[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6542-S6543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING ALLENHOLM FARM AND THE ALLEN FAMILY
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Vermonters understand the value of hard
work and perseverance, and we take pride in passing those values from
generation to generation. Our communities thrive on family-owned
businesses built on these values. They form the roots of success in our
Green Mountain State, and it is those who own and operate them who are
providing the leadership that will carry our State into the future.
Today I want to recognize one exceptional Vermont family for the
success of their multigenerational Vermont enterprise and their
continued commitment to Vermont values.
Founded in 1870, Allenholm Farm is Vermont's largest apple orchard.
At its helm is Ray W. Allen, whose great-grandfather Rueben Allen
planted the farm's first apple trees more than 150 years ago, and Ray's
wife and partner, Pam. After graduating from the University of Vermont
with a degree in agriculture, Ray returned to the family farm he had
worked as a child, eventually purchasing it from his father in 1960.
More than five decades of running the farm haven't slowed Ray down, and
he can still be found fixing machinery, giving tours of the orchard,
and loading delicious Vermont apples into trucks for shipment.
Like many Vermont businessowners, Ray knows the value of
diversification. In addition to the apples it sells to local grocery
stores and cider makers, the farm harvests raspberries, blueberries,
and cherries, some of which are sold to Vermont's world-renowned
Alchemist Brewery. Ray and Pam, his wife of 31 years, work together to
make hundreds of apple pies that are then baked fresh on demand. The
autumn season brings thousands of guests, often multigenerational
families themselves, for pick-your-own apples and visits to Willie and
Sassafras, the farm's pet donkeys. Visitors may also enjoy maple
creemees, a soft serve ice cream that is as unique to the State as the
patented Vermont Gold apple variety is to Allenholm Farm.
Ray's dedication to his farm is matched only by his commitment to his
family's legacy. As he hands down his knowledge of the apple business
to his children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren, he passes
on something else: a commitment to building on the past to create a
successful Vermont for future generations.
I ask unanimous consent that an October 1 story from the Burlington
Free Press about the successful Allenholm Farm in South Hero, VT, be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Burlington Free Press, Oct. 1, 2016]
Localvore Since 1870 at Allenholm Farm in South Hero
(By Sally Pollak)
South Hero.--When the apple pies are sold out, the goats
are spitting out grain-filled ice cream cones, and the porta-
potties need to be emptied, it's been a busy weekend at
Allenholm Farm.
Count last weekend as very busy. Thousands of people
visited the South Hero orchard, the owners estimated.
``The groups were really big,'' co-owner Pam Allen said.
``Generational groups.''
Allenholm Farm, founded in 1870, is itself multi-
generational--seven and counting. The farm in South Hero is
thought to be the oldest commercial orchard in the state,
according to its owner, Ray W. Allen. Allen, who will turn 80
next month, has owned and operated the farm for 56 years. His
great-grandfather, Ruben Allen, planted the first apple trees
at the farm almost 150 years ago; the last of the original
trees died in 1978.
At one time, Allenholm Farm was a diversified family farm
with dairy cows, sheep, hogs and poultry, horses for plowing.
These days, the 275-acre farm is primarily an apple orchard,
with 2,000 trees growing on roughly 25 acres. The farm also
produces cherries, berries, pears and pumpkins.
Farm animals are confined, mostly, to a petting zoo, though
a donkey named Willy sometimes strolls down South Street,
site of the farm. That's when Ray C. Allen, sheriff of Grand
Isle County and son of Ray W. Allen, telephones his
stepmother with a message:
``Your husband's ass is in the middle of the road again,''
the sheriff tells her.
This is family duty, he said. Not law and order.
[[Page S6543]]
Ray W. Allen, steadfast and true to the farm, is also a bit
of a wanderer. Over the years he has gone off to high school
at Lyndon Institute in the Northeast Kingdom; run 25
marathons; appeared on stage in community theater, served as
a trustee at the University of Vermont, his alma mater; and
volunteered as an EMT--late-night calls before early-morning
chores.
Monday morning he was up at 3:15 for a bank run to deposit
the weekend's cash. At 4:30, he was back home in his kitchen,
hand-mixing pie dough for some of the 2,500 pies Allenholm
Farm makes each year. (Ray Allen mixes the dough; Pam Allen
makes the filling.)
At 5 a.m., he and his grandson, Brandon Allen, met at the
big gray storage shed across from the farmstand to load
trucks with boxes of apples for delivery to Hannaford
supermarkets.
``It's a good time,'' Brandon Allen said. ``Quality bonding
time at 5 in the morning.''
storied history of apple production
The Champlain Islands have a long history of quality apple
production, said Terry Bradshaw, apple specialist at UVM and
director of its Horticulture Research Center. The lake
climate--which makes for a cooler summer and protects against
frost--provides superior growing and ripening conditions,
especially for McIntosh apples, he said. In addition, access
to the lake in the early 20th century meant transportation
for shipping fruit north to the port of Montreal and south to
New York.
``It's historic,'' Bradshaw said of Allenholm Farm.
The history dates to the founding of Vermont. Pam Allen,
Ray Allen's second wife, is a descendant of Thomas
Chittenden, Vermont's first governor. Ray Allen descends from
Moses Robinson, the state's second governor.
``Illegitimate,'' Allen said of his ancestry.
More recent farm history includes the end of dairying about
half a century ago, and getting in on the craft beer boom.
Allen sells his cherries to the Alchemist, the Stowe brewery
that makes Heady Topper. The cherries are used in a beer
called Petit Mutant. Perks of this job include beer delivery
to the farm by Alchemist brewer John Kimmich.
`cool guy'
But the main crop is apples, and the primary variety is
McIntosh. A crew of six seasonal farm workers from Jamaica
are the apple pickers. The men live at the farm in a former
dairy barn converted to housing. Winston Waugh, from St. Ann,
Jamaica, has worked at Allenholm Farm for about 20 years.
``He's a cool guy,'' Waugh said of Ray Allen. ``He's quite
OK.''
Picking is hard work, Waugh said, especially in cold
weather. It's crucial not to bruise the fruit, he said.
The season's dry weather calls for ``selective picking,''
Allen said, as opposed to stripping a tree of fruit.
Selective picking yields 50 to 60 bushels of apples per day
per picker, he said. When you strip a tree, an apple-picker
brings in about 90 bushels a day.
The size of the apples is important, too. Apples that are
three or more inches in diameter are worth $40 a bushel; two-
and-a-half to three inches are worth about $30 a bushel; less
than two-and-a-half inches sell for $5.50 to $7 a bushel,
Allen said.
In the winter and into spring, before the apple trees
bloom, Allen is in his orchards pruning trees. He fixes
machinery and works in the farm store, which is open until
Christmas Eve.
Last spring, Allen had surgery to replace both his knees.
He wore them out not from farming or running, but by wearing
Western-style boots 365 days a year, he said. Allen didn't
want to sit around on the couch, drink beer, and feel sorry
for himself, so he challenged himself to be active. Within
six days, he was driving around the farm.
``He's a character,'' his son said.
His roles include welcoming visitors to Allenholm Farm and
leading tours. Allen expects future generations will fulfill
these and other duties; but he has no plans to retire.
``I would hate to be the one to lose it,'' he said. ``This
is the 146th year. I sure don't want to be the first one to
lose the farm.''
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