Cascadian Farm now a Rodale Institute center

The day dawned cloudy and there was an up-valley smokey haze. It would be less hot than it has been. I was destined for the Cascadian Farm Home Farm, a famous place, a fertile bench of farmland near Rockport across Highway 20 from the emerald green waters of the mighty Skagit River.

The farm was the brainchild of one Gene Kahn who, in 1972, as a recent college graduate and student of history, spied the uniquely beautiful property and put his plan into motion. Old friends followed him from the east coast and new friends joined his budding enterprise from more local environs. One of their brands...