It’s in his blood. 

The seventh generation steward of Spence Farm in Livingston County can take a seed and produce heirloom and native crops on the 160-acre farm. 

It’s a process he learned from his ancestors, who purchased the land nearly 200 years ago, and one that he is passing on to his grandchildren.

On the side of producing vegetables, mixed grains, wheat, rye, different varieties of corn sorghum, flours and corn meals, Travis is also planting the seed of opportunity for 60 other Central Illinois small farms through marketing and distribution services that deliver fresh produce, dairy and meat to almost 50 restaurants in Chicago and Central Illinois.

“Last year we delivered about 120 tons of product,” Travis said.

The thriving dining economy was something that was expected to continue in 2020. But, prior to March, Travis saw that the spread of COVID-19 would likely take hold of the United States in the same way as it had in China, Italy and Spain. 

The tried-and-true model of providing products to restaurants would have to shift, and it would need to be done quickly.

In a matter of days, Travis and the 60 farms he works with, went from providing food to 30 restaurants in Chicago to three. He immediately offered a solution that would benefit both restaurant owners and the public: produce deliveries to supplement grocery shopping during the stay-at-home orders.

“Many of our farmers at the very beginning said, ‘Oh, we’re going to scale back; you’re not going to be able to sell it to the restaurants so we should scale back and not plant as much or get rid of some livestock,’” Travis recalled. “And I turned around and I said ‘No, please. Just keep planting, plant as much as you need. We will find the place to make this happen.

“We were able to pivot quickly enough to offer (the product) to local families here in Central Illinois and in Chicago,” Travis said. “It exploded.” 

The demand came with the help of restaurant owners like The Wheelhouse’s Ryan and Abbie Rogiers. The farm-to-table restaurant has a long-standing relationship with Travis. Much of their product comes from the farms he serves.

The Rogiers took a week off after Pritzker announced that restaurants would have to close to figure out a plan that would work for their schedules, budget and customers. 

When they came back, a weekly produce menu was distributed to the public via Facebook. Customers had access to everything that chefs had access to. The orders that were placed on Sunday were delivered to the restaurant from the back of Travis’ truck by mid-week.

“(The customers) could make choices and have control over what they wanted to feed themselves and their families,” Travis said. 

The St. Joseph community was not the only town served, though. Travis continued his weekly trips up I-57 to Chicago in order to deliver to a few restaurant owners and customers there. He also delivered to Peoria and several other small communities.

At the height of the pandemic, the local farmers with the help of some Chicago distributors were serving about 700 families a week.

“I’m thrilled, beyond words to be able to offer all of our farm’s products to local families,” Travis said. “The quality of what we’re offering is, I think, exceptional.”

For Travis, though, selling a product isn’t all that goes into consideration as he grows the distribution business.

First and foremost, “I’m trying to protect the emotional, physical and mental capacity of our farmers,” he said. 

There are also time and packaging limitations on the Spence Farm operation.

Restaurant owners like the Rogiers help to sort and package the goods their customers order. Travis said restaurant owners in Chicago have also done the same. 

“By consolidating all those orders by all in bulk, do the packaging for all the individuals and take care of the sales invoice, that will allow us to come back and do what we do best: taking care of our farmers and our customers, our restaurants and our bulk buyers,” Travis said. “That will eliminate at least 40 hours a week for me.”

Organic farmers like Thomas Harrison from Crooked Row Farm in Champaign said that having an innovative thinker like Travis was reassuring in a time when nothing seemed real.

Moving from part-time work on the farm to a full-time schedule, Harrison had planned to scale up in 2020. 

“I still need to feed myself and my family and my friends; that’s that’s important to me,” Harrison said. “So I’m going to continue to do what I planned to do. I wasn’t really too worried about not selling anything.”

Instead, Harrison chose to work beside Travis.

“How do we learn more about this and adapt and move on,” Harrison said. “Yeah, it was frightening at first; this can affect everybody. And not just certain people in life. This is a pandemic, it’s widespread. And this, this could hit home. But we just need to learn about it at this point in time and then move forward. We’ll learn and adapt.”

Part of the learning and adapting process included going with Travis to Chicago and helping him deliver food. 

“It is the most surreal thing to have this experience in which we pull into an alley behind a restaurant and have down the block and around halfway the other side of the block people lined up,” Travis said. “And many of those people are celebrity chefs who are in a food line to get product from us out of the truck space six feet apart.”

Going to the Illinois’ epicenter for COVID-19, Travis and Harrison knew they were taking a risk.

“We talked briefly about the fear aspect in the risk ask aspect,” Travis said. 

“For me, at the very beginning, there was conscious thought in, ‘Do we take this risk? Do we do this?’ ‘And what does that mean?’ 

We have families, we have responsibilities. But that fear went away very quickly, with more knowledge about how to keep ourselves safe with the purpose of serving people.”

The men wore masks, used hand sanitizer often and changed their gloves between every stop in Chicago. 

“People were super comfortable with it,” Travis said. 

“Part of it is in the messaging. Part of it is in creating the community through email. Here’s what we need. What do you need? How can we make this comfortable for you? How can we give you some sense of control back in this? How can we make you feel like, what you’re doing is being responsible toward us and we’re being responsible toward you?

“Then at the end of the day, we take the gloves off, somebody feeds us, and we go home. It’s an intense day but it is a good day.”

When Travis gets home from Chicago on Wednesdays, he does not open his computer. Instead, he regroups for the Thursday trip to St. Joseph. 

Alongside offering the farm box to their customers, the Rogiers also jumped on the wagon with meal kits to be prepared at home once a week. Ryan shows home chefs how to prepare their food on a weekly video while Abbie provides comical insights and thoughts. 

The process from the farm to the table is deliberate. Travis works with restaurant owners each year to get an idea of their seasonal menus so that he can provide planting feedback to the farmers.

“There’s so much education that goes on behind-the-scenes with us trying to help farmers understand what it takes to be profitable, what it takes to be productive, what it takes to be safe and provide a product called food that we all consume.

“It’s important that they learn how to be efficient, and have the highest quality crops,” Travis said.

Harrison added, “It’s a synergy. If our plants or animals are healthy and we consume those, then we’re healthy, and we stand a better chance at fighting disease and virus. If the plants and animals are healthy, they can defend themselves from these things as well.”

An added benefit is that buying produce from local farmers also stimulates the local economy. 

“I’m not saying that this system is for everybody or that it replaces the grocery store; but what I’m saying is it gives people the choice,” Travis said. “It gives the opportunity for each of us to support local economies and local farms in a way that maybe we haven’t stepped up to in the past.”

For Harrison, the slower pace of Illinois during the stay-at-home order helped him reconnect with what is really important to him.

“This also gives us an opportunity to grow as people and just kind of slow down and get back to the things that are important to us: our food, our family and our friends. In that aspect, this pandemic has allowed us to reach and connect with our communities on another level than we have previously.”

Travis said that in recent years he has had to turn down a demand from restaurants for produce, meat and dairy products because while the demand is there, local farmers don’t have the capacity to do everything for everyone.

He has taken the Spence Farm model to help others, like Harrison, to start their own organic farm in hopes that more local farms will be established in Illinois and throughout the country.

“Then we don’t have to be big, we just have to be great,” Travis said. “I want more of these pods around the country, around the world, to create opportunities for local farms, local communities to rebuild and regenerate that whole economy. 

“We can take back our autonomy by having this local economic development again.”

