CARTOONS, ASTRONAUTS, YUMMY FOOD...bag and putting his clothes in the dresser. He then put on his favorite pair of lucky sneakers. After putting away his stuff, Nate headed out into

© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

ISSUE 2JUNE 2020

A HORMEL FOODS YOUTH NEWSPAPER

CARTOONS, ASTRONAUTS, YUMMY FOOD

Sarah, Nicholas, and Emily Slaton, Age 8, Bullard, Texas

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3© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

THE HORMEL KIDS GAZETTE

2 © 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.2



Welcome to this very unique publication. Everything you’ll find here was created by kids in the Hormel Foods family. In these challenging times, so many things we once took for granted are now uncertain. But some things remain constant through all of the disruption: the importance of family, and the ability of our youngest family members to lift our spirits and engage our imaginations with their boundless creativity, curiosity and laughter.

This publication is a showcase and celebration of those talents and qualities, and of the tradition of honoring family that we at Hormel Foods hold so dear.

Inside you’ll find activities, essays, illustrations, and some pretty good jokes. This is the second issue! And and there may be more to come with your support and submissions. So as you read, think about contributing to issue #3! You’ll find more information about how you can contribute on the last page. Stay well, stay tuned, and read on.

– Hormel Foods Corporate Communications

EDITOR’S NOTE

On the CoverTriplets, in the garden in front of almost 7 feet tall Mongolian Giant sunflowers.

Painting by Andie Krueger, Age 9, Iowa Falls, Iowa

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4 © 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Isaac and Lucy Annis, Ages 6 and 11, Austin, Minn.

Ninja Warrior Course & zip line fun



Hearing about CoronavirusI wasn’t worried at first because the virus

was in China. But when it started to spread I started to get a little anxious. I got anxious because I wasn’t 100 percent sure what was happening. The news was only telling the scary parts and not the part where things are getting better. In the beginning, they were canceling other schools and I thought that would never happen to us. I thought it was crazy and insane to not be at school for the rest of the year.

school is closedI was extremely sad when I found out

that my school was closed. I can’t stand being away from everyone. I really miss learning with my amazing friends and teachers. Things are boring without my crazy friends! Plus everything is virtual so that takes away all the fun in activities. We don’t get to do all the fun things we were supposed to do. I hope we can at least read the books that we didn’t get to read yet. It pretty much feels like I’m skipping half a grade.

school at homeMy first day was quite confusing. I didn’t

know what to do first. It started off just doing what we know which was helpful. It was odd getting up whenever I wanted, I ended up sleeping in until 8. It helped that my teachers

How I Am Surviving the Coronavirus Pandemicby Lucy Annis, Age 11, Austin, Minn.

made videos explaining how everything was going to work. After a bit, I figured everything out.

CommunityRight now it feels like no one is going

anywhere except when they need something. It really helps that parks are open though. It is fun to go out and see people through windows. In the grocery store, they moved everything around right before the virus, so my mom doesn’t know where anything is. They also have one-way aisles so it will be safer for older people. It has been hard to get the things we need like toilet paper. Everyone is so crazy about toilet paper, which doesn’t make sense. I guess because other people are getting a ton, more people think they are going to run out. It is sooooo crazy!

FeelingsI don’t really know how I feel, I am

confused because of people’s craziness. I’m also sad because I can’t see my friends. I haven’t seen my grandparents in a while either, but when I do, we have a lot of fun. It has been hard only FaceTiming people and not playing games in person. Luckily, we have friends that live a couple houses down, so we can bike by and see them. At first, you probably thought “yay school’s out” but for this long, it’s been hard.

“I REALLY MISS LEARNING WITH MY AMAZING FRIENDS AND TEACHERS.”

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“Rainbow” painting by Jack Howe, Age 5, Center City, Minn.Keleigh Williams, Age 5, Snellville, Ga.

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Where we left off, Nathan the Squirrel, also known as Nate, had attended Space Camp and won Space Games. Space Games is a competition in which campers compete in space events and the winner is able to go to outer space. The competition was fierce, but in the end, Nate the Squirrel had beat all of the other campers. Therefore, Nate would become the youngest squirrel in space.

