[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14239-14240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MEETING HOUSE FARM CENTENNIAL

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, Vermont has always been a farming State, 
and it is the dairy, livestock, vegetable, and fruit farms to which we 
owe thanks for the open pastures and spectacular vistas that Vermonters 
and all those who visit our State cherish. None is more beautiful than 
Meeting House Farm in Norwich, owned by Deb and Jay Van Arman. The 
farm, located on a hill outside of the village, with an expansive view 
down the beautiful Connecticut River Valley, has been in the family 
since Deb's and her brother David Pierce's grandparents arrived in a 
Sears, Roebuck & Company wagon from Quechee in 1914.
  On Saturday, August 2, Deb, Jay and David hosted a centennial reunion 
for a grateful crowd of family and friends who came from as far as 
California, Holland and South America. The reunion was a celebration of 
farming, family, and community for those who grew up on or visited the 
farm over the years. They shared stories of haying and collecting maple 
sap with Deb and David's father ``Bub,'' riding the tractor and 
collecting eggs, and sitting around the kitchen table sharing one of 
their mother Janet's bountiful meals. Janet ran a day care at the farm 
for local children and later became Norwich's beloved town clerk.
  The dairy herd was sold in the 1980s, but the haying goes on. There 
are goats and Deb's big vegetable garden, and half a dozen Holstein 
cows from another farm graze the hillside. Meeting House Farm 
represents the best of Vermont, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the 
Pierce-Van Arman family for keeping it a farm all these years.
  I ask unanimous consent that an article about the centennial on the 
front page of the August 3rd Valley News be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  [From The Valley News, Aug. 3, 2014]

 A Century of Farming in Norwich: Family Members Flock From Around the 
                       World To Mark Anniversary

                           (By Aimee Caruso)

       Norwich.--A Norwich family marked 100 years of farm life 
     yesterday with hayrides, games and dinner, photographs, 
     storytelling and socializing.
       Meeting House Farm, owned by Jay and Deb Van Arman, has 
     been in the family for a century, and the trend is set to 
     continue into the future.
       Yesterday, however, was all about celebrating the crop of 
     longtime friendships and family bonds the Union Village Road 
     farm has produced over the decades. Wearing name tags, people 
     of all ages mingled yesterday, snacking and sharing memories. 
     Milling near a table laden with pies, candy-studded cookies 
     and other goodies, they described the farm as a warm and 
     lively place.
       Jeff Bradley, who grew up just down the road, was in 4-H 
     with the Van Armans' children and spent many days on the 
     farm, tossing hay bales and collecting sap for maple syrup. 
     He longingly recalled the yeast doughnuts and dill pickles, 
     both of which were eaten dipped in maple syrup, made by Deb's 
     late mother, Janet. And he remembered something else that 
     left a big impression on him.
       ``No matter what, you stopped by and they had time for 
     you,'' said Bradley, who now lives in Massachusetts with his 
     family. ``Time for a story, time to sit down and have 
     coffee.''
       People have always dropped in and visited the farm, said 
     Deb Van Arman, seated under a large white tent set up for the 
     occasion. ``It's been important to encourage that so we have 
     a sense of community. We have that, and we're very 
     grateful.''

[[Page 14240]]

       Yesterday's gathering, months in the making, drew about 240 
     people from across the country and beyond, including 26 of 27 
     first cousins. The 27th wanted to come, but couldn't make it 
     because his wife was sick, Deb Van Arman explained.
       The Van Armans' children and their families came in from 
     New York state, Chile and Holland. One family friend came 
     from Taipei, Taiwan; others made the trip from Hamburg, 
     Germany. In addition to relatives, the group included people 
     who had worked on the farm, neighbors, and former neighbors, 
     ``people who have helped us over the years,'' Deb said, 
     choking up. ``It's just great.''
       Some spent the night on the farm; others bunked with 
     neighbors who had opened their houses for the occasion and 
     provided food and beer, said the Van Armans' son, Tom. ``It's 
     like Airbnb on steroids.''
       The 116-acre farm, established in the 1780s, is thought to 
     be the town's oldest working farm. It's named for the timbers 
     in the original barn. When Norwich's first meeting house was 
     torn down, the farm's owner, Constant Murdock, bought the 
     beams for his barn, said Nancy Hoggson, president of the 
     Norwich Historical Society. Initially a subsistence farm, it 
     would eventually grow into a dairy business.
       Deb Van Arman's grandparents, Charles and Lucy Pierce, 
     bought the property in 1913 and moved there from a small farm 
     in Quechee. The Pierces' son, Charles ``Bub'' Pierce, and his 
     wife, Janet, lived with them on the farm, where Janet ran a 
     day care and Bub farmed until he became ill in 1970, the same 
     year the Van Armans married. Bub died the following year, and 
     Janet farmed with the neighbors' help until later in 1971, 
     when Jay took over. They expanded their herd and carried on 
     with the dairy business until 1986.
       With three children to put through college, a farmer's pay 
     wouldn't cut it, so the couple took part in a federal herd 
     buy-out program, selling their dairy cows. Both are 
     officially retired--Jay was a mail carrier in Norwich, and 
     Deb, a physical therapist, worked at the VA. But their work 
     on the farm didn't end. Deb keeps up the grounds, including 
     the vegetable, herb and flower gardens. Jay runs a composting 
     business and makes hay--he puts up and sells about 14,000 
     bales a year, their main income. They also depend on the 
     state's current use plan to reduce taxes, he said. ``If it 
     wasn't for current use, we wouldn't be here.''
       Theirs is one of eight farms featured in Cycles of Change: 
     Farming in Norwich, now on display at the historical society. 
     The exhibit, comprising photographs, video, oral histories 
     and text, will run through next spring.
       Farming has seen big changes over the past several decades, 
     and rolling with the times has taken perseverance, financial 
     investments and plenty of hard work. New federal regulations 
     in the mid 1900s meant expensive upgrades for dairy farms, 
     Hoggson said. ``A lot of small farmers couldn't adjust to 
     those changes, so they had to close up shop.''
       She called the fact that the same family has owned Meeting 
     House Farm for a century ``extraordinary.''
       ``Keeping that land together has been really, really 
     important to the whole family,'' she said. ``It's very 
     unusual, I think, and a real credit to them as individuals 
     and to their commitment to the land, the importance of 
     family, and place that they have been able to do this.''
       Yesterday's event was, in part, a tribute to that effort.
       ``We wanted to celebrate all the happiness (the farm) has 
     brought and all the hard work my parents have done through 
     thick and thin,'' said daughter Emily Myers. ``It's not easy, 
     having a lot of property. . . . It can be very expensive, 
     especially with taxes, and they have been able to make it 
     work.''
       As with most farm kids, summers and the hours after school 
     found the Van Arman children tending to chores. Growing up on 
     the farm has had a lasting impact on them, Myers said. ``It 
     gave us great morals, great values and always a sense of 
     home.''
       On display yesterday was the Sears and Roebuck wagon Deb's 
     grandparents bought to travel to the farm with their young 
     children. The family had hitched their cows to the wagon, and 
     on the way, one gave birth on Christian Street. Her father 
     retrieved the calf the following day. Their move from Quechee 
     to the farm, made in mud season, was quite a journey, Deb Van 
     Arman said.
       Within the next few years, a similar, if much more modern, 
     trek will take place, as the Van Armans' daughters, Kate and 
     Emily, plan to return to the farm with their families.
       ``The only thing I ever knew was this farm,'' Deb Van Arman 
     said. Knowing her children will carry on the tradition ``is 
     very special.''

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