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May, 2005
Dear MaryJane,
How serendipitous for me to discover your website while searching for organic travel food. I had been searching for days to find a way to maintain our organic diets while on vacation in the Caribbean. While I was only looking for a couple of items, I was overcome by the feeling that I NEEDED EVERYTHING!! But, being new to your products, I decided to exercise some restraint and try a couple of items. We were thrilled!
In addition to loving your food, I truly loved the magazine, reading it from cover to cover, some articles twice. It was so refreshing to read about people who share a common view of food and its place in the world (and our relationship to both). Folks around me, instead of applauding our decision to raise our toddler on a purely organic diet, criticize us and view us as being “snobby.” Thank God that there are people like yourself and your readers who can offer an alternative perspective.
Also, please let me take a moment to express my enjoyment with your magazine. It brought me back to my youth, growing up in Wisconsin (I have since moved to Chicago, which is far beyond an urban jungle). In those days, my grandmother grew every vegetable that we ate all summer long and canned the extras and made homemade candies. My mother (who passed away in 1986) was skilled in the arts of crocheting, knitting and tatting ... none of which I learned. Reading about folks who still practice those arts has renewed my hope of reconnecting with my lost roots.
Thank you so much for providing this opportunity, this wonderful service, and for bringing like-minded people together so that we may all learn and benefit from one another.
Warmly,
Nicole Richardson
Chicago, Illinois
Dear MaryJane,
I wanted to let you know that your story will be included in my next book, “A Mile in Her Boots: Women Who Work in the Wild.” There are 35 stories in the collection, some by established authors and some by first-timers, whose professions include biological fieldwork, river running, falconry, atmospheric science, trail work, cattle ranching and more.
Jennifer Bové
Editor’s note: Jennifer’s latest book as of 2005, “The Back Road to Crazy: Stories from the Field,” was released in March. The University of Utah Press says: “Strap on your snake chaps and slap on some sunscreen as you head out to the field with biologist Jennifer Bové and her colleagues engaged in fish and wildlife studies, botany and resource management. This exuberant and entertaining collection of stories from the frontlines of research ranges from Myanmar to the Midwest, from Argentina to Alaska, and many points in between, offering tales that are by turns thoughtful, funny, tragic and just plain crazy.”
Hi MaryJane,
We just wanted to send a note of thanks. Patrick and I discovered your foods at REI a few months ago. We were impressed by the quality of ingredients ... and amazed by the taste! It’s so hard to find good-tasting, vegetarian meals that are quick and easy to prepare while backpacking (and don’t weigh a ton!). MaryJane’s foods seem to have it all!
Last week, we started hiking the John Muir Trail in the Sierras. Each night, we couldn’t wait to see what MaryJane had in store for us to eat! What a treat — to have great-tasting, easy-to-prepare food each night! Thank you!!
Unfortunately, I had to return home after a week to my work as a nurse … but Patrick is still out there hiking, being sustained by your incredible food. We just wanted to send you a note to let you know how much we appreciate all of your hard work.
Karen McClish and
Patrick Satterfield
San Francisco, California
Dear MaryJane,
This week we met two young men from Salt Lake City who summitted Fremont Peak (elevation 13,745 ft.) in the Wind River Range, Wyoming, the same day that we did. They were hiking out of the wilderness earlier than planned, and when asked why, they responded that they were sick of their backpacking food.
After I told them about your Outpost Food that is not only light to pack but tastes great, they set off down the trail chanting “MaryJanesFarm” so they could remember to check your website before their next backpacking trip!
Your friend,
Cindy Jo Korfhage
Hi MaryJane,
I first saw the Egg Issue of “MaryJanesFarm” magazine while waiting in line at my local Whole Foods Market. The cover was pretty, but since I do not eat eggs, I did not pick it up or even really give it more than a glance. The next issue must have been Shoulder to the Wheel, and I did give it a second glance — in fact, I bought it, took it home, read it from cover to cover in one day, ordered some food (treats really), and ordered the back issues!
Why did it strike me so deeply? I think the feeling of other women wanting to be and actually being “farmgirls” is more than a charming idea for me.
As a child, I read the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder series and anything else I could on pioneer life — I wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder instead of the Laura that I am. I wanted to make my own bread from wheat I grew and ground. I wanted to churn my own butter and spin my own yarn. Unfortunately, I was being raised in a Los Angeles suburb with a concrete swimming pool instead of dirt and grass in my backyard, with a mother that did not cook anything that did not come out of a box or can. Camping for my family meant staying at a Motel 6 in Palm Springs.
I did ask my grandmother to teach me to crochet and knit. In my 20s, I took a class on spinning yarn, and it came so easily that the teacher thought I must have done it before. I did learn how to cook from scratch, and although I have never grown any wheat, I have ground wheatberries to make bread. But somehow I still was unable to break free of my city upbringing. By my 30s, I had “put away my childish things” and the only thing “pioneer-ish” that I still did was cook almost everything from scratch. I was too busy supporting my own family and being a single mother trying to keep our heads above water to even think about farming or the rural life or anything but money for next month’s rent.
Now I am on the downhill slide to 50. Four years ago, I married a wonderful kind man who actually asked me shortly after we were married what “I” really wanted to do! And guess what — I want to live on a farm. Raise sheep or alpacas to shear and spin into my own yarn. I want to grow my own vegetables and bake my own bread and sit on the porch as I age and watch my grandchildren play in the garden. Nothing has really changed since I was 10! So our plan is to retire in a few years and start learning about this life we want to create. My husband would be happy in a small town, but I don’t want to see another house from my front porch! So we will compromise and find a lively community near a college town where we can buy enough land to give me some breathing space.
