

Learn more about our capital campaign this year here.

It might be hard to believe, but Tivoli is already here! We’ve done everything we can to get the windmill ready for what will hopefully be another spectacular event. Most of our concrete pathways, in addition to the entertainment stage and our HC Andersen bust have been deep cleaned. The mill’s catwalk has been re-stained, and we’ve repainted both mill doorways. More exhibit panels have been added to the mill’s hoist floor (third floor) and even the Vikinghjem. We’re expecting at least 50 vikings this year, and the line of tents along Main St. should be quite the sight.

               As these words are being written, the forecast for this coming weekend is not too promising. The whole week shows scattered chances of storms and Friday and Saturday are not projected to have a lot of wind. We hope to see the skies clear, and that the wind may pick up so we can drive our millstones. We intend to hold grinding demonstrations throughout Friday and Saturday in the wind is there. Optimal wind speeds for grinding start at about 18 – 20 mph. We can grind with less for show, but it’s not the same. In the mean time we’re hoping for the best and either way, people will get to see the sails turn all weekend. It’s free admission all weekend, and the mill will be open to walk through. Our tour video will be playing every 15 minutes on the hour for those looking to get the full experience with a guided tour.

               The rest of the mill’s regular programming will go on. We’ll have our local Danish dancers and the Omaha Scandinavian folk dancers on the stage Saturday afternoon. The Vikings will be around Friday and Saturday with demonstrations and tours, plus live battles next to the former hotel at 1:30 and 4:00 on Saturday. We’ve stocked up on Viking gear, so don’t miss the opportunity to get your own swords, helmets, and shields in the gift shop. Tivoli t-shirts will be sold at the windmill with the exception of Friday evening. They’re available now, and we encourage people to get them early to guarantee size selection. They will be sold at the fire station Friday night. On Saturday, we will have a booth setup outside selling t-shirts and soft drinks to help keep the lines shorter inside the gift shop.

               We’re also ready to announce that the mill’s boneyard has finally been cleared. We would like to thank Andy Anderson, Chris Fredericksen, and Kodie Haas for their help in clearing the old timbers. A few good pieces have been salvaged for various projects, but the rotten wings and cap frame are finally gone. We will begin working on the construction of our new entertainment building once Tivoli has passed, and we hope to hold some special events this Summer on our grounds to inaugurate it.

               Finally, we want to wish everyone a very happy Tivoli Fest. We encourage everyone to take pictures and videos that we can use to help market the festival in the future. We believe this is going to be a very strong year if the weather holds, and we are looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces in and about the mill. Flyers have been distributed about town and everything is also available for viewing online at tivolifest.com. We’ve got more exciting news coming when the dust finally clears.

As one might expect, it isn’t always easy to operate a windmill in a small town like Elk Horn. There is no lumberyard or hardware store. There aren’t many craftsmen with the time to help with maintenance or repairs, and the people most willing or able to help are stretched too thin. But one community member the windmill has counted upon time and time again still finds creative ways to contribute to our organization and help us grow: Gene “Beaner” Thomsen of Old Danish Workshop.

Gene’s woodshop is a hop, skip, and a jump from the mill. He might be in his 90s, but he’s still there almost every day, tinkering with reclaimed furniture or barnwood, carving out his signature wooden toys, or building a rustic birdhouse. He makes canes, crosses, dollhouse furniture, and decorations like wooden evergreens. Most are simple in design and capture the inviting energy of Gene himself. Perhaps the most interesting items you can find in his shop are his oven squirrels, which can be used to safely pull baking sheets out of the oven or prop the oven door open.

No matter how busy Gene keeps himself with his wood projects, he always makes time for others. Locals frequently rely on him to fix up damaged tables or chairs, outdoor benches, or whatever else might need a joint replacement or patch. He’s a Dane through-and-through, not only because his birth certificate is in Danish, but also owing to his tireless ability to help others.

The windmill has depended on Gene significantly over the years. Having access to his shop for something as simple as a missing nail or wood glue is a greater luxury than it might seem. Even now, he still offers his help with random wood projects whether it’s new shelves for the store or something a bit less routine. This year alone, Gene’s skillful hands helped us out with two unique projects.

The first was a shadow box to display a retired Danish flag. Earlier this year, with the help of some local high school students, we changed out the display cases inside the windmill. In doing so, we uncovered a moldy box that contained two 3x5 flags, American and Danish. These flags were the first to be flown outside the windmill in the 70s and had been presented to the windmill’s original Board of Directors by Senator Tom Harkin. Before that, the American flag had flown over the Capitol building. Displaying an American flag is straightforward, provided you can fold it properly, but displaying a Danish flag required some research. The Dannebrog is retired differently from an American flag. Rather than folded into a triangle, it is folded length-wise and rolled up, so that no white can be seen. Finding the correct box to display it was also challenging, and so we approached Gene about having one custom made. In no time at all he was done, and it’s displayed inside the windmill today.

