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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2011)
Page A-4 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Farming in the valley By Christine Gardiner The Illinois Valley is blessed with a variety of climates and soils, from O’Brien to Takilma, from Waldo to Kerby and Selma. Lots of folks move here to farm with various goals, to experience the great variability of local weather along with the challenges and independence of small-scale farming. Dale DeVorss and his wife, Barbara, moved to Selma in 1986 from Fort Bragg, Calif., where he worked in the woods and in the mills. They had found their dream property on Eight Dollar Mountain Road. After a few years there, a piece of raw land with an unfinished house in Kerby, came on the market. The land market was depressed back then, so they bought the land cheap in 1989, moved in and finished the house. Dale started small, growing a few acres of corn and “a few tomatoes.” He called it “gardening” in the early years, while working either in timber or drywalling to make ends meet. The farm really began to sustain them financially around 1997. Kerbyville Farm is now 30 acres in size, blessed with an abundance of good water and fertile, floodplain soils. The main crops at Kerbyville Farm have been corn, melons, tomatoes and strawberries. Dale also grows onions, sugar snap peas, beans, peppers, potatoes, summer and winter squashes and pumpkins. This year he’ll grow raspberries and strawberries on the farm. Each year he brings in blueberries from Willamette Valley in refrigerated trucks, and sweet peaches from Maryhill, Wash. Corn is the number one crop because folks can buy it and eat it all summer long, so a farm can supply lots of it for a few months. Kerbyville Farm grows some of the best corn in the valley, with competition from his neighbor Nelson’s “Sweet Cron” farm. Dale says some of the great challenges of corn include problems like weeding, planting it correctly, watering and keeping the soil fertility as high as corn likes it. Dale grows high sugar varieties of hybrid corn, and that’s why his corn tastes so good. Hybrid corn seed is very expensive, and the farmer can’t save hybrid seed to grow the same crop next year. So, Dale buys his corn seed every year, and that adds to the cost of producing that delicious corn. Corn used to be priced at 10-12 ears/$1, but over the years, the price has gone up, along with the costs of farming. Now the price is around to 2-3 ears/$1. But Dale says you can still buy corn at 12/$1, if you pay with a pre-1964 silver dollar. Isn’t that a telling statement about the value of the dollar today? In recent years, Kerbyville Farm has grown to seven employees at the peak of harvest season which runs August to September. Grandson Brandon Hart added a bakery in 2008. Brandon is the oldest of Dale’s eight grandkids, all of whom live here in the valley. This year Brandon gave the bakery a new name, “Hart’s Bakery.” In 2011 he’ll offer pies and turnovers made with local fruit and a new line of cinnamon rolls. Kerbyville Farm also sells the fabulous breads by Marcy Sowa, baked in the Selma Community Center kitchen. Look for the Grand Opening of Hart’s Bakery coming in June. Dale’s new bride, Renee, is a bright addition to Kerbyville Farm, as the family diversifies the farm’s offerings to the community. Kerbyville Farm is the only outlet for local, organic eggs in our valley. Local organic eggs not only look and taste better; they are lower in cholesterol and higher in anti-oxidants and beta- carotene. These high-quality eggs are just as much medicine as they are food. Dale would like to carry more eggs, so local egg producers can contact him to see about selling eggs there. He can be reached by email at dale@cavenet.com or calling 541-592-2638. Remember that local farms provide real Homeland Security. It’s important for everyone to support your local farmer, because only a local farm has the ability to grow that food again next year. Dale says America needs more young farmers and more opportunities for young farmers. America may have to feed itself as a nation sooner than many people think. Every time you buy food from a local farm, you are part of the solution to America’s economic crisis. Every dollar is a vote. Valley resident Christine Gardiner will make occasional volunteer column contributions to the Illinois Valley News that deal with local, sustainable agriculture. Memorial Service Find Us at The Guild Gallery IV Visitor’s Center Forest Edge Farm LLOyD WHItE - A celebration of life for Lloyd White that was originally scheduled for June 16 has been changed. The new date is Saturday, July 9 at 2pm at the White Ranch. The day of Pentecost can have up to three meanings. For the Jewish people over time it has been a harvest-festival day, since the small-grain crop was being harvested. It was also a time to mark the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. Those are two good reasons to celebrate. For the people of the Church it has still another meaning, as Christians recognize the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower the church for ministry in their time and place. That is not just a fact to celebrate but an important factor to rely on, even on a daily basis. The Spirit helps -- even enables the believer -- to share their faith. The Spirit also causes