I got horrible news this morning. My good friend Alvin died during this last minor geomagnetic disturbance. This is a huge loss for much of the WNC farming community, although I'm sure that some of the pastured pork producers are breathing a sigh of relief now that the best of them has passed. And he was the best.
Alvin operated two farms in McDowell County, NC with the help of his sister. One farm was devoted to his hogs, and he raised chickens and all of his animal feed on the other one. His death was unexpected, and now June is left to figure everything out on her own.
Alvin and I were allies. He called ;me Ms. Murphy, and I called him Mr. Lytle. We both wanted to set up educational venues for preparing the next generation of farmers. We worked together successfully to set up the Enka-Candler Farmer's Market as an educational nonprofit with free weekly demonstrations but his dream was to offer larger workshops at his farms. Helene caused extensive damage to his properties though. I helped him clear debris from his fencing. When his power was restored after weeks, his sister's house at the hog farm caught fire and their dog died. I found freezer space for some of his pork and when his situation was settled, I got him a replacement freezer. He was waiting for a USDA grant to rebuild the dam for his irrigation system, and I was going to help him with that as soon as he had the money for materials.
I'm grieving for my friend, but I'm also grieving for the fact that he passed before his larger dream came true. Alvin had so much to share and now his knowledge is lost.
I did not expect to lose Alvin. He was a strapping man and wasn't what I would consider old. It just goes to show that our time here is short and unpredictable. We can't wait to teach the next generation. We need to learn and teach as much as we can now.
Alvin operated two farms in McDowell County, NC with the help of his sister. One farm was devoted to his hogs, and he raised chickens and all of his animal feed on the other one. His death was unexpected, and now June is left to figure everything out on her own.
Alvin and I were allies. He called ;me Ms. Murphy, and I called him Mr. Lytle. We both wanted to set up educational venues for preparing the next generation of farmers. We worked together successfully to set up the Enka-Candler Farmer's Market as an educational nonprofit with free weekly demonstrations but his dream was to offer larger workshops at his farms. Helene caused extensive damage to his properties though. I helped him clear debris from his fencing. When his power was restored after weeks, his sister's house at the hog farm caught fire and their dog died. I found freezer space for some of his pork and when his situation was settled, I got him a replacement freezer. He was waiting for a USDA grant to rebuild the dam for his irrigation system, and I was going to help him with that as soon as he had the money for materials.
I'm grieving for my friend, but I'm also grieving for the fact that he passed before his larger dream came true. Alvin had so much to share and now his knowledge is lost.
I did not expect to lose Alvin. He was a strapping man and wasn't what I would consider old. It just goes to show that our time here is short and unpredictable. We can't wait to teach the next generation. We need to learn and teach as much as we can now.
