RABUN GAP – This unincorporated community is a popular place for
many reasons. One is that, while it can be blazing hot in the valley, it is
pleasantly cool at higher elevations when you retire for the evening.
There are lakes where many residents in the state, particularly in
Atlanta, retreat for extended stays in the summer and the warm weather
months; these same spots renewing their widespread appeal when the
leaves turn into autumnal splendor.

Fall is when trout fishing is something spectacular—exhilarating and
one of the best outdoor experiences that one can enjoy in the great state of
Georgia.

Rabun County was formed in 1819. The land lottery of 1820 saw
land being sold for $l.00 an acre, but there is a sad hangover for those
times in that available land came when the Indians, primarily Creek and
Cherokee, were banished to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears.

It was the railroad and the building of lakes Burton, Rabun, and Seed
that gave this area its greatest appeal and a boost to the economy.
Farming has always been an economic staple of the past and still is today.

Although I haven’t done it lately, I have driven an hour and a half from
my driveway in Athens to Osage Farms’s fruit and vegetable stand, located
at 5030 U. S. Highway 441, for fresh vegetables that make my weekend.
This well-known produce haven is such a remarkable place where
you find the best-looking and the best-tasting fruits and vegetables. Osage
is best known for its strawberries, sweet corn, and heirloom tomatoes.

With a modicum of research, I learned that Osage is operated by 5th- and 6th-generation farmers Clint and Ricky James. I called for information
and was fortunate to connect with Ricky’s wife, Melinda, who was very
considerate of her time to answer questions from a farm-boy-turned-city-
dweller who loves a vegetable plate as passionately as anyone.

When you are taking the farm’s best offerings at Osage, you have
unlimited options—everything from silver queen corn to beans to peas to
butterbeans to peppers to spring onions to cabbage—to most anything you
can think of.

In the fall when pumpkin season comes in, you can’t find a better
pumpkin anywhere than at Osage’s. When there is nothing to harvest, and
Christmas season is coming, that’s when Osage patrons can “choose and
cut” their own Fraser fir for the holiday season.

The family history dates to early years on Scaly Mountain, which is 14
miles up into North Carolina. In 1972, the family started Osage’s, which
has been a centerpiece of that stretch of Highway 441 from Clayton into
North Carolina for decades. With their farming success, the family sells
considerable produce to grocery chains Piggly Wiggly and Ingles.
Atlanta-based doctors, bankers, and businessmen and their families
can’t wait to shop at Osage’s and then enjoy a vegetable dinner, which is a
highlight of the weekend.

The local folk make up the preponderance of their customer clientele,
including local restaurants, but they have a link to local celebrities. Both
sides of Gunner Stockton’s family come their way, and so does Sharon
Smart, the mother of a well-known college football coach in Athens. Nick
Saban, former Alabama icon, has been known to stop by, along with former
Georgia quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

Doesn’t matter who you are, if you want to eat healthily and live
longer, Osage’s farm-fresh produce will fulfill your wishes. This is their
philosophy: “When it comes to your health, there is no comparison to
freshly picked, high-quality vegetables. We take pride in providing the
freshest produce to people throughout the Northeast Georgia area.”

If you do something well for 40 years, you should know what you are
doing. That is certainly obvious with the Ricky James family.