The earliest humans used the sky as both clock and calendar and hailed the Autumn Equinox as a time to celebrate the season–harvest the crops and prepare for the winter season of spiritual awakening.  Expanding upon this traditional concept, Soil Born Farms will host the 10th Annual Autumn Equinox Celebration Fundraiser, Saturday, September 22, 2012 (details below).

Nestled among the crops, in the beauty of their urban agricultural oasis, Soil Born Farms is known for its quaint location in the heart of Sacramento, growing tasty seasonal produce as well as serving as a training site for future farmers.

AUTUMN EQUINOX CELEBRATION DETAILS
Event:        10th Annual Autumn Equinox Celebration at Soil Born Farms
Sponsored By The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op
With underwriting support from Union Bank, Dave and Maxine Clark Family, Western Health Advantage and Bank of America

Location:        3000 Hurley Way, Sacramento

Date/Time:        Saturday, September 22, 2012  4:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Details:        Wander among the organic gardens, sample seasonal and organic foods
prepared by prominent local chefs from Sacramento’s finest restaurants.  Taste a varied and exceptional wine list from prominent regional vintners.  Enjoy live music with Mind X Quartet and Cousin Jimbo & Friends; raffle featuring prizes including domestic round trip airfare for two and more!

Invitation Info (Advance Purchase Only; No Tickets Available At The Door):
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, 1900 Alhambra Blvd., or
Soil Born Farms (916) 363-9685 or
Online www.soilborn.org

This annual event also helps Soil Born Farms raise the necessary funds to run its programs and service the community.  Among the farm’s programs are scholarships for school field trips and donations of thousands of pounds of vegetables and fruit to families in need.
The Soil Born Farm Urban Agriculture And Education Project is a 501(c)3  organization

Sponsored by the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op—a community partner since the beginning of the Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project—the Autumn Equinox event highlights their successful relationship to promote and support healthy food education and access for our region’s population.  Soil Born Farms is a featured organic grower within the Co-op’s 100% organic produce department.  The Autumn Equinox celebrates the accomplishments of Soil Born Farms while raising funds for the farm’s education and food access programs.

Soil Born Farms 10th Annual Autumn Equinox Celebration Participants…
Fine Food:
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, A Healthy Kitchen, AME-Mean Eats, Bella Bru
Baking Co., Biba Restaurant, Dad’s Kitchen, Ella Dining Room & Bar, Fat Face,
Figueroa Farms, Freeport Bakery, Grange Restaurant & Bar, Hot Italian, Magpie Café,
Mulvaney’s B & L, North Valley Farms Chevre, Old Soul Co., One Speed, Pedrozo Dairy
& Cheese Co., Piatti Ristorante and Bar, Plates Café & Catering, Point Reyes
Farmstead Cheese Co., Restaurant Thir13en, Santa Fe Mi Abuelita Bonita Tortillas,
Selland’s Market Café, Sierra Nevada Cheese Co., Smart Chicken, Soil Born Farms,
The Good Stuff, The Kitchen, The Waterboy, Tuli Bistro.

Wine, Beer, Cider:
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Wine Department, Amador Foothill, Berryessa Gap
Vineyards, Boeger Winery, Bogle Vineyards, Capay Valley Vineyard, Chambers &
Chambers Wine Merchants, Dancing Coyotes Wines, E2 Family Wines, Epic Wines,
Hoppy Brewing Co., Mammoth Brewing Co., Moniz Family Wines, Origin Beverages,
Peltier Station, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Revolution Wines, Rubicon Brewing Co.,
Two Rivers Cider Co.

About Soil Born Farms…
As part of its mission, the Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project connects everyone—youth, students and adults—of varying cultural backgrounds with locally grown organic food and provides a home for education about food, nutrition, ecological farming and sustainable living along with hands on volunteer opportunities.  Projects include the American River Ranch in Rancho Cordova, Harvest Sacramento and Youth Education Programs with field trips, classes, workshops, farm tours, summer camp and job training, and volunteer opportunities to help maintain and harvest the farm land while learning more about sustainable living, cooking, nutrition and bringing high quality foods from the farm to the table.  Additionally, a portion of the food grown at Soil Born Farms is donated to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.

