Anyone who has walked to the top of the Greenbank Farm knows that one can see both sides of the island from that beautiful vantage point. The farm’s management board should walk up there sometime and get a better understanding what the farm is all about. From up there you can see all the improvements that have occurred under the leadership of Laura Blankenship. Without Laura’s focus and skill, the farm would look much less attractive and would still be a struggling, aimless, weed-filled eyesore. But instead, it has given jobs and meaning to many local residents. It has become an attraction for tourists, weddings, and festivals.

Thanks to Laura, not the management board, new buildings have replaced decrepit and rotting old buildings. Her ability to work with people encouraged volunteers to improve the landscape and get the many tasks accomplished. She brought life to the farm through her hard work. Now it appears that the board’s need to micro-manage has driven her away.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes the board to realize their blunder and myopia. If we are lucky, the Port of Coupeville will step in, take over the farm, and hire someone with common sense (like Laura Blankenship) to get the Greenbank Farm back on an even keel before it is destroyed by inept, visionless “managers.”

Jerry Mercer

Greenbank