PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2022

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M A G A Z I N E

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F R O M T H E F A R M G R O W I N G A M E D I A E M P I R E

What’s your why?

I W A N T T O T A K E C A R E O F T H E O N E S I L O V E .

Everyone’s “why” is different. And we want to hear all about yours, because the answer gets to the heart of everything that’s important in life. Asking why can lead you to your ultimate purpose, the reason for working so hard, for protecting what’s valuable, and for passing on what you’ve achieved. We’ll work with you on the how. You just tell us, what’s your why?

Let’s talk about your why. Call Tammy Waterworth, Senior Relationship Strategist, at 309-655-5371 or visit pnc.com/privatebank

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) uses the marketing name PNC Private Bank SM to provide investment consulting and wealth management, fiduciary services, FDIC-insured banking products and services, and lending of funds to individual clients through PNC Bank, National Association (“PNC Bank”), which is a Member FDIC, and to provide specific fiduciary and agency services through PNC Delaware Trust Company or PNC Ohio Trust Company. PNC does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice unless, with respect to tax advice, PNC Bank has entered into a written tax services agreement. PNC Bank is not

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TRUST AND ESTATE ADMINISTRATION | WEALTH PLANNING | INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT | CREDIT AND CASH MANAGEMENT

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 1

COVER STORY 40 From the Farm, Growing a Media Empire By Mike Bailey

SPOTLIGHTS 18 Spotlight:

Sewing the Seeds of Community By Laurie Pillman

36 Spotlight:

A Rural Retreat for Veterans By Craig Armstrong

60 Community Spotlight: Mulling Metamora By Phil Luciano

ON THE COVER: Rob and Emily Sharkey at home

2 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

FEATURES 8 Seed and Soil:

32 Dish and Drink: Melisandre

64 WordCount: Book Review:

Eating Local Food Matters By Terra Brockman

By Dustin Crawford

In the Spirit of Wetlands By Steve Tarter

35 Dish and Drink:

12 Seed and Soil:

76 EconCorner

Tomato Economics By Joshua Lanning

The Business of Bees By Pam Tomka

An Interview With Dr. Joshua Lewer

46 Peoria Retro:

82 Toon Town

14 Seed and Soil: Save it? Sleeve it By Phil Luciano 22 Farmers Markets:

Remembering International Harvester By Steve Tarter

By Daniel Ackley

84 People, Places & Parties

50 Arts and Entertainment Our Alpine Valley Sits

Ep!c, Center for Prevention of Abuse, The She Said Project, in partnership with Art Inc. and East Bluff Community Center

Farmers Market Season Is Upon Us By Mike Bailey

On a Blue Ridge By Kirk Wessler

56 Mom and Pop

30 Dish and Drink:

A Dinosaur Thrives In Tremont By Phil Luciano

From Ground to Growler By Phil Luciano

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 3

COMMENTARY 26 When Everyone Had a Garden By Marcella Teplitz 62 Goodbye, Spirit of Peoria By Lowell “Bud” Grieves 67 Nothing Matters More Than Integrity By Amy Burkett 68 Human Services Worth the Investment By Human Services Collaborative of Greater Peoria 70 Bradley Doing Its Part to Develop Nonprofit Leaders By Brad McMillan 72 Surviving Cancer, Thriving Thereafter

By Tom Hammerton and Stacy Litersky 80 Change Management By Dee Brown 83 Generational Transition Planning for Agribusiness By David White 90 One More Thing: AND MORE 7 Letter from the Editor 52 ArtsPartners Calendar 87 In Brief 89 Classifieds 92 Thank You, Advertisers

Can the Old Julian Hotel Be Saved? By Phil Luciano

in this issue May 2022 contributors: Daniel Ackley, Craig Armstrong, Terra Brockman, Dee Brown, Amy Burkett, Dustin Crawford, Lowell “Bud” Grieves, Tom Hammerton, Human Services Collaborative of Greater Peoria, Joshua Lanning, Dr. Joshua Lewer, Stacy Litersky, Brad McMillan, Laurie Pillman, Steve Tarter, Marcella Teplitz, Pam Tomka, Kirk Wessler, David White FOLLOW@PEORIAMAGAZINES: To subscribe or renew, visit peoriamagazines.com/subscribe.

4 MAY 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE

MONTHLY ISSUE 052022 ISSN: 947

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 5

E D I T O R I A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mike Bailey mbailey@peoriamagazines.com PUBLISHER Lesley Matuszak lesley.matuszak@wtvp.org SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Phil Luciano phil.luciano@wtvp.org WTVP DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS Julie Sanders julie.sanders@wtvp.org A D V E R T I S I N G PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WTVP Lesley Matuszak lesley.matuszak@wtvp.org SENIOR CORPORATE SUPPORT MANAGER Angie Spears sales@peoriamagazines.com CORPORATE SUPPORT MANAGER Kristina Gamez sales@peoriamagazines.com DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY Tom Zimmerman sales@peoriamagazines.com C R E A T I V E STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ron Johnson