Born in the Azores

Born on Dec. 14, 1867 in Faial in the Azores Islands of Portugal, Charles arrived in Boston at the age of 11 in 1878 and then proceeded to the Sutterville area in today’s South Land Park area of Sacramento.

With only $2.50 in his pocket, Charles used $1 of his money to reach the town of Vernon in Sutter County, where he became employed as a milker on a dairy ranch for 50 cents per day.

Teen cheese entrepreneur

Using earnings from this job, Charles, when he was 13, paid a cheese maker $50 to teach him how to make cheese, after which he went into business for himself.

Charles eventually rented a ranch in Yolo County, bought cows and established a dairy and cheese plant.

Charles’ next venture was his purchase of the 160-acre Ramsey Ranch, which was located six miles above Vernon on the Feather River. He also rented the Hoover Ranch and the Clark and Cave ranches near the Sacramento River.

While conducting business along the Sacramento River, Charles entered the boating business, as he bought a gasoline-powered boat and a barge.

Meanwhile, Charles purchased the Point Ranch, where he cut wood, which he transported down the river to Sacramento.

In 1900, Charles returned to the capital city, as he purchased and resided at the Meadows place on Front Street, between O and P streets. It was there that he also established a wood, hay and grain business.

Shipping businesses

In addition to this business, Charles purchased the steamers “Neponset” and “Neptune,” the trading boats “Jersey” and “Inder” and the barges, “Columbia,” “Sutter” and “Vernon.”

In becoming engaged in the transportation business, Charles formed a partnership with a Capt. Jones. This partnership continued for many years and their route included towns on the Sacramento River, between Sacramento and Butte City.

Rancher

During this time, Charles was also involved in the cattle and sheep business.

Eventually, Charles sold his interests in the boats to devote his full attention to his livestock business.

Charles experienced much success in this endeavor, as he enlarged his interests on an annual basis and also established retail businesses – four local meat markets and a large wholesale business in Sacramento.

Additionally, Charles bred Hereford stock and was renowned throughout the state as a breeder of these fine cattle.

So large was Charles’ livestock business operation that he became known as the largest individual cattle dealer in California, shipping thousands of head of cattle from Mexico, in addition to his large shipments from throughout the state.

Charles’ wealth was great, as he purchased various Northern California ranches and later sold the ranches for twice the amount that he had paid for them.

Land dealer

Along with his real estate transactions, Charles was actively associated with various reclamation projects and served as the organizer and director of the Sutter Basin Co. and the Natomas Land Co.

Following his time with his previous cattle business endeavors, Charles invested in many Sacramento properties, including business blocks, warehouses and residences, and purchased a 21,000-acre cattle ranch in Modoc County.

Charles additionally accumulated other properties such as 243 acres dedicated to fruit growing in Yuba County and 670 acres on the Feather River in Butte County, with one half of this acreage being devoted to fruit.

Another major part of Charles’ life was his interest in horses and for many years he was involved in breeding standard-bred animals. 

Breeder of race horses

 Charles, who eventually had the finest standard-bred stock in the state, raised the well-known pacer, Teddy Bear, who broke a 6-year-old record at the California State Fair on Aug. 29, 1911. The horse set the mile mark of two minutes and five seconds.

With his continued interest in horses, Charles purchased a racetrack in Woodland in 1916.

It can be speculated that Charles, who continued to own the track until 1921, purchased the track in order to run Teddy Bear on his own schedule during fair weather days throughout the year.

In the early 1920s, Charles traded a 21,000-acre parcel of land in Alturas (Modoc County) for the old Weinstock-Lubin and Co. department store building at 4th and K streets. The building had been vacated and the company had reopened in its new location at 12th and K streets.

Meat marketer

Charles also owned other business operations in Sacramento, including the Fulton Meat Market at 4th and M (now Capitol Mall) streets, California Market on J Street, between 7th and 8th streets, and meat markets on 10th and M (now Capitol Mall) streets, 16th and M (now Capitol Avenue) streets and in Folsom and Knights Landing.

He also owned a slaughterhouse on Y Street (present day Broadway), between 5th and 6th streets.

