By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

FRAZEYSBURG, Ohio — The Longaberger Co. and Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) have partnered to create a commemorative canning basket featuring Farm Bureau’s consumer “Our Ohio “ brand.

From April 1-Nov. 8 anyone visiting Longaberger Homestead will have the opportunity to create their own Our Ohio basket with the assistance of a basket maker, or purchase a ready-made one, said Cara Lawson, OFBF’s promotion specialist.

“Longaberger and Ohio Farm Bureau are both great Ohio companies, so we decided to partner on this basket and also offer Farm Bureau members some special benefits at the Longaberger Homestead,” she explained.

The basket features red and orange splints with a silver Our Ohio tag. The basket is built specifically to hold jars of preserved foods.

“This is a new partnership that we have with the Farm Bureau and I think it really makes sense for us, given that we have deep roots here in Ohio, particularly the rural part of Ohio,” said Tom Matthews, spokesman for Longaberger. “We’re Ohio-grown.”

Visitors from all over come to the Longaberger Homestead, Matthews said. So, there is a natural connection between Longaberger and Farm Bureau on this particular basket. The company’s headquarters are in Newark, while the basket-making facility and the Longaberger Homestead, which are tourist destinations, are located in Frazeysburg.

“Our basket-making facility is right next to Longaberger Homestead, which is a shopping and dining destination,” Matthews said. “It is where you can see our craft come to life and you can shop Longaberger and enjoy meals here throughout the season.”

Longaberger is America’s premier maker of handcrafted baskets, he said. Every basket is handmade by a basket maker, a skilled craftsman. Each basket is signed by the basket maker, and dated.

The baskets are made from hardwood maple in much the same fashion that they were more than 100 years ago, when the Longaberger family first began manufacturing. They are meant to be handed down through generations.
“What is exciting for us is that we have an Our Ohio basket that we’ve partnered with the Farm Bureau on, to now add to that collection and make available to people,” Matthews said. “It is another reason to come visit us.”