Washington County Weekend Post e-edition
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/372694
8 - 3 1 - 1 4 • W a s h i n g t o n C o u n t y P o s t R e t a i l • 2 3 J esse and Liz Maule are the kind of hip, young people you would imagine living in a trendy loft in Milwaukee's Third Ward. Jesse is a graphic design- er, Liz is a fashion designer. They have three adorable children – Stone, Crosby and Ruthie – and are simul- taneously extremely friendly and creative. Creative enough, it turns out, to convert a pole barn into a home that is comfortable, functional and cool. The Maule family shares a 12-acre former tree farm in the town of Polk with Liz's parents, Terry and Terry Schwantes, and her sister, Brianne. Jesse and Liz married in November 2007 and the combined family moved from Milwaukee to the Slinger homestead a few weeks later. Jesse and Liz initially planned on liv- ing in the barn only tem- porarily, but decided it met their needs and fit their expanding family. "We thought we would build another house on the property," Jesse said, "but then we thought we didn't need to do that because we could make this work." The Maules relied on family members, friends and YouTube videos to learn how to convert a barn into living space. At the same time, they were developing a plan to turn the 12 acres into a sus- tainable property. Once again, they turned to friends, YouTube and determination to make it happen. "We had ideas and we fig- ured out how to make them happen," Liz said. "We got some things right the first time. With other things, we needed to try a few versions." Trial and refinement are familiar steps for design- ers. "We didn't let not know- ing how to do something stop us from trying it," Jesse said. "We aren't afraid to fail and are always willing to keep working to come up with better ideas." The Maules' chickens live in a third generation coop. This one is on wheels, which allows it to be moved around the property to catch sun and make for efficient cleanup. "Initially we had some success with the chick- ens, but then we had some problems so we fig- ured that we needed to try something else," Liz said. "That's how we have done a lot of things around here." Jesse agreed. "I'd like to say we had a grand scheme, but most- ly we have ideas," he said. "Then we do some planning, get the materi- als we need and we jump into it. We learn a lot from our mistakes." The Maules and Schwanteses raise goats, chickens, ducks, bees, turkeys and pigs, which provide them with an abundance of eggs, meat, milk and honey. The large garden produces enough vegetables for fresh eating and can- ning. New vegetables are added each year if the seed sounds tempting in a heritage catalog. Jesse maintains a compost pile and the family worked together last weekend to erect a greenhouse in hopes of growing lettuce and other produce when it wouldn't be possible to do so outdoors. A hydro- ponic setup is likely in the future. "We want the kids to know where their food comes from," Liz said. " The kids also know about variety and taste. "At times this is hard work, but the food is awesome. It tastes so good," Liz said. "This is real food. There are a lot of people who don't know whether you can gather an egg and cook i t or if you can pick an apple and eat it." "These kids are being raised to eat stuff that we know where it's coming from," said Liz's mom, Terry. And they understand the importance of family and working together. "It wouldn't be possible to do this without all of us working on it togeth- er," Jesse said. "We all have things that we need to do to make this hap- pen." Gone Gardening Gone Gardening Town of Polk family works together to create sustainability Written By: Jill Badzinski The Schwantes and Maule families - from left, Terry, Terry, Liz and Jesse - live on a 12-acre sustainable proper- ty in the town of Polk. They raise meat animals and grow vegetables. Liz and Jesse Maule work on building a greenhouse on the town of Polk property they share with Liz's parents, Terry and Terry Schwantes.