Abbie said that the changes the pandemic is bringing to small businesses could be a good thing, too. Aside from moving from dine-in to curbside to outdoor dining, the Rogiers have also been in the process of setting up a local farm-to-table delivery system.

“That’s my favorite part of this whole thing,” Abbie said. “It’s like forced innovation; you have to change some choice like you can’t just keep going.

“That’s the good thing about being a small farm or small restaurant is that we have the ability to adapt and recreate things.”

Travis agrees.

“It’s a remarkable time,” he said. 

“It’s an opportunist opportunistic time.”

He also thinks it’s an intentional time.

“We’ve all had to practice social distancing, I would hope that we will be able to practice intentional compassion,” he said. “That would go a really really long way throughout society and throughout the world. And it doesn’t take that much.

“Practicing intentional compassion is really trying to take care of each other. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes progress.

“So, we should practice more.”

The post Spence Farm Co-Op provides more than sustenance first appeared on SJO Daily.

The summer months will look a little different for St. Joseph’s Patricia and Bruce Rape.

Normally, the couple who has been married nearly five decades would spend the warm months looking out over vineyards, sharing glasses of wine with friends and bringing friends into their home.

But the summer of 2020 will look different. Instead of celebrating their 50th year of marriage at the Redwood National Park in California with family, the Rapes will be home, continuing to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.

Though Patricia and Bruce have been staying very close to home for the last two-and-a-half months, they wanted to find a way to extend their curiosity and experiences with those they love.

So, they invited the world to their table: through Facebook.

On March 22, 2020, after seeing a graphic with a wine glass in every room of a home, the Rapes posted their first “Shelter at Home Wine Tour.”

Having toured wineries in California, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Illinois, the Rapes were equipped with an assortment of wines to start.

“I thought, well, we’ll just start and see what happens,” Bruce said.

To mix things up a bit, they joined a wine club from Utica and another one through Hopwood Cellars in Zionsville, Indiana.

“It’s one of our favorite little places that we discovered a few years ago with some friends,” Bruce said.

They’ve also ordered wines from the Wheelhouse and Naked Wines.

Pairing a wine with a meal isn’t anything new for the Rapes. But figuring out how to incorporate interesting cuisine, including some local ingredients, with a wine in a way that would bring people close when they had to be separated was something that excited the couple.

“We’re very much into organic and locally sourcing,” Patricia said. “I like to research recipes, so we try to incorporate those foods. When we find something that looks enticing or might appeal to someone else, then, we try to pair wine with it, and then we do that for our wine tour. 

“We both love to entertain and we sometimes laugh because when we get together with friends, we’ll plan a day and they’ll say, ‘Oh we’ll come to your house!’ We love to do that for friends, so this is a way for us to share our food, and our flair for entertaining with those that are in our community and in our circle of friends.”

To date, Bruce and Patricia have completed 22 “Shelter at Home Wine Tours.” They’ve prepared  cheddar broccoli risotto, North African curry, cheese boards, creme brûlée, pork chops from Bane Meats and demo boxes from The Wheelhouse. They’ve showcased wines such as Montelle 2013 Cynthiana Port from the Montelle Winery in Augusta, Missouri; Ruffino Prosecco from northeastern Italy, Biltmore Estate Tempranillo and Jacqueline Bahue Pinot Noir 2018, to name a few. 

“It’s been funny to hear comments,” Patricia said. “One of the funny ones is from a gentleman Bruce knows through work. After all these foods that I think are just delicious, his favorite night was the night we featured nachos.

“But our nachos are a bit exotic.”

Even the exotic nachos likely have a hint of something local, though. The Rapes have taken advantage of local produce deliveries at The Wheelhouse, continue to keep connection with David Bane at Bane Family Meats and have discovered Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, Ill.

Thinking about the wine tour begins in the morning.

Patricia likes to see the big picture of the day, then work backwards. 

“They have all these really wonderful flowers for pizza and for pastry,” Bruce said. “We just got a delivery from them (two weeks ago). It’s not really close, but it is locally sourced.”

Planning for dinner begins early in the morning as Patricia takes count of what the upcoming hours will look like. She plans backwards from dinner. 

Sometimes the meals will help them connect with loved ones they haven’t had a meal with in a while. 

“We generally just fix meals around what we’re hungry for,” Patricia said. “When we did the North African curry, we were just hungry for it. We hadn’t had it for a while, and it’s our granddaughter’s favorite. She’s seven; she’s a very picky eater, but curry is her favorite food. So we always have curry when we’re together.”

Whatever the theme of the dinner, Patricia picks out linens to go with the meal and Bruce coordinates his attire with her choices.

“It’s just the same as when I entertain with friends because I always plan certain linens or something different from the last time we were together,” Patricia said. “Bruce, who is very much a clothes person, says, ‘Did I wear this shirt before?’ So then he goes to the closet and picks out a collared shirt to wear for the evening.”

While some people chose to stay in the pajamas or sweats throughout the stay-at-home directive, the Rapes decided that they would continue to dress as if they were going out for dinner or having friends over.

Sunny skies have been helpful to lift spirits. Bruce and Patricia enjoy spending time on their front porch, waving and talking to passerby’s. But the cloudy skies and oftentimes chilly temperatures of April and May sometimes made it hard to pull through the day. 

“The whole wine thing just make us feel better,” Bruce said. “It gives us something to look forward to, it keeps our spirits up because we both tend to get down days. We pick each other up. Just dealing with a new whole reality of our life I think is the hardest part.”

The Rapes know that variety is often the spice of life, though. Instead of always eating at the kitchen table, they travel room-to-room, just as they would if friends were over.

Still, though, both Bruce and Patricia continue to enjoy spending time together, exploring the world together and making memories. They’ve been married for 50 years, but have known each other for 65 years, since Patricia was five or six years old.

Since Bruce retired from Danville Area Community College two years ago, the two have become reacquainted to being at home together, which was more of a learning process that figuring out how to be quarantined together.

Patricia had already been retired from St. Joseph Middle School for five years.

“I’m a very independent person,” Patricia said. “I just did everything, because he worked. So learning then to share the household duties, and that they don’t necessarily need to be done my way, I think, that was the biggest learning process.”

A former literacy teacher, Patricia has enjoyed watching Bruce become an avid reader, though.

“That has really helped during the quarantine period because we both read, and it’s like we have our own private little book club. We read the same books, not at the same time, and then we discuss them.”

Even though the stay-at-home order has ended, and Illinois has moved into Restore Illinois Phase 3, the “Shelter at Home Wine Tour” will continue. 

“I think the wine tour is a pick-me-up for us, but then sharing it with the friends that we miss so desperately. And then their comments make it as if we were together. 

“They share in the joy of what they would have had had they been with us in our home.”

The post Bruce and Patricia Rape take friends on stay-at-home wine tour first appeared on SJO Daily.

When Friday May 29, 2020 arrives, it will have been 74 days since people could gather for a sit-down meal at their favorite restaurant in Illinois.

Still, as Illinois moves into Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan, dining out will take on a different atmosphere. Indoor seating will be closed, parties will be limited to six, or fewer, disposable silverware will be provided and waiting areas must be closed.

For some restaurant owners, offering an outdoor dining opportunity is something they are familiar with. Two days before the beginning of Phase 3 has some restaurant owners still wondering how they will be able to make outdoor dining a possibility while others say it is not something they want to deal with.

Mayors in small towns in East Central Illinois have been working with local restaurant owners since Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced seven days ago that restaurants could host outdoor seating.