The second project was just last week and another odd request. Now that we’re grinding in the windmill again, we’ve encountered newer problems that otherwise weren’t as much of an issue before. A major one is the overwhelming number of flies that trap themselves inside, and they die on every surface from the second floor up. We’re hoping the UV trap we installed last week helps with this issue, but we still had to deal with the problem at hand: how to seal the grain in the hopper when the millstones aren’t being used. Between sessions, this grain sits completely exposed, and this results to dead flies dying in the bin and being crushed into the flour. Just because there are bugs in peanut butter and chocolate doesn’t mean they have to be in our flour, too. So, we went to Gene again, asking if he could make a top for us that would help keep the bugs out but still match the aesthetic of the craftsmanship of our millstone casing and hopper. He had it done in a day.

If you plan to stop in Elk Horn soon, Gene’s shop is a must-see wonder. It’s filled with quality trinkets and crafts that couldn’t have been made by a kinder soul. He’s full of surprises, too, and loves keeping his visitors on their toes. Behind the counter you’ll see his custom rack for 50-cent coins sorted by year. He stocks them as mementos and surprises his unsuspecting customers by gifting ones with their birth years. Beyond his ability with a saw, Gene’s grace and thoughtfulness towards others has made him a treasure in our community. He is truly one of a kind and we’re proud to have him with us. He loves what he does, and we could not imagine our town without him.

It is finally May and visitor traffic is hitting a stride. Despite some weird weather, April proved to be a busy month for us. We had over 1,000 visitors at the Mill and 483 travel groups. We had visitors from 46 different states and at least 6 foreign countries. We also have some new local products in the store including Elk Horn and Kimballton mugs featuring the windmill and mermaid respectively. Both designs were done locally by Deborah King and we sourced the mugs through MyWay Design in Audubon. We love finding ways to support local businesses and the mugs have been added to our growing ‘shop local’ section in the gift shop. We’ve also finally restocked our Iowa souvenirs.

            In April, we held our first It Takes A Village fundraiser. Every Sunday of the month we donated all of our tour admissions for the day to our local Kids in the Village daycare center. We opened the windmill early, had it running all day, and partnered with local food vendors that were willing to devote a Sunday each of their own time for the cause. After some bad weather on 4/28, we held our final session on Sunday, May 5 and altogether we raised $1,147 towards the daycare. We want to thank Kringleman Pastries, Norse Horse Tavern, Master Griller Catering, and Hungry Spartan Pizza for their cooperation. We also want to thank those in town, even members that typically enjoy free admission, who came out in support. It is our hope that the windmill may continue to be used for this purpose and that we continue finding creative avenues to help support other vital organizations in town. In our eyes, that is why the windmill was brought here, and we’re more than ready to keep that vision going.

            And speaking of community engagement, another Earth Day has come and gone. This year we had 10 high school students and two teachers join us at the windmill to plant flowers and prepare the grounds for Spring. The weather was windy and a little wet, but that played to our advantage with Atlantic’s 3^rd grade class trip happening at the same time. Every class got to see the millstones grind and the sails turn, and we still stopped the mill for a moment to let each group do a lap of the catwalk. The kids and chaperones alike were amazed to see the windmill going. For many of the teachers that have been making the trip for years, it was their first time witnessing it.

            It might seem hard to believe, but Tivoli Fest is almost here. This year we fully intend to run the windmill and the millstones all weekend long. Our new exhibit panels are installed in the windmill and we’re ready to demonstrate to the crowd just what our intrepid machine can do. We will also have our folk dancers again this year and an enhanced live Viking encampment with dozens of Vikings pillaging around the area. You can find all the information for Tivoli over at our new website: tivolifest.com. The festival schedule will also be posted there once available. The windmill will be selling the new Tivoli Fest t-shirts throughout the festival except Friday night after closing when they will be available for purchase that evening at the Elk Horn Fire Station. The shirts are also available on our website and we’ve even had people from Denmark order them already. Get yours while we have them because they are going fast.

            Finally, we do want to assure our friends and supporters that newsletters are going out soon. April was a busy month between the fundraiser and Tivoli preparations, and it is difficult to find the time to write and design it during business hours. Nevertheless, it will be going out soon, and we think the feature article will pique everyone’s interests. In the meantime, we will continue filling up the gift shop and decorating the store for Tivoli Fest. If you’re driving through Harlan, Exira, Atlantic, Denison, or Carroll, you might even see one of our billboards.