| JULY 9, 2011 -- When Philip H. Jones, of Jones Family Farms in Shelton, was a teenager in the late 1930s, his father gave him $50 to plant pine trees. On Monday the 93-year-old Jones watched as those very trees were being used to build a new barn on the complex.
"The pine grew pretty fast, sometimes three feet a year," said Jones.
Jones was at the farm Monday to participate in a barn topping out ceremony in which an evergreen tree is put at the highest point of the structure's frame.
About 100 trees, standing at 100 feet high, were cut down and brought to a sawmill before construction started on the barn, said Jones.
Jones' son, Terry, said the ceremony is a celebration of the trees that were used to build the barn and is a symbol of good luck for future occupants.
For the younger Jones, topping the barn with a Colorado blue spruce marks not only a new addition to the farm, but also honors several generations of farmers, he said. At the ceremony was his son, Jamie, and 4-year-old grandson, Samuel.
"Thirty years ago, you probably wouldn't have guessed that there would be farming in Shelton, but it's thriving," said Terry Jones.
Construction on the barn started last week and will take about a month to complete. When it's done, it will become a welcome center where visitors can pay for the pumpkins they've picked. The new barn will also be used to host the Connecticut Farmland Trust celebration Sept. 11.
Monday's ceremony attracted many who had helped build the farm over the years.
"The farm is a wonderful place," said Gerry Glover, whose father was a general contractor who worked with the elder Jones in building what is the now the wine tasting area of the winery. "It keeps a lot of local people busy. They're a group of people that are loyal to the farm, and the farm is loyal to them."
With a similar story, Roger Barrett, president of Country Carpenters, said his father started his Hebron-based business in 1974. Now, he's taken over the post and beam engineering company that constructed the foundation for the farm.
State Forester Chris Martin said the new barn and the work of the Jones family ties in with the Connecticut Grown agriculture marketing campaign, which encourages residents to buy locally grown food and recognize the importance of preserving farmland.
"It's good for the environment, employs people and it's great for the public," said Martin. |
