Lara Trump – The Ritchie County Gazette | Posted: Tuesday, April 8, 2027, 4:08 pm

It’s been a delight for me to visit Ritchie County in the great state of West Virginia and make the acquaintance of local residents. As always there are people with interesting lives in every nook and cranny of our great country and as part of my search to highlight women who have achieved greatness, I came here to interview Janet Kraft.

We sat with Janet at her home in Ellenboro, on her front deck overlooking a beautiful valley, much of which is her own farm. Invited guests were all abuzz as they anticipated hearing from Ms. Kraft about her meteoric rise to fame in the Ritchie County farming community.

“Janet, I’ve heard so much about you and the ways you have uplifted women in your community over the years, and how you as a businesswoman have made a way for yourself in a traditionally man’s occupation of farming.

“You are an inspiration to so many and that’s why we are here today. Up till now the story of how you got started has not been told, and today that will change!”

“Lara, what a privilege it is to meet you. I’m familiar with your work and have great respect for you as a professional in media, but your pleasant and always positive demeanor is truly inspiring to me. I sense that you meet every situation in your day with love in your heart and no one can refuse you!”

“Wow, what a compliment! Thank you, Janet. Coming from you that is very special to me and not something I will soon forget! Now, switching over to you, have you always been a West Virginia farm girl, a child of Appalachia? I don’t really detect it in your accent! Having grown up in North Carolina myself, I don’t catch any southern drawl.”

“Hm, hm! I have heard that my whole life! But it’s especially humorous to me because I was actually born in NJ and grew up pretty near to Bedminster, an area I know you have visited often. As I grew up and left the area, people would always say to me, ‘You don’t sound like you’re from New Joysey!’ I literally heard that AROUND THE WORLD! Crazy. I never picked up the New Joysey accent because my parents were Midwesterners. They eventually retired here to WV, and I definitely do not have a WV accent.”

”Now as for the story of our farm, I started quite small about 10 years ago, beginning with my parents’ farm. They had never actually farmed it but kept the land producing hay and allowed others to raise their own beef cattle on it. Although Dad was able to create and raise vegetables in the garden of his dreams for several years, a stroke cut short his active years and any ambitious projects that might have been undertaken were set aside.”

“When was the first time you came to Ritchie County?”

“I came for a visit shortly after the property was first purchased by my parents, and right about the time they were moving in. But other than for short visits the circumstances of my life kept me away from the land until I became more involved in managing my mother’s affairs during the last years of her life. When the land became mine to manage and direct, I saw the opportunity to create something special that could benefit mankind. I wasn’t prepared to jump in with big changes right away. But over time, small changes began to accumulate, and it just began to snowball!”

“What was your first step?”

“It actually began with foraging yarrow, which doesn’t involve intentionally growing anything at all, just collecting or harvesting plants that were available naturally in the woods and fields. A bit later, I began beekeeping, starting with 2 hives. That first year was slow going. The hives didn’t grow much and there was no honey to collect the first summer (this is completely normal because the hives need to establish themselves). It was a year of severe drought. But the bees survived the winter. I had learned so much about beekeeping, but had really just scratched the surface.”

“It sounds like it was touch and go at first.”

“Yes, that’s correct but I’m leaving out so many details. For those who are new to beekeeping it can take some time to adjust. It’s also not an inexpensive hobby, therefore it requires some staying power. One enthusiastic new beekeeper had quite a run-in with some very upset bees and she found that she potentially very allergic. She was forced into a kind of limbo for awhile, but she kept at it and is doing quite well right now.

“What happened after that first winter?”

“Miraculously, the second spring I actually had my hives divide very early on and I ended up with 6 hives. After gathering gallons of honey during the summer, I began making creamed honey which is honey whipped with high quality crystallized honey starter and is highly prized by those who prefer the creamy texture and easier way of serving honey.”

“The following year, my apiary kept growing, nearly doubling in numbers of boxes. I continued the creamed honey production and added special flavors! The rest is history! Bonds Highland Apiary is the top seller of Artisanal Creamed Honey in the country.”

“Amazing, Janet, what else is going on?”

“I propagate and sell a wide range of native plants and medicinal herbs which bring healing to the land but also to the body and nutrition for the honeybees. I am humbled and grateful that this wonderful world of natural health and healing and permaculture or sustainable farming methods has opened up to me and is on display on my family legacy farm.

