The Old Mill
starting at Price: see description for more information
Availability: sold out

    UPDATE 5/2/2024! The Old Mill has been sold to the non-profit organization Innovia Ignite in Spokane, Washington, who in turn will partner with the Port of Whitman, who in turn will help raise money for its use as a community center for the citizens of Oakesdale, Washington. Such a happy ending for MaryJane, who took care of it for 27 years, while at the same time creating a happy beginning for the citizens of Oakesdale! In the “The Way Home” 2023 June/July issue of MaryJanesFarm magazine, we featured our historic Old Mill, presently for sale. Read more below.

    Who doesn’t seek the comfort of a home, even if only a backpacking tent you crawl into, a place that shelters you, something familiar. Home for most of us is not only a safe place; home is also an outlet for our brand of creativity. I often think of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their hobbit-burrow earth-berm home in The Hobbit, with everything just so, surrounded by their familiar furnishings and rituals, smoking a pipe, taking in the morning sun in a rocking chair right outside their round front door, and inviting strangers inside for a visit.

    For some reason, perhaps destiny, my idea of home goes beyond a place for myself. It spills over into providing home to things and people other than myself.

    In the spring of 1997, after milling grains and legumes with third generation miller Joseph Barron for three years, he announced, at age 88, that he needed to find a home for his four-story historic flour mill.

    old-mill

    The mill is located in Oakesdale, Washington, and had originally been built in the East in 1862. In 1890, J.G. Porter hired a crew to dismantle it, piece by piece; load it on rail cars, along with the milling equipment that was inside; and transport it to Oakesdale, where a steam plant, warehouse, and crib elevator were added. Joseph’s grandfather bought the mill in 1907, converting its source of power from steam to electricity and turning the attached steam plant into a residence where the next two generations of Barrons would live and work, milling flour and animal feed.

    Joseph shuttered the four-story mill in 1960 after he’d begun milling organic flour in his garage across the creek on a newer, more efficient mill—the mill that he and I used to mill the grains and legumes I needed to start my food business. Between the two of us, we continued to keep his four-story historic mill clean and in good condition, charging busloads of tourists coming in from Seattle an entrance fee. One of my jobs was to make and serve cornbread at the beginning of our guided tours and create placards for the equipment, describing what role each piece played in the milling of grains.

    So, when Joseph told me his stamina was waning, I told him I would take care of his historic mill. He nodded but said nothing. For a month or so after, Joseph sifted through potential buyers as carefully as he sifted flour.

    A man of few words, in the end, he said, “I think you’ll do.”

    I cobbled together the money he wanted for the mill and the land it sits on in the middle of Oakesdale, approximately 1.3 acres, and with help from his daughter (his only child, who is now deceased), who loaned me some of the money, the mill became mine. Twenty-six years later, it’s my turn to sift through potential buyers.

    Several months ago, with help from my daughter, I listed it for sale.

    Initially, the city of Oakesdale said they were interested in buying it and turning it into a community center. An engineer they had look at it said the bones and foundation of the mill were still good, but I already knew that. I loved the idea of a community center, but after several months, they came to terms with the ongoing work of raising money for such a longterm endeavor and got cold feet. In preparation for freeing up room inside so that it could become a community center or a home or an event center, three farm hands carefully dismantled and removed select pieces of equipment, transporting them to my farm.

    I was excited when a couple contacted us wanting to turn it into a home, where it sits, that would also house their businesses—an architectural firm and a photography studio—but they decided moving to Oakesdale wasn’t right for them.

    In my grander moments, I still consider sticking to my plan of turning it into an event center here at my farm, but I keep thinking I should at least put it out there for someone else’s dream, maybe helping destiny play its hand.

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    Accuquilt® Go! Starter Set
    starting at Price: $300.00
    Availability: in stock

      This is an original accuquilt starter set in great condition that has been used very lightly. There is some discoloration on the back of the case from sun exposure. The original manual is missing, but we’ve printed a full-color replacement manual.

