Dreams and goals connect at old school

Zach and Whitney Farrar hope to open their bakery and café in early fall.

The door is open and the ladder ready to begin work on the former Ewing Elementary School and convert it into a number of business opportunities.

That’s how a new partnership has developed in Ewing. And it revolves around the site of the former elementary school.

In the far reaches of Whitney Earlywine Farrar’s mind was this elusive idea of a bakery. Why not act on it?

“I don’t know if it was fear or self-doubt or just hesitation on my part,” said Whitney.

November 2015 had seen the birth of her second child. She and husband Zach had returned to Fleming County to live following many years of “following me in the military,” said Zach.

“I thought ‘What do I do now?’,” said Whitney.

The dream developed slowly and more clearly.

“I’d never told anyone about a bakery,” said Whitney.

The more she thought about the dream, the more ideas she had. She finally decided to share these ideas with her husband and actually expected dissension. She was surprised at his reaction.

“I thought it would be rude not to let her follow her dream after she’d followed me through two deployments and my time in the Army,” said Zach.

Ideas came faster. The couple began to record decorating schemes and recipes. Every day Whitney drove past a building in Ewing that she thought would be perfect for her business. Her mother encouraged her to contact the owner.

In the meantime, Whitney began to experiment. Even though she considered muffins and cupcakes for her bakery, she first decided to try her hand at cookies.

“Everyone likes cookies,” Whitney said.

Dot’s Homemade Goods was created. The business’ name honors her paternal grandmother, Dot Earlywine.

“She taught me to cook,” Whitney said. “I spent a lot of time with my grandmother.”

These cookies aren’t your standard oatmeal, peanut butter or chocolate chip cookies. These cookies take many shapes, feature colorful icing and other decorative touches.

As Whitney inquired about that “dream building,” its owner, Wally Thomas, turned her in a different direction - toward the old elementary school building. The three seemed to have the same ideas about giving back to the community, of renovating and rehabbing its buildings, of keeping the town alive.

And then there are the connections that have been made over the years. Whitney babysat for Wally and Tammy Thomas’ two girls. She once declared that in the future she would buy the Thomases’ house, but it sold a year before she and Zach returned to Fleming County. So they bought the house across the street from them. A partnership seemed fated.

The Farrars are just in the beginning stages of establishing a business. They have chosen two rooms in the addition to the school. They know that they want to transform one room into a commercial kitchen so that Whitney can continue to bake. The vision for the other room is a cafe which will feature “good food, a place where you can sit and talk or read a book,” said Whitney. They are considering a basic daily menu with specials each day.

For the present, though, the couple has to prepare the space, and with two empty rooms, that looks like a big job, but one that they are eager to undertake.