St. Joseph’s Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges updated the St. Joseph Board of Trustees on progress Tuesday night. All downtown businesses in St. Joseph, including the seven food vendors located downtown, are allowed to open when Illinois reaches Phase 3.

Fruhling-Voges reported that residents had asked about the possibility of closing down Lincoln St. to accommodate seating for restaurants, but she wanted to keep in mind that customers going to businesses like Chittick Family Eye Care, Wagner’s Sign and Apparel and Salon 192 would also need access to their destination.

She said that even restaurant owners were unsure that offering outdoor seating was the right approach for their business at this time.

Scratch, which was closed for a month, just reopened its doors on May 13. “She wants to keep her curbside, because she’s getting more business from curbside,” Fruhling-Voges. “She doesn’t feel she can manage that outdoor seating situation.”

But other establishments, like El Torro and Geschenk Boutique and Coffee and Tea Haus, are planning to offer an outdoor dining experience.

To accommodate those businesses, the Mayor suggested to the board that Lincoln could become a one-way street, moving from east to west temporarily. She cited that it would slow traffic through that area while also limiting the number of cars traveling down the road, providing a safer situation.

Geschenk will utilize its outdoor space in the back of the building while also setting up coffee tables along the side of the building.

The Village would also accommodate El Toro by giving it a few parking spaces in front of the building while doing the same for Roch’s on the south side of its building.

The Wheelhouse, which offered outdoor dining prior to the pandemic plans to open eight dining tables, offering three seating times at 5:30, 7:00 and 8:30, closing the doors at 10 p.m.

Fruhling-Voges said it is important that there is still room for, and a focus on, curbside for the restaurants that offer it.

“All the businesses seem very willing to compromise and work with one another to allow everybody to take advantage of more opportunities to start bringing in more sales. So, that’s a good thing,” she said.

Additionally, the Village of St. Joseph plans to extend an event liquor license without additional fees to the establishments so that they can serve alcohol outdoors.

“I’m confident that all of our business owners in St. Joseph are responsible and will do all that they can to keep our community safe,” Fruhling-Voges said in an email. “It’s been amazing to see the local support from our residents during this shutdown. I encourage their continued efforts and patience as we navigate our way through this opening process.”

The Village of Mahomet will take a similar approach to its liquor license modifications during the Illinois stay-at-home mandate.

“We are getting creative and trying to support them as much as possible with both the liquor licenses and some, I guess, additional freedoms or relaxing of some things,” Mayor Sean Widener said at a board meeting Tuesday night.

Widener, having come off two meeting with the Reopen Mahomet Restaurants Task Force, which included members of the Mahomet Chamber of Commerce, JT Walker’s owner Justin Taylor, and property owners Jill Guth and Mark Kesler, said that the Village is willing to work with local restaurant owners, particularly those dine-in establishments that had been hardest hit, to find solutions to make the transition to Phase 3 easier.

“I think what you’re gonna see is more sidewalk cafe type of arrangements,” Widener said.

Some restaurants, like JT Walker’s and Project 47, owned by Taylor, are set up for outdoor seating. Taylor said that he will use the outdoor seating areas that they already have, moving a few things around to meet the guidelines.

The only restaurant located in the old downtown Mahomet, Walker’s has a unique situation where they could also put tables on the sidewalk.

“The main thing for this is going to be weather dependent,” Taylor said. “That’s the big problem for a lot of the restaurants; even if they can figure out what to do with outside seating, you have to have staff and have people ready to go, and then if it rains and an hour later it’s super nice out and people start coming out, you’ve got to figure out what you are going to do with your staff.”

While having the opportunity for outdoor seating is exciting for businesses, Taylor said that there is more that is being taken into consideration by restaurant owners.

No matter what the outdoor dining or curbside situation is, all restaurant owners in Illinois have a few more financial worries looming overhead. By July 1, they will be required to pay a $10 minimum wage to employees, a $.75 increase over the $9.25, a $1 increase that was mandated Jan. 1, 2020.

Mahomet Subway’s owner, Satesha Patel said that the road to $15 an hour by 2025 will hit small businesses hard.

“Increased wages are catastrophic for small businesses like ours,” he said. “We are locally owned and operated and the corporate will help with national emergencies and pandemics but when the issues are local, we’re on our own.  So increased wages is not something corporate has propriety on.”

Patel has been working with his landlord, Mark Kesler, to figure out how Subway can offer outdoor seating until customers can eat inside again.

“We will have to purchase new outdoor tables and chairs or benches,” Patel said. “This will be expensive.  I am also trying to figure out if we can do something permanent since we will be investing in the new outdoor furniture.”

The Reopen Mahomet Restaurants Task Force is offering $1,000 grants to dine-in restaurant owners who want to offer outdoor seating to help cover the cost of additional expenses. Widener said that there will be an application process that will go through the Task Force for approval.

According to Village Administrator Patrick Brown, Los Zarapes is working with the building owner Jill Guth to try to offer outdoor seating that will also be ADA compliant. Last week, Los did not plan to host an outdoor dining experience. Brown said that because of the tight schedule, outdoor dining will not be available this weekend.

Brown also said that Breaking Taco is excited about the possibility of expanding its outdoor dining area with the help of the grant.

Filippos, on the other hand, will stick to the no-contact curbside pick-up system it instituted early on in the stay at home order.

“Our priority is safety and making good food,” Brigi Paris said.

Increased food prices and consistency in food availability is something that local restaurant owners have had to deal with over the last nine weeks.

Filippos said that they have not raised their prices much, knowing that everyone is hurting at the moment.

Billy Bob’s of Ogden has had to change its menu prices twice, though, to help cover the costs.

Owner George Woodard wrote a letter to the Champaign County Board, explaining the current state of business.

“The current restrictions in place for in-house dining allows only carry-out orders, and the complete loss of income from bar customers has severely impacted my business hours and our operations are down 33-percent,” Woodard said. “This in turn, caused total receipts to be down 70-percent. Most of my staff is currently laid off, but to keep up with the carry-out business, I still have to keep enough employees on duty to fill orders, this has only resulted in a 24-percent decrease in labor cost.”

Woodard said that the cleaning costs associated with reopening would also cause hardship for his business.

A consistent observation among restaurant owners,Obie’s Artic Chill in Oakwood said that beef prices have doubled and pork prices are near 40-percent more than what they previously were.

Obie’s has also seen an additional $500 per week increase since the first minimum wage increase, saying it will be difficult for businesses to withstand the full increase.

Obie’s will continue to follow the state of IDPH guidelines along with the Vermilion County Public Health District guidelines through cleaning, wearing masks and marking six-feet distance for customers.

Oakwood’s Mayor Clayton Woodard said that his community has taken the COVID Pandemic very seriously.

“The Village of Oakwood has followed the directives of the Governor and will continue to do so to the extent the civil liberties of our residents and business owners are not violated,” Clayton said. “We will make every legal reasonable accommodation necessary within our municipal powers to support our businesses with the continued concern for public health.

“We, as a community, have taken the COVID Pandemic very seriously.  We have tried to be very understanding and compassionate as to the extreme stress this epidemic has placed on our residents, businesses, and employees and first responders.  We are very grateful for the dedication to public service our employees and first responders have displayed during this unprecedented time.”

The post Local restaurants make decisions on outdoor seating, deal with price increases first appeared on SJO Daily.

