Get in touch with us at 217-257-1480 or fourwindsfarm.dl@gmail.com. Book our venue by calling 217-440-4678.
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The Owner of Four Winds Farm
Deborah's Story: She Who Loves Nature
Childhood
We and the Earth are One.
When we heal ourselves, we heal the Planet
​I have always been intrigued by Nature and her abundance of life-giving gifts. I grew up one mile from the Mighty Mississippi River in Quincy, Illinois. My Grandparent’s magical farm was on the edge of town. Grandpa had a fishing camp on the river’s shore. It was magical and smelled of plants, mushrooms, turtles, catfish dinners, geese, and waterfowl. Plus, there was the sweet sound of the river. ​
I also spent a lot of time at my Grandparents’ farm. There was always an adventure: collecting eggs in the chicken house, playing with the loveable little pigs in the large barn, feeding calves by the hay barns, hunting for butterflies, moths, and summer lightning bugs. Plus, enjoying my playhouse that Grandpa built for me. I was an only child. So were both Mom and Dad.
Pictured above, left to right: Deb's grandpa, her dad, and her grandmother. Before the tornado in 1960.
The very best adventures though started with a 1-mile tractor ride from the farm to the woods a mile away to check on the 30+ cows. Grandpa drove the bouncy, old tractor, and I stood on the back. Once there, he would call in the cows, who ambled right over to him. I loved looking into their beautiful brown eyes. When the cows were fed, we’d walk around the 40-acre woods to find seasonal edible plants, including: morel mushrooms, raspberries, blackberries, wild onion, pawpaw fruit, and much more. We’d give them to Grandma and maybe a bouquet of flowers. Life was great for me!
And then everything changed.
It was June 28th, 8:10pm. I was 9 years old. The weather had been odd all day, very hot and humid. Around noon there was a deluge of rain, with strong wind. Soon, it turned hot again. About dinner time it started to rain. We heard and odd loud sound. Then we saw it, to see an enormous, dark, twisting tornado. Calmly, Grandpa said “go to the basement.” When we came upstairs later, everything had changed. There was destruction in all directions. The large pig barn, the chicken house, the cattle barn, and the top floor of the house were destroyed. Five months later, Grandpa died, probably from all the trauma and very hard work.
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Grandma died less than a year after Grandpa.
Pictured above: Signed metal from farmhouse gutter after the tornado
Reads: Tornado June 28, 1960 - 8:10 pm
Deborah Long, Harold Long, Caroline Long
My Career
In June of 1968, I graduated from Quincy High School and left to work at East Bay Summer Camp until classes started nearby at Illinois Wesleyan University.
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Working 2 seasons at the summer camp fired my love of being in Nature and working with kids. It started a theme, which continues now at Four Winds Farm, and beyond.
After 2 years of college, I volunteered in a New Jersey ghetto program (along with 49 other college students). It was an amazing experience. I loved getting to know these troubled youth and helping - maybe even a little bit.
The passion for working with youth continued as I transferred to North Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona to enhance my studies in Psychology and outdoor education programs. It was a wonderful two years.
A few years later, I moved to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania to teach and study with the Macrobiotic community. And, to work with an incredible environmental education program through the (then) Conservation Service and the Public School System in Eastern Pennsylvania. I also taught numerous hands-on Wild Edible (and Medicinal) Plant programs up and down the East Coast for about 7 years. Gradually, I added week-long medicinal herb classes and outdoor adventures in 5 or 6 states, including West Virginia on private land.
A few years later, I moved to Lafayette, Louisiana where, for 9 years, I taught dozens of 12-week medicinal herb classes in the state and in other regions. Plus, I received a Ph.D. in Nutrition.
The Beginning of
Four Winds Farm
As fate would have it, my father died in 1999, and I inherited 120 acres of some of the best farmland in the country. I moved home to Quincy, Illinois and developed Four Winds Farm, with the goal of providing educational programs, U-pick flowers and herbs, medicinal herb classes and much more to the community! Each year is getting better!
