By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-918274.mp3
St. Johns, MI – Thousands of people are expected in St. Johns this weekend for the city's annual mint festival. They'll meet vendors from in and around "Mint City U.S.A." to sample their products. For two local farmers, this year's crop is especially sweet. One year ago, siblings Jim and Linette Crosby faced eviction from the farm their great-grandfather started nearly a century ago. But today, they're back in business, running the nation's oldest family-owned mint farm.
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Every August, the green fields of Clinton County burst forth with aromatic delight. With the mint harvest comes a torrent of visitors who descend on the city of St. Johns for the festival that goes back 26 years.
And so it was one year ago. But while nearly everyone in town was reveling in history, Jim and Linette Crosby were losing their heritage.
"It was an incredibly painful day," Linette recalls. "There was a cloud over us that, oh my God, how are we going to get through this?"
For the Crosbys', August 2009 was the end of a three year battle to keep their farm. They'd fallen on hard financial times, they were in foreclosure, and a judge had signed their eviction order. But along the way, many of the siblings' friends had rallied to their cause. The Crosbys' held a benefit concert at their farm to coincide with the festival. But it hadn't been enough to counter the legal action against them. The end finally came on August 28th.
"We moved the equipment, we cleaned about the barns, we had a motorcade of 19 or 20 vehicles and took it over to the other property," says Linette. "And at five o'clock, we were in a circle, we thanked each other and told the story how we got there, to the farm, what everyone's personal involvement was. And we drove away."
It seemed the Crosby legacy that had first been planted in 1912 had shriveled. Jim remembers the strange mix of despair and hope that clung to him in the days after the eviction.
"When I was off the farm and we weren't here, driving by and seeing it vacant hurt," Jim says. "But to offset that hurt, I believed -- and I didn't know how I was going to do it - that I was going to continue."
In September, an opportunity surfaced. The law allowed the Crosbys' to bid on their farm. The bank's asking price was $500,000. Jim and Linette countered with $425,000. The bank rejected it. An auction came in December, but the highest bid was lower than the Crosbys' proposal. When that happened, the bank was obligated to offer the property back to the siblings. Linette says it was a victory that came with a cost.
"So we did lose 40 acres to another local farmer, but we reclaimed 100 acres, the house were we grew up, the distillery, the barns," says Linette. "And on February 5th, we closed."
Last weekend, the Crosby Mint Farm saw its ninety-ninth harvest. It was smaller than most years...and frought with headaches.
"It was amazing," says Jim. "We had problems with the boiler twice, chopper went down everything you can imagine, but also we embraced it and made it through. What we've been through...it felt good."
Even in the midst of their foreclosure, the Crosbys' had nurtured a long-term vision of the future. They've drawn up plans for an ecological preserve on their farm that will include walking paths, displays on the history of mint farming, and a healing center. For now, the idea is on hold, as the siblings try to get back to normal. But Linette says it's more important than ever to share their dream.
"We've been given a stewardship, and it's community and it's people who came to our aid and helped us out," Linette explains. "So we really want to share that; it's equally theirs as it is ours."
As he's done for 26 years, Jim Crosby will participate in the St. Johns Mint Festival this weekend. But this time, he'll have a different message for his visitors.
"We're still here," Jim affirms. "Our lights are on, our flags are up and we're going to go and grow and not let anything stop us."
Their open house may prove to be a dress rehearsal for next year. The Crosbys' are already thinking ahead to 2011, when they'll celebrate their centennial harvest.