In this Issue
September 2005

NEWS FROM ELM HILL FARM
Visiting groups pitch in, have fun
By Michele Connor and Janice St. Hilaire

Participants in the Summer Youth Challenge wash fire trucks at the Brookfield Fire Station. Above, a student from Project Smile in Brookfield explores tomatoes and marigolds on a field trip to Elm Hill.

This long, hot summer has been a busy and successful one for us here at The Blanchard Means Foundation’s Elm Hill Farm. Our fourth year of running the Summer Youth Challenge Program with the Center of Hope in Southbridge has seen growth and opportunities for learning, fun and service to the community for young people with developmental disabilities. Community service activities have included growing vegetables, which were donated to the Brookfield Food Pantry, and the very popular visit to the Brookfield Fire Station to help Chief Peter Martell wash the fire trucks. Chief Martell is very welcoming to our group, and the kids look forward to this trip each year.

Two visiting youth groups have made improvements here at the farm, staying at Blanchard House for a week and working diligently to help us come ever closer to our vision of what this great place can be. The Grace Church Group from Ohio completed landscaping and interior painting projects and helped to fence a new pasture area for our horse friends. The group from the Church of the Master in Hickory, North Carolina built beautiful benches for our raised bed garden area, and tackled many other cleaning and yard work projects including filling an 18-yard dumpster!

Children from several summer programs took advantage of making field trips to Elm Hill. The children and staff of Project Smile in Brookfield made a day of it here at the farm, spending time in the garden, visiting with our miniature horses, sheep and donkey, and ending with a picnic lunch on the lawn. The students from Leicester Primary School came for a morning visit, hiking the Frog Pond Trail, newly marked by Ron Couture and cleared by Arin Ailey and volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club. Of course, the children spent a good amount of time with the animals as well! Another group from the Central Branch YMCA, led by Corinna Frohock, had a fun-filled day of swimming, hiking, and a chance to drive “Rusty” in the riding ring!

Don’t miss out on the fun and learning – call 508-867-4407 to find out how your group can get in on the action!

Save the dates!
On Oct. 29, we will have a festival called Celebrate Fall: Think Spring, with emphasis on painting pumpkins for Halloween and planting daffodil bulbs for next spring. There will be horse-drawn hayrides in the wagon, a costume parade, various exhibits, music by Dick Chase, and great food. Our horses will be decked out and our mini animals waiting for food cones.

Because our seating is limited, it’s not too early to start thinking about a very special event planned for Nov. 26, called Music Thanksgiving. Held at the 1870 Blanchard House, it will be an evening of very special music with Eva and David Brown at our own grand piano. Eva is a music teacher at Brookfield Elementary School, and David is a veterinary virologist at Tufts University in Grafton. If you’ve heard them sing and play, then you know what a treat this will be. We will finish with a community carol sing. After your own family celebrations of Thanksgiving, this will be a wonderful opportunity to set the stage for the December holidays. We will start with dessert and coffee. Call Michele at 508-867-4407 to reserve a seat.

This year, our Christmas at Elm Hill will be Dec. 3. This tradition will have new activities along with the vendors and events you’ve come to expect.

 

On the left, students from Leicester Primary School get to know "Dusty." On the right, they enjoy hiking the Frog Pond Trail.