Frog Log

Eliot Coleman, one of the early spokespersons for the organic movement and now a "revered icon", has been in the news lately. His daughter, Melissa, has just published a memoir of her life growing up on Coleman's remote homestead in the early '70's, as he and Melissa's mother, his then-wife, honed the skills that would enable him to write three popular how-to books, host radio and public television shows, and guide countless apprentices who made the pilgrimage to his working farm near the Maine coast. From the reviews I have read, Melissa Coleman's book, titled "This Life is in Your Hands", offers an unsentimental account of growing up with a father who was unswervingly committed to the execution of his ideals. Eliot Coleman embraced the back-to-the-land/voluntary simplicity ethic with a single-minded determination that enabled him to spend twelve-hour days felling trees and clearing stumps with only an axe, hauling water with an oxen-yoke, bui...

This article was written by Ken King, Frog Holler's founder. Although Ken passed away in 2009, his vision continues to inform and guide. Measuring Up to Mother Nature, by Ken King (First written in 1980, republished for the People's Food Coop "Connection," January 1990) (PFC Connection Editor’s Note: The following essay originally appeared in the January 1980 issue of The Alchemist, a now-defunct local Ann Arbor publication whose content and design could be described as falling somewhere between The Observer and The Agenda, two current area publications. Ken King is a local organic grower who has had a long working relationship with PFC. He and his family have artistic interests as well – some of you may remember them performing at the last PFC meeting along with other musicians. Although first published ten years ago this month, the following could easily seem to have been written within the last few weeks. Ken’s statements are as appropriate at the beginning of ...