The day started with a gathering around the picnic tables where Kit, Tim and Sue introduced Smokey House staff, described projects, distributed used t-shirts, and outlined the day’s schedule.  Two brave souls volunteered to go roof-top to help Youthworkers rip shingles off the sugarhouse roof.  The family matriarch, Jane Bainum, and several others went with Ryan to the Conference Barn to start lunch preparations. Friday is CSA delivery day, so Thursday became CSA harvest and pack day.  A group of youngsters to adults donned hats and sunscreen and headed to the gardens to savor nature’s bounty. The final big morning project was prepping the exterior of the locker room to get ready for a whole-family painting party in the afternoon, so 10 folks trooped across the lawn to tackle that job. Alex needed no ladder to reach the roof fascia boards, to the endless amusement of the others.

At mid-day Ryan and his helpers served a sumptuous Mexican-themed feast from our farm: soft tacos with SHC ground beef and tomatoes, salsa from fresh tomatoes, cilantro, red onions, and hot peppers, and a huge garden salad. Dessert was chocolate zucchini cake prepared by office manager Rennie Elliott and Barbara Bainum, and decorated in professional style by Catie and Bevin, two Youthworkers. (Word has since gotten back to us that it was the best meal the family enjoyed during their entire 4-day stay!)

During the afternoon almost everyone ganged up on the locker room, most of which was hit with at least one coat of paint. A few people worked on moving wood into the newly built woodshed at the sugarhouse. A large group gathered fallen apples and took garden scraps to feed the pigs, moved the chicken tractors, and later a group headed to the upper field to see the sheep. The day ended with a circle meeting, lots of hugs and thanks, a large body of work completed, and a greatly energized staff who had thoroughly enjoyed showcasing Smokey House, our work, and the youth we serve. We want to extend a big thank you to the Bainum-Goyne family for all of their hard work, and to Alex Froom for organizing it. We’d also like to encourage others to follow their lead! Where to next year?!

A summer full of work and learning

During the summer of 2010, the White Crew (also known as the Carpentry Crew) began construction on the sugar house woodshed attached to the original foundation. It seemed to be a huge project but we put together a great plan. We began by sighting the support beams for the sugar house woodshed and measuring the distance between each beam area. Once these areas were marked, the crew started digging 5 foot holes and it was dirty work! Two days later and the crew looked like prairie dogs – only their heads showing above ground. Nothing but digging through dirt, taking rocks out, and getting our clothes covered in dirt!

After the holes were finished, sono tubes were placed into the ground and buried to remain for the support beams like giant elephant’s feet underground. After the sono tubes were done, the crew had to use a water level to measure the depth from the floor of the woodshed to the ground. The ground had to be level for the cement to be placed properly and match the floor. Rebar was added to prevent cracks in the cement. The next step, of course, was adding cement to the foundation and filling the sono tubes to make the support beams. C-day, as it could have been called, had everyone nervous, but the crew worked fast and with some expert help from the best truck operator around the concrete flowed into place.

After a day or two of waiting for the cement to dry, the White Crew began building with wood. This is where the fun began. Wooden beams were built for the ceiling and the roof. Next, floor joists were added and a small wooden floor was built in the attic for the sap tank. Rafters were added to the floor joists and a wooden roof was built. Half of our crew spent time on the bottom measuring, cutting, and pulling nails out of wood. As the typical carpenter would say, “Measure twice, cut once.” The rest of the crew enjoyed being on the top hammering the rafters and the roof together. It’s funny to think that some carpenters are not afraid of heights at all, well maybe.

Sheathing came next followed by rows of shingles that nearly sprung into place the crew worked so fast, and the roof was completed. While the sugar house woodshed was being built, the White Crew constantly salvaged wood from the old Lewis Barn at Smokey House. This wood was recycled for building the structure, which is better than buying new wood in terms of thinking green. This was a valuable project for the White Crew because not only did we build a structure and use tools, but we used team work, leadership, mathematics, courage, and trust for each other as carpenters. Soon the woodshed will be completed for the Smokey House property and the spring time fires will burn even brighter thanks to the seasoned dry wood sitting protected by the White Crew’s skilled work.

-Nick
2010 Summer White Crew member

Before all the filming and action of the big day there was a good deal of preparation to do and the Field Studies crew, who would be the stars of the show the following day, spent Wednesday with work pants on learning about and harvesting the foods they would need. Carrots, kohlrabi, cabbage, potatoes, green beans, wax beans, broccoli, zuchini, summer squash, onions and herbs were all selected, collected and washed clean. To wrap up a good day of harvesting the crew spread out over Smokey House Center’s property searching for spearmint. Stream sides are the perfect place to find mint for tea and the best part is letting your eyes stay busy looking at goldenrod gals and watching orb spiders catch their lunch while your nose does all of the searching.