6 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R

Another Peoria Magazine, fresh off the vine

W e l come t o Peor i a Magazine’s Farm and Garden issue. And welcome to the Community Impact Guide, a compre hensive directory of the region’s not for-profit and philanthropic endeavors. It may seem like an odd coupling, but if one pauses to ponder, it makes a certain sense. Indeed, Illinois farmers are a formi dable economic force, and they help feed the world. If that’s not a social service, what is? In planning Peoria Magazine 2.0, one point onwhich there was universal con sensus was that we needed an anchored agriculture section.We call it Seed&Soil. Arguably, agriculture is an underre ported industry, especially in general interest media where it long ago disap peared as a regular beat. If there is an “urban-rural divide” in need of bridging, perhaps that helps explain it. We are sur rounded by fields and crops, which we too often take for granted, even dismiss despite the technological sophistication and business savvy required of their owners to successfully compete today. We hope to help change that. In fact, Illinois agriculture and its spinoff industries generate tens of billions of dollars in economic impact annually, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau. Agribusiness supports nearly half a million jobs in the state, not only directly on the land but in food pro cessing plants, manufacturing facilities, related service industries, exports, etc. Illinois’ 72,500 farms occupy 75 per cent of the state’s landmass, which brags some of the most fertile soil on Earth. It was meant to feed us, and it does, in abundance. Not only does it produce massive amounts of corn and soybeans, but Illinois is the nation’s top grower of horseradish and pumpkins, too.

It has long been my opinion that central Illinois’ economy will sink or swim on biotech, taking the plants we grow and finding new commercial uses for them. Beyond the public contribution, for me it’s personal. A lot of guys my age golf. I garden. There’s just something about working the soil, the aroma of it after a spring rain, placing the seed in the groundwith your own fingers, watering it, weeding it, watching it grow and produce fruit. It is effort, I suppose. It also provides a sense of accomplishment as few other activities do. Gardening also runs against the grain of a fast-paced world in which most of the population seems to suffer from attention deficit disorder. It requires patience, experimentation, creativity, precious little of which is cultivated on an iPhone. So call me a contrarian. And the return on investment? Longtime neighborhood advocate and former Peoria CouncilwomanMarcella Teplitz writes in this issue about her father coming home from a hard day’s work at the factory and immediately trotting out to the garden with salt shaker in hand, picking a ripe tomato off the vine, and devouring it right then and there. I defy anyone to tell me a store-bought tomato, shipped fromwho knows where, is as tasty and nutritious. I can identify. I grewup in Springfield next door tomy grandmother, who lived to age 103 on a narrow, deep lot of more than an acre not far from themain gate of the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Back during the Great Depression, the entire property –which I dutifullymowed as a kid — was gardened. Post-harvest was dedicated to canning just about every thing that came out of it. If that garden didn’t deliver, the family didn’t eat.

That situationwouldbe unimaginable for the vast majority of us today. Beyond the sustenance, there’s the payback of the beauty gardening produces and the message it sends. I am reminded of Judy Crawford, who is long gone but whose acquaintance I made back in the 1990s. I was driving in downtown Peoria one hot, humid early summer morning when I came across her on hands and knees, pulling the weeds around the flowers she’d planted on the corners of Adams and Jefferson where they met I-74. Judy did thiswell into her 80s, shaming people a quarter her age and a city that otherwise paid little attention to her toil. She didn’t own those little plots of land. She did not profit from them. She was just taking care of her little corner of the world. She was an inspiration tome, in a way I may someday get into in this space. A statue celebrating her example would be more than appropriate on Peoria’s Near North Side. In any case, from the Sharkeys building a media empire from their Bradford-area farm to Adam Sommer andhis country brewery, fromthe South Side’s Budded Mattah to Chillicothe’s Blue Ridge Farm concert venue, I hope this issue resonates. And with any luck, my grandsons will be helping me pick a bumper crop of tomatoes come August.

Mike Bailey mbailey@peoriamagazines.com

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 7

Kira seeding

R emember the early days of the pandemic when store shelves emptied and even staples like flour were hard to find? I do, because I was helping out at Janie’s Farm and Janie’s Mill, a family owned organic grain farm and stone milling company in central Illinois. While supply-chain issues plagued the nation, the folks at Janie’s Mill simply drove a fewmiles down the road to their grain bins and milled more grain into flour. There was no disruption in their ability to supply online customers or local bakers and retailers such as Ardor and Sous Chef in Peoria. Why? Because of their short supply chain running from farm to mill to you. Similarly, when large meat-packing plants shut down because COVID was running rampant among their workforces, local livestock farmers such as Trails End, Broad Branch and Wettstein Organic Farm kept supplying local folks thanks to their short food chain running from farm to Bittner’s Locker in Eureka to you. And when the produce aisle in the grocery store was sparse, our local fruit and vegetable farmers kept our community supplied with fresh, delicious produce at farmers markets and through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions. THE BAD NEWS Now the war in Ukraine is causing huge food prices increases. Global food

shortages are looming. What’s clear is that the old food system was efficient and reliable only as long as there were no disruptions — no pandemics, no wars, no changed climate. Unfortunately, the new normal is things not being normal, sowe can’t rely on the old global food system anymore. THE GOOD NEWS Fortunately, we have a thriving local food systemhere in central Illinois, with many wonderful farmers working hard to put delicious and nutritious food on your table no matter what present or future shocks may disrupt the global food system. No matter if you’re looking for stone milled flour or cornmeal, sweet corn, peaches, pork chops or farm-fresh eggs, you can easily find someone near you on Local Harvest and other websites. Meanwhile, in the spring and early summer, many of those farmers can offer plant starts for the ultimate food security of growing your own. Whether it’s just a pot of rosemary or thyme on your windowsill or a full vegetable takeover of your yard, growing some of your own food is fun, empowering, and gives you the absolute freshest food for peak taste and nutrition.

