Crazy Coincidence

Chris Jude, a renewable energy specialist and good friend emailed me with more Longfellow history. Chris used to work for Full Circle Farm (www.fullcirclefarm.com) in Carnation, WA, which is one of the bigger organic farms in the area. His longtime girlfriend, Lynnette, worked as an intern for Tolt River Farm, run by Becky and Eric (http://toltriverfarm.com/). Chris currently helps out Eric part-time with Eric's arboriculture business.

That same year that Lynnette & Chris were in Carnation, I was an intern at Growing Things Farm (www.growingthingsfarm.com) All the interns hung out quite a bit. We worked all week and relaxed at each other’s respective farms on the weekends. Often, we'd all be selling at our various stalls at the Carnation farmers market. We were a close community and still are 2 years later.

Chris was talking to Eric about Longfellow and it turns out that Becky used to garden Longfellow when she lived in Seattle. She was 28, it was 1999, and she had just completed an organic farm internship. The very year she was interning, John and Francis Smersh were starting the original Longfellow Creek Garden (so, 1998 I think). Becky gardened for several more years at Longfellow until interest died away and 10 years later still continues to farm.

It is an auspicious discovery to hear that Longfellow has been part of the journey of folks like Becky. All of the farms I’ve mentioned are cornerstones of sustainable, organic agriculture in Washington. They all educate interns like Becky, Lynette, and myself and those interns overwhelmingly stay involved in local food production. Please check them out.

Cheers,
Zach Zink