Category: Volunteer Stories

Rudy Kelly, an ardent heirloom apple tree sleuth and volunteer for MOFGA’s Maine Heritage Orchard, standing by an ancient tree he discovered that he calls “Jake 1829.” Photo by Abbey Verrier By Abbey Verrier and Angus Deighan A few years ago, Rudy Kelly and his girlfriend, Phoebe Barnes, were driving to the Common Ground Country

Patti Hamilton By Betsy Garrold In 2012, after Patti Hamilton and her husband, Chris, had been living at their current Whitefield farm for a while, they began discussing names for the property and for Patti’s dairy business. That summer as she worked in the garden, a barred owl sat in the trees during daylight hours

Bri Beecher By Betsy Garrold Dressed in an outfit specifically color coordinated with that year’s Common Ground Country Fair volunteer staff Fair T-shirts, Bri Beecher is a super salesperson at the Rose Gate during the Fair. As coordinator for the membership table at that gate, she speaks about MOFGA enthusiastically. She walks the line of

Wesley Daniel. English photo. By Betsy Garrold Wesley Daniel started coming to the Common Ground Country Fair 30 years ago when his then 10-year-old son, Jonathan, became interested in the oxen team events there. The first year he remembers was the 1985 Fair in Litchfield. By the time the Daniels were bringing their own teams,

Bryan McLellan By Betsy Garrold Systems and communications: Those are the two words that describe Bryan McLellan’s volunteer job at the Common Ground Country Fair. For years as a teenager, McLellan worked with Matthew Strong, first in his food booths and then on parking and communications for the three-day mega event. He left Maine for

David Shipman By Betsy Garrold Spring is the busy time at Fedco, but David Shipman, who coordinates Fedco’s Organic Growers Supply, was able to sit down for a few minutes to talk about why he has been, as MOFGA’s Deputy Director Heather Spalding says, “an absolutely amazing volunteer over the past two or three years

Tim Reimensnyder, self portrait By Betsy Garrold For Tim Reimensnyder, volunteer coordinator for the Crafts Area of the Common Ground Country Fair (CGCF), the Fair is a family affair. Tim and his wife, Marie, have been selling T-shirts at the Fair for more than 20 years. He got his first taste of volunteering at the

Erin Bibles. Photo by Betsy Garrold. By Betsy Garrold Erin Bibles and her husband, Brent, led a peripatetic life before settling at their Thorndike farm, Mélange Métairie (Mixed Small Holding). They met at the University of Arizona and moved to Oregon when Brent, a wildlife biologist, got a job at Oregon State University. Erin finished

Steve Plumb claims never to have had a high-voltage career, but for years at the Common Ground Country Fair his bulb has burned brightly as the Electrical Coordinator. As such, he reviews all the vendors’, demonstrators’, and booth-holders’ requests for electricity – “pretty much everyone fills out a form” – and tries to fit them

Amy LeBlanc in the Exhibition Hall at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. By Hannah Kreitzer Amy LeBlanc knows a thing or two about roots. She describes her parents as Common Ground Country Fairgoers “pretty much from the get-go,” and has herself become an integral part of the Fairgoing experience. LeBlanc has worked as