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      Adventure Quilt & Pillows
      starting at Price: $200.00
      Availability: sold out

        Featured in the Feb/Mar 2023 issue of my magazine, this quilt is ready to move on to new adventures. In addition to the one-of-a-kind hand-embroidered quilt, you'll get five coffee stained and hand-embroidered pillows (red striped pillow in picture is not included) and assorted turquoise, brown, and tan buttons, plus some embroidery floss to add more of your own adventure sites.

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        Better Homes & Gardens—Collectors Issues
        starting at Price: $75.00
        Availability: in stock

          This farmgirl-lifestyle find includes three vintage issues of Better Homes & Gardens. The issues were published in July 1929, August 1929, and December 1929. Perfect for purveyors and collectors of all things yesteryear.

          All magazines are in good codition, with slight wear on the binding and covers.

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          Birthday Mink-Coat Ensemble
          starting at Price: $179.00
          Availability: sold out

            For my 60th birthday, my daughter Meg and I travelled to Kansas to celebrate with a chapter of glampin’ farmgirls. As we pulled up to the designated campground in our rental car, we found a half dozen glamped-out campers, along with apron flags flapping in the wind, and cozy campfires being stoked (it was early spring, and the weather had turned cold). Without a doubt, we knew we were in the right place. Thanks to the influence of my grandmother, I had thought to pack a vintage mink coat, chicken feather hat, faux diamond earrings, and sparkly skirt to wear for my special day. Because I have my 70th birthday outfit ready to go for 2023, I thought I’d find a new companion for my 60th birthday good-luck outfit.

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            Canning Jar Tote & Flower Frog
            starting at Price: $15.00
            Availability: in stock

              Take a step back in time as you display a favorite jar, be it canned goods, potpourri in a jar, or a scented candle. Nothing says 'love' like homemade, and this jar tote turns it into a gift of love when you fill it with your homemade goodies.

              If you have a hankering to fill your jar with fresh flowers, you can achieve a perfect flower shop bouquet with even fewer flowers using the included flower frog. Keeps your flowers standing straight and tall without leaning.

              Canning jar tote and flower frog are Project F.A.R.M. (First-class American Rural Made) products by Kaspar Wire Works, a company feautured in "Artists in Aprons", the 9th issue of MaryJanesFarm. To read the feature in its entirety, open the Item Details tab.

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              Cotton Bloomer Slip
              starting at Price: $74.00
              Availability: sold out

                Handmade cotton bloomer undergarment in great condition. There are couple small dirt stains on back of bodice, but should come out with proper stain treatment.

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                Daffodil Table Runner
                starting at Price: $75.00
                Availability: sold out

                  This beautifully stitched vintage table runner was featured as a project in my book, MaryJane's Stitching Room. Table runner is handmade with an appliquéd bouquet of daffodils on each end. Table runner measures 12¼ wide by 39¾ long.

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                  Enamelware Bowl
                  starting at Price: $14.95
                  Availability: sold out

                    As featured in our 2023 June/July issue "The Way Home", this vintage enamelware bowl would make an excellent addition to your home décor. As the result of years of use, this bowl has a few nicks and chips in the enamel. Bowl measures 13-3/4 inches in diameter and is 5-1/2 inches tall.

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                    Girls Yellow Crocheted Dress
                    starting at Price: $42.00
                    Availability: in stock

                      This adorable, handmade crocheted yellow dress is in great condition. The black ribbons are frayed and will need to be replaced. The crocheting is in excellent condition.

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                      Handmade Pinafore
                      starting at Price: $75.00
                      Availability: sold out

                        Featured in the Aug–Sept 2008 “Raising Jane” issue of my magazine, our inspiration for this pinafore came from a “one-piece kitchen apron,” circa 1910. Using that same concept, we designed a one-piece kitchen apron made from a vintage tablecloth! For this pinafore, we attached pockets made from a hand-appliquéd kitchen towel.

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                        Ladies Home Journal—Collectors Issues
                        starting at Price: $250.00
                        Availability: in stock

                          This farmgirl-lifestyle find includes three vintage issues of Ladies' Home Journal. The issues were published in May 1942, September 1943, and October 1943. Perfect for purveyors and collectors of all things yesteryear.

                          All magazines are in good codition, with some noticeable wear on the binding, but binding is intact.

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