GRACE IN GROWING

Growing Grace in

Filling hearts and stomachs with home grown produce

Story by Grim Gilbreath Photos by Melanie Krause and courtesy of Theiss Garden

As the rays of the golden setting sun highlight the vibrant green sea of vegetation in the Theiss family garden, the warm summer breeze gently pulses across the leaves like emerald waves flowing over an ocean of caringly cultivated crops. A sense of peace can be felt here as though one were stepping through the gates of an old sprawling country farm, when in actuality, it’s hard to believe that this botanical paradise is located in downtown Marion.

The Theiss family’s gargantuan gorgeous garden is far from most people’s backyard plots, spanning over 12,000 feet and home to dozens of different species and variations of fruits, vegetables and herbs. This tremendous testament to tenacity was started a mere three years ago by the Rev. Paul Theiss upon moving back to the area with his wife Kelsie and their family to take over at the local Lutheran church.

With the aid of one of his flock, he began with a small swath of tilled land in hopes of starting a garden to supply his family with fresh produce. Within a few short weeks, they outgrew the prepared plot and decided to expand to something a bit more ambitious. Over the following year, Paul and Kelsie would not only exceed the family’s vegetable needs but would also go on to supply many others with fresh veggies and herbs. Paul not only just grows vivacious veggies but also has an extensive pickled, canned and fermented line of foods.

This power couple has an extensive arsenal of skills and talents that have aided them in the success of the garden. Paul comes from a long line of green thumbs, spending most of his life gardening. “My earliest memories were of play- ing in the dirt and gardens” he said. His more than 30 years of experience helped him to overcome the area’s black clay soil by implementing a no-till restorative mulch process, essentially creating his own nutrient rich compost sheets and repeating the process over and over to truly add vigor to the crop.

Kelsie’s culinary talents shine brightly through everything she touches in the kitchen yielding a variable cornucopia of fantastic foods. The star of her kitchen would have to be her delicious scratch made bread that was perfected out of necessity during the shortages created at the peak of the COVID lockdowns. Kelsie learned to bake from her father at a young age.

“I fell in love with baking bread,” she said.

She found that while bread may have been in short supply, the ingredients were not. So, after suppling her own family with bread she found a community in desperate need. S

he was more than willing to make them some in the spirit of giving, utilizing the massive garden for many of her culinary needs as well.

When not tending to their flock of church goers or their garden, the ordained duo is in no short supply of community-focused side ventures. They have lent helping hands to a plethora of organizations, including: quilting groups that aid the Lutheran World Relief, helping the local high school with its band and color guard, teaching local youths the ins and outs of gardening and basic horticulture, volunteer fire fighting, taking part in fundraisers and still finding the time to take in a German exchange student.

Their packed schedule isn’t deterring them from planning to contribute to the county fair, where more than a few of their food entries have already won multiple awards, including three tricolored ribbons.

Whether their goal is filling the community’s spirit’s or their stomachs, the Theiss family has flourished almost as quickly as their garden.

As their roots spread to a welcoming community, they continue to endear the hearts, minds and souls of every life they touch, and the only things larger than the pair’s garden are their hearts.