| From
The Vermont Observer
www.vermontobserver.com January 25, 2006 • The
Original Vermont Observer 19
Who Knew Paradise Could Taste So Sweet?
Lisa Hamilton’s warm, strong voice meets customers like the first sunny day in
March. “Hello there,” she beams. “What can I help you find?”
The customers have turned left off Route 9, a mere skip up the hill from the
Chelsea Royal Diner, and found Paradise Farm. With its cozy gift store, carrying
fresh doughnuts and all manner of Vermont-made goods, and its timber-framed
sugarhouse,
home of superior maple syrup production, Paradise Farm becomes, for local and
tourist alike, a little spot of actual paradise.
Hamilton bought the 55-acre farm in 1989, having dreamed of farm life since she
was three years old. Over the years, she milked cows, tended oxen, raised
chickens, and boarded horses. Several years ago, ready for a fresh start,
Hamilton and partner Jeff Doyle reconsidered the possibilities of the land. It
had been a maple operation in the early fifties, and Hamilton knew a viable
sugar bush waited on the 55 acres stretching beyond the Whetstone Brook. They
dreamed of sugaring. Doyle, a master carpenter and longtime sugar maker, rebuilt
the old sugarhouse with post-and beam construction, reusing the timbers and pegs
from 200-year old downtown Brattleboro building. Hamilton, however, wanted more
than a sugar shack. With a degree in business and a talent for interacting with
people, she knew a store was part of the dream. Featuring the finest four-grade
Paradise Farm syrup, this store would also sell handmade quilts, linens, picture
frames, soaps, kitchen products, and specialty foods. Doyle built another
golden, gorgeous post-and-beam building, this time using wood milled from the
farm’s trees. All the timbers were hand hewn and hand drilled. To this array of
goods and history, doughnuts, plus pies, coffee, and jams. “I’ve been baking
since forever,” she says, “but the doughnuts are famous.” The two had an even
bigger dream than the day-to-day operations. “Educating the public about
sugaring is really important to us,” Hamilton asserts. “Sometimes even locals
are surprised to see how syrup is made. During the season we invite them in,
show them around, and offer tastes.”
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addition to maple education, Hamilton wants very much to have the
store to serve local people. “It’s a struggle in this town for
people who grew up here to afford homes,” she says. “Our prices
aren’t the lowest, but they aren’t the highest. We want to be here
for our neighbors.” That commitment to community extends to their
sugaring colleagues. When Hamilton and Doyle started out, they
visited area sugar makers and looked at their systems and
techniques. “We received a lot of positive input,” she says. “It’s a
group of people who really help each other. Now we’re the first to
give advice when new sugar makers come around. Sugaring around here
is not a competition. It’s camaraderie.” It is, in fact, a way of
life. During
sugaring season, Hamilton’s oldest son gathers the sap. Doyle
oversees the boiling, while Hamilton does all the canning. Luckily,
Hamilton’s favorite part of the season happens nearly every day.
“There’s lots of taste testing,” she laughs. Most of all, Hamilton
loves meeting the people who visit the clean and cozy store. “People
come in and sometimes sit for a half hour or an hour, making
conversation.” She points to the counter where a guest book used to
lie. “We’ve had people write in the guestbook from all fifty states,
the UK, France, China, Italy. On the website, people write in from
all over.” Those visitors, and the locals who drop by daily, come
for the doughnuts, syrup, and goods, but it’s for another reason
they leave content. Paradise Farm and Hamilton give off the steady
radiance of land and heart worked well and hard. “The
important thing,” Hamilton says, “is the pride I have in knowing I’m
doing the right thing with my life.” Paradise Farm is open every day
but Wednesday. For more information, call Lisa Hamilton at 802-258-
2026, or visit www.pfsugarhouse.com.~
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