In the Field

Creaking Tree Farm is a no-till, no-spray organic method farm in Lutsen, Minnesota. A family-owned venture, Ian and Rachel Andrus make a living growing and selling fresh food that doesn’t have to travel very far to reach the markets in Cook County and other North Shore customers. Barbara Jean Meyers gets a tour and hears the history of the farm in this segment of “In the Field.”

In this edition of “In the Field,” Barbara Jean Meyers visits a modest sugarbush on Good Harbor Hill, located in the Maple forest along the Lake Superior Highlands. It’s a way for year-round residents Cathy Quinn and Staci Drouillard to appreciate the late-winter season, by doing an activity that involves a lot of hard work, but brings plenty of rewards, including a cache of hand-harvested maple syrup.

Tools of collecting, in the field.

In the Field is a radio series and podcast dedicated to exploring people’s lives and the contributions people make to our shared cultural legacy through work. In this segment we meet Christine Novotny. A maestro of the floor loom, Christine designs beautiful, and utilitarian hand-woven goods, one thread at a time, in her Grand Marais-based workshop.

In the Field is produced by Barbara Jean Meyers for WTIP.
Photos courtesy of Wolfskull Creative, 2023.