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Across the Fence:  Crosby Mint Farm Update  |
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JessieMae
True Blue Farmgirl
702 Posts
Jessie
Raleigh
North Carolina
USA
702 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 17 2009 : 11:57:36 AM
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GreenStone Farm Credit Services foreclosed on the Crosby Mint Farm Friday afternoon; they were unable to raise the $325,000 they needed to keep it in the family. They went ahead and had the Mint Jam anyway Saturday and Sunday. Not too many people from town showed up...mostly just family and friends of the Crosbys' and family and friends of the bands.
Many thanks to those of you who did what you could and bought products...I wish more people in our town had the same generosity that we've seen from strangers. And my sincerely apologies to those of you who tried to order something via the website and found it out-of-commission. The website was hacked and is now completely overrun by viruses and tracking cookies (please file under the category, "When It Rains, It Pours").
One very painful lesson I've learned is that small-town, country life isn't the idyllic life I had imagined it to be. This whole experience has really shown me who my friends are, and what kind of people some of my so-called "friends" really are. I've learned that this town of 7,485 people is no more community-minded than Cleveland, or Philadelphia, or any of the other metropolises I've lived in...maybe even less so.
Case in point: since I live right on the parade route, I was asked to set up a table and sell "Save the Farm" oil drams as people walked by. I sat there for four hours and sold FIVE DRAMS. My neighbors - the same ones I've bought Girl Scout cookies, wrapping paper, and popcorn from, gave pop cans and canned goods to, and donated cash to every missions trip, foreign exchange voyage, and fundraiser their kids ever particpated in for the last four years - either walked right by me on their way to set up their chairs on my front lawn and wouldn't even establish eye contact when I said hello, OR came up to the table wanting the helium ballons I decorated the table with for their kids or asked if they could use my bathroom.
To say that I was furious is the understatement of the year. After 3 or 4 people asked for the balloons but wouldn't donate any money for the farm, I started SELLING the balloons and put the money I got for them in the jar as a de-facto donation. I can't tell you how disappointed I am that people would happily plunk down $5 for a cheap latex balloon from China but wouldn't willingly give $5 to help a neighbor keep their farm. Sad commentary on life in America today, I guess.
I know farm foreclosures are nothing new around here, and the shock of friends losing their farms has probably worn thin by now. And frankly, I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought, except that these are good people who do a lot for the community. This is not some rich yuppie who bought a house in town with the intention of "flipping" it to make a big profit and got in over their head, or someone who bought a house they couldn't really afford and ran out, leaving a junked-out, abandoned house in the neighborhood. These are people that for 98 YEARS have paid their taxes, coached little league, taught Sunday school, served on PTA committees.... Even while facing the foreclosure of their own farm, the Crosbys are still giving to others! Peppermint Jim donated oil and with Lansing Community College's help created the biggest piece of chocolate mint fudge in the world - which he sold at the Mint Jam for $10 a piece, with all profits going to LCC's scholarship fund. A week before the foreclosure the farm hosted the annual picnic for all the Mint Queen, Miss Mint, and Little Miss Mint pagent candidates at the farm.
And even the people who stopped to talk - but not buy - at my table said things like, "Oh, I know that farm. They host a picnic for my kids' daycare every year," or "I remember going on tours of that farm when I was in school," or "I know them; they're really involved with RESA (the special-education organization in town)." It's not that people don't know the farm or the Crosby's or their place in the community...they just don't care.
The big question today is, "What now?" Frankly, I don't know. The auction will probably be in about 60 days, and there's talk of them buying the house and 10 (of the original 144) acres at the auction to keep as much going as they can. We supporters hope to sit down together in the coming week or so and see what else we can do, starting with getting a new website up and running so that we can continue to raise money and help the Crosbys buy back as much acreage as they can.
Jessie Mae
Farmgirl Sisterhood #134 |
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harmonyfarm
True Blue Farmgirl
785 Posts
Debbie
Southeastern
Ohio
USA
785 Posts |
Posted - Aug 17 2009 : 12:42:14 PM
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If the town is that small then everyone knows what is going on. Maybe they are all in fear, wondering if their place will be next. It's kinda like...you don't know what to say to people at a funeral, ya know? I just don't have any words to make it any easier for you or for the Crosby's. I'm so sorry. Every thing we hold dear to our hearts is being swept away, day by day, moment by moment only to be replaced with who knows what. All we can do now is hang on and try to ride it out.....
I've always been a believer that things happen for a reason that we may not see right away.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and the Crosby's!
