Guthrie and Irion to Kick Off Tour at the Creamery!

Woohooo! Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion will kick off their tour in support of their brand-new recording, "Wassaic Way," at the Creamery Co-op on August 6, at 11 a.m. The record, produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Patrick Sansone, is already showing up on radio playlists. "Wassaic Way" is the latest in an ongoing creative relationship between the Guthrie family and Wilco. Sarah Lee is the daughter of Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, whose unfinished songs Wilco recorded with Billy Bragg on a pair of Mermaid Avenue albums in 1998 and 2000. Wilco also invited Sarah Lee and Johnny to perform at the band's 2011 Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, and the duo has toured with the Autumn Defense, Sansone's project with Wilco bassist John Stirratt.

We are delighted to announce Sarah Lee and Johnny chose to honor the Creamery with a free performance on the record's release date of August 6! Come celebrate with us!

To read and see more about "Wassaic Way," click here. And to listen to a cut, "Chairman Meow," click here (make sure your speakers are turned on).

We Promise! More Parking Soon!

People visiting the Creamery this summer have been faced with a significant dilemma: where to park?

We are indeed behind schedule with expansion of the lower lot, excavation of the hillside, and creation of the upper lot. Two factors are responsible for this delay: we unearthed a couple of free-flowing springs and had to install drainage ditches, and we struck ledge in the upper left corner. We have worked around this last challenge and changed the design to avoid blasting, but if you have visited lately you've seen the significant pile of very large boulders we've unearthed. Our current estimate is that we will be working for two more weeks on the hillside, after which we will begin work on the lower lot and outside dining area.

Next week we start work on the store's west entrance, which will include a walk-up ramp with a gentle grade, terraced beds with railroad ties for displaying plants for sale, and the final location for the ice machine. While this work takes place there will be a temporary set of steps installed toward the road. The week after next we will pour concrete for this entrance and for the dumpster pads in the back of the store. In the meantime, finishing touches are taking place inside the store, and we will begin in-store painting in stages with a goal of minimizing disruption to customers and staff.

Are You Short and to the Point?

We're not talking about height or personality -- we're talking about note-taking style! The Co-op's board of directors seeks an individual to take notes at and draft minutes of board meetings. Like many others who are supporting our Co-op, the note-taker serves as a volunteer. In addition to refreshments provided during the meeting, the note-taker will receive a stipend to defray expenses associated with performing the duties. We are seeking an individual with experience as a minutes-taker for a business, nonprofit, civic, or governmental body. Ideally, the individual would make a minimum one-year commitment to serve. Examples of prior meeting minutes are available in the "board book" (the white three-ring binder in the east corner of the store near the card carousel). Interested? This is a great way to support your Co-op! Please contact Hattie Plehn at hattie@oldcreamery.coop or Kimberly Longey at kimberly@oldcreamery.coop for more information.

Board of Directors -- An Opportunity!

Democracy in action! Our member-owned business is governed by a nine-member board of directors. The Co-op's nominating committee encourages anyone interested in running for election to contact us. We will be preparing a slate of nominees by mid-September for distribution to all member-owners prior to the annual meeting to be held in October (stay tuned for the date). Board recruitment will be a perennial activity for our Co-op. Why consider this opportunity now? A current board member provides her thoughts:

"Why would you want to join the board of the Old Creamery Co-op? Because, like me, you think that the Creamery has been an immense benefit to all of us who patronize it and to our local farms and businesses, and you want to do your part to help it to continue and thrive.

"Sure, it took a tremendous amount of work on the part of Amy and Alice and the board to study what it would take to make a community-owned co-op successful, to raise the money to buy Old Creamery and make the changes necessary to enable the Co-op to be financially viable, and to address all the legal and practical concerns of creating a co-op. But what a reward it was when the Old Creamery Co-op became a reality on November 6, 2012!

"Now the board's job is still very important, but much less time-consuming. It is to devise policies that will enable the Old Creamery to continue to inspire and support the community and its values, while remaining financially viable. The board is not involved in the day-to-day operation of the store -- that is the province of the general manager -- but it must articulate for the general manager the overall objectives of the Co-op's member-owners, and it must evaluate the success of the general manager in achieving them.

"So please consider joining the board in this exciting and challenging work. Your reward over time will be to see the continuation and expansion of the values and the contribution to our community spirit of the Old Creamery and the gradual strengthening of the Co-op's financial condition."                           

-- Hattie Plehn

An informational packet about the board responsibilities and application process can be downloaded by clicking here.

The Co-op nominating committee members are happy to talk with you about this great way to support your Co-op.

Kimberly Longey: kimberly@oldcreamery.coop

Hattie Plehn: hattie@oldcreamery.coop

Susi Westwood: susi@oldcreamery.coop

Supplier Check-In: Sidehill

It's been a while since we spoke with Sidehill Farm -- supplier of some of the yummiest yogurt you could ever hope to adorn with ripe blueberries or blend into a smoothie. And since Sidehill has had such a busy year full of changes, we thought we'd check in with them to ask how the move from Ashfield to Hawley has affected their operation.

"It means that life has gotten a lot easier," reported co-owner Amy Klippenstein as she paused from harvesting some ripe blueberries from one of the hundred highbush plants that are just coming into season.

Amy and her partner, Paul Lacinski, purchased the 200-acre Forget Road property from Ivan Donovan, who had continued his family's tradition of growing raved-about potatoes until 2010. The cows were moved in November of last year, while the preparations for the yogurt-making facility were underway. Sidehill Farm began producing its yogurt in Hawley in May of this year.

