Ephrata chamber honors area farmers

Appreciation breakfast revived after five years

EPHRATA - Evan Sperline noted during the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce Farmer's Appreciation Breakfast that if participants enjoyed their meal, they could thank a farmer.

If not, joked Sperline, the breakfast's master of ceremonies, they could blame the cooks.

The chamber revived its appreciation breakfast at the Ephrata Recreation Center Saturday morning after several years, and community members throughout the Ephrata and Grant County community offered greetings and French toast to show their gratitude to the farming community.

Breakfast chairs Lester Mather and Dorothy Weitzel said they thought more people would come earlier than the day, but felt the community had gotten behind the event.

"It originally was a breakfast, but then they changed it to a dinner for a couple of years, and they didn't really get the reception they did as farmers," Weitzel said. "It's building it back up. It hasn't happened since they had three years of dinners, and then they just quit. It's difficult getting it back in again, to people to get used to it."

Other areas have offered farmer appreciation events, Weitzel added, noting it's time the Ephrata chamber got involved again for the greater Ephrata area and the northern part of Grant County.

Entertainment was provided by the Line Dancing Grannies, under the direction of Laura Paulson, and members of the Ephrata High School Choral Group, under the direction of Tim O'Donnell.

Ephrata High School agriculture instructor Brian Ellis provided an FFA and Fat Stock report, and Allen Smith provided an update of 4-H activities and report.

The Conservation Farmer of the Year Award went to Quincy farmer Nathan Dyk, and the Good Neighbor Award went to Mick and Sue Qualls, residents of the area for about 37 years.

"It's a lot of fun working with you guys. Ephrata is one of the greatest towns in the west, and one of the most historic towns also," Mick Qualls said during a brief speech of thanks.

John Gardner, vice president of Washington State University Extension, Economic Development, was the guest speaker.

He noted how the rules of the economy are changing, and called for the university to adapt to such changes.

Gardner said they needed to be arming students to be prepared with the right goods to be successful in the future, proficient in research, consulting and supportive of better government.

"The opportunity is not so much there for those people who have the assets; the opportunity is now borne by people with the ideas," he said. "Now companies like Microsoft, or Google or financial services companies, people with ideas are the ones in the Dow Jones 30. Look at the Fortune 500. All the industrial giants of yesteryear are totally gone."

Many of the companies making headlines are about things people can't even really touch, Gardner added.

"They're not tangible, you can't load them in a truck and run them down the road, you can't put them on the rail," he said. "They're ideas in terms of the way people exchange and where value is being attracted. The future economy is going to be borne by those people with ideas. Agriculture is adapting to that. I'm sure you could tell us how Ephrata has adapted to that in the 30-some years you've been there."

Longtime Ephrata area farmer Faye Mayer, 90, in attendance with son Raymond, said she hasn't missed a single farmer's appreciation breakfast.

"I've been in this farming game since 1933, and that's our living, and that's our life," she said. "We do all this farming and the people in town don't really realize what all it entails. It's hard, but it's very fruitful. I just wouldn't trade it for anything."

Mayer expressed her thanks to the chamber for bringing back the breakfast and showing appreciation to farmers for all the hard work they do.

"We raise the produce so they can eat," she said.

Mark Kallstrom said he's been in attendance at the appreciation breakfast for about 25 years.

"It sure is dwindling down - there used to be 500 to 700 people that would come," he remembered. "It just kind of shows how farming has gone: It's kind of bigger farms and fewer farmers, but we still appreciate coming and being recognized."

Kallstrom said he enjoys the entertainment and seeing who would get the Good Neighbor award.

"It's just kind of fun to be here," he said. "I see a lot of neighbors I don't see the rest of the year."

Ephrata resident Harold Myers said he farmed all his life.

"I still raise more tomatoes than anybody in the country," he said with a laugh. "Just a hobby."

Myers was in attendance "just to enjoy the company of the farmers," he said.

"This nation was founded on two things: Religion and to produce food," Myers said. "We've excelled at both of them."