Debbie
"If you can't find the time to do it right...how will you find the time to do it over" |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Aug 17 2009 : 12:48:31 PM
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I'm so bummed, Jessie...but way to go selling those balloons! That's a farmgirl mind if I ever knew one!
Please keep us posted. I see it around here all the time and it's heart breaking. No sense in it whatsoever.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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mom2my2boyz
True Blue Farmgirl
56 Posts
Sarah
MN
USA
56 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 08:41:32 AM
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Oh, this makes me so sad! I was hoping that we (all us farmgirls) would have helped save the farm with our purchases of drams. I have been thinking of the Crosby Mint Farm and wondering what had happened, hoping for good news. I'm so sorry for the Crosby family and what they are going through. Jessie, thanks for keeping us posted and for all you did to help. I know you have been a blessing to the Farm.
"So I threw my hands in the air. I was done with Wal-Mart and Wonderbread. I wanted something real."
-Excerpted from Jenna Woginrich's book, "Made from Scratch" a must-read! |
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queenofdreamsz4u
True Blue Farmgirl
3845 Posts
Stephanie Suzanne
Smoky Mountains Tennessee
USA
3845 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 1:00:50 PM
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Here's a shopping cart set up that is working:
http://shop.savethemintfarm.com/
You can call in orders also 1.800.345.9068, ext. 101
It seems to be the common response these days to just say, "I'm sorry that has happened"....just very little empathy is shown.... and then to add insult to injury they wait eagerly for the 75% off sale!!!
I can say without a doubt that I'm NOT that type of person...I do not understand the lack of empathy that is spreading like wildfire in our country....and it began way before the economy starting going south so that cannot be used as an excuse.
I do hope this family can hold on to their home(s) and some land to enable them to stay in business. I do feel that this is just another example of how the hard working taxpayers in this country are NOT helped the way they should be. To make it worse they (we) have to constantly hear about those that are irresponsible and don't pay their taxes (and don't care) are continuously bailed out....
The only thing we can do is not abandon our personal standards and principles in the face of those that never had any.
One last thing that does hinge to this latest election is that the politicians have single handedly created "class envy" among the lower income earners...they are doing a grand job of brainwashing them to HATE those of us that are hardworking taxpayers and have large cash flows. NOT a good thing..considering it is the ones with the large cash flows that create the jobs!!
Well, you can see exactly how I feel about these people losing their farm, their legacy, their everything. It's just wrong!!
I pray they will push to keep as much as they can...this will take a lot of strength on their part to battle with this mortgage holder.
Steph
 Queen of Dreamsz ~ keeper of dream kingdom
* * * * * * www.queenofdreamsz.blogspot.com * * * * * *
"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Albert Einstein ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 7:25:57 PM
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| I had trouble with the website too. I was at the mint fest on Friday afternoon thinking I'd buy directly there and didn't see a THING about the Crosby farm there at all!???? |
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JessieMae
True Blue Farmgirl
702 Posts
Jessie
Raleigh
North Carolina
USA
702 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2009 : 9:11:31 PM
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*UPDATE* After being taken off-line for several weeks due to some particularly malicious hacking, the websites for the Crosby Mint Farm are up and running again. If you were unable to make a purchase before, please try again. If getmint.com doesn't work, you can also try savethemintfarm.com. Both are being checked for new orders daily. If you did make an order before and fear it didn't get through, please call the office at 1-800-345-9068 X 101. The ladies there can verify if they received your order or not.
The citywide Mint Festival is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, which has done a pretty good job of completely ignoring the plight of the Crosby farm. In fact, they had the audacity to sell "Preserve the Farm" drams - which we sell for $5 each but sold to them at a MARKED discount - for $9 each, a substantial markup - at the souvenir booths. They also did a pretty good job of completely ignoring the fact that the Crosbys are a HUGE part of the area's mint legacy. Quote from the Lansing State Journal: quote:
(Brenda) Terpening (the festival's chairwoman and the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce executive director) said this year's festival would be unaffected by a Crosby Mint Farm forfeiture....
Please keep the Crosbys in your prayers, and don't give up on us yet. Eviction papers will be served on Monday, August 24. We'll keep working til they drag us away.
Jessie Mae
Farmgirl Sisterhood #134 |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2009 : 08:57:44 AM
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Jessie, you can turn the tide of foreclosure up until the very last second. I've seen it time and again--I hope they have counsel. My boss is the Master Commissioner (he sells foreclosed properties on the courthouse steps) and the tides can turn, even just as the gavel goes down. Bankruptcy would be a way, and you don't have to lose the farm (literally) to file. They might be good candidates.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
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Across the Fence: Crosby Mint Farm Update |
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Crosby Mint Farm Update