Charles established a rich connection to the Land Park community with his founding of Charles Station, which later became known as South Land Park Hills.

Charles’ property was located off the present day Del Rio Road in the area of today’s Kennedy Lane and Pleasant Drive.

On this property, Charles owned and operated a second slaughterhouse, which had a thick concrete floor that later posed difficulties in building the foundations of some of the area’s high quality homes.

Family manDuring his life, Charles was married twice, with the first of his marriages occurring when he married Theresa Kennedy in Sacramento on Aug. 15, 1899. Together the couple had nine children.

Following Theresa’s death, Charles married Lois Blackwell and this marriage added two more children to his family.

The most prominent of Charles’ children was former Land Park area resident Ray Silva. Ray, who passed away in 1996, was a referee for the Harlem Globetrotters and the founder and operator of Kiddie Land, Land Park’s small-scale children’s amusement park, which is today known as Funderland.

Undoubtedly, Charles, who passed away on July 14, 1944, was a man who achieved many great things in his life.

And considering his many accomplishments and the fact that he once had practically pennies in his pocket and no assets to his name, Charles Silva should be remembered for many years as a self-motivated man whose drive to excel led to a life of success.

lance@valcomnews.com

It took traveling to Cuba and Kauai, and marveling at what the farmers’ markets there had to offer to make me realize just what I might be missing back home. Sure enough, once I went to the farmers’ market here in Sacramento, I never looked back.

 

The farmers’ market is held every Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon under the freeway at 8th and X streets, and boasts a plentiful array of seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as vendors selling freshly baked bread, eggs, cheese, flowers, tortillas, meats, poultry and seafood, and many other items.

 

With the price of food increasingly going up, and the local economy struggling due to the recession, the Certified Farmers’ Markets of Sacramento County offer a solution to both: pay less for your groceries while supporting your local economy. But it doesn’t stop there: About half of the vendors there offer organic produce, often at a much better price than local stores. And perhaps the most convincing argument of all: eating both locally grown food and what’s in season helps to cut down on carbon emissions. Produce imports and exports add a huge debt to our carbon footprint because of the amount of jet fuel it takes to keep up this endless cycle of international produce shipments. So shopping at the farmers’ market means going green, too, and most people even bring their own reusable shopping bags.

 

At the moment, artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, all kinds of citrus fruit, kiwis, and rainbow kale are all in season, among several other items. Produce items change by the season, but the cheese, bread, egg, olive oil and organic meat vendors are there year round.

 

Touring the market

On a recent Sunday morning, there with my friend Becca Popham, I asked her what she loved about it. She said, “My trip to the farmers market has become a Sunday ritual. The variety is endless: organically raised meat, seasonal fruits and vegetables, flowers for my table, free-range eggs. My favorites right now are the many varieties of daffodils and mandarin oranges. You can even find locally made tortillas – garlic and butter tortillas are my favorite – and fresh bread. The big bonus – everything is fresh and grown or raised close to home. I love that my money goes directly to the hardworking farmers!”

 

Barbara Kingsolver, prolific writer and gardener extraordinaire, expounded further on this subject in her most recent book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” She wrote: “Concentrating on local foods is a strategy that will keep grocery money in the neighborhood, where it gets recycled into your own school system, and local businesses. The green spaces surrounding your town stay green, and farmers who live nearby get to grow more food next year, for you.”

 

But enough about the politics involved in this debate. Chances are, in the fast-paced lives we lead, not everyone can make it to the farmers’ market every week, and most people need to supplement whatever they buy at the local supermarket, which is fine. When asking people why they shopped at the farmers’ market, there was one answer that everyone had in common: the freshness of the fruits and vegetables, often picked that very morning, and the taste. Because this produce didn’t have to travel or stay preserved for a long length of time, it’s just fresher, and tastes better.

 

 

If you’re not convinced yet, taste heirloom tomatoes in the summer time at the farmers’ market, and compare it to a hothouse tomato. The hothouse tomato is mealy and flavorless. The heirloom tomato at the farmers’ market tastes like sunshine. Have I convinced you yet? If not, go and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

 

E-mail Jeneka Sanford at jeneka@valcomnews.com.