Last month, Alyson's third grade class went on a field trip to the Wilcox Family Farm in Roy, Washington. Kristina and I served as chaperons. It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn about farms, chickens and eggs.
The Wilcox Family Farm was founded by Judson and Elizabeth Wilcox. A young, newlywed couple, the Wilcoxes took the train from Toronto, Canada to begin married life in Seattle in 1903. A gold rush was taking place in Alaska. Judson went to Alaska, hoping to strike it rich. He returned to Seattle about six months later, without any gold. Judson worked as a clerk in his brother's outfitting company and moved his wife into a brick house on Queen Anne Hill.
In 1909, Judson went on an excursion to a farm near Harts Lake in Roy. He fell in love with the wilderness. Without consulting Elizabeth, he traded their house in Seattle for the farm. Then he went back to Seattle to tell his wife what he had done. Elizabeth agreed to move to the country. With their two little daughters, the Wilcoxes took the train to Roy and moved their household goods with horse drawn carts. In 1909, Judson and Elizabeth founded the Wilcox Family Farm.
This is the one room schoolhouse where Judson and Elizabeth Wilcox's children attended school. It was originally located on the shore of Harts Lake. It was scheduled to be torn down, but the Wilcox family paid to have it transported to their farm and restored to its original condition. Now visitors can see what a turn of the century schoolhouse looked like.
In the beginning, things were rough. The Wilcoxes milked cows, raised hogs and chickens, and planted a huge garden. As their family grew, Judson and Elizabeth decided to get into the egg business. He built a hen house and ordered baby chicks from back east. When the chicks arrived, most were roosters. But roosters can't lay eggs!
Judson and Elizabeth's son, Truman, became a full-time partner in 1935. At the beginning of World War II, the Wilcoxes owned 5,000 laying hens. The farm was one of largest egg producers in the state of Washington.
The Wilcox Egg Farm continued to grow under the direction of their grandsons, Jim and Barrie. Both earned their doctorates in business from the University of Puget Sound. A fourth generation of Wilcoxes also participates in the family business.
The photographs below are of a cage free hen house. Cage free hens are permitted to roam and socialize as they wish. The farm currently produces organic, cage free and Omega 3 eggs. Their hens are fed a strictly vegetarian diet and aren't given any hormones or antibiotics. The Wilcoxes also practice sustainable green farming. Sustainable green farming means that the farmer protects the land and watersheds by avoiding the use of pesticides and harmful chemicals.
According to our tour guide, cage free hens are permitted to roam through the hen house and socialize as they wish. There are approximately one million hens on the Wilcox Family Farm. It takes a hen about 26 hours to lay an egg. The hens on the farm produce about one million eggs per day.
On Saturday, March 31, 2012, the Wilcox Family Farm will host its annual Easter egg hunt from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Perhaps we will see you there.
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