Heirloom tomatoes at the market

S E E D A N D S O I L

EATING LOCAL FOOD MATTERS

Now more than ever, it’s wise to put your

money where your mouth is

VIRTUOUS CIRCLES OF LOCAL FOOD

BY TERRA BROCKMAN PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE LAND CONNECTION

Local food is more important now than ever before, as a means of improv

8 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

Henry conducts a garden tour

How to Find and Support Local Farmers — and Get Great Food! Local Harvest : www.localharvest.org or www.localharvest.org/peoria-il/csa Illinois Farmers Market :

ing food security while offering many social, economic, nutritional and en vironmental benefits to you and your community. Here are just a few of the far-reaching benefits of local food. It tastes better and has more nutritional value : Fruits and vegetables begin losing nutrients as soon as they are picked, and most conventional produce is picked weeks before you buy it. Because local farmers often harvest their produce just 24 hours before it reaches your table, you get maximum nutrition and great taste. It’s better for the environment : On average, food in the grocery store travels 1,500 miles from field to plate. When you buy from a local farmer, you eliminate most of those miles and the fuel and carbon footprint that goes with them. In addition, local farmers build the soil and enhance the quality of the water, air and wildlife habitat. It’s better for the local economy : Farmers get less than 10 cents for every dollar you spend on food in the grocery store. But when you buy local food, upwards of 70 cents of each dollar goes to the farmer. And thatmoney circulates in our community instead of going into corporate coffers. It pays the farmhands, the local hardware store owner, the workers at restaurants, banks andmore. In addition, growing, processing and distributing food locally creates and sustains community-based jobs. It enhances food security and food safety : Now that we’ve experienced

www.ilfma.org/find-a-market Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois : www.ilstewards.org/buy-fresh-buy-local-illinois

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS! When you buy local food, you literally put yourmoneywhere yourmouth is. By doing so, you ensure that when the next crisis comes — and it will! — you will not only be able to continue eating great food, you’ll be enhancing relationships, strengthening your community, and creating security and stability in an otherwise unstable world. No one can predict what the next shock to the conventional food sys tem will be — whether war, weather, a virus, or something completely dif ferent. But when you know your local farmers, you know where your next meal is coming from.

what happens when national and global supply chains are disrupted by pandemics and war, we know the many points of vulnerability in the conventional food chain. Luckily, we have many local farmers who have created short, direct food chains with only one or two links between you and the farmer. In addition to food security, you have enhanced food safety, since when you buy local food, that food is easily traceable back to the source. Plus, you can easily find a farmer who does not use pesticides or other chemicals. And most farmers markets and CSA pickup locations are outdoors, where there is much less chance of viral transmission, whether COVID or old fashioned cold or flu viruses. It creates commun i t y and connection: Most local farmers encourage you to visit their farms and see what they do to bring food to your table. Many also host tours so you can see the fields, discuss growing practices, and ask questions. Local farmers don’t just grow food; they grow true relationships with you and your family.

Terra Brockman is a speaker, author and founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit. She grew up in an agricultural family, which has farmed land in the Mackinaw River Valley, near Congerville, for generations.

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 9

Last year’s WTVP Roundo was a run-away hit so we’re bringing it back. This year, there’s even more excitement and fun for car connoisseurs and automobile enthusiasts…all to benefit WTVP ! It’s like no other automotive event in Central Illinois, with fun for everyone in the family.

REVVED UP AND READY! ROUNDO Returns to Peoria

REGISTER ONLINE! wtvp.org/roundo

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Contact Tom Zimmerman at 617.671.9149 or Thomas.Zimmerman@wtvp.org

SPONSORED BY:

SATURDAY JUNE 4 (RAIN DATE, SUNDAY, JUNE 5)

SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY JOHN DAVIS Visit with the longtime host of television’s original automotive magazine.

CLUED TOUR STARTS AT 11:30 A.M. Show off your four-wheeled pride and joy on a clued tour of the region (registration required).

CAR SHOW OPENS AT 2:30 P.M. Enter your classic or contemporary vehicle in the public car show (registration required).

WTVP 101 State Street Peoria wtvp.org 309.677.4747 10 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