This is where MaryJanesFarm comes in. Reading about other women (and men) that want this too makes it seem real and possible. Not just a pipe dream, but something truly attainable in this lifetime! There are wonderful ideas and crafts, but the stories about the other women are what keep me coming back. There is a warmth in how the magazine is presented — a “down-home-y-ness” that I crave in my daily life. I can live vicariously through these women’s stories and I can learn how they manage to make this life work for them. And I can dream about doing the things you write about. That is what I get from your magazine, a chance to dream, and a model to plan with.
So basically, this whole long-winded note is really a thank you to you and your staff for all of your hard work and time. You put together a wonderful magazine. Thank you for helping me find my dreams again!
Blessings & joy,
Laura Garrett
Moorpark, California
Bright blessings to all those at MaryJanesFarm!
I can’t begin to explain what MaryJane’s lovely enterprise means to me. Since first finding MaryJanesFarm, I have begun to think about simplifying and how to add more meaning into my life. My 5-year-old daughter, Emmeline, and I are going to attempt a garden this spring, and chickens may not be far behind. The magazine inspires me! I love the work ethic that is displayed; it make me want to be better than I am. And isn’t that what we all look for in our friends?
My greatest desire is to attend the Pay Dirt Farm School and learn to get my hands dirty. Probably won’t happen this year, but perhaps next year. I’m tired of “shopping” vacations.
I’d just like to thank everyone involved in MaryJanesFarm.
With love and dreams,
Tracy Jasnowski
Amherst, New Hampshire
Dear MaryJane,
In one of your earlier magazines, there was a picture of you in your garden wearing a coral long housecoat that looked to be made from a quilted diamond pattern. I have looked high and low for coral fabric in a diamond quilted pattern. Was this something you made, and if so, where did you get the fabric? I wanted to make this for a dear friend of mine. I was introduced to your magazine by this dear friend, and I absolutely love it.
Thank you,
Maria Malding
Dear Maria,
Ah, my lovely housecoat. Unfortunately, it’s an antique that I found in perfect condition for only $10! I rue the loss of good fabrics. When I was a young girl, we could buy absolutely any fabric, and for only 27 cents a yard! I haven’t seen fabric like the quilted pattern used in my housecoat for years. But I have 1983 coral pink Mercedes, painted by my son that runs on biodiesel grown at my farm!!!!
Good luck with your project! I wish I could help you.
MaryJane
Hi there,
I ordered some of your dried meals for our boat prior to a sailing round the world record attempt. We were in France, and you in Moscow, Idaho — it wasn’t easy, but we did it! This record was done in a singlehanded way, which means that our skipper was to sail the boat, obviously as fast as possible, maintain the boat, do the navigation, send us some media material, and feed herself to keep her energy level up. This is where you did real good, even though you weren’t there!
The feedback from Ellen after her trip was awesome, and all to your credit! Nothing is a more delicate subject than food for solo sailors. Often, you have so many things to do for hours on end that you end at some stage having to make a choice between eating a meal or sleeping for 20 minutes. The level of carbos, proteins and fat you take per meal has to be as high as possible because you don’t know when your next meal will be, and you will never be able to take as many calories as you have just burnt.
The past has forced us to try various brands; some were okay, others less okay. You guys passed the test with high marks, and the doctor that did the first check on Ellen after the finish line was very pleased with her physical condition ... that must mean something!
I thought I would let you know that we were very happy to do business with you and look forward to more in the future. And that to see a high level of nutrition in dried foods topped by organic quality, we are very impressed.
Thanks again for a good job done. Take care.
Oli Allard
Team Ellen Project Manager
Dear MaryJane,
My husband and I have really enjoyed your products over the last two years. Last year I ordered a big boxload of items to take with us on our October vacation, including a pound of your garlic. We are real garlic fans, and we enjoyed it very much. I thought we had used it all. Last week, more than eight months later, I was looking through my pantry to see what I wanted to order from you, and there in the bottom of the box under a bag of your black bean dip was ONE head of garlic. I couldn’t imagine that it would still be good, because when you leave supermarket garlic for a couple of months here in Florida, it simply dries up. Well, I used the garlic that evening and it was as tasty as when it had first arrived! Talk about long lasting quality!!!
Best Regards,
Patti Millison
Dear MaryJane,
I ordered the directions for making the Knitted Care Wraps a while back. I’ve completed one myself and am working on another, but that is not the good news. I teach a high school Sunday School class at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Just before Christmas, I taught everyone in the class how to knit, and they are now working on their own leper bandages. Both females and males learned the techniques, and some of them bring their bandages every Sunday to work on during class. I think we all found the study of Biblical lepers to be a bit of “old news,” but the introduction of the knowledge that leprosy still exists today startled many. Passing on the art of knitting to a new generation was even more gratifying when their new talent could be put to such good use. Thank you for helping make this possible.
Sincerely,
Karen Whitley
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Some Letters to Us “snippets”
“Your magazine both calms and inspires.”
— Karen Russell, Augusta, Kentucky
“I just discovered your wonderful magazine. Sat down last night and read it cover to cover. I feel that I have finally found a home for my thoughts and feelings. Thank you for making me feel that I have found a place for me.”
— Karen Jones
“I have been searching in vain for a good old-fashioned farmgirl community and have not found it until now, with you. Happy happy, joy joy!”
— Rose, Santa Barbara, California
