Organic doughnuts at Peaceful Valley?
Friday, September 26th, 2008
Twenty years ago, walking or biking to courses at Humboldt State University, I passed a local donut store and inevitably, if it was between 10 and 11 A.M., the dairy farmers were stretched out inside escaping the fog. Unlike myself, my future husband has a fondness for donuts, so I began to find myself on occasion actually inside this donut haven at the same hour as my farming neighbors. Both Mike and I came to enjoy the snippets of local color and conversation much more than the donuts.
As a recent hire to Peaceful Valley, there was something very familiar about the 10 to 11 A.M. hour in the retail store. It didn’t take long to realize, these foothill farmers may not be working dairy cows or escaping the coastal fog, but the morning conversation after what has probably already been a long morning is undoubtedly universal. Farmers are not like fishermen, who protect that secret hole, special bait and times of day they find productive. Farmers do not “compete” – they readily share their wealth of knowledge and are the first to acknowledge what confounds them. They have access to the internet and professional journals, but are old-fashioned enough (be they “young” or “old” in actual years) to value human dialog and how it might just bring about an interesting option worth considering.
From 10 to 11 A.M. most days at PVFS store is my favorite time of day. At first it made me feel nostalgic. Now it keeps me centered, trying to overhear snippets of conversation from our local farmers who seem to find this the best hour to pick up their orders or grab some cover crop before going on their way.
Perhaps we can open an “organic” donut store on the premises? Remember, I don’t like donuts myself, but I could sure use more time with some of these local farmers.)
