Somewhere there’s a certified organic family farm,
surrounded by more than 9,000 acres of protected land, far from agricultural
drift, with mineral-rich soil sitting on one of the most ancient outcrops of
quartzite in North America.
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| Four Elements organic farm in Wisconsin |
In the pristine Baraboo Bluffs, designated as one of the
Last Great
Places by the Nature Conservancy, is the 130 acres where
Four Elements Organic Herbals
grows and handpicks herbs and flowers for its line of organic handmade soaps,
balms, creams, oils, deodorants and hydrosols/toners.
 |
Shirlie & I hiking at
Aldo Leopold Foundation trails |
Four of us from Chicago were camping for a few days at the
local
Devil’s Lake State Park
in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Before we ventured on one of our hikes up the park’s
bluffs, my friend Shirlie pulled out a pump bottle of natural insect repellant
from her knapsack. “Want to try it?” she asked. It was Four Elements Lavender
Catnip Insect Repellant. She said she had purchased it at a shop in Evanston, a
suburb of Chicago.
I was pleasantly surprised by my friend’s offering, as I had
been using Four Elements products I had immediately fallen in
love with her soaps, in addition to a special roll-on facial oil called Golden
Crown Botanical Elixir “designed for wise women with mature skin," for years. I first met Four Elements farmer
and owner Jane Stevens at the Baraboo Farmer’s Market during a previous trip to
the area.
 |
Golden Crown
Elixir |
Golden Crown Botanical Elixir is made from a list of
luscious naturals: sage, calendula, gotu kola and ginseng infused almond oil,
neroli, rose geranium, rose and clary sage essential oils, rose hip seed oil,
vitamin E and something called “pretty face flower essence.” Smells so good! It
keeps my skin glowing and I am totally unable to live without it. Thus, I have
ordered it online ever since.
Evidently, Four Elements has increased their distribution
beyond the local Farmer’s Market and online sales, as Shirlie could attest.
Four Elements products are now available in retail locations in 36 states.
As I held and used the insect repellant that Shirlie just handed
me, I asked her, “Do you have any idea where they actually make the Four
Elements products?” She did not. “In the little town of North Freedom, just
west of here!” From the Four Elements website, I had learned that they ran an
apothecary of their products in North Freedom, eight miles west of Baraboo, the
town closest to Devil’s Lake.
Coincidentally, with a Four Elements brochure tucked into my
camping supplies, I had actually planned ahead to suggest a field trip over to
the apothecary sometime during our stay in order to introduce Shirlie to their
great products. Little did I know she was already familiar with them!
 |
Four Elements Apothecary
in North Freedom, Wisconsin |
No need to talk her into making the side trip to Four
Elements Apothecary.
One afternoon,
Shirlie and I and our significant others drove up to the
Aldo Leopold Foundation
Legacy Center and visited the buildings and trails on this bucolic,
environmental site. On our way back, we made a loop into North Freedom
(population 706) and pulled up to the unassuming storefront of the
Four Elements Herbals Apothecary.
Inside, we entered a modest shop area where the skin care
and wellness products and testers were lined up on wooden shelves. We were greeted by Molly, who explained how all
the products are processed and packaged right on premises in a large area
behind the shop. And how everything that
went into the products is grown and handpicked at the farm, located about six
miles from the shop. How often does this this local farm-to-product process
take place in America? Unfortunately, too seldom! The Four Elements farm itself,
founded in 1987 and certified organic since 1990, is open to the public only on
a special Open Farm Day held in late spring each year, or by appointment only. This year marks their 30th
anniversary.
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| My cache from Four Elements Apothecary |
After testing products on our skin, smelling their
wonderfully natural aromas, and chatting with Molly about the benefits of each
of the items we were interested in, both Shirlie and I gathered a cache of
healthy selections to bring home with us.
Hiking can sometimes leave me a little banged up after
hitting stray tree branches or unseen jutting rocks, so I was eager to try the
Four Elements Black and Blue Balm. In addition, my husband Carlos entered the
apothecary with sore wrists and Shirlie with sore knees. After a couple of
sprays of Four Elements Arnica Capsicum Botanical Liniment to the affected
areas, the pain of both parties immediately vanished. Sold!
One of my family members is plagued by painful varicose
veins, so I bought him a gift of Four Elements Very Close Vein Cream, which
contains horse chestnut hull, gotu kola, St. John’s wort and other botanicals to
help relieve vein pain, smoothly delivered in a shea butter and botanical oil
base.
I was a little sad to see that my favorite and delightfully
fragrant Four Elements Hunter’s Oakmoss and Pine Soap was being discontinued,
but was able to pick up the last several bars half-off in the clearance
bin. A few other items rounded out my
purchases including a Triple Lemon Tea, comprising lemongrass, lemon balm and
lemon verbena. And Shirlie left with a
healthy supply of items, as well, including a vial of the Golden Crown
Botanical Elixir facial oil roll-on for herself. She and her beau Jim also liked the Herbal Shampoo in bar form. Easy to pack on camping trips, and not considered a liquid in flight carry-ons.
It was a highlight of our central Wisconsin trip to finally
visit the Four Elements Herbal Apothecary in person to hand-pick new items and
learn more about its earth stewardship and fair trade practices, and the dedicated
local talent who grow, create, package and ship products
 |
Owner Jane Stevens & her crew
who farm and create the Four Elements products. |
they believe in.
Four Elements. Earth (some of the best soil on the planet).
Air (clean air from 55,000 acres of surrounding forests). Water (set among the
Baraboo, Wisconsin and Mississippi River watersheds). Fire (summer days of 16
hours of sunshine). It is all pure and vibrant in central Wisconsin. Hoping next
year to take part in Four Elements Open Farm Day come spring!
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A Personal Field Trip to Four Elements Organic Herbals Apothecary
that poets have written
