Anita Nofsinger on her farm with her sheep - May 2026 - Photograph by Lorynn Hunt

There are some stories that will never be told simply because the question wasn't asked. Experiences lost in time and in return reflections of people become vague but linger in the faces of generations who hold lines of these things untold. What came before, to some, become reasons to move forward. Anita Nofsinger of Andrews, Indiana, has the features of the those who came before her and the skills that keep their stories alive.

Born in Wisconsin, grit sticks in the family like gravel in the bottoms of the boots that they work in, it is what makes up the appeal of Nofsinger. Two weeks prior to her 19th birthday, she decided to make her own way.

"I moved out to the west side of the state, where my dad's father is had grown up, in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. I moved into a my parent's property of 40 acres and a house that was built in the 1880s.

Living in an un-renovated home with no electricity and a just a wood stove to keep her warm, Nofsinger attended college for her associates degree at Richland Center. When I asked her why she chose to live the way she did, it opened up a long line of fascinating and rich family history.

"I am a first generation American.. My mother is actually from Hungry. When she was three they fled in the dead of winter from the Red Russian because her parents were freedom fighters. Really this is first time I am sharing this in this way."

Digging deeper into her family history it became more and more clear about just how much voyages of life can be apart of one decision.

"Some of it is the grit from them. There was just a determination, a will to live. I was just enamored with just those stories."

Little did Nofsinger know that the same determination and will to live would become a muscle memory of time in her own life.

After a marriage turned into an unsettling and emotional abusive relationship, Nofsinger found herself answering the question, "Why does a cage bird sing?"

"I made the decision, and did my prep, and I moved. I put whatever I could into my vehicle and moved to Chicago area. It was there where I found myself again, and went through another transition. I became a phoenix, the phoenix rose out of the fire."

She went back to college to get her bachelor degree in business began working a job as an assistant manager for Walgreens. It was in this season of life when she meet a family that began to help Nofsinger grow.

"They are still good friends to this day. They were a safe place that I needed. She really uplifted me and helped me blossom even more. I think she knew that, that old country girl was still underneath me, but she wanted to make it better. She did just that, making me the person I am today."

After graduating from college, she accepted a job as a director of the equestrian department by a gentleman in Indiana named J. H. Northrup. He had seen her skills in riding and, even more than her skills, her potential.

"He was starting up an organization and needed somebody to lead up the equestrian area. I figured why not give it a shot?! The project specifically at the time was called New Southerly Project and it ended up going international. I had to train the horses and I had to teach myself Old English FS Font to translate into modern day English."

While training horses and translating horse training documents from The Duke of Newcastle back in the 1700s on how to train horses for battle, Nofsinger then found herself in an abrupt stop situation and soon became, once a again, a phoenix rising out of the fire.

"I was t-boned at a four-way intersection after my job came to a holt for some unexpected reasons . It was two days after my 31st birthday. We were actually going places with the horses and starting to really get that department up and going but things things happened, then I got a head trauma with busted up knees. It was a big wake up call for me. It took a long time for me to come and figure myself out again. I had to relearn a lot of stuff, basically everything."

Time and time again the grit that threads through her bloodline continues to bring living proof of purpose in her life.

Anita Nofsinger on her farm with a wild swarm of bees she is catching- May 2026 - Photograph by Lorynn Hunt

"It was a the will to live that brought me through" she says, "that same will, optimism, and stubbornness, along with an experience that I had during that time brought forward a realization that I am here for a reason, a purpose."

Leaving the story for you find out in the episode of the podcast, her purpose she discussed with me rang true to the heart of who she is in our first meeting on her farm during the interview. It always starts with a feeling for me, the gut knowledge that there is something deeper, a story.

As we sit in the hay loft of her barn, I asked her what she felt her purpose was and she responded with a familiar excitement for possibilities.

Anita Nofsinger on her farm in her hay loft where the interview took place. - May 2026 - Photograph by Lorynn Hunt

"The purpose is where we are sitting. It is to fulfill what I always wanted to do which was to farm. It's not the 800 acre farm I dreamed about in the Driftless Area, but it is farming. Im still working with horses, livestock, and am breeding livestock that is in the conservatory for heritage animals."

While fulfilling her passion for farming, there is another passion of serving that comes to the surface of the conversation that proves to be even deeper.

"My spouse is a disabled veteran and I have to come to an understanding a lot about some of the things that can help serve them. Having their own way of coping with different things, I see this place as a safe place moving forward me to use it for them to work with livestock and create relationships with animals. It would be giving veterans something they are able to transfer whatever they are having issues with to something else, to put their minds in different directions, while connecting in different ways. I want to give them purpose again."

If there is anything that I learned as I sat across from Anita Nofsinger it is fortitude and attitude. There is so much more to this amazing woman that I am honored to say I am continuing to learn. This episode is jammed packed with strong stories and heartfelt conversations that I cannot wait for you to hear. In efforts to leave you something to look forward to, I shall stop writing and leave it at this.

Thank you so much Anita for inviting a stranger on your farm and sharing your story. It was an absolute honor to interview you. It means the world to me that you took a chance on me and also inviting me on adventures as well! Who would have thought that an out of blue call would turn into something more!

Podcast Episode:

Apple : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/here-in-my-time/id1858774701?i=1000774682925

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3VCipmyiLjMUhFqoqS24f0?si=AxXRJn0ET9iia7LPoKLCVg

Youtube: https://youtu.be/YVgv3XVQLmE?si=ErRktoYHyQtjx-QU

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