Relevance with an eye toward history – Washington County News

For the 150th anniversary of Washington County, Dan Thalmann vowed to take a picture.

Actually, Thalmann vowed to take 365 pictures, one a day, each a visual and literal snapshot of the county and its residents, its festivals, its daily rhythms and cycles—its culture—at the opening of the 21st century. Each daily image would be posted to a special website, and each week’s collection would be prominently placed within the pages of the Washington County News.

A Very Good Move
California professional couple trade the fast life for the country life

Brad and Angie Portenier’s friends thought they were nuts.

No, not nuts as in the funny-jacket-with-the-extra-long-sleeves and squalid-one-room-dormitories-in-industrial-strength-block-houses-where-the-doors-are-all-locked-and-the-inmates-shuffle-around-with-slackjawed-expressions, but nuts in wanting to trade the sun-drenched California beaches, cloud-snagging Sierras and wind-hallowed deserts for, well, for what—Kansas?

Busy with the Bees!: The new buzz in beekeeping: Brown’s Honey Farm seeks to capture health, fitness market

In the beginning there was tea. And, there was honey. Both were natural, both were beneficial, both were filled with nutrients a body needs. Later, say circa 1999, the tea industry took a close gander at social trends and its own fiscal solvency, and decided that life was good. Life, in fact, was annually one billion dollars’ worth of good, a not inconsiderate sum.

Beeeess by the Buzz-illion!

When asked how many bees he has, Jerry Brown’s standard answer is a “buzz-illion.” Seems fitting given that Brown’s Honey Farm, located at Haddam, is the state’s largest bee operation.

MarCon Pies, Inc.

The aroma of freshly baked pies filling the air and overwhelming the senses is noticed immediately upon arrival at this business. For Don Walsh, however, it’s just another day at the office and he’s not even aware of the tempting smell until someone else reminds him.
Walsh partnered with Rod Krahl to purchase MarCon Pies, Inc. in December 2002 and together they have been working to grow the business.

Our Daily Bread Bake Shoppe and Bistro

The main ingredient is family. “Our family has always been hospitable,” says Cindy Hiesterman, business co-founder. “Mom always had a saying that whoever put their hand in the cookie jar was family, and we try to carry that philosophy into our business.”

Watering Bindweed: County takes first step in biological control for pesky weed

As a former horticulturist and current noxious weed agent for Washington County, Duane Bruna has a history of battling bindweed. It goes way back into his childhood on his dad’s farm, where bindweed was ever-present. Chemicals knocked it down, thinned it, sickened it, even killed some of it, but like a Timex watch it took a licking and kept on ticking.

That might change in the near future. Bruna and the other agents of the county noxious weed department have implemented the first phase of a trial planting of bindweed infested with Aceria malherbae, the bindweed mite.

“It sounds crazy,” Bruna said, “but I’ve been watering bindweed.”