Recommendation made to Historical Commission that these interviews should be video-taped with a camcorder because of the importance of the visual impact. The board to date has not approved the selective use of video taping for the oral history program. Transcriptions available and photos by Alice Moulton.
Concord Oral History Program
Renee Garrelick, Interviewer.
Angelo and Nat Arena, 101 Fairhaven Road,
Wholesale market gardeners
John and Nat Arena, 167 Fairhaven Road,
Retail market gardeners with roadside stand
Stephen Verrill, 41.5 Plainfield Road,
Dairy farming
John Bemis, 858 Monument Street,
Organic Farming (with brother Gordon)
Edward Nowalk, 955 Lexington Road,
Market gardener with roadside stand
Frank Scimone, 505 Old Bedford Road,
Market gardener with Market gardener with roadside stand
Angelo Arena, age 62, born 1925,
Nat Arena, his son, born 1957,
A. Arena Farms,
101 Fairhaven Road.
Angelo Arena -- "My father Natale farmed this land as an
Italian immigrant for Wilfrid Wheeler. Wheeler was known as the
"holly man" because he introduced holly trees to the area by
successfully planting them on Cape Cod. My father followed the
traditional pattern of many Italian immigrant farmers in Concord.
He first worked- for an established farmer, later renting land from
him and then purchasing his own farm. There are only about a
dozen farmers left in Concord. You can't blame kids for not going
into agriculture today. The family farm is a depressed market.
The cost of tools, machinery and land are such that why encourage
kids to put their heads in a noose? But, I'm proud that Nat has
chosen farming."
Nat Arena -- "I manage the wholesale business which includes
growing produce as well as packaging and delivering it on our
trucks. Our farm was honored in March by the Governor's Council
for being among the top 10 in the state in productivity. We
specialize in lettuce, sweet corn and peppers for the wholesale
market. We plant 100 acres in sweet corn, 30 acres in lettuce, 10
to 12 acres in peppers and 6 to 7 acres in pumpkins a year. When
a trailer-load of lettuce pulls out from the farm, it is carrying
800 to 1,000 crates a day, with 24 heads of lettuce packed to a
crate.
"We sold our land to the town in 1973 with the right to lease
it back for farming for 99 years. We have 25 acres here in
Concord and we rent an additional 100 acres in Lincoln on a three
to five year lease. Land has to be rented for that period of time
to make the farmer's investment, to keep it in top quality."
Angelo -- "We would be interested in renting land in Concord,
but not if it meant bidding against a farmer who has been here.
Everyone has their place. We believe in an agreement among
farmers not to underbid each other for land they have tradition-
ally rented, so we don't currently rent any land in Concord.
"Labor is scarce and the quality isn't there the way it used
to be. We employ two or three throughout the year and keep them
busy with equipment repairs in the off-season. From May to Nov.
1, we use five to six former residents of Jamaica and El Salvador
as seasonal help. The men live on site in an apartment unit
provided for them. They come to us looking for work and we make
sure they have an address and a social security number.
"With today's transportation and refrigeration, produce can
be hauled from one part of the country to another and imported
from abroad so the local grower can't be assured of a market
within his own area. The bottom line for the buyer from the
supermarket is often not how fresh the produce is but where can he
get it cheaper. This hurts the local grower. We are trying to
keep local produce [grown in a state] for that state."
Nat -- "California ships out 80 per cent of its produce. In
the south and west there are huge conglomerate farms made up of
many farms and owned by corporate businesses. Big business
maximizing profit is the bottom line. Farming today moves with
technology and scientific advancement.
"We have abundant machinery on the farm. All the corn is
harvested by machine, while peppers are hand picked and machine
packed.
"A. Arena Farms works with the Massachusetts Department of
Agriculture in testing for pests and the use of chemicals.
Students from the University of Massachusetts test for bugs and
analyze the level of spray needed. When you are growing on a
large scale, herbicides are a necessity. Natural controls can
work on a small scale, but you never find a large-scale organic
farmer delivering to a supermarket warehouse. If spraying is
properly done, there should be no problem. Spraying has been
going on for so long."
Angelo -- "Weather conditions continue to determine price. If
we freeze, California will make out. One farmer has to lose his
shirt for another to make a profit."
Nat -- "The cost of rent, labor, fertilizer, refrigeration and
container costs determine what price we present to the supermarket
chain owners. Every spring we sit down with our bids and our
buyers. We sell to the warehouse directly and the price that is
charged is set for the season, so they know their costs. With
computers, the main supermarket warehouse sorts out their distribution of lettuce or carrots to all their stores. We supply
two or three of the large area supermarket chains every year and
this year we are going to start supplying the commissary at
Hanscom Air Force base."
John Arena (Angelo's brother), born 1927,
Nat Arena, his son, born 1953,
Arena Farms,
Route 2 and Fairhaven Road (#167)
Stephen Verrill, born 1935,
415 Plainfield Road,
Nine Acre Corner,
(Concord's lone dairy farmer)
"I have been farming for 30 years. My father was a dairy
farmer before me and I can remember many farmers with cows in this
section of town. William Mattison, Fred Jones, Henry and Harvey
Derby, Frank Maguire, Mike Burke, Leslie Anderson and Roland and
Russell Eldridge come to my mind.
