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Krueger Middle School health and physical education teacher Erica Ackerson (above) is an avid lover of fishing and the outdoors. Ackerson forages and fishes for her food supply, and has taught her children the same habits.
Krueger’s Ackerson finds joy, food supply in fishing and nature
By Jasmine Ford
Staff Writer
MICHIGAN CITY – In today’s world, it’s more and more uncommon to find people who provide food for themselves.
Erica Ackerson is one of those people.
Ackerson, a health and physical education teacher at Krueger Middle School, is a fisher who provides food for herself and her family. She also teaches other people about health and how to get their own food supply.
“It requires time and has required me to learn new skills along the way, but there is also something very satisfying about being able to provide,” Ackerson said.
She was born in the very small town of Creekside, Pennsylvania. She had a traditional two-parent home with her three sisters.
Her hometown is in Indiana County, which is really heavy on the outdoor life.
“That’s pretty much the culture or the mindset of where I grew up at,” Ackerson said.
When she grew up, she and her family occasionally visited her grandfather’s small camp in the middle of the woods in north central Pennsylvania.
She has fond memories of catching salamanders, having campfires and star-gazing. There was no electricity in the camp and water was drawn from a small well nearby.
There also was no plumbing – just an outhouse. These things are still true of that camp today.
“It is one of the few places where I feel completely removed from modern society,” Ackerson said. “Spending time in the outdoors was something I grew to love as I got older.”
Her dad did a lot of fly fishing, but as a teenager she started to get skilled at fishing. She got more interested in it when she started dating her husband.
As an adult, she developed another passion in teaching. She got into health and physical education because she likes working with kids and she is interested in human anatomy.
This is her 25th year working at Michigan City Area Schools, and she enjoys her work as a health and physical education teacher.
Ryan Labis, a fellow health and physical education teacher, is impressed by Ackerson’s knowledge of wellness and health standards, as well as her ability to connect with her students.
“She always comes and is professional,” he said.
While Ackerson keeps her home and work lives separate, she enjoys educating her colleagues about the outdoors.
She taught Jenny Jones, a Krueger computer science teacher, that turkeys live in trees.
“I know that (the outdoors is) what soothes her soul and something that she enjoys, so I admire that about her,” Jones said.
Outside of work, her heart still lies in fishing. She even fishes on Hudson Lake, which she lives on. She also fishes in streams.
She fishes for trout, bluegill, steelhead and perch, all of which she keeps to eat.
Ackerson uses a spinning reel, but is learning how to fly fish, which she said requires more skill.
While she usually fishes at home, she fished in Montana for the beautiful sights.
“The scenery out there is pretty special,” Ackerson said.
In addition to eating their own fish, the Ackerson and her family have other ways of creating a food supply.
They have their own garden, they forage for mushrooms and they forage for blackberries to create jam. They also raise chickens for eggs and meat.
“It really does save a lot on groceries,” Ackerson said.
The Ackerson family has fun trying out new recipes for its supply.
“I also feel fortunate to be able to pass these skills onto my own children,” she said.
She also said that kids should learn more about the outdoors so they can see more of the world.
“Too often, the current generation spends a lot of time online and in front of their phones,” she said. “So it’s definitely a way to keep me away from my phone, and off of looking at a screen for so long.”
Her and her husband are involved in outdoors-related activities, it all goes back to her beliefs in the importance of nature.
“It does not only have to do with the aspect of sustainability of our natural resources,” Ackerson said. “But for me, (it) is deeply tied to my beliefs about being a good steward of the earth that God has given.”