Fall Creek farmer shares love of sausage-making with friends, family and neighbors

Over forty years of making sausage has made Ron Horlacher something of an expert. The yearly camaraderie of sausage making has been a labor of love for his Fall Creek farm family, where friends, family and neighbors gather once a year, working together to create a most delicious product.

This year, a crew of 20 did their part. Spreading out the sausage-making tasks among them, volunteers cut up beef and pork, soaked casings to soften them for stuffing, ground the meat while Ron added the seasoning, creating different blends of spices for the five different batches of ring bologna being made on this day.

After the meats were blended to perfection, the finished product was extruded into the awaiting casings as crews tied off the rings, stringing them together to be hung in the smokehouse.

Over 475 pounds of summer sausage was made on Friday, with nearly 1,000 pounds of ring bologna produced the following day.

As each batch was finished, a worker fried up samples of each type of seasoning for a taste test. Afterward, those who indulged in the taste test shared thoughts on their favorite. The consensus was that all were delicious.

The reward for a weekend of work arrived on Sunday morning as each family picked up their smoked meat and calculated the cost of ingredients.

What a great experience, everyone working together on a specific goal and having fun doing it. It says something about farmers, their teamwork and their sense of pride in a job well done.