Family Creates Thriving Business From ‘Naaatural’ Goats Milk Products

In 1908, the community of Jenningston in Tucker County was a lumber boom-town and home to several thriving businesses, including a sawmill, machine shop, hotel, restaurant and several stores. It was a hub of activity where the sounds of sawmills and railroad cars once filled the air. Now, only abandoned building foundations and photographs are all that remain, a small reminder of this time-gone-by town.

The area where the town square once stood lies quietly and placidly along the Laurel Fork River. But Jenningston is once again home to a thriving business, as Marsha Louk and her life partner, Kendall Waybright, along with the help of Kendall’s mother, Dorothy, have turned the Waybright’s acreage along the river into a haven of activity. Although not nearly so noisy as the lumberyards of yesteryear, the family’s new business venture — Laurel Fork Farm where they make natural soap and skin care products using milk produced from a herd of 24 Nubian goats — is becoming quite busy as Tucker County’s newest entrepreneurship has just been accepted by the jurists at the highly acclaimed and prestigious Tamarack.

In most families, the kitchen table can be the most important piece of furniture in the house. It’s a place for homework, bills, family meals and discussions. In the case of the Waybright family, it’s become a place that has changed their lives.

Louk’s kitchen table is instrumental in creating a financially secure future for her family. It’s where she began the family’s home-based business almost two years ago.

“Instead of spending my life working for someone else, I decided that I wanted to live my own dream,” Louk said.

After operating the business for a few months, Louk realized that her decision to work from home gave her all she could ask for in a career — time for her children, Collin and Kendra, flexibility and a lifestyle that allowed her to work on the farm. “My kids help me every chance they get. They love the farm and all the animals, and often help me milk the goats, fill lotion bottles or whatever they can,” Louk said.

A year and a half after the venture began, Louk now runs her own successful business, and enjoys her passion for animals and gardening in the process.

Laurel Fork Farm’s business continues to grow as its customer base steadily increases. Louk also has accounts from as far away as California.

Locally, in addition to the new Tamarack account, Laurel Fork Farm’s skin care products are sold at a number of local area businesses including MountainMade in Thomas, Canaan Valley Resort, Canaan Trading Co., Gifts to Go in Parsons, Expressions Gift Shop in Elkins, Lambert’s store on Middle Mountain and Mountain Trail Rides Tack and Gift Shop in Canaan Valley. This year, as an advertising partner, Laurel Fork Farm will have several goats on site at the new Barnyard Babies Petting Zoo, which will open at Mountain Trail Rides on May 17.

“We’re excited about opening the petting zoo and having Marsha’s goats here for people to pet and play with this year,” said Kim Bennett of Mountain Trail Rides. “Her handmade soaps and lotions are already a big hit with our gift shop customers, and I believe the products will become even more popular after people get to see and pet the goats first-hand at the petting zoo.

“Most of our customers come from the northern Virginia-Washington, D.C., area where everyone is so environmentally conscious these days about additives and preservatives. They come here to Canaan Valley to get back to nature,” Bennett said. “I’m sure that the goats themselves will become just as popular as the skin-care products Marsha makes from their milk, and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to let the petting zoo visitors watch one of the goats get milked from time to time.”

At Laurel Fork Farm, the goats are milked by hand twice daily to get the most important ingredient for the soap — goat milk. Many other products, including bath milk, lip balm, bath salts, shaving soap and salves, are also made with all-natural materials.

“Some of the salves I make have been handed down for generations, and some I have concocted myself,” Louk said. One salve — Grandpa Grover’s salve — was named after her father, Grover Louk.

“I am currently working on an all-natural tooth soap, making my own vanilla extract, soy candles and lots more. I will post new products on my Web site (www.laurelforkfarm.com) as I release them.

“We don’t experiment on animals,” Louk joked. “We use all of our products ourselves and most of our friends volunteer to try them out before I add them to the Web site. Only the best recipes are kept and made for the public.”

When asked what Marsha thought has led to her success, the business-minded mother of two said, “I would first like to thank God for his grace, my wonderful family who has helped me so much, Debbie and Tony Tiburzi at Little Cove Farm for my beautiful Nubian goats, and the support of the Harman Presbyterian Church and community. Everyone has encouraged me, especially the Harman Senior Center and just everyone in the community” who kind words and support have had a tremendous impact. “One more person that I need to give a special thanks is Tracy Walker, the veterinarian that has continued to work with my herd to keep every one of them happy and healthy.”