5K R UN /W ALK

Proceeds benefitting the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute

Saturday, May 7 th 8:00 am Downtown Peoria

All proceeds go to benefit

https://raceroster.com/events/2022/56600/nun-run-for-cancer

Underwriting by

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 11

S E E D A N D S O I L

THE BUSINESS OF BEES

BY PAM TOMKA PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

S ixteen ounces of honey require 1,152 bees to travel 112,000miles to visit 4.5 million flowers. About one-third of the food eaten in the U.S. comes from insect pollinated plants. Honey bees are responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These amazing creatures also are the only insects that produce food eaten byman. With an average life span of just 42 days, the honey bee can accomplish a great deal in a very short time. Luke Harvey, of Chillicothe, has been exploring the honey bee world for about nine years. “I was stung with curiosity while visiting a friend who was keeping bees,” he recalled of his start. “Not knowing anything about them, I stood directly

and generally more about these busy little insects.” His research left him “hooked. I startedwith two hives and never looked back.” Currently, Harvey has about 40 hives. Because of the connection he’s developed with them, “I ammore aware of what is happening in nature around me,” said Harvey. “It makes me better appreciate the change in seasons in Illinois and how beautiful the world we live in can be.” Just like the weather, there are four seasons for a beekeeper. Winter is for gathering information and getting equipment ready. As a hobbyist, this is the ideal time to start your preparations. Spring is busy making certain the bees have enough

in front of the hive, in their f light path, which is the worst place …While standing there, a bee flew out of the hive and stung me in the neck. After nursing my wounded ego, I wanted to knowmore about how a bee knew I was standing out there, why they stung me,

12 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

Beekeeper, Luke Harvey attending his bees

Riverview Road Apiary honey, can be purchased online at riverviewroadapiary.com

food until flowers start blooming and pollen is coming in. The bees also need enough space to growas a hive. Summer is for growing your apiary, or group of hives, if that is what youwant to do, and eventually taking the extra honey the hive produces. Finally, fall is about preparing the hives so they canmake it through our relatively long winter. During spring and summer, Harvey spends about 30 minutes per hive per week—approximately 20hours—which is what he can reasonably manage with his full-time job. As far as sustainability, Harvey says it depends on what kind of business you want. As a hobbyist, he found that he could almost break even if the honey flow was good. Making a business of beekeeping requires far more time and effort. As with any business, it’s important to define what your services will be, to determine what you are going to sell and where you can sell it. Local honey is significantly different than what you often get in a store. Raw honey requires minimal processing and can be good for allergies. Honeycomb and cut comb also contain honey. Besides honey, consumers desire pollen, wax, royal jelly, start-up colonies, etc. Candles, bar lotions and hand creams can be made from the wax. Craftsmen use raw wax for various applications.

Many people require newbees or queen bee replacements during the year. Riverview Road Apiary, Harvey’s business, is onFacebook, withhiswebsite atwww.riverviewroadapiary.com.Healso

Everyone is scared of being stung by the bees, but that is just part of being a beekeeper, which is why bee suits are worn. Generally, bees are only aggressive if you are messing with

‘IT MAKES ME BETTER APPRECIATE THE CHANGE IN SEASONS IN ILLINOIS AND HOW BEAUTIFUL THE WORLD WE LIVE IN CAN BE’

Luke Harvey

their hive. What many people do not know is that between 30 percent and 50 percent of hives are lost every year, due to multiple factors. “Losing even one hive is heartbreaking,” said Harvey. “While they are not really pets, you are responsible for them and they are something you grow attached to ... stingers and all.” Gardener or farmer, city or country dweller, learning about bees and what they do for our world can only make it a better place for everyone.

belongs to Heart of Illinois Beekeepers (www.hoibees.org), which offers support to new and experienced beekeepers alike through monthly programs and mentorship. This year, he began offering classes to beginning beekeepers, to beekeepers who want to learn how to make their own queens through grafting, to non beekeepers who want to see a hive from behind a window or put on a suit and go through a hive with him. He also provides honey-tasting experiences, with product from six locations across the U.S., Mexico and Cuba. Honey terroir, or flavor, is based on location and harvest time. For those who want bees but someone else tomanage them, Harvey offers that service, as well. Hives are not restricted to just rural areas. Peoria allows beekeeping within city limits, for example.

Pam Tomka is the retired director of the Washington District Library and a beekeeper in her own right in unincorporated Washington.

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 13

S E E D A N D S O I L

SAVE IT? SLEEVE IT Patented pole fix prolongs life of countless farm buildings

BY PHIL LUCIANO

Jake Beach (left) and Steve Beach at Savage Building Systems in Varna. Steve Beach owns the business; son Jake works on one of the crews Photo by Phil Luciano

Rotted wooden posts (left) are shown next to a post reinforced with a column repair sleeve, a patented product at Savage Building Systems in Varna Photo by Phil Luciano

14 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

Savage also raises the height of farm buildings to accommodate today’s larger equipment

V ARNA – A construction contractor for decades, Steve Beach saw the same problem over and over. With pole barns and post-frame buildings, posts inevitably would rot, prompting frequent, time-consuming repairs. He came up with an idea, the column repair sleeve. Rather than replace a post, he’d shroud it in galvanized metal. “It solves a huge problem,” said Beach, 52, owner of Savage Building Systems. He and wife Janette raised three children outside Varna, an old farm town with fewer than 400 residents. As a contractor, Beach kept encountering rotted and damaged poles, so he did some research. He found that the Midwest alone is home to an untold number of wooden farmbuildings, held up by all these posts. “Eventually, they’ll all need repair,” said Beach.

ago, Beach bought out the partner and redubbed the business Savage Building Systems, after the nickname – “savage” – his kids jokingly call him.

Previously, that meant digging out a post, then setting a newone in concrete. By that process, a small crew can replace six posts a day, he says.

