It was a sweet event on a hot day for an amazing cause: the very first honey pickup party at Valley View Village, 852 FM 1855 in Marble Falls. Volunteers and honey gourmets swarmed to the 211-acre expanse of ranchland being developed by Ark of Highland Lakes to sample and purchase the organization’s newest project: homegrown honey. 

Development plans for Valley View also include a building-supply warehouse with workshops in carpentry and auto repair, meat-processing center, greenhouse, garden, chapel, and general store complete with coffee shop. Roofs are already rising over 21 of 250 planned transitional homes. By the end of the year, seven of 32 RV living spots should be ready for occupancy.

Staff is already holding meetings under the shade of a newly constructed amphitheater, which held its first public event on Good Friday. Administration will move its offices from the portables on Avenue T into El Centro as soon as construction is complete, possibly by the end of this year. The El Centro building will be home to the Ark’s crisis center, with room for shelter during major disasters.

Steel girders for the walls and roof were in place when this reporter took a golf cart tour in August, along with a few young volunteers. Millie Sue Rust, 11, sister Ruby Mae, 13, and Jillian Reese Webb, 12, are seasoned Ark volunteers, having worked in The Warehouse at 800 Industrial Blvd. in Marble Falls. They are looking forward to helping local families in need “break the cycle of poverty,” they said. 

“I really want to help with the community and become a bigger part of it,” Millie Sue said. “The Ark is an organization that helps out with everything, not just certain types of people, and not just a little bit of helping, but helping with everything.” 

The three girls peppered Ark Executive Director Kevin Naumann with questions as he guided the six-seater cart along Ark Way, one of several well-graded dirt roads that wind through the rocky, cactus-and-tree-studded landscape. 

“Will you have a rooster with the chickens so you can grow your own chicks?” Millie Sue asked when Naumann pointed out the area planned for coops. 

They also wanted to know where all the huge rocks piled on the roadside came from and if they could volunteer at the projects here. (The rocks came out of the ground when construction sites were cleared and YES!)

“I love to help out,” said Jillian, who works the cash register at The Warehouse, where people can buy gently used clothes, furniture, and household goods. “It helps people who need this stuff, and I’m happy to help out.” 

Jillian also volunteers at local animal shelters and other shops that sell donated clothes. 

Another Warehouse veteran, Ruby Mae, volunteers because it “makes everyone feel good,” she said. She has also worked at animal shelters and food pantries. 

“I love giving back to my community,” she continued. “So many people help me put a smile on my face, and I want to spread that. I love learning about everyone and how to help.”

The girls’ moms followed along in a second cart.

“Service is really big in our faith and fundamental in our family,” said Sarah Jane Rust, mother to Ruby Mae and Millie Sue. “The Ark is the epitome of that kind of service and love for others. And, yes, we all go by two names in this family.” 

Ark Chief Operating Officer Rachel Naumann had the wheel of the moms’ cart, giving her own twist on the ongoing construction as the tour continued.

“They are rockin’ and a rollin’ out here,” said Rachel, who’s married to Kevin. She explained that the first phase of the yearslong development should be complete by the end of the year. That includes the central office, building-supply warehouse, greenhouse, meat-processing plant, chapel, and the first of the housing units.

“Sometimes, I feel like it’s taken forever. Then some things, like the chapel where people really get going on it, goes like crazy,” she said. 

The chapel will not hold Sunday services but will be available for other worship events, bible studies, and weddings. Its windows overlook a rocky, tree-dotted incline to the amphitheater. 

“It’s one of my favorite spots out here,” Rachel said. “It’s a place for community concerts and events. It’s already been super helpful.” 

A prayer garden links the main building, El Centro, to the chapel. Visitors will park at the office and walk a shaded path through the prayer garden to the chapel. 

The garden and greenhouses are nearing completion, with fall planting sheduled to begin soon. A trial crop in the spring yielded 500 pounds of potatoes. One large greenhouse will grow vegetables year-round. Starter plants and seeds will germinate in two smaller buildings. Raised beds were filled with dirt in mid-August. Prep on keyhole herb gardens continues. 

Milling around the Welcome Center with tote bags full of honey were volunteers who worked on both the apiary and the gardens. Suzanne Ryman of Boerne and friend Rob Borchardt of Marble Falls expressed exitement about the promise of the village. 

Ryman, a Master Naturalist, helps with the garden and bees. Borchardt began as a construction volunteer with the Ark, then known as the Highland Lakes Crisis Network, in the aftermath of the 2018 flood. His own home was damaged. 

“They helped me, so I helped them,” he said. 

He also prepared and delivered meals during the 2020 pandemic.

“I just love volunteering and working with people,” he said. “The hearts of these people in this area are incredible. I’ve been helping dig water lines for houses here and in the garden.” 

Head beekeeper Harold Vanicek and his son and assistant, Henry Vanicek, set up an apiary information table at the event. The Vaniceks also work with beehives at Trinity Episcopal Church’s community garden in Marble Falls. Henry is a beekeeper on the Rice University campus in Houston, where he’s a student. 

“When they started the Valley View project, I thought bees would be a great thing out here,” Harold said. “Both are about building community. Here’s a community right here to give us wisdom and inspiration about what does it look like to work together, what does it look like to be what God created us to be. It’s both inspiration and wisdom and something that connects us together like it has today.”

Hives were set up in April. By this hot August afternoon, some 300 pounds of honey had been jarred for distribution at food pantries and to sell. The gardens will follow soon, Kevin Naumann said. 

“Everything we do has three purposes,” he said. “Serving the community that’s here (at the village), serving the larger community, and generating revenue to get us to self-sufficiency.” 

The Ark will sell honey, meat, and produce, while also distributing those goods and more to families in need. The mercantile and coffee shop will sell T-shirts and other items to generate revenue. All will be run by volunteers. 

Others at the honey-do came for the sweets and the support. 

“Why buy THIS honey?” asked Lisa Crawford of Burnet as she held up her 8-ounce glass jar. “To support the Ark. I believe in what they are doing here and how they are helping people. It’s a God-centered group of people who are helping our community.”

The rewards, as Valley View Village continues to grow, are certainly sweet. 

Tours of Valley View Village are available at 9 a.m. Mondays, or by request for groups. To sign up, visit arkofhighlandlakes.org. To make a donation, volunteer, or find out more, visit the website, call the office at 325-423-3662, or email info@arkofhighlandlakes.org.

suzanne@thepicayune.com