Archives: Stories

Laurie and Jack Davis

Here’s a memory from Laurie and Jack Davis: “We went to the Common Ground Fair back when our twin sons were 6 or 7 years old (1990-91). They loved it. They tried walking on wooden stilts. One of the boys got the hang of it very quickly. His brother, however, just couldn’t figure out how

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Jennifer McKendry

Here’s a memory from Jennifer McKendry of Hallowell, Maine: “I’ve gone to the Fair every year except for two or three. I’ve sloshed through downpours, tramped through mud,  inched along on the Unity roads, and been burned by the sun, but never once have I been deterred by anything less than a funeral. I soak

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Roberta Bailey

Here’s a memory from Roberta Bailey: “My involvement with MOFGA came because there was, at the time, the tri-county chapter of MOFGA. [It] was fairly active and I became quite active in it [in] 1976 to about the mid to late 80s. And the tri-county chapter, we could have monthly meetings, sometimes they would be

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Helen York

Here’s a memory from Helen York: “Years ago, when we had over a hundred wool sheep, and when I had the skills and speed and stamina to handspin much of the wool we grew into yarn, we would sell our yarn and fleeces and spinning equipment from an old arch-top converted 1930s french-fry trailer. It

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Planning a Resilient Farm Layout at Evening Song Farm

By Sonja Heyck-Merlin Evening Song Farm, owned by Ryan and Kara Fitzbeauchamp and certified organic by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, offered a virtual farm tour during MOFGA’s 2020 Farmer to Farmer Conference. Located in Cuttingsville, Vermont, 11 miles southeast of Rutland, the 100-acre property is perched at 1,200 feet on a hillside

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MOFGA Bids Farewell to Dave Colson

By Heather Spalding After nine years working as a member of MOFGA’s staff, Dave Colson has retired to the greener pastures of his beautiful farm in Androscoggin County. Dave joined the MOFGA staff in July of 2011 serving as the director of our agricultural services program. He led the program for eight years, providing leadership to

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Buffie Whittaker

Here’s a memory from Buffie Whittaker: “I am writing to you on behalf of my father, Francis ‘Eli’ Whittaker. MOFGA meant a lot to my father. He passed away in July 2020. As far back as I can remember my father always had a passion for the outdoors and especially gardening. From growing his plants

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Beedy Parker

Here’s a memory from Beedy Parker: “I thought the Social Action [area] was really important to have at the Fair – that that was partly what the “Common Ground” was about. And so, I sort of wanted a parade that would unite the Fair in some way, and that could be for the children and

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Jim Gerritsen

Here’s a memory from Jim Gerritsen of Wood Prairie Family Farm in Bridgewater, Maine: “Wendell Berry was keynote speaker at the Common Ground Country Fair at the fairgrounds in the small central Maine town of Litchfield in 1978. This was the second Common Ground Fair ever, the first occurring just one year prior. Wendell gave

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