MUM courses:
- Energy Use by Man and Nature
- Hands On Course In Sustainable Technologies
- Permaculture Design Certification
- Sustainability Forest Academy
- Artisan Foods and the Slow Food Movement
- Local Economy
Grinnell College courses:
Resource Center
Underground A Trip To Ernie Hinkles
12-9-2007 Road conditions probably weren't the best for a trip to Iowa city today.
This gastronimic experience of artisinal foods has really grabbed me by the horns though and I felt compelled to go and talk to Ernie Hinkle who has been selling his fruits and special horseradish sauce at the Fairfield farmers market for over 18 years now. Talking with him at that market yesterday he told me that he had forgotten to bring his grapefruits and limes which he had just harvested. He does this in Iowa by having a greenhouse attached to his basement. When I went there I expected to just talk about fruits and greenhouses and growing techniques. Ernie's 83 though and really enjoys recalling the past which gives you a good window into an older generation.
He's led quite an interesting life which he recounted to me for a good while. As I stood on the concrete floor of his old (now unused) chicken house he told me the shorter version of his life. He was about six when the stock market bottomed out in 1929. His family had about four or five acres and they grew all the vegetables they could. He remembers going and delivering those veggies to the only people who still had money, mostly lawyers and doctors. I find it really interesting to see how major events like the great depression shape the way people live and what they rely on.
Walk around Ernie's land and you'll see how he depends on the earth's gifts instead of the middle man that is the agro industrial complex. Then he talked about his life as a tire salesman and an auctioneer. It took a while but I eventually curved the conversation to how in the world he grows lemons, limes, grapefruits, and bananas and he took me through his basement where he had a bathtub with goldfish, and a banana, lemon, lime, and grapefruit tree. It stays relatively warm because of the furnace in his basement and if it gets really cold he has a propane heater that will kick on. It was really cool.
After that we walked around outside so he could point out the various fruit trees and berry bushes and grapes he has. I was pretty cold at that point and happy to climb back in my car and thaw out my frozen feet.