How Deer Park's Vehe Farm Came to Be

In 1999, many forces came together...any one force on its own could not have accomplished "Vehe Farm"... but together those forces made it inevitable that Vehe Farm would become Deer Park's municipal home.

Force #1, commitment. Ed and Mae Vehe had kept their commitment to keep the farm until Mae's passing. As the result, this farmhouse, extraordinary barn, and outbuildings--the last local vestiges of a truly American, regional, and historical Deer Park way of life--were at risk of destruction. Yet these structures were reaching out visually to the community hoping to be embraced for their historical and social value.

Force #2, the public. When it was learned that a developer was to buy the property to build one-acre homesites, state officials, public citizens, and area conservation organizations reached out to the Village trustees asking "Is there not a way for the Village to preserve Vehe Farm for public open space, recreation, and municipal use?" This question had such resonance that the developer, too, was supportive of the Village's possible ownership of the property.

Force #3, open space preservation. Deer Park had long recognized the importance of open space to its residents' quality of life and property values. As a result, a major goal of Deer Park's comprehensive land use plan was, and still is, to preserve the Village's natural, open spaces.

Force #4, financial opportunities. The new financial resources Deer Park Town Center would provide made it possible for the Village to see that the long-term financial commitment to the Vehe Farm project would be feasible and manageable.

Force #5, and that which brought together all of these other forces and made Vehe Farm a reality--was the extraordinary vision and hard decision making abilities of the trustees who unanimously voted to purchase Vehe Farm.

And so it began. First the financing....

1. The Village received a $351,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to help acquire the property.
2. State Senator Bill Peterson and State Representative Sid Mathias helped the Village procure, respectively, $50,000 and $75,000 in additional state funding.
3. The remaining funding was arranged through a loan with Harris Bank...that loan was paid off in 2007.

Once the financing was arranged, the vision for the farm had to be developed and stewardship and partnering begun....

Regarding the vision for the farm...

1. The Village created the Vehe Farm Foundation to create a broad community-based vision for the farm.
2. To this end, the original Foundation members were
1. Village trustees Henry Werch and Greg Dowell,
2. School representatives John Roselli and Mike Paskewicz,
3. Barbara Benson (area historian),
4. Barbara Evans (resident and president of Cultural Arts Connection),
5. Betty McLaughlin (long-time resident and civic volunteer),
6. Jim Peterson (past Village president and Plan Commission chairman, and Managing Architect on the Vehe Farm project),
7. John Wagner (resident and Vice President of Citizens for Conservation),
8. and Teri Bridge (a resident with a strong sense of the property's future and a willingness to dedicate a significant part of her life to it).
3. When you visit Vehe Farm, you experience first hand the vision created for the farm--the essence of the original prairie, environmental education, the history of local farming, family recreation, and the barn and outbuildings serving as a unique community center and cultural venue.
   

With the vision created, the Foundation went on to become the steward of the property and to establish strong partnerships with area organizations.

1. Citizens for Conservation has been a steadfast partner, donating seeds, plants and labor toward the farm's prairie restoration efforts. As a result Chicago Wilderness and the Midwest Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Village its..... Native Landscaping award.
2. Citizens for Conservation also awarded the village its William H. Miller Conservation Award for protecting open space and biodiversity at Vehe Farm.
3. The Little Garden Club of Barrington, too, has been a steadfast partner, helping to finance the Betty McLaughlin Memorial Butterfly Garden.
4. The Lake County Farm Heritage Association has partnered with the Foundation for three events now, helping to tell the story of area farming.
5. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has designated Vehe Farm as a distribution site of educational materials to area schools.
6. The Illinois Geologic Survey Team is providing educational displays at Vehe Farm.
7. And new long-term relationships with more community organizations are being developed.

With financing, visioning, stewardship, and partnership well underway, barn construction began....

1. The barn's reconstruction and adaptation as a community center could not have been possible without the expertise of Jim Peterson, Managing Architect on the project, and without the generosity of his firm (HPZS), which graciously donated his time over the eight years of barn reconstruction.
2. The construction company that did the barn's exceptional exterior restoration was Belmonte Kaplan, and the interior restoration, while a change in contractors had to be made, was beautifully finished by Pepper Construction.
   

Anticipating the barn's completion, the need for volunteer efforts skyrocketed. In response, four Foundation members stepped up to and beyond the plate, dedicating most of their lives to getting Vehe Farm ready for the public. They are: Pat Winkelman, Tom Benjamin, John Wagner, and Eway McLaughlin.

1. Their contributions include fund raising; prairie and wetland restoration; grounds maintenance; barn operations; working with contractors, construction personnel, and police and fire officials; coordinating work with the Village Office; and, yes, even bathroom cleaning detail.
2. As one village trustee said to them, "You demonstrate the true meaning of volunteerism."

So, how Vehe Farm came to be what it is today is due to forces coming together, people coming together, and history and the future coming together.

Vehe Farm Foundation members thank the past and present Village Boards, under the visionary and skilled leadership of Presidents Scott Gifford and Rick Karl, for the honor of serving the Village and Vehe Farm. And, to our our spouses, families, and significant others, thank you for supporting us in our dedication to Vehe Farm.

As Waid Vanderpool, past president of Citizens for Conservation and an early supporter of the preservation of Vehe Farm, wrote to the Foundation..."When you preserve land, it is a permanent victory. Long after you and I are gone Vehe Farm will serve as (a) unique community open space and, undoubtedly, will become ever more highly valued by the people of your area."