We owe it all to Mr. & Mrs. Stark who started the farm several years ago, hence “The tradition continues”…
As promised, Here
is their story...
In 1986 Herb and
Wilma Stark decided they wanted a slower paced lifestyle and
purchased some wooded acreage in Avinger, Cass County, in Northeast
Texas. They cleared a small portion of land and planted 2,200
blueberry bushes.
Realizing they
needed to promote the sale of the blueberries, they looked into
highway signs, or billboards. Initially, they built some billboards
near the blueberry farm.
Thus was born
“Stark Outdoor Advertising.”
The blueberries
continued to mature, and demand for them increased. Also, people in
East Texas learned that they are really good, and good for you. The
Starks sold all the blueberries that the orchard produced right on
the farm site, with a Pick-Ur-Own operation, as well as prepackaged
fresh berries.
After fifteen
wonderful years on the farm, they decided to seek a yet slower pace
for the next phase of their lives, and offered the blueberry farm
for sale. They moved to Longview, but can’t stay away! Every June
you will see them right back here picking their blueberries – some
to use fresh, and many buckets for zipping up into freezer bags to
get them through the winter.