"Ivy was such an amazing steward of that land," said Amy. "We were so fortunate to be able to just step into such a well-maintained, well-cared-for farm."

The move has provided Amy and Paul with the ability to have most of their pasture and hay acres certified as organic right from the start. Just as important, however, is the efficiency afforded by having every part of their operation in a central location under their control.

"It was really wonderful to be in the middle of that supportive community," said Amy of her former Ashfield home. "But we were leasing acreage from 14 different landowners. We were constantly hauling cows, water, and hay from one location to another and taking fences down in one place and putting them up again down the road."

For their growing base of fans, the move also signifies greater production potential.

"We'll be able to expand. In Ashfield, our backs were always up against the wall in terms of space. Now we have plenty of processing space and still have room to grow. And it's pretty nice to be able to get on a tractor, drive a really long distance in one direction, get some work done, and turn around and drive back. The staff is a lot happier, too, I can tell you."

That room for expansion has a financial impact on the area too. Three employees were hard at work during our visit, suggesting that a sustainable agricultural sector is still possible in western Massachusetts.

You can show Amy and Paul your support by picking up a tub of Sidehill yogurt the next time you stop by the Old Creamery. If you want to tell them in person how much you appreciate their work, why not attend the tour of Sidehill Farm being offered on August 24 at 2 p.m.? You can say hello to their Normande and Jersey cows and find out what they have to offer in their new farm store. More information is available at their website at www.sidehillfarm.net.

Help Wanted!

Love the Creamery? Why not work here? We have immediate opening for a part-time cashier. We are looking for a friendly, people-loving, detail-oriented person to join our staff. Interested? Call Karen (634-5560) or stop by to pick up an application.

To Preserve a Memory: The (Transgenic) American Chestnut

OK, so maybe you get a swell of pride every time someone asks you about your "GMO NO!" bumper sticker. You've signed innumerable online petitions demanding that genetically modified alfalfa/corn/soy/salmon (fill in the blank) crops be restricted or outright condemned. After all, why should we let these monstrous parasitic multinational biochemical agro-corporations control the planet's food supply and endanger our food future and possibly even the health of the global environment?

But wait...what if a proponent of genetic engineering wasn't one of those powerful, politically connected agribusinesses? What if it turned out to be a seemingly benign researcher from SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry (CESF)? And what if the subject of the GMO research was an American icon -- the American chestnut tree?

Most people alive today can't even remember what a full-grown American chestnut looks like. In the 1870s, Cryphonectria parasitica, a fungal blight, was unknowingly imported from China or Japan in a shipment of Asian chestnut trees. These imported trees were not the majestic giants that comprised one-quarter of eastern US forests. They were squat trees that made harvesting their fruits more convenient.

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, the American chestnut disappeared almost entirely. In 1936, Robert Frost asked in his poem "Evil Tendencies Cancel," "Will the blight end the chestnut trees?" By the time Nat King Cole recorded the delight of "Chestnuts roasting over an open fire" in 1946, Frost's question seemed to be answered.

Any chestnuts trees that survived grew to a modest few feet tall and succumbed to the fungus. After that, they sent out new shoots from the sad stumps that would grow only a few feet before dying.

William Powell of SUNY CESF, however, began searching for ways to bring back the American chestnut, and in 1997 he learned of a gene in wheat that renders the toxin produced by the fungus inert. Almost 20 years later, the first batch of genetically modified American chestnut trees are being trialed to find out if the transgenic gene can de-extinct the fabled forest icon. If the experiment is successful, he hopes to distribute the seeds at no profit in a effort to recreate a forest population absent for 60 years. Wildlife might benefit. The nuts could represent a source of free food to humans. The lumber could reinvigorate a sustainable furniture-manufacturing sector.

So here's our question to you, dear readers: if science can bring a useful, traditional tree back from extinction for the public good rather than greed, does it matter that genetic engineering is responsible?

 
Find a link to an interesting Atlantic magazine article about the efforts to save the American chestnut on our Facebook page (click here) and then let us know what you think!

Stay in Touch! We Love to Hear from You!

For questions about Co-op membership, product requests, or suggestions or other feedback, please send a note to info@oldcreamery.coop. We'll make sure your note is sent to the appropriate person and that you get a prompt response.

If you'd like to contact the Co-op's board of directors, simply send your email to board@oldcreamery.coop. Emails sent to this address are received only by the board.

To reach Karen Doherty, the Co-op's general manager, send an email to gm@oldcreamery.coop. Emails sent to this address are received only by Karen.

If you're thinking of becoming a valued volunteer of the Co-op, you can reach Shirley Todd, volunteer coordinator, at volunteer@oldcreamery.coop. There are many opportunities for volunteers. Emails sent to this address go directly to Shirley.

Help us spread the word! Consider encouraging your friends to sign on to receive the Creamery's weekly email newsletter. Better yet, encourage them to become member-owners of the Co-op. You can forward this email to your friends and relatives (for best results, use the "Forward email" link in the white space at the bottom of this page). Rest assured, we won't clog their inboxes and we will respect their privacy. We will not disclose your or their email addresses to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time. Thank you for your interest, commitment, and support.  

Your continued patronage supports the ongoing success of our community-owned, values-based cooperative. Thank you for supporting the Old Creamery Co-op as a member-owner, as a shopper, as a friend. We value every contribution to the success of the Old Creamery Co-op.

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Quick Links

445 Berkshire Trail

Cummington, Massachusetts 01026

413.634.5560