A Suburban Oasis: Bonny Slope Blueberry Farm
John Russell is the owner of Bonny Slope Blueberries in the suburb of Cedar Mill in Portland, Oregon. He is a former elementary teacher and hitchhiker, who now spends his days farming and hanging out with his dog. He believes in trusting humanity and expresses it through his farming practices.
Bonny Slope Blueberries is a farm where families from all around the Cedar Mill area gather to pick cheap berries, play with the farm’s pug, Ripley, and get to know the farmer, John Russell. Frequent customer, Phil Roberts, explains how, “I see him working all the time, and even with bad weather conditions because he loves it.”
During the summer months, Russell sees a lot of diversity at his farm. The high-tech industries, such as Nike and Intel, bring immigrants from countries like India and China to Cedar Mill. Beaverton is composed of 33.7% non-white residents according to Portland State University. “Many families have to leave their rural lives behind, so they value this oasis in the midst of all the development,” explains Russell.
The suburban houses weren’t always welcomed here. Russell’s former wife, Joan Gunness, remembers when the farm used to be surrounded by just horse pasture. Gunness started the business on her own 30 years prior to meeting Russell. She relied on neighbors to help keep up the two-acre farm.
As a children’s dance teacher, Gunness’ income was not sufficient to survive and keep up the farm. In 2007 Gunness sold an acre to Noyes Housing development. “At first it was really hard for Joan to even consider selling an acre of the blueberry farm. It took her several years to make that agreement with herself,” said Russell.
The recession hit in 2008 and Gunness got to use that acre for four more years. However, once the economy improved in 2012, the construction commenced rapidly.
Russell was not aware of the development until he encountered a construction worker mowing down some bushes surrounding the farm. Russell explained, “We walked over and said, ‘What are you doing?’ and he said, ‘Oh we’re gonna put 15 houses here.”
“It was like a bomb went off, we had no preparation for it emotionally,” said Russell. “It all happened so fast. We just took a big gulp and said ‘here we go.’”
As the houses were being built Russell and Gunness survived the new environment by focusing on their blueberry farm. “We lived through all the construction by putting our heads down and just doing our thing,” said Russell.
Once the construction finished Russell and Gunness began to see the new developments in a positive light. “The people who live here are great customers and it’s good for business. We made our peace with the change,” said Russell.
They contributed to the new community by planting trees and talking with the new neighbors. Russell realized, “Wow, it looks different but a lot of wonderful people live here. Let’s just take it all in and all live together.”
Sandy Karreman, a neighbor who lives in one of the houses, explains, “if the farm wasn’t behind us, we probably wouldn’t have bought this house.” She is a frequent customer who appreciates the sense of nature the farm brings to her daily life.
Once customers finish filling their buckets with berries they must go into an old shed to purchase them without Russell watching. “John makes all his money off of good faith. He believes people are good-natured and do the right thing. He runs that belief to the end and even into his blueberry farm,” explained Roberts.
Russell strives to give back to the community. He enjoys providing for immigrants who miss their homes. “Some extended families with grandma’s value coming and being able to pick something to take home and eat. It fills them up emotionally. They miss it so much. I get to provide that place for them,” said Russell.
Russell loved integrating his love of nature into his teaching practices. Each year on Earth Day, Russell allows hundreds of students from The Emerson School to come to his farm for a field trip. “Joan and I never felt like the farm was just ours, we were lucky to just be stewards of the farm and it really belongs to the community or to anybody that truly loves it,” explained Russell.
When Gunness passed away from Stage 4 cancer in 2018, the Cedar Mill community was devastated. They supported Russell in every way possible. Neighbors, friends, and family gathered to help clean their house, walk their dog, and help out with the farm.
Although this was a challenge for Russell, he still goes through life with a smile. He intends to keep up the farm as long as possible. Russell explained, “I just want to keep doing what I do and hopefully it’s a way of giving back to all the people that come and enjoy it. I don’t know if I can keep it up forever but I’ll do the best I can.”
