Hot Dog! It Could be Wurst: German Cookery

Join Greg Koos, local historian and Executive Director Emeritus of the McLean County Museum of History, as he explores the German-American experience in McLean County. Greg's brother Chris also makes an appearance in a pre-recorded video making bratwurst in his kitchen with Greg.

In this talk you will also hear from Terra Brockman, speaker and author of "The Seasons on Henry’s Farm", which takes the reader through the many “micro-seasons” on her brother Henry’s sustainable, biodiverse vegetable farm in Central Illinois. A member of a remarkable farming family, Terra is a fierce advocate for sustainable agriculture. Terra is also the founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit working to ensure that more Illinois farmland will grow local foods for our tables. Her website is www.terrabrockman.com.

From February to November 2021, this 10-part program series, Breaking Bread in McLean County, will take audiences through the migration stories of the Kickapoo, Irish and Upland Southerners, Germans, Swedes, African and Black Americans, Italian Americans, Mexicans and Central Americans, Japanese, South Asian Indians, and Congolese, emphasizing shared elements including food, family, tradition, trauma and exchange. Each program will incorporate a multitude of voices from the community who can speak to the migrant experiences of these varied cultural groups, relying on scholarship, expertise, and firsthand accounts.

This program series is a partnership between the McLean County Museum of History, BN Welcoming (a coalition of the Immigration Project, Not In Our Town/Not In Our Schools, West Bloomington Revitalization Project, Mennonite Church of Normal, and First United Methodist Church together creating a supportive environment for immigrants to McLean County), Design Streak at ISU, and Heartland Community College.