A monthly feature written and photographed by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist
Hal Calbom
Production Notes
people+ place Truckin’: Yvonne Krause
Harvest
“I got into the produce business through the back door,” she says.
Home I l o v e d g e t t i n g t o k n o w the indefatigable Yvonne Krause. She reminded me that farmers markets are ultimately about bringing the harvest home. My grandparents lived on adjacent streets — Fir and Field Streets in Longview — and shared an alley between them. I could walk in a minute from backyard to backyard. Those backyards were gardens, not grassy lawns. Mostly vegetables with a few flowery adornments around the edges, they were, above all, functional. Food for the family. There wasn’t a swing set, tetherball pole, or gas barbecue in sight. I knew both sets of grandparents had been raised on farms, so assumed this was family tradition. But I noticed most of the other houses had gardens off the alley, and other habits in common, too. The state of the garden became a kind of barometer for the state of life in general. The subject of the weather, rather than just superficial filler when you didn’t have anything more important to talk about, was a vital source of daily interest and conversation. Rain or shine, the gardeners worked hard to give each of their rows a fighting chance, and rooted them on, literally, from seedlings to supper table. Then there was canning. A kind of obsession, it seemed to a kid, often involving trips to a big steamy building full of boiling cauldrons and sweaty people. We schlepped crates home in the family station wagon or pickup to winter in our garages, pantries and basements.
Growing up in Vernonia, part country girl, Yvonne Krause raised a barnyard full of animals. Pigs were the favorites, hungry all the time. Yvonne began stopping by a nearby produce stand, gleaning any vegetables or fruits past their prime and headed for the compost pile out back. The owners of Jo’s Country Market — still a fixture in Clatskanie — took to the shy teenager and offered her a part time job. Yvonne grew up, bought Jo’s, and sells seasonal produce there today. What’s more, she anchors a sophisticated network of growers, truckers, and marketers stretching up and down the river. Logging thousands of miles on country roads, loading hundreds of pounds of fresh produce, displaying dozens of varieties on the grass, under a tent — their common destination is the local farmer’s market. I think it’s even more American than apple pie. After all — no market, no apples. No apples, no pie.
NICE TO MEET YOU Yvonne Krause resides
Clatskanie, Oregon occupation
Behind-the-Wheel Trainer and Dispatcher; Owner, Jo’s Country Market from
Vernonia, Oregon
known for
Being a bus driver and a
“hugger” reading
Stephen King, usually
Spending time with family and in the Nehalem River
for fun
Going to outdoor concerts, walking in the early morning
recommends
HC: What’s the attraction of a farmers market? YK: I think the fact that everything is so fresh. People can taste the difference. And the produce keeps so much longer. cont page 20
My more generous older soul realizes these were generational rituals, yes, but also testaments to survival. Raised through The Depression, that generation husbanded (and wived) its food like money. They fed their children not just from the market or corner store, but from their own back yards, root cellars, tin cans, and Mason jars. ••• Columbia River Reader / August 15, 2021 / 19