the hearer to believe in the Lord and receive his grace and mercy through Christ. Facts to celebrate in this day and age. Faith factors to rely upon on a daily basis. Good Shepherd Church Council meeting -- Wednesday @ 7pm [6/15] Good Shepherd Singers rehearse -- Thursday @ 4pm All-Comers Bible Class -- Sundays @ 9:15am Worship & Communion -- Sundays @ 10am More weather to come Time to buy your new HAND-FELTED LLAMA WOOL HAT at Pottsville Saturday, June 18, 9 to 5 Sunday, June 19, 9 to 4:30 Food Booths - Flea Market - Miniature Railroad - Pony Rides - Tractor Pull - Spinning, Weaving, Quilting, Broom Making, Blacksmithing Raffle - Fairbanks Morse 3 hp 1921 Engine Style Z 1947 Case VAO Tractor 0322 For information, phone (541) 479-2981 Senior Lunch Menu Sponsored by School’s Out ... Let’s Eat! All children can come to this location and have a nutritious summer meal at no cost! When is the right time for hospice? COMMUNITY CALENDAR Beyond Loss Support Group Mondays 2 to 3:30 p.m. Mutual support ~ open to adults (over 18) Heart of Summer Benefit Gala Saturday, July 9 - Countryside Village Wine & chocolate tasting, dinner, silent auction Celebrating 30 years of Lovejoy Hospice serving southern Oregon. Watch for further details! Lovejoy Hospice, founded in 1981 as an independent, not-for-profit community service organization, provides compassionate hospice care and bereavement services for adults and children in Josephine, Jackson and parts of Douglas counties. For information, or to make a gift, call (541) 474-1193 or visit www.lovejoyhospice.org. When: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays June 21 through August 21 Time: Breakfast at 9:00am Lunch at 12:00pm Where: 9367 Takilma Road Local Sponsor: Dome School Summer Rangers Program The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 0541 “Early" help from hospice offers patients and their families the best opportunity to avoid struggling with symptoms and challenges of a life-limiting illness. When a physician has said that there is no fix for a serious illness or decline in health, it is time to think about the caring help of hospice. Questions? Ask your physician or contact us. THURSDAY, June 16 Baked Ham w/ mustard sauce, colcannon pota- toes, seasoned carrots, rye bread, birthday cake FRIDAY, June 17 Meatloaf w/ gravy, parslied potatoes, mixed vegetables, squash bread, Grace’s choco- late chip cookie MONDAY, June 20 Chicken a la King, whipped 541 592-3562 potatoes, green peas, whole wheat bread, pineapple crisp TUESDAY, June 21 Vegetable cheese strata, escalloped tomatoes, spinach romaine salad, garlic roll, fresh cantaloupe WEDNESDAY, June 22 Roast turkey w/ gravy, lyon- naise potatoes, broccoli cuts, herb bread, birthday cake Meals are served in the Cave Junction County Building. 541-592-2126, 541-955-8839 Places of Worship BRIDGEVIEW COMMUNITY CHURCH 5181 Holland Loop, CJ 541-592-3923 “We celebrate God’s Presence in our lives!” Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. * * * 7th DAY ADVENTIST 265 S. Old Stage Rd., CJ Sabbath School - 9:30 a.m. Saturday Worship 11 a.m. Prayer/Praise 7 p.m. Tuesday Pastor Marvin Clark Church (541) 955-4943 Madrone Adventist School 541-592-3330 * * * FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF SELMA 18285 Redwood Hwy., Selma 541-597-4169 Pastor Monty Pope Sunday School - 9:45 a.m. Worship - 11 a.m. ** * COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCH Pastor Dave Gordon 113 S. Caves Ave., CJ Office: 541-592-3896 Email: cbccca@cavenet.com Sunday Worship - 10:30 a.m. Christian Academy Pre-K to 12th grade Awana - Wednesdays - 6 p.m. IMMANUEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 200 Watkins St., CJ Phone 541-592-3876 Pastor Charles Chase Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship - 9:15 a.m. Child-care for small children * * * ST. PATRICK OF THE FOREST CATHOLIC CHURCH 407 W. River St., CJ 541-592-3658 Fr. William Holtzinger, Pastor Mass - Sunday 11 a.m.. Sacrament of Reconciliation Sunday - 10:30 a.m. Holy Days TBA * * * GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH East River Street & Lewis Court, CJ Pastor Don Torala Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship - 10 a.m. Tuesday Youth group - 6 p.m. Church Phone: 541-592-2290 www.goodshepherdlutheraniv.net *** ILLINOIS VALLEY PENTECOSTALS 987 Caves Hwy., CJ 541-592-4716 or 541-218-2792 Sunday - 2:30 p.m. TAKILMA BIBLE CHURCH 10300 Takilma Road, Takilma Pastor Dan Robinson Bible Study / Prayer Time 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship 11 a.m. Wednesday Bible Study 7 p.m. * * * VALLEY EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH 498 Laurel Road, CJ P.O. Box 1248 Pastor Marvin Porter Sunday School - 9:45 a.m. Worship Service - 11 a.m. evfree@frontiernet.net 541-592-6160 * * * FOUNTAIN OF LIFE ASSEMBLY OF GOD 451 S. Junction Ave., CJ 541-592-3956 Pastor Mark McLean Sunday School - 10 a.m. Morning Worship - 11 a.m. Evening Worship - 6 p.m. Wednesday - 7 p.m. Adult Bible Study *** ST. MATTHIAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH 25904 Redwood Hwy., CJ 541-592-2006 Rev. James Boston Worship Service - 5 p.m. 1st Sunday of each month THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS 209 S. Junction Ave., CJ Sacrament Meet - 10 a.m. Sunday School - 11:20 a.m. Priesthood, Relief Soc. - 12:10 p.m. Bishop G. Frank Sybrant 541-245-3394 * * *