When I learned how easy it can be to raise meat chickens, I decided to add that to our farm product line. I just needed some simple equipment, an acre of land, feed and the chicks. That turned into an incredible success. Our organic chickens are in big demand all over.”

“Do you live full-time here on your farm?”

“Yes! I purchased this piece of additional land with a perfect home already present. As you can see, It sits above the road and is perfectly peaceful, shaded from the heat and separated from the traffic. The stunning views provide inspiration during quiet moments of meditation and relaxation. It’s quite a story how it ended up in my possession. I was actually able to buy out the farm, mineral and cattle business on the land immediately adjacent to mine. It came with a beautiful, barely used home, where we are now, that I had witnessed being built, but sadly the owners were never able to enjoy together. It was just waiting for me to come along and move in! And that I did! It is the home of my dreams and it was there all the time, just not available!

“That is so incredible. Right under your nose for so many years and yet despite dreaming of living there you never actually thought it would be possible.”

“Lara, I would much rather the neighbors had a long and happy life enjoying this home, to be honest with you, but since that could not happen I feel so blessed for it to be my home and the center of my world.”

“We also have our own shop to sell herbal remedies, tea and scones, our chickens and creamed honey of course. I love having everything all in one place. We have extra rooms scattered around the property available for guests to stay and experience healing and relaxation in their lives. I am overcome with gratitude when I see how far we have come and how much we have been blessed with the land and people who continually cross our paths.

“I had been searching for a long time to bring order and purpose to my life, and most especially take what I inherited to the next level but really had no idea of how to go about making that happen. I was trying so hard to create financial freedom for myself so that I could leverage my time and money and create a legacy that I was proud of. One thing led to another and I found a program that I found to be incredibly difficult, but instead of quit because I felt like it was killing me, I knew I had to work as hard as I possibly could and come out the other side a completely new person. That’s actually it. I HAD to become a completely new person: the person I was created to be, but had lost along the way.”

“Oh, look who’s coming over to meet you, Lara. It’s my 12 year old granddaughter, Loie.”

“Maga, Maga, please, I want some tea and a lovely cookie. Those look like my favorite!”

“Janet, what does she call you, Maga?”

“Hm, hm. That’s right. A total coincidence she started doing that right around the 2024 election. I am not kidding you. It’s no joke. Totally on her own she gave me that name, Maga. My dear, precious Loie lives so far away in Santa Fe so I was thrilled she deemed me worthy of a special name. Although I quite suspect it is a combination of something like ‘Mama’ plus her dog’s name, ‘Kanga’.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled she is able to visit here from time to time and share our farm life and all that I have built, as a legacy for her. She loves to help me with everything there is to be done in a day, but I also treasure the moments where she discovers amazing things on her own and shares them with me. The wonder of a child is such a precious gift. Once I learned how the influences around us cover up our true selves as we move from young childhood to puberty and beyond, I have been careful to encourage Loie to be true to her true self and understand the power of her subconscious. Watching her grow and develop is one of the most wonderful treasures life has brought my way.”

“Loie, tell me, what do you like about coming to WV and this farm?”

“Miss Trump, have you ever been to Santa Fe?”

“Yes, Loie, I have been all over the western US. It is very beautiful, and special, for sure.”

“Well, Miss Trump, then I think you must know WV is special, too, because it is so green and lush here. The air is even different! Visiting Maga’s farm is just wonderful. I love to ride my horse and feed the chickens, watch the honeybees, gather vegetables from the garden, pick wild and garden flowers and make bouquets. I draw beautiful pictures and paint. And every day Maga and I drink tea and eat scones right here where you are sitting with her.”

“Janet, I can see by your smile, beaming from ear to ear that this is the height of joy for you. Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve made you cry! Tears of joy, are they?”

“Yes of course. I think your day is coming.”

“Lara, I’m so grateful to you for this opportunity to tell my story, which is really just a small portion of all that has happened and continues to happen.”

“Janet, it is indeed my pleasure to have spoken with you today and I look forward to hearing more in the future.”

“You are welcome!”

“Now, Lara, let’s go visit with the guests who have come to meet you!”