BROOKFIELD ORCHARDS REDUX

Each Fall I returned to my being a "riser miser" for Hammy Lincoln. I was a boy and boy did I relish working. I was a "junior carpenter." My uncle Al gave me a small finish hammer to do my job. Then, s the years went by Hammy hired an itinerant  Florida box maker. This man and wife team had a portable set-up which nailed two sides to a bottom. Voila.. a bushel box!

A curios memory is the "field trucks" Brookfield employed. Early on, a Model A Ford and a 4 cylinder Chevrolet shed their bodies and a wooden racks were fashioned to hold full boxes of apples. One summer I took the liberty to drive the Chevy through the orchard without permission! I had become of driving age!

Helen Proctor of Spencer was a driving force in transforming  apples into antiques. She frequented the Salvation Army in Worcester for treasures  to be sold in the store. It worked. Today vendors offer hundreds of antiques and collectables for sale.

Further, the Orchard has museum-quality displays of old radios and old hand tools and more. I know my children and grandchildren delight in returning to the Orchards each season.

On the 100 anniversary of its birth, "Brookfield Orchards" will be celebrating in late August so stay tuned.

Anytime is a good time to come to the Brookfields. Grandfathered signs are every where. "Try it.. you'll like it"..a visit to "Lincoln's Brookfield Orchards!!