A second community orchard in the works

A community orchard that has been in the planning stages since 2016 is coming to life, thanks to several community members and businesses who have donated their time and services to make the orchard a reality.

Gary Hogsett said when Star Mill was attempting to get rid of the property — located at 1400 W. Laurel St. — and the City of Independence didn’t want it. “The Independence Community Orchard was asked if we would take it,” Hogsett said. “We knew there would be significant expense involved but George and Julie Eisele stepped forward and wrote a check for several thousand dollars.” The Eiseles told the group they wanted to help and offered them $4,000 to help cover expenses.

Tom Chism, of TC Underground, also donated services. “We called him and told him what we would like to do and he said, ‘I will volunteer my crew to go out and spend a week uncovering all the old foundations and getting them out.’ That was huge on Tom Chism’s part,” Hogsett said.

The work being done now is cleaning up loose rocks and things, Hogsett added. The work is continuing and the Independence

The work is continuing and the Independence Community Orchard group will update the information on when planting will begin.

All Courtesy Photos