Health & Fitness
How Does Your Garden Grow……..
At the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Inter-Faith Food Pantry, the herb and vegetable gardens are growing very well!
At the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Inter-Faith Food Pantry, the herb and vegetable gardens are growing very well! The gardens located on the property of the Food Pantry provide its clients with fresh herbs and vegetables during the warmer months.
The herb garden is a very special project near and dear to Peggy (Larsen) Lackman’s heart. Peggy Lackman said, “You could say I have a vested interest in the land that the Inter-Faith Food Pantry now resides.”
Peggy shared some wonderful memories about her family and the property in Lake in the Hills. Peggy stated, “In October 1963, my parents Gordon and Joan Larsen moved their five children to the farm here on Pyott Rd from Schiller Park. Dad operated Larsen Trucking in Bensenville and made the commute so that his family could live in the country. Mom was a retired nurse and took on the task of helping make us kids farm folk, since she had been born and raised on a farm in Benson, IL.”
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Peggy goes on to say, “I was 14; the farm was the best thing that happened to me. I had dreamt of owning a horse since I was 7. I saved all my baby-sitting money for that special day. Now that dream could come true. Each of us kids bought horses soon after moving to the farm. The old Barn that once housed stanchions for milk cows was transformed into 11 box stalls. Dad’s vision didn’t stop there. The site that was once a cow shed, became the livery stable. An indoor arena was built, a tack room and office was finished in short order. In 1964 the Larsen family created Spring Hill Farm Riding School. Us kids watered and fed horses before and after school often 7 days a week. We ran Spring Hill Farm for about 6 years. As we grew older, got jobs off of the farm, and married, Mom and Dad sold the business to Judy and Tom Boyle in 1970. They rented the South side buildings on about 15 acres and it functioned as Spring Hill Farm Riding School for over 35 years. Mom and Dad lived in the house, used the North side buildings and had 4 acres of orchards.”
Peggy reiterates, “I have a vested interest in the land that the Food Pantry has moved to. I am a member of the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners of Lake-McHenry County (MG). The garden that my mother tended veggies for the family is now the Herb Garden. Mom continued living in the house after Dad passed in 2003. When Mom passed in 2010, we left the farm. In 2012, we celebrated the first year of the Herb Gardens. Volunteers helped pull weeds from fallow ground, which created new walking paths and planting beds. I co-chaired the “Herb Garden Project” with Master Gardener Ann Huetter and Shari Himes. The first year’s bounty was good -- we hope to have more variety and greater bounty in the years ahead providing fresh herbs to the Inter-Faith Food Pantry.”
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To learn more about the Algonquin / Lake in the Hills Inter-Faith Food Pantry, please call the Food Pantry at (847) 854-1904 or visit their website.
The mission of the Algonquin / Lake in the Hills Interfaith Food Pantry is to provide food to families in need that reside within the geographic boundaries of Algonquin and Lake in the Hills.
Money for the Food Pantry is raised through corporate partnerships, private donations and special events. We invite you to visit our website, www.alith-foodpantry.org, to view all upcoming events for the ALG / LITH Food Pantry, to learn more about the food pantry, and our Building Fund for the Larsen Property or to make a donation.