An exerpt from Antrim County News; July 30, 2008:

As it bends and babbles its way from the high hills that rise behind Kidder and Vance roads, Bennet Creek brings its fresh, crystalline water through decades of Antrim County history as well as the Hughes’ trout farm.

This stream is the backbone of the trout operation, but it also is its link to some of the earliest Antrim County settlements. Owner Loren Hughes said, “The stream has looked that way and been at that level for as far back as anyone around here can remember.”

Its cool water not only feeds the ponds fresh, oxygenated water, but it is also used to nurture fresh stock from eggs. The trout at Jordan Valley are treated as if they are members of an exclusive fish spa.

According to Mr. Hughes, “The fish are raised from eggs shipped over-night from Washington State. They are all prime, rainbow trout. Once hatched, they are constantly monitored in three tanks where stream water is gravity fed and circulated.”

Out on the grounds, the fingerlings are brought along gently in protected areas until they are of a certain size that allows them to exist in the larger ponds with adult fish. “They are fed a high-protein food, which gives them excellent flavor, and they are almost all females, which means they have more meat,” according to Hughes.

For many fishing purists, the idea of a commercial trout pond might curl their lures as they envision teeming, overcrowded artificial casks of suffering fish, but at Jordan Valley, they might just find that their prejudices are unfounded. The grounds are spotless with grassy, unfertilized grounds shaded by large willows that gently waft their graceful limbs over the spring-fed ponds.

Loren and his wife Kay Hughes are committed to making their business an enjoyable stop for young and old; those who have never caught a fish and those that are interested in honing their skills.

Patrons are offered fishing options. Tackle is furnished, or your own can be used. Catch-and-release or catch-and-keep practices and philosophies are taught to young anglers. Fish cleaning and even frozen fish are available. According to Loren, “We guarantee to catch fish. Our staff knows all the tricks.”

As is the case in so many Antrim County farms, here again is a source for local food that carries with it the security of knowing where your food comes from and how it is treated. This is not a fish factory in a far-off land that ships their product thousands of miles to chain store meat coolers. As well, these are farmers who are part of the community, even to the point of sponsoring their own scholarship through the Community Foundation.

There is much more to this farm than the trout fishing activities. In a way, all the fishing fun is a masquerade for what is an historic Antrim County landmark. This is the original Bartholomew farm. Its stately, original barns are displays of rural archeology that date to the 1800’s. On the grounds was once an eight-bedroom home that boasted two living rooms. It had to have been, in its time, one of the stateliest abodes of Antrim.

The Hughes’ have great respect and knowledge of its history, and actually turn the profits from the fishing operation back into its maintenance and preservation.

On a tour, Loren can hardly contain his enthusiasm for the lore contained in its buildings. “You see these beams? They are original, hand-hewn, assembled with pegs. Now look closer, and tell me what you see.”

There, on the lowest level of the barn, handwritten in pencil on the beams were the original dated recordings of calves that were born in the 1800’s. It is like looking at some type of Americana hieroglyphics, and you are standing in the exact place that the farmer stood when he reached up and stenciled his historic mark well over 120 years ago.

As Mr. Hughes walked the grounds, the history seemed endless, from silos, to equipment to original roofs, to gardens. The farm is a museum honoring the rural past.

And none of this included the storied family history that brought the Hughes to this place. Names from the Norwegian Road area like Grandfather Ole Omland who came up from Chicago to raise milking cows and worked with Uncle Albert Omland and neighbor Jake Wagbo form the basis of a romantic, hard-working origin.

After working on the farms a kid, Loren (Known formally as Russell Loren Hughes) and his wife Kay (an East Jordan native) are now pouring back tender loving care to the farm.

After a long 40-year career at General Motors in executive finance, Loren now considers the farm and trout ponds “a hobby”. (He and Kay tend to a five-acre produce plot as well. The self-serve vegetable stand out by the road has become famous over the last 13 years for it scrumptious selections.

And through it all, Bennet Creek keeps carrying the history and nourishment of this farm along. Visitors step back in time when they step onto the banks of these trout ponds.

The farm and its operations can be found on M66, 3 ½ miles South of East Jordan. They are open in season from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Their phone numbers are 536-1200 or 536-0518. The Hughes’ welcome all visitors.