Poetry is and always has been something seen, something felt, something observed in a way that sometimes seems quite literal, but with a surprising twist that only a poet can bring to life.

The CU Poetry groups’ first anthology, “Crows on a Line” is no different.

“There is a wide range of styles and themes in the book,” St. Joseph’s Jim O’Brien, who writes under the alias James Escher, said. “Additionally, many of the poets supplied notes about their poem’s inspiration or source.”

Champaign-Urbana’s only open poetry group came to exist in June of 2013 as a way for local poets to get feedback on poems they are revising.

“As I say in the book’s introduction, we are an open group in a transient town, so we have had many members pass through our group,” O’Brien said. “I am very proud that we have been able to maintain that position.”

Currently, CU Poetry has about 40 active members while about 15 to 20 are present at their Tuesday night workshops at the Iron Post.

“We are committed to building community and strong individual voices through the power and practice of poetry, meeting once a week in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to workshop our poems and poems in progress with the goal of the publication in mind,” O’Brien wrote on Amazon.

Twenty-two poets who are currently part of the group contributed to “Crows on a Line,” O’Brien said.

The poets have been sharing their works and stories with groups around Champaign-Urbana before the holidays and will have their final reading on Thursday, Nov. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Wheelhouse in St. Joseph.

“Not all but many of the contributors will be on hand to read from the book and additional poems,” he said. “We will start just after 7 p.m. and take turns reading with a few breaks peppered in.”

“Crows on a Line” was made possible by a generous donation from an out-of-state supporter in memory of her mother, to whom the book is dedicated.

Books can be purchased at The Wheelhouse on Thursday, by emailing  cupoetry@gmail.com to request a local copy or by visiting Amazon.

O’Brien will also have available information on joining CU Poetry on Thursday night.

The post The Wheelhouse to host CU Poetry “Crows on a Line” book release first appeared on SJO Daily.

Some people may say they are crazy.

Ultramarathoners, anyone who runs a footrace longer than 26.219 miles, might agree that they are a rare breed.

But there is something that keeps those runners coming back, even if it means that they are running for more than 24 hours.

St. Joseph’s Ryan Rogiers’ journey to becoming someone who keeps coming back to ultramarathons began when he returned to the States from a year stationed in Iraq.

A former high school athlete, Rogiers was intrigued by the Chicago Marathon. At the time, he lived in Chicago, working as a chef for Alinea.

As he registered for the event, he realized that he could also make a difference by raising money to help fund Alzheimer’s research, a cause near-and-dear to his heart.

But when Rogiers moved back to his hometown to be with his lifelong love, Abbie, the annual Chicago Marathon no longer became feasible. Rogiers still wanted to raise money though, and he still wanted to run.

“I read this book called ‘Born to Run’,” he said.

“I kind of figured that if I’m going to keep raising money, maybe I should run further.”

Rogiers signed up for and ran 50k in Danville.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Rogiers remembered.

“I think Abbie had me on a recording after that saying that I’m never doing that again.”

But that sentiment didn’t last long.

In 2015, he ran a 50-mile footrace, then moved on to running a 100-mile race in California.

“I just fell in love with the sport,” he said.

“I love the people, I love being out on the trails; that’s where I go to think and get lost. Now I can’t stop.”

As the owner of The Wheelhouse and a father, Rogiers’ training time is limited.

During the week, Rogiers will get in five to seven miles whenever he can. He includes bodyweight training and strength training, then on the weekends he can usually get in a 20-mile run.

Figuring out the training routine was a learning curve, though. Rogiers started trying to get in 40-mile sessions to prepare.

“As I’ve grown older and wiser through my ultra-running years,” he said.

Now Rogiers focuses on getting his body in the best shape he can.

“It’s going to be hard and hurt no matter what,” he said. “Get as fit as you can and have long runs built into it and you’ll do just fine.”

He also had to learn how to pace himself throughout the race.

“I feel great in the beginning and I can run faster, but you have to slow yourself down and keep a pace. In the later stages of the race, it turns into a walk and job. You just keep yourself moving and eating so you can keep your nutrition up.”

There have been times when Rogiers wanted to give up.

In the North Face 50 in Wisconsin, he looked at his wife at mile 35, and said he couldn’t do it anymore.

“My good coach, Abbie, sat me down and was like, ‘Hold on. You’re not quitting. Just get some food, give it 10-minutes and we will see what happens.’”

After the break, Rogiers felt better and completed the course.

Having Abbie there during the race is a must for Rogiers.

“It’s huge for me,” he said.

Even though Abbie can’t always be there for the entire race, she will often show up a little over half-way through the run, when he needs her most.

Recently, she met Rogiers around mile 60, right before he was going into the evening hours.

“That’s the time when it gets tough,” he said. “I need somebody to help change my socks and put on new shoes because it hurts to bend over.”

Aside from making sure that he also gets the right food to keep moving forward, just the thought of seeing Abbie keeps Rogiers going.

“Just to have her there, mentally knowing that I get to see her in an hour, and she’ll help me and get me up and going, it’s huge,” he said.

Rogiers has participated in two 100-mile races in 2019.

The first two did not go as planned.

The wet trails in Ohio resulted in a twisted knee. Then during the middle of the night in Michigan, he jumped to the side of the trail to miss some runners who had fallen and hurt his knee again.

Running through all hours of the night took some getting used to. Aside from missing out on a night of sleep, Rogiers found that the runners had to be alert enough to miss tree stumps, roots and rocks along the trail.

“The burst of energy you get when the sun comes back up the next morning is, it’s huge,” he said. “It’s a brand new day.”

The two injuries could have sidelined him for the year, but Rogiers felt good enough to compete in another 100-mile run in Indiana on Oct. 13.

He hopes to one day be fast enough to finish before the sunrise.

It may be possible.

Rogiers finished his last race in 27 hours and 15 minutes, an hour ahead of his personal best. The evening hours were so cold that Rogiers spent about 2 hours in the car trying to warm up. He also stopped to eat.

Being with other runners who are just as “weird” as him, Rogiers said that the time spent with ultramarathoners is time well spent.

“We just love being out in the woods and being around other people who are just as crazy as we are,” he said.

Knowing they take a toll on the land, the ultramarthoners also give back to the environment.

The run in Indiana gave back to the Indiana State Park system to make sure the trails are kept up. Before runners are accepted into an ultramarathon in the western states, they have to show that they have put in at least eight hours on trail care.

“We take care of the land and materials because that’s where we love to be,” he said.

Rogiers is preparing to run a different type of course in 2020.

He has been accepted as one of 54 runners in the Destin Beach 100 over President’s Day weekend, Feb. 14-16. The run will raise money for another cause near-and-dear to Rogiers’ heart: the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides a post-secondary education to the surviving children of fallen special operations service members.

Luckily, the Rogiers family visits Florida at the end of January each year. Rogiers plans to spend time running on the beach to train.

To kick-off his fundraising effort, Rogiers will host a seven-course dinner in partnership with Momentum beverage on Nov. 15 at The Wheelhouse.

Reservations for the dinner are currently being taken. Dinner is $70 per person. Cocktail pairings and dinner are $100 per person.

Rogiers hopes to raise $3,000 that night to help him reach his goal.

His fundraising efforts will continue until the run that begins on Valentine’s Day.

This isn’t the first time that Rogiers has held a fundraising dinner at The Wheelhouse. Each summer he remembers his late mom, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2006.

The post Rogiers to raise money for Special Operations Warrior Foundation first appeared on SJO Daily.