Thursday morning everyone scrubbed the harvest dirt out from under their fingernails and got down to cooking. There were 40 burgers to be made, chickens to be cut, veggies to be chopped and plenty of mixing and spicing as well. A table full of Field Studies Youth, their focus as sharp as the knife blades as they chopped away, others surrounding a big bowl of ground beef to be mixed chatting as old friends, still others dodging smoke rising from the freshly lit charcoal. The cooking was everywhere, and so was Chef Gary as he gave instructions and assistance, teaching students how to use knives, form a good burger, spice a salad, cook a potato.

The food was ready just in time for lunch and the compliments were not made out of kindness alone. The food was excellent and almost every scrap of it had come from our farm.

The Thursday lunch day always ends in the best way possible, everyone sits back, takes a deep breath – and eats!

With Thursday now behind us the film crew, almost invisible in the background all day, has their work to do editing and you can all look forward to seeing the action for yourselves on when Danger Men Cooking airs this fall on GNAT-TV. Check back again for video clips if you miss the episode on TV.

Danger Men Cooking

Serving Thursday Lunch is a summer tradition at Smokey House. Our crews have planned and prepared fantastic meals, like lasagna with garlic bread and green salad, Sloppy-Joe’s (my favorite), Quiche (also my favorite) and crepes with blueberries and cream (everybody’s favorite). Our crews make the food from scratch using veggies from their gardens and meat from our farm. Each Thursday Lunch includes a hot dish, salad, dessert and a beverage.

Next Thursday when Chef Gary joins the Field Studies crew to prepare lunch the theme will be “The All American Cookout”. Gary will lead our crew through the preparation of hamburgers and BBQ chicken using Smokey House meats, potato and pasta salad from our gardens, blueberry cobbler and iced tea with wild mint. And you can watch the whole thing on GNAT-TV.

Danger Men Cooking and the Smokey House Field Studies crew will show viewers how cooking can be a creative outlet that connects us with the important tradition of preparing food for one another. Look for us later this summer on Comcast channel 15, Thursdays and Saturdays at 6:00 a.m., noon and 6:00 p.m. For more information on the show, go to http://www.gnat-tv.org/dangermencooking

The presentation not only discussed the sustainability of hardwood charcoal but also surveyed the history of charcoal, a history which made its mark on the local economy. In a town known for its pure white marble, local millionaire Silas Griffith made his fortune selling lumber and blackened wood in the form of charcoal. Kilns were scattered throughout the area: several were found in the neighboring town of Mount Tabor and Danby; there was even a kiln on the Smokey House property. Today blackened soil is all that remains of most of the once-productive kilns, leaving Smokey House to produce the only lump charcoal in the region.

Crew leader Jeff Scott also shared knowledge of his own, discussing the ups and downs of Biochar. Biochar technically refers to any organic matter that has been carbonized; it usually refers to charcoal applied to the soil. Used thousands of years ago by indigenous groups to aid soil fertility, biochar has met a resurgence in popularity. While further research is needed, Jeff reported that biochar has promise as an effective soil amendment, retaining nutrients and water when applied alongside a natural fertilizer.

The presentation then moved outside, where the Smokey House crew put their lump charcoal to the test, comparing it with briquettes from the grocery store. The Smokey House charcoal prevailed, being ready much earlier than the briquettes. Watching the grass-fed beef cook, a member of the audience recalled, “When I was young I never remember seeing briquettes, we always used natural charcoal.”

You don’t need to look any farther than the grill to see how Smokey House recalls its Vermont roots – lump charcoal is just one of many ways it does so. As the evening came to a close, the Youthworkers helped load up the grills, happy to have shared their charcoal experience with the greater community.

A PDF version of the presentations can be downloaded here.

It was a big week for working with the sheep flock, and the sky blue crew rose to the task. With the help of all of the crews, the flock got moved from pastures on one side of the property to another pasture about a mile away, which involved herding them down the road — always risky business, so many people were at hand to make sure it went well.

After the successful herding, the crew attended to the flock’s hoof care, trimming hooves and giving them a soak.

Check out the photo gallery of the day!

We sell meat by the share, click here for an order form, and also have some available at the farm by the cut. Give us a call to see what is available.

Click here for an order form.

Our blueberries are also available through this local retailer –
New Morning Natural Foods – Manchester VT