"I have a herd of 140 mature cows and 130 young ones and they
are all now Holstein instead of the mix with Guernsey cows that I
once had. Consumer preference has changed away from the richer
milk of the Guernsey cow. That preference is without educational
validity. The fat content in milk (labeled) low fat and Guernsey
cow milk differs only by 2 percent. Guernsey milk has a fat
content of between 4.2 and 4.5 percent, regular milk a fat content
of 3.35 percent, low fat milk 2 percent and skim milk less than 1
percent. Yet people don't seem to fuss over the higher fat
content in a chunk of cheese.
"The federal government sets a minimum price for milk which
turns out to be the maximum in a very competitive market where
large quantities of a similar product is produced. The price
changes monthly but averages about 28 cents a quart.
"My cows produce 2,500 quarts daily, picked up by trailer
truck every other day, and distributed through the Agrimark
Cooperative to the Hood company. After a 10 year milking period,
the cows are sold for beef at the Farmers Live Animal Exchange in
Littleton.
"Nine Acre Corner was an area where 'market garden' farmers
raised basic produce. My farm on Wheeler Road was the former site
of the Wheeler farm, the dominant farm family in the area. Anson,
Alden and Raymond Roads are named for the Wheelers who farmed
here and were three of the area's most active commercial growers.
"There were acres of celery and broccoli on the Andy Boy farm
that is now the Nashawtuc Country Club.
"I farm 45 acres of land here that since 1983 have been under
an agricultural preservation restriction and will remain in
farming in perpetuity. Development threatened the 85 acres of
land I rent in Sudbury. A state program provides for the
agricultural preservation restriction whereby the state pays for
90 percent of the development rights and the town the other 10
percent. It enabled me to keep both parcels in farming.
"I also rent about 50 acres of land in Lincoln and 40 acres
in Bedford. It is difficult to be efficient when farm sites are
so scattered, but that is becoming the reality of today's farming
pattern. The cost of renting land depends on what is being raised
and the particular arrangement made with the owner.
"For example, rental can vary from a range of no payment to
$20 per month per acre for hay, while most market garden vegetables are in the $15-$40-an-acre range.
"Since I have a ready supply of cow manure, I have increased
my own marketing of garden vegetables and small fruits like
strawberries and raspberries, for area consumers to come and pick
their own.
"I consider myself an organic grower 99 percent of the time
but I prefer to avoid categorization. I want to reserve the
freedom to use a spray if needed.
"I employ one part time and two full time workers. There is
difficulty in getting farm help. I have experienced a high
turnover in the past decade.
"The farmer is part of a global economy. We are competing
with the rest of the world in agricultural production and the
labor market. The trend now in this country is to import more and
more food and nobody thinks 'buy American' for that.
John Bemis, born 1946,
858 Monument Street,
(Shares ownership with his brother Gordon (born 1951) in the Hutchins Farm, the largest organic farm in Massachusetts.)
"We have a ready market in an organic-conscious Boston
populous. But we don't want to think we are catering to a
'yuppie' trade. A number of our regular customers are older
people of ethnic background.
"People especially come to buy greens which are offered in 15
different varieties. Among these are lettuce, chard, Chinese
cabbage, celery, bok choy, mustard greens and beets. We only sell
what we grow. And our buyers are tolerant if they find worms in
some of their tomatoes or corn.
"I am a member of the New England Organic Farmers Association. I have gone through the state certification program which
requires that the grower not use synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides, but follow instead certain soil-building methods,
cultivation techniques and rotation of crops.
"At times insects have to be controlled by spraying, but this
is done through an integrated pest management program. Spraying
is done only when there is a problem and not to avoid a potential
problem.
"An organic farmer has to compensate for losses by planting
more. The large wholesaler can't do this with his dependency on
using all he grows. Our vegetables and fruit are grown according
to organic methods, except for the peaches and apples.
"My brother and I farm on 60 acres of land which was part of
the Punkatasset Farm holdings of our grandfather Gordon Hutchins.
The farm then had an extensive apple orchard, a dairy herd and the
once-omnipresent asparagus. We also now lease 90 acres locally
along Monument Street and Estabrook Road.
"We get frustrated at not finding adequate labor when at one
time there had been a ready supply among the area's youth.
"My father's success in the business world has given my
brother and I the luxury of farming in his front yard, but we also
know the increased difficulty of a farming family trying to
integrate socially in a community with far more affluent
neighbors."
Eddie Nowalk, born 1930,
Maplewood Farm,
955 Lexington Road
"There are no more cows grazing across the road here; there
used to be on the average 30 Grade Holstein cows in the herd. I
sold them a year ago.
"Forty years ago my parents Aleck and Anna came from Poland
and bought this 65 acre farm which already had a produce stand in
operation. My wife Mary and I sell 10 different varieties of
sweet corn, along with tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins,
beets and carrots that we raise. On 15 acres of the land, hay is
grown for sale for horses and mulching.
"In 1976 we sold the farm to the Minute Man National
Historical Park. They're especially interested in acquiring land
along the Battle Road, for preservation and historical interpretation of the April 19 battle. I am allowed to live on the farm
for 25 years from the time of purchase and half of those years are
now gone.
Frank Scimone, born 1938,
505 Old Bedford Road