A hand-knitted sweater, a hat made by grandma, a scarf that has been handed down through generations.

At some point, wardrobes turned from the handmade to the store-bought. But here, in late 2019, there is a movement of people who want to experience the way yarn feels in needles, the pride of giving a handmade gift, the warmth of an item that fits perfectly.

There is something more happening these days going into winter; people in St. Joseph are finding a space and opportunity to gather to make something, to learn something, to laugh about something and to reconnect with something at The Wheelhouse.

The Wheelhouse started as a place where St. Joseph-Ogden alums Abbie and Ryan Rogiers could fulfill their dream of serving unique farm-to-table food for their family, friends, neighbors and new acquaintances.

But the Rogiers had another vision, too: one they are finally seeing begin to come to fruition.

Soon after opening The Wheelhouse in 2017, the Rogiers were approached by their lifelong friend, Wes Miller.

“Wes had talked about hosting a quiz night for a few years and when Ryan and Abbie opened The Wheelhouse, he talked to them about doing it,” his wife Amanda said.

The Millers, who live in the house that Wes grew up in, spend some of their time between the first Wednesday of each month, coming up with questions, keeping five categories in mind: pop culture, general knowledge, music, in the news and words.

“We have also done theme nights like 90s TV or Oscar-Winning Directors. I’m a huge Seinfeld fan so naturally we’ve done two Seinfeld nights,” Amanda said.

The Rogiers usually supply the prizes, but the Millers have explored the trove of their home to see what they can come up with from time-to-time.

“Wes grew up in our house so it has 40 years of treasures stored away in the attic and basement,” Amanda said. “Once we did an advertising mascots category and we happened to find a 7-Up Spot keychain in the basement that we used as a bonus prize.”

The Millers host Trivia at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month, and Joel and Loren Sanders have started hosting it on the second Wednesday.

“We have some regulars that come, but it’s also fun when people just happen to come in on a Wednesday and join in the fun,” Amanda continued.

The introvert of the group, Amanda said she usually sits at the bar and watches Wes work with the crowd.

“But what I’ve liked most about the experience is how it has brought people together and helped to make The Wheelhouse a place to gather,” she said. “I know that was one of Abbie’s hopes for the restaurant and I like we have contributed to that in a small way.”

Starting earlier this month, Amanda, alongside Jill Lagerstam, is contributing a little bit more to Abbie’s vision. The friends put together an opportunity for people to learn how to knit on Sundays from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Jill actually taught Amanda how to knit about eight years ago.

“There were probably six to eight of us at that original lesson and I think I’m the only one that continued knitting after that night,” she said.

“My mom was always crafty and she taught me to cross-stitch growing up. I took on knitting pretty quickly and I find it relaxing. I also love that it makes me feel productive when I’m sitting around watching really bad TV — at least I’m making something.”

Over the years, Amanda has knitted scarves, cowls, blankets, shawls, hats, mittens, socks, ear warmers, hair bows, and a bag to hold her yoga mat.

She has even attempted to teach her three children and her niece. The children did not take to the hobby immediately, but they do have remnants of their projects, which they work on from time-to-time.

Amanda said that although she is not knitting all the time, there is a resurgence among adults.

“Knitting has made a huge comeback and is very trendy right now,” she said.

“I think people like it because it’s relaxing and productive. You feel a great sense of accomplishment when you’ve completed a project.

“It’s also much more accessible than it used to be. There are a million great videos on YouTube that can help you learn a new stitch or fix a mistake. It’s so much easier than trying to learn from a diagram or having to find someone who can show you.”

Through talking about her hobby, Amanda found that there might be a need for one-on-one training in the St. Joseph community.

“When people find out I knit, they often tell me how they’d like to learn. It seemed like there was an interest out there,” she said.

When an inquiry about book and knitting groups came up on the St. Joseph Community Facebook page, Amanda and Jill decided that there was a larger interest than they first thought.

“I texted Jill and Abbie and we started to plan,” Amanda said. “We created a class and provided yarn and needles and committed to hosting knitting sessions every Sunday in October from 3:30-5:30.”

The first group, which met on Oct. 6, grew in numbers last Sunday. Those new to knitting are working on making a basic scarf, while others, who already know how to knit just bring their projects to socialize while they are working. a

“I hope people just enjoy themselves and connect with new people,” Amanda said. “Ideally, they will all become master knitters and love the art, but I don’t think that’s what’s most important.”

In a world that is seemingly disconnected, Amanda said that isolation has led to a very divided society.

“It’s nice to have something to come together around that is very neutral,” she said.

“Experiences like this allow us to get to know each other as people, not by who we support politically or how we feel about hot-button issues. It’s a beautiful respite from the politically charged life we encounter through radio, TV and social media.”

Anyone interested in joining The Wheelhouse Knitting group should contact Amanda Miller on Facebook (Amanda Payton Miller), email amnda86@hotmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook page.

A fee is included for newcomers, and includes knitting needles, yarn, a pattern and instruction.

The post Miller brings love of knitting to The Wheelhouse first appeared on SJO Daily.

It’s not uncommon to see friends gathered around a table, sharing stories and laughing at St. Joseph’s Wheelhouse.

Things will be very similar when Jesse Tuttle performs his C-U Comedy show there on Sept. 13.

“I try my best to just create an environment where it’s similar to a bunch of people sitting around a table having drinks and talking,” Tuttle said.

After a decade of crafting his stand-up routine, Tuttle looks every day for “strange experiences or just little things that happen” to plug into his show.

“I also have hyper-vigilance which makes me notice every small thing happening around me,” Tuttle said. “It’s a blessing and a curse. Most people have several funny things happen to them every day; it’s just figuring out how to put it into as few words as possible and then share it with a group of strangers in hopes they will relate.”

As a kid, Tuttle listened to George Carlin, thinking about how he would enjoy making crowds laugh, but never dreamed it would be an option.

Then, one night, “on a whim” Tuttle grabbed an opportunity at an Open Mic Night in Peoria.

“When you first start, even with preparation, you don’t really know what you are doing,” he said, “which sometimes makes things better, as you are just winging it and hoping for the best.”

Tuttle said he doesn’t watch as much stand-up on television anymore as he once did.

Spending time with friends, learning from their triumphs and mistakes, then reliving it with them, is what drives his talent.

“With your friends, it’s great to see them do well,” he said. “But it’s also a fun car ride back if they do poorly.”

Learning to pick yourself back up after a flopped show is something that comedians have to face.

Coming off a show where the crowd just isn’t connecting, Tuttle said, as friends, comedians razz each other.

But, looking at it as he would a first date where two nice people just don’t have the right chemistry, Tuttle said the trick is learning that you can’t please everyone.

“It’s a hard thing to come to terms with as a performer,” he said. “I used to focus on that one person not laughing in the crowd even if the rest of the audience was really into it.  It’s a silly thing to do.

“I also learned that I really like free drinks, so when the audience or the venue buys them for me; I’m quite okay with that.”

Whether or not Tuttle will get free drinks at The Wheelhouse is still up in the air.

But, by bringing the professional traveling comedy club atmosphere to places like The Wheelhouse, CU Comedy hopes to widen its reach.

A regular performer at the C-U Comedy Club in downtown Champaign, Tuttle has also opened for over 200 nationally touring comedians and performed regularly at the Jukebox Comedy Club in Peoria.

“It should be fun,” Tuttle said. “It’s our first time doing a show at The Wheelhouse, and this is kind of a trial run to work out the kinks and see where we can go from there.