A POST WILL ROT IN 25 TO 30 YEARS, HIS SLEEVES ARE GUARANTEED TO LAST 1,000 YEARS

He employs two three-man crews, one including son Jake, 20. The jobs are important to Varna, which has little commerce. One crew does post replacements. The other focuses on “building height expansion.” Whereasmany ag buildings were built with a ceiling of 11 or 12 feet, modern equipment often calls for an extra four or five feet. Compared to building a new structure, especially when permits come into play, the sleeves represent a significant savings. In addition, they inject new life into existing structures, therebymaintaining farm heritage. Beach has the sleeves manufactured in Minonk and soon plans to sell them through dealerships. Meantime, he has as many as 30 other products in various stages of design. “We’vedevelopingnewstuff all the time,” he said. More information can be found at www.savagebuildingsystems.com Phil Luciano is a senior writer/ columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP.

Enter the metal sleeve, which allows the damaged post to stay in place, and is about half the price of a wooden replacement. And whereas a post will rot in 25 to 30 years, his sleeves are guaranteed to last 1,000 years. Meanwhile, a crew can do about 30 sleeves a day, makingworkers five times more productive. About six years ago, after getting a patent on the sleeve, Beach and a partner opened Strong Way Systems in a weathered manufacturing building at 305 Pine St. in Varna. Two years

(Left) before image of exposed column beam with rotting at bottom of the column. (Right) column repair sleave installed on column to reinforce existing wood columns

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 15

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MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 17

S P O T L I G H T

SOWING THE SEEDS OF COMMUNITY Budded Mattah is teaching gardening, changing lives on Peoria’s South Side

BY LAURIE PILLMAN PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON, PROV IDED BY BUDDED MATTAH

G rowth is an expected term when talking about gardening proj ects. What Budded Mattah has seen in the last year has been more of an explosion. The nonprofit’s efforts begin with plants, but its goals encompass much more than a simple community garden. Budded Mattah – a biblical refer ence (Numbers 17:8) to Moses’ brother Aaron’s staff (“mattah” is the Hebrew term for “staff ”) budding and pro ducing fruit — is an urban gardening project that eliminates barriers to building garden plots for residents of the southern third of Peoria as a way to address the so-called “food desert” situation that exists there. Residents living in ZIP codes 61602, 61603, 61604, 61605 and 61606 have limited access to a supermarket that provides fresh produce. Many of the residents are also renters that don’t have permission to grow plants where they live. The nonprofit blends the agricultural incubator ideas and proven techniques of Detroit’s urban gardeningmovement to of fer Peor ia residents smal l , affordable garden plots in what used to be vacant lots. For $12, South Side Peoria residents can grow their own food in an open plot at one of Budded Mattah’s gardens. From there, the organization helps

gardeners get started with seeds, soil testing, land tilling and fencing for personal, locked gardens. Then comes the training. Volunteers teach residents the techniques to suc cessfully growplants and increase crop yield. Gardeners are provided infor mation resources regarding nutrition, cooking and preservation of food so they have the potential to launch their own urban farming businesses within a few years. BuddedMattah organizer Ryan Foster said the group startedwith just two lots and two hoop houses, both donated by South Side Mission – “a blessing” – which gave them 20 plots to kick off the project. Volunteers built the beds and planted the seeds. Local businesses jumped right in, helpingwith everything

from expensive blended soil to the plastic for the hoop houses. “Everyone that needs to be there is there at the right time,” Foster said. In March of last year, Foster and others were going door to door to raise funds for fencing and increase awareness about the gardens. It became clear that they were in the right place when 40 families in the 61605 neighborhood expressed interest in the project. Rather than reject potential gardeners, Budded Mattah added a third garden at Harrison Homes. There is more to the project than food production, said Foster. The work that goes into a garden gives residents a sense of self-sufficiency that is

18 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

Budded Mattah organizer, Ryan Foster Photo by Ron Johnson

As fast as Budded Mattah is growing, Foster noted that organizers are using what is already available. “We believe everything is here. We need to connect the pieces.” Thismeans relying onDetroit’s proven gardening techniques, but also on building relationshipswith other groups inPeoria. Theorganizationhas apolicyof workingwith nonprofits, educators and other local groups to increase the value of available offerings. BuddedMattah is based on the belief that collaboration should be cultivated and incentivized so that everyone benefits. There are more than a few examples of this policy already at work. A local community center started a children’s gardening program to teach young gardeners at Harrison Homes. A state university has been tapped to offer a certificate program for urban gardeners, with Budded Mattah finding grants to help pay for the certifications. Local nonprofits and churches have provided land and business development training to residents, while area food banks and soup kitchens are benefiting from produce grown in Budded Mattah’s display garden.

empowering. People and communities grow along with the plants. “Gardening is just a vehicle. The most important part is building hope,” he said. “Relationships aremore important than gardening in our eyes.” That viewpoint is backed by research. Studies have found that communal gardening offers residents a sense of ownership in their community. They can feel pride in beautifying the area while also helping their family and neighbors. The garden itself is a place for people to meet and interact, strengthening budding relationships. Crime rates dip in places where urban agriculture flourishes, in part because growing, harvesting, and sharing food are social activities. The bonds formed while working the land cut through the hopelessness that comes with poverty and food scarcity. Gardening also involves mental, phys ical and creative work that builds indi vidual skills. It takes long-termplanning to turn over a garden so that limited space is constantly in use. On top of the agricultural learning, there’s a finan cial literacy component. Residents can progress from tending small gardens as a food source to harvesting excess crops as an income stream. The project is focused on changing lives.

