Hartford-Litchfield Sister Cities: February 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Report from Tim at KFLD

I heard from Tim Bergstrum at KFLD in Litchfield today, and this is what he said about our Hartford group visiting there this week: "What a great group we have here this week from Alabama. They 'aced' their interviews this morning at McDonald's - all very talkative - made my job easy. I get to take them to the Ethanol plant and the candy factory this afternoon - and skiing tomorrow."

Some news on the KFLD website: "ALABAMA GUESTS -- The 39th annual Peanut Butter and Milk Festival is already into its 3rd full day. The Alabama guests will visit several local businesses today during Chamber Day.
"The main event tonight is a chili and soup supper at the Darwin Rod and Gun Club at 7 p.m. and everyone’s welcome. Peanut Butter and Milk Festival Committee President Terri Anderson says there are several people on the committee who spend the year raising funds and planning for this special week each year. She says the annual festival also would not be possible without the help of many local sponsors.

"Anderson says 3-G’s donated a van that the committee could use this week for transporting the Alabama visitors, Consumer’s Co-op has donated the gas to use in the van, and numerous businesses and service clubs have donated meals for the guests. She says Meeker Cooperative is sponsoring their ski day on Thursday at Powder Ridge, and Center Bank, United FCS and Mid-Country Bank are sponsoring the bus transportation to take the Hartford delegates to the Twin Cities on Friday. She says the Meeker County American Dairy Association has provided cheese and milk for this week’s events.

"The public is welcome to meet the Alabama guests tonight at 7 at the Darwin Rod and Gun Club during the chili and soup supper. The Alabama visitors will be interviewed tomorrow morning on KLFD around 8:20 while they eat breakfast at McDonald’s."

Thanks for the update, Tim! Tell everyone hello from down south -- I was able to go outside without a jacket today (63 degrees)! We hear it's kind of chilly up there!

History of Program

The idea began in January of 1971 when Bruce Cottington, a Litchfield grocery store owner and host of a talk show on local radio station KLFD, was talking about how often he ate peanut butter and drank milk. Looking for a good sales promotion, Litchfield was proclaimed the peanut butter capital of the world, and the Peanut Butter and Milk Festival was begun to promote rural America, good food, agriculture and the dairy industry, and young people.

As a lifetime Future Farmers of America (FFA) member, Cottington naturally involved the FFA.Cottington’s search through Auburn Univ. in Alabama led to Paul Dean, FFA advisor at Geneva County High School in Hartford. In October, Cottington’s family traveled to Alabama to make a presentation to then Governor George Wallace who signed a legislative resolution proclaiming Meeker County citizens as residents of Alabama. (Although they couldn't vote, they were welcome to pay taxes!) They then visited Hartford, Dothan and the National Peanut Festival. Cottington and Dean then developed the idea of a north-south FFA and FHA exchange program.

In 2008, the Sister Cities Program celebrated the 37th year of what has become an annual exchange of people, good will and peanut butter and milk. Hartford students and citizens travel to Litchfield each February for the Peanut Butter and Milk Festival, and Litchfield students and citizens travel to Hartford each November.