“It’s always fun to go to a smaller town where there may be a few less options on entertainment; they always seem like they appreciate it more since there aren’t as many live shows in the area.

“The management has been great so far, so I’m really looking forward to working with them on this and hopefully more shows in the future.

“We just really hope everyone has a good time and asks for us to come back!”

Tickets for the live stand-up comedy hour with Jesse Tuttle can be purchased for $5 on Eventbrite. The event is rated PG-13 to “light” R with some adult content and language.

The post Jesse Tuttle to perform at The Wheelhouse on Sept. 13 first appeared on SJO Daily.

Established in 1956, National Bike Month, which is recognized in May, is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more folks to give biking a try.

On May 1, Champaign County Bikes, the local bicycle advocacy group that organizes Bike to Work and Bike to School days throughout Champaign County, will encourage residents of area communities to set down the keys to their cars and enjoy all the benefits that come with riding a bike.

Ten years ago, Bike to Work Day was celebrated by employees throughout the City of Champaign biking to work. In 2019, Champaign County Bikes has grown the vision for Bike to School and Bike to Work Day by including 14 towns throughout the county.

This year’s theme, “Champaign County Trails-Connecting Communities & People” highlights multi-use trail systems that are being established throughout Champaign County to help people experience the world both on foot and by bicycle.

Champaign County Forest Preserve District Planning Director Jon Hasselbring said that trail system being established provides an alternative safe, off-road line for transportation.

“They are great for beginners, and help people build skills and confidence to ride in other settings, such as bike lanes alongside vehicular traffic,” he said.

“Trails allow people to slow down and experience the sounds, sights, and smells of nature. When people commute via trails, they use less fossil fuels, and help to reduce carbon monoxide emissions.”

The Champaign County Forest Preserve has worked alongside the Village of Mahomet to develop multi-purpose trails to serve local residents with places to run, bike and explore.

In 2016, the Champaign County Forest Preserve opened 6.7 miles of the Kickapoo Rail Trail from Urbana to St. Joseph in order to give people a path between the two locations. The CCFPD will continue to develop the 24.5 mile trail, which will end up at Kickapoo State Park in Vermilion County.

Hasselbring said that CCFPD trails see increased use throughout the month of May. He hopes that with the focus being put on the way trails throughout the county bring people together and encourage them to experience nature in a new way, more people will get out and use the trails throughout the spring, summer and fall months.

“Trails have many benefits,” he said. “They improve the health of users. When combined with natural resource restoration projects, they improve the health of our ecosystems as well. They can increase nearby property values and stimulate economic activity. Simply put, trails improve quality of life.”

Champaign County Bikes Executive Director Jeff Yockey said that each year roughly 20 percent of participants are experiencing their first time biking to work or school.

Some riders join co-workers who ride their bikes to work often while others make it a family affair by dropping their children off at school on bicycle before heading off to work.

To encourage people to ride, Champaign County Bikes partners with local business owners to provide stops for the bicyclists to grab a T-shirt, learn more about the benefits of cycling, grab a snack or get a free tune-up (at some locations).

St. Joseph’s Wheelhouse will have breakfast foods available for cyclists, coffee or water during the morning hours.

This is the second year the Wheelhouse has been involved in Bike to Work and School Day. Yockey contacted owners Ryan and Abbie Rogiers in 2018 about being part of the event in 2018 when he learned that the bicycle-themed restaurant was right along the Kickapoo Rail Trail.

Abbie said she and Ryan were excited to be part of the event because they love their community and bicycles.

Last year, several students stopped for banana muffins on their way to school.

“It was a beautiful day!” Abbie said. “We had several kids who came and ate, or took food to go , and then continued on their bikes to school.”

An avid bike rider during her childhood, Abbie remembers what it was like to ride down the road during the summer months with the breeze blowing in her hair.

She hopes that students learn about the freedom a bicycle brings but that they also learn something from the education component provides by Champaign County Bikes.

“I hope we can encourage kids, and adults alike to feel (or remember) the simple joy of riding a bike,” she said. “There is something special and fulfilling about riding a bike on a nice day, Made even better with friends.”

She hopes that adults take away something from the event, too.

“I hope adults passing by the event will be reminded to be cognizant of the cyclists in our town,” she said.

“But ultimately, I hope that people will consider riding bikes instead of driving cars, when they can. It is such a benefit to the environment, it’s great exercise, it frees up parking spaces downtown, and it’s a lot of fun!”

Yockey said that the partnership between cyclists and business owners is a healthy one.

“To see cyclists in a community, it’s a sign of a good quality of life when you see people walking on the streets and riding on the streets.”

Yockey, who lives a mile-and-a-half from the University of Illinois in Urbana said he can get anywhere on campus within seven minutes of his home.

“For many people it’s one of the quickest and most convenient modes of transportation,” he said.

Yockey admits that sometimes it does take him longer than seven minutes travel time when he stops to talk to his neighbors along the way.

“Most trips that people take are less than 3 miles; and that is a very doable distance on a bicycle,” he continued. “You get to enjoy the outside, you get some activity in your life, it’s fun: listening to the birds, seeing the changes. The world is a pretty sweet place and you can enjoy it when you’re outside and traveling at a slower pace.”

Sometimes the slower pace of cyclists and pedestrians in comparison to cars or trucks can cause accidents. But Champaign County Bikes wants everyone to know that the road belongs to everyone.

That’s why this year’s t-shirt that will be available for those who register, includes a graphic of Albert Einstein and Jean Driscoll.

“We’re advocating for users of roadways: bicyclists, wheelchairs, pedestrians,” Yockey said.

“The roads belong to everybody. We just need to be graceful and thoughtful to other road users.”

Champaign County Bikes also hopes to use May 1 as a way to raise money for the groups advocacy.

The volunteers spend time both at events and in the schools educating youth and adults about the importance of riding bikes. Donated money also goes towards the development of future trails throughout the county.

To register for Bike to Work or Bike to School Day visit http://cubikemonth.weebly.com/register.html.

The post Champaign County Bikes celebrates a decade of C-U Bike Month: The Wheelhouse to provide free snacks and coffee on May 1 first appeared on SJO Daily.

And that’s what St. Joseph resident Vinny Santanelli loves to do with his guitar, harmonica and soulful songs.

Santanelli grew up on the east coast with a musical family.

“I was surrounded by music growing up,” he said. “I started on the piano and moved on to guitar and then other instruments soon followed.”

A “folk ‘n blues” musician at heart, Santanelli drew from greats such as Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan and B.B. King to produce his own music.

Santanelli began performing originals and various cover songs in East Central Illinois a few years ago, and quickly became a regular at Silvercreek, Alto Vineyards, Riggs Beer Co. and Sleepy Creek Vineyards, among others.

This Saturday, April 6, he will perform at the Wheelhouse in St. Joseph. 

Santanelli said he plans to provide a mix of originals and cover songs, ranging from a wide variety of genres, during his performance.

“I really enjoy connecting with people through music; seeing them sing along or listen or tap their feet as they enjoy their meal or drink. It’s all fun for me to see,” he said.

Santanelli said he uses his intuition to select songs for each crowd.

“I usually feel out a crowd and select songs more intuitively rather than draw from a pre-selected song list,” he said “If there are a lot more adults in the crowd rather than say, college students, I play songs that I think will resonate most for each that particular group.

