It was still dark on an Easter Sunday morning in the mid-1980's when my cat had her kittens. She wanted to have her tummy rubbed, so I joined her on the front porch. All was quiet, dark and peaceful as the miracle of birth progressed.

The serenity was broken when the rumble of motors about a half mile down the road intruded on the quiet scene. Because it was still dark, the path of the caravan of trucks was clear. They were turning onto the farm a half mile down and across the road. The lights traced a pattern of back and forth motion over the field. An unpleasant odor wafted on the early morning air.

A mystery had presented itself.

The mystery was soon solved. A family living directly across the road from the field were well aware of the trucks and what they were doing. The trucks were from GRU and were spreading sludge on the land as a form of fertilizer. And they had been doing it before dawn every day for months - 7 days/week, including Easter Sunday.

I learned that the application of sewer sludge has been a common practice of inland communities for years. At the time, coastal municipalities were legally dumping their sewer waste products directly in the oceans, or in some cases, into rivers. But the city of Milwaukee had found a way to make money with their waste. An American dream!