“Our long-term goals are extremely big,” said Foster. They include a pro duce delivery operation, the creation of canned goods such as gourmet pickles for local stores and restaurants, and expanded teaching programs to incor porate classes on edible yards, native pollinators, and perhaps beekeeping. They are looking into grants for hydro ponic planting and year-round gardens.

THEY CAN FEEL PRIDE IN BEAUTIFYING THE AREA WHILE ALSO HELPING THEIR FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS

A vision is important, but Foster is well aware that sustainable growth is a step-by-step process. “We’re trying to add on a little each year. We started early this winter with plants inmilk jugs. Broccoli and collards were in the hoop houses. The plan is to double garden space this year.” To learnmoreaboutBuddedMattahand its efforts, visitwww.buddedmattah.com.

Laurie Pillman is an author and freelance writer/ editor, based in Peoria

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 19

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AREAMARKETS Meanwhile, there is no shortage of fresh food in central Illinois. Some vital stats on some of the other markets in the area: EAST PEORIA FARMERS MARKET 4 to 7 p.m. Fridays starting May 20 in the Levee District on the Pedestrian Promenade JUNCTION CITY FARMERS MARKET 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays starting May 24 KELLER STATION FARMERS MARKET 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays starting May 4 MORTON FARMERS MARKET 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays starting June 7 at Church Square, 225 E. Jefferson St. PEKIN FARMERS MARKET 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays starting June 2 at the Pekin Park District’s Miller Center PEORIA FARMERS MARKET AT METRO CENTRE 8 a.m. until sold out Monday through Saturday starting May 1 PEORIA RIVERFRONT MARKET 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays starting May 21

F A R M E R S M A R K E T S

FARMERS MARKET SEASON IS UPON US

BY MIKE BAILEY

T here’s a new kid on the block in the central Illinois farmers market scene. PeoriaHeightswill resurrect its farmers market after an absence of several years, with 20-30 vendors setting up shop on the historic Pabst Brewery grounds, 4541 N. Prospect Road, starting on Thursday, May 26, and continuing every Thursday thereafter – 19 Thursdays in all — through Sept. 29. The markets will run between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. and feature a variety of growers, makers, food and drink proprietors, live music, the Heights pedal bus, etc. Therewill be an emphasis on local involvement from those small businesses that have brick-and-mortar operations nearby and so distinguish the Heights as a regional destination. Spaces also will be reserved for local and area not-for-profits looking to bring attention and resources to their causes, and the market will provide opportunities to donate to the Heights’

two food pantries at St. Thomas Catholic Church and Peoria Heights Congregational Church, as well as local school service organizations. Once amonth, themarketswill sport a theme. Therewill be aMeet Your Heroes Thursday featuring first responders, for example. Anothermarketmay showcase

‘WE ARE SITTING IN THE BEST SPOT IN THE COUNTRY’

Julie Bielfeldt

school mascots. Organizers also would like to take advantage of the space the site offers with, say, a disc golf table that allows visitors to try out its wares. The dynamic duo behind the Heights market consists of real estate broker Julie Bielfeldt and Samantha Hutchison, the owner of Bear’s Bites, a dog and cat food operation. They faced multiple challenges in launching.

Samantha Hutchison and Julie Bielfeldt, Peoria Heights Farmers Market coordinators

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First, it had been seven years since the Heights had last hosted a market, that one at Heritage Square. “I’m like, ‘It’s time. Let’s bring it back,’” said Bielfeldt. But did the interest and energy exist among others to do that? Village leadership was enthusiastic about the idea, offered its full cooperation, and effectively answered the question. Second, they needed a location. Bielfeldt believed the “perfect” spot was the parking lot at the Pabst facility. She made her pitch and found a receptive audience in KDB Group CEO Greg Birkland, the building’s owner, who made the property available. Finally, they didn’t want to compete with other farmers markets, so they called upon other local organizers to see if conflicts could be avoided. Junction City agreed tomove its event to Tuesdays, with Keller Station on Wednesday, the Heights on Thursdays, and Peoria’s RiverFront Market on Saturdays.

“Now you can buy fresh, buy local throughout the entire week,” said Bielfeldt, who didn’t have to be sold on the value of that. She likened it to “a string of pearls.” Indeed, when you factor in the distance most food travels before it ends up on a grocery store shelf and ultimately on a plate at home – it tends to be about 1,500miles in theUnited States — the nutrition loss as a result, the supply chain snarls that have exacerbated all of that, it made Bielfeldt wonder why there aren’t more farmers markets. “Living in theMidwest, we are so close to our food source,” she said. “We are sitting in the best spot in the country.” Meanwhile, the opportunity to pro mote community, socialization, the out doorsmade thewhole thing a no-brainer, she and Hutchison said. “There’s an intimacy to a farmers market,” said Bielfeldt. “It’s about relationships. Everybody’s got each other’s back. That’s community to me.