“If I’m at the Krannert I choose songs that I feel may appeal to that sort of crowd, whereas, if I’m playing in Arthur at the Pumpkin Patch, I’ll probably play songs that I think may appeal to the audience there. So, when it comes to playing, I guess I’m pretty free-flowing and sensitive to the crowd.”

Santelli currently is the Associate Pastor at Urbana First United Methodist Church, helping the pastor with various pastoral duties ranging from preaching and teaching to visitations and outreach. He is also on track to being ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church.

The post Santanelli to perform at Wheelhouse on Saturday first appeared on SJO Daily.

Ryan was a football star and Abbie was someone he adored.

But he didn’t tell her for a very long time, so that’s where the song is going to end and the story will begin.

Maybe it’s not good to tell the end of a story at the beginning of the story, but Abbie Layden and Ryan Rogiers do end up together.

Married, in fact.

But, it took them more than 25 years to get to that point.

When Abbie and Ryan met, they were 10 and 11 years old, respectively. Abbie, from St. Joseph, was cheering on the sidelines of a pee wee football against Ogden, where Ryan was playing.

“Even though we went to different grade schools, I remember hearing about Ryan Rogiers and seeing him at the game,” Abbie said.

Going about their own childhoods, Ryan and Abbie met up again at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, where they ran around with similar crowds, but never were really close friends.

“He was popular, but I just always thought he didn’t care for me that much because, in a way, he didn’t talk to me a lot. Little did I know, how shy he was,” Abbie said.

“I thought he was cute. He was tall, dark and handsome.

“He was a good football player. He was popular. Because he was popular, I thought he must talk to a lot of people, but just not me.”

She does recall one moment where Ryan did talk to her, though.

“When I was 17 and Abbie was 16 I told her jokingly (or not) I was going to marry her someday!” Ryan said.

“I just laughed it off because he’d never flirted with me let alone talked to me much or asked me out. I just thought he was being silly,” Abbie recalls.

But Ryan wasn’t being silly. He was just drawn to Abbie.

In fact, he kept showing up in her life.

Abbie moved up to Minnesota during high school to live with her aunt for six months. She was enthralled with the big city and a school of about 2,000 students.

Her friends came to visit. Her boyfriend, at the time, came to visit. A group of guy friends came to visit. And Ryan came to visit.

“I introduced them to my friends. They hung out with and without me sometimes,” she said.

“I didn’t think he just drove 10 hours to come see me; I just thought they probably want to ski and hang out.”

As college students in the Champaign-Urbana area, Abbie and Ryan kept bumping into each other through a few mutual friends.

When those mutual friends decided to move to Arizona, Abbie and Ryan went with them.

The childhood friends didn’t go together, though. Abbie became pregnant with her soon-to-be husband, and Abbie moved back home to be closer to her family.

Abbie recalls seeing Ryan one more time after she had her second child a few years later.

Ryan returned to school in Carbondale, moved to San Francisco for culinary school, worked in Chicago and Tampa, served in Iraq for a year and went back to school. They were not still in contact.

Four children and nearly 12 years later, Abbie found herself in a desolate position when she was going through a divorce.

Having been disconnected from childhood friends for so long, she took to Facebook to reconnect.

“I think pretty much everyone in the world was already on Facebook,” she said. “I had been homeschooling four kids; I was just kind of out of it. I was trying to figure it out and navigate it. I found someone from high school, and then the next day, pretty much everyone in my high school was like Abbie is on Facebook now.

“I was just like confirm, confirm.

“Within the next couple weeks, I was sitting on Facebook, catching up and I got a message from Ryan.

“I was so excited. My heart just burst. I was like ‘Oh my God! Ryan Rogiers!’

“I didn’t even realize that we were friends on Facebook. It was still that new to me.”

Ryan casually asked how Abbie was doing, and at that point she knew she could confide in her long-time friend.

“I remember being like ‘I’m terrible,’ ” Abbie said. “I’m getting divorced. To say I’m devastated would be an understatement. I’m going through the hardest time in my life. How are you?

And I remember him saying, “I’m really sorry to hear that. I had no idea.”

Abbie found out that Ryan was in Chicago. Being only 2 1/2 hours away, she was anxious to reconnect.

With a few days off from work in August, Ryan visited Abbie and her children.

Between swimming, watching movies and playing, the two had a chance to just catch up.

“I started to make lunch, and Ave, who was 3 or 4 fell asleep on me. He finished lunch. She took like a 3-hour nap, so we just sat and ate.

“We got to sit and talk forever because she was asleep.

“I got to hear everything that he’d been doing and it was just wonderful,” she said. “I just thought, ‘your parents must be so proud.’ It just seemed like he had done so much.”

Abbie said that when Ryan kissed her on the porch later that night, she was “so taken by it,” but having just gotten out of a relationship and with four kids to raise, she thought Ryan would leave soon.

The next day, he told her that he could stay one more day.

“It was just so comfortable right away,” Abbie said.

“When he was leaving, he said,’I really want to give this a shot.’

The couple promised that they were going to commit to trying to make their relationship work.

“I was like, “You want to be my boyfriend? I’m 35 and I have four kids.’

“Ryan, you’re single, you don’t have kids, you don’t have any baggage. You’re being a glutton for punishment here. This is a lot.”

Little did she know, but being with Abbie and her children was what Ryan had always been seeking.

“Through our back and forth, I asked if he’d had kids or been married. He’d never been married. Never had kids. And I remember him saying in that message, ‘I just never found what my parents have.’ ”

By October, Ryan had quit his job, quit school and moved back to where he grew up with Abbie.

“The first Christmas we were together, he gave me a card that said, ‘You’re the love of my life, but not only am I so happy to be with you, finally, but you’ve given me the family I’ve always wanted.’ “

Abbie said Ryan didn’t come into the home trying to take over as an authority figure, but tenderly tried to get close to the kids.

“He just helped with the laundry, food, transportation. Just hanging out and having fun. He just tried to get close to the kids,” Abbie said.

You already know that Abbie and Ryan got married. Two-and-a-half years ago, in fact.

But that is not the end of their story. They are building new stories together.

In 2017, the Rogiers opened their farm-to-table restaurant, The Wheelhouse, located at 109 N. Main St. in St. Joseph.

When Ryan, a former chef at Alinea in Chicago, decided it was time to bring new flavors and techniques to the St. Joseph area, Abbie was his biggest supporter.

“I was so excited because we’d get to work together,” she said.

The detailed-oriented perfectionist, Ryan usually runs the kitchen. Abbie, the big-picture person usually takes care of the front end of the restaurant.

“I feel like we are a good balance that way, Abbie said. “We have different components in the business. He’s really good at his, and I’m really good at mine.”

Ryan’s soft side is what Abbie is attracted to.

“He’s so sweet. He’s introverted and quiet, but he’s the best husband,” she said.

“He’s tender and affectionate and he’s such a softie.”

For the first few years of being together, Abbie loved watching Ryan call his mom every morning.

“He knew she was sick (Alzheimer’s) and only had so much time. He treats his mom so well.

“My mother would always say, ‘you can tell so much about Ryan by the way he treats his mother.’

“I almost thought he was faking it, for a long time to show off for me. He has this innocence to him and old-school values that you don’t see anymore.”

The way Abbie relates to people is what Ryan is attracted to.

“I have always had a crush on her. She is the kindest person (and most beautiful!) I have ever met and genuinely cares for everyone she meets.

“When she is around she balances me out. I would hide from people if I had my choice and she is the opposite of that.

