To us it seems like it must’ve once been The Hundred-Acre Woods. Many creatures of all sizes, shapes and numbers of legs have undoubtedly touched these lands. With all of these creatures, and over the years, the stories of our farm have accumulated. But there seems to be a common thread, cultivated by all who have come and gone –– this land is a place for growing healthy food, raising family and livestock. It is a place to seek refuge, to heal, create and explore.
To the best of our knowledge, our land was first settled about 120 years ago. The homesteaders who came here built a small cabin, and raised what is now our beloved bard, while they tended their crops. We still enjoy the fruits of their labor, literally when we eat the fruit of the King Apple tree, and figuratively as we work and gather in their magnificent barn.
Early homesteaders on the farm
After passing from owner to owner through small exchanges, in 1930, the farm fell into the loving hands of Johnny Jones. Jones, a World War I veteran recently diagnosed with cancer, purchased this farm and forged a path to health by eating raw vegetables and raising goats for their milk. While living out his days in this healing landscape, he expanded the farm by dredging a pond, where the homesteader’s cabin sat. He used the mud from the pond to build the rammed earth walls of our home. (In the 1990’s when Steve did a remodel, it was our mission to keep as many of those first walls intact.) That original cabin now sits on the bluff by our main house as a reminder of Jones’ ambition, and also how this farm has been built in many chapters by many hands.
From the long time islanders we’ve come to learn many wonderful stories about Johnny Jones. They paint a grand picture of the man he was; a big-hearted man who opened this land as a place of refuge for those seeking it. His big heart extended to his animals who he let roam freely –– in and out of his house. He raised cows, goats, pigs and chickens, and bred horses. The most storied of which must have been Diablo, a beautiful black stallion. Having long outlived his original diagnosis, in his 70’s Johnny Jones spent his last happy moments on the back of Diablo.
After Johnny Jones Lucy Bangs took over the farm.
Lucy, known for her seemingly boundless energy, continued her busy life here devoted to family and home, caring for her aging mother, Jennie Rouse, and her three youngest daughters while managing the farm with cattle, goats, pigs, sheep. In addition to family and farm, Lucy also pursued a life-long love of building and interior design. A lasting reminder of this love is the Victorian Valley Chapel, which we look down on from the bluff of our pasture.
The Bangs eventually sold the farm to The Robinsons who owned it for just a couple years. They turned the “goat shed,” into an artist studio and held informal church services in the barn. The Robinsons exhaled a breath of creativity into the land, and then let it rest before the beginning of its next incarnation, and our chapter.
We first found the farm because of Steve’s mom, Katie, who sent us a flier for a workshop with Susan Osborn on Orcas Island. Mimi attended the workshop, which took place in what is now our kitchen. She was so moved by Susan’s teachings, and this land that she felt inspired to bring Steve back to Orcas. That soon became a reality when we were invited to a “work party on the farm.” Memorial day weekend, 1988, a blue moon. After a long day’s work at Susan and David’s house, we walked up the hill to explore the farm pastures with our dog Baloo. He ran circles around the old King Apple tree as we rested in the grass beneath the warm afternoon sun. That night, we went to sleep in the goat shed, with the new knowledge that the farm was going to be auctioned off. In the early morning, Steve awoke from a dream that lead to a far fetched idea, and calls to our parents, expecting devils advocates, we were met with lots of questions and later support. Looking back now, we laugh that maybe it was all influenced by the nights sleep under the blue moon. Within five days, with the help of our families, we put in an offer, and so began a new chapter for us, and this land that has become Morning Star Farm.
Mimi, Steve, Creed and OJ (Mimi’s parents) look into the Morning Star barn considering the idea of putting in an offer for the land.
So, no, we did not come here with a five- year plan. Rather, we came because our heads did not have a chance to catch up with our hearts. We began here doing what we loved, deepening relationships, working with the land, and creating. We continued hosting “The Seeds of Singing” workshops with Susan Osborn and crew. We joined the “Fruit and Nut club”, met long time local farmers, and as we deepened our relationship with community here, we started to get a sense for the capacity of the Farm. Soon, a personal challenge to grow beautiful basil resulted in abundance and our first market garden.
In 1990, we hosted our first intern and started a booth at the Farmers Market. Since then the farm has brought yearly interns to the island and we’ve devoted much of our care into the human growth that takes place alongside the farm. Many of these interns still live on Orcas Island, raising their own families and living their own dreams. Our own dream continues now, as our children, have grown, and now continue to bring new life to the farm. We feel so blessed to play a part in this grand story of the land that we call the Morning Star Farm.