But first, Nate would have to train to become an astronaut. And train he did. Two months after the Space Games, Nate arrived at Buzz International Space Center. The second he got there; Nate was thrilled. Everywhere where he looked screamed space. As he walked through the door, he saw the first original rocket ship that was used for squirrel astronauts – the Orion V. Nate could not take his eyes off of it. He had read about Orion V, but he never dreamed he would see it in person!

Just then Nate heard a deep, booming chuckle from behind him. When Nate turned to look, he saw Jacque Hen, a famous astronaut who flew on Orion V. Nate was awestruck and couldn’t speak. Two things he always dreamed about, seeing the Orion V and meeting Astronaut Hen, were really happening!

“Ha, ha, ha. Don’t look at me like I’m a ghozt or zomething!” boomed Astronaut Jacque.

“I’m, I’m, I’m Nate.” stuttered Nate. “I won the Space Games challenge at Space Camp this summer.”

“Well welcome young Nate! I am Jacque Hen. But you can call me Jac.” said Astronaut Jacque. “Here, I’ll zhow you to where you will be ztaying for the next two weekz.”

Astronaut Jacque lead Nate to his room. Right outside Nate’s door, Jacque said, “Better get zettled in. Your training beginz in 30 minutez.”

Nate went into his room. Everything was white or navy. The walls were white. The tiles on the floor were navy. The pillows were white and the blankets on the bed were navy. Right above his door hung a giant star with the saying “Reach for the stars.”

Nate instantly fell in love with his new room. Right away he started unpacking his bag and putting his clothes in the dresser. He then put on his favorite pair of lucky sneakers. After putting away his stuff, Nate headed out into the hall where he saw Astronaut Jacque talking to Al Sheeperson, another famous astronaut. Astronaut Jacque spotted Nate and called out, “Come on! Itz time to get ztarted. There i no time to lose.”

Nate followed Jacque into another room. In the room, there were a lot of papers for Nate to fill out and schedules for him to follow for his space training. Nate read his training schedule and was amazed. Every hour of his day he was either eating, sleeping, or training for his trip to space. He had so many things to do!

Astronaut Jacque walked up to Nate. “Now don’t get too excited. Before you get to ztart training, you need to take thiz tezt.”

Astronaut Jacque waved a five-page test in front of Nate. Nate’s eyes got big. A test?! No one told him about a test!

Next Astronaut Sheeperson walked up to Nate. “Hi Nate. I’m Al Sheeperson. I’ll be one of your instructors. Here’s some material to study

THE YOUNGEST SQUIRREL IN SPACE II

Short Story by Kailie Robinson, Age 12, Underwood, Minn.

up on.”Astronaut Sheeperson dropped a pile of

heavy textbooks onto the table next to Nate. The pile was of books was almost foot and a half tall!

Nate gathered up his books, training schedule, and papers and went back to his room. He put everything down on his new white desk. The first thing Nate did, was open up the top textbook, turned on his navy desk lamp, and began studying.

In three days of just eating, sleeping and studying, Nate was ready for his astronaut training test. He knew everything from the sleep quadrant in Orion V to the 27 different pockets on the modern spacesuit. Nate knew he was ready, but he was still a little nervous. He was never that good at taking tests.

On the fourth morning, Nate woke up and put on his favorite sneakers. He walked into the lunchroom for breakfast. He sat down and happened to look across the lunchroom right at Victoria! Victoria was the camper who Nate beat in the Space Games competition.

“Victoria?! What are you doing here?” asked Nate.

Victoria smiled and said, “I’m Astronauts Suzzy Rike’s niece. I’m spending the next month with my aunt here.”

“Really? Your aunt is the famous astronaut Suzzy Rike?! That’s so cool!” said Nate.

“Are you ready for your big test, Nate?” Victoria asked.

“Ahhh, yeah. I think so.” “You don’t sound too confident.”“I’m not exactly the best at taking tests,”

Nate said nervously.“You’ll do fine. I saw the test. It is super

easy,” said Victoria.“Well if you say so,” said Nate and then

left the room to go to take his test.Nate did take his space test. At first, he

was pretty nervous, but once he sat down and got started, he realized the test was pretty easy. After he finished and his test was corrected, Nate saw his score. He only had one point taken off because he misspelled “elliptical.” Nate was pretty happy with himself. Now he could start the space training!

For the next week Nate trained with Astronaut Jacque and Astronaut Al non-stop. Nate practiced eating in zero gravity. He learned how to use a space toilet and sleep upside down. Nate’s favorite training was flying the simulation spacecraft, just in case he ever had to fly the spacecraft if the other astronauts were busy.

