Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Somewhere along the line Mary Joyer fell in love with farming and making a living off the ground.

Perhaps it was rooted in the work of her grandfather, William Waldoch, who grew potatoes on the Lino Lakes acreage and would use horses to haul hay to St. Paul in the early years of the 20th century.

Maybe it was from the lessons of her parents, Dan and Lucille Waldoch who worked the land. It was the cucumbers her father grew and sold that provided the money to build a new home for the family.

The love of farming was certainly instilled in Mary Waldoch Joyer early in life. As a teen growing up, she spent her summer working the vegetable fields and the income she made paid her way through college.

So, it is easy to understand how farming has become a tradition with Mary Joyer.

As 2007 opened, the fourth generation of the family has planted its roots in the Waldoch Farm business at 8174 Lake Drive (CR-23).

In all this year, as many as nine family members, including Mary's husband, Jeff, and sister, Kathy Rivard of Lino Lakes will play active roles in the Waldoch Farm business that continues to expand.

Farm history

The Waldoch Farm business saw its start in 1916 when William Waldoch bought the 160-acre farm. A year later he moved from St. Paul, but continued to work in the city as an electrotyper for a printing business.

"This was a dirt cart way," Mary Joyer said, pointing to Lake Drive. "He would go in to St. Paul every Saturday with a load of hay."

The late William Waldoch was the first of what is now four generations of family members to run the Waldoch Farm operation in Lino Lakes. He operated a roadside produce stand for many years. (Forest Lake Times File Photo)

Waldoch was 100 when he died in 1989. By then, a chunk of the land and the Waldoch Farm business had been turned over to Mary Joyer.

William Waldoch was in his late 20s when he made the move to Lino Lakes with his wife, Anna. They raised eight children there.

Mary Joyer fondly remembers her grandfather's dedicated work ethic and the roadside Grandpa's Stand where he sold vegetables up until his end. The stand has been relocated on the Waldoch Farm retail location but remains a sentimental part of the business, she said.

Joyer says her grandfather made good use of the land, growing potatoes, crops, raising cattle and using horses to work the land. He found the roadside stand a good way to market produce and gradually began to expand the lines of vegetables that he sold.

The farm tradition continued under the guidance of Mary's parents, the late Dan and Lucille Waldoch. The family used the cucumber fields to provide the income to build a home on the farm.

When Dan Waldoch retired from a career as a commercial pilot, he devoted his time to the farm business. By then the family was jumping in, too.

As kids growing up, the four children of Dan and Lucille found jobs on the farm. By the time Mary was 16 she was taking summer produce to markets in St. Paul. When her father helped open other market locations in Anoka County, there were more locations for home-grown produce.

"The business was a cooperative," Mary said. "We kept track of our hours and income. Kathy and I put ourselves through college with the money we earned."

Mary Joyer earned a teaching degree at St. Cloud State and was a special education teacher for several years. Her husband, Jeff, has worked in real estate for 30 years, but comes from a family that has strong agriculture ties in the Dayton area of Hennepin County.

"It just evolved," Mary Joyer says of the business today.

She's been involved extensively since 1978 when the Joyer family purchased 10 acres from the family and built a home of their own.

By 1982 the Waldoch Farm business was being run by Mary Joyer in partnership with her father. It has continued to grow and evolve over the past 25 years.

The business today

While vegetable growing was the backbone of the farm business for decades, the addition of flowers in the late 1980s set the business in motion for significant growth.

Under the daughter-father lead, flowers were added and the business followed in 1990 with the construction of the first two structures and the covered space and growing areas have continued to multiply.

Dan Waldoch stepped away from the business in 1997, leaving most of the chores to his daughter and other family members.

"He continued to come and work in the greenhouse, but not as much," Joyer said. "He still did the vegetable garden and planted the pumpkins and sweet corn."

For the 2007 season, the business will plant 33 acres of vegetables. The business now has 20,000 square feet of covered plastic production and retail space and another 17,000 square feet of outside storage space.

A new outside shaded retail facility will be used for the first time this spring after its late 2006 construction. Designed with wide aisles, it provides customers with shopping ease and expands the inventory area, Joyer says.

The future

Is the business set for the future?

For the Joyers, expansion always remains a possibility, but for now the business is set for the short term. How the next generations of Joyers-Waldochs decide is something for the future.

By late winter, the family was winding up for the big spring plant sale season. During the spring, summer and fall, nearly 30 workers will be needed to run the business.

In all, some nine family members are involved. Kathy Rivard's son Eric, 24, and Mary's son, Andrew, also 24, are the fourth generation to put in regular hours.

Four of Jeff and Mary's six children are working in the business. For some, that involves working the vegetable garden much as Mary did growing up on the farm.

Others pull shifts in the garden center which was built and opened in 1993. A larger parking lot was added last year, too, to meet the demands of customers who head to Waldoch Farm from Forest Lake to the north and Shoreview to the south.

Today, the farm utilizes some 60 acres. A number of 10-acre plots have been split out over the years as building sites for family members.

Mary's brother, Dan Waldoch Jr., continues to farm on the home place, growing corn and feeding cattle.

For the Joyers, the Waldoch Farm business will continue indefinitely. With their children gaining an interest, there is no sign the land will find other uses.

And that is just fine with Mary Joyer who has a deep appreciation for her family's roots on the farm and her life experiences.

Although she is heading up a business that is traditional in nature, Joyer takes pride in seeing the success and growth.

"I've done this all as a stay-at-home mom," she says proudly.

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