“She gives me a confidence in my personal and professional life I have never had before.”

Ryan said he believes that they not only have the relationship they were both looking for, but also one that their parents had.

“I can’t imagine being on this ride with anyone else,” he said.

Two American kids growing up in the heartland.

Ryan was a football star and Abbie was someone he adored.

But he didn’t tell her for a very long time, so that’s where the song is going to end and the story will begin.

Maybe it’s not good to tell you the end of a story at the beginning of the story, but Abbie Layden and Ryan Rogiers do end up together. Married, in fact.

But it took them more than 25 years to get to that point.

When Abbie and Ryan met, they were 10 and 11 years old, respectively. Abbie, from St. Joseph, was cheering on the sidelines of a pee wee football against Ogden where Ryan was from.

“Even though we went to different grade schools, I remember hearing about Ryan Rogiers and seeing him at the game,” Abbie said.

Going about their own childhoods, Ryan and Abbie met up again at St. Joseph-Ogden High School where they ran around with similar crowds, but never were really close friends.

“He was popular, but I just always thought he didn’t care for me that much because, in a way, he didn’t talk to me a lot. Little did I know, how shy he was,” Abbie said.

“I thought he was cute. He was tall, dark and handsome.

“He was a good football player. He was popular. Because he was popular, I thought he must talk to a lot of people, but just not me.”

She does recall one moment where Ryan did talk to her, though.

“When I was 17 and Abbie was 16 I told her  jokingly (or not) I was going to marry her someday!” Ryan said.

“I just laughed it off because he’d never flirted with me let alone talked to me much or asked me out. I just thought he was being silly,” Abbie recalls.

But Ryan wasn’t being silly. He was just drawn to Abbie.

In fact, he kept showing up in her life.

Abbie moved up to Minnesota during high school to live with her aunt for six months. She was enthralled with the big city and school of about 2,000 students.

Her friends came to visit. Her boyfriend, at the time, came to visit. A group of guy friends came to visit. And Ryan came to visit.

“I introduced them to my friends. They hung out with and without me sometimes,” she said.

“I didn’t think he just drove 10 hours to come see me; I just thought they probably want to ski and hang out.”

As college students in the Champaign-Urbana area, Abbie and Ryan kept bumping into each other few mutual friends.

When those mutual friends decided to move to Arizona, Abbie and Ryan went with them.

The childhood friends didn’t go together, though. Abbie became pregnant with her soon to be husband, and Abbie moved back home to be closer to her family.

Abbie recalls seeing Ryan one more time after she had her second child a few years later.

Although not in contact anymore, Ryan returned to school in Carbondale, Ill., moved to San Francisco for culinary school, worked in Chicago and Tampa, served in Iraq for a year and went back to school.

Four children and nearly 12 years later, Abbie found herself in a desolate position where she was going through a divorce.

Having been disconnected from the childhood friends for so long, she took to Facebook to reconnect.

“I think pretty much everyone in the world was already on Facebook,” she said. “I had been homeschooling four kids; I was just kind of out of it. I was trying to figure it out and navigate it. I found someone from high school, and then the next day, pretty much everyone in my high school was like Abbie is on Facebook now.”

“I was just like confirm, confirm.

“Within the next couple weeks, I was sitting on Facebook, catching up and I got a message from Ryan.

“I was so excited. My heart just burst. I was like ‘Oh my god! Ryan Rogiers!’”

“I didn’t even realize that we were friends on Facebook. It was still that new to me.”

Ryan casually asked how Abbie was doing, and at that point she knew she could confide in her old friend.

“I remember being like I’m terrible,” Abbie said. “I’m getting divorced. To say I’m devastated would be an understatement. I’m going through the hardest time in my life. How are you?

And I remember him saying, “I’m really sorry to hear that. I had no idea.”

Abbie found out that Ryan was in Chicago. Being only 2.5 hours away, she was anxious to reconnect.

With a few days off from work in August, Ryan visited Abbie and her children for a few days.

Between swimming, watching movies and playing, the two had a chance to just catch up.

“I started to make lunch, and Ave, who was 3 or 4 fell asleep on me. He finished lunch. She took like a three hour nap, so we just sat and ate.

“We got to sit and talk forever because she was asleep.

“I got to hear everything that he’d been doing and it was just wonderful, she said. “I just thought, ‘your parents must be so proud. It just seemed like he had done so much.’”

Abbie said that when Ryan kissed her on the porch later that night, she was “so taken by it,” but having just got out of a relationship with four kids to raise, she thought Ryan would leave soon.

The next day, he told her that he could stay one more day.

“It was just so comfortable right away,” Abbie said.

“When he was leaving, he said,’I really want to give this a shot.’

The couple promised that they were going to commit to trying to make their relationship work.

“I was like, “You want to be my boyfriend? I’m 35 and I have four kids.”

“Ryan, you’re single, you don’t have kids, you don’t have any baggage. You’re being a glutton for punishment here. This is a lot.”

Little did she know, but being with Abbie and her children was what Ryan had always been looking for.

“Through our back and forth, I asked if he’d had kids or been married. He’d never been married. Never had kids. And I remember him saying in that message, ‘I just never found what my parents have.’”

By October, Ryan had quit his job, quit school and moved back to where he grew up with Abbie and her children.

“The first Christmas we were together, he gave me a card that said, ‘You’re the love of my life, but not only am I so happy to be with you, finally, but you’ve given me the family I’ve always wanted.’”

Abbie said Ryan didn’t come into the home trying to take over as an authority figure, but tenderly tried to get close to the kids.

“He just helped with the laundry, food, transportation. Just hanging out and having fun. He just tried to get close to the kids,” Abbie said.

You already know that Abbie and Ryan got married. Two-and-a-half years ago, in fact.

But that is not the end of their story. They are building new stories together.

In 2017, the Rogiers opened their farm-to-table restaurant, The Wheelhouse, located at 109 N. Main St. in St. Joseph.

When Ryan, a former chef at Alinea in Chicago, decided it was time to bring new flavors and techniquest to the St. Joseph area, Abbie was his biggest supporter.

“I was so excited because we’d get to work together,” she said.

The detailed-oriented perfectionist, Ryan usually runs the kitchen. Abbie, the big picture person usually takes care of the front end of the restaurant.

“I feel like we are a good balance that way, Abbie said. “We have different components in the business. He’s really good at his, and I’m really good at mine.”

Ryan’s soft side is what Abbie is attracted to.

“He’s so sweet. He’s introverted and quiet, but he’s the best husband.

“He’s tender and affectionate and he’s such a softie.”

For the first few years of being together, Abbie loved watching Ryan call his mom every morning.

“He knew she was sick (Alzheimer’s) and only had so much time. He treats his mom so well.

My mother would always say you can tell so much about Ryan by the way he treats his mother.’

“I almost thought he was faking it, for a long time to show off for me. He has this innocence to him and this old-school values that you don’t see anymore.”

The way Abbie relates to people is what Ryan is attracted to.

“I have always had a crush on her. She is the kindest person (and most beautiful!) I have ever met and genuinely cares for everyone she meets.

“When she is around she balances me out. I would hide from people if I had my choice and she is the opposite of that.

She gives me a confidence in my personal and professional life I have never had before.”

Ryan said he believes that they have the relationship they were both looking for, one that their parents had.

“I can’t imagine being on this ride with anyone else.”

The post A Little Ditty about Abbie and Ryan Rogiers first appeared on SJO Daily.