KAREN OVERTON of Wedge Oak Farm doesn’t make just run-of-the-mill sausage. Her bold flavors and interesting ingredients are found nowhere else.
When we pulled up to Wedge Oak Farm this past June, we encountered ducks, geese and chickens strutting around like they “owned the place.” And they sort of do, as they’re the livelihood of proprietor, farmer and sausage maker, Karen Overton. It had just rained and they were in heaven as the rain brings all sorts of good things to eat to the surface of the grounds. The first thing to know about Karen: she treats her animals with love, based on the philosophy that, “if we’re going to eat them, they should have had a good life and been treated kindly.” And this goes for all of Karen’s animals, including her pigs and sheep.
Karen Overton didn’t intend to be a sausage maker and hog farmer. She studied at MTSU and worked as an archaeologist for 11 years, traveling around the country. Tired of traveling she went back to school for museum studies at University of Memphis. This led her to New York where she worked with several artists and galleries helping to install art works. She loved it, but unfortunately it too, included lots of travel (global this time). In April 2008 after a trip to Brazil, she returned home to the family farm in Lebanon for a visit. At that point, her parents were concerned about the future of the farm and themselves. It was then Karen decided to come home and try her hand at farming. She gave herself three years.