The Heights has had its successes. We just want to build on that. “Hopefully, people will stay and enjoy the Village. They’ll walk around and eat and shop … The Village is not franchise row. We areMom& Pop shops. I want to be very respectful of what we have here.” “That’s what it’s all about, supporting each other,” said Hutchison. While a number of vendors already have signed on, theHeights is looking for high-quality, non-duplicative operations. “It’s more important to us to have local, homemade, handmade,” saidHutchison. The cost to reserve a full-season spot is $150, for a single market $10. “No pun intended, there has been an organic nature to pulling this together. It has just been a pleasure,” added Bielfeldt. “There are some things that just seem right, and this is one of them.”

Mike Bailey is editor in chief of Peoria Magazine

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 23

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G U E S T C O M M E N T A R Y

WHEN EVERYONE HAD A GARDEN

BY MARCELLA TEPLITZ

Grandmother Henrietta Brown, enjoying her spirea

I can’t remember a time growing up when I was not surrounded by beautiful flora. From a very young age, I was immersed in flowers, vegetables and beautiful trees. As they grew, so did I. My parents owned a modest home but we were fortunate to also have a good-sized yard on all four sides of the house. Additionally, they also owned a vacant lot across the street. It was primarily devoted to strawberries in the summer and watermelon later in the summer and fall. The lot was bounded by a row of peonies that bloomed every spring. Behind it were the railroad tracks, which sometimes brought tramps to our back door for a sandwich or to the watermelon patch to liberate one of my dad’s prize watermelons! The perimeter of the house was planted with many different flowers and flowering shrubs, whichmymother cared for all season. First to greet us were the tulips, quickly followed by beautiful bleeding hearts, spirea and

lilacs. We had a small cherry tree that produced beautiful blooms, followed by delicious fruit. Unfortunately, the tree grew on the property line we shared with the neighbor’s driveway. One day, my father cut down the tree. When I asked why, he said the neighbor claimed it was hers when it bloomed but said it was ours when the cherries fell in her driveway

father’s efforts to save themwith every home remedy that came along, he was defeated. No one was spared. My current home also suffered the ravages of Dutch Elm Disease. One of my neighbors described moving to the neighborhood in 1950 and seeing big elms lining both sides of Randolph Avenue with tree tops touching. She said it was like being in a cathedral.

THE PHYSICAL ACT OF DIGGING YOUR HANDS INTO THE DAMP EARTH AND INHALING THE AROMA RELAXES YOUR CARES AND ALLOWS YOU TO ENJOY LIFE

and got her Buick’s tires dirty. She also claimed the two giant elm trees on the property line until it was time to rake leaves in the fall. Then, the trees and leaves were my father’s. The elm trees were beautiful and we had three more elsewhere on the property, but they all fell victim to the dreaded Dutch Elm Disease which denuded so much of the landscape in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite my

My father had a tomato garden in the back yard. After a long, hot day at the factory, he would come home, grab the salt shaker, disappear into the tomato patch, select one perfect tomato and, after dousing it with salt, eat it where he stood. What a look of contentment. Now, I do the same but with cherry tomatoes and no salt. Not quite the same. All the neighbors had gardens, too – some for beauty, some for necessity to

26 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

Grandmother Henrietta Brown and aunts Clara Howell and Marcella Brown

augment their food supply. One Italian lady planted every inch of her small yard in vegetables, raised chickens and had a hand pump for water in her kitchen. Another neighbor had beautiful round beds of pansies in the spring scattered through his big lawn. Directly across from our home was a garden filled with perfectly tended vegetables and many big cherry trees. The cherries were for the birds. I was the only child in the neighborhood allowed to pick as many cherries as I wanted. How could these memories not influenceme?My devotion to gardening took awhile, since I was immersed inmy very busy, sometimes 24/7 career on the Peoria Police Department. I still work as a private detective but I have committed time formyself and for gardening, which is very important to me. My present home is is a 100-year old plus Victorian with a beautiful wraparound porch, as well as a sunroom out back. These are my favorite places to be. Inspiration is always present in

For those who cannot garden themselves, I suggest a walk or drive through a public park or beautifully landscaped neighborhood. Spring and summer bring carloads of elderly people to our neighborhood. We so enjoy sharing. Another way to enjoy gardening is to read about it. Famous gardeners such as Gertrude Jekyll wrote extensively on her experiences. My new favorite, Writing the Garden: A Literary Conversation Across Two Centuries by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers is a treasure trove of beautiful prose by women who write as well as they garden. Something to aspire to.

both locations. My home is in Peoria’s oldest historic district. Fortunately, most of the neighbors are gardening enthusiasts, as well. Our neighborhood is the Randolph Roanoke Historic District and Resi dential Association. The architecture and enormous trees provide a dramatic backdrop for stunning floral displays. We own and maintain a private park, which contains our butterfly garden. Additionally, we own and maintain the decorative flower baskets mount ed on our five-globe Victorian light fixtures. This month, we will be dividing and sharing our perennials and de voting time to a new pocket park for a community vegetable garden. Gardening has something for everyone. The physical act of digging your hands into the damp earth and inhaling the aroma relaxes your cares and allows you to enjoy life. Creating a garden and caring for it throughout the season provides a certain satisfaction or, in failure, reason to say, “Better luck next year!”

Marcella Teplitz is a former Peoria City Councilwoman, former Peoria Police officer, current president of the Randolph Roanoke Residential Association, and an avid inner-city gardener.

MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE 27

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D I S H A N D D R I N K

FROM GROUND TO GROWLER Metamora residents open brewery on the family farm

BY PHIL LUCIANO PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

M ETAMORA — After five generations, the Sommer farm has switched its agricultural focus. For more than a century, the emphasis was corn. Now it’s hops. That’s the vision of Adam Sommer, an electrician who wanted to become a math teacher but instead became a brewer. He and his family have turned the Sommer homestead into Evergreen Farm Brewing. “This wasn’t really planned at all,” said Sommer, 40. Alas, his change in careers not only is keeping the family’s farming legacy alive but allowing him to still follow his passion for teaching. He hopes

George Sommer – Adam Sommer’s great-great grandfather – started farming about two miles south of Metamora in 1858, the same year Abraham Lincoln did his last legal work at what is now known as the Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site. The Sommer farm’s precise address is 1179 Douglas Road, along what is more commonly known as the Metamora Washington Blacktop. George planted on what would eventually grow to become a 225 acre operation, mostly corn. The family always tried to stay apace with innovations. The farm was one of the first in the area with indoor plumbing and electric lights, the equipment for which is still evident today.

that by offering innovative beers, he can connect customers to the farming process involved in brewing, an educational but tasty lesson underscored by Evergreen’s motto, “From Ground to Growler.”

Adam Sommer, Evergreen brewmaster

30 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE

Patrons can enjoy the Evergreen local brew in the beautiful rustic interior or on the patio

An early brewing effort came at the hands of Adam Sommer’s grandfather, Albert Sommer. He eyed the first outbuilding on the property, a wash house boasting a gas-powered washing machine. The cellar, long used for storage, seemed to Albert Sommer like a fine place to brew beer, so he did. Adam Sommer grew up on the farm, soaking in the rich heritage. From his dad, Clint Sommer, he learnedof thehard work needed to keep a farm running. Often, he would ride along when his father worked fields in his tractor. “I had grown up watching my dad work a full-time job and be a full-time farmer at night,” Adamsaid. “I remember many nights as a little kid, falling asleep in the tractor and waking up every time we hit a bump big enough to bang my head on the window.” Just before Sommer hit his teen years, his dad realized he could no longer compete in the modern world of mega farms. So, in 1994, he sold off most of the acreage but kept the family home and several outbuildings. Eight years later, Adam Sommer married Melissa Keogel, living first in Creve Coeur before moving to Peoria Heights. Two children then came along — Houston, now 13, and Zoey, 12. Meantime, Adam had a solid career as an electrician. After 14 years of that, he got the bug to teach, so he enrolled at Illinois State University to study mathematics with the goal of becoming an educator. But then, “our whole world changed,” Sommer said. His mom, Gresha, died in 2015, prompting Adam and Melissa Sommer tomove the family to the farm. In 2019, he got his degree. But as his wife

took a job selling window treatments, work that would require her to travel during the day, he decided to jump off the teaching track. “With the changes, I started thinking about what would work best for the family, but also to continue our 150 plus years of family farming,” he said. “My wife and I have always enjoyed destination breweries and wineries, so we decided to give it a shot.” With some advice from Bearded Owl Brewery in Peoria, Sommer started experimenting with brews in the outbuilding cellar where his grandfather had done the same decades ago. Upstairs, where the wash machine once rumbled, he created a tap room with a small bar. To accommodate more visitors, he fashioned a tasting room from the old, nearby shop building. There, on a long workbench, his ancestors would cut timber into boards to construct and maintain the farm’s structures. The building also served as the storage area for farm tools, many of which remain hanging on the walls, serving as an informal ag museum. Pitchforks, scythes, fans, vises and all sorts of mechanisms dot the wood-slat walls, as does a flat screen TV that flashes with historic photos of the farm and the Sommer clan. Near a wood-fire stove, hops hang from a wire, drying above the cracked concrete f loor. At scattered tables and chairs, visitors can sip beers and wonder what those hops will taste like as a Sommer beer. He works seven days a week, some times 15 hours a day. Surrounded by family, he doesn’t mind.

“Working all the time is just what you do on a farm,” he said. “I can work a 15-hour day and it doesn’t feel as long as a nine- or 10-hour day working as an electrician, just because it’s home.” Plus, he has help in what has become a family operation. The brewery is open from noon to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Melissa Sommer helps out after work on Friday and all day Saturday. There isn’t enough room for a dishwasher yet, so all the glasses get cleaned by hand, a chore the kids help with. Plus, Clint Sommer, 64, is always at the ready, usually as a smiley greeter. “My dad covers PR, hanging out in the tasting room and telling the farm history stories,” Adam said. He plans to expand soon. Outdoor seating is to be added this summer, and grain bins will be repurposed as additional tasting rooms. “We want people to feel like they can spread out, have their space, and enjoy being outside on the farm,” Sommer said. “As progress allows, we also have another building drawn up that will house a much larger brewing system and resemble an old chicken coop that was on the farm.” He also plans to experiment further with beer recipes, following the motto of “From Ground to Growler.” “We are already including a lot of specialty ingredients grown on the farm and plan to expand those,” he said. Phil Luciano is a senior writer/ columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP.

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