Clint dudley
“I saw what a tough life they had and I decided I didn’t want to work that hard,” said Dudley.
But when Dudley retired in 2002 after a few years as a Metro bus manager in Seattle, he started thinking about some of the things he remembered and enjoyed about small towns and small farms. He was particularly intrigued with the idea of growing and eating his own food.
So he and his wife, Cindi, eventually found and bought a lovely, secluded five acre parcel off of Parcell Road in Kingston. The property had formerly been used for cattle, a few milk cows and an abundant crop of flowers. Many of the flowers are still thriving on the property today.
While the couple maintained a small garden in Seattle, their real farming debut occurred when they began farming in earnest on their Kingston property.
Today, they raise a number of crops on their farm, including corn, squash, tomatoes, raspberries, currants, greens, and other crops but they specialize in apples and kiwis. Turkeys, geese, ducks and pigs, broiler and laying hens are also raised on the property.
But back when they started farming, the Dudleys decided to become part of the Kingston farming community. When they first attended the Kingston Farmers Market meetings, there were several positions open on the board of directors, one of them being the presidency. After being assured that the president didn’t have many duties besides presiding over meetings, the Dudleys agreed to become co-presidents.
“We’ve always had a great board but there were a number of people doing a lot of little jobs, so I consolidated them, created the market manager position and we both quit as president and I became the manager in 1997,” says Dudley with a grin.
When he first joined the Market, Dudley says it had more crafts than produce but that has reversed over the years. Produce vendors increased by about 20 per cent a year and the combined craft and produce vendors grossed $220,000 last year.
“I think we’ve benefited by still being pretty rural with small farms around here in Kingston, along with the interest in organic farming principles, and a renewed interest in people wanting to buy locally produced food,” Dudley said.
He also credits the traffic to and from the Kingston ferry with helping the Market since its location is right next to the terminal. He feels that small local farms directly serving a local population is the way to get the best, freshest, and safest food and that food arriving from elsewhere has sometimes gone through many hands and may have been mingled with many sources, locations, and unknown bacteria.
“This way you know who grew or raised it and where your food came from,” says Dudley.
This weekend, there are two great reasons to head to Kingston. The Kingston Farmers Market is sharing the spotlight with one of the best summer shows in Kitsap. The Kitsap Arts and Crafts Festival ( www.kitsapartsandcrafts.com ) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in two locations there this Friday and Saturday (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.), and Sunday (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
For this Saturday only, the Farmers Market ( 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.) will move a short walking distance south along the waterfront from its usual location at the Mike Wallace Park, which will be used for the arts and crafts show. Weather forecasts are indicating exceptionally hot weather for this weekend so spending some time at a good farmers market and arts and crafts show right next to the water should be a terrific way to help beat the heat.