SHERWOOD, Ore. — There are garden parties, and then there's what happens every Wednesday in Cathy Bell's massive backyard farm in Sherwood. The weeding and laughing, the harvesting and reminiscing, followed by the donating of their bounty to local food pantries; all of those experiences shared amongst a dozen or so girlfriends. The call themselves the "Farmerettes;" a nod to the women who coined the name during World War I.
"Funny term, Farmerette, but we love it and we embrace it!" Bell said. "They called themselves the "Land Army" and they were really instrumental in growing food for a hungry nation because the men were gone."
All the ladies in this group are in their sixties now, though many have known each other since grade school. Bell and her friend, Leslie Cushing, were in the same kindergarten class.
"I mean, we have been through marriages, divorces, grand babies, losing husbands," said Cushing of the group. "It's strength. Growing old is not for the faint of heart!"
Annie Bechtold met Bell in the fifth grade.
"Nobody knows me like these people," Bechtold said. "These friendships — it's saving us so much money on psychologists! We really share everything."
The Farmerettes' Wednesday tradition began nine years ago following a fruitful growing season for Bell and her husband, Steve Gotter. They'd amassed a bumper crop of vegetables, which got Bell thinking.
"We had so much additional produce, I felt like there's a good thing we could do with it some place and we need to plug in," she said.
Bell thought, perhaps they could grow even more produce, she could recruit her friends to help, and then they could donate their bounty to local food pantries. She ran the idea by Gotter, who had some reservations at first.
"I thought, maybe we might want to reduce the farm and shut it down, and instead, she's expanding it out!" Gotter said. "And as in any good relationship, I told her, 'No,' and she promptly just did it! I support that."
Gotter is all in now. In nine years, the Farmerettes have grown and donated 13 tons of organic produce.
"It feeds us, truly," Bell said. "It feeds our souls like the food feeds the hungry."
That's especially true for Dana Kvernland. Last winter, she dislocated her hip and broke her leg. She's on light farm duty now but wouldn't miss their Wednesday gatherings for the world.
"To come and be loved by these women and to share in the bounty of this property is healing for me, it's helping me heal and keeping me out of the gutter," Kvernland said. "I believe we were created to be in community, and this is my community."
The Farmerettes hope what they're doing on a larger scale will inspire everyone who has even a small growing space with extra produce to share. They suggest visiting AmpleHarvest.org to find local food pantries that accept donations of home-grown produce.
"We live in the richest nation in the world," Cushing said. "We're just trying to do our little part to feed people."
After working hard in the garden each week, the Farmerettes retreat to the house. They enjoy a glass of wine and arrange small bouquets of flowers crafted from the masses of dahlias and zinnias Bell grows as well. They deliver those bouquets, along with the produce, to the food pantry at St. Mathew Lutheran Church in Beaverton. Bell said the flowers are received just as warmly as the produce.
"A woman came up to me as I was delivering the flowers and said, 'You have no idea what this means to me. All week long I feel like I can enjoy flowers and I've never been able to afford them before,'" Bell said. "'This, to me, is just one of the best outreaches you could do for us.'"
This story is part of our series, Pacific Storyland. From the ordinary to the extraordinary, we'll bring you the most heartwarming and inspiring stories from where you live. Know someone you'd like to see featured? Let us know! Email us at PacificStoryland@KGW.com or text your story ideas to 503-226-5088.