Nate was then fitted for his spacesuit. Apparently, Nate’s tail was the biggest tail an astronaut every had and his suit had to be adjusted to fit.

Nate then said goodbye to his family as the shuttle launch day approached. Nate would be riding the s p a c e c r a f t “Dragonfruit 500” and launch was set for 2:15 PM. With three hours left before launch, Nate and the other astronauts, Astronaut Francis De and Astronaut Josephine Slavin boarded Dragonfruit 500. They strapped in, started the launch protocol, and began fueling. With less t h a n a minute before launch, Nate was both excited and nervous.

The countdown began. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

To be Continued…

Reach for the stars

If you missed part 1 of “The Youngest Squirrel in Space,” you can find it in Issue 1 at www.hormelfoods.com/hormel-kids-gazette/

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13© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved. © 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.12


by Ava Ploof, Age 12, Gallatin, Tenn.

I’m the winner from last year’s Nashville Farmer’s Market Strawberry Jubilee cake contest! This year I wanted to go with an ombre effect of pinks in my favorite rosettes! I used strawberries in the cake to give the layers that wonderful strawberry flavor, which

last year wowed the judges! This year I put an extra twist on this cake by adding a lemon curd in the center, ultimately making this cake a strawberry lemonade cake. Yummy! I only wished the judges could’ve tasted it this year, but hey, there’s always next year!

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Ava with last year’s winning cake

Ava Ploof




Drawing by Riley Szyszkowski, Age 10, Austin, Minn.

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“Dog Man Police Officer” drawing by Matthew Howe, Age 7, Center City, Minn.

“Ariel” drawing by Haddie Colby, Age 6, Albert Lea, Minn.

© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Samantha enjoyed BBQ ribs that her Daddy cooked on the smoker. Her big ol’ cheesy smile wouldn’t be complete without her SPAM® truck shirt. She recently got chicks and was so excited! Taking care of new baby chicks is a good way to spend quarantine on the farm.

Samantha Knutson

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Featuring Samantha Knutson, Age 3, Alden, Minn.

QUARANTINE ON THE FARM

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Comic by Liam Lee, Age 9, Bullard, Texas

“Pupperoni” painting by Matt Schon, Age 5, Iowa Falls, Iowa

Painting by Jett Schon, Age 6, Iowa Falls, Iowa

“why can’t you trust what a pig says? Because it’s full of baloney!!!”

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19© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.18



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21© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved. © 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.20


JOKESby Liliana Vital, Age 8, Burbank, Ill.

Q: What did a banana say to another banana? A: Hey banana you got to split.

Q: What kind of chalk is late for school? A: A chalklate.

Q: What kind of apple isn’t an apple?A: A pineapple.

Q: What is the most musical part of a chicken?A: The drumstick.

Q: Why did the flies speak French?A: Because they are French Flies!

Q: When do you go at red and stop at green?A: When you are eating a watermelon.

Q: Why did the ice cream truck break down? A: Because of the rocky road.

Q: How do you fix a broken pizza? A: With tomato paste.

Q: What kind of apple has a short temper?A: A crabapple.

Q: What’s red and green and wears boxing gloves?A: Fruit Punch.


Liliana Vital



Special Thanks:

Katie Gabrielson Katie PlumskiBrian Olson

Ethan WattersAnna Ferrari

Thank you to all the contributors for this edition!

We are looking for young creatives to contribute to Issue #3 of The Hormel Kids Gazette.

We’d love to see more from our current contributors as well as others across the Hormel Foods family.

Some ideas:• Articles or essays about

anything that strikes your interest

• Jokes: good ones, bad ones, we’ll take them all

• Recipes you like to cook• Reviews of anything: video

games, books, breakfast cereals• Interview A friend or relative• IlLustrations, photos, puzzles • We’d love to EXPAND THE

comics section

Email your submissions to: [email protected]

SUBMIT YOUR WORK!

THANK YOU CONTRIBUTORS!

Learn more about the Hormel Kids Gazette and explore other issues at www.hormelfoods.com/hormel-kids-gazette/

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CARTOONS, ASTRONAUTS, YUMMY FOOD...bag and putting his clothes in the dresser. He then put on his favorite pair of lucky sneakers. After putting away his stuff, Nate headed out into