Of Cabbages and Kings

Family farming enterprise shaped thoughtful, driven young man

By LUELLA DOW

Contributor

Not everyone is passionate about his or her business. Some drag themselves out of bed with a groan and muddle through the day. Anthony Aguilar dives into his work with gusto and pride.

“I noticed a change when I was growing up,” Aguilar said. “School field trips used to be a visit to a nearby farm so the kids could look at the animals and the crops. They could see where milk came from, where the chickens laid their eggs. They could walk carefully among the rows of strawberries and in the orchards see the apples hanging from the tree branches.”

Then the emphasis shifted, he said. Instead of going to farms, field trips began to consist of visits to water slides and places like Silverwood. Many city-raised children have missed seeing where their groceries come from, missed watching fruit and vegetables grow and ripen.

Aguilar wants to close the gap.

“I came to EWU and saw kids not eating these healthful foods,” he said. “I want kids to be acquainted with them, to have a chance to try something different. We're here at the Farmers' Market for the community, not just to sell things.”

All Aguilar's produce is certified organic. He tells about growing up on J and R Orchards, his family's farm at Yakima. At the age of four Aguilar began climbing ladders in the orchards.

“I managed groups of 50 to 100 workers since the age of 12,” he said. “They listened to me. I drove tractors, picking up the boxes of fruit, putting them in bins and stacking the bins with a forklift. There's lots of hard work on a farm.”

Aguilar has a helper, his girlfriend Erika Cruz.

“She works beside me,” he said. “When the temperature is 105 degrees she's right there. She's a hard-working woman.”

Aguilar would like so much for today's children to experience the excitement of tasting something special, something out of the ordinary. In his display at the Cheney Farmers' Market, one may see black, yellow or heirloom tomatoes. There are doughnut peaches as well as elbertas. Ever see a Presidential plum? Aguilar has them. He shows Asian pears and many bright colors of peppers alongside the corn, cabbages and potatoes.

A student at EWU, Aguilar is studying visual communication designing and web programming.

“I have paid my way to the University through my work on the farm,” he said.

Whatever he may do in the world of communications, Aguilar's heart will be close to the farm where he grew up. His skill as an entrepreneur has already been well honed. Here's a young man to watch as he broadens his horizons with success.

Luella Dow can be reached at [email protected].