Morgan Family
Dewane and Anne Morgan, along with their one-year-old daughter, moved to Park Rapids in 1972 determined to farm organically even though they had limited homesteading skills. Anne tended a large garden and U-Pick raspberry patch while Dewane managed a small dairy herd and later, a cow-calf herd.
Anne started a dehydrated soup mix business called The Secret Garden on the family’s kitchen table in 1985. Sales quickly outpaced the possibility of processing home-raised vegetables on the farm, so Anne started a seasonal CSA that at its peak had 100 members. The Secret Garden soup business is still run by Anne and her daughter-in-law, Andrea.
Currently, Dewane custom grazes heifers for Benjamin Organic dairy. The Morgans’ son, Joe, operates Midheaven Garden where he raises an acre of organic vegetables that are sold at the Park Rapids Farmers Market and the Red River Farmers Market. Their grandchildren attend Park Rapids Area school and help in the family businesses.
Anne has taught community education classes on gardening and planting by the moon. Dewane volunteers as an advisor to biodynamic farmers in the upper Midwest.