Balancing the Journal, Farm and Family

When Ellen Whalen took a workforce test about 25 years ago, her results showed a strong affinity for office work. “I thought it sounded kind of boring,” she commented. But for the past 12 years, she’s been doing just that at the Fillmore County Journal. “It’s been a great fit,” she said. “I’m very comfortable with it.” Ellen started out as a proofer and is now the assistant editor, working 30-40 hours a week. She wears many hats at the Journal, doing a little of everything including formatting, proofing, scheduling, customer service, and more. She enjoys the organization and variety in the job, and that it changes seasonally. One thing she likes about her job might surprise some people. “I like working on obituaries because I’m helping the families,” she explained. “I get to learn a lot about the people.”

Ellen doesn’t just work a full-time job outside the home. She also farms with her husband John on their farm outside of Harmony. Both of them grew up on farms so continuing that into their marriage just felt natural. When they first got married, they ran a dairy operation on John’s family’s farm, but later sold the herd and worked on her dad’s farm before buying their present property in 1993. Currently, they raise 25-30 pair cow/calf Angus beef cattle and hay, and plant corn and beans. At one time, they also raised hogs, but haven’t done that for a while. Ellen credits John with teaching her more about the nature of cattle. “My favorite part of working on the farm is herdsmanship, kind of the ‘mom stuff’ like feeding and cleaning,” Ellen explained.

Until the mid-2000s, Ellen was a stay-at-home farm wife and mom. She then worked at Root River Special Education District in Harmony for around four years. After she left that job, her dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Thankfully, she was able to take time to help her parents by driving her dad to appointments and help with other things. Shortly after Ellen’s dad passed away from the cancer, John was paralyzed, in 2008, from a tumor in his spinal cord. Ellen had not picked up another job yet, but that turned out to be a blessing as she was able to be home for the transition of making things accessible for John around the house and farm. After about a year, she picked up a job working in the kitchen at Gundersen Nursing Home. She was there for about four years, but when her shifts changed to earlier ones, she found it tricky to balance her job with farm chores.

In the 18 years since John was paralyzed, Ellen has taken on more work at the farm, taking care of the cattle and some calving, shedding bales, cleaning pens, fenceline and other maintenance, and mowing the lawn – a nearly four-hour job. In addition to that, she helps John keep working by filling the planter in the spring, hooking field equipment up to the tractor, driving the skidloader, etc. Thanks to some adaptations, John is able to work in the fields with the tractor, but if there’s a problem with the equipment, he calls Ellen to come help. “He’s very patient in teaching me,” Ellen said, explaining that John is knowledgeable about the equipment and knows how to fix most things. “Even though I grew up on a farm, after John was paralyzed he taught me a lot more about cattle behavior, fencing and so much more so that we could continue to farm in our own way. We revamped a few areas of our farm to make it work better for me to do more of the work. It seems to work pretty well for us.” Ellen estimated that she spends about 10-25 hours a week working at the farm, depending on the season. The couple hires out round baling and combining, and for a few odd jobs.

Ellen, who grew up just south of Granger and went to school in Cresco, truly loves the Harmony area and the people. “This is definitely home,” she said. “I’ve been a Harmony person longer than anything else.” Working at the Journal has introduced her to many residents of Fillmore County. When she started working there, she told the owner, Jason Sethre, that she was an introvert, but he doubts that because she’s comfortable talking to so many people. In addition to the people that the Fillmore County Journal serves, Ellen’s also gotten to know and appreciate her coworkers, which includes the office staff and the freelance reporters and photographers. “My workmates are top notch,” she commented. “It’s the best place to be. Everyone gets along wonderfully.”

Retirement is looming later this year for Ellen, at least from the Fillmore County Journal. She knows she will miss her coworkers and boss, but is looking forward to having more time to spend with her kids and six grandchildren, visit friends, and be able to focus on what needs to be done at the farm during the busy seasons without feeling like she’s spread too thin. “I like doing domestic stuff. John might get more home-cooked meals during the week instead of just on the weekends,” she laughed.