The People Behind the Farm
Albert & Maryanne ● Kevin & Sara ● Carlos ● 14 acre farm begins
Albert Sabatini & Mary Anne McIntyre met as students at Penn State in 1975, but lost touch. They met again in 1998, and discovered that they were both interested in leaving the city life. One day they stumbled upon the Jim Thorpe area, and fell in love with the Miller Farm. They soon purchased the property, lovingly restored and renovated it, and opened their doors as White Bear Bed and Breakfast.
An organic pioneer and Philly native, Albert has an extensive background in the culinary arts. Before settling down with Mary Anne in Jim Thorpe, PA, he had founded an organic farm and a European-style bakery in Ashville, North Carolina; in Bar Harbor, Maine, he had started West of Eden, a bed and breakfast featuring organic and vegetarian cuisine. Now, his guests at White Bear can count waking up to one of Albert's breakfast feasts of expertly made organic delights. Albert shares responsibilities for all things related to the bakery, including ordering bulk goods, mixing, proofing, shaping, baking, and paperwork. He also shares responsibility for implementing catering jobs and helping out on the farm as needed.
Mary Anne, also a Philly native, is a Physical Therapist and Certified Massage Therapist. Not afraid of sacrificing for the good of the planet, she spent 3 years riding her 10 speed bike to work, rain or shine. Mary Anne handles everything but the cooking for the White Bear Bed and Breakfast while maintaining full-time employment as a Physical Therapist.
For Kevin and Sara Ruch, cooking up a combination local food supplier and bakery was as easy as pie. In fact, local food and baking has been central to the couple's identity from the very beginning: the first time they met she gave him a bowl of fresh-picked black caps, and he, in turn, baked her a pie. Everywhere they've ever called home, the garden was the first thing to go in, many times even before the furniture.
Kevin has had years of experience as a chef for gourmet catering company, and also co-founded one of the area's first organic landscaping companies, Creative Organic Landscapes. When the idea of a starting a farmers' market in Emmaus, PA came up, he eagerly volunteered to be the very first market manager. To this day, he maintains a position on the Emmaus Farmers’ Market board as Treasurer.
Kevin shares responsibilities for all things related to managing the farm, including planning, transplanting, irrigating, weeding, harvesting, and selling of vegetables to fill weekly CSA subscriptions and sell at the Emmaus Farmers’ Market. He also shares responsibility for implementing catering jobs and helping out in the bakery as needed.
Sara is a self-taught gardener with at least two viridescent thumbs. She reads voraciously on the subject of organic, self-sustainable living and writes a both a blog and newsletter to share her ever-increasing knowledge. A licensed cosmetologist, Sara hopes to one day incorporate an organic salon into her business ventures. Sara is responsible for the farm’s marketing & web design and is heavily involved with the CSA portion of the farm.
14 acre farm begins:
In 2004, 12 acres across the street from the White Bear B&B came up for sale. One potential buyer wanted to subdivide and build dozen houses; another wanted to use the land for a junkyard. Albert and Mary Anne knew that they had to save of the last open pieces of land left in White Bear. Around that time, Sara fell in love with the Jim Thorpe area. Kevin was interested in moving only if he could fill some need in the community. Jim Thorpe resident and friend of the Ruchs, Jill Robbins, put two and two together and introduced the two couples. They hit it off great, and a decision was made to begin growing some vegetables in the lower 2 acres and to purchase the additional 12 across the street, thereby forming the 14 Acre Farm partnership:
By the 2005, the farm was a success, the Bed and Breakfast opened, the bakery was up and running. Soon Albert and Kevin decided to combine their cooking backgrounds their commitment to local food and added a catering division. Farm growth continues with the 2007 addition of a stone-grinding mill for the freshest flour possible, and a farm-to-table restaurant in Jim Thorpe.